Monday’s Movers – Richard Tardif and Stop The Denial

I first met Richard a little over a year ago when I was exploring the possibility of growing a local lifestyle magazine. He is the Executive Director of the QCNA, a group that oversees the success of most of the English & bilingual publications in Quebec. I came for some advice and guidance from the expert on the subject of journalism in Quebec and got so much more than I asked for, I got a mentor and friend. That first conversation was scheduled for thirty minutes and lasted well over three hours. We talked about the magazine concept, the state of journalism today, Montreal’s business atmosphere, and a load of our interests. In this last part, Richard revealed decades long passion that was still growing stronger by the day. You see, Richard has been a fitness journalist for most of his writing career and a personal event a few years back propelled him into some self-evaluation and germinated the seeds of an amazing book idea. Thus was Stop the Denial born.  But first, a little more about Richard.

If any of you have ever had the pleasure of hanging out at Grumpy’s or Ziggy’s in the 80s, you would have met a laudable group of writers I like to call The Curmudgeons. Actually, at least one of them may have called himself that as well. These were the Montreal journalists and writers who drank midday Bourbon’s on ice and smoked the room so full that the fire alarms needed to be turned off, and they discussed everything about the world they lived in! Montreal treasures, Terry Mosher, Murray Sheriff, and a few of the more seasoned media personalities today (e.g. Terry DiMonte) might remember what it must have been to witness an argument between luminaries such as Mordecai Richler and Peter Gzowski, along with many others. I can picture Richard, had he been born a decade earlier would have been right in there and arguing along with them. He is what I picture an old world journalist would be, honest about everyone else, forthrightly opinionated, irascible, and committed to getting the story right! As with all these endearing grumps, there is a very visible and massive heart being shared with others. Richard, like these many others, lives in the service of others and it is one key to his successes.

While he may cringe at my previous run-on paragraph, he has shared with me more tips on writing than I can ever thank him for. He has gently and enthusiastically taught me techniques to stay healthier and keep my writer’s ass from dying. Richard is extensively knowledgeable about the benefits of healthy eating, mental wellness, and regular exercise, but he sees all this as more than the glimmer popular media wants us to see. He sees it as realizable habits for those of us living the busy “50+ years” lifestyle. He gifted me the task of reading and reviewing his soon to be released book, asking me to look for any spelling mistakes one might oversee when re-reading their own work for the hundredth time. What he didn’t ask for was that I keep an open mind on the subject, much less to change my understanding, perception, and habits. Much to my delight, I have done those anyway!

Beyond the deeply personal anecdotes and the loving respect for the people he writes about, there are so many simple tips on being well. So beautifully explained that I found myself very often uttering that aha moment statement: “Hunh, that makes so much sense!” Then, to my further surprise, I got down and tried his suggestions, with the immediate results of a clear mind and fewer aches. We all know about the excuses we make to avoid working out. Even the image of working out makes me cringe, but doing a hip raise doesn’t sound so bad, and I can do it in the privacy of my own home. With a matter of fact humor and non-lecturing style, he lets us know all the benefits of this simple exercise, all the muscles that are activated by the butt lifting and how much blood gets pumped through our bodies thanks to activating the biggest muscle we have, our ass! If that wasn’t enough, he lets us know that most of us have dead butts from sitting on them all day. Who wants to think they have a dead ass? That doesn’t sound sexy at all!

Excuse me for a second, I need to reanimate my dead ass! … 48, 49, 50 lifts! Aahhh, that’s much better!

The book is packed with more delicious stories tied to teaching fitness and wonderfully compelling exercises that are habit forming, in the right direction. He gives even more in elaborating on the teachings of other fitness trainers and thought leaders, then tying them into important mental & emotional wellness concepts and motivational techniques. (Time for a blatant plug.) I strongly recommend reading the book to get them all. You can peruse some of Richard’s wisdom on his blog, and I strongly suggest we all keep an eye out for the new release coming soon. Ps: I will be announcing it all over my network starting here on my blog!!!

Richard Tardif is a passionate and experienced personal trainer, specializing in helping the over 50 crowd, but he regularly works with other specialists and his personal approach is beneficial for anyone needed to kickstart their journey to fitness and wellness. He has over thirty years experience as a fitness and wellness journalist to back all his academic knowledge and a very healthy cynicism towards the Health Industry. He also has a very loyal following of clients for whom he’s helped develop wellness lifestyles they live daily, some of them are in his book too.

So keep your eyes peeled for the launch of the new book and make sure to get it. The truth is right in front of us, and we are the ones in denial about real fitness. We can change that now and it is much easier than you think. So embrace your inner-journalist, see that you are able to be healthier than you think, and you won’t have to spend the day in a sweaty gym to do it. Unless, you want the sweaty gym, but I now know there are much better ways to save my ass from dying. Thank you, Richard, for your passion, professionalism, and personal approach to fitness. Your book is a pleasure to read and you made it easy to live the wisdom you’ve shared. I am excited to see how it will change more people when it’s published.

The conclusion of the book leaves us with two encouragements:

1 – “We all know what fit and healthy is.”

2- “I’m not letting the government off the hook, that’s for the next book”

Richard Tardif is the coach we all need: a compassionate and knowledgeable defender of what’s right for us. Get in the same corner and get ready to benefit from his teachings.

You can contact Richard Tardif, get tips on fitness, and see progress on the publishing dates of the upcoming book on his blog: Never Better Now – Embrace The Fitness.

Or on Social Media at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RichTardif

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/richard.tardif

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardtardif2/

Humbly yours,

Mario MJ Perron