Holiday Hampers for local Victoria families 2013

Every year BDHQ takes on hampers for local families.  Now that we have two locations, we have taken on 10 local families, five per location.  All listed below.  Thank you in advance for your generous contributions year after year, and to our Ambassador Challengers who have kindly offered to help deliver them.

JOHNSON ST:

FAMILY #1
Parent : Single Dad

Kids:
1) 11year old male. Clothing size is 16 youth, shoe size is 8 men's. Gift ideas include anything from the skate shop (hats, accessories, etc) or gift card.
2) 10 year old male. Clothing size is 10 (12 for tops), shoe size is 4. Gift ideas include cars, action figures and graphic novels.
3) 8 year old male. Clothing size is 7/8. Gift ideas include Lego and action figures.
4) 6 month old male. Clothing size is 6-9 months. Gift ideas include infant toys and bedding for a crib.

A household gift idea for the parent/family would be towels. The family has allergies to olives.

FAMILY #2
Parents: Mom and Dad

Kids:
1) 13 year old male. Clothing size is men's small. Gift ideas include track pants, shirt and gloves.
2) 11 year old male. Clothing size is men's small. Gift ideas include skateboard and books for math.
3) 8 year old male. Clothing size is youth 10. Gift ideas include board games and a skateboard.
4) 3 year old male. Clothing size is youth 4T. Gift ideas include Toy Story stuff - Buzz Lightyear and Woody.

FAMILY #3
Parent: Single Mom

Kids:
1) 11 year old male. Clothing size 14, shoe size 7/8. Gift idea includes a scooter.
2) 8 year old female. Clothing size is 12, shoe size is 3. Gift idea includes Monster High dolls.
3) 4 year old male. Clothing size is 5, shoe size is 10. Gift idea includes cars and a track.

No food issues - they shop at Save-On Foods.


FAMILY #4
Parents: Mom and Dad
Kids:
1) 12 year old female. She wears size medium in women's clothes. Gift ideas include pyjama's.
2) 9 year old female. She wears size small in women's clothes. Gift ideas include also pyjama's.


FAMILY #5
Parents: Mom and Dad

Kids:
1) 5 year old female. Wears size 6. Gift ideas include Barbie stuff.
2) 5 year old male. Wears size 6x. Gift ideas include Wrestler stuff.

QUESNEL ST:

FAMILY #1
Parents: Mom and Dad

Kids:
1. Boy age 9 - size 7, Batman games and/or football games for Xbox 360. Huge football fan and plays football in the spring and fall so anything football related is a winner. Science games, Chapter books like the lightning thief or superman.
2. Girl age 7 - size 8/9, Monster high dolls/accessories, "loom" for making elastic bracelets, Monster high bedding, Diary with lock and key, Chapter books
3. Girl age 5 - size 5/6, Hello kitty bedding/dolls/toys, Learning games, Lala loopsy doll. Doll house accessories, Fur real friends (toy animals)
4. Girl age 4 - size 5, Princess dolls, play kitchen and/or accessories, Sophia the first* doll, My little ponies. Princess Bedding Preferred grocery store: Fairway market Preferred general shopping store: Walmart Allergies: none

FAMILY #2
Parent: Single Mom

Kids:
1. 9 year old boy, Gift list: Canucks Jersey (lg youth/sm adult) Lego City Hockey stick, Hockey net, Goalie gear, Soccer ball, Clothes size; 14/16

Preferred grocery store: Fairways or Thrifty's
General shopping Store: Walmart Special needs - we have a cat.


FAMILY #3
Parents: Mom and Dad

Kids:
1. 9yr old girl, size 10, MP3 Player, Porcelain Tea Set, Hair Accessories medium/long hair, loves pink, really wants an over sized stuffy, warm fuzzy socks
2. 10 yr old girl, size 16, MP3 Player, Diary Of A Wimpy Kid novels, Hair Accessories shorter hair, Really wants an over sized stuffy, warm fuzzy socks
3. 10 yr old girl, size 16, MP3 Player, A Ghost In the Attic and Aliens in the basement novels, Hair Accessories, medium/long hair Really wants an over sized stuffy warm fuzzy socks

Preferred grocery store: Usually Thrifty's and Fairway Market General shopping: Walmart

FAMILY #4
Parents: Mom and Dad

Kids:
1. 10 yr old boy, loves Lego
2. 1 yr old girl, baby clothes

Preferred grocery store: Fairways and Walmart The mom is allergic to peanuts, nuts and sesame seeds

FAMILY #5
Parents: Single Mom

Kids:
1. 4yr old girl who’s 5th birthday is on December 29. Interested in swimming, dancing, and movies, likes crafts and Barbies, size 5/6. Mom likes coconut scented things....

Preferred grocery store: Thrifty foods and Costco
Preferred general store: Walmart 4yr old has a hypersensitivity to milk

BDHQ joins the Mustard Seed Food Fight

BDHQ is joining the Mustard Seed for their Great Canadian Food Fight; a national food and fundraising challenge with food banks from across Canada to raise the most food by weight in 48-hours.

This Friday, October 18, your BDHQ trainers will be volunteering at Save On Foods Arena at 1925 Blanshard St from 4 - 8pm collecting food and cash donations from the public. If you need some good karma in your life, please come visit us at Save On with your donations. Every BDHQ-er that drops off a donation gets a FREE 2 x class pass for a friend. Paying it forward! 

The Great Canadian Food Fight is a friendly competition between food banks to ensure the food security of vulnerable communities.

WHY: The food raised in the Great Canadian Food Fight is vital to the food bank’s ability to provide nutritional food hampers to more than 7,000 vulnerable Victorian’s each month throughout the winter and upcoming holiday season.

The Mustard Seed has never won the Great Canadian Food Fight, but raised almost 100,000 pounds of food in the 2012 competition and more than 500,000 pounds of food since it began participating. This year BDHQ wants to change that, and will help the Mustard Seed in their goal of raising more than 200,000 pounds of food in an effort to win the competition against the reigning champion, the Regina Food Bank.

FACTS: Did you know...of the average people accessing Food Banks in Canada, 4 in 10 are single parents and 1 in 3 are children or youth under the age of 18.    

Mustard Seed Wish List: Peanut Butter is one of their main items.  It’s high in protein and many of their guests don’t have access to cooking facilities, which makes peanut butter a healthy and accessible food item. Other items include: tuna, canned soups, and both fresh and canned veggies & fruits. Cash donations are used to buy fresh food and produce, and your dollar goes further with the Mustard Seed than it does with you at the grocery store as the Mustard Seed purchases food wholesale.

Hope to see lots of you this Friday at Save on Foods Arena from 4 - 8pm...

Setting Goals - Raeleen Siu

Meet Raeleen Siu; former Biggest Winner participant and current Baby Bootcamper.

As part of BDHQ's 2014 Ambassador Challenge, we asked people to tell us their health goals they'd like to achieve by December 2013.  Raeleen's agreed to share her goals, along with a one month update. We appreciate her candidness and willingness to share with you all. 

RAELEEN'S GOALS:
1.  Finish my current maternity leave, returning to work November 4, 2013 in pre-baby shape (goal: wear a size 8, lose another 10 pounds to weigh 156 lbs)

UPDATE:  I am back into all my size 8 clothes! BDHQ trainer Trish did my measurements two weeks ago and I've lost 14 inches in just the chest, waist and hips since February 2013. I'm in the 10lb Challenge right now and set to get my $50 next Saturday, weighing 163lbs (she made her weigh-in and got her $50 back, FYI).

 2. Run the GoodLife Half Marathon October 13 in under 2 hours (that is a 7 minute cut from my last half marathon in June).

UPDATE:  I registered for the half marathon and joined the Pen Run clinic this past summer. I'm running 18K long runs in 1h 40mins...I think I can make this goal!

3. Eat according to the Biggest Winner principles (3L water/day, 2 servings of complex carbs/day, lean protein in every meal, etc.).

UPDATE: I'm not perfect every day, and if you have an idea about how I can be more successful here, I'd love advice/kick in the butt. Complex carbs is a big one for me that needs to be cut.

4. Go to Hawaii at Christmas and be able to see my abs (i.e. not cover myself up and hide on the beach!) This one scares me a lot. (goal: wear a size 6, weight in the 140's)

UPDATE: Trip to Hawaii is booked...the other goals above need to be met before this can happen.

5. Workout six days a week, including attending BDHQ Baby Bootcamp, The Drill, and spin classes.

UPDATE: I work out for at least one hour, five days a week. Because the half marathon long run training is getting to be two hours every Sunday, I've cut my Saturday workouts, so the drop to 5 days a week is intentional for now.


Thanks Raeleen! Can't wait to see what you achieve by December and beyond. The action alone of writing down your goals sets the intention to achieve them. To any of you reading this, take a minute to think about what you really want, short term, and an action plan to get there. If you need help, ask any of the trainers at BDHQ/BDHQ2. We're here for you and want to see you all succeed in anything you want to do.   

Iron strength with James Beckerley

In Video 1, James takes you on a tour of where it all started...his parents garage.  You can see his very first kettlebells and all his crazy grip equipment.

In Video 2, James bends his first nail in over two years....who is this guy?

In Video 3, James discusses grip strength and why he's into it and what makes it so basass.

You Gotta Rest...

Deep thoughts by James Beckerley on the importance of rest days....

Nike Free Run 5.0 - Dog Friendly Event - Friday, July 19

 

You know how you go to all these running races and you can't bring your best running partner because they don't allow dogs. Well, we at Peninsula Runners wanted to change that.  Welcome to the Nike Free Run 5.0, dog friendly event. We are holding a fun 5k run at Beaver Lake Dog Park on Friday July 19th at 6:30pm. It's a free event, but we are asking for donations that will go to benefit the SPCA. The co-sponsors are Bosley's on Shelbourne and Westshore and Nike. Nike is bringing out a professional photographer and will be taking pictures of owners and their dogs for free.  Nike and Bosely's will also have some amazing prizes to give away for owners and dogs. It's going to be a fun event for everyone! Even if you don't have a dog, come on down and join in on the fun. 

Jason Ball

BDHQ Bootcamp Mexico: December 7 - 14

BDHQ is returning to Tulum, Mexico December 7 - 14th for a week of sun, beach and workouts!!

$1,614.72 based on double occupancy (taxes included).
 

Please contact Trish Hailey, BDHQ travel specialist, directly to book.  If you need singles/triples/family rates, please contact Trish. 
Tricia.Hailey@tieronetravel.com or 250-405-5082.  

Here are a few pics from the first two trips...

  

 

Another Biggest Winner sessions ends

Last week marked the end of another successful Biggest Winner session.  Tanya Barnes, top left and bottom right, was our proud winner having lost 27 pounds in 12 weeks!!  We had many more sucesses that we celebrated and had a great wrap-up workout.  

Next 12 week Biggest Winner session starts this Sunday, July 7.  Lots of newbies all registered along with those contuining on their weight loss journey.  Can't wait to get back at it.

  

Strongman Training at BDHQ2

BDHQ2 is the proud owner of a brand new yoke!  What's a yoke you say? 

According to the dictionary:
A yoke is a wooden beam, normally used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, used in different cultures, and for different types of oxen. A pair of oxen may be called a yoke of oxen, and yoke is also a verb, as in "to yoke a pair of oxen". Other animals that may be yoked include horses, mules, donkeys and water buffalo.

In this case, you are the ox.  A common peice of equipment in Strongman competitions.  BDHQ2 is now the only gym in Victoria with one. 



UPDATE: 

James got a second new toy for BDHQ2...The Strongman Log!!



Another Episode of Shit Alex Jumps On / Over

51 INCHES!!!!!!

Egg and Quinoa Rancheros

5 egg whites
3 cups greens (spinach, chard, kale – I used kale)
½ cup pico de gallo (or salsa)
1/3 cup cooked quinoa
¼ avocado, chopped or sliced

Spray a pan with olive oil.
Scramble eggs. Remove from pan.
Sautee kale until wilted. Add eggs back in to warm through.
Dump on top of cooked quinoa.
Top with pico & avocado slices.
Add a little hotsauce.
Enjoy.

270 calories
26g protein
24 g carbs
7g fat
6g fiber

Greek Chickpea Salad

1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
6-8 roma tomatoes, chopped
2 cucumbers, chopped
1 red onion, diced
1-200 gram container of feta cheese, chopped

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
dash of honey

Mix all ingredients together, add dressing to taste. You probably won't need all of it. This will make a fairly large amount, I keep it in the fridge to snack on. It lasts well and gets even better as the dressing soaks in.

Clean Eating Healthy Dessert

One avocado
Tbsp peanut butter
Few tbsp cocoa powder
Splash of vanilla
Splash of milk
Stevia to taste

Mix with hand blender (or food processor) until smooth. Chill 30 minutes and serve.

Our Biggest Winner group hold periodic healthy potluck and recipe swap nights so we get to see all the yummy food that comes out of those nights.  Great work guys!! 

Trainer Christina get silver at Canadian Nationals

We could not be more proud of our amazing trainer Christina who not only fundraised to get herself to Edmonton, but got SILVER in the Canadian Nationals for Weightlighting.  Check out the vid above. 

Cross-Training for Runners

Lovisa Anderson, Trainer, Body Dynamics Headquarters

I love to run.  I love to run because it makes me feels strong and it's a great time to catch up with friends while getting a sweat. As a trainer, I've had the pleasure of helping hundreds of people learn to run, but by no means am I a competitive marathoner or any kind of running expert. I'm totally okay with being an average recreational runner, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to continue to progress and improve my run times.

One of the best ways to hit that new personal best is to cross-train.  For die hard runners out there, this can be a hard sell because it's running that you love. Tiger Woods isn't the greatest golfer in the world just because he has a great swing. It's because he hits the gym just as often as he hits the golf course. This goes for athletes in all sports. More and more, the importance of cross-training is being recognized and practiced.

Why cross-train for running?
Mixing up your workout routine so you're not only running is what cross-training is all about. You can do anything from weight training, to swimming, to yoga. Supplementing your run program with other activities allows you to vary the stress placed on your body. Cross-training is important for injury prevention as your muscles and tendons are under a tremendous amount of stress though repeated movement, and they need an occasional break.

Now how do you choose where to start? If you have tight hamstrings, a common running trait, a yoga class could do you some good. Are shin splints bugging you? A spin class would be a great option to get a sweat with no impact. Weight training can increase your power for when you hit that killer hill in your run and core work will give you a strong running posture. Above everything else, cross-training breaks up any boredom and repetition to make your runs that much more enjoyable.

Here is a sample workout to add to your new routine to break through a fitness plateau. Start with a 10 minute warm up and stretch when you're finished.

1 push-up
1 jump squat (or stationary squat)
1 burpee

2 push-ups
2 jump squats (or stationary squats)
2 burpees

...and so on, up to 5 to 10 sets.

Happy trails!

Squats with Max

418 pounds......no big deal. 

Tales from Biggest Winners: Sandy Cook

Celebrating accomplishments is a huge part of transforming your life.

Transformations are evident here at BDHQ, and who doesn’t love hearing an awesome success story to keep us going into a new year.  At the end of December we celebrated yet another end to a Biggest Winners session.  You ask, who came out on top?  Meet Sandy Cook. She recently joined in our last session of Biggest Winners which ran from October to December 2012.  At her heaviest weight Sandy was 277.4 pounds and she lost 32 pounds in 12 weeks!

This is Sandy now:

Here is what Sandy had to say about her transformation...

How many times have you tried to lose weight?

I remember being on a "diet" when I was 15 and although it was not as much I had to lose compared to where I am this time it was the start of my dieting roller coaster of gaining then losing then gaining more then losing. With all the different ways of losing weight, be it "food programs" or the 30 minute workouts, or other gyms and diets, well I am sure you get the picture.

Why is this time different?

This time when I stepped on that scale I knew what the next middle digit would be and never wanted to see that figure. I knew my knees and heart could not handle the added weight. My husband and I had just been on a motorcycle trip and I found it more difficult to get on and off the bike. Also my jacket and boots where getting harder to put on.

What is your biggest accomplishment since joining Biggest Winners?

I cannot pin point one accomplishment, but an accumulation of them. My big goal was to be able to get on and off the floor by myself. I can do that now although it takes my brain and body to get in sync and may not be graceful, I can do it! Also, this past month my husband and I went for a ride on the motorcycle and when it was time for me to get off I stood up without having to use my hands and I did not even have to think about it. All those squats and sit stands are paying off!

What are you proudest of yourself for?

I am proudest that I was at every Biggest Winner workout and wrote in my book every day for the 3 months. This is something that I was not able to do with any other programs I have been involved in in the past.

What are your goals going into 2013?

I would like to see my blood pressure down enough that I can get off my medication. Also to be close if not at my goal weight that my doctor and I agree with.

Any closing remarks?

I would like to thank everyone at Biggest Winners from the trainers to the BW'ers for your encouragement and support. I feel it is going to be a great year.

Sandy, BDHQ is very proud of everything you have done to take on your health and your life.  Can't wait to see you transform and exceed your goals in 2013.

Hockey Dryland Training

Since September 2012, BDHQ has had the privilege of leading dryland team training to players on the Ice Hawks of the Victoria Minor Hockey Association.  

 

From hockey specific drills, such as plyometrics, quick feet drills and sprint work, to using classic BDHQ butt-kicking tools like the TRX, kettlebells and battle ropes – all exercises used have been performed with one thing in mind – making them stronger, quicker and more resistant to injury when they hit the ice.

The younger Atom team won their Christmas tournament, so they’re hard work is paying off.

BDHQ appreciates the commitment that all the players have shown over the past 4 months, and we look forward to seeing their progress thru their upcoming playoff season!

If you’re part of a team, at any age, or have kids on a team, the importance and success of cross training to improve your game is evident.  Contact us for more info (see link) on how you can get your team, or just yourself, better prepared for your sport.