So team Okanagan Peak Performance Inc has just returned from Long Beach, CA where we attended the Perform Better conference. This is an incredible event with many of the top experts in our industry presenting over 3 days in sunny California. Here are our take-aways from who we got the chance to see. Dr. Stu McGill - Mechanisms and Training Techniques Used for Elite Performance and Painful Backs: Cause, Corrective Exercises and Progressions to Performance Dr. McGill is one of the leading spinal bio-mechanists in the world and it's really cool that he's from Canada. Often times if you have the chance to see a presenter that is a leader in the field of research they are great at giving lectures where they present their findings. But put them in a fitness setting however and ask them to lead a hands-on where they incorporate their theory into actual demonstrations and they become lost. This is not the case with Dr. McGill. His lectures are excellent and his hands-on presentations match this quality as well. A few of the key take-aways from his presentations include: * lots of split stance lunges or squats may not be appropriate for everyone* when the core fires there is a double action which he described as 'setting the stone' and 'bringing the hammer'* the best athletes in the world are great not because they can activate a muscle faster than the rest but because they can turn it down faster than everyone else* with this idea of activating muscles McGill used the analogy of a dimmer rather than a regular light switch to indicate muscles being more or less activated rather than on or off Dr. Greg Rose - Developing Power for Rotary Athletes If you watch the Golf Channel you may be familiar with Dr....

Normally I write the majority of the blog posts. But every now and again I like to step back and let someone else take the lead. I encourage our staff to do this as much as possible. Write, that is.  In school I was never a very good writer and I'm sure there's a few of you that are thinking to yourselves 'you still aren't very good!' That's ok. I'm working on it. And I'm getting better. And this helps me to be a better communicator. And hopefully a better coach. So I want the same for our team. Today I step aside and let Jordy share with you her experience from the Perform Better Summit in Long Beach, CA. Now in my best Tonight Show impression....'heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Jordy! The Okanagan Peak Performance crew and I went to a 3-day “Perform Better: Functional Training Summit” that took place in Long Beach, California from August 9-11. This conference included both lecture and hands-on sessions allowing us to not only listen to the speakers, but also take their information in our own hands. There were four sessions on at one time; two lectures and two hands on. However, the only problem with this is choosing which session to attend.Do you go to the “one and only” Charlie Weingroff who was explaining “Joint Centration”, or do you go to Martin Rooney for some hands-on “Energy System Training”? After a few rounds of flipping a coin, I ended up attending the hands-on session with Martin Rooney and would crown this session as one of my favorites! I love any kind of hands-on sessions where you get to move and stay active while learning and applying it to your own clients. The best part of this session was the energy that Martine Rooney brought to the room! You...

Summer time at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc means a number of things. It can mean the arrival of the hockey players we work with. It can mean the return of a summer intern. And it can mean school is in session. Not literally though as summer is the time students are off from school. But more in terms of the staff at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc going to school. This summer has been no different. Here's a quick recap of where we've been for learning. NSCA State Clinic - Spokane, WAHeading to Spokane for a conference is always fun as I 'm able to reconnect with some college buddies. If you're in the area go see Dan and his staff at the Laguna Cafe. Try the Irish Death beer. I hear it's good. In early June Jordy, Megan & I packed up and headed south to Spokane for the NSCA Washington State Clinic. We would have been four but one of the interns forgot his passport and had to stay home. Interns... A few years ago I had the opportunity to see Dr. Dale Canavan provide a review of the literature with respect to stretching. Knowing the quality of his own presentations I felt confident he would put on a great event this year. We weren't disappointed. Sessions included topics on dynamic warm-ups, sprint training and training the high school athlete. As this all took place at a training facility called U District it was nice to have access to some turf and room to move for the hands-on portion. U District is located in the Gonzaga University district and thus the name. Personally there were a couple of highlights of this clinic. First was Ryan Hite's presentation on speed training. He did a great job on defining the various energy systems...

Over the next couple of weeks we're going to be setting a new standard for fitness education in the Okanagan.What do I mean by that?Well we are sending four of our team to California for a 3 day event in Long Beach that's one of the best in our industry. And this is unique because I doubt anyone else from the Okanagan will be there. But the fantastic foursome of Jordy, Megan, Jeremy and myself are going to getting our geek on to learn as much as possible.I'm so proud that our team is going to learn at this event because it demonstrates our commitment to life long learning. This business is so dynamic that we are quickly learning new things about the body and nutrition which changes the prescription we have for our clients. It is not simply change for the sake of change but a constant quest to seek better results in less time.And that's what this is all about. To get you the best results in the least amount of time by applying evidenced based solutions. We want to be your fitness advisors and seek out the absolute best resources and information for you.That's how I truly think about this. You are all my bosses. And I take investing in your health and fitness extremely seriously. Here's what I mean.Before the event I research all the possible combinations of presentations and lectures and select the topics most applicable to your goals. Once we have the selection of topics I then divide the topics amongst the staff so that we can attend as many presentations as possible. Because we take thorough notes we are then able to teach other what was discussed in the presentations we all weren't able to attend.We also make sure to sit through all the presentations. This...

Local Olympian to Open Okanagan Strength & Conditioning Conference FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Kelowna, BC – June 19, 2012) Local Olympic medallist Chris Le Bihan will open the Okanagan Strength & Conditioning Conference and provide the welcoming address. Le Bihan, who won bronze in four man bobsled at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, will speak as to the impact top-level training methods and scientific research allowed for his success at the Olympics.Notes conference co-host Chris Collins, of Okanagan Peak Performance Inc.; “Typically we associate Olympic legacies with the facilities which remain after the Games. In this case with Le Bihan, we have a real life legacy that interacts with our clients and athletes on a daily basis. He exemplifies what an Olympic athlete should be and is a great mentor for those seeking elite athletic performance.”Okanagan Peak Performance Inc. will be hosting this inaugural event bringing to Kelowna some of the top experts in athletic strength & conditioning. Following Le Bihan’s welcoming address attendees will have the unique opportunity to learn from the best in the field of strength & conditioning.Presenters will include: Dr. Charlie Weingroff – Noted physical therapist, former NBA      strength coach, Nike Sparq Training Human Movement Expert Dr. Martin Gibala – Professor McMaster University, emphasis in high      intensity interval training Dr. Jeff Cubos – Chiropractic sports specialist, certified strength      coach, specialization in core stabilization Joel Jamieson – MMA trainer, specialist in managing athletic      training stress & recovery Sean Skahan – Strength & conditioning coach with the Anaheim      Ducks, 2007 Stanley Cup, 9 players in the 2010 OlympicsAttendees will range from personal trainers, strength & conditioning coaches, athletic trainers, therapists, medical professionals, sports coaches and sports enthusiasts. In addition to the presentations attendees will have opportunities to meet Le Bihan and the presenters during meal...

One of the things we really put an emphasis on at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc. is education. I talked about this many times before and the number of different ways we look to further our education and involvement with students.Recently I announced that we would be hosting the Okanagan Strength & Conditioning Conference. This two day event will bring in some of the top practitioners and researchers in our industry. And I say practitioners and researchers because these are people working in the trenches working with clients on a day to day basis. Or they are performing novel cutting-egde research that allows the rest of us to have a better insight as to what methods work better or ellicit a result sooner.So we feel very fortunate to have these guys coming not only to our region but to our facility. While there may be a day or two in August where our regular coaching or programming is altered to account for this opportunity please know that you will benefit immensely from the enhanced knowledge our staff will gain.If you are a fitness professional, coach, trainer, physiotherapist, massage therapist, chiropractor, physician or anyone else that trains or rehabs clients, you should attend this event.The registration page www.strengthconference.com is now open. Besides two days of presentations and learning we are also hosting an evening social and including some of the meals for the attendees. Register before June 1 for the lowest possible rate.Besides this conference we are hosting we are also going to start something else that new for our area and of special benefit to our members.How many times have you heard one of our coaches make reference of a book, study, recipe or something else and wished you had a pen and paper to make note of the reference?Maybe you have a...

Recently Alexandra and I drove down to Seattle with Jordy and Megan for a one day clinic put on by Perform Better. At this particular event we were lucky to catch the following four presenters: Rachel Cosgrove Charlie Weingroff Gray Cook Alwyn Cosgrove Mike Boyle was scheduled to present but I can imagine his new position with the Red Sox probably limits his time and availability to participate in these events. So Gray Cook filled in for him. Are you familiar with Gray Cook? If not it's like saying Crosby is not available for the shootout but Ovechkin can fill in for him. Kudos to Perform Better for providing a fill-in such as Gray. And lucky for all of us in attendance. But let's get to what they all talked about. 1. Rachel Cosgrove -  Designing Fat Loss Programs For Your Female Clients The big take aways from Rachel's presentation was the level of system development that exists at Results Fitness which she owns with her husband Alwyn. Better systems allows for better results. She went into detail showing the breakdown of what an hour session looks like at her gym and provided a number of examples of factors that are unique to training women. For example there should be consideration of prone exercises, jumping exercises, time of month (menstruation) and time of their life (menopause) when training women. 2. Charlie Weingroff  - Understanding Joint Centration If you've seen Charlie speak before you'll know what a treat it is to learn from him. And while he's great online and on podcasts etc he's such an energetic personality you really do need to see him in person. Click at the end of this sentence to see Charlie in Kelowna this summer www.strengthconference.comWhat is joint centration? Well I hope I'm doing Charlie justice by describing...

One thing we put a high priority on at Okanagan Peak Performance is education. We have summer interns who come work with us during the summer. We subscribe to relevant journals and trade publications. Staff are paid for the journals and articles they read each week.We put on seminars for our clients every few months. And of course we travel far and wide to learn from the best.So how do we improve on that?We bring the best to us, that's how.And who do we mean by the best anyway? Well bringing in 5 top level speakers from across North America. This list includes:Dr. Charlie Weingroff - I first saw Charlie speak last year in Seattle and I was immediately impressed. He stole the show. His presentations are a great mix of both interesting and useful. He has a great sense of humour and fields questions from the audience like a pro. Besides the fact he is one super smart dude he is also an accomplished powerlifter putting up a 1915 lbs total for his squat, deadlift and bench. Unbelievable!Want more? How about the fact he was the strength and conditioning coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA, has his doctorate in physical therapy and trained the special forces the United States Marines. Wow!Dr. Martin Gibala -In our industry there are a number of research papers that constantly get quoted by those of us who want to appear really smart and show what we know. Just kidding. But Dr. Gibala's research is commonly referenced when you are talking about high intensity exercise, EPOC and other exercise related topics. As well, it turns out Olympian Adam vanKoeverden thinks pretty highly of this guy as well. I still can't believe we're going to have him here.Joel Jamieson -Have you heard of this thing called...