Testosterone has been getting a lot of press lately, and not all of it is good.

With hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increasingly prescribed to all types of men—young, old, gay, straight—who just want to maintain their strong muscles and lean midsections, a variety of medical groups have started waving red flags about the many potential pitfalls of testosterone supplementation, from permanent cessation of the body’s ability to produce testosterone on its own, to drops in the “good” cholesterol that promotes heart health.

Increasingly, leaders in the medical community have begun pushing to establish guidelines to use HRT only when it’s medically needed, not as a pharmaceutical fountain of youth.

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Here on the We(s)t Coast, a record cool, wet spring has really been bringing people down. Even the Stanley Cup playoffs can’t allay the desperate need for a few sunny, warm days.

Many people are complaining that their Spring Workout plans also washed away under the longer-than-usual season of hoodies and raincoats. They’re having a tough time mustering the motivation to shed their winter fat layer and to beef up those underlying muscles that T-shirt season usually inspires. Read the rest of this entry »

During an average week, I spend at least 30 hours in a gym.

Of course, most of those hours are spent working to assist clients achieve their personal fitness goals. The other hours are those that I spend staying true to my own.

On any given day I see a number of regular gym goers, as well as a few infrequent visitors. And on occasion, I see a gym patron who really knows what they’re doing.

Whoa!  Did I say “on occasion”??

Yes, I did.

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It’s tax season here in Canada – which means taking stock of financial matters and setting strategies for the future.

During this annual ritual, we don’t think much of the time that it takes – lots of it – to meticulously collect and code receipts, to assemble T-slips, to organize deductions and to be sure to put all the right numbers in all the right boxes - just in case we receive that randomized Revenue Canada notice: “Your personal tax file has been selected for Audit“.

Now, go stand in front of the mirror and imagine receiving a similar message, this one from Health Canada, informing you:  ”Your personal FITNESS file has been selected for Audit“!

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Simple, smart inclusions to each day in your busy life:

1. Engage in some sort of exercise
2. Eat vegetables and fruits
3. Eat breakfast
4. Get a restful night’s sleep
5. Drink plenty of water
6. Control stress in your life
7. Maintain a supportive social outlet of friends and family
8. Take a multi-vitamin
9. Brush your teeth and floss
10. Get outside

I fail at #4 and #6 most often.
I excel at #2, #3 and #10.
I make my living with #1.
I appreciate #7 the most.

How about you?

Consider this statement that I recently read on a colleague’s blog:

“Once you accept how HARD it is to lose fat and /or gain muscle, then it becomes Easy.”

Whaaaat?!!

Read it again. And think it through – do you understand what it means?

Compare it to saving for your next big vacation… once you understand and accept how much discipline it takes to save that money, then it becomes easier to do. When it’s important for you to achieve… it just seems to”gets done”.

So, it’s the same with your fitness goal… once you accept that it’s HARD to achieve it, then your realize what you must do – and it becomes easier.

How?

1. Plan, shop, and prepare in advance how you’re going to eat for the week… I spend time each Sunday doing exactly that – and I actually look forward to doing it. Menus. Cooking. Storing. A 2 hour investment of time.
2. Do at least three high-intensity workouts per week… prioritized based on your fitness goal – muscle mass and /or fat loss.
3. Keep yourself active on off days and avoid sitting in front of the TV or computer for at least 30 minutes less a day… in our house, it’s “All Screens Off” no later than 9 pm, at which time we usually go for a short “family walk”, or you could gently stretch those muscles you worked out.
4. Develop strategies to avoid bad night-time eating habits… keep some crunchy fruit or vegetables handy to settle cravings. If you’re on a “muscle-up” program, try protein powder mixed into plain yogurt with some nuts. Just lay off those empty carbs… (which I see that our cupboards have filled up with over the winter!)
5. Set strategies to overcome every sabotage behaviour that gets in the way of your success each week… notes, scheduling, whatever.

Now, it’s almost 9pm – time to abide by my own rule.

Doug

 

 

 

 

By mid-February, I bet that most of your thoughts about the “new year” are long passed.  Resolutions. Goals. Intentions… whatever you call them – by Valentine’s Day, they’re usually gone and forgotten.

When setting fitness goals (especially at new year), our generally optimistic nature tends to set the bar pretty high.  Then, after a month of working hard to establish new behaviour patterns and routines, it’s not uncommon to feel frustrated when goals set so easily in January, are not being achieved fast enough.

You’re working hard on your program. You’re watching what you eat. You’re surrounded by people who are encouraging and supportive. But still…

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As reported in WebMD, a good source of general health and fitness information:

Better sex!

Infomercials promise it. Pop-up ads promise it. Magazines, too. There are love universities for it, and more how-to videos than you can count. And, of course, it all comes at a price.

Wouldn’t it be nice if it were easy to improve your sex life, for free? Actually, you can get more sizzle in sex, and all you have to do is get a little sweaty — with exercise.

All kidding aside, guys, some exercise really can give your sex life a lift. As a bonus, exercise also ramps up your muscle tone, strength, and sexual endurance. So which exercises can help put the vroom back in your sex life?

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