Mic check - one, two…

I’ve been meaning to add this feature for a hot minute but as soon as I think that I have time to learn about it and make sure we aren’t screwing everything up, I forget. Putting that sentence down on paper really opens my eyes to just how lazy I can be.

“But, V— what is this amazing new feature that you’re adding to “Beats, Bears, Blogglestar Galactica”?

Oh, well I’m glad you asked!

The Collective is an idea that we’re all in this together and that while we don’t always agree, some conversation and collaboration can broaden our horizons without getting us off-track or too deep into the reeds. Into the weeds? Into the wreeds.

Comments. Specifically, your comments. Going forward, all of the blog posts on The Collective will have the comment feature enabled with a minor catch—squid pro row, if you will.

We will have to review comments and allow them to be posted so that we can avoid trolling, offensive material and comments about finding local nudes. I solemnly swear that I’m up to no goo— sorry, wrong oath.

I solemnly swear that comments will be posted regardless of their level of agreement with our point of view as long as you are engaging conversation. If you’re just saying something like, “… this is dumb and your face is stupid and you have to eat only fruit and olive oil” without any supporting information or proper hyperdrive coordinates, we can’t support that. No hate, please and thank you.

SO… without further a-dude, I give you The Cesarean.

The c-section?

The comment-section? Hello?!

That B!tch Susan…

It’s a regular day, you’re feeling good about yourself, maybe you’ve put jeans on for the first time in 7 months, done your hair, shaved…whatever it is, you’re feeling yourself. Out of nowhere, that nasty voice only you can hear starts picking you apart, and wreaking havoc on your confidence. Who is this nasty piece of work? Well, I call her Susan.

Susan is the sucker of all things fun, the robber of confidence and a real Debbie downer! (Why is she named Susan and not Debbie? Well, I can’t call her Deb, that’s my M-I-L’s name, and she is actually quite lovely!)

Susan is a stealthy little thing, she starts small, maybe convincing me I shouldn’t wear my hair a certain way, no big deal. You’re eyebrows are starting to look a little lopsided lady…do you want to look like you are questioning everyone when you’re talking to them? I didn’t think so…fix that shit, it’s embarrassing! She also is the reason you will get random texts me apologizing for everything and anything.

The most damaging of all though, is how she can convince me I am not good enough. Maybe its around the progression of my lifts, or if I am actually gaining muscle. On very special occasions, she will even try to convince me I am not a good friend, and worse, failing at being a mom. I know…heavy stuff.

During times of high stress or overall fatigue, Susan really takes a hold. It’s in these moments, identifying those thoughts and taking back control of my self-talk really matters. Take a minute to feel it, and then tell Susan to shut the hell up!

Negative self-talk is so damaging, emotionally, mentally and physically. (See our post about the physical symptoms on our IG page @thecollectivewpg…end plug)

In all seriousness though, this is something you have control over. Only you decide how you feel about yourself, and quite frankly, other people’s opinions of you are none of your business. They only distract you from embracing your awesomeness, and can really kill your vibe.

If you are reading this, and your name is Susan…my sincere apologies. Susan is a lovely name, please feel free to name your inner-voice Gillian, maybe spell it with J, that really gets my goat. :)

Anyhoo, the point here is, you do not need to let that voice control you. Sometimes the things this voice says to you can even be used as motivation. Prove that voice in your head wrong!

You’re out for a run, and Susan tries to convince you to walk, use that as motivation to keep running! You’re in the middle of a heavy lift and Susan tells you to drop the weight because you’re not strong enough…push hard and prove that b!tch wrong!

Everyone at some point has feelings of self doubt. That’s ok, and totally normal, but remember this:

You are a good Mom/Dad/Step-parent

You are a good friend

You are stronger than you think

You got this.

It’s you vs you. Susan has no place here (again..my apologies to all the Susan’s out there, I am sure you are lovely people!)

With love,

-g

Advance Preparation of Foodstuffs for the Busy Person that Doesn’t Have Time Every Day to Make a Good Meal…….. Or “Meal Prep”.

Well, hello there. It’s been a really quick run through the last 31 days and January is gone like a fart in the wind. Hopefully your year has started off on a foot that doesn’t have gangrene or bunions… This post is a day late and I’d say that it’s a buck short but I don’t get paid, so here we go. Welcome back to Blog-town, funk you up--Blog-town funk you up!

This week our Insta-tweeter-face-gramma-book had a post about, what us folks in the ‘biz call, “meal prep”. For all you bantha-herders out there that’s fitness lingo for making a boat load of food in advance to ensure that you have something at the ready for when it’s time to jump on a ship and blast through the Imperial blockade. Generally speaking, doing a couple of hours of meal prep will give you a better chance at healthy eating, portion control, dealing with urges to snack and all sorts of other fun stuff (no fun is guaranteed). 

There are two ways to do some pretty decent meal prep work and each approach has its benefits and its shortcomings but both are infinitely better than scrambling to put something on the table. The trick is to find out what method works best for you, your partner, your schedule, your kids, your pets--you get it. 

Personally I have a serious issue with portion control, as does a massive serving of the general public. This is the main reason that I like to have my meals portioned out when I’m cooking in advance. I save myself from myself by limiting the amount of food in the container so that once it’s gone I won’t be tempted to keep eating just because there’s more food sitting there. I have a big issue with food waste because there really are children around the world that do not get the luxury of a hot meal. Hell, there are kids right here in my hometown that don’t get breakfast and seldom get a half-decent lunch.

This week I whipped up some hash browns with homemade beef breakfast sausage and split it up into containers for Monday-Friday. In the morning, I smash a couple of eggs into the mix and then into the frying pan; pop it back in the container and I’m out the door. Full breakfast with a hot cup of coffee in the office while I settle out some straggling emails.

I roasted a whole chicken and tore it apart last night and tossed it with celery, apples and plain Greek yogurt. I take some of that delicious chicken salad with a handful of roasted kalettes and lunch is ready for me when the time comes. This one is important for me because I will sit at the counter and shovel chicken salad into my mouth like something that willingly shovels something into a bottomless pit of regretful eating. 

Dinner. The mother of all meals. The big one. The last big bit of effort to make. The biggest pain in the arse if you’re trying to make it through the day. I mean, really. You get home from work around 5:00pm and want to do a workout, feed the dogs and play with them, help the kids with homework, MAKE DINNER, eat dinner, clean up the dishes and still get to bed in time for a solid 7-8 hours of sleep. That sentence made me tired. This is where I switch my approach because the kids aren’t going to want to eat the same thing five days in a row even if it’s something amazing that I’ve crafted with love. And cheese. 

This week I’ve got a nice bottom blade beef roast that I’m going to put in the slow-cooker; I’ve already made brussel sprouts for myself (steamed and then roasted with a bit of butter and seasoning. Sprouts--FTW). The roast will be enough for my dinners for most of the week and the kids can have it tonight and leftovers for lunch or dinner tomorrow. 

Gillian made herself some chicken breast last night and the rest of that is cooked and ready for the kids to eat in any way they want, whether it’s mixed in with Annie’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese, double-baked with Annie’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese or--get this--eaten as a side with Annie’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese.

My children are sponsored by (read: addicted to) Annie’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese. Maybe. Ok they’re not but that would be kinda cool so shout out to Annie’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese. 

Everything you read above is DONE and it’s 9:00am on a Monday. It didn’t take a ton of time or even a bunch of effort. The week is already a step behind when it comes to kickin’ my ass so it’s going to have to try harder. I’ve got meals ready for myself so that I can fuel myself through the work-week, my workouts and whatever other stupidity I can get myself into. The kids have a ton of good food choices and will be ready for school, studying and cheer practices.

Do yourself a favour and try prepping something ahead of time for even three or four days. It’s a mental relief, a time saver and making sure that you’re eating well is a massive part of living a healthy life. 

Good luck this week. May the Annie’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese be with you.

-v

The Best Laid Plans Include Humble Pie

You know those days where everything comes together? Your day went well, your meals were on-track, water intake was good and your workout left you feeling strong? Today was not that day for me.

Today, every rep felt hard and heavy and left me feeling frustrated and defeated. Why is it that just last week, I had done this same workout and was able to manage these weights with little difficulty, but today, every part of my body was saying stop!

Now that I’ve had some time to reflect (thank you Vince and Mercedes for being a voice of reason), I’ve realized there were many things that affected my performance today.

Attitude: I walked into the gym with half a dozen things on my mind. Not all positive, and some weighing heavily on me. Working out can be a great way to clear your mind and work through things, but it is also important to focus on your intentions for your lift. Set your mind, focus your energy and try not to let the noise take over.

Rest: I moved around my workouts this week, which had me doing a heavy lift yesterday, on my rest day. Now, I am all for moving your workouts around to fit into your life. It’s important and helps with motivation. There is a reason that trainers put rest days in specific sequence though. Playing around with that may not give you the best chance at optimal performance. If you are going to shift rest days around, make sure you are still giving yourself appropriate recovery time before hitting those muscle groups again.

Fuel: I failed to plan properly this week, and my calories suffered because of it. By Saturday, meals were sporadic consisted of whatever I could find that satisfied my hunger.

Water: ….this was not a good week for water. Normally, I aim for at least 3L of water a day. Some days, I barely got 1L in (insert multiple excuses here…). Water makes up 60% of our bodies, 75% of our muscles and significantly affects our energy levels and brain function. Don’t wait until your thirsty to drink. By the time dehydration sets in, you could be dealing with dizziness, headaches and dry mouth. Start your day with a glass, set yourself a timer, whatever will remind you to drink throughout the day. You’ll have increased energy and better productivity.

Rest: Actually, I can’t really complain here. I’ve had some really great nights of sleep, but last night, I let myself fall back into old habits, and started my day at 4:00am with a House marathon on Prime TV. By the time my training session was set to start, I was tired and unfocused.

The reason I’m sharing this with you is because, today, I had to eat some humble pie and recognize the role I played in my performance. Here’s the deal, it is normal and ok to have highs and lows in your training. Some days, things will fall into place, other days you’re working with some increased challenges. The most important thing you can do is to continue to show up for yourself. Take the lumps with the leaps and feel the struggle. It will help you appreciate those days that leave you feeling invincible, and remind you that it isn’t just the workout that leads to improvement. It’s what you do in-between to help support your growth that sets you up for success.

-g

Insert A Clever Title About Injury Here…

Welcome to episode three of BLOGASAURUS REX!!

If you saw the post that we made on Instagram, you’ll know that we have a puppy that’s going through some things; he has a bit of a knee/leg issue that we’re working out. But the reason that I feel it’s important to bring it up here is because it gets me thinking back to when I had my knee surgery oh, so many moons ago. 

Injury, rest and recovery are three things that tend to be seen in a vastly negative light and can lead to all kinds of secondary problems, whether physical, mental or emotional. I only have a couple of emotions, the main one being hunger, so let’s focus on the first two ideas and how they can affect you. And it doesn’t matter if you’re the everyday Joe and Jane, a weekend warrior or a high-performance athlete. 

Injury, beyond the obvious physical limitation that it provides, can start to pile up some often nasty side chicks, otherwise known as sympathetic pains. I’m going to use myself as the example because despite my preaching for proper and ongoing recovery, I’m the poster child for not doing as I say. I currently have a partial MCL tear at my left knee, and no ACL on my right knee. I run, play competitive soccer, walk with my dogs, cycle and hike in the mountains when we travel. But right now I’m struggling with some knee pain because I have not been rolling and stretching. 

When I first had surgery I was lucky enough to have my good buddy Darryl Thorvaldson (shout out to Joint Effort, here in Winnipeg, even though he is now a firefighter… Jenn Persaud is also an absolute rockstar) beat the ever loving crap outta me for seven months in a ‘return-to-sport’ program. This was actually the moment that I thought about making health and fitness a career, or at least a something. Darryl was able to teach me the ‘why’ behind all of the exercises and get me back on the pitch in better shape than I had ever been. 

Icing on this success story was somewhere around the fourth month of therapy, when Darryl said, “... and you really need some core work. Let’s work that into your routine.”

Waiter!! Three slices of your humble pie, please. 

This was a re-focusing of my inability to run and jump and play with the other boys. The play was directing my attention away from what I couldn’t do and on to something else; on to my weaknesses and taking the opportunity to improve those areas of my fitness while everything else continued to fall into place. 

Like a 1980’s Puerto Rican sensation, let’s think about that for  a hot Menudo. Can’t do bicep curls to sculpt your guns? Work on legs and balance and flexibility. Can’t run? Then walk. Can’t walk? Then crawl. Someone famous once said that about voting… So did Chris Rock in that movie where he dies and gets reincarnated as an old white guy. 

This slides us into my next point about injury leading us down a dark path; whether you get a long case of the “ho-hum, f%$& its” or you start to suffer signs of actual depression. It’s a real thing. I had a real tough time after tearing my ACL for the second time. Soccer was (and is) my big outlet for a lot of things and it’s a true passion of mine. Take that away and you can’t help but start to slip a little. Refocusing myself (after eating a few tubs of gelato) wasn’t easy and it took the encouragement of a loving wife, but I did get there. I do play still and I am in great overall shape. I’m 40 years old and I play soccer with a bunch of punk kids ranging from 20-30 years old. 

So what do we do when things go south and we get hurt? First and foremost, if you can, see a sports doctor, athletic therapist or something in that world. They aren’t experts for nothin’ and they will offer you the absolute best direction for your injury and road to recovery. After that, you actually have to do what they tell you and you have to keep doing it. 

So while you’re down, don’t be out. Take the opportunity to focus on the weaknesses that you have. You’ll come out the other side better for doing it and you can thank me later. Or Darryl. Thank him, instead. 

-v

The one after the first one…

I’m sitting in my mud room, on a dog bed, keeping our youngest dog company while he finishes out his second week of “jail time” from an injured knee. Lost is playing on my iPad, and my coffee is cleverly balanced to keep my dog from drinking it. My mind is filled with things I want to say, and I’ve deleted this beginning paragraph, and re-written it 4 times already (I’ll let you know the final tally at the end).

Why am I so nervous to put my thoughts down and share them with you? Overthinking, sure, but it’s more than that. I recently listened to a podcast by Brene* Brown that talked about the FFT (Fu**ing First Time). Are we swearing on here?? Well either way, you know what she is saying.

This really resonated with me, because for so many of us, we are in some sort of FFT, and need to acknowledge how scary it can be, but also set expectations and just keep going. *(I haven’t figured out how to add accents here, so my apologies for the error for all you Brene Brown fans).

When Vince and I started working on this website, we discussed what expectations we had of ourselves, and what we could commit to in order to achieve what we hope to accomplish with this forum. We talked about how often we would write blogs, update videos and build content for you guys, and how we would manage to fit this into our days that honestly, typically look like an 8lb bag of crazy crammed into a 2lb sac. We are committing time to this because it is something we feel passionate about. We want to help people gain access to information, support them during their ups and downs and give them tools to stay consistent, hopefully while providing some laughs along the way. Let’s face it, Life is funny. Why not share the parts that make you shake your head and say “I can’t make this shit up”. It happens in our house almost daily.

How did this site come to be? Well, that is a story that starts with Vince, and ends with tears.

As mentioned on the “About” page of the site, this is something we have wanted to do for years, but didn’t start for a variety of reasons. Anyhoo…that’s not what this is about.

On Christmas morning, we started our day, as I’m sure many others did, with strong coffee, and a quick run to the mailbox to see if that last parcel from Amazon made it’s way the day before. With my mom on Facetime, we started opening up gifts together (and sending texts with pictures of the would-be gifts that were somewhere over the Mediterranean but should be arriving between January 9-21). When Vince handed me his laptop, I thought nothing of it, other than this was a gift that would show up in time for Ukrainian Christmas. He told me to type in www.thecollectivewpg.com, and up popped a picture of the two of us. After a few minutes of WTF…I realized what he had done, and started reading what he had created for us, the realization of a dream we’d kicked around for years. (Cue the tears)

It took me a couple of weeks to wrap my head around how this would all come together, and how we could really make this perfect. Here’s the thing though, it isn’t going to be perfect, but it is going to be real. Real workouts (messy hair, out of breath, “why didn’t I do a practice run before filming this” workouts), real food that you don’t need to source from the natural springs of a forest somewhere in Brazil, and of course the Blog.

So…here we go. Thanks for being with us! (p.s.: the final tally was 11)

-Gillian

The First One…

I wasn’t too sure what to call the blog page of a fitness website. Maybe something cool like, “The Weight Room” or “The Cantina of Mos Eisley” but neither were likely something that Gillian would approve of.

“Working Out the Gums” was another brainchild of mine. You know, when someone is at the gym and is yapping instead of lifting? But then I ‘googled’ it and… well… Let’s just say that I had to clear my search history and bleach my eyeballs.

Then I had the idea that, being a fitness blog, I could simply combine the two words and this would be “The Mighty FLOG” and again that name is a little disingenuous and probably links to a completely different kind of… workout? I don’t know.

Anyway, with all the fantastic names that I came up (Pumping Ink!) with the safest one was simply: Blog. I mean, that’s what it is, right?

This first post on the blog (a.k.a. ‘The Fortress of Blogitude’) is just an introduction to what you’ll find here in the future. The Blog section of the site is where we are going to share our mental journey; extended schools of thought on health and fitness. If you know me, and it’s highly likely that you don’t because my circle of friends is restricted to dogs, then you know that I’m a firm believer that the mental and physical aspects of health and fitness are more than intertwined. I don’t know what that would be, but it’s really, really close. Closer than ‘together’; more united than ‘the same damn thing’. They’re like peanut butter and jam. Han Solo and Chewbacca.

So put away your targeting computer and just feel—feel the Force and let it guide you back each and every time we update ‘The Blog’.

a.k.a. Blog-timus Prime.