The Crisis of Enablers

Q

"Hello! How do I get rock hard abs when my wife keeps feeding me such tasty (and unhealthy) food all the time?

- Jamie F."

A

You are preaching to the choir buddy. If it is not the wife doing it, then it is often your girlfriend, your mother, your mother-in-law, or even your grandmother - they all seem to want to 'fatten you up' on purpose, as if that would somehow be healthier in their mind's eye.

There are a number of ways you can get those "rock hard abs" you are dreaming of, but it is going to require a lot of work, a great deal of self-control, and a few dieting tips never hurt either.

Here are some tips that will help you.

Healthy Diet Vs The Enabler Spouse

#1a. If your spouse is spoon feeding you things you know to be unhealthy start limiting your portion sizes. Yes, okay, eat some of their cooking - it tastes good and it is polite - but don't pig out on it. Same thing goes for anything being pushed at you from in-laws.

Case in Point - This past weekend I went to Catholic baptism and the party afterwards - which had a great deal of food. One of the relatives apparently thought I needed more food and brought me not 1, but 2 beers to quench my thirst - and he brought me an extra helping of pasta without me asking for it. I did eat the pasta, but I did not finish my rice or the beef patty. In this case not finishing my plate basically signaled that I did not want any more - he did try and come back offer me more food, but I had the unfinished food still on my plate so I had a valid excuse for not accepting his ever generous offer of fattening me up.

#1b. So take that as a lesson. If you don't finish your plate it will be easier to limit how much you are eating when people try to give you more.

#2a. Eat when you are hungry and do not eat when you are not hungry. This is an easy one to follow, in theory. The problem however is that many people have a tendency to crave snacks when they are bored. I am craving a snack right now while I am writing this, but I have the smarts to realize that I have spicy kimchi in the house. So I eat something spicy and suddenly I don't want to eat any more. Instead now I feel thirsty. And once I have drank something, I don't feel hungry any more.

#2b. Spicy snacks are good - especially healthy spicy snacks. However filling up with water and spicy food is not always a solution. But healthy snacks in general make a great solution.

#2c. Thus if your spouse is pushing a snack towards you and it is a healthy one - and you are hungry - then go ahead and eat it. If it is an unhealthy snack then try a small portion of it, provided you are hungry currently. If you are not hungry then say so. "I am not hungry right now." Easy. Their feelings will not be as hurt as you might think they are.

#3. Know what you are eating. Know your enemy. If it tastes good, find out what is actually in it so you have a better idea of how healthy or unhealthy it is. Vegetables or fruits, it is probably healthy. If it is covered in sauce, gravy, sugar-coated or syrup then it is probably unhealthy. Knowing what things are good for you and what things are bad is half the battle.

Exercising to get those "Rock Hard Abs"

#4. Don't do ab exercises if you cannot even see your abs under a layer of fat. Why? You will be basically wasting your time doing weightlifting exercises to build muscle, when what you really need to be doing is cardio exercises in order to shed fat off your entire body. You cannot lose fat through "spot treatment". Spot treatment works for building muscle, it does absolutely nothing for losing fat. If you want to lose fat, then you need to be doing cardio exercises.

#5. When it comes to cardio exercises the more intense, the longer the duration, the better they will be at shedding fat from your body. It is really all about burning as many calories as you can during your workout period - and the longer your workout is, the more intense it is, then obviously you will be burning way more calories. Thus running burns more calories than jogging, but if you can only run for short periods of time then jogging can actually burn more because you can jog for longer distances and longer periods of time because of the sheer length of time. Running for 3 minutes vs jogging for 10 minutes, which do you think burns more calories? The answer is jogging. So imagine how much more you will burn if you jog for 57 minutes and the sprint for the last 3 minutes?

#6. Learn how to alternate high intensity exercises with low intensity exercises. This is actually really simply. Walk for 3 minutes, run for 1 minute, walk for 3 minutes, run for 1 minute, continue doing this for 60 minutes total. What is the benefit of this? It boosts your heart rate dramatically and gets the Afterburn Effect going. If you can trigger the Afterburn Effect you can burn double the fat for your efforts. Your metabolic rate goes up, you feel energized, your body starts burning fat stores like crazy, you don't feel hungry as much. This is a great way to burn fat in a hurry.

#7. Pick cardio exercises that you love doing. eg. If you love bicycling, then you need to be doing that more often. Every day if you can. Find exercises that you love to do and then keep doing them as often as possible. For me, my favourites are archery, boxing and swimming. And in the winter I also enjoy ice skating. But for you? What are your favourites?

Sometimes the Biggest Enabler is YOU

#8. Learn to control your own cravings. Sometimes it is not the spouse or significant other or relative who shoveling food in your direction. Sometimes it is you that has lost control. This means you need to control your own cravings, learn to measure your intake of food - and learn to make smarter choices with what you are eating.

The real trick here is realizing that you have self-control and that it is not the cravings that control you. It is you who makes the mistakes of giving in to your cravings. You still have control, but many of us choose not to exercise that control. It is not like the bacon has you in an arm lock and is forcing you to eat the bacon. You can choose not to - and you can also choose to eat 2 or 3 pieces and then stop at that small portion instead of eating the entire package of bacon.

#9. When faced with a enabling crisis (whether you are doing it or someone is giving it to you) what you need to do is ask yourself what do you want more? That pound of crispy bacon stacked high between two slices of bread, in what is an unholy combo of carbs and grease? Or that body you've been wishing you had but have always lacked the willpower to go after it? You can choose to eat smaller portions, you can choose to exercise more, you can choose to make lifestyle changes - permanent ones - that ultimately benefit you in your goal. It is a choice.

#10. Don't blame others for your downfall. Nobody is force feeding you. Yes, there are family members and friends who act as 'agents of enabling', but they are not forcing you to eat the things placed in front of you. You choose to do that of your own free will.

Blaming them is just an excuse. You need to take responsibility for your own actions and then act accordingly. You are not overweight because someone else is forcing you to eat and not exercise enough. You are overweight because you make a choice to eat too much and then not exercise enough to burn off the extra calories.

And burning extra calories takes extra work.

Take responsibility.

Do the work.

Eat small portions.

Stick with it for longer periods of time.

Don't give up easily just because the process is more difficult than you thought it would be.

Find ways to make exercising fun.

Stop worrying about the food your family members or friends push in front of you. If you make the effort, you can eat healthy, lose the fat, and achieve real change.

And then once you can actually see your abs then you know you are ready to do ab exercises to make them stronger and "rock hard".

5% Seniors Discount for all personal training and sports training

Are you a senior over the age of 65 and live in Toronto?

If so you are eligible for a 5% Seniors Discount at Cardio Trek on all...

• Personal Training / Weight Loss Session Packages
• Nutritional Advice Sessions
• Archery Lesson Packages
• Boxing Lesson Packages
• Ice Skating Lesson Packages
• Swimming Lesson Packages

This Seniors Discount is in addition to the discount rate for ordering 3 or more sessions.

Note - In August 2015 I lowered my age requirement for the Seniors Discount from the age of 70 to the age of 65. For a limited time I also offered a Triple Seniors Discount of 15% off archery lessons during September and October 2015.

Have a nice day!

3 Frequently Asked Archery Equipment Questions

Question #1. What is a good beginner bow for someone who is new to archery?

Answer. Any 3-piece recurve bow is a good starter bow for someone who is just getting into archery.

I don't recommend compound bows, longbows, traditional horsebows or Olympic recurves for beginners. Compound bows require extra attention to safety and how to tune them properly. Longbow stance is more difficult than recurve and people really should learn recurve stance before learning longbow stance. Traditional horsebows and similar shortbows are great historical examples of traditional recurves, but a person would still be wise to learn recurve first before jumping into the deep end of the pool. And Olympic recurve is really unnecessary for the vast majority of shooters who are doing archery for fun. Olympic is all about using gadgets to try and get as much accuracy as you can out of the bow and like compounds you need to know how to properly tune those gadgets - and again, you really should learn to swim before jumping into the deep end of the pool.

Regarding brands, 3-piece recurve bows are all basically the same except for looks. Ragim Matrix, Samich Sage, Jandao, PSE, Hoyt, Bodnik and 50+ other brands all make basically same bow. Minor differences in colour, shape and materials.

Question #2. How should I select which kind of arrows are right for me and right for my bow?

Answer. It all comes down to the spine flexibility of the arrow. Follow the steps below to find which spine is right for your arrows.

First, determine your draw length when pulling back to your anchor spot. (If you don't know what your anchor spot is, maybe you should get archery lessons first.) You will want to get arrows approx. 1 inch longer than your draw length.

Next, determine the poundage of your bow at that draw length. eg. If your bow is a 28 lbs @ 28 inches draw, then it should be roughly 1 lb of pressure per inch. So if your draw length is 26 inches you will need to get 27 inch long arrows that are good for a bow that is 26 lbs since your draw length is a bit shorter.

Next you will Google the words "arrow selection chart" (see graphic below for an example) and consult various manufacturers charts. Use the charts to find out which type of arrow are good for someone using that draw length and that poundage. The brand name arrows and model numbers will typically have a 3 or 4 digit number on the arrow somewhere showing the range of uses it is good for.

So using our example above, someone with 27 inch arrows and pulling 26 lbs will want "600" spine arrows.

Then order the arrows online or visit a local archery shop that makes custom arrows on order, and get yourself the arrows that suit you best in the fletching that you want.

Question #3. Which are better? Tabs or finger gloves or trigger release aids or thumb rings?

Answer. Whichever feels best for you. Archers are all unique and choose what they want to. Generally speaking compound shooters use mechanical release aids, Olympic recurve shooters use tabs, and super traditional archers use carved bone/antler thumb rings... Myself I prefer good ol' finger gloves and I sometimes shoot without gloves at all - barehand shooting. It hurts the fingers more, so it is not for everyone.

Try not to get too hung up on having the perfect / most expensive equipment. Any archer worth their salt has been doing archery for years and knows it is not the equipment that makes the big difference, it is the archer's training, experience and ability to focus on the task at hand. An old archer with their bow should be like an extension of their arm. Thousands of hours of practice has taught them what to do to get the most accuracy out of the extension of themselves. Equipment won't teach you that. Get equipment that works, practice-practice-practice, and everything else will fall into place.

How to do Archery in the Wind and Rain - Part Two

I have already written a post on the topic of How to do Archery in the Wind and Rain before, so you may want to read that one first.

What I am writing here is more advanced skills for succeeding at archery during even more horrific weather conditions.

I do struggle to imagine when a person might use such skills, such as maybe bowhunting during a rainstorm, windstorm, etc.

If it was a competition I would wager they would just reschedule the competition for the next day.

Included below are some basic archery tips for shooting in wind and rain, mixed in with more advanced skills.

#1. Practice on rainy and windy days - the rainier and windier the better. The more practice you get the better you will understand how to shoot in adverse weather conditions.

#2. Dress for the weather conditions. Clothing that keeps you warm and dry, water resistant hoodies, rain jackets, pants that don't flap in the wind, boots that are waterproof, double socks for warmth, etc.

#3. Water resistant sunglasses or glasses. Why? The water will run off them faster instead of collecting in droplets. If you wear glasses, you will want these when shooting in the rain.

#4. Don't fuss about the rain. REVEL IN IT. Enjoy this opportunity to learn how to shoot in horrid conditions and you will be better for it. Don't let the weather put you in a foul mood. Let it uplift and make you excited to try something new and challenging.

#5. Have fun. Experiment with shooting longer distances than you normally do, fast shooting, shooting while kneeling in the mud, etc. Having fun while shooting will allow you get rid of your fears of the rain and give you confidence when it comes to future events when you need to be able to shoot in the rain.

#6. Learn to adjust your shots during heavy rain. Typically you need to aim a few inches higher.

#7. Keep your arrows dry until you are ready to shoot. Your fletching will get wet and clump together. They will fly better if they are not soaked.

#8. Once your arrows are already soaked, nothing you can do about it. Just keep practicing and learn how to shoot with wet fletching. (Wider fletching would be better in conditions like this.)

#9. Bring a towel. Honestly, you will need it.

#10. Bring an umbrella. Well worth it just to keep warm.

#11. Bring a friend, someone who is willing to hold the umbrella for you while you shoot.

#12. During windy conditions use a wider stance to help keep yourself still so the wind doesn't blow you around so much.

#13. Shoot from a kneeling position to get better stability in extreme wind. (This means you will need to practice shooting from a kneeling position in extreme wind.)

#14. Learn to shoot without fletching on your arrows. This will be a good learning experience so you learn what happens when there is no fletching.

#15. Learn to shoot in-between wind gusts for increased accuracy.

#16. Watch the grass or trees (or a wind sock) to give you a better idea of when it is gusting and when it is not.

#17. Do yoga and body weight exercises to give you better balance during windy conditions.

#18. Tie a ribbon or feather to the bottom of your bow, to give you a better idea of wind direction and gusts.

#19. Learn from your mistakes.

#20. Learn from your clusters where to aim.

#21. Adjust for shifting wind conditions - be vigilant and learn to aim in a different direction depending on what the wind shifts to.

#22. Stay hydrated. Yes, you are surrounded by wind and rain, but being dehydrated internally won't help you. Many archers forget to stay hydrated even on hot days.

#23. Make sure you slept well the night before and are well rested. Your balance will be better if you are well rested.

#24. Shoot in wind and rain for longer periods of time (eg. 4 to 6 hours). The longer you shoot the more used to the wind and rain conditions you will become, making you more in tune with how to shoot in such conditions. Shooting for 30 minutes and then going home is not enough time to kickstart your learning process.

#25. Bring hot tea with you. Avoid coffee and things with caffeine in it. Hot tea will keep you warm, whereas caffeine will make you jittery and make your brain jumpy - which slows the learning process.

#26. Take a hot shower after your archery session is over. This is more for health reasons, so you don't get sick. Drink some hot tea too to warm up your body temperature.

#27. Eat fruit - releases fructose sugars into your blood slowly and raises your blood sugar / energy levels slowly, which is what you will need. Avoid white sugar, brown sugar or sugary foods.

#28. Take up bowfishing - and wade into the water while doing bowfishing instead of standing on a dock or in a boat. Get used to the water and shooting while in the water and cold / shivering.

#29. Practice even in the winter - in cold, windy, snowy conditions. If you can practice in cold conditions then you can learn to shoot in any weather conditions.

#30. Strip down to your skinnies and shoot in barely any clothing. This will give you a better appreciation and understanding to what cold does to your body while doing archery. (South Korean Olympic archers go through a similar process, including sitting under ice cold waterfalls in order to make them resistant to cold. This gives them a mental edge when doing archery.)

#31. Take up Zen meditation. I recommend the book "The Unfettered Mind", which is a series of letters written by a Buddhist monk and sent to samurais, but the concepts he discusses applies to archery too.

#32. Practice archery daily, regardless of wind, rain, fog, snow, mud, low light conditions.

#33. Practice archery at night sometimes, even during wind and rain on a cold dark night. Learn to shoot at night and shooting during the day will seem easy.

#34. Learn to block out distractions and yet still be in tune with your surroundings. Food for Thought: You sense the rain, but don't feel the rain. It is the difference between sensing something and becoming distracted by something.

#35. Always look to challenge yourself. Remember wind and rain is just an extra challenge. Learn to accept and embrace challenges by trying new things, not just in archery but in life in general. You will be more mentally prepared for a challenge if you learn to accept every day challenges as a learning experience.

Causes and Cures for Chronic Back Pain

While many people experience back pain, chronic back pain is actually more like a sports injury like tennis elbow.

Why? Because often chronic back pain can be solved through proper form while lifting objects, more exercise, diet, sleeping positions and more.

Below is a list of causes for chronic back pain - and their solutions.

Years of poor posture

The Solution - Practice good posture when sitting, standing and even sleeping. For added benefits take up yoga to build stronger core muscles.

Improper lifting and carrying of heavy objects

The Solution - Practice proper form while lifting things (lift with your legs and your back straight), even when lifting small objects. When in doubt, let someone younger and fitter carry it for you. Wearing a back brace is also a smart idea to help prevent injury.

Even lifting small objects improperly can put a lot of strain on your back - unnecessary strain. So if you drop your toothbrush, bend over without thinking and pick it up improperly you can still hurt your back - not because of the weight of the toothbrush, but because of the weight of your upper body.

Being overweight, which puts excess strain on the back and knees

The Solution - Go for daily walks, cut back on the sweets, keep doing this until you attain your ideal weight. Also try swimming, cycling and other cardio exercises to help you lose weight.

Wearing high heels

The Solution - Stop wearing high heels. Wear flats with cushioning instead. Take up yoga to help correct muscle imbalances in your back.
Congenital condition such as curvature of the spine

The Solution - Seek medical treatment from a back / spinal specialist.

Traumatic injury (eg. car accident damaged your spine)

The Solution - Seek medical treatment from a back / spinal specialist.

Note: Sadly the above two can only be solved with the help of doctors and trained specialists.

Sleeping on a poor mattress

The Solution - Buy a better mattress that supports your back better. Research proper sleeping positions that won't damage your spine.

No obvious physical cause

The Solution - Experiment with different solutions above until you find something that works. I recommend starting with practicing good posture, taking up yoga and sleeping in better positions that are good for your back. Many people have poor posture / sleeping positions and don't realize it.

Ordinary aging of the spine (degenerative changes)

The Solution - Regular exercise and a healthy diet will keep you younger longer and give your spine more longevity. Walking, yoga, light weight lifting with proper form can all help you keep you feeling younger and build bone density.