Crossfit is possibly the most polarizing workout routine in the history of fitness. Thousands sing its praises, while some industry pundits repeatedly try to discredit it. I have stayed on the perimeter watching its growth for many years. It was only a matter of time before I would dive in head first.

The major criticisms of the program are based on what some would call dangerous rates of intensity, general not specialized training, and concern with the difficulty level of the movements.

I have been flirting with the idea of joining a crossfit affiliate for over 4 years…I even tried a few of the workouts at the YMCA, but nothing can compare to the experience of completing the WODs (work out of the day) in an a crossfit affiliate gym.

10 days of crossfit, and several positive remarks

1.  Group Fitness Increases Motivation
I did not give much thought to the motivational impact of group fitness. Many people have labelled crossfit an obsessed community similar to a cult, but every group could be seen a such. What about running fanatics? Same deal…so this cult argument is lame. One thing that is not lame is the competitive workouts, combined with the camaraderie that leads to exercise adherence. Love it or hate it, crossfit programs increase exercise adherence through peer to peer motivation, unmatched by any other program I have experienced.

2.  It will test your physical limits.
How fit are you? I think I am in decent shape, but I was in for a surprise when I could not complete some of the crossfit moves as prescribed. It truly is an eye opener for most people, me included. Try completing 100 overhead squats in a row, if you drop the bar that will cost you 10 burpees. Now do it as fast as you can, with proper technique.

3.  It will push your mental limits with intense workouts.

I think I know a lot about exercise, but I can honestly say I have never worked this hard in my life. The intensity levels are insane, but such a rush. You think you are pushing yourself in your solitary workouts at the gym, your not.

4.  Crossfit attracts great trainers.
Knowledgeable coaches make every session better. Much of the criticism of crossfit is placed on the training programs that can be completed in a weekend. With the fear that instructors are not technical enough, thus increasing the incidence of injury. My experience paints a much different picture. The instructors at our affiliate are technically sound, and practice caution with new members. Did you know that 90% of personal trainers at your local gym have a weekend certification as well?

People can disagree with the training principles, but there are many reasons to like crossfit, and it is now clear to me why people are nuts about it. It is a program that anyone can try, there is always room to improve, and everyone involved wants you to succeed. Sounds good to me.

Cheers,
Jordan

During this time our players and coaches were interviewed by local media outlets (really cool experience), and countless newspaper articles, as well as being featured on the sports highlights!

If you don’t know, I am a physical education teacher at St. Mary’s High School in Kitchener Ontario.

As the coach of the Boys Hockey team for the last 4 years, I have experienced a lot of ups and downs. It’s easy to be happy when things are going great, but it is harder to find hope when things don’t go so well. After 2 years of being at the bottom of the standings, we achieved a second place finish last season. Dealing with the transfer of an influential coach and close friend, and the loss of key players we approached this season with a different attitude, and went on to win the League Championship!

The players showed passion, desire and dedication throughout the entire season.  This Championship meant the world to them …and it showed. I have never been so proud of a group of guys.

Now to my work….I’m not going to win an oscar for cinematography, but I will never forget these moments.

Thanks to CTV for the video coverage!

Two days into my illness I felt a bit better so I went for a personal best in deadlift (which I hit), so I was pumped. Too bad that excitement only would only last a few hours, before I became feverish, had a massive headache, and a sore throat.

I’m not saying dead lifts are the cause of illness, but my youthful enthusiasm got the best of me, and I could not resist a training session. Big mistake!

If you do not feel well, don’t push it. The weights, the cardio…it can wait. In fact it needs to wait.

I should take my own advice. Learn from me, if you are sick….skip your workout. Period. Rest, drink fluids, and you will come back stronger and faster.

You could always try the neck test which basically states that if you have symptoms only above the neck (sore throat, headache, running nose) then you have the green light to workout. If you have symptoms below the neck (stomach issues, chest tightness, breathing issues) then stay out of the gym.

Flu season is almost gone! Keep your head up!

I have never even ran an official 5k race, but this is my goal!  For anyone interested in training for this event go check out the TOUGHMUDDER facebookpage

People are going crazy for this race, and using it as a tool to get active and reach their goals. I’m not used to training for this kind of race, so it should be interesting. Good luck to all those brave enough to take this challenge. It should be a great day!

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” – Leonardo Da Vinci

Eat Clean

Avoid Sugar

Eat Real Protein (Animals)

Don’t forget to drink a lot of water

Lift Heavy Things

Run, Jog or Walk

Play

Don’t freak out if you miss a meal

Life gets busy

Keep it Simple!

I’d walk around from class to class speaking at people (teenagers).  Were they listening?  I think so, but what I should have asked myself was, “am I listening to them”?

Think about your day, your interactions.  How many people do you assist, speak with, and more importantly listen to.

Most people long for someone to listen to them.  Not just a person that will give feedback, and try to solve their problems, rather somebody that will simply listen, without judgement.

I am blessed to have many such encounters everyday, and am forever grateful for that opportunity.

If you really want to make a difference in somebody’s life….just listen to them.

I’ll admit that I am not the best listener, but I am trying to get better.

Are you?

I would advise anybody that struggles to maintain a healthy weight, or any inflammation issues to give paleo a shot.

Thinking back to what Paleo Guru Robb Wolf said at his Paleo Solution Seminar last year in Toronto, I believe the Paleo crowd needs to cool it down a notch.

Robb said that we can’t make the Paleo diet a religion (although we will continue to capitalize it!).  Just like crossfit, the paleo crowd is growing fast, they are loud and becoming increasingly less accepting of people that do not follow their practice.  It is evident in blogs all over the net,  and this is precisely why the paleo diet will ultimately lose credibility in the mainstream media.

We must chill out Paleo friends.  It is just a way to eat (a good one for sure), but even for me the Paleo evangelicals are becoming a bit too much to tolerate.

There are many lean healthy people that are not eating a paleo diet.  It is not for everyone, so get off the soapbox!

As your nutrition is the main factor which determines whether you gain weight or lose it, your ability to control the food you eat is imperative. By control I mean the power to decide what food to eat and how much of it.

The reason why emotional eating is such a difficult problem is that… the person who has it loses the ability to control food. In fact, he or she is now controlled by food.

Emotional eaters have little control over what they eat and they often find themselves eating without even thinking about it. It’s as if eating has become a reflex and not a conscious action. As they usually lose track of how much they consume, this is enough to ruin any diet.

In this post I want to give you some simple tips to improve your control over your food and reduce the confusion that emotional hunger may cause. These tips take some work and practice to implement. However, they can yield fast results and a big improvement in your relationship with food.

1. Identify your triggers – Emotional eating occurs when you eat in order to provide yourself with a short-term comfort. Each of us has a different emotion or emotions that trigger this need in us. The first step an emotional eater needs to take is to identify the particular emotions that trigger a craving for food.

Once you identify these emotions, you’ll be ready to face the hunger that emerges once you experience them. You’ll know that the sudden hunger you’re feeling is, in fact, an emotional hunger and not a physical one. Some of the common emotions that create cravings include stress, loneliness, anxiety, and boredom. However, you may experience different triggers.

2. Get rid of temptation ñ Emotional eaters usually turn to specific foods when they seek comfort. You need to reduce or get rid of these foods entirely. Just clear your kitchen of them. Once you do that, even if you give in to your cravings, you will not be able to overeat on your comfort foods as they will not be there.

Some of the common comfort foods include chocolate, ice-cream, pizza, and any high-suger, high-fat foods. Write down your comfort foods and get rid of them.

3. Use a Pause ñ One of the best ways to stop yourself from eating to feed your emotions is to use a pause before you eat.

Whenever you feel the urge to eat, stop and count to 60. This pause gives you a little time to think about whether youíre really hungry or responding to some emotional need. The important thing is that you no longer eat mindlessly. You gain control over the way you eat.

To sum up, emotional eating is all about control. You need to do 3 things:
1. Know the emotional triggers that cause you to have cravings and urges.
2. Get rid of the comfort foods which you are tempted by.
3. When you do get the urge to eat, take a moment to think about your hunger and determine whether itís a real hunger or an emotional one.

These 3 tips may not prove to be a complete solution for every case of emotional eating, but they are powerful and simple steps that you can take to fight the problem and lead a healthier life.

Jonathan Dunsky blogs at World of Diets where he writes about fitness, motivation tips, diet reviews, and health issues. Connect with him on Facebook for more updates.

So my dad was right.  Taking money from people is a better motivator then the potential to earn money.  

The App is called GymPact, and lets you put your money where your mouth is.

The GymPact  APP was created by a few Harvard Graduates who discovered that incentivized losses were a much better motivator for behviour change, then potential incentivized gains.  They realized that rewards and points systems we not exactly motivating people to go to the gym, so they created a system unique to the fitness industry.

Basically you sign up at the GymPact Site, put in your credit card information, and make a pact each Sunday night.  You set the stakes.  If you don’t go to the gym, you lose money.  If you make good on your commitments, you can earn money and win prizes.  The company uses GPS technology similar to 4square and has over 40000 gyms in its database.

Don’t think that you can fool the system either.  You have to spend at least 30 minutes at the gym to qualify as a workout!

I guess you could just sit in the massage chair at your local GoodLife Fitness Center….but

There will always be ways to cheat the system.  In any event, this is an interesting idea!

What do you think? Would you recommend people try this APP?

photo credit: menshealth.com

If your town is anything like mine, you have probably noticed a few things.

1.  Everybody seems to have a gym membership (sometimes more than one)

2.  The fitness industry is quite competitive (too many gyms….)

This is great news on both accounts, but are we really raising the bar?

Are we helping people reach their best level of fitness?

Why are most people clueless at the gym?  and why are most gym goers overweight despite all their hard work?

The gym has become the corner store, easy to access, and cheap to join, yet we continue to struggle….Physical activity is important, but is only small part of the “BIG picture”.

There are over 40,000 commercial gyms in America (population 307 Million) – The average women weighs 165 lbs, while obsessing about weight loss, and dieting.

In contrast….

There are roughly 35,000 fitness clubs in all of Europe, mostly UK (population 800 Million) – The average women weighs 140 lbs

Do you think Diet and Lifstyle has anything to do with it?…….

Nope, lets just open up more fitness centers!

We must do better.

Educate yourself!