Last week Okanagan Peak Performance Inc hosted a seminar for the gymnastics community. The title was The Most Important Ability for Gymnasts - What it is and how to improve it. Below is a brief recap of the seminar.Probably about 15 years ago I did a clinic for Pacific Sport on speed and agility. This was a short clinic for a number of athletes in their teens from a variety of sports. One of the athletes, Jordy, really stood out during the clinic and later I began coaching her and she eventually came to work for us.That was the first time I had worked with a gymnast. And a few things stood out right away. Gymnasts are really hard working. Gymnasts have really high relative strength. In other words their strength per body mass is excellent. Gymnasts tend to be hyper-mobile. Gymnasts tend to injured quite often.It was this last feature of gymnasts that was the inspiration for this presentation.You see, gymnasts tend to get injured. A lot.It's especially high when you consider gymnastics is a non-contact/non-collision sport it's unfortunate to see the high injury rate among gymnasts. You might expect to see injured athletes in football, rugby or hockey where an opponent is trying to run through you.In terms of gymnastics injuries, these are more commonly chronic rather than acute. This means the injury is the result of a pattern over time. Acute injuries can be traced back to a specific episode such as a fall or awkward landing.With male gymnasts the hands and wrists are the more commonly injured joints. This can the result of high speeds and loads being borne by the hands and wrists in an awkward position. Sometimes landings or transitions are one hand at a time doubling the force on these joints compared to when both...

When I was in grad school in Regina I went to Las Vegas for a guys trip. This was the first time I had been to Las Vegas and we went to see Andrew Dice Clay.If you're familiar with ADC this isn't someone to check out on YouTube with the kids around. And while my life and tastes have changed since that show, I'll admit that I did have fun.And there was one point in the show where ADC was commenting how everyone in the crowd was looking good and appeared ready to go out and have some fun. Except for one guy.ADC pointed out one guy in the crowd and said 'You're wearing beige? You're in Las Vegas. You can be anyone you want. You can do whatever you want (within reason). And whatever happens in Las Vegas...'This poor guy. He wasn't looking to heckle the comic or draw attention but ADC was sure giving it to him.At one point, ADC comes back to this guy and says 'You know who wears beige? People on safari! People who are looking to blend in with their surroundings. People who don't want to stand out. And you're wearing beige in Las Vegas?'So besides reminiscing about Las Vegas and stand-ups why share this with you?It's because ADC had a point.And that was to stay away from the middle.Here's what I mean by staying away from the middle.Having the best health, fitness and performance means making daily choices. And when we choose we should be choosing all the way for the good staff and avoiding the bad stuff (as much as possible).For example, if we're talking about getting enough sleep for recovery we should get 8 hours every night. Preferably more of these hours should occur before midnight. Once in a while we might take...

======================KNEE SOLUTION SEMINAR====================== Do you have knee pain?Have you suffered a knee injury?Does this joint limit the sports and activities you do?  [caption id="attachment_5348" align="aligncenter" width="289"] Come learn why we have knee problems and what we can do about it If you answered 'yes' to any of these, or would like to continue having strong and healthy knees, than you should join us for our Knee Solution Seminar on Thursday November 8 @ 6 pm. The presentation will take place at Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) located at 1876 Cooper Road. During the presentation you will learn about:* The structure and proper alignment for the knee* Why we experience so many knee injuries* What we can do to have strong and healthy knees All are welcome. Pre-registration is required. To register send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with Knee Solution in the subject line.

Growing up our parents put us in competitive swimming. My dad's sports background was football and although he still follows the game I guess he thought swimming was as different from football as you could get. And although I spent countless hours in pools and had permanently wrinkled fingers I'm not that strong in the pool these days. The technique has changed enough that I'd have to spend some time with a coach to learn the new way to swim. But if there's one thing I would change with my swimming technique it would be head position. And maybe it wouldn't be so much to change my head position but instead it would be to be aware of it. Below are 6 Reasons Head Position Matters for Swimming. Less Resistance - When you watch a non-swimmer swim a short distance this is usually done with the head up. The problem is that when we lift the head we increase drag resistance. And swimming is all about over coming resistance forces. If you are swimming in a pool you should be looking down at the line on the bottom not ahead of yourself towards the end wall. If you're not sure about your head position have someone shoot a video. Or time yourself for 50 m with your chin tucked, your chin up and with your head in a neutral position. Which position resulted in the fastest time? Ideally it would be best to video yourself doing these time trials.Better Gas Exchange - Distance swimming is primarily an aerobic sport and relies primarily on the availability of oxygen to fuel the activity. When oxygen supply is diminished or delayed, swimming performance suffers. As well, we remove waste products with cellular respiration. If breathing patterns are impaired we won't be as effective drawing...

The other day a client asked me what our thoughts were on lifting belts. And soon the conversation moved to the use of lifting straps, gloves and other gear people use when lifting. There are a number of different tools and gear used when we step inside the gym to train. If training means some light stretching and going for a run this doesn't require a lot of special gear or equipment. However for those that are into Olympic or powerlifting there may be more tools used. Below is a brief description of some of the more common things lifters may use as well as our take on them. Gloves, Chalk and StrapsWhen you see someone get to a certain level of strength in deadlifting you'll typically see them fail in a particular area. And this tends to be the grip. I remember a colleague sharing that the grip serves as a governor for the body. In other words when the body has reached it's capacity strength-wise the nervous sends a message to release the grip and we let go of the weight. This is to protect the body so we don't do harm. [caption id="attachment_5642" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The governor prevents the golf cart from going too fast downhill. Our hands serve as governors when we pick up heavy items. If the object is too heavy our grip releases. To get around a weak or slippery grip you'll see people use a variety of tools including gloves, chalk, straps and towels. And not a tool but a common method to get around a weak grip is alternate the hands when doing a deadlift. In this situation one hand would be overhand and one would be underhand. So what do we think of the use of each of these? Well if you've...

======================KNEE SOLUTION SEMINAR====================== Do you have knee pain?Have you suffered a knee injury?Does this joint limit the sports and activities you do? [caption id="attachment_5348" align="aligncenter" width="289"] Come learn why we have knee problems and what we can do about it If you answered 'yes' to any of these, or would like to continue having strong and healthy knees, than you should join us for our Knee Solution Seminar on Thursday December @ 615 pm. The presentation will take place at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc located at 1511 Sutherland Ave. During the presentation you will learn about:* The structure and proper alignment for the knee* Why we experience so many knee injuries* What we can do to have strong and healthy knees All are welcome. Pre-registration is required. To register send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with Knee Solution in the subject line.

What comes to mind when you hear the word stress? For most people they have negative connotations with the word.When someone is stressed this may mean they are anxious. Or maybe in an uncomfortable situation. This could mean having too much on their plate. Sometimes this can be associated with tight traps, headaches and overall body tension.Stress might be related to someone pushed to their limit. And feeling as though there is no end in sight to the work or tough times.But the truth is that stress is not all bad. When stress is beneficial for the individual we would refer to this as eustress as opposed to a distress that has a negative effect.And this is similar to our autonomic nervous system (ANS) which can be divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Just as when we talk about stress in general most people associate this with distress so too when we think about the branches of the autonomic nervous system we are probably more familiar with the sympathetic nervous system.Think about it this way. What sounds more familiar, 'fight or flight' or 'rest and digest'?For most people they are more familiar with the term fight or flight. Although the words 'rest and digest' are uncommon we don't use this expression as commonly. And this is telling as to where the needle tends to sit for most people.So what do we mean by the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems?The graphic below does a great job of illustrating how the physiology of the body changes depending on whether we are in a parasympathetic or sympathetic state.[caption id="attachment_5648" align="aligncenter" width="300"] An illustration of how the physiology of the body changes depending on whether it is in a sympathetic or parasympathetic state.On the left are the physiological functions associated with being in a...

The other day I was over to one of the coffee shops close to our gym. I'm late to the coffee party but I definitely enjoy an americano once or twice a week.  Anyways there were a couple of younger women in line in front of me. And their conversation went something like this: Woman 1: I think I'm going to do an apple cider vinegar cleanse before Christmas. I can do it for a week now before Christmas and lose up to 7 pounds.Woman 2: Yeah, I've heard of that one as well. Why would you do it before Christmas?1: I typically gain 5-7 pounds over the holidays so if I lose the weight before I can enjoy the holidays guilt-free and be at the same weight I am now.2: Cool. Let me know and I'll do it with you.1: Ok I'm going after work to (local health food store) to pick up the cleanse kit. Why don't you come as well?2: Sounds good. Let's do it.*** Of course I had to bite my tongue while in line. What I would have to like to have shared with these young women is that cleanses just don't work. I've written about cleanses and detoxes before. And a review of the literature (1) on detoxes and cleanses stated: ..no randomized controlled trials have been conducted to assess the effectiveness of commercial detox diets in humans.But unfortunately the blog of strength and conditioning coach is going to get less traction than the headlines of supermarket tabloids. Most people would say they use cleanse or detox to get rid of toxins or to lose weight. The young women in the coffee shop are a perfect example of this. The problem with this is the 'weight loss' attributed to cleansing is typically due to caloric restriction and...

When I was younger I used to train with my brother. And we would follow a typical bodybuilding split. What I mean by that is that our training days were divided up based on body parts and certain exercises.In other words our workouts might have looked something like this:Day 1 - legs, arms and absDay 2 - glutes, chest and absDay 3 - back, shoulders and absA few things should jump up at you right away. First of all, what does 'legs' mean? Is this quads, hamstrings or calves? Or all three?Apparently abs were really important with bodybuilding and they never require a rest day. And getting huge, or swole as the kids now like to say, was priority numero uno. No one did cardio.A warm-up involved a few light sets under the bar before starting in with the first sets of bench press. There was zero stretching or mobility work. And although we did abs it was mostly to target the rectus abdominis, or six pack. We didn't know or care about the core at all.We took rest days when the gym was closed. Otherwise it was simply rotating through this three day rotation looking to add load to the bar at every workout.Although we now know this to be terrible programming it's surprising what hard work over time will achieve. When Jon went to depot for the RCMP I believe he put some lifting records in the weight-room.But we could have gotten even better results. And a study from a few years ago might have given some clues as to how often we could train certain movements and muscles.What the researchers did was look at muscle damage to the arms and legs after training. They wanted to know if there was a difference in recovery between smaller (arm) and...

We're a week into 2019. And how is it going for you so far? Are you someone that makes resolutions? When you mention new year's resolutions you get a variety of responses.'I don't make them''I already have my goals figured out''Not really'It's surprising how setting goals at this time of year generates a negative response. Maybe it's due to the fact that a number of will fail in their attempt to achieve. Maybe it's because if you're not a goal oriented person it's hard to connect and relate to the number of people that are. Maybe it could be that if the individual has tried before, and failed, they are reluctant to try again.Regardless the reason to not making a resolution or goal at this time of year I'm OK with it. And maybe this has to do with a part of my definition of success is to fail faster. I'd rather find out the efforts that don't lead to success, sooner, and get on to success sooner as well.So for the sake of this post let's assume we are the type of people that sets goals or resolutions. And let's also assume that 2019 hasn't started out on the right foot. That's not an unreasonable scenario as we know most won't achieve their goal.But that's not entirely true. When we say most won't achieve their goal we usually mean this on the first attempt. But how often do we get things right the first time in life? How often do we have to try again, change our approach, ask for help or whatever else before success happens?With that in mind below are 5 things that can derail a health and fitness goal. And with each there are some solutions to spin this challenge into an opportunity. And then use this opportunity to help you...

Do you travel? Either for work or pleasure. If so, have you ever found this to be a challenge in maintaining the results you've achieved in the gym? If so, you're not alone. It's not uncommon to feel that as soon as we travel we will lose everything that to leads to success with our health and fitness. We won't have access to our gym. Our coach won't be there. We may not be able to access our program (not a problem for OPP clients). We won't have access to our kitchen. We won't have our training partner. The list goes on. There are a number of things that are different when we travel. That doesn't mean we can't maintain, or possibly even progress, our results while away.   Below are 7 Ways to Use Travel to Get Better Results. Take Advantage of the Climate - If you live in Kelowna in the winter than you're aware we can sometimes go days without seeing the sun. With some low cloud cover and being surrounded by the valley mountains it can become quite gray. In more temperate clients this can be a great opportunity to soak up some long missed vitamin D. This is an important element for bone health that we get from the sun. Vitamin D may also play a role in muscular strength helping you to hit that PB in the deadlift.Up Your Nutritional Game - One of the best things about travel is experiencing new things. Maybe there is a different language where you'll be. Foods that are commonly imported for us might be native to your travel destination. Healthier eating could simply involve fresher, local foods that we typically don't have access to. Research your destination ahead of time to find out which fruits, vegetables and fish are produced where you'll...

Nutrition seems to be the area people struggle with the most when it comes to taking control of their health. The exercise can be fairly straight forward but not easy. For example, most people know to go for a walk, jog or a run if they enjoy that type of exercise and want to be more active. And if you go to a pool it's not hard to figure out the you start at one end of the pool and work your way to the opposite end before pushing off to return. You never see anyone get confused in a pool and try to swim cross-ways, over and under the lane ropes, rather than the way everyone has ever done it. And if you step foot in a gym littered with machines you can very easily figure out what to push or pull in order to complete a rep. And if there are free weights available you can pick the weight up and put it down. Simple as that. But nutrition gets confusing. What are macros and should I be tracking them? Should I eat 3 square meals a day  or 5-6 smaller meals. Should I be low-fat or low carb? Would keto be a good option for me? What about intermittent fasting? How many calories should I eat? Should I even worry about calories? How important is protein? And can I get enough as a vegan or vegetarian? Should I be taking supplements and if so, which ones? Should I be buying organic food? Or are conventional groceries sufficient? Phew! That's a lot of questions. And those are just the main ones. There are tons we won't even go into here. For simplicity let's look at the following questions. How much should I eat? Why do I need carbs? Fats?...

Have you ever sat through a presentation and been overloaded with great content?I mean the type of presentation where the information is registering on multiple fronts? And you know that you will leave that presentation much more knowledgeable on the topic than an hour prior.This is the case whenever I have the chance to see Dr. Susan Kleiner present. Not only is she in the know on all things related to nutrition she has the evidence at hand to show you the proof. And with all the elite and professional athletes she has worked with there is a ton of street cred to see the proof in the real world.I few weeks ago we arranged a nutritional seminar for the AquaJets swim club with Dr. Kleiner. With clientele including the most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps, these swimmers were keen to hear everything Dr. Kleiner had to say.Below are a few of the sound bites from the presentation.1. Only buy supplements that are 3rd party tested99% of the supplements on the market do not have 3rd party testing. In other words, these companies haven't sent samples of their product to an independent lab to ensure that what is on label is in the product and nothing else. You'll recognize 3rd party testing by the logos for Informed Choice, NSF or BSCG.By the way, all supplements Okanagan Peak Performance Inc carries have NSF or BSCG labeling.2. Be Aware of 'Proprietary Blends'Sometimes on the ingredient label you'll see an ingredient listed as a 'Proprietary Blend'. And a rep for such a company may dismiss this as an attempt to prevent competitor supplement companies from ripping off their recipe.Here's the thing though...If a supplement company creates a new product in the lab that helps performance they can apply for a patent. And...

The other night we finished everything that needed to be done for the day. We had cleaned up from dinner. We bathed the kids, brushed teeth and read some stories. As it wasn't too late there was an opportunity for mom and dad to watch a show. Alexandra wanted to get started on some preparations for a 4 year old birthday party. I didn't really want to make popcorn or some other snack from just one. So I headed off to the bedroom to read. During lent I'm trying to stay off my phone after 7 pm.I got a chapter or two deep into 12 Rules for Life before I drifted off to sleep. Since I didn't have a snack before bed and didn't have any exposure to the light from my phone I had a great sleep. Add to this the fact that I didn't have to set an alarm for the morning and this set the stage for a great day.But this very easily could have gone the other way.You see most evenings I do a sweep through the kitchen before bed. I'll have a quick poke in the pantry to see what grabs my interest. It might be some chocolate. Maybe I'll have some cereal. It could be a handful of Veggie Snacks.[caption id="attachment_5699" align="aligncenter" width="225"] These come in pillowcase size bags and the bag size is appropriately named 'Sensible Portions'. (see top left)Anyways, this got me thinking how our habits can be slippery or sticky. Here's what I mean by this.Our indulgences, treats, snacks and cravings can be thought of as sticky. Once we start it's hard to stop. We tend to back to our old, less than optimal, ways. It can be really tough to shake a bad habit.And on the flip side all of the positive things we...

Youth Summer Athletic Program Attention Kelowna Athletes!Okanagan Peak Performance Inc is hosting the Youth Summer Athletic Program. This program is fully coached, follows LTAD protocols and includes access to the Okanagan Peak Performance Inc training facility.There are programs for athletes 8-11 years and 12-15 years with 2 training days in June and 3 training days in July and August.To register call 250.212.2972, email athletetraining (at) shaw (dot) ca or stop in to the training facility on Sutherland ave.      

Do you find people constantly mistake you for a pro athlete? And I don't mean based on your appearance.If they do, congrats. You probably won the genetic lottery.I mean this based on your lifestyle habits. You get 8 hours of sleep every night. You consume the right amounts of high quality foods at the right times. You take supplements to fill any gaps that may exist. You make time for pro-active appointments to see the dentist, physiotherapist, chiropractor, massage therapist...You do something active on a daily basis. And you have an abundant mindset that seeks to be your best.Often-times we think of these as associated with professional or elite athletes.But here's the thing...These aren't the exclusive domain of the top sports performers. Each of us can make these choices a part of our daily routines. And when you do the results are incredible.Consider for example what is going on in the playoffs right now.The teams that are succeeding have adopted a self-less attitude. They are committed to doing all the little things right. They are willing to make sacrifices for the greater good of the team. The communication among teammates is open, clean, honest and continual. There is no sulking. They are enjoying the moment and having success as a result. Aligning your teeth requires clear braces that work.Did you notice I didn't mention which sport I was talking about? All of the descriptors above apply to both basketball and hockey. Sure there will cultural differences between the sports. But the basic philosophy about what it takes to win in sports in consistent whether we're talking about hockey, basketball or any other team sport.It gets back to basics.[caption id="attachment_5207" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Basics x Frequency x Time = SuccessWhen you have positive habits (i.e. the basics), and practice them regularly (frequency) over a...

A couple of things I really like are efficiency and great value. I like it when things are moving forward at a good clip and when the return is better than expected. Who doesn't like that though, right?This is no different than our health and fitness. For most the obstacle to better health and fitness comes down to time and finances. We don't make the time for fitness and exercise and we would rather spend our money on other things.The truth is that the fittest people in the world have the same hours as the rest of us. It's what we give our time to, or don't, that fills up our day.So with that being said I wanted to give you 11 tips to get lean. And the cool part is these things won't cost you an extra dime. Plus as your health improves you'll find you have more time in your day. You see what I did just there, right? Solve one problem and provide a solution for another as well.Anyways on with the tips. Minimize liquid calories - If our goal is to be as lean and healthy as possible we've got to be mindful of the calories we drink. This can be a chai tea in the AM, a coffee with cream and sugar, a store bought smoothie or any of the other ways we can drink calories. The truth is we only need water. Sure a red wine on occasion or a beer at a BBQ isn't going to derail your results completely. Just be aware of what you are drinking. And guess what? When we cut back on your liquid calories we'll find you have an extra $5-10 per day by opting out of the drive-thrus and coffee shops. Eat meals without snacking - Were you ever...

You know the expression 'you don't have to reinvent the wheel?' In other words, there might be a really good way of doing things. And you don't have to invent a new way.You can benefit from those that came before you. Success leaves clues and if we just open our eyes and pay attention we can realize success more easily.For example, in aviation I believe it was West Jet that first started using winglets, or the curved pieces of wings. These apparently reduce emissions and improve the efficiency of the plane. As this helps the plane cut through the wind it stands that this would also make the flight safer as well.Now you see this feature on all planes but West Jet was among the first to make this change to its planes. And the rest of the industry took notice, realized the benefits and followed suit.[caption id="attachment_5731" align="aligncenter" width="300"] West Jet changed the design of its wings and the rest of the industry followed suit.Other times you can see a change from the norm that isn't ideal yet the masses follow suit. They assume that success must have been attributed solely to what is different.Consider for example when Usain Bolt burst onto the track and field scene. He was late to the track and field party yet started having success almost immediately. He was winning races and gold medals were being draped around his neck. Coaches from around the world started dissecting video of this races and they noticed he was doing something differently.Bolt was using a toe drag at the start of his races. As he was coming out of the blocks he was driving his lead leg forward and the toes on this front side leg were almost dragging the ground in front of him. And a number...

The other day I went out for an early morning training ride. But on this ride I crashed. Hard. And I learned a few things some of which may help you.To give you some context this was the first time I had gone down on my bike. A few years ago I flatted out on a descent and my back wheel was flailing about like a fish. I gradually brought the bike to a stop but my spiked heart rate kept going for a well. It took a number of weeks, maybe months, to feel comfortable pushing it downhill again.And up until this morning I was feeling comfortable on the bike. I got in over 500 km during our trip to Hawaii and have gotten out for some good rides around Kelowna since we've been back. And I'd include the ride where I crashed in this category. There were lots of good take-aways.But before I get to the positives from this ride I want to explain what happened. I was going down a descent after finishing on Glenmore road and heading down to OK Center. I guess I had a little too much lean and little too much wheel turn. Plus I think I hit a patch of pebble or loose gravel. Before I knew it was down and sliding along the pavement. Checking my computer at the end of the ride my max speed was 60 km/h. I don't know if I hit that speed at the time of the crash but I do know I was checking my speed after the crash. So there's a good chance I was going close to that speed.After I stopped sliding I took a moment to see how I was. What was sore? What hurt? I felt my arms and legs for injury....

There are a few goals we have for everyone we work with. It doesn't matter if the individual's goal is performance, weight loss or rehab we look to achieve this with all of them?Do you know what 'it' is?What we're looking to achieve with all these clients is help them be as lean as possible. And here's why.For a movement, non-collision sport athlete one of the goals is to generate as much strength and power per unit of body weight. In cycling, the unit of interest is watts/kilo. And to improve is to increase our power, decrease our mass or both. Sometimes an athlete has maxed out on the power they can produce but they are carrying a few extra pounds. Leaning up a little bit can be the difference to increased performance.Obviously for the weight loss client we want to shed as much unnecessary mass as possible while keeping as much muscle as possible.And for the rehab client a leaner physique helps in a number of ways. A leaner indivudual can move better than an overweight one. They will have more energy to do more. And a leaner frame takes stress on load-bearing joints. With the knees for example, every pound that is shed takes four pounds off the knees.With my own training and goals I'm looking to be as lean and strong as possible. With the fondo coming up in a little over a week all the hard training should be done or wrapping up soon. And now it's just a matter of dialing in the nutrition and resting up.Obviously a lighter bike helps, especially when climbing hills. But instead of looking to save grams by upgrading seat posts, wheels and bottle cage holders, it would make more sense to shed pounds on the scale.For example, going from an...

Yesterday I competed in the the 2019 Prospera Granfondo Axel Merckx Okanagan. This was a 160 km bike race down in Penticton. One year old and I was able to set a personal best. There are a few things that allowed me to set a best time. And some things I will definitely change for next year. Either way below are 8 Takeaways from the 2019 Prospera Granfondo Axel Merckx Okanagan.First I'll cover the things that I believe helped me have a great ride. Next I'll get in to some things I wanted to work on and improve. And lastly I'll touch on a few general observations from the race. Investing and spending time on the trainer - Last winter I bought a trainer. And I set a goal to commit to two rides per week for training. If I achieved three rides, great. But I didn't want to plan for three and then be getting two days consistently. This schedule worked and I was able to make those appointments from December until March. Once the snow melted and I got the bike on the ride it didn't feel like I was starting from square one. My legs and lungs felt good and I was more comfortable in the saddle. Riding on vacation - In the spring we like to go away with the family somewhere warm. The past few years we have some cruises through the Caribbean but this year we went to Kona aka the birthplace of Ironman. Now I know you're probably thinking. "Chris, you just set up your family trip so you get in some riding". And honestly I didn't plan it that way. And it was really a last minute decision to bring my bike to the island. But what a great decision. I was able to take...

Recently I was away with the family to Idaho. We went down to Silverwood for some roller coasters and water slides. And with a 4 and almost 7 year old our plans for the rides were dictated by their sizes and appetite for thrills. And this reminded of a time with Olivia, the almost 7 year old, when we were going to go on a drop slide together. Sometimes a young person can see the slide at ground level and express their interest in going on that slide. And then you line up and spend whatever amount of time it takes to wait in line for your turn to go down. And at that point everything can change. The perspective of looking at a slide from the ground as a spectator is much different than standing over the flume at the top as a rider.And so I had my doubts as to whether we would actually get on the ride or excuse ourselves to let the next person ride. And begin the long walk down the slide to mom at pool level.But to my surprise we loaded and did the ride. Olivia was quiet throughout the ride mostly because the fear of the ride had taken her voice away. But either way, she did it. And she was so proud of herself after. And she kept reminding her 4 year old sister how scary it was and how her younger sibling was much too young to even attempt such a ride.And for me it felt really good to see one of our kids face their fears and overcome. And was incredible to see how good they felt about themselves. And you could see the wheels spinning in her head as she scanned the water-park seeking the next challenge.This is similar to the feeling I have with Dale Charlton....

What would you say is the most important ability in sports? Regardless of which sport comes to mind the answer is the same. And this ability is availability. Because unless you are healthy and able to play nothing else matters much. And that's why our number one goal for our athletes is to make them resilient to injury. All of their athletic gifts and hard work are wasted if an athlete is on the sidelines. Until recently we looked at the injury status of an athlete in terms of their physical abilities. Did they have an ankle spain? Shoulder impingement? Back spasms? Or something else related to the moving parts of the body. I know when I was young no one was talking about concussions. That's not entirely true. My mom is an OT (occupational therapist) and told me repeatedly how dangerous a motorcycle could be due to the head injuries that could happen. In adult sports concussions happen at higher rates in some sports compared with others. The highest rates for a concussion in competition are in: Men’s rugby match play (3.00/1,000 AE) Men’s American football (2.5/1,000 AE) Women’s ice hockey (2.27/1,000 AE) Men’s Ice hockey (1.63/1,000 AE) Women’s soccer (1.48/1,000 AE) Men’s football (or soccer) (1.07/1,000 AE) For younger athletes (under 18) here's what the numbers look like: Rugby (4.18/1,000 AE) Ice hockey (1.20/1,000 AE) American football (0.53/1,000 AE) Lacrosse (0.24/1,000 AE) Football (or soccer) (0.23/1,000 AE) Wrestling (0.17/1,000 AE) AE stands for Athlete Exposures and means one athlete playing in one game or practice. So if 20 soccer players play another team of 20 players in a game there would be 40 Athlete Exposures. Or if a football team of 50 players goes through one practice than there are 50 AE. As sports can be divided up into...

Have you read the Da Vinci Code? Or any of Dan Brown's books? They're kind of fun if you're looking for a good fictional escape.Recently I read The Lost Symbol by the same author and featured Robert Langdon as the protagonist. In the movies this character is portrayed by Tom Hanks. Anyways, one of the other characters in this book is a scientist and their area of research is noetic science. This looks at the power of the mind and the effect it has on the physical world.Anyways after finishing this book a number of stories in the gym demonstrated the power of the mind. And they both involve golf. The first story involves Mike Lee.Do you know Mike? He's the English sommelier and comes in early mornings during the week. While he trains for health and to feel good a major part of his training is related to golf.[caption id="attachment_5783" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Mental strength and visualization is huge in golf.Last week Mike messaged me to share that he had one of his best rounds ever at the Harvest golf course. I asked what he attributed to this success? And here's what he hold me.He said he had played with a couple of tourists that had never played the course before. And so on each hole he was giving them clear notes on how to successfully manage each shot to achieve the best score. I wasn't there but I would guess it went something like this. 'This is hole 8 which although is a par 5 plays more like a long par 4. From the tee you want to aim for the tallest of the 3 trees on the left. When you clear those trees that will put you right in the middle of the fairway just past the 150 yard marker...

You may have noticed a new addition to the team at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc. And that would be Jane. Jane comes to us via Australia where she recently completed her Master's degree in Melbourne. But besides her schooling and travels we also learned something new about Jane the other day.A motorbike rolled into the parking lot at OPP. Not a Harley but more of a crotch-rocket style bike. Anyways, after the bike was parked and turned off the rider pulled off their helmet. It was only then that we realized the rider was Jane and her coolness factor jumped up a few points.But that rather than have me tell you all the fun and cool facts about Jane I'll step aside and let her take it from here.Hi everyone, I'm Jane and I'm returning to live and work in Kelowna as a coach at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc! Originally, I'm from South Africa, then moved to Alberta, and then moved to Kelowna to attend UBC-O for my Bachelor of Human Kinetics degree. After my bachelor’s degree, I completed my certified personal training license and became a kinesiologist. From there I wanted to learn more about working with clinical populations using exercise as medicine, so I ventured to Australia to complete my master’s degree of Clinical Exercise Physiology before moving back to Kelowna.I enjoy working with all types of clients, including those who can benefits from exercise to help manage and treat chronic conditions, injuries, or just want to improve health and fitness. I specialize in working with clients that have health conditions such as metabolic, neurological, mental health, heart and lung conditions, as well as those with cancer, chronic pain, and women’s health (such as pregnancy, post-natal, menopause). I believe that exercise is medicine, and everyone should have the opportunity to...

Do you eat healthily? If so, what is it that you do that makes your diet healthy?For some people this could mean eating more fruits and vegetables. For others it could mean limiting processed foods, sugar, liquid calories or alcohol. Sometimes we can think of healthy eating as limiting snacking and low nutrition foods. Or it could be an effort to eat more protein,or breakfast. Maybe it's an effort to eat more protein at breakfast.This conversation could take on a number of different angles. And because it has to do with nutrition this can almost become a theology, or a religion, for some.Consider the follow:'I believe in intermittent fasting'or'I believe in eating low-fat'These statements don't reference the science or evidence from research. Instead nutritional lifestyles are based on a belief system which may or may not have the support of science.Recently meatless products have appeared on the menus of fast food establishments. This will obviously appeal to the vegan and vegetarian crowds. Plus there will be some omnivores that will be curious to try a Beyond Meat burger.My question would be why?These burgers are marketed on the basis that it is important to reduce our consumption of red meat. And for those that are looking to be healthier but still satisfy their craving for a burger they can have the best of both worlds. Less red meat and a healthier alternative.But is this the case?Because there are, at minimum, two separate issues here.A. The first is that eating less red meat is healthier for you. There may  be some truth to this but we'd need more details. Who is the individual we're talking about? How old are they? How active are they? What are their goals? How much red meat do they already eat? What else do they eat? What is...

Hey everyone, it's Coach Jane here. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend. I just wanted to recap the Fitness for Cancer seminar that we presented earlier this week.It ran on Tuesday and Wednesday evening and basically over-viewed the benefits for exercise during and after cancer treatment.As most of you know, exercise is important for healthy lifestyles, and there is some research that suggests that it can help prevent certain cancers from occurring (although much more research is still needed to fully confirm this). However, exercise during cancer treatment is very important as it helps to reduce negative side effects from treatment, increase energy levels, and preserve physical and mental health. In the presentation, we covered these topics in detail, as well as discussed the common misconceptions, fears, and precautions that many people have around exercising during treatment.***Chris here...A couple of my key takeaways include:Fitness is recommended by all health associations globally (Canada, US, Australia etc) for all types of cancer. Sure there may be modifications or things to keep in mind with certain patients. But this is no different than programming for any type of client.[caption id="attachment_5814" align="aligncenter" width="300"] A pie chart showing the percentage of cancer patents that would benefit from exercise.The other comment that stuck was that exercise can be beneficial for preventing secondary types of cancer. For example, with exercise there is increased circulation and this facilitates digestion. As food is moved along at a more optimal rate this helps minimize the the potential for cancers such as rectal.Now back to Jane...***I am planning on creating an exercise group for people going through or recently finished cancer treatment that would like to increase their health with movement. If you know anyone who you think would benefit from attending this fitness group,  feel free to pass...

If you are an active person there are probably still aspects of fitness that you don't enjoy. For example, we all know someone who is really fit but doesn't enjoy running. They will do almost anything else rather than run. They will swim, bike, row and even go hiking. But go for a 5 or 10 km run? Never. This reminds of the dinner hour at the Collins household. Alexandra does a great job of preparing delicious meals each evening. But with two little girls there will be something that's been prepared they don't enjoy. With Vangie, 4 years old, this could be peppers. It doesn't matter the colour i.e. red, yellow or green, she has an equal distaste for all of them. If you try to hide them in chili or something else she will pick them out and set them off to the side. Sometimes we have to do the things we don't like in order to get better. Given the choice if every meal were ice cream, cookies and pudding she'd be OK with this. And it's tough for her to recognize that her mom and dad feed her foods to help with her growth, development and overall health. So there are the foods she'd like to eat and then the ones she needs to eat. And it's trying to find the balance to make sure gets what she needs and every now and again she gets a little bit of what she wants. This is kind of be how fitness is for many people. Maybe we are already active. We go to the gym. We squat, bench and deadlift. The numbers are all going up. We're getting stronger. And everything is great. Until it's not. And it stops being great when we have a new physical demand...

What do you believe? I don't mean this specifically related to health and fitness. Although for people nutrition can become a theology and they speak of it as though it were a religion. I believe eating organic is the only way to go. I believe that eating meat isn't healthy. These statements don't reference science but instead our beliefs. And sometimes our beliefs can be at odds with science. Just ask Kyrie Irving. So there are times in life where we believe so strongly in something that we make life decisions based on this belief. Consider the placebo effect which basically says that a positive health change is due the placebo itself. The placebo has no active medical ingredients and therefore it is our belief that the placebo will work that accounts for the beneficial effect. We are probably familiar with these types of research studies. One group takes a pill to treat a disease and the control group does not. The pill has no medical ingredients but the study participants don't know this. They are made to believe the pill will deliver a positive health result. The experimental group, i.e. the ones taking the pills, experience the positive health outcome. More recently there have been studies involving an open label placebo and a control group. An open label placebo involves a group of research subjects that know they will be receiving a placebo. The other group of study subjects continue their regular treatment plans known as treatment as usual. Now it's important to be clear that the placebo group knew what a placebo was and that is what they would be receiving during the study. I'm imagining the information session for the study going something like this: You're not getting any medicine. Instead you're going to eat Tic Tacs twice...

When we young kids growing up our family hosted a young boy from Northern Ireland. Peter Casey was from Belfast and spent about 8 weeks one summer in Kelowna to get away from the turmoil back home. We spent that summer riding our bikes, going to the beach and doing all the things 8-10 year old boys do. And that included getting dragged by their moms to go cherry picking. One time when we were cherry picking, Peter thought it would be funny to throw cherries at my brother Jon and I. It didn't take much for us to get drawn into this fruit fight considering: A. There were two of us and only one of him B. We were in the habit of throwing from playing football and baseball. Peter was used to playing soccer and had a terrible arm. So the war was on. Since August in Kelowna can get very hot Peter soon ditched the tarp giving us this nice, pasty white target to aim at. We quickly realized if we bit half the cherry off a direct hit resulted in red circles all over Peter's body. Now while it's fun to reminisce about fun stories growing up we weren't the only ones cherry picking. If you've seen the 'documentary' Game Changers you'll know what I'm talking about. But in case you haven't here's a quick overview. A MMA competitor injuries himself and spends his recovery time researching the best ways to come back to his sport better than ever. What he discovers is that a plant-based diet is not only better for health but it also gives athletes an advantage as well. Those are a couple of the claims anyway. Having produced some great pieces of fictional content such as Avatar and Terminator I'm sure James Cameron...

A common goal of everyone that trains is to be lean. And I don't mean to be skinny. By lean I mean to carry the most amount of muscle mass and the least amount of body fat possible. And this should still allow us to do our regular tasks and activities without lacking fitness or mobility. Sometimes when someone initiates a fitness program the results can be slow in coming. We know we feel better. We have fewer aches and pains. We sleep better at night. And our performance in sports is trending up as well. Yet the scale doesn't budge. If this happens to you we recommend you to buy CBD oil for its many benefits in weight loss and pain reduction. Below are a number of nutritional reasons this may be the case. Meals Eaten Alone When we eat with others there are natural pauses for conversation. We want to hear how the other person's day went. We comment on the flavour and textures of the prepared meal. We put the fork down every now and again to listen and answer. Eating alone leads to eating more quickly. Nutritional quality tends to be lower. Maybe this is because we like to have a treat when no one is watching and won't be judged. Or it could be that when we cook for others, i.e. for children, we feel a responsibility to provide the best nutrition possible. Eating alone also means we could be doing something else while we're eating. Maybe we watch a TV show. Sadly, we used to do this. Maybe we're on our phones. Maybe we read a book. Maybe we try to get some work done at the computer. Regardless of what we do while we're eating it serves as a distraction and leads to mindless...

Most of us have a good idea of how exercise makes us feel better; it makes us feel accomplished, keeps us energized, and it releases our happy hormones to change the biochemistry of our brains. But exercise can have a greater effect than just feeling happier in people with mental health conditions such as depression or seasonal affective disorder, it can actually help deal with these conditions and allow people to have a more positive well-being. Depression is a highly publicized mental health condition, but it is a lot more than persistent feelings of sadness. Depression manifests itself in different ways and can take away your passion for previously enjoyed activities or negatively impact things that you use to define yourself and your happiness. Depression can impact anyone including youth, older adults, those living with chronic illnesses or substance use issues, and those going through big life changes, if you suffer from this illness you can visit https://freshbros.com/bulk-raw-material/compliant-full-spectrum-cbd-distillate to find CBD products that will help you reducing the symptoms. Approximately 8% of all adults will experience major depression at some point in their lives, with many more going through acute bouts of depression. Depression has had a growing focus on it in recent years, which has allowed people experiencing depression to find help and support to manage it. Physical activity is one of the leading treatments someone can use to help manage depression due to the release of ‘happy’ hormones and endorphins, as well as increasing feelings of self-worth and providing social support outlets. Self perceived quality of life increases exponentially when including physical activity into daily routines – as little as 30 minutes of physical activity per day will permanently change the way in which our bodies produce happy hormones to make us feel better. As the season is switching...

Athletes are always looking for ways to gain an advantage. And good sportsmanship requires that we play by the rules and avoid known short cuts or cheats. When it comes to sports supplements we've got to be really careful. An athlete can be putting in the time training for their sport. They can work in the gym. The will get their rest, eat their vegetables and make sure everything to ensure performance has been checked off the list. And then they hear there is something that will give them an edge. It will help them go harder, recover more quickly or heal faster. Whatever the promise they are keen to give it a try. They are already doing everything it takes and are so close to a podium, scholarship or a championship. What do they have to lose? Well, it could a ban from sports. It could be the loss of a scholarship or contract offer. Maybe it's the termination of an endorsement deal. And the inclusion of your name alongside other dopers. How awful would it be to have your name forever alongside the likes of Ben Johnson? Unfortunately there was a local supplement store selling a banned product during their Black Friday sale. On Black Friday you get could get yourself to a positive drug test twice as fast with the buy one get one free. Allmax Impact Igniter contains higenamine and is listed on the label below. The Word Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has a list of all banned substances. Higenamine is in a class of substances known as beta-2-agonists and are banned at all times. From the WADA list of banned substance we see higenamine included on this list. So what is an athlete to do that wants do everything possible to achieve the best result in sport...

It seems like competition has gotten a bad rap these days. We've gone away from keeping score. We've introduced mercy rules. High schools don't give out awards for the top male and female athletes of the year. We don't hand out finishers medals but instead everyone gets a participation medal. Sorry but this got a laugh out of me. But the truth is we now give out awards simply for showing up. And sometimes you don't even need to show up but pay the registration fee. Are we going in the right direction? Is this helping us as a society? I'd argue that it's not. And here's why. I guess we eliminate acknowledging the best athletes at the end of the year because there can only be one winner. And therefore to protect the feelings of those who don't win we just do away with the award altogether. I'd suggest that this fails on two levels. First, the best athlete is robbed of the award they worked hard to achieve. Secondly, the athletes that don't win don't feel they are equal to the one that should have won. Instead I'd suggest the ones that don't win feel worse because now we're also hoping they'll buy into the idea that all the athletes are equal. So not only do they not have the same athletic ability but we're also hoping they're dumb enough to believe it. Life is not fair. And because two athletes aren't equal has nothing to do with value. When we play this game we set young athletes up for a rude awakening. They will be surprised when they aren't selected for an interview. They will be incredulous they weren't hired for the job. And they won't understand why they were passed up for the promotion. Business tycoon Jimmy...

The last few years has seen a huge increase in products with CBD or cannabidiol. So much that now, you can even get top cbd gummies for kids and pets! But is the research there to prove CBD provides an advantage to athletes? And more importantly is it safe for athletes to use CBD? CBD is one of the active ingredients in cannabis and comes from the hemp plant. Due to all the claims as to how CBD can help with anxiety, pain, cognition and more we're seeing more and more companies looking for ways to add this to their ingredients. But what about sports performance? Does CBD lend any benefits? The short answer is no. Despite the claims made by the tokin' athlete there isn't any research that proves it is effective and will enhance performance. TSN did a special in the fall and interviewed a number of athletes that talked about how they use CBD and how it helps them. And I believe this. Yes people are using CBD. And people believe that it works. They will take it for anxiety, pain-relief to treat inflammation and more. The problem is that none of these things will enhance performance. In fact, you could argue that taking CBD will impair performance. And here's why. When you train you want there to be an inflammatory response. This is necessary to trigger certain pathways i.e. m-TOR, that lead to protein synthesis. Taking a product with anti-inflammatory properties will blunt the natural growth response that should occur. But besides CBD working against your efforts to get stronger in the gym there is also the risk of a positive drug test during competition. If you are looking to get stronger without the use of any drugs Legacy Healing Miami can help. While taking CBD may...

Ankle dorsiflexion restriction is an important issue that can be easily missed or ignored in training. If not addressed, it can have a negative impact on sports performance and injury risk.  From a weight room point of view where this can have the biggest impact is with your squat depth and mechanics.   On the left we see that the knee is able to pass the toe, resulting in a more upright torso and improved squat depth.  While the right side is not wrong, it is more of a “hingey squat” and will lead to greater amounts of low back sheering and possible lower back pain. Picture credit:https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-squat-without-hip-pain A common solution that I see is to raise the heels using plates.  This helps bypass the needs for greater amounts of dorsiflexion at the ankle joint and usually results in instantly improved technique and greater depth.  I love this option but it does not mean we should not work on improving the restriction at the ankle, especially with athletes. It serves as a crutch, and how wants to be on crutches their whole life? From a sports performance point of view, limited ankle mobility can reduce power production in athletic movements such as sprinting and jumping.  To get into optimal positions for acceleration (first phase in sprinting), an athlete needs to be able to get into greater degrees of positive shin angle. This is very challenging if you don’t have the required ankle mobility.  The image on the L shows the shin moving forwards the foot. One the R there is less movement of the shin towards the foot. Picture credit:http://miguelaragoncillo.com/2016/01/20/4-methods-to-improving-speed-qualities/ The ankle joint can also act like a spring, helping the body to be propelled through space, such as a jump. The more you coil spring, the more force it is going...

Well we're less than two weeks from Christmas. And that means the parties, dinners and celebrations will be in full effect. Typically we consider the extra calories and sugar during Christmas. But what about the alcohol? How Bad Is Alcohol For You? A colleague with the NBA Hawks, Marie Spano, MS, CSCS, RD, CSSD, shared something on her social media. And I've going to share it with you as well. Alcohol interferes with muscle growth, especially in type II muscle fibers. These are your explosive force-generating muscle fibers 🏋🏾‍♂️that help you sprint, jump and lift weights. In one study, 1.5 g/kg bodyweight (this is 5-6 glasses of beer for a 155 lb. man; I show you how to calculate this below) consumed after exercise reduced the synthesis of protein in muscle by 37%. When protein (25 grams post exercise and again 4 hours later) was consumed along with alcohol the reduction in muscle protein synthesis was 24%. ❓How Does Alcohol Wreck Your Gains? Alcohol interrupts the transcription of genes involved in muscle growth by impairing IGF-1 signaling and in men but not women, mTOR signaling. Note: alcohol still reduces muscle protein synthesis in women though mTOR signaling is not impaired. Drinking alcohol after resistance training or a game decreases testosterone concentration and bioavailability in men but not women. Studies consistently show an alcohol intake > 1.5 g/kg lowers testosterone in men. 😳 Also, long-term alcohol use decreases the androgen receptor, so even if you have a lot of testosterone circulating, there’s a decrease in your body’s ability to use testosterone. How to Figure Out the Grams of Alcohol in a Drink 1 - Multiple the oz in the drink by the alcohol content. A 12 oz. beer with 6% alcohol has 0.72 oz. of alcohol. Multiple alcohol fluid oz. x 29.57...

Nutrition is one area of fitness and performance that many struggle with. Take for example the recent documentary Game Changers as an example. Since this film has begun to trend we're hearing of more and more people making the switch to becoming vegan or vegetarian. What this tells me is that the average person: A. Can be easily swayed by a Hollywood story i.e. James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan produced and/or directed this documentary. B. Is seeking more or better results and is willing to make changes to achieve better results. Knowing that many don't have a background in nutritional science and want to achieve the best results was the inspiration for this piece. Oftentimes those seeking the best results may invest in a supplement and so we want to provide some direction on that end as well. As we evaluate the various aspects of nutrition we want to identify if there would be benefit to adding a supplement to the mix. We need to be on the same page as to what is a supplement and here is our criteria. Something that is in addition to and not in place of.Something that is morally and legally justified.Something that has 3rd party labeling to assure the quality. If a substance doesn't adhere to these three rules we, the coaches at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc., would not recommend it to our clients. Obviously it is possible to source many products that don't satisfy these three rules, and find coaches that may recommend them, but these are our rules. Now onto the nutritional guidelines. Step 1 - Energy Balance The first step is to determine is you are eating enough calories to support your goal. The last part of the sentence is key. If we want to change our mass we...

Accountability for gym routines – coaches are just like you! Accountability to go workout or be active must be one of the biggest barriers or fall outs of an exercise routine. That is what most people who work with coaches need the most help with. But it is important to know that even the most fit people and coaches themselves have trouble with accountability and sticking to exercise routines. Coaches have all the components to keeping to a routine best; unlimited access to a gym at any time of the day, and unlimited knowledge of what to program for a workout makes it that coaches have no excuse to miss a workout, yet it still happens! There have been weeks at a time where I am unable to fit in a solid workout in between work, studying, and general life activities. Eventually, missing workouts leads to lower self efficacy and impacts on our mental health; we feel that we cannot control our time as much as we hope to fit in those important healthy activities like getting to the gym or going for a run. It affects coaches as well because they are supposed to be the ones leading by example when it comes to healthy living. However, we also have the resources to get you back on track! The first part of the solution to get back to a regular exercise routine is to: 1) recognize that you are in a dry spell of gym workouts so to speak. After you recognize that there is a need to get back to being more active, then 2) find an amount of time you can commit to being active (on any sort of level or intensity); say if you can commit to 30 minutes of activity everyday, then cut that in half...

It's New Year's Eve and we're not only about to start a new year but a new decade. Plus it's 2020. Very few people were around for 1919 and fewer still will be here for 2121. So this is a special one. Many will be looking to start anew. This might be wiping the slate clean and getting a fresh start. It's like making your bed and cleaning your room. You feel a sense of accomplishment and want to keep it up as long as you can. I'm sure this is how many feel with their health and fitness as we prepare for a new year. And if we flashed forward 12 months to this time next year I can tell you right now, without any doubt, whether you will be successful or not. And I know this because of one thing. And that one thing is your habits. Let me share a quick story about habits with you. It involves our 4 year old daughter Vangie. Every since Vangie was old enough to communicate with us I've said the same thing to her at dinner time. I ask her: 'Vangie, do you want to say grace?' Similar to our family...holding hands and praying before we eat. Sometimes she rolls her eyes. Other times she'll ask why we have to? And on occasion she'll just start eating. But even if she's reluctant to do so she'll always lead our family in grace. She'll add her own version every now and again as well. We'll usually hold hands as we pray but she may mix it up and cross her arms to the opposite sides and want the other family members to do the same. She's also be known to link with the person beside her with knuckles and finish the amen...

This is one of the busiest times of year at the gym. Many put their health and fitness on hold during the Christmas season. But now we've flipped the calendar to a new year, and decade, and we're ready to get started. Normally fat loss is the number one goal of those going to the gym. After a few weeks of egg nog, short bread and late nights this is worse than it normally would be. With that in mind I want to share with you some of our top fat loss tips. This will give the best chance to shed the holiday pounds and then some. Plus when you put these habits to practice you'll be able to not only lose the weight but keep it off. In no particular order here are our Top Fat Loss Tips for 20202. 1. Sleep 7+ Hours per Night - When we are sleep deprived a couple of hormones get disrupted. Ghrelin, which tells us we are starving, gets amplified. We tend to eat when we aren't needing nutrition. Leptin tells us we are full and we miss this message. So we end up overeating. And if you're someone that struggles with cravings, sleep will help you win this battle. When you are sleep deprived a part of the brain, the amygdala, is stimulated. This is the part of the brain that tells you to have a treat or reward. Additionally the insular cortex which is your will power is suppressed and makes it harder to say no. Lastly, when you're sleep deprived you'll be less likely to pop out of bed for a training session. You won't be able to train as intensely when you're tired. And when you do push it will take you longer to recover. 2. Journal - Maybe...

Do you like getting advice? What about advice from the best people in the world? For example, when you think of finances or investing, who comes to mind? Would you listen to what Warren Buffet had to say? What about Ray Dalio? Or Alan Greenspan? Success leaves clues. And we can learn a lot from the best in the world. Fitness, performance and nutrition are no different. I'm always curious as to what the best in our industry think by attending live educational events, reading and picking their brains on social media. Recently I asked a number of the top people in our industry the following: 'If you could share one piece of advice with an athlete what would it be?' And I compiled their answers below for you. While I would have loved to include all the answers below, for brevity I couldn't include them all. Too see all the replies you can see the full thread here on my Facebook page. (see the January 18th post) In no particular order here The Top Coaches Share Their One Best Tip. 1. Don’t expect people to help you. Help yourself. And get your parents to do your research and lead the charge. Natural selection can be cruel and inefficient. - Derek Hansen click here to view Derek's bio I like this as it speaks to advocating for yourself. You need to work for what you want. Ask for help. And when you think of building your IST (integrated support team) your parents should be the first people you turn to. They know you the best, probably like you more than most people and genuinely want to see you succeed. 2. Embrace variety: in food, in training, in friends, in activities, maybe not in spouses - Dr. Susan Kleiner click her to...

It's no surprise North Americans are getting more overweight and obese. Some will point to sugar as the culprit. Others cite inactivity as the problem. While both of these could play roles in our expanding waist lines there's no denying we're eating larger portions than in previous years. So why does this happen? Why are we eating larger portions? A review of the research identifies two reasons (1). The first is that we seek value for food. We look get more in return for our financial investment. Think of many times people opt to super-size a combo meal at a fast food restaurant. It's not that the portion of fries and drink that normally accompanies a meal is insufficient. It's more of a case that for a nominal increase in price you get substantially more food. You'd be stupid not to, right? There's no denying portion sizes have increased over the years. The other reason that we are eating larger portions is due to portion distortion. We have been exposed to such large portions of food that we have been conditioned to recognize these as normal. In the marketplace we are offered portions that are 3-4 times what a standard portion should be. But the public perception is that is these amplified portions are the standard. No one bats an eye when we are over served. If we were to go the other way and were served a standard portion, one at 1/3 to 1/4 normal market offerings, we'd cry foul and the restaurateur would hear about it. Another study looked at how the size and freshness affected how much popcorn we eat (2). What they found when given a small versus a large tub of stale popcorn, subjects ate 34% more when they had a large tub. Even though the...

No one is perfect. Even in the areas where we see greatness there are still times when mistakes happen. But the average person may look at greatness and think it could never happen to them. For example: I could never be an expert in my field. I could never achieve financial freedom. I could never have a lean and pain-free physique. We assume those that have achieved success are blessed with talent and abilities that we don't. We got short-changed when God was doling out the gifts. And there's no point trying, failing and then proving to yourself and the rest of the world that this is true. Don't give talent too much credit for success. Sure you need to know to pull instead of push. But then it's work hard and persistence. Do you feel this way? Do you have self-limiting beliefs? Many people doubt what they're able to achieve. And this has less to do with talent and more to do with not meeting a minimum threshold of effort or not making the effort for long enough. Sometimes it could be both of these. In Napoleon Hill's book Think and Grow Rich, Hill tells the story of a prospector giving up on his quest for gold. Later when others resumed the dig they struck gold 3 feet from where the previous efforts had stopped. How frustrating would that be? To be so close to success and to quit. This is what happens to many with their health efforts. They haven't seen the outward sign of their sacrifice and so they pack it in. You can succeed in any area of your life. And here's how. If you read 10 pages per day that would be 3650 pages per year. This would be equivalent to 12 books a year or...

Do you take supplements? If so, which ones do you take? And why? A popular one these days is vitamin D. We've seen a rise in the number of people taking vitamin D during the winter months when there is either less sunshine or it's too cold to get out there and get some rays. According to the Botox And Filler Onilne Course you can get at www.cosmeticcourses.co.uk, which focuses of the use of Botox and Fillers but also provides a basic guide about skincare, Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. These nutrients are needed to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy. A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children, and bone pain caused by a condition called osteomalacia in adults. So why the need to supplement with vitamin D? Well this vitamin is required for calcium absorption which plays a role in our bone health. This relationship is seen whenever you drink milk. On almost every milk container you'll see a mention of vitamin D. According to the Institute of Medicine we should get 600-800 IU (international units) of vitamin D per day. Higher levels of 1-2000 IU per day are still deemed safe. As our bodies cannot produced this vitamin it is important that we supplement. Compounding the challenge of our bodies not being able to make it is the fact that we spend more of our days indoor. And with technology and global markets we don't operate precisely on a circadian rhythm. Graveyard workers might be asleep during the part of the day when there is an option to get sun. Low levels of vitamin D have been associated with higher levels of a number of diseases and health concerns including cancer, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, stroke, depression,...

Time for a pop quiz!!! What percentage of people wish they more time? A recent article I read mentioned that up to 80% of people wished they had more time. Does that surprise you? Would you be included in the 80%? If most people wish they had more time... And most have goals to be leaner, stronger and healthy... Than it would make sense to find ways to be as efficient a possible with the little time we have when it comes to training. With that in mind here are 10 Ways to Make Your Training More Efficient. 1. Put Yourself on the Clock - Are you aware of how long regular tasks take you to do? For example, how long would it take you to unload the dishwasher? If you're not aware then set the timer on the microwave for 4 minutes and see what happens. Typically we think things take longer than they really do. And unless we're on the clock and aware of diminishing time we can adopt a casual pace and stretch things out. Imagine packing for a flight that leaves in 2.5 hours and you need to leave for the airport ASAP. You might be able to pack in 5 minutes and be out the door. With your training set a count down timer at the start of your workout. If you have 20 minutes set it for 18 and hit 'start'. Change your settings so your screen doesn't go blank and you'll be able to see the time counting down as you train. You'll have a greater sense of urgency and make the most of your limited time. 2. Get Off Line - Make sure to turn your data and notifications off while you train. Set your phone to silent mode. We're not talking about...

Weight loss is an interesting topic these days. For some, bringing up the topics of keto, intermittent fasting, plant-based or some other popular nutritional topic of the day leads to heated discussions. Unfortunately, some conversations are prefaced with 'I believe...' and then whatever nutritional opinion follows. Emotions can become so strong with nutrition that facts and evidence get thrown out the window. And positions can be maintained as though defending a religious perspective. When discussing weight loss there are two predominant positions popping up on social media. One supposes that creating a caloric deficit is all that matters. You can eat fast food every day as long as you are eating fewer calories than you burn in a day. This ignores what the other position claims is vital, which is the quality of the nutrition. Maybe you've heard the expression 'as long as it fits your macros' to justify eating certain foods. By macros we're referring to the macronutrients i.e. proteins, carbs and fats. The truth is that both sides are correct. It matters how much you eat. A caloric deficit is needed to achieve weight loss. And the quality of the matters as well. You cannot achieve healthy weight loss with low quality nutrition.. But there's one more piece to the puzzle that typically tends to get ignored. And that's the timing of our nutrition. In other words, would you expect eating the same foods in the same amounts at different times to have an impact on our weight loss efforts? For example, if you ate a 2070 calorie breakfast, a 600 calorie lunch and a 330 calorie dinner... Would this have any difference on our fat loss efforts than if we ate the following: 330 calorie breakfast, 600 calorie lunch, 2070 calorie dinner. The answer is that it does...

A few years ago a friend and colleague, Dr. Susan Kleiner, gave me a copy of her book, The Good Mood Diet. Dr. Kleiner is one of the top performance dietitians and wrote this book to explain how we can use food to effect our mood. Last week a study from the University of Toronto was published showing how the foods we eat is related to our moods. Dr. Kleiner's book was published in 2007 which means she was talking about this at least 13 years ago. And the now the research is coming out to support what she's been saying all along. This study is a part of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. CLSA is a long term study of 50,000 Canadian adults and follows them for at least 20 years. A variety of factors are examined with respect to the impact they have on disease and disability as we age. The U of T study found that individuals who ate fewer than 3 servings of fruits and vegetables daily were 24% more likely to suffer from anxiety. And when the level of obesity increased so did the likelihood of having anxiety. For example, when obesity was over 36% the chance of anxiety increased by over 70%. The authors speculated that with higher levels of obesity there would be increased levels of inflammation. And other research is indicating there may be a connection to inflammation and anxiety. Besides how many fruits and vegetables we eat and our level of obesity there are other factors related to anxiety. These factors include the sex of the individual, their income, their immigration status, marital status and other health factors. About 11%, or 1 in 9, women will suffer from anxiety compared to 7%, or 1 in 15, men. The authors do admit...

The coronavirus sure has changed things for everyone. Students aren't in school. Businesses are closed. Borders are closed. We're hearing daily reports on how many new cases there are, how many have died and how bad it could get. And I understand the value of putting out credible and accurate updates and information.But we can really only take so much bad news. If for no other reason than having a positive mood makes you less likely to get sick. Whether it's the coronavirus or something else we should all want to stay healthy. With that in mind I've put together the 14 best things to happen as a result of the coronavirus. 1. Better Hygiene - How many times a day do you now wash your hands? Before every meal. After every visit to the bathroom. At the start and end of the day. After training and any other activities during the day. Add to this the extra disinfectant, hand sanitizer, wipes and cleaning supplies we're using and we're definitely making a better attempt to stay cleaner even if only manually. Even before the coronavirus research has shown hand washing helps reduce gastrointestinal illness 31% and respiratory illness 21%. (1) 2. Sincerity - Have you noticed conversations are more real lately? For example, when you call someone and ask how they're doing they answer. They simply don't say 'Good. You?' Instead they will take the time to fill you in on how things are going and how they're managing. And as the listener, you actually care and listen. You are able to empathize with what they're going through and this seems to help both. 3. Renewed Value of Human Contact - Before the current pandemic there may have been days when I would get upwards of 100 high 5s, knuckles or...

Your gym is closed. You need to keep distance from every one else. You might even be self-quarantined. You can't access your coach. You don't have a home gym set up. And if you're not an athlete what's the point of working on your performance and fitness anyway? Doesn't really sound like the prescription to improving your fitness and performance? But it could be. Below are 10 reasons you'll come out of COVID-19 fitter than before this all started. 1. Fitter relative to everyone else. Truth is we compare ourselves to others. Good or bad, it happens. We go on a hike with friends and family and notice we're the only ones huffing and puffing while wishing there were more stops for selfies i.e. rest and water breaks. You go on a beach vacation and you notice who goes to the pool and who avoids it. And of those that venture into the water who is all wrapped up and who ditches the cover ups and gets right in. Whatever the situation, we measure our efforts and progress relative to those around us. And guess what? Something like that doesn't change during a pandemic. For athletes seasons have been cancelled. Teams have been disbanded. And to prevent gatherings of larger groups there are no practices or training sessions. Most are in a holding pattern waiting until things return to normal. And while most are doing nothing some are doing something. And if it something isn't a lot or as much as you normally do it's more than your competitor that is binge watching Tiger King and already finished the new season of Ozark. Small, frequent and steady progress always leads to improvement compared to massive training sessions that only happen once in a while. If you are young athlete this is...