Given that summer is just around the corner (at least, I hope it is — it’s really hard to tell with this weather), I decided about 6 weeks ago to try and get in better shape. One of the things I wanted to do when I moved out to Chilliwack was to be a bit healthier. I’ve definitely done that in terms of what I eat, but not so much in terms of how much exercise I get in a typical week. Summer is usually better for me as I like hiking and playing tennis, so I’m sure it’ll increase. When I got back from Hamilton at the start of March I decided to start hitting the gym hard and being very ...

My new year’s resolution this year was basically to try and stop drinking caffeine and diet soda if at all possible. I used to drink probably close to 2L of diet pepsi a day in Vancouver, mostly because the office I worked at had a fountain pop machine that everyone could use for free. Whether or not diet soda is a health concern is still up for debate, but undoubtedly it has aspartame (even though it has a good safety record, it’s still a chemical) as well as caffeine (which has been linked to weight gain and elevated levels of adrenaline, and cortisol, the stress hormone). I figured while ...

It’s true, I hate going to the gym. Lots of people say they go and get this massive rush of endorphins and it makes them feel like they are on a high all day. I generally feel a bit more energetic when I leave the gym, but not to the point where I feel super amazing. I see some of the people who do hours at a time of cardio, and I just can’t imagine how they do it. The thing is, it’s not that I’m lazy. I love sports, and I’d like nothing more than to whack a tennis ball around now or play a game of badminton. For the most part though, I just find the gym super boring. Maybe I need some ...

Despite being tired, I dragged my ass down to the gym tonight. Without a doubt, it was probably one of history’s most pathetic workout sessions, but I managed to get through it. I also score fairly low on the whole “coordinated gym-goer” scale, mostly because I don’t have any shoes that are really gym worthy. I have a pair of running shoes, but they’re not really meant for going to the gym, and they hurt my feet. So instead, I usually wear a pair of vans or something else to make sure there’s a clear separation between the cool people and me from a fashion perspective. Upon leaving, ...

So this was my second full week at the gym. Other than Wednesday (where I missed going because I had to go to Vancouver), I was there every day this week. I’m definitely noticing an improvement in fitness, since my heart rate has come down while doing cardio, and I find it harder to get out of breath when I’m whacking a tennis ball around the court. I’ve been doing my normal routines in the morning, and also trying to get out and do something in the evenings as well (either go for a walk, hit some tennis balls, or rollerblade). I generally eat fairly well when I’m at home (depending on ...

Part of the reason I moved back to Chilliwack was so that I can finally have the proper time to eat decent food and hopefully get some exercise on a regular basis. While my current apartment is the only place I ended up considering, part of the reason I did so was because it’s only about a 5 minute walk from a gym. And while I did my best to go outside and get exercise in Vancouver, I generally worked a lot of hours and didn’t really have a ton of time. I’ve had a gym membership out here since about April, but haven’t really been going more than once or twice a week. My main problem is ...

One of the reasons I ultimately moved back to Chilliwack is because I wanted to sort of take a well deserved rest from the last ten years of my life. Basically since leaving high school, my life has been one non-stop rollercoaster ride. My time in Ottawa was spent doing 60 hour weeks mostly at work, and I don’t even really remember that period of my life. During my master’s degree I was doing lots of research at school, and I also did a part time job on the side to help pay some bills. My first few years at CounterPath were crazy hectic as well, and most of us spent the first few years of ...