Focusing on fitness and health

I have never exactly been much of a gym rat – truth be told I have had an aversion to gyms for as long as I can remember.  With the prospect of Kilimanjaro looming just a few short months ago, I decided the time had come to get serious about my fitness level and my general state of physical well being.

And so the last few months have been a journey of increasing discipline, focus and commitment.  I now work out at a local gym (Snap Fitness) twice a week with a trainer, use the gym at least 3 additional times each week, and am hiking with some of my Kilimanjaro buddies each Sunday, covering anywhere between 10 and 14 mms. And boy, have I noticed a difference.   I did not have much weight to lose, but nonetheless shed about 8 lbs, and slowly but surely I began to feel myself get firmer, with greater endurance, tolerance for exercise and an increasing sense of enjoyment  I actually look forward to my gym sessions – who would have thunk???

To top things off, I have ahd some basic fitness assessments taken to get a baseline – and for what it is worth I have a VO2Max of 47.  Not sure if that really means much, or has much bearing on my likelihood of getting up and down Kili, but according to many published data series that puts me in the superior category.  I’ll take it, thanks very much!

There is another side to this fitness pursuit.  I have always been a believer in balance and moderation, and have shied away from being obsessive about things in life (well, my work colleagues may dispute that, but it’s generally true when it comes to lifestyle).  My wife Erica keeps pointing out to me that I’m rapidly sliding into the zone of obsession with this exercise gig!  She may be right, but I am singularly focused on getting into optimal shape for my Kili climb, and hence the level of effort being expended to date.  And heck, I feel good – so for now I’ll continue as I have been doing. 

Let’s begin at the beginning

Construction Sign, New York City:  Image taken on a Jay Maisel Workshop, NYC, November 2012

For too long now I have thought I should start a blog.  I do have my own photography website – tworoadsphotography.com – and I am an occasional user of Facebook, but I have never ventured much further than that, and am truly a social media novice.  However, with a significant new adventure happening in my immediate future, the time has come for me to “get with the program”, and to start blogging.  So consider this a blog and a social media experiment “under construction” – hence the image above.

In August this year, I will be leading a climb up Mt Kilimanjaro, a climb that is being undertaken as part of a capital campaign being run by Canadian Blood Services, a campaign called For All Canadians.   This campaign is aimed at raising funds and awareness in support of the umbilical cord blood bank that is being built by Canadian Blood Services.  And as part of that campaign, I and 25 other adventurous souls are climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, in our Climb4Cord.  

Today marks an important milestone – we have just counted down to day minus 99 until we start our climb, and so I have decided I will now start the blog that tells my story of how this came to be, how I am preparing for it, and of course the adventures that happen on the climb itself and immediately thereafter.

This will be a blog of stories, pictures and my personal musings.  I welcome your following me here, and of course I welcome any feedback, advice and support you can offer me and those who will be climbing with me.  Who knows where this will all take me?  What matters is the journey, and the lessons learned along the way.  This has always been my motto in life, and now I am taking that to the next level – literally and figuratively.