Health
Tabata Training: Anytime, Anywhere
If you’re looking for a fast and efficient way to work out, you may want to explore ‘Tabata’ training. Founded in Japan by Izumi Tabata, this form of high intensity interval training requires you to perform each exercise for 20 seconds, followed by ten seconds rest, eight times for a total of four minutes. This means that in just four minutes, you can efficiently work a muscle group. You can watch a clock, but I find it easier to be guided by a beeping Tabata Timer App that can be downloaded on an iPhone or iPad.
... Does Every Body Good
I am sitting on a plane. After a lengthy delay in Toronto, the plane is en route to the Maritimes. Beside me a woman sits with her boob exposed. The woman is my wife, and she is breastfeeding our two-month old son. Breastfeeding impresses me. My wife has the courage to breastfeed in public in a culture where judgment and awkwardness exist. Despite being quite modest and a wee bit shy, my wife puts the needs of our son first.
A Prescription for Music
As August is the music issue of the Fernie Fix, I thought it might be interesting to explore the role that music plays in our lives and the impact it can have on our health and well-being.
Keeping Your Cool
Our mountain summer is in full swing and our gardens are flourishing in the heat. Kids are out of school, free from schedules and life is all about bikes, exploring, ice filled beverages, getting wet and staying cool.
The Summer Camp Counsellor
I don’t like political attack ads. I get that they sometimes work, but they are an immature approach, trying to appear taller by pushing another down. When a political party thinks their best selling point, is to tell me what is wrong with the other side, I worry. Attack ads work, but at the expense of the integrity of our democratic system. Earlier this year, one political party attacked an individual for being a drama teacher and a camp counsellor.
Parenting 101
So you've found out you were pregnant, gone through pregnancy, had your baby in whichever way your baby was meant to be born, and now the real work begins.
Watersport Workout
With the lovely weather upon us, it’s a great time to add exercises specifically designed to get your core and balance ready to perform on the water. Whether you wake surf, paddleboard, or tube behind a boat, these exercises will not only help you excel but will help prevent injury as well… no guarantees though on preventing wiping out!
Snug as a Bug
The buzz of the oncoming school break is humming at our house! Warmer weather and longer days have slipped us into the rhythm of summer. In the evening, it feels unnatural to call the kids into the house when they are still basking in the long awaited sunshine, a sure sign that it is time to release them from school to take in as much of our short summer season as possible.
Kids Activity: How to Care for a Ladybug
The “Fourth Trimester” of Pregnancy
When I visit the homes of new parents for their first few postpartum visits, I'm always amazed by how much baby paraphenalia they have. These brand new babies have more furniture, clothing, toys, bottle systems, etc.
June Ab Challenge
This June I challenge you to an Ab Challenge, which I came across on Pintrest. It doesn’t matter when you begin, just cross off each day as you work your way through the month. Keep the following tips in mind when performing the challenge.
1. Sit-ups. This is a full motion sit up. The gold standard is hands behind head, feet unsupported, breathe out as you crunch up. Progressively easier options: hands across chest, hands out straight, feet supported, ball. I always try to start with the perfect sit-up and modify down the list as I get fatigued.
Father's Day
This Father’s day is my first. Okay, it’s my thirty-sixth, but my first as a dad. Throughout pregnancy with my wife, my level of appreciation for my own parents has grown even more.
The Gift of Community
While at the Fernie Writers’ Conference a few years ago, I attended a workshop that not only changed my writing, but also changed me.
Digging in For Summer
May in Fernie. We are heading into busy times. Squeezing recreation in with work around the home, a job and often children. Some of you would love to include a garden this summer. Gardening is an invaluable skill to learn and the produce we eat is much more nutritious when it goes straight from our garden to our plate. It also teaches our children that some of our produce need not come from a store, and demonstrates a process of life from start to finish. A fun and healthy activity for the whole family, there are a few important factors when choosing to start a vegetable garden.
Are You Ready to Run?
What better way to celebrate our community than to take a run through it? Running is not only a time efficient way to get fit, but it requires little equipment and is also very accessible. Around Fernie, there are many trails appropriate for all running levels. The important question, however, is to ask yourself if you are ready to run.
Eco-Friendly Pregnancy and Baby Care
Not well-defined as a rule, I choose to think of the term "ecofriendly" as meaning that these products are natural, are made in a way that does less harm to the environment, and in a way that is ethically and socially responsibly, can be