Big changes for Bodycomp

It’s been a while since I have last updated the blog. I apologize to you humble internet, for we all know there is nothing more tiresome than stale information and stagnant blogs. I have an excuse. I have several actually. Bodycomp has gone though a metamorphosis of sorts. I’m actually tempted to make phoenix analogies but I’d prefer not to jinx the DXA scanner into bursting into flames, especially not while one of you fine people is laying on top of it, getting scanned.
So Bodycomp is now a full time operation with a permanent address in downtown Vancouver. I’ve taken a leave from my job as a Nuclear Medicine tech at St. Paul’s hospital to go at it alone. Ruth has stepped away from Bodycomp to focus on improving her health personally, and Jordan Savory has joined Bodycomp to assist with scanning duties on Mondays.

Having an office downtown has changed the focus of our business significantly. It is now much easier for clients that work or live downtown to schedule an appointment throughout the day. I am going to miss providing scans up at Whistler at the health fair or setting up the trailer at one of the cycling races around town. We will also be doing less research studies as we are no longer able to visit the outer reaches of the Metro region.
However, I believe change happens for a reason. I’m looking forward to meeting more of the incredible athletes that train downtown and am also happy to meet their trainers, coaches and support staff. Vancouver is at a very exciting time is it’s existence, and I’m very happy to building Bodycomp with so many complimentary activities happening all around. I look forward to seeing you soon

Richmond Oval is incredible

I'm a little late to the party but that's fine by me. I had my first look at the new Richmond Oval yesterday and am blown away by the scale and style of the building.

I had read about the use of pine beetle damaged wood in the construction, but I didn't expect it to be so visually stunning. Wiki says it better than I can:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Olympic_Oval

Global TV has Bodycomp doing the body composition scans for their lifestyle challenge so we were scanning the second half of the participants. The first piece should air on Global on Feb 23rd. The second scan and change in muscle and fat measurements will come in June.

Get your Crossfit on!

Bodycomp has been busy lately with Crossfit body composition challenges. Although your percent fat and muscle mass are not the only measurements of fitness and athletic performance, they definitely play a big role. We all require a certain amount of fat to stay healthy and perform well, but excess fat above the essential levels mostly just slows you down and elevates your risk of disease. This is why we are happy to be involved with Crossfit Bodycomp challenges.

We are going to be performing follow-up scans on 75 fitness keeners at Crossfit.ca (clark & 2nd ave, Vancouver) from December 6th-9th with prizes going to those individuals with the highest percent gain of muscle and also to those with the best percent reduction in body fat.

We also have a January challenge starting with the fine folks at Crossfit BC Yaletown. This challenge will be in a similar format but with 6 months between the baseline and the final scan. This will allow for some more dramatic transformations and prevent people from trying to beat the contest with short term changes. Good body composition requires regular visits to the gym and a consistent diet. We'll be getting started in Yaletown in early january - check in at crossfitbc.com for all the details.

Street racing Vancouver style

This is really more of a rave than a post. This Canada Day I spent my third year in a row at the Yaletown Grand Prix. It’s a criterium racing event that has teams of amazing cyclists using strategy and pure power ripping around an historic section of the downtown core. The event is primarily sponsored by Haywood Securities but there are beer gardens and Mini Coopers a plenty and the entire area around the track has a street party vibe to it.

I think this is the sort of event that Vancouver is going to become more and more famous for. It brings out our best collective behavior cheering on racers in a sport most of us don’t know nearly as much about as hockey, however, Vancouver breeds an incredibly diverse and skilled group of cyclists, not to mention a pretty wild unicyclist as well. The whole event also managed to raise a significant bit of coin for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Vancouver.

The Men’s race was dominated by team Symmetrics with Svein Tuft of Langley taking the first pass over the finish line. The Women’s cat 1/2/3 had a much wider spread among the teams, with Total Restoration Cycling’s Gillian Moody taking first place for the women. Now I’m not saying that we should all abandon the road hockey completely when we’re celebrating the birthday of our country in the sunshine, but I think the Yaletown Grandprix Canada bash is a pretty sweet option for us high density dwellers.

So if you didn't have a chance to make it this year, come and take a look for us next year and see how your body composition stacks up against some of Canada's finest.

Google Maps Pedometer lets you measure your walks runs and rollerblade sessions

I've been playing with the Google Maps Pedometer mash-up a fair bit lately. It allows you to use a google maps interface to track the distance of your walks and other urban treks to get an idea of how far that afternoon jaunt really was. It's also useful for runners in training trying to find new routes that allow them to cover a specific distance. You can find the page here:

www.gmap-pedometer.com

The page also lets you save your work and share the results with other people. You can take a look at my rollerblading route from my apartment downtown, down Georgia Street and into Stanley Park and then back up from English Bay for a sweaty spin up the Hornby Street hill.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1971257

Feel free to post your favourite Vancouver route in the comments.

TopTen Antioxidant Rich Foods

We hear of the many benefits of antioxidants, but which foods provide the best sources and how can we increase the use of them in our daily diet....

Top 10 Antioxidant Rich Foods :

10. Raspberries
9. Prunes
8. Blackberries
7. Artichokes (cooked)
6. Cranberries
5. Blueberries (cultivated)
4. Pinto beans
3. Red kidney beans
2. Blueberries (wild)
1. Small red beans (dried)

Small red beans! Who knew? The small red bean looks like a kidney bean - same colour and shape - except that it's (you guessed it) smaller. It's sometimes identified as a Mexican red bean, but it's grown in Washington, Idaho, and Alberta, Canada.

The list was determined by USDA nutritionists who published the study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. J. Agric. Food Chem., 52 (12), 4026 -4037, 2004.

Raw chocolate and goji berries are two foods that are extremely rich in antioxidants but were not evaluated for the study cited above.

Tip to increase the antioxidant levels in stir fries and soups: Make bean cubes. Process leftover beans with a little vegetable broth in a food processor until it forms a thin paste. Pour into ice cube trays, and then use the frozen cubes to thicken soups and sauces.

Tip to use Goji berries - add a small handful of dried goji berries to your bottled water. After a few minutes they will soften and can be chewed easily as you enjoy your aqua.

And remember berries, fresh or frozen, make excellent additions to smoothies - a favourite on the go, morning meal.

New friends, old friends

You can tell that spring has finally arrived in Vancouver. Those silly little dogs shed their blankets and the urban camping crowd switches to lighter weight sleeping bags. The runners stop looking like locomotives with steam surging from their lungs, and the rollerbladers are venturing out onto the recently dried pavement. Sweeeeeeet spring.

Bodycomp is getting out to some new locations but we're also looking forward to hanging out with some old friends. We just had a scan session for the John Braithwaite Centre in North Van. Thanks to Rob and Jen for getting us up there - we'll be happy to return in the future.

We're heading back to Body & Soul at Alma and 10th on Monday, May 28th - I'm sure we'll measure some impressive body composition results as a result of everyone having trained hard for the Sun run.

The following weekend we are heading back to North Van to the BFIT Personal Training studio on Fell Ave. - we've got some drop in spots available so give me a call if you are in the neighborhood and want to arrange for a scan. We'll be there from 9am-3pm on Sunday May 4th.

We're back to Vancouver the following weekend on Saturday May 10th working with the fun people at Enerchanges. Bookings are being handled through their front desk so give them a call if you want to book a scan or check out their cool facility.

I hope everyone is enjoying getting back outside and working hard in the sun. See you soon.