Sagittarius
I just got back from Italy a couple days ago. A lot of people give up on their exercise routine when they're on holidays. When I go on vacation, I actually find I have even more time to exercise. Cycling is one of my passions, and Tuscany is a mecca for cyclists. I brought my road bike with me and did about 120 kilometers a day, just touring around Tuscany - it was great.
I was always pretty into sports and phys. ed. class growing up, but my big problem was that my parents owned a Greek restaurant. Being that we were a Greek family, a lot of my relatives also had restaurants, and I grew up eating a lot of fast food. Burgers and French fries would be a typical meal for me, because I would go to my parents' restaurant at lunch and then back to school. I was actually a chubby kid until about 16 years of age.
A couple things turned the tide around that time. I tended to be very vocal in school and was sort of the class clown. A couple of the guys I grew up with were more like jocks, and they bullied me quite a bit. After a while, I got sick and tired of getting picked on.
In the comic books that I always used to read, there would be these big muscle men, and I thought, 'I want to be like that.' I convinced my parents to buy me a weight lifting set for the basement and started to buff up. I graduated from university in 1990, so I've been making a living out of fitness for about 17 years now since then.
I can tell you exactly why we're unfit as a society.
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I LOVE Paul Plakas...I'm so
By jstiles, September 6, 2007 at 18:03I LOVE Paul Plakas...I'm so excited that X-Weighted is on again, new ones that is (although I do enjoy watching the re-runs). AND it's great that the show is based in CANADA!!!
Paul makes me laugh hysterically because he just says exactly what I'm thinking - all the time (my FAVOURITE comment was that fibromyalsia doesn't really exist). It's so great to finally see a trainer on TV that's really with it and doesn't beat around the bush, or doesn't accept excuses as a way out of getting in shape. Basically, if you're not going to put the work in, you're not going to get the results you want - ever. Work = pay, period.
I work in the healthcare field and I see people all the time that come in complaining of back pain, or joint pain, or shortness of breath. They're almost always 30% or more overweight (that's being nice). I would just like to shake them and say "You're killing yourself", or "I bet you'd feel a lot better if you lost even a few pounds", etc. I have back pain, I am not overweight, and am in pretty good shape (play volleyball, baseball, walk, run, swim, bike, etc). Here's the kicker - I have a back injury from LIFTING/HELPING PEOPLE THAT ARE OVERWEIGHT AND TOO HEAVY FOR ME!!!! That's not fair. But a simple arm out to help someone up out of a chair is enough to injure someone - especially being that people just grab a hold of you and pull without even thinking. Or transferring people from stretcher to stretcher, etc. I could go on forever but am getting off track.
Anyway, just wanted to say, Paul, I love you, you're my idol. Fantastic job, keep up the good work - you're my inspiration!
Re: The Pain Dealer: Paul Plakas
By sportpsychologystar, February 3, 2008 at 10:27Good job Paul! What a laugh, I love the show. The obesity epidemic is getting just as bad this end! (the u.k) that is................ Think we could do with a few straight talking greeks/canadians. I was going to mention a few psychological interentions,,,but i could just imagine you saying 'just stop eating the crap' Anyway, I hope i can make a difference to peoples lives through the health and fitness indusry too...
Re: The Pain Dealer: Paul Plakas
By eva1981, February 9, 2008 at 14:17Hi Paul, i am from czech republic but currently living in U.K. and i really enjoy your X-weigthed show I try to record all the episodes on my sky box. Now i was wondering if you consider to run the show in UK. Most of the ppl in UK are very obese and need some help. Paul if you read this please reply me I would love to hear from you.
Your big fan Eva K.