January 2012 Winter Class Schedule Posted

We have added a couple of new class times -

Monday, Wednesday & Friday mornings 9.30 – 10.30am

Saturday morning add – on class 8.00 – 9.00am and 10.00 – 11.00am

Please remember that these classes require minimum numbers to move forward so please let me know your intentions.  Thanks.

Link on right column has a grid class schedule, pricing and registration

Harvest Food Bank/12 Days of Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone.  Fall Classes have now wrapped up and it is time for a 2 week break.  Let your body recover, go for some walks, scroll down this blog posting and try some postural and mobility exercises, do yoga, or try a new activity. It doesn’t mean you have to stop exercising or have license to eat horribly, but after 12 weeks on, you need a physical and mental break (or a break from me?).

We will be doing our 2nd annual 12 days of Christmas class this Wednesday (December 21st) at 6.30pm.

All participants are asked to:

1. email me to let me know you are attending

2. bring a non perishable item to be dropped off at the Harvest Food Bank

3. have fun, work hard and burn some calories as we are going for drinks after

Free Week to Kick off Fall Programs

Fall programs officially begin September 19th but for the week of  September 12th – 17th there will be no charge for classes.  A bonus week for those planning to register and a chance for newcomers to come out and see what we do.  Encourage you to bring a friend, family member or co-worker to try it out.

Class schedule will be as follows that week -

Riverview Community Centre 

Wednesday & Friday 6.00 – 7.00am (September 14 & 16) –  meet at community centre

River Heights  

Tuesday & Thursday 6.00 – 7.00am (September 13 & 15) – River Heights indoor location

New Class Time! Special 2 Weeks of Free Training! 9.30 – 10.30 am

Wednesday & Friday 9.30 – 10.30am (September 14 & 16 and September 20& 22) – Tuxedo Community Centre field (at Field#1)

Tuesday & Thursday 7.00 – 8.00pm (September 13 & 15) – Robert H Smith School

(Please note,  Tuesday & Thursday 6.30 – 7.30pm and 7.40 – 8.40pm classes this week only will be combined and we will split the difference and run class 7.oo – 8.oopm and then go back to normal class times starting September 19th)

Saturday 9.00 – 10.00am (September 17) - Robert H Smith School

Weather and light permitting we will be holding these classes outdoors at Riverview Community Centre and Robert H Smith School.  Please bring water, a yoga mat and dress appropriately.

Fall Schedule will then commence the following week, September 19th and will be 13 weeks in duration, ending December 17th.  

Please note there are no classes Thanksgiving (Monday, October 10th ) and Remembrance Day (Friday, November 11th).

Fall pricing can be found here

Registration page link can be found here

4 Things Women Should Be Doing at the gym to change their body (and often aren’t)

The following article is by Carmen Bott, from Vancouver, BC.  Carmen runs a fitness consulting company called Human Motion.  She also lectures and provides courses for fitness professionals, and is very knowledgeable.  I also happen to agree with what she writes in the following article.

4 Things Women Should Be Doing at the gym to change their body (and often aren’t) By Carmen Bott  1.  Lifting heavy weights Yes ladies, throw away the pink dumbbells and opt for a load that challenges (and I mean really challenges you) for 6-8 reps.  Tone is simply the appearance of ‘hardness’ in a muscle while at rest and the ONLY way to achieve real tone is through heavier lifting.  If the volume is kept reasonable (3-6 sets) per exercise, the chances of gaining bulk through this type of training is slim.  The media has been lying to women for years about going light with high reps as the answer to a hard body. 2.  Skip the cardio machines Yes, that’s correct.  Steady cardio sessions on the Elliptical trainer are for……well I am not quite sure who.  The calorie expenditure is nil and the demand on the body is so low that you might as well spend the day shopping and drinking coffee.  The key is interval training and moving your body against the earth’s gravitational forces, so activities such as circuit training, tire flipping, sled pushing, hill running are all much better choices. (this is why it is called work)  Not only do they use more energy in LESS TIME, but the amount of energy you use after the training session is prolonged.  Meaning, you will burn more calories doing nothing after a more intense, interval-based session of only 20 minutes versus a 90 minutes ‘watch-the-paint-dry” session on the elliptical trainer or stationary bike. 3.  Perform full-body workouts with load. The more muscles you activate during an exercise, the more calories you burn.  Period.  And the really cool aspect of this principle is that, you actually burn even more calories when you become more proficient at an exercise.  Take a deadlift for example.  You could do 1000 of those Jane Fonda-like butt toning leg lifts without resistance for years on end and never see and change in your derrière, but if you picked up some weight using the deadlift for 4 x 5 reps, 2 days per week, not only would you target that derrière of your, but you will use more energy in doing so.  Shape magazine lies. 4.  Stop Crunching You will not (again, Shape magazine lies) tighten and whittle your waist by performing an endless variety of sit-ups, side twisty-things and crunches.  And no, “More reps!” does not work either!  To whittle the waist you need to make sure you are watching your diet (see a holistic nutritionist) first and foremost.  Once that end of things is on track, in order to challenge the abdominals, you need to perform strength training.  No, I am not talking about standing on a wobble board performing a lateral raise with tubing to quote: “Improve your core stability”  (by the way, that is a lie too); I am talking about selecting an exercise that challenges your core whereby you must brace that area to keep your body stable and move weight.  Crunches have also been proven to stress the spine and create muscle imbalances (McGill, all the time).  Instead, spare your spine and strengthen your core by performing variations of the plank with high quality and maximal activation.  Front squats and pull-ups are also excellent ways to integrate the core – yes, I know, you don’t feel the burn.

Summer 2011 Classes

An update for Summer classes -  Classes will begin July 18th and will run 7 total weeks until September 2nd.  There will be options for those going away on holidays to pro rate class based on weeks attending.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
	Early Morning Fitness 6.oo – 7.oo am		Early Morning Fitness 6.oo – 7.oo am
Evening Fitness 6.3o – 7.3o pm	Evening Fitness 6.3o – 7.3o pm		Evening Fitness 6.3o – 7.3o pm

Fall classes will begin September 12th in River Heights and at Riverview Community Centre.

To register go to http://bcfitness.ca/book.html, email info@bcfitness.ca or call 293.9757

 

1. River Heights Tuesday & Thursday 6.30 – 7.30 pm evening classes

2. River Heights Tuesday & Thursday 6.00 – 7.00 am early morning

                                                

Prehab exercises

To go along with your new and improved mobility,  here is a short video on some exercises designed to help improve your mobility and help prevent injuries. Most exercises done in class involve large, multi joint  muscle groups, the goal here is to restore some balance to your body by working some postural muscles and smaller stabilisers.

Again, these exercises can be performed in sequence, 8 -12 repetitions per side and should not take you longer than 15 minutes once you get the hang of it. Another great way to supplement your weekly exercise program and help prevent injuries. Everybody has developed imbalances at some point in your life and it varies for each individual. Spend extra time on the exercises you find most difficult and build the strength and neuro muscular coordination in these areas.

1. Core activation – abdominal bracing (practice longer holds and the ability to contract the muscle tension – 10%, 50% etc)

2. Chin tucks/Neck retractions – very good for helping the muscles that hold your head in good posture and alignment

3.  Four Point/Bird dog – opposite arm & leg with limited hip rotation to help build strong glute muscles

4. Supine Bridge – another glute exercise, harder if you go to single leg raises

5. Scapula Push Up – at feet or knees, only upper back movement in this exercise

6. Prone Y raises – single or double arm or over stability ball for greater range of motion

7. Side lying rotator cuff – or standing with tubing – do not let elbow move outwards from body to help build shoulder stability

8. Split Squats – hold chair or something solid for support if required

9. Wall facing squats – great corrective exercise for those with imbalances or flexibility issues. If nothing else it teaches you to stick that butt back and bend from the hips, use a chair for safety if needed.

10. Hip corrections – single leg standing, let solid leg hip move outwards and then bring it back in to “normal” position, then repeat.

Email me (info@bcfitness.ca) if you have any questions or require further information

Improve your mobility

We have a few weeks off to let your body rest, recover and rejuvenate for another round of exercise. While we work on getting the intensity level up during the workouts it is equally important to work on recovery and range of motion exercises during the break.

An improved range of motion will allow you to exercise with better results, we are assuming that the more freely your body moves, the better you will feel and  the easier it is to exercise, and more importantly - be pain free in your everday life. Your body constantly adapts to what you do, so it is never too late for improvements.

Just as we all have strengths and weaknesses in exercises, this also applies to our range of motion. It really is something you should work on over the break and daily if possible in the future. It  only takes 15 minutes per day as this video demonstrates. Just as you see improvements in your strength and cardio over time at classes,  remember this did not happen overnight. It took regular weekly practice, and the same rules will apply with mobility work. If it took you 20 or 30 years to lose some of your mobility, it is going to a bit to regain it.

1. Neck movement – side to side and nodding up and down to free this area up

2. Shoulder movement – forward/backward arm circles and dowel use as seen in video

3. Upper back – cat/camel poses

4. Upper back – side lying trunk rotations keeping shoulders on ground if possible

5. Hips – hip flexor stretch

6. Hips – hula hoops

7. Hips – forward/back leg swings, figure 8′s, adductor/adductor swings

8. Hips/knees/ankles – squat to stand and deep squat holds

9. Ankle/achilles – heel drops on stair or bench and hold

10. Integrated movement – high knee bounds, butt kickers and alternate lunges

11. Myofascial release – foam roller/tennis ball rolling, massage therapy

The procedure here is to do about 8 – 12 repetitions per exercise (each side if applicable) or around 30 seconds. If you have lots of time and the stretching feels good then go longer and work that area, or go through the sequence a few times. If pressed for time then get through what you can. Also note where you are tight and what is restricted and try to work on your weak points. Most of ignore what we are bad at and go to what we are good at. Nobody likes to work what they suck at, but all this does is make the imbalance greater.

 Any questions just send me an email (info@bcfitness.ca) and I will try to help you the best I can or point you in the right direction for further resources.

Deadlift technique and tips

Governor Arnold knows the value of this exercise

We have been doing this a bit over the summer and it is a great exercise to build total body strength. So simple (just pick up the weight), yet so difficult (because you are using multiple joints and muscle groups).  Definitely something we want to work more on, so please read the following.

 Here are some of the many benefits (as outlined byfitness professional Eric Cressey)

• it’s the single-most effective movement for training the posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings, adductor magnus, and lumbar erectors)
• strengthening the posterior chain with closed-chain movements like deadlifts also reduces injury risk. Weak hamstrings are a serious risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, patellofemoral pain, and a host of other problems at the knee, hip, ankle, and lower back
• deadlifts enable a lifter to use more loading, thus ensuring that more motor units and, in turn, muscle fibers will be recruited all over the body. The more fibers you recruit, the greater your stimulus for growth. And, if you’re looking to shed body fat, the post-exercise oxygen debt will be larger from recruiting more muscle mass, meaning that your metabolic rate will be really jacked up for longer after the end of your training session
• deadlifts are quite possibly the best exercise for enhancing rate of force development (RFD)—also known as explosive strength. This refers to how quickly you can develop tension in a muscle, and is obviously of tremendous importance to athletic success
•  deadlifts have a better functional carryover to real world performance than leg curls, glute-blasters, and all the other silly machines out there
• deadlifts can be a tremendously valuable corrective training exercise if coached correctly. I’ve used them in the correction of IT [iliotibial] band friction syndrome, lower back pain, lateral knee pain, groin pain, and a host of other torso and lower extremity problems. The secret rests with the proper execution of the exercise

Here are some common deadlift errors:

• Initiating the lift with the elbows flexed/bent (they should be “taut” the entire time)

• Pushing through the mid-foot or toes (should push through the heels)

• Starting with the hips too high (using the lower back instead of the hamstrings and glutes)

• Starting with the hips too low (trying to squat the weight up instead of deadlifting it)

• Allowing the hips to rise faster than the shoulders (should come up together to keep the stress on the legs)

• Not finishing the lift (The hips should be fully extended; you should be standing completely upright at lockout. This can be fixed by just having someone squeeze their glutes and push their hips into the bar.)

• Hyperextending at the lumbar spine at lockout (you shouldn’t be leaning back; it’s a sign that you’re moving too much at the lumbar spine and not enough at the hips)

• Rounding the spine at any time (The spine should remain neutral at all times; if you look like a scared cat, you’re doing deadlifts incorrectly!)

The difficult one is hips too high or too low, as that depends a bit on body type (arm/torso lengths) and ultimately what position works for you.

Here is a video link to give you a refresher and we will continue to practice this one in the future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztd3uaNTCwY

Workout #4

 

Time to step it up a notch with this one. No video, as this one is pretty straight forward and done to repetitions. If you need to take a break, stop and catch your breath, then keep on going. Complete the total  number of repetitions before moving on to the next exercise.

1. Squat 50 reps of good form, work on hips at least parallel or below knees for all reps

2. Push Ups 25 reps hips and chest to ground

3. Skip rope 100 revolutions (or if running 1:00 minute sprinting – find a marker sprint there and back for example)

4. Front Plank 60 seconds (this is your rest break)

5. Alternate lunges or walking lunges – 50 reps total (25 to each side)

6. Shoulder press – 25 reps (use tubing or weights)

7. Skipping or sprinting as above

8. Side Plank – 60 seconds to each side

Repeat at least 3 rounds as quickly as possible – pick and choose your own water breaks and rest periods as required.

Workout #3

Stability ball and tubing required

Proper Dynamic warm up and stretch as required

All exercises 45 – 60 seconds or 12 – 15 repetitions as you see fit

• Stability Ball (SB) push ups – body angle dictates degree of difficulty
• SB bridge – hand position (outstretched, in air) and ball at leg (calf, ankle) will increase difficulty
• Rear shoulder with tubing (attach to something solid) like taking off the seatbelt or drawing a sword
• SB front plank (if too difficult go to regular plank with ground contact)
• 400m or 800m run (or walk as required) or around the block once  - push  yourself  and go as fast as possible

Repeat as many rounds as you can in 30 minutes

Cool down and stretch out