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

5 Self-Development Books That Aren't Shit

Around 24 million North Americans read some type of self-development book every year. There are over 300,000 self-help books available on Amazon.ca alone.

The truly great self-development books are real, down-to-earth, and inspire you to act. Some are long-winded, full of hocus pocus, and dry as an internet troll’s bath mat. Others are simply used as a tool to get you to purchase the real information from their website.

Fortunately, we’ve read through a lot of the drab and the phonies to bring you 5 of the best. They’re so good that if you were to only read these books every year, you’d turn into a pretty amazing person.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

This book is recommended by everyone so often that it feels like people don’t take it seriously any more. It’s turned into a vocal meme and even had a horrible film named after it, but the content stands true over eighty years later (it was first published in 1936).

One of few things that has stayed truly constant over the last hundred years is how people are liked. Remember the asshole who thought grabbing your ass in the club was a great pick-up move? Well, you’d find that same asshole 100 years ago, hassling a tavern barmaid to see what was under her corset.

You’d hate them both, and they’d go home alone.

If only they had read “How to Win Friends and Influence People”. This book has you covered on how to be a likable and influential person. Things like how to really listen, how to make people feel important and how to be genuinely appreciative. It should be studied in all schools and workplaces.

You can pick it up on Amazon Kindle for just $0.99 and if you find us being really, really nice to you for some reason, it’s likely we’ve just re-read this book.

Read it if:

• Your manners are equivalent to a zombie food-eating scene from The Walking Dead.

• Nobody will do what you ask them to (because you’re probably an ass).

​Note: This book has its detractors too. Their argument is that it makes you act in ways that are not of your nature and invites you to be manipulative. But if you can’t listen, or talk to people respectfully, or appreciate other humans then its you that needs to change, not the book.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson

The self-development books we really hate are the ones full of woo-woo affirmation nonsense and those that make you feel worse about yourself after reading it.

Mark Manson’s book is a breath of fresh air. Using a character called Disappointment Panda he cuts through all the nonsense, essentially telling the reader that they’re an entitled asshole and full of shit. Yes, even those who feel they really need help.

While most books prey on the notion that there’s something wrong with you, Mark lets you know:

1. That it’s okay to not feel great every day, just do something about it.

2. Stop giving a fuck about the small stuff and choose to give a fuck on the things that are really important.

​
Read it if:

• You feel the need to tailgate the car who just cut you up and that anger lingers long into the night.

• There’s another subway delay and so you feel the need to compare the mayor’s infrastructure plan to that of Adolf Hitler’s World War II plan.

Start With Why by Simon Sinek

The premise of Simon Sinek’s book is to reverse engineer your thoughts and actions to find out WHY you do what you do.

Finding out your WHY, Sinek argues, drives how well you do things. Having a strong WHY will help you drive through resistance. Having a strong WHY will make you a better leader.

People do not believe in you by what you do or how you do it; they believe in you because of WHY you do it.

It has a more business leadership of a read to it but anyone can adapt it to their situation – a parent or pastor should all strive to be a great leader and it’s all about finding and being true to your WHY.

Read it if:

• You are horrible at sticking to a new-found habit – like exercise or healthy eating.

• You wonder why nobody will invest in your alt-right movement.

The One Thing by Gary Keller

The premise of this book is simple and asks one question. What's the ONE Thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

This question can be applied to everything in your life from work, relationships, and spiritual improvement.

We even use it when speaking to our members. With 600+ of them, it’s hard to chat to everyone and cut to the chase on interesting stuff. Asking Jennifer, “Hey, welcome back, what’s the one thing you loved/hated about your trip to Paris” will produce thoughtful and interesting answers.

The book covers a wide vary of topics, from going deeper than the 80/20 rule to the domino effect this statement brings, right through to habit building. It’s a beautiful book that has a neat in-printed function - all the key ideas are underlined in pencil-like ink.

It might seem a really simple concept to take up a whole book but when you’re stuck-in-a-rut or feel overwhelmed it’s a great reference to use.

Read it if all of the following happens at the same time:

• You start eating out every day for lunch.

• There’s too much pressure at work and you don't know where to start.

• Your toddler starts to slap every person she meets.

• Your other half has decided to never cook or clean a dish again.

Linchpin by Seth Godin

The idea behind this book is simple – “What makes you remarkable and indispensable?” Too often we snore through our job expecting our boss to notice that we’re doing a fantastically normal go of it and expect our wages to inflate to reflect that.

This book tells you that you can’t wait around for change. You can’t wait around for good things to happen. You have to take the bull by the horns and become The Linchpin – an indispensable part of your team, community, or family.
​
Read it if:

• You want to challenge the status quo.

• You believe that your colleagues at work only get promoted because they kiss-ass.

• You’re not sure if the employee trying to kiss your ass is indispensable.

• If you think you’re cool, rebellious and Office Space is your favourite movie.

It’ll take a while to read all of these but even if you grab just one it will provide you with a new perspective – a challenge to the way you currently think.
​
Kevin & Victoria

Having the Confidence to Try

We love to celebrate our members and all the neat stories they have. Here's one from the awesome Sylvia!

"I don’t have any particularly COOL story but I do know that Bomb has totally changed how I look at workouts and myself.

I worked out for 10 years and never got results I wanted. I ran. I did barre. I did cardio at the gym. But I certainly never lifted weights, or pushed myself to do things out of my comfort zone.

Joining bomb was SO scary for me. Would I like it? Would I smash my face doing box jumps (still a possibility but I am far less scared now).

I have totally felt a physical transformation over the past 10 months. But honestly I love that I can come in and no that no matter how hard and grueling the workout I’m about to do is, I have the confidence to try. I don’t feel like there is a mental barrier to me working out anymore and that is pretty amazing.

I feel stronger than I ever have and I have a deeper appreciation for what my body is capable of doing.

My schedule can get the best of me. I’m self employed. I own a production company. I keep a million parts moving at all times.

My break and reward to myself is coming into Bomb and doing something for me. "

So, no wild North / South mixups here. Just a happy client :) " - Sylvia B

It's a Hat-Trick!

This week, we were presented with the NOW Magazine award for the Best Gym/Fitness Club in Toronto for 2019.

We’re still pinching ourselves, but we couldn’t have done this without the support of all of our amazing, hardworking members and staff who put in WORK day in and day out, and make our jobs look easy.

Thank you to all those who took the time to vote for us, and to everyone who continues to support BOMB!

A special shout out goes to our friends and neighbours, Pomarosa Cafe*, for coming runner-up for Best Latin Restaurant in Toronto. We would not be able to work as hard at 6:15am without their delicious coffee and arepas.

* Did you know all BOMB members get a 10% discount?

View this post on Instagram

It’s official, yesterday we took home the Now Readers Choice award for the best gym/fitness club in Toronto for 2019!🙀🎈 This makes it 3 years in a row, WHAT!?😭 . . We’re still pinching ourselves, but we seriously couldn’t have done this without the support of all of our amazing, hardworking members and staff who put in WORK day in and day out, and make our jobs look easy!🤘🏼 Thank you to all those who took the time to vote for us, and for those who continue to support our business! . Special shout out goes to Pomarosa Cafe, for coming in as runner up for best latin restaurant in Toronto! We would not be able to work as hard at 6:15am without your delicious coffee and arepas ☕️😫 . . Congratulations to all of the nominees and the winners, what an awesome event for some awesome local businesses! 🥳

A post shared by BOMB Fitness (@thebombfitness) on Nov 1, 2019 at 1:59pm PDT

Let Go of the Vine

A lady slips and falls off the edge of a cliff. On her way down, she manages to grab on to the end of a vine. As she hangs there, her grip begins to loosen. Desperately, she looks up to the clouds and decides for the first time to pray - to pray for her life.

“Is anybody up there?” she asks.

After a long silence, a deep voice bellows down from the clouds:

“Do you believe?”

Without a beat, she frantically replies “FFS, yes, yes I do! All of the yeses, and all of the beliefs!”

“Then let go of the vine,” says the voice.

The lady pauses for a second, looks down and then up again, and responds, “Is there anybody else up there?”

This is something that is hard to admit to ourselves after testing out a gym or investigating all the best ways to stay fit and healthy. We find out how hard it is and then look for a second opinion. This usually involves an alternative, subjectively easier solution - pills, surgery, workout dvd's, starvation (read: juice cleanses). It's overwhelming and some of us return to do nothing at all.

One reason is that "losing weight" or "getting fit" is not powerful enough to provide self-motivation when things get tough. One solution is to go back to a grass-roots level. Find out where your values and priorities truly lie and then figure out the next step or next habit change that you need to make, so that you truly live them.

You don't need a second opinion to ride out the rough times when solid, healthy values will drive you towards that next workout or healthy meal.

Kevin & Victoria

700km in Selfies

Back in December, I told you about my running streak that started with James Clear’s Atomic Habits book.

Well... I had a little setback. I ended up with a hamstring issue that turned into a painful injury. 6 weeks of ZERO running later, with the help of Sean the athletic therapist, I have been able to get back out there without my hamstrings seizing up and throwing my hips all out of whack.

The first few runs back felt pretty good considering that I thought I needed to give up running forever. But it was so frustrating to feel slow, sore, and incapable after putting so much effort into improving my speed and distance. I felt exhausted after runs that I used to find breezy, and I didn't look forward to lacing up my shoes like I used to.

And then. Ho-Lee-Shit. The fucking habit stacking principle in James’ book came to my rescue.

So, here’s what I never mentioned in my last post: I took a selfie after every single run. Over 100 runs. Over 100 copies of my sweaty face! Why? Because James told me to build on newly developed habits by stacking new habits on top of them.

My speed and distance logged were overshadowed by facts that couldn’t be captured by my running app. The content of those silly selfies reminded me that focusing on the process is so much more rewarding than the outcome.

1. I ran in every condition. Ice, extreme heat (ohhh, Puerto Rico!), snow. I ran in the dark after a long day of work. I ran in the morning to beat the heat.

2. I ran on Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, my birthday. Maybe holidays aren’t the best example of what I’m trying to get across...because, really, I was running so that I could stay out of the kitchen.

3. I ran with friends. Sometimes in silence because we were exhausted from running. Sometimes we had meaningful conversations. As I look at their sweaty faces next to mine - they had no choice, and there were NO retakes! - it reminds me of what an important role community plays in keeping up a fitness routine.

4. I ran a couple of races. I set a goals. I achieved them.

These 700km in selfies bring make me smile from ear-to-ear. They remind me of the joy, satisfaction, challenges, and friendship that I felt throughout the process. It is making it so much easier to work through this little slump and stay motivated to keep moving... even if I am a little slower.

How can you set yourself up now, so that when you hit a little setback, it won't derail you forever?

Victoria

The Gulf of Mexico

When you hit retirement, what's the first thing you're going to do? Sit down and give War & Peace a go? Spend more time with your grandkids and pretend to know what a Billie Eilish is? (1) Or will you reminisce about the good ol' days when the Dead Sea was merely sick?

When we asked BOMB members Bob and Maureen (aged 60+) they told us they were going to cycle the Gulf of Mexico. We thought, great, they're going to fly to Florida, hire a couple of bikes, wrestle a few 'gators and have a ball doing it.

But we misheard. "We're going to jump on our bikes in Toronto and cycle TO the Gulf of Mexico." Dubya-tee-eff!

Here's what Bob told us in his own words...

"Hey Guys, Maureen and I have been members for 10 months now. This may be a short span in comparison to the tenure of some of your long time members but it has been a noteworthy period for us and I wanted to let you know why (how?).

We were in pretty good shape for a couple of seniors (+60) but your instructors (mostly Andrea and Jennifer) have really made us strong and ready for an adventure. So we’re taking this fitness on the road and going to bicycle down to the Gulf of Mexico in a couple of weeks.

This time we are making our way south from our home in the Beach, along the infamous Underground Railroad route which black slaves took to freedom at the turn of the 20th century. We will follow the route in reverse, seeking out the historical places and stories of this 3200 km route.

Just wanted to say thanks - we enjoyed the ass-kicking (or at least the results) and will see you in late November."

One thing's for sure, we want to be Bob & Maureen when we grow up. You can follow the adventure on their blog. We wish them all the best!

Kevin & Victoria

(1) We're guessing, maybe a baby insect.

Three Factors That Will Decide How Long You'll Live

We hope you lived deliciously this summer. We're excited to get our full schedule and emails going again this month, with no less than seven workshops and programs in September alone!

Today, we want to talk about three factors that will determine how long and how healthy you'll live. In short, they are...

• #3 - Lifestyle (your eating and exercise habits)

• #2 - Genetics (how much you want to thank or get angry at your ancestors)

• #1 - Relationships (yes, lonely people die early)

The famed neuroscientist, Jaak Panksepp, believes humans need bonding and connection as much as they need oxygen. People who maintain relationships with friends and family are happier than those who isolate themselves. People who go to church on a regular basis will live longer than those who don't.

How much you serve and are invested in other people is another huge indicator. We joke that we take care of people who take care of other people. A lot of our members are teachers, social workers, doctors, nurses, and EMTs. And others, such as writers, artists, editors, and designers need to keep their creative juice flowing through exercise.

That's a huge the reason for why we created BOMB and specifically a group environment.

You can do push-ups at home in your basement. You can throw in your air pods, turn the music up to 11, and work out at an LA Fitness or Goodlife. That's amazing and you can see results, but you can get all that and so much more in a group setting.

A member recently mentioned that "while there's no pressure to make a new best friend in every class, it's cool to be part of a group that's working hard towards their own individual goals. The energy you get from that pushes me more than I ever could on my own."

When you connect with people - smile, high-five, notice their body language - it releases pleasure and antidepressant hormones, like endorphins and serotonin.

That's something you cannot get from a virtual high-five, a Facebook Like, a crying-with-laughter emoji, or a Whatsapp GIF parade.

It's something you can only get live and in person.

The robots are coming and they want us to hide in our semi's ordering Uber Eats, shit we don't need from Amazon, and communicating with our friends solely through digital devices.

It will make us miserable and we'll die early and lonely and the only way to stop it and save the world is to... come to Bootcamp?! Well, okay, at least it's a start.

P.S. A lot of this info comes from The Algebra of Happiness - it's a great, short read.

P.P.S. The Transformation Challenge begins on Monday, September 16th 2019 for 30 days and is back with a brand new look.

It includes a new Fall meal plan (and format), new challenges, a new accountability group that takes you away from the social media rabbit hole, and 4+ workshops and lessons - including...

💥 Four repeatable action steps to take to ensure you make good on your commitment.
💥 The best nutrition habits to make eating healthier a lot easier.
💥 How to work your hardest no matter your fitness level.
💥 How to sustain your exercise and nutrition habits outside of a short-term challenge.

Plus, the usual unlimited classes and support. Click the button below and head over to the TC page to sign up.

If you are an existing, committed unlimited member, you should use this link to sign up.

How to Teach Your Kid to Be a Conscious Consumer

When kids come to camp, we always stress the importance of bringing literless lunches and using re-usable items for food and drinks. Here are some tips for getting your kids to become responsible, and informed consumers.

Involve them in your daily meal prepping

Kids will never cease to ask questions and inquire about things on a daily basis. I can’t count the number of times a kid has asked “but why?” to almost every answer I have given until I have completely run out of explanations.

Kids are always wanting to be involved in things, and learn new information. By getting them to help out with planning their own meals, and letting them see how easy it is to plan ahead of time, they’ll hopefully start thinking about the future rather than only the present moment. This can help them in many areas of their life, especially where time management is necessary.

Make trips to the supermarket informative

When I was a kid, going to the supermarket with my mom was the highlight of my week. With so many possible items to grab, see, eat, and buy, I felt like I was in a dream! Kids will often want to be involved in going to the grocery store, so why not take that opportunity to teach them about the importance of healthy choices.

When selecting items, you can explain why it is that you chose that over another, what the importance of buying locally is, why its important to stay away from plastic as much as possible, and how our body readily accepts fresh, non-GMO types of food over processed goods.

Kids are often extremely good at telling the blunt truth in any situation, so they are more likely to accept reasons for choosing local, healthy, and sustainable products. This is also not to say that you can never buy them a treat here and there (we all love some treats), but as long as they get the whole concept, they can begin to make healthy choices as they get older and more in control of their own food choices.

So, when you’re making your kids lunches for camp or school, and when you go to the market to buy your items for the week/month, include your kids! They will benefit from it more than you may think, and maybe it will help you make better choices – kids always tend to hold us accountable for the things we say.

Stay informed, and spread the health!

Melissa
Fit Kids Manager

P.S. Want to get your kids active at an early age? Our Fit Kids After School program is now registering at the Danforth and Beach locations for Fall. You can check them out here, and save 50% from your first month when you join the new Beach program.

P.P.S. Junior Lifters and our Strength & Mindfulness drop-in series will also begin in late-September. Join the kids mailing list to get registration notifications, at the lowest available price… and more tips like these!

Two Quick Ideas to Improve your Kid's Well-Being

The school year has gone and summer time is in full swing, so here are two quick things to consider as your kids enjoy their camps and free time outside.

Remember that unstructured play time is just as important as structured training.

"Don’t ever say a child is “just” playing. That's like saying a surgeon is “just” operating or a pilot is “just” flying an airplane. Play is the essence of being a child." - John Rosemond

Sometimes parents are flummoxed when we don't have a strict plan laid out for our PA days, camps or our after school program. "So you don't know what you're doing this week?"

The truth is that the structure is loose. It's usually based around a theme, and at the end of our programs the children have time to get curious and explore what they've just learned or get better at the things that interest them.

They can use their imagination, spontaneity and find self-motivation.

As kids get older and become more socially trained to be another cog-in-the-wheel, unstructured free time becomes just as important as structured hockey practice. It fills a hole that a strict school timetable may not be able to provide.

Stop thinking weight training will stunt your kid's growth

Strength and conditioning specialist Eric Cressey explains this better than we could...

"When your kid sprints, she encounters ground reaction forces several times greater than her body weight.

When he jumps out of trees, those numbers are even higher – and he’s probably landing on a more unpredictable environment.

When she wears a big backpack full of books, she’s actually lifting weights without any coaching whatsoever.

Doing a goblet squat with a 20-pound dumbbell isn’t going to stunt your 9-year-old’s growth. And it isn’t going to turn him into a meathead steroid abuser.

What it will probably do is teach them a lot about the value of hard work. It’ll demonstrate that consistently showing up and putting effort into something can lead to specific quantifiable improvements.
​
It’ll make them more durable to participate in and enjoy sports – and do so at a higher level than they otherwise would have experienced."

You can read the whole post here.

We would add that most athletes, like wrestlers, tennis players or kick-boxers would rather face someone with slightly more talent than them but who's not as conditioned.

So strength-and-conditioning programs really matter, and yes, they should include lifting weights and unstructured play.

Kevin & Victoria

P.S. Our Fit Kids After School program is now registering at the Danforth and Beach locations for Fall. You can check them out here, and save 50% when you join the Beach program.

A Healthy Guide to Eating Out

We tell you to eat healthy at home, and now we're about to tell you to do the same when you're out spending the fruits of your labour - like watching the finger-nail-filing escapades of your favourite basketball team.

With the Raptors losing last night, this probably all sounds like misery. But the following cheat sheet is full of simple little adjustments that you can make and still have fun.

If this still sounds tragic to you, don't worry, it's written by a cantankerous old sod.

A Miserable Bugger's Healthy Guide to Eating Out

1) Vodka soda is the Chainsmokers of the healthy alcoholic drink. Boring. Predictable. Flavourless.

Make your liquor a tequila or whiskey. For a minimal amount of extra calories you’ll get 1,000 times the taste, while remaining healthier than beer, cider, or white wine.

2) Take a look at the menu online and select your food choice before you go. That way you will not be influenced by other people’s choices in the moment. You may, indeed, prompt everyone else to contemplate their adolescent behaviour when they realize a proper adult is now present.

3) Just like your Ashley Madison dates, ask for all sauces to quietly remain on the side.

4) Dance near the flames of hell and eternal chastity, by suggesting to your partner that you pick a starter and a main to share. At restaurants we tend to overeat, and at Toronto prices, that $25 main ain’t going to waste. Devouring shared dishes will leave you satisfied and you’ll consume fewer calories.

5) Make all your side choices be salad or fruit. Unless you go to Weslodge, where you must violently swim in their mac ‘n’ cheese.

6) Impress absolutely no-one, by drinking one glass of water for every alcoholic drink.

7) Words matter. Look for “steamed,” “grilled,” and “boiled.” Avoid “loaded,” “creamy,” “rich,” “uncomfortable,” “crabs.”

K & V

The Best Way to Measure Progress

To measure the progress of health and fitness goals, it’s normal to use less-than-stellar methods. Often, it’s the scale or mirror.

We call these lag measures. They track the thing that you’re trying to improve.

The problem is that it comes too late to change your behaviour. The performance that drove this measurement is already in the past.

Lead measures are new behaviours that will drive success on the lag measures. (1)

“Lead measures turn your attention to improving behaviours you directly control in the near future that will then have a positive impact on your long-term goals.”(1)

If you wish to lose 10lbs, a relevant lead measure could be the number of meals you track, or the number of workouts you do.

When you use lag measures to evaluate body change, it's usually not a positive experience. And even if you get to your goal, it’s not as satisfying as you think it would be. That's because you’ve treated the process as a shallow means to an end. This will keep you miserable.

What you need to focus on (and what makes humans happy) is the journey to get there. Not looking back at it, but being in the moment with it, using lead measures that are fun and progressive.

A recent tweet from James Clear states “…if you optimize for the outcome, you win one time. If you optimize for a process that leads to great outcomes, you can win again and again.”

Lag measures is where you dream and feel miserable. Lead measures is where you’ll find enjoyment and a fulfilling life.
 
Kevin & Victoria

1 -- Excerpts from “Deep Work” by Cal Newport

P.S. The Transformation Challenge that begins this week and a lot of focus is on behaviour change and using lead measures to track your progress.

Save 33% with the early bird price (ends on Tuesday). Click the button below for more details.