Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

Last week we recommended a really informative podcast on how to deal with burnout. A very human book we also loved last year was Lori Gottlieb's Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.

It may sound like a run-of-the-mill self-help book, but it's written more as a moving story with regular insights throughout. Lori is a psychologist who brings us deep into the lives of a self-absorbed Hollywood producer, a young newlywed diagnosed with a terminal illness, and a senior citizen threatening to end her own life if nothing gets better.

This does not sound like a fun read, especially right now, but Lori's style is funny, incisive and relatable. If the book was a sponge, you could wring the humanity right out of it. Here are some select insights from the book.

💥 "In therapy, we aim for self-compassion (am I human?) versus self-esteem (a judgement: am I good or bad?)

💥 "The opposite of depression isn't happiness, it's vitality."

💥 "Every day is another loss of something she took for granted until it was gone, like what happens to the couples I see who take each other for granted and then miss each other when the marriage seems to be dying."

💥 "People wanted a speedy solution to their problems, but what if their moods had been driven down in the first place by the hurried pace of their lives [irony]."

💥 "People often mistake numbness for nothingness, but numbness isn’t the absence of feelings; it’s a response to being overwhelmed by too many feelings."

💥 "In idiot compassion, you avoid rocking the boat to spare people’s feelings, even though the boat needs rocking and your compassion ends up being more harmful than your honesty. People do this with teenagers, spouses, addicts, even themselves. Its opposite is wise compassion, which means caring about the person but also giving him or her a loving truth bomb when needed."

💥 "We can’t have change without loss, which is why so often people say they want change but nonetheless stay exactly the same." She also goes on to mention that getting clarity is not enough. Good therapists will also give a patient challenges to do so that they can act on learned insights.

There's also a great podcast episode with Lori on Peter Attia's podcast The Drive. Check that out here.

Kevin & Victoria

How to Deal With Burnout

Before we get into today's topic, we learned something important this week that we just had to share. In Finland, a tradition of getting drunk at home in your underwear is so commonplace that they created a word for it, "kalsarikännit." The rough translation is "pantsdrunk." (source)

Just when you think life will keep giving you lemons, a lime like this pops up to encapsulate the COVID experience. At times, life is truly exciting.

With all of January's newsletters, we'll cover some of the best stuff we watched, listened to, and read in 2020 that will help you lead a healthier, warmer, and less stressful life.

Up first is an episode from Brené Brown's podcast about burnout. From start to finish it's a great episode, but one of the most interesting things we want to highlight is that when you are going through a period of stress, simply removing the thing that causes the stress (the stressor) is not enough to heal, physiologically.

“You have to do something that signals to your body that you are safe, or else you’ll stay in that state with neuro chemicals and hormones degrading, but never shifting into relaxation. Your digestive system, immune system, cardiovascular system, musculoskeletal system and reproductive system never get the signal that they’re safe.”

In order to do that, Emily and Amelia give seven tips on how to complete the stress cycle. Two of them we already mention a lot - physical activity and breathing (see the healthy living article below). But the three below really highlight the importance of socializing and connecting with other people.

💥 Have a Positive Social Interaction - This can be as emotional as seeing family after a long-break, all the way down to a simple interaction with a cheery barista or fitness coach. Both tell your body the world is a safe place.

💥 Laugh - "It can’t be that fake laughter. It has to be the slightly embarrassing, mouth hanging open, belly jiggling, uncontrolled, ridiculous laughter that really takes over your body, you can’t stop laughing. That laughter will take you all the way through the end of a stress cycle."

💥 Get Affectionate - “A warm hug in a safe and trusting context can do as much to help your body feel like it has escaped a threat as jogging a couple of miles... The research suggests a 20-second hug can change your hormones, lower your blood pressure and heart rate and improve mood, all of which are reflected in the post-hug increase in the social bonding hormone, Oxytocin. And it’s not about the 20 seconds. It’s not about the time, it’s about leaning in, maintaining your own center of gravity, and just the vulnerability and intimacy of that."

The final two are a Have a Big Old Cry and Creative Expression. To hear about them, check out the full podcast.

Kevin & Victoria

Update: A gracious member informed us that the Finnish have written a full guide book about getting drunk in your pants! Amazing.

3 Free Workouts

Excuse us as we come bearing gifts a little late. Last Christmas we gave you our heart and also a festive meal plan. Now we have 3 free workouts for you to try from the comfort of your own home.

Join Sally and Julie in the BOMB virtual studio as they lead you through 3 beginner workouts. No equipment or pants required. These videos are great if...

💥 You haven't done anything in a while.

💥 You're not sure where to start, what to do, or how to do it. (If you think a bicep curl is what millennials call a haircut, then this is for you.)

💥 You've had one eye on us for a bit and want to see what our coaching style is like - (friendly, precise, and down-to-earth is the answer.)

Snap them up below...

🎉 3 Free Workouts 🥳

Free Festive Recipe Book

Healthy festive eating doesn't have to be super-restrictive nor does it have to be as boring as drilling in screws all day (at first it's boring, then it's riveting 🤷).

We've curated five recipes that are healthy AND delicious. They include: a cinnamon smoothie, a creamy festive vegetable bake, turkey rolls, and double chocolate mint energy balls. Yum!

All recipes are simple to make and come with full cooking instructions, macro breakdown, and additional helpful tips. And it's free...

🎅 Festive Holiday Recipe Book 🤶

Kevin & Victoria

COVID-19 Update (23 December 2020)

The government introduced wider restrictions on Monday, which means we won't be able to run outdoor classes until at least January 23rd 😔

(If you have booked an outdoor class this week, we will reach out to you personally with alternative arrangements).

We will go 100% online from Boxing Day and hopefully be able to run some pop up classes from a local sewer. Are there any restrictions down there?

Anyway, as we set fire to 2020 and welcome in the new year, we're going to add to our virtual schedule and keep you engaged and committed to your health. Here are some updates...

Incoming

In January we will have a new year challenge, more online classes, more online workshops so you can work on your skills, and more social events so we can see your beautiful mugs again! Stay tuned to the newsies and Facebook Group for more details.

We will also be introducing a new and exciting accountability system so please make sure your home address and mobile number are up-to-date on Zen Planner.

Personal Training

If you wish to train online or in your backyard, you can still snap up 4 personal training sessions for $199+HST. This includes equipment rental (within limits and with a commitment of at least one training session per week).

Strength Bands

While we can't open up equipment rental to everyone quite yet, we are going to do a band run (weights are still on backorder). Visit the BOMB shop below and place your pre-order for strength bands and booty bands before midnight on Boxing Day. (Just remember, the smaller the booty band, the more tension it has.) Delivery will be 1-2 weeks once we put the order in.

💥 The BOMB Shop

While you're at the shop, grab a toque or a neck warmer. They are 100% guaranteed to jack-up your swagger. Black socks should be back in-stock in January.

Thanks again for your continued support, it really keeps us going. Hit us back with any and all questions if you have any.

Happy Holidays!

Kevin, Victoria & The BOMB Team
💖

P.S. Victoria and Karen's band, Trainwreck, have released another at-home music video filled with 4 minutes of joy. Check it out below and maybe you can throw a few coins towards The Daily Bread Food Bank and help us raise $5,000 for them this Christmas.

💥 Trainwreck's "Do They Know It's Christmas" (4m 25s)

💥 Daily Bread Food Bank Donation Link

3 Unconventional Ways to Find More Time to Exercise

We recently asked our members - “What is the one thing that gets in the way of you exercising regularly and making healthier eating choices?”

The overwhelming response was Lack Of Time.

So we thought we’d give you some tips that we use to make time to exercise. Now you may shake your head at some of these, but bear with us.

At the last Olympics, around 100 new world or Olympic records were broken. Athletes are getting better but the general population is getting fatter so what most people are doing right now isn’t working.

So therefore we ask that you take the Apple approach and “Think Different”.

See where it takes you.

Do Less

The thousands of adverts you’re exposed to each day encourage you to “buy more shit” to keep up with the Jones’s, otherwise you’re a loser.

Or that every day should be filled with adventure from dawn until dusk and that your life should be abundant all the time.  In reality, there are just some days you’ve got to cut off communication and binge watch House of Cards or Stranger Things on Netflix.

We’re taught to put our kids first too. And since you have to pay the bills and put food on the table, you can put “working” up there as well.

But we’ve got it all wrong.

Your kids don’t need to go to hockey on Monday, piano on Tuesday, soccer on Thursday and karate on Friday all at 7 years old to become well developed.

They also don’t have to go to Timmy’s 5th birthday one week and your third cousin’s baby shower the next. 

There are a few members who bring their kids to the gym who hang out at the front and watch their parent work out. That’s just as powerful a learning tool as taking them to soccer.

Kids develop through their environment at a rapid pace, so you can take them to sports and you can take them to your annoying cousin’s baby shower, but if you’re blowing out your ass just climbing up the stairs, quick to snap out (in your head as well as verbally) or would rather be anywhere else than in the moment with them, then that will affect your kids way more than anything else.

You can’t put your kids and work before your health - it has to run alongside it.

You have to set an example. By cutting out all the stuff that’s not important to you, so you can exercise more and eat healthier, you can become that example.

Take A Nap

Take a work day from hell, add 2 kids and a husband to it, add my own self-interests and you’re telling me that by taking a nap I’ll have more time to exercise? WTF!

If we were to tell the truth, it’s not really a lack of time you have to exercise, it’s a lack of mental energy. You see there are only so many BIG things you can give your concentration to in a set period of time, that’s why you feel unmotivated to exercise after an 8 hour shift; your mental energy hits zero.

Having a 15-30 minute power nap resets your alertness, relaxes you, makes you more productive and prevents burnout.
​
How do you find time to nap?

It lurks in the cracks of your day. At your afternoon break. When the baby is asleep. On your journey home. Hide in a closet after dinner!?

Kevin takes one almost every day. Yes, he drools on the pillow, much to the disgust of Victoria. But there’s no way he could work out up to 5 days per week without it.

Invest in Done-For-You Services

This is an extension to number one. You’ve cleared out the unimportant stuff but still need to tackle everyday tasks like feeding yourself, cleaning and maintaining your house and wardrobe, and caring for the kids.

Consider hiring a housekeeper that can also do a bit of food preparation for you.

Have a meal box delivered to your house using companies like Mama Earth or Meal Angels. Get your groceries delivered to the house.

Use a babysitter for more than just covering your kids while you go out and get messed up drunk.

“Mom after one beer…”

Get them to take your kids to their sports or pick them up from after school club so you can stay and get your training in or prepare meals for the week.

Use a gym that looks after your kid while you get your workout in.

Obviously this costs money, but think of the benefits this will bring you. More time to exercise and de-stress, more time to take on passion projects.  More time to manoeuvre your way to that dream job. More quality time spent with your family.

So yeah, some unconventional methods that 99% of the population probably don’t even consider. But as we head to a population where 50% are overweight and out-of-shape, why would you do the same things as everyone else?

Athletes put themselves first, and they live an unconventional life where they strip away the non-essentials.

They become selfish.

It’s a paradox, but if you become that little bit more selfish, and take care of your essential needs, then you’ll be able to provide greater attention and help to other people.

Kevin & Victoria 

It Doesn't Have to Be Pretty

What a rollercoaster this pandemic has been. Just as we adjust to a "new normal" everything gets shut down again. We've had to move back to a 100% outdoor and online schedule (hopefully for just another two weeks).

We agree that the numbers need to go down and as we head into winter we're all going to be even more cautious - which is the right thing to do.

What's not getting discussed enough is the side effects, or as we like to call it, the collateral damage of restrictions, shutdowns and lockdowns.

💣 87% of people with eating disorders say their symptoms are worse during COVID (link).

💣 The #1 killer of men is not an increase in visits from their mother-in-law. It's not going to their doctor enough (also known as stubborn bugger syndrome). With restrictions in appointments and routine diagnostic work being delayed, this will surely rise (link).

💣 Big chains like McDonald's & Domino's are booming while neighbourhood businesses are sinking (link). And if they are booming, then so are our stomachs.

We could go on but the point is clear; there is a difference between being kept safe and keeping healthy.

The government may keep the virus away by forcing us to stay home, but nobody is coming to save your health - only YOU can take it back.

Your training and food choices don't have to be much, and they certainly don't have to look pretty.

💪🏽 If you have a 10ft x 6ft den, that's plenty of room to do a workout in.

💪🏽 Can't get your hands on any weights? Boulders from your yard or a Costco-size laundry detergent will do.

💪🏽 If you only have 20-30 minutes to spare, that's enough time to do a moderate-to-high intensity online or park workout.

💪🏽 Don't have time to shop in 5 local stores to get all your groceries? Choose one and shop there for 4 weeks, then spread the love to another store.

We're likely in an open-close-open-close loop for the near future so there's always going to be some excuse to hit pause on your health - "I'll get to that later."

But with no clue of when later will be, you have to do something. It doesn't have to be pretty but you have to move your feet. And now is the ugly, imperfect time to start.

Have a great week!

Kevin & Victoria

P.S. Maybe now is the imperfect time to check out our brand new Nutrition Challenge that begins on Monday, November 9th and comes with a delicious 5-day meal plan. Yum!

7 Ways to Make Any Exercise Easier

Last time, we covered how to make any exercise harder. If you’re just beginning or re-starting your fitness journey after many months off, regressions are just as important. In many ways, a small step back can launch you several steps forward.

Regressions can be your best friend and by using them, you’ll be able to concentrate on correct form and drastically reduce the chance of injury. There's no point taking time off and coming back just to get injured straight away.

So here are 7 ways you can make working out a little bit more comfortable…

1) Get mobile

​If a partial squat feels awkward or you simply don’t feel your upper back muscles working on a pulling movement, then chances are you lack mobility in the hips, ankles or shoulders.

Performing an effective mobility drill, for all joints, before or during your warm-up can drastically alter the range of motion your body can run through.
​
This is unsexy, like the thought of Donald Trump in a Borat thong unsexy, but is a key component to performing exercises easier and more effectively.

Yes, we went there.

2) Activate all the muscles you can (or should)

When you get tired doing any exercise, it’s time to pull in all the help you can get.
​
Struggling with that last bicep curl? Try squeezing your butt tight as you bring the dumbbells up.
That last rep on the bench press pissing you off? Try pushing your body further into the bench and your feet into the floor as you lift.

In a perfect world you should be doing this with all of your reps anyway. But when you’re tired, out-of-breath and the thought of heading home to a houseful of kids on a sugar rush is on your brain it’s hard to remember all of the cues all of the time.

3) Change Lever Lengths (Angles)

No matter what you weigh, most of it lies around the hips. When you change the lever length, by elevating your body for example, it takes away some of the weight, allowing you to do the exercise with full body alignment instead of a half-baked hips-to-the-roof version.  Doing a push up with your hands on a box or bar is much easier to perform than with your hands on the floor. 

4) Start From The Bottom

“…now we're here. Started from the bottom now my whole team f-——g here”  Drake’s not just riffing on his pretty stellar upbringing he’s also giving you a tip. To make an exercise easier sometimes it’s best to put yourself in the bottom (or half-way) position of the movement.

It can simply be starting in the sitting position of a squat, thumbs to nipple start on a push-up or getting your alignment right on split squats.

In that position, you’re stable and can think about activating the correct muscles with less distraction. This will stop your knees wavering in a squat, stop the collapse of a push-up and help with the balance of a split squat.

5) Take advantage of the equipment around you

One of the best ways to fix an ugly squat is to simply put a box behind you and use it as a target to sit back against. This solves any forward knee sheering or elevated heels that can be common.

Using a bench or a pair of Equalizers can help progress your push-ups. Using a super band for pull-ups can help you navigate the climb, which is the hardest part of the exercise.

6) Perform assistance exercises

To get better at something, one way to do it is by repetition. Doing ten push-ups a few times per week will eventually lead to 11,12, 13, 15 etc… to a certain point. Then you may have to play around with rep ranges, and maybe some assistance work.

But say you’re stuck on just doing one proper push-up and nothing seems to be working no matter how many times you try? Assistance work may help.

Speaking very generally, one reason that women are unable to do as many push-ups as men is that there’s a huge, natural difference in upper body strength – particularly at the shoulders.

So the reason why women may find it harder to do push ups is not necessarily because their chest or triceps are weak, but because they are unable to keep shoulder stability throughout the movement.

Employing other exercises such as scapular push-ups, wall slides, planks and rows with a pause, will really help develop your shoulder stability and will lead to better push-ups.

7) Drop some weight

This one’s obvious, but it’s quite hard to be straight up with people about it.

If you want to do chin-ups or pull-ups then dropping a few pounds will help as you won’t have to lift as much of your own body weight.

If you want to do any single leg exercises, step-ups, lunge, single-leg agility ladder drills - dropping weight is key to not only performing them better but also by decreasing pressure on your joints.
​
If you come across someone who’s 5’0 and weighs 90lbs dripping wet, chances are that their push-ups and pull-ups will naturally be better than most; simply because they aren’t carrying around a lot of weight.

Band assisted exercises are a great way to help offset some of your weight while still being able to perform the exercise with perfect form.   

Summary

​So there you have it – lots of ways you can make any exercise easier. But maybe the biggest factor to consider is stubbornness. You’re reading this at home or on the toilet (let’s face it, it’s good material for that) nodding your head, but when it’s time to do the work you get pigheaded and push through with horrible form, hoping the end is near.

There are absolutely times you should push through, like a bat-shit-crazy-ex-on-steroids, but not when it’s the first set of your first class.

Chill out. Find your base. Take your time. Results will come much quicker when you follow a logical regression.

Kevin & Victoria

P.S. Need help getting back on the fitness track? Then you should absolutely check out our Reboot Challenge that launches on Monday, September 21st. Early bird pricing of 50% off is on now or until all 20 spots are gone.

👉👉 Check out the Reboot Challenge

If/Then

Before we get into a banger of a strategy this week, we just wanted to let you know that we've moved back to pretty much a 100% schedule as of this week. More than 100 weekly sessions - indoor, outdoor and onine. 7 days per week. 6AM to Noon & 5PM to 8PM weekday schedules and more. Check it out here.

Sometimes it's hard to fix your most difficult barrier to health and fitness. Most of us go too fast, too hard and fizzle out quickly. An elephant is eaten piece-by-piece and so the same should happen here.

A neat, simple strategy is to formulate a bunch of IF/THEN plans...

IF my partner is late home from work (to take care of the kids), THEN I will do a virtual BOMB recording.

IF I have had the day from hell, THEN I will do a series of dynamic stretching or a short Yoga or Restorative Yoga recording instead of gulping alcohol.

IF I have a busy day tomorrow, with hardly any breaks, THEN I will pack healthy snacks and prepare a healthy lunch.

IF Chris Hemsworth sends me an urgent text containing an eggplant emoji, THEN I will postpone my Bootcamp class BUT I will automatically re-schedule for the following day and, by the power of Thor's Hammer, I will make it!

The next step is to write-up and print-out your IF/THEN clause. Stick it to your fridge and follow it. Don't question it. Don't second guess it. Just do it. When that's conquered, move on to another IF/THEN strategy.

This isn't a throw-shit-at-a-wall tactic either. More than 200 studies have shown IF/THEN planners are 300% more likely to hit their goal than others.

So, our little droogie, what small IF/THEN strategy can you implement this week? Tell us about it. It's also one of the strategies we'll hold you accountable to in September's Reboot Challenge (we'll tell you all about that next time).

Have a great week!

Kevin & Victoria

6 Ways to Make Any Exercise Harder

We are big on the idea that to make an exercise harder you just pick a bigger weight. However, you may be limited with your equipment choice, especially if you are working out from home or if squatting the lawnmower at the cottage just doesn’t feel quite right.

There are plenty of other ways you can experiment with to make any exercise more challenging. Here are just a few:

Change the Tempo/Time Under Tension

What do we mean by tempo? It’s basically the pace that you do a certain exercise. Take a Goblet Squat for instance. The tempo might be 4-0-1. This means the essentric (or lowering phase) takes you four seconds, there’s zero pause at the bottom of the squat, and you take one second to explode up back to  the start.

Say you change the tempo to 4-2-1. If you’re lifting a heavy weight, that 2 second pause at the bottom will really let you know if you’ve got the correct muscles engaged to control the exercise. It also makes it harder to perform as you are not using the elasticity or momentum that you get from not pausing at the bottom.

Longer, Fuller Exhales

This is a unique way to make a core exercise more challenging. You never really see people do this, and is in a way, an extension to the above. When you are in the fully lengthened position, in say a TRX/barbell rollout, an inchworm or even an extended plank, take a big long exhale and hold for 2-3 seconds. Your ribs will pull down adding extra pressure to your obliques and abdominals.

NOTE: This can be a pretty advanced method that can put a lot of pressure on the low back, so make sure you have the foundations of the exercise covered first and a strong base of core strength.

Hand or Feet Positional Changes

Changing your feet or hand position is a very common way to make something more challenging. If push-ups are easy, try staggering one hand in front of the other. If a lower body exercise is way too easy try narrowing or altering your foot position to take a less stable stance.

Go Single Limb

Step-Ups with weights on a box can be pretty straightforward with two feet. Take one away however and you’ll really see where strength dysfunctions and asymmetries lie within your body.

You can also lift one leg for less stability in moves like a TRX lunge or Plank. TRX Rows are also pretty tough using just one arm.

Elevate Your Body

Here’s a pretty common example - push-ups can be made harder by elevating your feet onto a box. Same goes with planks, plank push-ups, rollouts etc…

Use an Unstable Surface

The best unstable surface exercises we use involve at least some connection to the ground. By throwing a couple of towels under your feet, like a Floor Washer, makes this way more harder than a regular Mountain Climber.

Val Slide or Shuffle Board exercises such as a Push-Up or Lateral Lunge really challenge your stabilizing muscles. Other unstable instruments you can use are Equalizers or a TRX, where you don't have the luxury of spreading your fingers wide for support on push-ups, and some of you know just how hard that gets with your feet in the straps.

Varying the way you approach and do an exercise is important. If you can bang out a high number of reps or don’t have a rack of different weights to grab, use one of these methods listed here to push yourself to the next level. This is especially true if you hit a little plateau and can’t seem to get stronger in a certain area or exercise.

Kevin

P.S. These are some great tactics that you can use in our virtual classes. Click here to check out our Virtual Membership, from just $97+HST per month.

The Things You Might Never See

We hope you're holding up okay. It's been a crazy few weeks here in North America. We paused sending our newsletter out the past few weeks, because it was a time to just listen to the voices who need to be heard the most.

We're working behind-the-scenes at BOMB to do a better job of being inclusive, diverse and openly anti-racist. Stay tuned for updates on how we are progressing.

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Health and fitness usually takes a back seat during stressful times, which is fine at first. But, the dial should never go all the way down to zero.

Here are a couple of things we've been thinking about in our bunker this past week.

1) Exercise takes care of the things you don't see... and that's frustrating

Instant gratification has taken over. We want that book delivered to our porch in a day. We want our stomachs to be instantly flatter after that 20-minute Body Coach workout.  We want to feel 5lbs lighter after eating that quinoa salad at lunch.

Someone sent us a video last week with a warning that it's a bit long. It was 6 minutes! Even online movie trailers have a 5-second trailer... for the trailer!

The message is clear: We want the result and the benefit and we want it now!

That's why exercising is so damn hard. We can't see in real-time what the effects of our choices are doing. And it's frustrating.

One way to not be frustrated is to change your perspective in a couple of ways. One, consider that a healthy life is not just about losing weight and thinning down stomachs. It has many non-sexy benefits such as keeping numerous illnesses at bay: Heart disease, cancer, addiction, cognitive deterioration, high blood pressure - the ones you don’t see brewing.

Two, consider that exercise is the compound interest for your health. Treat it as you would a retirement fund or investment fund. Play the long game. Of course, you should re-strategize when required, but most of the time it's best just to do the work and then forget about it.

Then, when everyone else is breaking down at retirement, you'll be strutting around the world with your toy boy (or girl), cashing in on your investment.

P.S. A lot of people like to use examples of a grandparent who didn't exercise, ate burgers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and lived until they were 95. That might happen if you want to roll the dice and be here for a good time, not a long time. But, this is rare and ultimately an exemption that proves the rule.

Medicine is keeping people alive for longer, but is it really fulfilling to live until you're 90 yet be in terrible pain from age 50?

Don't be that person. Aim to be the grandparent that can still play tag and kick ass in Nerf battles.

2) "Healthcare" is really "Sickcare"

Last week, it was great to see that essential services like dentists, orthodontics, massage, and physiotherapy could open if their governing schools thought it wise.

Notably absent was personal training. Arguably one of the safest physical distancing one-on-one professions - there's usually no need to touch the client or even be within 6 feet of them.

A big reason that it's not included on the list is that there is no unified body or school that regulates it. There are no government incentives and getting your gym fees covered by your employer is a great perk, but not universal.

Another reason is due to how serious health and fitness is really perceived.

A TV or movie trainer is either a meathead, a drug dealer (1), or an idiot (see Brad Pitt's character in Burn After Reading). If a trainer is on Breakfast TV, they have to swallow their soul as the host flails about like an idiot pretending that they can't do a push-up.

Even a conversation among friends is usually a fleeting "I really need to start working out" comment, that's forgotten by the next wine sip and cheese reach.

Sorry, we're not sure who this rant is meant to be at, but when you go see a doctor, physio or dentist (outside of check-ups), it's usually because you're already sick or injured in some way. The damage has been done. That's "Sickcare".

When you go to a gym or personal trainer to exercise and keep disease and injuries at bay, that's proper "Healthcare". (Shout out to Alwyn Cosgrove for the reference).

Both are serious and both are important. So maybe this is for you.

Kudos if you've gotten into a great routine during COVID-19. You are the converted we are preaching to.

If you haven't, that's cool too. All we would say is that eventually it will be on you to do something. We're three months into COVID and we are already enjoying some glorious weather. The motivation to train and eat better will get harder. As we are further allowed to gather in small groups, the barbecue invitations will rise.

What are you going to do about it? What's your plan?

The motivation doesn't have to be to lose weight. Just know that by making healthier choices, you are helping to keep disease at bay as you sculpt your future as a kick-ass grandparent.

That's a good reason to start and that's as serious as you need to take it, for now.

Kevin & Victoria

(1) This reminds us of a classic joke - "Personal trainer just got 9 years for selling drugs. Been going to him for years. It just shows you that you never really know someone. I had no idea he was a personal trainer."

Three Sample Beast Workouts

BOMB’s Beast class is a mixture of running and strength training and is my favourite way to train when I really want to put my head down and just work. There’s nothing complicated about it and I find it really satisfying to complete.  Below are some example workouts for you to devour at home whether you have no equipment or a lot.

A “run” usually means one circular run around your block. The distance in East End neighbourhoods varies greatly from 600m to 900m and so a Beast workout could take you up to 60-75 minutes to complete. If you want to do it in under 60 minutes, I suggest you either measure out 400-500m using Plot a Route, or just run to the furthest end of your street and back if you just want to get it done.

Leave at least 2 reps in the tank on each exercise, but not 3. Modify as you go through this. If 12-15 push-ups are hard then drop to your knees. If 12-15 reps are too easy, try spiderman or a close-grip version.

All workouts go run, A1, run, A2, run, A3, run, A4, run, A5 – rest and then repeat one more time. These aren’t easy!

No Equipment

A1 – Push-ups (12-15 reps)

A2 – Single-leg glute bridges (10 each leg) – elevate your feet to make it harder

A3 – Plank saws (12-15 reps)

A4 – Plyo lunge (12-15 total) or walking lunge (10 each leg)

A5 – Long jump with burpee-style sprawl (8-10 reps) or med ball slam if you have one!

**If you can get your hands on a table, band, child, or an unusual weight, I highly recommend subbing one exercise out so that you can work your back – like a row or band pull-apart.

Strength Bands

A1 – Push-ups (12-15 reps) – band is optional

A2 – Band pull-aparts (12-15 reps) - keep it light

A3 – Monster walk with band over hip (10 steps left, 10 steps right x 2)

A4 – Bent-over rows (12-15 reps)

A5 – Glute bridge (12-15 reps) – wrap band around legs

Barbell or Dumbbells

A1 – Bench press (12-15 reps) – use the floor if you have no bench

A2 – Weighted lunge (10 each leg)

A3 – Bent over row (12-15 reps)

A4 – Kneeling barbell rollout or plank drag with dumbbell (12 reps)

A5 – Deadlift (12-15 reps)

** If you have access to band, dumbbells, and kettlebells feel free to cross-switch exercises. Just make sure that you swap an exercise that hits the same part of the body.

Enjoy!

Kevin

3 Strategies to Conquer Overwhelm

Forced to stay at home, people are assuming we have more time to do things. For many, that's just not the case - trying to work full-time and home school kids is tough. How do you even make time for yourself?

And if you do have a bunch of time on your hands, you're expected to produce works of art or finally discover what it means to live your best life ("if not now, when?")

The former leads to lack of time and energy to take care of yourself and the latter can lead to a loop of anxiety and some kind of existential crisis.

Both are overwhelming. Here are a few small strategies to consider.

1) One problem is abundance. You have access to too many things and to too much information. Think about minimizing. Explore the values that you want to live your life by and make your decisions based on them. Overwhelm occurs when we think about too many things. Having clear values will help narrow your thoughts, making your decisions and choices a lot easier.

2) Start saying no... a lot. You can't be everything to everyone.  And if you try to be, how much quality are you actually giving? Overwhelm occurs when you're spread too thin.

"Always think about what you're really being asked to give. Because the answer is often a piece of your life, usually in exchange for something you don't even want. Remember, that's what time is. It's your life, it's your flesh and blood, that you can never get back." - Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key

3) Find the next manageable step and just do it. James Clear calls this the 2-minute rule - any habit can be scaled down to a two-minute version.

• "Eat better" becomes "Google a recipe book"

• "Write a book" becomes "Write one word, any word"

• "Work out more" becomes "Pull up a virtual BOMB recording" 😉

Your value system will help you discover what the next important thing you should do is. And when you find that, what's an easy 2-minute win that you can achieve?

Kevin & Victoria

P.S. Just surviving might be good enough right now. You don't have to do jack shit. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event. So if you just want to pick your nose and find a booger that resembles a wounded animal, have at 'er.

Steal Our Healthy Habit Tracker

We hope you and your family are keeping safe and healthy. Since a lot of people's schedules have disintegrated, it's never been an easier time to lose track of healthy choices and let everything go to Mordor.

The kids are on their tenth bag of gummies and up 'til midnight. You're on your second bag of "gummies" and the carpet is giving you life advice. The only bicep curl you've done was from grabbing the Uber Eats. The soup-of-the-day, every day, has been wine.

It doesn't have to be that way.

We have been experimenting with an old school habit tracker that's turned out to be a real game-changer (hat tip to our friend and mentor Mark Fisher). It's a simple Excel spreadsheet that takes under one minute to complete every night and tracks 8 achievable habits.

Give it a shot. At the very least it might keep you on the right side of sane.

👉👉 Download the spreadsheet

👉👉 Watch the accompanying video

Here are all the unique benefits we've noticed in just 5+ weeks of using it.
 

1) Creating a "contract" with yourself might be all the accountability you need.

Knowing that you’ll have to enter your score, every night, might be enough to stop you having that extra glass of wine or snack. It may force you off the couch to walk 6km to get 10,000 steps in - a habit you promised yourself you'd do twice that week.

It's gutting to break a handshake with yourself. The fact that the habit tracker exists, might be all the motivation you need.

2) It puts you in a "lead" position, not a "lag" position.

An example of a lag position is trying to complete the habit tracker at the end of each week, or only weighing yourself at the end of a weight loss challenge, or only counting your sales at the end of the month. These are hope-for-the-best strategies but the damage has already been done.

A lead position - completing the spreadsheet every day - means you can pivot and change strategy in real-time. For a few days, I (Kevin) was struggling with water consumption. Since I was updating every day, and therefore being in a lead position, I was able to pivot. I changed my strategy and started chugging a glass of water the moment I got out of bed.

3) Targets are great. Flexible targets are good enough right now.

Setting a Goldilocks target (not too easy, not too hard) will keep you on track most of the time. And most of the time is good enough. If you target 4 workouts per week, you might not hit that every single week, but it'll probably never be 1, maybe never just 2.

If you target 8 drinks of alcohol every week, you might have 9, 10 or 11 some weeks, but just by setting this goal it will likely never be 20. Unless, the world is truly ending, then let's congregate at the Scarborough bluffs with a 2-4 of Pabst, a tasty Cohiba, and we'll light that habit tracker on fire.

4) You stop checking social media as much

Social media itself isn’t bad, per se, it’s the addiction to it. When you see a red “1” on your phone, or go looking for heart notifications, your brain releases a mini-hit of dopamine, which can make you feel good in the moment - your mom likes your post! But it can also get you hooked and there are side effects to that - loss of focus, attention, anxiety, stress, and addiction.

Although minor, you can get a similar effect when completing the habit tracker. You can get that sweet rush of dopamine simply from seeing the box turn green when you complete a habit.

Give it a shot for just a week and let us know how you did. If you have any questions about it, holler back. We are here for you.

Kevin & Victoria

Meet Fady

If you ever meet Fady Sbeih, do yourself a favour and strike up a conversation with him.  It won't be difficult...he's a chatty guy.  He's also incredibly sweet, smart and interesting. And I mean really interesting.  He’s well-travelled, a total foodie and he loves to learn.  He spends time every year taking courses in areas that interest him.  He’s learned to code, studied social media strategy and even has his barista certificate. 

From far away lands...

Fady grew up in Lebanon and spent time working in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. In 2007, he came to Canada with his wife and kids, knowing nobody and without any job prospects. But like I said, Fady is no dummy.  Between his smarts, positivity and commitment to hard work, he was able to get his Masters in Advertising and build a successful career as a freelance creative director supporting businesses, big and small, with advertising and design services.  He’s especially interested in supporting local entrepreneurs like himself grow their business by optimizing their online presence (ATTENTION SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS OF BOMB, you should hit him up!).

The change...

For a long time, Fady put work and family first, not thinking much about himself. But all that changed about a year ago.  He jokes that he was worried his neighbours could hear him snoring, but really, he just decided that his next project was going to be himself. He joined Bomb and began working out at 6:15 am.  He set boundaries with his business, finding ways to work smarter but for fewer hours each day.  And then he applied that same boundary concept to his diet, adopting an intermittent fasting* nutrition plan, which has helped him lose more than 40 lbs.

What's next...

In case it isn’t obvious, Fady is someone who likes to push himself outside his comfort zone.  He honestly seems to thrive there and he has a knack for making others want to push themselves too.  Fady’s next personal goal is to begin running twice a week. In fact, he’s looking for a running buddy.  Are you up to the challenge?

Sally
 
* Intermittent fasting is not for everyone.  In particular, it is not recommended for anyone with a history of eating disorders, women who are trying to conceive, pregnant or nursing and people with certain health conditions and/or on certain medications.  If you are considering intermittent fasting, or any dramatic change to your diet, be sure to talk to your doctor first.

Gems of Advice from Shangri-La & Will Smith

Coming highly recommended for you this week is a 4-part docu-series about the creative process. Shangri-La profiles the irreverent music producer Rick Rubin, whose clients include The Beastie Boys, Eminem, Lady Gaga and every other popular musician that you've heard of.

A living gandalf right down to the bare feet, he told Adele that her album "23" was rubbish and to go back and work at it. It was delayed two years, became "25", and sold a trillion copies.

One particular episode (#3) is a beautiful piece of art. Rick talks about all the famous artists that come to him, many who have had their dreams come true, yet still feel unfulfilled - one, in-particular, was rapper Mac Miller, who had visited Shangri-La and overdosed in 2018.

"It's hard to get really depressed until your dreams come true. Once your dream comes true and you realize that you feel the same way as you did before, then you really get a feeling of hopelessness. Because, you feel like, okay, I have this empty whole in me, but if I get to do this thing, this is gonna fill that hole. And you know, one-in-a-million get to do that thing, and then you realize "Oh, I feel exactly the same." Most worldly things tend not to be that satisfying."

On a similar topic, Will Smith, dropped the gem of a lifetime...

"When I started, I had all these grand ambitions of what I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. I wanted to be the biggest movie star in the world... and when I achieved all those things, I realized, on the inside, I was still that same insecure, little boy. I was doing all this to prove something to all the girls that had cheated, to my father and everything else.

I realized that you can't out-achieve your childhood wounds and traumas. You can't fake it.

Then I made the shift and what I realized is that the only sustainable mission, throughout your whole existence, is to improve lives. And as soon as I made that shift in my mind, away from trying to be big, and making money, and being popular, to making sure I changed lives every step of the way on this earth, all of a sudden I started experiencing healing."

Two great things to consider. It might be awesome to earn $5 million and celebrate by going back to your hometown to give everyone on Main Street the middle finger from your Maserati. Chances are it will be fleeting - maybe enjoying the process of attaining that $5 million will feel much better.

And, as cheesy as it sounds, if you are in a bit of a funk, then maybe you've got to help someone else in order to help yourself.

Kevin & Victoria

Curiosity is a Life Hack

This week, we read an interesting interview with film writer/director Cameron Crowe. Here's an excerpt...

"It's terrible when you have this picture that does not work. Here's how you deal with it: you do another one! You come back, you do more, you do this thing you love... I've always felt that way. I've always felt there's an x-factor that can break your way. But if you lose your curiosity, you're done. [Billy] Wilder said this: You're always one idea away from your best f*cking work. Be curious."

In short, he means you've got to nurture the joy of film-making. This is true of fitness as well. A while back, we featured Louise P, who said curiosity was one of the things that led her to drop 25lbs over the year....

"She tried a bunch of different classes at Beach then Danforth. She wondered if she could build up to ten push-ups. She wondered why she couldn’t even pull herself up onto the monkey bars, while her kid could traverse it with ease.

When she got moving she said, “The motivation came from realizing I could do stuff and I got real curious about that. If you just get started, you’ll find a place for it.”

Curiosity is a competitive advantage in life, while the opposite is tragic. As Crowe said, without it, you're done. Your attention will be all over the place. You'll give up on things quicker. You'll remain unfulfilled.

So, what can you get curious about this week? If you find push-ups difficult, can you keep coming back to them and play around with some alternatives? Can you figure out what's keeping you from improving? You may be just one small adjustment away.

Can you chat to the healthy parent who appears to have their shit together? What are they doing different, and if it fits your life, can you copy that?

We'll leave the final word about curiosity to James Clear (whom we quote every other week!)

"Increasingly, I feel curiosity and an eagerness to learn is the most crucial skill in life. If you're not curious, I'm not sure if there is much others can do to help you. But if you're eager to learn, even if you aren't particularly talented, then so much is possible."

Have a great week!

Kevin & Victoria

Action Creates Motivation

Welcome to 2020! We're not going to argue whether it's technically a new decade or not, but it is a new year and so it's time to replace photos of festive cheer with glum, sweaty gym selfies.

What you will notice at this time of year is every person and their dog's view on new year's resolutions.

"You shouldn't need a new year to change your life," one will say.

"New year, new you!" another meme will proclaim, while everyone grabs their shotgun in response.

"Goals are overrated. You should focus on the process," is what we will say, because hitting a goal may get you one win, but if you concentrate on the process, you'll win again and again.

Regardless of which take you believe in, there's something about the energy that this time of year brings and you should jump all over it like gravy on biscuits.

A friend might take on a new challenge. You might try to work out what a Peloton is. Who knows, even your partner might decide to pull up their zipper and belt up their pants - big things are about to happen!

It doesn't matter, just pick something and go do it. Action creates motivation, not the other way around, and if everyone else is doing it too, that's just a handy-dandy bonus.

Kevin & Victoria

Three Podcast Episodes That Are Worth Your Time

We hope you’re enjoying the holiday season with friends and family or catching up with a book or TV show, in solitude.

If you’re heading out for a brisk walk with a coffee (or an eggnog mixed with the good stuff), we present three podcast episodes we heard this year that are worth joining you on the stroll.

These are not the most comfortable to listen to but will definitely get you to think differently about how to make healthy decisions and keep on top of your relationships.

#1 - How to Make Fat Loss Easy with Elizabeth Benton - Primal Potential, Episode 54

The presenter never specifically uses the word, but we are talking about mindfulness here. It’s the only real magic bullet, the one true gangster move, the deux ex machina, and it’s readily available 24/7… in your head.

This podcast is about putting mindfulness to practice, just as you would playing the piano or dunking free pointers on the b-ball court. We’re not totally into our mantras but “time to practice” seems like an apt prompt when important decisions come your way.

It’s also just 20 minutes long and walks a neat line between tough love and inspiration.

Top Quote

“If we really want change, we have to make peace with the fact that we cannot self-exempt every time the calendar offers us a more attractive alternative.”

Listen Here

#2 - Cracking the Code of Love with Dr. Sue Johnson – The Knowledge Project, Episode 62

Likely the best podcast we consumed this year, in part, because it can be an uncomfortable listen.

Sue talks about finding, sparking and rekindling connection with our partner, why emotional responsiveness is critical to a healthy relationship, and she shares the recipe to a great sex life that all the popular online and magazine articles are missing.

Top Quotes

“People think that conflict is the issue in distressed relationships. Conflict is the virus; the inflammation is emotional disconnection.”

“The main thing that gets in the way of sex is emotional distance. When emotional connection gets lost, the desire to be erotic dissipates (you’re not wired to deal with threat and be turned on at the same time).”

“The very best thing you can do for your kids is to have a good relationship with your partner.”

Listen Here

Bonus

In a similar vein, Esther Perel’s conversation is also highly recommended.

#3 – The Loneliness Epidemic with Vivek Murthy – The Ezra Klein Show, Episode 264

“So, you’ve recommended podcasts about a couple of touchy subjects, like fat loss and relationships, and now you want me to hear about loneliness! Which reindeer pissed on your lawn, pal!?”

Stay with us! This one’s really good and one of the reasons BOMB exists – to create relationships and community.

Top Quotes

“Loneliness isn’t simply painful, it’s lethal. Several meta-studies have found the mortality risk associated with loneliness is higher than that of obesity and equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes per day. So, Murthy decided to label loneliness a public health “epidemic,” a term that medical professionals don’t throw around lightly.

There’s a lot in this conversation. Murthy’s explanation of how loneliness acts on the body is worth the time, all on its own. It’ll change how you see the relationship between social experience and physical health.

But the broader message here is deeper: You are not alone in your loneliness. None of us are. And the best thing we can do is, often, helping someone else out of the very pit we’re in.”

Listen Here

Happy Holidays Y’all

Kevin & Victoria

What would happen if you followed your soul?

To say that Stephanie MacKay has led an interesting life would be a bit of an understatement.  In a 20-year span, she went from being a correctional officer at a maximum-security detention center in Ontario to learning yoga, reflexology and reiki in India.  

During the intervening years, she worked for Canadian Border Services and then moved to England where she issued visas at the Canadian Embassy in London.  It was there that she started to feel that her life wasn’t what she wanted it to be.  She began wondering what would happen if she could be herself, fully and completely.  What if she could shed societal expectations and find her greater purpose?  What if she followed her soul?

And one day, she stopped wondering and started doing.  She sold her home and all her belongings and moved to the Republic of The Gambia, the smallest country in mainland Africa.  

In The Gambia, Stephanie became immersed in a culture where people helped each other.  In whatever way they could.  Even if they had very little for themselves, they still found ways to give.  It made her realize how self-centered western society can be at times, and how disconnected she felt.  It also helped her see that individuals, working together and in service of one another, could be the solution to so many of the world's problems.  

Stephanie has also come to believe that the best way for anyone to support others is through their own passions and talents.  Because if you can help people while doing something you love, it also becomes an act of self-care.  She offered an example of Kevin and Victoria and the team at Bomb.  How we've taken our passion for fitness and used it to help others improve their health and how those positive effects then ripple into the lives of their family and friends too.  Um....can you feel me blushing through the screen?!

After two years in The Gambia, Stephanie spent some time in India and the UK.  But today, she's back in Toronto, helping her aging father maintain his independence.  She's continuing to live life by her own rules, focusing on using her talents to help people while encouraging others in positions of privilege to do the same.

She's working on a book where she will share her perspective about what's really important in life. And, she's become a regular at the Beach location.  In fact, she joined because she started to worry that if she didn't take better care of her health, she may lose the freedom to live the life she wants.  Stephanie’s adventures have taught her that anything is possible and we believe that too! We couldn't be happier that she chose Bomb to help her make those possibilities a reality.

Sally