I awoke at 6:20am this morning to climb the Grouse Grind - Nature’s staircase. The 2.9km trail from the base to the top of Grouse Mountain consists of over 2,830 steps, which makes for one tough, sweaty hour of bounding around roots & rocks and staggering up steps to the glorious view at the top. The climb this [...]
While cruising the ‘net for information on the ‘criminalized’ athlete whose doping activity has either harmed or advanced their careers, I came across a CTV article (April, 2009) Banned sledder helps combat inadvertent doping. I was floored to read that Canadian bobsleigh pilot Serge Despres was banned from competing until August, 2009 due to the consumption of [...]
This past summer Ali Howard, a former water polo player for Queen’s University, donned a wetsuit and swam the entire length of British Columbia’s Skeena River in 28 days. Ali’s Spirit of the Skeena Swim adventure brought residents and communities together around a common vision for one of the world’s most celebrated wild salon ecosystem, and earning [...]
With the New Balance Fall Classic Half-marathon tomorrow, I thought I would share some of my insights into race-day preparation, beyond what you could find in the standard Race Event email (i.e. as in the Fall Classic “Important Race Information” email below): To have a great experience, follow these tips: Days before race Check the [...]
November, 2005 It’s early November when author and ESL teacher, Jeremy Taylor and I head off on another cycling adventure through southern France. It was a last-minute decision – I threw a random collection if winter-weather gear together (ski gloves, layers of sweaters and hiking boots) and hopped a flight from London to Pau on Ryanair for about 20quid. This [...]
I came across this quote while researching the effects of active video games and immediately leapt up from my desk in fear. It appeared in the NSCA’s Strength & Conditioning Journal entitled: Nothing Bad Can Happen Sitting in Front of the TV. Right? (1) [R]ecent evidence (2) suggests that ‘‘sedentary time’’ may be an independent factor in predicting health outcomes. Active individuals [...]
As I carried a Wii Fit set home from Costco this afternoon, balanced atop a large, heavy box of groceries, a gentleman passed me, saying, “You need to be fit just to carry it home!” It was then – laughing with him, that it dawned on me I was asking the wrong question! [See last Wii [...]
A quirky, new iPhone App just released from i-labo, inc. Japan (September 10, 2009) does the impossible: it makes boring ol’ sit-ups entertaining. i-fukkin, which translates to “abdominal muscles” is funny in more than just a ‘lost in translation’ sort of way. It’s built upon a simple premise: perform crunches while holding the iPhone horizontal so [...]
FoodScanner Demo from Andy Smith on Vimeo. Before the promo video for the FoodScanner iPhone App even ended, I had my iPhone in my hand, ready to install this ingenious little app – but where was it? First, it appears I have to download the DailyBurn app – not the FoodScanner. Alright done. Create a [...]
It's all about Performance, that's the name of the game.... I pump up my tires and I oil my chain...