After my embarrassing attempt at Hot Yoga yesterday I come home and took a night for myself. A small handful of pistachios, some television and a comfy couch is all I need. I met up with Fares El Sabbagh and we talked about the Vancouver skyline and how much downtown Vancouver looks like a scene from The Jetsons with all the LED, glass and concrete. Especially with the new UFO looking BC Place stadium you can already picture flying cars booting around the skyscrapers.
Well rested in the morning I head out for one of my MARATHON runs. Set the treadmill to 60 minutes and just giver.The lady next to me was really into her Gene Simmons "Family Jewels" which has to be the worst show on television but oh well.
Back to work to crush the rest of my day. Tomorrow is my big deadline so tonight is an incredibly crucial night to make sure the whole team is grinding and everyone is making calls. My reward tonight is a pair of floor tickets to go see Kings of Leon. VERY EXCITED.
Thursday, 29 September 2011
SEPTEMBER 27th DAY 27: HOT YOGA
Great day at work yesterday, the team is really catching on and crushing their calls. This is what I have been wishing for since the summer and I am stoked to see it pay off for S-Trip! and for my employees. To celebrate I head out for some beveys with the always exciting Brook Robertson. He tells me we are going to a Moroccan party as he sports a tasseled blazer. After the Moroccan party we head to The Factory on Granville (great for unlimited free peanuts!) and cap off the night there. I walk home from the bar and have gotten really good at ignoring temptations. $1 Pizza slices on every corner, Taquito advertisements plaster the 7-11 windows and on the very last corner before I enter my condo, the Golden Arches tease me to buy french fries and McNuggets everynight.
Happy I didn't indulge in greasy treats, up early again and I'm off to Yoga. I have done Yoga before but never Hot Yoga. I have the dear Jenna Fletcher to thank for this alien experience who invites me to her class. Now every yoga class I have been to thus far has felt like intense stretching and a combination of balancing acts...and of course a lot of very fit women in yoga pants. Not a bad workout and not a bad setting either and I entered this class assuming it was the going to be the same as all the other classes. Dressed in appropriate yoga attire (tights and no shirt) I stretch, warm up and get ready for the class.
Once the class begins, I quickly realize this isn't any regular yoga classes. The poses are awkward, the holds are long and the room is freggin hot! Not even 10 minutes into the session, my mat is drenched, my hair is dripping and I even slip in a puddle of my own sweat in front of everyone. My arms aren't as high, my legs aren't as stretched and the instructor decides to stand right next to me to point out my bad form as an example to others. My downward dog looks like I am curled up in the fetal position but on my hands and knees and my when I am on my back I look like a flipped over turtle who can't get back to his feet. I am clearly the outcast in the bunch and find out that this class is for advanced yogis (yoga people term for people who do yoga) and isn't for 60 minutes but 120 minutes of torture. After about 90 minutes I bow out and retreat to my car. I am very satisfied with my effort and look forward to my next practice, I'll just be sure to stay away from the advanced classes.
Happy I didn't indulge in greasy treats, up early again and I'm off to Yoga. I have done Yoga before but never Hot Yoga. I have the dear Jenna Fletcher to thank for this alien experience who invites me to her class. Now every yoga class I have been to thus far has felt like intense stretching and a combination of balancing acts...and of course a lot of very fit women in yoga pants. Not a bad workout and not a bad setting either and I entered this class assuming it was the going to be the same as all the other classes. Dressed in appropriate yoga attire (tights and no shirt) I stretch, warm up and get ready for the class.
Once the class begins, I quickly realize this isn't any regular yoga classes. The poses are awkward, the holds are long and the room is freggin hot! Not even 10 minutes into the session, my mat is drenched, my hair is dripping and I even slip in a puddle of my own sweat in front of everyone. My arms aren't as high, my legs aren't as stretched and the instructor decides to stand right next to me to point out my bad form as an example to others. My downward dog looks like I am curled up in the fetal position but on my hands and knees and my when I am on my back I look like a flipped over turtle who can't get back to his feet. I am clearly the outcast in the bunch and find out that this class is for advanced yogis (yoga people term for people who do yoga) and isn't for 60 minutes but 120 minutes of torture. After about 90 minutes I bow out and retreat to my car. I am very satisfied with my effort and look forward to my next practice, I'll just be sure to stay away from the advanced classes.
SEPTEMBER 26th DAY 26: ABSOLUTE SPA
Sore is an understatement after the ass-whooping the trampolines treated me to yesterday. I now have a huge day ahead of me and an intimidating workout waiting for me at the end of the day and am physically not feeling up to any of it. To shake myself of this, I decide to bully my body through the pain. I peel myself off my bed (couch) at 8:00am, strap my shoes on and go for a run. My back hurts, my shins are killing me but I commit myself to get this done so I don't hurt all day. Pleased with myself after the run, I crush a lunch meeting or two and then retreat to the Absolute Spa.
Yeah, I went there. An hour and a half massage, 20 minutes in the steam room and a nice complimentary light salad concluded my visit, I head back to work in the pouring rain.
Yeah, I went there. An hour and a half massage, 20 minutes in the steam room and a nice complimentary light salad concluded my visit, I head back to work in the pouring rain.
SEPTEMBER 25th DAY 25: SEATTLE - SKY HIGH
Yesterday was a classic Super Saturday and was nothing short of active. Today however I am going to up the stakes because I have a Supreme Sunday set up and can't wait to get things started. 7:30am Sunday morning I make myself a hearty breakfast, call my buddy Chris McClelland and hit the road to Seattle. Highlights of the drive were the Washington Bandito motorcyclist who flipped off a cop call and then rode away and the Honda "Audi"sey, a 94 Honda Odyssey with Audi rings instead of the Honda "H".
We are headed to Seattle Washington to watch an NFL football game. Now these aren't any old tickets and this isn't any old game. We are front row, on the field, 50 yard line, behind the home team, for the home opener!!! It really doesn't get any better than this! We make it to Seattle around 11:30am which gives us plenty of time to hit up as many tailgates as we can before the game. Before that can begin, I go to print my tickets off at a local Office Depot where I meet Ryan. Picture a 5'8'' neon ginger with the best Carleton (from the Fresh Prince of Bel-air) costume I have ever seen, except he wasn't in costume. I some how managed to offend him by thinking that Staples and Office Depot were the same thing. You could visibly see how sad he was and he went on to recite his Office Depot pledge. Sensitive little ginger aren't we?!
In the stadium, players rush out the gates, pyrotechnics are in full effect, the fireworks, the smoke, the marching bands and the sirens, the energy in the building is electric!! Blue skies until about 5 minutes before the game, torrential downpour for the first 5 minutes of the game and then beautiful sunshine the rest of the game. The rain doesn't damper anyone's attitude and this building is alive! We make friends with all our neighbors, high fives all around, the Seahawks pull off a WIN! Not the most exciting game but we won. I called the Seahawks to win as well as 10 other wins I predicted. My picks are getting better! (Wk.1=9/16, Wk.2=12/16, Wk.3=11/16). AND on a healthy note, I stayed away from ALL tasty stadium snacks. I happily enjoyed my bag of peanuts.
WEEK 3 NFL FOOTBALL PICKS
Jacksonville vs. Carolina - JAC
San Francisco vs. Cincinnati - SF
Miami vs. Cleveland - CLE
New England vs. Buffalo - NE
New York Giants vs. Philadelphia - PHI
Detroit vs. Minnesota - DET
Houston vs. New Orleans - NO (two of my favorite teams facing off)
Denver vs. Tennessee - TEN
New York Jets vs. Oakland - NYJ
Baltimore vs. St. Louis - BAL
Kansas City vs. San Diego - SD
Atlanta vs. Tampa Bay - ATL
Arizona vs. Seattle - SEA (I'll be at the game, look for me behind the home teams bench!)
Green Bay vs. Chicago - GB
Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis - PIT
Washington vs. Dallas - WAS
Now if the day ended right there, it wouldn't be anything short of epic but the reason this was a Supreme Sunday was because we are headed to a very special place on the way back to Canada; SKYHIGH Sports! I think people dream about places like this but when you find out it actually exists, your mind is blown. SKYHIGH is a trampoline gym but not a regular gymnastic trampoline gym. It is built for people like me who just want to runaround and bounce and flip off everything in sight. SKYHIGH features wall to wall trampolines, trampolines on the walls, a trampoline dodge ball arena and my favorite...a foam pit the size of a backyard swimming pool!!! Who says exercise and working out needs to be boring?! I begin bouncing, flipping, spinning and hucking myself into the foam pit and 6'7" Chris McClelland joins right in. We quickly realize how much cardio and energy bouncing takes out of you but on the clock, winded as we may be, don't waste a single minute (we even swindled another 30 mins for free after talking to the pretty girl at the front desk). Worn out, sore and exhausted we drive back to Canada. Wait about an hour in the border line up and finish the day with a well deserved hot tub session to sooth the muscles. I know I will be sore tomorrow.
We are headed to Seattle Washington to watch an NFL football game. Now these aren't any old tickets and this isn't any old game. We are front row, on the field, 50 yard line, behind the home team, for the home opener!!! It really doesn't get any better than this! We make it to Seattle around 11:30am which gives us plenty of time to hit up as many tailgates as we can before the game. Before that can begin, I go to print my tickets off at a local Office Depot where I meet Ryan. Picture a 5'8'' neon ginger with the best Carleton (from the Fresh Prince of Bel-air) costume I have ever seen, except he wasn't in costume. I some how managed to offend him by thinking that Staples and Office Depot were the same thing. You could visibly see how sad he was and he went on to recite his Office Depot pledge. Sensitive little ginger aren't we?!
In the stadium, players rush out the gates, pyrotechnics are in full effect, the fireworks, the smoke, the marching bands and the sirens, the energy in the building is electric!! Blue skies until about 5 minutes before the game, torrential downpour for the first 5 minutes of the game and then beautiful sunshine the rest of the game. The rain doesn't damper anyone's attitude and this building is alive! We make friends with all our neighbors, high fives all around, the Seahawks pull off a WIN! Not the most exciting game but we won. I called the Seahawks to win as well as 10 other wins I predicted. My picks are getting better! (Wk.1=9/16, Wk.2=12/16, Wk.3=11/16). AND on a healthy note, I stayed away from ALL tasty stadium snacks. I happily enjoyed my bag of peanuts.
WEEK 3 NFL FOOTBALL PICKS
Jacksonville vs. Carolina - JAC
San Francisco vs. Cincinnati - SF
Miami vs. Cleveland - CLE
New England vs. Buffalo - NE
New York Giants vs. Philadelphia - PHI
Detroit vs. Minnesota - DET
Houston vs. New Orleans - NO (two of my favorite teams facing off)
Denver vs. Tennessee - TEN
New York Jets vs. Oakland - NYJ
Baltimore vs. St. Louis - BAL
Kansas City vs. San Diego - SD
Atlanta vs. Tampa Bay - ATL
Arizona vs. Seattle - SEA (I'll be at the game, look for me behind the home teams bench!)
Green Bay vs. Chicago - GB
Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis - PIT
Washington vs. Dallas - WAS
Now if the day ended right there, it wouldn't be anything short of epic but the reason this was a Supreme Sunday was because we are headed to a very special place on the way back to Canada; SKYHIGH Sports! I think people dream about places like this but when you find out it actually exists, your mind is blown. SKYHIGH is a trampoline gym but not a regular gymnastic trampoline gym. It is built for people like me who just want to runaround and bounce and flip off everything in sight. SKYHIGH features wall to wall trampolines, trampolines on the walls, a trampoline dodge ball arena and my favorite...a foam pit the size of a backyard swimming pool!!! Who says exercise and working out needs to be boring?! I begin bouncing, flipping, spinning and hucking myself into the foam pit and 6'7" Chris McClelland joins right in. We quickly realize how much cardio and energy bouncing takes out of you but on the clock, winded as we may be, don't waste a single minute (we even swindled another 30 mins for free after talking to the pretty girl at the front desk). Worn out, sore and exhausted we drive back to Canada. Wait about an hour in the border line up and finish the day with a well deserved hot tub session to sooth the muscles. I know I will be sore tomorrow.
SEPTEMBER 24th DAY 24: SUPER SATURDAYS
OH WHAT A NIGHT. It's been a long time since I had a 5:00am coffee table dance party but that definitely went down last night. I went to the Waldorf to meet up with the lovely Genny Phillips and check out Maria in the Shower. This was one of the coolest live shows I have seen. Accordians, Harmonicas, a stand up Bass and barbershop quartett harmonies. They opened with a magic show and successfully managed to get a room of 500 people to kneel on the ground to watch the show. (http://www.myspace.com/mariaintheshower). The highlight of the whole night was bumping into Heather and Jessica Prince as well as my new friend Ben Leslie who I went to high schools with!! Talk about a trip down memory lane!! After the Waldorf room, we went back to the Prince residence, cranked up the iPad and danced the night away. I walked in my door at 7:00am, just enough time to grab a cat nap before I start my Super Saturday.
Today's agenda:
12:00- Breakfast and emails
1:30- Yoga in North Vancouver
2:30- Skateboarding on West 6th with Richard Joseph
3:30- Frisbee at False Creek with Richard Joseph
6:00- UFC at Boston Pizza in Burnaby
Today's agenda:
12:00- Breakfast and emails
1:30- Yoga in North Vancouver
2:30- Skateboarding on West 6th with Richard Joseph
3:30- Frisbee at False Creek with Richard Joseph
6:00- UFC at Boston Pizza in Burnaby
SEPTEMBER 23rd: DAY 23: SWIMMING and SAUNA
A gorgeous Friday morning in Vancouver and I hit the road full of energy. This is my last weekend in BC for a while so I have to go out with a bang!! Off to Delta first and what do you know...I get a flat tire. I pull into the closest Enterprise Rent-a-Car (probably the best rent-a-car place if I could suggest any. If you are in Kitsilano, ask for Sandra) and all they have in stock is a beautiful white Dodge Dakota. "No problem" I say, I snatch the keys and off to Aldergrove next. Flat tire ruin my day? Hells no! Thanks for the free upgrade. I crush a meeting with about 50 students hanging out of my tailgate, all cheering and chanting as I pulled away. Back to the office to crank out some emails and phone calls and then off to the pool I go! I have lived in a house with a pool in the backyard my whole life but don't fancy myself a skilled swimmer. More of a cannonball / backflip kind of dude.
Trying to shake up my routine and shock my body the routine I commit myself to is 10 minutes of swimming and at the end of each lap, pull myself out of the pool and either do 5 push ups or 10 sit ups. This is inspired from my Army buddy Justin Ford who used to make me do this in his indoor pool back in 2008 when I was 200 lbs. In between each 10 minute swim I will go in the Sauna for 5 minutes to catch my breath and keep my sweat going. Do that for a full hour and I beleive that should be a good work out. I hope I don't just sink when I hit the water. Five minutes into my first swim set I feel like throwing in the towel. I really suck at swimming. I look like a one armed golden retriever treading water. My laps take a whole 30 seconds to do while an 80 year old asian man does 2 laps in the time it takes me to do one. Then a congregation of 8 othe elderly asians are having a friday night hot tub party. Even though I don't speak any asian tongues, I can tell they are talking about me. I have become their entertainment for the night. Anyhow, I power through it somehow with my anxious audience and when I finally collapse on the side of the pool done my work out, I got a round of applause. That was the only gratifying part of my swim. I retreat back to my room where I lay on the floor in a fetal position for a good 30 minutes before I do anything else. I am exhausted, dehydrated, sore in the shoulders and not a happy camper. I have no idea why I thought swimming was a good idea.
Anyways, Friday night, time to go party. Here is my weekly Friday song and wish me luck tomorrow. My super saturday consists of hot yoga, a gym routine with the always motivational Richard Joseph, a skate session with Rich and all followed by tossing around the frisbee. Oh boy....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR6oYX1D-0w ENJOY!!!
Trying to shake up my routine and shock my body the routine I commit myself to is 10 minutes of swimming and at the end of each lap, pull myself out of the pool and either do 5 push ups or 10 sit ups. This is inspired from my Army buddy Justin Ford who used to make me do this in his indoor pool back in 2008 when I was 200 lbs. In between each 10 minute swim I will go in the Sauna for 5 minutes to catch my breath and keep my sweat going. Do that for a full hour and I beleive that should be a good work out. I hope I don't just sink when I hit the water. Five minutes into my first swim set I feel like throwing in the towel. I really suck at swimming. I look like a one armed golden retriever treading water. My laps take a whole 30 seconds to do while an 80 year old asian man does 2 laps in the time it takes me to do one. Then a congregation of 8 othe elderly asians are having a friday night hot tub party. Even though I don't speak any asian tongues, I can tell they are talking about me. I have become their entertainment for the night. Anyhow, I power through it somehow with my anxious audience and when I finally collapse on the side of the pool done my work out, I got a round of applause. That was the only gratifying part of my swim. I retreat back to my room where I lay on the floor in a fetal position for a good 30 minutes before I do anything else. I am exhausted, dehydrated, sore in the shoulders and not a happy camper. I have no idea why I thought swimming was a good idea.
Anyways, Friday night, time to go party. Here is my weekly Friday song and wish me luck tomorrow. My super saturday consists of hot yoga, a gym routine with the always motivational Richard Joseph, a skate session with Rich and all followed by tossing around the frisbee. Oh boy....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR6oYX1D-0w ENJOY!!!
SEPTEMBER 22nd DAY 22: RUN - SUITCASES - LEGS
Officially I am 3 weeks into my challenge and its the last day of summer. Definitely wasn't summer in Vancouver. Forecast of rain, cold brisk air and one of the gloomiest skies I have seen since I have been out here. Amongst meetings in Coquitlam, Richmond, New Westminister and Burnaby, I had a few errands I needed to run. I held a contest for all my Vancouver sales staff for who could generate the most leads in a 2 week period and the winner would get a brand new Apple iPad from me. With an over night surge in the final hours Julian "Enjoys bench-pressing me in the office" Theriaut walked away with the grand prize. Everyone put in an incredible effort but Julian walked away with it by the narrowest of margin. I make a pit stop at the Apple store in Richmond and I'm telling you, I could spend all day in one of those. I wonder how long I could stay in one and work of a laptop before they would kick me out?
I meet up with my co-worker and Vancouver roommate Michelle Mathias for lunch and we eat like the Greek at The Healthy Greek. Only a few days into registration and bookings are going great in BC for the whole team. The new guys are doing great and I think everyone wrapped up the day on a high. On that same high I decide to go out Wednesday night and rush home at 9:45pm so I can squeeze in 50 min run before the gym closes at 11:00pm. Running is starting to get easier and easier and I find myself constantly increasing the lengths of my cardio and the level of my cardio.
Wednesday night I head to Guilt and Co. located in Gastown and just steps from my house. The unique thing about Guilt and Co. is you get three menus when you descend into what resembles the basement you had in your house growing up. Old couches, board games, snacks and a low ceiling. You get a food menu, a drink menu and get this... a board game menu. Scrabble, Jenga, Uno, Boggle and Sorry are all on the list. Guilt an Co. has incredible food, a unique drink menu including a chilli beer and a chocolate beer that make you finish you pints a little too easily.
Thursday morning I wake up in an incredible mood. Great pub, great company, all around great night. Meghan Hughes calls me up first thing to let me know that we are all out of brochures in the office. My staff team needs to hit the road and I need to ensure the office is stocked for peoples meetings. I load 3 bundles into 4 grocery bags, each bundle weighing 13 lbs each end up creating two awkwardly shaped 78 lb sacks of paper. These things are heavy. I am walking with my laptop bag and 156 lbs of weight in my two hands as I walk to the elevator. The thin straps start ripping at my fingers but I get them to the door and then schlep them into the elevator. The walk from my lobby to my car is where the real challenge begins and then from my car (which you cannot park anywhere near the office) to the office is twice that. I hobble as I use my legs to kick the bags in motion with my steps. Finally arriving in the office, my fingers are numb, my shoulders feel out of place and my arms seem frozen in a position where it looks like would be carrying large suitcases in each my hand. I'll count that as a work out.
Today my meeting in White Rock allows me to pit stop and visit my cousin Kendra Bauer at her mansion. I wish I was kidding when I say mansion but her boyfriend and her house is better then some I have seen on cribs. Seriously. Kendra is 8 and a half weeks pregnant and only 2 weeks away from the big day/expected day. She already has the whole baby room made and set up with a full wardrobe in the closet. Khali what they decided to name the baby girl had more shoes in her closet then I have with me here in Vancouver!! Always great to see family, congratulations Kendra and Tarek.
Wrapped up my day on another high note. Work is going well I am excited tonight to crush the gym. Lets are one of my stronger workouts so rush home and get my grunt on. I decide to do some really challenging cardio before I max out my legs. I run up a 3 incline for 25 minutes straight. Once that is done I line up 2 different 3 exercise super-sets and start givin'r. There is this MASSIVE dude in the gym which just encourages me to press until my whole body shakes. I better feel the burn in these legs tomorrow.
Before I leave BC and the first of three main cities I will visit through out this journey am going to try and really mix up my work out. A plyometrics day with Julian, and Super Saturday with Richard Joseph, swim and sauna session and even a Hot Yoga session on the 27th.
I meet up with my co-worker and Vancouver roommate Michelle Mathias for lunch and we eat like the Greek at The Healthy Greek. Only a few days into registration and bookings are going great in BC for the whole team. The new guys are doing great and I think everyone wrapped up the day on a high. On that same high I decide to go out Wednesday night and rush home at 9:45pm so I can squeeze in 50 min run before the gym closes at 11:00pm. Running is starting to get easier and easier and I find myself constantly increasing the lengths of my cardio and the level of my cardio.
Wednesday night I head to Guilt and Co. located in Gastown and just steps from my house. The unique thing about Guilt and Co. is you get three menus when you descend into what resembles the basement you had in your house growing up. Old couches, board games, snacks and a low ceiling. You get a food menu, a drink menu and get this... a board game menu. Scrabble, Jenga, Uno, Boggle and Sorry are all on the list. Guilt an Co. has incredible food, a unique drink menu including a chilli beer and a chocolate beer that make you finish you pints a little too easily.
Thursday morning I wake up in an incredible mood. Great pub, great company, all around great night. Meghan Hughes calls me up first thing to let me know that we are all out of brochures in the office. My staff team needs to hit the road and I need to ensure the office is stocked for peoples meetings. I load 3 bundles into 4 grocery bags, each bundle weighing 13 lbs each end up creating two awkwardly shaped 78 lb sacks of paper. These things are heavy. I am walking with my laptop bag and 156 lbs of weight in my two hands as I walk to the elevator. The thin straps start ripping at my fingers but I get them to the door and then schlep them into the elevator. The walk from my lobby to my car is where the real challenge begins and then from my car (which you cannot park anywhere near the office) to the office is twice that. I hobble as I use my legs to kick the bags in motion with my steps. Finally arriving in the office, my fingers are numb, my shoulders feel out of place and my arms seem frozen in a position where it looks like would be carrying large suitcases in each my hand. I'll count that as a work out.
Today my meeting in White Rock allows me to pit stop and visit my cousin Kendra Bauer at her mansion. I wish I was kidding when I say mansion but her boyfriend and her house is better then some I have seen on cribs. Seriously. Kendra is 8 and a half weeks pregnant and only 2 weeks away from the big day/expected day. She already has the whole baby room made and set up with a full wardrobe in the closet. Khali what they decided to name the baby girl had more shoes in her closet then I have with me here in Vancouver!! Always great to see family, congratulations Kendra and Tarek.
Wrapped up my day on another high note. Work is going well I am excited tonight to crush the gym. Lets are one of my stronger workouts so rush home and get my grunt on. I decide to do some really challenging cardio before I max out my legs. I run up a 3 incline for 25 minutes straight. Once that is done I line up 2 different 3 exercise super-sets and start givin'r. There is this MASSIVE dude in the gym which just encourages me to press until my whole body shakes. I better feel the burn in these legs tomorrow.
Before I leave BC and the first of three main cities I will visit through out this journey am going to try and really mix up my work out. A plyometrics day with Julian, and Super Saturday with Richard Joseph, swim and sauna session and even a Hot Yoga session on the 27th.
SEPTEMBER 21st DAY 21: CORE
As I mentioned yesterday, last night I was fortunate to train with one of the biggest guys I know Julian "OMG is the Godzilla" Theriault". Julian "The Gorilla" Theriault's routine is far different from anyone else I have trained with. Julian "The Beast from X-men" Theriault spends at good 5 minutes stretching which I know is good but I always neglect to do. We head to the mediocre training facility in my building and to my amazement there are actually over 20 people in this workout cubicle. Every cardio machine is taken and every bench in the weight room is take. Julian "I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast"' Theriault un-phased simply utters "They'll get out of the way". Today is a core work out that is bound to leave after effects the next day. No bars, no heavy lifting just a series of exercises where the main focus is on pointing you pelvis to the sky, not having a hollow back and keeping all you core muscles tight while performing other exercises.
1. Warm Up Super-set: 10 Pushups, 10 chin-ups, 10 dips, repeat. 3x.
2. Renegade rows: Hold yourself in a pushup plank while holding 20lbs dumbells. Alternate rowing each arm while holding the plank the whole time. 20 reps (10 per side). 4x.
3. Side plank rows: Hold yourself in a side plank next to a cable machine and do 10 rows while keeping your plank, back straight, hips high and shoulder perfectly in line. If I wasn't inline, I got a swift kick to the ribcage from Julian "It's all about posture" Theriault. 20 reps (10 per side). 3x.
4. Hanging leg raises: Hang like a monkey from the chin up bar and touch your toes to your hands. May not sound that difficult but give it a try. 10 reps (was what I was supposed to do, I gassed out at about 5). 3x
5. Cable incline chest press: Set your self up at a cable machine, pulleys at the bottom. Add some weight, grab the handles and take one big step forward. Then take your arms from where you are carrying suitcases to the point they are above your head and could be holding little Simba over all the animals at Prairie rock (Lion King reference for anyone who didn't catch that). 10 reps. 3x.
It seemed like a simple enough workout but I was profusely sweating the whole time. I am oh so sore today. oh so sore. Legs will get the workout tonight so I can sit on my butt and give my shoulders a break.
1. Warm Up Super-set: 10 Pushups, 10 chin-ups, 10 dips, repeat. 3x.
2. Renegade rows: Hold yourself in a pushup plank while holding 20lbs dumbells. Alternate rowing each arm while holding the plank the whole time. 20 reps (10 per side). 4x.
3. Side plank rows: Hold yourself in a side plank next to a cable machine and do 10 rows while keeping your plank, back straight, hips high and shoulder perfectly in line. If I wasn't inline, I got a swift kick to the ribcage from Julian "It's all about posture" Theriault. 20 reps (10 per side). 3x.
4. Hanging leg raises: Hang like a monkey from the chin up bar and touch your toes to your hands. May not sound that difficult but give it a try. 10 reps (was what I was supposed to do, I gassed out at about 5). 3x
5. Cable incline chest press: Set your self up at a cable machine, pulleys at the bottom. Add some weight, grab the handles and take one big step forward. Then take your arms from where you are carrying suitcases to the point they are above your head and could be holding little Simba over all the animals at Prairie rock (Lion King reference for anyone who didn't catch that). 10 reps. 3x.
It seemed like a simple enough workout but I was profusely sweating the whole time. I am oh so sore today. oh so sore. Legs will get the workout tonight so I can sit on my butt and give my shoulders a break.
SEPTEMBER 20th DAY 20: ODE TO FOOD
When I got home from the gym last night I started to realize how many foods I miss. An episode of Man v. Food reminded me of tastier times in my life. I sometimes wonder why I wasn't originally casted for that show cause I love to eat. I believe Food Network is like porn for fat people. I can't even begin to think of how many times I have spent a whole day watching Chopped, Iron Chef and other amazing programs on the Food Network cooking gourmet food while I eat ordered pizza because I cannot peel myself from the couch to make something decent. I'm almost 3 weeks into this journey and am impressed with my lack of McDonald's, late night pizza and other evil snacks that will oppose my goals.
Here is a list of the top 5 foods I miss.
5. Harbord Room - anyone who knows me well enough know that I have 1 go to restaurant when it come to impressing the family, the boss, friends or perhaps a lady and that is The Harbord Room. Menu by Cory Vitiello this is seriously some of the best food in Toronto. My roommate helped a bit with the constructions and a few stand out features are the pink walls (inspired by the color of a pencil eraser), elegant bathrooms with some of the nicest sinks I have seen, one big ol piece of wood they have turned into their bar and a incredible backyard patio. Their food is gourmet, original and I have even had a $300 brunch thanks so some incredible morning cocktails. Harbord room, you will be my Victory meal. See you in 10 weeks. (www.theharbordroom.com)
4. Sneaky Dee's - I love Mexican food, I love nachos and no where makes a more outrageous nacho castle than Sneaky Dee's in Toronto. Not only have they got nachos perfected, they are open super late, have a brunch menu, have a dance floor and bar upstairs AND are SUPER cheap. Breakfast for under $5 bucks, tall cans of PBR under $5 and so much more. Go to item: King's Crown Nacho. An 8 lbs nacho platter worth of a king.
3. New Ho King - Toronto is a beautiful city because the nights never need to end. Sometimes its the 4am liquor license that blesses Toronto 6 times a year that keep me up late, after parties with Simon Ho or feeling a little hungry after a late night pool hop late night munchies are inevitable. A household favorite of ours is the Chinese eatery New Ho King! So popular in Toronto, movies and commercials have been filmed here, Toronto celebrities like Chris Bosh have shown up and what I like most...cold tea! (Cold tea is what you ask for when you want beer at 4am. They serve it in a tea kettle so if cops came in late at night they don't see a pitcher of beer on your table. The proportions are great and the more I've drank, the tastier the food.
2. 7-11 Taquitos - Available coast to coast, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, my favorite munchable is the Taquito. Little cubed chicken pieces, smothered in cheese and sauce, wrapped up in an egg roll-esque wrapper, these things are addictive. So much goodness crammed into those little shells, its like a baby burrito. One night in Vancouver my boss Alex Handa caught me ordering a single serving Kraft Dinner cup, a pouch of Beef Jerky and 6 Taquitos all at once for an evening snack. Needless to say I was a little embarrassed but if you haven't had a Taquito, go indulge in a stick of greatness. 3 for $5 at your local 7-11.
1. Pizza Hut Lunch Buffet - And the number one place I miss when it comes to pigging out, Pizza Hut Lunch Buffet. There is no place I'd rather take off my belt, undo my top button and proceed to stuffing my face than at Pizza Hut. I love their greasy crust, I love their crispy cheese but most of all I love their lunch buffet. ALL you can FREAKIN EAT PIZZA HUT!!! Not only do they have 6-10 varieties of pizza but they have 2 dessert pizzas, one is baked apples and brown sugar on a pizza crust criss-crossed with icing and the other is a cherry topping accompanied with a glaze, graham cracker crumbs and icing sugar. If the delicious pies don't tickle your fancy for the incredible $6.99 bargain, they also have mac and cheese, potato salad, Caesar salad and a bunch of other accompaniments. Two other people who I know that share my love for this greasy bottomless feeding troth are my sister Julia Batchelor and the wonderful Victoria Rossi. I think my record is 10 slices of pizza, 4 slices of dessert pizza and a little bit of lettuce to balance things out.
Honorable mentions: Gorgeous Georges burgers in Kelowna, Dick's Drive in and Dairy Dip in Ottawa, Fraser Cafe in Ottawa.
Tonight I get to train with Julian "Incredible Hulk" Theriault. Easily one of the biggest men I know. Hate to say it Brandon and Richard (other massive men) but you have a long way to go to catch Julian.
Here is a list of the top 5 foods I miss.
5. Harbord Room - anyone who knows me well enough know that I have 1 go to restaurant when it come to impressing the family, the boss, friends or perhaps a lady and that is The Harbord Room. Menu by Cory Vitiello this is seriously some of the best food in Toronto. My roommate helped a bit with the constructions and a few stand out features are the pink walls (inspired by the color of a pencil eraser), elegant bathrooms with some of the nicest sinks I have seen, one big ol piece of wood they have turned into their bar and a incredible backyard patio. Their food is gourmet, original and I have even had a $300 brunch thanks so some incredible morning cocktails. Harbord room, you will be my Victory meal. See you in 10 weeks. (www.theharbordroom.com)
4. Sneaky Dee's - I love Mexican food, I love nachos and no where makes a more outrageous nacho castle than Sneaky Dee's in Toronto. Not only have they got nachos perfected, they are open super late, have a brunch menu, have a dance floor and bar upstairs AND are SUPER cheap. Breakfast for under $5 bucks, tall cans of PBR under $5 and so much more. Go to item: King's Crown Nacho. An 8 lbs nacho platter worth of a king.
3. New Ho King - Toronto is a beautiful city because the nights never need to end. Sometimes its the 4am liquor license that blesses Toronto 6 times a year that keep me up late, after parties with Simon Ho or feeling a little hungry after a late night pool hop late night munchies are inevitable. A household favorite of ours is the Chinese eatery New Ho King! So popular in Toronto, movies and commercials have been filmed here, Toronto celebrities like Chris Bosh have shown up and what I like most...cold tea! (Cold tea is what you ask for when you want beer at 4am. They serve it in a tea kettle so if cops came in late at night they don't see a pitcher of beer on your table. The proportions are great and the more I've drank, the tastier the food.
2. 7-11 Taquitos - Available coast to coast, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, my favorite munchable is the Taquito. Little cubed chicken pieces, smothered in cheese and sauce, wrapped up in an egg roll-esque wrapper, these things are addictive. So much goodness crammed into those little shells, its like a baby burrito. One night in Vancouver my boss Alex Handa caught me ordering a single serving Kraft Dinner cup, a pouch of Beef Jerky and 6 Taquitos all at once for an evening snack. Needless to say I was a little embarrassed but if you haven't had a Taquito, go indulge in a stick of greatness. 3 for $5 at your local 7-11.
1. Pizza Hut Lunch Buffet - And the number one place I miss when it comes to pigging out, Pizza Hut Lunch Buffet. There is no place I'd rather take off my belt, undo my top button and proceed to stuffing my face than at Pizza Hut. I love their greasy crust, I love their crispy cheese but most of all I love their lunch buffet. ALL you can FREAKIN EAT PIZZA HUT!!! Not only do they have 6-10 varieties of pizza but they have 2 dessert pizzas, one is baked apples and brown sugar on a pizza crust criss-crossed with icing and the other is a cherry topping accompanied with a glaze, graham cracker crumbs and icing sugar. If the delicious pies don't tickle your fancy for the incredible $6.99 bargain, they also have mac and cheese, potato salad, Caesar salad and a bunch of other accompaniments. Two other people who I know that share my love for this greasy bottomless feeding troth are my sister Julia Batchelor and the wonderful Victoria Rossi. I think my record is 10 slices of pizza, 4 slices of dessert pizza and a little bit of lettuce to balance things out.
Honorable mentions: Gorgeous Georges burgers in Kelowna, Dick's Drive in and Dairy Dip in Ottawa, Fraser Cafe in Ottawa.
Tonight I get to train with Julian "Incredible Hulk" Theriault. Easily one of the biggest men I know. Hate to say it Brandon and Richard (other massive men) but you have a long way to go to catch Julian.
SEPTEMBER 19th DAY 19: CHEST and ABS
So Sunday night was the biggest sales presentation I have ever done. Over 150 High school students packed the Vancouver Art Gallery to watch a performance worthy of an MVP. I harness my inner Vince Offer (the ShamWow guy) and get everyone revved up for a ski trip to Big White, Kelowna. Huge shout outs to Julian "The JT" Theriault, Garret "Kit-Kat" Knapik, Michelle "The Machine" Mathias, Kayla "Killer" Quinn, Ryan "Cajun" Cajuguiran, Chris "Japanese Girls" McClelland and Meghan "Turbz" Hughes for all the effort they put into making this weekend a success. Registrations opened this morning and there are already a ton of bookings!
To celebrate this incredible night, I take the staff out to one of my favorite CFD's for dinner. If you don't know what a CFD is than you probably haven't been to the West Coast. Over here, they dress up Red Lobsters, Olive Gardens and Denny's to feel like you are in an elegant lounge or luxury restaurant but still serve the same garbage to you and they charge you 3 times as much. CFD stands for Casual Fine Dining. The one thing they do give you in return after gouging your wallet is some great eye candy to look at. So a lovely evening at Joey's on Burrard downtown Vancouver and I run in to my frequent server Erika Schiller. Seems like every time I go to Joey's shes working and happens to be my server. We close down Joey's and probably over stayed our welcome head to the next watering hole a few steps away, The Winking Judge Pub. It's a small Irish pub but this place is packed and happens to be graced with long time friend and Ottawa man Eric Moffatt!! This night is turning out to be even better than I thought. Have a few ciders, have a good few laughs and watch the sports highlights and WHAT!! I'm 12/16 this week on NFL predictions!! MUCH better than last week failure (9/16). After The Winking Judge closes its taps we make our way the only place we know that drinks are still flowing The Granville Room and cap off an incredible evening there.
Long day of work ahead of me today. Really looking forward to a really good workout tonight. Probably combine a little running, some bench-presses, a few crunches, a lap or two in the pool and then a sauna/hot tub to relax. This little belly of mine will be gone faster than .... uh (insert something clever here)..faster than Kyle Adamson crushes a beer. There we go.
To celebrate this incredible night, I take the staff out to one of my favorite CFD's for dinner. If you don't know what a CFD is than you probably haven't been to the West Coast. Over here, they dress up Red Lobsters, Olive Gardens and Denny's to feel like you are in an elegant lounge or luxury restaurant but still serve the same garbage to you and they charge you 3 times as much. CFD stands for Casual Fine Dining. The one thing they do give you in return after gouging your wallet is some great eye candy to look at. So a lovely evening at Joey's on Burrard downtown Vancouver and I run in to my frequent server Erika Schiller. Seems like every time I go to Joey's shes working and happens to be my server. We close down Joey's and probably over stayed our welcome head to the next watering hole a few steps away, The Winking Judge Pub. It's a small Irish pub but this place is packed and happens to be graced with long time friend and Ottawa man Eric Moffatt!! This night is turning out to be even better than I thought. Have a few ciders, have a good few laughs and watch the sports highlights and WHAT!! I'm 12/16 this week on NFL predictions!! MUCH better than last week failure (9/16). After The Winking Judge closes its taps we make our way the only place we know that drinks are still flowing The Granville Room and cap off an incredible evening there.
Long day of work ahead of me today. Really looking forward to a really good workout tonight. Probably combine a little running, some bench-presses, a few crunches, a lap or two in the pool and then a sauna/hot tub to relax. This little belly of mine will be gone faster than .... uh (insert something clever here)..faster than Kyle Adamson crushes a beer. There we go.
SEPTEMBER 18th DAY 18: SHOULDERS, BICEPS, TRICEPS and FOOTBALL
Now since I missed my workout yesterday and ruined my perfect streak, I am determined to kick the crap out of my body. I partied last night until about 4am as well so getting up was a little slow. I watched my buddy Chris McClellands band "Japanese Girls" play at Joe's Apartment with my friend Jay Gallacher. We played pool, entertained some ladies and had a great night. You know your night is going well too when it ends at Roxy's. Anyone, I wake up on Sunday morning and listen to the first quarter of the Titans football game from my room, watch the second quarter laying on my couch, 3rd quarter sitting up on my couch and finally the 4th quarter at the gym. I run for 30 minutes, spend 15 minutes on shoulders, 15 minutes on biceps and 15 minutes on triceps. Then finish off my workout with a 22 minute interval run. I hope this effort makes up for yesterday. Forgive me loyal followers.
WEEK 2 NFL FOOTBALL PICKS!!
Oakland vs. Buffalo - BUF
Green Bay vs. Carolina - CAR
Kansas City vs. Detroit - DET
Cleveland vs. Indianapolis - IND
Tampa Bay vs. Minnesota - MIN
Chicago vs. New Orleans - NO
Jacksonville vs. New York Jets - NYJ
Seattle vs. Pittsburgh - PIT
Baltimore vs. Tennessee - TEN
Arizona vs. Washington - WAS
Dallas vs. San Francisco - DAL
Cincinati vs. Denver - DEN
Houston vs. Miami - HOU
San Diego vs. New England - SD
Philadelphia vs. Atlanta - PHI
St. Louis vs. New York Giants - NYG
WEEK 2 NFL FOOTBALL PICKS!!
Oakland vs. Buffalo - BUF
Green Bay vs. Carolina - CAR
Kansas City vs. Detroit - DET
Cleveland vs. Indianapolis - IND
Tampa Bay vs. Minnesota - MIN
Chicago vs. New Orleans - NO
Jacksonville vs. New York Jets - NYJ
Seattle vs. Pittsburgh - PIT
Baltimore vs. Tennessee - TEN
Arizona vs. Washington - WAS
Dallas vs. San Francisco - DAL
Cincinati vs. Denver - DEN
Houston vs. Miami - HOU
San Diego vs. New England - SD
Philadelphia vs. Atlanta - PHI
St. Louis vs. New York Giants - NYG
SEPTEMBER 17th DAY 17: SAD DAY
I write this blog every day to inspire people and to keep myself motivated. I also feel that I always need to be 100% honest with my followers and Saturday I was unable to squeeze in time for physical activities. I was working until 1:30am Friday night, partying until 4:00am, up at 10am and worked straight through until 8pm. After working, I went to the Hub in Yaletown and watched the Mayweather - Ortiz fight on pay per view and did bicep curls with pints of tasty beer. What an amazing night of boxing concluded with a strange ending. I'm still a Mayweather fan.
SEPTEMBER 16th DAY 16: SHOULDERS
I like to enjoy my Thursday nights like I enjoy my Friday and Saturday nights and well...just about any night that ends in "day". Unfortunately this lovely Friday morning, I am pleasantly awaken by a flurry of people who forget I am in living in the West Coast at this moment. Between 6am and 8am PST I receive phone calls from Simon Ho, Eugene Winer, a Calgary mother with some questions about her daughters trip and a long time friend James Neville. The morning call I enjoyed the most however was with miss Jessie Fones. An S-Trip! veteran who has always helped me out in a jam is calling me to help out with another one. I look forward to seeing Jessie soon and harassing her at her desk.
I really wanted to sleep in but now must start my day and begin one of the busiest weekends I will have all fall! I have two massive meetings, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, each with over 150 people showing up and will need to still fit in some physical activity! Better get this day/weekend off to a good start. I run through out 45 mins of Cardio (lol..that's punny) at the home underneath my home but to my amazement, the gym is packed! Only one free cardio machine and a weight room full of monkeys. There was one guy in the gym that was too much of a beauty not to talk about and I am sure Brandon MacDonnell will appreciate this one. I am about 15 minutes into my run and in walk 4 jacked Vancouver locals. The reason I could tell they were Vancouver locals is because they wear their street clothes to the gym and all have that "dickhead" look to them. Each of them sporting their own bedazzled Ed Hardy or Affliction T-Shirt, tribal armband tattoos and yes, one of them wore Versace sunglasses while he worked out. The biggest beauty of them all was the guy who hopped on the treadmill next to me. Now I was at the gym for 45 minutes and this guy was in and out before I left. He came in with a pair of Kappa track pants (ok), UFC brand T-shirt (not that bad but getting worse), a Gucci man purse which is one of those things that looks like he stapled a pencil-case to a belt and tied it around his boobs (really pushing it - that's punny too!) and to top it off had workout gloves on! Now I have nothing against workout gloves unless you come to the gym for 20 minutes and only use the treadmill. Anyways, I hope everyone got the visual.
Feeling great retreat back to my condo, I slam bowl after bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats until I run out of milk. Shoulders, I will take care of you after work. Now Friday, you are about to get f**ked up.
Oh and I didn't forget my Friday song. Enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyVzjoj96vs
I really wanted to sleep in but now must start my day and begin one of the busiest weekends I will have all fall! I have two massive meetings, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, each with over 150 people showing up and will need to still fit in some physical activity! Better get this day/weekend off to a good start. I run through out 45 mins of Cardio (lol..that's punny) at the home underneath my home but to my amazement, the gym is packed! Only one free cardio machine and a weight room full of monkeys. There was one guy in the gym that was too much of a beauty not to talk about and I am sure Brandon MacDonnell will appreciate this one. I am about 15 minutes into my run and in walk 4 jacked Vancouver locals. The reason I could tell they were Vancouver locals is because they wear their street clothes to the gym and all have that "dickhead" look to them. Each of them sporting their own bedazzled Ed Hardy or Affliction T-Shirt, tribal armband tattoos and yes, one of them wore Versace sunglasses while he worked out. The biggest beauty of them all was the guy who hopped on the treadmill next to me. Now I was at the gym for 45 minutes and this guy was in and out before I left. He came in with a pair of Kappa track pants (ok), UFC brand T-shirt (not that bad but getting worse), a Gucci man purse which is one of those things that looks like he stapled a pencil-case to a belt and tied it around his boobs (really pushing it - that's punny too!) and to top it off had workout gloves on! Now I have nothing against workout gloves unless you come to the gym for 20 minutes and only use the treadmill. Anyways, I hope everyone got the visual.
Feeling great retreat back to my condo, I slam bowl after bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats until I run out of milk. Shoulders, I will take care of you after work. Now Friday, you are about to get f**ked up.
Oh and I didn't forget my Friday song. Enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyVzjoj96vs
SEPTEMBER 15th DAY 15: BOXES
After a long road trip you would expect I might get a quick second to rest but then my life just might be too good. I hop on my flight, watch the last half of X-Men: The first class and land in Vancouver. I get my good buddy and long time travel companion Fares El Sabbagh (owner of Vancouver General Contractors) to pick me up and along side him is Kayla Killer Quinn. Kayla is known as the killer for eating babies and ripping the legs off of frogs. 2 weeks of grinding and I am finally seeing some results. I posted yesterday that my ponch was getting smaller and it was confirmed by Fares' welcoming comment of "Is Jeffy B getting skinny?!" That made my day.
Now as I mentioned and having no time for a break, I know that I have 12,500 brochures getting delivered to my house today at 9:00am. That's 125 boxes at 12 lbs per box. Knowing this great task I have ahead of me, wake up at 8:30am, put my jogging shoes on and jog to the office. At the office I pick up a hand truck that I think will help me with the delivery and rush home for 9:00am now jogging with the dolly as if i was a post-pregnancy wife jogging with her stroller.
I arrive at home just in time to find out that 125 boxes don't await me, 125 shrink wrapped bundles await me. This makes it impossible for me to load them on the dolly. Needing a solution fast, I grab reusable green grocery and proceed to load 3 bundles in 4 bags so I can transport 12 bundles at a time. Also, if I haven't mentioned I live on the 16th floor of a condo building thus making this quite the task. 3 hours, 13 elevator commutes and 12,500 brochures later, one wall of my condo is now decorated with brochures. I am still going to squeeze in another quick workout before the day is done but a hell of a start to a day.
Now as I mentioned and having no time for a break, I know that I have 12,500 brochures getting delivered to my house today at 9:00am. That's 125 boxes at 12 lbs per box. Knowing this great task I have ahead of me, wake up at 8:30am, put my jogging shoes on and jog to the office. At the office I pick up a hand truck that I think will help me with the delivery and rush home for 9:00am now jogging with the dolly as if i was a post-pregnancy wife jogging with her stroller.
I arrive at home just in time to find out that 125 boxes don't await me, 125 shrink wrapped bundles await me. This makes it impossible for me to load them on the dolly. Needing a solution fast, I grab reusable green grocery and proceed to load 3 bundles in 4 bags so I can transport 12 bundles at a time. Also, if I haven't mentioned I live on the 16th floor of a condo building thus making this quite the task. 3 hours, 13 elevator commutes and 12,500 brochures later, one wall of my condo is now decorated with brochures. I am still going to squeeze in another quick workout before the day is done but a hell of a start to a day.
Thursday, 15 September 2011
SEPTEMBER 14th DAY 14: HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIA MARGARET BATCHELOR
Tuesday night I wrap up my trio of Alberta city night out with an interesting night at Howlers Pub. Howlers is located on the Grande Prairie College campus and reminded me of the good ol University days. I graduated from York University and had some of the best nights of my life on that campus. I lived in Founders Residence and our local pub was the Cock and Bull. York University used to be awesome because every residence had their own pub and everyone was bumping! If you go to York now and are reading this you know that York now has 2 bars/pubs instead of 16 bars and pubs. Anyways, Howlers reminded me alot of the Cock and Bull. A place where students could come eat, drink, watch tv, play foozeball, hear live music, study, this place has it all. Kyle's childhood buddies play host and hooks us up with plenty of beverages for the evening and we begin exchanging super shots back and forth. The bartender makes us a "Barney on Acid" and I respond with a "Tara Reid". The bartender then answers with "DUDE" vodka shots. A Three Olive's flavour of Vodka that tastes like Mountain Dew and I respond with a "White Tiger". Needless to say things got sloppy and we had a great night. If you are curious about any of the shots, I would be more than happy to treat you to one next time I see any of you.
It's my sisters birthday today. Feel free to add her and help her celebrate. New friends are always a good gift. Anyways, day 14!!!! I have been eating healthy and working out every day and am finally starting to see results. Working off beer gut fat is a really hard job and results are SUPER slow. However, I wake up today staring down and don't see such a swollen belly!! This is amazing. Brandon, I am coming for you. On the agenda today I have 2 student meetings, one in Grimshaw Alberta and the other in Fairview Alberta. There is nothing in any of these cities except a grocery store, one set of traffic lights, a church and a high school so fitting in my workout today was going to be tough.
"Excuse me, I'm from out of town and am wondering if there is a gym around?" I politely ask the checkout girl at the grocery store.
"The closest thing we have to gym is the fitness center at the college" she replies
"Where is that?"
"Did you see that barn and silo across the street? That's the college"
Stoked to be able to fit in a workout, I investigate the "gym". At the front desk I explain again that I am from out of town and I am interested in a good workout and the girl informs me that they do not accept drop-ins!! I have experienced expensive drop-in costs before but never a no drop-in policy. Next she explains that if I want a year pass, I will have access to squash courts, fitness center, basketball courts and showers and changerooms. Squash courts in a barn?? Hesitant and skeptic I sign up for the one year membership that costs a woping $6.95!!! I enter the barn and to my surprise is an iron dungeon that even Brandon MacDonnell and Julian Theriault would cream their pants. Easily 30 machines, 10 cardio machines, wall to wall dumbells, monkey bars, monster truck tire....basically looked like an MMA training gym worthy of the most elite cage fighters. I run for 60 mins on the treadmill and go bang out some weights. Today I work out my back with 6 different exercises and then crush my abs with another 3. Over 2 hours of sweat producing, vein popping, fat burning, muscle making physical activity was definitely worth the $7 membership.
It's my sisters birthday today. Feel free to add her and help her celebrate. New friends are always a good gift. Anyways, day 14!!!! I have been eating healthy and working out every day and am finally starting to see results. Working off beer gut fat is a really hard job and results are SUPER slow. However, I wake up today staring down and don't see such a swollen belly!! This is amazing. Brandon, I am coming for you. On the agenda today I have 2 student meetings, one in Grimshaw Alberta and the other in Fairview Alberta. There is nothing in any of these cities except a grocery store, one set of traffic lights, a church and a high school so fitting in my workout today was going to be tough.
"Excuse me, I'm from out of town and am wondering if there is a gym around?" I politely ask the checkout girl at the grocery store.
"The closest thing we have to gym is the fitness center at the college" she replies
"Where is that?"
"Did you see that barn and silo across the street? That's the college"
Stoked to be able to fit in a workout, I investigate the "gym". At the front desk I explain again that I am from out of town and I am interested in a good workout and the girl informs me that they do not accept drop-ins!! I have experienced expensive drop-in costs before but never a no drop-in policy. Next she explains that if I want a year pass, I will have access to squash courts, fitness center, basketball courts and showers and changerooms. Squash courts in a barn?? Hesitant and skeptic I sign up for the one year membership that costs a woping $6.95!!! I enter the barn and to my surprise is an iron dungeon that even Brandon MacDonnell and Julian Theriault would cream their pants. Easily 30 machines, 10 cardio machines, wall to wall dumbells, monkey bars, monster truck tire....basically looked like an MMA training gym worthy of the most elite cage fighters. I run for 60 mins on the treadmill and go bang out some weights. Today I work out my back with 6 different exercises and then crush my abs with another 3. Over 2 hours of sweat producing, vein popping, fat burning, muscle making physical activity was definitely worth the $7 membership.
SEPTEMBER 13th DAY 13: GRANDE PRAIRIE
Oops...I did it again. Eating well and working out are two things I promised all you blog followers that I would do but cutting down on my partying was never part of that plan. My one night cameo in Edmonton becomes an unexpected, very appreciated smorgasbord of friends. I first head to The Druid on Jasper, one of my favorite Edmonton wobbly-pop dispensaries to meet up with Marc Leblanc and Matt Roberts for MNF (Monday Night Football). To my surprise two of Edmonton's funniest comedians and 2 people I am honoured to call my friends Danny Martinello and Drew Behm are sitting right next to me! Not long after the wonderful Crystal Heistad, Beverley Porter and a whole crew of familiar friends follow and its back to old ways.
The Druid is holding one hit wonder trivia bingo and right next door On the Rocks is hosting a kareoke night. If you don't know by meow, when it comes to Kareoke, I'm kind of a big deal. I go by the handle "Dirty Sanchez" and do classics so well that I could single-handedly serenade a oldies senior prom. "Hard to Handle" by the Black Crowes, "Runaround Sue" by Dion and the Belmonts and "I'm a Believer" by the Monkees are some of my favorites! I am now playing Bingo at one bar, signing Kareoke at one bar and going back and forth all night.
Tuesday morning, surprise surprise, start the day off with some exercise. I tip toe out of the residence I woke up in and take a nice jog......to the bar to recover my car. Definitely some effective double tasking. Take a "parking lot shower" which consists of a fresh shirt, deodorant application and a brushing my teeth on the side of Jasper Ave and off I go! Destination: Grande Prairie
I wish I had some exciting stories from the drive but being 5 hours outside of Edmonton, I decide to let Kyle Smith (a Grande Prairie native, but not that kind of native) do all the driving and catch up on some well needed rest. If you are doing the drive, expect to see alot of couches on the side of the highways and enough hitchhikers to make you think there are bus stops on the highway. I was also warned by Brandon MacDonnell and knew that a long car ride with Kyle would most certainly involve alot of Gun talk. Kyle Smith loves to hunt, game, shoot wildlife as well as local hobos in his hometown. Brandon calls me mid day and asks "How many times since Kyle has picked you up has he said the word "Gun" or "Hunting". Touche Brandon, touche.
The Druid is holding one hit wonder trivia bingo and right next door On the Rocks is hosting a kareoke night. If you don't know by meow, when it comes to Kareoke, I'm kind of a big deal. I go by the handle "Dirty Sanchez" and do classics so well that I could single-handedly serenade a oldies senior prom. "Hard to Handle" by the Black Crowes, "Runaround Sue" by Dion and the Belmonts and "I'm a Believer" by the Monkees are some of my favorites! I am now playing Bingo at one bar, signing Kareoke at one bar and going back and forth all night.
Tuesday morning, surprise surprise, start the day off with some exercise. I tip toe out of the residence I woke up in and take a nice jog......to the bar to recover my car. Definitely some effective double tasking. Take a "parking lot shower" which consists of a fresh shirt, deodorant application and a brushing my teeth on the side of Jasper Ave and off I go! Destination: Grande Prairie
I wish I had some exciting stories from the drive but being 5 hours outside of Edmonton, I decide to let Kyle Smith (a Grande Prairie native, but not that kind of native) do all the driving and catch up on some well needed rest. If you are doing the drive, expect to see alot of couches on the side of the highways and enough hitchhikers to make you think there are bus stops on the highway. I was also warned by Brandon MacDonnell and knew that a long car ride with Kyle would most certainly involve alot of Gun talk. Kyle Smith loves to hunt, game, shoot wildlife as well as local hobos in his hometown. Brandon calls me mid day and asks "How many times since Kyle has picked you up has he said the word "Gun" or "Hunting". Touche Brandon, touche.
SEPTEMBER 12th DAY 12: EDMONTON
Alright so yesterday I learned two things. One: I suck at making football picks. Two: What you can make with matches (http://mostinterestingblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/what-you-can-do-with-matches.html). I'm not sure how the second one fits in here but I was 9 for 16 so please do not count on me to help you pick the winners.
Epic night in Calgary. Finished my sales meeting and time to celebrate head to Saltlik Steakhouse on Stephen Ave in Calgary. I love a great steak and especially when I am eating healthy, this is ice cream of my diet. Other than maybe a lot of cholesterol, steak and veggies is a guilt free indulgence. Unfortunately Saltlik had no asparagus or any veggies to go with my steak other than "skillet fried mushrooms" which sounded good until they actually brought me a cereal bowl full. I pound through my steak, let Jordan Lapp feed on the bucket of fungi and get ready for a big night.
I meet up with my friend Michelle Wise and her friend Naomi and we head to my favorite Calgary hangout Narah. Narah is a hookah lounge in Marda Loop that plays old school hip hop and serves incredible tapas. The wise Julia Johnson introduced me to this place and I have been hooked ever since. The music at Narah makes us want to dance so next stop is Hi-Fi. Hi-Fi is usually really busy on the weekends but since it is a Sunday night, we were free to take over the whole dance floor. My dance moves were nothing short of a fantastic display of my flexibility and cardio and I make quite a few new friends. Love getting all that cardio
Anyways, great night but off to Edmonton I go! Making the most of my time in Alberta, I stop by Hideout - Beats and Eats, a new country western bar/restaurant in Red Deer to meet up with my friend Sarah Hemphill. I highly recommend this place to any hungry cowboy but was a huge tease for me. Hideout has the tastiest sounding menu I have seen in a long time featuring Grilled Mac and Cheese Pulled Pork (omg) and something called Appetizer Mountain which consists of $46 of tasty, cheesy, crunchy, fried, dip-able amazingness. I avoid the menu traps, order my 2nd steak and veggies in less than 24 hours and continue on to Edmonton.
Check into my hotel, down to the gym, bang out some cardio and off to work. I've constantly reminded by my peers that working out every day is bad for you disagree and think that cardio is something you can do everyday. I know its not the most exciting thing but at least I am staying on track.
Epic night in Calgary. Finished my sales meeting and time to celebrate head to Saltlik Steakhouse on Stephen Ave in Calgary. I love a great steak and especially when I am eating healthy, this is ice cream of my diet. Other than maybe a lot of cholesterol, steak and veggies is a guilt free indulgence. Unfortunately Saltlik had no asparagus or any veggies to go with my steak other than "skillet fried mushrooms" which sounded good until they actually brought me a cereal bowl full. I pound through my steak, let Jordan Lapp feed on the bucket of fungi and get ready for a big night.
I meet up with my friend Michelle Wise and her friend Naomi and we head to my favorite Calgary hangout Narah. Narah is a hookah lounge in Marda Loop that plays old school hip hop and serves incredible tapas. The wise Julia Johnson introduced me to this place and I have been hooked ever since. The music at Narah makes us want to dance so next stop is Hi-Fi. Hi-Fi is usually really busy on the weekends but since it is a Sunday night, we were free to take over the whole dance floor. My dance moves were nothing short of a fantastic display of my flexibility and cardio and I make quite a few new friends. Love getting all that cardio
Anyways, great night but off to Edmonton I go! Making the most of my time in Alberta, I stop by Hideout - Beats and Eats, a new country western bar/restaurant in Red Deer to meet up with my friend Sarah Hemphill. I highly recommend this place to any hungry cowboy but was a huge tease for me. Hideout has the tastiest sounding menu I have seen in a long time featuring Grilled Mac and Cheese Pulled Pork (omg) and something called Appetizer Mountain which consists of $46 of tasty, cheesy, crunchy, fried, dip-able amazingness. I avoid the menu traps, order my 2nd steak and veggies in less than 24 hours and continue on to Edmonton.
Check into my hotel, down to the gym, bang out some cardio and off to work. I've constantly reminded by my peers that working out every day is bad for you disagree and think that cardio is something you can do everyday. I know its not the most exciting thing but at least I am staying on track.
SEPTEMBER 11th DAY 11: CALGARY
So in the cowboy city I have a chance to workout with my co-workout blogger Brandon MacDonnell. Upon arrival I ask him when he can squeeze in a tandem work out and to my surprise he is scared to face these massive tree trunk legs, boa constrictor arms and washboard abs. Oh well...
Anyhow Football season is back and I forgot how easy my Sunday's get wasted if I watch any part of any game. If I pretend Sunday football didn't happen, I still manage to have a productive day. Unfortunately if I get even a whiff of NFL I am watching the pregame (on Fox and on NBC), watch at least 2 games at once, follow all the games on my computer, stay tuned for the afternoon game and most likely the Sunday night game as well. My brother Andrew Batchelor is one of the biggest sports fanatics I know. He could probably tell you who won the World Series in 1980. He could tell you who scored the first basket in the 1993 NBA Championship. He can probably even tell you where all your favorite sports stars went to High school!!! I, on the other hand am less of a sports fanatic and more of an observer. Don't get me wrong, I love to watch sports and play sports but I could care less if Johnny Linebacker made the tackle vs Tommy Linebacker as long as it was a great hit! (On that note, if you have never seen this video...do it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzToNo7A-94)
Off to the Ramada Fitness Center I go, watching the Philadelphia vs St. Louis game I pump out an impressive 70 mins on the treadmill. Constant incline and constant speed, nothing to crazy today. 1200 Calories burnt, nbd my treadmill displays "GREAT WORKOUT" on the screen. First time I have ever seen that. Thanks Treadmill. I am starving now and burning so many calories, I am rewarding myself with a nice steak tonight!
WEEK 1 NFL FOOTBALL PICKS!!
New Orleans vs. Green Bay - NO
Atlanta vs. Chicago - CHI
Indianapolis vs. Houston - HOU
Buffalo vs. Kansas City - BUF
Cincinati vs. Cleveland - CIN
Pittsburg vs. Baltimore - PIT
Philadelphia vs. St. Louis - PHI
Detroit vs. Tampa Bay - TB
Tennessee vs. Jacksonville - TEN
Minnesota vs. San Diego - MIN
Carolina vs. Arizona - ARI
New York Giants vs. Washington - WAS
Seattle vs. San Francisco - SEA
Dallas vs. New York Jets - NYJ
New England vs. Miami - NE
Oakland vs. Denver - DEN
Anyhow Football season is back and I forgot how easy my Sunday's get wasted if I watch any part of any game. If I pretend Sunday football didn't happen, I still manage to have a productive day. Unfortunately if I get even a whiff of NFL I am watching the pregame (on Fox and on NBC), watch at least 2 games at once, follow all the games on my computer, stay tuned for the afternoon game and most likely the Sunday night game as well. My brother Andrew Batchelor is one of the biggest sports fanatics I know. He could probably tell you who won the World Series in 1980. He could tell you who scored the first basket in the 1993 NBA Championship. He can probably even tell you where all your favorite sports stars went to High school!!! I, on the other hand am less of a sports fanatic and more of an observer. Don't get me wrong, I love to watch sports and play sports but I could care less if Johnny Linebacker made the tackle vs Tommy Linebacker as long as it was a great hit! (On that note, if you have never seen this video...do it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzToNo7A-94)
Off to the Ramada Fitness Center I go, watching the Philadelphia vs St. Louis game I pump out an impressive 70 mins on the treadmill. Constant incline and constant speed, nothing to crazy today. 1200 Calories burnt, nbd my treadmill displays "GREAT WORKOUT" on the screen. First time I have ever seen that. Thanks Treadmill. I am starving now and burning so many calories, I am rewarding myself with a nice steak tonight!
WEEK 1 NFL FOOTBALL PICKS!!
New Orleans vs. Green Bay - NO
Atlanta vs. Chicago - CHI
Indianapolis vs. Houston - HOU
Buffalo vs. Kansas City - BUF
Cincinati vs. Cleveland - CIN
Pittsburg vs. Baltimore - PIT
Philadelphia vs. St. Louis - PHI
Detroit vs. Tampa Bay - TB
Tennessee vs. Jacksonville - TEN
Minnesota vs. San Diego - MIN
Carolina vs. Arizona - ARI
New York Giants vs. Washington - WAS
Seattle vs. San Francisco - SEA
Dallas vs. New York Jets - NYJ
New England vs. Miami - NE
Oakland vs. Denver - DEN
SEPTEMBER 10th DAY 10: CHEST
Great night last night!! Snacks with Jenna Fletcher, Dinner party with Richard Joseph and some new friends, Joe's apartment with Garret Knapik and Julian Theriault and the obvious condo after party, what more could you ask for?! And the best part? I didn't crack and chow down on Megabite Pizza to satisfy my midnight munchies. I woke up feeling fresh as a daisy and ready to crush my day.
9:00am and I am on my skateboard and I am cruising down to the water. My 2nd favorite person in the whole world works on a cruise ship and it happens to stop in Vancouver twice while I am in town. Perfectly on time I meet up with the wonderful Victoria Rossi and we stroll through the downtown core. Now at 9am the only people on the street are the crack-heads still up from the night before and the people walking home from the night before. Needless to say it feels like you are in a zombie movie and you can't always tell two apart. The "trendy" vancouver hipsters love to borrow their fashion sense from the crypt like homeless. Pasty white skin, barely there torn jeans and thick ruby red lipstick that is smeered ear to ear after 3 drinks and a long skinny cigarette. You know, maybe I am just on a movie set and a massive lipdub is about to break out. Anyway, I cruise the city with Vic and two new friends and then head home to pack.
12:00pm flight to Calgary. I get to the airport avoid a million tasty temptations board my flight and off I go. I am a sucker for airline food and drinking on my flights but I stick to my meal plan and refuse these wonderful services. Headphones in and X-Men: First class on the seat back entertainment, I zone out until we land in Calgary. Off my flight and packing light I have no check in luggage and pick up my rent-a-car right away. Hyundai Sonata! Thank you for the upgrade Eugene Winer and now off to the Ramada Downtown. The Ramada Downtown has a great fitness facility and a rooftop heated pool and my balcony/patio opens right up to it. This is legit. First order of business is to crush out a workout before I hit the town tonight!!
Chest is up next on the routine and not being in a rush I make this a workout that will count. 45 minutes on the treadmill watching Fast and Furious and then time to make my chest burn. I line up 3 back to back chest exercises and begin a fast and furious routine. Instead of the usual 3 sets of 10, I aim to crank out 10 sets of 10. Incline chest press - 100 reps, Pec Deck - 100 reps, Decline chest press - 100 reps. These boobs are going to look great in 2 more months!!! Glad I didn't get that "Serenity" side boob tattoo.
9:00am and I am on my skateboard and I am cruising down to the water. My 2nd favorite person in the whole world works on a cruise ship and it happens to stop in Vancouver twice while I am in town. Perfectly on time I meet up with the wonderful Victoria Rossi and we stroll through the downtown core. Now at 9am the only people on the street are the crack-heads still up from the night before and the people walking home from the night before. Needless to say it feels like you are in a zombie movie and you can't always tell two apart. The "trendy" vancouver hipsters love to borrow their fashion sense from the crypt like homeless. Pasty white skin, barely there torn jeans and thick ruby red lipstick that is smeered ear to ear after 3 drinks and a long skinny cigarette. You know, maybe I am just on a movie set and a massive lipdub is about to break out. Anyway, I cruise the city with Vic and two new friends and then head home to pack.
12:00pm flight to Calgary. I get to the airport avoid a million tasty temptations board my flight and off I go. I am a sucker for airline food and drinking on my flights but I stick to my meal plan and refuse these wonderful services. Headphones in and X-Men: First class on the seat back entertainment, I zone out until we land in Calgary. Off my flight and packing light I have no check in luggage and pick up my rent-a-car right away. Hyundai Sonata! Thank you for the upgrade Eugene Winer and now off to the Ramada Downtown. The Ramada Downtown has a great fitness facility and a rooftop heated pool and my balcony/patio opens right up to it. This is legit. First order of business is to crush out a workout before I hit the town tonight!!
Chest is up next on the routine and not being in a rush I make this a workout that will count. 45 minutes on the treadmill watching Fast and Furious and then time to make my chest burn. I line up 3 back to back chest exercises and begin a fast and furious routine. Instead of the usual 3 sets of 10, I aim to crank out 10 sets of 10. Incline chest press - 100 reps, Pec Deck - 100 reps, Decline chest press - 100 reps. These boobs are going to look great in 2 more months!!! Glad I didn't get that "Serenity" side boob tattoo.
SEPTEMBER 9th DAY 9: BICEPS
So yesterday, not only did I CRUSH my workout but I also accomplished everything on my schedule and was extremely productive. To reward myself for said productivity after skating and hot-tubbing it with Richard Joseph and Jay Gallagher, I go to Library Square (a watering hole on West Georgia in Vancouver) and get some cardio in by burning up the d-floor. I think I heard someone mutter in the distance..."Did you see those moves? It's like I am watching Back to the Future". I was popping and locking because white guys are really good at that and don't get me started with my Harlem shake. Do you watusi? (http://www.ehow.com/how_2107422_do-watusi.html). Anyways, good times, good night, thank you Chris McClelland.
With another busy day ahead of me, I find time to squeeze in a good afternoon workout between 1:30pm and 2:30pm. Now that I am back into the flow of things I forgot how much I love to run. I especially love to run when UFC is on in the gym. Nothing make me go until I fail than having UFC as my motivation. Those dudes are animals. Today the gym is surprisingly empty which is good news. Once I get into my Bicep work out I can grunt and growl as loud as I want, and I'm not kidding you, grunting is exactly what I did. I increased weight on each of my sets until I maxed out. I think I might have even seen my first vein so the definition is on its way. 81 more days to go and these spaghetti arms will become giant muscle masses capable of crushing apples on cue. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcNmWCuB8bI)
Anyways each Friday I will also post a happy song or a great song to work out to. One of my most favorites is this beauty. Enjoy and happy weekend!!
Kid Cudi - Pursuit of Happiness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xzU9Qqdqww&ob=av2e
With another busy day ahead of me, I find time to squeeze in a good afternoon workout between 1:30pm and 2:30pm. Now that I am back into the flow of things I forgot how much I love to run. I especially love to run when UFC is on in the gym. Nothing make me go until I fail than having UFC as my motivation. Those dudes are animals. Today the gym is surprisingly empty which is good news. Once I get into my Bicep work out I can grunt and growl as loud as I want, and I'm not kidding you, grunting is exactly what I did. I increased weight on each of my sets until I maxed out. I think I might have even seen my first vein so the definition is on its way. 81 more days to go and these spaghetti arms will become giant muscle masses capable of crushing apples on cue. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcNmWCuB8bI)
Anyways each Friday I will also post a happy song or a great song to work out to. One of my most favorites is this beauty. Enjoy and happy weekend!!
Kid Cudi - Pursuit of Happiness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xzU9Qqdqww&ob=av2e
SEPTEMBER 8th DAY 8: CARDIO and LEGS and ABS
Determined to fit in a killer work out today I make myself a ridiculous schedule. Everyone who knows me well knows that I schedule EVERYTHING. I love being efficient and never like turning down a good time. Being really organized helps me make the most of every day.
8:00am - Breakfast, check emails
9:00am - Check in with my Alberta staff
10:00am - Check in with my BC staff
11:00am - Grab Groceries at T&T (my new favorite grocery store)
12:00pm - Meetings with Student groups
1:00pm - Cardio
2:00pm - Legs and Abs
2:30pm - Lunch and head to the office
3:00pm - Check in with Alberta Staff, BC staff, call clients, respond to emails, etc.
9:00pm - Skateboarding
10:00pm - Hot tub and brews with the boys.
For Cardio today I did 30 mins on the Elliptical followed by 30 mins of "Treadmill Interval Cardio" (see Day 2)
As far as Legs an Abs, I also enjoy working these out, just hate how much it hurts the next day. I am confident I punished myself enough to have some swagger to my step this weekend. Uhhhhnnn - Slow motion for me... (that's for you Mr. Andrew Capyk)
8:00am - Breakfast, check emails
9:00am - Check in with my Alberta staff
10:00am - Check in with my BC staff
11:00am - Grab Groceries at T&T (my new favorite grocery store)
12:00pm - Meetings with Student groups
1:00pm - Cardio
2:00pm - Legs and Abs
2:30pm - Lunch and head to the office
3:00pm - Check in with Alberta Staff, BC staff, call clients, respond to emails, etc.
9:00pm - Skateboarding
10:00pm - Hot tub and brews with the boys.
For Cardio today I did 30 mins on the Elliptical followed by 30 mins of "Treadmill Interval Cardio" (see Day 2)
As far as Legs an Abs, I also enjoy working these out, just hate how much it hurts the next day. I am confident I punished myself enough to have some swagger to my step this weekend. Uhhhhnnn - Slow motion for me... (that's for you Mr. Andrew Capyk)
SEPTEMBER 7th DAY 7: LEGS?
So right now I am living in Vancouver and I wake up each morning to the ocean and the mountains but there is one thing I don't like waking up to. Since my head office is in Toronto, I wake up to 20 new emails each morning since it is Noon in Onterrible when it is 9am out here in paradise. For the all the keeners that send me emails at 9am, I get at 6am. Anyways, since I am back to work my days have become long! I am up every morning at 8am at the latest work straight through until 9pm and then have my personal life to deal with. Tonight I had to sprint home at 9pm to clean my condo since I had a meeting with my landlord and a showing for next months tenants. This all only wrapped up at 10:30pm which gave me barely 30 mins to workout before they shut off the lights and close the door at my condo gym.
I am finding it increasingly difficult to find the time of day to work out rather than the motivation to do so.
I was supposed to work out Legs today but instead I quickly pump out one of my "Treadmill Interval" runs just in time. Head back to my place, shower quickly and get ready for a night on the town. Ceili's a popular irish pub in Vancouver has $3 shots, $4 beers and on Wednesday night host Vancouver's wildest Beer pong tournaments. Always a good time at Ceili's.
I am finding it increasingly difficult to find the time of day to work out rather than the motivation to do so.
I was supposed to work out Legs today but instead I quickly pump out one of my "Treadmill Interval" runs just in time. Head back to my place, shower quickly and get ready for a night on the town. Ceili's a popular irish pub in Vancouver has $3 shots, $4 beers and on Wednesday night host Vancouver's wildest Beer pong tournaments. Always a good time at Ceili's.
SEPTEMBER 6th DAY 6: SHOULDERS
Shoulders are my least favorite workout. I injured my shoulder pretty severely snowboarding when I was 13. At the time I was also working as a bag boy at the grocery store and couldn't even lift a 2L pop bottle with my right arm. I never got any physio for and and over 10 years later am definitely regretting it.
Now not only have I been working out intensely for the last week or so but I have been working at my job even more. 12-14 hours days that start at 8am are increasingly getting harder to do (especially when I spend the night before at Guilt in Gastown sippin on Old Fashioneds with my buddy Brook Robertson and Ayma the bartender). Either way, I finish work at 9:30pm, run home, hit the gym, work my shoulders and am out of there by 10:30pm. Day 6, mission complete. Bring it on 84 more days. This is P90Jeff (trademark).
Now not only have I been working out intensely for the last week or so but I have been working at my job even more. 12-14 hours days that start at 8am are increasingly getting harder to do (especially when I spend the night before at Guilt in Gastown sippin on Old Fashioneds with my buddy Brook Robertson and Ayma the bartender). Either way, I finish work at 9:30pm, run home, hit the gym, work my shoulders and am out of there by 10:30pm. Day 6, mission complete. Bring it on 84 more days. This is P90Jeff (trademark).
SEPTEMBER 5th DAY 5: PYTHONS a.k.a BICEPS
Wow. There it is. The pain kicks in. I feel like the morning after I first learnt how to snowboard. I can't sit up, my back is sore, my legs are killing me. Every muscle in my body aches!!! I hobble to the bathroom with a Mr. Burns esque hunch and pour myself the hottest shower imaginable to try and loosen myself up.
Feeling fresh and still a little sore, off to work I go...via SKATEBOARD!! Yes, beaten and bruised, I grab my board and hit the streets. Skating to and from work is a simple way I plan on sneaking in a little cardio each day. Lucky for me the road is mostly downhill!!! I pull up to my office making incredible time and proud of my journey realize that not only did I forget my office keys, but forget my entire wallet. I already ordered a smoothie and now I can't even enjoy it. Uphill roads stare me as i work myself back home. Unexpected cardio is always a bonus but forgetting various things, I ended up doubling my daily trek.
To wrap up my 12 hour day, I don't run home for the couch or the TV, I grab my shorts and shoes and head to the gym! I know right?! Now gym attire takes on many forms. Some people pay $100 bucks for a moisture wicking, blood flow encouraging, swoosh marked body wrap, some choose a barely there short short and bra/tank top combo and some bundle themselves up like its the coldest day of the winter. My approach is much simpler. A pair of swim shorts so I can hit the hot tub as soon as I am done and a white Hanes V-neck t-shirt. Doesn't get more comfortable than that. However...bicep days require a different shirt. Bicep days require a favorite T-shirt from your past. Probably an old camp T-shirt or favorite football team shirt that is so tight that you can read a terrible tattoo through the fabric. My Bicep shirt is an old X-small S-Trip! staff shirt with sleeves I have torn off with my teeth. Shirt on, veins pumping, blood flowing and muscles swelling I destroy 3 bicep super sets and a quick Treadmill Interval Cardio (see Day 2) and call it a day.
Feeling fresh and still a little sore, off to work I go...via SKATEBOARD!! Yes, beaten and bruised, I grab my board and hit the streets. Skating to and from work is a simple way I plan on sneaking in a little cardio each day. Lucky for me the road is mostly downhill!!! I pull up to my office making incredible time and proud of my journey realize that not only did I forget my office keys, but forget my entire wallet. I already ordered a smoothie and now I can't even enjoy it. Uphill roads stare me as i work myself back home. Unexpected cardio is always a bonus but forgetting various things, I ended up doubling my daily trek.
To wrap up my 12 hour day, I don't run home for the couch or the TV, I grab my shorts and shoes and head to the gym! I know right?! Now gym attire takes on many forms. Some people pay $100 bucks for a moisture wicking, blood flow encouraging, swoosh marked body wrap, some choose a barely there short short and bra/tank top combo and some bundle themselves up like its the coldest day of the winter. My approach is much simpler. A pair of swim shorts so I can hit the hot tub as soon as I am done and a white Hanes V-neck t-shirt. Doesn't get more comfortable than that. However...bicep days require a different shirt. Bicep days require a favorite T-shirt from your past. Probably an old camp T-shirt or favorite football team shirt that is so tight that you can read a terrible tattoo through the fabric. My Bicep shirt is an old X-small S-Trip! staff shirt with sleeves I have torn off with my teeth. Shirt on, veins pumping, blood flowing and muscles swelling I destroy 3 bicep super sets and a quick Treadmill Interval Cardio (see Day 2) and call it a day.
SEPTEMBER 4th DAY 4: BACK
When it comes to working out, no one inspires me more than the young Arnold Schwatzennggggar resembling Richard "Super Pump" Joseph. Like you remember this guy from Batman? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bane_%28comics%29) . That's Bane. If Bane ran into Richard Joseph in an alley, my money is on RJ. In about 12 months I have seen Richard transform from a guy who was twice my size become a dude 6 times my size. When I work out with RJ its a constant gauntlet of exercises and something I thrive off at the gym. Brandon MacDonnell will attest that I only have one speed at the gym: GO. Richard promises that today's back workout will have me hunched like a 70 yr old man for the upcoming week but that does not phase me or intimidate me one bit. After paying a crappy $16.85 for a one day drop in at "Fitness World" my least favorite muscle mart we begin the hour long fury of lifts, dips, presses, curls, rows and anything else Richard throws at me. All I can say is "RRAAWR". The animal is bending the bars of his cage. #sundayamazing is the way I feel every Sunday and this workout was nothing short of that.
#sundayamazing might be something that you see me tweet (@mrjeffbatchelor) often and that's because some of the worlds best thigns happen on Sunday. Hear from an old friend, having absolutely perfect weather, cruising in a convertible or having a killer breakfast reminiscing about last nights adventures!! Today was definitely one of those Sundays. After a killer work out and a protein shake, i dip home and grab my NEWLY bought skate and meet Richard at Plaza Skate Park. By far one of Vancouvers' nicest parks and home to alot of sponsored talent. I took me forever to get warmed up but before I knew it, Richard blew out a bearing. After a quick stop at Underworld skate shop on Granville, we head tp another skate spot near English Bay Beach Area. Now skating with a purpose to make up for lost time, Richard stomps trick after trick and I manage to pull out 4 or 5 tricks myself! Even heelfliping on my 3rd try! We skate for over an hour and were drenched by the end. Who knew I could still skate!!! Next was a quick dip in the Ocean and then got lost in 2 hours of Frisbee! I was tracking discs like a golden retriever and would have been more than happy to catch one in my mouth. Now I'm off to finish my weekend with a dinner with an old friend. Hope everyone has a better than normal Monday.
Are you the plummer? Did you come to check out these pipes? Day 5 - Biceps.
#sundayamazing might be something that you see me tweet (@mrjeffbatchelor) often and that's because some of the worlds best thigns happen on Sunday. Hear from an old friend, having absolutely perfect weather, cruising in a convertible or having a killer breakfast reminiscing about last nights adventures!! Today was definitely one of those Sundays. After a killer work out and a protein shake, i dip home and grab my NEWLY bought skate and meet Richard at Plaza Skate Park. By far one of Vancouvers' nicest parks and home to alot of sponsored talent. I took me forever to get warmed up but before I knew it, Richard blew out a bearing. After a quick stop at Underworld skate shop on Granville, we head tp another skate spot near English Bay Beach Area. Now skating with a purpose to make up for lost time, Richard stomps trick after trick and I manage to pull out 4 or 5 tricks myself! Even heelfliping on my 3rd try! We skate for over an hour and were drenched by the end. Who knew I could still skate!!! Next was a quick dip in the Ocean and then got lost in 2 hours of Frisbee! I was tracking discs like a golden retriever and would have been more than happy to catch one in my mouth. Now I'm off to finish my weekend with a dinner with an old friend. Hope everyone has a better than normal Monday.
Are you the plummer? Did you come to check out these pipes? Day 5 - Biceps.
SEPTEMBER 3rd DAY 3: CHEST
Ahhhh Saturdays. my favorite day to work out. Contrary to my co-blogger Brandon MacDonnell (check out his work out blog too), I love Saturdays!!! Nothing motivates me more on Saturdays then to burn off terrible decisions from the night before. Sometimes its a morning run of shame home from a random dwelling I woke up at, sometimes its a Saturday tennis date with Simon Ho, Steve McKeon and Nick Lalonde or maybe a hunt for where I locked my bicycle up and a lovely bike ride home through downtown. I LOVE getting active on Saturdays. So this Saturday, I wake up with the delicious taste of scotch on my breath, strap on some shoes and head straight to the gym (10:00am). I plow through a quick 20 mins on the treadmill in my condo and then take a nice cold dip in the pool. I'm refreshed and excited for a huge day!!
Living in Vancouver and following my pledge not to work on Saturdays anymore I can think of no better way to enjoy this rare 26 degree Vancouver September day then heading to the beach!! Now let me explain something about this beach. "Wreck Beach" is known to everyone in Vancouver as an amazing Skim-boarding spot, great location for Frisbee, perfect location to celebrate a birthday and have some beveys on the beach but mostly for the lack of clothing worn by its residents. Some bear breasts, some bear booties and some bear all. Most people usually tell me to take off my sweater and then I explain that's just my chest hair. regardless what a 60's feeling free spirit hangout. To get to Wreck Beach you need to walk down 500 stairs to reach the hidden Oasis located on the UBC campus. Today is also move in day for 5000 new UBC students so the beach was RAMMED. I must have played Frisbee for 3 hours and chased down countless discs, diving and sprinting for each one. Calorie burn... check-mark.
After a sun-kissed day on the beach, 500 steps await me on the way out.
But wait! There's more. Leaving the beach, feeling great i decided to visit a local Kitsilano skate store. Inspired by my wellness quest and new found daily vigor I buy a new skateboard and shoes to kick my cardio into high gear. I plan to try and fit in a little skateboarding everyday I am in this board sport utopia. Yup, that just happened.
Final, this day 3 is called CHEST for a reason. Before showering and readying myself for a Saturday night out on Granville, I hit the gym for a second time today and bang out 5 quick chest exercises. Chest is my favorite thing to work out because I love the feeling of a sore chest the next day. Makes wiping your butt a challenge.
Living in Vancouver and following my pledge not to work on Saturdays anymore I can think of no better way to enjoy this rare 26 degree Vancouver September day then heading to the beach!! Now let me explain something about this beach. "Wreck Beach" is known to everyone in Vancouver as an amazing Skim-boarding spot, great location for Frisbee, perfect location to celebrate a birthday and have some beveys on the beach but mostly for the lack of clothing worn by its residents. Some bear breasts, some bear booties and some bear all. Most people usually tell me to take off my sweater and then I explain that's just my chest hair. regardless what a 60's feeling free spirit hangout. To get to Wreck Beach you need to walk down 500 stairs to reach the hidden Oasis located on the UBC campus. Today is also move in day for 5000 new UBC students so the beach was RAMMED. I must have played Frisbee for 3 hours and chased down countless discs, diving and sprinting for each one. Calorie burn... check-mark.
After a sun-kissed day on the beach, 500 steps await me on the way out.
But wait! There's more. Leaving the beach, feeling great i decided to visit a local Kitsilano skate store. Inspired by my wellness quest and new found daily vigor I buy a new skateboard and shoes to kick my cardio into high gear. I plan to try and fit in a little skateboarding everyday I am in this board sport utopia. Yup, that just happened.
Final, this day 3 is called CHEST for a reason. Before showering and readying myself for a Saturday night out on Granville, I hit the gym for a second time today and bang out 5 quick chest exercises. Chest is my favorite thing to work out because I love the feeling of a sore chest the next day. Makes wiping your butt a challenge.
SEPTEMBER 2nd DAY 2: CARDIO
After feeling like a chubby fat kid running from the school bully and being totally exhausted with 30 mins of Cardio, I decided to challenge myself to a full hour of grueling, sweat producing, lactating nipple inducing, color changing shirt Cardio. 30 mins of running intervals on the treadmill was first. A wise man Brandon MacDonnell taught me to do intervals when I run and I have a killer routine. Alternate walking for 2 mins with running for 2 minutes and each time you walk, increase the incline and every time you run, increase your run speed. Remember to keep your walk time slow the first couple times you try this so you make it through the whole thing. It breaks down as so.
Walk on 4 with 0 incline (2 mins)
Run on 6 with 0 incline (2 mins)
Walk on 4 with 1 incline (2 mins)
Run on 7 with 1 incline (2 mins)
Walk on 4 with 2 incline (2 mins)
Run on 8 with 2 incline (2 mins)
Walk on 4 with 3 incline (2 mins)
Run on 9 with 3 incline (2 mins)
Walk on 4 with 4 incline (2 mins)
Run on 8 with 4 incline (2 mins)
Walk on 4 with 5 incline (2 mins)
Run on 7 with 5 incline (2 mins)
Walk on 4 with 6 incline (2 mins)
Run on 6 with 6 incline (2 mins)
Walk on 4 with 0 incline (2 mins)
I challenge anyone to crush my Treadmill Interval Cardio. (thanks Brando)
After 30 mins on the treadmill, I did 25 mins on the elliptical and watched Sportsnet. WTF Wade Belak?
Walk on 4 with 0 incline (2 mins)
Run on 6 with 0 incline (2 mins)
Walk on 4 with 1 incline (2 mins)
Run on 7 with 1 incline (2 mins)
Walk on 4 with 2 incline (2 mins)
Run on 8 with 2 incline (2 mins)
Walk on 4 with 3 incline (2 mins)
Run on 9 with 3 incline (2 mins)
Walk on 4 with 4 incline (2 mins)
Run on 8 with 4 incline (2 mins)
Walk on 4 with 5 incline (2 mins)
Run on 7 with 5 incline (2 mins)
Walk on 4 with 6 incline (2 mins)
Run on 6 with 6 incline (2 mins)
Walk on 4 with 0 incline (2 mins)
I challenge anyone to crush my Treadmill Interval Cardio. (thanks Brando)
After 30 mins on the treadmill, I did 25 mins on the elliptical and watched Sportsnet. WTF Wade Belak?
SEPTEMBER 1st DAY 1: LEGS
I choose the powder free method of motivating myself before the gym so a good banana for protein and some Kid Cudi in the headphones and I am good to go. I am currently in Vancouver and there are no GoodLife's nearby so I resort to the gym in my building. I tie my shoes head on down and warm up with 30 mins on the elliptical. Level 2 just to make sure I don't wear myself out. After an exhausting 30 mins reminding me that Beer and Cardio are enemies, I crush some weights. I can press 5 plates now but am aiming for 7 by the end of the 3 months. Short shorts will meet their match when confronted with these quadriceps. Great work out, spent 10 minutes on Abs too, man am I going to feel that on the weekend.
AUG 31st: ASSESSMENT
Weight: 178 lbs
Waist: Homer Simpson
Arms: Q-Tips
Chest: Hairy
Legs: Of Steal (okay, if there is one area I excel in its Legs)
Outlook: Can see half my toes, aiming for ankles.
Girls like to hibernate in the winter, wear baggy clothes, eat lots of food and drink wine with their girlfriends watching Big Brother and get fat. Then summertime comes around and within 2 weeks of starving lose 10 lbs and are set for the summer and continue all summer on a diet of bell peppers and vodka waters to keep their shape. For guys it's the opposite. I think that guys spend all winter getting fit so they have great bodies for the summer but then spend all summer not taking care of it. Going to BBQ's, eating way too much food, drinking beer, etc. Summer has definitely reversed any progress I made last spring so wish me luck!!!
Waist: Homer Simpson
Arms: Q-Tips
Chest: Hairy
Legs: Of Steal (okay, if there is one area I excel in its Legs)
Outlook: Can see half my toes, aiming for ankles.
Girls like to hibernate in the winter, wear baggy clothes, eat lots of food and drink wine with their girlfriends watching Big Brother and get fat. Then summertime comes around and within 2 weeks of starving lose 10 lbs and are set for the summer and continue all summer on a diet of bell peppers and vodka waters to keep their shape. For guys it's the opposite. I think that guys spend all winter getting fit so they have great bodies for the summer but then spend all summer not taking care of it. Going to BBQ's, eating way too much food, drinking beer, etc. Summer has definitely reversed any progress I made last spring so wish me luck!!!
WORKOUT BLOG - Keeping me motivated one day at a time
Inspired by Brandon MacDonnell's quest for the "Feats of Strength" belt, I to will revisit the Iron Dungeon and begin my quest for muscular glory. There was a time in life I was 200 lbs, had a mullet and was proud to be able to rest my beer can on my belly. Those days have past and a Gosling-esque beach body is what I desire.
I have decided to blog daily about my constant struggle of sleep vs. gym because cutting out partying is unacceptable. Stay tuned for my daily updates... the game is just about to begin!
I have decided to blog daily about my constant struggle of sleep vs. gym because cutting out partying is unacceptable. Stay tuned for my daily updates... the game is just about to begin!
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