The Renaissance Trainer!

Summertime and the Livin' is .....easy!

2010-07-15T06:49:00.000-07:00

Boy has it been HOT lately! Wow. Summer is really here. I love it.

When I am at Bayfront at 5:30am with my Adventure Boot Camp ladies it is already warming up for the day. It really is a glorious time of year. This morning, we did the Dundurn Stairs for about 30 minutes before hitting the Stability Balls in The Studio for core work. Great way to start the day.

It can, however, be tough to keep your fitness efforts going during this time of year. The heat, the humidity........ and the BBQs! It IS a challenge to stay lean and fit. What I tell all of my clients (and what I do myself), is to "Do the best you can.... in the place that you are.". Do your best. You can't do anymore than that.

Also, if you pick long term goals that are spread throughout the year, you can DECIDE to make summer a time of recovery, regeneration and growth... as long as it is part of your overall plan. There is a time and a place for everything. If you are planning to do something significant in the fall, then do your absolute best to maintain your fitness level during the summer, recover from any nagging injuries and get ready to rock in the fall.

....and enjoy yourself! Before you know it, the sweaters will be coming out again.

Joy and Pain.... the Rollercoaster

2010-05-26T12:50:00.001-07:00

Boy, the last few weeks have been intense. Life is never static and we have experienced some real highs as well as some trying times.

First off, we were saddened by news that we got from our trainer Rich Menna that he and his wife suffered a personal family tragedy. Our hearts go out to them. They are fighters, survivors and they will endure. We're with you Rich and Ashley.

Next, we are all so proud of our partner Adam Higson, (All Canadian Fitness Personal Trainer) who has coached his THIRD Kickboxer to a title in the last couple of years. Adam performs miracles in his private fighting gym Phoenix Fight Club...... just like he does with his ACF clients.

On a personal note, one of my personal heroes/ icons left us this month. Legendary singer Ronnie James Dio died of stomach cancer at 67 in April. While I didn't know RJD, I must have spent at least 10 000 hours listening to his music from Rainbow to Black Sabbath to Dio. I have run, biked, trained and partied with Ronnie since I was 13 years old. Hears to you Ronnie!

The Stanley Cup playoffs have been AWESOME! What a run the Montreal Canadiens have had. NOBODY expected them to even get into the playoffs and they ended up knocking off the top team in the league as well as the defending Stanley Cup champs. Way to go boys.

...and finally, tonight I am going to my daughter's dance recital! She is so excited and will be awesome! Jazz and Acro. It will be worth sitting through the FORTY other acts to see her! :)

All of this is fitness. Remember.............Fitness is Life!

Two GREAT Products

2010-05-02T16:56:00.000-07:00

What a great mountain bike ride this morning! 2 hours on the trails and the road is like 3 hours of meditating. My head is clear and I am feeling fatigued, but, energized at the same time. If you are hauling your bike out at this time of year and looking for an edge, you really have to try this incredible product that I swear by.

Pedro's ICE WAX. An all in one chain lubricant and cleaner. No squeaking chains or gears and any winter rust will be gone as you ride. It really makes you feel like the wind as you shift gears that much easier. Believe it or not, the ride becomes more fun.

Another, totally unrelated, great product that I found today was at Metro. Life- Smart Whole Wheat Couscous! Finally! I love couscous with meat and veggies, but, didn't like eating white flour. So..........here it is:

This 'n That

2010-04-24T05:56:00.000-07:00

It's been too long since my last Blog! In my case that's a good thing. I have been sooo busy with so many things that I just haven't had the time. A lame excuse I know, but, here goes....

The weather is beyond amazing and that excites me because it is time to get back on my mountain bike and back on the trails! Sunday morning, I'm out the door. We're lucky around Hamilton that we have so many trails in and around the city. Can't wait.

Around the Studio, we have experienced some real successes lately. Adam has a client that has lost 15 pounds in about 8 weeks! He pushes hard and the clients that buy into it and go along for the ride experience AMAZING results. Adam is also working with a client that is about to go over the 100lb. weight loss mark. Wow.

Rich has a client that has been out of work for many months due to TWO knee injuries. As a letter carrier, she obviously needs to be able to walk and needs strong knees. Well..... she is now at the point that she is planning to return to work. Well done Rich!

Bryan has been TRANSFORMING a client for the past few months and has been training with him as a partner. They are within weeks of revealing the results. Believe me when I say that the results are nothing less than mind blowing.

So.... at this time of year, it is important to plan for "something". Get in shape for golf season, plan to be leaner and lighter in a bathing suit, lose the winter weight, be strong and agile for baseball season or pick a sport and actually train for that sport.

Summer is coming! The living is good. Kill your TV and get out there!

3-2-1...........Burn

2010-03-18T05:38:00.000-07:00

I did something recently that I almost NEVER do! I read one of those Supermarket / Celebrity magazines. It was a Fit and Famous issue and focussed on celebrities and their workout/ diet regimens. About 90% of it was fluff and junk written as an excuse to show hot pictures of Fergie, Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman!

One article, however, stood out. Ramona Braganza is a Hollywood trainer that specializes in working with actresses post-pregnancy that NEED to get into killer shape for movie roles. These women tend to be very busy and short of time, so they need a great, efficient workout that doesn't take up their entire day. Ramona created the 3-2-1 training method that incorporates 3 cardio sequences, 2 strength sequences and 1 core sequence into a single session.

I was intrigued and decided to try it with a couple of clients that I currently see who are ALWAYS pressed for time. I have to say, I like it! AND they are really feeling it. I love it as a "shake up" for a routine that may have become stale or for someone that has been overdoing the weights without enough cardio (because they HATE cardio!).

I am planning to use the 3-2-1 training method in my next Adventure Boot Camp for Women that starts on March 22nd on mondays, wednesdays and fridays. I am anticipating greater results next month then any other!

............spots are still available at http://www.adventurebootcamphamilton.com/

Green Life..... Eco- Friendly

2010-03-02T08:01:00.000-08:00

For a few weeks now we have been using a new CANADIAN product called the GREENlife Eco- Friendly Exercise Balls. We LOVE using stability balls in almost all of our workouts. The GREENlife balls work great and as an added bonus, they are PVC free. This means that they are more environmentally friendly and less abrasive or irritating to those with skin sensitivities.

The balls take a little getting used to as they are a bit more "stiff" in feel (the PVC is what makes rubber pliable) then the other balls that we have been using. The stiffness gives you a little more of a stable feel as you pump them with more air.

We used them in a class setting today and everyone had a fantastic workout. It is amazing how much work you can do with a simple tool like a stability ball.

Here is the workout that we did which hit ALL major muscle groups.

Wall Squats
Crunches
Pushups
Back Extensions
Rollouts for the Lats and Abs
Lower Back Extensions
Jacknifes
Abdominal Ball "Passes"

Tough.... but effective. You can check out GREENlife here: http://www.GreenLifeBall.ca

Goals!

2010-01-28T18:27:00.000-08:00

At this time of year you hear over and over about how you should be setting goals. Not just any goals, but, SMART goals. Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timed goals.

BORING! Realistic? Are you kidding me? When it's dark, cold and dreary and you just don't want to eat another egg white or chicken breast, realistic will not get you out of bed, on the bike or in the gym.

Forget realistic. Dream BIG! Make your goals ridiculously huge and exciting. Make them MAKE you get up and at 'em.

Aim for the stars. You might end up on a mountain top.

Running for Haiti

2010-01-23T14:51:00.000-08:00

The events of the last couple of weeks have really shaken up everyone. Not to overstate the obvious, but, does it ever put things in perspective. When you lose your home and your family and you are literally scrounging for your next meal, nothing else matters. As Canadians, we have a responsibility to help as much as we can. We are proud to see so many rescue workers and Doctors head to Haiti from Canada and other places to help out.

One little thing that we are doing as a team is that we (All Canadian Fitness) will be running at Westdale High School at 9am on January 30th to raise funds to send to Haiti. Organized by the Runner's Den, come out and run either 5 or 10k and donate to the cause. No pledges.... just donations.

We hope to see thousands of you there.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T11:40:00.000-08:00

I want to wish everyone a healthy and prosperous New Year! 2009 was amazing in many ways, but, I am sooo excited about 2010 that I can't stand it.

We have set the bar very high at All Canadian Fitness and will be moving in many directions over the next 12 months.

Be healthy, happy and have fun.

We will!

Wii

2009-12-26T11:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay, I'm starting to "get it" a little bit. For the last couple of years I have been hearing about how Wii is going to start getting the population fit. I'm pretty old-school when it comes to exercising and eating right so I have been more than a little skeptical.

This Christmas I am at my sister-in law's house and they just received Wii fit for Christmas. After setting it up, I just had to try it. Hmmm..... my fitness age is 50, according to Wii Fit. I'm only 43 and very active and I consider myself "very fit". Mountain biking, running, hockey weights etc..... I tried boxing and..... holy crap........ was I winded. Okay, I'm starting to get it a bit.

After a while, I found myself having fun playing the different games with the family. Pretty cool. I am pretty hyper and sitting while playing loses me very quickly. Standing and moving around is a different story! I like it.

So..... long story short............. I'm starting to get it. Moving with the system is better than sitting on the couch. BUT I still can't see non-exercisers (or exercise haters) suddenly become workout people to the point of actually getting fit once the novelty wears off. I CAN see people who already move use it as another tool in their fitness box.

Maybe I'm wrong. We'll see.

Get it done!

2009-12-17T05:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas season is upon us! Lots of calories, lots of commitments and very little time to do anything for yourself or your health. What there IS time for, is a plan! PLAN to successfully naviagate the challenges of the season and stay fit, healthy and lean.

Before you head to a function where there will be LOTS of empty (but delicious calories), have a protein shake and/ or some almonds to take the edge off of your hunger. There is nothing worse than showing up at a party famished.

Another thing you could do is get a workout in BEFORE you go. If you've got anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes you can burn up to 500 calories, putting you in a deficite situation before you start loading up. Don't worry about whether it is the "perfect" workout, just do the best you can in the place where you are and GET MOVING!!!!

Here is what I did after Boot Camp this morning in the Soccerworld Dome.

10 minutes of Strides and Walking around the field.

15 minutes of pushups, single leg squats and tubing flyes.

5 minutes of wind sprints.

15 minutes of Upper Back tubing exercises and crunches.

5 minutes of wind sprints.

Great session!

Remember............ Do YOUR Best!

The Meaning of Fitness

2009-12-02T16:12:00.000-08:00

Hey all, I just looked at the calendar and realized that it has been one whole month since my last blog! Not good enough....

So I was thinking of how much has happened in the last month.

Hockey season has started for both me and my son. My daughter is in full swing with karate and with dancing and the Studio at All Canadian Fitness is rocking off the ground some days! The amazing team of professionals is really hitting on all cylinders. Never before have we had such great client success.

My wife Liesa and I also spent some time studying (!) in Florida with an exceptional group of personal trainers from around North America.

In the next week or so, we will begin painting and renovating the NEW Studio within our building that will be home to our IMPACT classes as well as other group programs. REAL Astro Turf! Cool.

My band, Swimming to Vegas just played it's first gig with new singer Kim Beek! It was HUGE. This came late on a friday night after being up at 4:30am with Adventure Boot Camp!
.....which brings me to Adventure Boot Camp! What a cool program. Meeting up with as many as 40 women at 5:30am to just push it to the limit. Amazing. One of our campers has even lost 40lbs. since starting with us.

I have also continued writing for PFP (Professional Fitness Professional) Magazine and contributing to the Hamilton Spectator.

Phew.................... anyway, it really got me thinking that NONE of the above would be possible without my fitness. I NEVER let that go, no matter what is happening in my life.

THAT is the "true meaning of fitness".

THE Shot

2009-11-02T20:34:00.000-08:00

Well, today I went with my wife Liesa and two kids to get the H1N1 Flu Vaccine. Surprisingly, we only waited about 45 minutes to get the shot. My wife has MS and so it is considered urgent for her to get the shot. After weighing all of the pros and cons, we decided that we wanted to get the shot for our kids and for me as well.

There has been so much hype and so much mis-information about the vaccine, but, the bottom line is that I don't want to get sick and don't want my kids going through it either. It seems that this flu is different from what we have seen in the past. The youngest and healthiest are the ones getting hit the hardest.

All in all, I feel like we made the right decision.

Do what you think is right, but, don't get sucked into the whole hype thing and make up your mind based on sound advice and evidence. Listen to your doctor, do your homework and decide what is right for you.

It's THAT time of year!

2009-10-24T19:13:00.000-07:00

So I started coaching my son's hockey team again last weekend. I cannot believe the improvement that these kids make from week to week and then when you see them after a year of training and playing. My kid has gone from a first year wobbler to the biggest, fastest kid on the ice. He rocks. I swear this kid (6 years old) has more testosterone than me already!

I also went out to buy some new hockey equipment for myself as I will be back on ice in about a week or so. Can't wait! There's just something about hockey. It's in the blood of most Canadians and growing up on the outdoor rinks in Montreal was just a magical experience for me.

In preparation, I have been doing IMPACT workouts (Intense Mixed Performance Accelerated Cross Training )at the NEW studio. These workouts are really, really cool and challenge in ways that are quite different from just "working out" or "training hard". The main thing that will have massive carryover to athletics and to the real world is the amount of SAQ (speed, agility and quickness) that are part of every workout.

For example, try this as part of your warmup; do about 5- 10 minutes of side shuffling between cones, high knee running, crossover running and "suicides" with cone touches and you will see what I mean.

Tomorrow we are back on the ice for the second practice of the weekend.

Oh yeah...........the Habs won in overtime tonight! Yeah.

IMPACT

2009-10-12T19:53:00.001-07:00

You may have read or heard me speaking about IMPACT. It is a new program that I will be running starting Winter 09/ 10. IMPACT stands for Intense Mixed Performance Accelerated Cross Training. It is a unique mix of speed, agility, quickness drills. Strength training, endurance training and stretching. Very cool stuff. Everything from skipping to bodyweight exercises to SUICIDES!

I did the first lower body workout today to practice and, let me tell you, my legs were wobbly for most of the day. It was really fun as well.

Small group setting, awesome tunes, cool people, great vibe. It's IMPACT.

You've been warned.

You CAN work out anywhere

2009-10-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a great workout that I did this weekend.

My car window had been broken and needed to be repaired. So what I did was, I drove to the local Saturn dealer and dropped my car off. Rather than get a ride home, I jogged and powerwalked. I also brought a piece of resistance tubing that I tied around my waist.

The walk/ jog home is about 40 minutes. What I did about half-way home was I stopped at a park and did:

20 pushups

20 single leg squats

20 resistance tubing rows for each arm

20 arm curls

20 bench dips

I repeated the whole thing 4 times and then carried on.

I was pumped, felt great and killed two birds with one stone (btw: I hate that expression).

You can ALWAYS get some exercise in. No excuses.........

It's on....

2009-09-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

After witnessing our amazing Train the Trainer event the other night I am officially "in training" for Part 2 which will be in about a month! Bryan, Sheila and even alumni- Matteo Tino were awesome last thursday and never, ever gave in. Nice.

I am recovering from a back injury that lasted about 7 weeks so I am weak and not very fit. I am now also pain-free, so it is time to get rocking.

In about 1 month, Roger, Adam and myself will be subjected to Train the Trainer 2009 Part 2.

Look for it on youtube.

btw: you can see some videos from Part 1 here: www.youtube.com/user/AllCanadianFitness#play/uploads

Ch...ch....ch....anges!

2009-09-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well, today is Black Wednesday at The Studio. One of our most popular trainers (ever) has decided to hit the road and move to BC. It's only the most beautiful place in the world, I get it.....but STILL!

If you haven't heard yet, Sheila has just completed her last day at All Canadian Fitness (ever?). It goes without saying that we'll miss her. Boy are we going to miss her! In 3 years, she has gone from a brand new rookie trainer to one of the top fitness pros in the City (bar none) to a recruiter and trainer of trainers as well as a coporate fitness trainer and she has also been my faithful side-kick on many occasions on televison and radio (as well as on stage believe it or not)and she is my personal editor for the fitness columns that I write (by the way, it's pretty cool having your very own "editor").

Sheila has touched countless lives in her three years with us. She has become part of our extended family and she will be missed. Without a doubt, she will be successful at whatever it is she chooses to do out west. Good luck to a colleague, a true professional and a very dear friend.

(I just realized that the last part sounds like a eulogy! So, here is a photo from the archives from when Sheila and I performed together one night at a local bar........ did I mention that you are leaving the BEST JOB EVER, Ms. Fung?)

Top 10 Fitness Heroes!

2009-09-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

I have been involved in Sports and Fitness for a long, long time. My first year of organized sports was 1973, which is 36 years ago. Wow. I was recently thinking of all of the people that have influenced me along to way to pro football and now to fitness professional and business owner. So here goes my Top 10 Fitness Heroes who influenced me to get where I am today.

1. Arnold Schwarzenegger- A no-brainer. My background is Austrian and my dad gave me "Education of a Bodybuilder" when I was 14. To say it was life-altering would be an understatement.
2. Bobby Orr- When I first started playing hockey, he was in his prime. Even though he wasn't a Hab, he was the greatest ever. I read the book "Orr on Ice" when I was 7 and Bobby was shown LIFTING WEIGHTS in it.... in 1973!
3. My mom- My mom's favourite saying when we were growing up "You CAN....and you WILL!". Turning 80 soon, and she STILL hikes weekly on the bruce trail.
4. Douglas Brooks- Early in my personal training career, I met Doug at a lecture that he was giving and was so impressed with his ability to present material in a professional way that it showed me that I COULD be a pro at something I love. This was before email and Doug actually corresponded with me from California by WRITING! Wow.
5. Phil Kaplan- The "Master". When I became exposed to Phil's writing and teaching, it was like a cloud had parted and everything that I had done in 10 years as a fitness pro seemed like nursery school. The biggest influence on me since reading about Arnold 25 years earlier. Check him out at http://www.philkaplan.com/
6. JC Santana- I didn't even know what functional training was until I studied JC. Now that is the ONLY way that we train. Getting to know JC has been an honour and truly inspiring.
7. Walter Payton- Perhaps the hardest training athlete ever. This guy was class personified and he proved that you could be a really nice guy and absolutely demolish your opponents on the field of play.
8. Lance Armstrong- The HARDEST working and most inspiring athlete of all time! Not much to say about Lance except that I was just discovering my new favourite sport (cycling) as he was racking up Tour de France victories.
9. Monica Seles- Could YOU come back to pro sports after getting stabbed in the back (literally)? Monica is so mentally strong it's crazy.
10. Russ Riederer- Last,but certainly not least. My strength coach from Purdue University. Russ not only trained us, he trained WITH us. He wouldn't ask you to do anything that he would do himself. He looked sort of like Sgt. Rock and he went on to coach the Chicago Bears for 15 years!

Questions are the Answer

2009-09-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

If you have ever been faced with adversity, you will know how frustrating it can be and how it feels like NOTHING is going your way......and everything stinks! Your whole focus is on the source of your adversity and it becomes your reality.

If you are human, then you have been in the above situation.

The cool thing is that you CAN control your focus! You can use a simple tool to make you FEEL better, more positive and ultimately in control. This tool is the QUESTION. When you ask a question, you cannot avoid the answer. When that happens, you have a new focus, you act differently and pretty soon you have a new reality.

The two POWER QUESTIONS that I teach people to use are:

1- What is GREAT about this situation? (It takes some practice to produce answers in this situation, but, they will come).

2- What can I do to make this situation better? (focusing on the solution, NOT, the problem).

Like anything, it gets easier and you will be better after some practice.

Ta- Dah!

2009-08-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, wow, wow.........happy days are here again!

I am actually pain-free again in my back! My chiropractor, Dr. Scott Stevenson, is a bloody genius. I know he is "just doing his job", but, man I couldn't even stand or walk more than 20 steps two weeks ago. I was on holidays this past week, driving, sleeping on couches, in hotel beds etc... and my back is fine.

Today I actually worked out to start getting ready for hockey season and....... I was fine.

The moral is that if you get injured and you then get treatment, and treatment advice.....DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!!! You really have to develop some OCD while you are hurt if you really want to get better. Scott asked me to stretch and strengthen AND ice FIVE TIMES per day. I followed his advice to the letter and Ta- Dah! I'm better.

For the record, I had a sprained facet joint in the lumbar region which caused a disc to bulge. It also caused the muscles in my hip to become extremely tight, causing more pain at the top of my butt and causing my leg to become numb. The treatment for this was to stretch the hip flexor and to perform pelvic tilts several times per day. I also used a sort of "wedge" to help stretch the muscles around the coccyx.

In the end, it worked. Thank you Dr. Stevenson.

As Seen on TV

2009-08-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

Well.... Sheila and I had a chance to do live television for an hour today. We were guests of the On The Line show on CTS, the Crossroads Television Service. It was really fun. What an amazing studio that they have in Burlington! Very impressive.

For an hour, we discussed fitness myths and misconceptions. We then got to take calls and it is really amazing that we still get the same types of questions, like, "Will Green Tea help me to lose weight?" Incredible.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record............. The answer is Synergy! Build and maintain muscle, eat supportively and perform aerobic exercise in moderate amounts. That's it. End of story.

(btw: Green Tea is very heathy and you should drink it, but, it won't help you lose weight).

Reaching Beyond Your "Threshold"

2009-08-08T06:22:00.001-07:00

Much has been said and written (including by me) about getting past fitness training "plateaus". The concept of the plateau assumes that at one time, you were actually moving in a positive direction and that you are now......."stuck". It is frustrating beyond belief if you are putting in a real effort.

But what about all those people that never hit a plateau because they never actually get moving! You won't run out of gas if you never drive your car!...............you'll also never see anything or enjoy your car either if you never drive it.

Health and fitness, along with diet and exercise, comes naturally to some and is very, very alien to others. If it all seems scary and unnerving to you to even make an attempt, then I would suggest that you have set your sights too high and you have passed your "threshold" for risk. Once you pass your threshold, you literally shut down and close yourself off even to the possibility that you can do something. Then the excuses and rationalizing start! Sound familiar?

I was a professional athlete and have remained in good health and have a high fitness level since retiring from football. I am active with mountain biking, hockey, running, weight training etc... In other words, I can do a lot! BUT if you approached me with the idea of completing a marathon (which many of my friends have done), I would be overwhelmed and would shut down. Based on my lifestyle, previous injuries and my expectations, it is simply beyond my threshold. I wouldn't do it. If you approached me with the idea of completing a mini run-bike- run duathlon..... I would create a plan and start moving. It is well within my physical and mental capacity to accept training and competing in a mini- duathlon. I would rock it and even try to win my age and weight category! It would be challenging enough, but, not outside of my threshold.

What could YOU accomplish if your mind and body were aligned to accept a challenge and you started to move in the direction of a dream-goal? A race? A tournament? A hiking trip in the Rockies? A bathing suit on the beach? A new relationship?.....

Think about it. There is overwhelm and frustration and then there is challenge and success.

Getting there....

2009-08-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

Well my back stopped getting worse! Big deal, eh? Today, though it actually felt "slightly" better. There was a bit more sharp pain, but, more mobility and less numbness in my shin. I am super-obsessive about icing and treatment, so I tend to heal faster than most people. I will do what I have to do (more lying around with ice bags watching football) and get on with it.

A couple of nights ago, I simply could not get comfortable and couldn't sleep at all. It got me thinking about people living with chronic pain and insomnia. It actually got me thinking about Michael Jackson and his addictions. One night of pain and no sleep sucked. I could absolutely see how someone becomes a drug addict if they are constantly hurting and lacking in rest.

Maybe the world shouldn't be so quick to judge.

Ouch....my back is KILLING ME!

2009-07-31T10:41:00.000-07:00

Boy, oh boy..... it is amazing how you take your health for granted when everything is going fine. I injured my back about two weeks ago and it hurt....then got better! ........and then got MUCH worse. For the last two days, it has been difficult to stand. Last night, I realized that my left leg was actually numb! Not good.

After Boot Camp this morning, I got in to see my chiropractor Dr. Scott Stevenson for an emergency session. He is amazing and brought me "some" relief. He suspects a bulging disc at the L-5 level and sent me for X-Rays. My fingers are crossed, hoping that it is nothing as serious as that. Looks like I will do alot of nothing besides icing this weekend.

At some point, I think that I will have to start thinking about "age appropriate" exercise and not try to compete with all my 20 and 30 something trainers!

Seriously, though, this injury has made me re-evaluate how I have been working out. After a lifetime of contact sports and high risk stuff like mountain biking, I will consider adding more stretching, stabilizing and recovery work to my routines.

Fingers crossed.

I LOVE My Bike!

2009-07-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

I went mountain biking yesterday for the first time this summer. The FIRST TIME!!!!! I have never waited this long into the summer months, but, life has been busy recently, I have been getting up earlier and earlier and my bike had a flat tire and, and, and...............

EXCUSES! Nothing but excuses.

My sunday morning "urban mountain biking" is like meditation and my week always goes more smoothly when I get it in. I highly recommend finding an activity that you can do on your own that requires solitude, focus and some exertion. There is just something about moving your body in rythm and breaking a sweat at the same time.

Next week.........I RIDE!

Eat This.............Get Lean!

2009-07-11T11:47:00.002-07:00

Whole Wheat Tilapia

Bake a piece of Tilapia for 10 minutes with your fave seasonings.

Wrap in a whole wheat tortilla with baby spinach, fet cheese, grape tomatoes, mandarin oranges and walnuts.

Yum.

Last day in Texas

2009-06-29T07:54:00.001-07:00

Wow, what a whirlwind...

It is monday morning in Dallas/ Fort Worth and my last day before flying home this afternoon to Hamilton. Since arriving on friday night, it has been pretty much non-stop studying, training, socializing and touring.

On saturday, I spent the day with 85 of the top Boot Camp instructors and Personal Trainers from around the States and Canada. While it was inspiring and enlightening, it was also TIRING! After attending lectures and workshops on things like heart rate monitoring, marketing, website development and program design, we spent 3 hours working out at Velocity, a high-performance training centre in Fort Worth. Let me tell you, when it is 105 degrees outside and you take 85 trainers through a workout, even with air conditioning, it gets to steaming pretty quick. Thank god for water.

On saturday, we visited the famous stockyards in Fort Worth where the modern cattle industry was started last century. It is like stepping back in time as most of the buildings from the cowboy era have been preserved and there are plenty of horses and long horned cattle wandering around as well as people dressed up in period clothes. Again it was about 105 degrees, so I just had to pick me up an ice cold "walking beer" (you can walk around drinking beer in Texas!). We visited the world-famous "Billy Bob's" which is a show bar big enough that they have a live bull riding ring inside of it! After a lunch of BBQ, we headed back to the hotel for a nap and then went for a stroll through our "neighbourhood".

I just finished a brief workout in the hotel's facility (pretty nice actually) and I am heading out for a swim. I am also debating whether to eat super healthy at breakfast today or to go for my favourite southern "cheat meal" of biscuits and sausage gravy. Pure fat, but, pure yum! (decisions, decisions).

Can't wait to get back to Hamilton

Big D is HOT!

2009-06-27T05:33:00.001-07:00

Hey Y'all! I just arrived in Dallas for a weekend training camp for Adventure Boot Camp. There are 85 of the top trainers, instructors and fitness business people from around the continent here for the weekend. It should prove to be very exciting and interesting. It is also going to be HOT. The high for today is 105 degrees. Wow.

This morning we have a breakast sponsored by Polar Heart Rate monitors and we will be doing workouts based on specific intensities measuring heart rates. While we have done this many times in the past with our personal training clients, it is something that we should be doing more of and I am excited to bring some new ideas back to our trainers.

Getting 85 trainers together for a weekend at a hotel is like witnessing an explosion of ideas where every one is trying to soak up as much info as possible to be able to take back to wherever they came from. I promise to bring back as many freaky, awesome ideas as possible.

It is the beginning of a long, exciting day....................stay tuned.

I'm so Tired!

2009-06-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

Well it's friday night and another loooong week of fitness n' fun is behind me. I have been getting up at 4:30 all week again to start Adventure B00t Camp at 5:30. It's AWESOME, I love it. BUT, man I'm tired tonight.

This morning, my number one, Adam Higson came to Bayfront Park to take my ladies through a rockin' Kickboxing workout. It never ceases to amaze me how Adam can pull a workout out of thin air and blow everyone away. The quintessential professional, you can ALWAYS depend on him. When he says he'll do something.....BAM, it's done. Thanks Adam.

Heading into the weekend, I like to kick back and plan out what we'll be doing for the next couple of days. I have two young children that play baseball, do karate, swim, dance and bike. The weekends are all about them. To be able to keep up with them, however, requires stamina and strength, so although it's all about them, I still like to be active and get some fitness in for myself on the weekend. Part for the body and also a BIG part for the mind. Blading, biking, some lifting. For me, it's like meditating. I always feel better afterwards.

Father's Day is on sunday which means I'll do a few minutes extra and a few more reps on in whatever workout I do. (I hear we're having deep fried turkey for dinner on sunday).

Deja Vu

2009-06-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

I had a really neat experience today. Roger Dunbrack, our newest All Canadian Fitness Certified Personal Trainer has been hired as the Strength Coach for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Today was the first day of weight training for the rookies in training camp at McMaster University. There are about 100 guys in camp, so Roger asked me to come help check form and help him make sure that the workout goes smoothly.

It has been 16 years since my last professional football training camp! Being back in that environment was so cool. It was also like having deja vu. One of the players trying out for the Cats is Dexter Manley II. Well, I played with Dexter Manley, the first. His DAD! Boy does that make you feel like the years are going by. One of my former teammates from Ottawa is now a coach with the Cats, so the whole thing felt very familiar and comfortable.

The other thing that I found really fascinating was how these young, fine tuned machines had some of the same motor pattern problems as the "regular" civilians that train at All Canadian Fitness! Some of the big guys were powerful and fit as anything, but, had NO core strength. Like I said, it was just........interesting.

I am hoping to be back at camp with Roger again later this week. I really enjoyed it!

My new Favourite Workout

2009-05-31T08:08:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks, I have started to get serious about Rollerblading of all things. I LOVE running, but, due to arthritis (and two meniscus) surgeries, I have been limiting my running to about once or twice per month.

What I am able to do pain-free is skate! I play hockey competitively and never feel any pain and never have any swelling after games. So...... I figured that 'blading would be the same.

My new routine is to strap 'em on saturday and/ or sunday mornings while the kids are watching cartoons and I go out for about 10- 15kms. Quite a workout considering part of the road I am 'blading on is uphill! The thing that really keeps me moving is my IPod which is quickly getting filled up (I will have over 25000 songs very soon).

The point is that, having limitations (in my case my knee) does not mean you have to STOP, just figure out a way "around" your limitation and don't stop.

Stay in shape........................because, you never know!

Amazing Women!

2009-05-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

This morning was the wrap-up of the second All Canadian Fitness- Adventure Boot Camp for Women. We did our testing of physical abilities as well as body measurements.

What an amazing group! Everyone got stronger, fitter and more toned. Some women were able to do things that they hadn't done in over 20 years, since they were High School students. Walkers were able to run and then SPRINT! Pushups from the knees are now being done from the toes! We had one camper do an abdominal "plank" for 7 minutes and 45 seconds. !!!!!!!!

Most people do the plank for about 60 seconds. Yikes.

The thing that made me the most excited and proud, however, was for the woman that had previously been in the Cancer Rehab program operated out of our private Studio. Today she ran like crazy, did pushups with confidence and planked like crazy all the while, she laughed and smiled through the whole thing. This at 5:30am.

Beautiful.

Check out http://www.adventurebootcamphamilton.com/ to see what it's all about.

Kill Your Scale.

2009-05-07T04:29:00.000-07:00

As a trainer, it drives us CRAZY how much people put value on how much they weigh. The numbers on the scale tell only a small part of the story when it comes to someone's fitness level. We always consider body composition to be the most important number when it comes to body change and fitness increases. This number is presented as a "percentage" of total body weight. Simply losing pounds does not always convey success if the pounds lost are lean tissue. Nobody wants to be lighter and fatter at the same time. Having said this, it seems like EVERYONE wants to be lighter!

At the moment at All Canadian Fitness, we have a couple of clients that are achieving great results. One of them is my Spect Fit Cadet, Diane Ledonne. Since we have started her training 5 weeks ago, she has lost just under 3" from her waist! She has also lost about 7% of her bodyfat. Her blood pressure has also come down from 140/90 to 126/86. Very impressive results all around. BUT, since her last assessment two weeks ago, her weight has stayed exactly the same!!! During this time, all of her body composition measurements have gone down, her strength has gone up, blood pressure has gone down...AND her energy is waaaaaay up. If we had been evaluating her progress solely by the scale (like they do on that awful Biggest Loser show), then she would have felt like a failure.

The other client is experiencing frustration at the numbers on the scale that appear to be stuck. Every single day, however, she is getting compliments from people about "how great she looks". She has also lost 4 dress sizes in the last few months. Again, impressive results that simply would not have been recognized if the scale were the only measure of progress.

Bottom line- We are human beings with LOTS and LOTS of things to consider about ourselves other than simply a number on a scale. Do yourself a favour and throw yours away (or give it to someone you really dislike!).

Spec Fit

2009-04-02T07:28:00.001-07:00

You may have noticed that I am part of The Hamilton Spectator's "Spec Fit" experiment. 5 area Personal Trainers have been chosen to work with 5 readers. Their stories will be tracked online and in the paper for 10 weeks.

I met Diane Ledonne this week. She and I will get to know each other very well over the next 2 1/2 months as I help her to regain her health. She used to be an athlete and I am determined to get her there once again.

Check out www.thespec.com and click on the Spec Fit link to read about her progress, my blogs about her training and tons of fitness tips.

You can also view Diane's application video here; http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/video2/SpecFit/specfitwomen.html

This is going to be fun!

It's ON!

2009-03-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

Wow, how did almost 2 months fly by since my last blog!?

The Big news for me is that Adventure Boot Camp for Women kicked off this week at the Soccerworld Dome on Frid St. in Hamilton! On monday we had 31 female warriors rising to the occasion at 5:30am! Wow. Was it ever fun. I can't believe that I am actually enjoying (and looking forward to) getting up at 4:30 and kicking butt.

I am starting to appreciate the afternoon siesta, I am telling you!

I'll be back shortly with more news.

btw: Spring is HERE!!!!!

Back to the deep freeze!

2009-02-05T11:25:00.000-08:00

Well after spending the better part of week in Marco Island in Florida it is back to work and back to the deep freeze of Southern Ontario in February.

As strange as this may sound, I am actually excited to be back. I missed my hockey game last week and missed my son scoring another goal in his game! I guess you can say that I am a winter guy.

Florida was really amazing. I was networking with Phil Kaplan and the Be Better Project. Phil is the greatest personal fitness educator in the world today. His ideas and plans on both a business and training level are always waaaaay outside the box. His track record speaks for itself and I consider it an honour to call him both a mentor and a friend.

Oh yeah, we also had one heck of a Super Bowl Party in Goodland Florida, which looks kind of like a bar that Mickey Rourke would be hanging out in for a movie role!

Lots of fun.

......phew!

2009-01-07T13:41:00.001-08:00

Wow that was hard!

I am training for the sake of vanity this month!

At the end of January, I will be on Marco Island in the Gulf of Mexico meeting with a group of personal trainers from around North America for some networking, learning and r+r. Since I am the only Canadian attending.....I've gotta look good!

I managed to stay the course over the holidays so for the month of January, I am going to be progressing through a series of challenging training styles and doing heart-rate monitored cardio workouts.

Just finished 40 minutes of eliptical and cycling at 85% of max heart rate.

Phew.....that was hard.

READ the label!

2008-12-21T21:21:00.000-08:00

I was shopping for Christmas dinner/ entertaining supplies yesterday. There are alot of things that I would NEVER eat or drink the rest of the year (like Egg Nog) that I will indulge in during the holidays. Egg Nog is one of them (many people hate it, but, I love it). Reading labels has become such a habit for me that even when buying fattening, sweet stuff I have to look at the nutritional breakdown.

Well...when I compared two brands sitting side by side, I was pretty shocked! One had 22 grams of fat and 36 grams of sugar per serving. The other had 9 grams of fat and 19 grams of sugar! Not exactly health food, but, a much better choice than the first one.

'tis the season!

2008-12-14T17:12:00.000-08:00

I have made a commitment this year to actually get MORE fit during the month of December! Last year I enjoyed the eggnog, panettone and everything else so much that the pants my wife bought me didn't fit until the end of January! Not this year. I put together a plan and have been training while tracking my weight, body composition etc... So far, so good. I am down about 4 pounds and a couple of percent of body fat. There has also been a noticeable difference in my endurance in my hockey league as well. Cool.

Friday night, however, was our annual Christmas night out with the All Canadian trainers. If you know us, we live by the credo of "Everything in moderation.....including moderation!". Well... moderation was out the window for one night. Lots of great food, good drink and tons of laughs. It's good for the soul and the reason why we do what we do.

Monday morning......back at it! I might be getting some new pants for Christmans.

Fast Results

2008-11-23T20:30:00.000-08:00

Wow. What a weekend. 2 hockey practices, 3 birthday parties, 1 karate class, 1 dance class, Monster Truck show, dinner party..... Lots of stuff happening with the Schramayr clan!

When you have a weekend like I did and you absolutely want to do SOME exercise, do THIS!

While the oatmeal was cooking and the eggs were boiling this morning, I did 20 bodyweight squats, 20 pushups and 20 crunches. Then I repeated the whole thing 4 times. It took about 7 minutes and I had completed 80 squats, 80 pushups and 80 crunches.

Not bad, eh? You ALWAYS have time to do something.

The Good Ol' Hockey Game!

2008-11-16T20:34:00.000-08:00

Well, I never thought that I would want to coach sports (even though I have played them my whole life). Sitting at the rink watching my 5 year old son, however, I felt that I really SHOULD be on the ice with them. I guess it's just in me.

I have been coaching with them for just over a month. I love it!!!

Today was our first (sort of) game. More of a scrimmage actually. It was really fun. Especially sharing the experience with my boy.

I just might be hooked.

Eat this!

2008-10-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

How many people say that they have "no time" to eat a decent lunch?

Anyway, I am at my desk working on some files when my stomach started to growl.....grrrrr....

I popped two slices of whole grain bread into the toaster and opened a can of Wild Pacific Salmon (incredible source of essential fatty acids and protein). I mixed the salmon with a tablespoon of Miracle Whip (ONE tablespoon), some black pepper and some Balsamic Vinegar. While the toast was....toasting, I sliced up a red pepper to have on the side. Toast pops up, salmon goes on, food goes in..... no more growling.

3 minutes prep time, 5 minutes eatin' time.

No time? Yeah, right.

They're Back!

2008-10-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

I know it doesn't have anything to do with fitness, BUT, Metallica are back.....and their new album is awesome! I like to recognize excellence and it is impressive how these veteran musician's were able to pull themselves back together after all kinds of hardship and write and record an album that easily stands amongst anything that they have done.

Death Magnetic is the new soundtrack for my workouts (there THAT's a Fitness connection!).

All the hail the kings!

Fall is Here

2008-09-22T07:59:00.001-07:00

Anybody else love fall? Like a real Canadian, I just love the change of the seasons each year. Specifically fall means biking, hiking, running etc... in the amazing colours of the season. It also means football is getting serious and things are picking up.

As the kids head back to school (and karate, dancing, hockey etc...), make sure that you pick something that gets your juices flowing as well! Get into a new activity, make a date, get a hobby. Don't fall into the trap of sitting around every night watching reality tv (blech) while chowing down on god knows what.

It is a great time of year. Enjoy!

That's Better!

2008-09-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

I just got some more news about my shoulders. They have been improving greatly over the last 2- 3 weeks, so my Doctor (who also happens to work with the Hamilton Bulldogs) felt that surgery would not be necessary! Yay. I have been cleared to simply "work through it". In time, if improvement stalls, I may need a cortisone injection, but, that is not for sure either.

Like I said, both shoulders have gotten way better recently. To the point that I am pain-free at night and can even sleep on my stomach again! I have been trying to figure out what has helped the most and I think that I have improved from a combination of things.

Firstly, total rest! (really hard for a restless type- A guy).
Secondly, I started taking an herbal supplement specifically for joint pain (I have never been into this stuff, but, figured it couldn't hurt).
Thirdly, after a couple of weeks of rest, I started working out using rubber resistance tubing in every possible angle involving the chest, shoulders, back and arms within a pain-free range of motion.
Lastly, I have been seeing my RMT (Linda Valconi) for work on loosening up the shoulders, upper back, neck and trapezius area.

It would make a terrible research study because there are so many variables, but, it seems to be working. Next week I am going to increase the intensity, cross my fingers and see what happens!

Ouch.

2008-09-03T09:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I just got the results from the ultrasound exams on my shoulders (see blog below). It turns out that I have tears in the rotator cuffs in BOTH shoulders! Ouch. Sleeping has turned into a real adventure I tell you.

I am now waiting to see my doctor to find out if I need surgery or if therapy can take care of them.

In the meantime, I have been training in "unique" ways to at least maintain my fitness level without causing further damage to the joints. I have been using our new invention, the Aqua Ball! It is a stability ball partially filled with water (19lbs.) that is used for core training and stabilization work. Believe me, it works. It kind of feels like you are trying to wrestle a dog into the bath that REALLY doesn't like water because of the water continually sloshing inside the ball with each movement.

After the Aqua Ball, I have been doing interval work on the bike, elliptical trainer and I have been doing intervals on the treadmill.

The point is....You do what you can!

Yeah!

2008-08-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

Hey, Canada just won their first medals in the Olympics! Yeah!

Gold Medal for Women's Wrestling. Cool.

Tonya Verbeek from Beamsville, ON also medalled (Bronze)

Road Block

2008-08-06T19:49:00.001-07:00

The last week and a half has been somewhat challenging. During my first mountain bike ride of the year in Dundas, I took a tumble down a hill and landed, full weight, on my left elbow. Ouch. Immediately, I felt nauseous and completely winded. I have broken enough bones and torn enough muscles to know that this was NOT a good sign (what a genius!). I finished riding since I was in the middle of the forest in the Dundas Conservation Area and immediately pulled into an Avondale store to buy some ice. My shoulder was killing me and needed icing right away. This helped a bit, but, by the time I got home I could barely move my arm at all.

Several hours later at the ER, I learned that (surprise, surprise) there were no broken bones.
Good news except that I was pretty sure that I had torn something.
Anyway, to make a long story short, I have an ultrasound appointment to determine just WHAT it is that is torn in my shoulder so we can deal with it.
It really sucks to get hurt in the middle of summer (I play summer hockey and mountain bike), but, what are you going to do, eh?

By the way.....if you ever injure yourself and are not sure what to do until you get medical attention, remember RICE.

Rest

Ice

Compression

Elevation

It is critical to control swelling as soon as you can. Never, never, never (did I say never) put heat on a new injury. Ever.

Happy CANADA Day.....eh!

2008-07-01T06:19:00.001-07:00

Here is my Top 15 List of great fitness activities to take part in across the country.

Just in time for Canada Day!

15. Climbing the stairs of the CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario.
14. Hiking in Val-d'Or, Quebec for "sugaring off".
13. Running in Stanley Park in Vancouver, BC.
12. Playing football above sea level at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta.
11. Running in the Around the Bay Road Race in Burlington/ Hamilton, Ontario.
10. Cycling on the "petit train du nord" in the Eastern Townships in Quebec.
9. Running "the stairs" up the escarpment in Hamilton, Ontario.
8. Jogging along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Ontario.
7. Snowshoeing on frozen Pigeon Lake in Ennismore, Ontario.
6. Canoeing at Mt. Tremblant, Quebec.
5. Hiking on the Bruce Trail at Tobermoray, Ontario.
4. Cross-country biking along the Niagara Escarpment in Dundas, Ontario.
3. Mountain Climbing/ Hiking in Kamloops, BC.
2. Downhill Mountain Biking at Mt. Bromont, Quebec.

1.......... Skating on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Ontario!

Make a decision.

2008-06-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

When you "DECIDE", you cut off all other possibilities. To decide literally means that all other options no longer exist.

"If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."
-Neal Peart (from "Free Will")

Decide.

I tried my best!

2008-05-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

Wow.

I am helping a client prepare for her next belt grading in karate. She is a relative newcomer to the sport and has watched her two young sons in class for a couple of years now. Finally, she joined herself and is now onto her second grading. She spoke to me, looking for help to "absolutely crush" the test! There are several young (guys) in her class that will be testing with her. Not wanting to feel like the old lady of the group (a ridiculous notion, by the way), she asked for assistance to prep for the conditioning portion of the grading. In her words "make me do whatever is necessary".

Well.

"Make me do whatever is necessary" to a trainer is like giving the keys to Toys R Us to a 5 year old. I put her through a workout that would have "absolutely crushed" the young guys in her class.... and she survived! 2 other trainers in the studio at the time kept looking at me funny (kinda like....did someone piss in your Corn Flakes today?). Anyway, I made her bear crawl around the studio with dumbells in her hands, made her do explosive squats, jump over cones, throw endless punches with weights, pullups from ropes, crawl backwards UNDER hurdles etc.... and on and on. ......and she survived! Asked for more even. What the_____?

I think she will be ready! :)

What the.......?

2008-05-19T05:55:00.000-07:00

I am just getting ready for my morning mountain bike ride. I am trying to pile on some good mileage because the 50k Lake to Lake Race in June is fast approaching.

I just stuck my head outside and can't believe how cold it is. And grey! I can't believe that it is the May long weekend and I am going to be wearing a balaklava for my ride.

Enough already!

Little things

2008-05-15T05:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the answer is so obvious that it seems ridiculous to even mention it! Three times this week, clients have asked me how they are supposed to eat all day if they are on the road! Remember the 3 P's.

Plan, Prepare and Pack.

Think about where you will be, plan what you could eat and then prepare it (the night before) and then pack it!

If you don't already have one, you MUST get a lunch bag that can keep foods cool. You can have food with you for every 3 hours that will keep you moving in the direction of your goals. If you are trying to eat supportively and have a real life, you should also get yourself a shaker bottle for mixing up meal replacement shakes. They are not to be used instead of food, but, rather as a supplement to your great supportive eating attempts.

Nobody said it would be easy, but, you either do the necessary things and succeed or don't...... and don't.

Another week....

2008-05-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

Another week draws to a close! We like to write inspirational messages on our eraser board at the Studio. There was one that I really liked this week; "You can either wait for the storm to pass, or, learn to dance in the rain!"

I like that.

In other words, it's gonna keep on rainin' whether you like it or not. Might as well do something fun since you can't do anything about it.

Think about the things in your life that you have no control over. Weather, other people's attitudes, death, taxes blah, blah, blah.... Now think about the things you CAN control. Your lifestyle, your mood (believe it or not, you have a choice to be happy or not), what you do in a day, your approach to problems etc....

Take control over the things you can control, screw the rest and........start dancing in the rain.

Go Habs Go!

Playing in Sedona!

2008-04-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

Wow. Wow. Wow!

Fitness Fest in Tempe (Arizona State University) ended yesterday and Liesa and I packed up and headed to Sedona, Arizona to check out the Red Rocks and Canyons etc... We arrived late at night and couldn't see anything because of the dark. When we awoke in the morning..........wow what a sight. USA Today calls Sedona the most beautiful place in America. No kidding! We went hiking first thing and had trouble keeping from tripping over our jaws. After a quick afternoon nap, we took a Pink Jeep Tour which is crazy off-roading in a Pink Jeep to see the Canyons up close. Absolutely amazing.

In the afternoon, I found a really cool bike shop called the Bike and Bean and decided that I absolutely HAD to go mountain biking while I was in Sedona. Armed with a map, some Jelly Belly Energy Beans (more on that later) and some water, I headed out for a good 2 hour ride. Check out the pictures below to see the scenery. To be honest, the actual trails were very similar to the riding that we do in Dundas, but, the scenery makes it feel like you are riding in an old western (or the Coyote/ Roadrunner cartoon!).

Like I said, wow, wow, wow. The biggest danger was keeping my eyes on the trail.... and looking for rattlesnakes!

Go Habs Go!

Sleepless in Tempe!

2008-04-17T08:40:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, I am blogging from Arizona State University in Tempe Arizona. I have been here with Liesa since tuesday. What an interesting place. Blazing hot during the day and cool to cold at night and in the morning. Apparently it is like that in the desert! We are here attend the Fitness Fest Conference at the University. I have been attending workshops with my mentor Phil Kaplan who always, always delivers the goods in terms of immediately useable information about training or business matters related to fitness. Yesterday's workshop was mostly about mastering "influence" over people to help them achieve their goals. In other words, many, many people know how to "eat right" and how to exercise, but then (for whatever reason) don't follow through. Guess what? No follow through..... no results. For my money, mastering influence is the difference between an average trainer and one that gets phenomenal results, always. I am also attending a workshop presented by the highly esteemed exercise physiologist Dr. Len Kravitz. I have never met him or heard him speak so I will try to soak up as much as possible to bring back to Hamilton!

The really interesting (verging on psychedelic!) thing the last couple of days has been trying to adjust to the 3 hour time difference after getting up at 4am on the day that we left. That would be 1am Tempe time! When we arrived, we were starving and found a cool patio that was serving great nachos grande and ice cold Corona (when in Rome, eh?). After a snack and a couple of beers, we headed back to the hotel for a bit of a siesta. Well...... a nap that started at about 5pm local time (8pm Hamilton time) stretched on and on and on into the night. I woke up to listen to the Montreal Canadiens playoff game on the internet (they won, btw :) and then fell back to sleep. After sleeping for what seemed like days, I finally woke up at around 3am (6am in Hamilton) and could not go back to sleep. At a little after 4am, I decided to explore Tempe, so I put on my running shoes and hit the road. I ended running and walking for about 2 hours until I found a Starbuck's that was open and grabbed a paper and a coffee. I tell you, there is nothing more beautiful and peaceful then exploring a new city by foot as the sun rises. After Liesa awoke, we ate breakfast and then re-traced the route that I had run and checked out all of the stores and shops that had by then opened for the day. All in all, I think that I ran and walked about 30 kms yesterday!

Tomorrow, I am going to the world famous Athlete's Performance Center for elite professional and amateur athletes. I can't wait. Check it out here: www.athletesperformance.com

She Did IT!!!!

2008-04-14T19:17:00.001-07:00

Our very own Sheila Wynne Fung did it! She passed her 4 hour Black Belt grading that is! Despite being very (very) sick all last week, she sparred for 60 minutes, grappled for 60 minutes, did "Kata" for 60 minutes and did physical testing for 60 minutes on sunday afternoon and is now a BLACK BELT. An unbelievable feat. She worked harder than anyone possibly could for longer than was really sane and finally did it.

Sheila trained like a woman possessed for well over a year now all the while maintaining an absolutely jam packed client load and even found time to write and perform music and edit a book for a friend. We have our suspicions that she is really a cyborg..... but whatever.

Congratulations from everyone here. Enjoy your well deserved holiday back east with your family.

Habs Rule, Part 2

2008-04-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

Well, well. The Montreal Canadiens have won the Eastern Conference and have home ice advantage for the Stanley Cup playoffs. I can't remember being this excited about watching a sporting event in a long time. Growing up in the 70's and 80's in Montreal, it seemed like they ALWAYS won the Cup. This year's team is reminiscent of some of those squads. Not in superstar calibre, but, in team unity and the X-Factor. They just look like they are having fun.... and they are kicking butt doing it!

Go HABS Go!!!

Around the Bay!

2008-03-31T18:13:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to a couple of our clients that took part in the Around the Bay road race on sunday.

Jamie West ran in a race for the first time in his life. He finished the 5k run without walking once. A major accomplishment for a life long "non-runner" that was pretty sure he was going to die at the 3k mark! Well he didn't die....and he didn't walk either! The run was a landmark personal event for Jamie and he is going to use it as a motivator for great things to come.

Peter Turkstra also competed in the 5k and knocked 1:30 off of his time from last year, despite being stuck behind a bunch of walkers! Way to go Peter.

Habs Rule!

2008-03-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I just returned from Montreal once again. Any time I get "back home" it's fun. Seeing friends, just hanging out and of course indulging in some real comfort food is great. While I was in town I got to visit my favourite watering hole (Le Brasserie Manoir) and take in a Montreal Canadiens game (The 24 time Stanley Cup Montreal Canadiens!). They beat the Bruins yet again and have secured a first place spot heading into the playoffs on fire!

I don't know if I will be able to take it if the Leafs squeak into the playoffs and take on the mighty Habs.

Go Habs Go!

Yum!

2008-03-03T11:10:00.000-08:00

Here's an idea for a quick, healthy, supportive mini-meal that I had today.

Take a whole wheat/ flax tortilla. Spread about 2tbsp. of Almond Butter on it and place apple slices on the "butter". Roll it up and enjoy with a glass of skim milk.

mmmmmm.......... mmmmmmmmmmm..... good!

Happy Family Day!

2008-02-18T18:52:00.001-08:00

Well the first "Family Day" Holiday has come and gone. I have to admit that I was skeptical about the idea of simply decreeing a new holiday, but, it was actually nice to have another day to spend with my wife, kids and my dad and his wife. We made the trek up north to Pigeon Lake, where my dad lives, through freezing rain on sunday. After safely arriving we got down to some serious "family" stuff and played games, laughed, ate, drank wine and basically had a good time.

Liesa and I even got in a workout before brunch on monday morning. It is amazing how tough it is to do bodyweight squats and pushups consecutively for 20 minutes without a break!

Check out the Snow family that we built in honour of "Family Day"!

What's Going On?!

2008-02-09T19:04:00.000-08:00

Well.....the new year is in full swing. All Canadian Fitness is absolutely ROCKING! I can't believe how many amazing people we are privileged to work with every day. The new year, as always, is being very good to us. We have been on an amazing roll as of late and have been experiencing some inspiring success stories with many, many clients. After the eating and drinking orgy that is the Christmas season, several clients are reporting that their pants keep falling off! It really is amazing how quickly you can see a dramatic physical change when you put the right pieces together in the right order. Check out the Success Stories pages on our website and you will see some awesome people doing awesome things. In the last couple of months, we helped a mom take her body back, we have helped a police candidate pass her running test and helped another client run her all time personal best 8km race. We have also helped a few guys lose 15- 30 pounds and helped one client literally get back on her feet after being ill for an extended period of time.

Amongst the trainers, we have also been busy with our own pursuits. Adam is taking his Kick boxing career global. He fought in Japan in December and will be in Europe, Japan and possibly Australia in the coming months. Sheila has just passed her fourth (of five) tests on the way to her black belt in Karate. Me and Andrew are in training for the Paris to Ancaster 60km Bike Race in April. Matteo is studying like crazy for his Engineering Degree and is playing and coaching soccer.

Life is good.

He must have sold his soul..........again.

2008-01-03T17:28:00.000-08:00

The favourite workout song of the year for 2007 at All Canadian Fitness has been "I Don't Wanna Stop" by Ozzy Osbourne. If it doesn't win a Grammy for "Best Song", something is wrong! Anyway, last night I caught VH-1 Salutes Ozzy Osbourne on TV and there he was singing our fave tune. I have to say, Ozzy looked incredible. Whatever he has been doing (apparently working out), it seems to be working. For a guy in his 60's that has lived his life, you've got to admire his fire, drive and enthusiasm. Hats off to the Ozzman! May he "never stop".

"All my life, I've been over the top. I don't know what I'm doing all I know is.... I don't wanna stop!" -John "Ozzy" Osbourne

..Crosstraining Continued

2008-01-03T07:45:00.000-08:00

My family spent the last few days in the Kawartha Lakes Region in Northern Ontario. Talk about a ton of snow! Wow. That feels like Christmas I tell you.

Growing up in Quebec, I have always had an affinity for colder weather and for lots of snow. I think if we are going to have winter, it should be WINTER!!! if you know what I mean. We should have some fun with it. Which is what we did up north.

To continue to really enjoy the feasting and the loafing over the holidays, it is important to break things up with some activity and at least a few healthy meals. Luckily for me, my sister Stef is a regular workout person and she and I decided to keep things moving over the holidays. We planned out a workout that would take us about 45 minutes one morning and threw together a list of 7 exercises (Medicine Ball Chopper, Leg Cranks, Pushups, Ab Wheel, Dips, Hip Bridges, Bike or Treadmill) that we ran through three times as a circuit and hit it hard for the whole time. Later on in the day, we strapped on snowshoes and trekked out over Pigeon Lake for 2 hours. I have never snowshoed before, but, loved it and can't wait to go out again!

Christmas Crosstraining!

2007-12-28T10:09:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

I love this time of year. It is fun to really chill out and take it easy while reflecting on the closing year. Just this morning, I watched ALL of Pirates of the Caribbean- Dead Man's Chest with my kids. It was really good!

My absolute favourite activity for recharging is to lie on the couch (or in my hammock) and read books interspersed with naps. I received 2 music bios (Slash and Ronnie Wood) and two historical books (WWII and the real story of Santa Claus) as well as a religious book examining Christ and organized religion. Heaven! Having said that, I am too restless to just lie around all day, so I HAVE to do some exercise throughout the week to make the loafing really fun. Here is my crosstraining routine for this week:

Friday night- Hockey Game
Saturday- Skating with kids
Sunday- Skating with kids
Monday- Sledding with kids
Tuesday- Nothing!
Wednesday- Skating
Thursday- Skating
Friday- Body weight exercises (Century!)
Skating with kids
Hockey Game

You think my family likes skating? :)

Quotes of the Week!

2007-12-10T19:48:00.000-08:00

Here are a few quotes heard around The Studio this week. Some are funny, some are motivating.

"I think my eyeballs are sweating"!
"Thank you for giving me my life back".
"My friends tell me that I am shrinking!"
"You have cost me a fortune in new clothes" (sorry) :)
"Can I have HER body?"
"What the hell are you eating?"
"This is why I pay you. Just ignore me and keep me going."
"You bastard!"
"My favourite move is the "eyeball pluck!" (don't ask)
"Do you REALLY want to see me with "uncomfortable amounts of energy"?

Time Flies!................time to catch up.

2007-12-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

Wow. I can't believe that I haven't posted anything in over a month. So much has been going on that it seems that I just .................forgot! Anyway, it is time to get caught up on the happenings at All Canadian Fitness.

As you know from the last post, we totally kicked butt in the local Reader's Polls. Yay for us.

About a week ago, we had our Client Appreciation 2007 Party to celebrate the real stars of the show....our clients! We held an evening of food, drink, music, awards and just plain fun that was attended by well over 100 people. It was so cool seeing everyone in regular clothes for a change! :) Our clients clean up very well indeed!

Some of the notable awards went to Peter Turkstra for "Fitness Feat of the Year" for skiing to the North Pole and helping to raise $500 000 for local Children's Charities! Rhona Waxman was named client "Most Likely to Start a Revolution". She actually tried to start a "Client's Rights" group while I was on holiday! The ladies from Adam's tuesday/ thursday group were named "Most Likely to Cause a Traffic Accident when leaving The Studio". There were a bunch more (some serious, some fun).

For me, the surprise of the night came when I was interrupted during one award announcement and was promptly awarded a brand new red ESP Electric Guitar (with ESP double humbucker pickups no less!!!) from my trainers! I was literally speechless and very touched. We are lucky to have such a family atmosphere at work unlike anywhere else I have been. Thanks again guys (and Sheila). You are truly...........the best.

Our band (me and Sheila) "Swimming to Vegas" played throughout the night and featured two clients that were amazing. Steve Malbouef (finalist for the fitness feat award after completing the Ironman UK) played lead guitar and Kevin Matthews (finalist for the "Back to Life" award after overcoming rsi injuries and resuming his music career) played awesome saxophone for us on several numbers.

All in all an unforgettable night. Can't wait until next year!

Simply the Best!

2007-10-25T18:53:00.000-07:00

Wow!

There were two local Reader's Polls that came out in the past week in Hamilton. The Hamilton Spectator and Hamilton View. We are excited and blown away that we fared incredibly well in both of them!

I was the Gold Winner as "Best Personal Trainer" in the Spectator's reader's poll. In the View, our own Adam Higson was named "Hamilton's Best Personal Trainer" along with myself as co-winner. All Canadian Fitness- The Studio won as "Best Gym" (although I would argue that we are not a gym!) and Adam's own Phoenix Fight Club won as "Best Martial Arts" facility. Hope Jervis, our on-site RMT, won "Best Massage Therapist" as well.

Like I said.......wow. Do we kick ass or what? :)

Home Again

2007-10-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Montreal tonight. I am tired, so I will be brief!

We always tell our clients to do the "best they can in the place where they are".

Well.

On friday I was in the Eastern Townships in Quebec (Mont Bromont) staring up a mountain with a chair lift that was eerily still. We drove out to do some downhill biking (and uphill chairlifting!), BUT, were told that the lift was not open that day. Did I mention that it was also really cold and raining really hard?

Anyway..... doing the best that we could in the (cold, windy) place that we were, my buddy Steve Malbouef, who recently completed the Ironman UK, and myself decided to start pedalling. 50 kms later, we had had enough and decided to act normal and headed for the nearest "La Belle Province" restaurant for Hot Dogs, Smoked Meat and French Fries (everything in moderation, right?). I figure that after 2 1/2 hours of slogging through wind and rain we deserved a little fat with our post-ride meal.

All in all it was a great weekend visiting old friends, biking, eating and drinking, playing guitars, watching the Habs at the local Brasserie and basically just hanging out.

Tomorrow.....back to the salt mines.

The World is Safe and I am Practicing What I Preach!

2007-09-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

Just back back from my ride (see post below), Superman and the Justice League have saved the world from the martian invaders and now my son wants to play in his sandbox in the back yard! I really wanted to do a workout today, so I went back to the principles that I teach all of my clients. Do the best you can in the place that you are! Keeping that in mind, I did a KILLER workout in my back yard using a basketball, picnic table and a couple of bricks. Here is what I did:

20 pushups with one hand on a basketball
20 full situps
20 explosive pushups alternating hand positions
20 full twisting situps
20 close grip pushups
20 full situps holding a baseball bat
20 explosive pushups
20 full situps with hands reaching overhead
20 pushups with fingers pointing inwards
20 full twisting situps

20 dips from a picnic table
20 front shoulder raises holding two bricks in one hand
-repeat above 3 times
20 rear lateral flyes holding two bricks
20 hip bridges with feet on a picnic table
-repeat above 4 times

Done! Total time was about 20 minutes.

Never say never. Just think about the solution and it will come to you.

Heading for the Hills!

2007-09-30T05:27:00.000-07:00

Good morning! It is a phenomenal early fall day in Southern Ontario.

Sunday mornings are one of my favourite times of the week. I am just finishing a cup of my extra strength Starbuck's home brew and watching Superman kick some butt on Justice League with my 4 year old son! In a few minutes, I will morph into Superdad and head out onto the Bruce Trail with my Brodi mountain bike. I once saw an ad for mountain biking which showed a cyclist in the most gorgeous forest you could imagine (on a sunday morning no less!). The caption read:

"I would rather be on my bike in the woods thinking about God than sitting in church thinking about my bike".

'Nuff said. There is just something spiritual about being out in nature pushing your body to it's limits.

In two weeks, I will be downhill riding in Quebec so it is time to practice and hit the trails.

Gotta go.....

Supportive Supper!

2007-09-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

Here is an example of a great "Supportive Dinner". Supportive eating encourages taking in lean protein, complex carbohydrates and fibrous carbohydrates (vegetables) every 3 to 3 1/2 hours in an effort to stabilize blood sugar levels. Ideally, all three components will be of equal size. Doing this provides your body with energy and the material needed to build new, lean muscle tissue. It also puts the body in a hormonal state where it becomes much better at "releasing" body fat for fuel.

If you want to get lean, you HAVE to eat! The above meal is home-made lean turkey meatloaf, baked potato and mixed beans and carrotts. Pair this with a low sugar, low fat dessert and sugar-free beverage and you have one powerful meal. Bon Appetit!

Back in the Trenches

2007-09-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

Hey people, friday night again and time to take a breather....

This past week has been pretty intense. 5 days packed into 4, 2 trainers on holidays (Sheila- Calgary, Matteo- Italy), 10 new clients= one heckuva an intense week. The client load at The Studio was heavy as always this week, but divided up between the three Amigos; Adam, Andrew and yours truly. There were 15 hour training days and little time to catch your breath. The strange thing is that it was really, really fun! We said goodbye to Courtney Bruce who is heading back to school stronger and more powerful. Check out her testimonial at the Success Stories/ Sports page. Courtney is a Power Cheerleader who can now pack a punch.

Tomorrow, All Canadian Fitness will be hanging out at the Locke St. Festival where we will be doing free Waist/ Hip Ratio (WHR) measurements, talking fitness and taking in the scene. Drop by if you can.

Remember to vote for me (Ernie Schramayr) in the Hamilton Spectator Reader's Choice survey in the category of "Best Personal Trainer". It is really an honour to be mentioned and is a testament to the awesome team and clients at our place. You can go to the link to vote here: https://secure.hamiltonspectator.com/readers_choice/spe_favourite_people_vote.html

Later.

The Kings (and Queen) of all Media!

2007-08-31T17:31:00.000-07:00

Well it has been quite a week! All Canadian Fitness was featured for a full hour on CHML- AM 900 radio with host Jamie West on thursday morning. Ernie, Adam and Sheila spoke on a wide range of topics including the importance of building muscle to achieve superior fitness results, Adam's recent Shoot Boxing tournament win in Japan and Sheila's opinion of training men vs. women. The show was also broadcast on Cable 14 TV. It was exciting and lots of fun and the beginning of great things to come. The full broadcast will be added to our site asap.

We are also being featured on the personal BLOG of Hamilton Spectator/ Toronto Star columnist Lorraine Sommerfeld who is once again working with us for a special assignment. Last year, we turned her into a boxer in two weeks and this year, we are getting her ready to drive, hike and basically survive the mountainous terrain in Argentina where she will be testing a new SUV as a special assignment. Check out the blog here: http://www.lorraineonline.ca/blog/ Very cool.

Lastly, the Hamilton Spectator Reader's Choice Awards nominees were released this past week. Ernie (me!) has been nominated as Hamilton's favourite Personal Trainer. Wow!

Supportive Breakfast!

2007-08-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

Here is an awesome breakfast idea for you to try. Take a Flax Waffle (available at Fortinos in the Health Food Section). Top with cottage cheese and fruit yogourt. Sprinkle ground flax seed on top for added crunch and an amazing source of essential fatty acids (EFA's) which help your body to burn fat and hold onto muscle. Enjoy with a cup of coffee and get on with your day. Supportive eating is not hard, it just takes some thought.

.........She's baaaaaack!

2007-08-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

I am so proud that my favourite girl is back! My wife Liesa has just started training with us again after a bit of a summer break. She has been kicking butt at The Studio with Adam and Sheila and is making killer progress already. Check out the core stability work that Sheila put her through in the pic above. Also, if you read my earlier post about the "home" workout I came up with for weekends when the kids make it impossible to get your whole session in, check out the pic above of Liesa training at home in the yard, while the kids do their thing in the background. It just takes a little imagination....

Rockin' with Vegas!

2007-08-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

Hey all, check out these pics from last week's "Swimming to Vegas" gig at Baranga's on the Beach in Burlington. We played for Lakeport Breweries end of year bash. What a blast! Can't wait to do it again.

Part 3 of my CD (10 More Earth SHAKERS to get you moving)

2007-08-18T06:15:00.000-07:00

Here is another list of my top workout songs. My mixed CD is turning into a Box Set!

Hungry for Heaven- Dio
One Step Closer- Linkin Park
No Easy Way Out- Robert Tepper
Paralyzed- Finger Eleven
Bulls on Parade- Rage Against the Machine
Soul Sacrifice- Santana
Freewheel Burning- Judas Priest
Stronger than All- Pantera
Pull Me Under- Dream Theater
Wildest Dreams- Iron Maiden

Supportive Eating...the 3 "P"s

2007-08-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

I came across a great tip for anyone who is having trouble getting organized in terms of eating healthfully and supportively in their everyday life. Keoni Subiono, a colleague of mine who trains in Hawaii, sent me this bit of advice that he teaches to his clients. Rather than being overwhelmed by how to begin eating supportively, he asks his clients to look at their lives, determine how they should be eating to support their health and fitness goals and then to implement the 3 "P"s.

Plan- Figure out where you will be throughout the day and what is your best food option based on where you will be.

Prepare- Prepare any food, snacks, meals, shakes or whatever before you leave the house. This could be as simple as throwing a loaf of whole grain bread, some carrot sticks and some canned tuna into a lunch bag to bring to work. If you are at the mercy of the drive thru or the vending machine, you'll be in trouble!

Pack- You can't bring it with you if you don't pack it! Take stock of what you have in terms of tupperware, shaker bottles, baggies etc... and fill in the gaps. Buy a thermos or cooler bag if you need one. Planning and preparing food is pointless if you don't pack it and bring it with you.

I would also stress the importance of thinking ahead and figuring out when exactly you will be eating to insure that your body gets the nutrients that it needs and you do not experience blood sugar crashes which will affect your energy and your body's fat burning ability.

The Week That Was

2007-08-10T19:09:00.000-07:00

Well, well. Another week at All Canadian Fitness. Having more fun than anybody should have on a regular basis, we continue to change lives and figure out ways to push the limits of everyone we work (and play) with.

Eric Spearin, our football project, leaves for Montreal this weekend to play for Concordia University. This kid worked his a** off and will have a great training camp. Go for it.

Rob Braley, an old friend of All Canadian Fitness, returned from British Columbia as a National Champion! Rob led a local Burlington team to the Canadian Softball National Championship! 8 games in 4 days set a grueling pace, but the boys were up to it.

Rhona Waxman has returned from a trip to Scotland and has picked up where she left off before her holiday cracking everyone up every time she comes in for a workout. I really don't know how anyone can work so hard and laugh so much at the same time!

Speaking of hard work, Sheila (the Superhuman) and I finally completed the entire Navy Seal Challenge described below. Wow. Wow. Wow. Now THAT is a tough workout. In the process, however, Sheila ran her Personal Best Mile time of 6:49! Two weeks ago, she did it in 7:00 so a very nice improvement in a short period of time. Oh yeah, her shoe starting coming off 3/4 of the way into the mile. A little gentle "prodding" got her to continue and actually speed up with a blown tire. Not bad for a human.......

It has been so awesome getting back into running after having knee surgery last November that I have set a personal goal of running a mile in under 6 minutes. Back in my college football days, I had a personal best of 5:22, so anything in the 5:50- 5:59 range would be cool. I have no idea if it possible, but, I'll figure it out.

Besides Rob Braley, we have two other clients competing in National Championships this week. Kim Cullen and Kayl McCann are both going for the National title in "Dog Agility" Racing. Much tougher than it sounds, agility competitions include the task of controlling your dog at the same time that you tear around the obstacle course that your dog is running through. They have been training like crazy at The Studio and our fingers are crossed for both of them.

Think you're TOUGH?

2007-08-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, today is my first day back from holidays. You know you've got a great job when you cannot wait to get back to it! Entertaining a 3 and a 6 year old for 10 straight days might have something to do with it...... but nevertheless, it's good to be back. While I was away, Adam Higson (Trainer Number One) was in Tokyo, Japan fighting in a Shoot Boxing tournament. He totally CRUSHED his favoured opponent and spent the rest of the week riding in limousines like a Rock Star! Nobody deserves success more than Adam. He is a workhorse, a rock and an absolute professional. Adam worked, trained, dieted and never once complained. He was Greyhound lean and Steel Town mean. Good job buddy!

I was really excited to get back to Shelley Thorsen today, another workhorse. Shelley is almost half-way to her goal of losing 120lbs. and worked hard as always today.

I also had the pleasure of working with Cathy Baldwin for the first time today since Matteo Tino, her regular trainer, is in Europe travelling and training for 5 weeks. Wow! What a blast. This lady works hard and Matteo has obviously prepped her in a big way. She handled her first "fat liberation workout" today with some blood, sweat and tears, but, with a lot of laughs as well. The point of FATLib training is to work with high intensity for a brief time to deplete the body of stored sugar and then to engage in cardio work to then burn stored fat. Here is an example of that type of workout:

Leg Extensions supersetted with Squats 2 x 10-15 reps of each. After the second superset, you would go IMMEDIATELY back to the Leg Extensions where you would perform reps to failure. At that point, you would remove some weight and continue to failure again. Repeat 3 times in all. Ouch. It doesn't take long but is extremely effective at depleting stored glycogen (sugar) levels so that your body will burn fat more effectively during the endurance portion of the training.

Finally, I had a chance to work out with Sheila Wynne Fung (one of our Superhuman trainers). When any two trainers work out together with limited time, things tend to get...."interesting". Yesterday, I got an email from a fellow trainer in Chicago describing a Navy Seal Challenge workout that they do at his studio for "fun". Sheila is a little nuts, so she says to me, "Hey let's try the Challenge workout!" Anyways, the workout involves no equipment and is as follows:

Run a mile
Perform 300 Bodyweight Squats
Perform 200 Pushups
Perform 100 Pullups
Run a mile

??? Yikes.

Time the whole thing and see if you can get in under 30 minutes. Luckily, we did not have time for the running part and did "just" the exercises :). We broke things down into sets of 5 to 100! Ow. We did it, but, man it was tough. Sheila (the Superhuman) started with 100 Full Pushups from her toes!! At The Studio, "girl" pushups do not exist.

Next week, we will do it with the running. Think you're tough? Give it a shot.

EVERYTHING in moderation....including moderation!

2007-07-31T06:59:00.001-07:00

Well here is my first post in a while. I have been in Montreal on holidays since last week visting friends in the area where I grew up. It is just great being "back home" and immersing myself in the culture, food and lifestyle of the "La Belle Province" once again. The purpose of the trip is primarily to just get away from the day to day tasks and responsibilities of being a small business owner and part of the greatest fitness team I have ever been around! While I am an incredibly proud Hamiltonian and choose to live here and raise my family here, there is something about going back to your roots. I also feel it is important for my kids to be exposed to those roots as well.

Whenever I take a break like this, I like to let things go (just a little bit) and enjoy myself. It feels like I have been living on crepes, bagels, beer and Montreal, "all dressed" pizza (That stuff in Ontario really isn't pizza!) since I have been here. I have managed to work in a little activity and spent the day on Ste. Helens Island at La Ronde, the local amusement park on the Expo 67 site with 4 kids. That is a workout I tell you! Today, we are packing up to head back to Ontario to Pigeon Lake, North of Peterborough. Before we will leave, however, my wife and I will be doing a workout in the pool and then doing the "Century" workout that we developed at The Studio for limited time and limited equipment. We are on vacation, but, don't want to lose all of our fitness in 10 days. Doing just a bit every other day can be very powerful in terms of maintaning your strength and fitness for when you are ready to get back to the real world and really hit it.

Basically, I live by the credo of "EVERYTHING in moderation, including MODERATION!" I eat healthfully, exercise and basically do all things in moderation MOST of the time, but, on New Year's Eve I will drink too much Champagne, on my birthday I will eat too much cake, when I visit my friends I will sleep too little and when I am in Montreal I will eat too many bagels, brochettes, pizzas, smoked meat sandwiches and whatever.......

Remember why we train and eat well in the first place. To enjoy LIFE! Just do it in moderation (most of the time).

Eating doesn't have to be rocket science!

2007-07-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

The very first post I ever did for this site dealt with breakfast options and just what I might eat in a given week. People sometimes become overwhelmed when they hear about us eating 6 meals per day comprised of lean protein and two kinds of complex carbohydrates. Add in the fact that no one has time to cook and the kids don't wanna eat health food etc.... Just excuses! Getting 6 supportive meals with minimal effort is really not that hard. Here is what I ate today (including breakfast and supper with my 3 year old and 6 year old).

7:30 amBreakfast- 8 Whole Grain Bread (2 slices) with Natural Peanut Butter and low sugar jam.
1/2 Green Apple (my son ate the other half with some Natural Peanut Butter for dipping!), Coffee

10:30 am Post Workout Recovery Drink- 1/2 c. Apple Juice, 1/2 c. Water, 1 scoop Vanilla Whey Protein

1:00 pm Lunch- Sliced Turkey, Swiss Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato and mustard on Whole Wheat Kaiser. 1c. Four Bean Salad. Diet Coke.

4:00 pm Snack- No sugar, low fat yogourt, 1/2 Whole Grain Flax Bagel, Coffee

6:30 pm Supper (with family)- Brown Basmati Rice (steamed), Vegetable Pasta Sauce (Healthy Request), Lean Ground Beef Meatballs, Steamed Green, Yellow Beans and Carrotts. Low Fat Frozen Yogourt with fresh Blue Berries.

10:30 pm Snack- 1c. 1 % cottage cheese mixed with 1 low sugar, low fat yogourt.

Nothing too strange. Eat every 3 to 3 1/2 hours, stabilize blood sugar, build some muscle and move! Not too difficult really. Once you set some good habits, kids really do take to better food choices and will eat brown rice, whole wheat pasta and all the good stuff. Give it a try!

The trick is thinking ahead and keeping fridges, cupboards, store rooms or whatever stocked with the good stuff.

Fore!

2007-07-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

Dr. Tracy McMurter of Village Eye Care in Ancaster has been training with us recently to improve her golf game! She has adapted a program developed for Annika Sorenstam. Might as well copy the best, eh? Tracy has gone through many types of training with us and recently set a personal best in the 10K at the Ancaster Old Mill Race. The challenge now is to transfer all the strength and power she has gained into her golf shot. Here is a sample of her training program:

-Stability Ball Crunches

-Single Arm Cable Rotation Movements

-"Wood Chopper" Cable Exercises (up and down)

-Barbell Squats

-Wide Grip Pullups

-Rotational/ Twisting Pushups

-Medicine Ball Swings, Rotations and Squats

-Twisting Dumbell Curls for Biceps and Forearms

-Walk/ Jog/ Run Treadmill Work

What to do, what to do.....

2007-07-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

Sunday evening is a great time to survey your schedule for the week and figure out what is in store for the days to come. Looking at my schedule, I am excited about working with Peter from Locke St. Bakery tomorrow afternoon. Peter comes in, gets warmed up, gets it done and gets out! A great guy, but when he is with us, it's all business. Pete is in the second week of what we call a "Conditioning Phase" of training. To be able to really build muscle and become leaner, we like to start people with a style of training that they are probably unaccustomed to. For Peter, this means doing circuit style work with very little rest and emphasizing athletic moves that require balance and coordination. Following that, he will experience "Strength and Growth", "Muscle Building", "Endurance Training" and then "BURN" training to lose fat.

I am also REALLY excited about seeing Shelley Thorsen again tomorrow. Shelley has lost 50lbs. since training with us and after a little bit of a plateau is again moving in the right direction. Recently, she has experienced a couple of really neat things. She was able to walk to the top of the escarpment stairs on Dundurn St. for the first time ever (see picture above) and she performed a set of deadlifts with 175 pounds for 6 repetitions! Wow. Tomorrow will be "fun" :).

I am also excited to watch Adam continue to change before our eyes as he gets ready to leave for Japan. Matteo is also fun to watch right now as he prepares to leave for a month in Europe travelling and training. He will be posting videos at his blogspot which should be cool to see. I am also looking forward to hitting the track again this week to continue running which is something I have really missed while recovering from knee surgery.

Hope you all have as much fun this week as we will be at All Canadian Fitness!

Best Workout CD...ever, Part 2!

2007-07-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

Here is "side two" of my favourite workout songs!

You Could Be Mine- Guns 'n Roses
Not Fragile- Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Rock and Roll- Led Zeppelin
Stay Hungry- Twisted Sister
Firestarter- Prodigy
Zero- Smashing Pumpkins
Evenflow- Pearl Jam
Lose Yourself- Eminem
I Don't Wanna Stop- Ozzy Osbourne
For Whom the Bell Tolls- Metallica
Burn- Deep Purple
Whole Lotta Rosie- AC/DC

Another Week in the Can!

2007-07-13T19:01:00.001-07:00

Well here it is....friday night! I like looking back at the week that was to take stock of what we did this past week. One of our clients (Patricia Wright) will be taking her final Black Belt grading on sunday. She stopped in on tuesday for one of her over the top, partially insane training sessions! If it comes down to conditioning, she's got it in the bag. Both Adam Higson and Sheila Fung have done masterful work in preparing her. Patricia is limited by hand and wrist injuries and Adam and Sheila figured out how she could continue to blast away without injuring herself. That is what makes them both world-class trainers!

Adam has also been a sight to behold as he gets ready to leave for Japan next week. I really pity the Japanese fighter that he will meet in Osaka. I have been around many all-world athletes in my life, but, few with the focus of Adam "The Road Warrior" Higson. He is ripped to the bone and ready to rock. Greyhound lean and Pitbull mean.

I had the pleasure of working with our small group of runners this week for the first time in a while. These ladies work hard and have fun. I gave them a mixture of athletic functional training, hurdle drills and aero-boxing work. Very cool!

Andrew has been pushing our football player, Eric Spearin to new heights as well as he gets ready to take it to the next level at Concordia University in the fall. Eric is going through monstrous workouts and is seeing a gain in his bench press literally every single workout.

As for myself, I have been running sprints for the first time in several months since having knee surgery last November. It feels awesome. Like flying. It always makes me feel free like a child when I run. I also had the opportunity to play live at a bar in an acoustic duo setting for the first time in my life! Sheila and I presented an evening of Classic Rock, New Rock and a few twists at Hooters on thursday night. We played for about two hours (see pics above) and fine tuned our set list that we will be playing in Montreal at a street festival in a couple of weeks.

Liesa (my wife and amistrative adminsistrator) has also been working very hard getting our latest employee ready to start on monday. Jen Scorniaenchi, who is a former all star client of ours, will be working at The Studio for the next month to help us develop a full time administration position before she heads back for her final year of school at Indiana University- Purdue University at Indianapolis in August.

Another week and several more lives changed for the better!................

You gotta have a hobby!

2007-07-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

To be able to REALLY enjoy life, you have to take some time to enjoy something other than what you do for a living. In my case, I have been surrounded by sports and now health and fitness since I was 6 years old playing hockey on the outdoor rinks in Montreal. It is a part of me and what I am and what I do. Having played competitively in football, hockey, rugby, track, field, basketball, baseball, soccer, waterpolo and swimming, I have almost done it all. Nowadays, my main sports are mountain biking, running and men's league hockey in the winter. I really prefer the more non-competitive things like banging around in the woods on my mountain bike.

When I really want to get away from it (meaning health, fitness and "that" lifestyle), I immerse myself in music. Growing up a collector (my first album at age 10 was the Best of BTO!) and now an actual player, there has never been a day in my life that I can remember not involving music. For the last 2 years, I have been part of a hobby band called "Swimming to Vegas" which plays parties and occasional pub gigs. (We had a blast playing the Super Bowl party for Hooters on Hamilton mountain in January).

Today I am really excited because we just received confirmation that Swimming to Vegas will be the featured band at Baranga's on the Beach in Burlington for Lakeport Breweries "End of Summer" bash on August 24th!! This will be huge for us and a ton of fun. It's good to have a hobby.......

Try this at home!

2007-07-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

If, like me, you find yourself incredibly rushed and short of time on the weekend in terms of getting your fitness training in, you need an "Emergency Plan"! Something you can do with little or no equipment that will get you through to your next "real" workout. Something that will challenge your body without eating up all of your time and requiring too much thought or planning. I have a backup workout for such times and it continues to serve me well when I need it. In between taking my kids to "It's Your Festival", cutting the grass, taking the kids swimming, going shopping, planning a party, having a party and then cleaning up AFTER a party, visiting family for Canada Day and then just recovering from everything, I did this workout on saturday afternoon for about 20 minutes;

You can make the intensity incredibly hard or ,easy to moderate, depending on how you feel. With limited time, I tend to move non-stop for the entire 20 minutes with almost no rest in between sets or exercises. I choose "compound" movements which focus on many muscles at once and use mostly large muscle groups. Here is the workout:

Bodyweight Squats x 20
Pushups x 20
Yoga/ Abdominal Plank 30- 60 seconds
Crunches x 20
Hip Lifts (Bridges) x 20
Triceps Dips from a bench or chair x 20

Repeat as many times as possible for 10- 20 minutes depending on time available and your particular fitness level. You can make the exercises harder by moving more quickly in terms of the squats and more slowly in the case of the other exercises. Don't be deceived, this workout will leave you drenched and breathless if you push it. You will get it done and get on with your day in no time, and still be on track to reach your goals.

What a week!

2007-06-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

It's late friday night and I am just looking back at the week that was. Literally every single week our trainers say to each other, "I can't believe we get paid for this!" or "You shouldn't be allowed to have this much fun at work!". The energy that we get from our clients is literally awesome. I don't think I could think of anything else I would rather do than what we are currently doing. We did about 130 individual workouts this week including;

-aerobic boxing with a bride-to-be (1 week) who is feeling like the female version of Rocky right now.
-incredibly high intensity plyometric (explosive bouncing and jumping) movements done against rubber resistance tubing while focusing on catching a soccer ball with a soccer goalie!
-stair climbing at the Dundurn Stairs. 2 clients made to the top for the first time ever!
-outdoor sports drills at Bayfront Park

and finally.....Adam Higson took a pupil of his to Lethbridge, Alberta to compete in a kickboxing tournament, which she won! Jamey English will be going to Thailand in November to compete in a tournament for the King's birthday. Wow.

I myself had the pleasure of working with Jamie West of CHML radio's Health and Wellness show. Jamie has been having major back pain, BUT, today reported that he was actually pain free. About two weeks ago, we did a major overhaul on his training program to focus more on core stability and flexibility and it seems to be working.

The long Canada Day weekend is upon us and I am looking forward to a break, but, can't wait to get back at it next week. Happy Canada Day!

The best workout CD.... EVER!

2007-06-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

Besides being a health and fitness guy, I am also an admitted music nut. I have been collecting albums since I was 10 years old and now have over 3000 in vinyl, cassette and CD. I also play guitar and sing (sort of) in a classic rock band called "Swimming to Vegas". In my opinion, life without music would be unliveable. Here is what I would be listening to if I had to put together my all time "Top 10" workout songs:

Enter Sandman- Metallica
I Stand Alone- Godsmack
Eye of the Tiger- Survivor
The Zoo- Scorpions
2 Minutes to Midnight- Iron Maiden
Lakini's Juice- Live
Jessica- Allman Brothers Band
Neon Nights- Black Sabbath
YYZ- Rush
Holy Wars- Megadeth

That's it. Every one of these songs will get my blood pumping and keep me moving when I want to stop.

First things first!

2007-06-26T07:59:00.001-07:00

Hello and welcome to the first ever posting of the Renaissance Trainer blog. One of the questions most asked of myself and the other trainers at All Canadian Fitness is; "What do YOU guys eat?". Putting first things first, here are a couple of breakfasts that I had this week before starting a 10 hour day of training and doing business.

Breakfast No. 1

2 poached eggs
2 oz. cheddar cheese
1 multi- grain bagel (from Locke St. Bakery!)
1 cup of coffee (sugar twin and cream)
small bunch of grapes
1 multi-vitamin, 3 fish oil capsules, 1 glucosamine caplet

Breakfast No. 2

3 "muscle crepes" (thin crepes made with whole wheat flour, oatmeal, eggs and water)
1 c. low fat, no sugar yogourt
1 green apple
1cup of coffee (sugar twin and cream)
1 multi-vitamin, 3 fish oil capsules, 1 glucosamine caplet

Breakfast No. 3

scrambled egg whites (about 5)
sauteed peppers, mushrooms
small amount of shredded cheddar cheese
bowl of Red River cereal (sweetened with 2 tbsps. of maple syrup homemade by my father and daughter!)
1 cup of coffee (sugar twin and cream)
1 multi-vitamin, 3 fish oil capsules, 1 glucosamine caplet

Pretty normal stuff really. The point is, you've got to put some complex carbohydrates and some good lean protein into your body if you want to be able to function all day long. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day in terms of speeding metabolism, providing energy and helping your body to stay lean.