Tag: Training

My Experience At A Toronto Nike NTC Class

I love Nike. I love the NTC app and I see on twitter and Instagram all these great events that they have. It seems as though most of the NTC events are in the states. America has tons of amazing trainers that are Nike NTC trainers or affiliates but here in Canada. I only know of one Nike Trainer. I have no idea how they selected her or why. I've inquired to every outlet or anyone involved in Nike that I can get in contact with on how to apply, how to audition or how to become an influencer in Canada but no one can give me an answer. Or I get short turned with they're figuring out how to identify influencers. I just want to be part of a community  of like minded trainers that genuinely care and do a good job at motivating people. I feel that having a Nike NTC trainer role is a great outlet to do just that. My passion is helping athletes and clients achieve goals and keeping them motivated.

So finally A few weeks ago I saw a post on Facebook about the Toronto Nike NTC classes. They posted a link showing you when the next classes were and gave a link to sign up. I sent a bunch of my clients e-mails and asked if they wanted to go. YAY Nike NTC events! A few of my clients were available and said yes. So we all registered. Leading up to the event I did not receive a reminder e-mail or any other sort of notification. Fine. Not a big deal since I put everything in my agenda.

Even though I was in an accident on May 29th I am limited to the things that I can do with both my hand and my knee. I am great at  knowing my limitations and being able to modify exercises so I decided I would still participate (this was my first time working out since the accident), so I decided to still go.

Upon arrival at the Academy of Lions (where the event was held) there were signs for Nike NTC. I walked into the store front area of the gym and no one greater me, told me to register or had me fill  out a waiver (which needs to be done or I could sue for injury and liability). I then noticed some girls coming in and signing in at the front desk. I signed in. No one spoke to me with any direction or information on where to wait. So I sat and observed. Then we saw a small sign on the entrance of the changing rooms that said Nike NTC register at front desk. A little late but there it was. About 10 minutes later the front desk guy from the gym comes up and asks myself and my client if we were new to the NTC class. We said yes and he said ok I will need to get you to sign a waiver. He left and came back to the group again with no waivers for us.

At this point the instructor came and said "ok guys lets run to the park like we always do." NO INTRODUCTION, NO QUESTIONS, DIDNT ASK IF ANYONE WAS NEW, DIDNT ASK IF ANYONE HAD ANY INJURIES, NOTHING! So we proceed to go to the park. Halfway through the warmup the instructor finally acknowledge that I had a knee injury and gave me one alternate to the exercise we were doing. OK THANKS! I proceeded to modify every other exercise given in the circuit training MYSELF. The workouts lasted approximately 35 minutes then a 10 minute stretch. Yes I worked up a sweat but it probably was because of the sun.

My experience with that particular NIKE NTC class at The Academy of Lions was sub par. The instructor was fit, but must be comfortable in her role. A simple welcome to NTC class would have been great and a bit of her background. A greeting at the club upon arrival would have been nice and a waiver presented to me would have been great. I wouldn't recommend this particular Saturday morning NTC class for very beginner exerciser. Very little exercise correction was offered, I don't think it was conducted safely and the instructors enthusiasm was less than stellar. Exercises were done on pavement (bad for joints, knees etc).

Overall I would rate the circuit style NTC bootcamp a 3/10. Now don't get me wrong. Im sure not all the classes are like this in Toronto or all the instructors are like this but I was very disappointed with my experience. Let me know if you have done a Nike NTC class and how your experience was in the comments below.

Did You See Train It Right in Impact Magazine's March/April Issue?

Alicia was asked to write an article about 5k and 10k training that included core speed.  Did you pick up a copy?

Yesterday I attended a Telus event feautrign the Samsung Galaxy Galaxy S5 and new Gear Fit. We got the opportunity to workout with celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson (found of The Tracy Anderson Method). The experience was amazing. What a great event and I am so impressed with the Samsung technology that I am now a Samsung user with telus and I was lucky enough to receive my own Samsung Galaxy 5s and Gear Fit! But guess what?!??!??! You can get your very own Samsung 5s and Gear Fit too!

Im happy to announce that I am teaming up with TELUS to give away a TELUS Compatable Samsung Galaxy S5 and Gear Fit. Since Telus cares about their customers’ commitment to their health and we think mobile technology can play a key role in helping you have a healthier lifestyle, whether you’re just getting started or looking for new ways to stay on the right path. That’s why we’re always looking for ways to help our customers use technology to better manage their health and wellbeing.

Please spread the word as I will be announcing contest rules and entry information later this week!

Here are some of the things that make using the Samsung GALAXY S5 and Gear Fit from TELUS an effortless, beautiful experience:

• The GALAXY S5 and Gear Fit help support healthier lifestyles
  • The GALAXY S5, with its enhanced S Health software and hardware, including a built-in heart rate sensor, is designed to be your personal fitness tracker, leading you through your fitness routines daily and consistently.
  • Set your goals and achieve them with the help of GALAXY S5's pedometer and S Health’s constant tracking of your condition, walking distance, calories, speed, duration, and more.
  • To complete the package, the new, wearable Gear Fit connects to your GALAXY S5, providing real-time updates on your condition, walking distance, calories, speed, duration and more. 

• The GALAXY S5 is more than a health companion; some of its other notable features include:

• A great camera: The GS5 features a 16MP camera with the world’s fastest auto-focus (0.3 seconds), HDR and selective auto-focus to capture all those special moments.
• Speed: The GS5 features an innovative Wi-Fi technology for boosting data speed, Download Booster, which bonds Wi-Fi and TELUS’ 4G LTE Network simultaneously, allowing consumers to experience what’s trending now at blazing fast speeds. It also features fifth generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi MiMo.
• Protection: The IP67 dust and water resistant GS5 is protected against the effects of temporary immersion in water and dust. Additionally, Ultra-power Saving Mode gives users up to 24 hours of battery life on only 10% of a charge – making sure you are always connected when you need to be.

…but really, that’s only scratching the surface!

The Samsung GALAXY S5 is so feature-packed, TELUS offers Learning Centre sessions, where product specialists can teach you the ins and outs of each device in the best in-store experience around. Even advanced users can learn a thing or two!

TELUS’ Learning Centres are a unique TELUS experience found in over 200 stores across Canada, designed to provide personalized, one-on-one training to customers with specially trained Learning Specialists. Customers can also take advantage of the Online Learning Centre to learn about common features and troubleshoot issues if they can’t make it to the store.

Toss in TELUS’ exclusive offerings like Anytime Upgrades and SharePlus Plansto truly experience how TELUS is putting their customers first.

To upgrade to the latest and greatest devices, customers can simply pay off their Device Balance and upgrade to a new phone whenever they want with TELUS’ Anytime Upgrades.

TELUS’ SharePlus plans give customers peace of mind on their monthly bills with unlimited nationwide talk and text and the ability to share data with multiple subscribers on the same account or household.

The Samsung GALAXY S5 is available from TELUS for $229 on a two-year term or $730 month-to-month. For available general plans and pricing, please click here.

The Samsung Gear Fit is available at TELUS for $219 in select stores and online.

For some strange reason, range of motion in the fitness world seems to be completely misunderstood with trainers having their clients only do partial range movements saying its full range (partial does not mean full) and trainees performing these ranges. So with this in mind I will quickly explain what Range of Motion or ROM actually is in a human movement setting:

WHAT IT IS

Range of motion (ROM) is as its name suggest, the range to which a body part can move properly in space while attached to another. Typically what this means is how many degrees of flexion or extension a joint can go thru. Here are 3 prime examples of full ROM:

• Squats: While maintaining a flat/neutral back position, bending at the knees, hips and ankles one lowers their buttocks until the hamstring covers the calf while the feet remain flat on the ground.
• Bench Press (any barbell variation): Keeping the shoulders and glutes on the bench, one bends their elbows and shoulder joint lowering the bar until it is in contact with the chest
• Pull/Chin-up: Starting from a full hang (elbows are not flexed), pull the body up by bending the elbow and shoulder until the chin has passed the bar and until the forearm and bicep have made contact.

So what does this mean?

First take a look at any joint in the human body, the joint has a range of motion that it was designed to be able to go thru whether under additional external resistance or not. Many people will advocate that full ROM training will damage the joint and these people are what I like to call……..WRONG!

By training the joints thru their entire range of motion, this will actually make the joint healthier than continuous partial range training.............

To read the full article please visit: http://rislingperformance.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/what-is-range-of-motion/ 

http://www.recallcenter.com/hip-replacement

Did you know that May is Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention month? Because this very important month is often overlooked. I am spreading awareness.  This is a graphic that outlines some facts & risk factors about the disease. For example, one out of every two women and one in four men over 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime. Staying active is one of the top ways to prevent this disease. Get active and get your family members active at any age! We can make a difference. For more information click HERE

Are you an athlete or fitness enthusiast? Are you having trouble fitting into jeans? The crafty fitness enthusiasts behind Barbell Apparel have designed jeans that fit. YEP I said it. Jeans that fit!!!!!!!!! They recently just launched their venture on Kickstarter.

According to the kickstarter site:

"Barbell Denim uses technologically superior denim designed to move in complete sync with your body. With our jeans it almost feels like you’re wearing nothing.

Designed for athletes, these jeans are made to fit comfortably over muscular legs by accommodating your quads and butt without forcing you to buy larger sizes for the small waist you work so hard for.

However, Barbell Denim will accommodate any body type. Even if your legs aren't particularly muscular, Barbell Denim will still look amazing on you and feel even more amazing as you move in them. Our hybrid denim stretches both ways so that it can compliment smaller legs, while still easily stretching to accommodate larger legs as well. "

I want a pair! I can never find jeans that fit! Who's with me?!

Flirty Girl Fitness in Toronto is having an Open House. Check it out below:

Injury prevention: Tennis Elbow

No doubt you have heard of this injury in past while either watching sports or have personally experienced some symptoms of it. Tennis elbow (properly known as Lateral Epicondylitis) is a chronic, nagging pain on the lateral (outer) aspect of the elbow joint often caused by weakness leading to overuse and overexertion of certain movements. Some other signs include pain when gripping an object, pronation and supination while holding an object or by stiffness throughout the forearm and elbow. The reason it was given the common name of tennis elbow was it was a common injury that was popping up in tennis players, with those at higher levels having a greater incidence of the injury. While not a completely debilitating injury, it is commonly a nagging, persistent annoyance for many while it can manifest itself as a very sharp shooting pain very much like other tendonitis type pains.

Rapid extension of the elbow joint coupled with either forceful pronation (turning palm down) or supination (turning palm up) is one of the primary causes of tennis elbow with both direct impacts and overuse also being major contributors to the frequency of the debilitation. Typically there is minimal inflammation from this but is indicated with pain along the radial nerve as micro tears and adhesions in the tendons at the wrist and/or elbow signal pain.

To help prevent the injury from occurring in the first place or to reverse the symptoms of it, one must directly focus on the structures involved. What this requires is properly warming them up to allow greater blood flow and also performing various stretches for the muscles around the elbow and wrist to ensure that there is adequate flexibility in the muscles and tendons and also that the joints themselves are able to move through their full ranges of motion. Some simples ones are wrist circles, wrist extension and stretching out the hand. As well, ensuring that the muscles and joints are “conditioned” enough to handle repetitive use like in tennis/racket sports by gradually increasing their work capacity over time and learning proper mechanics. One population known for this are the older population who take up tennis, doing some general fitness and stretching before and after will help alleviate symptoms.

Also strengthening up specific muscles will immensely cut down the risk for injury. A few of the major points are the supinators and pronators of the arm, excluding the biceps brachii as it is typically already sufficiently strong. I speak of the smaller, supinator muscle, Pronator quadratus and teres. Some simple ways to do this is at a twin pulley station, adjust the pulley height to be at roughly waist height (approximately the same height as the hand when the elbow is bent to 90 deg). From here using either a small straight bar or a rope attachment, perform both pronation and supination of the wrist while keeping the elbow bent to 90 degrees. To  do this, stand beside the pulley with it beside your elbow while you are looking sideways to the pulley, grab the attachment with your furthest hand (if right side is beside pulley, grab with left hand) for supination and closest hand for pronation. From here if you are doing supination start with the palm facing the floor and turn your palm up, in the case of pronation, do this in reverse. This will help strengthen the muscles to be able to handle greater external load demands like striking a ball in with a racket. Performing relatively higher reps, 10-15 reps with a slow eccentric and fast concentric is best while holding a pause at the end of each range.

Another common issue is that people are generally far stronger in elbow flexion movements when the hands are supinated (regular bicep curl) while being pronated (reverse curl) they are significantly weaker. This large imbalance on its own over time can manifest it in the form of tendonitis so as opposed to always doing regular curls, for a time being exclude them completely and focus on reverse grip and neutral (hammer) grip curling movements to bring these muscles all up to par.

Why Elite Athletes require Strength & Conditioning Coaches?

With the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics just a couple of weeks away let’s take a look at one aspect of getting to the highest level in a sport, Strength training. While yes a vast majority of sport specific coaches have a decent understanding of strength training the truth is their expertise is the specific skill and tactical development of the sport which is why athletes need an additional component to their support staff, Strength and Conditioning Coaches.

Using track and field as an example, the main staples that 90% of track coaches program for their athletes are:

• Power Cleans
• Partial Range Back Squats
• Barbell Flat Bench Press
• [insert random abdominal exercise here]

As a strength coach I have to look not only at what will improve performance by making the athlete faster (stronger to improve stride length) but also what will prevent injury and the biggest injury in the sport is a hamstring injury, but yet not one of the above exercises addresses the issue of ensuring the hamstring is sufficiently strong to prevent being overpowered by the quadriceps and glutes and then leading to a strained/pulled hamstring. This can then be extended to every sport and the specific strength qualities related to them whether its acceleration/power, speed, strength, endurance, strength endurance.

Strength Coaches study and are better equipped than sport specific coaches to find various imbalances and then using the tools in our toolbox, scientifically formulate a program to reduce the discovered imbalance to reduce injury risk and improve athletic performance whether that’s running speed, jump height, racquet speed or punching power. This requires another approach to periodization training and even mini periodization within a specific training cycle/block to maximize the effect of training to translate onto the field of play. Just in a program this includes:

• Exercise selection
• Variation of exercise selection (Range of motion, implement, grip, angles)
• Specificity to sport skills, tasks and movements
• Taking into account physical and emotional demands of practice
• Taking into account physical (metabolical, hormonal, neurological) and emotional demands of training session (repititions, sets, intensity/load, tempo and speed of movement, rest intervals, range of motion)
• Nutritional demands and status of athlete

Elite athletes need to have a strength coach in their support staff to help to ensure they are physically ready to perform at their highest level, to be their strongest/fittest for competition. Take a look at every NCAA collegiate program, they have a department dedicated to strength and conditioning for this very reason.

To perform at the highest levels, elite athletes require their training to be catered and specific towards them. This gives the added NEED to have an additional coach who specializes in strength and conditioning training to ensure the athlete is at their best when in competition and able to handle the rigors and demands of day to day practices and come out of it healthy.