From Ballet to Triathlons

Superwoman is one of the things that comes to mind when you meet Jennifer Canty (27). A former ballet dancer turned triathlete, Jennifer has taken fitness to a whole new level.

What is your fitness journey?

I was a ballerina when I was about 6 years old. I quit when I was 16 after too many bad ankle injuries. Having such an athletic life as a kid, it was tough not having that life anymore. I started doing mountain biking, biking in the city or parks, but I didn’t have any rigorous sport routine like I had with ballet. I got fed up and decided I needed to have a specific goal. In January 2014, I settled on doing the May 2014 Spartan Race. Because I had this race to now work towards, I started looking for an app to track my training stats. It was cool seeing how much I was walking and it made me want to see if I could walk more. Before I knew it, I was signing up for a triathlon in September 2014. I felt I was improving so quickly for the Spartan Race that I wanted to do something more. So why not a triathlon?

Because I swim, run, and bike, I honestly use Argus to keep track of everything. The app helps me feel more accountable and helped make working out a habit for me. Through Argus, I saw my charts and how everything was getting better. My resting heart rate went down to 41. I was able to see right in front of me how the more I did, the better I got. By the time August arrived, I could run massive distances. I was doing 400,000 steps a month.

I got so addicted to working out that I was also doing 5Ks throughout the year, even before the triathlon. After the triathlon, I did another 5K in October. Unfortunately, I got injured and had to go to the hospital for an MRI. It turned out I had stress fractures in my foot. I did too much much too quickly. It took a while for me to recover after that.

I had to wait till December before I could start working out on my feet again. During that time, I took up rowing, which allowed me to not put too much stress on my foot. I could just sit and row.

By December, I gradually went back into my old routine. For the past couple of months, I got back into swimming and everything else. I ended up signing up for a triathlon this year in May. I completed my second sprint triathlon in 1:54:57 against all odds. It was a very cold and windy day and I fell off my bike, but even though I couldn’t feel my frozen feet from the time I got out the water, I had decided I would complete the race and that’s what I did. This event just went to show how mental toughness and determination are what really allow us to reach our goals. You can do anything you put your mind to. I learned a lot from this race and I will be better prepared for the next one in July.

What is your typical fitness routine?

I normally go to the gym twice a day, 6 days a week. I get up at 6 a.m. and hit the pool by 7 a.m. for an hour of swimming. I like to do brick training where I do 2 sports, one after the other. For example, I’ll get out of the pool and quickly go do spinning or I’ll get right on the treadmill and run. I’ll also do some weightlifting, but not every day.

After working out in the morning, I’ll go back to the gym later in the evening around 5:30 p.m. and stay there till 7 to do a spinning class and run again. Normally I take Mondays off and do yoga. I don’t do complete rest days. I do recovery training so either yoga or lots of walking (to keep the muscles in my legs working).

Though I train 6 days a week, not every day is the same intensity. I have to plan out my workouts carefully because I don’t want to overtrain. I build up my workouts in stages to get ready for my events. I look at the first event I have and then plan in phases.

What motivates you to stay fit?

I just want to be the best version of myself as I can be. Every time I see myself improving, it pushes me to do more. I have to constantly be pushing myself. If I have a goal to look forward to, I push for that. It makes me a positive person. I don’t like getting up early, but once I’m in the water, it all goes away. I’m building my own discipline. My thinking is why wait till tomorrow, when I can do it today. It’s not getting easier tomorrow. I’m still young now. There’s still hope now. If I did it later in my life, it would be harder. I better get started now.

How do you fit working out in your life?

I’m currently in school so I work around that. During the week, I focus on my brick training and I don’t think about transitioning. On the weekends, I’ll do a bigger block of training. I’ll do a 3 hour bike outing. I’ll go for a longer run. I’ll plan it out more. I also prefer to be outdoors. It me to practice transitioning from one sport to the next.

I take the weekends to play with sports drinks, water, sports gels. I spend more time on technical aspects of working out on the weekend.

What are your health/fitness plans for the future?

Ideally, I would like to do my first olympic triathlon (which involves a 1.5 km swim, followed by 40 km bike, and 10 km run). That’s my ultimate goal for the end of the season in September. Because I’m so addicted, I eventually want to do the Ironman in 2 years, 3 years max.

How long have you been using Argus?

I’ve been using Argus since January 2014 when I was looking for a tracking app for steps. I saw Argus and I tried it out. I thought it was so cool and I loved the look. I don’t have a lot of friends because I moved around so much. So it’s been cool having this little team of people cheering for me on Argus. I get so much great feedback from the community and it just pushes me. I love how Argus integrates with my polar watch, which I use for my training. This allows me to see a summary of everything I do in Argus. Nothing is redundant. Everything works together.

What are the top 3 things you track using Argus?

I use Argus to get the big picture. I really focus on walking/steps. I like to make sure I’m drinking enough water. I also like to track my food and sleep.

What advice do you have for new users of Argus?

Set goals on Argus. Have one specific goal and then build on that. Look at your charts and watch how you improve. Set a goal for steps, water, and sleep. Start by tracking those things and slowly build up the rest. Don’t take on too much or you’ll get discouraged. Keep it simple. It’ll eventually become a habit.

Let it take the time it needs. If you miss a day and you don’t get your goal, try the next day. Also take advantage of the Argus community. If you need positivity in your life, Argus is the greatest thing. It’s such a positive environment. Make friends, follow people, see what they’re doing, and interact. Doing this will encourage you to build on your goals.