There are certain things in life that are good for us. For example, as the winter approaches we know the importance of vitamin D and getting exposure to sunlight. Unfortunately, flying to a beach vacation and spending the whole day in the sun may result in sun stroke and sun burn. Another example is drinking water, especially during prolonged, strenuous exercise. Some people are so on top of staying hydrated that they can dilute the salt concentration of their cells to such an extend they hinder performance. Basically the take home message is that too much of good thing can render that good thing, bad. Such is the case with a couple of exercises commonly performed in training programs. The first is the suitcase carry. [caption id="attachment_4985" align="aligncenter" width="245"] If luggage didn't have wheels this is what we'd be doing in airports. This exercise is great because it helps develop grip strength and it allows you to train each side independently.  Targeted muscles include the lats, the quadratus lumborum and medial glutes. To perform effectively you want to select a heavy enough load to reap all the benefits. In terms of your technique we want to walk as straight of a line as possible. Follow the seam on the floor in your gym or imagine walking a tight-rope. The straighter the line you walk, the better. Secondly, you want to walk tall. Look off in the horizon with chest tall and head neutral. Imagine the military 'at attention' look and you've got it. Lastly, and this part is most often messed up, don't collapse sideways under the load in one hand. Both shoulders and hips should be level throughout and the hand shouldn't be collapsed into the side of the body. You don't have to be doing a lateral raise while walking...

It seems like a core training is a staple of every training program regardless of the goal. [caption id="attachment_2968" align="alignleft" width="266"] What many consider a core exercise. Want to address a low back issue? Do more core training. Want to improve your sports performance? do some core drills specific to your sport. Want to tighten up your mid-section? Do some abs-specific core drills. Now I'm not saying this is the best or only way to achieve your goal in these area but that this is what many will default to in order to achieve success. And there are a couple of ways we typically train the core in terms of the plane we are moving in. 99% of our training is in the sagittal (forward and back) plane and so we do: * crunches * reverse crunches * leg raises * roll outs ...you get the point. Many core exercises, and well exercises in general, are designed with a forward and back emphasis. But sometimes we'll add in a side to side core drill targeting the frontal plane. This could include: * side bridging * side crunches/bending/flexing * lateral pulls or lifts Now do you notice anything in common about training in the sagittal or frontal planes? The features in common is that gravity helps to reduce the force. For example, if you were on the ground on your back and tried to sit up gravity works against you and slows down this movement. As well, if you were on your side in a bridge position gravity works against you and makes it difficult to hold a tall position for an extended period of time. However when we move in the rotational plane (think twisting) gravity down not slow down the movement. If I hold a basketball at chest height and...

There are a few staples most people look to include in their workouts regardless of the goal. It doesn't matter if the goal is weight loss, sports performance or rehab everyone recognizes the value of doing some type of core work.In the last few years one core exercise in particular has become more and you're seeing more and more people doing the 'stir the pot' exercise.Why the sudden increase in popularity of this core drill? Well much of the credit has to do with the stamp of approval this exercise got from Dr Stu McGill, the world-reknowed spinal biomechanist from Canada. When Dr McGill speaks on things related to core training people listen. And the sir the pot was one that he was recommending as a way to stabilize the spine and train the core.But besides the endorsement of a top researcher this exercise is also a great choice for a few other reasons:1. It allows for the development of muscular endurance through the core. When performed correctly an individual can gradually build with this drill by adding time or reps to their sets. 2. It helps develop anti-extension strength. While much of the fitness community talks to the need of getting out of the sitting position and performing anti-flexion drills there is also benefit to performing anti-extension drills. This is especially true for people who live in anterior tilt and have low back pain.3. It allows for the progression of the basic plank. Most of us start with planks to develop the core. And this is great. But it seems things go from the basic plank to trying to do fast movements with load. It kind of seems like sometimes we miss a step and the stir the pot fills this gap. It allows us to go from a stable...

If you asked people who work out what is one the most basic bodyweight exercises you can do, what do you think the answers would include? Probably movements like pull-ups, chin-ups, squats, lunges and of course push-ups. If you think about push-ups might be the most common answer as you don't need a bar to grab as for a chin-up or pull-up and lower body training is usually equated with going for a walk or a run. So push-ups could be considered the gold standard of bodyweight training. This makes sense when you think of all the versions that exist of this exercise. You can do regular, hand reset, feet elevated, scapular, shoulder touch, Spiderman, off-set and many more types of push-ups. But there is something that unites all the various types of push-ups. And I don't mean that they are all closed-chain horizontal pressing movements. No, unfortunately the common trait is that they are all  done incorrectly. What? How is that possible? Isn't a push-up simply placing your hands on the ground, setting the feet and then pushing the body away from the ground? Yes, it is but there are a number of other things going on which create problems and undermine many of the benefits that come with doing this exercise. So here are the 3 Most Common Mistakes Made When Doing Push-ups. Check out the video first if you're in a hurry or to get more out of the text. http://youtu.be/sdLsJd0w9bc Mistake #1 - Pecking the Ground Like a ChickenWhen you do a push-up the arms and should be the only parts of the body that are moving. And when the set starts to get a little tough you see the head start pecking the floor like a chicken. Rather than let the head start moving around like...

I remember a number of years ago when I first got started in the training industry. And I attended a fitness conference down in Vancouver. This would be the first time I would get to see and meet Peter Twist, who at the time was the strength & conditioning coach for the Vancouver Canucks. Now Peter was a big advocate of using balance tools in training and incorporated a number of different exercises using stability balls, balance boards and BOSU trainers. And if the novelty of a new training toy wasn't enough to get the average exercise, or athlete for that matter, excited about training I don't know what would. But to make even more enticing we found lots of ways to perform our core training on a balance or stability ball. One of the exercises that came out of this period of training was the stability ball pass from hand to foot. To perform you start in a supine (on your back) position with a stability ball between the feet. The arms are straight and overhead on the ground. The legs are lifted off the ground and the ball is passed to the hands over the trunk. The ball is then reached overhead as the legs are lowered to the ground in a controlled manner. When performed properly this is a great drill. It incorporates hip & shoulder flexion while having to stabilize through the lumbar region. And who doesn't need more hip & shoulder mobility plus core stability, right? This seems like a great drill. Unless of course we compensate when we perform the drill. How do we compensate? Well imagine that your core stability determines how low you can lower your legs towards the ground when they start in a vertical position. A stable core will allow the...

So we've picked up a new toy for the clients of Okanagan Peak Performance Inc. Obviously it's not a toy but a tool. And we can use it for almost everything we need to do with a client. We can train for strength and power with it. We can move it all planes and angles. And we can track loads and watts to be able measure improvements. What is this new tool? It's a Keiser Functional Trainer. Here's a quick video to give you an idea of what it is. http://youtu.be/P3FAFx4E_x0So what makes this trainer so great? I mean, you've probably see cable columns at most commercial gyms before, right? Well the difference is the versatility of the device as well as the ability to train for power. You can use each cable column independently or in tandem. You can use it for lower body and upper body. You can move through any angle and plane and extend the cable out 12 feet. So you can throw on a belt and do resisted cone drils. But the maybe the best feature about the Keiser Functional Trainer is that you can train at a variety of speeds and loads. And you can quantify all of them. Why does this matter? Well imagine using a traditional cable column and performing an explosive movement such as an explosive row. The pin is positioned in the weight stack at a particular load to provide resistance. When a explosive movement is performed on a column of this type the stack crashes into the top of the column. Plus you have no way of knowing how much power you generated. Now not only you not have the problem of the weight stack not crashing into the column at the top but you'll also be able to quantify your power...

I like doing things that maximize my return on something.I like when I sit down with Ben and he points out an investment strategy that saves me money in one area and makes me more in another.I like when you are travelling somewhere foreign and a local gives you some inside knowledge to save time, beat the crowds and have an overall better experience.And when I'm training I like to find small tweaks and changes we can make that give me better results for my efforts on the gym floor.Basically I guess if you had to sum it up I really like efficiency and getting a great return on investment. And the opposite of this would be spinning your wheels or worse going backwards.And the best ways to increase your return and get better results is through finding modifications to the things you are doing already.Sure it's great to learn that working out another hour per day will allow you to burn an extra 500 calories. But wouldn't you be more excited to find ways to burn those extra calories without extra time or effort? I know I would.And that's what today's topic has to do with. Not burning calories in this case but spinal stabilization and core development.Here's how it works.When most people who go to the gym and workout, core training is one of the most popular elements included in their programs.And those who are well informed know that there more potential for core development by lifting a load with optimal technique than there is to do endless crunches on a stability ball.But here's where it gets interesting.Our core works harder at the ends of our range of motion. In other words when our extremities are further from our center we have to work harder to stabilize in order to...