Good Toronto Workouts

Hello from my new apartment in cold, wintery, snowy Toronto. We had a blast of winter yesterday and I expect my feet will get very wet today as I trudge around town to hit the gym. We'll see.

Yesterday I stayed inside and had a great upper body meathead workout. I've also bought some running shoes and started interval training again (something I have missed out on for a long time).

But first, on Monday, it was squats... and sled drags... a really tough one that wiped me out.

1a) Squats

1b) Box Jumps

2a) Glute Ham Raise

2b) Skater Squat / Reverse Lunge

2c) Band Pull

3) Sled Drags for 5 minutes... great times!

Tuesday was an off day...

Wednesday was Upper Body Meathead:

1a) Pushups

1b) Upper Back

2a) DB Chest Press

2b) Mobility

3a) Triceps

3b) Lower Body Mobility

Finished with bike intervals.

Today I should deadlift. 

And then I'm getting ready for a big adventure on the weekend.

Stay tuned!

Toronto Move In

Finally moved in to my new apartment in Toronto. It has a swing in the living room, haha. I also had to outfit the place a little bit, and so I was running around all Saturday.

Here's a surprise.

I bought a pair of running shoes... because I haven't been running for years. It feels good. Now I won't be taking up marathons any time soon, but I feel good.

Also had a great workout on Friday morning.

1a) Pushups

1b) DB Rear Delt Raises

2a) DB Presses

2b) DB Row-Shrugs

Today I'll be doing another upper body workout and then tomorrow will be a squat workout.

Off to work on a major project... a dog search. :)

Snowstorms and Deadlifts

I had some lucky travels home from NYC. A snowstorm (and ice storm) hit the Big Apple on Wednesday afternoon, and a lot of flights were cancelled. Fortunately, my flight was on sunny Thursday morning, and all went well.

While in NYC, I had two good dinners with friends:

First, at the Butcher and Banker Steakhouse. My meal was a Delmonico steak, and I kept half for the next day. The next night I went to Sushi Yasuda. It was very good, and traditional, not like most sushi places where you get all types of crazy rolls.

After Thursday's smooth flight home, I went to Bang Fitness for a Deadlift workout.

1a) Hang Clean

1b) Mobility

2a) Deadlift

2b) Mobility

3a) Glute Ham Raise

3b) Core training

Good times.

On Saturday I move in to a new apartment in downtown Toronto.

Time to get camped out for a nice stretch in the big city.

Smore Workouts Before Travel

I put two more big workouts under the belt before my trip to NYC today.

On Saturday I did moderate weight, moderate rep deadlifts and a lot of walking around the slippery city.

Sunday was an off day, and Monday I went back in the gym for front squats and sled drags. That was fun.

Today I'm off to NYC, and might do some upper body training.

I'll fly back on Wednesday afternoon and be ready for a deadlift session on Thursday.

Looking forward to that, and then it will be no more travel for 6 weeks.

PS - Remember...

"Every choice you make and everything you do is either taking you closer to or away from your goals." - #truth

No snooze.
No booze on school nights.
No email till you get a major win in the morning.
No skipping exercise or self-care habits.
No forgetting to plan tomorrow tonight.

"Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity." ― James Clear, Atomic Habits: A Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

Good Workouts and No Wipeouts in the Big City

I've almost slipped and fallen two dozen times on the icy sidewalks of Toronto, but somehow I've stayed on my (wet) feet.

The city is a bit of a skating rink and I've been walking all over the place downtown, going to my workshops, meetings, and to the mall to buy some jeans.

But again, no wipeouts yet.

On the other hand, I've had some good workouts.

Friday morning was:

1a) DB Chest Presses

1b) DB Rear Delt Raises

2a) Plank

2b) Side Plank

And then lots of walking around the city to meetings.

I didnt sleep well last night, but that didn't stop me from deadlifting today, and adding in some band walks and kettlebell swings - and more walks around town.

Tonight I'm going to finish a book called The Trident. It's about a Navy SEAL named Jason Redmond who gets seriously injured in Iraq, and then has a story of redemption and resilience overcoming his injuries. I met Jason at our Empire Mastermind meeting last month in Chino Hills at Fit Body Boot Camp HQ.

Alright, tomorrow will be an off day.

Stay on your feet!

Squats Already

Even though I deadlifted only two days ago, I stepped under the squat bar on Thursday for a Ballantyne's Day workout. 😊

I love the old weights, and wouldn't have it any other way, haha.

Yesterday after the train ride I did some dumbell shoulder presses and arms.

Today was more serious... sets of 20 rep squats! Worked up to 225. Should feel it tomorrow night.

1a) Squats 4x20

1b) Mobility

2a) Glute-Ham Raise

2b) Cable Abs

Tomorrow I have a workshop here in Toronto... but I might do some chest presses before I walk over to the event hotel.

Then tomorrow night I finally get a haircut, and I will hit a conditioning session on Saturday at lunch.

Next week I fly to NYC on Tuesday and I'm doing a television show on Wednesday!

Details soon...

Snowstorms and Deadlifts in Canadia

Monday's workout got cancelled.

But not due to a snowstorm.

It was postponed on a count of my hair transplant.

Here's the thing... one of the supportive therapies I added to my hair transplant (that I got back in December) was something called PRP injections.

PRP is like stem-cells, and stands for platelet-rich plasma. You do a little blood draw, spin the blood for 10 minutes until the RBC's (red blood cells) separate from the plasma, and then inject the plasma into your head where the transplant occurs.

Science suggests that PRP slows hair loss, and supports hair growth after a transplant.

My experience shows that it hurts like heck, haha.

This was my third round of PRP.

In the previous two go's, I had local freezing applied to the injection site.

This time, on advice of my buddy Jeremy (who has also had it done), I decided to forego the freezing.

My eyes were watering halfway through the injections into my scalp... there are about 12-16 injections per treatment.

Oh well, it was over quick, but the nurse told me to take it easy for a couple of hours, which meant I skipped my workout and just did a couple of long walks instead.

I also left Toronto and took the train back to my hometown of Stratford, where I had a good garage gym workout on Tuesday morning while a snow and ice storm raged outside.

The session looked like this:

1a) Deadlift

1b) Box Jumps

2a) Reverse Lunge with Weight Vest

2b) Power Shrugs

All good times.

And I slept like a champ last night. One of the best night's rests I've had in a long time.

Today I traveled back to Toronto and I'm going to do that pressing workout that I missed on Monday.

Peace out and happy early Ballantyne's Day!

Talk soon,

Craig

PS - Life is a game of percentages.

Here's how to rig the game in your favor.

Eat 10% less. Sleep 20% more. Curse 30% less. :) Watch 50% less TV. Read 70% more. Listen 100% more. And Love 1000% more.

Tampa to Toronto

Had an epic weekend in Tampa and Clearwater, Florida with my buddies.

The whole gang was back together:

Bedros, Joel Marion, Vince Delmonte, Shaun Hadsall, Dan Long, Mike Westerdal, Elliott Hulse, and so many others.

Even my high school buddy, Mike Hishon was there.

It was Vince Delmonte's seminar, and there were a lot of laughs and lots of learning.

I also went on an hour long walk to a store to buy a bunch of food, and my credit card didn't work... so it was a total blunder, lol.

Oh well.

Here's what happened in the gym...

Saturday Morning at Gold's Gym in Largo:

1A) Squat

1B) Leg Curl

2A) KB Swing

2B) DB Split Squat

Then a walk out in the Florida sunshine... great time of year to be there.

Spent the afternoon inside at the seminar, and then hit Joel's house and his mega garage gym for this session:

1A) TRX Rows

1B) Face Pulls

2A) DB Rows

2B) Sledgehammer Swings on the Tire

Then Bedros and I took an Uber to the airport, and I had the smoothest ride home from Tampa ever.

Usually the flights getting into Tampa are late... but the weather was good and we left on time.

I was home in Toronto before 6pm.

So I went over to Impact Kitchen for a Greens Drink, Bone Broth, and Banana Bread.

Tomorrow I will do some pressing.

Then take a train back to the farm.

Time for an important decision on whether I get a fancy apartment or a dog... right now it looks like I can't have both.

Hmmmmmmmm.

Winter Thaw Workouts and Travel to Tampa

On the weekend I did a fun upper body workout in my Brother-in-Law's Home Gym.

He has a barbell, trap bar, and a few dumbbells.

1a) Wide Grip Barbell Row

1b) DB 1-Arm Standing Shoulder Press

2a) Shrug

2b) DB Triceps Extension

3a) Core Training

3b) Mobility

Yesterday I flew to Newark, and had some delays, so it was an off day.

Today I was in the gym early because I have a full day private client coaching session here.

1a) Bulgarian Split Squat

1b) Stability Ball Leg Curl

2a) Cable Abs

2b) Split Squat

Should be hitting a good local steakhouse tonight.

Tomorrow I have another private client coaching session, and I will get in a great upper body meathead workout at the hotel gym.

And Thursday it is off to Tampa/Clearwater to hang out with Vince Delmonte, Bedros Keuilian, Joel Marion, and over 100 fitness experts. Back to Toronto on Sunday.

PS - Quote of the day from my friend Luciano!

"All bitterness, fury, angry, shouting and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ." - Ephesians 4:31-33 ... My friend Luciano Delmonte, a pastor, shared that verse and adds: "Whom do you need to forgive? Name the offense and what they took from you. Cancel the debt. Announce that they don't owe you anymore."

Travel Troubles and Tired in Toronto

My flight from LAX to Toronto was delayed four hours. By the time I got home on Thursday it was already Friday morning, and after battling some chilly temperatures to get in the house, I finally got to sleep at 1:30am. I "slept in" until 6am, but had appointments for 8am the next day.

That left me tired all day Friday. I had one nap, and inadvertently fell asleep (while on the phone!) twice.

Somehow I still managed a good squat workout at Bang Fitness.

1a) Squats

1b) Box Jumps

2a) Lunges

2b) Good Mornings

And then I walked around the snowy city of Toronto, stopping at Impact Kitchen for a green smoothie.

Today I have a haircut, a workout, and a few other projects...

... And I go to NYC on Monday, and then Tampa on Thursday.

Until then, never forget this if you feel like you are getting off track:

One bad meal, one bad night, one bad day - even one bad week - doesn't ruin everything you've worked so hard for...so never give up. And don't let anyone deter you or get in your way of doing the things that will get you closer to your goals. Remember - its your life - and you're the boss of it. No one else.