One of the most popular forms of fitness these days is the one you can do at home, in your living room with your dog watching and judging. Oh the judging. How could I begin to talk about fads and trends in fitness without subjecting myself to the creepy world of workout DVDs?

A few weeks into my quest for the best workout, a workout buddy mentioned a machine called The Reformer. While describing its uses, I could not get the picture of an 18th-century torture device out of my mind. After expressing interest (and fear) towards it, our instructor decided to move our pilates workout onto The Reformer. Joy.

My second workout fad test! This week I decided to sign up for a spin class at Quad on King Street West. The lucky girl that I am, the class I wandered into happened to be high intensity with Marc. In addition to spinning like we're on a flat road, we'd also be climbing three hills. Fabulous. I explained to the instructor that I was new to the regime and he promised to let me take it easy. And then gently let me know that I had set up my handle bars backwards. Great start.