Core Essentials Blog Fitness in Nanaimo

Nanaimo teen determined to reach his goal: the NHL Recovering from deadly heart ailment, Shiels chases dream

Krista Bryce, Daily News Published: Saturday, December 05, 2009

Despite being told his hockey career was over after being diagnosed with a deadly heart condition last year, Nanaimo's Jesse Shiels still has every intention to make it to the NHL. In September 2008, Shiels believed he was en route to fulfilling his dream to become an NHL player. The six-foot-three, 200-pound Cowichan Valley Capitals defenceman was on the Nashville Predators' radar for the 2009 NHL entry draft. He was feeling at the top of his game. And there was no reason why he shouldn't have. After all, he lived for hockey. But Shiels's dream was put on hold when he crumpled unconscious to the ice during a B.C. Hockey League game at the Island Savings Centre in Duncan.

All Shiels remembers is excruciating pain in his left leg and then waking up in an ambulance. A two-week stay in hospital and dozen of tests later, Shiels was diagnosed with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), a serious inherited heart disorder known to be the cause of sudden death in young athletes.

One year later, Shiels is back on the bench and more determined than ever to fulfill his dream of making it to the NHL. During a five-month adjustment period to come to terms with his career detour, Shiels realized he still had a lot to offer to the sport he loved. Shiels will never lace up to play for another elite hockey team, but the 19-year-old has every intention to be a part of a professional team as a trainer, equipment manager or any other position he can obtain behind the scenes. "I have passion for every aspect of hockey now, not just playing," said Shiels, who said he knows he was lucky to survive.

Others, like Alexei Cherepanov, weren't so lucky. A top prospect with the NHL's New York Rangers, the 19-year-old Cherepanov died in October 2007 after he suffered a seizure on the bench during a Kontinental Hockey League game in Russia. Doctors later confirmed he had ARVC. For five months, Shiels was sour at the sport he had dedicated his life to. He distanced himself from the rink and worked construction, but encouragement from hockey great Bobby Orr, frequent check-ins by Predators player manager Brandon Walker and support from Nanaimo trainer David Gilks of Core Essentials made Shiels realize that "hockey is where my heart is."

 He embarked on a new path to combine his love for fitness, hockey and sport. He enrolled in a BCRPA personal trainer course and halfway through he sent one e-mail that landed him an internship at the Manitoba Moose training camp in September. Eager to take on any task, Shiels assisted with fitness testing and equipment management, skills he had acquired from summer jobs at ReAction Sports in Nanaimo. It would be the step that would eventually land Shiels an assistant equipment manager job with the Victoria Salmon Kings of the East Coast Hockey League. Shiels is the first to admit he never would have believed he would be back on a hockey bench one year after his collapse, "let along for a pro hockey team," he said with a smile. "It's definitely a foot in the door. They're an affiliate to the (Manitoba) Moose who are an affiliate to the Canucks.

The way I look at it, I spent my whole life trying to make it to the NHL and I still plan on going," said Shiels, who also juggles a job at Core Essentials as a trainer.

Take a walk through any gym, and you'll notice many mistakes. Mistakes that waste time. Mistakes that put people in danger. And mistakes that are just plain stupid. Maybe you even make a few of these mistakes yourself.

By avoiding these common blunders, you'll put yourself on the fast track to results. Check out the following 5 fitness mistakes and the solutions you need to avoid danger and to get fit fast.

Mistake 1: You use the wrong weight

The goal is to challenge your muscles, not to simply go through the motions. If you are able to complete 15 repetitions easily, then the weight is too light. On the flip side, if you aren't able to perform an exercise through its full range of motion, and find yourself cheating on form, then the weight is too heavy.

The correct weights will feel challenging by your last few repetitions, but won't force you to sacrifice form. Training is a skill, like golf and skiing, and requires the same approach.

Mistake 2: You do the same routine

You may have noticed that most people do the same exercises each time they visit the gym. Maybe you've been doing the same exercise routine as long as you can remember - if it isn't broken then don't fix it, right?

The truth is that exercise routines have expiration dates, and that is the date that they begin to lose their effectiveness. As a rule of thumb never use the same routine for more than 4 weeks to 6 weeks. Have a professional design you a periodization plan, which is simply a training schedule that looks at the next 3-4 months or your training at a glance and outlines the possible changes you can make to continue your progress.

Mistake 3: You don't warm up

Most people consider warm up time to be wasted time - they'd rather jump right into the heart of the routine. What they don't realize is that a good warm up will allow you to perform at a higher intensity, which means greater results.

The point of a warm up is to increase your muscle temperature. This increases blood flow, muscle contraction and reduces muscle resistance. Your warm up should last 5-10 minutes. For myself I find that it takes me about 30 minutes before I am fully warmed up, at which point I am breathing easily and my body is producing energy rapidly to sustain my routine. At that point I can really push it safely.

Mistake 4: You use bad form

Gyms are filled with people performing exercises with bad form. The two biggest reasons are that you aren't concentrating on the exercise, or you're trying to lift weight that is too heavy. Lifting with improper form almost always results in injury. My advice is often "watch what other people are doing, then don't do that." I have studied exercise for over 15 years and I witness many atrocities done in the name of fitness. There is a right way and wrong way to exercise. Ask yourself, "when I train my chest do I feel it in my chest or front of my shoulders", or, "When I am training my abs do I feel it on my neck", or, "When I am training my legs do I feel it in my knees"? I could go on for a bit here but you get the idea. If you relate to the aforementioned then you need to revisit your technique.

Take the time to achieve proper form or get educated and you'll avoid injury and will reap the full benefit from each exercise.

Mistake 5: You workout alone

People who exercise alone are less challenged, less accountable and typically see fewer results. It makes sense, doesn't it? Why rush to the gym if no one is there waiting for you? Why push yourself if no one is watching? Exercising alone is a recipe for disaster.

The best way to avoid injury and to see results is to work out with a partner, or see a trainer at your gym every so often to stay motivated. David Gilks is the owner of Core Essentials. To contact the Core Essentials team call 390-3160 or go to www.core-essentials.net

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

Albert Einstein


I love this quote by my favourite historical figure. I look at the human organism as this mysterious creature, subjected to the pushes and pull from all variety of stimulus, reacting and responding, growing and dividing.

When did we begin to revile this wonderful work of art? When did we start to hide in the dark, full of self loathing? Fat or skinny, short or tall, you are a masterpiece of nature waiting to be sculpted into whatever you can conceive!

Stay away from your thoughts that you are less than another; rather look to the elegance and patience of nature, who sits calmly awaiting your command.

You are who decided to become, no more or no less. If you wish to become more than you are now, simply think it into being, and those who would assist you will find you. Complain about your lot in life, those who will help keep your down will also arrive to your beckon call, helping to prove that what you think is true.

Funny how powerful the saying is " it's the thought that counts" really is!


David Gilks The Fitness Philosopher