Former Flin Flon Bomber Adam Blackwell is not one to back down from a challenge.
In two different Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League seasons, the Saskatoon product recorded at least 200 penalty minutes. Blackwell has fought professionally in mixed martial arts. Every day he tries to help people lose weight as the owner of Calgary South West Fit Body Boot Camp.
In 2016, Blackwell gained 30 pounds – on purpose.
“I did this because I never gained that kind of weight ever and I truly wanted to feel what it was like to walk in the shoes of my own clients or people who come to see me who have 20 plus pounds to lose,” he said.
To bulk up, Blackwell said he did not eat horribly but rather did not focus on portion size or anything like that.
“Now don’t get me wrong, I did indulge in a lot of my childhood favorite foods like doughnuts, candies, and lots of banana bread,” he said.
Blackwell said it was a lot more difficult to lose the weight than he thought. He went on a strict eating plan. Blackwell portioned out his food and indulged in only a “cheat” meal a week rather than a “cheat” day.
“And then I just focused on my HIIT (high intensity interval training) training like I teach inside my boot camps,” he said. “It’s all athletic training just like I did for hockey, and when I fought as a professional MMA fighter, because that’s what gets the job done to build muscle and shed the fat.”
After playing hockey, Blackwell got into MMA. He said his amateur record is 1-0 and he is 2-1 professionally.
“I love the hard work and dedication it takes to not only do it, but to be good at it,” Blackwell said. “I loved the competition side of it in both training and the actual fights. There’s no feeling like being locked in a cage with one other guy and there’s really only one way out and nowhere to hide. You will never get that feeling anywhere else in the world.”
These days Blackwell focuses on his family. He is married to Ally and has two daughters, Arianna and Naya.
“They are what gets me up every day and makes me smile from morning to night,” Blackwell said.
He has great memories of playing junior hockey, especially in Flin Flon. Blackwell, a forward, played two years in Melfort before coming to the Bombers for his 20-year-old season.
“What I remember the most were the fans and my teammates. The fans were simply amazing. The love I felt when I was there was overwhelming. The group of guys we had on that team was also some of the best guys around. We all clicked well and just had a great time. When you have a team like that it makes the game that much more fun.”
