Training Through the Travel

Maintaining a diligent workout routine at home, while challenging at times, is manageable because we can make it a routine part of our daily lives. Like going to work, school, church, music lessons, etc...

But our best of intentions often disappear when we travel because we lose that familiar routine.  Wether its the change in schedule, absence of training partner, or lack of gym access, working out seems to fall by the way side unfortunately.  

I recently encountered this same situation with a friend of mine who I was training for a fitness challenge this spring. She was going to be away for an entire month but still wanted to maintain her exercise program despite the challenges of being away from her trainer and equipment.  

So I chatted with her and designed for her my “personal trainer in a bag” to take with her on her trip - a fitness tool she’ll actually use!!!

In it I placed: 

1. A jump rope for her to use in combination with her running plan to maintain her cardio regardless of weather or orientation challenges.   
2. Resistance band (with illustrated guide) to maintain her strength training (when dumb-bells are too heavy to pack).
3. My fav workout mixed CD (for her to download to her ipod). All songs with upbeat training themes to keep her going.
4. Pilates (or other fitness) DVDs (so easy to pack along with your laptop).
5. My email & blog address, as well as an invite to skype for any long distance advice she might need. 

This small light-weight “personal trainer in a bag” can easily be packed in any suitcase or carry-on, and gives you all the tools needed to maintain a fitness plan on the road, wether its for a week or a month.  

So don’t stop working out when you have to travel.  Just get creative!  

Don’t forget many resorts, hotels and condos have fitness facilities that guests can use, so always pack your sneakers and sweats no matter what.

So good luck out there! Keep on working hard. You won’t regret it. 

Winter Workouts

Don’t let winter get you down.  I’ve found that one of my favourite ways to beat the winter blues is to get outside for a winter wonderland workout.  Cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing or tobogganing with the kids can all be great cardio sessions. 

I offer regular Saturday morning bootcamps all winter long. These winter bootcamps are even more challenging than normal bootcamps because running in the snow is harder on your leg muscles which in turn makes your workout more efficient and a real calorie blaster! 

Here are a couple of pictures of last Saturdays winter workout.  As you can see the medicine balls and kettle weights were more fun to throw in the snow.  So come out and join us!  No excuses!  

Pre-Breakfast Workout?

Good morning everybody!!

I just saw this story on CTV news and it caught my interest:

http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/a-pre-breakfast-workout-may-burn-more-body-fat-1.1134705 

It was originally published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

It discusses wether to eat breakfast before or after your morning workout.  What their research found was that it depends on what your workout goal was.  If you’re looking for optimal performance (e.g. athletes in training) its best to eat breakfast before your workout, as your body needs the fuel. However, if you’re looking for weight loss, its best to eat breakfast after your workout, as your body burns 20% more fat on an empty stomach as opposed to a full one.  

I want to emphasize that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and should never be skipped. It fuels your body for the day, regulates appetite and metabolism, and is the foundation for a healthy body.  While you should never skip breakfast, it is OK to strategically time your breakfast in order to achieve your fitness goals whatever they might be.   

Have a good one! (Both breakfast & workout, I mean) 

Abs

Let’s talk about abs.  Its one of the most frustrating body parts to tone, and always high on the wish list for new years resolutions. 

Most people think that they can blast their way to six pack abs by doing lots of crunches. That’s really only part of it.  Actually I consider it to be only one third of the process - the other two thirds is diet and cardio. The ab muscles tend to be covered in body fat and only i) sensible eating will prevent the build up of more fat, and ii) cardio will burn off the present fat.  Our abs tend to be the first place fat tends to build on our bodies over time. If you want to see your abs, first you need to diet and exercise off the fat covering your ab muscles, only then will you be able to see the strong muscle you have been developing underneath.  Invest in a healthy diet and cardio first, then the intense crunches.  Now don't get me wrong, doing crunches will still give you a strong core (which is always a good thing) but no one will see that strong core until the belly fat is dieted away and ran off. 

There is no such thing as upper and lower abs.  We have 2 major abdominal muscle groups: 1) abdominalis rectus, and 2) internal/external obliques.  The traditional sit ups and crunches all work on the abdominalis rectus which is one big stomach muscle (aka the six pack) and is often incorrectly thought of as upper or lower ab muscles, but that’s a myth. Isolating those upper or lower areas do not work on different muscles like most people think. This information doesn’t really change the way we work out, but its just a pet peeve of mine :) 

Happy toning!  And good luck with all your new years resolutions!

Surviving the Festive Season

With the holidays upon us, many people find it challenging to keep up our fitness routines and sensible eating plans.  The stress and pressure of the holiday season - (although made in the best of intentions) - tends to lead to over-eating and skipped work-outs.  A course misguided by love and kindness.  All this considered, I’d like to offer some advice on how to stay on track with your fitness goals during this festive time, both nutritionally and physically.  Not all points will apply to all, but I thought it important to cover a wide range.  So here goes...

First off, you need to think smart about what you plan to eat.    

1. Don’t skip meals - People often skip breakfast or lunch in anticipation of a special dinner or party.  However, if you skip a meal chances are you’ll over-eat significantly because you’ll feel so deprived.  Have a small meal or snack before an event and you’re much less likely to over-indulge.  
2. Choose smarter snacks - Don’t be fooled by the Fruit Cake, its a calorie-dense diet disaster. Opt for the candy cane instead. Its lower cal, and lasts longer too.  
3. Be a responsible host - When putting out festive snacks for company be sure to offer an equal spread of fruits & veggies (w/ low fat dips) as well as the chips and chocolate.  Remember darker chocolate is a healthier option than milk or white chocolate.  
4. Options for Bakers - Baking cakes and cookies can be wonderful family traditions which you don’t have to miss out on while sticking to your diet.  There are modern alternatives to grandma’s cherished recipes. You can substitute applesauce for butter, or use Splenda instead of raw sugar.  These subtle switches go unnoticed while reducing fat and calories, and are also diabetic friendly.     

Secondly, don’t forget to work-out!  No excuses.  

The number one reason (#1 by far, regardless of season) people say they can’t exercise is lack of time.  While this excuse is more valid for some than others (I have thought a lot about this and could discuss at great length but not right now since time is most likely of the essence!), even the most diligent of us feel so pressed for time that workouts are sacrificed. Thus, I wanted to offer some tips on how to stay active over the holidays, despite the pressure.

1. Make your workouts count - if you can only spend half your usual time in the gym, then double your intensity to compensate.  Spin faster, run harder, pump stronger, just for that little while. Your trainer can show you how to do it safely and efficiently.  It’ll be tough but worth it!  
2. Create healthier traditions - instead of spending boxing day watching movies or playing video games, encourage more active family traditions.  Ice skating is a cherished Canadian past-time, as well as skiing, snow-shoeing or tobogganing.  If you give these items as presents all the better.  On that same train of thought, if your family prefers the comfort of the living room to the outdoors, games like Twister, charades, or the video-game consoles that require body movement (e.g. Wii - fit, or xbox kinect) will get you off the couch and moving.   
3. Plan more physically active holiday parties - whether its for work/friends/family, throwing a party at a bowling alley, skating rink, paintball field, etc... will still bring people together in a celebratory mood.  You’ll be active while also being fun, festive, and have no mess to clean up after ;) now thats sweet!      
4. Consider the true value of the season, and what that means to your life - I left this for last because I consider it the most difficult point to discuss.   When I ask my clients what that most important factor in their life is, 90% say family.  Its by far the biggest motivational factor that people draw on when struggling to stay fit.  However, these same people will often sacrifice their personal health in order to appease their family members out of love and loyalty.  I understand and respect this.  I also view my role as a personal trainer to help people through this difficult situation.  So here is my personal and subjective advice to get in your workouts thru the holidays:

1. Understand that a healthy family is raised by a healthy parent.  Parents enroll their children in sports because they see the value of physical activity. These same parents also need to recognize how investing in their own health at these same times, have value to their families as a whole unit also.  A strong parent will provide more options for their children via increased self-esteem, better body image, hand-eye co-ordination, focus/concentration and respect/loyalty.  
2. Workouts are great stress busters - No doubt all families are unique, yet, I firmly believe that family gatherings are without doubt, the most stressful life situations we encounter.  Personally, I’ve found that a good workout is one of the best ways to deal with stress, and its (honestly) essential for me to workout regularly to stay happy & healthy, even more-so over the holidays.   As a PT, its easier for me to make excuses to escape to the gym than others, so I wanted to suggest some ways to maintain or perhaps add on some stress busting workouts:  

1. Consider your workout times as important as other work meetings this month.  Confirm them in your work calender and treat them as such.  (E.g. If you tell a co-worker you’re going to the gym at 1pm they’re more likely to pressure you to skip it, as opposed to if you had told them you had an important prior commitment that you could not miss, sorry).     
2. Not all holiday parties have to be committed and attended equally.  One of my favourite social statements is “I need to make an appearance at least”.  Show your face at a party in order to save grace basically.  I never realized the power of this statement until I said it to my supervisor for the first time while working in Africa many years ago.  We had a load of work to do, but also faced many social-community pressures that conflicted with our other commitments (with all due respect).  When I suggested that we should ‘just make an appearance’ and then excuse ourselves, my supervisor looked so relieved it took me aback for a moment.  The point of my story is that while everybody makes it seem so important that you attend every event, its more important that you keep your own perspective.  If a party is from 7-10pm don’t feel guilty for hitting the gym from 7-8pm then showing up to the party.  While I don’t encourage deceit or lying to others, I do not feel excusing yourself for exercise is a bad thing.  Its truly your judgement call alone.  I do know that it often takes creative reasons for getting good things done sometimes.  That’s always a personal decision though.         

I’m going to wrap up this blog now.  I’ve written a lot for anyone to consider, discussed what I truly feel to be important points to think about especially in relation to work and family, and finding some structure (albeit personal) to deal with holiday stress.   I’ve been told its best to separate work and play, but I’ve always found it enjoyable to dump all my work related crap into a big pile at the gym and lay into it. 

Whatever approach you take with the holidays I wish you and your family all the best, and I hope to see you all in the gym or on the field again next year. All the best. 

Happy Holidays! 

Triathlon - Duathlon! (Part 2)

Appropriate for a race titled with ‘Tri’, it was on my third scheduled race that I finally completed my planned Triathlon.  The Milton triathlon cancelled the swim due to poor water quality, and the Wasaga Beach triathlon cancelled the swim due to poor (monsoon like) weather, so I was left with the only option being Duathlon.  It was only at the Lakeside Triathlon on Sep 15 that I was able to complete a full Triathlon.   Yay!

Here are my race results:

Sep 2 - Milton Triathlon 

Changed to Duathlon: 2.5km run, 20km bike, 5km run 

Overall time = 1:38:19 (13:26, 52:04, 32:49)

Sep 8 - Wasaga Beach Triathlon

Changed to Duathlon: 5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km run 

Overall time = 1:34:21 (25:32, 52:00, 12:29)

Sep 15 - Lakeside Triathlon

Sprint Triathlon 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run 

Overall time = 1:48:22 (18:43, 54:16, 30:06)

It has been a few years since I did my last triathlon and I felt a little rusty but now I’m totally refreshed, re-tuned and looking forward to next years racing season. 

I was a little disappointed with my time of 1:48:22 but I understand where I faltered and what my weak points were and am capable of working on them for next year.  

Upon reflection, the biggest thing I would change about the race was not using a wetsuit.  I did the swim in just my 2 piece TYR bathing suit.  I didn’t realize how much warmer a wetsuit would’ve kept my body.  Leaving the water my toes were numb and I was really slow moving through T1. My toes were numb during the entire bike ride.  I ended up with pins and needles in my leg during the run.  I felt it probably impacted my race time by 10-15 minutes.  I’ll do better next time.  I went online and purchased a wetsuit and have been using that since!  

So if you’re looking for a personal trainer with Triathlon and Duathlon racing experience here I am.  I know how it feels and what it takes to cross that finish line, so if you want to train for your first triathlon over this upcoming winter I can help you with that goal.  

Triathlon - Duathlon!

Although I had planned to do the Sprint Triathlon, due to unsafe conditions at Kelso Lake (high bacterial counts), the swim portion of the race was cancelled, thereby changing the Triathlon to a Duathlon (2.5km run, 20m bike, 5km run).  I was disappointed not to swim but that's life, C'est la vie!

I finished the race in a time of 1:38:19.  Not too shabby considering I had not planned to do a Duathlon at all.  I've posted a couple race pics for you here. 

Still I'm determined to get an official Triathlon in this summer, so I've signed up for the Wasaga Beach Sprint Triathlon this weekend.  I'm hoping to get my time under 1:30:00.  I'll let you know how that goes as well.  Sometime after this race I'll be putting together a blog on my Triathlon training tips.  So stay tuned and wish me luck again!