HAPPY BIRTHDAY CREATIVE CONDITIONING!

Thank you Meghan & Lloyd for the cake!

Happy Birthday Creative Conditioning!

Well today is/was Creative Conditioning’s 1^st birthday. I have a lot of people to thank for making CreCon an amazing place to call work, a second home and my dream.

The past year I have learned a lot about people, business, and life and I know that there is a lot more I need to learn as well.

I have seen so many changes in people who have embraced a healthy and balanced lifestyle. These changes aren’t just physical changes but changes in personality, confidence, enthusiasm, and openness. An openness to try something new, something you might not be good at and something that teaches you that you can learn and grow no matter what age and ability.

I have seen physical changes in strength, mobility, ability, muscular definition, body composition and more. Everyone who is putting in hard work in our gym and at home to make the right choices are growing by leaps and bounds. Consistency, intensity and the desire to never quit on yourselves is making you the people you are and the people I want to surround myself with.

Thank you to all of my previous clients & friends who I worked with in home and all over the city who believed in what I was doing and came along for the ride. Thank you to our new members who have become good friends at Creative Conditioning. I couldn’t ask for any better.

Thank you to all of those who helped with all the renovations for 3 months prior to opening including my parents Lorne & Irene Dyck, my outlaws (just kidding ;-) Stan & Angie Gren, Gerry and Lynn Bennett, Alex Jekat, Bert Viveiros You support and hours of lifting, smashing, carrying, rebuilding and polishing were the only way I was able to finish the picture I had in my head.

Thank you to Tammy Stewner for telling me “Hey Paul, I know this great place that’s up for lease. I drive by it every day. It would be perfect for your gym.”

I have to put a big thank you out there to Jesse Cox and Anthony Ferreira. They are two amazing coaches who care about our members and are dedicated to making people better each and every class they teach. We are lucky to have you guys.

The biggest thank you goes to my wife Lorrie for supporting my dream of building the place I had talked about for years. She has not complained about the 100hr work weeks, the reduced “us” time, my constant drive to make things “better” at the gym, or the 5am alarm clocks every morning… Ok maybe I have herd about the last one on a few occasions. Thank you Lorrie for being such a great help, support, and sounding board for my sometimes-dumb ideas.

Well year one is under our belts. Are we where I wanted us to be? I would have to say no. I have a feeling that we will never be there since I always want to learn more, do more, experience more, and pass it on. The better I can get the better we can help you to get.

I think this is going to be like training. Once you reach your goal you need to set another one because you want to see how far you can go. Thank you all for coming along for the ride (we aren’t done yet).

Happy 1^st Birthday Creative Conditioning!!!  

A weekend to remember

Well this was a weekend to remember. First of all I would like to congratulate everyone who participated in the Winnipeg Police half marathon and relay. No matter what distance you did I hope you had a great time (on the clock and even more with the experience.

Lorrie and I had signed up for the 1/2 marathon and were pumped for it. Being able to share the event with the crew from Creative was an exciting thought. It was several peoples first event and I wanted to be there for it.

Shortly after signing up for the half I found out tat my hero Dan John was going to be in town doing a seminar and knew I had to be there. Even if his seminar was about eating Ice Cream from a cone and not having it drip on you I would have gone!

"Reasonableness" was the theme and we listened, we learned and we enjoyed every minute of the seminar. I know there are a lot of coaches out there who can tell you what to do or write a program for you never having done or experienced what you are training for. Dan has "been there and done that" and it was awesome to hear the stories of what he tested, discovered, and failed at. Not everyone can do that. When you have been at the top of your game and are surrounded by the best, train with the best and are friends with the best there is nowhere to go but to the top.

We learned a lot at the seminar either from Dan's own experiences, and his clients experiences which range from NHL, NFL, MLB, College, & High school teams, to high profile individuals and even Navy Seals.

One of the coolest things we talked about in the seminar was about how kids now are so over trained at such a young age that they burn out. Dan and his 4 brothers weren't allowed to play organized sport until they were in grade 9... Grade 9!!! They were able to play and be kids and decide what they wanted to do. By grade 9 they weren't burnt out, beat up or broken from training their asses off at a young age and his immediate family and cousins were all high level athletes or world record holders in different sports and played professional football in the NFL, Major League Baseball, and hockey in the NHL... It just made happy to think about the proper lifts we are teaching our youth and adults and not trying to run them into the ground every workout (there are some of those workouts that will knock you on your ass) but not all the time!

There are a few very important things I would like to share that I took away from the seminar and some of it I mention to people in classes here and there but this is a great place for me to put it out there.

1. Train smart: Pay attention, learn perfect movement and if you aren't there WORK FOR IT! Fast and hard are not the ways to go if you aren't headed in the right direction.

2. Leave something in the tank: Don't drive yourself into the ground every single workout. Keep it a challenge but remember you have a life outside of the gym too!

3. Keep working on mobility: As we all age we need to keep mobile because if we lose it, it will be hell to get it back.

4. Eat well and rest well. All the training you do in the gym doesn't mean shi* if you don't fuel properly and get enough sleep.

5. Support others around you: Its amazing how far a little "Good job" or "Looking great" goes for someone in training. We are all in this together. Even though our goals might be slightly different at the end of the day in class we are all like family and should support each other as such.

I missed running with all of you today but going to Dan John with Lorrie was amazing and whatever makes us better will make you better and we still have so much more we want to get better at. This all trickles down to you...

In the end this was a weekend I will never forget. We met some amazing people and reconnected with old friends. It was great having Chiropractors, Physio Therapists, Athletic Therapists, Trainers, and Coaches all sharing and coming together for this for one common interest and that to help our clients...

Thank you!

"Uncle Focker" workout

Well here is a workout post for "Uncle Focker"

150 Wall Balls 20lbs & 10ft height for men 14lbs & 8 Ft height for women
100 BB Backsquats @ 135# Men 95# Women
50 Pull Ups

For time...

Enjoy. It was a good one!

Paul

Strange Occurrence

Strange Occurrence...

Today I had some errands to do and ran to get a hair cut. I don't have anyone specific that I go to as a bad haircut is only bad for two weeks. My last semi consistent hairdresser had a lazy eye and even though I asked for the same thing every time it was always a little different (but that's another story).

So today I met Dee. She was outgoing, charismatic, and talked the whole time. Sometimes you end up with people who dint say a thing even if you try to strike up a conversation. I would prefer not to read their minds as they might be thinking "this is the one... He wont even see it coming. I'm just gonna take these sharp scissors...".

Anyways back to Dee. We talked about nutrition, her eating habits, her 35 year old bike with the coaster breaks and why gears on a bike are a good idea for cyclists. I told her that different wind conditions, hills, cadence goals, and intensities are reasons why you might want to switch gears. She stopped and said "Honey, can you see me riding up a hill?". I said "Why not. If you wanted to you could. There isn't any reason you can't, It would just take a bit of training and dedication".

I would have to say it was the best haircut I have ever had. Her personality was awesome and inspiring and she had a great outlook on life and passed it on to everyone. At one point a woman form Costco came in with a great personality too. She was loud and out there telling us about how awesome it was to have a Costco membership. Once she left Dee said "If that woman was a car salesman she would be rich, not because she is pretty but because of her personality".

When Dee was finished shaving my head she said thanks for going to see her and said something strange. She said "I am going to see you on TV. You are going to be in the news and you are going to spread something good in the world. I just know it".

I thought it was strange that she said that since we spent 15 minutes together. All I did was give her some tips on how to be a bit healthier and not write herself off about being a bit bigger and not being able to do certain things today but maybe down the road with some training she would surprise herself.

People write themselves off too soon when it comes to goals or seeing themselves in a light that they cant see at the moment. Think about yourself a year down the road with a great fitness program, a dialed in sustainable nutrition plan and happy because you feel good, look good, and nobody can take that away from you.

It made me think. Be who you are, be genuine, be what you want to be, and not anyone else. Good things will come. Do nice things for others and don't expect anything for it. Even a smile to someone having a bad day could have a positive effect on the rest of their day.

As soon as I left and got into the car my phone rang. It was a reporter who wanted to sit down with me and interview me for an article...

Cycling officials needed!

Hi Everyone,

Could you please post the following information on your blogs, Facebook pages, websites, or forward this email to as many individuals on your contact list as possible. We need every possible outlet to get the word out.  It is likely some of you will receive multiple versions of this request but we need to act quickly as the race season starts in a month.  

Manitoba now has a Provincial Level Commissaire for road and cyclocross.  Arlene Woodcock completed this training this past month and I congratulate Arlene on this accomplishment. The goal for 2013, now that we have access to a local Commissaire trainer, is to increase our pool of officials. 

Those of you who have been around the community for many years, or even just a few years, will recognize how critical commissaires are to a smooth functioning race.  Likely you've also noticed how the same individuals man these posts from race to race.  The Manitoba Cycling Association, (OK -- I'll use the word), DESPERATELY needs more trained commissaires to officiate our races for our Road and Cyclocross events and Arlene is running a course aimed for both race disciplines over two Saturdays in April (6th and the 13th).  

Without Committed cycling officials there would be no races.   

So if you love bike racing or you love someone who loves bike racing and you are interested in helping out at races in an official capacity (or know someone who might be) please consider attending this course on April 6th and 13th.  You have until March 28th to declare you interest and further details on signing up can be found here:  http://mbcycling.ca/crossroad-commissaire-training-deadline-march-28th/

Cheers,

Kim Mitchell

MCA Road Coordinator

TWO WEEKS AWAY!

90 Day CreCon Challenge Tips... (keep checking in for more)

1. I always hear people starting a challenge by saying "I can do this for Thirty, Sixty, or Ninety days"... If you have that mentality going into something I would consider that a bad start. Think of this 90 day challenge as a way to set up some healthy habits that you can manage for the rest of your life... YES THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. 

Sure that's a long time but I think you're worth it. Don't you?

2. Different things work for different people. What you need to do is figure out what works for you. When you see a fitness model doing a certain diet (and I use that word as something that is a short term solution to a lifelong issue) and you try it but don't get the same results why is that???

You can follow the eating plan but only be getting in 2 or 3 workouts a week vs. the 6 workouts this fitness model is getting. Chances are they didn't start the "diet" when they were out of shape and before they became a model. They had been fit for years (and working their ass off at it) then tried something new or different to dial in their nutrition for their photo shoot (because they don't always look that ripped). 

Find a great nutritionist that won't pump you full of pills and get you healthy with your food choices and not chemicals.


3. PLAN AHEAD! This is a huge one. If you don't plan ahead for what you need to do then how is it going to happen? This means

• Having your gym bag in the car and ready to go at all times WITH YOUR SHOES!
• Plan you workout time and stick to it. Chances are if you feel like shi# and go to the gym, start your workout you will feel 100% better. Energy is infectious. GET SOME!
• PLAN YOUR MEALS! This means breakfast, mid morning snack, Lunch, Mid afternoon snack, Dinner and possibly an evening snack. Don't let yourself go hungry as you will gravitate to poor choices. If you have the good stuff around and readily available then you will probably make use of it. If you plan for it you will have it.  

New Years Rezo for Shezo

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Its that time of year. We are coming to the end of 2012 and entering 2013. I am hearing it everywhere. You know what I mean. At holiday parties, the mall, the grocery store, and especially at holiday parties.

"This year I am going to get fit"
"I'm going to stop drinking"
"I'm going to eat better"
"I'm going to try that ____________ (fill in the blank) Diet"
"I'm going to get more sleep" (That one sounds like me)
"I'm going to lose 50lbs"

THE NEW YEARS RESOLUTION...

How many new years resolutions have you made in the past and kept (or haven't kept)? I have learned that when I focus on one thing I get it done. When I think about doing ten things at once I feel like jumping off a bridge and none of it gets done.

Narrow down your resolutions to one or two of the most important things on your list and then focus on those two.

Keep in mind that you should have very specific goals and a way to measure them. I have been getting people to write down SMART goals at the gym. Things they would like to accomplish physically, mentally, or otherwise.

The key is to keep them

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time oriented

Write them down and keep them in a place where you will see them every day. Mark it on your calendar. The due date and a weekly count down (4 weeks until I run 5 miles).

Here was one of mine. I wanted to do a Muscle Up (gymnastics movement) without kipping. I can do 10 of them with the kipping motion (its like adding a bit of momentum to help get you up). I wanted to hit one with control and no kip... The goal was to get one done before Christmas.

It was Specific (Slow and controlled muscle up)
Measurable (either I did it or I didn't)
Attainable (Sure I could do it if I could do kipping)
Realistic (Well it wasn't like going to the Olympics or anything and doing it there)
Time oriented (By Christmas)

Now that I had the SMART goal I needed to work backwards and put in some technical time each day to get this done and learn from my mistakes. This took a little while and I actually hit my goal over a week before Christmas.

Once you hit your goal make sure to put another SMART one in there. This will help to keep you progressing no matter what area the goal is in.

Happy Training

Paul