Greater Vancouver's source for personal training, group training, dance fitness, and nutrition advice - Tak's fitness, nutrition, and business blog

How do you want to shape your 2017?

1/22/2017

Let me start by sharing a story. Since starting this business 6 years ago, I have helped countless number of clients reach their fitness goals. However, I have quickly come to realize that staying healthy is more than fitness goals but more about a healthy lifestyle. This means eating well, sleeping well and reducing or finding methods to cope with daily stress.

Of all these components, I find that eating well is the absolute base of the pyramid, the foundation of health. Yet, it's the most difficult part to do correctly and consistently.

Hence, in 2016, rather than coaching people on how to eat well, I went ahead and created a vegetarian cafe, allowing me to actually provide and demonstrate what eating well means.

Stay tuned for more great ideas to come in 2017 that will make eating healthy easier!

So, if you are looking to make 2017 the healthiest year yet, start by eating well and creating that right microbiome in your stomach that will keep you feeling good throughout the day. If you are already in the gym 2-3 times a week, make sure that time doesn't go to waste. Take control of your diet today! You are really what you eat!

Personal training rewarding moments

4/13/2016

We helped a 76 year old client do his first ever unassisted pull-up today! We can't begin to describe how happy he was to reach this goal. This is a great example of the fact that we can accomplish anything we desire at any age. #inspiredbyclients

Hiking season!

4/3/2016

With the Spring weather, hiking season has begun! Take advantage of the outdoors to keep you strong and healthy. You may already know this but couple of tips in regards to hiking:

Stay hydrated!
Be prepared, especially on long hikes. Emergency food and water is a must!
Wear proper footware. The ground may still be slippery with rain and snow.
Use your core! This is especially important when traveling downhill.

Enjoy yourselves out there and most of all stay safe! Looking forward to hearing your stories from your hikes!

How are you doing?

3/2/2016

Just quickly checking in to see how you are all doing? How many of you are still going strong?
For those of you that have fallen a bit behind, today's the day to get back into it! Again, start small, but keep it up every day.

Are you a part of the majority or an anomaly?

1/16/2016

We are half way through January and the fitness clubs are looking deserted already. Where are you compared to everyone? Are you still going strong with your fitness and health resolutions? Or are you a part of the 50% that gave up already?

If you are still going strong great!
Keep it up by focusing daily on why you are doing this. For your health, for your kids, for your partner etc.

For others, don't wait until next year. Get back into it NOW!
Here are couple of tips:

Find someone to hold you accountable (Your kids, partner, a personal trainer)
Be clear on WHY you are doing this, as you will need this reason to keep yourself going when things get tough
Don't over think it. The conscious mind is stronger than the unconscious mind. Showing up is half the battle

We will check back in a couple of weeks.

Goals

12/26/2015

We are always asked to help out with fitness goals in early January. Everyone is motivated to lose weight, tone up, etc. However, what we encourage you to do is to start NOW! We found that more individuals that start before the new year actually end up accomplishing their goals, as compared to those that start in January. We think that this is because of the following factor:

Those that start now have a better plan. They have sat down and thought this through. They know where they will be going come January, and they know who they can call on when they find that their initial motivation is winding down.

Hence, if you have not already, come up with a plan! If you are going to make health a priority in 2016, you need to make sure you do the following:

Identify the habits that often prevent you from accomplishing goals
What is both your goal for month 1, month 2, month 3 and beyond?
1. Revisit these goals every morning and every week
What are some key habits you need to develop?
How will you keep yourself accountable?
Take a minute or two for yourself every morning to go over these goals and plan out your day

2016 is about accomplishing your goals. We are always here to help but you need to take the first step. Best wishes in 2016!

Nutrition

11/26/2015

More than ever, we are moving into confusing times with regards to nutrition. The media comes up with a breaking news that contradicts common wisdom on a daily basis. I have tried many different forms of eating (Gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, high/low carb diets) and found that a mix of 80% Gluten Free/Vegetarian/low carb diet works best for me. The other 20% I'm not too picky about.
Hence, the tip that we often give our clients, unless they are allergic to gluten or simply don't want to eat animal products, is to eat in moderation. Mix various forms of diets to find what works best for you.
Feel free to get in touch with us at any time if you have any questions!

Kendo Blog

11/16/2015

For those of you that don't know I have been involved in the Japanese martial art called Kendo for close to 30 years now. Kendo has taught me how to use my body efficiently. Things you learn to do when bamboo sticks are flying at you, giving you a fraction of a second to react.
More importantly though, it has taught me discipline, respect and responsibility. I guess how else are you going to keep something up for 30 years!
I will likely write more about kendo along the road but here is a link to a blog I maintained during the last World Kendo Championships I was at in Tokyo, Japan.
https://vancouverkendo.wordpress.com/

Manning Park Hiking

9/1/2014

Manning Park is a provincial park, a bit past Hope and has been my favourite go-to place since I was a kid. You can camp, canoe, swim, jog, hike, and bike.
One thing I really enjoy is hiking so in my blog I want to introduce some of the hikes I have done and provide a rating for each of them based on what I thought.
This time around, I would like to introduce two hikes:

1. Poland Lake Hike (5 hours round trip)
Summary: The hike starts off at the upper parking lot located along the road to the Manning Park ski area on Gibson Pass Road. It is then about 2-3 hours to Poland Lake. On the way you pass through the ski area which offers great views of the surrounding mountains. The trail is accessible by horses and mountain bikes as well.
Hike difficulty: 2/5 Steep climbs in some areas but the trail is fairly well maintained
Overall hike rating based on the main question "will I do it again?": 1/5 I would definitely be interested in doing it during the winter for cross country skiing but probably not in the summer. Although the hike had its moments of beauty, majority of the time the view was the same and the view of Poland Lake was not incredibly impressive.

2. First Brother (5-6 hours round trip)
Overall impression: The hike starts off at one of the parking lots at the end of the road that leads you to the Cascade Lookout. Note that the road past the Cascade Lookout is not paved. You then want to go in the direction of the Heather Trail until you see signs to First Brother. About 2 hours into your hike you will pass the tree line and the view is spectacular from here, not to mention all of the colourful flowers and vegetation. The view from First Brother is unreal with 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains. The elevation at First Brother is 2272 meters.
Hike difficulty: 3-4/5 Extremely steep and potentially dangerous climbs on the way to First Brother. All the way up to the climb is fairly modest in terms of difficulty.
Overall hike rating based on the main question "will I do it again?": 5/5 For sure I will do it again. This is the second time I have done it and it is probably one of the best hikes I have ever done.