Daily Life in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Free Gym with a View!

We just went through the painful-on-the-pocketbook renewal of our fees for our gym/club this past month. As I was running on the beach the other day (and -cough- NOT on the treadmill at the club... which I never do by the way, only run on the lagoa or at the beach. Which begs the question as to why we belong but really it is mostly to take the Canadoca to the pool! Ok, it is also really nice to have the option of working out indoors when it is pouring buckets or steaming hot.) when it occurred to me that we are suckers! You can work out for free in Rio, and like at the gym or academia as they are called here, you can even spot novella stars if you are lucky. Some of Rio's free outdoor exercise equipment has been recently revamped. Check it out!

 

 

Looking for Amazing Yoga Classes in Rio?

If you read back in the archives, you will notice that one of the most fulfilling experiences I've had in Rio has been my yoga practice. I have been doing yoga since I was 13 years old and started doing traditional ashtanga three days per week when I moved here. Having the time to spend focusing on and deepening my practice has been incredibly rewarding. My teacher here was trained under Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in India and she has been an amazing resource to me in terms of pushing me to my limits physically while being supportive, and was a great body of knowledge during my pregnancy.

Remember this?

Anyway! She is starting some new classes and accepting new students, so drop her a line if you are interested: charlottek_au at yahoo dot com

Don't forget to tell her who sent you ;)

Exhausted!

  Ohhh man am I tired. Emotionally, as I said goodbye to yet another close friend this weekend... plus I'm about to cross the finish line of 10 days on my own with the Canadoca. Single moms, kudos to you. Wow!  (Mr. DRL has been away, returns tomorrow, can't wait!)  I also crossed another finish line earlier today - the Adidas Circuito das Estacaos 10 km run. That felt really good. So now, I curl up, I eat popcorn, I read, I rest. I write tomorrow.

The Good Life: Being a Kid in Rio

I plan to start a series on parks & playgrounds in this area - what they have to offer, where they are located...

The Canadoca and I have been doing some research on this, you know, going to the park and stuff.

It often occurs to me that she will look at her baby pictures and look not at her little tulip lips or deep blue eyes but at what's in the background and say, uh, mom, why did we leave? I want to go back! And likely the saudade will set in for me too...

Because when you have this view from the window in the playhouse at Baixo Bebe, why would you want to leave?

 

Baixo Bebe is a kiosk with fantastic toys for kids and a change area, located between Postsos 11 & 12 in Leblon on the beach.

2009 Expat Survey Results: Activity Levels

So we covered food, and now that it's January, it's on everyone's mind... being active! I asked the survey participants a few questions about keeping active in Rio.

Specifically...

Do you participate in more physical activity and sport than you did before moving to Rio?

47% responded "YES"

12% responded "NO"

41% responded "Same as Before"

I then asked what the scale had to say.

The majority of respondents, 56%, report that they've maintained the same weight as they were before moving to Rio.

26% of respondents reported gaining weight, while 18% have lost weight since moving here.

My comment: there are a TON of not-so-healthy temptations here in Rio (mostly fried stuff and desserts) and it is all readily available on the street. That said, the food is generally not as processed here, and it is just as easy to eat healthy foods especially with the wide variety of amazing fruits and vegetables. Being active is easy here too, with so many places to walk and such a variety of fun activities. Also- obviously as I've disclosed a lot of my respondents are trailing spouses or expat wives - both of which have a lot of time to eat or exercise. Personally I do a lot of both!!! Mr. DRL definitely exercises more here in Brazil, but has apparently put on a few kilos since moving here...

Update on the SHRED

About a month ago I wrote about doing the 30 Day Shred video by Jillian Michaels.

My postpartum weight loss is going a bit more slowly than I would have anticipated but I definitely recommend this video. I've lost a few inches on my waist and feel a lot stronger/tighter everywhere, and it is rewarding to do the video and see the increase in endurance. I have lost over 5 lbs, and feel my muscle tone has increased quite a bit. More of my pre-pregnancy clothing fits every week. Most importantly in my books was getting back into my Rock & Republic jeans, which I managed to do this week. I did a victory dance that scared the crap out of Canadoca when I got those babies zipped up (apparently she hadn't before seen me so crazy-excited).  I realize that after a baby some of the weight loss is just hormone related as well, and that if I keep working hard and give it some time, it will eventually come off!

I did not do the shred every day (though in the beginning I did it for about 15 days straight) then every few days after that as I did other activities. I find that the repetitive lunges and squats with the SHRED were a bit hard on my hip, which is a bit of an old problem area for me. So I rested it a bit and am now modifying a few of the exercises and adding more stretches.

A favorite website of mine for tracking weight loss, calories consumed (along with other dietary details), etc. is SPARKPEOPLE. Check it out!

The Magic Mountain Man

One of my friends lives in Lagoa, sort of across from Ipanema, in a building that backs onto a mountain. From her apartment, the views are spectacular, a view of Christo from nearly every room, the beautiful lake, the ocean off in the distance, and Dois Irmaos. She hosted my baby shower when Canadoca was born and my mom and sister still  mention the views on a regular basis.

However, as I've mentioned once or twice before, one never knows quite what to expect in Rio. The views she has the opportunity to take in are not limited to these panoramic scenes.

One day, she was looking out the window towards the mountain and she saw a man. Er, maybe I should mention that he was NAKED. At the time, she thought he may have hung himself in fact, but it turned out he was just doing some sort of yoga pose or exercise.

Knowing that it would be difficult for people to picture this naked mountain man, she decided to document the experience.

I thought about blurrinng these photos in select places but then decided that it would be best to show the mountain man in his true form. You know, maintain some sort of "journalistic integrity". Consider this your warning that there is FULL FRONTAL male nudity below.

 

It wouldn't be the last time she saw the mountain man. He reappears every once in a while, showing off his moves (he exercises in the nude on the mountain). My friend who sees the mountain man speculates that he does have to pick and choose which times of year to appear, as he wouldn't want to get a, well, sunburn...

So after hearing about this mountain man for over a year we were all quite tickled to see that he'd made the paper:

 

The article calls him the hermit of the lake, claims he lives alone in a cave, climbs trees to pick fruit, and is disconnected when spoken to (talks about God and the Devil).

Pera, anyone?

Pera = pear in Portuguese.

But this post is not about fruit, rather about body types and body image.

You have to hand it to the Brazilians - to generalize, they are incredibly laid back and accepting people. Internationally, the women have the reputation of being the most beautiful in the world and TALL (??) In reality there are as many beautiful people here as there are elsewhere, and literally every one of our visitors is surprised to find that your average Brazilian woman is quite short, and pear shaped. Or should I say - Pear shaped & Proud of it!

Back home, being pear shaped is not something one strives for. (Most prefer an hourglass). It's not seen as being a desirable body type. Here, there are special exercises at the gym that women do to beef up their bums and thighs. Back home, a pear shaped woman would be encouraged to wear a-line skirts. Here they wear a little belt to accent their waist and upper body, and the most skin tight bottoms they can to make their bundas look even bigger. After over a year, I am still not quite used to it.

That said, I think the more accepting Brazilian attitude towards body image is refreshing and much healthier. If I could pass just one "Brazilian" lesson on to my little Brasileira (Canadoca), I hope that's it!

Shredding

So... Canadoca is now more than 10 weeks old, and officially weighs more pounds than I've lost since her birth. Although I realize that there is "no rush" and "it took 9 months to put on" and "it might take a year" and "breastfeeding makes you hang on to some fat" .......I'm just not a very patient girl.

So what's a new mom to do?

Well I walk a lot. Go to the gym occasionally, and Mr. DRL and I sort of swap off taking care of Canadoca.  I haven't returned to my ashtanga practice yet as our schedule is just not regulated enough yet.

11 days ago I started the "30 Day Shred" - an intense workout video that takes just 30 minutes per day. A highschool friend recently had a baby and used it to get back in shape - she was back in her pre-pregnancy clothing within 14 days of starting the shred, and only did level 1 (there are 3 levels). I've managed to do it every day for 11 days and notice a huge difference in my endurance and how my clothes are fitting (I am fitting into my size 8 pants now. Which is great except that most of my stuff is more like size 6 but hey this is progress!!!)

The video is tough but as the trainer Jillian Michaels says, if you are only going to work out for 30 minutes, you have to make every minute count.  I will do a weigh in/measurement update after day 15...

 

Work it! Part 2

These socks are VERY popular amongst women in Rio gyms.  My theory on the socks is that they are worn because it is very popular to do leg exercises with these special weights strapped to one's legs here.  But maybe they are fashionable here...

Or maybe their calves and ankles get cold? Any other theories?

They sell them at my gym - I'm thinking I will have to get some as a souvenir...

Boot Camp in Rio

I post about food a lot. There is also a phenomenon called the "expat 20" - so what does an expat do to rid oneself of excess weight, post-baby or otherwise? Well, there's always the option of working out...

Although I have not tried it myself, as Canadoca is far from being on any sort of predictable schedule, there is a fairly new bootcamp class in Rio. I have quite a few friends and acquaintances who have taken part and all sort of say the same thing - it is all simple stuff you can easily do on your own - except for the fact that most people will not work out nearly as hard on their own (myself included!). Sounds great - not intimidating but rather, motivating.

There are classes in Leblon and also on the Lagoa. Check out the website here. I am not sure if there is an option for those in Rio for just a week or two, but it's worth an inquiry!

Bikers, Beware

Sadly, I must inform you of two incidents that happened to friends of mine in the past week.

One friend was riding her new bike (which may have made her a target) in the morning along the beach in Leblon. She stopped to cross the street, and a fellow came up to her and tried to grab her bike away.  She resisted a bit, and a couple who were walking nearby also came to her aid, they scared the guy off.

Another friend was riding her bike at 9:30 in the morning along the Lagoa, when a man sitting on a park bench jumped up suddenly, and stole her bike, knocking her to the ground. She was shaken up but not injured, thank goodness.

In both cases I am very glad that it was not worse, obviously, but it is still sad that this has happened. I will be much more careful on my bike... not that these women weren't being careful! I don't really think that there is anything they could have done to prevent these incidents, besides staying at home, and that's no fun.

So bikers, be aware!

As an aside, it seems as though many incidents in this area that I have been hearing of, have been happening around 9:30 in the morning, a time of day when I probably feel safest (and obviously shouldn't!).

Skating in Barra?

Although we'd shopped at Barra Gardens before, and heard of this legendary ice rink in Rio de Janeiro, we hadn't yet seen it for ourselves.  Two weekends ago, we headed to Barra to do some errands and made a quick pit-stop, as we wanted to see ice skating in Rio for ourselves!

We immediately felt right at home when we saw the Vancouver Canucks jersey in some advertising on the wall...
Mr. DRL had been excited about the prospect of perhaps picking up a game or two of pickup beer-league hockey here in Rio.  However, when we saw the PILLARS in the middle of the rink, we were both less enthused about this concept...
  I mean, look what happened to poor Frosty's face...

There were a number of Brazilian adults & children out there having the time of their lives on that half-melted ice in their plastic skates, many wearing outfits I'd not ever seen in an ice arena, such as dresses and tank tops! What a great way to cool off on a hot day. But now we know... yes, there is skating in Rio.  There is an arena.  Just in case anyone else was wondering...

Muscle Beach

I've been meaning to post about this for awhile!

Muscle Beach has set up in Rio for 3 months - the "summer" - is free of charge, offers lots of classes!  To use the facilities you do have to register and it is open to tourists as well, but what I don't know is whether or not it is still open to registration.  Anyway there are a lot of outdoor "gyms" in Rio along the beach but this one is certainly the most state of the art I've seen, apparently there is also one in Barra.

To read more about Amil's Muscle Beach on Ipanema or Barra beaches, click here.

Here is the class schedule for the one in Ipanema:
 

Brazil's Golf Destinations

Although golf is not huge in Brazil the way it is back home, they are working on it! There is even a Department of Golf within the Brazilian government's tourism agency.  there are a number of destinations for golf here that I'd noticed - Sao Conrado's Gavea club here in Rio for one, Buzios, Petropolis and Iguassu also have courses. 

Supposedly Bahia has some of Brazil's best - one hour north of Salvador is Mata de Sao Joao, home to Costa do Sauipe Golf Links, which features ocean views, and carts, which are rare here.

Further (a 30 minute flight from Salvador), is the Camandatuba Ocean Course, on Comandatuba Island.

Nick Faldo has a project in the works in Brazil as well.

At the gym...

Observations and spottings...

Man speaking what I will call "Jockiguese" - Portugese with a heavy "jock" accent.  Think grunting, deep, almost fake sounding voice... loved it.

My hero - a woman in I would say her early 60's, gorgeous figure and very natural looking - which I hope was just from a life of taking good care of herself but let's face it it's possible she's had some work done, but I suspect not - wearing a grey unitard, yes with leg warmers, and working her butt off in our very difficult exercise class.  Again, just would like to publicly state that she one of my new heroes.

Kite Surfing

So we've decided we must try kite surfing.  Being from Canada (and being that it is now summer there) I must admit there are moments when I would love to jump in an ice cold clean Canadian lake.  We love our watersports - waterskiing, wakeboarding, scuba diving, etc. 

I think the conditions must have been perfect for kite boarding or kite surfing yesterday - a strong steady breeze yet fairly small waves.  There were dozens of them out in Ipanema and I don't know how they managed to not collide when we were watching.... It looks like so much fun. And a good workout.

Here's a link to some kiteboarding schools in case you are interested.

Finding a Country Club in Rio de Janeiro

Country Clubs of Rio de Janeiro

We spent a good chunk of time checking out potential country and leisure clubs in Rio upon our arrival. 
Hopefully my synopsis of what we found will help some of you!

Remember: Many of these clubs have packages for foreigners living in Rio for a few years.  Also, negotiate - the transfer/initiation fees can be waived and monthly dues can be negotiated.

Have fun!

(In Alphabetical Order)

Clube dos Caicaras
Upside: Beautiful pools, facilities and tennis courts.
Downside: expensive, and you have to buy a share to get in.
Details
Initiation fee: R$20,000 transfer fee + R$80,000 per share (which you could sell if you wanted to) plus monthly fees.
Address:  Av. Epitácio Pessoa - Lagoa
Web site: http://www.caicaras.com.brh
Swimming: YES - Beautiful pools
Yoga: Not that I could find...
Tennis: YES
Fitness Classes: YES
Spa: Not that I could find...
Childcare: Not that I could find...

Club Navale
Although we did find a 'contact of a contact' who could provide us with the requisite referral at Club Naval, we ended up choosing another club before we had an opportunity to tour it.
But it seemed great!
Details
Monthly/annual dues: R$190 plus an initiation fee plus fees for dependants/spouses.
Address: Av. Borges de Medeiros 2364 (Located on the Lagoa)
Web site: http://www.piraque.org.br/default.asp
Phone Number: (21) 3077-6000
Swimming: YES
Yoga: Not that I could find...
Tennis: YES
Fitness Classes:
Spa: Not that I could find...
Childcare: Not that I could find...
Social: Happy hours, churrascarias, socials, artists, cinema, teatro

Estacao do Corpo
Upside: Beautiful facility, personal trainers, classes, good vibe. But, not so much of a club as a glorified gym, although according to the New York Times, "This may be the greatest gym on earth"...
Downside: No tennis or formal social activities.
Details
Annual dues:  Approximately  R$3,500 per person per year including initiation fee. 
Address: Av Borges de Medeiros, 1426, Lagoa
Web site: http://www.estacaodocorpo.com.br
Phone Number: (21) 2108-3902
Swimming: Yes
Yoga: Yes
Tennis: NO
Fitness Classes: Yes
Spa: Yes
Childcare: Yes

Flamengo Clube
Upside: Lots of huge pools, great for swimming.  Super cheap.
Downside: Outdated, crowded, not very nice.
Details
Monthly dues: About R$200 per person
Swimming: YES
Yoga: Not that I could find...
Tennis: NO

LOB
This club is tennis-only. But a good complement to a place like Estacao do Corpo or a gym like Proforma which do not have tennis.
Details
Monthly/annual dues:  Honestly it is confusing to me... check out the site!
Address:  Rua Stefan Zweig, 290 Laranjeiras
Web site: www.lob.com.br
Phone Number: (21) 2225-0329

Paissandu Atletico Clube
Upside: Cheap by Rio Country Club Standards, and easy to get in.
Downside: We did not really like this club.  The pool and facilities were quite outdated and the workout rooms as well.  It seems like it's an escape from apartment living for people with kids, an opportunity to get some green space and that's about it. They were serving a Sunday brunch when we toured it and it did not look too appetizing either... But I think my opinion would probably be different if I had kids. It just did not really appeal to our demographic.
Details
Initiation fee:  R$20,000
Monthly/annual dues: $R225 per month + R25 per dependant
Web site: http://www.paissandu.net/
Phone Number: (21) 2512-8858
Facilities: Squash Courts, Games Room, Lawn Bowling. 
Swimming: YES
Yoga: Not that I could find...
Tennis: YES
Fitness Classes: Not that I could find...
Spa: Massage, etc.
Childcare: YES

Rio de Janeiro Country Club
Located in Ipanema on the beach front on the corner of Henrique Dumont... Despite our efforts (ok not much effort, just stopped in one day) we needed a referral to even get a tour of this club.

More on Food

Wow I really do feel like an expat housewife, with all this talk about food and home/decorating... I promise that once we are settled my topics will become much more diverse - believe me I already have many in mind...

To continue my study of the mystery of the hot Brazilian body and the, er, diet...  truth be told I do believe people here eat a lot of fresh fruit and veggies and far less processed foods than in other regions.  Which is great.  But they also eat...
Rodizio....
Everything.

Rodizio directly translated means "rotation" - to me, it means "all you can eat"..

The very Brazilian thing to do is to go to a churrascaria, where a multitude of meat is served right off the cooking skewer and can include:
- Picanha (save room for this, it is the BEST)
- Filet mignon
- Sirloin steak
- Ribs
- Sausages
- Various chicken dishes

Churrascaria's have amazing salad bar/buffets.  The meat, however, comes around to you right at the table. We did the churrascaria thing on Saturday night at Marius (I am impressed the web site for Marius is actually quite good! Even has a virtual tour...) in Leme.  After walking there from Ipanema we felt slightly less guilty about the gluttony... it was good that's for sure.  The desserts are amazing there too... and of course buffet again.

It seems as though all you can eat or buffet is just the Brazilian way, everywhere you go you see Rodizio Pizza places, Sushi places, you name it.

It makes it a challenge to eat moderate portions, a lesson in will power if nothing else!  From an outsider's point of view it seems as though the Brazilians love to indulge... however, to look at them (some more than others!) they obviously have some sort of limits as well.

Beautiful Bodies with That Diet?

Living in Ipanema has its benefits.  Close to the beach and shopping (although all I have done so far is window shop... more on that soon), grocery stores, restaurants, cafe's. Apparently it is also where a lot of the models tend to live.  Every day I see amazingly beautiful women.

Brazil is home to the "sexiest people alive" - I am not sure who coined the phrase but I have seen this written several times...

And I would love to tell you what their secrets are... but I can't figure it out.  Especially when it comes to DIET.

Brazil has an obsession with the Baked Good.  Every four stores or so (in my hood, anyway), there are juice/bakery stands with savory baked good snacks. They are called salgados, or if they are very small, salgadinhos. I don't care to reinvent the wheel when in this case a very eloquent description of such baked goods has been put together by the lovely RioGringa of Adventures of A Gringa in Rio.  Besides, I could not tell you what each of these baked goods are like because I have not  yet tried them all!

In the photo: pao de queijo, or bread of cheese, which are little cheese balls inside of bread. Very popular.

To be fair, I don't see the models eating this stuff.  But everyone else does! None of these baked goods seem to have any fibre either and I find it hard to find whole grain bread here, though the grocery stores have it. The bakeries, not so much. But I guess the Brazilians make up for the lack of fibre in this area of their diet in other ways, namely...

Feijoada, the rice and beans dish that Brazilians typically eat every day for lunch. Often served with  accompaniments  such as salad, french fries and your choice of meat.  So rest assured Brazilians get their fibre (unlike 80% of North Americans) which certainly could contribute to their smokin'-bodi-ness. (Most weight loss programs encourage upping fibre intake).

And finally, what do I see these models trotting up and down the street eating on a daily basis (and every day I swear I am going to join them but I think I need to wait until I look like that BEFORE I engage in this next activity...) Eating ice cream for goodness sakes!  Sorvettes as they are called here, little ice cream cones. Now, recently I have been reading about the benefit of ingesting a high-calcium snack immediately after working out (apparently it helps your body to rid itself of more fat) but these girls don't look like they just went for a work out, rather that they just closed a big deal with Ford Models. Maybe there's something to eating the ice cream while on the move?

So what have we learned here today? My theory is that the brilliant brazillian bunda is not likely the product of diet.  Rather, of lifestyle (walking miles upon miles every day), portion control and that key hit of fibre.  Maybe it's the acai? It's definitely not from those cheese filled fried pastries! And don't even get me started on the Rodizio... (coming soon)

March 13 - Yoga in Ipanema

I went and found a yoga class, really not a big deal to take it in another language at all, though the instructor did speak English and so would say the odd thing to me in English which was cool because then I had really good personalized correction (if she was bothering to say it in English, it obviously pertained to me!)...

My review of Blyss Yoga in Ipanema - friendly but small, you will definitely want to bring your own yoga mat or buy one there.  It seems a yoga class is a yoga class, no matter where you are in the world.  Noticeable differences between home & this yoga studio in particular - the manner in which I was physically corrected - the Brazilians have a much different sense of personal space, and when they want you to move your tailbone back when you are in downward dog, oh they will get you there! Haha... oh and the brightly colored yoga gear as well, although Lululemon back home does have quite a few prints & bright colors (although these styles are often considered "garish" by Canadian standards and I often see them in the bargain bin...)

Anyway! Back to the Yoga... although it was okay at Blyss and the people were friendly, I don't think I will be back. There are a few other studios I'd like to try out and in the meantime, I have really been enjoying the Yogamazing podcast - try it out sometime, FREE on Itunes. A new class every week.  Love it. And then I just add to it. My headstand is getting really good...

I am still looking for a yoga class on the beach though, when in Rio, right?