Oh Canada! Day 2

Well my second day in Vancouver started the best way possible...a trip down to the gym! We headed on down to Fitness World where I got my first taste of the gym...Canada style. Definitely not up to the same level of facilities im used to back home, it still has most of the basics...although only one squat rack was disappointing...considering how many benches they had. So in order to not waste anytime at all...I got straight into my normal workout ...which at the moment is still GVT. Gave the body a good old fashioned smashing and felt great for it!

After we finished up...we headed to a nice Sushi restaurant that goes by the name of Sushi Garden. While Im not the biggest Sushi fan going around, I have to admit this place definitely served up some tasty stuff! We ordered Salmon Sashimi, two types of Maki Sushi which were Chopped Scallops and Alaska roll (Avocado, Tobiko and Salmon) and Tempura...as you can see in the following shots...

After lunch we hit Tim Horton's where i grabbed a couple donuts and a coffee...a couple of "good" donuts! I will definitely be hitting there a few more times before I leave to try a few of the other varieties of donuts on offer! Might give the Latte's a miss there though...very poor form!

I had booked tickets to Kooza a few months back so before we headed to watch it, we went into downtown Vancouver and had some Greek food. Really good stuff, although we were a bit rushed to get to the show so I didnt get to look around too much...but one thing that did stick out was one particular sign in the window of a sex shop...which read "25 cent Peep Show"!!! Only 25cents!! And here I was walking down the street with three 25 cent coins in my pocket...if only we weren't strapped for time!

Kooza was my third time watch Cirque Du Soleil, and although it probably wasnt quite as good as the one on show in Melbourne last year (I think it was Dralion...but I forget), it was still a great show! Not too many mistakes, apart from the female acrobat, who failed on her final flip unfortunately.

On the way back from the show, we stopped in at McDonalds where I grabbed 2 apple pies and a vanilla shake...or as they call them "extra thick Milk Shake". The amusing thing there was that you buy one apple pie for $1.10 and you can get two apple pies for $1.30...only 20cents for the second one! So naturally I ate two =)

So overall it was an awesome day...now I'm just hoping people back home will be voting correctly and we will see a change in power....!!

Oh Canada!

Well I have arrived safely in Canada and have started to get over the effects of jet lag! And I have to say that Canada is really a beautiful country...although its not a scratch on Australia =)

So I left at 8:30pm on Wednesday night, taking V Australia...not a bad airline actually. Minimal turbulence on the way over to LA where I had a brief stop before continuing on to Vancouver. No real interesting stories from the flights...just watched a few movies and got small amounts of sleep where possible.

First morning here I woke up around 11:30am which is unheard of for me! Had a delicious pancake breakfast =) and then headed out to see downtown Vancouver!! Had a wonderful massage and pedicure...and headed back for a delicious dinner!

Generally speaking, Vancouver is quite similar to Melbourne in a lot of ways...although Vancouver is missing one important thing...AFL coverage!!

Will make sure I take plenty of photos to post before my next blog entry...

The good stuff!

Well if you werent aware yet...Im a fan of hitting the gym...smashing my body good and then stumbling home. So to go with fun of working out in the gym...I like to indulge in various supplements, whether it be pre-workout or post-workout. Actually to be totally honest...when I stroll on down to the health supplement shop...I feel like a kid in a toy shop as I browse the different products that are available....good times!

So today I wanted to outline a couple of the better products that I have trialed over the journey...

Black Powder

Type: Pre-workout
Flavour of choice: Blue Raspberry

This is powerful stuff! Basically they get a bunch of stuff like ACTINOS2 IR, Disodium phosphate, Creatine anhydrous and a healthy dose of Creatine ethyl ester HCL. Oh yeah and it has a solid amount of nitric oxide or NOS as they refer to it...although I thought that was something that was used to fuel cars.

But no matter what the ingredients are...this stuff gets you moving! See one of the amazing things about this product apart from the taste is its recovery power. I can do a seriously heavy set...get my 45-60 seconds rest and be ready to smash the next set out as if I was totally fresh.

Downside to this product is that it has a come-down period..usually for me its around 45-60 minutes after my workout...suddenly the buzz wheres off and I feel dead...but its worth it due to the awesome workouts that you get done!

I wouldn't recommend using this everyday...but only on the heavy workout days.

As for the advertising...you cant beat this:

"No more walking off the gym floor like you just got hit by a bus. You're pumped, and your body is in balance. The arginine blend and the rapid absorption ester creatine take the lead in the repair process, and do it RAPIDLY. Physically fatigued? Sure. But not depleted. And you still have the ability to focus. You have what you need to keep going, and do it all over again. Thanks to Black Powder and ACTINOS2 IR"

Surge Recovery

Type: Post-workout
Flavour of choice: Original

A tad more expensive than other proteins, this is ultimately worth every cent! Some protein powders recommend that you utilise them morning, post workout and also in evening. But I can say that my greatest gains have come from utilising this product only after workouts. The dose is larger than other products, which again leads to the increased cost...but its definitely worth the cost. In this product they truly have got the combination of glucose, maltodextrin, whey-protein hydrolysate, and BCCAs right and it leads to good times in the recovery department!

One note on the flavour...I was initially directed away from choosing the Original flavor. But since I just cannot do the chocolate variety...I bought Original anyway. The flavor isnt Vanilla as you would probably expect...its actually a lot like Doctor Pepper! While at first its a little odd...it has grown on me and not I cant see myself switching despite my trainers disgust with my selection!

What will I miss?

One week to go till Im off to Canada...but due the busyness of the last few weeks, I havent really had the chance to get too excited just yet...no doubt come Monday morning it will start to sink in that I will be holidaying on the otherside of the world come the end of the week!!

As I have been preparing for the trip (well not really...just pretending to prepare...what do I really need to do apart from throw a bunch of clothes in a suitcase and get on the plane?) I have been thinking about the things Im going to miss while Im away.

Of course the normal ones are friends and family...then there is gym and footy (Im going to miss 3 weeks of footy!!! Already feel like crying...but at least I have scoped out a few places I can watch the games from while in Canada). But two things that I know that I can easily take for granted at times is the church.

This doesnt just include the ability of going to church on a Sunday...or Saturday. I mean the church family as a whole. There are those people I serve with, a great group of people who have amazing hearts for the children of Bridge Church...Im truly thankful to God that He has given me the amazing opportunity to serve amongst people who have such loving hearts after God. But also just the opportunity to share with the children that come into church every week...they are all such beautiful kids and I know that missing the opportunity to serve in Kid's Alive while away is something I will be wanting to get back to as soon as I get back.

Another group are the friends that I see on a weekly basis, be it before or after the service, or even those I catch up with during the week. The ones that are there to encourage me when the going gets tough, the ones who I can count on when I'm in need of Godly council.

But most of all...I'm going to miss my Connect Group. Although I have only been in this group for a few months...I feel that God has brought me into such a loving and caring CG. Each person in the group brings something special and you can see God doing amazing things in their lives. Generally I'm not the most outgoing person, but after joining this CG I found it very easy to share from early on. As we have gone through Deeper over the past couple of weeks, its been a fantastic opportunity to grow closer as a group and a family. One of the things I always look for in a connect group is the feeling of family...and that's definitely one of the great things about the group I'm in.

They are such a warm group of people and Im going to miss them while away in Canada...and Im sure they will miss me...I mean who wouldnt miss such an awesome person like me =P

What have I been doing in the gym lately?

Well anyone who knows me would be aware that I have a small interest in all things related to gym, working out and just generally keeping fit and healthy! Since I got back into the gym after recovering from surgery, my hunger has not slowed down...and if anything Im working harder and smarter than i was before!

Last week I had my body fat percentage tested and I was pleasantly suprised to see that my % was down at 9%. As a general rule, most athletes are between 5-10% body fat. While this is a good result, I can always do better...so Im aiming for 8%...which ultimately means no more Bubble tea..and limited sweets (its impossible to kick cake out completely)

Over the past couple of months I have also started a new training method. It is often referred to as German Volume Training, due to its roots in Germany. Basically this method requires you to do 10 sets of 10 reps with minimal rest between sets. For me, I have been doing a superset (two exercises back to back with no rest between), for ten sets.

An example of this would be:

Bench Press (50kg 10 x 10) + Lat Pull down (52kg 10 x 10) = 10 sets of 20 reps
Seated Flys (20kg 10 x 3) + Bent over row (25kg 10 x 3) = 3 sets of 20 reps

On the surface, the workout doesnt appear to be overly complex, but the difficulty comes in the form of the stress you put your body under for the long period of time. But that ultimately leads to awesome muscle gains in short periods of time!

But a couple notes about this training approach...for the 10 sets you need to keep the weight constant. That means that you are not going to be doing the same weight you would be doing if you were only doing 3 sets of 10 reps. For the first 2-3 sets of the 10 you are doing, you may not feel you are really stretching yourself...but rest assured once you hit the half way mark...the weight will be felt! Also the rest between each superset should be approx 45-60 seconds.

Well I'm looking to do this method for another 2 months...so it will be interesting to see how I feel afterwards and what gains I have experienced.

Going on around me

Its already August! The eighth month of the year for the less educated =P
Man...has this year flown by! Man...has this year seen a lot of changes!! Looking back I feel like more has happened in the past 8 months than the last 2-3 years total!

Some of the things that have gone on have included the following:

• Recover from my shoulder reconstruction
• Commence serving in Kid's Ministry
• Serve on a mission trip in China
• Traveled around China and Hong Kong
• Watched Carlton beat Geelong and St.Kilda
• Watched Carlton lose to North Melbourne and Sydney
• Say goodbye to someone very close to me
• Say hello to many new and wonderful friends

...and of course I cant forget...getting my body fat percentage below 9%!

But despite what I have gone through so far...I feel that God has a lot more planned for me in the remainder of the year. I'm excited by what is ahead!!

Storms will come!

Over the past months, I have faced trials, I have gone through challenges and I have had to deal with conflict with people who are close to me. So as I start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I have reflecting on what has gone on, how I have dealt with circumstances and how I can do things better next time. One thing about me is no matter how much I mess things up....I always look at how I can improve for next time, as we all know storms will continue to come.

One of the biggest mistakes I find myself making at times is that I try to do things on my own, my own strength, my own understanding...and its not until its too late and I have made a total mess of the situation that I finally call on the Lord. Its almost like I use God as my last resort, my last option when other things have failed me. But this is the complete wrong mindset...for God should be the one and only we run to.

Psalm 127 says the following:

Unless the LORD builds the house,
       its builders labor in vain.
       Unless the LORD watches over the city,
       the watchmen stand guard in vain. 

We need to learn that the Lord must be brought into our situations from the start, otherwise the work is done in vain. It's no point asking for wisdom after we have already gone through the situation...and most likely messed it up. From before we commence, we need to look to the Lord for wisdom and guidance through our situations. But in order to build with wisdom, it will cost us something!

Proverbs 24 talks of the importance of wisdom, in particular verses 3-4 where it says

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;
 through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

When you build according to the Lords word, you can rest assured that you will survive the storms. And not only will we make it through the storms, but we will come through them stronger than we were before we face the situations.

But we also need to understand that it wont be easy, its not going to be a matter of saying "God's got it under control, Im going to go kick back and wait for the storm to be over!" Just like going to the gym to get that awesome 6 pack...just signing up and showing up every now and then will not get you there...you need to go through the hard times. But the awesome thing with our Lord is that we have the assurance He will never leave our side! But one trap that many of us fall into is the over confidence in our own ability. We may start out with that dependence on God, but as we walk through out trials with a confidence, we start to push God away thinking that we know what we are doing...and we know where this will lead us!

So what must we do in order to establish a solid foundation from the start, before the storm takes over...

Realise we are inadequate
We need to fully realise that we are inadequate. We must be completely dependent on God no matter what the circumstances. On our own, our efforts are just not enough.

Realise at times we are on a treadmill going nowhere
We have so much information and resources available to us today, but we must realise that its important to work smarter rather than harder! But even more than this...there are times we need to realise that we dont have to do everything...but rather we just need to pause and wait on the Lord. For the Lord gives his beloved rest!

We have to reign in warfare
Simply put...we need to be prepared for the hard times, for they are not going to come with an announcement of their arrival! At the start of this year, I didnt think to myself that things would get quite rocky for various reasons? This is why it is so important that we read our Bible daily. So that we can get our daily feed of the Lord's word. Otherwise when the storms come, we will be left stranded with no wisdom on how to face the circumstances!

But no matter what circumstances you face, or difficulties you go through...never be ashamed of your story! For your story has the potential to provide hope to those around you, it allows God to use your life in order to guide others. We have a loving God who is always with us and will never leave us in our times of need.

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
       and he brought them out of their distress.

He stilled the storm to a whisper;
       the waves of the sea were hushed.

(Psalm 107:28-29)