I am not really a fan of vision/mission/values statements. Maybe it’s because in a previous career, I worked in a big corporation that spent way too much time thinking of these statements in isolation, without any real concern about whether they really reflect what the company is about, or whether the employees and clients relate to them. So when someone suggested on strengthcoach.com that there should be a “principles” statement for the site, I was pretty quick to poo-poo it.
Then Michael Boyle posted his manifesto and I was immediately converted. It was brilliant and I think so important that every trainer and every person who hires a trainer should read it.
Three simple statements with a brief but important description beneath each. Here are the statements. Please head to Coach Boyle’s blog for the descriptions:
“1- First we will do no harm.”
“2- We will train no further than technical failure.”
“3- We will deliver the minimal effective dose”
Elsbeth Vaino is a personal trainer in Ottawa, Canada.
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This article is part of my blog-series: My Favourite Training Tools (For my American readers, please excuse the ‘u’ in favourite. It’s a Canadian thing). There are probably thousands of tools out there for fitness. Some are ridiculous fly-by-night items (I’m talking about you, Shaker Weight), others have been mainstays for hundreds of years, and now and then there is a new kid on the block that is clearly here to stay. Through this blog-series, I’ll share with you the tools that I think are worth including in your home or commercial gym. The complete list to date is included at the bottom of this post.
Lucky number 7 on the list is the kettlebell. Truth be told, when I first drafted my list, kettlebells just missed the top 10. I had them as an honourable mention. But their awesomeness is pretty hard to ignore, and I realized they just had to make my list.
The turnaround came recently as I was purchasing equipment for my new personal training studio in Ottawa. Up to that point I only had access to a few kettlebells – one each of 10, 15, 35 and 45 pounds and two 20 pounders. Even though I had so few of them, I realized that they got a lot of use. I also noticed how often clients told me that they really liked them. That’s when I started to think: what if I bought kettlebells instead of dumbbells for the new studio?
I posed the question to my peers on strengthcoach.com and the response was largely positive. In fact the only concerns expressed were that kettlebells tend to come in 4kg (8.8lb) increments which would be a big jump for some people, particularly with upper body exercises. This is not an issue for the York kBs I was looking at, as they come in 5 lb increments, much like most dumbbells.
The price was also right. As it turns out dumbbells are really quite expensive and most decent ones are actually more expensive than the set of kettlebells I was looking at.
The clincher was coming to the realization that every exercise my clients can do with dumbbells, they can also do with kettlebells, but there are several exercises that I love to use with my clients that can be done with kettlebells but can’t be done effectively with dumbbells. Here are five great examples:
Kettlebell swings: This is an incredible exercise for the glutes and for helping to reinforce “the hip hinge”, which is an incredibly important movement for, well, everybody. These can actually be done with dumbbells, but it is awkward. I don’t recommend it. Here’s a video of Neghar Fonooni doing heavy KB swings. 48 kg heavy. That’s 105.6 pounds!
Bottom up kettlebell walks. this is a great exercise for shoulder and core stability. I use this exercise for almost every client who has upper crossed syndrome.
Bottom up kettlebell clean squat. This is one of my favourite exercises for teaching stiffness. It requires and trains focus and full body control. I credit this exercise for helping my single leg Romanian deadlift (SL RDL). After working on this, my ability to stay balanced during the SL RDL improved dramatically.
Bottom up KB bench press. I use this as a clearing test for the bench press. Clients must show me that htey can do this before I let them bench with a bar. It shows me that they have the shoulder stability to tolerate heavy lifting in the bench press. It doesn’t have a big place in most programs, but it is an important one.
Turkish getup (TGU). I only use the full getup with stronger clients with more training experience, but I use the half getup with many people. It’s a fantastic core exercise that can really be classified as all three types of core: anterior, rotary and posterior. Neghar is so great with the kettlebells as well as being great at teaching that I asked her to put together an instructional video about the TGU. It’s no surprise that she did a great job:
But wait, there’s more! Goblet holds! Holding kettlebells in a goblet or two-goblet position for squats and rear foot elevated split squats (RFE SS) adds a great stability challenge to the exercise that I really like. You can do the single goblet hold with a dumbbell but I prefer it with the kettlebell.
Here’s a great video explanation and demonstration of the goblet squat by Franz Snideman.
And here’s the two KB goblet hold being used for an RFE split squat by Ben Bruno. (Note how heavy this is and how many reps he does. All with great form. Impressive!):
Beyond these exercises, many of my clients have expressed that they prefer the kettlebell over dumbbells for various other exercises including suitcase carries, one arm rows, and split squats. The pros for kettlebells just keep coming!
I did find one exercise for which I prefer dumbbells to kettlebells: one arm bench press. Yes, I did mention the bottom up KB bench press above, and I stand by that exercise. But I still like dumbbell bench press for strength. And for that, the kettlebell is a bit awkward. Thankfully I have a pair of powerblocks in my gym (another great tool, although not top 10 worthy) for that one exercise.
Maybe if I liked bicep curls and tricep kickbacks for my clients I would prefer dumbbells for them as well, but I don’t. And so for the repertoire of exercises used regularly at Custom Strength, every exercise except one can works better with a kettlebell than a dumbbell. Sold!
Elsbeth Vaino is a personal trainer in Ottawa, Canada.
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The $99 TRX knock-off seems to be a hot product these days. In fact The sales person at a fitness store that is part of a national chain tried to sell me one, to which I politely declined. I must admit that I thought it was pretty bold to be selling knock-offs in a retail setting next to the real ones. They seem to be more frequently sold by individual trainers, coaches and via websites.
I’m not writing this to pass judgement about whether or not you use or buy knock-off products, but rather to get you to consider whether there are safety implications if you do.
Think about what you will do with your TRX suspension trainer. You are literally hanging from it. Is that really a product for which you want to gamble on poor quality manufacturing that typically comes with illegal goods? If you are a fitness enthusiast who is training yourself, then it’s not as bad since the only person who will get hurt is you. If you are a trainer on the other hand, an injury to a client using the knock-off can potentially ruin you. Keep in mind that your insurance company will consider you in violation of your policy and therefore will not support you in the event of a lawsuit.
If you train yourself and you decide that you still want the knock-off suspension trainer, please make sure you clear the space behind and under you so that if it fails, you will only fall to the ground as opposed to hitting your head or spine on the corner of a coffee table.
If you really want a suspension trainer but want an inexpensive alternative to the TRX, consider picking up a Jungle Gym XT. Personally I don’t like them as much as the TRX, but they are a legitimate (and safe!) $99 alternative.
What about other discount fitness equipment?
Whenever you see an option for discount or homemade fitness products, make sure you consider how you will use it before deciding whether it is a good idea. As noted above – if you are a trainer, it is probably never a good idea because it will likely render you uninsured. If you train yourself, then really ask yourself if it is a good idea:
Dumbbells: A cheap dumbbell is probably just fine. In fact I have recommended to people that they can take a few small dumbbells and put them into a sturdy back pack or tool bag and use that instead of purchasing a full set of them. Or you can fill the bag with other heavy products like books and cans of soup. If you go this route, do make sure you test that the bag is sturdy enough for the weight you are using, and ideally don’t do this for any movement where you will hold the weight over your body. With the right bag and the right exercises, this can be an effective, inexpensive, and safe option.
Plyometric boxes: Like the TRX, this is another product where homemade or knock-off warrants the “bad idea jeans” warning. Typically you jump onto plyometric boxes. What happens if it breaks when you land on it? Odds are you will go flying. Don’t do it. If you do get a homemade one, make sure you have absolute confidence in the builder.
Sleds: Sleds are another good bet for homemade or discount options as the consequences of a failure are minimal.
Stability balls: This is another product where I’d suggest using caution. There are cheap ones out there, but again – you’re letting it support your body weight. I have seen one break beneath someone while he was kneeling on it. Thankfully he wasn’t hurt, but he certainly could have been. Since then, I will only purchase name brand stability balls. Paying $8.77 for a cheap “fitness ball” at Walmart instead of but the high end ones cost Side Note on the topic of safety: Definitely do not use weights with a stability ball regardless of quality. They may say burst-proof, but they do not stay that way forever under any load. In fact since a lawsuit involving a broken stability ball that lead to a broken wrist for Sacramento King Francisco Garcia, most stability ball manufacturers and retailers now recommend against using them for things like bench press.
Slideboards: I will admit that I tried to make a homemade slideboard with a Crazy Carpet. It was a pretty big failure. It’s marginally okay for reverse lunges but useless for lateral strides. That said, safety is not the issue here – simply usability. I’ll save the Crazy Carpet for the toboggan hill.
I can’t think of any other equipment where one would be tempted to buy a knock-off or make their own. Please comment if I have missed any!
The key once again is to think about how you will use the equipment. If it will be holding your body weight, spend the money to make sure you are getting something that has actually been safety tested.
Corrective exercises have become a popular training tool for many personal trainers in recent years, but do they work?
The corrective exercises are often found in programs in the movement preparation part of the workout, which I like to jokingly say is just a fancy way of saying the warm up. In fact it is a specific warm up, one that literally is intended to get your body prepared for movement. Some of the corrective exercises are basic stretches and activation exercises that manual therapists (I use the term manual therapist to refer to any of athletic therapist, chiropractor, massage therapist, osteopath, or physical therapist) have been using for years. Others are more integrated, born of functional training philosophies, such as the Functional Movement Screen.
I am actually a big fan of corrective exercises. Every client I see who has some movement dysfunction or limitation does them. In other words, all of my clients do them.
But do they work? It depends.
I believe there are three major factors that determine their effectiveness:
Are you using an appropriate corrective exercise? I hope this is a widespread yes, but alas I don’t think it is. I won’t go too negative here, but if you are a trainer please honour yourself, your profession, and your clients by attending conferences, reading books and articles, and discussing training with other professionals.
To get back on topic, the reason continuing education is so important for trainers, is that sometimes great new ideas arise that debunk old ideas. When this happens, it’s nice to be in the know. I encountered an example of this when I saw a trainer using the wrong corrective exercise recently. The trainer asked me if there was a small rubber ball at the gym that they could use to put between their client’s knees during a leg press to keep them from caving in (I’m not a fan of the leg press, but kept that to myself). I suggested that instead of the ball between the knees, that a band around the knees was a much more appropriate correction. The correction she was about to use would have had the opposite effect that she was looking for: The muscles that squeeze the ball are the same ones that collapse the knees. Conversely, the band around the knees will temporarily force the knees further into collapse, but the body will sense that this new position is wrong and will send a message to resist the band – or move the knees apart. This super cool corrective exercise approach is called RNT or reactive neuromuscular training.
Are you coaching the exercise? I’m going to be blunt here: As an industry, trainers and manual therapists are failing at coaching and cueing exercise. Very often when I introduce a corrective exercise, the client tells me that they know how to do them. Depending on my mood that day, I either go ahead and demonstrate it anyhow, or I try to contain my smile and ask them to show me. More often than not, what they show me is a very poor version of the exercise.
I think there are a few reasons for this:
The manual therapist only spends 5 minutes demonstrating and coaching 5 to 10 exercises and then provides a one-pager featuring microscopic stick drawings of each exercise.
People need to be coached through an exercise more than once to really get it, but often they only get one shot;
People pick up exercises from magazines or websites and don’t quite catch the nuance of what they are doing;
People attend bootcamps where the ratio of instructor to student is 50:1, so there is no time for proper coaching.
I’m sure there are more reasons. It’s really a big problem. Without proper cueing and instruction, it’s entirely possible that the exercise given to correct a dysfunctional movement will encourage that dysfunctional movement if done poorly. One exercise where I see this all the time is the bird dog. At least half of the clients I give bird dogs to tell me that they know how to do them. Fewer than 5% actually know how to do them. The purpose of a bird dog is to improve rotary core stability, to work on glute strength, and to work on lat strength. Yet more often than not, the bird dogs I see involve a lot of flailing. Now I’m not a linguist, but I’m pretty sure that there is no root commonality between the words flailing and stability. For those reading this who think they know how to do a bird dog, here’ s a video of how it should look. Note the distinct lack of flailing.
Is your client feeling the corrective exercise where they should? Let’s assume that you picked the right exercise, and you coached it properly. Does that guarantee it will be felt where it should? Absolutely not! The human body is an incredibly complex system with built-in redundancy. Virtually every movement you can do with the body has a primary muscle and at least one backup. The backup, is like the spare tire in your car: It is there when you need it, but it isn’t as good as the primary muscle. But unlike the spare tire, it’s not always easy to turn off the backup muscle and give control back to the main muscle. This is a common problem with corrective exercises. Your client may do it perfectly, but the backup muscle won’t let go. In this case, the corrective exercise is actually reinforcing the poor movement.
In some cases you can see it, but not always. Truthfully the most effective way to know if your client’s body is doing the exercise correctly is to ask.
“Where do you feel this?”
I find this is a particularly big problem with corrective exercises for the hips and shoulders.I shot a video that explains this and provides a few examples:
The key is that you have to understand what the exercise is supposed to be targeting. If it is not hitting that area as you would expect, try a couple of different ways to position it and to cue it. If that still doesn’t work, try a different exercise.
Elsbeth Vaino is a personal trainer in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Anyone else snack even when you aren’t hungry? This is the main reason I don’t keep junk food in the house. Be it chips or cookies or ice cream, if it’s in the house, I’m probably going to eat it whether I’m hungry or not. But as it turns out, I still engage in minor mindless snacking even without the crappy food, albeit it less so. I noticed this the other day. I had just eaten a nice lunch and then about 20 minutes later, I popped into the kitchen to grab a little something. But really there was nothing worth grabbing. I went into the cupboard, pulled out the jar of raisins and grabbed a small handful. As I was doing it, I started to think. I wasn’t hungry, and I wasn’t eating anything I particularly craved or cared for. I was just eating for the sake of eating.
Is it habit? Boredom? Filling some psychological void? I have no idea. But it occurred to me that I am probably carrying a few unnecessary pounds as a result of useless and rewardless snacking. Mindless eating at its best.
Then I thought of a simple approach to combat this problem. So simple, that I think all of you should try it too. And so I take out my glove and challenge you!
Okay, not a glove slap or pistol duel at dawn. Much easier (but unfortunately less hilarious).
I challenge you to delay all mindless eating episodes for 15 minutes. That is, every time you go to get something to eat when you aren’t hungry (be it junkie or healthy food), make yourself wait 15 minutes. Don’t set an alarm, but do look at the clock and note when your 15 minutes are up. Don’t go back to the snack source until after that time.
That’s it. After the 15 minutes are up, if you still want to have whatever you were going to have, go for it. If you’ve forgotten or talked yourself out of it, even better.
This is a 30 day challenge. At the end of the 30 days, see if you have managed to make a difference in your mindless eating habits, and if you have made a difference in your waistline. I’ll post my own update 30 days from now and hope to see others.
Who’s in?
Elsbeth Vaino is an Ottawa-based personal trainer.
Now that we have some snow up here, I thought it would be appropriate to bring this snow shoveling article out to remind everyone that shoveling is actually hard physical work, that really should be done after a warmup, and with some caution about form.
Did you know there is an increase in cardiac incidents following snowfalls?
It turns out that shoveling is both frustrating and dangerous. This is likely due to otherwise sedentary people heading out and suddenly doing intense exertion – that snow can be heavy!
And did you also know that there is an increase in back injuries following snow storms?
When I heard this, I assumed it was due to the excessive bending. Interestingly, it might actually be related to the heart incidents. Or so goes the theory presented by Dr. Stuart McGill, spinal biomechanist at the University of Waterloo: your back’s greatest protection is the core muscles that brace it, but some of those muscles – notably the obliques – are also involved in breathing. Because of that, there is a point just after you finish exhaling when these muscles are relaxed. And when those muscles are relaxed, they are not able to do their other job – supporting your back. So if you happen to lift a really heavy shovel-full at the end of your exhale – maybe your back is bent and twisted which happens frequently when shoveling – your back is going to take the full load with no support. And that is how back injuries can happen.
As it turns out, you can turn this crisis into an opportunity (“cropportunity!” as Homer would say). Why not turn your shoveling “job” into a safe and fun workout? Yes, I did say fun and workout in the same breath. Not convinced? Think of it this way: Shovel your driveway my way you’ll be less likely to hurt yourself, and you’ll be more fit when you’re done.
So what kind of workout can you get shoveling? Think of it as a two-part workout: an arm plus core workout and a leg workout.
Warm-up first!
Before heading out, start with a warm-up in the house. It doesn’t have to be long, but make sure you get some movement in your legs, your hips, and thoracic spine area. I have two warmup options for you, each one takes between 5 and 10 minutes:
The ski dynamic warmup. It’s true that snow shoveling is not skiing. Not even close! But a good ski warmup will serve you well for snow shoveling. Here’s the one I recommend:
There are two parts to the shoveling video, the Lift and Toss and the Shovel Scoop Interval. Use each as appropriate, depending on the type of snow and length of driveway. Read below the segment below the video for a little extra guidance.
The Lift and Toss:
Try 10 reps on one side and then 10 on the other and then take a little break. As it says in the video – don’t twist your back, and don’t forget to engage that core to prevent the relaxed breathing muscles from compromising your back!
Shovel Scoop Intervals:
With these, don’t run through the Shovel Scoop Intervals unless you are:
- wearing boots with a great grip;
- you know there’s no ice underneath;
- You know there is nothing the shovel will catch on; and
- you are in excellent physical condition.
There is no shame in walking to push the scoop shovel! It is still a good workout. Once you unload the snow, walk back to the starting point so that you have the energy to do another line. If you have to unload the shovel to the side, remember the straight back lesson from the Lift and Toss, and as much as possible, alternate sides. If you are still breathing heavily when you get back for another line, rest a bit longer. As the winter progresses, you should find that you need less rest. But for the first few snowfalls, don’t be the hero – respect both your body and the snow.
Elsbeth Vaino is a personal trainer in Ottawa (Hintonburg). Visit www.customstrength.com for information about hiring her for your fitness and sports performance needs.
Functional training is all the rage (do the kids still use that expression?). It is also often misunderstood. Are squats on a Bosu functional? What about deadlifts? Bicep curls?
I have previously written my take on what functional training is, including a definition and examples of exercises that are functional for different activities like serving beer or tennis balls.
I have also stood on my isoap box on various fitness and skiing forums, sharing my theory about other training approaches that I believe are not functional (dysfunctional even).
Today I am going to conditionally take back what I have previously stated about how functional various exercises and workout programs are.
No, that’s not a typo.
You see, I had an epiphany about my own training that has lead me to change how I assess the functionality of a training program. It wasn’t my actual training that led to this epiphany. It was the result of my training.
I spent last week in California visiting my brother and his family. He took me on three bike rides while I was there, each one between 90 and 120 minutes long, and each one featuring a lot of hills. The last time I had been on a bike ride longer than about 30 minutes was in August – The last time my brother took me riding. In other words, I don’t ride much. But despite not being much of a cyclist, I wasn’t the slightest bit sore after any of these rides.
Honestly, I was surprised. I assumed I would be sore the day after the first ride (and worse the day after that). Nope. I thought about muscle soreness again today after skiing yesterday for the first time this season. Once again, no soreness. I started to think back to the last time I was really sore from taking part in an activity that I love, and I drew a blank. Over the course of a year, I ski, play tennis and ultimate, periodically go running or cycling (infrequently would be more accurate), and play hockey a few times. Regardless of whether I played two days ago or two months ago, I don’t get sore.
And it hit me: the best thing about the time I spend in the gym is that it lets me play. And that is my new assessment for how functional a training program is.
Does your training prepare you for the life you lead (or want to lead)? If yes, call it functional and keep at it. If the answer is no, then your program is neither functional, nor serving you well.
Interested in how I train to allow myself the pleasure of a sporty life without soreness? Check out that article I mentioned above about functional training.
Elsbeth Vaino is a personal trainer in Ottawa, Canada.
This article is part of my blog-series: My Favourite Training Tools (For my American readers, please excuse the ‘u’ in favourite. It’s a Canadian thing). There are probably thousands of tools out there for fitness. Some are ridiculous fly-by-night items, others have been mainstays for hundreds of years, and now and then there is a new kid on the block that is clearly here to stay. Through this blog-series, I’ll share with you the tools that I think are worth including in your home or commercial gym.
Number three on my list of favourite training tools is a band. I tend to be partial to mini-bands, but I also like therabands and superbands. The mini-bands and therabands are mainstays in the dynamic warmups for most of my clients. Basically everyone who starts training with me gets “mini-band walks” in their phase 1 program. The lateral ones (think crab walk) are a great option for getting the glute medius working, while the forward and backward ones (“monster walks”) can be a nice challenge for the glute max and hip flexors. Simple and effective. And mini-bands only cost a couple of bucks each.
Here is a video of another great mini-band warmup option:
I also like to use mini-bands to help the body to correct itself during certain movement patterns. The concept is often referred to as RNT, or Reactive Neuromuscular Training. Basically if the body tends to “cheat” during a movement, for instance the knee caving in during a squat, we can use a band around the knees so that they will collapse inward even more. I know this sounds counter intuitive – many trainers would have you use a ball between the knees to prevent them collapsing. But think about it: the ball between the knees encourages your body to squeeze it, thus making the poor movement pattern worse. But a band around the knees that pulls the knees further into collapse signals to the brain that it needs to resist that force and so the lateral muscles kick in and your knees stop caving. I have recently had success with this approach for people who have poor shoulder and neck movement, as you can see in this video. In this case, I am using a Cook band, but any band would do.
If you don’t have a mini-band, then you can use a theraband and tie it. If you have ever been to a physiotherapist, chiropractor or athletic therapist for an injury, odds are you have some theraband somewhere at home.
The therabands can also be used for adding resistance to bird dogs, and a variety of other activation exercises.
Superbands are a different breed. Powerlifters tend to like them for adding resistance to their lifts. The band adds variable resistance, which can help them improve the top end of their lift. I like superbands primarily for their role in helping people to be able to do chinups and pullups. I use both superbands and a TRX for this purpose. The superband helps develop strength in the top end of the pullup while supporting you in the bottom part, while the TRX helps throughout, but provides an option for working the bottom portion where most people have more trouble. I use the TRX more in pullup building than I do the superband, but I still think the superband is an integral part. For one thing, it feels awesome to be able to pull your head up over the bar. The superband allows you to get that gratification much earlier. A tool that makes people want to come to the gym to help work toward a goal is a-okay in my books.
Elsbeth Vaino is a personal trainer in Ottawa, Canada.
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I realize it’s odd for a personal trainer to suggest you look beyond the gym for fitness. It clearly suggests I don’t have a business coach at the moment, as they would probably encourage me to recommend people come and spend more time in the gym – ideally paying me to help them with their fitness goals.
Don’t get me wrong – I do think everyone should allocate part of their fitness time to the gym, even those who are very active with sports or in their work. Especially those who are very active with sports or in their work, as they expect a lot from their body, and need the gym workouts to make sure the body is up to the challenge. Those of you who are new to fitness can also find tremendous benefit from some professional guidance to make sure you move toward your fitness goals safely and effectively. The regular gym-goer already knows the benefits.
Yup, the gym is great. For many of us, it feels incredible, and we love it; but it’s work. And we know there is more to life than work.
We also need play. There is something magical about play. It is an incredible mechanism for both learning, and socializing. Oh, and it can be a fantastic work out. Kids do it every day, but when was the last time you played?
And then there’s spending time in nature. They don’t call it the great outdoors for nothing. There is something magical about exercising outside, especially if you are blessed with a beautiful environment. I have yet to visit a city that does not have at least one incredible park. Exercising in these spaces amplifies that beauty somehow. Walk, run, bike, hike, skate, sled, ski, snowboard, swim, paddle, skip, or climb: it doesn’t matter how you move outside, as long as you do move outside.
Why am I so adamant that people exercise outside and engage in physical play? Because of the feeling you get. There’s a bliss that comes with exercising outside; with using your body for what it was intended; with expressing yourself physically; and with team bonding. Beyond that, I believe you will have more success in sticking to your workouts if you have a goal. You might say that you go to the gym to meet your fitness and weight loss goals, which is great. But I actually believe that you need more to be able to stick with it for the long term. I wrote about the need for meaningful fitness goals in a previous blog article. I still believe that to be, and I think participation in sport is an excellent way to create a meaningful goal for yourself. It might be hiking up a mountain, running a marathon, skiing bumps, keeping up with the 25 year olds in ultimate, or climbing the squash ladder. Do yourself a favour and re-introduce yourself to physical pursuits outside the gym.
Hopefully you’re convinced now, but how do you go about it? Well, if you live in the Ottawa area, you’re in luck as I’m about to give you a host of options. If you’re not in the Ottawa area, then google can probably help. Most cities have clubs for virtually everything. Contact one and see if they will welcome a newcomer. Or ask at the local sporting store if they can suggest something. Or take a look at the sport options for Ottawa below and take some ideas for looking in your own area.
Sports and outdoor activities in Ottawa:
Since it’s the end of December, you’ll probably notice a distinct winter theme to this list:
The Grand Winter Mix: Ripple Adventure provides a “winter sampler” if you will, with this 9 week program that allows you to go snowshoeing, skiing or snowboarding, cross-country skiing and skating on the canal (with an option to try speed skates). It is open to all levels, and they also take a novel approach in that they are open to all, but specifically welcome those who haven’t managed to convince your friends or family to take part.
200km of Cross-country ski trails in Gatineau Park. The title says it all: 200km of trails! Because this great trail system is maintained, with groomed trails for classic and skate skiing, there is a fee to skate in the park, but at $14 per adult, it’s well worth it. Especially if you ski in to one of the cabins. Seriously – how great is that? You ski a bit, go enjoy a snack by the fire in a cabin and then ski a bit more. We are so lucky to have this gem in our backyard! Check out the links on the Gatineau cross-country ski page for maps, daily ski conditions, and wax recommendations.
Weekly Ski lessons: I can’t say enough about how great these programs are. I have taken them at Camp Fortune and at Mont Cascades, and have also taught them at Fortune, but I imagine the ones at Vorlage, Edelweiss, Pakenham, and Mte Ste Marie are equally great. They tend to be an incredible value, but the beauty is that it gets you out to the ski hill at least once each week, and you get to meet you people while you are at it. And of course, you get to ski or snowboard. You can learn about each program from the ski hill sites I just mentioned, or you can check out the Ski Extreme club site. The Ski Extreme club tends to have better prices than going to the hills directly, and membership in the club is only $15 for adults ($5 for kids).
For those of you with families, take note: skiing may be the best family activity you will ever find. Head up to the hill with the kids, and put the kids in their lessons and then go take your own. Then ski together in the afternoon. Awesome! And if you ski or snowboard, your kids may still be okay with hanging out with you once they are teenagers. Imagine.
Ottawa Sport & Social Club: The OSSC has a lot of activities for you this winter, with options to join as a team or as individuals. Among the many indoor sports, they also have curling! Not sure what you’d like to do? Or what would be the right sport for you? Check out the winter offerings that the OSSC has – it’s an impressive list!
Recreational Hockey: It turns out there are people in Ottawa who like to play hockey. Who knew? If you have been thinking you need another hockey option in your life, or maybe you want to dust off the old skates, then consider pick up hockey. Ottawa Rec Hockey provides pickup games at all times, all over the city. Women are welcome too!
Skating on the canal: Tourists all know how impressive our little skating rink is, but somehow many of us don’t take advantage. For those of you that stopped years ago because you didn’t like fighting the crevasses, rest assured that the quality of the ice has improved dramatically since they got the “zamboni”. In fact each time I’ve been recently I’ve marveled at how great the ice is. And how cool is this:
So grab your skates and take a 15km tour through the heart of the city.
Tobogganing!: So much fun, and also an incredible workout. You get your exhilaration on the way down, and then you get a great glute and hamstring workout on the way up. It’s fun to do with friends and family, and even dogs love it. What more could you want? Not sure where to go? I tend toward the Arboretum for convenience, and Green’s Creek for awesomeness. This Toboggan Guide provides an incredible map of toboggan hills in the Ottawa area. I had no idea there were so many!
Don’t forget that many of these activities start up the first two weeks in January, so don’t delay!
We love new beginnings. Fresh starts. Another chance to get it right. With another new year approaching, it’s resolution time! Because most of us are overweight and underactive, changes to fitness and nutrition habits are very popular resolutions to make. Unfortunately they are also very popular ones to break.
If “lose weight and get fit” is going to be your resolution this year, I have a request for you: Please reconsider. No, I haven’t gone to the dark side. I still believe exercise and healthy eating is the best gift we can each give to ourselves. But I also believe that well-intentioned promises with a very slim chance at success are a bad idea, and that’s what “lose weight and get fit” is. In fact it tops last year’s Time Magazine’s top ten list of broken resolutions. Eat healthier and diet makes it in at number 4.
For anyone who is thinking of lose weight, eat healthy or exercise more as a resolution this year: is it your first time? Or does this resolution get dusted off every year or two? If it’s not your first time, what is different this year? My goal here is not to make you feel bad about your self-improvement goals. In fact I applaud them! So much so that I want you to succeed. But an overhaul of your eating and exercise habits is a big change. The reality is that big change is hard. Little changes, however, are manageable.
Whatever you are considering as a resolution, instead of saying: “On January 1st, I will eat well and exercise regularly”; say this instead: “On January 1st, I will eat well and exercise regularly, and continue to do so for the rest of my life”. Now be honest: Can you even say the words? If not, that’s a powerful sign. Are you feeling doubt? Starting to think about foods you love that you’re not sure you’re willing to give up? That’s okay. In fact it’s quite normal. It’s very important that you be honest with yourself now, as that will pave your path to success later.
Now, let’s reconsider the “eat well and exercise” as a new year’s resolution.
If you are very confident that you can do it and sustain it, then go for it! You probably will succeed. If not, break it down! Pick something small but achievable. For some reason we have a “go big or go home” attitude about new year’s resolutions, which unfortunately lead to going big and then going home.
Here’s the thing:
- A small resolution that you do for a long time becomes a big change.
- A big resolution that you do for a short time becomes a small change.
If you resolve to, say, have dessert half as often, and you stick to it for all of 2012, it will be equivalent to having quit dessert entirely for 6 months. If you resolve to give up dessert entirely, do you think you will make it until the end of June? There are some people who can say “I’m going to stop eating junk food now” and they just stop forever without problems. Odds are, that person is not you. If this is not your first “eat well and exercise” resolution, then that person is definitely not you. Accept that and work with it.
Whatever you chose as a resolution, say it out loud and add “and I will do this for all of 2012″. If you can’t say it out loud, you definitely can’t do it. Break it down until you have a resolution that you can say with confidence that you will sustain for all of 2012.
Don’t be among the 99% who make big resolutions that are lost before March.
Be the 1% who makes a small resolution and turns it into a big change.
