40 Days ago I set upon a challenge. I wanted to write more, so I came up with a blog per day for 40 days on my website. Although this is the last entry of my blog challenge, I was going to write about goal setting, but I came across something much more severe. I
Read MoreHere are five reasons why online coaching is better than live coaching. Affordability- Online coaching is only a fraction of what you would pay for a live personal trainer. For instance, Bisbee’s Fitness offers online coaching ranging from $180 to $240 per month. Whereas, a live personal trainer can cost anywhere from $300 to $715
Read MoreI’m on a mission at Bisbee’s Fitness, to vastly improve people’s lives because I am surrounded by family members that have died too young from certain diseases like cancer and obesity, and these health conditions can be vastly reduced if you exercise and eat healthily. This blog I will discuss the other many benefits of
Read MoreJust like my blog yesterday I talked about how I had templates to design exercise programs, I use templates for my warm ups with clients as well. Warm ups are essential to do before you lift heavy weights because you want to make sure you have your mind right but most importantly you want
Read MoreNewsflash, I create the same workout program for everyone. Template that is, the exercise selection is different for every one of my clients, but the template is the same. If I have a severely deconditioned client, we spend more time on the warm up and less time during the actual “workout,” but it’s all the
Read MoreLife hacks are simple ways to make your life easier. To anything ranging from using a rubber band to keep a door from latching. If your room smells bad- tape a dryer sheet over the AC unit and turn it on and if you need an expensive cookbook holder- use a pants hanger. As you
Read MoreFirst of all, this isn’t a post bashing diets; this is a blog about the worst diets out there. I’m not a big proponent on diets, but I also know every body is different and the National Weight Control Registry is evidence of that. They have been logging how people have been losing weight since
Read MoreToday is my birthday. As you can see, my wife made a mean looking cake. But I will be completely honest with you. Yes, I’m a personal trainer, and I help change people’s lives, but I enjoy life better. I eat whatever I want (within limits), and I still reach my goals and this blog
Read MoreOne of the questions that I get asked a lot is “If I eat healthily, I’m hungry 30 minutes later. How can I fix this?” 95% of the time the reason why a person gets hungry so fast is that they don’t have enough fat in their diet. Eating the proper amount of fat per
Read MoreIf you have been reading my blogs, you know that I am a big proponent on kettlebells. Although you don’t put on mass like other methods do (barbell training), Kettlebells should still be a big part of your training. By using kettlebells, you are taught so much more about how your body can work under
Read MoreBeing successful is an easy concept, it’s just very hard to follow through. Successful people are excellent at the small things. If you want to be successful at anything, start tracking it. Want to save your money? Print out three months worth of bank statements to see how much you need to live on and
Read MoreI had the distinct honor and pleasure of introducing Brian Burke to Brooks and the County of Newell last night at the Small Business Awards. I knew a little about him because I’m a Toronto Leafs fan and I remember when he was the GM there. Now he is the president of hockey operations for
Read MoreThe blog that I wrote yesterday, I laid the foundation of how to get strong. Now I’m going to list the exercises in no particular order. 1.Hay Bailers- This exercise activates your core like no other and works on that proximal stability. After a while of incorporating this exercise, you will get STRONG in all
Read MoreBeing strong is mostly a mindset, you have to believe in yourself in such a way that anything is possible. Look at strongmen, for instance; they do incredible feats and defy logic most of the time. Do you think they doubt themselves halfway through an event when they are about to do something crazy whether
Read MoreYesterday in my blog I discussed why calorie counting isn’t the way to go. Well, how do you accomplish your goals then? By nutritional habits! Here are some of the nutrition habits that I give to people: Eat slowly Eat complete lean protein with each meal, Eat healthy fats daily, Eat whole foods instead of
Read MoreThe old way to lose weight would be to count your calories and make sure you are burning more calories then what you are taking in. But it’s not so simple; a calorie isn’t a calorie. What you see on the package doesn’t necessarily mean it has that exact number of calories. Everybody is different,
Read MoreIf you were to use a microscope, you would see carbohydrates are simple molecules. They are classified according to their structure; you have simple and complex. Simple carbs are smaller, more easily processed molecules known as monosaccharides and disaccharides, because they contain either one sugar molecule or two sugar molecules linked together. Complex carbs are
Read MoreComplex exercises are 2 or more exercises without putting the weight down. Whether it’s a barbell, kettlebell or bodyweight, no rest in between exercises. To help you understand what a complex movement is I can’t help but think when I was in grade one and we learned all about compound words. Compound means a thing
Read MoreBefore we talk about the exercises that can help you get a toned stomach, I would like to talk to you about nutrition. Quite honestly almost any exercise can help you get the stomach you always wanted, but I find these three exercises have the most success with my clients and myself. For nutrition, you
Read MoreWith the emergence of Cross-Fit and “garage gyms” and boutique personal training studios. Gyms are on the way out. The big box gyms know this too, ten plus years ago it used to cost $300 to $500 per year to sign up to your local gym. Now the cost of gyms has dramatically gone done
Read MoreWhat To Do When You Are Sick It’s flu season! My two kids had the sniffles for a few days now, and it wasn’t until today that my whole family got it including me, my infant son and my daughter. Getting the sick is inevitable especially if you have kids that are just starting out
Read MoreThese kettlebell exercises that I am about to show you are excellent exercises to get the body warmed up to do the meat and potatoes of your programming or you can add them in as part of your workout. Kettlebell Batwings The first exercise I got from Dan John. These are called Bat Wings. This
Read MoreTo get results you need to master the basics. Squat, press, hinge, carry, etc. There are many different variations of the basic movement patterns and here are some great exercises that you can do and incorporate into your programming right away. Besides, if the weight isn’t moving up in the standard lifts try these variations
Read MoreWater is what keeps us alive. We need water more than we need food. You can last without water for a little more than a day, and you are toast. With food, you can last over two months. Besides the benefits of water that everyone knows like it increases energy and reduces fatigue, flushes out
Read MoreIt is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, and most of the time this is when people’s goals for nutrition go out the window. Then they feel bad how much they over eat and they don’t bother eating well again. It doesn’t have to be like this. What happens if I told you can have whatever
Read MoreWhen you join the military, you are sent to basic training where they teach you how to be a soldier and then once you pass you go onto your QL3 training and then the military teaches you how to perform your job. The Canadian Forces teach you how to be a soldier first and trade
Read MoreSome of you have been following my progress in regards to me on my journey to get SFG certified. The SFG for those of you that don’t know means Strong First Girya with the kettlebell. Regarding martial arts think of the SFG as the black belt for all of the kettlebell certifications. For the past
Read MoreI had always wondered why, some people who I had trained over the years when they stopped training with me, they would gain it back. Or some individuals who have won the lottery and lost it all a few years later. Or the same could be said with some athletes playing for a major league
Read MoreI have been told if you look up in the dictionary “persistence” you will come across my face in the dictionary. I was quite flattered by that comment especially since it came from someone who I highly respect in the fitness industry. From trying to get into the military as a firefighter, I never gave
Read MoreI have been in business for five years. What I like about being an entrepreneur is it’s all on me to create my destiny. I have made my share of mistakes one of them is not being firm with my prices. A big NO when it comes to business, and it’s taken me a while
Read MoreWe live in an information age. There is so much information out there at people’s fingertips that it’s not as sacred as it once was. Do you remember the Britannica Encyclopedias? Now it’s incredibly easy to search for information especially with the help of the likes of Google and Wikipedia. How do you know if
Read MoreSpace X is doing remarkable things. They want humans to go to Mars in 35 years, and they will do it. You know how I know? They are relentless in pursuit of their goal, and they won’t take no for an answer. Let me explain. A few weeks ago they had a remarkable failure with
Read MoreFear is an emotion that should be acknowledged and you should move on. The idea that you should embrace fear is garbage because by embracing fear that means you are elevating it which you are only making matters worse for yourself. To really understand fear it should be broken down into a two categories. A
Read MoreYesterday I was discussing how a lack of sleep can play a huge role in your performance. Today I’m going to talk about the cause of some of the lack of sleep out there, especially for young parents. Kids. You see right now my youngest who is five months old is teething and he is
Read MoreI may be showing my age here but does anyone remember that show that was on YTV years ago? It was about a bunch of kids who spoke scary stories about a campfire. This blog isn’t quite like this, but it’s about the dark. There is new research coming out that light pollution can disrupt
Read MoreI see a disturbing trend going on. Some of it has to do with the US election right now, people are drawing up lines in the proverbial sand. Picking sides. Putting others down while they make their point. I started to enjoy talking politics but once names start to be called, I’m out. I think
Read MoreI have been training for my SFG certification for quite some time. Four years to be exact. For those of you that have accomplished this goal you know, it’s no laughing matter. When I first started training with kettlebells, I could hardly do a Turkish Get Up with a 12kg kettlebell and now I can
Read MoreThings are bad here. For those of you that live in Alberta you already know but to those of you that are reading from outside the province or in another country I will get you up to speed. From November 2014 to November 2015 EI claims have gone up to 178%(EI is a social program
Read MoreIn the past few blogs, I have discussed the benefits of how good habits can change your life. Well, how do you start you may ask? I understand sometimes it could be hard just to do it and sometimes you may need that little nip in the bud to start. Well, that’s where technology can
Read MoreSo yesterday in my previous blog, I said I started “Miracle Morning” well something came up last night. My 2-year-old daughter had a nightmare so she slept with us and instead of waking up at 5am I continued sleeping because my daughter is a very light sleeper. I knew if I woke up she would
Read MoreI have just started my Miracle Morning today. If you don’t know what that is, I highly suggest reading Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. Miracle Morning is basically about you get up early in the morning before everyone else, and you do things like write, pray (or meditate) write affirmations and exercise. This should
Read MoreThe Essence of Breathing One of the very first things that we learned to do when we were born was to breathe. By definition essence means the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, determining its character. Breathing even though it’s something we take for granted in order to be the
Read MoreGreens If you know you are not getting enough nutrients from food then I highly suggest looking into supplements. Supplements are not supposed to replace your food intake- they are supposed to enhance it and Greens is no different. Did you know less than 1% of men and 4% of women ages 18 to 24,
Read MoreProtein Proteins are organic molecules made up of amino acids joined together by chemical bonds and then folded in different ways to create three-dimensional structures that are important to our body’s functioning. There are two main categories of amino acids in the body. Essential amino acids-those that the body can’t manufacture and we must consume
Read MoreFISH OIL I am a certified nutrition coach through Precision Nutrition and I really like their stance on supplements. They are just that – meaning supplements are not supposed to take away from a healthy well balanced nutrient plan. They are supposed to supplement your diet if you know you are not taking enough
Read MoreMy Approach to Everything Fitness There’s a term for relationship building. First you got to build the foundation and then you can build into bigger and better things and when it comes to fitness I believe it’s no different. What drove me back in the fitness industry was of my back injury which you
Read MoreFixing Your Weak Links (Part 4) It was about a week before my SFG (Strong First Girya) kettlebell certification and something happened with my shoulder. I couldn’t do even a naked press with my left arm without intense pain in my shoulder. I was extremely worried about this because I knew during the weekend we
Read MoreTop 5 Tools of the Trade With this entry I am going to feature a top five list of fitness tools I think everyone should experience in their fitness programming. They are in no particular order. Kettlebells – Kettlebells are probably the most versatile pieces of equipment on this list. If you want to
Read MoreI was reading the newest edition of Success magazine the other day and I came across an article called Balance Life and Work. It was basically about how certain successful people balance life with work and it got me thinking about how we as fitness professionals struggle with this. I also thought about how some
Read More2016
Risky Business The first thing I think of when I hear Risky Business is that movie made Tom Cruise. But this isn’t about the movie this is about something completely different. Risk vs. Reward. Being in the fitness industry I know most of you have heard this. It means picking the right exercise to
Read More2016
This isn’t a shaming article on CrossFit, there are a lot of things that CrossFit does right like they build an amazing community that enjoy exercise. However this is about how CrossFit and other types of high intense interval training can do more damage than good if you don’t recover properly. High-Intensity interval training is
Read More2016
I have a problem …a sleeping problem and I’m not the only one. It’s a growing concern in this go go go society we live in. Besides running my brick and motor business working 12 to 14 hour days on average for four years without any long term help I think it also didn’t help
Read More2016
The Top 15 “Gyms” In North America To Put On Your Bucket List The reason why I have “gyms” in brackets is because I really feel these places are more than gyms. They’ve created a community amongst their clients and that is really the best thing of all! That is why I love what I
Read More2016
In this article I am going to discuss how you can save your own life if you ever fall through a body of water covered with ice and how cold water training can benefit you. Besides being the one of the best songs album titles in rock history. I’m going to talk about another thing
Read More2016
No, this isn’t the song sung famously by Toby Keith…. But this article is about the benefits of kettlebells especially towards first responders. When I was a firefighter I wish I knew about kettlebells because kettlebells and first responders are a match made in heaven. Let me explain – Kettlebells can make you insanely strong
Read More2016
If there are three exercises that I make all my clients do- it’s the kettlebell swing, some type of carry and Turkish Get Up. Doesn’t matter if you are young or old, fit or not fit these three exercises works amazing wonders for everyone! Pavel Tsatsouline actually calls it “What the hell effect” because studies
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In this article I am going to discuss the benefits of the TRX Suspension trainer and the TRX RIP Trainer especially for firefighters. TRX stands for Total Body Exercise- it’s basically a suspension trainer where you can do over 200 exercises on it using your body weight as resistance. It was created by a Navy
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How to Overcome The Odds with a Bad Back I remember it as clear as day- as I was coming up from my warm-up set for squats I heard something pop in my lower back and it didn’t sound good! I was a military firefighter stationed at CFB Cold Lake as I was walking downstairs
Read More2016
I grew up with two HUGE passions in life –one was to be a personal trainer and open up my own gym one day (which I accomplished), and the other was to be a firefighter (which I also accomplished) I also had another passion: I wanted to be a professional wrestler but that’s a topic
Read More2015
It’s that time of year again! Christmas time is here but don’t fear if you are afraid of packing on those unwanted pounds I will be discussing some nutrition strategies to help you enjoy this holiday season without trying to tighten your belt buckle the next day. My background in nutrition? I am a certified
Read More2015
Everyone has them, including personal trainers. We’re all human. This blog is to show you that everyone including elite athletes experience setbacks. Recently I took a kettlebell certification called Strong First (SFG) it’s the gold standard towards kettlebell certifications. Think of black belt in karate. I have been training really hard for this- three years
Read MoreIn part one, I discussed how obesity starts from a cellular level and how the body fights itself but it actually makes things worse. This article I’m going to discuss where I left off, the link between obesity and cancer and what you can do if you are struggling with obesity The brain knows how
Read MoreIn my past article, I written about how I lost my aunt to cancer and the pre-cursor to that is obesity. This article I’m going to explain why obesity is one of the biggest fights of the 21st century and what the true cause of it is. Even if you are not obese by 2030
Read MoreI’m going to be a little personal here and talk about why I’m a big advocate of health and fitness – why I do what I do. I started Bisbee’s Fitness in honour of my aunt who passed away. She was morbidly obese and cancer spread throughout her entire body like wildfire. This makes sense
Read MoreHave you ever wondered how athletes get into shape? Maybe you assumed they train for hours and hours every day and watch everything they eat. That doesn’t sound like much fun, and it gives you no incentive to become fit. But if you are like me, I bet you’d like to be in better shape.
Read More“You look like crap go home” Those were the words uttered from my military boss and I have never felt happier! What happened was I exercised the day before doing squats and as I was coming up from the deep end I HEARD something snap in my lower back! The thing was it wasn’t like
Read MoreWhat is the number one thing that we do subconsciously in order to survive? If you guessed breathing, you’re correct! Breathing is extremely important as it helps you to exercise better, reduces stress, become a better tactical athlete and it can even hinder your posture if you breathe wrong. In this article I’m going to
Read MoreFirst and foremost I am not going to tell you that my training philosophy is the right way to go, every trainer out there has a different way to train and that is ok. I like to think of personal training as an art form. Every personal trainer’s views and exercise selection are different. I
Read MoreWant to lose weight for good? Well I hate to say it but if you are looking for the fast fix you will gain it all back. Why is that you may ask? Because you have to make exercise a life long habit. Sure you will get off the bandwagon – I sure do, but
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