Too little, too late for Akimow
June 6, 2016: This is the date of the final weigh-in. As I sit and write my final column, I have a feeling I already know the outcome. I am going to lose the Richmond News fitness challenge.
I realized this on Monday while at the BC Chamber of Commerce AGM sessions which include, non-stop eating, sitting and, you guessed it, a little bit of drinking.
I was fairly good about it all. I did my workouts each day at the hotel gym and even contemplated doing one inside the Summer Hill winery pyramid (apparently it has “positive ions” and was built for aliens). But when that last thought crossed my mind, I knew it was over.
So what does that mean? What happened and what does this 10-week experience mean at the end of it all?
First, let me say I’m not going to give up from now until Monday. I’ll work hard and, who knows, when you read the final recap next week, maybe a miracle will happen.
As for what happened, well, simply put, Collin worked harder than I did. He got off to a faster start and I waited too long. I always laugh when they ask professional athletes or coaches what went wrong after losing a series or a big game and they come up with a bunch of nonsense. At the end of the day, they were either outsmarted or outworked.
I am proud of Collin, not only for going along for this ride with me, but also for his column.
He was right there week after week and did a great job entertaining us all.
Collin doesn’t have a writing background. It might sound strange but for someone who doesn’t have a background in journalism (I minored in journalism) coming up with 10 weeks of story ideas. It can be a daunting task. For example, I know I wouldn’t want to try and change a timing belt on an Audi, for example. Come to think of it, do cars still have timing belts?
My congratulations to him. Collin, looks like I owe you dinner.
As for me, I will continue my routine with AJ at the City Centre Community Centre for another 15 weeks. My goal is to have a minimum of four days a week with some form of weights and cardio. AJ is a great trainer and is clearly passionate about fitness. I’m looking forward to working with him.
And I’ve learned a few things along the way over the 10 weeks:
1) I feel better, I feel stronger and I must look better, too.
2) Confidence is key; if you’re feeling good heading into your routine, you will usually have a good one and you’ll feel great once your done.
3) I’m conscious of what I eat all the time. Fact is, you have to watch what you take in if you want to get results.
4) Alcohol is the enemy. A big night out of drinking will set you back, or even a few nights out a week with a couple beers or wine will make things far more difficult for you come gym time.
5) Probably the most important thing is that I enjoyed this and I’m looking forward to continuing.
Thanks for reading along Richmond. #TeamMongoose
Team Apres Ski gracious in ‘victory’
Gabriella Payne is the best trainer ever! She has managed to take me from the fattest I’ve ever been — at 177.7 pounds — to a svelte 161 in nine and a half weeks! How did she do it?
1) Interval training with push ups: Gabriella’s main focus for me was losing weight and getting ripped. Her strategy to do so focused on high intensity interval sprints. About three to four times a week for the duration of this challenge, I would warm up on the treadmill for two minutes at a pace of approximately three miles per hour and then at the two-minute mark, I would crank up the treadmill to 10 miles per hour and a steep five incline.
This increase would bring me to almost a full sprint and I would need to keep it up for 30 seconds.
Then I would put my hands on the handles of the treadmill and literally jump off the treadmill by placing my feet to the sides of the treadmill. The 30 seconds of full sprint would have me huffing and puffing with my head rested on the console of the treadmill, all while the machine is still humming along at 10 miles per hour.
For 25 minutes, I would repeat this process of jumping on the treadmill, sprinting to near exhaustion for 30 seconds and then jumping off for a 30 second rest. Pretty intense I know, but it was working for me.
After nine and a half weeks of this process, I feel great on the treadmill. My legs are strong, my cardio is much improved and I feel that I can actually increase the miles per hour of the incline going forward.
Gabriella said that interval sprints is the best way to lose weight and I am a believer.
2) Dynamic movements: One of the other unique things that Gabriella would have me do before my session with her in the gym would be dynamic movements. These movements are considered part of the warm up and are done in place of stretching. The dynamic movements help activate the muscles that will be used in the workout, they stretch the muscles and get your body ready for the workout.
The movements are running butt kicks, high-knee steps, lunge steps and squat steps. I typically don’t see others doing the dynamic movements in the gym, so it is another of Gabriella’s advanced technics!
3) Full body workouts and variety of exercises/movements: Each of our workouts are always different and involve the entire body. The full body workouts are beneficial because they are time efficient. I can get an entire workout done in 60 minutes and by changing the exercises up each session, it keeps me fresh mentally and motivated to workout.
4) Planning, motivation and support: Gabriella each week prepares for me a detailed plan of what workouts to do. She also checks in with me every other day with motivation comments and checks in to make sure I’m eating right and that I’m sticking to the plan. I really appreciate that, as it keeps me on my toes and accountable to stick to her plan.
The challenge is going great! I feel good and I’m ready for Monday’s final weigh-in!
Also, hats off to my competitor, Rob Akimow. The Mongoose has lost about nine pounds and looks like a new man!
Good job, Mongoose!
