If I had to pick the most important thing I've learned over the past couple of years, it would be, "No matter how good, how accessible, or how cheap a piece of fitness equipment is, if a person does not 'start' or 'want to start,' then nothing happens. I've even wirtten about it here "

This is why I love a new book to be released this October by Canada's fitness information leader - Kathleen Trotter – as it addresses this very issue.It is entitled, "Finding Your Fit; A Compassionate Trainer's Guide to Making Fitness a Lifelong Habit."

Summer is a busy season for almost everyone, for me it means spending an average of 5 nights a week on the diamond. I laced my first pair of cleats at the age of five and I haven't looked back. Softball is a sport predominately played by women; it's a popular summer past time and has many health and fitness benefits.

A guest blog by Callie Tweedie, Graphic Designer for the Flaman Group of Companies (the parent company to Flaman Fitness)

Guest blog by Mike Henschel, Flaman Fitness, Saskatoon . . . .

Summertime in Saskatoon is a wonderful opportunity to see the city's beauty with the river banks, gorgeous parks and bike trails all over. One outdoor activity I enjoy is hitting the diamond. There's nothing like tying up my ball shoes on the bench, look up and see the shale infield surrounded by the freshly trimmed emerald-green, grass outfields protected by a fence that acts like a goal for so many.

I love summer, I love the beach, I love working out and most of all, I LOVE being on my paddleboard! It is the best possible way to work my body hard, clear my mind, and nourish my soul.

I have been an avid paddle boarder for at least 7 years, and I was asked to write a blog about it.

Here it is!

(Submitted by Gwen Spencer of Flaman Fitness, Vernon, BC)

Summer months are the times we come out of hibernating, we change our winter clothes into shorts, we turn off our treadmills for walking outside. We settle down to patio drinks, late night BBQs and summer muffin tops? Heck no!

We have summer fun, while waging war against our waste lines.

Submitted by Sein Reid, Flaman Fitness, Edmonton - Yellowhead

When I started my journey into the triathlon world a year ago, I was already a seasoned full/half marathon runner one of the main lessons drummed into my head was the importance of consistency in training.

So, this off-season, I've decided to really make an attempt to run with this idea (pun intended) and up the regularity of training, regardless of whether the mileage increases as a result.

Submitted by Paul Clare, Flaman Fitness, Victoria

A recent exercise and weight study revealed that young rats prone to obesity (there really is a strain that are like this) are much less likely to become obese if they run during adolescence than if they don't run.Not that this is stunning.

But, here's the interesting part, they also were metabolically healthier, and had different stomach microbes, than rats that keep the weight off by cutting back on food (and not running).

Sort of a diet alone vs. exercise test.

In essence, the runners, while weighing the same as the dieters at the end of the study, seemed better set up to avoid weight gain in the future.

Maybe this explains why I was having such a difficult time restarting my workouts? Maybe my true inspiration had changed? So, trying to go about things the way I always had wasn't working because of this?

What?

We got an update from Dave Gibbs!!! here it is . . . .

Hey Guys !!

Training is going great, currently just under 6 weeks out now from Toronto provincials.

As an update from my last blog . . .

Start over" – one of the most dreaded things to hear.

Today is my 52^nd birthday. People ask me if I feel older. I don't. I feel less dumb.

One thing I feel less dumb about is, "I don't get as stressed when things don't go as I thought they should." For example, I didn't restart my work-outs after a surgery, for a lot longer than I had planned – but I did get started again and things are going well..

They key thing is I didn't need to start over, just start again. My fitness level declined, it did not end - that would be defined as "death." So, I only needed to start again from where I was, not over.

I also feel less dumb since I now see more value in others' stories. I love to see when people's "tests become testimonies and their messes becomes messages." This is something I learned from a man I worked with for a while about 20 years ago – Tim Storey - he's truly blessed.