I am proud to say that I am writing this while on the road with the Canadian National Cross Country Ski Team.  I say this with great prides and a sense of accomplishment.  When I moved from Winnipeg to Calgary, it was with the intent to work with a Canadian National team.  Well, here I am.  Now I will admit that I am the assistant strength coach and my role is minor, I am extremely proud of accomplishing a long awaited goal.

But today I have been busy programming, not for any one I train, but for myself.  As some of you may or may not know, I have entered the Calgary Subaru Half Marathon on May 29^th, 2010.  Not I am going to be totally honest, I HATE RUNNING.  I was once heard saying, “Why run, why train your heart?  You cannot see it.”  I used to live by the motto “why run when you could walk, why walk when you could crawl, and why crawl when you could just lie there!”  But I believe that we need to work on what we are most weak at.  And cardio is my weakness.

Now the truth is I was bored.  I needed to train for something, but I work in a gym that trains power lifters and Olympic lifters.  But really, that is not something I want to compete in.  Crossfit?  Not really for me at this time in my training.  Last time I followed Crossfit, I buggered my elbow to the point I am just starting to flex it pain free.  I know life is an anaerobic event.  Everything we did as cavemen was anaerobic in nature… running from a Sabre-toothed tiger, throwing a spear etc.  But there is massive need for aerobic fitness.  From a perspective of training we need to have adequate fitness in both aerobic and anaerobic fitness.  The following diagram was one that I used in my Masters defence.

This above diagram is based on a hydraulic model demonstrating that the ability of the aerobic system plays a major role in the ability of the anaerobic system.   When someone does an anaerobic event or act, the capacity of the anaerobic system decreases.  If this was animated the water in the “Ana Capacity” would go down.  In that case the water from the “Aerobic Capacity” would thus travel through the tube and replenish the “Ana Capacity”.  So it is the responsibility of the aerobic system to replenishing the energy of the anaerobic reservoir.  Now, I cannot say that all my workouts are anaerobic in nature, but I prefer them over the long slow distance.  I like strength training, deadlifting and attempting to squat heavy.  I will admit that I have in the last few years let my Aerobic fitness decline to levels I am frankly embarrassed about.

Now on the strength side, there is studies that state that strength declines after the age of 25.  I would argue this as I have become much stronger in the past two years than I was when I was 25. I would attribute that to much smarter training and a more systematic approach to periodization.  This is when the thought of the “the experiment” began.   I know the last time I ran, I was down to about 145 lbs.  I was terribly skinny.  And everyone thinks that is what a runner is supposed to look like.  But being here in Park City, I look at the team of athletes.  They are some of the most aerobically fit individuals I have met in my entire life.  What they do for a warm up would crush most people… and they are doing this at altitude.  So the question I am going to answer in this next period of my training is what will happen if I take a rather unique approach to training, incorporating the aspects of training for the big deadlift, bench and squat, while addressing the little issues I have in terms of functional asymmetries all the while aiming to complete this half marathon in a respectable time.   Really, at the age of 32, can I be fitter and stronger (and look better naked) than I ever have.  This next year should be rather interesting.

Stay tuned as testing begins on the 14^th of October.

Yours in Health and Performance.

Today I wanted to touch on a topic that I have been aiming to 1; do a better job of in my own practice and 2; stress its’ importance to clients.  It is the topic of testing and monitoring.  Where this all stems from really can start as far back as a year or so ago when I started at Peak Power.  I was placed in charge of development of a screening process for clients to determine what could be potential issues in movement, or areas of the body that may be tight and weak.  Therefore we could address these areas of concern before they become a problem or we aggravate the issue by improper program design.   I am by no means a biomechanist or an athletic therapist, and nor do I plan to be.  But this was to be designed so that we could be aware of potential issues, fix what we can and refer to other professionals when we know that this is beyond our scope of practice.

Skip ahead to August 2010.  The screen that we developed is almost ready for the fall launch.   The Peak Power crew are off to the Dartfish User Conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Now for those of you who do not know, Dartfish is the analytical software that was used extensively at the Olympics.  You can use it to analyze movement and use it as a teaching tool.  That is the Coles notes version, and don’t feel bad if you do not know what it is.  The border crossing officials must not have known either, as once the term, “analytical software for assessing movement and …” came out the proceeded to lock us in a room and strip apart the vehicle.  It was actually pretty funny.  Now on this trip we discussed how to implement this process into the business model that we currently have.  The test is at a cost of $150.00 and we use the information as a tool for proper program development.  So how do we explain an extra cost to the client or athlete?  And it was very simple.  “If you are not testing you are guessing.”

It is simple to develop a program for an athlete.  I can analyze any event; break it down to the needs assessment of the sport (power, speed, endurance etc.) and the various energy systems that are utilized.  But how do I know that the exercises I program for that athlete are the ones that they need to be doing?  How do I know that the program I am developing is not causing some underlying issue to become worse only to rear its’ ugly head as an injury later on?  I don’t if I do not test before hand.   At Peak Power, for any athlete who is competing in an endurance style event (running, biking etc.) we need to assess maximal oxygen uptake via  testing to understand what speeds or heart rates to program for them.  So why do trainers just randomly prescribe a “canned” program to an athlete because we know what they need to do.

Testing is the base from which we design our programs.  Without it we do not know what we need to do.  Now there is a fine line between testing for the sake of program development and testing for the sake of testing.  Testing for the sake of testing is one thing I see time and time again, and will admit I have been guilty of in the past.  A coach or trainer tests the athlete only to file the information away never to look at it again.   That is why testing gets a bum wrap… due to poor practices by some individuals.  I will say that I have become much more aware of testing and referring to the tests for the aid of program development.   We also have to remember that there is a fine line between testing and monitoring.  Monitoring is done as a “check” periodically through the training to assure that the program is doing what it was designed to do.  As well, monitoring is shorter, sometimes less invasive and the collection of monitoring data may show a trend or event that warrants a testing session.

So where am I getting at?  Testing is an integral part of program design, and must be done before a program is written.  If the trainer or coach is not testing, be cautious.  Question the program.  We have implemented that each athlete must, if in a power or strength sport, have a Movement Pattern Analysis (MPA which is our developed screen) prior to program design.  It is the only way we know what to do properly.  This is what I feel makes my program much different from 90% of the others out there.  Through this I can honestly say that my programs had a direction before, but now they feel that they have a purpose.  Once again my aim is to educate the readers to become informed.  Know that you are paying someone, so make sure that they are doing all that they can and should be doing to get you the results you deserve.

Until next time,

Yours in health and performance.

This past weekend I had the privilege to travel to the United States Olympic Training Centre (USOTC) f or the Dartfish Users Conference.  For those of you that do not know, Dartfish is the software that was extensively used at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.  The mission was to head down to Colorado Springs, Colorado and learn how others are using it in their business models.  However for me, conferences like that are a great place to network.

Now, do not get me wrong, the conference was great, and yes there was a lot of self back patting by the presenters, and yes, Dartfish was made to look like the be all and end all of testing and analysis, but the highlights came outside the walls of the conference room.  On day one as the room filled we began to see quite an array or individuals, from teachers, to coaches to physiotherapists and biomechanists.  But as one gentleman walked in I thought I recognized him, but could not place where.  It was not until I was back at the hotel room and reading my current book “Athletic Development” by Vern Gambetta (http://www.gambetta.com/) that I realized it was him at the conference.  Well, on day two I introduced myself and mentioned that I was reading the book and would very much appreciate an autograph. To which he responded, “I would much rather sit down and discuss training.”

So on to lunch at the USOTC cafeteria, that I might say is really the only thing I thing the USOTC has over the Canadians.  That cafeteria was amazing.  Anything you want could potentially be there. Anyways, I was invited by Mr. Gambetta and Dr. Bob Ward (http://www.sportsscience.com/SSN/) to sit with them during lunch. Now once again for those that do not know, Dr. Bob Ward is one of the pioneers in Strength and Conditioning.  He was one of the first full time strength and conditioning coaches in the NFL, helping the Dallas Cowboys from 1976 to 1989 to become the dynasty they continue to be.  Not to mention, in the middle of lunch, Dr. Ward receives a call from Bill Kramer, as in Dr. William Kraemer who is the author of almost every major text book on exercise physiology I own.  That I would have to say is a bit bad ass from a phys geek perspective.  I was truly honored to be sitting with two men who helped shape the profession I am in today.

For the full time that I ate with two legends of strength and conditioning, I kept one thing in mind.  You have two ears and one mouth, you need to listen twice as much as you talk.  In an hour and a half I was fortunate enough to receive some of the greatest lesions on this profession that I could.  As a strength consultant, I work with people all the time and I realize that people love to talk about themselves.  And yes I am guilty of that as well.  But since that meeting, I have aimed to keep that quote in mine.  Because of that simple thought, I learnt valuable lessons that I am not going to learn in any classroom.  And I don’t have the 30 years to wait for the experience.  But some of the key highlights of the lunch we as followed…

1. This is not an industry I work in.  It is a profession.  If it was an industry I would have a union card.  I do this as my career.  I am a professional at what I do.
2. You cool down, not shut down when working out.   Therefore the use of ice but athletes is sometimes over prescribed and un-necessary.  Properly coached cool downs could reduce the amount of ice that is needed.
3. There is no, “let’s get them ready for the season and hope they hang on.”  It is what you do in the season and the balance of it all that is what makes the difference between a good coach and a great one.
4. We as a profession working with team sports waste time trying to compare one athlete with another.  We want to know who is better.  The key in our profession is comparing the athlete against themselves, over time one, time two… etc.  That is the real measure of your worth as a strength coach in the ability to stimulate change and improvement.

I would have to say it was an honor to sit with these two gentlemen, and share in their experiences.  I just wish I would have turned on the recorder on my Blackberry, because this opportunity does not come around often.

Until next time,

Yours in health and performance

So I have fallen off the chats that last week and I apologize.  The week at work was rather busy as we are in full swing of summer training.  So it was imperative that I was in bed at 9:30 each evening… 5:00 am on an alarm clock comes very fast.  Combine that with studying for my Certified Exercises Physiologist exam with is in two weeks and then arrival any day now of our first child, I have had a lot on my plate.  But enough with the excuses.

Last time I talked about my thoughts on Crossfit, told you my beliefs about the interference model and referenced two great groups here in Calgary that I would only recommend.  So each year, Corssfit puts together a Crossfit Games, a mini Olympics if you must, crowning the “fittest Athlete Alive”.  I know you are going to put in your vote for Lance Armstrong, who is an animal in his own right, or one of the tri-athletes.   And the Crossfitters will acknowledge that yes, tri-athletes, professional athletes are fit, but they sacrifice specific areas of fitness in order to excel at others.

So let’s review.  Physical fitness in the capacity to meet successfully the present and potential physical challenges of life, or the level of adaptation to the stressors of one’s life.   Therefore to meet these stressors we, as physiologist aim to manipulate the components of physical fitness… muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, muscular power and flexibility.  You can also include speed, agility and coordination in this group if you like.  But Crossfit stance is, if we were to put 60 athletic events into a hat, pit two athletes; a “crossfitter” and a tri-athlete against one another; an randomly draw an event, how would these two individuals compare.  Well, I am going to tell you the tri-athlete will crush any run, bike, or swim (or nay combination of the three) and leave the crossfitter in the dust.  However it is not the ability to do well on one or two of the events, but to have the best average score in ALL the events.  That is the person who possesses the combination of the above components.

And why the rant?  Well this weekend, I was able to judge the Canadian Qualifier.  The top six males and to six females would qualify to head to California to compete in the Crossfit Games.  The interesting part of the event is that the actual workouts are not posted until 4 day prior to the event date.  So what do they train for. EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING. It was absolutely inspiring to watch so many fit individuals compete.  The ability to push themselves was amazing.  I have never been in a room with so many sets of six pack abs in my life.  Now I can only imagine the amount of adrenal fatigue these individuals accumulate, but I admit I would love to be that fit.  I watched one girl tear off the skin of her hand doing pull-ups, and come to me later and as I inquired about her hand she proceeded to show me that she “Crazy Glued” the skin back.  I didn’t attempt to argue with her about the number of toxins in that glue now entering her blood stream.  It was inspiring.

So the lesson for today.  Unless you are a professional athlete, don’t train to be good at one area of your fitness.  Aim to be good at all of them.  Vary your training, while still being smart about it.  It makes your workout so much more fun and interesting.  Be ready to do anything and everything.  I will admit, I am going to train for the game next year.  Am I going to compete… Hell no.  My ego cannot take then embarrassment of being out lifted by a girl from British Columbia who tossed around a 290 lb tractor tire like it was kids float device.

I am going to caution those who do happen to read this.  This is by no means an attack on Crossfit, a bashing of anyone who does it.  It is a simple scientific look at the phenomenon that as exploded onto the fitness scene in the past five years or so.

I will admit I do Crossfit.  I do two or three “Workouts of the Day”… WODs a week.  I like it.  When I first exposed to it 5 years ago I was religious to it.  I can truthfully tell you I was fit from a physical standpoint.  30 pull ups in a row was a breeze.  I could run a mile in nearly 6 minutes… and with the VO₂ max I have, I could be considered working on one lung or a cardiac rehab patient.  I felt great, or so I though.  My focus changed to other aspects of fitness, but I always did a WOD of two a week.  I just enjoy the movements, the challenge and the culture (or cult as it may seem to an outsider).

Last year I was certified as a level one Crossfit Coach.  Really, I was there to learn their method to their madness.  What was their thought process, their pattern?  The course was great.  Besides the CHEK course I have taken, one of the best presented courses I have taken to date… and I have eleven years of post secondary school.  So that says something for the presenters.  However,  a few things really stood out and to this day are unsettling to me.

First, during the course one of the instructors explained to us that the body is a black box.  A stimulus is placed on the body (weights, cardio, etc).  The body responds, and this instructor when on to say,” we don’t know what happens in the body, but you get an adaptation.”  Well, bloody hell, I just about crawled out of my skin.  For once in my life, I kept my mouth shut.  Later in the day that instructor asked if I was enjoying the class, what I thought of the information.  So I simple stated, “The body is not a black box.  It is a marvelous piece of intelligent design.  In my position, the body is not a black box.  Crossfit for some is simply, let’s throw as much stimulus at the body, and see what comes out.  I can give the body one stimulus, and I will tell you what is happening in the body.  And not only will I tell you what stimulus will come out, but when that stimulus is expected.”  At that time, I finally revealed that I was in a Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology.   The rest of the weekend for some reason was void of further questions on my thought.  Don’t get me wrong.  The information was great, I loved the course and I puked in a parking lot of a Minute Lube, but it leads to my second point.

Crossfit is a high intensity workout.  It places a great stress on the body.  High intensity exercise is not like vegetables.  You cannot indulge in it all the time.  It is like a poison.  You can take small doses that may not harm you, but you need the necessary recovery after the dose.  So, to see someone get the shit kicked out of them and see them go, “hell yeah, I had a good workout.” pisses me off.  I can tell you, and this is happening in a lot of  training (this happens a lot in any training), it is not hard to create a workout that kicks the hell out of someone.  Anyone can do that, but to do it based on scientific principles… that is talent.  So with you here I share a diagram.  It is the diagram of the Zones of Interference.

Unfortunately, many of the workouts I hear of designed by those who do not know, are in the Zones of Interference.  They are doing high reps and high intensity cardiovascular.  From a physiological perspective, the two training schemes do not complement each other.  And yeah I know this could lead to a bunch of hate mail and everyone asking what my Fran time is.  I am not here to get into a pissing contest because I don’t give a shit about Fran.  If you’re fit and your Fran is 2:32… good on you.  I will be the first to say congratulations, and that is awesome.  But I am here to educate.   To continue training without considering the physiology leads to a deep hole of under recovery, period.  High Intensity Training (HIT) is hard on the Central Nervous System (CNS).  And unfortunately when it comes to weights there are very few ways to measure the physiological stress on the CNS from a bout of resistance training.  If you know how, then you care going to be very rich.

Now, it would be unfair to not leave you with resources.  There are two Crossfit groups I always recommend to those looking to get into Crossfit.  These guys know what they are doing and their groups are using the science.  And no, I do not do Crossfit programming full time, when I do it I go to these guys and their resources.  I believe they do that good of work when it comes to Crossfit.  In all reality, when I do Crossfit it is from these guys.  Check out the following links to Crossfit Calgary (CFC) http://www.optimumperformancetraining.blogspot.com/

and Natural High Crossfit http://www.www.naturalhighcrossfit.blogspot.com/.  Both James (OPT to you Crossfitters) of CFC along with Brett Marshall and Andrew, Dan and Marc of Natural High are some of the best groups I know doing Crossfit.  I think tomorrow I may do Linda (inside Crossfit joke, but it always sounds dirty.)