To say that Stephanie MacKay has led an interesting life would be a bit of an understatement. In a 20-year span, she went from being a correctional officer at a maximum-security detention center in Ontario to learning yoga, reflexology and reiki in India.
During the intervening years, she worked for Canadian Border Services and then moved to England where she issued visas at the Canadian Embassy in London. It was there that she started to feel that her life wasn’t what she wanted it to be. She began wondering what would happen if she could be herself, fully and completely. What if she could shed societal expectations and find her greater purpose? What if she followed her soul?
And one day, she stopped wondering and started doing. She sold her home and all her belongings and moved to the Republic of The Gambia, the smallest country in mainland Africa.
In The Gambia, Stephanie became immersed in a culture where people helped each other. In whatever way they could. Even if they had very little for themselves, they still found ways to give. It made her realize how self-centered western society can be at times, and how disconnected she felt. It also helped her see that individuals, working together and in service of one another, could be the solution to so many of the world's problems.
Stephanie has also come to believe that the best way for anyone to support others is through their own passions and talents. Because if you can help people while doing something you love, it also becomes an act of self-care. She offered an example of Kevin and Victoria and the team at Bomb. How we've taken our passion for fitness and used it to help others improve their health and how those positive effects then ripple into the lives of their family and friends too. Um....can you feel me blushing through the screen?!
After two years in The Gambia, Stephanie spent some time in India and the UK. But today, she's back in Toronto, helping her aging father maintain his independence. She's continuing to live life by her own rules, focusing on using her talents to help people while encouraging others in positions of privilege to do the same.
She's working on a book where she will share her perspective about what's really important in life. And, she's become a regular at the Beach location. In fact, she joined because she started to worry that if she didn't take better care of her health, she may lose the freedom to live the life she wants. Stephanie’s adventures have taught her that anything is possible and we believe that too! We couldn't be happier that she chose Bomb to help her make those possibilities a reality.
Sally
5 Self-Development Books That Aren't Shit
Around 24 million North Americans read some type of self-development book every year. There are over 300,000 self-help books available on Amazon.ca alone.
The truly great self-development books are real, down-to-earth, and inspire you to act. Some are long-winded, full of hocus pocus, and dry as an internet troll’s bath mat. Others are simply used as a tool to get you to purchase the real information from their website.
Fortunately, we’ve read through a lot of the drab and the phonies to bring you 5 of the best. They’re so good that if you were to only read these books every year, you’d turn into a pretty amazing person.
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
This book is recommended by everyone so often that it feels like people don’t take it seriously any more. It’s turned into a vocal meme and even had a horrible film named after it, but the content stands true over eighty years later (it was first published in 1936).
One of few things that has stayed truly constant over the last hundred years is how people are liked. Remember the asshole who thought grabbing your ass in the club was a great pick-up move? Well, you’d find that same asshole 100 years ago, hassling a tavern barmaid to see what was under her corset.
You’d hate them both, and they’d go home alone.
If only they had read “How to Win Friends and Influence People”. This book has you covered on how to be a likable and influential person. Things like how to really listen, how to make people feel important and how to be genuinely appreciative. It should be studied in all schools and workplaces.
You can pick it up on Amazon Kindle for just $0.99 and if you find us being really, really nice to you for some reason, it’s likely we’ve just re-read this book.
Read it if:
Your manners are equivalent to a zombie food-eating scene from The Walking Dead.
Nobody will do what you ask them to (because you’re probably an ass).
Note: This book has its detractors too. Their argument is that it makes you act in ways that are not of your nature and invites you to be manipulative. But if you can’t listen, or talk to people respectfully, or appreciate other humans then its you that needs to change, not the book.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson
The self-development books we really hate are the ones full of woo-woo affirmation nonsense and those that make you feel worse about yourself after reading it.
Mark Manson’s book is a breath of fresh air. Using a character called Disappointment Panda he cuts through all the nonsense, essentially telling the reader that they’re an entitled asshole and full of shit. Yes, even those who feel they really need help.
While most books prey on the notion that there’s something wrong with you, Mark lets you know:
That it’s okay to not feel great every day, just do something about it.
Stop giving a fuck about the small stuff and choose to give a fuck on the things that are really important.
Read it if:
You feel the need to tailgate the car who just cut you up and that anger lingers long into the night.
There’s another subway delay and so you feel the need to compare the mayor’s infrastructure plan to that of Adolf Hitler’s World War II plan.
Start With Why by Simon Sinek
The premise of Simon Sinek’s book is to reverse engineer your thoughts and actions to find out WHY you do what you do.
Finding out your WHY, Sinek argues, drives how well you do things. Having a strong WHY will help you drive through resistance. Having a strong WHY will make you a better leader.
People do not believe in you by what you do or how you do it; they believe in you because of WHY you do it.
It has a more business leadership of a read to it but anyone can adapt it to their situation – a parent or pastor should all strive to be a great leader and it’s all about finding and being true to your WHY.
Read it if:
You are horrible at sticking to a new-found habit – like exercise or healthy eating.
You wonder why nobody will invest in your alt-right movement.
The One Thing by Gary Keller
The premise of this book is simple and asks one question. What's the ONE Thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?
This question can be applied to everything in your life from work, relationships, and spiritual improvement.
We even use it when speaking to our members. With 600+ of them, it’s hard to chat to everyone and cut to the chase on interesting stuff. Asking Jennifer, “Hey, welcome back, what’s the one thing you loved/hated about your trip to Paris” will produce thoughtful and interesting answers.
The book covers a wide vary of topics, from going deeper than the 80/20 rule to the domino effect this statement brings, right through to habit building. It’s a beautiful book that has a neat in-printed function - all the key ideas are underlined in pencil-like ink.
It might seem a really simple concept to take up a whole book but when you’re stuck-in-a-rut or feel overwhelmed it’s a great reference to use.
Read it if all of the following happens at the same time:
You start eating out every day for lunch.
There’s too much pressure at work and you don't know where to start.
Your toddler starts to slap every person she meets.
Your other half has decided to never cook or clean a dish again.
Linchpin by Seth Godin
The idea behind this book is simple – “What makes you remarkable and indispensable?” Too often we snore through our job expecting our boss to notice that we’re doing a fantastically normal go of it and expect our wages to inflate to reflect that.
This book tells you that you can’t wait around for change. You can’t wait around for good things to happen. You have to take the bull by the horns and become The Linchpin – an indispensable part of your team, community, or family.
Read it if:
You want to challenge the status quo.
You believe that your colleagues at work only get promoted because they kiss-ass.
You’re not sure if the employee trying to kiss your ass is indispensable.
If you think you’re cool, rebellious and Office Space is your favourite movie.
It’ll take a while to read all of these but even if you grab just one it will provide you with a new perspective – a challenge to the way you currently think.
Kevin & Victoria
Having the Confidence to Try
We love to celebrate our members and all the neat stories they have. Here's one from the awesome Sylvia!
"I don’t have any particularly COOL story but I do know that Bomb has totally changed how I look at workouts and myself.
I worked out for 10 years and never got results I wanted. I ran. I did barre. I did cardio at the gym. But I certainly never lifted weights, or pushed myself to do things out of my comfort zone.
Joining bomb was SO scary for me. Would I like it? Would I smash my face doing box jumps (still a possibility but I am far less scared now).
I have totally felt a physical transformation over the past 10 months. But honestly I love that I can come in and no that no matter how hard and grueling the workout I’m about to do is, I have the confidence to try. I don’t feel like there is a mental barrier to me working out anymore and that is pretty amazing.
I feel stronger than I ever have and I have a deeper appreciation for what my body is capable of doing.
My schedule can get the best of me. I’m self employed. I own a production company. I keep a million parts moving at all times.
My break and reward to myself is coming into Bomb and doing something for me. "
So, no wild North / South mixups here. Just a happy client :) " - Sylvia B
It's a Hat-Trick!
This week, we were presented with the NOW Magazine award for the Best Gym/Fitness Club in Toronto for 2019.
We’re still pinching ourselves, but we couldn’t have done this without the support of all of our amazing, hardworking members and staff who put in WORK day in and day out, and make our jobs look easy.
Thank you to all those who took the time to vote for us, and to everyone who continues to support BOMB!
A special shout out goes to our friends and neighbours, Pomarosa Cafe*, for coming runner-up for Best Latin Restaurant in Toronto. We would not be able to work as hard at 6:15am without their delicious coffee and arepas.
* Did you know all BOMB members get a 10% discount?
Let Go of the Vine
A lady slips and falls off the edge of a cliff. On her way down, she manages to grab on to the end of a vine. As she hangs there, her grip begins to loosen. Desperately, she looks up to the clouds and decides for the first time to pray - to pray for her life.
“Is anybody up there?” she asks.
After a long silence, a deep voice bellows down from the clouds:
“Do you believe?”
Without a beat, she frantically replies “FFS, yes, yes I do! All of the yeses, and all of the beliefs!”
“Then let go of the vine,” says the voice.
The lady pauses for a second, looks down and then up again, and responds, “Is there anybody else up there?”
This is something that is hard to admit to ourselves after testing out a gym or investigating all the best ways to stay fit and healthy. We find out how hard it is and then look for a second opinion. This usually involves an alternative, subjectively easier solution - pills, surgery, workout dvd's, starvation (read: juice cleanses). It's overwhelming and some of us return to do nothing at all.
One reason is that "losing weight" or "getting fit" is not powerful enough to provide self-motivation when things get tough. One solution is to go back to a grass-roots level. Find out where your values and priorities truly lie and then figure out the next step or next habit change that you need to make, so that you truly live them.
You don't need a second opinion to ride out the rough times when solid, healthy values will drive you towards that next workout or healthy meal.
Kevin & Victoria
700km in Selfies
Back in December, I told you about my running streak that started with James Clear’s Atomic Habits book.
Well... I had a little setback. I ended up with a hamstring issue that turned into a painful injury. 6 weeks of ZERO running later, with the help of Sean the athletic therapist, I have been able to get back out there without my hamstrings seizing up and throwing my hips all out of whack.
The first few runs back felt pretty good considering that I thought I needed to give up running forever. But it was so frustrating to feel slow, sore, and incapable after putting so much effort into improving my speed and distance. I felt exhausted after runs that I used to find breezy, and I didn't look forward to lacing up my shoes like I used to.
And then. Ho-Lee-Shit. The fucking habit stacking principle in James’ book came to my rescue.
So, here’s what I never mentioned in my last post: I took a selfie after every single run. Over 100 runs. Over 100 copies of my sweaty face! Why? Because James told me to build on newly developed habits by stacking new habits on top of them.
My speed and distance logged were overshadowed by facts that couldn’t be captured by my running app. The content of those silly selfies reminded me that focusing on the process is so much more rewarding than the outcome.
1. I ran in every condition. Ice, extreme heat (ohhh, Puerto Rico!), snow. I ran in the dark after a long day of work. I ran in the morning to beat the heat.
2. I ran on Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, my birthday. Maybe holidays aren’t the best example of what I’m trying to get across...because, really, I was running so that I could stay out of the kitchen.
3. I ran with friends. Sometimes in silence because we were exhausted from running. Sometimes we had meaningful conversations. As I look at their sweaty faces next to mine - they had no choice, and there were NO retakes! - it reminds me of what an important role community plays in keeping up a fitness routine.
4. I ran a couple of races. I set a goals. I achieved them.
These 700km in selfies bring make me smile from ear-to-ear. They remind me of the joy, satisfaction, challenges, and friendship that I felt throughout the process. It is making it so much easier to work through this little slump and stay motivated to keep moving... even if I am a little slower.
How can you set yourself up now, so that when you hit a little setback, it won't derail you forever?
Victoria
The Gulf of Mexico
When you hit retirement, what's the first thing you're going to do? Sit down and give War & Peace a go? Spend more time with your grandkids and pretend to know what a Billie Eilish is? (1) Or will you reminisce about the good ol' days when the Dead Sea was merely sick?
When we asked BOMB members Bob and Maureen (aged 60+) they told us they were going to cycle the Gulf of Mexico. We thought, great, they're going to fly to Florida, hire a couple of bikes, wrestle a few 'gators and have a ball doing it.
But we misheard. "We're going to jump on our bikes in Toronto and cycle TO the Gulf of Mexico." Dubya-tee-eff!
Here's what Bob told us in his own words...
"Hey Guys, Maureen and I have been members for 10 months now. This may be a short span in comparison to the tenure of some of your long time members but it has been a noteworthy period for us and I wanted to let you know why (how?).
We were in pretty good shape for a couple of seniors (+60) but your instructors (mostly Andrea and Jennifer) have really made us strong and ready for an adventure. So we’re taking this fitness on the road and going to bicycle down to the Gulf of Mexico in a couple of weeks.
This time we are making our way south from our home in the Beach, along the infamous Underground Railroad route which black slaves took to freedom at the turn of the 20th century. We will follow the route in reverse, seeking out the historical places and stories of this 3200 km route.
Just wanted to say thanks - we enjoyed the ass-kicking (or at least the results) and will see you in late November."
One thing's for sure, we want to be Bob & Maureen when we grow up. You can follow the adventure on their blog. We wish them all the best!
Kevin & Victoria
(1) We're guessing, maybe a baby insect.
Three Factors That Will Decide How Long You'll Live
We hope you lived deliciously this summer. We're excited to get our full schedule and emails going again this month, with no less than seven workshops and programs in September alone!
Today, we want to talk about three factors that will determine how long and how healthy you'll live. In short, they are...
#3 - Lifestyle (your eating and exercise habits)
#2 - Genetics (how much you want to thank or get angry at your ancestors)
#1 - Relationships (yes, lonely people die early)
The famed neuroscientist, Jaak Panksepp, believes humans need bonding and connection as much as they need oxygen. People who maintain relationships with friends and family are happier than those who isolate themselves. People who go to church on a regular basis will live longer than those who don't.
How much you serve and are invested in other people is another huge indicator. We joke that we take care of people who take care of other people. A lot of our members are teachers, social workers, doctors, nurses, and EMTs. And others, such as writers, artists, editors, and designers need to keep their creative juice flowing through exercise.
That's a huge the reason for why we created BOMB and specifically a group environment.
You can do push-ups at home in your basement. You can throw in your air pods, turn the music up to 11, and work out at an LA Fitness or Goodlife. That's amazing and you can see results, but you can get all that and so much more in a group setting.
A member recently mentioned that "while there's no pressure to make a new best friend in every class, it's cool to be part of a group that's working hard towards their own individual goals. The energy you get from that pushes me more than I ever could on my own."
When you connect with people - smile, high-five, notice their body language - it releases pleasure and antidepressant hormones, like endorphins and serotonin.
That's something you cannot get from a virtual high-five, a Facebook Like, a crying-with-laughter emoji, or a Whatsapp GIF parade.
It's something you can only get live and in person.
The robots are coming and they want us to hide in our semi's ordering Uber Eats, shit we don't need from Amazon, and communicating with our friends solely through digital devices.
It will make us miserable and we'll die early and lonely and the only way to stop it and save the world is to... come to Bootcamp?! Well, okay, at least it's a start.
P.S. A lot of this info comes from The Algebra of Happiness - it's a great, short read.
P.P.S. The Transformation Challenge begins on Monday, September 16th 2019 for 30 days and is back with a brand new look.
It includes a new Fall meal plan (and format), new challenges, a new accountability group that takes you away from the social media rabbit hole, and 4+ workshops and lessons - including...
💥 Four repeatable action steps to take to ensure you make good on your commitment.
💥 The best nutrition habits to make eating healthier a lot easier.
💥 How to work your hardest no matter your fitness level.
💥 How to sustain your exercise and nutrition habits outside of a short-term challenge.
Plus, the usual unlimited classes and support. Click the button below and head over to the TC page to sign up.
If you are an existing, committed unlimited member, you should use this link to sign up.
How to Teach Your Kid to Be a Conscious Consumer
When kids come to camp, we always stress the importance of bringing literless lunches and using re-usable items for food and drinks. Here are some tips for getting your kids to become responsible, and informed consumers.
Involve them in your daily meal prepping
Kids will never cease to ask questions and inquire about things on a daily basis. I can’t count the number of times a kid has asked “but why?” to almost every answer I have given until I have completely run out of explanations.
Kids are always wanting to be involved in things, and learn new information. By getting them to help out with planning their own meals, and letting them see how easy it is to plan ahead of time, they’ll hopefully start thinking about the future rather than only the present moment. This can help them in many areas of their life, especially where time management is necessary.
Make trips to the supermarket informative
When I was a kid, going to the supermarket with my mom was the highlight of my week. With so many possible items to grab, see, eat, and buy, I felt like I was in a dream! Kids will often want to be involved in going to the grocery store, so why not take that opportunity to teach them about the importance of healthy choices.
When selecting items, you can explain why it is that you chose that over another, what the importance of buying locally is, why its important to stay away from plastic as much as possible, and how our body readily accepts fresh, non-GMO types of food over processed goods.
Kids are often extremely good at telling the blunt truth in any situation, so they are more likely to accept reasons for choosing local, healthy, and sustainable products. This is also not to say that you can never buy them a treat here and there (we all love some treats), but as long as they get the whole concept, they can begin to make healthy choices as they get older and more in control of their own food choices.
So, when you’re making your kids lunches for camp or school, and when you go to the market to buy your items for the week/month, include your kids! They will benefit from it more than you may think, and maybe it will help you make better choices – kids always tend to hold us accountable for the things we say.
Stay informed, and spread the health!
Melissa
Fit Kids Manager
P.S. Want to get your kids active at an early age? Our Fit Kids After School program is now registering at the Danforth and Beach locations for Fall. You can check them out here, and save 50% from your first month when you join the new Beach program.
P.P.S. Junior Lifters and our Strength & Mindfulness drop-in series will also begin in late-September. Join the kids mailing list to get registration notifications, at the lowest available price… and more tips like these!
Two Quick Ideas to Improve your Kid's Well-Being
The school year has gone and summer time is in full swing, so here are two quick things to consider as your kids enjoy their camps and free time outside.
Remember that unstructured play time is just as important as structured training.
"Don’t ever say a child is “just” playing. That's like saying a surgeon is “just” operating or a pilot is “just” flying an airplane. Play is the essence of being a child." - John Rosemond
Sometimes parents are flummoxed when we don't have a strict plan laid out for our PA days, camps or our after school program. "So you don't know what you're doing this week?"
The truth is that the structure is loose. It's usually based around a theme, and at the end of our programs the children have time to get curious and explore what they've just learned or get better at the things that interest them.
They can use their imagination, spontaneity and find self-motivation.
As kids get older and become more socially trained to be another cog-in-the-wheel, unstructured free time becomes just as important as structured hockey practice. It fills a hole that a strict school timetable may not be able to provide.
Stop thinking weight training will stunt your kid's growth
Strength and conditioning specialist Eric Cressey explains this better than we could...
"When your kid sprints, she encounters ground reaction forces several times greater than her body weight.
When he jumps out of trees, those numbers are even higher – and he’s probably landing on a more unpredictable environment.
When she wears a big backpack full of books, she’s actually lifting weights without any coaching whatsoever.
Doing a goblet squat with a 20-pound dumbbell isn’t going to stunt your 9-year-old’s growth. And it isn’t going to turn him into a meathead steroid abuser.
What it will probably do is teach them a lot about the value of hard work. It’ll demonstrate that consistently showing up and putting effort into something can lead to specific quantifiable improvements.
It’ll make them more durable to participate in and enjoy sports – and do so at a higher level than they otherwise would have experienced."
You can read the whole post here.
We would add that most athletes, like wrestlers, tennis players or kick-boxers would rather face someone with slightly more talent than them but who's not as conditioned.
So strength-and-conditioning programs really matter, and yes, they should include lifting weights and unstructured play.
Kevin & Victoria
P.S. Our Fit Kids After School program is now registering at the Danforth and Beach locations for Fall. You can check them out here, and save 50% when you join the Beach program.
A Healthy Guide to Eating Out
We tell you to eat healthy at home, and now we're about to tell you to do the same when you're out spending the fruits of your labour - like watching the finger-nail-filing escapades of your favourite basketball team.
With the Raptors losing last night, this probably all sounds like misery. But the following cheat sheet is full of simple little adjustments that you can make and still have fun.
If this still sounds tragic to you, don't worry, it's written by a cantankerous old sod.
A Miserable Bugger's Healthy Guide to Eating Out
1) Vodka soda is the Chainsmokers of the healthy alcoholic drink. Boring. Predictable. Flavourless.
Make your liquor a tequila or whiskey. For a minimal amount of extra calories you’ll get 1,000 times the taste, while remaining healthier than beer, cider, or white wine.
2) Take a look at the menu online and select your food choice before you go. That way you will not be influenced by other people’s choices in the moment. You may, indeed, prompt everyone else to contemplate their adolescent behaviour when they realize a proper adult is now present.
3) Just like your Ashley Madison dates, ask for all sauces to quietly remain on the side.
4) Dance near the flames of hell and eternal chastity, by suggesting to your partner that you pick a starter and a main to share. At restaurants we tend to overeat, and at Toronto prices, that $25 main ain’t going to waste. Devouring shared dishes will leave you satisfied and you’ll consume fewer calories.
5) Make all your side choices be salad or fruit. Unless you go to Weslodge, where you must violently swim in their mac ‘n’ cheese.
6) Impress absolutely no-one, by drinking one glass of water for every alcoholic drink.
7) Words matter. Look for “steamed,” “grilled,” and “boiled.” Avoid “loaded,” “creamy,” “rich,” “uncomfortable,” “crabs.”
K & V
The Best Way to Measure Progress
To measure the progress of health and fitness goals, it’s normal to use less-than-stellar methods. Often, it’s the scale or mirror.
We call these lag measures. They track the thing that you’re trying to improve.
The problem is that it comes too late to change your behaviour. The performance that drove this measurement is already in the past.
Lead measures are new behaviours that will drive success on the lag measures. (1)
“Lead measures turn your attention to improving behaviours you directly control in the near future that will then have a positive impact on your long-term goals.”(1)
If you wish to lose 10lbs, a relevant lead measure could be the number of meals you track, or the number of workouts you do.
When you use lag measures to evaluate body change, it's usually not a positive experience. And even if you get to your goal, it’s not as satisfying as you think it would be. That's because you’ve treated the process as a shallow means to an end. This will keep you miserable.
What you need to focus on (and what makes humans happy) is the journey to get there. Not looking back at it, but being in the moment with it, using lead measures that are fun and progressive.
A recent tweet from James Clear states “…if you optimize for the outcome, you win one time. If you optimize for a process that leads to great outcomes, you can win again and again.”
Lag measures is where you dream and feel miserable. Lead measures is where you’ll find enjoyment and a fulfilling life.
Kevin & Victoria
1 -- Excerpts from “Deep Work” by Cal Newport
P.S. The Transformation Challenge that begins this week and a lot of focus is on behaviour change and using lead measures to track your progress.
Save 33% with the early bird price (ends on Tuesday). Click the button below for more details.
The Power of a Growth Mindset
Many of our members will tell us about the event that made them realize it was time to start exercising. A game of tag with their kid, some not-so-great news from their doctor, a holiday marred by pain. We’ve heard it all.
For Alastair Wilkinson, it was three days of physical agony after 2.5 hours of home renovation work. That was about a year ago. And that’s when he joined Bomb.
But that was the easy part. Like many new people who walk through our doors, Alastair was pretty green. His first few classes were a harsh reminder that he was starting from scratch in terms of strength, endurance and form. For a lot of people, this would be about the time they give up. But rather than being discouraged, something inside him sparked and he was excited to learn. He recognized if he kept coming in, listening and applying himself, that he would get stronger. And he has! Not only is he crushing it in class, he’s also started taking kettlebell (a class that might have killed him a year ago) and he’s lost 25 lbs too!
What I realized as I was chatting with Alastair is that he has a growth mindset. He understands that he’s not limited to the skills and talents that he developed easily and naturally. That with continued effort and practice, he can learn new things and improve his abilities in any area.
A growth mindset is the difference between facing a challenge and saying “I can’t do that” and “I can’t do that now, but I can learn”. It can be applied in any circumstance and it’s something that all highly successful people have in common.
So, how exactly do you achieve a growth mindset? The internet is full of lists...Ten Steps to a Growth Mindset, 25 Ways to Create a Growth Mindset etc, etc. I’m not an expert, but from my perspective it boils down to prioritizing the process not the outcome. Focusing your energy on the work, turning failures into learnings, persevering and trying new tactics.
In the age of instant gratification and results-based rewards, it can be pretty hard to apply yourself to something difficult and big goals often seem too hard to reach. But the process is always within your grasp. The first step can happen in an instant and with a growth mindset the experience becomes the reward.
Sally
Keep Your Head Up, Kid
Coaching kids is a huge part of BOMB and this week we were reminded of this little nugget from the book Thanks for the Feedback.
"Speaking of little boys [or girls], when yours gets off the bus crying because a kid called him stupid, don't tell him he's not. That's just asking him to choose between your story and the mean kid's story.
Help him find his own story in which to stand. Help him think through the actual evidence. What might be going on with the other kid and what is actually true. If he can see for himself that he's not stupid, then he'll see that someone else's saying so, doesn't make it so."
Building a growth mindset like this and developing confidence and self-efficacy is a huge focus of our kids programs.
If you're interested, registration has opened for our Fall after school program at Danforth & Beach schools.
There's also a $239 weekly summer camp deal that ends on May 31st, 2019. Summer camp is available at all three locations.
How to Avoid Burnout
Last week, we took a much needed break to Puerto Rico to escape the long Canadian winter. We didn't go to just drink margaritas by the pool or get a sunburn on the beach; it was an important opportunity to renew!
Coincidentally, we also received a fantastic email from our coach, Mark Fisher, owner of North America's most successful gym. He discussed self-renewal - why it's not just about vacations, and why it's so important for it to be regularly scheduled.
We couldn't have written it any better, so he let us share it with you...
-----------------
"While anyone can benefit from taking renewal seriously, parents and leaders in particular face something called “power stress.” This is a particular type of stress experienced by those who feel responsibility for others. It can expedite burnout for those who don’t take the time to “refill their cup.”
Furthermore, renewal can’t effectively be “saved up” for the weekend. By thinking critically about which of the four renewal activities light you up, you can start to be disciplined about making sure you have time for it in your weekly calendar.
Remember, renewal is different than physical rest. They both matter.
According to Dr. Richard Boyatzis, you need to consider four key areas:
Hope - a feeling of forward-looking optimism towards the future
Compassion - connecting with other people
Mindfulness - being aware and in the present moment; meditation, walking in nature, prayer, etc.
Play - having fun and being joyful; humor
Each of us will get more or less “juice” from each of the four activities, so considering your personal preferences is important.
Additionally, some activities do crossover from “physical self-care” to “emotional self-care.” Low-intensity exercise (mindfulness, play) and meditation (mindfulness) are both great examples.
In addition to the list above, gratitude is another important renewal strategy. Creating small habits and rituals around daily gratitude is a powerful tool for keeping your “mind right.” This is important because modern brains have inherited something called “Negativity Bias.” The theory is that our ancestors were successful at surviving precisely because they were good at thinking about, identifying, and solving/ working around threats.
Although there’s debate about how strongly “negative” thoughts overpower “positive” thoughts, most social scientists put the number somewhere between three times to seven times.
Since the nature of your life often requires identifying, thinking about, and solving problems, creating daily gratitude habits can be a powerful source of renewal.
Regardless of which activities you choose, it’s important to emphasize the ones that truly fill your cup, and then have the discipline to regularly execute these activities.
If you find renewal by connecting with hope, it’s going to be very hard emotionally to justify taking time to daydream and spend time “visioning” on a regular basis. Nonetheless, this is exactly what you must do if you truly want to be a master of your time.
Like your core self-care habits, such as training and making good nutrition choices, renewal activities are the equivalent of putting your own oxygen mask on first if the cabin loses pressure while on an airplane.
If you don’t take care of yourself first, you’ll find you’re unable to effectively take care of anyone else as you spiral into burnout."
Three Training Principles That Will Explode Your Results
There are many positive, healthy reasons why you should put more muscle onto your frame. It's metabolically active, so you'll burn more fat at rest (and throughout your day), and there's less chance of you injuring yourself.
This week we want to geek out a little bit and discuss the three main methods of muscle development. It's really important because if you are not doing one of these three things then you may not be training efficiently as you could.
In simple terms, the three main training methods are...
Mechanical Tension - your muscles generate the largest force possible through full range of motion. Usually, the rep range is shorter with heavy weights.
Metabolic Stress - keeping your muscles under constant tension, often with zero rest between reps. Usually, the rep range is higher and the weights do not have to be heavy (or used at all).
Muscle Damage - usually involves high tension when your muscles are lengthened while contracting. Think of a slow descent on a pull-up or a stiff-legged deadlift.
Okay nerdy-mac-nerd-nerd, you might say, what does that mean for a normal person who just wants to survive a Hustle and get on with more fun things like looking at dogs in costumes.
Here are some things to try out...
Mechanical Tension - Stop doing as many reps as possible and think about using more weight and time under tension. When a weight gets too heavy we all are guilty of stopping short - like not going deep enough on a bench press or goblet squat. Think about using full range of motion throughout and drop down a weight if you feel you can't quite get there.
The Dynamite Strength class has the best format to try this out.
Metabolic Stress - Think about not going full lock-out on an exercise. When you're at the bottom (or lock-out) of a squat you are actually in serenity for a split second, where the weight doesn't feel as challenging. Think about just stopping short of that moment and then avoid lock-out at the top (another serenity position), essentially keeping your muscles under stress throughout.
Try this with a Jump Squat at your next Hustle or Bootcamp class.
Muscle Damage - This category gets a little bit tricky because it needs to be programmed well. Your muscles will get sore as hell so you need to know what you're doing. Hiring a trainer and doing some one-on-one sessions is recommended.
But if you feel competent, on top of negative pull-ups and stiff-legged deadlifts, you can try multiple pauses throughout the eccentric component of a rep (the lengthening of a muscle). You can grab a buddy to do forced reps - where after set failure they help you through the concentric (shortening of a muscle) part of the exercise but not the slow eccentric part.
Kevin & Victoria
You Don't Know What You Don't Know
Did you know that the cigarette brand Lucky Strike tried to sell their product based on weight loss?
"Who cares about my throat cancer honey, look, I can fit through the gap in this fence."
The thing is, they sold a shit-tonne... until they didn't.
Because you don't know what you don't know.
If someone seems authoritative, is confident in their pitch and has "proof" that other people did it, you will listen.
We hope that the person is right. We hope it's as easy as they say. But we really know it's not.
What we aren't immediately aware of is the behaviour costs that's associated with anything we do.
When you sign up for a gym membership are you really aware that you have to make time to get to the gym and back. Get that sitter in place.
That you have to prepare for muscle soreness and the initial tiredness spell for the first few weeks.
If you go on a caloric deficit, are you prepared for the headaches, the withdrawals, the cravings. The time it takes to prepare food. Cuts to your fun-spending so you can buy quality food.
Last year, during the Spartan Race, most of us didn't realize what we were in for. That to do it well, you have to train hills, hills and more hills on top of really weird strength training exercises.
You don't know what you don't know... until you do.
So it doesn't matter if you're just getting back to exercise or if you can do 10-20 push-ups, 5 pull-ups and know you should be doing a Spartan Race.
The fact is you now know what you didn't know.
So the real question is, what you gonna do about it?
The Sliding Teacup
We're about 8% of the way through 2019 already. How's those New Year, New You (ugh, are we still using this term?!) coming along?
We find that 4-6 week period, where you are deep into an attempted transformation, is where things begin to wobble.
The tea cup slides towards the edge of the table.
The ship steers mightily close to the iceberg.
A highly-elected official enters "Ashley Madison" on Google and hovers their finger above the “Enter” button.
Suddenly, you realize you've picked the wrong target to aim for.
A quick fix is to start thinking about performance goals rather than superficial ones.
Superficial goals, such as losing weight or inches, are usually emotional and can consume us. Performance goals are a bit cooler and can take this pressure away.
Consider training for a 5km race, or one of those muddy obstacle courses.
Consider trying to deadlift 1.5-2x your bodyweight with barbell club or semi-private training.
Try to do 50 push-ups, or modified push-ups, every day for a month.
See what happens.
Because the magic, little droogies, is in the side effects.
Those emotional goals like fat loss, more energy for your kids, your partner jumping on your loins again... usually show up as you head towards those performance goal achievements.
And mentally, it's a relief. No worrying about scales or how tight your jeans feel.
So what performance goals can light you up and keep driving you forward into 2019?
Book a complimentary, no-waterboarding-until-you-sign-up-for-a-membership strategy session and tell us all about them!
Kevin & Victoria
P.S. Our clubs are looking ahead to their performance race season. The running club, East Side Snails, are looking at 5km, 10km and above races. Newbies and non-members are always welcome and it's just $50 per year!
Pass Me The Kool Aid Jim, I Think I've Joined a Cult
When you ask a super fit person how they got in shape, they usually give you a very passive tl;dr “Oh I just cut down on some carbs and started working out 4 days per week and wouldn’t you know it, four weeks later… voila!”
Your response is to tighten the grip on your glass until it breaks and then consider doing violent things with the shards. You’ve tried your best at everything and know it’s not this easy.
At first glance, Louise P has a similar, laid-back outlook. She joined BOMB a year ago, losing 11lbs within her first month.
She comes to BOMB 4 days per week and has ran through the gamut of group fitness – from the regular classes, to The Beast, to The Spartan Race Team to Kettlebells – and has one eye on Barbell Club.
However, there are two important things Louise did that maybe you’ve not considered about your own transformation plans.
1 – She Got Curious
Louise said that she hated the thought of group fitness before joining. In fact, her plan was just to get moving for a bit and then stop – she wasn’t even going to follow the meal plan we gave her.
But then she got curious.
She tried a bunch of different classes at Beach then Danforth. She wondered if she could build up to ten push-ups. She wondered why she couldn’t even pull herself up onto the monkey bars while her kid could traverse it with ease.
When she got moving she said, “The motivation came from realizing I could do stuff and I got really curious about that. If you just get started, you’ll find a place for it.”
You may think that you have to build up motivation to go to the gym, or look for a new job. But true motivation is built by…
Doing Something + Liking It + Feeling Competent = Curiosity and Motivation
2 – She Changed Her Environment
With a 4-and-6 year old, Louise found it hard to keep up. While sitting at home she would always send her kid upstairs to fetch things for her, even if the remote control fell off the couch. She had also tried the Goodlife environment and that didn’t work out either.
By joining BOMB she quickly found out that she was surrounded by a different bunch of people.
“I’m a trained actress and so I know physical space and awareness. Even so, the coaches were super generous with corrections and you felt like they were focused on you – paying attention and constantly checking in with everyone.
More experienced members would also help me out with exercises and form suggestions. They weren’t judging me.”
By her own admission, Louise still calls herself a lazy person. But by changing her environment and being around a new tribe that were also trying to stay fit, she drew on the energy that environment change gave her.
She laughs, “I feel like I’ve drank the kool aid and joined a cult – in a good way!”
Louise is now down 25lbs in a year. She can do 18 full push-ups – 8 more than the 10 she imagined and she can crush the monkey bars at her kid’s school.
Her husband got curious too. He bought a rowing machine and is now down 75lbs himself.
“I don’t want to go back to where I was and that’s what gets me up at 5:40am to come to class. Not coming is not an option.
I look for opportunities to move instead of avoiding them. Needing to get something from upstairs is an opportunity to run up the stairs. Dropping something on the floor is an opportunity to do a squat.
That's what drives me.”
Kevin
How To Realistically Satisfy Your Cravings
The habit books would like to think you're a robot when dealing with cravings.
If you have a hankering for a Dangerous Dan's (R.I.P.) Colon Clogger hamburger followed by getting so drunk you end up doing doughnuts in a Walmart car park while drinking from a Pringles can, then the books will say no, no, no just do ten push-ups instead and celebrate with a nice fruit salad made from the saliva of baby unicorns.
We all know it's not that easy, and cravings is a helluva large topic to get into. So, here are a couple of more realistic, next-step tips you can make to take you from a 1 to a 2 in response to cravings.
1) Swap out the ingredients of your meals with healthier versions
Take a tuna mayonnaise sandwich on brown bread. Replace the regular tuna with low sodium tuna, replace the mayo with light mayo (saving 65 calories per serving but increasing sodium) and replace the bread with a sprouted grain version (similar total calories but zero sugar and 6x less fat).
This reduces the sandwich by 85 calories and a massive 29.5g of fat while still keeping the taste and satisfying the craving. Over a week, and at each meal, that's a huge saving.
2) Purchase mini-versions and just have a taste
Usually your brain needs just a taste to satisfy the craving. Consider buying stubbies of beer, mini soda cans and chocolate bars, and get kids size versions of takeout food - like McD's fries or Ed's Real Scoop.
One problem is that it's just half the size so it means I can have two, right!? Be wary of that.
These two tips won't cure your cravings in one go and as we said, it's a huge topic full of finding triggers and mantras.
But just taking action on one of these steps is far better than trying to jump from 1 to 10 where you'll most likely end up back at square one - drunken donuts in a Walmart car park.
Kevin & Victoria
