Almost on a daily basis I'll cross paths with an acquaintance that knows what I do for a living. And without any prompting on my end I begin hearing about their plans to take care of their health & fitness. I mean I could be coming out of the movies and see someone and ask how they're doing? And maybe it's a natural response for them to try to relate to my domain. And I hear about how things will change once something else happens. What is the something else? It might be a change in seasons. It might be when the kids go back to school. It could be that there is a move or transition going on at work. Or could it be that they have something else going on their life that is taking up more of their time and attention. And so they are waiting for a return to normal. And sometimes they are waiting for perfect. What I mean by perfect is that they are waiting for all the conditions to come together and the stars to align better they take action. Unfortunately this never happens. And days become weeks which become months and a couple of extra pounds have become an extra 8-10 pounds. It's almost like waiting for the perfect time to have a baby. For Alexandra and I it took a while. And then one day I came to find out we would be parents. Best day ever! And it couldn't have been planned. Here's another example related to exercise. Last weekend I didn't have any plans for a ride. Which is unusual. So I fired out a few quick texts on Friday night and made plans to ride to Crystal with my friend Mike. I didn't have the best sleep on Friday....

Unless you've been living in a cave for the past couple of weeks you've probably heard the name Ryan Lochte. And if you're not familiar with the name than you may have heard something about a US swimmer at the Olympics fabricating a story about being robbed in Brazil at the Olympics.You can google the story later if you're interested. Otherwise I'll you're up to speed let's see what take-aways there are from this train wreck.[caption id="attachment_4941" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY SportsSo with that in mind here are 6 Lessons from US Swimmer Ryan Lochte to help with your health & fitness. Have Fun - I would guess Lochte might be a pretty fun guy. He's always seems to have a smile on his face, he has a funky hairstyle and enjoys a night out celebrating. His decision making might need some work. The take-away lesson would be to enjoy the process. Choose workouts that you enjoy doing. Train with people you like. Eat healthy foods that you find appetizing. Life's too short to not enjoy the process. The Company You Keep - This example has less to do with Lochte and more to do with the swimmers that were hanging out with on the night in question. You may have heard the expression that you are the average of the company you keep. If you're a student you'll want to hang around with the smarter kids. If you're looking to grow your business you'll want to connect with leaders in this area. And with health and fitness you'll want to train with people who are stronger, faster and fitter than you are. Or at minimum you'll want to associate with people who are committed to a healthy lifestyle. Be Honest - I'm not sure who Lochte thought he...

Are you someone that gets a vaccination?When flu season comes around do you get one or not?If you don't what is your reasoning? Is it because there is a cost associated with it? Is it because you believe it is only really necessary for health care workers, young children, the elderly or those with compromised immune systems? Or is there some other reason?Because for the past few years there has been a growing movement against getting vaccinated. And some of this influence came as a result of the 'work' of Andrew Wakefield from the UK.You should notice that I haven't referred to him as a doctor and I wouldn't consider his findings as research. This is because Dr. Wakefield was stripped of his medical license in May 2010 and the British Medical Journal called his research 'elaborate fraud' with financial self interest and falsified data.Does this ring a bell?A few years ago there was an email circulating warning us of the dangers of immunizations and vaccines. It was worded in official scientific language and style and referenced medical and health authority. The gist of the email was that the various vaccines going around were causing a number of diseases and conditions such as autism.So began the great debate. Should you get vaccinated or not?And then there were the associated conspiracy theories. I never knew that that getting vaccinated when I was a boy for measles had nothing to do with preventing this disease but everything to do with:* Installing a tracking device inside me so the government can monitor my daily activities via satellite.* Using me to test out chemical war-fare agents.* Instigating a disease within me that leads to the purchase of over-priced prescription medication.Other than the first one I naively believe that vaccines are actually to prevent disease. The first one is true because I...

Hi there: Hope you've had a great week. Mine flew by partly due to being busy. But I did manage to fit in a date night with my wife. And we went out for dinner and then to see the movie Conviction. She's not a huge Hilary Swank fan but we both did agree the show was pretty good. And it wasn't until after the show was over that it occured to me that the title was a play on words. You see the movie is about a couple of foster kids from small town Massasschusets. The brother is wrongly convicted of murder and the sister takes it upon herself to right this wrong and get her brother freed from jail. The only problem is that the sister is not a lawyer. Nor does she have degree to apply to law school. Nor a GED for that matter. But that doesn't stop her from doing whatever is necessary to achieve the end goal of freeing her brother from jail. Initially I looked at the title and thought it had to do with the brother and his conviction. But in retrospect it had to do with the sister and her conviction to overturn his sentence.So what does this have to with health, fitness, performance or anything?Well there are two messages you can take from this movie. The first is the most successful people aren't always the most gifted. Or the smartest. Or having the most of anything that is a pre-requisite for success in that field. Take Wayne Gretzky for example.He didn't have the hardest shot. He wasn't the fastest skater. He was in no way a physical presence on the ice. (some reports have him scoring the lowest on the Oilers' fitness testing). But he was the greatest player to ever play...

Hi there: Hope you're having a great week and are accomplishing all of your health, fitness and performance goals. One of my favourite ways to relax and unwind is to go the movies. Last night my wife and I check out 'Due Date'.  Think of it as an updated version of 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles'. Anyways, it was good for a laugh. Never underestimate the value of relaxing and having a good time as it relates to your body's ability to regenerate and recover.But enough about relaxing and movies because it's Wednesday and that means it's time for a nutritional tip. Over the past couple of weeks I have been experimenting with how many calories my body is burning. Knowing this informating allows me to be not only more specific with my training but also more specific with my meals.I now know how many calories I should have at each meal. And how often I should eat in order to put on 10 lbs of muscle. So with that being said check out the following video where I show you a sample healthy snack and a great online nutritional resource for looking up your favourite foods.Here's the link for the video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UomdVRRzzzsLet me know what your favourite snack is. And have you used this online resource before?Your coach,Chris                                                                                                                                                                                                    okanaganpeakperformance.com 'always moving forward'

Hi there: Before I get to today's email I want to let you know we've made a few changes on our website. In addition to a bit of a re-design the major change is that we've switched it over to a wordpress blog. What does this mean for you? Well, now you get to have your say. You can go to the site every time I post an article and leave some feedback. You can ask a question. Or you can present an alternate argument to a question. Maybe you're an expert in a particular field and have info that really would benefit the people reading these emails. Case in point when I wrote about celiac disease you replied to me with some excellent resources and info that I had to pass on to others.And so I really encourage you to go over to the site and post a comment, a question or whatever's on your mind. From time to time I'll reward those who post with meal plans, training programs and other freebies.So go take a look, let me know what you think and make okanaganpeakperformance.com your home for health, fitness and performance.Now on to the article.A while back I put a challenge out to you. I challenged you to lose 7 lbs by Thanksgiving. And we gave you the tools of how to make this a reality.And you responded. Big time.But one of you didn't stop at 7 lbs. Or at 10 lbs, 15 lbs or even 20 lbs. Annette Welke has managed to drop 22 lbs and is on track for more!Read on to see what Annette did to achieve this incredible result.Hi Chris! Since I have started working with you (almost 4 years!) I have seen my weight go up and down, with nobody to blame but...