One of the greatest role models for bringing balance into your work and life has to be Jesse Lipscombe. With Stacey Hogbin, this January he is opening a second location in Edmonton of his personal training and life coaching business (P.H.A.T.Training), he sings, he co-hosts a TV show about balance and personal wellness, he’s the father of an eight-month-old baby boy, trains for track and field, he’s an occasional actor and, on December 5, he opens a new restaurant in Edmonton. So he’s got a lot of balls in the air. Jesse and Stacey gave the Unlisted audience a training session on how to stay healthy at work. It was called Bringing Balance to Your Workplace.
Here, Jesse offers up a balanced 5-day plan to stay active. This is no Richard Simmons aerobics bootcamp, but more guidelines to make sure you’re taking care of what the P.H.A.T. team calls your “wellness triangle”: Body, mind and spirit.
+ Aim for 3 days of resistance training. Do what feels natural and what you enjoy. Above all, consult a professional for advice, even if it’s just a one-off training session. No plan is off-the rack; you have to customize it so it’s right for you.
+ Build 2 days of cardio into your routine. Do cardio such as jogging or biking that pushes your heart to steady state (rather than intervaltraining, for instance). The length of time, Jesse says, depends on where you’re at physically.
+ Every day: Do core exercises to strengthen your lower back and other muscles. Also do daily exercises for flexibility. And if you have anexisting injury or health issue, get that checked out. That sore back, for example, might be a sign of something else going on.
+ Play at least 1 day a week. Jesse calls this active rest, and it could be playing a game of squash, walking the dog or anything else that is active, but relaxing.+ Have 1 thing that you’re really looking forward to every week, whether it’s going to, say, lovely Banff, hanging out with friends, whatever. Build this into your routine to make a conscious effort to stay balanced. (Also see note about the wellness triangle.)
As Stacey puts it, “Take as much time for yourself as you do for your clients.” Above all, both Jesse and Stacey noted that your routine should be personalized. “And if it doesn’t work,” Jesse said, “pay a visit to 8632 53 Avenue in Edmonton.” In other words, the home of P.H.A.T.Training.
