Category Archives: Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness

Rip 60 Review

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What is Rip:60?
Rip:60 is a 60 day program that utilizes suspension training. That’s just a fancy way of saying ropes and pulleys. Suspension training is a useful type of training because it helps with balance, agility, coordination, and works muscles that you didn’t know you had. Doing a pushup on a stable floor is relatively easy. Put your feet in some unstable straps and the game changes slightly. Lots of MMA fighters use suspension training in their regimen, the most popular being the TRX system (which I also have). Georges St. Pierre and Jillian Michaels endorse Rip:60 and have included bonus DVDs.

How long is Rip:60?
8 weeks. 6 days on, 1 day off.

What equipment do I need for Rip60?
The suspension trainer, which comes with the purchased product, and some weights. In the videos, they use an adjustable kettlebell you can buy on their website. I used adjustable dumbbells which I already had. To work my forearms and grip strength more, I also used a pair of Fat Gripz (highly recommended for added difficulty and training of the forearms).

Description
Rip:60 is 1 DVD per week, 6 days a week with 1 rest day. That means you do the same workout for 6 days straight, which could get a little boring for you depending on how patient you are. Once the week is over you progress to the next DVD and repeat until all 8 DVDs are done. The weeks get progressively harder, but I found week 6 to be the hardest, not week 7 or 8. There is also a recovery week which is just a bunch of stretching with the help of the suspension trainer. Every workout includes a warm up and cool down. The workouts are run by a guy named Jeremy Strom whom I didn’t find very good.

There are 4 bonus DVDs. Rip:60 for runners, power yoga, one from Jillian Michaels and one from Georges St. Pierre. The power yoga is useless and I wouldn’t recommend it as the straps just get in the way. Stick with traditional yoga. The runners one is only slightly better. In the GSP DVD, GSP goes through a workout and it is narrated by Jeremy Strom. This one is decent except you pretty much get no time in between exercises and don’t really know what’s next. This is bad because the exercise has already started while you are still trying to adjust your straps, get into position, and figure out what to do next. The best of these bonus DVDs is Jillian Michaels, she rips it (pun intended), although the workout isn’t as intense as I would have liked. She should have been the one to run through the workouts in the 8 weeks.

The Good
Rotation in the straps, which TRX doesn’t have, makes the exercises more challenging. There are some seriously killer bodyweight exercises you can do with rotational suspension training that you wouldn’t be able to do in TRX. The straps themselves are also quite sturdy. I think TRX is a little better built, but Rip:60 won’t fall apart on you anytime soon and definitely a good piece of equipment to have in your home gym. The DVDs themselves are fairly good workouts using suspension training, although I believe they could have been so much better. I would have loved to see more uses with the trainer and less burpees and strictly bodyweight exercises, but nonetheless you can get a pretty good burn and sweat using Rip:60.

The Bad
Since Rip:60 hangs from door if you don’t have something to attach it to overhead, sometimes the exercises are hard to do because of the proximity to the door. And you should be aware that the metal components may scuff up the door, so if that is a concern you’ll need to tape something soft like a towel to the door. Also, Jeremy Strom is annoying as hell and sucks as a coach. If I was paying him as a personal trainer I’d fire him. His timing is off almost more times than not. He isn’t very motivating or funny and sometimes he’ll say 2, 1, go, sometimes he’ll say 3,2,1 and you are supposed to go, sometimes he’ll say 1,2,3, and so on. It gets unbelievably annoying when you are ready to hit it and aren’t sure when you are supposed to begin. You might think I am nitpicking but just wait until you are exhausted and he says there’s 5 seconds left and you start giving it everything you got only to find out there’s actually 15 seconds left. You’ll want to kill him, too. He also takes jabs at other home workout programs, most notably P90X, which isn’t really necessary. The strength and quality of the program should be enough to stand on its own merits, there is no need to take jabs at a different program (minor complaint, as this one isn’t the only program that does this). See Jillian Michaels’ DVD to see how its supposed to be done. Her DVD is near flawless and gives you an idea how home instruction is supposed to look like.

Final Thoughts
I had to take a week and a half off because I jammed up my foot real good. To finish on time, I had to do doubles and triples. I definitely wouldn’t recommend that, but having a few off days on a 60 day program doesn’t give you a lot of flexibility to catch up. Follow the program schedule as best you can. I didn’t follow the nutritional guide but ate pretty clean throughout and followed an 8 hour eating window and a weekly cheat day. In the end, I am as light as I have ever been in my adulthood and about as lean. So yes, I am very happy with Rip60 and would definitely recommend giving it a whirl.  You can get it here..

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If you liked this review, you may also like my P90X2, GSP rushfit, P90X+, Insanity, RevAbs, or RMAX BER reviews

Friends and Family, Health and Fitness, Life

What Happens if You Started Today?

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I have been feeling lazy, which is why I haven’t written in a while.  Well, there’s more to the story than that.  School kept my hands full.  I wasn’t overloaded, just annoyingly occupied to the point where I wasn’t really able to do a lot of extracurriculars.  I had to cut down on my exercise, jiu jitsu, rock climbing, and writing.  I did still keep up with reading, though, so all was not lost.  Then my exams finished, and school was off for the break and I just decided to plunk down on the couch, play some video games and eat a lot of junk.  So far, so good.

I wanted to write a series of posts over the break but that didn’t happen.  Instead, this is the best I could muster.  Google seems to be sending lots of beachbody P90X, Insanity, Rev Abs people my way.  For the record, this isn’t a health and fitness blog, at least not completely.  Its mostly a lifestyle blog.  It was started before Facebook and Gmail and Twitter and Skype as a way to keep in touch with friends.  Friends are now much easier to keep in touch with so this blog, at least to my friends, became much less relevant.  Except some awesome readers have stated they have found my writing useful, and because I still enjoy writing. Man, the internet moves FAST.

Writing is like many skills that require practice.  If you don’t use it it becomes harder to do.  I’m still kicking myself for not practicing tying a few uber elite knots I was taught over the summer and have since forgotten 🙁  So, I am going to try to write 500 words per day for the next 2 weeks and see what happens (not all of it on this blog).  Just for fun, no pressure.  I find putting out a goal outside of your head and onto something else such as telling your friends makes it real and thus forces you into action.  Letting someone know that you are going to be running in a marathon forces you to start running.  Afterall, nobody wants to look like a liar and a fool.  Sometimes it happens, anyway.  No biggy, sack up and try again (trust me nobody really cares that much).

But when you start, it feels good.  Then, when you look back on what you’ve accomplished hopefully you have something to be proud of.  If you’ve made any improvements whatsoever, that’s an awesome thing.  Even if you don’t hit the goal, heading in the right direction is pretty rad.  I love it when I hear someone tell me they’ve started P90X, because I know that there’s a good chance, if they want it enough (that burning desire inside), that they are going to finish.  And I have yet to meet someone who finished it and didnt look better, or feel better, even if they hated the workout or Tony Horton’s annoying voice (I don’t find Tony annoying, he’s hilarious imo).  Heck, even if the ones who didn’t quit immediately saw some good benefits.

Just imagine what can be accomplished if you just started today.  Its one of those things that nobody can really force you to do, so its got to come from an “oh shit” moment.  Sometimes a moment comes from really crappy places like a divorce or passing out from eating too much chocolate cake (Win?).  Other times the moments come from really cool places like watching a 72 year old bench press 400 lbs.  Find the moments.  Find the burning desire.  Today is a good day to start.

I think I’ll do a year end review next.  Seems like a good time to do it, being year end and all.

Health and Fitness

Rev Abs Review

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I finished Rev Abs yesterday a day late.  Plagued by injuries, over committed on obligations, and a change of scenery made this one a very tough one to complete, but I did it and I am happy.  I haven’t done the final fit test yet but I am expecting the results to be less than stellar.  I’ll probably do it tonight.

Rev Abs is a very cool program.  Its designed to strengthen your core using cool Capoeira moves and other fun exercises, some involving dumbbells.  In traditional Beachbody fashion, you don’t really need a lot of equipment aside from aforementioned dumbbells.  Brett Hoebel is the guy in charge of this one, and he’s a likeable and funny dude who can get you moving and grooving.

Rev Abs is a 90 day program, with two phases, each 45 days long.  Phase 1 is designed to give you the strength and endurance needed to do Phase 2.  I did notice Phase 2 to be slightly more intense.  I wouldn’t say this is an extremely difficult program.  In fact, if you were to ask me which program to do to get in shape I would say start with Rev Abs.  That isn’t to say its a walk in the park, you still have to bring it and you will definitely sweat and feel it.

There are 3 rounds to every workout with the last round called the Spice Round.  Its the most challenging of the rounds and its designed that way so that you push past your comfort zones.  I like this a lot.  He talks about paying your dues and this is something that resonates with me quite a bit.  Nothing of value comes without paying your dues.

Brett makes you do a lot of silly things like say the Rev Anthem to test your heart rate and a bunch of other stuff.  I would highly suggest you participate in it, because it makes the program a lot more fun.  This was a very fun program.

And now for the bad news.  If you fail to follow a good nutrition program like I did, you will not get the results you want.  I’ve been involved in a little experiment in which I basically eat how I ate in high school.  Buffets, massive family dinners, beer, ice cream, you name it.  This has added belly fat to my stomach despite my best efforts with the Rev Abs program.

This is a lifestyle choice people.  You can run and lift and play sports all you want, but if you aren’t eating properly and you aren’t resting properly you just won’t see the results.  Somehow, after over a year of six workouts+ a week, I’m a bit of an authority on these home workouts.  I get all of the same questions over and over again..should I do [x], do I need [x], can I see [x]… All I can say is JUST DO IT.  I see people flop at it all the time.  They don’t see immediate results and then they quit.  On the flip side, people who completed the programs look and feel much better than they did before.  I did P90X without actually seeing hardly any results, but I felt stronger. That was convincing enough for me to continue.  Over a year later, my only regret is I didn’t start sooner.  I have been asked when I will stop, and the answer is rather simple.  Never.

Rev Abs is a great program.  If you follow it, push yourself hard and eat right and get your rest, you will see results.  Simple as that.  Take out even one part of that formula and the magic disappears. Get your copy of Rev Abs here.

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If you liked this review, you may also like my P90X2, Rip:60, P90X+, Insanity, GSP Rushfit, or RMAX BER reviews

Health and Fitness

RMAX Bodyweight Exercise Revolution Review

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My fitness journey started in May of 2009.  As I progressed and got stronger, more athletic, faster, and all of the other benefits that exercise provide, I noticed my biggest gains came from the same or similar exercises over and over again.  Most of them required no equipment and no weights.  A lot of them involved bodyweight, and so being the research heavy nerd that I am I wanted to find out some effective exercises that involved strictly bodyweight movement.  RMAX Bodyweight Exercise Revolution is one such program, and it is a very impressive program indeed.  This is my review.

Bodyweight exercises brings about functional strength, this is why I avoid the gym.  I dont need the gym, its costly, out of the way, can get crowded, filled with people who dont know what they are doing, and often smell funny.  Bodyweight exercises on the other hand are free, can be done anywhere, anytime, and bring about real strength, endurance, and athleticism.  Bas Rutten said it best when he said, ” You can bench press 500 pounds, congratulations!! I can kick your ass.”.  Real, functional strength involves incredible feats with the body.  Olympic gymnasts, break dancers, Capoeira, thats real strength and these athletes all do bodyweight exercises.  Guys in the gym focus on isolating the muscles, and that is flash over function.  If that is your thing then bodyweight exercises arent for you, and RMAX Bodyweight Exercise Revolution (BER) certainly isnt for you.

Theres a certain beauty about this program that I can’t really put into words.  It isnt hard per se in the traditional sense when you think about working out where you are sweating bullets and maxing out reps to exhaustion, but it is challenging in its own right and more effective at improving body control.  The program consists of an ebook that explains the method with lots of detail and pictures showing the specific techniques, as well as videos that show proper form and movement.  To summarize, basically its a 28 day program consisting of four days done 7 times (4×7) based off of the Fibonacci sequence geared towards specific goals such as fat loss, strength, general athleticism and so on.  Confusing? You bet.  It kind of is at first but you’ll get the hang of it quickly.

All you really need to know is its four days in a row (no intensity, low intensity, medium intensity, and high intensity) done seven times for a total of 28 days, and depending on your goals such as fat loss or strength gain those exercises during those 28 days are different.  Got it? Good.  The ebook manual lays out clearly what needs to be done for each day showing proper technique while emphasizing being mindful of exertion, technique, and discomfort.  Should you decide to actually read the ebook instead of diving right into the regimen, you will notice a very well thought out and intelligent philosophy of training that I haven’t seen much in other programs.

But does it work? In a sense, yes, but only if you follow the program carefully.  My only real gripe with the program is the initial learning curve and complexity of the regimens.  It was quite an eye opening and humbling  experience for me on what’s possible with bodyweight and I look forward to exploring that path further.  I do plan on using Bodyweight Exercise Revolution further in this exploration.

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If you liked this review, you may also like my P90X2, Rip:60, P90X+, Insanity, GSP Rushfit, or Rev Abs reviews

Health and Fitness

P90X Plus Workout Review

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I recently completed another excellent Beachbody program called P90X Plus. Its an extension of the extremely popular P90X series that you see on all of the infomercials. I’ll probably get around to writing a review of that program as well sometime in the future. P90X Plus, or sometimes referred to as P90X+, consists of a mix of the original P90X workouts in addition to five new workouts. These new workouts are Upper Body Plus, Abs Core Plus, Kenpo Cardio Plus, Total Body Plus and Interval X Plus, which are about 40-45 minutes in length except for Abs Core Plus. Like P90X, this program is a 90 day program (actually, a 12 week program) consisting of 3 phases, phase 1, 2, and 3 duh! There are 3 different calendars you can do, Classic +, Lean +, and X + Doubles. I did the Classic +, and I have to say, it is one hell of a program.  I can tell you that it is tougher than P90X but also that the results for myself have been amazing.  You should do this workout if you have already done P90X.  You should not do this workout if you have not done P90X or if you do not have the original P90X workouts, as those are required on some days.  The most used workout from P90X is the Yoga X workout, which is required quite a bit.

P90X+ Calendar
Each of the phases is basically 6 days a week, with an option for X-Stretch or rest on the 7th day. This is true for all of the calendars. For the most part, I decided to rest instead of doing the X-Stretch. I think I only did the X-Stretch 2 or 3 times during the entire program. Probably due to laziness, but I would say X-Stretch is a really good stretching program so don’t neglect it if you can.

Equipment Needed

The good news is you don’t really need a lot of equipment, much like P90X.  All you really need is a pullup bar, water bottle, mat, pushup stands, and dumbbells.  Heck, you don’t even really need a mat, water bottle, or pushup stands if you are on a budget or something.

Critique of the new workouts:

Total Body Plus

This is a very good total body workout.  Its a lot of fun exercises, 20 in total, that focus on synergistic moves that work multiple body parts at once.  Its a tough but fun workout and one of the better new workouts that come with P90X+.  Its about 45 minutes with a warm up and cool down period, and by the end you’ll feel you had a good workout.   You’ll need a mat, dumbbells, pullup bar, a water bottle and pushup stands.

Abs/Core Plus

This workout isn’t as intense as Ab Ripper X from the P90X series, but it does a decent job of working the abs and the core.  It is a short, 20 minute workout and by the time you are done it you should be feeling your abs a little and worked up a light sweat.  This is also the only workout where Tony Horton assumes you’ve already stretched a little bit and just goes right into the exercises.  It does have a very short cool down period.  Abs Core plus consists of 20 exercises, and the equipment required are a pullup bar, dumbbells, and a mat.

Kenpo Cardio Plus

What a joke, much like the original Kenpo Cardio X.  This program doesn’t belong in the P90X+ series.  I’m serious, I had a really hard time working up a sweat with this one.  I barely even felt my heart rate go up.  Some days where I was supposed to do Kenpo Plus I would replace this workout with an Insanity workout instead, because I know in those ones I have to bring my A game.  Its similar to the original Kenpo Cardio X where you are throwing a lot of kicks and punches, but I would think for anybody already doing P90X+ they are in good enough shape where this program won’t really do much for them.

Upper Body Plus

This is the PLUS, in P90X+.  It is an absolute monster.  And the kicker?  You do this workout twice a week for 10 of the 12 weeks, stacked on top of the Abs/Core Plus.  Talk about a tough day!  Upper body consists of tons of pushups, tons of pullups, lots of dumb bell curling for a grand total of 20 exercises.  oi!  But I can tell you, this is the toughest of all the workouts from this and from P90X.  Near the end of phase 3 I was seriously dreading doing this workout, not only because I had an irritated bicep from a night of drunken debauchery going into phase 3, but also because I’m always trying to up my numbers from previous workouts, and since Upper Body Plus is done no less than 20 times in the calendar, you can imagine how difficult that gets at the end.  There were days doing this workout where I literally could not type on the keyboard, brush my teeth, or put on a shirt, that’s how serious this one is.  You’ll need a pullup bar, dumbbells, pushup stands, and a water bottle for this one.

Interval X Plus

This is a pretty good cardio workout.  I would say its the most fun of all the workouts but isn’t used all that much compared to the other workouts in the Classic + calendar.  It does a decently good job of getting your heart rate up.  It is no comparison to any of the Insanity workouts in that department, but compared to the P90X cardio workouts like Plyo X it holds its own.

In Closing

Motivation was tough near the end.  Mainly because I was dreading that Upper Body Plus workout, but also because I was getting pretty bored at the end with doing the same workouts over and over again.  P90X did a much better job of mixing it up and thus keeping me motivated.  This one, I really had to push through.  I would still recommend this workout to P90X grads, as my results after this program have been excellent.  However, I think after doing the calendar once you can take the workouts and start formulating your own workouts.  I may try some of the other calendars, as they do look pretty interesting, but I don’t know for sure.  Beachbody and Tony Horton have another excellent product in P90X+, I give it a thumbs up. You can get P90X Plus here.

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If you liked this review, you may also like my P90X2, Rip:60, Rev Abs, Insanity, GSP Rushfit, or RMAX BER reviews

Health and Fitness

Insanity Workout Review

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Vegan skinny me at Sabres game
Claimed to be the hardest workout ever to be put on DVD, the Insanity workout is seriously, seriously intense.  I just finished it and am satisfied with how I did.  Below are my thoughts.

What it is:

Hardcore anaerobic exercises.  Lots of interval training, lots of explosive movement, lots of bodyweight exercises, lots of power, resistance, plyometrics, core and balance work.  Little rest.

What it is not:

Insanity is not an upper body workout.  If you are looking to build up muscles in your arms, chest, and back, I would not do this workout.  P90X would be a much more suitable alternative (another really good/intense program).

Who should do it:

Insanity is for people who are already in shape.  Athletes looking to build their cardio, raise their VO2 Max, increase lung capacity, strengthen their core and legs.  People in the video are Beachbody coaches, spinning instructors, marathon runners, army veterans, b-boys, that sort of thing.

Who should not do it:

If you are looking to get into shape, stay far away from this program.  You will not be able to handle it.  The warm up itself is enough to knock you out.  I know people who can’t finish the warm up and it only gets more insane.  You better be damn sure you are already in good shape, P90X grads would fit into this category, people who workout 6 days a week hard would fit into this category.  The New Years resolutioners will need to find something else cause they’ll get worked over.  People with breathing conditions like asthma should stay away as well.  Consult your doctor before doing this.  The general rule of thumb is if you think you are even a little bit out of shape, then don’t do it.

What you should know:

The claim is it is a 60 day program separated by a month 1 workout plan and a month 2 workout plan, but it isn’t.  There is a recovery week in between in which you do a recovery workout in between, so its actually 63 days (I previously said 67, but my math sucks).  So be sure you are committed to 63 days or you won’t finish.  I wouldn’t advise skipping any days.  If its important to you, you’ll find the time to do it.

My thoughts:

For a program called Insanity, it was one of the few things in my life that kept me sane since returning from Peru.  I felt pretty confident doing my first fit test.  I was absolutely exhausted when I finished it, but the numbers I put up weren’t that far off from the two people who did it in the video.  That was somewhat promising to me.  The whole premise of the Insanity workout is you work as hardcore as you possibly can for extended periods, and then take a short rest for recovery (its like the opposite of traditional high intensity training where you work moderate for a few minutes then explode for 30 seconds).  As they say in the videos, you really have to dig deeper to do these workouts.  I would say 80% of this workout is mental.  Proper technique is very important in this workout, otherwise you risk injury.  If your form is gone, then stop and recover cause you are done.

The first month of workouts are not quite as long as the second month, and they aren’t as tough.  It would feel awkward to call them easier though, because they are anything but.  They still kick your butt hardcore, just for maybe 10 minutes less.  Because of all the hard work involved in the first month, you are much better prepared for the hurting that month 2 brings.  Also of note is I switched from a vegan diet after month 1 to a diet richer in saturated fats and lower in carbs.  That, in and of itself, is probably worth a post sometime in the future.  I’m not really ready to talk about it yet as I am still challenging some of my fundamental beliefs.  How did it effect my performance by switching diets?  It didn’t, I still got rocked every workout.

What kept me going was the idea of pushing myself hard.  Shaun T really does a good job of motivating you.  Focus is important, fire in the belly is important, a little bit of anger did me well, and competition helped keep me going.  I was not only competing with myself, but the people in the videos.  It was a very satisfying feeling to see all these super fit people dropping like flies in the video while I was still pushing through and going strong.  It juiced me to know I was right in there with the best of them.  P90X was a similar feeling.  Speaking of which, coming from it I did lose some upper body mass and strength while doing Insanity, but I’ll just build it up again now that I’m done.

I worked out in the morning for virtually every workout, except maybe some weekends.  Even though I am more energized in the afternoon and feel stronger, I made it part of my daily morning routine so I would not have any excuses not do it a day.  There was no “I don’t feel like it today” days at all.  Every day it was about getting it done and getting it done to the best of my ability.  I remember one particular day I had two workouts to do (they stack ab work on some days), Yoga in the afternoon, then rock climbing afterward.  That was a tiring day, but it needed to get done so it was done.  Even today, I am going rock climbing very shortly but I put my best effort into the last fit test and put up some monster numbers which I’ll post below.  It is like brushing your teeth in the morning, just part of a routine.  I have found that to be the best way of sticking to the calendar.

In Closing:

I rocked the CN Tower climb last weekend.  Close to 12,000 people climbed and I looked on Google, Bing, Facebook and Twitter, and could not find someone who posted a faster time then me.  The unitedwayto twitter has me listed as the fastest time of the weekend.  This is despite being tired, fatigued, not fully recovered, hungover, slightly sick, dealing with too many people on the stairs and without a single session of stair training or running.  I would say Insanity had a huge part in that.

Would I ever do the Insanity workout in its entirety again?  No.  It has taken me to new levels but long term I think its too much on a person’s body to be doing it 6 days a week.  The individual workouts themselves are world class, and I’ll be using them frequently as part of my routine.  But as a regimentation and sticking to the calendar, I think I am done with.  Would I recommend the workout?  Depends on who I am talking to.  I can’t suggest it to everyone because it is not made for everyone, but there is no denying the fact that it pushes you to the brink of exhaustion, and in turn, makes you better.

I have before and after photos, but they seem a little narcissistic so I won’t be posting them.  So instead, here’s a picture of a very malnourished vegan me taken in 2007.  Enjoy.

My Fit Test numbers:

Here are my numbers.  I’m pretty proud of my progression.  Because I don’t know how to make a table in email, I’ll just list my numbers in order for each exercise.  It goes from Day 1, Day 15, Day 36, Day 50, Day 63.  I don’t have the number recorded for the low plank oblique on day 1, probably because i was too tired to lift up my body and forgot.

Switch Kicks:  120 – 132 – 130 – 136 – 137
Power Jacks:  54 – 63 – 67 – 75 – 80
Power Knees: 93 – 120 – 126 – 127 – 128
Power Jumps: 60 – 82 – 83 – 89 – 91
Globe Jumps: 14 – 15 – 15 – 15 – 15
Suicide Jumps:  17 – 21 – 24 – 28 – 32
Push-Up Jacks:  33 – 40 – 44 – 48 – 54
Low Plank Obliques: ??? – 100 – 100 – 107 – 131

Get Insanity here.

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If you liked this review, you may also like my P90X2, Rip:60, P90X+, Rev Abs, GSP Rushfit, or RMAX BER reviews

Health and Fitness, Me, Stories

CN Tower Climb for United Way… my thoughts

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CN Tower Climb, Ginger Martini Fundraiser, Nick and Tina's Engagement Party

So I finished the CN Tower Climb for United Way this morning and had a great time!  I didn’t quite make my goal of a sub 15 minute time but I was very close.  15 minutes was an arbitrary number I put out there, and I really think I could have made that easily if I had done a few more things right than I did wrong.  My time was 15 minutes and 13 seconds.  That number is not that accurate in my opinion.  At the top, I didn’t realize I was done and so I had to fish the timecard out of my pocket and then I had to wait in line for others to get their time stamped.  I probably did get under 15 minutes but its ok, I’m not too worried about it 😉  I stuck around to see what other peoples times were and I only saw two people, a guy and a girl who were together, definitely runners, with faster times than me in the 14 minute range.  As Georges St. Pierre would say, “I am not impressed with your performance.” lol.  It was my first time climbing up the CN Tower and if I decide to do it again I will be much better prepared.

I raised $250 so that is pretty cool.  Thank you to everybody who sponsored me, I really appreciate it.  Even the guys I pretty much forced into it lol.  I am still allowed to raise money for the next little while (don’t remember the exact date, I think November 20th) so feel free to contribute if you want.  The proceeds go to helping worthwhile programs throughout the city of Toronto.  My sponsor page can be found here http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=779232

Below are my thoughts on what I did right and some advice on what you could do to get the best time possible.  Learn from my mistakes.

What I did right:

Warm up and stretch:  It was pretty cold and windy out today so I really had to warm up and stretch.  Don’t skip this or you’ll be cramping up.  I saw a number of paramedics helping people out who were experiencing muscle cramps probably because they skipped this part.

Massage:  I really have to thank Johnny Vos at http://www.vosrmt.com/ (Toronto Life named him the best massage therapist in the city here http://www.torontolife.com/features/best-service/) and his team for making sure my muscles were in good shape.  I had a session with him last Friday, one yesterday with Joanne (who is phenomenal as well), and another one on Monday.  It has been a while since I’ve had a massage and Johnny mentioned how ridiculously tight my muscles were and really helped me loosen them a lot.  Joanne also mentioned she could feel a lot of scar tissue in my hamstrings, I have no idea when I did that I have had so many injuries over the years due to pure ignorance and improper training that I have lost track.

Keep fit:  I am a P90X grad and soon to be Insanity grad and am in, by far, the best shape of my life.  Rock climbing and Yoga have really helped as well and although I have a disc bulge and a disc herniation in my neck, I feel strong enough to give BJJ a go starting in November.  Its been too long and I am itching to get back in there.  General healthy fitness will really help you in your athletic endeavours.

Mental strength:  The mental game to push through your perceived limits is so important in athletic competition.  For the past week I’ve visualized reaching the top in spectacular fashion and never doubted my abilities for a second.  I’ve also been using guided Paraliminal meditation to help with peak performance and it has been doing wonders for me.

Hydrate:  Self explanatory.  Just make sure you are well hydrated as you aren’t allowed to bring any water with you during the climb.  They have hydration stations before and after the climb.  For myself, I used Vega sport combined with Vega Health Optimizer, mixed with a greens infused liquid, Udo’s oil, cacao beans, goji berries, acai, matcha green tea, tumeric, two bananas, a berry antioxidant mix, squeezed lime and lemon, and coconut water.  It really, really helped me recuperate from a mild hangover and tasted delicious.

Enjoyed the view:  It was my first time up the CN Tower and I spent quite a bit of time at the top, really enjoying the spectacular view and cooling down.  I went outside and it was extremely windy and cold but very fun as well.  It was kind of embarrassing that I’ve lived in Toronto for 8 years and have never been to the CN Tower up until now.  Toronto from above looks pretty awesome.

What I did wrong:

Arrive early:  I got stuck behind a lot of people going up the stairs.  There was a huge lineup to register and a huge lineup for coat check. Even though I got there at 6:45 AM, I didn’t get to climb until 7:45 AM and by that time it was already rammed.  I’d suggest going at 5 AM and being ready to climb at 6 AM.

Get adequate sleep:  I have had back to back to back sub 6 hour sleep nights when I am normally used to at least 8.  That will mess up your recovery and rest and energy big time (I definitely noticed this at the beginning of the climb… I was seriously struggling).  Make sure you are well rested and refreshed and energized.

Do not get drunk two nights in a row prior to the climb:  I decided to support my homegirl Heather (http://www.gingermartini.com) in her quest for world fashion domination and sending her off to Vancouver Fashion Week on Thursday night and then Nick and Tina’s super fun engagement party last night.  Although I didn’t get super hammered I did get drunk enough.  Both nights were fun and I have no regrets, the timing of everything just so happened to be non ideal, but if you can I wouldn’t advise doing what I did.

Train properly for it:  I didn’t do any stair climbing whatsoever.  Heck, I didn’t even do any running.  If you are looking to get a great time then you probably should.  Next time, I will.

Wear good shoes that you have adequately worked in:  I was worried that they weren’t going to let me climb with my Vibram Fivefingers, so instead I went out and purchased a pair of Nike Free the day before the climb.  Nike Free is Nike’s line of “barefoot” running shoe, and even though they are pretty sweet they are no comparison to the freedom of the Fivefingers.  I definitely should have worked them in more, as I wasn’t used to them at all.  Even though they are super light, they aren’t nearly as light as the Fivefingers and the cushioning is a lot more than what I’m used to.  My feet felt trapped on the climb and they started to hurt probably with 50 flights of stairs to go.  Not good.  I should have confirmed with the organizers if I could wear the Fivefingers or gotten used to wearing the Nike Free.  I did neither.

Do not get sick:  I have the sniffles, probably because I got pretty wet going to Nick and Tina’s engagement party.  My umbrella busted in the windy rain and so I chucked it mid pour.  The sniffles will definitely impair your breathing as it did for me.

Have a support team:  I made it to the top and saw others high fiving each other and getting cheered on by their friends and family before and after the climb.  I had neither.  Schools climbed together as well.  I saw McMaster there, Humber there, lots of elementary schools, etc.  I was like “Yes, I did it!!” then high fived myself.  A couple people stopped to talk to me and say they saw me blazing past them, but that was it.  I would rather celebrate with friends, its more fun and rewarding that way.

Be more aggressive:  This is for charity so people come in all shapes and sizes, not everybody is going for time.  Lots of people would walk beside each other and there was no easy way to get past them.  I patiently waited for my openings but instead I probably should have said “excuse me” a lot more than I did.

Prepare yourself: Stairs are narrow and not wide like I thought, that messed me up because I wasn’t able to pass people.  You aren’t allowed to bring anything up either.  They say you can bring a fanny pack up to  carry your id but that’s ridiculous, who the heck has a fanny pack these days?  It makes sense that you can’t bring up your ipod, cell phone, camera or water.  Imagine people dropping their electronics, stopping to take pictures or chat on their phone, or spilling their water on the metal stairs.  It could be disastrous when you are pushing 5000 people up a small stairwell.  There are paramedics at every 10th floor I think, so if you run into any injuries they can assist.  Also, after you are done and your time is punched, there is still another 10 flights of stairs or so to get into the tower, so be aware of that.

I think that’s it.  I am happy with my performance and if I ever do the climb again feel I can demolish my time easily with some proper preparation.  I am probably going to catch up on some sleep now then do my Insanity workout for the day.  I have 1 more week to go then I am done with the program, 67 days of pure …well insanity.  I’ll probably post my thoughts on the program and my fit test numbers once I am done.