1.5 Million Visitors to CardioTrek.ca

A few days ago the total number of visits to CardioTrek.ca surpassed 1.5 million. Not bad for a personal training website that gives away free advice / answers fitness questions, in addition to my personal training / sports training practice.

Most of that 1.5 million is from visitors in Canada / USA, and tiny fractions from other English speaking countries, and non-English speaking countries.

It would be interesting to know how many are actually from Toronto, my home turf. Three years ago in January I found stats on Alexa.com stating that CardioTrek was in the top 5000 websites in Toronto - which was when CardioTrek had merely 25,516 visitors. In contrast in January 2016, exactly three years later we recorded 58,495 visitors.

Numbers are nice, but more importantly is the fact that I am often fully booked 8 months of the year (November to February is the slow time of the year). Booked up so much that I have been raising my rates and cutting back a bit so I can have more free time. So I am obviously doing something right.

I am also frequently asked to appear in television shows. In the past year I appeared on:

CBC's "Marketplace", a piece about eggs / nutrition.

CityTV's "Athlete of the Week", a piece about my archery skills.

OLN's "Storage Wars Canada", during which I was asked to identify and estimate the value of a Bear Grizzly recurve bow (modified by the US-CDN exchange rate at the time).

So yeah, good times. Let the good times roll!

Should be interesting to see where my website / business is 4 years from now. Or 14 years from now.

Five Ways to get into Competitive Archery

Looking to get into archery and compete? There are many ways to do so.

#1. Field Archery Competitions

Field Archery was likely invented by people fond of Roving - the traditional act of getting drunk with friends and wandering the countryside with a wineskin and a bow, shooting at things for fun. There are even songs on the topic "A Roving Will We Go" and so forth.

Field Archery is very similar, but without the drunkenness. Field archery combines shooting a bow with a hike in the woods, enjoying a wide variety of outdoor terrain, weather conditions, and shooting in varying lighting conditions. Field Archers usually shoot in groups of four, and then hike a course to shoot targets at varying distances. It is a bit like playing golf as you have to wait until the next target is clear of the previous archer(s) before you can go out there and start shooting.

In World Archery field tournaments, the course is "unmarked" on the first day of competition. Archers are expected to judge the distance and take their shots in three-arrow ends; that is, each archer shoots three times before walking to the target to score their shots. During FITA Field events archers often develop a system for estimating distances and practice it while honing their form on different types of terrain to prepare for tournaments. In comparison the National Field Archery Association tournaments the distances are marked.

Some Field Archers feel that field archery is special because archers connect with each other while they are waiting for a target to open up, and that's when they talk, share snacks and discuss how they felt about that last target, thus building new friendships amongst competitors.

Shooting through the woods like that also has a definite Robin Hood feel to it, compared to shooting in a 70 meter field at a 122 cm FITA target. Doing that all the time eventually gets boring.

In contrast Field Archery is never the same twice. Always a different course to run, different spots to stand, etc. The big trick is learning how to gauge distances, control your form on rough uneven terrain and learning how to adjust shots on upwards or downward angles. Thus if you have never done any of those things before it helps to have an archery instructor.

The other good news is that Field Archery is a sport that is friendly to all kinds of bows - longbows, compounds, recurves, shortbows. Everyone is welcome. Some competitions may be limited to only one kind of bow, but it is a sport that can be done with any kind of bow.

#2. Flight Archery Competitions

Flight Archery is all about seeing who is shooting the further, often using the most powerful / fastest bow you can shoot (within your chosen weight category) and using the lightest weight arrows you can find. The goal essentially is to shoot a super light weight arrow using a very fast bow and aim it at the correct height in order to maximize the distance the arrow will travel - possibly paying attention to wind conditions so you can have the wind in your favour.

A big factor in Flight Archery is the weight categories. It is arguably easier to win a competition (or even set a new record) using a lighter bow than it is to win a competition or set a new world record using a really heavy bow. According to legend the world record for the world's longest shot with a longbow was about 1500 yards, however it was likely done with a 200+ lb longbow, which makes it far out of the reach of normal archers.

In contrast the current male recurve flight archery champion for the under 18 kg (39.7 lbs) category boasts only approx. 650 yards. Thus someone wishing to set a new record doesn't necessarily need to be super strong to do it.

Below I have included an Arrow Trajectory Chart so you get an idea of the importance of aiming at the correct height when doing Flight Archery. Aiming too high or too low will hurt the overall distance traveled. As you can see below the correct height to aim is approximately 40 to 45 degrees.

#3. Longbow Competitions

I decided to list Longbow separately because there are many different kinds of Longbow Competitions, which include:

Clout Archery - shooting at a flag at either 180 or 140 yards away. Points are awarded by how close you get to the flag.

Beuersault - shooting at two 50 yard targets in two different directions with different wind conditions.

Cherokee Cornstalk Shooting - See Wand Shoot below, the two are very similar.

Popinjay - shooting at a wooden bird on top of a pole that is 30 yards almost straight up. Archers stand within 12 feet of the pole and try to shoot the wooden bird with a blunt tipped arrow.

Wand Shoot - trying to hit a tiny strip of wood or a ribbon at a random distance. Points are awarded for arrows landing near or hitting the strip of wood or ribbon. This is very similar to Cherokee Cornstalk shooting, except that in that sport you only score points by hitting the cornstalk.

#4. Target Archery Competitions

A. Indoor

There are many types of target archery competitions, for all types of bows. Ignoring the types of bows used one major difference is whether they are shot indoor or outdoor. A common competitive distance for teenagers to shoot during high-school for example is to shoot at 18 meters, indoors, usually in a gymnasium.

Note - I personally enjoy shooting in my garage when the weather is really cold. It isn't a long distance, but it is a lot of fun with friends, music and drinks.

B. Outdoor

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are probably the best-known example of outdoor target archery, but archers compete outdoors at everything from local to national events using every kind of equipment you can think of: Compounds, crossbows, longbows, shortbows, horsebows, traditional recurves, Olympic recurves, footbows, and a large variety of ethnic styles of archery.

Olympic archery, the kind you are most likely familiar with, involves shooting at a 122 cm FITA target at a distance of 70 meters and using every gadget you can think of - stabilizers, sights, clickers, etc.

Compound competition distances vary, but are commonly between 50 meters and 150 meters. Some competitors are so good at this they could probably shoot bulls-eyes further than that, but there are a shortage of competitions that bother to go for really long distances. Targets for compounds are usually 80 cm, and again they use lots of gadgets to help their accuracy.

Ontario hosts over 200 outdoor target competitions every year, for a wide variety of different bows, and many of these competitions are within a short drive of Toronto. So there is no excuse not to try it if that is what you are interested in.

#5. 3D Competitions

Like field archery, 3D archery involves wooded ranges and challenging terrain, but this sport also features three-dimensional animal targets on marked and unmarked courses. You don't know the distance to the target and the target might be as small as a rabbit or as big as a moose, it really depends on who designed the course and what they had handy for targets.

3D archers hike to shooting stations, where they then estimate distances to the animal target. However, most 3D tournaments only allow one shot per target. Even if you are not into hunting, 3D archery provides a fun, challenging test. 3D competition distances are much shorter than those for target or field archery, so it's accessible to beginners, with ranges typically being less than 30 yards.

To practice for 3D archery, you must practice judging distances, develop stamina to carry your equipment, and learn the scoring rings for different animal targets. Carrying binoculars is handy if you need to verify where you want to aim.

Like Field Archery above, 3D archery feels special because you're shooting in a natural setting at an animal target, even if it is a fake animal. The varied terrain adds an extra challenge and you will often make new friends while doing it. Tip - Hang out with the veterans and old archers who know what they are doing, you will learn lots from them.

BONUS - Archery Tag League Play

Archery Tag is such a new sport, but it already has evolved into a team sport with leagues where teams can compete against one another. Toronto has over half a dozen archery tag locations now and several of them offer the option of League events (eg. Battle Sports). So if you are in favour of shooting at moving human targets, that is certainly an option.

Wanted - Sports Photographer in Toronto

For the past several years I have been trying to find a good sports photographer (in Toronto no less) with experience doing a variety of different photography styles.

For example:

Motion Capture Photography, like this tennis player in motion, by Jean Yves Lemoigne, who unfortunately lives in New York State. Pity. He is really good at what he does.

The one below of a male gymnast in motion isn't by Jean, but it is also really good.

Time Lapse Photography, which looks similar to Motion Capture but ultimately looks more like a blur. Depending on the length of the Time Lapse, it can be extremely blurry. Below is an example of Time Lapse Photography of cyclists.

Time Lapse Video, sounds similar to Time Lapse Photography above, except it is video in which only a few frames are captured so that when viewed it appears to be sped up so that you are seeing a longer period of time flashing before you in mere seconds. A good example of this is the GoPro videos that cyclists like to make showing their rides sped up, like the one below.



Slow Motion Video, like the video below which shows a variety of archers shooting and their arrows hitting targets in slow motion. Oh, and it is in HD. Huzzah!



Other forms of photography are also welcome, especially if it works well with the theme of sports.

Anywho, if you are a photographer in Toronto and are available for a short gig please contact me via cardiotrek@gmail.com. Send me your hourly rate and three examples of your past work (which may include links to YouTube videos in the event you have past experience doing slow motion or time lapse work).

Also note that I am a firm believer in paying people for work. None of this "it is good for your portfolio" nonsense. If you are doing a job, you deserve to get paid for it. End of story. Everyone has to make a living and artists deserve to be paid like everyone else.

How much does a stabilizer actually help?

Years ago my buddy Matt and I did a series of experiments with homemade stabilizers to see how much of a difference they would make on accuracy - and within our tests we varied the size and weight of the stabilizers.

We were not the first or last people to conduct such tests however.

What Matt and I determined was:

#1. Stabilizers really only helped a little bit at short distances; Its primary purpose was for shooting long distances.

#2. Absorbing vibrations from the bow was not the primary function of a stabilizer, making the bow bottom heavy was the primary function.

Our testing wasn't very scientific, but fortunately Field and Stream (a fishing/hunting magazine based in the USA) did their own series of tests in 2013 and theirs was much more scientific than ours - and yet concluded the same things.

Manufacturers tell us that the primary purpose of stabilizers is to reduce vibrations in the bow, and while that may end up having a minor effect, it is so minor it may not even be worth mentioning.

During the tests Matt and I did we determined that the biggest effect on accuracy was simply the addition of weight - making the bow bottom heavy and then easier to make sure it was perfectly balanced (left to right) and was not canting to the left or right by accident. A loose and relaxed grip plus extra weight made all the difference to the accuracy.

The Field and Stream tests kept careful track of what they were doing:

The Field and Stream Tests

They had three different people shoot three different bows, each with and without a small hunting-style stabilizer and then measured the size of the arrow clusters and got an average number. They also varied the distances by 30, 40 and 50 yards.

Field and Stream Test Results
 
Total average group sizes for 6-inch hunting stabilizer, no stabilizer:
 
30 Yards: 2.59 with stabilizer, 2.75 without stabilizer (a 6% increase in cluster accuracy)
40 Yards: 3.66 with stabilizer, 3.61 without stabilizer (cluster accuracy was actually 2% worse)
60 Yards: 5.07 with stabilizer, 5.23 without stabilizer (a 3% increase in cluster accuracy)

So their conclusions was that a small stabilizer really had very little difference in terms of cluster accuracy, and they felt the test was a bit inconclusive because the averages might have been effected by fatigue, wind conditions and physical differences between the three shooters.

During the tests Matt and I conducted we saw virtually no difference when shooting at approx. 20 yards. Our conclusions was that stabilizers were basically unnecessary at close range. The difference in cluster quality was more noticeable when we were shooting at 30 yards or more.

Field and Streams Test #2

After the somewhat inconclusive results of the first test above, Field and Stream conducted a 2nd test using longer and heavier 10-inch or 12-inch stabilizers.

Due to space restrictions and the fact that they only had two people available for the 2nd test they didn't publish their full results of the 2nd test, but what they did note was that: "We both shot markedly better with them."

So the extra weight was certainly a benefit. A big benefit. "[T]he full story is that these results were even more surprising than those of the original test. Damned-near astonishing, in fact."

They didn't notice any major differences at 40 yards or less, but at 60 yards there was a big difference.

"Shooting a Bowtech Insanity CPXL with your basic 5-inch hunting stabilizer, I shot 10 three-shot groups that averaged 4.82 inches—which was on par with most of my other 60-yard groups. Then I screwed on a 10-3/8-inch, 10.5-ounce, Doinker EFDF (doinker.com), and shot 10 more groups at 60. Average size: 2.97 inches. I figured that had to be a fluke, so I shot another 10 groups. They averaged 3.21 inches. I later got similar results with a 12-inch Doinker D.I.S.H. and a 10-inch Bee Stinger Pro Hunter, too (beestinger.com)."

"Meanwhile, Brantley cut his 60-yard groups nearly in half (from 6.12 to 3.50) when he went from no stabilizer to a 12-inch, 17-ounce Fuse Carbon Bowhunter Freestyle (fusearchery.com) on a Hoyt Spyder Turbo. He called the result “amazing.” In the end, we agreed that it makes no sense to hang such a big, heavy model on a short-range woods bow, but on long-range western or 3D bow, we’d definitely carry the extra weight to get all that extra accuracy."

So the bigger heavier stabilizers really do help - but only at long distances and only a small bit at close distances. At close range or point blank range they are pretty much unnecessary.

One last note...

Years ago I witnessed a fellow archer who prefers to shoot Olympic style go from a mid-weight stabilizer to a very expensive / much heavier stabilizer. Prior to switch he was shooting doughnut sized clusters at 30 yards. After the switch his clusters became the size of footlong subs, going up and down. Now you might wonder what was he doing wrong? If the only thing that had changed was the stabilizer, why would it be causing his clusters to go up and down so dramatically?

The answer is that his bow arm/shoulder was too weak for the huge / heavy stabilizer. He had spent $400 on a very expensive stabilizer that was actually too big for him to handle properly.

And to top it off, according to the test results by both myself, Matt and the good folks at Field and Stream - he really did not need a stabilizer to be shooting at 30 yards. It was an unnecessary crutch and in his case he was actually getting worse.

Now you might think "Won't he get stronger if he keeps using it?" Maybe. However from past conversations with him I know that he is against exercising and argues that "You don't need to exercise to do archery."

Which is true, you do not need to exercise to do archery. But it certainly helps your accuracy if your muscles are stronger in all the right places.

In the same vein, you don't need a stabilizer to do long distance archery. But it does help improve your accuracy a little bit.

Ultimately it is up to personal choice. Some people prefer to shoot with stabilizers, some prefer to shoot without them. I personally only put stabilizers on when shooting my compound bow. I rarely use them on recurve bows.

 Happy Shooting!

Gym Personal Trainers and Why I Don't Like Them

Many years ago, long before I became a personal trainer myself, I signed up for a gym membership here in Toronto and got a complimentary session with one of the gym's personal trainers. (This happened twice on separate occasions when I signed up for different gym memberships, revealing to me that gym personal trainers have a lot of flaws.)

Former Mayor Rob Ford with Personal Trainer.
Sometimes trainers are hired for their physique, not their skills.

Now I want to point a few things out before I get into this...

Gym Personal Trainers are low paid, often un-certified, and seem to just make it up as they go along. Having spoken to multiple gym personal trainers I have determined a number of things.

They are often paid as little as $17 to $19 per hour (minus taxes/etc), but the gym charges $60 to $120 per hour for their services. This is compared to normal personal trainers which often charge between $30 to $120 per hour - but they make that full amount, minus taxes/etc.

Take into account that personal trainers at the gym are often un-certified and give shoddy advice, and you would probably wonder if you are overpaying for their services.

From my experience with gym personal trainers, they do the following:

#1. They don't really write much down.

A complimentary session is more of a sales pitch and not a very good one. They ask you your weight, your height, calculate your BMI, and they use a machine or some other method to give you an estimate of your Body Fat Percentage (BFP). This process is basically designed for them to waste time as they try to make it look like they know what they are doing. They may also ask if you want to lose weight and if so, how much. Often at this point they will get out a calculator because they lack the mental skills to perform the simple task of subtracting one number from another. Beyond your BMI, BFP and finding out how much weight you want to lose, they don't write anything else down because their primary goal during a complimentary session is to get you to sign up for more sessions.

A real personal trainer should have a notebook, tablet or similar device - and be recording goals, setting a timeline / schedule, taking note of what types of exercise to focus on, etc. Details matter and unless you have an eidetic memory like I do, then you need to write those details down. (Note - I write these things down anyway, more as a matter of record keeping for the client than as personal notes for myself. I like keeping records of everything.)

#2. They barely even mentioned food.

I found this to be bizarre. 90% of weight loss is eating habits, and it is a big factor to weightlifters / bodybuilders as well, because if they are not getting their protein and veggies, then they cannot bulk up as quickly as they could be. People who are not eating properly are really just delaying their goals or preventing their goals from happening at all. (Especially if the gym visitor goes out for a cheeseburger after their workout every time.)

A real personal trainer has to be part coach and part nutritionist. If they are not advising you on food matters, at least offering to give you advice (regardless of whether you accept it), then they are really only doing half of their job.

#3. 20 Minutes on the Treadmill.

Both times that I had complimentary sessions years ago the gym personal trainers stuck me on a treadmill and left me there for 20 minutes while they went to read email, play on their cellphone, and basically do nothing for 20 minutes. The one trainer actually did this THRICE during the same session. 20 minutes on the treadmill followed by 15 minutes on the rowing machine, followed by another 10 minutes on an elliptical. He basically wasted 45 minutes of the 1 hour session goofing off on his cellphone while I did all the work.

A real personal trainer shouldn't be wasting your time watching you do 10, 15 or 20 minutes of the same activity while they do little or no work. If you are paying $60 per hour for example, and you just spent 45 minutes on a treadmill/etc, then you just spent $45 on having the trainer stand there and play on their cellphone. The other 15 minutes of your personal training session better have some pretty valuable advice otherwise you just got ripped off.

#4. Not Correcting Your Technique.

If you watch gym personal trainers you will notice their clients struggling to perform an exercise (a Burpee for example) and the trainer does nothing to help the client correct their technique. Nothing. Zip.

A real personal trainer should be helping you use correct form so you don't hurt yourself / develop a sports injury. Serious sports injuries are even grounds for a lawsuit if it causes permanent damage.

#5. Bosu Balls and other Fads.

I hate Bosu Balls. I just plain refuse to use them. That doesn't mean people cannot use them, but having been on the receiving end I will tell you that some gym personal trainers have a tendency to overuse these devices. The purpose of a Bosu Ball is to build balance muscles, mostly in the legs and core. However they are mostly useless for the vast majority of people's goals of losing weight or gaining muscle. Unless you are dancer, a gymnast or someone wanting to increase your balance, then there is no reason for you to be using a Bosu Ball. In my experience Bosu Balls are the result of a fad that really took off and some gym personal trainers are "one trick wonder gadgeteers" who are obsessed with one gadget and have all of their clients use the same gadget, regardless of what the client's goals are.

A real personal trainer custom tailors their sessions to the client's needs and goals, and uses whatever tools available that suit those goals. They don't force ridiculous gadgets on clients because it is the latest fad.

#6. Exhausted and Demotivated.

Anyone can make you exhausted. Trying playing tag with a five year old and you will get a pretty good cardio. A personal trainer who sticks you on an elliptical for 20 minutes, weights for 20 minutes and a bosu ball for 20 minutes will have tired you out. Will you have learned anything? Nope. Will you be motivated to do that over again next time? Nope. You don't really need a personal trainer to make yourself exhausted and demotivated, you can do that pretty well by yourself.

A real personal trainer gauges your exhaustion levels and schedules breaks into your training session and uses that time to feed you advice about proper form, attaining better results, nutrition, etc. They should also be using their time to say things that are encouraging so you feel like you've accomplished something when you are done and feel motivated to do it again.

Conclusions

Having bore witness to the kind of amateur nonsense that gym personal trainers do, I have to conclude that they are really just there to make money and have very little interest in helping clients achieve their goals. They waste your time and your money and give a bad rep to personal trainers.

Often gym personal trainers are simply people who are in good shape who needed a "job". It isn't a career to them. Just another job that they will quit when they find something better.

Happy Exercising!