Make it Happen

Hi!

A few things to catch you up on regarding the last couple of posts…

1) The Vancouver to Whistler GranFondo was awesome! They couldn’t have ordered a better day to take a ride from Vancouver to Whistler. My job as a bike medic was great, and I’m glad to have finished the race without having to attend any medical emergencies. My time was a leisurely 4hrs 50mins. Although, next time I’ll skip the bike commute from home and save myself the extra 15km before a 121km ride. Chalk that one up to experience.

Hoorrrah for Bentall Centre Athletic Club members: Michel Pelletier 4hrs 20mins, Mike Fertuck 3:55, and Damon Williams who finished with the lead pack at 3hrs 33mins. WOW! (Probably more members whom I’m not aware about – Yaah hooo!)

2) Our Bentall Floor Play Ball Hockey Tournament was postponed to Saturday November 19th due to lack of entries. So… C’mon get off your asses and sign up!! It’s cheap, it’s for charity and it’s going to be a blast!

Please follow http://www.regonline.com/bentallfloorplayballhockeytournament to enter yourself and or/a team for Floor Play on November 19th. More details about event written below

Last, Some Inspiration...

3) Do something real every day. Like really exercise. Ignore all that talk out there about exercising three or four days a week. Ignore it! (Like the cholesterol guidelines… ) 3-4 sessions of physical activity a week is the bare minimum. This amount could be equated to a desperate plea from the medical profession to a nation of couch potatoes.

Just know that your body craves the daily chemistry of exercise. Whether the exercise is long and slow, slow and steady, short and intense; is less important. What is important is the “dailyness” of it. Be consistent and be physically active six days a week.

Experiment with what you like to do. Remember the whole point is to give your body and brain sustained signals to grow younger. Regular exercise will achieve this. Try it. It works.

CH

Bentall Floor Play - Ball Hockey Tournament

On Saturday November 19^th we are please to announce that the Bentall Centre Athletic Club will be hosting a ball hockey tournament in the Bentall 4 parkade. Known as “Bentall Floor Play”, 16 teams will be going head to head in a 4 on 4 double-knockout style tournament, with 50% of the proceeds going to support the BC Cancer Foundation.

The event starts at 10am and will feature complimentary refreshments from Molson Canadian, and catering from the Ringside Lounge. All teams competing will receive logoed T-shirts, food, refreshments and of course a chance to win the coveted Bentall “Floor Play” Cup! DJ Alltunes will be mixing it up all day to provide a festival atmosphere that will rock the downtown core.

The registration fee is $50 per individual or $200 for a team of 4. We are still looking for teams to fill the competition roster. Please call 604 837 6026 for entry details or email cameron.a.hunt@gamil.com. Or call the club 604 689 4424 and ask for Robin Russell.

The location of the tournament is on levels 1 and 2 of the Thurlow Parkade, and is found just off on the cul-de-sac of Eveleigh Street, which is just off Thurlow Street between Dunsmuir and West Pender. You can also find us by entering the Bentall Centre Athletic Club, which is located in the lower plaza of Bentall tower 4 at 1055 Dunsmuir Street Vancouver.

Please bring your hockey stick and gloves are recommended. We are encouraging Co-Ed teams, featuring small nets (no goalies), and Non-contact family fun. All friends and family are welcome to come play, or just enjoy the event.

I hope to see you there!!

Cameron

GranFondo Whistler - Sept 10th 2011

I’m pretty excited to be apart of the RBC GranFondo Whistler this summer. There’s so much happening around this year’s Sea to Sky bicycle festival, I barely even know where to start!!!

How ‘bout here…

This year I’m volunteering with the medical team. Talk about an awesome job!! My role is to ride the course, provide first aid (hopefully no casualties), and officially drink beer at the finish line. I knew this position was for me when I volunteered for the Granfondo Kelowna earlier this summer. I remember seeing the bike medics pull into the finish line full of smiles and then enjoying a few cold ones. Man was I envious! Not only did they get to ride the course, but as soon as the race was over… refreshments!!! Ahh the life! Thanks to Dr. Sian Spacey for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the team. Whoa Yeah!

The other role I’m involved in this years “Fondo” is the rider package program. My job to assemble and distribute 7000 rider bags with the help a small army of volunteers. Inside the rider bags are all the free sponsorship items like coffee, chocolate, water bottles, socks, batteries and the like. After stuffing them full of loot, we will then distribute them one by one when the riders come through the plaza to collect their dockets & timing chips. It’s actually a 3-day process, a BIG process. Go commercialism!!!

The Sea to Sky Highway

As a Vancouverite born and raised, I’ve often driven up and down the Sea to Sky highway on my way to and from some of BC’s finest destinations. So, to have an opportunity to ride my bike on a lane dedicated to just cyclists, the GranFondo has become a very exciting venture. The extra appeal for me is that I would not typically ride the Sea to Sky. In the past due to the huge amount of fast paced highway traffic, an almost non-existent bike shoulder, and crazy tourist drivers have all been things that have kept me, and my bike from riding the 99. But now with major highway improvements, a proper shoulder installed, and a lane especially dedicated to the GranFondo, this Sept 10th is now awesome way to safely spin the highway, and take in some of the most amazing scenery that British Columbia has to offer.

The Event Company

I gotta tip my hat to Toit Events. I’m constantly amazed at the creative energy, dedicated hard work, tight team cohesiveness, attention to detail, and never ending enthusiasm in order to create, produce, and vet every detail to deliver an event like this. After seeing them in action, and visiting the Toit headquarters, I gotta shout out to Kevin, Neil, Sian, Alison, Johanna, Matt, Liz, Kaileigh, Lindsay, Krista, Stephan, Alex, Bruce, Janice, Chelsea, Baily, Lindsey, and Jen. ... “Hell yeah!!”

The Volunteers

An event like this couldn’t happen with out the help of volunteers…. 805 of them to be exact. (Holey Shit!! that’s a lot of volunteers) To volunteer is a great experience, which I can personally testify is a great time. Why so fun? I got the chance to meet some really cool people, I got fed and watered, and received some really cool Lululemon clothes that has gotten me a lot of recognition since I’ve been wearing them around town. And last, it might sound a bit cheesy, but I got a lot of satisfaction in knowing that I was a cog, albeit a small one, that helped create a fantastic event that everyone seems to know about.

So, if this interests you, Toit still needs a few more volunteers this week. Please go to the volunteer registration www.rbcgranfondowhistler.com/volunteers/volunteer-registration and sign up for the time of your life. You’ll be happy you did.

See you on Race Day,

CH

Things That will Give You Cancer

When you visit the Witness Your Fitness clinic, there are a few measurements that I will use to determine your risk of getting cancer or cardiovascular disease. You might ask.... How can you tell? Well, our lifestyle habits consisting of Exercise / No Exercise, Good Diet / Bad Diet, tend to show up around the mid section. If you maintain a good balance between your diet and exercise levels, your waist line will be in check and you will be likely to live long and prosper, and if not, yer pretty much screwed!!!

So, why is the waist size so important? It's important because research has proven having large fat deposits over your liver, hepatic portal vein, and vital organs causes bad things to happen in your body. However, the larger fat masses aren't just about physical inactivity but also about the types of foods you have consumed, and substances you're exposed to along the way. The good news is: that by initiating a routine to restore the right composition to your body, you will start to mitigate the risks of cancer and cardiovascular disease almost immediately. If you need help putting the right routine together, or are unsure whether you are at risk ... I'd be happy to meet with you. Email cameron.a.hunt@gmail.com.

For Interest Sake: Here's a list of some the things that could give you Cancer along with physical inactivity.

Agent Orange
Alfatoxin (nut mold, nasty)
Alcohol (over consumption)
Arsenic
Asbestos
Atrazine
Barbecued Meat
Benzene
Benzopyrene
Beryllium
Betel Nuts
Bread (refined white bread)
Charred Foods
Carbon Tetrachloride
Chlorodiphenyl
Chlordane
Chlorinated
Camphene
Coke Ovens
DDT
Dichloryacetylene
Dieldrin
Diesel Exhaust
Diet Soda
Dimethylsulphate
Dinitrotouluene
Dioxane
Dioxin
Epichlorydrin
Ethylenedichloride
FAT!!!
Formaldehyde
Free Radicals
Frying
Gasoline
Granite
Gulf War
Hair Dye
Heliobacter Pylori
Hepatitis B virus
Hexachlorbutadiene
HRT
Kepone
Lead
Lindane
Malonaldehyde
Methylenechloride
Mold
Nickel
Night shifts
Nitrates
Not Breastfeeding
Nuclear Power Plants
Oestrogen
Oxygenated Gasoline
Ozone Depletion
Passive Smoking
PCB's
Pesticides
Physical Inactivity
Radon
Red Meat (sausages most linked to bowel cancer)
Stress
Sulphuric Acid
Sunbeds
Sunlight
Talc
Tight Bras
Tobacco
Tichloroethylene
Unvented Stoves
Uranium
UV radiation
Vinyl Acetate (in chewing gum)
Vinyl Bromide
Vinyl Chloride
Well Water
Wood Dust

Got it? Cool.

CH

Advanced Postural Training

Today I’d like to tell you a little ‘bout my friend and colleague Massimo De Angelis. Not only is he a certified Ohashiatsu practitioner, an advanced postural trainer, but he’s also one of the most health-knowledgeable and down to earth people I’ve ever met. So, you may ask… What in the hell does this have to do with wellness??? I’m telling you this because Massimo opening the door to a workshop for people in the wellness and fitness industry to learn skills in postural analysis, postural alignment, postural training, and how to commence in a balanced postural program. (Basically, some of the things I wasn’t taught in skool).

So, Massimo has diligently translated an entire curriculum from Italian to English, and created a forum to invite his mentors from Italy to offer the Advanced Posture Training Workshop. They are collectively: Andrea Manzotti, Claudio Suardi, Dario Crippa, Stefano Zambelli whom will be teaching with Massimo and are the Head Instructors & Technical Directors of the International Sport Sciences Association Italy among other prestigious associations in Europe. They are the creators of this unique postural training philosophy which based on rehab science and myofacial muscle tracts. Here is the official description of the course that will be offered in 6 weeks. September 2-3-4.

Hope you can make it.

Cameron Hunt

Date(s) 2011: September 2nd , September 3rd, September 4th

EVENT DESCRIPTION:

This is a high level technical course that the Individual Training Company®, Italy is introducing for the first time to the Canadian health and fitness industry. It is designed to help Personal Fitness Trainers, Kinesiologists, Physiotherapists, Osteopathic Practitioners, manual and rehabilitation therapist or anyone involved in health and fitness, improve their understanding of posture, anatomy and biomechanics in order to design an individual & highly personalized exercise program.

The purpose of postural training is to stimulate the body within its complex regulation mechanisms to regain the best functional equilibrium in relation to the external stimulations through stretching, mobility and specific and precise postural strengthening exercises. The training method and exercise techniques originate from postural and osteopathy techniques. It is a multidisciplinary and holistic method combining Mezieres and Souchard posture techniques, mobility, strength exercises, as well as specific Swiss ball and proprioception exercises.

You will Help Your Clients:

Relax their muscular tensions
Retrieve their initial length from the shortened muscles.
Improve coordination and equilibrium
Improve the knowledge and consciousness of your body
Reduce stiffness and pain, improving flexibility and joints mobility
Develop consciousness of the relationship between the breathing, movement and posture
Design and organize a postural training area in your facility

EVENT ITINARY :
FRIDAY, September 2, 2011

9:00am – 12:00pm: Anatomy and Biomechanics of the Spinal Column. Cervical, Dorsal, and Lower Back Spine

1:00pm – 4:00pm:Postural Analysis and Evaluation Ideal Plumb Alignment & Referral Points

SATURDAY, September 3, 2011

9:00am – 12:00pm:Anatomy of the PelvisPelvic Analysis in Relation to the Muscles:Abdominals, Psoas, Rectus Femoris, Gluteus, PiriformisStretching and Mobilization

1:00pm – 4:00pm: Pelvic Analysis continuedPiriformis, Hamstrings ,Quadaratus LumborumParaspinal Musculature

SUNDAY, September 4, 2011

9:00am – 12:00pm: Muscle Chains: Mezieres & Souchard Stretching and Postural Muscle Chain ExercisesPractical Application, from theory to practice

1:00pm – 4:00pm:Case StudiesOrganization of the Postural Training Area in the GymSelf evaluation test, Discussion, Feedback

COMPANY PROFILE AND INSTRUCTORS

Individual training Company® based in Bergamo, Italy, is at the leading edge in the health and fitness industry. In just a few years, they have created a network of more than 20 affiliated Personal Training Centers and opened the first Postural Training school in Italy. The founders of the company are Masters in Fitness Sciences and are the Head Instructors & Technical Directors of the International Sport Sciences Association Italy. They teach at several prestigious universities and provide consulting services for numerous national and European professional sports teams and individual athletes from beginners to elite.

Andrea Manzotti

PhysiotherapistOsteopathic PractitionerOsteopathy Teacher Co-founder, owner and teacher at the SOMA Osteopathy School Co-founder and owner of the Individual training Company® ItalyMaster Fitness Sciences and Teacher of International Sport Sciences Association ItalyState University Teacher at Sport and Exercise sciences Faculty

Claudio Suardi

Co-founder and owner of the Individual Training Company® ItalyMaster Fitness Sciences and Technical director of International Sport Sciences Association, ItalyTechnical consultant for the German National Volleyball teamState University Teacher at Sport and Exercise sciences Faculty Author of books, articles, DVDs and software

Dario Crippa

Co-founder and owner of the Individual training Company® Italy Teacher and founder of the first Postural Trainer school in ItalyCertified top level Personal Fitness Trainer ISSA ItalyCreator of the T-Stretch® machineTechnical consultant for the German National Volleyball team Teacher for International Sport Sciences Association

Stefano Zambelli

Master’s degree Sport and Exercise SciencesCo-founder and owner of the Individual Training Company® ItalyMaster Fitness Sciences and Technical director of International Sport Sciences Association, ItalyTechnical consultant for the German National Volleyball teamBroad experience Teaching personal fitness trainer and postural training coursesState University Teacher at Sport and Exercise sciences FacultyAuthor of books, articles, DVDs and software

COST:Regular: $ 850 / 800*Students: $ 700 /650**If registered by August 19

TIME: 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.

LOCATION:555 Burrard St, Suite 1165.

Bentall Tower 2 (National Bank Tower)Vancouver, BC

CONTACT: Massimo De Angelis Cell: (604) 726-4746

EMAIL: individualtraining@shaw.ca

WEB: http://www.individualtraining.it/

http://www.wellness-vancouver.blogspot.com/

GranFondo Kelowna - July 16th 2011

For 3 weeks every July since 1903, between a half and a third of France’s entire population line the streets to watch the Tour De France. Wow! But this spectacle (now a widely televised event around the world) can’t really be experienced unless you’ve already booked a trip to the Pyrenees, Vosges or the Champs-Élysées. Instead this summer, you can find something equally exciting locally here in British Columbia called RBC GrandFondo Kelowna.

The term “GranFondo”, translated from Italian meaning “Big Ride”, will need BIG efforts from locals and people from all over BC to ride, cheer, and volunteer. On July 16th 2011, the inaugural race will commence in downtown Kelowna and eloquently spin 115km winding its way through the Okanagan Lake Country to Vernon and back to Kelowna again.

So, special events require special people to help make them happen. If you haven’t decided to enter the race, and you’re not sure who exactly to cheer for, the GranFondo Kelowna is recruiting volunteers to assist in a variety of roles. These roles could include greeting the riders at package pick up, to helping with the event set up and event tear down, bike corralling, course safety marshaling, handing out rider refreshments, assisting in the celebration plaza, and keeping the cheer alive in the Family Fun Zone.

Besides getting front row seats to behold the 1200 cyclists, and meeting 300 fresh volunteer faces, each helper will receive a logo’d GranFondo t-shirt, lunch, and refreshments. In addition to this, (as if it could get any better…) you will also receive some skookum kit from the GranFondo partners at Lululemon and RBC, attain some valuable work experience, and obtain an official volunteer letter as a ‘thanks’ for your contributions. There are volunteer positions available on July 14th, 15th and 16th and typically last from 4 – 6 hours. You can also be involved in multiple volunteer roles if you’re really spinning your wheels to get involved. We hope to see you at the start line!!

To register, visit http://www.rbcgranfondokelowna.com/volunteers/volunteer-registration where you can learn more about the positions that are waiting for you. Please direct all inquiries to volunteer@GranFondoCanada.com

Get fit and get active.

CH

The Stanley Cup

That’s Hockey EH!!! It’s hard not to feel a swell of patriotic pride when seeing the enthusiasm alive in Vancouver for Canada’s favorite pastime. Yes, I’m talking about the Stanley Cup. Tonight, in game 6 of the NHL finals, the Vancouver Canucks have taken the lead against the Boston Bruins in the series (3-2), which has created an opportunity to signal the end of a 96 year battle to bring the Stanley Cup to Vancouver. “Rah-rah-rah!!”

All the Canucks have to do tonight is WIN!!! Lose, and they’ll get a second chance on home ice in game 7 this Wednesday. But let’s not talk about that right now.

So about that cup… The Stanley cup is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. It was Lord Stanley of Preston, the governor general of Canada from 1888 to 1893 who donated the famous cup in 1892. It cost him a hefty $48.67. Lord Stanley was known as a devoted British sportsman who helped create the world of organized sport that dominates our culture today. I’d also like to take a moment to recognize that he also donated the land which is now Stanley Park. What a guy!

A few other Hockey Firsts:

1843: First written reference to hockey on ice: A British army officer Arthur H. Freeling, stationed in Kinston, wrote in his diary: “began to skate this year, improved quickly and had great fun at hockey on the ice.”

March 3, 1875: First reported indoor game of Hockey: appeared in the Montreal Gazette.

1876: First reported use of the word puck: “What the puck was that?”

Feb 27, 1877: First printed playing rules for hockey appeared in the Montreal Gazette.

1881: The first know photograph of a team wearing a hockey uniform. McGill University Club.

1883: The first hockey championship trophy: the Montreal Winter Carnival Cup, won by McGill. It wasn’t for another 10years that the Stanley Cup was first presented.

Dec 8 1886: The first organized hockey league: the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association with 5 teams: McGill, Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, Montreal Victorians, Montreal Crystals, Ottawa Hockey Club.

June 15, 2011: First time the Vancouver Canucks win a Stanley Cup…??? ... and FAILED!!!

Origin of the Puck: Believed to derive from the Scottish and Gaelic word puck or Irish word poc, meaning to poke, punch or deliver a blow.

Hockey is believed to have several derivations. The most common seems to be the old French word hoquet, meaning curved stick or shepherds crook.

Alright hockey fans… just remember to keep your stick on the ice.

CH