Another milestone reached...

Well folks, I have crossed a threshold, jumped a hurdle and pretty well done something I never really thought I would......I cracked the 300 lb barrier

What you are probably thinking is this “schnikes, Gord weighs 300 lbs!”

Well, when I started, I weighed 329.8 lbs, to be exact (measured on Ryan's electronic scale, always post workout).

This is a milestone because for the first time in eight years, I am now below the 300 lb mark. Eight years! ...

Success and self-defeatism

If you know me, you probably know this about me:

            I am my own worst enemy

Self-defeatism has been my chosen method of sabotage in the past, if you have known me for a long time, you have no choice but to wholeheartedly agree. I know it, you know it, many times it is the elephant in the room.

To coin a phrase from the band Garbage, “I'm only happy when it rains.” Why else, when confronted with success would someone do something to ham...

Thanks for the inspiration...

Inspiration is a funny thing, it's usually not the thing that gets you up in the morning; that's the dog, or the alarm, or a combination of the two. It's not the thing that makes you show up at work every day, many times it only pays enough to make you show up the next day.

What is it?

It varies for many people, we all find it in different ways. That thing, person, goal, hero...whatever it is that gives us the strength to be brash enough to work towa...

Every one of us are accountable to someone or something, maybe the manager who expects you to finish that project on time,  the bank which is expecting that mortgage payment next week, or a little one that needs to get picked up from daycare. I find that accountability is all relative to the situation you find yourself in.

When was the last time you were accountable to yourself?

Think about it; we all are accountable to others that depend or rely on us, hold sway over our careers, but...

After a month of working out with Ryan, I can attest to two things:

1.      I feel great

2.      I've never been so motivated to succeed

 Do I look different? Probably, but not that much. Looks haven't been what this is all about, it's about feeling good and making positive, healthy lifestyle choices.

I am taking the time to actually review the way I am living my life, the choices I have made and to listen to what my body is telling me. This has all contributed to one of my most succes...

There are things I can't function without, then there are things I say I can't function without. The former is sleep, good food and exercise, the latter is a cup of Tim Hortons coffee. I love the coffee, the smell, the taste, but more likely I enjoy the social aspect of a cup of coffee. But what I have noticed over the last little while is that as bad as a double-double is for me, it's the temptation that comes along with it.

I'd love me a chocolate dipped or a walnut crunch, I might even...

Sick Day

Well, I woke up Monday morning and my cold had knocked me on my butt. I had been doing battle with it all weekend, almost losing my voice at work on Sunday.

Monday, I couldn't even get out of bed, I haven't been that sick in a long, long time. It was so bad, Eilish forced me to stay in bed and cancel my workout.

She was right, of course.

But I noticed something strange happened, I was actually feeling guilty that I was sick and missing a session. I understand this is ...

A great workout today, still a little sick, but all in all, a decent showing. Ryan had me doing “sleds” as part of my circuit (this little number hails from the 7^th ring of hell, I think). What are sleds, you ask?

I'll explain in easy steps:

1.      Take a perfectly good step trainer platform

2.      Turn said platform upside down, fill with weights

3.      Bend at waist

4.      Put hands on upside down platform

5.      Push length of the room

6.      Repeat step 5

Not ea...

I knew I was in for it when before the workout, I mentioned that I was no longer feeling any muscle pain. Ryan's response to that?

“That's unfortunate”

The warmup alone was enough to put me down, what followed was even worse. Yet another situation where, to borrow from a boxing euphemism; I led with my chin.

We started with a slow jog around the gym and graduated to side steps, done twice so both legs had a chance to warm up, a little Polish boxing, then we were ready to start...

I am a goal oriented guy, I like targets and parameters, it allows me to know where I can operate and where I am going. Goals are necessary for me to know exactly what I'm shooting for and to track myself while I do it.

The primary goal for this will be to reach my target weight of 195 lbs, be healthy and be fit.

But the more I think about it, a general goal like that isn't good enough, it needs to be measurable and attainable. That is both, sorta... 195 lbs, sure, I step on a scale a...

Target 195

It all started with these 10 words:

“Ryan, I want to lose weight and blog about it”

“My thoughts exactly” replied Ryan Rannelli

Ahhhh, kismet.

A few months ago, Ryan and I started this journey, what started as some social media assistance has evolved into Target 195. Busy schedules, fight training, and a new job (on my part) kept this idea from coming to fruition, that was until Thursday, March 4, 2010.

I had been rolling around an idea in my brain, one that took ever...