Archery Equipment for Kids

Summer is almost here and many parents are doubtlessly looking for archery summer camps for kids, archery day camps within Toronto, archery lessons for kids in Toronto... basically anything to do with archery in Toronto for kids.

Unfortunately many parents visiting CardioTrek.ca and contacting me will also note three things:

#1. I don't teach children under the age of 10. I have my reasons for this, chief amongst which are the level of maturity, attention spans, ability to follow instructions I expect from students - especially with respect to safety.

#2. I am not cheap. As a personal trainer I currently charge $50 per hour for my personal training services, and similar rates for my sports training services. An 1-on-1 archery lesson is typically $60 for 90 minutes on a weekday morning/afternoon or $80 on a weekend / weekday evening.

#3. I book up fast, especially on weekends and weekday evenings. Why do I book up so fast?

• People started prebooking for archery lessons in 2015 back in July 2014.
• Some archery students keep coming back for more.
• Some archery students prebook 3, 5 or 10 lessons all at once.
• Weekends and weekday evenings are in short supply and are the most desirable time slots.
• People prebook months ahead of time. (I often receive a flood of prebooking requests in November.)
• Because kids have more availability after school ends in June, many parents wait until June before prebooking lessons - only to discover I am fully booked until August or September. (And by fully booked I mean completely fully booked.)

So, with these 3 factors in mind I know there will be a lot of parents who are disappointed that I cannot teach their 8 year old for a cheaper rate "this weekend". Sorry, fully booked + your kid is too immature + why would I work for less than what other people are paying?

However I do have several solutions for parents who want to get their kids into archery (or parents being forced by their kids to let them get into archery):

#1. BUY EQUIPMENT

For approx. $100 to $300 you can buy everything your kid needs to practice archery - including a bow, 6 to 12 arrows (more is always better), shooting glove or tab, bow stringer, etc.

• For a higher quality bow go to Tent City in North York (near Steeles and Dufferin) and expect to spend $200 to $300 for everything you need.
• For a more average bow go to Bass Pro in Vaughan and expect to spend $100 to $250.
• For a very cheap children's bow go to a Canadian Tire that offers archery equipment (not all Canadian Tire stores sell archery equipment) and expect to spend $30 to $60 on a very cheap children's bow + the cost of extra arrows.

1st Note - I do not recommend buying kids used archery equipment. Often they won't be the correct size for your kid and will be largely unusable. Plus the equipment might be damaged in some way that you, as a non-archer, would not be able to recognize.

2nd Note - You might also think it is possible to rent archery equipment, but honestly I only know of one place that does rentals - and I don't know how reputable they are. I do however know they require a damage deposit, as beginners often break arrows easily. So I don't recommend rentals.

#2. MAKE YOUR OWN ARCHERY EQUIPMENT

There are plenty of YouTube videos and DIY archery equipment websites out there for people wishing to make their own archery equipment. Easy option is to make a simple stickbow out of a hardwood branch and some twine, but don't expect it to last very long. Typically, the best bows are those that take the longest to make so a little extra effort is required to make a bow that shoots well.

Regarding arrows you may want to still purchase arrows (see Tent City or Bass Pro) as arrow making can be quite time consuming to get perfectly straight well-fletched arrows. Alternatively you can buy dowels from either Canadian Tire or Home Depot, or you can try making your own dowels for arrow shafts but be forewarned that it will not be easy.

#3. ARCHERY TAG (MUST BE 16 OR OLDER)

Toronto has quite a few archery tag locations available, including one location that sometimes offers archery lessons for children under the age of 16 (Battle Sports in North York). If your kid is over 16 your kid and you (possibly your whole family if they are all over 16) could sign up for an hour of archery tag.

Note - Battle Sports in North York is the only location I currently recommend if you decide to go the archery tag route.

#4. ARCHERY CAMP

If you visit ArcheryToronto.ca the website has a list of archery summer camps or day camps that are either in Toronto or near Toronto.

However I should warn you right now that many of these camps will already be fully booked (completely fully booked), but I suppose you could always try to contact them to see if they have had any cancellations or can fit one more kid in.

I should also mention that archery instructors at camps basically only teach your kids the safety rules, so be forewarned that your kid may be disappointed by their lack of skills as they will have numerous bad habits that camp instructors won't bother to recognize or try to teach them how to avoid those mistakes. Your kid will doubtlessly have fun at camp, but may end up disappointed if they were expecting to be able to shoot like Katniss Everdeen, Hawkeye or Green Arrow in a hurry.

MAY YOUR ARROWS FLY TRUE

In conclusion if you are looking for archery lessons in Toronto, absolutely, contact me if your kid / you want archery lessons. However I must warn you may need to prebook for either August, September or October, or possibly even prebook for 2016.

Good luck in your archery endeavours and may your arrows always fly true.

Wednesday and Thursday Archery Lessons Special

Spring Early Bird Special!

For a limited time I am offering a 10% discount to anyone in Toronto wanting to book archery lessons on Wednesday or Thursday mornings or afternoons (between 10 AM and 4 PM).

This means if you are looking to sign up for a 1-person lesson on either Wednesday or Thursday morning/afternoon, the price is $54 instead of $60.

See my rates for archery lessons if you want to book multiple lessons or up to 3 people at once.

To get this Early Bird Special you need to email me with the following Promo Code: WEDTHURS10PROMO.

The Promo Code only applies to Wednesday or Thursday morning/afternoon bookings and does not apply to any other days or time slots.

This offer expires on April 30th 2015.

Happy Easter!

The following video and the above photo were taken on Easter Sunday. If you want to learn how to shoot at moving targets sign up for multiple lessons. :)

How to do Proper Wall Pushups

For some people doing normal pushups is too difficult, but there is an alternative - the Wall Pushup.

Doing a Wall Pushup is significantly easier than doing normal pushups (especially compared to say fingertip pushups), but that doesn't mean you can be lazy about it either. To master Wall Pushups it helps to actually do them properly so you get the most benefit from them and aren't injuring yourself by accident.

Step One

Stand with your feet together about 1 to 2 feet from a wall.

Step Two

Place your hands flat on the wall at the same level as your shoulders and space them a little more than shoulder width apart.

Step Three

Slowly bend your arms at the elbows to lower your body toward the wall until your head touches the wall. (Myself I like to lower myself towards the wall until my nose brushes the wall a tiny bit.)

Step Four

Slowly raise your body back up by straightening arms. It is important that you do both steps 3 and 4 slowly. Don't rush. Take your time.

Step Five

Repeat Steps 3 and 4 slowly 10, 20 or more times and then take a short break. Ideally you should try to do perhaps 5 sets of 10 or 5 sets of 20 every day to give yourself a decent workout for your triceps, shoulders, pecs, etc.

Wall pushups are a great exercise to do every morning. They're also handy for vacations, when visiting family / friends during holidays, and they're very frugal. They're also good for elderly people or people dealing with an injury.

Another kind of pushup you can try is an Incline Pushup, usually done using stairs, large heavy furniture or something equally stable to brace yourself up against.

There are also Decline Pushups, but you should really master how to do normal pushups before attempting Decline.

The #1 Reason Why So Many People Fail To Lose Weight

Do you want to know the #1 reason why many people who set out to lose weight via exercise fail to lose the weight they are looking for?

The answer is...

NOT ENOUGH CARDIO

Many people who go to the gym (or set up a home gym) do so by lifting weights or doing various forms resistance training, which in turn builds muscle.

What often happens is the person ends up GAINING WEIGHT due to increased muscle mass. They aren't reducing their overall weight and while their body fat percentage may go down slightly, they are not going to get the results they are looking for.

It is basically an issue of people equating cardio exercises like running, jogging, swimming, cycling, etc with weightlifting exercises and thinking that they can get the benefits of weight loss from weight lifting - and instead they gain weight by building muscle, while seeing no change at all in their waistline. They have fallen victim to the myth that "you can lose weight by weightlifting".

There are of course, exceptions. I will give you a few:

#1. Put weights around your ankles and go for long walks. That is basically combining weight lifting for your legs with cardio - but it is still effectively cardio.

#2. Put a 20 lb backpack on and then go cycling. Yes, you are lifting extra weight on your back, but the more important factor is that cycling = cardio.

#3. Combine aerobic exercises with small 5 lb dumbbells. Yes, you are lifting weights, but again the bigger factor is that aerobic exercises = cardio.

So yes, of course, if you combine weightlifting with cardio you could lose weight - but the bigger weight loss factor is always going to be the cardio.

Your primary goal during a cardio exercise is to get your heart rate going - and trigger the Afterburn Effect (heightened metabolism as your body burns fat for energy). If you don't get your heart rate high enough to trigger the Afterburn Effect, then you are going to have difficulty trying to lose weight. Often people exercising with just weightlifting are just going to use up the energy in their blood (sugar, fat, etc) and then feel hungry and tired.

In contrast if you trigger the Afterburn Effect you suddenly feel energized - more energetic and alive, for the rest of the day as your body starts burning fat to refuel your body's energy levels. Scientific studies show that the Afterburn Effect can last up to 48 hours after the person achieves a high heart rate from doing cardio - and the more prolonged their heart rate is higher, the more their body starts burning fat.

Triggering the Afterburn Effect is part of High Intensity Interval Training and other forms of Interval Training. So if your goal is to lose weight, you might want to consider Interval Training as a method of getting your heart rate up in your goal of losing weight.

The goal during High Intensity Interval Training is to get your heart rate up doing one intense exercise, and then relax while doing a less stressful exercise, and then get your heart rate back up again by doing another intense exercise.

Example 1. Sprinting, Walking, Sprinting, Walking, Sprinting, Walking, etc.

Example 2. Aggressive Mountain Biking, Relaxing Cruise, Aggressive Mountain Biking, Relaxing Cruise, Aggressive Mountain Biking, Relaxing Cruise, etc.

Example 3. Fast Swimming, Leisurely Swimming, Fast Swimming, Leisurely Swimming, Fast Swimming, Leisurely Swimming, etc.

Scientific studies have also shown that 30 minutes of  High Intensity Interval Training is more effective for weight loss than 30 minutes of jogging - because your heart rate gets higher while sprinting, and a higher heart rate triggers the Afterburn Effect better.

So not only are people often doing the wrong exercises for their goal, people are often opting for exercises they consider to be easier - because they know sprinting and similar intense exercises are pretty hard.

But not impossible.

Sprinting is basically just running as fast as possible for a short period of time. Anyone with working legs can do it, so chances are likely you have no excuses.

Anyone with bad knees would be advised to do swimming instead.

But once you start doing more intense cardio on a regular basis you will feel invigorated every time you do - that is how you will know the Afterburn Effect is working. The feeling of invigoration.

Exercise + Nutrition Vs Advertising

I am going to go a bit off topic today, but my goal here is to talk about the advertising industry and its place when it comes to both the exercise industry and the food industry. Time for some myth busting!

SAY CHEESE

You would think, judging by TV commercials for cheese that cheese is inherently good for you because it contains lots of calcium. This is only partially true.

It only takes a Google search to find hundreds of articles about the Cheese Lobby in both the USA and Canada, and how it is being used to sell everything from fattening cheese pizza to cheesy Taco Bell to cheeseburgers and more...

eg. Read the NY Times article: While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales

Fun Fact: "Americans now eat an average of 33 pounds of cheese a year, nearly triple the 1970 rate."

The Cheese Lobby in the USA is HUGE. They represent every fast food chain that has cheese on the menu, whether it be cheese pizza or cheeseburgers. Their goal? To fool North Americans into thinking cheese is healthy for you because it contains calcium.

Truth be told when you actually check milk and cheese isn't actually a good source of calcium. Milk is actually a good source of protein, and cheese is a good source of fat. Cheese is something you should be asking for less of, not more of.

Want a good source for calcium? Check out the vegetables below.

FIVE RED FLAGS

To demonstrate how bad the food industry is sometimes I am going to show 5 Red Flags to look for when you are watching advertising:

#1. Exotic Ingredients from Asia, Brazil, Africa, Etc.

The idea here is simply: To fool people into thinking that you can lose weight by eating some kind of exotic berry (acai berries for example) or fruit from a place you've never been to (South African Hoodia Extract). If they're pushing something exotic for a hefty price, they're basically just selling you juice or extract for something you don't actually need.

#2. Fake Studies with Fake Doctors

If they have to back up their product with a study from a doctor, most likely the doctor in question is either not a real doctor or he/she is being paid oodles of money to push a bogus study that says their product works. Often there will be a photo of a doctor dressed in white holding a supplement.

#3. Free Trial

Free Trials are a great way to get gullible people hooked on a product that doesn't really work any better than a placebo. Plus when you try to cancel they make it very difficult to do so - you basically have to cancel your credit card to get rid of them. Note - Many companies stick an addictive agent (caffeine usually) in the product so you become addicted to the product.

#4. Celebrity Testimonials

It doesn't matter whether the celebrity is a bodybuilder or Oprah, if they are pushing the product using a celebrity then then company's primary goal is to make money off gullible people.

#5.  Too Good to be True

If it contains the words "Lose Weight Fast and Easy" or some similar slogan, you know they're lying to you.

THE FITNESS LOBBY

If you Google the words fitness lobby you will get a bunch of gym websites and photos of lobbies of gyms. The reason why, apparently, is because there is no "Fitness Lobby" in the USA or Canada (or in any other country for that matter).

I did manage to find one article about fitness groups lobbying for a tax break, but it wasn't an actual lobby group being paid to lobby the government, it was simply a selection of fitness groups trying to get a tax break. They only had one cause and they weren't being paid to do it, whereas lobby groups are basically hired thugs being paid to fight on behalf of the tobacco industry, the cheese industry, the oil industry, and basically any industry which everyone knows is doing something bad.

How many decades did the tobacco industry use lobbying to keep cigarettes being sold and how many more decades will they continue to do so before smoking cigarettes gets banned in North America for causing ridiculous amounts of cancer and killing two thirds of smokers? An industry that kills 66% of its customers is doomed to eventually get banned.

In contrast the fitness industry doesn't kill people when they are selling new fitness gadgets.

But it does use false advertising, like the Fake Doctors, Free Trials, Celebrity Endorsements, and Too Good To Be True slogans mentioned above.

But here are additional tricks used in advertisements:

#1. The fitness industry often uses people who were already thin and attractive (or already lost weight) before they started using whatever new fitness gadget is being pushed at the consumer. So regardless of whether they are trying to sell a Thigh Master or a Bowflex, their goal is to show you people who are already fit using the product. They don't show you people who overweight and not fit using it and then the slow progression of them losing weight - that would be too time consuming, and also impossible because people would realize that the people using the product are also using other kinds of exercises.

#2. They don't mention that people using the product should also be using a wide variety of other exercises - such as jogging, swimming or cycling - in their goal to lose weight.

#3. They ignore the fact that a home gym composed of weight machines really only builds muscle and is useless to someone who wants to lose weight by shedding fat. To shed fat they need to be doing cardio exercises.

#4. Fitness gyms sign people up for 1 year contracts and then make it difficult to cancel the contract by charging the membership fee every month even after the contract has been finished or cancelled. Fitness gyms claim it is due to clerical errors that people are routinely charged again and again even after their contract has expired or been cancelled.

#5. Fitness gyms routinely overcharge members for their membership fee, for an inflated amount with hidden fees - or sometimes charge the membership fee twice in the same month. Or both.

#6. Fitness gyms offer personal training services, but often charge ridiculous rates for those services while paying their staff peanuts. eg. Extreme Fitness charges $80 to $90 per hour for the services of a personal trainer, but only pays the trainer $17 to $20 per hour.

So the fitness industry doesn't really need a fitness lobby because they're already making lots of money off gullible people signing up for fitness gadgets they don't need and gym memberships they likewise don't need.

Want to get some exercise? Start by going outside more often and doing fun activities that require exercise.

Want to lose weight through dieting? Start by learning how to cook healthier food.