Benton Crane

Okay, the real title of this post should be more along the lines of How I Gained–Then Lost–20 Pounds. I only share it because my method for losing the weight was rather unique and a few of my friends have asked me to share the program.

I left for Portugal as a Mormon missionary in the beginning of 2002. I was 19 years-old and weighed a trim 145 pounds. My body, however, seemed to balloon as I experienced two significant lifestyle changes: my athletic life was all of the sudden limited to walking a few miles everyday, and more significant, I discovered Portuguese breads and pastries–heavenly!

The blunt Portuguese cultural was helpful in alerting me of my ever increasing waist-line; many people started calling me Gordinho which means “little fat one.”

One of my colleagues (I wish I could remember which one) showed me a book that his dad had given him. It was a work-out program used by The Royal Canadian Air Force (which I had no idea exists). It had separate programs for men and women. The men’s workout was a simple 11 minutes per day full-body workout.

Note: I just found the book on Amazon, but it doesn’t go for cheap. I guess used copies start around $42. It’s reviews are really high, so apparently others have had success with it as well.

The jist of the program is simple:

• You do 5 different exercises in 11 minutes. The time allotted for each exercise is 2 min, 1 min, 1 min, 1 min, 6 min respectively.
• There are six work-out charts. Each chart describes how to do the 5 exercises. Chart 1 starts out with simple, even easy, exercises. Each subsequent chart makes slight changes to the exercises so they become gradually more difficult until you reach chart 6 where they are near impossible for anyone but a super-athlete (I made it to chart 5).
• Each chart has 12 levels: D- through A+. Each level tells you how many repetitions you have to complete in the alloted time. You start on chart 1, level D-. You move through one level per day until you complete the chart at which point you move onto the next chart. When you reach a level that you can’t complete you repeat it until you can.

I liked the program because it is fast and requires nothing but a clock. The 6 charts and 12 levels make for a very gradual 72 total levels. In fact, chart 1 is so basic that it hardly feels like you are doing anything for the first two weeks. It gets gradually more difficult until the 11 minutes become very intense.

I didn’t like the program because exercise 3 is always some form of lying on your belly then arching your back and lifting your head and feet off the ground. All my colleagues thought it looked like some hybrid form of Superman and a beached whale–boy did it generate a lot of laughs. However, after trimming down and toning up a bit, a few of them were asking for copies of “The Canuck Program” as they called it.

Here is a pdf copy of my charts (which were photo-copied from my colleague’s book). They’re slightly marked up with the dates that I completed each level. I don’t think posting them violates copyright laws because the book is so long out of print (please let me know if I’m wrong).

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Last fall Ford Motor Co. sent some recruiters to BYU where I was in my senior year. One of the positions they were looking to fill was Financial Analyst. I have no experience or training in finance, but I figured my background in economics coupled with my passion for the automotive industry might make up the difference.

I applied for the position and was selected for an on campus interview. It was my first real job interview so I was pretty nervous. It must have gone at least okay because they invited me to Dearborn, Michigan for their recruitment fair (I can’t remember its official name). I was to be 1 of approximately 150 candidates looking to fill a number of different positions.

Upon arrival in Detroit my driver was waiting, sign in hand, for me at the bottom of the escalators–just like the movies! He took me to the Hilton Hotel across the street from Ford Headquarters. The following day was packed with great meals; rigorous interviews; a tour of the F150 final assembly line; and most importantly, Ford’s proving grounds, The Dearborn Development Center.

As a side note, I was introduced to Motor Trend when I was about 12 years old. I read every issue from cover to cover and even saved them all in a big Rubbermaid tub. I told people my dream job would be Motor Trend driver/writer. As I entered Ford’s proving grounds and saw all the next generation vehicles clad in camouflage, I really felt like that dream was about to be filled. Look at this fact list and imagine these things unfolding before my wide, dreamy eyes.

Dearborn Proving Ground facts:

• 360 acres in Dearborn, Mich., with approximately 25 miles of test roads
• First test track is laid in 1938 around Ford Airport runways. It is actively used as an airport until June 1947.
• Tracks include two oval tracks at 2.8 miles around, a straightaway nearly 1 mile long, a Ride and Handling track 1.1 miles around, two hills with 11 percent to 30 percent grades, a wet skidpad and a variety of test surfaces for development of steering, brakes, NVH, ride and handling, powertrain and durability.
• Test vehicles drive approximately 2 million miles per year.
• Grounds include four wind tunnels, cold test rooms, Automotive Safety Center and Crash Barrier, Product Review Center and two vehicle service garages and offices
• Approximately 800 employees
• Gas station supplies specialty fuels for powertrain calibration and emissions certification.

source:

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Shelby GT500

While the tour of the facility was exciting, it just wouldn’t have meant much without some driving. I got three separate rides. The first was a rather boring circuit in a Fusion (I drove). The next was more exciting–a professional driver took me around a more thrilling circuit in an Edge. Finally, I got a helmet and a seat next to a professional driver in a Shelby GT500. The ride he took me on simply cannot be repeated anywhere but on a track. I’m certain that any description I write won’t do it justice. Instead, check out this clip from Fifth Gear. It’s very similar to what I experienced.

In the end I wasn’t offered a job but I think I will always classify that weekend as an experience of a lifetime.

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