Preparation Pays Dividends

With all the attention and concern over the current flu situation, I had an interesting conversation this morning with a client about prepardness for a race that immediately tied into something I've noticed with the big picture.

Training for the Haney to Harrison relay that myself and seven teammates are competing in this weekend, I ran 10km at 7:00am. Or at least, I tried. About six minutes into my run, I started wheezing from the cold air invading my lungs. Though the rest of my body felt fine, my lungs simply could not supply the oxygen to keep my pace on track. I dropped to a pace where I could funcion in better synch and ended up completing my run in 55mins as opposed to the 45min target. My legs... not very tired, but my lungs took almost ten minutes to completely recover. After consulting with an experienced runner and former hockey player about cold weather conditions, he gave me several ideas, from wearing a handkerchief over my face to keep a pocket of warm air, breathing through my nose, and even spending ten to fifteen minutes doing slow deep breathing exercises outside to acclimatize my lungs prior to activity. I've tried the deep breathing, and felt my lungs relax before I started moving. The handkerchief became annoying after the first five minutes, but it helped me get a good start. So far, not bad.

As we've all heard, supplies of the vaccine are in short order. Though some people are simply against the vaccine regardless of its availability, others fret they wont get a shot in time to duck the swine flu, while the media is caught in between the two prevailing opinions, and encourages us to wash our hands, avoid handshakes, and pickup general hygiene. Availability of the vaccine is far beyond the control of the general population, as is knowing when/if/how/where they may/may not contract it. So many variables, so much stress.

So what is missing? Where is the link?

What blows me away is that the topic of conversation hinders on the success or failure to deliver the vaccine as the only solution. I'm not here to question the effectiveness of the vaccine or people's decisions to get it/not get it, but rather the fact that there is little or no conversation about natural immune boosting that is otherwise commonly encouraged at this time of year. Basic vitamin supplements, increased consumption of fruit and vegetables, proper rest and fluid intake are all proven immune boosters. Are they the golden answer to the swine epidemic? Well no, but they are part of the answer as basic prepardness. And it's not just the swine flu that effects us, the common cold and sinus infections enjoy an increase in activity during the winter months as well, ailments that swine flu shots won't protect you against, not to mention other more common strains of the flu.

Think about it. You're more likely to contract an illness like the flu when already fighting a chest cold since your immune system has been compromised already. A healthy immune system increases resistance to foreign germs/bugs, strenghthens your physical coping ability (think joint/muscle aches, headaches, etc) and speeds up your recovery. Its the base layer of the pyramid that is a healthy body. It's your first line of defense. Its the inside-out aspect to the outside-in angle of the shot. The difference between missing five or six days as opposed to nine or ten. While chewable Freddy Flinstones and a basket of brightly coloured vegetables won't stop the swine flu in its tracks, they will help you prepare your body in either case, and remind us that preparation and good habits take regular practice over time. Cures and shots are important, but prevention should never be underestimated. Do what you can, control the variables you are able to control, and breathe a little easier knowing you are best prepared for whatever follows.

-Luke

What do you want to change?

When thinking about what makes us choose the things that we and our customers do, positive and negative, I came across and interesting write-up that address clearly and simply how we get into the habits so easily that we do on a daily basis:

A habit is any action that we have performed so often that it becomes almost an involuntary response. If we consider this habit to be undesirable then we may label it a "bad habit". People spend countless hours and dollars each year attempting to break these bad habits and often do not have any success. Why? Because there is no magic bullet. Change is hard work and there is no short cut to achieving it. The steps a person needs to take, however, can be very simply outlined. To effect a change in habits, one needs to bring the action back into the realm of consciousness and regain the ability to make choices.


What's the Payoff?


The first step in breaking a bad habit is to look at why you find this action so compelling. In other words, what's the payoff for doing this seemingly negative thing? Since you've already classified this as a "bad" habit you may be tempted to say there isn't one. But look closer. There is always a payoff. Let's say your bad habit is yelling at your kids. What's in it for you? You let off some steam and feel a little better for the moment. Or you have a bad habit of leaving the dishes unwashed? The payoff could be that you get to spend more time on the Internet!

What's the Trade Off



Next, take a look at the trade off. What is it that you are losing by exercising your habit? This step should be easier. Just think why it is that you consider it a bad habit in the first place. Yelling at your kids is a bad habit because it leaves everybody feeling tense and tears down your children's self-esteem. You are trading a temporary release of tension for the emotional health of your children. Leaving the dishes undone is a bad habit because your kitchen is a smelly mess. To have more Internet time you are trading off having a pleasant living environment. When you look at it that way it doesn't seem like you are making very wise choices, does it? There has to be a better way.

Time to Make a Choice!

Now that you've weighed both sides of the issue--your payoff and your tradeoff--it's time to make a choice. It's no longer an involuntary act because now you know that you are making a choice every time you perform this action. You are choosing what you value more: the payoff or the tradeoff! Each time you start to do whatever the bad habit is now you have to actively choose. Which do you value more? Do you value more the relief you get by yelling at your kids or do you value their emotional well-being? Do you value more having more Internet time or having a pleasant place to live?

Substituting Better Behaviors

The whole reason you formed your habits in the first place is that they filled a need. You had tension that needed relief or you had a desire to surf the Net. As you break the old patterns you still need a way to fulfill these needs. You will be not only making an active choice to not do the old action you will also be making a choice to perform a better, alternative action in its place. Instead of yelling at your kids you might decide to go for a run every time you are feeling tense. Instead of letting dirty dishes pile up you may decide to use paper plates when you are eating alone. What the new habit is that you substitute isn't so important as whether you feel good about the choices you have made. After all, the reason you consider it a bad habit is because it leaves you feeling bad about yourself.

It's Up to You

By now you should realize that the only way to continue with a bad habit for very long is to sink back into denial of why you are doing it in the first place. Each time you begin to resume your old patterns the thought will pass through your mind that you are trading X for Y each time you perform that action. You will be forced to make a choice, whether good for bad, about continuing your habit. What choices will you make? The one that makes you feel bad about yourself or the one that makes you feel good? It's up to you.

-Angela Tames

Know Your Topic

Fascinating, really, to watch the run-around in regards to the H1N1 virus. Now, don't get me wrong - it's not that I think it's a small issue... but then, I also don't think this is the front runner for the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Regardless, though, as I see all the information (and misinformation) swirling around, I'm reminded of yet another one of my daily annoyances - ignorant opinions.

You see - I'm an opinionated person. So I get it. If we were to get right into the truth, I think more people out there could come up with an opinion - at least it shows some degree of interest in the world around them. However, I think that the problem lies in that people will often form those opinions without the necessary pause to understand the topic - they hear a snippet and lock onto it as fact. The problem is not opinions - it's when opinions are mistaken for actuality. This is dangerous for the people possessing them... but also for the people who take it as truth without looking a little further into it.

Please - all I ask is that before you start sounding off on something, do your research. In fact - try to see it from all angles, so that if you engage in a healthy debate on it, you're not reduced to name calling and rhetoric.

Remember - just because you have the right to one, does not guarantee you will be taken seriously.

~Guy

super sized support..

This past weekend, 5 of us travelled to Ohio to witness and take part in a spectacle known as, American Football. There is really no best way to describe it and a few words will not do it justice. I highly recommend you put a game on your list of things to do and prepare yourself for an epic adventure…

On Friday, we travelled first thing to Chicago and then to Columbus Ohio. A full day travel and a 3hr time change brought us to a sunny city which started to vanish into the night. On the way to our accommodations, we passed a school with a field and bleachers packed with high school football fanatics. 2 teams and a few thousand spectators.

‘wow, these guys like their football’, I thought to myself..

Turns out that Friday is high school football, Saturday is collage and Sunday is pro ball…and if that’s not enough, everyone seems to be fixated on any tv screen because there’s football on there too!

We went to visit family which included the athletics director of Ohio State…whoa, can you say VIP!

On Sat as we drove to the stadium, we just kept on driving, past what seemed like millions of people making their way and ended up parking right beside and entrance to the massive stadium which holds around 107,000 active football lovers!

We ended up on the field while the players ran drills and got themselves seriously pumped up. One cannot help but get energized with the music, the size of the players and the vast number of seats quickly filling up during the pregame. We made our way to our seats, some 5 rows back on the 50 yard line, it was like we could talk to the players…

Before the game, the pep squad came out. The best damn band in the land just kept coming. The sense of urgency was high as they delivered their music notes with precision and purpose.

The game began and it was unbelievable. The team seemed bigger than life and the crowd was totally into it. The color scarlet was the majority and all eyes were on the game. The sense of team was overwhelming. The feeling of support was everywhere; in fact the air was saturated.

Within that game we watched from the field, a sky box and our super close seats…for my first American football experience, it was as good as it gets..

The following day we spent the morning touring the athletics department for football and basketball. This was most impressive. We were at one of the top 3 schools in the nation for athletics and one of the highest ranked schools for academic achievements. The biggest impact was the powerful feeling of support and how the main focus was the betterment of the students and the athletes. The success of team was the main goal. All the steps were laid out for one to follow..

There were many quotes on the walls and letters sent that were framed for all to read.

‘if you have a question, ask. If you can help a teammate, do it!’ was written in one of the letters on display.

Many of the systems and values seemed to be identical to ours. Everyone we met was kind, courteous and well mannered. Everyone was honest and cared about us being there. The sense of team was repeated and not once did we feel as though we were alone or left out.

The game was amazing, the crowds were outstanding but what hit us hard was the feeling of pride, honour and respect. To be honest, the main ingredients in anything worth experiencing…

But don’t just move on from here, go get yourself a heavy dose of team via the good ol USA and be ready to consume a couple big beers and a large portion of whatever else you order!

On Friday October 30th the Olympic flame touched down onto Canadian soil in Victoria, British Columbia. This is a significant and historic event for British Columbians. However before it arrived in our beautiful country, the Olympic flame must be lit in a traditional ceremony in Olympia, Greece. It will then go on an eight day relay throughout Greece and then handed over to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Committee.

The lighting Ceremony, took place at the temple of Hera at the Olympia site. This ceremony is celebrating the ancient rituals and honoring the Greek Gods Zeus and Hera. The Olympic Flame is lit by sunlight focused on a metal reflector and is the only way the flame can be lit. After the rituals took place the torch went on an 8 day, 2180-kilometre relay throughout 22 regions, 42 municipalities, 3 municipality districts and 1 community, around Greece.

The history of the Olympic torch relay symbolizes “peace, brotherhood. enlightenment and represents a summons to the Olympic Games.” During the ancient games, the torch relay was important element of cultural festivities, announcing to the communities that the Games of Olympia were starting and that to be a truce between all. The first modern Olympic Torch relays happened during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where the torch traveled from Greece to Berlin.

The Olympic torch has now arrived in Canada. After the traditional ceremony of the Greece Relay, the flame was handed over to the Vancouver Olympic Committee on October 29th and landed in Victoria on October 30th.

This journey of the Olympic Flame will travel for over 100days, visit over 1000 communities with nearly 200 celebrations in various communities. The flame will travel over 45 000 km and 12 000 Canadians with help bring the torch back to Vancouver on February 12th.

If you are not excited by the current events this past weekend, get excited now. The Olympics are just around the corner, Vancouver will be on the world stage and you will get first hand experience of this historic event.

Scary Indeed... Focus and prioritize

I read with interest this week that Ontario passed law to ban cellphone driving behind the wheel. Most people have been guilty of this at some point, myself included, though in the past two years I have stopped for several reasons (unless in case of emergency, which has yet to occur.)
Why such a big deal? Well, the question to me is why is it necessary? Really, how many of us need to chatting away to our brother's girlfriend about last night's Gilmore Girls re-run while coasting on the highway over the speed limit, or making idle chit chat idling in traffic only to risk distraction and bumping the next person in line. It's a matter of focus.

Before my arrival at IF I worked out at various gyms and fitness clubs, and have witnessed those who will put down the weights during a set of bench press or hop off the treadmill to answer a cellphone. Now I cant know what each call is about, nor would I want to, but in reality how many of those are emergencies or necessary calls? How many are just an indulgence in ego and inability to focus on the task at hand? Would I stop a conversation with a friend on the street to do 15 extra pushups? Well no, THAT would be silly. Besides, I am focused on my conversation, on my friend. I have my priorities in order.

I had this debate with a friend who suggested I viewed technology as a bad thing. Technology is inanimate, it's how we use it and apply it to our daily life that determines whether it is positive or negative influence. Much like our health, there comes a time in life (holidays, busy work periods, personal commitments) when we might slip in our gym routine, then work extra hard to recover. That's being responsible for our health, by re-focusing our commitment. The scenario in the gym or car is more about technology enabling us to be lazy. Driving isn't a place to kill time by chatting away. It's a place where you could kill a whole lot of people within a split second with one minor discretion. The gym is one area... The open road at high speeds... A completely new level. It's a perfect example of imbalance in priorities.

The point: Focus, responsibilities and results/success go hand in hand. Many see it in regular clients everyday. Those who come early in the morning (or realistically whenever they can) and give a hard effort in their hour as opposed to those who come 15 minutes late, hungover, and answer the berry device with every little chime to make party plans. In fact, I have just described a regular to the bone, someone who is very friendly but has been given the priorities lecture by several trainers many times. The ability to focus on ourselves, our well being, and our responsibilities as they relate to the individual within society are all dictated by priorities. In the gym, its your own health you toy with, and it's fairly easily remedied if you can focus. On the open road, it's everyone else's well being, not just your own. If that can't be a priority to the people driving in the time they are there.... Scary.

What frightens you?

I have to admit, I like being scared. I don't love it, I won't sit down to a marathon of creepy movies mostly because all of my life I have been prone to nightmares, but I do like a good fright. I think this is part of human nature, we enjoy pushing our boundaries but want to be in control, when I am watching movies in my living room I am in control, when asleep, I of course am not.

Halloween is a perfect example, we dress up, or dress up our children, We take them door to door, and they receive candy for their willingness to be vulnerable and also to entertain. If it weren't for us standing by their side this would be a very frightening experience.

When researching fear and what is available for people around the globe I came across this website that discusses a forest in Japan at the base of Mt. Fuji. The forest is open to all to visit for multiple purposes but it is considered "suicide forest" and the write-up below comes from a Japanese tourist website. The other purpose however to visit the forest it to scare the wits out of yourself and explore the history of the forest and those that didn't make it out.

"Aokigahara is considered the most haunted location in all of Japan, a purgatory for yurei, the unsettled ghosts of Japan who have been torn unnaturally soon from their lives and who howl their suffering on the winds. Spiritualists say that the trees themselves are filled with a malevolent energy, accumulated from centuries of suicides. They don't want you to go back out.

"However, even in these haunted woods, regular humans still have a job to do. Forestry workers rotate in and out of shifts at a station building in Aokigahara, and occasionally they will come upon unfortunate bodies in various states of decomposition, usually hanging from trees or partially eaten by animals. The bodies are brought down to the station, where a spare room is kept especially for such occasions. In this room are two beds: one for the corpse and one for someone to sleep next to it. Yup, you read that correctly. It is thought that if the corpse is left alone, the lonely and unsettled yurei will scream the whole night through, and the body will move itself into the regular sleeping quarters. In inimitable style, the workers jan-ken to see who gets to sleep with the body. And you thought your job was rough."

Are these people who work within this forest thrill seekers? Why would anyone want to put themselves in this position? Perhaps it is simply to face their fears and test their boundaries.

-Angela Tames