Just Try

If you had told the 20-year-old me that I would one day be a bodybuilder and personal trainer, I would have laughed. I was obese and miserable, and far from a jock. 

I fell into training by accident. I was yo-yo-ing up in weight once again and figured I would have to be more active. Imagine my surprise when I realized I liked it. A lot. And I was good at it. I understood it and it interested me. When I started doing yoga, the same thing happened. 

You never know until you try. Maybe you have a hidden talent. If there's something you've always wanted to try but been afraid to fail, try anyway! In bodybuilding, as in life, you grow when you fail. Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want, and that's the worst that can happen!

Fascia Television

'Posture is a manifestation of emotion.'

This quote came from the woman who taught a course in myofascial release techniques that I took with some colleagues last fall. 

Fascia is in fashion - at last! It's a connective tissue that surrounds every cell, every muscle spindle - every part of our bodies. It holds us together. And it's very sensitive to emotion. 

For me, my aches and pains are largely due to fascial tightness or spasms. I have a sensitive nervous system, and if I don't face and deal with emotions, I end up with physical problems. Backaches, kinks in my neck - the list goes on. 

Yoga is excellent for releasing fascia, especially yin/yang hot yoga. I often finish these classes in tears - but I don't feel sad, I feel relieved, lighter. 

We, as a society, try to bury our emotions and hide from our problems. It doesn't work. You either end up like me, with mysterious physical issues, or you take it out on the world. 

I'm not saying you should honour every emotion as it arises because this would be inappropriate. But journaling, talking it over, and some physical release will go a long way. You have to take care of your body AND soul.

Mind Games

"You're crazy! I can't do that!"
I cannot tell you how many times I hear this from clients.
"Just try," I tell them, and 95% of the time, they can do whatever it is I've instructed.
I have noticed that many people - women and gay men in particular are apt to underestimate themselves when it comes to training. It's as if they've bought into the myth that we must be weak and/or inferior.  We tend, also, to notice what's negative - what we don't like about ourselves, what we don't have or can't do.
So I've taken on another role, both in my work and in life - that of cheerleader. Focus on what you can do, what you do have, and life becomes sweeter.
It takes a little practice, but work at it, and you may find you're patting yourself on the back more often, and celebrating little victories. And if you come upon something you can't do, make it a goal and develop a plan to get there.
We are more powerful than we realize, but only if we tap the most important muscle of all - the mind.

Bike Safe

I see the craziest things when I'm riding. Yesterday, I was stuck behind a guy riding erratically on Pape, and as I finally passed him, I realized he was playing with his iPod. Listening to music while riding is one thing, but one hand and both eyes busy on something other than riding is nuts!

Today I saw a girl chatting on her phone while riding. It's not just their safety I'm concerned about, but mine as well. If I try to pass them and they suddenly swerve because they're not paying attention, I could be pushed into traffic. 

And on my ride today, I witnessed a woman driver on her phone blocking an intersection, halfway through the turn and oblivious to the cars lining up behind her.

I love my phone, too, but there is not one thing more important than my safety, and everyone should feel the same.

Hopefully No One Is Watching

I've often been asked why I don't go to the sculpting and cardio blast and other such classes at the gym where I work and the reason is this - I suck at choreography. 

And because I'm a trainer, everyone thinks I can do it all, AND they'd be watching. In yoga classes, this is not a problem - I've been practicing for years. But I occasionally take barre/ballet classes closer to home, and I'm terrible at the footwork. I'm the loser in the back row going the wrong way and almost crashing into other participants.

If I can power my way through something, then I've got it made. But dance is much different, and I cannot convince my body to do what my brain and the teacher want.

So that's my dirty little secret. I hope it serves to show that trainers aren't perfect, and maybe you get a little boost because you can do something I can't!

Not So New

I remember looking at stability balls and thinking 'wtf?'. They looked to me like those giant rubber balls with the handle that kids straddle and bounce around on. I always wanted one of those. Weird new trend, I figured. 

Not so much, it turns out. The Swiss Ball, or balance or stability ball, was invented in 1963 by an Italian man, for use in physical therapy. 

The TRX suspension training system? Yes, it was developed by Navy Seals, but in reality, they're just portable gymnastics rings. 

Medicine balls go back even further. Their prototypes were in use by Persians and Greek wrestlers 3,000 years ago. 

Kettle bells were originally a standard 35kg weight used by Russian farmers in the 1700's to weigh crops, but turned out to be a useful way to demonstrate strength at festivals.  

And dumb bells? They're so named because villagers noticed that the guys who pulled the ropes to ring the big church bells were in great shape, but it would have been rather annoying to have bells ringing all day, so they wrapped the clapper to make it dumb. Talk about your functional training!

I just think it's funny that so many things we think are new are really not. And that so much of the cool stuff takes so long to reach North America, where we think we know it all. 

Not So New

I remember looking at stability balls and thinking 'wtf?'. They looked to me like one of those things with the handle that kids straddle and bounce around on. I always wanted one of those. Weird new trend, I figured. 

Not so much, it turns out. The Swiss Ball, or balance or stability ball, was invented in 1963 by an Italian man, for use in physical therapy. 

The TRX suspension training system? Yes, it was developed by Navy Seals, but in reality, they're just portable gymnastics rings. 

Medicine balls go back even further. And dumb bells? They're so named because villagers noticed that the guys who pulled the ropes to ring the big church bells were in great shape, but it would have been rather annoying to have bells ringing all day, so they wrapped the clapper to make it dumb. Talk about your functional training!

I just think it's funny that so many things we think are new are really not. And that so much of the cool stuff takes so long to reach North America, where we think we know it all.