Getting Back into Shape

When I first heard of NBC’s The Biggest Loser, it was the ad showing the contestants in roughly 2004 (if my memory serves me correctly) and I truly dismissed the show. Six years later however, I’m finding The Biggest Loser to be a great source of information and inspiration.

Its amazing hearing the stories of the contestants and understanding that they had some point or event in their life which caused a spiral into obesity or stopped them from choosing to pursue a healthier lifestyle.

Since dismissing the show at face value, it seems to be happening to those around me. Gone are the days of 3 – 6 hours of training each day during our school and university days, long lost are the teammates and coaches to push us for excellence and the athletic physique is definitely in the rear-view mirror.

3 – 6 hours of training per day just happened; calories were burned, sweating, pushing to the limit. It was easy as it was broken up through out the day. It was a lifestyle as a high-school and college athlete. Not everyone kept with that schedule, but a good number of us did – we enjoyed it. These Biggest Loser contestants are going through a similar schedule with hopes of getting back into healthy shape.

Having teammates at your side and coaches there to push you is such a great method of life. Whether work or working-out, it really helps. Motivation from coach and accountability to your teammates keeps everyone in check. “There is nothing stronger than a group of people working together for the same goal.” This is the magic of The Biggest Loser, Jillian & Bob are world-class trainers (and nutritionists) and each player is on a team working for the same goal as their team – lost weight; get in shape.

They are parallel – maybe I’m just missing the team environment, whatever the case, I’m out of shape!

Unlike most people who start to gain weight after giving up a very athletic lifestyle, I have slipped to the other side of unhealthy – I’ve lost weight, too much. I’m comfortable between 200-210 lbs (athletic build) and at my lowest, I was down to 175 lbs, low-energy, clothes feeling baggy, low-confidence, un-motivated to get off my butt. Meanwhile, what used to be muscular was now feeling chubby – stomach, sides, etc.

My muscle mass has decreased with my fat percentage increasing. With my eating habits unchanged, I would simply eat what I wanted. All though my life that has been the case.

“What do you want? No matter your choice, you’ll burn it off later.”

Normally, I’m not the type to plug a TV show, but this is the kick in the pants that I needed to get back into the gym, start eating right, and really set goals again. I feel more lively already and I’m excited for a change.

As I learn more about the process (and hopefully see changes) I’m going to be sharing them as I hope to inspire others who may have slipped away from the body and lifestyle they love.

Here’s to our health!

My 30 Day Challenge: Update 2

A little harder over the past couple days, the rain has not let up, we even lost power in our neighbourhood for a couple hours Wednesday night. Still, I have pushed myself to accomplish the set goals – these are the defining moments which will make the difference on day 30.

I’ve also noticed that I’m starting to crave healthier foods. My body is responding to exercise, and lately I’ve wanted Pasta! Its ok, as long as I continue to burn more calories. I found some great tips to keeping on it!

Overall, a little sore, but not as bad as basketball on Sunday. However, back to the court today - Sunday basketball!

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Here’s a recap of the past 3 days:

Daily Jog - Accomplished

100 Push-ups - Accomplished

100 Triceps Dips - Accomplished

100 Sit-ups - Accomplished

100 Lunges - Accomplished

My 30 Day Challenge: Update 1

I’m trying to get started on the right foot for My 30 Day Challenge with Sunday night basketball. It was a wake-up call. The biggest difference I saw was the stamina – I couldn’t keep up half of the time. Forgetting how much of a cardio session basketball was, I came home exhausted and sore.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – all sore muscles, however, getting in to the new routine did help. The morning Jog, and 10 sets of 10 Push-ups, Triceps dips, and lunges through out the day really felt good. The sit-ups were done all in one shot as I learned from one of my trainers. Legs in the air x 10, knees at 90 degrees x 10, feet on the ground x 10, “frog” x 10, knees bent to the left x 10, knees bent to the right x 10. Did that twice – my core is burning, but in a good way.

It looks like we’re off to a good start – need to keep it up for another 27 days.

Here’s a recap of the past 3 days:

Daily Jog - Accomplished

100 Push-ups - Accomplished

100 Triceps Dips - Accomplished

100 Sit-ups - Accomplished

100 Lunges - Accomplished

My 30 Day challenge

Right now I'm a shape - not the shape I'd like to be in. Here's where we begin. Ideally I would like to be back at a comfortable weight, feeling strong and confident. Currently, neither of those accurately describe how I feel or my physique.

The task - to at least have the confidence back, and to be as active as possible while I lead this busy life. The motivational music is loaded in the iPod - lets get started!

Step 1: Exercises around the home as frequently as possible and jogging with our dog daily.

Step 2: Regular gym sessions built into my weekly schedule.

Step 3: Back into team sports on a regular basis

The journey officially begins this weekend, but I've gotten a head start; Push-ups, Sit-ups and Triceps-Dips. I'm going to need to work on getting the number of reps up, and increasing the amount of sets through out the day.

Goal 1:
Have 100 reps of each at-home exercise done daily.
20-30 minute run with our dog each day.

Date to complete: Friday, November 20.

The G-Men

We touched on the business of sport in our last entry, and it was more negative than anythimng else. Yes, there are losers in the world of business, even professional sports - but - some franchises are doing extremely well. A perfect example is the Vancouver Giants.

A golden opportunity like this arises once in lifetime for investors; a perfect market. Hockey hungry city, sold out NHL games, an empty stadium, close proximity to your competition, in the largest BC city and you've got great financial backing - what a great fit for an expansion WHL franchise!

Its only what you do with an opportunity that counts and the Giants ownership group has made the most of the situation here in Vancouver. Fighting the WHL to start the giants was more than some would bear but it was the right decision to push ahead!

Once the ball was rolling, the right people had to be put into place and I personally think they made a fantastic decision by hiring coach Don Hay, who has lead the Giants to success on the ice.

A Recent milestone happened this season for the G-men, they passed the 2,000,000 fan mark. In a city who the WHL said would have trouble selling tickets, the Giants have blown away all expextations.

A true success story that can be used as a model for other franchises - the Giants are here to stay. The expansion of hockey in the Lower Mainland can be attributed toi Ron Toigo, Pat Quinn and the rest of the Giants organization. The Chilliwak Bruins have grown very well and have just moved into their new stadium, and the Calgary Flames have recently requested for their AHL farm team to be moved to Abbotsford.

We might have lost the Grizzlies to Memphis, but there is no shortage of successful sports teams to enjoy here in Vancouver.

Back in 2009

We'll it wasn't a resolution to blog less in the new year, but it seems to be the case as we've just wrapped up January and this is the first posting of 2009.

Lets get back up to speed!


The Celtics are rocking! At 41-9 they are in playoff form. The final 3 minutes of last night's win over the Sixers was real team basketball. All Star break is right around the corner - should be fun!

The Vancouver Canucks finally look better as last night they won their first game, ever! Just kidding, as a fan that's how long it feels like. Roberto Luongo is back to form and stopping shots, we look like the Canucks of October again - with Mats Sundin getting points, lets hope it'll continue!

As 2009 starts off on a better foot economically than 2008 ended, will we see teams like the Phoenix Coyotes come out of financial ruins? As a fan, I certainly hope so. I am not, however, impressed with Gary Bettman's decision to continue to pay the Coyote's bills. Getting a handout like that is similar to a grown man having to run to Mommy and Daddy for money. What is the money for? To feed his ego.

Sports teams are still businesses: huge losses, over spending, and poor decisions, are not OK just because its the NHL. Its no different than any company asking for a bailout. That bailout will only work if you start doing things in a much different manor. Continuing on the same path wil only lead you back to the same mess.

Since our outlook is for a slow and steady climb back to a strong financial position, we'll be looking more at the business of sport. There might be some teams for sale in the very near future - any takers?

Last Minute or Deadline Oriented?

The bottom line with that comparison, what ever the task, it is completed with little or no time to spare. Not the way to operate any business, or be at your job, study, etc.

I’ve been posed with this thought because of the amount of people I’ve come across who operate like this. It’s a proven fact that our bodies operate poorly while stressed and stress can literally kill you. So why not manage your time a bit better (for those who are last minute) and create earlier soft deadlines (for those deadline oriented people) to relieve some of the stress associated with a time crunch.

Cramming for tests never helped me, and I found numerous studies that showed a good night’s sleep would be a better idea than trying to re-learn (for some of us – learn) the course within the 24 hours leading up to the exam. Most of the studies showed that during the cramming time period, the brain is not working as efficiently as possible, nor at its full capacity. This was not helped by drugs, energy drinks, coffee, etc.

I found that learning the course and absorbing through out the semester was the best way to gain knowledge and retain it. The retention was aided by having some time to apply the knowledge whether it be a term project, an essay or simply class discussion.

Now, fast-forward to today. How can we apply this to our office setting? What about our most recent client or project?

Be a sponge of information all the time. I think the more you can absorb over the course of time, you will be very sharp when it comes down to executing. Clients drop hints, previous events can give you guidance, and the amount of info out there is immense! Don’t let the deadline scare you, eat it like an elephant; one bite at a time. Being a sponge is profitable!

Make the bites a little easier to understand by dividing them by category. I find that this also helps with delegating. For example, you can easier identify tasks that will a creative person or a graphic designer by having them all classified under design, creative or visual.

Keep tabs on how everything is going, and always be aware of the deadline or Event date. I know this sounds stupid, but it is very true. Don’t get so wrapped up in you work that the deadline sneaks up on you. Then you don’t have a choice, but to pull that all nighter.

Don’t think that I’m against deadlines or being spontaneous. After all, a lot of our ideas are spontaneous, mostly stemming from creative, and they might require some last minute work, or a tight deadline to pull off, but its not a choice that is made day-in and day-out. We would much rather plan.

When something is going to plan, everyone is calm – once again cutting down on stress levels – and the efficiency levels go through the roof. Allowance for changes, or road blocks are much easier when the deadline is comfortable, or you have lots of time.

Work with a sense of urgency to get ahead of the curve; don’t have the hammer about to come down on your head. Do tomorrow’s work today, so you can finish with ample time and breathe easier.