8 Fun Ways to get a Sexy Body

Everyone wants to have a sexy body, but many people have difficulty achieving that goal. The biggest problem I find is that many people become discouraged because they are doing exercises they don't actually enjoy.

But what if you did exercises that were actually FUN  to do and you could actually lose weight, build muscle and look awesome as you get better at the activities? Well here are a list of exercises that help turn flab into fab and allow you to have fun while doing them.

#1. Mountain Biking

#2. Snorkeling

#3. Boxing, Kick Boxing or Thai Boxing

#4. Fencing, Kendo, Swordfighting for Stage or Spearfighting

#5. Martial Arts

 

#6. Tennis

#7. Ballroom Dancing or Competitive Dancing

#8. Parkour or Freerunning

Don't expect to see huge changes overnight doing these activities. Like all exercises and sports you only see the results after you've been putting in the effort for months or years. Take it slow at first, have fun and enjoy yourself.

Also try to do so safetly. Wear protection (helmet, knee pads, etc) to help prevent sports injuries. You will achieve your goals of looking sexy and feeling great, but you will want to do it without putting yourself at risk of injury.

Toronto Bicycle Trail Challenge

On the right is a true challenge for cyclists of Toronto - One with both ups and downs, and a good chunk of beautiful woodland scenery.

Take the TTC Sheppard subway line to get to your starting location. North of Highway 401, ride the bikeway through East Don Parkland, then south to Edwards Gardens. Use the Toronto Cycling Map to guide you down the Don Valley all the way to the lakeshore and then take the subway at Union Station to get home.

The route is available on Google Maps: Don Valley Bicycle Trail.

Ride Route Notes

• Exit at the east end of the Sheppard subway station.
• Cross the crosswalk north, on the west side of Leslie and Sheppard – the gateway to the Don River Trail can’t be missed.
• If you don’t want to go north, look for the bikeway down the valley at the south west corner of the intersection.
• At the top of East Don Parkland, turn around, or follow the Toronto Bike Map to Bike Route 51 south – it will take you through some classic Toronto highrise and bungalow neighbourhoods, and near Toronto’s richest neighbourhood "Bridle Path".
• Food and drink – and a rest – can be had when you reach York Mills Road.
• The route will then take you through an industrial park with some surprisingly significant architecture, past Edward Gardens (find the trail access along the south side of the parking lot), and back down into the Don Valley.
• It’s all downhill from there… literally, as you cycle south to the lakeshore and west downtown. Follow the Bikes and Transit maps for a ride through the Distillery District and The Esplanade – or stay on the Waterfront Trail west and come up to Union Station at Yonge St.

Form Techniques for Avoiding String Burn

Q

"I see a lot of folks get bow arm sometimes. A lot of huge bruises in some cases. It even happens to me sometimes. I also see a LOT of plucking. What are some ways to prevent bow arm from happening?"

- M.T.

A

I don't call it "bow arm", I prefer to call it "string burn" - similar to rope burn. String burn occurs when people accidentally hit their arm with the bow string while doing archery and it can leave a bruise, welt or even rip the skin off your arm if you are using a higher poundage bow (like a powerful compound bow).

Form Techniques for Avoiding String Burn

#1. Relax your arm and shoulder. (This is also better for increased accuracy.)

#2. Elbow should be facing sideways and not locked.

#3. Lean slightly into the shot for better shoulder alignment if you have difficulty relaxing your bow shoulder.

#4. Use a lightweight bow. Avoid any bow that causes you to over tense your bow arm.

#5. Plucking the string could still cause the string to oscillate and hit your arm, so for best results practice doing a "dead release". A dead release doesn't move, a live release does. Keep your thumb/hand on your face as you practice dead releases and keep track of any shot where your hand plucked to the side, backwards, forwards, up or down. If it keeps happening you may need to consult an archery instructor familiar with dead releases.

Brace Height

#6. If the bow string is hitting your wrist or hitting near your wrist, that is because your brace height is too low. Unstring the bow using a bowstringer, twist the string 10 or more times to make it tighter and then restring the bow. Check the brace height using the 'rule of thumb' to see if the string is touching your thumb. If it is not touching you should be fine, but if the string is still touching your thumb then you need to unstring your bow tighten another 10+ rotations and then restring your bow. Keep doing this until the string is no longer touching your thumb when you check using the 'rule of thumb' method.

Rule of Thumb

If you want to learn more on this topic or similar topics sign up archery lessons in Toronto from CardioTrek.ca. Have a great day and stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself.

;)

Triple Senior's Discount for Archery Lessons during September and October 2015

For archery lessons I normally offer a Senior's Discount of 5% for people over the age of 65 (with proof of age), however for a limited time I am offering a 15% discount for seniors over the age of 65. This offer is only good for people booking their lessons in September or October 2015.

My Weekday Rates

1 Student
$60 for 90 minutes; 3 Lessons - $170; 5 Lessons - $270; 10 Lessons - $520.

So if you live in Toronto, you were born in 1950 or earlier, and you want to learn archery now is your chance to get archery lessons in Toronto. For more info email cardiotrek@gmail.com with any questions.

Have a great day!

Have Some Apple Pie = Hand, Shoulder, Anchor/Aim, Power

"Have Some Apple Pie" is an old school archery saying from the 1950s. It is meant to help beginner students remember most of the things they should be doing when practicing their archery form: Hand, Shoulder, Anchor/Aim, Power.

Hand - Should be centred on the bow handle and relaxed.

Shoulder - Should be relaxed and aligned with the bow arm.

Anchor/Aim - Anchor spot should be firmly planted beneath the dominant eye on the mouth in the Traditional Anchor Spot (aka North Anchor) in order for the archer to be able to aim properly. Take your time aiming. Adjust your aim gradually from round to round, not from shot to shot unless your aim is obviously off dramatically.

Power - Muscles on the upper back (the rhomboids) should be clenched together tightly so the archer's back muscles are doing most of the work, reducing the amount of work done by the archer's arms and shoulders.

There are other factors as well that goes into good quality archery form - issues like standing up straight, not angling your neck in weird positions, learning how to use the same amount of power every shot, fine tuning your anchor spot, relaxing your bow hand completely (aka "dead hand"), and many other issues.

If you want help with perfecting your archery form you can sign up for archery lessons or you can email me to get your name on the waiting list for my forthcoming book.

Frugal Archery Equipment, Part Two

Some of you may have read my old post titled "DIY Archery Equipment on a Frugal Budget" which follows the logic of making your own archery equipment in order to be able to practice archery / exercise cheaply.

However there is a second way to get into archery cheaply - and that is to buy used equipment.

The problem with buying used equipment is that there are some pros and cons...

Pro - It is a lot cheaper than buying brand new equipment. Seriously, this is really the only benefit. However if you learn from Cons below, you can still navigate the dangerous waters of buying used equipment without getting yourself burned.

Con - The equipment you are buying might be in poor condition, so you need to look for the following: Cracked, split, warped bow limbs; cracked or broken bow tips; bow strings that should be replaced; bow risers that are cracked. Ideally you want to buy a bow that is practically new (excellent condition), but the owner has simply moved on and purchased a more expensive bow and now wants to get rid of their old cheap bow that is still in excellent condition, but they just don't like it any more.

Con - The equipment you are purchasing might not suit you physically - this is a very common problem with beginners buying used bows. They buy a bow that is too powerful for them and then they cannot use it properly. Other common problems is beginners buying a bow that is either too big or too small for them, like an adult trying to use a children's bow.

Con - The person you are purchasing from might be an idiot and give you lots of misinformation. They might feed you the wrong information on things like: How to string the bow properly; How to aim properly; What proper archery form looks like; How to pull back a bow properly (without causing various sports injuries); Etc. Clearly this is a very good argument for getting archery lessons BEFORE buying your first bow, just so you have a better idea of how to all of these properly.

Con - The person you are purchasing from might simply be a liar. I will give you an example, earlier today I was browsing bows on eBay and an American was selling a PVC bow he made himself, claiming it was 130 lbs of draw weight. This guy was clearly lying. There is no way a PVC (poly vinyl chloride is basically a kind of thick plastic) bow could have a draw weight of 130 lbs without breaking. More likely the bows he was making was in the 40 to 60 lb draw weight range, and he was either lying - or just plain ignorant about how to measure draw weight properly.

However lets assume that you take precautions as you browse listings for used equipment. Let us assume that you purchase equipment that is "practically new", that you limit yourself to bows that suit you physically, and that you avoid people who sound like either idiots and/or liars. Well, then you might be able to purchase an used bow (and arrows) for comparatively less and get into archery on a pretty frugal budget.

A few purchasing tips:

Tip #1. Buy something with a lower poundage. 25 lbs or less is ideal for a male, or 20 lbs or less if you are female. Why? So you can learn proper form. Trying to pull a 30 to 60 lb bow that is too powerful for you is not going to afford you the endurance to be able to learn proper form. (Writing this, I know immediately there will be people [usually men] who ignore this advice and then go and buy a ridiculously powerful bow that they can't even pull properly, will get a shoulder injury or some other kind of sports injury, and will berate themselves for not listening to my dire warnings. Sports injuries are common [especially for beginners], so why not learn proper form and avoid the injuries?)

Tip #2. Buy a bow that is the correct size for you. Examples: No buying a children's bow if you are over 5'2" tall; Avoid buying a shortbow if you are super tall (like 6'4" or taller) because you will probably break it with your super long arms.

Tip #3. Buy arrows that fit the length of your arm / draw length. If you are not sure what your draw length is, find out before you start purchasing arrows.

Tip #4. Buy arrows that suit the type of bow you are shooting. The type of arrows used on a compound bow for example are very different from the kind of arrows you should be using on a recurve or a longbow.

Tip #5. Buying archery equipment off Toronto Craigslist or Toronto Kijiji might seem like a good idea because you can pick the equipment up in person, but you need to be careful all the same as some of the sellers on those websites are pretty sketchy.

Tip #6. Buying archery equipment off eBay is more expensive due to the extra cost of shipping, but you can look at the seller's reputation score on eBay to see how reputable the seller is. They also typically post lots of photos of the equipment they are selling, so you can get a clear idea of how good of condition the archery equipment is in.

Tip #7. Buying archery equipment off a friend who does archery is arguably one of the best ways to purchase equipment, because in theory your friend isn't going to lie to you about the quality of the equipment. Or if they do lie, I guess they weren't that good of a friend, were they?

Speaking for myself I like buying antique bows for my own personal collection. Recently I purchased two "vintage" longbows on eBay: #1. A Roy Rogers longbow from the 1950s (Roy Rogers was a TV show from 1951 to 1957, and various longbows were made circa 1952 with the logo on it) that is a collectors item. #2. A Ben Pearson lemonwood longbow with linen backing, circa 1945. (I am also currently bidding on a vintage recurve bow as well, rounding out my recent acquisitions.)

From which you might conclude "Wow, those are really old bows!" and I would agree. They are the kind of bows you don't shoot that often because they ultimately end up decorating your wall instead. So the last tip, if you are buying your bow for the purpose of doing archery as a sport / exercise, then do NOT buy a vintage bow. Vintage bows need to be treated with respect and care as they could break easily in the hands of someone who overdraws its, strings it incorrectly, dry fires it, etc. Therefore...

Tip #8. Buy a bow that is relatively new. Avoid vintage archery equipment that are more for show. There are a lot of old vintage bows from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s - largely due to a long lasting archery fad during those decades, and thus many bows from that era still exist and are shoot-able, but they are not necessarily a good bow for a beginner as they could easily snap on the 1st or 2nd shot. (You can thank the Errol Flynn film "The Adventures of Robin Hood" for the enduring success of archery during those decades.)

If you have questions about buying your first bow or buying an used bow please feel free to post your questions in the comments section below.

Kicking Exercises and Tips

Kicking Exercises are just what they sound like - fast paced kicks in an effort to build fast twitch muscle fibres in your legs. However done improperly they hold the potential to injure yourself.

I should also note that the primary purpose of these kicking exercises are for EXERCISE, not for self-defense or fighting. I will note the various uses of some kicks, but please remember the primary goal here is to promote kicking as a form of exercise.

With that in mind I am going to be teaching 3 different styles of kicks you can try at home. Shin Kicks, Side Kicks and Back Kicks.

#1.

Use a large open space that has no obstacles or walls nearby. Accidentally kicking a wall and hurting your foot would be counter-productive.

#2.

Next you should be doing some stretches. Because you are going to be doing an exercise that explores the limits of your flexibility I want people reading this to make an effort to stretch before you begin any workout that contains kicking.

Start by sitting on the ground and doing a variety of poses that explore the limits of your flexibility, similar to the poses mentioned in the How to do the Splits post.

#3.

Warm up your leg muscles by doing about 30 to 60 seconds worth of jumping jacks and another 30 to 60 seconds worth of squats (or jump squats if you want more of a challenge).

#4.

Don't worry about height when you kicking. Stand upright and start by doing low kicks in the air aimed at an imaginary target about 1 foot off the ground. This is known as a Shin Kick. It may not look like much, but aimed at someone's leg it would be difficult to block and successful contact means the other person will be in pain and possibly have difficulty walking.

When doing Shin Kicks your legs should be spread further apart with your leading foot pointed towards the imaginary target. Your kicking foot will be spaced further back and the foot should be angled off to the side for extra stability.

Every few minutes you should switch sides and practice kicking with the other foot. Try to focus on the quality of your form and accuracy, not your speed.

Shin Kicking can also be used for tripping an opponent, except instead of kicking the person with the toe or the base of the foot you are instead angling your foot in from the side in an effort to knock them down / make them lose their balance. This is demonstrated in the graphic below.

In a situation where you feel threatened, kicking someone in the shins and then running away is a fairly effective means of self-defense. The other person could be potentially prone if you tripped them, or they might simply be unable to run quickly due to the sudden pain. The pain would be temporary however, so if your plan is to run do so quickly.

#5.

This is not the impressive Side Kick you may have seen in the movies. You need to work up to that.

Instead your goal here is to kick sideways and hit something that is approximately at groin level. eg. An opponent's family jewels.

To do this kick you first need to be facing towards your target, your feet slightly spaced apart and your leading foot slightly off to the side for extra balance. During the kick you will first raise your knee up towards the target, and then in one motion you will kick outwards while rotating your body. Use your arms to maintain your balance (potentially you could use one arm to perform a simultaneous punch like in the image below, but your primary goal should be to maintain your balance).

Done properly a sidekick should be both accurate, fast and with minimal loss of balance. These three things are important because:

• You actually want to hit the target properly so it does more damage.
• Your kick should be fast enough that your opponent cannot catch and twist your foot, leaving you at a disadvantage.
• You don't want to lose your balance. If you fall the fight is practically over.

My tae kwon do instructor in South Korea taught that you never want to kick an opponent unless you either already have the advantage or if you can be absolutely certain of your success. He argued that kicking an opponent too aggressively and without a degree of caution was too risky, especially against any experienced opponent who knows how to counter such a kick and turn it against you.

For our purposes however side kicks still make for great exercise - both for muscle speed and strength, but also as a balance exercise.

#6.

The third and final kick I am going to teach today is the Back Kick.

Similar to the Side Kick, you start by raising your knee up in front of you and then kick backwards at an imaginary target at roughly groin level. Your primary goal during this kick is to learn how to maintain your balance, so note how your arms stay tucked close to your body and most of your balance is achieved not with your arms, but with your torso / core muscles.

7.

Don't over do it with any of the above kicking exercises. Focus on form and balance, not speed. There is no point hurting yourself by trying to kick superfast. Speed will come with practice.

After completing your kicking exercises for the day I also recommend doing a series of exercises such as:

Lunges
Sit Ups
Push Ups
Squats
Jump Squats
Jumping Jacks
Skip Rope or Skipping
Yoga
Etc

The goal here is to build up your leg muscles and also your core muscles (abs, lower back, etc). That way the next time you practice kicking exercises the muscles in question will be stronger and you will have better balance.

Happy Exercising!

Running on Treadmills - Going Nowhere Fast

If you are like me you probably hate running on a treadmill. You are, as the saying goes, going nowhere fast on those things.

Given the choice between running outdoors and running on a treadmill, I will choose outdoors.

However if the weather is dismal (or it is Winter) then there is certainly an appeal to have the option to go for a run on a treadmill indoors instead. During the Summer when there is beautiful weather outside, you really should be outside getting your exercise, but if its raining or snowing it does make perfect sense to have a backup plan.

However running on a treadmill is SUPER BORING. But there are ways to make it more interesting. It is why many gyms have treadmills with TV sets on them - which I find annoying, because often the sound is broken, no matter how much you fiddle with the headphones.

#1. Pets on the Treadmill

Oddly enough pets - dogs and cats will sometimes join their owners on the treadmill. It is a bizarre phenomenon, but it shows that even animals enjoy getting some exercise.

In the video below a baby raccoon gets some exercise on a treadmill with its owner.



#2. Dancing on your Treadmill

This is oddly enough a growing phenomenon. There are a lot of videos on this topic below. Below is my favourite treadmill dance video.



#3. Listening to Music / Watching TV on the Treadmill

This one is a no brainer really. Nothing complicated there. I shouldn't even have to list this, but I am doing so for the sake of not leaving anything out.

#4. You know you are bored when you...

• Play with the buttons and settings on the treadmill.
• Focus on perfecting your running form.
• Increase the incline for an added challenge.
• Sideways gallop.
• Skipping (with or without a skip rope).
• Marching or Goosestepping.
• Get those knees up.
• Try to kick yourself in the butt with one foot.
• Hopping. (Avoid jumping when the treadmill is going fast. There are lots of fail videos on YouTube for this topic.)
• Focus on your breathing.
• Get distracted by how your treadmill sounds like a train.
• Repeat a mantra.
• Sing (like you do in the shower).
• Cover up the monitor so you can stop being distracted by the numbers.
• Use your arms more.
• Use the time to think about your life.
• Plan your day.
• Plan your weekend.
• Plan what you will eat for lunch.
• Plan your vacation or retirement.
• Imagine you are racing.
• Imagine you are being chased by zombies.

#5. Listen to an audio book

The easy way to do this is to jog on the treadmill for however long it takes to listen to one chapter. A chapter per day, every day and before you know it you will be feeling fit and have the book done.

#6. Listen to a Podcast

If you have a favourite Podcast you like to tune into to, make your Podcast time the time you also use the treadmill. Apple iTunes has lots of podcasts to choose from if you are not sure what to listen to.

#7. Listen for Trigger Words

Every time you hear a trigger word, eg, "Yes", then you run faster. Every time you hear another trigger word, eg. "No" then you run slower. The idea here is to alternate your speeds when you are running. If your treadmill is next to a window you could change your speed every time you see a black car drive by the window. Pick a trigger or multiple triggers and then use that to guide how often you alternate your speed.

#8. Play Mind Games or Memory Exercises

There are plenty out there to choose from. I like word games myself, wherein you start by picking a topic - eg. plants - and then you pick a word from that genre - eg. rose - and then you try to think of a word that starts with the letter the last word ended with. So rose, easter lily, yew, weeping willow, etc.


There. That should be enough to keep you busy and motivated.

8 Reasons to take up Snorkeling

Ever wanted to get into snorkeling? Well here are 8 fun activities you can do while snorkeling - hopefully some of them will inspire you to get snorkeling lessons and try it out.

#1. You can swim with the fishes and see the world from their point of view.

#2. You can try spearfishing while snorkeling. For those of you who also like to know where their food comes from.

#3. Practice your underwater hand signals / Sign Language. The hand signals below are "I love you" in American Sign Language (ASL).

#4. Hang Out with Friends / Make New Friends

#5. Collect Sea Shells and Dead Starfish

#6. Play Underwater Tag, Hide-and-Go-Seek, Capture-the-Flag, Etc.

#7. Learn more about Exotic Sea Life In-Person

#8. Search for Shipwrecks, Plane Wrecks, Pearls, Etc.

BONUS - Pick up ocean trash while you are out there and help save animal lives. Don't leave any trash behind either.

New Weekend Archery Rates

Weekend archery lessons is one of my most popular / most requested services. Unfortunately, weekends also tend to be time I want to spend with family - and due to supply and demand there are only Saturday and Sunday to choose from.

(Or alternatively, you can prebook Winter archery lessons.)

During the 2015 archery season I opted to charge a different rate from weekday lessons and quickly determined that charging extra for weekend lessons was not much of a deterrent. People booked them up so much that every weekend time slot was fully booked to the end of the year by the time mid July rolled around. Logically this meant every person contacting from mid July to the present and asking for weekend lessons was going to disappointed that I had only weekday time slots to offer - or worse, I was pointing them towards prebooking for 2016.

So if you are looking for weekend lessons and reading this, you are coming to the conclusion that weekend archery lessons are rare - and more so if you are looking for a quality instructor. This is one of the reasons why I have been devoting more of my free time to writing my new book on the topic of recreational archery, because I know I cannot teach everyone. I simply do not have enough hours on weekends to teach every person who emails asking for weekend archery lessons.

But I can however sell them a book that teaches them all of the fundamentals.

And for those willing to pay a premium for weekend archery lessons, here are my new rates that are coming into effect at the end of October.

New Weekend Archery Rates

1 Student
$90 for 90 minutes; 3 Lessons - $255; 5 Lessons - $405; 10 Lessons - $780.

2 Students
$120 for 90 minutes; 3 Lessons - $337.50; 5 Lessons - $540; 10 Lessons - $1050.

3 Students
$150 for 90 minutes; 3 Lessons - $427.50; 5 Lessons - $675; 10 Lessons - $1320.

(Note that I also charge the weekend rate for ALL lessons conducted outdoors during the Winter. If I am going to freeze outside in the snow while teaching, I should get paid extra for it.)

10 Exercise Tricks for Joggers and Would-Be Joggers

Jogging daily is arguably one of the best exercises people can do to lose weight and build endurance. However jogging is also incredibly boring, and many people also assume that there isn't a lot to know about jogging... and thus end up doing it wrong because they don't know any better!

#1. Get the right running shoes! You cannot go jogging in just any old shoes. You need shoes that are both comfortable, have good grip on both grass and pavement, and it should fit you properly. Failure to do these things could lead to foot aches and sports injuries.

#2. Jogging is not running or sprinting. One of the first mistakes beginner joggers do is that they run too fast - or more precisely, they are running when they should be jogging. You are not going for a run. You are going for a jog. You need to learn how to pace yourself. If you are out of breath, you are going too fast. In theory you should be able to jog and talk at the same time. If you are running, you are breathing too hard to be able to talk. If you cannot past the "talk test" then you are going too fast.

#3. Upper body form! Move your arms while you are jogging. This may sound like a no-brainer, but many beginners don't know the basics apparently. Try to keep your hands at waist level, right about where they might lightly brush your hip. Your arms should be at a 90 degree angle, with your elbows at your sides. Keep your posture straight and erect. Your head should be up, your back straight, and shoulders level.

#4. If you are having difficulty pacing yourself (#3 above) then try a run / walk approach. Run until you are breathing heavily, then walk, run until you are breathing heavily, then walk, repeat. Eventually you will get an idea of how fast to go when you are "just jogging" and then you can focus on that.

#5. Avoid over doing it in the beginning. Many beginners like to overdo things, so here is a quick tip: Jog until you feel distracted by wanting to do something else. This works well because it means your jogging forays will be kept short in the beginning and as you progress and build endurance, then you can switch to a tactic of "jog until you reach a goal" (see #7 below).

#6. Remember to hydrate. An easy way to do this is to construct a jogging route that takes you by a library that has public water fountains. eg. Jog to the library, get a drink, jog back home. Easy. Alternatively carry a water bottle with you - however I personally find it annoying having to carry things while jogging. I don't even like carrying my keys with me while I jog because they jingle too much.

#7. Jog until you reach a goal. If your goal is to jog around the block three times, then jog around the block three times. Easy. Done? Go drink some water. Reaching a goal is a good start, but you should keep it small in the beginning and then slowly increase the amount you jog.

For example jogging around the block once on the 1st week and then twice on the 2nd week and then three times on the 3rd week, that is too much too fast. When increasing distances traveled you should only be increasing by approx. 1% per day. So for example if you jogged 6 days last week, you could increase the distance jogged this week by 6%. If you only jogged twice last week, you should only increase the distance by 2%. Increasing the distance by 10% or more each week will just cause you to become burned out. The amount needs to be very gradual so that your body has time to adjust. Thus when setting new goals you should actually take the time to measure the distances (even if it is just a crude measurement) and figure out how much is "1%".

An easy way to do this is to measure by time jogging, not by distance traveled. So for example if you go jogging for 10 minutes the first week and jog 5 times that week, then the next week you should add 5% to your time - an extra 30 seconds. This may not seem like much in the beginning, but this compounds over time.

10 minutes
10 minutes, 30 seconds
11 minutes, 1 seconds
11 minutes, 33 seconds
12 minutes, 5 seconds
12 minutes, 45 seconds
13 minutes, 25 seconds
14 minutes, 3 seconds
etc

So in 8 weeks you've already increased the time traveled by over 40%. By week 52 you are jogging for 2 hours (and 24 seconds) five days a week. That might actually be too much, so you should set a long term goal of maybe 30 or 60 minutes.

#8. Use both your nose and your mouth to breathe. Nothing wrong with using both. Breathing only through your nose means less oxygen going to your muscles, and this is a time when you want MORE OXYGEN! So breathe in as much as possible.

#9. If you get Side Stitches remember to take Deep Belly Breaths. A side stitch is a sharp, intense pain under the lower edge of the ribcage, more often on the left side. They're common in beginner runners who tend to breathe more quickly and shallow. Proper breathing and a reasonable pace can prevent Side Stitches from happening. Eating too much sugar or drinking high-sugar beverages before exercise increases the likelihood of Side Stitches.

#10. Mix it up once in awhile. Doing only jogging should not be your goal. Mix jogging together with other activities like hiking, rock climbing, going to the gym, socializing with friends, going to a yoga studio, doing body-weight exercises at a public park, etc.

For example if the above mentioned library is next to a park, you could jog to the library, get a drink, go do some body-weight exercises in the park, and then get another drink, and then jog home.

Building Confidence - Positive Coaching Techniques in Archery

One of the things I have determined during my years of teaching archery is that importance of confidence. If a student lacks confidence they will tense up more often and the next thing you know they are jerking their bow arm, plucking their releases, etc. It is largely an issue of anxiety. They feel anxious, they tense up, and then their shots go awry.

In contrast if I take the same student and get them to play a game - make it fun in some way - they relax more, their ability to focus and perform well goes up, and the quality of their shots are dramatically improved.

For this reason I often employ Positive Wording during my coaching technique. It is quite simple, all I do is use words like:

Good.
Well done.
Ooooo good shot!
Yep, that is what I like to see!

You get the idea. I also express this through body language too, sometimes clapping, slapping them on them shoulder after a good shot, pointing out good habits they are building on while simultaneously saying "Good!"

Stylistically I find this method of coaching encourages archers to have a more positive attitude about what they are doing and positively reinforces the good habits they are building on - and thus reduces the bad habits many beginner archers have. These positive habits lend themselves to more accuracy over time as their archery form becomes more consistent.

In contrast if an archery coach were to use Negative Wording like the following below the archer will begin to feel frustrated and upset, thinking they are doing poorly. This will give them more anxiety and cause them to shoot worse - consequently slowing down the learning process.

Bad.
Don't do that.
That was horrible.
Wow. That was terrible.

Now that doesn't mean I don't still use negative words sometimes, but I carefully choose which words I allow myself to make a habit of using when coaching. Words like the following:

Oops. Try doing ______ to fix that problem.
Whoops. That was a nasty blank.
Aww, that could have been better. I was expecting it to be much closer because you were doing so well.

Basically I tone down the negativity and use the opportunity to either teach them something to fix the problem, or I am using words that convey a more jovial meanings. "Whoops" for example sounds much better than "That was horrible." because it implies it was an honest mistake / accident.

I also like using words like "tiny" and "minor" when describing small errors the archer made, because they are in truth small errors and thus should be downplayed because it was such a small mistake that it is not worth ruining their confidence.

As mentioned above I have also determined that some archery students respond better to a game or to being challenged in some manner. If you give them a challenge many new archers will attempt to rise to the challenge because they want to see if they can do it. If you make the challenge a game too, well then you are just adding fun to the recipe for success - and a little bit of fun in my experience goes a long way towards a student relaxing more, tensing up less and improving the quality of their good habits.

All I am really doing is using Positive Reinforcement through the use of choice of words, body language and introducing games that help motivate the new archer. It isn't terribly complicated to do, I just have to be mindful of doing it in an effort to build their confidence and build positive habits.

It also means I have to recognize when some students have more anxiety issues and thus I have to take extra steps to make sure that one student is properly encouraged and motivated. A little encouragement goes a long way.

One Perfect Shot

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

Q+A: Can I leave my longbow strung up?

Q

"Can I leave my longbow strung up all the time? I have heard that it damages the wood over time, but I have also heard of some manufacturers claiming that it is okay to leave their bows strung up all the time. What should I be doing?"

- James R.

A

Hello James!

No, I definitely do not recommend that you leave your longbow strung all the time. If left strung the pressure the bow is under while strung will cause the wood to slowly become weaker, making your bow less powerful - and less accurate - over time. Keeping a bow strung for long periods could also damage the wood permanently so that when it is finally used it could just snap.

This is also true for recurve bows - both traditional recurve bows and Olympic style - and it also true for shortbows / horsebows as well.

There are of course exceptions. eg. Compound bows have to be left strung up all the time. Many crossbows are also left strung up all the time too.

There is a company called "Primal Gear" that makes a metal folding longbow which can be left strung up all the time as well - it is made out of high tensile steel-alloy however. However since it is a folding bow, it kind of defeats the purpose if you left it strung up all the time. Unstring it and fold that puppy up.

When in doubt I strongly recommend keeping your bow unstrung whenever you are not using it. It lengthens the lifespan of the bow and keeps it strong.

When storing your bow(s) I recommend storing them either flat (on a table, shelf or rack) or using a vertical rack with pegs like the one shown below.

I even found you a video on YouTube that demonstrates just how much stress a strung bow is actually under when left strung. It is a surprising amount of power stored in a strung bow and that power will slowly weaken your bow if left strung for long periods of time.

The Myth of Spot Training for Skinny Arms

Earlier today I saw a website promoting the myth that doing weight lifting exercises for your arms can help women to get "skinny arms". The website contained a list of exercises, mostly weight lifting exercises like bicep curls and body weight exercises like push ups. It made me so angry I wrote a lengthy comment on their website.

My comment below:

"Wow. Such misinformation. The exercises listed above would give people BIGGER arms, not skinny arms. I am a personal trainer and I come across misinformation like this way too often.

#1. Doing weight lifting or body weight exercises will make your arms get BIGGER, not smaller, because you will be building more muscle.

#2. Spot Training for Weight Loss is a MYTH. You cannot do weight training with your triceps and expect your triceps to shed fat. It doesn't work that way.

#3. If you want to shed fat you need to be doing cardio. Jogging, swimming, cycling, aerobics, etc.

#4. Extra skin is normal after sudden weight loss, but there are tricks to fixing that problem - they're listed on my website."

The level of misinformation in the exercise industry boggles my mind quite often. It is due to a combination of factors:

#1. People who just plain don't know what they are talking about. They are perpetuating a myth due to sheer ignorance.

#2. Companies that are trying to sell you a product and are deliberately giving you false information in an effort to trick you into buying their product.

#3. Personal Trainers who have become so focused on one style of training that they warp, twist the truth and outright lie to their clients. Eg. Weight lifting trainers telling people that they can lose weights using weightlifting - or vice versa, cardio trainers telling people they can build lots of muscle by going jogging.

The third cause above makes me so angry because it means my own industry is partly to blame for the misinformation. It not that my fellow colleagues are stupid or anything, they are simply doing math: more clients = more money, and men who can easily be tricked into thinking weightlifting sheds fat is an easy way to get more clients. It is basically preying on the gullible and/or the ignorant.

But for a website that isn't actually selling anything, that is just posting free information (or free misinformation) what is the purpose of that? They don't make any extra money off perpetuating a myth. Unless they were selling a product I wasn't aware of, or maybe it was the advertising on the website - which implies that their primary goal is to keep their advertisers happy, not to inform the public.

And so to summarize:

Weightlifting and resistance training builds lots of muscle. It will not give you skinny arms. Spot Training to build muscle does actually work, but it only works for building muscle - not for shedding fat.

Cardio exercises shed fat. So if you are looking to shed the extra arm fat, you need to be thinking of a full body workout like jogging or swimming.

Spot Training to remove fat in specific areas is a myth. You can build muscle in specific spots, but you cannot shed fat in that manner.

If your goal is to do BOTH, to build muscle and shed fat at the same time you need to be doing a combination of both cardio and weightlifting. Eg. 15 minutes of weightlifting and a 15 minute jog every day.

FACT - 30 minutes of exercise per day is approx. 2% of your day, but that 30 minutes of exercise can make a big difference towards your exercise goals.

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.

8 Ideas for Adrenaline High Weight Loss

Adrenaline Highs are powerful and can be used to boost energy levels / burn calories in an effort to lose weight. But attaining that adrenaline high while exercising can be tricky. So here are 10 ways to possibly attain an adrenaline high by doing something exciting.

Please note that all of the activities listed below are things you can do in Toronto. If it isn't possible to do it in Toronto, I am not listing it.

#1. Axe Throwing

Honestly, this is a really good sport for getting rid of some calories and get rid of some of your aggressive feelings while you are at it too.

In Toronto there are several locations that can help you if you want to try axe throwing:

BATL Axe Throwing | The Home of Axe Throwing
batlgrounds.com

Bad Axe Throwing | Where Axe Throwing Lives
https://badaxethrowing.com

Please note that I have no affiliation with either of these companies. I cannot speak to the quality of their service or safety standards.

#2. Mountain Biking

To do this you will need a mountain bike - preferably a good one, so don't go to any Canadian Tire or a store that doesn't specialize in mountain bikes. Instead go to a store that actually specializes in mountain bikes.

Below is a list of the Top 10 Mountain Bike Stores in Toronto, listed alphabetically:

Broadway Cycle / The Bike Depot
Cyclemotive
Cycle Solutions
D'Ornellas
Dukes Cycle
Gears
Liberty Street Cyclery
Silent Sports
Sporting Life Bikes
Sweet Pete's

#3. Rock Climbing Indoors

With safety harnesses you might not feel that this is too dangerous, but with a healthy fear of heights you will still get a shot of adrenaline. Below is a list of indoor rock climbing gyms in Toronto:

The Rock Oasis
Boulderz Climbing Centre
Joe Rockhead's Indoor Rock Climbing
Toronto Climbing Academy
True North Climbing Inc.

#4. Dancing + Music!

Combine music with dance, and regardless of whether you do this at home or at a dance studio, or at a dance club you can get that extra boost of adrenaline.

#5. LARPing (Live Action Roleplaying)

Okay, hanging out with nerds who fight with sponge swords may sound like over-the-top geek to you, but running around with swords is surprisingly good exercise and really burns a lot of calories in a hurry. There are numerous locations / organizations in the GTA that have LARPing events, usually on weekends. Pick one and get involved.

#6. Archery Tag

Similar to LARPing, Archery Tag offers teenagers and people in their 20s / 30s a chance to run around and shoot their friends with foam tipped arrows. Toronto has multiple locations that offer archery tag. The location I recommend is Battle Sports in North York. See http://battlesports.ca/

#7. Play Zombie Tag

Hire a makeup artist (or a friend who is awesome with makeup) for a day, invite lots of friends to a large park, and then run around and bite your friends. [No actual inviting involved, instead you are supposed to "hug" them without tackling them.]

Toronto also has lots of zombie survivalist groups, the Toronto Zombie Walk, and other events / organizations you can join to meet more people who are interested in zombies.

#8. Parkour and/or Freerunning

Last but not least, Toronto also has various organizations (clubs, schools, etc) devoted to the arts of parkour and freerunning. You can basically just pick one and get into the sport of running, jumping, hurdling over obstacles.

I was hoping to find several locations, but the following was the only one I could find that has its own website.

The Monkeyvault
themonkeyvault.com