Everything we do with our clients has to serve a purpose.The foam roll drills and stretches need to facilitate increased mobility. The nutritional plans need to provide the essential nutrients, energy and hydration. And the training plans need to fit the needs, goals and abilities of the individual doing the work.So I'm always curious as to why people go to yoga?A quick google search lead me to healthyyoga.com with the Top 10 Benefits of Yoga. Their list includes:1. Stress Relief 2. Pain Relief 3. Better Breathing 4. Flexibility 5. Increased Strength 6. Weight Management 7. Improved Circulation 8. Cardiovascular Conditioning 9. Focus on the Present 10. Inner Peace***I'll look at 4,5 & 8 below. The rest are fairly subjective and therefore difficult to measure.***There is no doubt that a number of people practice yoga but I'm always curious as to their reasons? I look at everything that our clients do as being beneficial and purposeful.And yoga has me perplexed.Because I hear constantly of the purported benefits of yoga. And especially the benefits it lends to sports performance.In fact there is power yoga which sounds like it would be perfectly suited to athletes that are seeking more power and to move more quickly.But power is the definition of the amount of work done per unit time. And work is equal to a force applied over a distance. So you need to move a substantial force quickly over some distance to train for power. Holding bodyweight poses for extended periods of time hardly meets the criteria for power development.Case in point India has one, count it one, individual gold medal in the history of the Olympics. Ever. And by the way that gold medal came in air rifle. Hardly a sport requiring power. Well, a powerful gun maybe :)In a similar sense to the...

Last week while I was in California I had the chance to meet up some friends, colleagues and fitness celebrities. In particular I had the chance to meet Ronnie Coleman.Ronnie is a former 8-time Mr. Olympia. Here's a pic of meeting him.He had some pretty funny stories to share about how he started working at a pizza place after university then went on to become a cop. And eventually he became the best bodybuilder in the world.And this guy is pretty entertaining. When he trains he is famous for yelling out his catch phrase 'yeah buddy!' before a set in the gym.Now you have to imagine this massive black guy, at nearly 350 lbs in his prime, yelling 'yeah buddy!' in a rather unique and higher pitched voice. It's not Mike Tyson-high but it's definitely not to be confused with Barry White.So last Saturday at our Group Fitness trainin session we had everyone yell out 'yeah buddy!' as I panned the room with the camera.Here's the clip:Saturday Group Fitness TrainingSo what's the point of all this?Well for a number of reasons including:1. Strength in NumbersIt's much easier to doing conditioning sets with others. On this day there were about 20 people out all different ages and abilities. Because of this community everyone was able to push a little harder and do a little more. You may recall on Saturday morning it was snowing. How many from this group would have ventured out had they known they'd be the only one?2. There is No IntimidationOn this day we had NCAA Div 1 and world level podium athletes. Provincial champions. As well as people with Type II diabetes. And joint pain. And a few extra lbs. Some had years of training experience. For others this was their first Saturday workout.It didn't matter what your story was....

Often times when we step foot in the gym it's with the intent at getting better at something.  Maybe we want to accelerate our fat loss goals (a big one at this time of year). Or maybe we want to improve our joint function and move a little bit better. And then sometimes the goal is to perform better. Specifically with respect to sports.And this is my passion. Don't get me wrong it's very satisfying to hear of someone who's had shoulder pain for years tell you how they now sleep through the night because digging their elbow into the mattress to turn over doesn't wake them up anymore. (hello AV!)Or someone else who tells you how their hip pain has improved enough they can finally make a trip to their home country where there was not an unbandance of modern plumbing and thus had to be able to maintain a static deep squat. (BG will vouch for me on this one!)And then there has been countless stories of  the many who have lost pounds and inches off their bodies.  How their confidence and energy are at all time highs and life hasn't been better for them.  These are all the things that make getting up when it's still cold and dark out that much easier.But when it comes to training for performance there's no comparison. That's when it gets fun for me.And here's the interesting thing.Sports performance and sports training are completely different.What?How can that be?Wasn't sports training supposed to be as 'sports-specific' as possible? (I put that term in quotes because it can so many different things to do different people)Actually no.Sports training is quite distinct from sports performance. And here's how.1. Sports performance is on the balls of the feet whereas sports training is on the heels.  Ever...