Implementing Phases into your training..

So, I have been MIA for the last little while. My life has been changing, and I am learning to make time for myself and a new special someone in my life. It has been great - but the only downside is that my training has taken a bit of a seat on the sidelines. It's my own fault. I have still been eating well, but my time is the gym is not what it was 2 months ago.
 I had been training heavy since the Warrior Dash and have seen significant increases in my lifts - but my waistline is taking a bit of a beating. Now that the "Train the Trainer" event is actually happening, I know I need to get myself in better shape anaerobically to be able to withstand the beating I am going to get in a few weeks.
 Ernie just started training an MMA fighter and is putting him through a fight circuit made by JC Santana at the Institute of Human Performance in Florida.
 I have always been in shape, and I kind of pride myself on my cardio. So, when I saw this workout, the old Bryan (pre-warrior dash) in me, decided that I could easily complete this workout and I would use weights even heavier than this 205lb fighter.
 Well, the new Bryan, accustomed to lifting very heavy and taking nice, long breaks did not agree. The first 5 minute round went great, my recovery wasn't as good as I remember... but halfway through the 2nd circuit is where I started to see the fog. I had to go lie down on the table out back, then run outside for some air, then get some emergency juice from the fridge. I had the shakes for a good 10 minutes and was very humbled... Needless to say, that was a depressing day and I went to the corner store and bought pizza pockets and wallowed in my own self pity all afternoon..

 Why am I telling you how terrible my workout went? Because we all do the same thing. I have runners that come in, bragging about how strong their legs are because they run, and I get them to do 2 sets of lunges and they walk around for the rest of the session like a newly born giraffe - then, they can't walk for 2 days. I get powerlifters in here, who brag about their numbers, and 10 minutes into a small circuit they are running to the bathroom.

 Well, that's what we do at ACF. We take you out of your comfort zone. We have phases to our training styles that take roughly 4 weeks at a time and make sure that your body does not adapt. You see chubby runners, you see strong fat guys - but the rule still stands.. "If you keep doing what you are doing, you are going to getting what you've got."
 Your body is very smart and will adapt to most any stimulus that you put on it. If you lift too heavy and your muscles can't lift the weight, then your body will recognize this and become stronger in case this stimulus is brought on it again. If you run and get very, very winded - same thing happens. Your body increases your cardiovascular fitness for the next time you run. Eventually though, your body becomes used to what you are doing to it, and the response becomes less and less.
 If you come through the door here and want to be a better runner, I am not going to run with you. You do that enough already. I am going to make you train like you have never trained before and your running will just get better. 6 months ago, I took 45 minutes off of a marathon runner's time in just 7 weeks. He changed nothing about his running prep. It was what we did in the gym that made the difference.

 All I am saying here people, is get out of your comfort zone. Try something new - whether it's weight training, Zumba, crossfit.. whatever floats your boat. Your body will become a stronger, faster machine if you just challenge it.

Question everything.

I am writing this post, not for the people that we train, but for the not so lucky people that are being trained by these "trainers" in commercial facilities. Now, let me preface by saying not all of them are terrible. I've seen more than a few trainers who know what they are talking about and can actually defend what they are doing.

 That has not been the case this week. For those of you who know me, I study a lot. I also put that study into practice and come up with (what I believe to be) the best programs that I can come up with for that particular situation. Everything is specialized, and I never write the same workout up twice. I use similar exercises, but your exercise selections are greatly dependent on your specific goals.

 Now, saying that - I have recently decided to get a membership at a commercial gym. I will not tell you which one as I don't want to step on any feet, but I did it for 2 reasons.

 1. I was getting distracted lifting here on my own. I have paperwork to do, filing, reports... a lot is on my mind here and it makes concentrating on breaking my personal bests kind of hard.

 2. I need to work out around people that are as strong or stronger than me. It's motivation. I am pretty happy with my lifts, but seeing the guy beside me toss up some heavier numbers is good motivation.

So, earlier this week I was in the gym, getting ready to do some deadlifts when I overhear a trainer tell a client who is roughly 225lbs, female and very nervous looking, that she should be doing these ridiculous step ups that required her knee to go into this weird rotation and he was MANUALLY FORCING rotation from her knee while her torso/hips were bouncing up and down in every direction.

 Anyone who has any basic anatomy knowledge KNOWS that the knee is a hinge joint and requires stability. It flexes and extends and has a *tiny* bit of eversion and inversion. His defense to her was that the reason people get these ACL and meniscus tears is that they don't have enough rotation in their knee. WOW. A real reason that people get these injuries is excessive rotation forced from the knee.. .the same thing he is doing to her on this bench. Your hips and ankles are the mobile joints and if they are lacking mobility, the joint in between does all of the extra work - and in this case, that is the knee, and I could tell just by looking at her that she had no movement in her hips and was really compensating by moving from the knee..  but that's what he wants her to do. This is almost guaranteed to cause an injury sometime in the near future. Repetitive strain movements like that take time, but I can assure you that bad things will happen to this woman's knee.

   I don't understand where these trainers get their cookie cutter programs.. It appalls me that they are allowed to work with the general public. The worst part is that I was at the gym for about an hour and a half that day, and I saw him doing the exact same exercise with 2 other people!

  So, my advice to you is that if you have any sort of reservations doing ANY exercise, get another opinion. Even if you are training with me, let me know if you have any questions about ANYTHING we are doing and I will be sure to have a smart answer. I get very frustrated with my profession as it is people like this that make me afraid to say, "Yeah, I'm a personal trainer." I watch people roll their eyes all the time.

  I believe that everyone here at All Canadian Fitness is different. We are smart. We are changing the way people get trained and I love my job.

  Just please be careful you moronic trainers, it's not a piece of clay you can just throw away if you mess up, it's a person's body. They have to live with these problems that you are creating. It's the only body they have. Turn them into a machine - don't destroy their gears.

                                      "Ok, ready? It's all you bro! The chicks are gonna love this!"

-Friday rant over-

More than just a warm up

Ok, I've been slacking with this whole "blog" thing. Time to get back on track.

The first issue I want to talk about is dynamic warm ups. I've been asked by a couple of people how to "correctly" warm up. Anyone can walk out on the gym floor and hit the treadmill up for 5 minutes. Sure, that will increase your body temp and get some blood flowing, but will it get you ready for your lifts?

No. It's pretty useless in my opinion.

I always start my clients out with some foam rolling. If you don't know what this is, don't worry - you aren't the only one. It has been around for a while, but only over the course of the last couple of years is it finally getting the recognition it deserves. If you don't have one, buy one. If you have one, use it.. . because I know you aren't using it as much as you should.

It hurts. But - it's a good hurt. Basically, what a foam roller does is decrease tissue density. It allows for the breakdown of scar tissue and adhesions that can occur in the fascia over time.

What does this mean to you? Well, depending on the quality of your tissues, it can mean a lot. I have seen knee pain disappear with the addition of foam rolling into a warm up, and the risk is injury is lessened as foam rolling tricks your muscles into allowing a more full range of motion while you are exercising. Now, it doesn't happen overnight, but there hasn't been a program I've written up in the last 3 years that hasn't started with foam rolling.

My advice is to begin with rolling your;

Quads (front of legs)
IT Band (side of legs - you know you hit it when it feels like hot needles. Don't worry, it get's better with practice)
TFL (small muscle right in front of your hip bone)
Mid Back
Adductors (inside of your legs)
Glutes (butt)
Lats (long muscles under your arms, that run laterally down to your ribs)

Next - mobilize the joints in your body. Another thing I hate about treadmills is that they are so linear. You walk in a straight line. Now, if you are warming up for an intense power walking session, then sure, walking is great. Our hips are a very complex joint providing a center where our upper bodies meet our lower. They are responsible for a multitude of movements. So, warm them up that way. I tend to always warm up in accordance to the workout I will be doing that day. So, if I am squatting or deadlifting, I start at my ankles and move my way up, spending a bit more time on the areas I am concentrating on that day. This is typically my general warm up.

I start out with my static stretching. I know, you have been led to believe that static stretching before exercise is bad.. but recent studies have actually shown it to be beneficial. I like to do it before my dynamic warm up.

Chest Stretch - Find a doorway. Bring your elbows up to a 90 degree angle against the frame (think getting arrested) now press your chest forward through the frame. Hold that for 30 seconds.
Hip flexor stretch - Get into a kneeling position. Bring one leg forward so that you are in a half kneel position. Keeping your upper body tall, lean forward with your hips, elongating that back leg. Squeeze your glute on that side and feel that stretch on the inside of your back leg.

Now, for mobility. I have stolen these over the years from multiple sources - I just took the ones that I felt were the best.

#1 - Ankle mobility drill - Notice how he is going in multiple directions here. Don't force the range of motion, the more you do this, the better you will get at it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H-wU5b5bWA

#1 - Split stance adductor mobilizations - now these start to work your hips through a natural range. .. even though it wont feel natural at the beginning as you have probably lost this movement over time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL64ceQfi_4&feature=player_embedded

#2 - Half kneel adductor dips - I also like these to promote a greater range of motion through the groin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaxG6hOj2pk&feature=player_embedded

#3 - Scapular wall slide - This is one of my favorite upper body mobility drills. It looks very basic, but does the trick, especially if your job requires you to lean forward over a computer, or drive constantly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k2kqyzz3Ug

These are very basic, as I didn't really want to write a novel, but I hope you begin to understand that hoping on the treadmill for a warm up isn't going to do anything for your performance, and may even hinder you or cause an injury.

If you have any questions, you know where to find me.

Majoring in the Minors

Ok, I am back to gaining weight. For those of you who don't know - I got bored with my training last year. I was 157lbs and could run like the wind. Unfortunately, I looked like Christian Bale in "The Machinist" . . . so I figured it was time to amp it up. My idea was to see how much weight I could gain in 6 months. I didn't care if some of it was fat, I just wanted to be bigger. My initial goal was another 25lbs. So, with the help of my Costco membership and their abundance of steaks, I put on the 25 lbs in about 3 months. Why stop there? So, I gained another 25 in another 3 months. I called it hibernating - everyone else called me fat. :) I hit 205lbs in January of 2011. That's almost 50 lbs! None of my clients understood what I was doing, and frankly, neither did I. I was stronger than ever, but couldn't navigate a flight of stairs without taking 6 breaks.

Now, it was time to cut weight. I knew I had put on some muscle, but I guessed about half of it was fat. So, what to do now? Count calories? Figure out my lean body mass, add in my daily activity expenditure, and figure out all of my macros? No. I just started eating better. I cut down on the bad fats I was eating, reduced simple sugars and ate more complex carbs. The result? I lost about 29 lbs in 3 months. I am now 176 and quite comfortable.
Why am I telling you this? Because I have seen it time and time again. I don't know where the term came from initially, but I love the phrase, "Majoring in the Minors". It can be applied to almost everything you see. Whether it be nutrition, exercise or relationships, society feels the need to make things more complicated than they really are.

Take my situation. I wanted to gain weight, so I ate more and lifted. Then, I wanted to lose weight, so I ate more supportively, and increased my cardio. I did no calculations. I knew what I had to do and I did it. I get questions all the time from clients and friends that are way beyond where they need to be. Not that I don't like the questions, but they usually aren't too impressed with the answer I give them. It's basic.

I see it in commercial gyms quite a bit. People flailing their limbs, trying to do this inane exercise that they saw on t.v last week - because they saw a celebrity doing it and it was supposed to get them "rock hard abz.." Meanwhile, that same person can't get on the ground and give me 1 full range push up with good form. Don't get too advanced with your training or nutrition. Take a step back and just try to figure out if you are over complicating things. Normally the solution is right there in front of your face. Our minds are very smart, but don't over-think. Simplify.

Program Design...

This will be a quick blog post - I've got 10 minutes to spare before my next client.

I am writing this in regards to almost every person I see at commercial gyms. With the exception of the ones who are doing some sort of split (upper, lower - Chest, tri's - whatever it may be) please just start designing programs that will hit the OTHER muscles in your body that maybe you can't see while looking in the mirror in front of the dumbbell rack. You DO have more than just a chest, biceps and abs.

Here is an easy solution if you decide to do a full body workout at the gym later today. Don't think in terms of "muscles worked" . .think more in terms of the motions that your body goes through.

If I get bored with my training, or just want to beat myself up with a random workout- I only need to follow a few guidelines;

Quad Dominant Movement - Whether it be squats, lunges, leg press - just something to work those muscles above your knee that seem to be quite useless to some... Remember, women like men with legs, not men shaped like candy apples. :)
Hip Dominant Movement - Deadlifts, pull-throughs, rear leg elevated split squats - Again, you may think that not having an ass is great, but a strong, powerful behind is something to be proud of.
Horizontal Push/Pull - Chest press, bent-over row, 1 arm row, chest flyes, face pull - If you pick some compound movements here, you can hit a lot of muscles in a short period of time.
Vertical Push/Pull - Chin ups, lat pulldown, shoulder press, military press - Same thing here, you can hit almost everything in your upper body with these push/pull movements.
Core exercise - This, I will leave blank. I train core different that most people do, and I don't want to get into the whole crunches vs. anti-flexion debate. There is a time and place for everything, and I only have 5 minutes left. ;)

So, there you have it. Throw yourself together a workout from this. I have gotten great results for people who have very limited time with workouts based off of this platform. The first time I saw this was in a book by Ian King, I forget the name now, but I am not taking credit for this. It was probably around long before Ian King's time, but just stick with the basics movement patterns and you will look and feel better than you have ever felt.

And, next time I am doing deadlifts and let out a war cry/yelp at the top of my lift, don't judge me! Stop curling the 35's and come over. There is no greater feeling than lifting as much weight as you possibly can off of the floor. Then, dropping it and doing it again.

Surround yourself with positive people

Negativity is everywhere. It's on the news, it's in the paper, and it's made it's way into our lives. I encounter so many people everyday who are constantly producing so much negative energy. But, the worst part is that it is contagious. If I spend enough time with these people, I start to think like them.
Now, I consider myself a very happy person. I tend to look on the bright side and see the cup as half full. I also like to be around people that think the same way. Now, I know what you are thinking - What does this have to do with training?

Everything.

I have many clients that walk through the door here at All Canadian Fitness that are very excited. I mean VERY excited to get started. I can see it in their eyes. As soon as we are finished with the consultation and I convince them that they CAN and WILL succeed, they leave here with their heads held high. There was even a woman a few weeks ago that actually pointed to a blank spot on our success wall and said, "That's my spot." - Which I thought was amazing.
They start their training full force and throw everything they have into their own success. But, then something changes. A few sessions in, I see that motivation start to falter. They start to be late, have bad excuses as to why they haven't worked out this week, and even worse, have made terrible decisions when it comes to their nutrition. Now - I am no idiot. They had success in the first few weeks - even losing a few inches. So, what has changed? That's what we always take some time to sit down and figure out. Unfortunately most of the time, it is their support system at home. It could be a number of things making the people around them act the way they do when they start to see their spouse/partner changing in a positive way. Whether it be frustration at their own lack of motivation, the stress of now having to change their own nutritional habits to begin to support their partner or jealousy in seeing the physical changes being made by their better half - it all takes a toll.

Now, it's usually (I say usually because I have seen a few instances in which the sedentary partner actually agrees to make some changes) the person that has been having success ,that has to switch back to the way they were in order to make their spouse happy. I have heard every line as to why this person shouldn't be making a positive change.

"Why do you need to get fit? You are already in a relationship, who are you trying to get pretty for?"
"You are sore all the time, how is this helping you?"
"You've tried things like this before and always failed, why are you bothering?"

And, it's this type of negativity that people don't forget. It unfortunately manifests itself as a little voice in your head that you hear all day - when you are eating that supportive lunch, on your drive to the gym, when you are sitting on the couch debating having that bowl of sugary cereal before bed.. and you feel defeated.

It doesn't have to be this way. I'm not saying split from your partner, but make it known that you are making these changes for yourself and no one else. Take the POSITIVE things that others are saying about you and write them down. Read them everyday. Know that you have the power to change and the will to make it happen. Just picture yourself at your ideal weight or measurements and imagine how good it will feel. Buy new, smaller clothes. Do it now.

There are always going to be negative people. Don't feed into it and don't become one yourself. If you need some positive reinforcement, send me an email! I'll tell you that you are a rockstar and nothing can stand in your way. Surround yourself with incredible people and you will soon see yourself start to change.

I guess that's enough of my motivational, hippy nonsense for now. :)

Goal setting

This weekend taught me a lot. For those of you who don't know - Ernie, Kristen, myself, and a bunch of our clients were up in Barrie this past weekend competing in an epic event called the Warrior Dash. It consists of a 5km run (mostly uphill) and combines that with about 12 different obstacles. I wont go into too much detail, but you should all take a look at the website.

Anyway, my point is that I had originally just wanted to beat my time of 34 minutes last year - but after beginning our training class, I figured it was time to shoot high. I had done almost no training last year and to beat my time wouldn't take too much effort. So, I trained. I told myself that I would get top 50 in my age group. I told myself I would get under 29 minutes. I set out some realistic steps to get there according to the time frame that I had. Guess what? I got 28 minutes and 50 seconds and came 44th in my age division.

What I am getting at, is that if there is one thing that is lacking in the majority of people that I see walk through the doors of ACF, it's a lack of short term and long term goals. Don't get me wrong, weight loss is great, so is putting on some quality mass... but I am talking about goals here. Most of my clients who have been the most successful are the ones who have a specific goal in mind when they come in for the consultation. Whether it be a wedding, a vacation, a sport specific goal. . whatever the case may be - everyone works better with goals.

Go home tonight. Think about where you want to be physically, in your professional life, even in your personal life - and write it down. It could be 3 months, it could be a year, hell, I have goals written for myself for 5 years. Now, this isn't "The Secret" and I'm not going to tell you to write yourself a cheque for 300,000 and post-date it for 3 months from now. . then just sit back and wait until the date comes.. then BAM! Profit! No, now it's time to write down some steps to get you there. Set up a time line. What are you going to do differently today, that is going to get you closer to your goals tomorrow? Start short term. I'm telling you. . time flies. A year can pass with no changes and only you are to blame. Do you have any idea how good it feels to accomplish a goal that you have set out for yourself that actually means something to you? When I saw my time and place in the race - I was truly happy with my results and effort. It does wonders for your psyche. And the best part is, once you attain one goal, you will set more.

I'm not trying to be Captain Motivational Speaker here, but just try it. Set one 3 month goal. It doesn't have to be in the gym. If you take the necessary steps, it will come into fruition.

Next year, for me at the dash - it's top 50 overall, and top 10 in my age group. :)

When you sprint, does it look like Forrest Gump with his leg braces on?

It's time to tackle some speed issues. I have trained a few marathon runners in the past, and I've always managed to get their times dramatically improved with some foam rolling, activation drills and some strengthening of some dormant muscles... but it's time to talk about sprinters.

Remember, just because someone looks like they are running perfectly, doesn't mean they are. Most people that run aren't running to the best of their ability. They aren't activating their glutes on the push-off (read my last post to see why.. it all comes back to excessive sitting) they have tight hamstrings restricting their hip extension, or they have a weak core and weak and underactive hip flexors above 90 degrees that are limiting their hip drive. If all you needed were strong legs to sprint, all of the powerlifters would run like the Flash.

Now, without any sort of assessment of the client on my part, I am going to give some general guidelines to get you faster than ever. It all starts with foam rolling. If you don't know what this is, or have never been a victim of the foam - I HIGHLY suggest that you go out and buy one. I could go on for days about the benefits, but I will just lead you to the best article I have found on the subject.

---> http://www.strengthcoach.com/public/1303.cfm

Now, we need to wake up some muscles. First I want you to go back and read that last post I had about under active glutes. Do those drills. Then stretch out your hamstrings. Have a seat on the floor, bring one leg into your crotch, straighten the other leg out, and reach down for your toes. Hold on each side for 30 seconds. After that, do these drills to warm up the hips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_3xd-nPoGU
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpG-cWLl0hQ&feature=related

These are my 2 favorite mobilization techniques from half kneel. From there, we can work on your hip flexors. Now, the hip flexor that has been said to work above 90 degrees is called your psoas and is generally very weak and inactive in most people. So, first, we need to stretch it.

This is the best link I could find.. I really need to start filming these things myself...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AVaxTHFWe4&playnext=1&list=PL2497E607C0FFCA55

Just hold that stretch for 30 seconds on each side, don't rock back and forth.

Now, with that muscle relaxed a bit, we need to activate it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z25gCrRtdQg

With this exercise, the idea is to find a box or so that allows you to bring your knee to 90 degrees, From there, you have to keep your back tall so that you don't compensate this movement with lumbar flexion (you don't need to really be against a wall, but it helps to keep you upright.) Then, just using your hip, raise your leg up there and hold it for up to 30 seconds on each side. If you start to feel cramping, just don't hold it as long and build up.

Now, from there, you should be ready to run. Make sure you have a nice plant from both feet, and really enforce that back leg on that push off. Pump the arms, slight forward lean, and get to running. Now, if you were here, I would DEFINITELY incorporate some resistance training to strengthen your legs and core, but this is a basic post on how to get the right muscles firing. Do this as your warm up every time you sprint and you will begin to feel stronger and faster.. because your body is running right.

Enjoy, sprinters. :)

Happy Canada Day!

It's a time to celebrate. Celebrate the fact that we live in this amazing country. Celebrate friends, family and the people who we appreciate.

But, be careful. I've always said that the reason that I work out and eat well is so that when holidays like these come along, holidays that are filled with festivals, cottages, camping, or whatever it is that you choose to do on the long weekend - is so that I can indulge and not feel guilty. You never want to be "that guy" or "that girl" that is at a function, being offered delicious foods and catch yourself saying, "No, I can't have that, it's not in my nutrition plan." I was at a barbecue yesterday and I ate at least 2 sausages (with whole wheat buns) some chips and I had a couple of drinks. I ate just like everyone else. I know I was good throughout the week leading up to this weekend, so I felt like I deserved to pollute my body a little bit.

People get a bit too strict when it comes to their eating habits. It's all about balance. I know the extremists.. I used to work for one a few years ago. Sure, most of the foods that we enjoy are laden with fats, high in sugar, and do almost nothing for us nutritionally - but we like them. They make us feel good. Nobody looks at come carrot sticks and says, "Perfect. These are going to be great after a stressful week at work. Time to sit down on the couch with my bag of carrots and watch some movies."

Basically, what I am saying is enjoy yourselves. If you eat a bit too much this weekend, or don't get all of your workouts in, don't sweat it. Don't over do it, but know that you have worked very hard and deserve a little indulgence this weekend. But, if you are one of my clients - and you DIDN'T work hard this past week and STILL choose to eat everything in sight this weekend.. . you will pay next week. ;)

Happy Canada Day.

Athlete Testimonials

My true passion lies in training athletes. You don’t have to be the best of the best to be an athlete. To me, an athlete is all in your mindset. I have trained athletic individuals that have no desire, no ambition and are here on someone else’s dollar – these are not athletes to me. Athletes are the ones who show up at 6am in the rain for a run on the back trails, ones who understand the meaning of hard work and see that what we are doing is a tough journey and are ready to take on whatever it is they need to in order to achieve their goals. Athletes have passion and a drive that is unmatched. Here are a few testimonials from a few of my favorite athletes –

"Over two years ago I moved to a farm. I thought I had an active lifestyle before but it paled in comparison to the amount of daily physical activity at my new home. For years I had run, biked and played hockey to keep in shape. A little bit of cross training but not much. I had also experienced the odd back spasm starting in my mid thirties and I just chalked it up to getting older. Flash forward to the hobby farm, I'm in my mid forties and I'm moving rocks, clearing fencing, cutting up dead trees, renovations and riding horses and one day I had the mother of all spasms. Most people, especially men know exactly what I mean. You can't get up you're lower back is on fire. After weeks of slow recovery, that meant getting just enough mobility back to get by, nothing really had improved. I had done a ton of research on the internet, of course, and was optimistic that maybe more than my back was the issue. I found a physiotherapist who helped me with a specific muscle injury and that lead me to Bryan. I started with Bryan and he did an evaluation and, wouldn't you know it, I was out of balance. Apparently doing the same repetitive exercise isn't as healthy as I thought. I can still remember the first set of exercises he gave me to do every day at home. I could barely do a set of each. They hurt, they made me work hard, but over time I started to get stronger.

It's now over a year later and I had a very busy work month with very little time to work out. If I sat for too long my back would begin to hurt. Immediately I started up the exercises again and within a week no more pain. I don't take back pain medication, I can run, I can lift, my flexibility has improved and most importantly I know that my health and wellness is up to me."

Ian, above, was have some pretty bad pain that was referred from his hips. Years of riding horses and bilateral movements had left him very tight and weak in certain areas. He was more diligent that anyone I have ever met, and everything I told him, he would go home and research to make sure he was getting everything out of it. It was a long journey, but just by doing a few simple exercises every day and some soft tissue work, he is now able to do everything he was scared of doing before.

"My son has been training privitely at All Canadian Fitness with his Personal Trainer Bryan Smith since 2009. Michael is 15 years old and plays AAA Hockey for the Minor Midget Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs as an Elite Goaltender.

Prior to joining All Candian Fitness, Michael was training soley on ice with his Private Goalie Instructor and really kept the element of "off-ice" training" limited because the intent was to focus soley on goaltender training.

I have had relatives go through The All Canadian Fitness Model of training in the past which resulted in one accepting a full hockey scholarship at RPI University and another is a Certified Sports Psychologist in Southern Ontario. Their success stories are based on one important principle that All Canadian Fitness stresses and that is committment to take the athlete outside their comfort zone and make them a superior athlete.

Bryan Smith has addressed all if not more of of the elements involved in taking Michael to the next level. Bryan has developed a relationship with Michael and is breeding him as a true athlete, first and foremost.

Without Bryan as his Personal Trainer, I don't think Michael would be where he is today. The one on one dedication that Bryan shows with Michael only means that in the final analysis, he will reach his goal successfully as a top notch athlete and superb Goaltender.

The strategies that Bryan uses to continually have Michael progress forward are nothing but brilliant. There is nothing missing in the training regiment which is specific to his position as a goaltender.

As a Parent, I can only re-iterate what I've said about Bryan. Dedication, knowledge and a "results oriented" Trainer. I will have absolutely no problem recommending Bryan as a Personal Trainer to anyone who wishes to use him.

" A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done"

Bryan Smith is our Personal Trainer for life!!"

Michael listens to everything I say. He is one of the only people I train that if I told him to drink motor oil to get faster, he would ask, "What grade?"

I love my job and all of my clients - if you want some serious results, come to All Canadian Fitness.

Underactive Glutes

Ok, so I want to talk about something today that affects a lot of people in a lot of different ways.

It's your asses. Collectively, they suck.

As I said in my older post, we sit. . . we sit a lot. If you look at the evolution of human beings, up until recently we were very active creatures. Think about the stories your grandparents told you. Think about how physically active they were. The dramatic change that has taken place to humanity in the last 100 years is unbelievable. We no longer need to tend to horses, or rely on riding them to get to our destination. We have no need to grow our own food, because with a simple phone call, we can have almost anything we want delivered to our houses. There is no need to go outdoors and play, since we can talk to people from across the world with a simple headset and some online gaming.

Here at All Canadian Fitness, I have had clients walk through my door that only move from the sitting position to go from their house, to their car, to their desk, back to their car, and back to the couch. This, my friends, is a big deal. We are shutting off our butts. We are keeping our glutes in this "stretched and relaxed" position for dozens of hours a week. I try to educate clients all the time on the benefits of just simply getting up out of their chairs and walking around from 5 minutes out of the hour. Now, that's not enough to fix everything that has gone wrong from years (sometimes decades) of prolonged sitting, but it's a good start.

Let's start by first looking at everything so far that I have seen come from this constant position of hip flexion.

Low back pain
Sciatic nerve pain
Hamstring cramps or pulls
Anterior hip clicking
Piriformis syndrome
Excessive lumbar curving

It causes pain while sitting, pain while sleeping, pain while walking, pain while running, pain with exercise - Let's just say a lot of things stop working when you sit on your butt all day.

But, today is your lucky day. . For only 3 INCREDIBLY easy payments of $66, I will let you in on all of the secrets.. ok, screw it, I hate people like that. See below for the 2, yeah just 2 exercises I want you to start doing, TODAY that will make this pain you are having slooowwwwlly start to disappear.

#1. There are 2 things wrong with sitting for long periods of time. First the muscles in the front of your hips tighten, and based on a simple concept called reciprocal inhibition, your glutes wont fire correctly. Simply put - if the muscles in the front are tight, the muscles in the back are much harder to fire. So, we need to loosen them up. This is a simple stretch that you can do anywhere, at any time. Just remember to keep your upper body tall, and only lean until you feel a nice stretch in the front of that back leg. Once you feel it, contract your glute on that back leg and brace the muscles in your core like you are going to take a punch. Hold this for 30-40 seconds on each side. Build up to 1 or even 2 minutes.




#2. Now that you have loosened up your hip flexors, take a minute and fire up those glutes. Yeah.. I pick pictures of hot chicks.. don't judge me. It's either that, or sweaty half naked men.
I want you to really try and feel this exercise in your glutes. If you feel it a bit more in your hamstrings, bring your feet out just a bit more from your body. Hold each lift at the top for 2 seconds - and do 10 repetitions. Make sure to push from your heels.



Do these 2 simple exercises when you wake up, at your workplace at lunch (close the blinds in your office, air humping is frowned upon in most professional establishments) and before you go to bed. These will start you on your path to healthy, functioning glutes.

It's all about the Injury Pre-Hab.

I want to change your life. My goal is to make you feel better than you have ever felt. Whether it’s weight that you feel you need to lose, muscle that you want to gain, chronic pains that you want to go away due to bad posture and the positions we leave our bodies in for hours a day, or just to have more energy to get through the afternoon– I want to make it happen.

I have been a personal trainer for almost 4 years. In this time I have taken techniques from some of the greatest coaches in the world with all different viewpoints and constructed programs that I believe to be some of the most effective programs out there today. I don’t pick exercises for the “wow” factor, I pick exercises that I know will get you to where you need to be. I have always said that if you can’t look at a workout and explain the benefit of every exercise in the program – then it is poorly developed.

I personally believe that body mechanics are the most important factor when developing the programs that I do. Due to the postures we hold our bodies in, whether it be at work while we sit, in our cars while we drive, or on our couch while we watch t.v, we have become accustomed to doing nothing – and our bodies are accepting this and tightening our muscles where they shouldn’t be tight and essentially shutting off muscles that are very important to ensure proper posture and a pain free life.

I see too many people accepting the fact that they have pain. They attribute it to just “having bad knees all of their lives”, or “I sit all day, so that’s why my back hurts. While these statements may be true, unless there has been some sort of impact related injury, or a tear in the muscle, almost all of these chronic pains can be relieved with the correct exercises. I have made it happen with my clients and they are amazed when the pain that they have accepted for years, just starts to go away.

People hurt when they go to the gym on their own because they are forcing their bodies into positions that they haven’t been in for years. Something as simple as raising your arms over your head becomes a compensatory movement with so many flaws that it causes quite a bit of pain.

In as early as 1 session, I have had new clients comment on how much more loose they feel and how certain aches began to dissipate. Here are a few testimonials –

Ian Culley -

“Over two years ago I moved to a farm. I thought I had an active lifestyle before but it paled in comparison to the amount of daily physical activity at my new home. For years I had run, biked and played hockey to keep in shape. A little bit of cross training but not much. I had also experienced the odd back spasm starting in my mid thirties and I just chalked it up to getting older. Flash forward to the hobby farm, I'm in my mid forties and I'm moving rocks, clearing fencing, cutting up dead trees, renovations and riding horses and one day I had the mother of all spasms. Most people, especially men know exactly what I mean. You can't get up you're lower back is on fire. After weeks of slow recovery, that meant getting just enough mobility back to get by, nothing really had improved. I had done a ton of research on the internet, of course, and was optimistic that maybe more than my back was the issue. I found a physiotherapist who helped me with a specific muscle injury and that lead me to Bryan. I started with Bryan and he did an evaluation and, wouldn't you know it, I was out of balance. Apparently doing the same repetitive exercise isn't as healthy as I thought. I can still remember the first set of exercises he gave me to do every day at home. I could barely do a set of each. They hurt, they made me work hard, but over time I started to get stronger.

It's now over a year later and I had a very busy work month with very little time to work out. If I sat for too long my back would begin to hurt. Immediately I started up the exercises again and within a week no more pain. I don't take back pain medication, I can run, I can lift, my flexibility has improved and most importantly I know that my health and wellness is up to me.”

Doctor Scott Beattie - from his video

“When I came here I thought I needed a hip replacement, and now I have no pain at all in my left hip. I thought I was going to have to quit playing golf because I couldn’t play a round without getting in extreme pain and having to walk off of the course after 9 holes. When I golfed 2 weeks ago, I played 18 holes – no pain.”

More testimonials to come as I receive them.