The First Page

There are many times when I sit in my office and wonder why my body looks somewhat plain. I think about my eating habits and yes occasionally better choices could be made. I've done body fat assessments and its around 13%. Not bad. But why aren't my arms more defined and why do I still have these love handles?



Lets look at my strength program. There really isn't much program to it. Until 3 weeks ago that is. I decided I was going to start a very basic program.



My problem is I can write programs for others and implement them. But when I write one for myself, I get to doing it and I always seem to change it up just a little bit because I think to myself, this is a good follow up to that exercise. But I always forget the goal. My goal is to gain weight. There are certain formats and programs that work better for that than others. Just as there is to losing weight.



So I am starting what is called Turbulence Training. It is a format designed by a strength and conditioning specialist in Toronto named Craig Ballentyne. What I like so much about it is that his formats and ideas are backed up by research. He then implements his knowledge into his training programs. http://www.turbulencetraining.com/.


That is what is missing with personal trainers. I hate that word because it comes with such a stigma and stereotype. Lets face it, stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason. If you've seen the movie "Dodgeball" you know what i'm talking about. It portray's trainers as people who live in the gym and live to be in the gym to simply look good. That is probably why I prefer the title given to me by my certification: Strength & Conditioning Specialist. As a CSCS, each program has a goal and each program is designed with that goal in mind.



As we come full circle, I forgot the most important part of programming for myself: goals. What are my goals? I'd like to be faster for sports, be able to run a 5k without stopping, be able to sit in a car for a while without my butt starting to ache, be able to do 5 wide grip pull ups, but most importantly I really want the experience of sticking to a program for a month and seeing what happens. Because that is one of the ways I will be able to put my education to use. To apply what I learned in my undergraduate degree. I do that to some extent but, I want to do it for a month.



So that is my goal. Stick to a focused and directed exercise and eating program for a month and simply watch what happens.



I have my goal for the next month. What is yours? To put full effort into a training program for a month? Remember, not just show up at the gym and do whatever, but stick to a pre-written program for 4 weeks and not modify it in any way during that time. To change your eating habits for a month? To eat more raw fruits and vegetables? Perhaps drink 2 liter's of water a day?

Do something. Change something. Everybody wants to be healthy. But you've got to make changes in your lifestyle. Remember, if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got.