The key for staying fit and healthy is to incorporate physical activities into your lifestyle. For that reason I went on a 3-day hike along The Juan de Fuca marine trail. Located on Vancouver Island , the trail starts near Jordan River (about 1 hour drive from Victoria) and ends up close to the town of Port Renfrew. All together this is a 47 km hike into the wilderness and across several beautiful beaches.

It is truly the experience of a lifetime! Highly recommended for outdoor fans. On these intermediate trails you will strengthen your body endurance and reconnect with your soul.

If you are planning on doing the full hike, you will need water, tent, complete camping gear, bear spray, light snacks (trail mix or bars). And remember to pack light since whatever you have on your backpack will be weighing on your shoulders!

People often ask me what the difference is between working out by myself or with a personal trainer? These will vary depending on your temperament. Some people are very disciplined and focussed but many of us sometimes need a little push. Here are the major advantages:

Motivation—A key ingredient to your fitness success is always staying motivated. When you aren’t motivated you usually do the bare minimum even when you know you can accomplish more. If your workouts are repetitive or you hit a plateau you wonder if it’s even worth the effort you’re putting into it.

Guidance—This is very important when starting a fitness program. When you do not have proper guidance you are taking a risk with your fitness results. For example, if one component of your exercise or nutritional regiment is incorrect, it can jeopardize your efforts.

Having an appointment with a knowledgeable trainer who supports and challenges you will ensure you show up and show them what you’re made of!

Train hard!
–Yvan

It is very important to eat every 2-3 hours if you want to improve your body. But what to eat when you’re not very hungry? Here is an example of a good healthy snack to have between meals.

Ingredients

*1 15 oz can chickpeas drained
2 cloves garlic minced
Juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil

Place all ingredients in your food processor/blender and puree to desired consistency. Add a little purified water to get a nice creamy consistency.

Then add to it 1/2 of cottage cheese for your protein et Voila!

Try it and let me know what you think!

Believe it or not, after only 10 months of intense training Vanny Vay wins the first runner up in F.A.M.E West at her first ever fitness competition.

Vanny delivered an amazing performance, qualifying for the World Championship in the bikini division.

Congratulations Vanny!

Big news today! Yvan was chosen to be the only male model to compete at the Trendz Zoom contest in Spain. The process is simple: Submit a set of photos showing the latest style and hair in the fashion world. He will be the sole model to represent Canada so it’s a tall order.

He teamed up with famous stylist Dale Seaman and his team at Zootz studios for a style change like you have never seen before.“It is a true honor for me to represent my country in such a prestigious contest and I think we have a great shot at the title.”

Stay tuned for regular updates about the contest!

photo: Mori Yusuke Art & Photography

Congratuations Hilary, who just gave birth to her first child! Molly was born last week weighing 7 lbs at the Vancouver hospital. Hilary has been training with Yvan Fitness during her full pregnancy at this until only 4 days before actually giving birth.

“It was a lot easier than I thought. I did not get tired and I managed to keep the intensity of the push during each contractions using my core muscles, thanks to my special pregnancy training and to the support of the team of Yvan Fitness” says Hilary.

Hilary has been followed weekly by our team with: body measurements, bodyfat and evolution photos. The main goal was to prepare her for a less painful and easier delivery. The target was to get her to reach 9 months while still being under the 25% bodyfat bar while improving her core and pushing strength. And guess what? She succeeded all the way!

Final body fat: 23.7% core muscle increase: 50%. She gained only where she was supposed to thanks also to the nutrition plan.

The second beneficial effect of this type of specialized training will be to allowing her body to get back in shape in a record time. In fact she will be in a better shape then before her pregnancy in mater of few weeks only (4 or 5 times quicker than a non-trained mother). Stay tunes for Hilary’s post-pregnancy reshaping updates.

Congratuations to Hilary who just gave birth to her first child. Molly was born last week weighing 7 lbs at the Vancouver Hospital.

Hilary trained with Yvan Fitness during her entire pregnancy up to 4 days before giving birth.

“It was a lot easier than I thought. I did not get tired and I managed to keep the intensity of the push during each contractions using my core muscles, thanks to my special pregnancy training and to the support of the Yvan Fitness team” says Hilary.

Hilary was followed weekly by our team with: body measurements, bodyfat and evolution photos. The main goal was to prepare her for a less painful and easier delivery. The target was to get her to reach 9 months under the 25% bodyfat bar while improving her core and pushing strength. And guess what, she succeeded all the way!

Final body fat: 23.7% core muscle increase: 50%. She gained only where she was supposed to thanks to her specific nutrition plan.

The second beneficial effect of this type of specialized training will be to allow her body to get back in shape in record time. In fact she will be in better shape than before her pregnancy in a matter of weeks (4 or 5 times quicker then a non-trained mother).

Stay tuned for Hilary’s post-pregnancy reshaping updates.

After a great start they never looked back and went on to win it. The rafting event took place over 3 days in the desert region of Lytton, B.C. The boat crew composed of 8 staff members and clients of Yvan Fitness finished with amazing 35 seconds lead over the second place Team U.B.C winners of the last 3 events. The race is a found raiser by Free Flowing Rivers: a society of young people committed to raising awareness about the environmental and social destruction caused by building dams.

For more info: freeflowingrivers.org