Subway Canada x Carl’s Crew!

Last updated on March 29th, 2021 at 03:52 am

I respect my friends who’re all about their workout regimens, dietary plans and paradigm shifts on how they can lead lives that benefit their minds, bodies and souls. It’s almost like a religion for some, their daily exercise like a sanctuary where they’re one with themselves, shedding the woes and frustrations from the rest of their lives away with the sweat equity of their workout routines.

Even well before the #BloggerLife and fatherhood, the only exercise I’d ever get was through competitive sports. Sarah tried to get me jogging, but I’ve never been one for going anywhere without a destination in mind. A number of friends have asked me to try their gyms, but I’ve never seen the appeal of paying money to run in place or lift lots of heavy things ad nauseam when there’re so many other things I could do with my time.

No, my friends, I suck at fitness, and it’s slowly taking its toll on this body that ain’t as young as it used to be.

The Fatherhood 15—No Man’s Friend, Yet Every Dad’s Struggle

Now let’s be real—I’m far from lazy. While I don’t make a concerted effort to work out and keep my body in tip-top shape, I spend plenty of time playing with my 28-pound son, lifting, tossing and chasing him to keep him entertained; there’s no shortage of chores to do around the house, whether it’s shovelling, raking, mowing or some spring cleaning in the garage; and the older I get, the more my diet shifts from take-out combos to home-cooked meals. I’m not the worst ever in taking care of self, but I know I could be better at it!

Part of my problem is being a lot less active than I used to be. Back before devoting large swaths of time to raising perhaps the cutest child I know and writing blog posts to tell all about it, I’d be out several evenings a week playing dodgeball, mixed sports and Ultimate Frisbee (don’t know it ’til you’ve tried it; it can get ridiculously hardcore)—but the more my son transitions from a baby to a little person complete with his own mannerisms, preferences and affections, the less inclined I am to spend time away in the evenings since there’re only so many hours before he hits the sack.

So I’m at home a little more than I’m used to, and while I’ve tried to combat the “Fatherhood 15” as I adopt a bit more of a sedentary lifestyle, the methods I’ve used haven’t quite… stuck.

• I tried getting into P90X3 after Beachbody sent the DVD set, but it turns out:
  1. I rarely use the two DVD players in my house (the PS3 and my wife’s computer), if at all—streaming media’s really raised my expectations for plug ‘n’ play media
  2. Unless you’re dedicated, it can be hard to find a spare 30 minutes to work out. With mornings packed with getting my son and I dressed, bathed, fed and off to our “jobs”, and evenings full of entertaining, dinner, baths and clean-up, who wants to add even more to the mix?
• I was introduced to the 7-Minute Workout app at a church retreat last September by a fellow Walmerite who’d used it to bulk up over 6 months (somewhere out there is video evidence of me struggling in a 4-man competition to see if we could all do the workout without giving up). You’d think that 7 minutes a day is considerably easier to find than 30, but if you’re not making fitness a priority, the time you’d invest in a little bit of exercise to keep your body going gets quickly eaten up by things you otherwise see as priorities—for me, it’s blog posts, Clash of Clans and eliminating all the clutter that occupies my desk.

So easy as it should be, there it is—I keep myself too busy to keep in shape, and if I don’t correct this soon, I’m not sure I want to see the shape of myself some decades down the road.

This is why I found Subway Canada’s Commit to Fit™ Challenge particularly interesting!

Carl’s Crew and Commit to Fit™—The Quest for Healthy Success in Your Life!

Starting back in March—Nutrition Month—the 6-week Commit to Fit™ challenge with Subway Canada’s Commit to Fit™ Ambassador, Carl Savard, brought 17 bloggers together in Carl’s Crew to promote healthier living through tips, advice and activities designed to encourage positive changes in our lives.

I started with good intentions—drinking water with the best of them, putting my game face on to compete with my fellow bloggers—it was a challenge after all, right? But March soon got out of control, and I just couldn’t keep up.

My inability to deliver on the weekly challenges wasn’t from a lack of desire to do so—I’ve had my times where I wish I were strong or had more stamina—but more so from the simple fact that I didn’t know how to pack yet another commitment into my life. I too often plan my time out without including some flexibility for the interesting opportunities I want to pursue, leaving me scrambling when push comes to shove, constantly wondering how I wound up with so little time, repeating the same mistakes time and again.

But that makes the weekly lessons no less important—I recognize there’re subtle changes I could make to improve my lifestyle; it doesn’t have to be as showy as a New Year’s resolution or some grand epiphany that I needed to change my life… we often need to remember that life is the sum of the baby steps we take to grow, not just the big ones that everyone remembers.

You TOO Can Make Healthy Choices!

So fitness is a thing. You only get one body, and you should really treat it as well as possible to enjoy it as long as you can! The decisions we make today will have far-reaching consequences in your future, often hard to see from the lifestyles we’re leading today.

All isn’t lost—it’s better to recognize your mistakes for what they are than to stay ignorant and never learn a thing. With much of Week 5 already behind me, I’m taking a look back at all the things I missed, learning to integrate them back into my life gradually—no habit’s formed overnight; with enough time and enough energy… I’m hoping to make a long-lasting change in the right direction!

And hey—if you’re looking to make some healthier lifestyle choices in your life, look no farther than Subway Canada, with over two million possible sandwich combinations to satisfy your appetite without clinging to your waistline!

So eat fresh, treat yourself well, and hopefully keep yourself going for many years yet! In my next Carl’s Crew post, I’ll tell you about the lessons I learned in my journey!

Adios amigos,

Disclaimer: While compensated for this post by Subway Canada, I will totally shove a 12″ BLT sub on Parmesan Oregano with Chipotle Southwest sauce to my face!

You can learn more about Subway Canada on their website, Twitter or Facebook!

If you want to see me when I’m not shoving sammiches to my face, I’m on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube!