And as the seasons change, thoughts turn to last year's Fall newsletter...
Thoughts that advise me; "It has been a year since you last sent a newsletter!!!"
This is true, however I have been keeping everyone up to date by posting on Steve's Real Fitness Blog. These newsletters do tend to be more seasonal : )
Let's start with a very brief Steve update:
Last Fall I was just a personal trainer who liked using kettlebells. As of February 2009, I am now an RKC Certified Instructor. The Russian Kettlebell Challenge Instructor Course is a gruelling 3-day test of mental and physical strength & endurance. I went to San Jose, stayed at the HoJo and had the time of my life while becoming an RKC! I wrote about it here on my blog.
Apart from that, I'm still training hard and enjoying my awesome job : ) What does my awesome job entail? Take a look at my Fitness Training & Classes page, where all classes and training options are listed. Shamless segueway? Yes, it was...
The good part is we're done talking about me. Let's get down to the fun and educational stuff that makes good, guilt-free reading while at work.
In this newsletter, I am first going to introduce you to Irv. He is my client, my tax-preparer and my friend. Irv's the guy I tell people about when they say "it's too late for me to get in shape" or "I can't (insert what you can't do here)" I'll let Irv tell you the rest.
Then, we'll revisit a post from my blog where I talk about the importance of recovery and review a great expert-filled podcast from ironradio.org . The host and guests put together an informal list of ways to monitor your fatigue levels and therefore identify when it is time to back off and return stronger on another day.
Finally, I'm looking for 6 more people (3 groups of training-partners) to teach private and occasional group Wing Tsun Kungfu lessons. More on that below.
And now, without further ado, let's get at it!
Steve McMinn, RKC - Trainer
Irv is awesome!
Irv is an amazing dude! I train Irv 2x a week and wish I could train him more often. When I first met Irv, he could not sit down with control onto a chair with two phone books on it. Now? I'll let Irv explain...
“When I met Steve I had just undergone my 8th coronary by-pass, had high blood pressure and was a diabetic with my sugars barely under control. I couldn't ride my bike or even walk up a flight of stairs without holding onto the rail. I could do no pushups or pullups and needed to hold onto the arms of a chair to sit down. That was barely 1 year ago.
Today I am 12 lbs lighter, 4 inches slimmer, can bounce up long flights of stairs, do full (on my haunches) squats, do almost 3 consecutive pullups (I'm real close to 3) almost unlimited numbers of sets of 5 pushups, and actually run on a treadmill (5.5 mph at a bit of a slope)flat out for a full minute - and not throw up afterwards.
My blood sugars have stabilized, my HDLs, LDLs and Triglicerides are in a normal range (they never were before)and my blood pressure is in the 118/68 range (previously was 165/135).
I'm not a great swimmer, but my strength increases have allowed me to more than double my distance (I'm now at the swimming level of an average 12 year old boy) - but it's a serious improvement for me. As soon as the weather improves a bit, I'm going to take up roller blading, and while I used to bowl occasionally, I'm now thinking that tennis might be more fun.
I now have a spring in my step, my posture has improved dramatically, and my chiropractor probably thinks that I've moved away or died (I should send him a card).
In case you're wondering, I'll be 64 shortly, although I feel like I'm in my mid to late 40's, and that's only after 1 year (almost)
Above text is from my Dragon Door Instructor Page at www.dragondoor.com
Irv is now 64 and we're coming up on the two-year mark. He continues to improve and is always setting new personal bests. You would not have thought this would be possible had you met Irv when I did.
The important thing to remember here is the incredible effort Irv put into improving his health and fitness. He practiced all of the exercises I prescribed and truly takes an interest in improving himself every day. A personal trainer alone will not give you such results, no matter how many sessions you pay for.
If you think you just can't improve your own health and fitness, Irv would be happy to call you and explain that you can. No, seriously, Irv WILL actually call you. Don't believe me!?! What's your phone number?
Here are some videos of Irv being awesome:
Here, Irv does his first full chin-up.
Irv completing a Clean and Press Ladder.
On the importance of recovery and generally smart training.
From my blog at www.fit4real.ca:
Deadlifting makes you happy, but too much deadlifting can make you sad!
Earlier this week, my client Ken told me how deadlifting seems to give him a feeling of healthy euphoria. I experience the same and especially so when I first started to deadlift. Ken has been deadlifting for 4 months, with an increase in weight and volume over the last two.
Click here to see Ken pull a Personal Best 330lbs!
This amazing feeling comes from the release of hormones like testosterone and human growth hormone plus the rush of endorphins triggered by a relatively strenuous effort. Our increased confidence from a personal best does not hurt either! Of course, we want to make sure not to train overly long and hard, where we see these levels start to decline. This is why I advocate shorter, high-intensity workouts with the emphasis on form and safety. This allows you to stay within the accepted 30-40 minute high-hormone zone and still get all the workout you need.
Even with careful adherence to workout time and intensity, it is even more important to know when to slow down; when to allow time for recovery. We will not be able to maintain our optimal hormonal (happiness and healing) levels if we are tired, moody and generally overtrained. We will also not be able to make significant gains in our training. This is something we all have to watch out for. The better we manage our fatigue and recovery, the longer we will continue to feel great, make gains AND stay injury-free!
This next part comes from a great podcast I listened to today at http://ironradio.org/ . The podcast is titled Recovery While Training and can be found HERE.
The ironradio.org coaching group is: Dr. Lonnie Lowery (host), Exercise Physiologist and licensed sports nutritionist; Mr. Charles Staley, celebrity athletics coach and author, Mr. Robert Fortney, fitness industry journalist; Mr. Phil Stevens, fitness industry speaker, trainer and technician. All have successful competitive histories in power sports.
The host and guests put together an informal list of ways to monitor your fatigue levels and therefore identify when it is time to back off and return stronger on another day.
1. Keeping track of your level of perceived exertion for each workout. The host uses a scale of 1-20. Watch out if you see the numbers steadily declining!
2. Keeping track of your mood and motivation to train. This includes your emotional state both IN and OUTSIDE the gym.
3. Are you sleeping for 7-8 hours a night? Is it quality sleep, throughout the night? If your sleep is disturbed, your nervous system is telling you it needs a break!
4. A suggestion was made to quietly fill in your workout log right after you train. This gives you time to cool down and decompress from the intense mental and physical focus of your session. This way, you will be ready to take on the rest of your day feeling calm, as you should : )
5. Getting the most results with of the least amount of effort/exercises. No, this does not allow you to be lazy, just efficient in your exercise choices. A good example would be doing weighted pullups instead of separate pull, reverse-fly and bicep exercises. The same muscles get worked, but in less time.
6. "Every rep has a cost, but not every rep has a benefit"
7. Growth, Recovery and Progress happens outside the gym. Inside the gym is where we destroy ourselves so that we may recover stronger.
Some great advice from some top names in the game!
The moral of this story is, train hard, train well, and most importantly, TRAIN SMART!
Wanna learn Kungfu!?!
Last October, I passed my Wing Tsun Kungfu Primary Technician Grade test. The intense training leading up to it has reignited my desire to teach this effective self-defence and health system. I will not be opening a class like I have in the past, but rather am accepting private students in groups of two who can train together outside of the lessons often.
Eventually, I would like to teach regular classes again. Before I do so, I want a core group of 3-5 experienced students who can assist new students and set the tone for the class.
At the moment I have two private groups, so I have room for three more.
My rate for this training is $75/hour and practice between sessions is mandatory. If you are serious about learning effective self-defence that does not rely on strength, speed or size, contact me at 778.898.4649 or steve@fit4real.ca
"Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successfull personality and duplicate it."
- Bruce Lee
Until next time...
