Friday, November 28, 2008

From my Fall 2008 Newsletter - The 6-Week Consistency Challenge

See the Fall 2008 Newsletter HERE.

We all know that sticking to a consistent exercise routine is the key to getting the best results possible. In fact, consistent effort is the only way we get good at anything. Imagine if you had decided to give up learning to walk because it was frustrating and took too much effort!

That being said, I am not going to bore you with all of the reasons why. Instead, I am going to give you an easy way to become more consistent with your workouts so you can experience for yourself just how rewarding consistent effort can be.

First of all, watch and follow along with the 4-minute Joint Mobility / Warm-up video, then do the same with the 7-minute Simple Strength & Conditioning video. You may want to re-watch my Pushups in 2 Easy Steps video to get your form dialed in. Next, feeling strong, limber and inspired, email me at steve@fit4real.ca and ask for 6-weeks access to my online workout tracker.

If you have your own regular workout routine, try using the online log to track your workouts for 6-weeks and see how tracking your workouts will improve your consistency and yield even greater results!

Tracking your workouts will make you accountable… to me! If you are not consistently entering your workouts on a regular basis, you WILL hear from me. Think of it as having the motivation and accountability of a personal trainer for 6-weeks, for free!

Warning: Watching, then performing the exercises in these videos may make you stronger, healthier and happier!

Joint Mobility / Warmup



Simple Strength & Conditioning Workout
Getting Out of Our Own Way
By Bryce Norman - Success Coach

See Bryce's blog at http://infiniteunlimited.blogspot.com/

Often, throughout the journey of our lives, we find ourselves in places that if we had a choice for a “do over “ or a mulligan we really would take it. These places can be so dark and lonely, so full of stress, so draining on our loved ones, and so straining on our relationships, that one would fathom to call these places Hell.

Someone once said if you are going through Hell don’t stop!! However too often we find ourselves in these places of crisis or extreme discomfort and sometimes we don’t know what else to do except stop. I’m writing to let you all know that this is OK.

The pressure and stress we feel is very natural through the process of growth and change. The interesting part about us as humans is that we have the power of choice, but sometimes we forget that we do. So we unknowingly stay in a place of prolonged stress or suffering. We resist change, and we don’t use choice in order to change the experience. We can definitely get in our own way. We feel stuck and think this is all there is. But just as we can be in a place of resistance (that’s a choice folks) we can also choose to get out of our own way. This happens with the awareness that we have a wealth of options at any given moment and then by simply choosing the better option. There is always something waiting to unfold in our favour.

So today make the choice for what you want and get out of your way by doing what needs to be done. That’s your mulligan: The act of choosing something better. When you crest the plateau make sure you also enjoy the experience of the rise and celebrate it. Your destination must always be in sight, however your focus must remain in the present moment……enjoy the journey to your success.

See Bryce's blog at http://infiniteunlimited.blogspot.com/

Monday, November 17, 2008

Keep training? But I'm injured!

A few weeks ago, I ended up with very sore and bruised ribs on both sides! The Left side bruising is still a bit of a mystery and the Right side came courtesy of Sifu Ralph in a private lesson.

The day after my private lesson, I found I was unable to lift anything heavy overhead. This could not have come at a worse time as I am currently doing a lot of kettlebell press ladders in preparation for my February 09 RKC certification.

As pressing heavy was out, I had to change my routine a bit until the ribs healed. I kept up the pressing at a lower volume using a 16kg kettlebell instead of the 24kg. This allowed the press groove to remain current in my CNS and I am able to go right back into my 24kg schedule this week. For conditioning, I kept up the swings/snatches but again with lighter bells so I could ease up a bit on the abdominal contractions and avoid pain/possible re-injury.

It is very common to just stop training when injured as the current program cannot be followed. This is when it's time to step back and look at the big picture. Keeping up your fitness level with alternative exercises will allow you to return to regular training with little or no strength and conditioning loss. The most important part is that you will have kept up the consistency of your workouts and not found other things to do to occupy your training times. As we all know, consistency is the name of the game for long-term, lasting results. Sometimes the unexpected happens and if we are not flexible enough to change the game-plan, we just stop playing the game, losing much of what we gained and causing us to have to restart much farther back in the process. If this happens too often, we can lose our way and take way more time off than planned, leading to often just stopping the training altogether.

Next time you experience an injury, ask yourself if it can be safely worked around. In most cases the answer will be a resounding "YES". Your body AND mind will thank you for staying the course, continuing to improve and moving that much closer to your next Personal Best!

Do.
Wing Tsun Lunch and Learn with Sifu Ralph!

Last Wednesday, I accompanied Sifu Ralph to Telus Headquarters in downtown Vancouver to act as his assistant in a management meeting demonstration.

Here is some feedback from Bill Reny, National Director - Marketing, Partners and Sourcing and the host of the session:

Thank you for your talk and demonstration to my team meeting on Wednesday. I was particularly impressed by how you explained the core principles of Wing Tsun and illustrated how the concepts could be used to improve interpersonal relationships at work or at home.

As I looked around the room, I noticed my team members were very engaged with lots of nods and smiles. I was moved when you talked about how we go through life projecting an aura or presence that can either project confidence and security or unfortunately, attract exploitation - I see this in a business setting all the time and it really struck home.

The hands on drill was a nice touch and a great change of pace for an all day business meeting. After you and Steve left, the team was energized and could not stop talking about how impressive you were and what a good sport Steve was.

I think any business would be lucky to have you conduct a seminar as a team building event. It was truly unique, inspiring and a lot of fun. I hope you will be able to make the time for us again then next time we have a team meeting in Vancouver.

Sincerely,

Bill RenyNational Director - Marketing, Partners and SourcingTELUS Business Solutions

I think by "good sport" he meant that I took Sifu's punches etc with a smile... : )


The Telus Group

Part of the demonstration:

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Simple and Effective Kettlebell Training for Wing Tsun ...

Further to my previous posts on the seminar and applications demo, I am including HERE my Theory Paper on Kettlebell Training for Wing Tsun. After my kettlebell demos at the seminar, I decided to rework my more technical paper into a simple guide for an effective WT kettlebell workout. Once I get the long-version video from Tony L, I will post the accompanying kettlebell training demo.

Thanks to Sebastian who gave me the below video last night. I am happy there is some footage of the certificate presentation!


Post-Halloween storage locker cleanout...

I was doing a cleanout of my storage locker yesterday when I discovered some old photos inside a book I think I got from my deceased Aunt in Philadelphia. The photos seem to be of members of an old Philly street gang or "club" as they were called in those days (I date the pics somewhere in the mid-70s). One of the guys totally looks like me! I am pretty sure that was my Uncle... Will have to ask my parents about this.

I scanned the pictures and posted them below:


Enter The Kettlebell
Start your Hardstyle kettlebell training with ETK!
Power to the People - Russian Strength Secrets
PTTP Puts you on the path to Deadlift Dominance!