Treat Yo' Self

I was so excited about my results yesterday that I decided to treat myself. I bought a pair of new lululemon pants. They’re cropped compression leggings and I’ve been wanting to get them for a while now. I used a gift card so they were half the price. I can’t wait to wear them. I absolutely love them!

I think it’s really important to celebrate the little milestones. I’ve been working so hard that I need to take the time to reward myself for all the effort I’ve been putting in. It just adds extra excitement to the process. I can look forward to exercising as I have new pants to work out in!

I had a great session with my trainer today. We did a full body workout that involved more strength training exercises. Thankfully there was no sled involved today! I felt really motived and ended up having a great workout. I’m so happy we’re I’m at now and I can’t wait for what else has to come!

Lost 2.2% Body Fat

I did my second Biotonix today and the results are great! I lost 2.2% body fat and I lost 4.2 pounds! I’m so proud of myself! All my hard work has finally been paying off. 4.2 pounds might not seem like a big number but it’s a great start. I’m going to focus more on the body fat percentage because that means I lost fat and maintained or put on muscle at the same time. I lost 2.5cm around my waist and my overall hip to weight ratio decreased.

I improved in all of the other areas of the evaluation. My overall physiological age went down from 22 to 17 (i’m 21). My cardio got better. I increased the number of push ups and sit ups I could do. My vertical jump also increased. Two of my weaker areas improved: my grip strength and my flexibility. My grip strength went up by 1 kg and flexibility increased by 6.5 cm. I’m so happy I improved in every area!

This just goes to show that hard work and dedication will give you the results you want. I’ve been training really hard this past month. I’ve managed to lose weight and also get stronger. I’m eating more than ever but I’m tracking everything I eat. I’ve been fuelling my body and it shows! This has given me so much motivation to keep going. I know I’m being guided in the right direction and I know that I’m just going to continue to get better!

Rope Machine - The Arm Killer

I woke up in such a good mood today. I don’t know why but I was full of energy. It was a surprising feeling for a Monday morning. My work out with my trainer was scheduled for 3pm, after I finished work. It was a great work out today. We worked on my upper body. I had the chance to do a lot of exercises and really work each muscle group. Some of the exercises were incline bench press, cable pulldown, wide grip assisted pull-up, dumbbell flys, and some ab exercises to work on my core. We did a lot of exercises on the new rope machines at the gym. I had to do a lot of sprints with the rope at various angles. I had to pull the rope with one hand at a time and I even had to hold myself in a V position to work my abs and pull on the rope. That exercise was a challenge. It was so tough to hold that position. My abs were burning. The session ended with full body slams with the real ropes. They were superset with 1-arm dumbbell shoulder press. 

All the rope exercises today really killed my arms. Doing 3 sets of sprints and other rope exercises tires your arms out so fast. One second I’m pulling as hard as I can and the next second, I don’t have strength anymore. My arms became jello.

It was cool to see how many different things you can do with the new rope machines. Different angles work different muscles and you can play around with the hand positioning. It’s also fun to challenge yourself to go as fast as you can. 

I also completed my 20 minutes of cardio on the elliptical while watching the movie Shooter. The cinema cardio room is a great way to get through cardio. I became so interested in the movie, I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t realize how quickly time flew by. In all, I had a great work out today and I can’t wait to do it all over again tomorrow!

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gold's Gym Taught Me Everything

Roy training a client at Dix30

What was the sport of bodybuilding like in the early 70’s when you started to win titles?

It was for the uneducated and the musclehead, it was not yet appreciated for its athleticism. But that didn’t scare me off, at that age you’re proud to walk around with your big arms to impress the girls and I got hooked on winning.

How did you meet Arnold Schwarzenegger?

In 1977, Caruso, my trainer here Montreal, asked me to compete in Mr Canada and told me I could win. So I went and I won Mr Canada then went off to Paris to represent Canada at Mr Universe. A lot of people doubted me but I won it and when I came back, bodybuilding took off in Canada. After that, gyms started springing up and a magazine wanted to send me to Califormia to train with Arnold for as long as I needed to become a professional champion and we were always training at Gold’s Gym on Wilshire.

I stayed with Arnold at his house for two years in California and he trained me and that’s where I learned all my stuff. He was generous and kind. I actually met him in Munich years before, and another time in Florida. He was a big star there and we shared a hotel room in Florida and let’s just say that Arnold is no different today then he was then. When I came back from training with him, I won some professional titles and I finally got to compete against him in 1980 at Mr Olympia in Australia where he won! It was his big comeback. He is a very charismatic, very charming guy.

What was your greatest accomplishment?

Well sharing the stage with Arnold was one of my greatest achievements. I learned everything from him.

What was your greatest challenge?

I had to develop my calves and sometimes I cried working them, trying to shape them the right way. But you have to work with what you have. I had lemons and I made lemonade.

How has the bodybuilding culture changed?

It’s like night and day. Back in the day, gyms were dirty and guys didn’t care that much. Just like I said before, it used to be a sport for the working class guy but I knew it was changing when I was invited to the Gold’s Gym Classic in California and the building was as big as Gold’s Gym Dix30’s first floor and there were a lot of guys training there but not the big stars yet cause it was still middle class. That gym really changed my mentality about gyms.

And when Arnold came over and hooked up with the right people, everybody joined him and he capitalized on that. Arnold destroyed that image of the musclehead and completely changed the scene. Gold’s Gym was really in the centre of that movement.

Interview with Bodybuilding Hall of Famer Roy Callender (Part One)

 
Our first interview with Roy Callender. Why do you speak French and English? Because I know you are bilingual and I’m curious how you learned.

That is very interesting that you say I’m bilingual. I've only lived in Quebec in Canada. I've had offers to live in many other provinces, B.C., Ontario, but I just love Quebec and if I want to live and work here. I have learned it mostly from my clients at Gold's Gym Prestige Dix30 because a lot of them would hide the fact that they are bilingual or I never asked them and just started speaking their language. It came along like that.

Great. So how many years have you been here?

Oh you wanna know how old I am! I'm not telling you that! No, I came here in 1972 as a youngster where I competed and won Mr Canada and Mr Universe and then went back to Barbados in 1982. I opened a gym there which kept me busy but I was getting requests to give seminars all over North America, so in 1991 I moved back to Canada to be closer to my market. I met a guy from Newfoundland who came to be trained by me and stayed in Newfoundland for about four years but yearned for Quebec and so I came back.

And you're called a Master Trainer. What does that mean?

If you have won a world title in any sport; swimming, boxing, hockey, and you've trained yourself in this domain for 5 or 6 years and have been called to do seminars and train people, the Bodybuilding Federation will give you that title. And it stuck with me. I only know one other master trainer in Quebec, a champion diver.

It must draw a lot of people to train with you.

Yes, it's merit. I charge more and I can show the client that it's worth it. It also draws a lot of people to our gym (Gold's Gym Prestige Dix30), so I'm happy about that. (We will talk more about Gold’s Gym and more specifically why Roy chose Gold’s Gym DIX30 later in our interview.)

Could you tell me about your background. What drew you to bodybuilding and what titles have you won?

Well one lead to the other. As a youngster growing up in Barbados, everybody goes to the beach. And people started getting magazines there. I saw my brother and his friends posing in the mirror and talking about their chest, their pecks, their arms and all that and they wanted to do this bodybuilding thing. But they would never let me close to the bar; they all shared just one bar and some weights and by seeing him and his friends, I was encouraged to look the same way, so I used to sneak away and use their bar. They did everything on that one bar, only one between the lot of them.

 As I grew up, I trained with some of my friends who were the same age. Cause you know, we're weren't allowed to train with the older guys, but we started looking in the mirrors ourselves and getting big heads. We stuck with it until I left for England.

In England, my mother wanted me to study law but I used to go to the YMCA all the time and got hooked up with some guys there who liked training, started missing a lot of school, and deceived my mother, bless her soul. I started to bodybuild and there was more knowledge there in England and the food was better. A few months later, at 18, they asked me to compete. And so I went to compete and believe it or not, I won and my head got big and I wanted to keep competing. And I moved on from there: Mr London, Mr Southeast Britain, and Mr United Kingdom.




Stay tuned for the rest of the interview with Roy when he tells us about living and training with his mentor, Arnold Schwarzenegger!

Sticking to an Exercise Plan (Part Two)

(...continued)

6. Get on a “professionally-designed” - long-term program. The sooner you start seeing results, the more you'll want to keep training to continue them. Aimlessly hopping from workout to workout, or even worse, from machine to machine will only waste your time. Talk with a personal trainer who can customize a program that’s right for you and keep you constantly motivated.

7. Join an exercise class. The camaraderie you develop with your “classmates” should be enough to keep you coming back. Go with your spouse and tell each other how you are coming along. This will properly motivate both of you!

8. Keep a workout log. Recording your progress from session to session (or lack thereof) will show you what you're doing right and what you're doing wrong. There's also a great feeling of satisfaction that comes from watching the amount of poundage you lift increase with each passing week.

9. Buy an iPod or portable CD player that you can take to the gym. Associating your workouts with fun music or “escapism” will make you not want to miss them.

10. Put a picture of your family or loved ones in your gym bag (especially your grandkids!). It will remind you of who you want continue to be healthy for…(although some say putting a picture of your competition or enemies is even greater motivation to be the best you can be!).

Sticking to an Exercise Plan (Part One)

OK, so you’ve started your program but need a little extra help staying motivated?

Here are a few tips:

1. Get an exercise buddy. They will help keep you motivated…and so will the guilt of standing them up. Even better, get your kids or even grandkids to come to the gym with you. You will get to have some “family time” and by simply trying to keep up with someone younger you will push yourself a little more.

2. Make a bet with a friend (or enemy). Placing a money wager that you will hit your goal by a certain date makes every workout count. It also puts your honor on the line!

3. Tell everyone you know about your fitness goals. That way, you will have that many more people to answer to. It will be hard to live it down if every person in your community knows you failed.

4. Buy yourself new exercise clothes, sneakers or a workout bag. Not wanting new and/or expensive equipment to go to waste will make you more apt to get off the couch and use it.

5. Go to the Gold’s Gym in your community. By seeing the Gold’s Gym regularly when you drive by you will eventually be drawn (or guilted!) in there to train.  If you workout with your spouse it will be at least a little harder to have both of you come up with a valid excuse why not to go – especially when it is SO convenient.

Stay tuned for the rest of our tips!