PedalTrout

I've done a lot of crazy things to my body in the 41 years I've been on this planet. I've whacked my head off a balance beam in gymnastics. I've survived 1600 lbs of horse falling backwards and landing on top of me in a showjumping competition. I've broken my wrist on a snowboard. I've done several 24-hour adventure races that ripped every piece of flesh off my feet. I've backpacked over volcanoes, and slid down glaciers on my ass.  And I've spent 20 years hurtling through the woods on a mountain bike, bouncing off trees and rocks as I go.

Yup, I thought I was pretty intense, alright. Then I met Craig Guthrie.

Craig's reputation definitely preceded him. I've been spending my mornings at Nubodys for the past 8 years in an attempt to keep myself in shape and somewhat injury-free.  Every morning I shuffle into the dressing room, drown out the pumped-in top-40 crap with my iPod, and hit the weights. I used to be ripped as a result of this routine, but age, life and the same-old same-old caught up with my body as they are wont to do. Finally, late last fall, I decided enough was enough. Something had to give.

As I started talking to my gym buddies about needing something more from my workouts, they started telling me about kettlebells and Craig. Part of me thought that maybe there was something to the hype and maybe I should check it out, but part of me also thought, "Nah, you got ripped on your own before without any help at all and that started out using cans of soup for weights. You don't need help to get back in shape, you just need more willpower." Besides, I was pretty cynical about those kettlebells. The fitness and diet industries are nothing but hype and when something sounds too good to be true, usually it is. I knew that kettlebells were nothing new, but the sudden renewed interest perplexed me.

I wasn't allowed to sit on the fence for long.

While I was still waffling, Craig made the decision for me. He offered me 1/2 hour session and figuring I had nothing to lose, I agreed to give it a shot. I thought there was no way in hell, however, that 1/2 hour would do me any good at all. I wasn't exactly in the best shape of my life, but I knew I was strong and capable of pushing myself for long periods of time. One half hour seemed like a joke.

We started my first session with some basic assessment and a few learning moves. Then Craig upped the intensity. In about 8 minutes I was gasping, exhausted, done.

For years I've been using weights in the traditional way - working one muscle, or even part of one muscle, at a time. While it did a great job of toning my body, it was a slow and extremely tedious process. Kettlebells are nothing like that.

The kettlebell workout is essentially circuit training. Each set of exercises incorporates balance, strength, several different muscle groups, flexibility and high-intensity cardio. It works everything simultaneously and I'm not kidding when I say you can actually feel your  metabolism red-lining while you do it. I was pretty stoked to realize that in one hour of kettlebells I was working as much of my body as I'd normally do in 4 sessions of weights.

As any athlete knows, however, physical fitness is only part of the equation when it comes to being good at what you do, and the body is a hell of a lot easier to train than the brain.

I've got two fatal flaws when it comes to athletic pursuits. One is that I'm a chicken and the second is that I'm mentally weak. Now fortunately for me, I'm also a Scorpio, which means I'm tenacious as hell and that stubborn determination can often send my inner chicken packing. The mental weakness, however, has let me off the hook physically more often than I care to admit. So often I think I'm riding hard, lifting heavy weights, pushing myself  to the limit and so often after the fact I realize I could have done more.

Finally, my mental weakness has met its match.

Craig has an uncanny way of knowing exactly how much I am physically capable of, even when I don't. Long after I think I'm going to puke, collapse, or drop a 30 lb kettlebell on my head, Craig is yelling at me to throw down 3 more reps. And somehow, depsite myself, I always manage. 20 minutes after I think I'm about to die, 2 sets after I couldn't do another rep, Craig is blasting me with punk rock and heavy metal and screaming about how I can do it. And he's right, I always can, even if it's far from pretty. I may stagger back to work holding myself up against signposts and the sides of buildings, but when Craig is finished with me I can honestly say that there isn't an ounce left in the tank, and that feels really freakin' good.

Craig teaches kettlebell classes several days a week at the Scotia Square Nubodys. He also does private sessions for people like me with messy schedules. I was stoked to find out that Craig's done time on a bike so he knows what it takes to keep those pedals turning. If you think you're in shape, I'd highly encourage you to give one of those classes a try, and if you know you're not in shape let me tell you first hand, if Craig can't get you to where you want to be you should probably sell the ride and take up knitting.

I've done a lot of crazy things to my body in the 41 years I've been on this planet, but this is easily the smartest one of them all and I'm getting the fitness back to prove it. Yay me!

Those who knew me long ago, know this.  For those who don't, here is the scoop.  I was a fat guy. 

I wasn't morbidly obese or anything, I just carried too much extra weight.  At my heaviest I was 214.  You might think that's not bad, but when you are only 5'6" it is.

So, I bought a bike, worked out and and ate right, became ripped and muscular and felt great. 

Then I met a girl, we got married, settled down in the country in an old farm house and became a mature responsible adult.

I continued to ride my bike, but being so far from the city made it very inconvient for me to get to a gym, and the responsibilities at home didn't seem to leave much time for it any way.  Instead, I started brewing home made beer and wine, eating delicious barbeque and rode my bike.

I began to get fat again.

I was quite proud of my accomplishment to lose the weight before and was disappointed when I gained some back.  When I reached 185 I decided it was time for an intervention.

Sue, being the awesome wife that she is, thought it would be a great idea for me to set up a gym in a vacant room here in the house.  We purchased some good quality equipment, rubber mats, a large mirror and a wall mounted Tv. 

On November 1st I began to take back control and started training my body back to the way it is supposed to be.  I have curbed my excessive appetite for large steaks, chocolate and good beer, and have managed to shed 16 lbs as of today.

I have decided that I never want to be as muscular as I once was, but rather, lean and strong. One great investment we made was in some Spinervals DVD's.  My cardio fitness has increased by leaps and bounds and I am feeling stronger than ever on the bike, plus it makes burning the fat a little more fun.  Since I began tracking my trainer time in December I have logged 1511 minutes of spinning.

I plan to keep updating this with my progress.  My goal weight is mid 150's.
I haven't been there in a very long time... time will tell I guess.  Wish me luck!