Recently we held a power-lifting meet at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc. Below are the results of this lifting meet as well as some benefits of testing your lifts.Before we get to the results of the meet it is important to understand why we held this lifting competition. My goals and some of the main reasons were:1. To see where we're atHere's an analogy I like to use as to the benefits of testing.Imagine you want to go to Vancouver and you're starting out in Kelowna. But you don't know where Kelowna and couldn't pin it on a map.What are the chances you will reach your goal of getting to Vancouver? Probably not very good. And if you do make it what are the chances it was the most direct and efficient way of getting there? Again, probably not very good.When we test our lifts we set a starting point. We know where we are. We know what the next goal should be. We know how long it will take to get there. And we have a good idea of the most efficient way to achieve success.Given this is all common sense and fairly obvious isn't it surprising the number of people who train but don't test themselves?2. To identify weak linksI'm a big believer in addressing weak links. If weak links are ignored they come back o haunt as bigger, more painful problems.When we test our lifts we push ourselves to the limit. This exposes our weak links and lets us know what we need to do to improve.For example, for some people they missed their bench press as they couldn't lock out and complete the press. For this individual some more triceps training or rack presses would help overload the finishing portion of the lift to eliminate this weak link.3. To...

Hey guys! Megan here again, which can only mean one thing… time for another spotlight on one of our clients here at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc. How many of you have used an illness or an injury as a crutch to get yourself out of going to the gym?  I know there are a few of you out there; because even I have been there in the past.  Well, there is one girl I know that didn’t let anything get in the way of her weight loss.  But I’ll let her take over now to you her story. Take it away Danielle. My name is Danielle Sambrielaz and I graduated from Immaculata Regional High School in Kelowna in 2011. I am currently at the University of British Columbia – Okanagan in my second year. -I’m only 19. I love languages and political science, and I am doing a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with a minor in Spanish literature. I am planning on going on an exchange to Nottingham, England in my third year. I have struggled with weight loss for a long time. I just felt that I could not lose weight! I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2008 and after my surgery I thought my weight would become normal again. That was not the case! I was diagnosed with another medical condition that prevented me from losing weight, but the problem is that losing weight can also cure it! I had tried different types of gyms around Kelowna in the past, but nothing really worked. My mom (Lia) and brother (Gio) started going to this gym called Okanagan Peak Performance Inc., and it sounded very intense. My mom asked me if I wanted to come try the gym out, because my doctor told me I had to lose weight....

Do you remember one of the things many teachers would say at the beginning of the year? You know when everyone is new to a class and nobody feels comfortable to ask a question? And even when the teacher would put a question to the students everyone would stay quiet. And so at a certain point the teacher would say questions are great because usually there is someone else thinking the same thing. This is the inspiration for this post. Hopefully the content helps a number of you as well with your training. Let's get at it. The other day Joanne K. was doing front squats and mentioned that often feels restricted in the hips. I say hips plural because she mentioned that the restriction alternates between right and left depending on the day. [caption id="attachment_3037" align="alignleft" width="200"] Psoas, one of the hip flexors So here's what we did.First of all I took a look at Joanne's squat pattern. This involves looking all sides and examining for alignment, depth and symmetry. What stood out was there was a slight collapse of the left knee. Now we had something to address. First we had her foam roll the left adductor followed by an exercise to activate the left external hip rotator. For this we used a banded clam shell exercise. This took all of about 5 minutes, or less, to do. When Joanne retested her squat she said it was substantially better without a pinching at the hip. But what about the fact the issue seemed to alternate from right to left depending on the day? Well first we'll assume the warm-up and training is performed in a balance matter. Then the other thing to examine is activities of daily living which may contribute to this imbalance. In this situation we discovered...

For the last little while we, the coaches at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc, have been working with some students from a school here in Kelowna.But this isn't like your typical school. Sure it has teenagers, who wear uniforms and leave the changeroom looking like a bomb went off when they get changed.No this school is unique in that the students are from everywhere other than Kelowna. They are from Ontario and the prairies. From Alberta and the lower mainland. And all parts in between.But where home is at isn't what unites these students, in fact it actually distinguishes them. No the common denominator here is that these students have all faced some challenges in their short years on this planet. For many of them their challenge may have been substance abuse.The other unique feature of this program is that sometimes these don't know they are coming to this school and program. As with all children and minors there is a parent or guardian who looks out for their best interests and sometimes that involves making the decision to send them to this school.So sometimes when these students arrive at this school, and they didn't know they were coming here, they may be some resistance on their part regarding buying into the process. They may actually act like teenagers and rebel. Crazy, right? Teenagers that don't want to do what what their parents, teachers or guardians want them to do.But not only are they sometimes here reluctantly they may also have done damage to their health by the lifestyle they have been following. Healthy living, proper nutrition and exercise aren't front of mind for these kids. And now they've been sent to a school they didn't know they were going to, away from their friends, against their will. And since for some...

Matt Baumeister Final Blog PostHi everyone,Matt here again. Here I go, writing to you for one last time. As many of you know, I will soon be starting another phase of my life as I travel to Vancouver to begin a Master’s degree program in Physiotherapy. As I write this final column, I can’t help but stop and reflect on some of the great times and learning experiences I have had over the past year. Working alongside such a great mentor as Chris has been a fabulous learning opportunity, and has undoubtedly made me a better and more balanced professional. Perhaps my fondest memory will be of our 80’s workout themed Halloween dress-up day! Simply legendary would be an apt way to describe it.And who could forget those two lovely ladies – Megan and Jordy? Although I have yet to receive any frozen remuneration from a certain Dairy Queen Heiress (who shall invariably remain nameless) I am indebted to each of these girls for the support and encouragement they have provided me every step of the way.In addition to reflecting upon my colleagues and mentors, I also find myself reflecting on my own work as well. If you take anything from this blog - or from me for that matter, I hope to be thought of as a kind, smart and encouraging trainer who had an affinity for dubiously short-shorts and an ever present love for styling his hair. And, perhaps something should be mentioned about an unquenchable thirst for Arizona Ice Tea here as well.Of course, who could forget all of you? Yes you, the clients of this great facility, the life-blood of any fitness community. In the past year I have come to know many of you much better and in turn each of you have no doubt made...

Do you have a fitness goal that you've been working towards for a while?If it's a weight loss goal you've probably tried different approaches. You may have tried a new training program. Maybe you switched up your nutritional plan. Perhaps you tried a new supplement to boost your workouts or enhance the fat burning process.And if you're like most people you probably have only so many tweaks you can make to your lifestyle in an attempt to achieve your goal before you just throw in the towel and give up. I mean that's a common theme on the after-noon talk shows isn't it? The attitude that it's not your fault, that you're an amazing person just the way you are and all the other warm & fuzzy psycho babble that is used to justify falling short of your goal.Now don't get wrong here. I understand there are a number of factors that contribute to an individual's propensity to gain weight and subsequent ability to lose it as well. And unless we have a blood and hormone profile to work with it may be quite difficult for some to drop weight without knowing the information that can be collected from such tests.But maybe we're going about this the wrong way?Maybe instead of trying harder we need to relax our efforts a bit.What? How does this make sense? How can relaxing the nutritional and exercise efforts you are making be holding you back from having the lean and healthy physique you would like to have?Look at it this way.A new exercise and fitness routine can be thought of as juggling.Ask someone to reduce the calorie containing beverages they consume and they may be able to handle this. (more on this in a bit)Now ask them to take omega-3 every day, plan and pack...

Hey! How’s it going? It’s Megan here and I’ve got a great success story to share with you. This story is about Lorie Talarico and she has realized some amazing results over the last bit with her training. You know Lorie, right? Out side of working full time as a beauty consultant at The Bay, Lorie likes to read in her spare time, do embroidery and in the summer spends lots of time gardening. Now before I get to telling everything Lorie has achieved in a short amount of time I should back up and give you the background. You see Lorie was someone who first came to us to see Chris and Okanagan Peak Performance Inc for advice. “Actually, you could say that pain brought me to see you guys. Between getting hit by a truck while out walking and then ending up with sciatica, which is 24/7 pain, I felt I needed help. My goal was just to get and feel better.” Maybe you can relate to Lorie in sharing these same challenges such as getting into an accident or having injuries, low back pain, or feeling intimidated, having an illness or something else standing in the way of optimal health? But even though Lorie had these challenges before her, she still had the goal of getting stronger and being able to move better and freely without pain. “Wow in the beginning I could barely move and getting down to start warm up exercises was very painful and humbling, as I could not get up with out assistance. It was tough to go to every class but I knew I had to get back into good condition. I had to deal with vertigo, back and hip pain and weakness in all of my muscles. The other challenge was how...

Last Saturday we held another powerlifting contest at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc. Here's a quick recap of the day and two quick lessons that will help you improve your lifts. The one interesting thing about our powerlifting contests is how casual they are. We have the music playing. Everyone is joking around. And everyone is wearing triple layers of everything as it is -18 C outside. But once we get started we look forward to seeing who can lift what for deadlift, bench press, squat and 3 rep chin up. And it's always fun when friends and family come by to watch. One of them observed a successful deadlift, which involves picking a bar up off the ground and standing up with it, and commented 'now what?' Yes, it's true powerlifting may not impress everyone but it's still a great way to see where you're at. And besides seeing where you've made gains with your lifts you also learn quite a bit about the lifts themselves. Lesson #1 - Sticking Points ExposedFor example, you learn your sticking points. This is the part of the lift where the bar seems to stop moving and either leads to an unsuccessful attempt or results in spending an excessive amount of energy in order to complete the rep. Let's consider the bench press. If someone were able to press the bar off their chest but not be able to lock out the lift it may be that they lack triceps strength which is crucial for extending the arms and finishing a press. Maybe some isolated triceps training would help this person complete the rep more easily and push through to new gains. Or it could be that someone is able to pull a deadlift to mid-shin but lacks the glute and low back strength to...

Hey! How’s it going? It’s Megan here and I’ve got a great success story to share with you. This story is about Rick and he has realized some amazing results over the last bit with his training. You know Rick, right? [caption id="attachment_3930" align="alignleft" width="300"] Rick drops 30 lbs, 3% bodyfat and 10 inches. He is usually in at 7am for group and works at Venture Academy. Besides that he is also a husband, an outrigger paddler and works a few different jobs, and that makes the results he has achieved even more impressive. Now before I get to telling everything Rick has achieved in a short amount of time I should back up and give you the background. You see Rick was someone who has always struggled with maintaining a healthy body weight. “I have really experienced the body weight "roller coaster".  At 6'1", I hit 265lbs in 2005 and again reached almost to 260lbs in the summer of 2013.  On the other hand, I was 205lbs at the end of 2006 and held around 215lbs until getting injured in 2010. The first time, before I started running in 2005, it was a visit to "Michelangelo's Restaurant" in Seattle the night before my brother ran the Seattle Marathon.  Essentially, the waiter called me fat.  In retrospect, and especially compared to the three skinny marathoners at the table, he was right.” “My biggest challenge was walking in the door the first time.  I admit I felt intimidated - OPP is a "REAL GYM"!!!  I've done the Y and community center facilities, but that was mostly just circuit machines. Real, high-performance athletes train at OPP and I was nervous. But, the staff has always been very welcoming and helped me overcome my nerves.  Since then, I have faced two challenges.  The first...

When Canada Day comes around every July 1 there are a number of thoughts that come to mind. Things such as the day off work, hot weather, going to the beach and fireworks are all associated with our national holiday. But when it comes to thinking about our great country there are many ways to feel grateful and blessed for being born, growing up and living in Canada. Because sometimes I can get a little worked about how we can take what we have for granted. For example, who has heard the expression the 'EI ski team'? I mean it's great that we have programs in place to help people out when they need it but often times there is abuse of these programs. Or we hear of people complaining of how disadvantaged they are. How they feel like they are owed something. How they won't vote because all politicians are criminals anyways so what's the point? These kinds of attitudes drive me crazy. We live in a country of such abundance, opportunity and wealth that I really don't have any time for people that want to live in a world of 'woe is me' and constant complaining. And so it is refreshing to meet someone who loves what we have here in Canada. Someone who recognizes opportunity and is willing to work to get ahead. And strangely enough this person is not even from Canada. It was probably a few years ago that I met Magnus at a friend's party. And I can remember the guy smiling the whole time and having a blast. And I learned he was from Germany and used to be a professional snowboarder. I have gone up to Big White with him and witnessed first hand the crazy stunts and tricks he pulls off flying...

Hey! How’s it going? I hope you're doing well as I’ve got a great success story to share with you. This story is about Darlene Sunderland and she has realized some amazing results over the last bit with her training. You know Darlene, right?  She usually trains with group at 6am. If you can’t put a face to the name, she’s the one whose chanting AH CHA CHA CHA or dancing to the Black Eyed Peas in between sets. Besides that she is also very dedicated to her partner, her job and running ½ marathons.  Darlene is a great example of someone who is willing to put in the work to get what she wants. She’ll work a nightshift until 7 am and still meets us to run sand dunes at 730 am. She’s well deserving of the results she has achieved here with us. Now, before I get to telling you everything Darlene has achieved in a short amount of time I should back up and give you the background. I’ll let Darlene take over here for a bit. “I live a pretty boring life, but I love what I do and my life. I enjoy going for long hikes with my dogs, running, traveling, learning and spending time in the wild. I also have this newfound love for running up hills. Some may call me crazy because I also really enjoy cleaning my house. I find cleaning to be very therapeutic. I guess overall, I love to stay busy. Rock Your Jeans Got Her StartedIt was a chain reaction on how I rolled through the Okanagan Peak Performance Inc doors (no pun intended).  My partner is a member of OPP, and I kept noticing a change in her fitness level & health since she joined and wished that I...

Have you ever the expression 'success leaves clues'? Even if you haven't heard of this one you are probably familiar with some version of it that has to do with modelling the traits of successful people. And while this list applies specifically to results in the gym you could very easily substitute the title to emphasize to entrepreneurs or something else and the same traits would apply. So with that in mind here are 13 Traits of Those Achieving the Best Results in the Gym. 1. They look for solutions not excusesClients that achieve the best results look for ways to be successful. When they are injured they ask what they can still do rather than list off all the reasons they can't train. If they have a food allergy they seek out alternative ways to satisfy nutrition requirements rather than opting for lower quality & convenient options. When they travel they run stairs in the hotel, do core or mobility drills in their hotel room or swim in the pool. 2. They bring a positive attitudeHave you ever trained when Darlene, Kimberly or Gary are in? I don't think I've ever seen them have a bad day. They're always smiling. They introduce themselves to others. They even sing in the early AM before the speakers come on. And guess what? There is a correlation hormonally between being happy, having less cortisol (or less stress hormone) and being able to get quality sleep, lose body-fat and get great results. ***btw I could list many more names of the amazing clients we get to work with but you get the point*** 3. They planHere's another expression you may be familiar with...'Prior Planning Prevents P*&% Poor Performance. And it refers to planning. Everything. You have to know when your training sessions are. What you will...

Hey! How’s it going? It’s Megan here and I’ve got a great success story to share with you. This story is about Louise Fisher and she has realized some amazing results over the last bit with her training. You know Louise, right? She is usually in at the 830 or 930 group classes every day. Louise is very much involved with her business and every other week heads off to Calgary to manage their head office. Besides that she is also a mother of 3, and a grandmother to 2 young boys, which makes the results she has achieved even more impressive. Now before I get to telling you everything Louise has achieved in a short amount of time I should back up and give you the background. You see Louise was someone who came in wanting to lose 10 pounds and tone and strengthen her body. Her friend Annette mentioned the first RYJ program to her and asked if she was interested. She was reluctant to try it as it was outside of her comfort zone and, knew she would have to weigh herself. Maybe you can relate to Louise in sharing these same challenges such as feeling intimidated, stepping outside of your comfort zone with the training, or something else standing in the way of optimal health? “The biggest obstacle I've discovered is myself, I have learned that I can do most of what I set my mind to and if a certain exercise is too hard, or I perceive that it is something I can't do, I look around the gym and find inspiration with the other ladies working through their own hurdles. It's very motivating to work as a group and everyone is very encouraging.”But even though Louise had these challenges before her, she still had the goal...

Every summer we see a number of hockey players come back to Kelowna and return to Okanagan Peak Performance Inc for their off-season hockey training. These players want to get to the next level, to produce at the highest level and finally to have a lengthy career at the highest level. This summer we welcomed back a number of players who had played professionally, played in & won at the Spengler Cup and played at the World Championships. But also had a number of younger players training with us. One in particular was Alex Swetlikoff. [caption id="attachment_4680" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Alex Swetlikoff Now it might not be easy to recognize Alex underneath his helmet and gear but maybe this will help. He is the son of Dr. Garrett and Tammy Swetlikoff and attended KCS in Kelowna while playing bantam hockey.When he's at the gym he always goes about his workout. He comes in grabs his program, warms up and gets to it. And he finishes every workout the exact same way. He seeks me no matter where I am in the gym, comes over and shakes my hand saying 'thanks Chris'. It's always been this way over the years we've been working with Alex. It all started probably about 5 or so years ago when training a number of young hockey players. Besides Alex there was Gio Sambrielaz who stood about a foot taller than Alex as he was a couple of years younger. Fast forward to this summer and Alex has grown and matured to the point where he is now going to venture away to play hockey in the Fraser Valley. This coming year Alex will suit up for the Yale Academy Lions of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League as a second year bantam. Other teams in this league include...