Vancouver has much to offer in the way of outdoor fitness, from running and rollerblading on seawalls, to hiking and trail riding on the mountains. Another thing that our beautiful city has a lot of is RAIN.

For those fitness enthusiasts that love to train outdoors there are inevitably days when you may not want to go outside to battle the elements. And for some this becomes an excuse not to exercise.

The solution: A good back-up plan to ensure you don’t fall into this bad habit! The easiest one is to get into a gym, but you also may want to consider stair-climbing if you live or work in a high-rise building. Climbing stairs is a great workout. Walk or run up the flight of stairs from the ground floor. Walking down stairs can be hard on the knees so I recommend using the elevator to return back down for your subsequent climbs.

‘Fran’ is a CrossFit workout involving 21 thrusters (@ 95lbs for men and 65 lbs for women) and 21 pull ups, then 15 reps of each exercise and then 9 of each.

Exercises are performed as fast as possible with little or no rest. It’s a tough workout that challenges your strength, muscular endurance as well as metabolic conditioning. We held a challenge for the CrossFit and Training class members after 6 weeks of training.

The winning times were Cindy McMillan 5:26 (Advanced category) with an improvement of -1:22 and Dominique Adhai (Intermediate scaled weights and pull ups) -3:23. Dominique was the most improved with 35.61% change. Jon C receives special mention for most improved, but was unable to take part at the finals.

Congratulations to everyone who participated – most people improved by -20% or more from their original time! The winners received a trip to the spa on us Precision Athletics t-shirts!

Advanced 95 lbs M /65 lbs W + Bw chin ups

Intermediate

This is an original Crossfit benchmark timed workout that our Crosstraining & Fitness class members are working on over the next 6 weeks.

It involves alternating a set number of thrusters and pull-ups without a break:

• 21 thrusters (75 lb weight for men, 65 lb for women)
• 21 pull-ups
• 15 thrusters
• 15 pull-ups
• 9 thrusters
• 9 pull-ups

How the challenge works: Set your baseline time, then train with the intention of improving it and show up at the finals to beat your original time. No problem!

The finals are set for Saturday, July 9^th at 10 am. You don’t need to be a member of the Crosstraining and Fitness class join in on the challenge. Contact us with any questions.

Beach Vacation Provided Motivation, But Now She’s Hooked on Group Fitness

In March Ais knew she had her work cut out for her. She and her boyfriend had just booked a May beach vacation in Mexico. But it wasn’t only the thought of wearing a bikini that brought her to the gym – there were health issues that were bothering such as a shortness of breath and problems with her knees.

Ais signed up for three group fitness classes per week (Crosstraining & Fitness with David Sims and Boot Camp with Craig Boyd) and two months later, she had lost 15 pounds!

Now three months later, her health issues have disappeared and “I can keep up with everybody in class!”.

Ais Sheridan mid-set of 100 push ups - always smiling!

How did she do it? “By mixing up the classes, challenging myself and keeping busy. At home, I’d just watch TV. It’s good to have a set schedule and the commitment of group classes. Otherwise, I wouldn’t get to the gym and would end up beating myself up over it.”

Her next hurdle is to get over the weight-loss plateau by committing to four classes per week and teaching herself healthy eating: “I used to buy lunch, but now I pack my own breakfast and lunch – and make sure to bring lots of fruit and veggies.” Above all, Ais says she wants to learn to feel comfortable in her own skin.

Ais notes that the group fitness class feels like a personal training session because of the small class size and the one-on-one attention. There’s certainly no hiding in the back row from the instructor: “I can’t cheat. Dave and Craig don’t let me get away with anything!”. She finds the camaraderie and motivation of being with a group very inspiring. Ais says, “I learn from the others in class and we push one another.”

Her number one piece of advice? “Get there. Just show up and try it, that’s the hardest part. And afterwards you feel like you’ve accomplished something.”

Craig Boyd had been a trainer for years when he cofounded Precision in 2001 with Pepe Picco. They had a vision that included trainers with greater expertise and a focus on the other 23 hours. He plays competitive soccer, enjoys Olympic lifting and wants to train for another ironman. Learn more about Craig here.

Beach Wedding Provides Concrete Goal, But Not The Main Reason For Training.

Sisters in training: Simone Villagran (left) and Nicole Cleve are down to the last two weeks of training in preparation for Nicole’s beach wedding to Simone’s brother Fernando

It took a while to get their schedules synched up but Nicole and her future sister in law started training together (they were later joined by Kim, another member of the wedding party, and Fernando did the bootcamp).  “Not only is it more fun to train with somebody else, but it makes it easier” says Nicole. “They hold you accountable”.

“I was a bit self conscious at first that I couldn’t do things I used to be able to do”, she says. “But once I started to see myself getting back to my old self I just couldn’t stop. It’s hard to underestimate the impact not being fit has on your life until you climb out of that rut: but now I’m stronger, I’m sleeping better, I feel emotionally stronger”.

For Simone training was similarly transformational: “I don’t think Craig realizes how much he’s changed my life,” she says. “At first I was scared, I was being asked to do things I didn’t think I could do. Now I can’t believe how strong I’ve become.” Simone also did the 21 Day Challenge in April. She lost about 8 lbs of fat, but more significantly she changed her eating habits for good.

For both Simone and Nicole being fit has become a lifestyle that goes far beyond the hours when they are working out.

As Craig says “People are generally working out at most an hour a day, lots can happen in the remaining 23 hours to magnify or sabotage your results: nutrition and sleep play a huge role,”

“I think it’s great that Nicole and Simone teamed up – what a great bonding experience to cement their new relationship. I’m also really impressed that they’ve made training a priority.

“The important shift for me was when my training time became non-negotiable” states Nicole “I’ve got a lot more clarity about what I need to do take care of my mind, body and soul, and I’m not willing to sacrifice that.”

Nicole takes proactive measures rather than risking slipping behind: “I knew I had to counteract the holidays and pre-wedding celebrations so I started working out four days a week; even after the last six weeks I’m still right on track”.

The wedding has been a very concrete goal to work towards (bare back and arms, beach wedding!), but both Nicole and Simone are very clear that while it was a fun focus, it is not the main reason they’re still training, and plan to continue once they return.

But for now it is crunch time and they are working hard to make sure they’re happy with the results. And while Nicole will be the main focus on the 5th, Simone gets to do things twice – she’s in her best friend’s wedding party, also in Cabo, just two days earlier.

Craig and everybody at Precision congratulate them and hope they have a great time. And, expect to see them back in the gym bearing photos on their return!

David Sims is a NASM certified Personal Trainer and a level 1 CrossFit trainer. He specializes in weight loss, improving fitness and flexibility, core training, as well as high intensity training.

Robert McLaughlin’s experience working with a personal trainer has a familiar beginning for many of our clients. It started with an injury. He came to Precision to work on building strength and losing weight while he was waiting to get a diagnosis for his knee. It turns out he had a torn ligament (ACL) so personal training was derailed for a while by surgery and rehab, but now he’s into a routine working with his trainer David Sims.

Robert and David seem like a good match.

Says Robert, “I try to go as hard as I can and operate at my limits. Sometimes I feel like I can’t move at the end of the workout, and that’s what I want.”

Robert McLaughlin
“One of the things I like about working with David is I don’t have to plan ahead for my sessions. I just have to show up and push myself. I can trust him to put me through my paces, and that I’ll see progress” says Robert McLaughlin.

Says David, “I like to see people push themselves and accomplish things they initially think they can’t do.”

David has been involved in competitive sports for most of his life, but professionally up until a few years ago he was a realtor, who happened to train with Craig and Pepe. “When I was looking for something more rewarding, Craig pointed out I seemed to enjoy the gym since I was there every day, and I should consider becoming a personal trainer.”

He sees personal training (both for him and his clients) as an opportunity to integrate fitness into day-to-day life. “Once people make a mental commitment to really change it becomes easy for them to find the time to workout and eating more healthy, because it’s a priority.”

Robert says the most valuable thing he’s learned from David is that you can always find 15-20 minutes. And as Robert has learned, the results quickly follow. “Even my cardio (which is NOT my favourite), has improved to the point that other people are noticing at beer league hockey.”

In theory Robert trains at the gym twice a week but he’s on the road for work a lot so he often can’t make it into the gym. But he works out on the road with the training routine David gave him (see below for David’s Travel Training Tip).

For Robert, the trickiest part of traveling is not exercise but nutrition. He goes to lots of dinners and cocktail meetings, and often needs to grab quick snacks. “David made it clear to me at the beginning that if I wanted to see ongoing improvements I was going to need to pay attention to what I ate and when”, says Robert. “But, when I’m on the road, given my schedule, I have to remind myself that I can’t throw away the whole day just because I deviate on one meal”.

Urgh, my legs!

Between Tanya and Julie’s class my legs and abs have taken a beating.  Just two more months till beach time so I have to get to it.  During Saturday’s CrossFit class with Tanya I had the brilliant idea of mentioning that I had not been doing abs lately.  Well, Tanya made sure we did enough abs in that class to last us for a full week. Read the rest of this entry »