Did you ever take chemistry in school? If so, you may remember something known as the rate limiting step. What this means is that when there's a chemical reaction the speed of the reaction may be limited by a particular element. Increasing the concentration of this element allows the entire reaction to happen more quickly. [caption id="attachment_5569" align="aligncenter" width="300"] With the 3 pours, the first funnel will be limited, followed by the middle series and then the 3rd series of funnel. The flow rate in each is limited by the smallest funnel. It's important to know the rate limiting or determining step because then we know where our efforts will generate a better result. Let's look a different example to see how this works. Imagine a busy restaurant that measures each day's success by the number of tables turned over. There will be a maitre-d, a hostess, a server, sous-chefs, head-chefs, bussers and dishwashers. If the dishwasher doesn't show up for work eventually the plates pile up and there will no clean plates to set a new table. Everything backs up at this point. And it doesn't matter if everyone else does a little bit more because the dishes are still piling up, not getting washed and tables are not getting turned over. We can know appreciate that when we're looking to achieve a goal there may be something that limits the outcome. With sprinting for example, we know there are contributions from the lower body joints i.e. the ankle, knee and hip. When walking there is a contribution from each of these joints. As we progress from walking to sprinting is the increased role of these joints proportional? Or are certain joints prioritized? A recent study looked to answer this question. Researchers looked at the involvement of the ankle, knee...

This year Immaculata High School added a Sports Academy program for volleyball, soccer and basketball. And Okanagan Peak Performance Inc has been helping out with the strength and conditioning for this program. This morning we spent a good portion of the training session working on speed. And there a number of cues for speed to apply to almost every sport. Below are a number of things that were shared with the athletes to improve their speed 1. Knee Up - Toe Up One of the biggest factors that distinguish a runner from a sprinter is the degree of knee lift. The best sprinters in the world will flex the knee and hip to lift the frontside leg. [caption id="attachment_5282" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Knee up toe up on the front side leg. Runners on the other hand have minimal frontside knee and hip flexion. [caption id="attachment_5286" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Runners have less knee lift compared to sprinters. As for the toe up position this is what we refer to as a dorsi-flexed position. Toes pointed down is called plantar flexed. In order to take advantage of the stretch shortening cycle and elastic potential of the foot and ankle we want to be in the toe up position. 2. Longer is StrongerA longer core is a more stable core. If you trace from your tail bone to the base of your skull at the back of your head you can get an appreciation of the length of your spine. A taller posture lends to more stability than a shortened or slumped posture. The next time you watch a race pay attention to how tall the better athletes are compared to the later finishers. What I mean by tall is whether or not they get shorter with ground contact or not? If they can stay tall they...

Are you a runner? It's kind of one of those questions that generates a pretty clear answer. For example, for runners this is what they do for exercise. It doesn't matter what the weather is. it doesn't matter if they have their training partner with them. And it doesn't matter if they are away from home. Runners will always time time and an opportunity to run. So regardless of whether somebody is a runner or not you have to appreciate the mindset runners bring to their sport. But there are a number of other benefits to include running in your training. Here are the Top 12 Reasons to Run. #1 - You can do it anywhereHow many times have been away from home and not worked out. Maybe the hotel gym was non existent. Or you're a cyclist and you didn't bring your bike on the trip. Or for whatever reason there wasn't an opportunity to train and stay active. It's pretty hard to use the same argument with running. Wherever you are in the world there is space to run. Maybe this is outdoors. Or it might be an indoor track or stairs in your hotel. Regardless it's relatively easy to find an opportunity to run. And running shoes are about the easiest thing to pack. Even if you  forget to pack some shoes you can pick up new ones on vacation and still get in a run. #2 - Return on investmentWhen we train it should be purposeful and enjoyable. In terms of having a purpose, the #1 goal of people who go to the gym is weight loss or more specifically, fat loss. Running can burn anywhere from 400-600 calories in an hour depending on the intensity. Not only are you improving your cardiovascular fitness but you are getting leaner in the...

I've just recently returned from the NSCA Hockey Training Clinic in Colorado Springs. This was the event to be at for those that train hockey players. [caption id="attachment_4237" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Not what we're thinking about for downhill running.  There were presentations from a number of NHL strength coaches such as the Avs, Lightning and Blues as well as coaches from NCAA D1 schools, the Air Force Academy and private facilities. And there was one thing in common with the programs of all of these coaches which was the value of incorporating sprinting into the training program. And while I am big believer in the value of sprinting there is a certain type of sprinting which I feel can help not only make a player faster but also improve their running mechanics. And this type of sprinting is downhill running. Now before you all run off (pun intended) to give downhill running a try there are a few conditions that must be satisfied but you do. * you must not have any joint pain or injuries * you must already be doing some sprinting * you must already be doing some lower body strength-power training If you meet all of these conditions you are free to give downhill running a try. And here are the factors to keep in mind to ensure you get the most benefit from downhill running. 1. Consider the SurfaceWith downhill running you want to ensure that each foot placement is secure and won't cause you to go down. So you would want to avoid deep grass and roots, loose ground such as shale or anything else which may trip you up. To start with look for a smooth paved surface 2. Consider the AngleIt doesn't take much of an angle to benefit from downhill running. I remember doing...

Have you ever run 800s? If you've competed in track and field there's a good chance you may have some experience with this distance. And therefore you know how awful this event can be. Why is it so awful? Well it's too long of a distance to sprint and not long of a distance to really pace yourself. It's basically 2 to 3 minutes of pure physical discomfort. And if you're into that sort of thing than you've found the perfect workout to inflict as much pain and discomfort as you can handle. But there are a few other reasons I like the 800s as a training distance as it provides valuable feedback as to what you should workout on to improve performance. Below are 4 Benefits of Running 800s. Benefit #1 - Measure of Overall SpeedThe nice thing about 800s is that you do two laps of a track oval to achieve this distance. And based on your time you get a bit of an idea of your overall speed. If you want to know how you compare to the world record you can do two laps and see how close to 1 minute 40 seconds which is the current world record. Are you within 30 seconds of the world record? 60 seconds? More? Test yourself and see how your overall speed ranks. Benefit #2 - Measure of Your PaceAs I mentioned at the beginning you can't sprint an 800 m nor can you pace yourself. And after running this distance a few times you'll quickly learn a bit about your pace. For example, let's say your total time was three minutes which is not too shabby. And your splits were 1 min 40 for the first lap and 1 min 20 for the second. Since most people tire in...

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...

One of the things that has been fun as we continue to move forward with Okanagan Peak Performance Inc. has been all the changes that have happened in the past year. We've moved into a new facility. And we outfitted it with the best equipment anywhere in town. Next we did some touch ups to freshen up the look of the place and make it a little more comfortable for everyone. Lastly we've looked to bring on some new talent that can help us continue to help you get better results in less time. But we're not looking to bringing just anyone on board. We want people that meet very specific criteria. They need to be great people, who live an active life already and have a desire to continue learning and getting better. With this mind we've recently added Matt Baumeister to the OPP team. Matt is a recent kinesiology graduate from UBCO and is certified through the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiologists. But besides his degree and credential Matt is also an accomplished athlete specifically in triathlon. Recently we did our weekly sand dunes workout on a Saturday morning. If you've joined us before you'll know what this workout it all about. If not let me explain. This dune can take anywhere from 5 minutes plus for a newbie to climb. Some first timers don't make it up. And the all-time fastest climb ever was 3:12. I thought I might have a shot at this time as I put up a 3:15 this year but now this dream is crushed. You see Matt climbed this dune in 2:50! For the longest time I was trying to go under 4 minutes. And when I did I felt like Roger Bannister breaking the 4 minute mile. Now sub 4 minute climbs are a regularity. And seeing Matt going under 3...