Mob Hit at the Fitness Center

   You heard right!  Yesterday there was a shooting in the parking lot at an Ottawa 'big box' fitness center. The victim is in critical condition. It was probably not a random act of violence. The victim had ties to the Rizzuto crime family of Montreal. Think crime family as in Sicilian Mafia! This is the same Rizutto crime family depicted in the TV series 'Bad Blood'.

   Usually the only criminal activity at a 'big box' fitness center is the way management treats Fitness Trainers or the delay tactics used on cancelling payment withdrawals from a new member who has run out of fitness enthusiasm one week into the new year.

So you want to cancel your gym membership?
How about if we cancel you instead!

   This is not to say that the world of exercise training is free of unsavory elements.

•  Boxing gym folklore has a long history of association with hustlers, gamblers, gangsters, and has beens. Go watch Rocky, Raging Bull, or Requiem for a Heavyweight. 
• Body building culture has always had a creepy underside of nude modelling (mostly male), sex for hire (also mostly male), and extreme steroid abuse. Pro bodybuilders seem to have short life spans.
• Hard core weight training gyms often have no shortage of muscle heads, career bouncers, and locker room steroid mongers. 
• When I lived in Edmonton, Canada, a certain hard core gym was frequented by members of a notorious biker gang with a California origin.
• There have been cases where underworld associates were taken out going to or from a boxing gym or a hard core weight room.  This is more due to the fact that it can be a part of the victim's schedule and therefore easier to track or stake out. This is the first time I have ever heard of such a thing at a family oriented fitness center.

In most cases, if you go to such less refined places to work out and mind your own business, you are not in any danger. unless you try to bench press too much weight without a spotter or box with some palooka that is out of your league. 
 

   Likewise with public exercise facilities or private fitness centers.

• Workout centers are usually inhabited by people who are into self-improvement. The risk of  being assaulted or getting 'whacked' is almost non-existent.
• A common crime concern may be the theft of valuables from the locker or change rooms. Take practical preventive measures.
• The parking lot may be an area of risk for robbery or assault if the fitness center is in a questionable neighborhood. Take precautions -especially women.
• Theft from vehicles, or theft of vehicles, can be an issue in any neighborhood.  Get a reliable car alarm. 

Supposedly the victim in the Ottawa shooting was trying to turn his life around. Working out was part of his new lifestyle. If so, this is a tragic set back! I will post updates of his condition as the press releases them.

https://ottawasun.com/news/local-news/man-critical-with-gunshot-wounds-in-meadowlands-and-merivale-incident/wcm/8536ad30-d020-4b24-b4e6-bfc2bfee9868

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI-v-hnX2OU

Until Next Time,  Keep Fit

Little Bobby Strong

Links

www.fitnwell.com
www.hwsafaris.ca

www.rabbitview.com

Greg Harvey, Personal Trainer, Fitness Influencer, Renaissance Man

Greg Harvey has made an impact as a media savvy Personal Fitness Trainer, a wildlife photographer, a trendsetter, an innovator and a renaissance man! 
   I first met Greg in 1997 in Edmonton at an information session for a new program that was to be initiated at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT). The program was advertised as the first of its kind in Canada, a college level course of studies in Personal Fitness Training. Most of us were likely attending the info session out of curiosity but I distinctly remember that this tall, intense, focused individual was also present. This individual was Greg Harvey.  He was not there out of curiosity but for a distinct purpose.  He knew exactly what he needed and this program was it!
We both were accepted into the program and became colleagues and forever connected by the fitness link.
   Greg had a strong career background in sales as well as having worked in the oil industry. He knew how to close a sale. Now he just needed the right product to sell - a product that he truly believed in.. His past recreational pursuits included volleyball, squash, boxing, weight training and even marathon running. He also had a comedic talent for infusing moments of humor into something that seemed like drudgery.These were all elements that would successfully turn his avocation - fitness - into his vocation.

 Greg graduated with Honors from NAIT and set up Fit'N'Well Personal Training Inc.
Fit'N'Well started out by providing a service in which the Fitness Trainer would come to the client's residence. Greg also began offering Fitness Training at the Terrace Fitness and Racquet club at the Radisson Hotel in south Edmonton.

   Fit'N'Well attracted clients to the point that Greg began hiring other Fitness Trainers. He also worked out a deal to manage and provide exercise classes and training services for the Scotia Place Fitness Center in Edmonton's central business district. 

   
   Fit'N'Well uses a 3 pronged approach to help clients achieve their fitness goals: 

1.  Find an activity that the client enjoys such as weight training, aerobics,squash, racquetball, yoga or running and make that the focus of each workout. Fit 'N'Well employs group exercise specialists and yoga instructors to help meet the needs of its clients.
2. Have the client be accountable for their own eating habits. Although Greg is a practicing vegan, he does not push this lifestyle onto his clients. He does refer to the Canada Food Guide and promotes sensible food choices. (Despite what you see on the internet, it is beyond the scope of a Fitness Trainer to give meal plans to clients or put them on the path to extreme diets). 
3. Throw in extra group activities such as weekend hikes, laser tag evenings, squash tournaments, tennis ball soccer, or raquetball court volleyball games to add a fun, social element.

Greg and Client and Newspaper write Up

Fitness is a results driven occupation and Greg has run up a list of accomplishments.

• Fit 'N' Well has helped multitudes of clients lose excess body fat in a safe and sensible manner.
• Numerous sedentary or unhealthy people have improved their quality of life using Fit N Well principles and guidance
• Greg has been a spokesperson and media sounding board for the benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle.

Fit'N'Well has has been at the vanguard of the Edmonton fitness scene for 20 plus years now. This is no easy feat in an oil dependent Alberta economy that historically goes from boom to bust repeatedly. Right now is another bust time.

Fit'N'Well has had its ebb and flow periods as well as numerous challenges unique to the Fitness Training profession.

• 20 years ago, Fitness Trainers were rarely employees of a fitness center. They were mostly independent contractors responsible for finding their own clients. When they did find a client, the fitness center would demand a cut of the fee. This cut was sometimes as much as 50%. 
•  Greg challenged this paradigm! After all, he was providing a service to club members as well as drawing in new members who came to the facility to train with him. The club was already benefiting without having to take a substantial portion of his earnings. The fitness centers that Greg operates out of were progressive enough to buy into this concept and not take a cut of his fee when he brought in new members. He also helped these fitness clubs to redesign  their internet websites to promote the Fitness Training services. 
• Unfortunately, to this day, many fitness clubs still take a large portion of a Fitness Trainer's action while providing nothing more than a facility for the trainers to operate out of. 
•  When Fitness Training was in its infancy anyone could call themselves a Fitness Trainer. Some were gym rats with no credentials. Others had weekend certifications. A 4 year Bachelors degree in physical education (often called kinesiology) was geared more towards preparing gym teachers or sports coaches rather than Personal Fitness Trainers. The NAIT program was meant to prepare actual Fitness Trainers. Municipal recreation centers in the metropolitan Edmonton region only allowed people with Phys Ed degrees to operate in their facilities.
• Greg Harvey challenged the status quo and pushed for change. NAIT PFT grads or the equivalent with jobs or contracts at such facilities owe a debt of gratitude to this fitness pioneer. 
• Retaining Fitness Trainers is an ongoing issue. They don't seem to last long. According to Greg "The average life span of a trainer is about 2 to 3 years. Why you might ask? Is it because they have to get up at 5:00 a.m. to see 3 clients, then wait around all day for people to get off work to have more clients for 4:00 to 8:00 p.m? Also remember 15% of those clients may cancel on a given day. We do not keep 9 to 5 hours." 
• Even more disturbing, some Fitness Trainers will work for someone until they get a full client base. They than leave, start their own business , and poach away those clients. Greg shrugged as he explained "Sure, it is in breach of our contract. However, do I have the time to pay a lawyer, take off work, and sue every trainer that pulls such a stunt? Besides the possibility of  a judge ruling against you in court, situations like this can drown you in negativity." 
• Greg has since changed his approach to hiring other trainers. "I am learning to treat people as they like to be treated rather than as I would like to be treated. Learning that is a completely different approach."
• Fitness Trainers always have to be accountable for their lifestyle. In Greg's view "Your client is always watching to see if you 'walk the talk' and 'practice what you preach.' While everyone else is going out for beer and pizza, I can guarantee you that I am not! My clients are always asking about my diet and what I ate that day. I don't have the luxury of skipping too many workouts or eating a poor diet which in the long run, I am actually grateful for."

   If you live in the Edmonton area and feel a need to transform yourself physically call Fit'N'Well Personal Training Inc. at (789) 945-6882 or E-Mail greg@fitnwell.com or view the website at www.fitnwell.com  Why wait? Do it now!!!!

Greg Harvey of Fit'N Well Personal Training Inc.
A peaceful but strong man who is not afraid to fight the system when required.

   I also referred to Greg Harvey as a renaissance man. He is not the sort to sit still and stagnate.
He turned his passion for fitness in a Fitness Training business. His other passion is photography - more specifically - wildlife photography. Greg started by taking pictures of wolves, deer, bears, and moose in the Canadian Rockies. Then he began going with safari groups to Africa or Alaska on his  holidays. This has evolved into another business venture www.hwsafaris.ca in which Greg takes groups on photography tours to Africa or Alaska 2 or 3 times a year.
   As Greg explains "Who knows the world's best wildlife spot? It isn't the travel agency. It's the wildlife photographer who has been going to these secret spots for decades. I take small groups to the best places in the world to view wildlife. I document their holiday for them and serve as their professional photographer. At the end of the holiday, I give them the digital images that I take of them while on vacation. That way the images of them are more genuine and they don't have to do fake poses with selfie sticks."
   Just think, during a cold Edmonton winter, doesn't the idea of watching wildlife in an equatorial climate sound appealing? If so call (780) 945-6885 or E-Mail greg@hwphoto.ca or check out the website at www.hwsafaris.ca

It takes stealth and patience to capture a mountain lion on film.

Greg and I have worked together successfully in the past. Now I am brainstorming. How about combining the 2 passions. Fitness and wildlife safaris or maybe even Extreme Fitness Safaris.
For example:

• Can you out run a cheetah when smeared with chicken grease?
• Can you win a snowball fight a baboon - using coconuts instead of snowballs?
• Win a mud wrestling match with a hippo? 
• Lift more weight than a gorilla?
• Swim faster than a Zambezi crocodile?
• Win a tennis ball soccer match against a group of rhinos?

   I am suddenly bustling with brilliant business ideas. Greg, we have to talk....call me!

Little Bobby Strong

Links

www.fitnwell.com
www.hwsafaris.ca

www.rabbitview.com

Are Fitness Trainers at Risk for Sexual Assault ?

There has been an ongoing football drama in the NFL the past few weeks. Antonio Brown, a talented, but volatile pass catcher has been making headlines.

• Brown left the Pittsburgh Steelers under a cloud of on and off field drama. 
• Brown caused controversy by refusing to wear a league mandated helmet.
• He then had a nasty shouting confrontation with the general manager of his team, the Oakland Raiders.. 
• There may have been method to his madness because he then got traded to the New England Patriots, the best football team on the planet.
• The Patriots released him after 1 game due to the sudden revelation of some past sexual harassment and sexual assault cases.

One of the sexual assault complaints was filed in civil court by a former female Fitness Trainer.
https://abc7news.com/sports/antonio-browns-former-trainer-accuses-him-of-rape/5530057/
There are some bizarre elements to these allegations.

• The complainant accused Brown of sexually assaulting her on 2 separate occasions while he was her client.
• He then re-hired her the next year and allegedly raped her again at a training session. 
• It sounds like a 'He said - she said' scenario excepts that Brown sent out some incriminating texts bragging about the incidents.  
• Skeptics may point out that she kept returning to this client.
• Experts opine that victims may continue to associate with the oppressor out of guilt. They often feel partly responsible even though they shouldn't. 

This raises the question, are Fitness Trainers at risk for sexual assault? How often does this happen? I mean to differentiate an actual sexual assault from sexual harassment. Harassment happens all the time, either with flirting or with non incidental touching. Men probably deal with it less frequently and with less intensity. However, you are unlikely to come across any woman Fitness Trainer on the globe who does not have a sordid saga or two about dealing with creepy clients. Most fitness clubs have stringent policies in place to deal with these situations.

   I am interested in focusing more on Fitness Trainers (primarily women) who  train male clients in private studios or during home visits. There is obviously a potential for risk. The Antonio Brown case is the first sexual assault of a Fitness Trainer that that I have heard of of. Statistics on this topic seem rare. (Comments welcome if you have such info) Supposedly, 2 out of 3 sexual assaults go unreported. It is unlikely the fitness world is immune to such abuse!
https://www.refinery29.com/en-ca/sexual-harassment-at-the-gym

Fitness Trainers working alone with a client should take extra precautions.

1. Reference checks should be done on a client along with the medical clearance forms. Easier said than done. Few Fitness Trainers can afford to turn away potential paying customers. Reference checks may not reveal a person's dark side.
2. Have an emergency number on speed dial on a cell phone within reach.
3. Alert someone of your whereabouts and the time that you will be there. 
4. If you have a bad feeling about a client, trust your instincts.
5. Keep mentioning your MMA instructor significant other and your uncle with mafia connections. Creeps usually have a cowardly streak.
6. A Fitness Training colleague and mentor of mine provides at-your -home training services as well as training at fitness centers. To quote him "I don’t send female trainers to male client homes. I stopped that about a decade ago after we had some disturbing  experiences. The exception is if the trainer is seeing the wife during the same session." Sometimes avoidance of potential danger is the safest practice.
   
   

If training a client alone -Trust your instincts!

Until Next Time
Little Bobby Strong

Links

www.fitnwell.com
www.hwsafaris.ca

www.rabbitview.com

Drugs in Sports? Nonsense!

The shady association with performance enhancing drugs( PED's) and the world of sports continues.
What has happened in the last week or so?

• In the Canadian Football League, yardage leading  running back, Andrew Harris of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, had a positive doping test for Metandienone, also spelled as Methanienone. 
• This drug is also known as the original breakfast of football, bodybuilding and weightlifting champions  Dianabol!  https://www.drugs.com/search.php?searchterm=metandienone
• Rarely used anymore for legitimate medical purposes, Dianabol can increase strength and muscle size by allowing for quicker recovery from intense exercise.
• Harris is claiming that he took a legitimate supplement that may have been inadvertently contaminated.  This is not an new claim.
• Many Olympic sports athletes get caught and use the tainted supplement defense. It is a possibility.
• Professional athletes have access to sports doctors and nutritionists. The contaminated supplement excuse becomes less plausible.
• Harris received a 2 game suspension. An Olympic athlete risks a 2 year suspension. Pro baseball players can be banned for half a season or more.

Andrew Harris in flight. Dianabol gives you wings!

The world of international track and field is no stranger to doping controversy. This one involves a contender for the title of 'the World's Fastest Man' American sprinter Christian Coleman.

• Coleman is in the hot seat for missing 3 drug tests within a 12 month span. 
• Such a situation is considered a doping violation with an automatic 1 year ban .
• This would make him ineligible for the upcoming world championships and the next summer Olympics.
• To give Coleman the benefit of the doubt, he did test clean in another 11 drug tests during that 1 year time span. 
• Just before I published this blog, recent news hit the media. The United States Anti- Doping Agency (USADA) has decided not to pursue the case against Coleman. Say what!!!
• By the USADA ruling the first missed test belongs to a period belonging to the previous year so it will not be considered a doping violation. 
• The World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) has excepted this ruling.
• Before suggesting American bias, it should be noted that USADA is the same agency that toppled Lance Armstrong who never tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. At least, never officially.
• There will be continuing debate and argument for certain.
• There will also be a fast race in the 100 meters at the world championships!

The  world of sports is stranger than fiction.

Christian Coleman (center) will bring speed - and controversy- to the World Championships.

Until Next Time
Little Bobby Strong

Links

www.fitnwell.com
www.hwsafaris.ca

www.rabbitview.com

Canadian Canoeing Star Fails Doping Test

   Ligandrol! Never heard of it!
Olympic hopeful in the canoe sprint event, Laurence Vincent-Lapointe, has tested positive for a prohibited substance called Ligandrol.  Vincent Lapointe is claiming that any ingestion of such a medication was inadvertent. Her Olympic participation may be in doubt.

Laurence Vincent-Lapointe in full flight.

   What exactly is Ligandrol?  A search of www.drugs .com  turned up nothing. That usually rules it out as an accepted and medically approved pharmaceutical, at least up to now. Ligandrol falls in the new realm of SARMs or Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators. The original purpose was to treat muscle wasting diseases (such as AIDS) or for conditions such as osteoporosis. Supposedly they act like anabolic steroids but with fewer side effects. https://androbolics.com/product/ligandrol-lgd-4033/     This would make such a substance a beneficial tool in the treatment of certain diseases and medical conditions. It would also be a potential ergogenic aid for speed and power athletes!
   
   Laurence Vincent Lapointe is claiming that she may have taken food supplements that were tainted with the drug in question. An Australian Swimmer, Shayna Jack, also had a positive drug test for Ligandrol. She is also using the tainted supplement excuse. Athletes such as baseball player Jose Conseco who openly admit to using performance enhancing drugs (PED's) are rare. Professional bodybuilders are the exception, and they usually downplay the amounts that they use. Lance Armstrong was already cornered when he confessed to PED  use on the Oprah show.
   The usual excuses are sabotage, unscrupulous doctors, untrustworthy handlers or taking the wrong medication in error as with ephedrine boosted cold or allergy capsules. The newest excuses or explanations seem to be to blame tainted food supplements. 
   Is it just another excuse or could there be some validity to the tainted supplement claim?

• According to the Scientific American, 750 food supplements have been found to also contain traces of prescription drugs. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hundreds-of-dietary-supplements-are-tainted-with-prescription-drugs/
• Many tainted supplements contained steroids, steroid-like compounds or erectile dysfunction treatment compounds.
• Food supplements are not regulated as strictly as pharmaceutical drugs are.
• Some lesser known companies in nefarious regions of the world may be mixing different compounds in the same processing areas, increasing the risk of cross contamination.
• The supplement companies may knowingly add drug compounds to supposedly pure products to increase the effectiveness of the product.
• The supplement industry brings in billions of dollars yearly. This kind of money has been known to lead to greed and corruption!

    There is case to be made that some of these athletes made an honest mistake and are are not guilty of deliberate cheating. However, in the world of doping and sports it is easy to be skeptical!

 We have been lied to many times. The lesson to be learned is that a person must be cognizant of what they put in their body. This is important not just for the rules of fair play but also to protect your health. Some of these hidden substances may have worse side effects than increasing muscle strength!

Hopefully this doping case turns out to be one of inadvertent consumption.

Until Next Time,   Keep Fit

Little Bobby Strong

Links

www.fitnwell.com
www.hwsafaris.ca

www.rabbitview.com

Transgender Madness in Sports and Fitness

Political correctness taken to absurd extremes has reached the world of sports and fitness.

• A few years back a transgender (male turned female) MMA fighter broke the skull of her  female opponent. How was such an event even allowed to happen? Mixed Martial Arts isn't a basketball game or a tennis match. Somebody could get severely injured or killed!
• Transgender (male turned female) track and field athletes at the high school level in the USA have been winning women's events by huge margins.
• It is not a matter of discriminating against transgender athletes to oppose such occurrences. It is a matter of fairness to the natural gender females. Someone born a male will have physical advantages. That is just a fact! No amount of being offended by exclusion can change that. 
• If people identify with another gender let transgender men compete with other transgender men and transgender women compete with other transgender women. It may take organization and funding but that would be the cost of  fairness! I'm all for that and if some transgender MMA competition site has a craft beer concession I would be there cheering them on.
• By the way, tennis legend Martina Navratilova, an avid LGBTQ supporter, shares this opinion but got cat called in social media for saying so.
• In many events such as 10 kilometer road races and marathons everyone runs the same race in a mass start anyways. Most participants don't win anything except a t-shirt and a participant medal along with the entry fee. Where is the exclusion that everyone is whining about?

Bruce Jenner
Olympic Decathlon Champion

Caitlyn Jenner (formerly Bruce)
Time for a crack at the women's Heptathlon crown?
Or not!

On a related note the IAAF, the world governing body of track and field wants to handicap Castor Semenya, a South African woman.runner.

• Semenya was born female and does not identify as a male. However, she is classified as 'intersex' because she naturally produces more testosterone than the average woman.
• Semenya was born this way and is not deliberately cheating!
• The I.A.A.F. knowingly turned a blind eye to many 'state sponsored doping programs' so as not to tarnish the sports reputation. 
• The I.A.A.F. wants to only allow Semenya to compete if she takes testosterone suppressing hormones. 
• Why not make Usain Bolt take some sort of marathoner slow twitch muscle hormones to suppress his unnatural abundance of fast twitch muscle fiber.?? Let's level the playing field for everybody! If that sounds like nonsense, then I've made my point.
• Castor Semenya is only truly dominant in the 800 meters. If she drops to the 400 meters she is vulnerable to the sprinter body type women. If she moves up to the 1500 meters, the slighter built distance running women have beaten her.
• Where is the politically correct brigade, in the defense of a female athlete  naturally born with a physical advantage? It is okay to switch genders for an advantage but if you are born with a physical advantage it is unfair! I'm confused. Where is the common sense?

Castor Semenya winning an 800 meter race.

 The fitness training industry has also tried to wade into the transgender issue. I proudly possess a Certified Personal Trainer Certificate (CPT) from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. (CSEP). CSEP is the gold standard for national fitness trainer credentials. However in a recent e-mail Communique there was an article entitled 'Recommendations on a Client Centered Approach to Training and Gender.   An interesting quotation caught my attention.

Gender identity is not always binary; if a client has identified as a particular gender, the Qualified Exercise Professional should assess that client using the protocols specific to that gender

I have some issues with this quotation.

• A male identifying as a female will will likely score abnormally high in the female scoring charts, especially in any test requiring strength and power.
• A female identifying as a male will likely score abnormally low in the male scoring charts, especially in any test requiring strength and power.
• Any comparison to the Health Benefits Ratings charts will be so skewed as to be useless!

The article does follow-up with a more logical statement.

For all clients, program design should be based on current fitness, activity level, and health and fitness goals.

If you have transgender clients, why not just go straight to this step and skip the cross gender comparison of scoring charts.

1. Determine the client's results.
2.  Forget the gender identity issue. Do not even bring it up.
3. Establish baseline fitness levels for gauging future progress. 
4. Create an exercise program that is tailored to the client's goals and objectives.
5. Base the initial intensity level on the fitness level score that the client would achieve with the gender they were born with.
6. Just don't tell them! Use it for your reference only!

Dealing with gender identity issues falls within the realm of psychology or medicine. It is beyond the scope of a Fitness Trainer!!!!! 
If a Fitness Trainer even thinks of venturing there, remember the final lines from the movie 'The Bridge on the River Kwai'           "Madness! Bloody madness!"

Keep Fit
Little Bobby Strong

Links

www.fitnwell.com
www.hwsafaris.ca

www.rabbitview.com