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Showing posts with label Notes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Notes. Show all posts

Prebook for Archery Lessons in September and October

Time is running out to prebook for archery lessons in Toronto - the only time slots remaining in 2015 are in September, October and the start of November. (The archery season ends roughly when there is snow on the ground and it is too cold.)

If you still hoping to get archery lessons in 2015 sign up now for lessons in September and October.

For a limited time you can also sign up for compound bow lessons and get a 10% discount. This offer expires July 31st.

Very Dead Turkey

Top Twelve Archery Posts on CardioTrek.ca

During the past year I have been working on my forthcoming book on recreational archery and compiling various chapters. However for those of you who cannot wait for the book to come out, have a look below at samples of my past writing on the topic of the archery.

Arrow Splitting String Down Middle
Below is a list of 12 archery posts on CardioTrek.ca ranked by their popularity (excluding archery lesson testimonials).

Archery Warmup Exercises + Stretches

Rapid Fire Archery - Different Techniques of Fast Shooting

Archery as an Alternative to Weightlifting

Correcting Errors in Archery Release

Learning Instinctive Shooting for Archery

Archery Lessons for Kids in Toronto

Robin Hood after hitting Moving Target
How do you calculate poundage on a Bow?

Archery Tips for Amateurs

Stabilizers for Archery - How do they work?

Olympic Archery Equipment - Does more expensive equipment mean better shots?

Mind Body Fitness Vs Zen Exercising

Dominant Eye for Archery and Other Sports

On the topic of recreational archery I feel that is archery at its purest form. The sheer joy of archery for archery's sake. No compound gadgetry or Olympic gadgetry, no confusing hunting or competing with the sport of archery, just archery in its most natural form without anything added or subtracted.

Earlier this week I was named "Athlete of the Week" by CityTV News, not because of any great deed in terms of competition, nor for any feat of bowhunting skill, but for my interest in furthering recreational archery as a sport. Yes, I teach archery - but I don't limit myself solely to bowhunting or solely to people who want to compete in archery. My goal is much simpler: To promote archery as a whole, both as a pastime and as a recreational sport.

The CityTV news clip made reference to my ability to shoot at moving targets and shooting while walking, but I do many other things too. For example in my personal practice I routinely practice shooting at many different distances, sometimes while also shooting at moving targets. Such practices force my brain to work over time, to force myself to concentrate on the task at hand.

In my most recent personal practices I have taken to shooting at tiny moving targets, the size of a bottle cap. Or other similar targets so small most archers wouldn't even attempt to shoot at a moving target that small. Such practice causes me to go into a semi-meditative state as I study the moving target and determine how best to hit it. Part of it is timing, other parts are things like aiming (finely honed aiming), perfect form, perfect release, etc.

Bullseye on Plastic Bottle Cap
If you are looking for archery lessons in Toronto or if you want to add your name to the waiting list of people who want a copy of my upcoming book, send me an email. Sometime in the future I will also be adding a form for people who want to pre-order my archery book*.

* Note - Technically it will be my 2nd archery book. The 1st archery book I wrote was a book of zen poetry on the topic of zen archery and is titled "Dreaming of Zen Archery", which is available on Kobo.

Have a great day reading and shooting!

Specialized Personal Training - Catering to the Needs of the Client

On several occasions I have been contacted by men who are into MMA (so-called "Mixed Martial Arts") who are looking for a trainer who trains MMA fighters.

Every time someone contacts me for this particular specialized kind of sports training I laugh. Not so much because it is funny, but for several reasons.

#1. I actively make fun of the "sport" of "Mixed Martial Arts". I don't consider it to be a real sport compared to boxing, for example. It is not a "Martial Art" either. Visually speaking, it is an activity wherein one man jumps on the other man, they wrestle and then the one on the top start punching (if you can call those punches) the one on the bottom. There is almost no fighting skill required either, as MMA has the same level of technique utilized by chimps or gorillas fighting each other - or little kids fighting in a schoolyard. No noticeable skill. Just brute force. It is a sport for gorillas and like minded individuals.

Boxing on the other hand is a sport for gentlemen (in a broad sense of the term). Boxing has rules (no punching below the belt, no kidney punches, etc) and your goal in a boxing match is to score more points (hits) than your opponent. The sport of professional boxing therefore has seen many upsets over the years as savvy boxers will focus on scoring more points than their opponent, and win the match through points. Winning a match via KO (Knock Out) doesn't actually mean the opponent was knocked out cold. It simply means they didn't get back on their feet before the count of 10. There is also a TKO (Technical Knock Out), which is when the ring physician declares that one or more fighters are not healthy enough to continue.

Thus someone contacting me asking for MMA training is a bit like contacting a vegan and asking for tips on how to fry bacon. You are asking the wrong person!

#2. Why is the person contacting me not contacting someone who specializes in training MMA fighters? Wouldn't it make more sense to hire a professional MMA coach or perhaps a former MMA champion who has retired and might be tempted to start coaching?

This is what I mean by Specialized Personal Training. You contact someone who is a Specialist in the field you are seeking to learn about, because they are an expert in that field and you will learn far more from them than you would from someone who is not an expert in that field.

It would be like contacting a piano teacher and asking them to teach you how to play the bagpipes. It just doesn't make any sense. I laugh because again, for a separate reason, you are asking the wrong person!

#3. Several of the people who contacted me asking for MMA training were clearly amateurs trying to get into MMA fighting - and clearly had no clue what they were doing. Thus the visual image of a complete amateur getting beat up on the floor gorilla-style was inherently funny to me.

#4. The phenomenon of MMA in North America is pretty much limited to the type of gorilla-minded individuals who think what they are seeing is entertainment. You get the same level of entertainment watching actual gorillas fight. It is always the same thing too. The two gorillas attack each other. One gorilla realizes he is outmatched and tries to keep his distance. Eventually their struggle back and forth meets a climax when the two gorillas roll on the ground and one gorilla pounds the other. Don't believe me? Search for "gorillas fighting" on YouTube and then compare what you see to MMA videos. Any time people mention MMA I laugh, either aloud or in my head. MMA is basically a joke.

If you want to be entertained more, try watching the recent Planet of the Apes movies. The fight scene between Cesar and Koba will suffice.

Specialized Personal Training

There are many kinds of personal trainers - and no two trainers are completely alike. For example:

Weight Loss Personal Trainers (sole focus on cardio exercises).

Weight Loss Personal Trainers / Nutritionists (similar, but heavier focus on diet).

Sports Trainers / Coaches for Specific Sports (eg. boxing trainer, Olympic skiing coach, figure skating coach, marathon coach, football coach, etc).

Muscle Gain Personal Trainer (sole focus on weight lifting).

Body Building Personal Trainer (sole focus on weight lifting, with an eye for competitive bodybuilding).

Powerlifting Personal Trainer (sole focus on competitive weight lifting).

Examples of Specialized Personal Trainers in Toronto

In Alphabetical Order

Briar Munro - Holistic fitness for women.

Charles Moffat - Archery instructor and general fitness personal trainer.

Dena Ryde - Pre and post-natal personal trainer for soon-to-be moms and new moms.


Gary Roberts - Former pro-hockey player turned personal trainer. Only trains young hockey players.

Greg Hetherington - Former pro-football player turned personal trainer. If your goal is football or rugby, he is your guy.

Joanna Zdrojewska - Olympic weight lifting trainer.

Joel N.M. Kerr, Dr. - Rehab personal trainer.

Kathleen Trotter - Weight loss and general fitness personal trainer.

Lyzabeth Lopez - Gymnastics, aerobics and body shaping.

Melissa Wessel - Strength training for women.

Nick Vernelli - Olympic weight lifting trainer.

Sarah Davis - General fitness personal trainer.

Steve Ashalou - Sports therapist / massage therapist and weight loss personal trainer.

Toronto has many other personal trainers, but you have to realize that each one has their specialties. Don't waste your time with a personal trainer who is doing something other than what you actually want to be doing.

So for example if you are looking for a MMA coach, contact a MMA coach. If you are looking for an archery instructor or general fitness, contact me. I also teach boxing, swimming and ice skating depending on the season.

The Pan Am Games in Toronto

The Pan Am Games are coming to Toronto this month and will take place from July 10th to July 26th. The Parapan Am Games will also be in Toronto, August 7th to 15th. The sports involved in the Pan Am Games are as follows:

Archery (70 meter Olympic style archery only, no field archery, no flight archery, no equestrian archery)
Athletics (includes all the track and fields events such as running, hurdles, discus, javelin, shot put, high jump, long jump, etc)
Badminton
Baseball
Basketball
Beach Volleyball (seriously, beach volleyball is a separate sport from regular volleyball)
BMX (as a separate category from cycling)
Bowling (why is billiards, darts and lawn darts not considered sports if bowling is included?)
Boxing
Canoe / Kayak Slalom
Canoe / Kayak Sprint
Cycling - Road
Cycling - Track
Diving
Equestrian (just horse jumping, no horse racing for some strange reason)
Fencing
Field Hockey (as if we couldn't find an ice rink to have a normal hockey game in Toronto...)
Football (World Football, or as Americans call it "Soccer")
Golf
Gymnastics - Artistic
Gymnastics - Rhythmic
Handball (it is like a cross between hockey and basketball)
Judo
Karate
Modern Pentathlon
Mountain Bike (why isn't that considered to be a cycling event?)
Open Water Swimming
Racquetball
Roller - Figure Skating (wait, wait, wait... figure skating? But no ice hockey???)
Roller - Speed Skating
Rowing
Rugby Sevens
Sailing (small sailboats that are built for speed, in other words a sport only rich people can do, although you could say that about many of the other sports listed here - like horse jumping)
Shooting (rifles, but why not crossbows too? Crossbows at least require more exercise to load.)
Softball (baseball with bigger balls)
Squash
Swimming (for speed that is, including many different styles of swimming)
Synchronized Swimming
Table Tennis
Taekwondo
Tennis (another sport for rich people who have their own tennis courts)
Trampoline
Triathlon
Volleyball
Water Polo (but not normal polo, the kind you play with horses - although admittedly polo is another sport for rich people)
Waterski & Wakeboard
Weightlifting
Wrestling (Olympic style wrestling, not the American version with play-acting and steroids)

I am ever amazed as to how certain "sports" get into these large scale events like the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, etc. I do therefore have some criticisms, on this and other topics.

#1. Some sports just aren't that popular, so why are they included?

Are there really that many people who play handball or water polo? I think not.

#2. Some sports aren't really sports in the normal sense.

eg. Shooting or Bowling, yes, I get it they do require some physical strength to do them - but they're not exactly something you break a sweat doing. Worst case scenario you might get a sore trigger finger or sore bowling fingers. And if shooting and bowling are sports, why not darts, lawn darts, billiards, or the biathlon (shooting and skiing)?

#3. Sometimes it feels like they are just inventing new sports.

Waterski, Wakeboard, Trampoline, Kayak Shalom or Sprint... if these are sports why not also:

Surfing
Windsurfing
Dolphin Riding (no seriously, if we have horse jumping, why not dolphin riding?)
Rock Climbing
Skydiving
Team Paintball
Team Archery Tag
Snorkeling

#4. Some sports are really just aimed at rich people.

Golf, tennis and sailing are three good examples of sports that are mostly only done by rich people. Equestrian horse jumping and any other sport involving horses also falls into this (as would Dolphin Riding...)

#5. What if a Parapan Athlete wants to compete in the normal Pan Am games?

This is an idea that has always made me wonder. For example lets say a man is missing a leg, but wants to be in horse jumping? His single leg might be a minor disadvantage when it comes to riding the horse, but you could also argue that he weighs less and the horse might be able to perform better with a lighter rider.

Same goes with golf. Do you really need two working legs to play golf? I think not.

Shooting rifles? Sure, they just need one good eye and a trigger finger.

Archery? Same deal. No reason why a person in a wheelchair cannot achieve greatness as an archer.

Fencing? A person with one arm only needs one arm to do fencing. In the video below you see a French citizen who is missing part of their arm.




So in conclusion always remember that the sports during the Pan Am Games (and the Olympics and other similar events) are the result of a committee voting on feedback from not the athletes themselves, but from sponsors. Sponsorship money is really what it comes down to.

The same thing goes for the athletes. The necessary time needed to practice a sport, train, eat properly, the cost of coaches and traveling to competitions is often the result of money from sponsors. If sponsors were sponsoring equestrian archery for example, then that would likely be a sport at the Pan Am Games.

In the world of competitive sports, it really all comes back to the issue of sponsors and money.

If you can think of a sport that should be included, leave a comment below.

If you have comments on the issue of money in sports, absolutely leave a comment about that too.

Gone Hiking and Fishing - The Niagara Escarpment

From June 26th to 30th I will be away on vacation - hiking, fishing and camping - and will not be answering emails very quickly during that time period.

The location I will be hiking will be along the Niagara Escarpment of Ontario, which has many cliffs, rocky outcroppings, waterfalls and other sights. Below is a map showing waterfalls that dot the landscape along the Niagara Escarpment.


One of my personal favourites to visit is Hilton Falls near Milton, Ontario - not because it is the closest to Toronto, but because you can walk both on top of the falls and also behind the waterfalls. To get to Hilton Falls it is a roughly 20 minute hike through the woods from the parking lot.

Walking along the top of the waterfalls, close to the edge


At the base of the waterfalls


Behind the waterfalls


There are many places within a quick drive from Toronto where people can go to exercise, go hiking, cycling, swimming and many other activities.

Get out there and exercise!

Splitting Arrows + CityTV

Monday, June 22nd 2015

Yesterday I split an arrow while I was shooting at a paper target of a turkey. It was a solid cluster of three arrows so tight they were touching, but unfortunately the middle arrow broke the shaft of the arrow below it and scratched the side of the arrow above it.


Below - The bottom arrow in the cluster that broke from being hit by the middle arrow.


Earlier today I did an interview with CityTV for an upcoming spot where I am being honoured with the title "Athlete of the Week".

Following the interview I was doing some personal practice and split another arrow, this time on a moving target (moving bottle in the wind). Unfortunately the cameraman was gone and wasn't there to film the feat. Oh well. Here are some photos.



And lest we not forget Saturday, when I shot 4 arrows into a supertight cluster where they were all touching. I liked that cluster so much I made a video of it.

My apologies for the sound quality, it was windy at the time.



These are just recent feats from Saturday, Sunday and today. Feats which unfortunately means it is time for me to buy more arrows. Just 30 minutes ago I contacted my local supplier and ordered 24 more arrows.

Call it the downside of hitting your own arrows - I have to buy new arrows regularly.

On the 17th (last Wednesday) I split a string down the middle.


Two weeks ago I had a supertight arrow cluster that came out the back of an old target butt that is due to be replaced.


At the end of March I was practicing on a box suspended and blowing in the wind on a snowy day and got the supertight cluster of 3 arrows shown in the video below.



And I could go back further, back to an earlier post when I first Robin Hooded an arrow on a moving target last year and determined that I need a new challenge.

To see more arrow clusters / split arrows read Arrow Clustering at Work, which I wrote in October last year.

1,000,000 Visitors to Cardio Trek

June 1st 2015

Sometime in the next 3 days Cardio Trek will have its 1 millionth visitor to CardioTrek.ca. On Sunday May 31st the website surpassed 995,000 visitors and judging by the May average of 1765 visitors per day CardioTrek.ca should break the 1,000,000 mark sometime on June 3rd.

Not bad for a company that has only been around since December 2011.

Now you might ask why do we have so many visitors?

Well there is multiple answers to that question, so here goes:

#1. Cardio Trek has over 550 pages of unique content providing advice on topics ranging from weight loss, muscle growth / weight lifting, cardio exercises, as well as sports advice on topics ranging from swimming to boxing to archery, and lastly dietary / nutritional advice. And all of the advice located on CardioTrek.ca is FREE to access.

#2. Cardio Trek is home to Toronto's "best archery instructor" according to the testimonials of archery students - and archery's popularity is growing so fast we are in constant demand for archery lessons in Toronto.

#3. Cardio Trek also offers a number of unique / bizarre exercises and tips that only a handful of other websites talk about - including nose exercises for people who have suffered nose injuries or simply want to change the appearance of their nose, and also advice on how to reduce saggy skin after extreme weight loss / pregnancy. Those two topics are two of the most popular topics on CardioTrek.ca.

#4. If you Google 'cardio personal trainer toronto' then CardioTrek.ca is the #1 personal training website that comes up in the results. CardioTrek.ca is also #2 too. CardioTrek.ca is #1 or in the top 10 for a variety of different topics. So kudos to the quality of our website and our marketing efforts. (Although truth be told we don't really advertise much any more. We get most of our advertising from word of mouth.) Some topics we are not so hot at (eg. CardioTrek.ca is #27 if you Google 'weight lifting personal trainer toronto'), but that just means we need to work harder on those topics.

#5. We make a special effort to make Cardio Trek fun to read - whether it be via personal insights, the occasional joke, or the hundreds of inspirational quotes we have posted in the hopes of inspiring people who are looking for a little extra motivation to eat healthy, exercise harder, and have fun while doing so.

So in other words we have great FREE information, an amazing personal trainer / sports trainer, unique articles that are both interesting and fun to read, and a healthy dose of quality writing. Huzzah!

Here is a virtual toast* to the next million visitors!

* With a strawberry smoothie in a wine glass.

Away on Vacation - Gone bowfishing!

Bowfishing at Denny's Dam near Owen Sound, 2014
Dear readers, client and students:

Please be advised that there may be delays responding to emails as I am currently on vacation visiting family, plus I have made plans to go bowfishing while visiting the countryside.

If you are looking archery lessons in Toronto or my other services as a sports trainer / personal trainer send me an email and I shall respond as soon as I am able.

If you want to learn more about bowfishing I recommend reading the following websites:

Bowfishing in Ontario

Primitive Bowfishing

Bowfishing Basics

Bowfishing Under Water (Video)

DIY Simple Bowfishing Reel

How to Make your own Bowfishing Reel

Try Bowfishing, Getting Started

Wednesday and Thursday Archery Lessons Special

Spring Early Bird Special!

For a limited time I am offering a 10% discount to anyone in Toronto wanting to book archery lessons on Wednesday or Thursday mornings or afternoons (between 10 AM and 4 PM).

This means if you are looking to sign up for a 1-person lesson on either Wednesday or Thursday morning/afternoon, the price is $54 instead of $60.

See my rates for archery lessons if you want to book multiple lessons or up to 3 people at once.

To get this Early Bird Special you need to email me with the following Promo Code: WEDTHURS10PROMO.

The Promo Code only applies to Wednesday or Thursday morning/afternoon bookings and does not apply to any other days or time slots.

This offer expires on April 30th 2015.

Happy Easter!

The following video and the above photo were taken on Easter Sunday. If you want to learn how to shoot at moving targets sign up for multiple lessons. :)

Exercise + Nutrition Vs Advertising

I am going to go a bit off topic today, but my goal here is to talk about the advertising industry and its place when it comes to both the exercise industry and the food industry. Time for some myth busting!

SAY CHEESE

You would think, judging by TV commercials for cheese that cheese is inherently good for you because it contains lots of calcium. This is only partially true.

It only takes a Google search to find hundreds of articles about the Cheese Lobby in both the USA and Canada, and how it is being used to sell everything from fattening cheese pizza to cheesy Taco Bell to cheeseburgers and more...

eg. Read the NY Times article: While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales

Fun Fact: "Americans now eat an average of 33 pounds of cheese a year, nearly triple the 1970 rate."

The Cheese Lobby in the USA is HUGE. They represent every fast food chain that has cheese on the menu, whether it be cheese pizza or cheeseburgers. Their goal? To fool North Americans into thinking cheese is healthy for you because it contains calcium.

Truth be told when you actually check milk and cheese isn't actually a good source of calcium. Milk is actually a good source of protein, and cheese is a good source of fat. Cheese is something you should be asking for less of, not more of.

Want a good source for calcium? Check out the vegetables below.


FIVE RED FLAGS

To demonstrate how bad the food industry is sometimes I am going to show 5 Red Flags to look for when you are watching advertising:

#1. Exotic Ingredients from Asia, Brazil, Africa, Etc.

The idea here is simply: To fool people into thinking that you can lose weight by eating some kind of exotic berry (acai berries for example) or fruit from a place you've never been to (South African Hoodia Extract). If they're pushing something exotic for a hefty price, they're basically just selling you juice or extract for something you don't actually need.

#2. Fake Studies with Fake Doctors

If they have to back up their product with a study from a doctor, most likely the doctor in question is either not a real doctor or he/she is being paid oodles of money to push a bogus study that says their product works. Often there will be a photo of a doctor dressed in white holding a supplement.

#3. Free Trial

Free Trials are a great way to get gullible people hooked on a product that doesn't really work any better than a placebo. Plus when you try to cancel they make it very difficult to do so - you basically have to cancel your credit card to get rid of them. Note - Many companies stick an addictive agent (caffeine usually) in the product so you become addicted to the product.

#4. Celebrity Testimonials

It doesn't matter whether the celebrity is a bodybuilder or Oprah, if they are pushing the product using a celebrity then then company's primary goal is to make money off gullible people.

#5.  Too Good to be True

If it contains the words "Lose Weight Fast and Easy" or some similar slogan, you know they're lying to you.

THE FITNESS LOBBY

If you Google the words fitness lobby you will get a bunch of gym websites and photos of lobbies of gyms. The reason why, apparently, is because there is no "Fitness Lobby" in the USA or Canada (or in any other country for that matter).

I did manage to find one article about fitness groups lobbying for a tax break, but it wasn't an actual lobby group being paid to lobby the government, it was simply a selection of fitness groups trying to get a tax break. They only had one cause and they weren't being paid to do it, whereas lobby groups are basically hired thugs being paid to fight on behalf of the tobacco industry, the cheese industry, the oil industry, and basically any industry which everyone knows is doing something bad.

How many decades did the tobacco industry use lobbying to keep cigarettes being sold and how many more decades will they continue to do so before smoking cigarettes gets banned in North America for causing ridiculous amounts of cancer and killing two thirds of smokers? An industry that kills 66% of its customers is doomed to eventually get banned.

In contrast the fitness industry doesn't kill people when they are selling new fitness gadgets.

But it does use false advertising, like the Fake Doctors, Free Trials, Celebrity Endorsements, and Too Good To Be True slogans mentioned above.

But here are additional tricks used in advertisements:

#1. The fitness industry often uses people who were already thin and attractive (or already lost weight) before they started using whatever new fitness gadget is being pushed at the consumer. So regardless of whether they are trying to sell a Thigh Master or a Bowflex, their goal is to show you people who are already fit using the product. They don't show you people who overweight and not fit using it and then the slow progression of them losing weight - that would be too time consuming, and also impossible because people would realize that the people using the product are also using other kinds of exercises.

#2. They don't mention that people using the product should also be using a wide variety of other exercises - such as jogging, swimming or cycling - in their goal to lose weight.

#3. They ignore the fact that a home gym composed of weight machines really only builds muscle and is useless to someone who wants to lose weight by shedding fat. To shed fat they need to be doing cardio exercises.

#4. Fitness gyms sign people up for 1 year contracts and then make it difficult to cancel the contract by charging the membership fee every month even after the contract has been finished or cancelled. Fitness gyms claim it is due to clerical errors that people are routinely charged again and again even after their contract has expired or been cancelled.

#5. Fitness gyms routinely overcharge members for their membership fee, for an inflated amount with hidden fees - or sometimes charge the membership fee twice in the same month. Or both.

#6. Fitness gyms offer personal training services, but often charge ridiculous rates for those services while paying their staff peanuts. eg. Extreme Fitness charges $80 to $90 per hour for the services of a personal trainer, but only pays the trainer $17 to $20 per hour.

So the fitness industry doesn't really need a fitness lobby because they're already making lots of money off gullible people signing up for fitness gadgets they don't need and gym memberships they likewise don't need.

Want to get some exercise? Start by going outside more often and doing fun activities that require exercise.

Want to lose weight through dieting? Start by learning how to cook healthier food.

Valentines Day Archery Lessons Gift Vouchers

If you are looking for archery lessons in Toronto or you are looking to give your loved one archery lessons as a Valentines gift, you can purchase a Gift Voucher for archery lessons from Cardio Trek.

You can also get Couples Archery Lessons for you and your loved one.

Weekday Daytime lessons are $60 each for one person or $80 each for couples.

Weekday Evening or Weekend lessons are $80 each for one person or $100 each for couples.

If you are over 65 there is a 5% Seniors Discount.

If you are purchasing 3 or more lessons there is additional discount. See our archery rates for details.

Please Note - Gift Vouchers have an expiry date 18 month after the date of purchase. eg. If the Voucher Number says SEP17, then it expires September 2017.


Burglars need to exercise more / Merry Xmas from Cardio Trek

I heard an intruder up on the roof last night so I took a bow and arrow and shot the bastard. His body fell off the roof and was eaten by a crazy herd of man-eating reindeer. Looks like he was trying to steal all our Christmas gifts. Don't worry, we got his bag of loot. All is good.

Serves him right for sneaking around on people's rooftops on the night Jesus was born. Burglars need to exercise more these days. They're getting too fat and jolly. The burglar had the nerve to call me a ho. I am guessing his day job was pimping. He was certainly dressed like one.

If he wanted to be a cat burglar he really needs to get into shape. You can't be running around on rooftops like that and not expect some physical challenges. When I spotted him he appeared to have his foot stuck inside the old chimney that has been plugged up for decades. Not too bright. How he thought he could fit down that I will never know.

When he realized I caught him he started calling me a ho again and again and reaches for something under his jacket. I figured he was reaching for a gun so I shot him first. The impact knocked him off balance, he fell off the roof and the crazy reindeer then ate his corpse.

I grabbed the bag of loot he stole from us and went back inside to call the cops. But as I was about to dial I realized that they would never believe this farfetched story of a burglar dressed in red on rooftops. There wasn't even evidence he was ever there. So since the reindeer had already disposed of the body I shrugged and went back to bed.

The nerve of the guy. Doesn't he know last night was a Holy Night? Twas the night Jesus was born (supposedly, though some say he was actually born in March and a Roman emperor moved his birthday celebrations to December) and therefore not a night to go robbing people.

Plus it was freezing rain last night. How crazy do you have to be to be crawling on an icy / slippery roof during freezing rain? In the dark no less. I nearly slipped and fell.

Anyway, Merry Christmas to all! If you don't find any gifts under the tree from your loved ones this year it is because a bastard in a red suit stole them all.



The 12 Days of Xmas Fitness Gifts

Do you know someone who loves exercising often or wants to be exercising more often? Support their interest (and their health) this Xmas Holiday Season with the following list of gift ideas for the fitness freak in your life.

#1. Water Bottles - The better quality the better. Some water bottles break too easily, so finding a really good water bottle is amazing. One of my favourite water bottles is an old fashioned army canteen. It is nothing special to look at (although you can find them now in pink and other colours), but they are amazingly durable and don't break easily.


#2. Bicycle or Bicycle Accessories

If they don't have a bicycle, get them one. Or if they do have a bicycle, get them lots of handy bicycle accessories. eg. Kryptonite bicycle locks are one of the best bicycle locks on the market, so that is certainly a possibility. There are also lights, helmets, seats, bicycle tools, racks, water bottle holders, camel backpacks and more. HOWEVER some people are picky about what bicycle gear they will use so you may need to research what things they want/need first. When in doubt get them a gift card to a bicycle shop.


#3. Yoga Membership Card

Get them a membership card to a local yoga studio that is close to either work or home. Some yoga studios sell cards which are good for 5, 10 or 20 yoga sessions - and have no expiry date. Shop around and find a yoga studio where your loved one can go - and can use whenever they see fit. Do NOT buy them a "one month membership" as most of it will probably go to waste and not be used. Buying a specific number of sessions is more economical.

#4. A really awesome skipping rope...

The trick here is that you should only buy this for a person who is really into cardio exercises, or even better a person who is already into skipping. There are a lot of unusual skipping ropes out there on the market now, which means you can choose from all sorts of materials, colours and functions.

#5. Sports Equipment

If your loved one is into football, get them football equipment. If they are into archery, get them archery equipment. If they are into baseball, get them a baseball bat and balls (baseball players typically only use their favourite glove).

#6. Hockey Equipment

Hockey isn't just a sport in Canada. It is a lifestyle and a national symbol. Even people who aren't hugely into hockey, still enjoy playing road hockey when given the opportunity. This is Canada. We ALL played hockey at some point when we were younger.

#7. Kettlebells

For the weight lifting aficionados. Or get them dumbbells. I love dumbbells. Barbells are also a possibility, but they take up a lot more space and require a bigger investment.

#8. Exercise Clothing

I don't mean Lululemon (in my experience most people who wear Lululemon don't actually exercise, they wear it because they like to pretend that they exercise). No, I mean clothing from a store like SportChek - where they sell exercise clothes that is meant to actually be exercised in and isn't designed to be a fashion statement. If you don't believe me visit the Lululemon at the Eaton's Centre and then visit SportChek and you will see the difference. SportChek sells clothes, running shoes, exercise/sports equipment, etc - for both men and women.

Heck, Golf Town and also Bass Pro has more actual "exercise clothes" than Lululemon does because it is meant to be functional first and isn't about being a fashion statement.

#9. Heart Monitor Watch / Pedometer

Useful for joggers, High Intensity exercises, seeking the Afterburn Effect, Interval Training and more.

#10. Camping / Hiking Gear

You can never have too much camping and hiking equipment. Always useful.

#11. Polarized Sunglasses

If they are going to be exercising outside then a good set of polarized sunglasses are very useful. You can also get them with prescription lenses.

#12. Heated Hoodie

For exercising outdoors during the winter you can't beat having a heated hoodie. Useful for exercising, shoveling snow (that counts as exercise) and many other activities outdoors. Uses a rechargeable battery pack to provide the heat energy.


BONUS GIFT IDEA: Wii Console + Wii Fit and/or Wii Sports

Why? Because if you are exercising and playing a video game, it is still exercising. So Wii Tennis, Wii Golf, Wii Bowling, Wii Boxing, all good fun and good exercise.

Wii Sports for example has been on the market since 2006 and has become very popular with homes for the elderly. I am even thinking of getting a Wii Console / Wii Sports for my mother, because it is something she would actually use.

And who doesn't enjoy Wii Boxing? Watch the video below of ex Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien beating Rick Mercer while playing Wii Boxing.



Gift Vouchers for Archery Lessons and More

November 16th 2014

It is snowing outside which means I am done teaching archery for the season.

Winter for me is time meant more for teaching ice skating, boxing (indoors) and personal training. So if you are looking to learn ice skating, boxing or are looking for a personal trainer feel free to contact me.

Prebooking Archery Lessons

For people who want to get into archery and are looking for archery lessons in Toronto, you can prebook lessons for Spring and Summer 2015 right now.

And by right now, I mean contact me right away because people started prebooking for 2015 back in August 2014 so some of the time slots in April and May are already fully booked.

When Prebooking Archery Lessons I require a 30% deposit for the total sum, payable via Interac Email Transfer from your bank.

Gift Vouchers

If the lessons are not for you but are for your friend, significant other, child, parent, boss, colleague, etc. and you are not sure when to schedule them then I also offer Gift Vouchers. The prices of the Gift Vouchers are the same as my regular rates so browse my Archery Lessons page to see my rates, and learn more about my services.

Payment for the Gift Voucher is done via Interac Email Transfer from your bank.

Please be advised that Gift Vouchers have an expiry of 18 months after the day of purchase. So if you purchase a Gift Voucher in December 2014, it will expire by June 30th 2016 if it is not used during 2015 or Spring 2016. (I figure 18 months is ample enough time for people to use a voucher.)

Lost voucher? Email me with your contact information, who purchased the voucher and the value of the voucher and I can send you the voucher number. All you need is the voucher number to redeem it.

Tip: Aim in the corner if the target butts are damaged.
Winter Archery Lessons

Ideally I would prefer to teach archery lessons indoors during the colder months but we have to make do with what we have. Last year I made an exception in February to teach a single archery lesson to a student who wanted to get into bowhunting. So it is not impossible for me to teach archery lessons during the winter, but it is a case wherein I prefer to wait for the weather to cooperate and I do prefer to teach only those students who are unwilling to wait for Spring because they have a dire urge to learn immediately.

I add an extra $20 surcharge for Winter archery lessons because the probability of lost arrows is much higher and because I want to discourage people who are less than serious. All lessons are dependent upon cooperation from the weather. If the weather is too foul / blizzard-like, we will reschedule for a nicer day using the 14 day forecast and confirm the weather conditions the day before the lesson.

For tips on doing archery during the Winter please read Guide to Winter Archery in Toronto.

Contact

To contact me regarding prebooking archery lessons, purchasing a Gift Voucher, or scheduling a Winter archery lessons you can email cardiotrek@gmail.com.

Enjoy the Winter!

Scheduling Deposit for Personal Training Sessions / Sports Lessons

Earlier this year I decided to start insisting on scheduling deposits because of several factors which resulted in me becoming disgusted in the behaviour of 'no shows'.

First was the issue of people who don't show up at all for a scheduled session. That means I am standing there, twiddling my fingers and waiting for them to show up - and they never show up. This means I am out time, transportation costs and annoyed at the person who didn't show up for their personal training session.

Second, for every session that someone skips, forgets, neglects there is usually one or more people who contacted me asking for that same time slot - which means not only have I had my time wasted and wasn't compensated for my time, but someone else was denied the chance to schedule their session.

From March to October my schedule gets booked pretty solid so every time a client is a 'no show' it means there is a high probability that someone else was denied the chance to be trained.

Third, by insisting on scheduling deposits this allows me to focus my efforts on the students who are serious about training / sincerely want to learn. If they skip sessions, forget to show up, etc then they are obviously not very serious about it. It also means that if a student does forget/skip a session that I am still compensated for my time.

Fourth, at some point in the future I want to expand and hire other personal trainers / sports instructors who will be working for me - which means I will be responsible for their wages. If a client doesn't show up for their scheduled session I still have to pay the personal trainer / sports instructor. This means that I would be paying for wasted time out of my own pocket with nothing to show for it. I need to decrease any chance of financial losses by ensuring clients either remember to show up for their personal training sessions and don't skip sessions on a whim.

Fifth, I have determined that clients who don't pay a deposit should not be guaranteed their time slot. If they are unwilling to pay the deposit, and someone else contacts me who is more serious and willing to pay the deposit for the same time slot then I have no reason to be financially loyal to a client who has yet to confirm their interest.

Sixth, in the past whenever a client didn't show up for their session my policy has been to "refuse service" to people who are 'no shows' because they wasted my time and I don't want to take the risk again that they might not show up to their scheduled session. (Sometimes 'no shows' ask to reschedule their lesson after the agreed upon time, or ask to reschedule with less than 24 hours notice, in which case if they haven't paid for their sessions it means I am out time that could have been spent training someone. There is no financial incentive for me to reschedule a lesson for someone who has already not shown up for an unpaid session when I could give the new time to be scheduled to someone else who is both willing to pay and willing to show up on time.)

Seventh, when dealing with people who haven't paid for their session and ask to reschedule their session less than 24 hours from the time of their session - this means someone else is denied a session that could have been scheduled during that time slot, simply because there isn't adequate time for me to contact people on my 'waiting list' and confirm their availability.

Eighth, I have determined the best policy when dealing with people is to forgive all instances of illnesses / injuries / emergencies, provided I am given adequate notice. People who later claim that they wrote their personal training session time on a note and their "dog ate it" (or similarly bogus excuses) are not given the benefit of the doubt. If it wasn't an illness, injury or emergency then I don't care what the person's excuse is. At such times I point at my Terms of Service and remind people that I require at least 24 hour advance notice to reschedule a session. Attempting to reschedule a session AFTER the session's scheduled time has already happened, means the session already happened. Which means if it wasn't paid for, then I expect to be compensated for that time, or I have the right to deny service to people who refuse to pay for my time.

See Also
Rescheduling and Missed Sessions / Cardio Trek's Terms of Service

500th Post - Browse the Best of Cardio Trek from the past 3.5 Years

Wow.

500 posts already?

Well, it has been 33 months. I started Cardio Trek in December 2011 and it has become incredibly popular as exercise and dieting websites go - and fueled my personal training / sports training business.

Let us take a moment and look back at some of the most popular posts / topics:

Nose Exercises Vs Rhinoplasty

Honestly, the popularity of all the Nose Exercises pages is a bit of a blip. When I first wrote it my main concern was boxers who had suffered nose injuries - but evidently there is a much bigger population of people out there who feel insecure about their nose shape and want to make their noses smaller, thinner, less bumpy, etc. Smaller, thinner and longer can be done by exercising the muscles inside the nose - less bumpy? Sad to say, but that is often cartilage issue and cannot be fixed with nose exercises.

10 Ways to Trick Yourself into Burning Extra Calories

Sounds easy right? They are. Basically it is just ten little tips and tricks that allow you to burn more fat.

20 Ways to Tighten Skin after Weight Loss
and Weight Loss + Loose Skin

For people who have lost a lot of weight the above two posts have become very popular. Not just for people who lost weight through diet/exercise, but also for women who recently gave birth to a bouncing baby and want to shed the extra skin from their pregnancy.

How to get a Thigh Gap

Honestly, as beauty standards go "thigh gaps" and "panty bridges" are a bit silly as a measurement. Want to feel beautiful? EXERCISE and EAT HEALTHY and stop looking in the mirror so much.

Motivational Quotes for January

I find new motivational quotes every month, but the January 2013 post is the most popular of the quotation posts. Want to read more? Subscribe to Cardio Trek via email to receive updates when new posts appear. See also Motivational Exercise Quotes from March 2012, another popular one.

Anatomical Terms for Athletes

Ever had a personal trainer refer to a part of the body using a word you didn't know? Well my handy guide to which parts are which is one of most popular pages on Cardio Trek.

25 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Exercise

I love articles like this one. Ways to get my clients and subscribers to get outside, motivated, and exercising on a regular basis.

Marilyn Monroe's Diet and Exercise Routine

Hey, it is Marilyn Monroe. No explanation needed for why this post is so popular.


Note: Popularity wise Cardio Trek will surpass 600,000 hits sometime in October.

Buy Exercise Gift Vouchers for Xmas

Not sure what to get your loved one for Xmas 2014?

How about some personal training or sports training sessions?

Thus if your loved one has a weight problem - or even if they do not (they might just be a Katniss or Rocky fanatic) you could get them personal training sessions, archery lessons, boxing lessons, swimming lessons or even ice skating lessons.

Contact me at cardiotrek@gmail.com to learn more about my gift vouchers.

Please Note - Gift Vouchers have an expiry date 18 month after the date of purchase. eg. If the Voucher Number says OCT16, then it expires October 2016. 

"My Dog Ate My Exercise Journal" and other excuses for not exercising

As a personal trainer I hear all manner of excuses for why people don't want to exercise. (Warning, you are about to read a rant.)

Its raining outside.

Its too cold.

Its too windy.

My dog is sick.

I just broke up with my ex (plus I am depressed and refuse to exercise apparently).

And then of course there is occasions when people cancel last minute their personal training session, in which case I really need people to read the Fine Print in the Rescheduling and Missed Sessions part of my website.

Especially the part where I need at least 24 hour notice before a cancellation.

Cancelling at midnight before a lesson the next day because "I have to go to a Steve Miller concert" is not sufficient warning.

Or here is my favourite thus far "I seem to have misplaced one of my children." I am paraphrasing what they said, but that is basically what their excuse was. It was the parental equivalent of "I lost my homework." or "My dog ate it." I am pretty sure it was a lie, and if it was not a lie, then that parent is obviously disorganized. Disorganization only gives a person a bad reputation for missing / breaking appointments.

Other personal trainers will understand what I am talking about. Dentists, doctors, lawyers and anyone who uses an appointment based schedule will understand what I am talking about. You make an appointment and you stick with it.

If you cancel an appointment with a dentist and you don't give them 24 hours notice for the cancellation, the dentist charges the person for the wasted time.

I do the exact same thing. If people don't show up, me waiting for them counts as the session.

Some personal trainers also require a deposit or prepayment for each session. I have not reached that point yet, but I really am wondering if I should require a deposit of some kind. (eg. Some trainers require a 30% deposit before they will even mark someone down in their schedule, which makes sense.)

[Update - In November 2014 I added a 30% deposit for scheduling lessons, so that is now my standard practice.]

Why? Sometimes people schedule a session, forget about the session, and there I am (proverbial cap in hand) waiting outside their condo on the day of the appointment and wondering why they are not answering their phone.

It is one thing if people are running late. I don't mind starting a personal training session 5, 10 or even 15 minutes late. I can understand why people are sometimes late for appointments.

And as long as I don't have another appointment after the first, I don't mind going over time by 5 to 15 minutes just because we started late.

But if I do have appointment afterwards, well sorry, I have to go otherwise it will be me who is running late.

And I don't like being late for anything. I like being either on time or early.

Call it one of my Personal Trainer Pet Peeves, it is personal training clients who always have an endless supply of excuses for why they cannot make an appointment.

If they were sick, okay, use that excuse. If someone says they are sick or injured I always give them the benefit of the doubt.

But when they come up with excuses that sound suspiciously like "My dog ate my exercise journal" and other lame excuses, wow. Just wow. Total lack of maturity.

And when they do it without 24 hours notice and expect to be compensated by receiving a replacement session, that is when I need to point to the Rescheduling and Missed Sessions fine print on my website.

Now I would like to point out that 99% of people don't do these things. 99% of people are on time (or sometimes slightly late) for sessions. It is the 1% of people who are chronically late every time, who are always making up excuses, who are forgetting sessions entirely. Those are the people that the Rescheduling and Missed Sessions fine print page is written for in the first place.

Chances are highly likely you are not part of that 1% of people. (It isn't even 1%, it is more like 0.25% of people who are chronic rescheduling.) The vast majority of people are very good about keeping appointments.

But for the 0.25% of people who are always very late, always cancelling last minute, who are expecting an endless stream of replacement sessions because they feel they are entitled - well I am sorry you are that disorganized, but I don't want to be your personal trainer. Go find someone else. I am not wasting my time worrying about the 0.25% of people who apparently are too scatterbrained to keep an appointment.

Indoor Archery Lessons in Toronto - Pros and Cons

Hey Toronto, please be advised that my Summer / Autumn schedule is very full. If you are looking to sign up for archery lessons you might want to consider signing up for indoor archery lessons for November 2014 to March 2015.

What are the pros and cons of taking indoor archery lessons?

PROS

#1. No wind.

#2. Not freezing cold or ridiculously hot.

#3. No mosquitoes.

#4. Less distractions.

#5. No worry about archery lessons being rescheduled due to rain, snow, thunderstorms, high winds, etc.

CONS

What people love about doing archery outdoors is often the wildlife, the wind providing an extra challenge, the added distractions. So the things some people dislike about outdoor archery are also the same things people love about it too. Indoor archery feels almost clinical in comparison.

Still, in comparison to freezing your buttocks off, indoor archery is a welcome change when compared to standing outside in -20 Celsius (with a wind chill factor lowering it -40+) and trying to complete a shot while shivering.


Waist Training, Skinny Waists and Training Corsets

Myth Busting on Training Corsets

Guest Post

For women (and historically, some men did this too) one of the techniques people used to lose weight / prevent over-eating was 'training corsets' designed to cinch the waist together so that they could achieve an hourglass shape of their chest to waist to hips ratio.

1950s Pinup Model Betty Brosmer
The purpose of training corsets was not for it to be worn as a fashion piece, but to train the waist so it was a specific shape whenever the corset was NOT on.

You can see the results in the photo on the right from the 1950s.

Or at the photo of Kim Kardashian further below. In the case of Kim Kardashian there has been a lot of social buzz about whether various photos of her were photoshopped to make her waist looking small and her hips look bigger. But if you are familiar with the history of corsets you will know that Kim's waist and hips don't need photoshop. There were plenty of women (and men too) from history who had highly cinched waists who had curvier / more hourglass shaped figures.

Doing this is basically just another form of body modification similar to piercings, tattoos, breast implants / pectoral implants, botox, liposuction, synthol injections, steroid addiction, cosmetic surgery, rhinoplasty, circumcision, eyeball tattooing (I bet you didn't even know that one existed), microdermal / transdermal / subdermal implants, silicone injections, tongue splitting, cranial binding, foot binding, branding, ear shaping, scarification, tooth filing, etc. Many of these activities are the result of body dysmorphic disorders / mental illnesses in which the person feels inadequate unless they can change their body in a specific way.

Kim Kardashian taking a Selfie

In the case of waist training, it is true that many practitioners do lose weight because it is a bit like Gastric Bypass Surgery in that it restricts how much a person can eat. (Gastric bypass surgery is a surgical procedure in which the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch and then the small intestine is rearranged to connect to both. The small stomach can then consume less food, resulting in the person having smaller meals and they lose weight over the long term.)

However the health effects of tightlacing / corset training causes havoc with the individual's internal organs. Below is a list of health defects that can result from an addiction to tightlacing.

Short term effects of tightlacing
  • Extreme discomfort
  • Shortness of breath
  • Faintness
  • Indigestion
  • Chafing of the skin
Long term effects of tightlacing
  • Weak abdominal muscles
  • Spinal problems / back pain
  • Problems urinating / leaky bladder (a practitioner might end up having to wear diapers)
  • Broken ribs / osteoporosis in the ribs
  • Compression of internal organs (similar to when organs are compressed during pregnancy)
  • Decreased lung volume / shallow breathing (intercostal breathing)
  • Mucosal build up in the lungs causes frequent bouts of pneumonia / coughing, which caused a Victorian myth that corset wearing caused tuberculosis
  • Liver is pushed upwards towards the ribs, forming ridges in between the ribs and accessory lobes - the connection of which can be quite thin, which resulted in the Victorian myth that corset wearing can 'cut a liver in half'.
  • Stomach volume compressed resulting in long term problems with indigestion, heartburn, gastric reflux. Practitioners avoid carbonated drinks, beans or any gassy foods.
  • Intestine compression causes constipation / anal leakage / rectal discharge (again, necessitating the use of diapers)
Dietary problems
  • The reduced stomach volume means many practitioners need to eat 6 smaller meals because eating 3 larger meals is no longer possible due to insufficient volume. Failing to eat sufficient nutrients can result in severe weight loss and accompanying health problems.
NOTES

If people really want to try waist training that is really their personal choice. But they should at least get into it knowing the health dangers/embarrassment they face (back pain, diapers, heartburn, etc). The prospect of diapers alone is enough of a reason in my opinion.

We should also note that sometimes training corsets are sometimes used to deliberately correct the curvature of the spine, in the case of people who have suffered traumatic injuries to the spine. However, just because corsets do have some medical applications, doesn't automatically mean they're safe when used for aesthetic waist training purposes.
Looking to sign up for archery lessons, boxing lessons, swimming lessons, ice skating lessons or personal training sessions? Start by emailing cardiotrek@gmail.com and lets talk fitness!

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