Luana and Rick Orban train with Saskatchewan Roughriders’ player, D.J. Flick, and personal trainer, Erin Tyson.

Rick’s father passed away of heart disease in his early 50’s and both Luana and Rick want to do their utmost to prevent this from happening to either one of them. They have two boys who are great examples of physical fitness and although they are all healthy eaters, the couple has trouble getting exercise – struggling with time, desire and the need for good instruction. They want to set a healthy example for family and friends.

First Experiences…

Being selected to be a part of the “Making the Connection” CFL Challenge has been the perfect opportunity for my husband and I to get in shape.  We are at a different stage in our lives and are really feeling the need to make a change for a healthier lifestyle.

 

We have been very fortunate to be hooked up with Erin Tyson our trainer and D.J. Flick our CFL player. They are both “keeners” and are really working hard to make sure Rick and I are successful at getting ourselves in shape. D.J. threw out the challenge that by the end of the competition deadline we would be able to run the east side stairs at Mosaic Stadium, three times.  I thought he was nuts, but I promised him that we were up to the challenge. This could possibly do me in!!!

 

We were surprised at the Regina kick-off that there was so much interest in what we were doing.  The media, both CTV and Global as well as the Leader-Post showed up and were more than eager to find out what this challenge was all about.  Because we live in a small city and have been active in the community with our jobs and our children, it seems that there are a lot of people keeping tabs on us.  It has been exciting for us because of this interest in our progress.  I was asked to be a jailbird for the Cancer Society’s Jail-N-Bail and my involvement in the challenge was mentioned a couple of times.  I guess you never know who might be watching you.

 

I am ashamed to say that Rick and I really struggled at the beginning of the challenge.  A couple of days after we met with Erin and D.J. we were off to Vancouver to watch our son play a football game against UBC.  Being the eager beavers that Erin and D.J. are, they were sure our hotel would have a gym so we could work out while there!  No such luck . . . as a matter of fact, not only was there no gym, but Rick and I were extremely ill the entire 4 1/2 days of our vacation.  We actually returned to Regina exhausted and out of sorts and felt like we were starting way behind everyone else in the competition.  Now it was catch-up time.

 

We both started our work-outs on Monday and by Tuesday evening I was whining and complaining about how much my body hurt. I was also concerned about the time factor.  I thought this “exercise” thing was taking up too much time and I have other things I need to do other than work and work-out. Rick reminded me that I was the one that got us into this and so I went to bed determined to wake up with a better attitude.  I am happy to say that with time we are both becoming more and more comfortable with our routines and gradually increasing our cardiovascular condition.  I was sure the first several days that I was going to die and actually didn’t care if I did.

 

We are working hard to change a few things in our diet.  We both love to cook and we both love to eat!!! I am a vegetarian so I have different issues such as making sure I have enough protein in my diet.  I am always complaining of having no energy and now I know that I have to work harder at getting more protein in order to give me the energy I need for the day.

 

We are excited about the changes we are already noticing after just two weeks. I can’t imagine how we’re going to feel once we reach our goals.

 

Round 2

 

This has been a challenging yet rewarding week for the Orban’s.  Unfortunately I came down with my second cold in as many weeks and had to put off exercising for a couple of days.  It’s tough knowing that we are coming to the end of the challenge. I really wanted to give it my best in my workout and cardio routines, but I realized that two days doesn’t mean I’m giving up my desire to eat properly and get back to my exercising.  It was just a little blurp and as of today I am back and feel more energized!

 

We spoke with Melodie the nutritionist on Sunday evening. Rick and I know how to prepare healthy meals, but we have become very lazy in the past several years.  I really appreciated her help in regards to my vegetarian diet. She was able to give me guidelines as to how much protein I should incorporate into my daily diet.  It turns out I probably do not eat enough protein and if I increase the amount I will also increase my energy level. She seemed happy with most of the foods we eat with the exception of juices.  Who would have thought that a glass of orange juice (doesn’t everyone have a glass for breakfast?) would take a mile of walking too work off?  That just seems wrong!

 

We met with Erin, our trainer on Wednesday for our final results.  We were actually shocked with how much we had improved in such a short time.  I guess our determination and commitment paid off.

 

Today was our final meeting with Erin and D.J.  We met at the stadium where Rick and I were prepared to make good on a promise we made with D.J.  At the end of our initial meeting, D.J. challenged us to a running of the stadium stairs on the east side as part of our final wrap-up.  Not only did he challenge us to run it once, but three times.  I was determined not to let him down even though I may have to crawl up those stairs.  Several weeks ago we could barely make it to the top, even once. We ran the west side today (it is considerably higher and steeper) and we did do it three times.  The third time just about killed us, but we made it to the top!!!  I returned back to work with burning thighs and then did my 25 minutes of cardio tonight.  We probably won’t be able to walk tomorrow morning . . . but we did make good on the challenge.

 

We are so grateful for this opportunity to jump start a life-time of change.  We are determined to keep this up and look forward to improving our results.  We have already contacted our trainer to see if she would see us again in six weeks to help keep us in check.

 

We are finding that we are constantly being asked how our training is going, whether it be at the grocery store, at work, selling 50/50 tickets at Rider games or the interest from our family and friends.  Everyone is impressed with our determination for a life-style change.  We are confident that our visibility in our city and our involvement in this challenge will spur others to do the same.

 

 

One last!

 

It is hard to believe that we have come to the end of this challenge.  Rick and I have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves but have often said we would have liked the challenge to be a longer period of time.  It seemed like we just got started and before we knew it we were wrapping things up.

 

This has been a busy fall and it was difficult for Rick and I to really make time for our work-outs.  Our boys both play for the University of Regina Rams and because our oldest one is in his last year of eligibility, we promised him that we would go to every game including those out of town.  During the challenge we have been to Winnipeg, Vancouver and Calgary.  Although all of this has been fun, I still have a full-time job that requires a lot of energy and we have driven 8 – 12 hours in a day on weekends, plus watch a football game.  It is starting to take its toll.  In spite of our fall schedule, we were determined to make our health a priority! 

 

We are very happy with our personal success.  We have come from being very lethargic and complaining almost daily at how poorly we felt, and how we wished we would magically get motivated to do something . . . anything!!! Well that something happened and we are very appreciative for the opportunity to make major changes in our lives.  Now that we don’t have “someone” keeping track of our progress we are in enough of a routine to really want and feel the need to exercise and improve our cardio.  I am still working up to 30 minutes on the elliptical, however, next week I will be there.  Rick is already doing 40 minutes for his cardio. We have come such a long way!!!

 

Now that we are comfortable with our change of diet, our work-out routines and have noticed a vast improvement on our cardiovascular condition, we feel confident in encouraging others to change their lifestyle.  We are thankful to Erin and D.J. for taking so much time to make sure we had a good work-out schedule and provided us with proper technique and instruction on breathing (I didn’t know how to breathe when I exercised?  I was either holding my breath or breathing the exact opposite way that I should be.) Working with a trainer was what I needed and I know that I have greatly benefited from the time spent with her.

 

Congratulations to all the other participants who have taken on the ”Making the Connection” challenge.  Each of us is now in a position to be the catalyst for others in our community! Good luck to each of you as you continue on with your lifestyle make-over.  Soon it will be just a lifestyle!!!

 

Thanks again for this wonderful opportunity!