Week 8 - Fitness is for Everyone!

I was recently asked what motivated me to improve my fitness level. Heck, there are probably many other things I could be doing with my time. I could be watching more TV, playing computer games, going out drinking with the boys. I can imagine anything could be more fun than going to the gym three nights a week.

Well, life is sometimes about making sacrifices in order to squeeze in the events into our precious time that matter more to us.

Some people love their TV shows and they can't miss the next episode of 24. They are willing to give up other commitments to ensure that they don't miss the next episode of 24 .... which is fine. We are all wired differently and our wants and desires are all different. After all, wouldn't the world be a boring place if we were all wired the same? I'm not much for TV, but that's fine.

I chose fitness for three reasons:

1. I was approaching my late 30's at the time, working in a fairly stressful job at TD Bank. My weight was up, but not at a dangerous level, but my blood pressure was rising. Also I was really not happy about my work and social life circumstances, which I couldn't change easily. I had some "wake up calls" about my health and the fact that I started taking blood pressure medication spoke loudly. I had to do something, so I chose fitness. It was the one thing that I felt I had control over.
2. There was also a more superficial reason: I wanted to get a girlfriend. I thought the gym would be a good place to meet girls. Once I started going to a club, I realized that people who were serious about fitness didn't stand around socializing.
3. Finally, I wanted to get the muscles in my abdomen to protrude. Only now are my muscles beginning to protrude in my abdomen and on my legs.

I still recall the first time I stepped into a fitness club: It was at Bally at Bay and Bloor. I was really subconscious with the way I looked and walked. Even then, I thought fitness clubs were only meant for fit people.

However, thank God for the truth: Fitness is for everyone!

• It's for the person who uses a wheelchair for mobility
• It's for the elderly husband and wife
• It's for the generously proportioned person
• It's even for the family dog!! - yes, there are even treadmills designed for dogs to run on! Hilarous, but true.

I look at the need for fitness from a spiritual perspective. Our body is not really ours. It was created by God and He has entrusted in us the responsibility of maintaining it in good working condition so that we can do our best work for His Kingdom.

Circling back to what I said about making sacrifices in life, making a commitment three nights a week to improving my fitness is indeed a sacrifice, but you needn't make it your main ambition in life about everything else.

Achieving your very best physical condition will make everything else in your life that much easier. For example, a person who is more fit generally handles day-to-day stress with less effort. The good news, too, is that you don't even have to join a gym. You can become fit by working out in your own home. In my home, I have a stationery bike and some free weights, and that is it, which I use on days when I can't make it to the gym. Unfortunately, I don't have the space in my house to throw the weights around.

Once I made it a habit, fitness workouts just naturally become a part of my life. It is a given that I will show up, right now, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings. I know those three days will be long ones with a full day of work and then having to go to my workouts, but I see a payoff, and the payoff is improved performance levels in all aspects of my life, inspite of the late nights.

Again, I say this with passion:

Everyone has been put on earth to fulfill a mission. I firmly believe that my mission is to inspire others who live with physical disability to personal greatness, one person at a time. I believe that we were put on earth to help one another, whether it be by inspiring others through our actions or by providing detailed instruction.

I have been inspired by others like me and I want to pass it on to others. I believe that fitness is a gift. It can change your life in ways you will never imagine.

I'm proud to be a member of the new generation of people growing up with a disability. A group of people with a can-do attitude and a will to succeed inspite of the adversities we face.

Week 7 - Reflecting on My Progress

Wow!!! I can't believe it! I'm now beginning my 7th week in my fitness training program and seeing results in abundance:

• I'm feeling stronger
• My pants are beginning to fall off my waist and beginning to look like Jed Clampett of the Beverley Hillbillies.
• My body fat % is lower
• and I have more stamina

I'm starting to think about the weeks after my formal training and learning with my trainer as to how I will keep this effort moving ahead. In some respects, the first 16 weeks are the easy part, but maintaining the momentum after the 16th weeks will be the hard part.

As a result of my work with my personal trainer, it is clear that my goal is to improve my mobility and flexibility while developing my core muscles (the midsection).

I work out 3 evenings a week - Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights for one hour at Good Life Fitness Club at Union Station. I really hate working out in the mornings. Being there, done that!! Tuesday night is an overall workout, Thursday is my lower body workout and Friday is my upper body workout.

As far as my diet is concerned, I try to run a consistent diet during the week (Monday to Friday). On Saturday, I allow myself to have whatever I want, because I earned it! I don't believe in deprivation, but during the week I try to be good.

If I have a craving for a snack after I workout, I try to stay away from anything laden with carbohydrates and look for something with a higher protein count. Why? Because later at night carbohydrates tend to just lay heavy on you in the evening hours. Protein is better because it helps to repair muscle tissue strain which can happen during a workout.

Instead of eating a large bowl of cereal later at night, I'll have some cottage cheese or a Kashi bar.

So far my workouts have been successful. I think others around me would agree. I keep a good attitude, and put out more than asked. Another thing that I do is take some calculated risks in terms of body movements.

I used to be afraid to do squats with my legs. I was afraid that such movements would place too much stress on my lower back. Actually, I found that any soreness in my lower back would be only temporary. After several weeks of performing squats, I'm now progressing to lifting light weights while doing squats.

What do I look to achieve as a result of reaching my goals?

1. I love being inspired by the efforts of others and to inspire others. Given that this is the day of the Terry Fox Run, I think it is appropriate to say that Terry is my hero. I was 16 years old when Terry blew through Toronto to make an appearance at Nathan Philips Square in front of City Hall. I'll never forget seeing him there and I even met the fellow who played him in a movie a few years later. Terry ran the equivalent of a 26 mile marathon for each of over a one hundred consecutive days while on only leg. That is simply amazing! From that day on, I was a changed person. I got off my duff and kept on moving, and here I am today. I hope that my own efforts will help pave the way for others who live with physical disabilities to show that they can live highly functional and productive lives. Whatever I can accomplish is not just my victory, but a victory for all others who live with a disability. I want to make a difference.


2. I want to prove that we can all become "fit" by our own definition regardless of the physical challenges we face. I don't think it is right to compare yourself to others; rather, I prefer to measure success by the numbers representing my own progress. For example, when I work with my trainer, he doesn't look at me and say, "Do you see Joe Blow over there? He can stand on his head, rotate and spit nickels out of his mouth. Some day you'll be able to do that." Rather, he measures my success in terms of how I progress from day to day, week to week.


3. I want to reach the peak of happiness and health in my life. I know that this is an overdone expression, but it is true that owning a nice car and having a swiss bank account do provide peace of mind, but do they make you content? Perhaps, temporarily you'll be happier, but in the long term you'll still have the same day to day problems as someone less financially secure. However, I have discovered that when you strive and achieve an optimum level of health that is right for you, your self-esteem will improve because it took a huge effort on your part to reach this crowning achievement - and believe me, achieving a fitness goal is no small feat. People who project high self-esteem with some sense of humility are those who are happiest and in control of their health. Yet, although we all know that happiness can be an elusive concept, it is very well worth striving for because it is in the journey that we feel a glow about ourselves and not necessarily in the end result.


4. I want to avoid having to rely on someone to care for me as I age. I suppose there is nothing wrong with having a caregiver as you age, but if you can avoid having to use a caregiver, wouldn't that be better for you? You'll have more freedom to do what you want and to do with it with dignity. When I was child, I was told how most children with spina bifida progressed through to the adolescent years. However, now that I'm 45, the medical profession doesn't really know how to care for someone with SB given my age. There is research being conducted, but this will take time to sift through. I know that it is unavoidable that we will all age, but that doesn't mean we can't slow the aging process. If the medical profession doesn't know much about how to treat a 45 year old with SB, then it is incumbent upon myself to take action on my end. Besides, if someone gave me an owners manual and told me this is how you will act at age 40 and this is how you will act at age 50, perhaps I would take it to heart and not push myself as I have done.

Optimum health is not as hard to achieve as we often perceive it to be. According to a flyer that I read the other day from the Arthritis Society, a 10 lbs loss in body weight translates into 40 lbs less force on the knees while walking. Therefore, you can clearly see how even a small improve in one's health picture results in a huge benefit,

The moral arising from this week's blog: Sometimes you can't always listen to what the experts tell you, and if they tell you nothing, then it is up to you to create your own destiny.

Blessings to all. Have a great week!

Week 6 - Functional Fitness and other stuff

On Friday night, I had my monthly stats taken:
Weight: 191 lbs (down 1 lb from last month)
Body Fat: 32% (down 3% from last month)

While you would expect that my weight should have dropped by more than 1 lb, I managed to drop a miraculous 3% fat within less than one month. I'm excited! Muscle weighs more than fat, so my body weight is taking into account more muscle. Having muscle means I have a much greater ability to burn fat.

When I began working out the trainer last month, one of my goals was to improve my mobility and flexibility. Well, in an unfortunate way, my progress here was put to the test quite severely the other night.

I went down to the CNE the other night after work. Around 9 pm as I was leaving a building and walked down a dark walkway beside Ricoh Colliseum toward the streetcars, my running shoe caught a rut in the pavement and went down almost face first into the concrete, body slamming to the ground. My backpack flipped over my head.

Well, after falling hard to the ground, a man ran to my assistance, but within 20 seconds I was back up on my feet. I was none the worse for wear. I scraped both knees, but that was it, other than being a little shook up.

In the past, I would have been down for the count much longer. My recovery to my feet would have taken longer. I owe my quick recovery to my conditioning and work with my trainer. Some of the exercises that he has been teaching me revolve around what is known as Functional Fitness.

I was reading about the benefits of functional fitness in a book that I received from an anonymous sender a few years ago. I tried to send the book back and tried to inquire about the sender, but no information was revealed to me. As it turns out, this book called "The Great Physician's Rx for Health & Wellness" by Jordan Rubin has changed my life.

According to the author, functional fitness is getting more attention because it does not focus on isolating specific muscle groups during exercise routines. Rather, functional fitness focuses on training movements in order to improve balance and build up the body's core muscles. You may not develop killer abs after a functional fitness routine, but you'll be in a better position to tackle life's daily activities.

Functional fitness does not involve exercise machines. It involves movements solely by the body. For example, I've been training on squats, push ups, etc. These are just a few examples of exercises that involve functional fitness.

I believe passionately that other people who live with physical disabilities of any kind can benefit from functional fitness. It doesn't matter whether the person uses a wheelchair or a crutches to aid in mobility. An exercise program involving some functional fitness will really help the person.

Functional fitness can help someone to transfer easily from their wheelchair to another chair or to their bed without assistance. After all, it goes without saying that we really enhance our lives when we can accomplish daily tasks without the assistance of others.

Week 5 - Your Workout is a Metaphor for Life

Hello Readers! Before I get into the meat of my topic today, I would like to share with you three pictures.

The first picture is me (circa 1981) taken in high school. I had the prototypical 80's look - big glasses and big hair. The photographer actually told me I looked like I was in an ornery mood. You would not want to know what was going on inside that big head of hair. Teenage angst? Maybe. Or it could be gas.

The second picture is me, when I joined TD Bank. It was 11 years ago this week that I was hired by the Wealth Management division of TD Bank. This was the photo on my security badge. Two things to note about me: 1) I had an eerie resemblance to Harry Potter with the prominent glasses. Yup, I actually wore them. 2) I carried extra weight on my face, forcing a double chin effect.









In my third picture, an almost miraculous change. I finally dropped the oversized shades, most of my hair is still there, and the double chin is no longer there and my face became tighter. Any tighter and people would think I was taking botox injections.

The point of all of this is to stress two points: 1) If Harry Potter had committed a murder 11 years ago and became a fugitive, you would not have been able to find him today, and 2) You can definitely realize life changing benefits when you commit to a regularly scheduled fitness program of exercise and eating right (most of the time!).

There are many lessons that you can learn from your extra-curricular pursuits that you can apply to the more structured areas of your life (say, your career and your family life).

For example:

1. The pickup hockey game can be a metaphor for life


2. The youth leadership program can be a metaphor for life


3. Overcoming a health problem can be a metaphor for life


4. And ... a weight loss and fitness program can also become a metaphor for life.

This is what my trainer alluded to when we were talking this week. In this space, I want to draw that connection between lessons I learned while engaged in a weight loss and fitness program and how they relate to my personal and working life. There are several virtues that I'm enhancing that are transferable to my next career, whatever that will be. These are qualities that make you a winner in the eyes of your peers.

Let's examine them:

Persistence - When I set a health-related goal for myself (lose 30 lbs) and then developed an carry out a plan to achieve it (i.e. lose weight or planning to see my abs pop out), I'm doing all that I can without giving up on my plans. With the goal that I firmly set in your mind, I also have an image of a vibrant, healthy person in my mind. I want to be that person and I'll do all I can to be that person. I'm not going to give up at any cost, because that goal is meaningful to me.

Those same virtues can be exercised in the context of my working life. I want to carve out a career change and I'll do all that I can using the same principles that I bring to my time in gym after work.

Consistency - My efforts toward my weight loss must be scheduled. It is not much good if I say I will workout 3 times this week and I only make it to the gym one day during the week. It is more effective to make a date with the gym by scheduling in my calendar, not by verbally etching the dates in my head. I work with a trainer 3 evenings a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings). I'm not a morning person. How many bloggers do you know are really morning people? If for some reason one of the dates falls through then I reschedule on another day and place it in my calendar.

When I talk about consistency, not only am I talking about similar schedules week to week, I'm also referring to consistent effort during the time I'm at the gym on a given night. As my trainer said, there are nights when I may not feel as good for some reason or another, but my effort must be the best that I can possibly give, given the circumstances.

Again, I can take the same lesssons here and apply them to my working life. If I'm to be successful in my working life, I must bring a consistent approach to work everyday to get results. My mission is to make a career change, but I must perform with consistency now with what I do today.

Communicating effectively - If my fitness goals are to progress as smoothly as planned, I must communicate effectively with my trainer. This means simply telling him where I feel pain or muscle strain after an exercise, or even if I don't feel strain. It also means telling him what I think works or what doesn't work. If I'm feeling a burn after leg extensions due to a build up of lactic acid, he needs to know this so that he can help me in developing an effective exercise plan. Reaching my fitness goals requires more than just following what he tells me to do. I must also communicate effectively with him so that he knows that the workout is, in fact, working.

Again, moving to the workplace, if I'm to be successful, I must exercise open and sometimes candid communication with managers. Open communication is effective, because it eliminates the fear of saying something that may ultimately open the doors and clear a misunderstanding.

Inspiring others - You may not believe it, but I intentionally go to the gym with one of my intentions being to inspire others around me. I feel that my mission is to be a guiding light to others who live a physical disability and God has given me the gifts to make this a reality. I bring a strong work ethic to my workouts and I believe the others see that.

Moving that ability to inspire others to the workplace can have the same effects. When I demonstrate to others my effective communication skills, I'm also demonstrating my leadership potential to the organization. My goal is to untap that potential and make more use of it to inspire others to personal greatness.

Overcoming obstacles - I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude and accomplishment when I master an exercise movement that was once considered almost impossible. Squats are a very good exercise because they effectively strengthen the muscles in your core. Before I started working with my trainer, I could barely bend my legs while standing ... then I put my hands on the back of a bench and then bent down ... then I began supporting my squats by hanging on to a pole and then squating until my gym shorts barely touched the seat ... now I'm squating with only one hand hanging on to the pole. So you can see that a move that I once considered almost impossible is now POSSIBLE given the right approach!!

Obstacles in the workplace can also be conquered with the same approach. They can't be resolved right away in some cases, but with a thoughtful plan in place, most obstacles can be eradicated over a period of time. I sit on the Employment Equity Council committee at my workplace, TD Bank. For years, companies like mine have struggled with accommodating the needs of their employees who live with physical disabilities. For example some of the staff need to have their workstations redesigned to help them manage their space in the office more effectively. Also, some staff who are sight impaired need to work with computers that allow them to view their work properly. Fortunately, these barriers are being torn down, but it doesn't happen overnight. The obstacles toward achieving an all-inclusive workplace are slowly being overcome, but it requires persistence, consistent effort, effective communication, inspiration (and some perspiration!!) to make it a reality.

I firmly believe that often the best and the most talented workers to be applied to a given project are those on the outside looking in. They are considered undiscovered talent only because they either can't make it through the front door of the office because of building structural barriers or because we fail miserably at understanding their needs and demonstrating compassion in realizing that they have a lot of expertise to share. Let us all work together to ensure that we are all given the same level of playing field to make use of our talents no matter the obstacles.

God bless all of you.

Week 4 - Why am I Doing This?

It's almost one month into my new fitness routine and already feeling better and hearing the compliments from folks.
I'll just keep eating those Tim Horton's cookies - more about that later! My favourite vice. They should be the cornerstone of a well balanced diet. I can see it now, my readers will be sending me boxes of Tim Horton's cookies to my office.

Sometimes I ask myself, "Why am I doing this?" It's a rhetorical question, but it begs a serious response. Why not just go home after work and park myself down in front of the TV and eat cheezies? A long time ago, I used to do that. I used to fall asleep in front of the TV and wake up well past midnight feeling groggy. The next day I would wake up feeling fatigued and empty inside. My weight had ballooned to 240 lbs, and while I was not in any immediate danger health wise, my blood pressure had risen in a fairly stressful job and was starting to go on medication.

Recently, I jotted down some responses to the question "Why am I doing this?"
Here is what I wrote .....

1. To add years to my life and life to my years - By putting in time at the gym now and building my stamina, I may not notice the benefits now, but certainly it should translate into a longer more rewarding years down the road. Spina Bifida is not a debilitating disability, but as I age, things are more likely to go wrong for me. My kidneys may malfunction, arthritis could set in leaving me to rely on walking aids such as wheelchair or a walker. Kidney malfunction is one of the leading causes of death in people with SB (Spina Bifida). By increasing my flexibility now through a consistent exercise program, there is a chance I can at least delay the impact of wear and tear on my body. I read on the Internet that people with Spina Bifida can live fairly normal lives, but their quality of life is only with them until they reach their 60's. I don't necessarily agree with that. I also have learned that my birth was well timed. Prior to the 1960's child with SB had a much lower rate of survival. I was inspired by a story I read about a lady in her 70's who had SB and was an accomplished pianist and recently parachuted from a plane. I have also read about a young man who was born with SB, but is now a successful personal fitness trainer and entrepreneur.
2. To make myself appear more youthful - I'm sure that it goes without saying that people who are fit will always look younger than their real age. Why look 45 when you can project the youthful enthusiasm of someone 20 years younger. For me, I call it Middle Age Crisis. But middle age crisis doesn't have to be a bad thing. There is nothing silly about delaying the aging process.


3. To increase my mobility - Everyone with SB could benefit from having more mobility to carry out everyday tasks that others may take for granted. This afternoon I tried to pick up a large pot of mums and carry them from the backyard to the front of the house by the stairs. I had difficulties keeping my balance while squatting down to pick them up and walk.


4. To appear attractive to others - When you watch your diet and weight and maintain an admirable level of fitness given your own life situation, you will be attractive to others. Physical looks have little to do with attractiveness, but when you are physically fit from the inside out, you are attractive to others. No if's, and's, or but's. If you look after yourself the natural way, you will be rewarded for your efforts. People will eventually compliment you for your appearance, as I was today. There is no vanity in making yourself look attractive to others, especially when the compliments come out of nowhere from people of the opposite sex LOL :) A few weeks ago a lady working at the desk in the fitness club called me "handsome." It made me think. It may have been a simple compliment, but a compliment to prop someone up is a powerful confidence builder.


5. To enjoy good food - When you workout regularly, your reward would be to eat your favourite food without worrying about the consequences. Life should not be about deprivation. For me, Saturday is my day to relax a little bit more and enjoy eating some foods that are probably more calorie-rich. My vice is those chewy gourmet cookies at Tim Horton's. After my Toastmasters meeting today I walked down to Tim Horton's at Dundas and had two of those nice, chewy, delicious chocolate chunk cookies - guilt-free, because I know I'll be back on track the next day.


6. To prosper - It's well known that people who are considered physically fit for their ability live prosperous, rich lives. Now, I'll leave it up to you to form your own definition of prosperity, but if you took a survey of all the folks who owned a gym membership and exercised on a consistent basis, you'll find the large number of those folks are successful entrepreneurs, people working in management level in a Fortune 500 company, or people who live otherwise successful, balanced lives.
   

Before I close this week, I wanted to comment on the importance of maintaining a good attitude when you face adversity in tasks in your professional and working life, and especially toward your fitness program.

About five years ago when I joined the club where I still presently workout, I had a personal trainer work with me for about 10 sessions to familiarize myself with the equipment. Although I had set some goals for myself then, looking back I was not ready for the experience. Perhaps I didn't know what I really wanted. I didn't push myself beyond my comfort zone and I either canceled out sessions last minute or came late. In other words, I needed an "attitude check."

This time around when I began working with a trainer, I vowed that I would not fail this time. After 16 weeks, I wanted to look back on this experience and proclaim that I was successful in reaching the goals I set out before me. When I trainer asks me to do 15 repetitions, I wanted to do it. If he asks me to do 5 more, I'll do it, no questions asked, because the difference between 15 and 20 repetitions could be a huge benefit to me.

When you carry a wholesome attitude with you and apply yourself to each and every challenge, you cannot fail!

Week 3 - Realizing What Doesn't Work

I'm not a newbie to exercise in the gym. That much you know by now. However, my progress toward my goals would have been more steady had I known then what I know now. What are my goals? I guess I should try to quantify them as much as possible. Hey, I'm analytical by nature and I work in a numbers business, for what it's worth.

If I were to set goals, I could say the following:

• To lose 25 lbs by December 31st
• To lose 5% body fat by December 31st

But I don't know if they are reasonable goals .... Perhaps you, the reader, could provide some input and inspiration here.

In my space here this weekend I would like to give you the flip side - to provide you with a litany of advice to show you what won't work if I'm to make progress to my fitness goals. Now I'm not going to suggest that everything I've done in the past 7 years has been met with total failure. Actually, I've done a lot right, having lost 50 lbs since the age of 37.

Here is my top ten list of things that haven't worked:

1. Consuming too many foods rich in carbohydrates toward the end of the day. After a workout, it is important to eat a snack rich in proteins to repair muscle fibres.
2. Not performing my exercises with a full range of motion. If you don't carry out your repetitions utilizing a full range of motion from beginning of a rep to the end, you are likely only performing half of an exercise or less, and only receiving half the benefit.
3. Avoiding exercises on the body parts that are my "weak link." For example, my weak link, of course, are my legs. In the past I would place more emphasis on upper body exercise and cardio. I would get defensive about leg exercises because of the strain placed on other parts of the body. However, if I learn to do leg exercises safely, I can eliminate that fear.
4. Those exercise gadgets you find on the Home Shopping Club. Some of them are OK, but most of them are junk and a waste of money. There have been so many gadgets produced to work your abs that the advertisments have become tiresome and a clique. I have this large abdominal machine at home that is supposed to work my abs. Instead, it takes up too much space in my house because I can't fold it down and store it away. It makes a great drying rack for laundry, though.
5. Daydreaming between sets. I used to spend too much time at the gym reliving events at work. I learned to leave my work issues at work.
6. Spending too much time at the gym. When I didn't see results I would just put more time in at the gym. I shouldn't be a slave to the gym, as the gym is there to help me reach my personal goals.
7. Using exercise machines that could be unsafe for me. I have used the stairmaster because it made me sweat readily and because it is a tough workout; however, it started to place some unsafe strain my back. Eventually, I backed off on it, and now I'm not using it at all, for now anyway.
8. Staying with the same routine for too long. It is good to be patient with a workout routine, but how patient when you don't see results over time?
9. Not getting enough sleep the night before. When I was younger, I could get by on much less sleep. However, as I get older, ample rest between routines takes on greater importance. I find that when I don't sleep well the night before, my exercise routines are simply not very effective. I tend to lack the necessary intensity. I'm turning up the AC when I have to now.
10. Waiting sports on the TV at the gym. I have often caught myself easing up on the elliptical trainer to watch a critical 5 minute stretch of play during a hockey game. With the Blue Jays and the Leafs playing below expectations, I find myself caring less about them, so maybe this a good thing.

With the guidance provided by my trainer I'm learning better workout habits and looking forward to finally seeing results as I press on the next several months. Cheers to good health!

Week 2 - Getting the right form

Just completed my first full week of my new and exciting exercise program - Tuesday, Thursday and Friday night!

Personal stats:
Age: 45
Height: 5" 8.5'
Weight: 192 lbs (hey, my home scale says only 188 - what gives?)
Body fat - 35%

Have you ever heard of the saying "No pain, no gain?" In some respects I suppose it is true. Right now, I'm feeling muscle pain that I have never felt before. Whenever I sit down I feel it in my thighs and in my butt. The quads are probably one of the largest muscles in the body, so I'm expecting some great gains down the road ........ but patience, I need patience. Actually, it is not so much pain, as it is just an ache. It hurts only when I sit down.

I went to a store this afternoon where prices were slashed up to 80% off. Now, I really hate shopping and would rather make all of my purchases on the Internet if I had a choice. But my mother thought that I really needed new pants and finally convinced me to check out this warehouse clearance centre.

Well, I came and left pant-less ... I mean, I didn't buy any pants after all. The trip to the store was not in vain. I learned that I have now dropped from a size 42 to size 36 within one year. So what's the point in buying new pants? Especially when I continue to drop pant sizes.

Now, enough about being pant-less and more on the subject of muscle ache. It appears that the reason for the muscle ache is that under the patient guidance of my trainer at Good Life Fitness Club I'm finally learning proper form and technique in my exercise program. For years I was afraid to push myself in my leg exercises and for my other exercises my form and technique definitely needed work.

With a positive attitude and commitment I will develop better exercise form habits. Form is everything! If my form continues to be poor, I ask myself what's the point in dedicating myself to 3-4 nights a week at the gym? When form is effective, you can workout less and workout smarter.

Getting the right form in my exercise routine is similar to the level of dedication that a professional athlete must achieve in order to be the best in their chosen sport. For example, a baseball player must learn the mindset of constantly adjusting their form to be able to hit major league pitching. The little things like standing too far back in the batters box, holding the shoulders too high and even stance can greatly impact the batter's ability to hit the ball, not to mention their batting statistics.

The same is true of a person when they train at the gym. Not pulling the chest out, not looking up and not breathing properly can greatly impact their training success and goals, whatever they may be. I could also go on and list other faults. In some cases, bad form and technique can also lead to injury.

Parts of my legs, especially my feet, are numb due to paralysis as a result of being born with spina bifida. If I have bad form in my leg exercises I may never know. I won't feel much pain and that is rather scary.

So you see why form is sooooooooooo important. Now enough on form. I think I have beaten this baby to death - right?

Let's briefly talk about food choices before I close this week.

As mentioned, when it comes to working out, form is everything. But when it comes to everything you do from the moment you wake up in the morning to moment you go to sleep at night, the state of your diet is said to be 80% of you.

In other words, there is no point in working out at the gym if your diet is not where it should be. I know this well. I have experienced it. I lost my first 50 lbs by just exercising regularly and without any conscious effort on improving my diet. However, it has become apparent that if I'm to reach my desired weight, I have to pay more attention to my diet.

The reason for my weight being stuck in a long, long plateau could be two-fold: 1) Up until now, I haven't pushed myself hard enough on the weights and 2) I'm consuming the wrong nutritional food groups at the wrong time of the day. We more or less touched on the first reason earlier in this blog. Lets look at the second reason.

For some reason, I like to eat cold cereal for breakfast and then I also like to eat another bowl when I get home from my workout in the evening. Most cold cereals have high protein composition, which is good. Protein helps to build and repair muscles after workouts. However, cold cereals are also high in carbohydrates. Carbohydrates provide the body with energy to carry out the day's activities and demands. They are good in the morning for breakfast, but not necessarily as desirable in the evening in a snack. After all, why do you need the energy that carbohydrates provide the body when you are just winding down for the night?

Therefore, it was recommended to me that if I wanted a good choice for an evening snack that I try cottage cheese. It is an excellent source of protein and, as mentioned earlier, protein builds muscle fibers and repairs muscle strain after a workout. Personally, until last night, I had never eaten cottage cheese in my entire life, and I thought I would gag on it . It was recommended to me that I try the fruit bottom cottage cheese by Nordica. Well, when I ate some last night, I must confess that it tasted almost like fruit yogourt. You know, I can actually learn to like cottage cheese, just like a future good friend that was recommended to me but I shunned him or her because they weren't to my liking at the time.

Well, that's enough on food talk for today. I'm sure that I will talk more about food choices in the near future as I learn about them.

If you are interested in knowing, my choices of topics each week will be based on recurring themes that I encounter every week in my fitness journey and through knowledge passed on by my trainer.

Talk to you later!

Week 1 - Starting Over

This entry, almost two months from the last one, brings with it a message of rebirth for me.

After eight years of working out at the gym with essentially the same workout plan with some tweeking, I'm starting over. When I stepped into a gym for the first time, I was carrying around almost 250 lbs and my blood pressure was very, very high.

Since then, I have watched my weight drop almost 60 lbs and my blood pressure is now well within control. I still have some weight that I would like to take off, but I'm sure it will come off.

My new goal is to work on a new fitness plan to maintain my mobility as I age. I really believe that I cannot be of service to my friends and family unless I'm at my best. I'm at my best when my fitness level affords me the opportunity to help others in their times of need.

Am I going through a mid life crisis? Perhaps the tell-tale signs are there ... over 40, searching for youth ... But I firmly believe there is more potential for improvement in how my body functions. While most people living with the form of spina bifida I have are using wheelchairs and other walking aids to get around, I still am very functional. I no longer take that for granted and I see it as a gift from God. I want to take this gift and use it to improve the lives of others around me who live with physical disabilities. I'm still not sure how I want to do this, but my answer will come in time.

Perhaps my speaking and writing background will open a door for me some day.

This week I began a 16 week program with a personal trainer to help me achieve that increased mobility that will serve me well as I age. I don't fear aging, but I do fear having to watch my body debilitate. I want to rediscover some of the mobility that I had when I was in my 20's. I don't want to have to rely on a wheelchair and grow fat!!

Over the next 16 weeks I will use this space to take you through my workout plan as I rediscover my mobility, increase my strength, raise my stamina and hopefully shed some more pounds along the way. I hope that as I strengthen my core muscles, I can take some pressure off my joints.

My old workout plan was no longer serving me and this week I began working with my personal trainer on some new goals.

In my first session, he assessed my capabilities by taking me through some workout moves that I normally would have used in my time spent in the gym. I was encouraged by the fact that I seemed to manage everything that was expected of me.

During my second session that week, I acknowledged that my quadriceps were sore. I cannot ever recall a time when my legs developed muscle soreness. Usually when my legs were sore it was a form of joint soreness that was with me for days on end. It must have coem from the lunges and squats that were asked of me. In the past, I never bothered with lunges and squats because I didn't think I could do them properly. I was afraid I may hurt myself.

At the end of the week, I learned some valuable lessons:

1. I needed to raise my fitness plan to a new level if I was to realize my goal of increasing my mobility and strength.
2. There is some untapped potential for developing more strength in my legs.
3. If I was to be successful in reaching my goal, I had to learn to communicate effectively with my trainer.

Week 10 - Smelling the Roses

I've been on vacation the past two weeks and have not been updating my blog. The first week I took a bus trip to Florida and this week I spent the time around my home.

I traveled on my own by bus with a tour group down to Daytona Beach in Florida on May 30th until June 8th. When I told this to some people, they asked me two questions:
Why do you travel on your own?
Doesn't it cost more to travel single?
Why not fly instead of going by motorcoach? BTW - Americans call it a bus, and Canadians call it a motorcoach - interesting distinction.

I often travel on my own because I can see the sights at my own pace with less stress. Ultimately, I end up meeting and sharing time with many like-minded people who enjoy travel. Although I travel on my own, I'm always in the company of caring people who take me under their wings.

I really enjoy listening to people who tell stories about their lives in a time before my time. They are a source of inspiration to me!

In the past, I have paid the single supplement. I don't like it, but if you want to go somewhere, you just do it! When I went down to Florida, I was fortunate in that the single supplement was waived for the time I was down there.

Although travel by plane would have gotten me there faster, I believe that air travel is more stressful. Also, I believe that your vacation begins from the moment you step on the bus. It takes about 36 hours and 1,250 miles to travel from Toronto to Daytona Beach express, but during that you have the opportunity to experience many interesting sights that you wouldn't have experienced by plane.

• I ate a southern style breakfast at a roadside restaurant in Georgia that was fit for a king (I apologize for the cliche). Eggs over easy, coffee, bacon, grits and biscuits. It is not everyday that you experience a breakfast like this, unless you live in the southern states year round.
• I saw the skyscrapers lit up at night in Atlanta, Georgia as the bus drove through the city.
• I saw the rolling hills of Ohio Valley as we traveled past Cincinati into Kentucky.
• I saw a chapel for truckers by a roadside stop.
• I saw a beautiful peacock in a tree
• I saw a magnificent thunderstorm in Ohio that was short-lived, but left a beautiful rainbow.
• I saw some dolphins in the Atlantic ocean.
• I saw a gorgeous sunrise and sunset while walking on the beach.
• I watched some pelicans fly over the top of the hotel where I stayed.
• I witnessed some little tiny lizards race across from one garden, across the pavement to another garden.

Priceless!!!

You may wonder what this all has to do with fitness .... probably not much. However, in the midst of all of your busyness, when you take the time to smell the roses and experience new sights, you have the potential to reduce your stress level and improve your health.

When I came back from the trip, I had actually lost 3 lbs, despite eating larger meals than that to which I'm accustomed.

It is surprising how many people that I talk to say that they haven't had a vacation in years, even a mini-vacation. They say, we'll do it when we have more money or when the time is right. When is more money actually enough and when is the time right? Can we measure these goals? When we reach these goals we automatically set new ones and try to chase those ones. Our ultimate happiness depends on whether or not we reach specific goals. When we do that, our happiness in life becomes an elusive concept. We'll never be happy!!

I'm not saying that we shouldn't set goals for ourselves; on the contrary, we need to set attainable goals for ourselves to lead ourselves outside of our comfort zones. But if we set conditions to making ourselves deserving of the things that make us "happy" and joyful, we'll never experience what it means to be truly happy and content. When you are content, you raise the vale of stress off your shoulders. You live in the moment. Nothing will burst your bubble.

Why not take the time now to experience what life has to offer now. It doesn't have to cost the price of a trip to Daytona Beach. Although we are told that if we look after our fitness and watch our diet we may improve our chances of living a healthy, long life.

Yet, even with that, there are no guarantees. I don't mean to sound like I'm being negative, but this is the absolute truth. Our health can still deteriorate with almost no warning, severely compromising our quality of life.

As for me, I don't expect the state of my own health to be challenged anytime soon. However, as I age, I have come to terms with the fact that I just don't have the stamina that I once had when I was 25. I'm also feeling some loss of sensation in my legs that was there when I was 25.

Today I had a good day. Tomorrow may not be as good. Yet, I still believe in my mind that everyday is a good day! My prescription I offer to you is to take the time to smell the roses, and get out there and experience all that life has to offer. Live your life to the fullest!

I'm 45 now, but when I was 25 I honestly didn't believe that I would have the physical ability to get around and enjoy the life that I'm enjoying now!! I'm not going to squander that time that I'm given by God. The time we're allowed is a gift from God. Don't waste it!

Week 9 - Giving Can Improve Your Health

I recall somewhat vaguely when I was a child that I emptied a piggy bank that contained around $7. Then my mother took me with her on a long bus ride to the CFTO TV studios in the Scarborough area. There was no Scarborough SRT back then and the journey seemed to take forever to a wasteland where a TV studio was a located that seemed like Hollywood to me then.

On the outside, the studio seemed isolated and lifeless, but when we finally went inside we were met with the excitement of cameras moving around the floor with local celebrities running around constantly waving microphones around the room and talking very enthusiastically. Celebrities with loud jackets, wide ties and long sideburns that were the rage back then. You had to be very careful about where you stepped, because of a mess of camera cords and cables dragging around the floor.

It was certainly a rough and tumble existence running a 1971 TV telethon to raise funds for children with disabilities. I'm sure today the TV sets must be a lot more organized and high-tech. However, I was in awe of the celebrities that I brushed shoulders with .... Uncle Bobby and other entertainers that I could identify with as a 7 year old growing up in those days. They were like Hollywood stars to me in my little world, but they were just local people who happened to connect with children.

As a tall celebrity kneeled down to my level so that he could chat with me and take my $7 in change, I felt unbelievably nervous. There were TV cameras focused on me. I wanted to say something, but I was too shy.

This was my first time ever on TV and I didn't know what to say to the people. In reality, I probably didn't have to say anything. A had my 15 minutes of fame, as Andy Warhol once alluded to. A picture says a thousand words. When people watching TV saw my face and could see the progress I made and the hurdles I overcame, they knew the money was being put to good use.

Not only was this moment my first time on TV, but it was also the first time I ever donated anything to anyone. I realized in my own way the importance of giving to others.

For a moment, forget about doing all you can about eating right and exercising your body until you feel the burn. You can do all of these and still not improve your health, at least your mental health.

But when you make that decision to give of your time or your monetary resources to a worthwhile cause, you change your health in a different way. You reduce your stress level and you begin to feel a sense of doing something right for others in need. This results in a positive outlook that makes you feel good about yourself. Giving of ourselves to others whether it be monetarily or by giving of your time in terms of your health benefits is as important as eating and exercising right.

Many people in this hectic world find it hard to find time to volunteer to assist with a worthy cause. This is understandable. However, the time contribution and the monetary contribution don't have to be significant to benefit others.

Here is a brief list of some of my own contributions:
- I sponsor a young girl in Africa through World Vision
- I give contributions to Sick Kids Hospital
- When I can, I mentor people with their job search skills after they are rehabilitating from spinal cord injury.
- I serve as a member of two Toastmasters clubs because I believe in the importance of helping others improve their communication skills.
- In my department at work, I represent and fundraise for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Remember, when you reach out to help others, you are also helping yourself!

Week 8 - Keeping Your Sights On the Big Picture

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who had to walk to a castle to run an errand for his wife. This was to be the first time he would visit this castle. Between his home and the castle there was a large forest in his path.

He was quite confident that he would be able to reach the castle fairly quickly. However, as the forest became more and more dense and the paths multiplied, he quickly became confused. He tried different paths that led to nowhere and became frustrated.

Another man walking in the opposite direction noticed that he was troubled, but presented him with a map and explained to him that there was a star shining atop the castle that could be seen through the dense forest. Sure enough when the wise man looked up, he saw a light through the leaves of the trees. When he took the time to examine the situation and follow the star, he eventually found his way out of the forest and found the castle.

Is there a moral to this story? Certainly! Sometimes when we set goals for ourselves, we can often get discouraged by the "small stuff." The small stuff could be events that may prevent us from reaching our goals. Even when life gets in the way, we must examine our goals in light of the big picture. Sometimes it is inevitable that we will face some adversity when we are pursuing a worthwhile goal.

Of course, as you know from my past blog postings, one of my goals is (or was) to lose 30 lbs by the end of July. To reach my goal, I have to be more careful about my diet and secondly, I need to try to get to the gym 3-4 times a week for cardiovascular and resistance training.

In a perfect week, I can usually accomplish all of this. But how often does one have a "perfect week?" Sometimes other "stuff" happens that may, if we let it, derail us from our goals and plans.

For example, a few weekends ago, I attended and volunteered my services at our Toastmasters Spring Conference. To clear my schedule for the weekend, I had to run some errands during the week after work that I normally would have been able to do on the weekend. This left less time for me to go the gym. That week I could only find time to go to the gym once that week.

At first, I stressed over this; however, I realized that I was silly to let this bother me. This was a very minor roadblock in my way to reaching my fitness goal. I needed to look at the bigger picture in terms of reaching my goals.

By missing the mark on 3-4 visits to the gym that week, in terms of the big picture, I actually improved my mental and physical fitness level in several ways:
1) I was able to give my limbs some well-needed rest
2) I was able to get some well-needed sleep
3) I was able to take the time to relax and develop some new friendships and chat with some friends on Facebook. I improved my mental fitness and self-esteem which contributed in gains in my goals in ways unimagined previously.

Overall, by taking the time to take a step back and rest, I was able to improve my fitness level. I was also able to discover that my resting heart rate is around 56 beats per minute, which I measured when I was lying in bed about to rise for the day. BTW - I think 56 is pretty good - don't you? :)

Up until then, I never knew my resting heart rate. I always knew my maximum heart rate and that I could get my heart rate up to 150 bpm for 30 minutes at a time if I had to while on the elliptical trainer. I've heard from fitness professionals that your resting heart rate tells you more about the state of your health than your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate can always be inflated through the consumption of coffee and other products with caffeine. Ha Ha!! I do that sometimes.

In achieving your goals, just remember that sometimes that your pursuit of goals that you have formulated with the best intentions can and will be derailed. It is only a matter of "when". However, when you keep your sights on the big picture and the end result, you don't need to let yourself become discouraged.

Just keep peddling and stay the course! Eventually you'll make it to the finish line.

Week 7 - Pain!!!

Well .... I'm back. I'm trying really hard to make sure this is a weekly blog. However, last weekend I attended a Toastmasters conference where there was a whole bunch of really inspiring people who left me really pumped by the end of the weekend. Unfortunately, I was too tired to focus on writing an article for my blog.

This leads me to my main goal in life: To become inspired by others and then go out, in turn, and inspire others with whom I have contact (if I misused the use of "whom" here, please write to let me know. I'm trying to sound more erudite than I really am. I'm actually quite a down-to-earth guy.)

When I write my blog, it is usually far too late at night and I need to keep pumped. As I write this, I'm playing a selection from my iTunes library playing called "Chains of Love" by Erasure. A great song for power walkers and runners alike.

By responding back, it tells me two things: 1) That you actually read my blog and 2) That you think I actually have something well worth saying. My intent in this blog is to inspire people to greatness, because I feel really blessed!!!

The subject of my ramble today is PAIN!!!

PAIN is something we all experience at some point in our lives, and if you have never felt physical pain in your life, you're probably not human! I face pain of some kind every day, but it is in various degrees.

For me, traditionally I feel the effects of arthritis in my lower back or legs twice a year - in the spring and in the fall months. It is usually much worse in spring. About ten years I used to have pain in my knees that would last weeks! I lost a lot of sleep and then had trouble concentrating on my work during the day.

Then the pain went away in my knees. Now, for the first time this year during the spring, I began feeling it in my lower back at the base of my spine. I just got back from a walk to Tim Horton's for a coffee and the night air can make the pain even worse.

Let the truth be told, I live with pain everyday, but when I compare myself to others living with challenges, I'm indeed blessed.

Now enough of my pitiful story of pain .... I want to share with you how I'm rising above the pain. Below is my quick list of how I do it:

1) Develop a high threshold for pain - keep it in perspective
2) Keep moving!! Join a fitness club and keep walking
3) Think like an athlete - tell people you are "training" not "exercising"
4) Enjoy your successes
5) Belief in a higher power - I'm sure you're waiting for this

In a previous blog I mentioned some methods for relieving some pain such as massage therapy and chiropractic. Again, I have found some great success in massage therapy. However, the above four items have helped me to manage PAIN and keep it in check before I have eventually have to book an appointment with my RMT.

Keep Pain in Perspective
My pain maybe worse than that of the guy walking next to me, but my pain may not be as bad as that of the guy walking on the other side of me. I just can't find the time to dwell on it. I once read about a girl who, like me was born with spina bifida. She wrote proudly about how she wrote a document that explained her disability in detail and the pain she experienced every day. When she visited different doctors, instead of having to verbally explain her dilemma over and over, she would just hand this document to them and let them read it. Honestly, I understand, totally.

Now I don't know what you think, but I have to honestly say that I don't have time for these types of people. Not only do I not have the time to write such a document, but doing so only makes me focus too much on me. I really want to help others and thereby transfer the focus away from my situation. What also helps me is that fact that, in terms of research, not much is known about how about someone in their 40's should live with spina bifida. I'm glad I don't know. I may act that way.

Keep Moving
Even the staff at my local fitness club are getting tired of seeing me. They kid me when they say, "Oh, you again?!" I make fitness fun! My trusty iPod is sometimes my best friend. When you keep moving and do anything to keep moving, you can actually alleviate pain. It's true! Some people believe that walking only makes arthritis worse. Actually, the opposite is true.

Think Like an Athlete
When you tell yourself you are training to gain more muscle or to lose weight, it puts a whole new spin on your efforts. When you think like an "exerciser," the process seems so finite, but when you think like an "athlete" and sit consistent goals, the process takes on a longer term and you begin to settle into it and relax more.

Enjoy Your Successes

• Some pain after your workout can mean that you put your muscles under an appropriate amount of tension to allow you to know that you exercised appropriately. Enjoy a nice meal at a restaurant, but don't go overboard with the portion sizes.
• When the pain is too much, whether it be from an injury or just from muscle tension, step back and give yourself a much needed break. Enjoy the break.

Belief in a Higher Power

Now for my final reason why I have the strength overcome pain. It is one that I have a hard time articulating and one that I don't tell everyone: My belief in a higher power.

I wouldn't call myself a "religious" person. I attend church services weekly and I try to put into practice every day my Christian life, but I'm not perfect. I don't even read the Bible every day. I'm just one of the guys! The difference, is that about 20 years ago I began doing everything for the glory of God. Jeff Brown 1 didn't realize how blessed he was. He was not realizing his potential and lacked confidence in himself. Jeff Brown 2 began to look beyond himself to others who needed guidance. JB2 realized that he had the gift to write and tell his story to inspire others who are less fortunate. To that, I'm eternally grateful.

Having that belief in God has helped me to overcome adversity, look beyond myself, and look more closely at my values. Pain is only temporary.

Week 6 - Goal Setting

I have taken a two month break from writing this blog. The break, however, was not intended. The Gym Rat hit a brick wall and began wallowing in apathy over his fitness goals. The Gym Rat became discouraged but never gave up. He kept on track, but he just stopped writing. After all, who would ever read my silly little blog.

The truth is, I didn't take the time to carefully construct my fitness goal. As you may notice in my right side bar, I want to lose 30 lbs by the end of July. So far, I have only lost 3 lbs. It appears that I have done a great job of maintaining my weight.

In thinking back when I began this blog, I probably didn't think carefully about my fitness goal.
When you set your goal, whether it be to lose weight or lose a few notches on the ol' belt or do 100 consecutive push ups, you must first take a step back and determine your "fitness mission."

Determining your fitness mission can be answered by asking yourself the question, "Why do I want to lose weight?, or why do I want to lose a few notches on my belt?, etc.

Once you've clearly stated why you want to reach a goal (your objective) then the process of reaching the goal becomes more clear. You will then have a purpose.

In my case, my mission is to be able to remain mobile while into my middle to senior years. I'm motivated by images of others around me. When I was at a movie theatre recently, I saw a very over-weight man sitting in a wheelchair. I didn't really know the circumstances of how he became overweight. I can't judge him on this; however, I do know I didn't want to look like this when I reached his age. I want to remain mobile and vibrant as long as possible. I even find myself moving away from friends who were negative-minded and didn't live a healthy lifestyle. If you associate too much with them, you will become much like them if you don't watch it!

With my fitness mission being to remain mobile as long as I can in life, I need to revise my goal. How do I intend to remain mobile? I will remain mobile by going to the gym 3-4 times a week and walking about one hour over each weekend. This will be my fitness goal.

Forget my weight loss goal! There is a lot here that is not within my control. I was not obese when I began writing my blog. I probably only need to lose another 20 lbs to be satisfied. When I put on muscle when I workout, my weight will tend to go up, but that's OK. It is better than gaining fat.

Set up your fitness goals to allow you to succeed, not fail, although they must be challenging. With a demanding job and other committments, sometimes it is challenging enough to workout 4 days a week. This is my goal: To work out consistently week to week and to stay active.

You will never see staying glued to the TV. I will strive to associate myself with others who enjoy staying active.

To recap:
Step 1: Write your fitness mission - What do you want to achieve and why?
Step 2: Write your fitness goal(s) - How will you achieve your mission?
Step 3: Review your mission and goals to ensure that they are achievable.

Make sure your goals are SMART
I'm interested in hearing about your own fitness mission and goals. Let's learn from and inspire each other!

Week 5 - A Complete Wellness Program

Last week I spoke about the importance of incorporating a proper nutritional program with my workouts at the gym. I'm no hardcore Mr. Atlas workout guy, and I don't drink that yucky powder stuff at the gym to enhance my muscles. I just keep it simple.

Yet, I am realizing that watching my nutrition and ensuring I get to the gym 3-4 times a week is still not enough to look after myself and maintain the appearance of wellness to others.

I know that there is still not a large body of knowledge out there to help guide people living with spina bifida who are in their 30's, 40's and beyond. We want to know more about managing ourselves as we are approaching the middle-age years. We want to maintain that sense of wellness. For those of us living with spina bifida, we, admittedly must limit ourselves to the physical tasks that don't compromise our current fitness levels. We can't torture our bodies, like those who huff and puff to no end at the gym. No more stairmaster at the gym for me, even though I walked at very low intensity. The pressure on my limbs is not worth it. Research studies to create a body of knowledge for health professionals who are studying spina bifida has been in progress with a few years now, but it is still a work-in-progress. I know, I was a participant in one of the studies last spring.

Until the day when we know more, I get frustrated when I ask a question, such as "what should I do when I begin to feel soreness in my lower back and numbness in my right foot, the epicentre where much of my scar tissue is located?" There does not appear to be an answer. Nobody knows for sure. Someone who has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair may not feel this same soreness in the lower back. I'm very, very active for someone living with spina bifida. I would love to keep it that way until I reach my golden years (70's and beyond). Hopefully, God willing, I will get there.

What should I do?

1. Just ignore and move on? I'm getting older, I'm just happy to be alive.
2. Or look for a solution, if it is out there.

I like to look for answers. It is actually very intriguing to search for answers to questions on my mind. By nature, I'm a sponge. I love to read books, surf the internet and talk to people to research questions. I actually make it into a game. When I finally have enough information to answer a question, I finally take some sort of action. I don't do anything in haste, especially when it has to do with my health.

I talk about this thirst for knowledge that I have acquired in light of a third element to a sound wellness program (the 1st being exercise and 2nd being nutrition). The 3rd element is the decision of whether or not to make use of the services of a chiropractor or a massage therapist.

As mentioned, I have developed more numbness in my right foot and some minor soreness in my lower back. I feel that I should do something to see what I can do to keep in under control.

Chiropractic will involve taking my body out of alignment and putting it back together. It is kind of like taking apart a computer and rebuilding it. I've learned from my discussions with others in the health community that a chiropractor will not have anything to do with my situation. My bone structure is different from others who don't have spina bifida and Chiropractors would rather not deal with it. Understandable.

From the facts I've gathered, massage therapy is a more feasible option. It is less invasive, and although there is no proof that it will work in the long run, it is worth a try. So I will consider massage therapy as an option, although there may be other options to investigate. I just don't what those options are yet.

I want to leave you with a lesson. Don't automatically accept the choices you've given when you face a certain dilemma. Ultimately, you may have no other choice but to accept the situation you face or what people tell you. However, don't give up until you've done exhaustive research.

In the end, no matter what, knowledge is power, and you can happily pass on that knowledge to others who are traveling down that same road seeking answers to the same questions.

Week 4 - Doing Without

When economic times are on shaky ground, as they are now, the media tells about the importance of scaling back. For example do without purchasing large ticket items and do without major career changes.

Part of "doing without" may also extend to your food intake, as part of your fitness plan. If you want to make progress in your plan (ie. lose weight, build muscle) in order to feel good, you must be willing to sacrifice. Sacrifice your time that would have been spent doing something else that you would rather do and replace it with time at the gym, or sacrifice a food item that you enjoyed but works against your fitness plan.

For the past few weeks, I kept a journal of all the meals I ate during the day. Upon review of my journal, I discovered that I was eating a lot of bread products - a toasted bagel in the morning, a submarine sandwich at noon, and some more bread with my meal at dinner. I heard someone say on a podcast that I listen to that they wanted to give up some of their bread in order to keep their diet in check.

For the past 10 days I, too, decided to cut down my bread intake.

The results have been surprising. At the beginning of January, I weighed in at 200 lbs. I'm now at 193 lbs. Day to day, my body weight doesn't fluctuate nearly as much and I have increased energy. I don't get so tired at the end of the day.

Not all carbohydrates are created equally. Whole grain bread is better than white bread. If I ate bread in the morning, I would decide not to eat bread at lunch or dinner. In this case, I would have two slices of probiotic bread with fruit jam and have a salad at lunch. If I decided to eat a sandwich at lunch, I would not eat bread at breakfast or dinner.

Of course, an effective nutritional plan will go beyond just the decision of which carbohydrates one should take into their body, but this is a start!

After 7 years of exercise at the local gym, I have finally realized that one's fitness level goes beyond how many pounds one can lift. In March 2001 when I joined a gym for the first time, I weighed around 240 lbs. I eventually brought my weight down to 200 lbs by just lifting weights and not really caring much about nutrition.

After I turned 40, I became frustrated. No matter what I did, the bathroom weight scale didn't budge. The only way to lose weight safely in the long run is to combine proper nutrition with a challenging exercise program. You must be willing to do without and sacrifice something else if you really want to achieve any fitness goal, such as weight loss.

Week 3 - Different Strokes for Different Folks

Dear reader, as the above cartoon suggests, I guess I've always been different from others. due to my "so called" physical limitations I couldn't compete in school sports, I spent a lot of time in hospital as a teenager and refused to go to my school prom because the only footwear I had available to wear was a pair of old work boots. Actually, this worked out fine because back in the 80's every guy was wearing them and I fit in!

As I approach week 4 of my wellness journey, I must confess two things. First, I painfully admit that the scale dropped 5 lbs right after Christmas, but it hasn't budged since. The good news, though, is that I haven't gained. Secondly, I'm not a gym rat!

When I go to the gym, I've noticed that the same people are there all the time. They are there when I arrive and they are still there when I leave. Wow, that's dedication!! They are the true gym rats.

Actually, I've been called a gym rat by those who don't exercise and don't care about what they put in their mouths. I guess, you might say, compared to them, I am a gym rat. I strive to get to the gym about 3-4 times a week. Most of the time, I'm successful, and the odd time I'm not. I tend to be most happy when I can get 45 minutes on the elliptical trainer and become one with myself with my rock and roll party in my ears. I suppose it is all relative.

During the past week, it has become more evident to me that sometimes it is not the fact that we reach our destination that matters but it is the journey that brings the most joy. I want to lose 30 lbs by the end of July, but whether or not I reach that goal really doesn't matter. What matters more is whether or not I have learned an important lesson about life or myself. I believe that is the real reason why we challenge ourselves with some physical pursuits. Now, it would be nice if I could build washboard abdomenals. I may attract more girls, but is it realistic for me to say that I will have washboard abs? Maybe not at my age. I would prefer to enjoy the journey of getting to my goal of losing 30 lbs someday.

The good thing about achieving a certain fitness level is that there appears to be many ways to get there. I recall the song by Sly and the Family Stone, where the girl belts out "Different Strokes for Different Folks ....... " The same is true of working toward a fitness goal, whatever it is. There are different ways of getting there.

• You can do more cardio and lift less weight if you want and it works for you.
• If you are physically challenged from the waist down, you can emphasize weight training on our core muscles. It doesn't matter.
• You can workout in the morning instead of the noon hour or evening.
• You can workout at home instead of the exercise club.
• You can ride the bike on a light or much harder tension.
• You can talk to your friends while you workout or you can shut up and keep quiet.
• You can do your cardio work before your weights

The bottom line is that despite all the books you read or the podcasts you listen to, it really doesn't matter. Whatever works for you is most important. After all, you're going to be in it for the long haul so you might as well make sure you are doing something that works with your schedule and you are comfortable with it.

In terms of my own workout plan, with the passing of the new year, it is undergoing some change at the moment. I haven't been happy with my results over the last few months, so I have to change it up a bit. I strong urge that you constantly tweek your exercise routine to keep it interesting.

I always to strive for a mix of weight lifting, cardio and stretching. I have recently started to get into my 30-45 minute cardio first, followed by stretching and then weight lifting. I find that cardio is a great way to warm up the muscles and make them more pliable for what follows and it helps me to get my blood flowing. I found that I was hurting myself when I would just jumping into stretches followed by weightlifting. You may be different.

I tend to place less emphasis on weight training for my lower body, although I try to do enough to at least get some benefit. My lower back is the epicentre of my physical challenge and have to guard it and my legs carefully.

I workout out in the evening after work because the gym is less crowded and it is a great way to get rid of stress. Ideally, it is probably better to workout first thing in the morning, but we all have different schedules.

Anyway, the point I want to convey is that there are many ways to become fit. Follow a plan that is fun, convenient and will motivate you to build on your successes.

Week 2 - The Choices We Make

This first full work week of 2009 was a tough one. With work deadlines on the horizon and life just generally getting in the way, I managed to get to the gym, but I really rushed my workouts. Sometimes that happens. It's just part of the journey, and I have learned the importance of savouring the journey as much as the end result.

When I was too tired at the end of the day to really want to go to the fitness club, I was faced with two choices:

• Choice #1 - I could skip the workout. I'm tired, and I will go on another night when I have more time.
• Choice #2 - I will have my workout regardless of how tired I am and how late it is, just so that I maintain my commitment to myself.

Ultimately, two out of three times this week that I worked out I chose #2. Yes, I was rushed and I didn't do all that I intended. However, I still felt much better mentally and physically then if I didn't go at all. I felt a sense of accomplishment beyond my work responsibilities.

While I was exercising on the elliptical trainer the other night, something occurred to me. You may not think of it as earth shattering or anything new, but it just hit me on the side of the head. From the moment we awake in the morning until we finally retire for the night, the things we do and the things we say are dependent on the choices that are put before us. Choices are strung together and placed before us to act upon.

We take for granted some of the choices we make, while others are made over time.

Here are some examples:

1. Do I get up to go to work at 7:30 in the morning or do I sleep in and play "hookey?"
2. Do I eat a nutritious breakfast or do I skip it and grab a muffin and a coffee at work?
3. Do I take the long route or the short route to work?
4. Do I go to my regular Monday morning meeting or do I skip it and catch up on my paperwork?
5. Do I plan to take some work-related courses or do I forget it and obtain the knowledge through some other means?
6. Do I eat lunch or do I skip it and work through my lunch hour?
7. Do I work late and finish up a project or do I leave earlier and go to the gym?

As I'm one day shy of my 45th birthday, I reflect upon many of the choices I made for myself over the years. Some were good, while others I would rather have back.

Earlier this week, I was invited over to a work colleague's home for dinner. Somehow, I happened to mention that, as a child growing up, I had done very well, despite the adversity I faced with overcoming spina bifida. Back then, I recall facing many choices that seemed routine for me at the time. For example, will I push myself to try to excel in a school subject even though I had a history of performing below average? Of course, I chose to make the effort to keep trying until I got it right. It seems harder to make choices like these now that I'm approaching middle age. It seems to take more effort.

I went on to say that I have made some choices that I would rather have back, such as those related to my actions in managing my career. Just over ten years ago, I was laid off from my job and decided to retrain as a management trainee for a bank manager's position. At the time, I made this choice as I felt I was a good candidate for the role. I had a genuine interest in the affairs of others, I was interested in learning more about investments and it seemed at the time to be a natural progression in my work history. Within six months, I began to hate the job with the stress of dealing with difficult clients and having to sell products and services to the customers. Ultimately, I resigned and looked for a better fit elsewhere.

Certainly, the choice I made to pursue the bank manager position was not a good one. I had not spent enough time to really know myself and my career interests. However, ironically, you might say that through the choice I made, I ended up learning more about myself than had I not worked at the branch. Sometimes when you commit to a choice, whether or not you do something is out of your control.

Sometimes you have to live with yourself. You have to be willing to live with certain choices and the values that you feel are important. For example, if I'm going to progress in my career, I'm going to do it while balancing my work and personal life pursuits. Also, I'm going to act with integrity, and not harm others in my path.

Down the road, I made, what I consider, good choices when I joined TD Bank and learned to develop my public speaking and leadership skills through Toastmasters. Through TD, I managed to rebuild my career and through Toastmasters I regained the much needed confidence to manage my career.

This blog is written in the context of my confessions as a Gym Rat. As a Gym Rat, I make similar types of choices:

1. Will I set out a plan for exercising specific muscles on certain days of the week, or will I just "wing it" and do what feels good at the time? Planning out your exercise program is important if you want to seek weight loss and overall improvement in your fitness level, as I do.
2. Will I remain committed to my progress the moment I step through the doors of the club or will I chat up the girl at the front desk and stand around the water cooler playing my iPod? You know why you put out the big bucks in the first place when you joined the club.
3. Will I try to challenge myself by gradually lifting more weight (within reason) and raising my heart rate so that I will realize benefits from the time I spend at the club? If you don't challenge yourself, you are wasting your time.

Of course, there are many other choices that I make about my fitness program and nutrition matters.

As I leave you this week, there is a very important lesson to remember. No matter how large or small, the life choices you make today will impact the long-term state of your health. That is a fact! You cannot dispute it!

When confronted with a choice that you feel may impact your health, take the time to assess your options. You may not be able to undo the results of some of your choices.

Happy trails!

Week 1 - First session of 2009

I generally go to my exercise club every other day. If you want to make me miss my workout day, you better have a good excuse. Christmas day is a legitimate excuse for missing my workout. It seems that this is the only day of the year that the fitness clubs are closed.

On weekends, I try to workout in the morning and I generally extend out my workout to the 2 hour format. Why? Because I have more time. Today, I didn't get to the club until 3:30, partly because I was a bit lazy. During the work week, I generally don't check in until after work, which could be 7 or 8 pm. I usually work out for 1.5 hours. I'm not a morning person, and working out before work is difficult because the downtown club is far from where I live.

Now read carefully, here are two keys if you want to remain loyal to your exercise program resolution in six weeks:

• Purchase a club membership plan that allows you the flexibility to go to more than club location under the same membership. A platinum membership, as opposed to the regular membership, should provide that flexibility. This allows you to go to a club near your home on the weekends and go to another club in the chain near where you work during the day.
• Rent a locker at one of those clubs (preferably the club near your workplace) to leave your change of exercise wear (i.e. your running shoes, gym shorts, t-shirt, water bottle, etc.) If you are like me, lugging your gym clothes in addition to your office work back and forth to your workplace can be a real drag sometimes.

Today was chest and back day. For yourself, try to schedule 3-4 days a week at the gym and work on two body parts each visit.

Folks, it gets harder every year. With each passing year, I get more and more sore, but as I try to tolerate the pain, it is hard to ignore that I have a left hip that seems to want to go out more than I do. I can really relate to a cat's life. They really do have nine lives. Every year, when I think this will be my last year being able to walk, I seem to be able to rise above the ashes and find a way to get it done.

iPods and cardio machines just seem to go together - like salt and pepper. Cardiovascular exercise (i.e. treadmill, stepper, stair master, elliptical) is the first critical component of any exercise program. The others are resistance with weights and flexibility with stretching. I'll talk more about these components in future posts.

For me, cardio is fun!!! I can engage in my classic rock music party in my head while watching TV and get a fantastic rush of adrenaline from raising my heart rate. I usually try to do 45 minutes of cardio on the weekends and 30 minutes during the week.

I don't usually go crazy when I do my cardio exercise. I only try to reach the level of slight exertion. In a future post, I will explain what I mean by slight exertion and how to calculate your correct heart rate given your age.

Yes, I agree. Cardio can be really boring. I believe that is why God created the inspiration for the iPod (yes, He created everything); He wants us to take care of our health, so he gave us a good friend, courtesy of Apple. While I do my cardio, often many thoughts pop into my head. I enjoy writing and I usually use the time to think of topic ideas.

Today, I was watching a sports channel while I was pumping on the elliptical. It was a darts championship game. With no offense to people who like playing darts, I can't believe that the networks have the audacity to call this pastime a sport. Middle-aged men sporting boilers that expand a yard beyond their belt lines fire darts with a look of intense concentration on their faces. There seems to be a lack of drama in the course of a game of darts, except when the camera focuses in on the "athlete" while a bead of sweat trickles over his furrowed brow during a moment of intense concentration. The commentary speaks in a low voice, so as not to disturb the athlete's concentration.

I'm thinking there has got to be a way to make this more exciting. Perhaps the event organizers could arrange to have human decoys walk back and forth in front of the dartboards while play is going on. It would add an element of risk to the sport, wouldn't it? The same with cardio exercise. Listening to music on my iPod makes the effort more fun and pleasurable, even when I don't want to do it.

After 45 minutes of cardio, I proceeded to the mat and did some light stretching to heat up my muscles to make them more pliable so that they can handle the weight and bending I will be imposing on them shortly.

The third component is resistance exercise. As I mentioned earlier, today was chest and back day. I methodically work through about 3 sets of 12 repetitions at each machine. Generally, I try to use up to two different machines for my chest plus push-ups on the mat and up to three machines to work my back.

I'm quite happy with my chest exercises. I feel that I can go to the outer limit there. However, I will have to be more careful with back exercises because of the close proximity to my spine. When you are on a roll, it is so easy to get careless and want to lift too much weight. For my back exercises, doing it slowly with less weight is very important. Proper form is very important. I'm still learning that.

In future posts in my blog, I will give you a glimpse of my confessions of what it is like to be a gym rat. I'll share my successes, my frustrations and my random thoughts that have nothing at all to do with improving one's fitness level ... and when I can get over my cravings for Tim Horton's cookies, I will reveal what I'm learning about nutrition.

So Why do I Exercise?

I needed a challenge in my life. I was unhappy with myself and always felt tired. My self-esteem was starting to take a beating as well.

Being born with spina bifida, a birth defect that resulted in paralysis of my lower spine and my legs, one could easily understand the tiredness. However, growing up, I was always fairly active compared to others born with the same disability. Many others resort to solving their mobility issues by using a wheelchair. I only needed to use a wheelchair when I had leg surgery as a teenager.

If you knew me personally, I guess you might say that I was already a fairly successful person, if you choose to measure success by the standards of the secular world. I approached life with a "can-do" attitude. I would tell you that my best quality is that I'm stubborn by nature, while others would cut me some slack and tell me I'm "strong-willed."

Yet, as I approached my mid-thirties, with working long hours, the calories were piling up, and the meals were coming later and later in the day for me. My family doctor began to wave a red flag in my face. At 37 years old and 5"8' my weight crept up to almost 240 lbs. and I began taking high blood medication. My metabolism was slowing down and I would need to work harder to feel good about myself.

During the spring of 2001, I finally decided to take a tour of a health club in the downtown area. I always thought that health clubs were meant for the rich and famous (e.g. movie stars such Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt). While touring the club, I began to realize that I could walk on a treadmill if I really wanted to. The members of this club looked happy. Some appeared to look fit, but not all of them. I wanted this life. I wanted to drink from this fountain of youth. So I put down my $40 a month and joined the club.

Here I am now today. 50 lbs lighter. My blood pressure now well in control and taking half the dosage. Stronger. More muscle. More confident. More stamina.

In spite of all of that, I still would like to shed 30 lbs more to get where I should be according to the weight tables in the medical literature.

And that is the purpose of my blog ... to check in with you hopefully weekly to inform you of my progress toward my goal of losing the final 30 lbs. Through my random thoughts, it is my hope that I can inspire you to improve your own health or achieve some other goal that holds meaning to you.

I'll check in with you and share with you what is on my mind in the course of my weight loss or health improvement journey, whatever you want to call it. I also hope to bring a sense of humour to the task at hand.