Atom Athletics

This is my breakfast five days a week. It’s nothing special, and you definitely won’t see this on a foodie page. On average, we make 226 decisions a day on food, and 35,000 in total. By having the same thing nearly everyday I am forced to make less decisions, I ensure my breakfast is aligned with my goals, and I can take the time spent trying to record my meals on other more important tasks. To make life even easier, I will typically prepare breakfast for three days in ad...vance. I then simply copy and paste (in my meal log) my breakfast throughout the work week and now can focus on planning my lunch and dinners with a bit more variety. On weekends I allow for much more flexibility, but I also have more free time to track the decadent choices I make. The ingredients of this breakfast are as follows: Egg Scramble: Two large eggs, Cup of egg whites, two pieces of turkey bacon, cup of mixed vegetables (I change these weekly for micronutrient variety), tbsp of sriracha, tbsp of pineapple habanero hot sauce. Oats are Cup with boiled water. One piece of fruit (Rotating between apples, oranges and bananas) This breakfast yields 573 calories, 44 grams of Protein, and 8 grams of fibre. It addresses my protein goals of 0.8 grams per lb of body weight, gets a decent amount of fibre in early, and a third of the way to my fruit and vegetable servings goal for the day. For some, the idea of eating the same thing everyday is tough one to swallow, but for me, it makes my life easier, and keeps my goals within reach.

For general populations and depending on your goals, you'll need to commit to a minimum of three days of exercise each week to see results. Adults should accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week. You can break these recommended workout times into smaller chunks if necessary. For Athletes, this will also depend on your goals, but also the time of year and the rigours of your sport. During the offseason when your on court/field/ice ti...me is significantly lower this is the best time to increase your training frequency and intensity, 5 to 7 Days a week is not uncommon. In-season you may want to switch to a minimum effective dose. As little as 2 sessions per week can help maintain and even potentially improve upon the work you have done in the offseason.

Lucas is one of the longest tenured Atom Athletics clients. The first year consisted of twice a week together, with a third day on his own. During this time he made a great deal of progress with many markers of fitness: strength, mobility, aesthetics etc. Just before the pandemic we took a progress picture and at the time we were both excited with the changes that year had brought about. Unfortunately the pandemic hit, and the in person sessions had to come to a pause. We br...iefly revisited in person sessions in the summer, but 90% of our work together in his second year has been of the online variety. Recently, we decided to update his progress with another picture. With not having seen him in person for nearly 6 months, I was wildly impressed. He has taken the online training incredibly seriously, never missing a scheduled workout, training around some injuries at times (shoulder and ankle), and basically always asking me to push him harder. One of the most impressive things is he's been doing it all with a couple 20 LB dumbbells, a 50 lb kettlebell, a band, and a pull up bar. Lucas is another example of someone not letting the pandemic get the best of their training. I cannot wait to see what next year's progress picture looks like. Way to go Lucas!

#woman #women #womensday #fitnessgirl #strongwomen #strongwoman

I set a goal for February of 7000 daily steps. It's still a great deal lower than when life is normal, and my day with clients is spent mostly on my feet. But, considering province wide lock down measures and the frigid February weather, this was a small but satisfying win. Tracking your steps is a great tool for monitoring your non-exercise related activity levels, the more of it you do the more calories you will burn. ... Increasing your steps can also be a great tool for pushing past a plateau with weight loss. Instead of automatically increasing your caloric deficit, try increasing your daily steps first. Other benefits of walking include: lower back pain management breaking up your day/recharging active recovery improved digestion improved circulation low impact on joints The list of benefits for walking is many miles long. Start by throwing in a few 10 minute walks through out your day. On weekends plan something a little more substantial. Walking is one of the most accessible forms of exercise, and can be practiced daily. An average of 5000 daily is good place to start. Every month add 1000 steps to your daily. Walk it out.

Proud Boyfriend moment: A couple years ago Heather asked me to start training her. She helps me a lot with admin stuff for the business, and training her was my way of saying thank you. Covid has been a nuisance for everyone this year, and has slowed down progress for many. But not Heather. She has stayed consistent proving that you can progress even with homework outs and no barbell to be seen. ... We got a chance to work out at real gym for a couple weeks in February (shout out to @iastrength). When we found out another lock down was coming we decided it was time we have her test her strength. Her test numbers in the first video were: Squat = 135 lbs Deadlift = 155 lbs Hip thrust = 205lbs X5 Bench = 100 In the second video you will see one of my first sessions with her to contrast how far she's come. Maybe once this damned pandemic is over Ill get her on the powerlifting platform. Heather Redfern is on deck. @heather_redfern

With the new year upon us and plenty of people looking to revisit their health through resolutions, there is plenty of motivation going around. This was a guest blog I did for @d.govedar and his blog platform The Online Mind just over a year ago. Plenty of tips to help you get started on your fitness journey. ... Link in my bio.

A couple years ago I decided to start my own business. It's been a tough road, especially this year, but the highs are worth the lows. Being able to help people get stronger, fitter and healthier is a blessing. One which I cherish. ... Here are some of the many faces of Atom Athletics from clients to boot campers and challengers. Looking forward to the many more faces I'll meet along this road. Happy new year everyone.

Merry Christmas&Happy Holidays

A lot of people who take up new fitness goals in the new year will burn themselves out quickly only to give up. Take your time. Make incremental changes.... One small step everyday toward a new you will add up. Don't rush it.

Every holiday season we typically tend to slide on our fitness goals. With daily routines being largely interrupted with no work, the kids not in school, and lots of preparation around the various forms of religious celebration, it’s easy to fall out of the patterns that have been supporting your progress. It’s common to see little exercise accomplished, increased portion sizes and a few extra glasses of wine being poured. ... This can easily set you back with your goals, but could also be the break you need and deserve. This holiday season, take the time and lean into the built-in deload. Stress levels should ideally be low with little to do on the agenda. Utilize the extra time to catch up on some much needed sleep. Unwind with your household. Disconnect. Reflect. This is not an invitation to completely let yourself go. You will still need to plan ahead and stay mindful. But do not overthink it. This should be a time of happiness and celebration. You are not the product of your behaviours from Christmas to New Years, but from New Years to Christmas. Come back fresh, motivated, and ready to crush 2021. Happy Holidays everyone!

When and How to Deload By definition a deload is a period of time where you reduce training variables in order to recover from fatigue accumulated from your most recent training block or program. Most commonly a deload will be programmed every four weeks, where you will reduce a combination of training volumes (sets and reps), intensity (weight), or frequency (# of sessions in a week). In some cases you may decide not to train at all. ... How often a deload should be planned is dependent on the client. Factors that must be considered include: genetics, nutrition, sleep quality, hydration, recovery modalities, lifting experience, and upcoming important dates (travel/competition). Clients with a highly athletic profile, whether in sport or strength will live by much different rules than your typical general population clients simply looking to improve their health and quality of life. With athlete’s, paying attention to their week to week performance becomes paramount. Utilization of autoregulation methods such as Rate of Perceived Exertion, Reps in Reserve or if you’re lucky enough velocity based training, make this much easier. If performance continues to improve there is no reason to deload. That is where the idea of deloading every four weeks can be shortsighted. You may be deloading too often and selling the athlete short on improvement. Conversely, some athletes could potentially need a deload even sooner, especially during higher intensity blocks or peaks. Once you have developed a lengthier client/coach relationship you will be able to predict when the deload should be taken even before seeing the expression of a performance decline. With general population, a deload becomes much less data driven, and much more schedule based. Deloads for these clients come in the form of a busy week at work, a vacation, holidays, birthday’s, and family milestones where they may not train all together. This is why programming for general population clients needs to be much more flexible. No matter the client type, if your body is telling you it is time to dial things back a bit, pay attention. Injury is the worst of all deloads.

Frequency and volume directly impact each other. Volume is the amount of work you have done. It can be tracked using the number of working sets, weight moved, or the number of reps above a certain percentage or effort. Typically volume is considered on multiple levels: micro levels (weekly), macro (monthly/entirety of training block), and mesocycles (multiple macro cycles that accumulate toward larger reaching goals). ... Volume is the variable most closely tracked to monitor your ability to recover, but also ensure you are providing the appropriate amount of stimulus. Frequency simply refers to the number of times you train within a week (microcycle), but more specifically how many times you may train a muscle group or movement type. Naturally, if you are training more often your volume should go up. But the idea of frequency vs volume means to compare spreading your weekly volume out through many workouts vs piling it on into one session. With avid fitness enthusiasts, and strength athletes the idea that more work can always be done in the gym is the biggest trap one can find themselves in. More volume does not necessarily mean more gains, or improvement. You are only what you can recover from. When training legs 1X weekly, you may need to spend hours accumulating the same volume you were able to do across 2 or 3 workouts. This volume will likely leave you unable to walk flight of stairs, and likely unable to squat for another six. You might even be doing so much work that you are unable to recover within that week and have a worse subsequent session. Aiming for more sessions within a week, with less time in the gym, and less damage done will allow you to recover each day. You will build muscle faster by exposing yourself to more spikes in protein synthesis while getting better at your preferred movements with more practice, adding more weight to the movements faster, and allowing for more progressive overload. More load = more micro trauma of muscle = more muscle building = more strength and the cycle continues. If you need help increasing your frequency to fit your goals comment below with a below or DM me now!

Working together we added over 200 lbs to his total in a year. The highlight was a 5 plate deadlift for sure.

We are now two weeks into the first round of the Healthy Habits Fitness Challenge. Swipe to see the many faces from the first wave and the 5 different challenges. This 30 day fitness challenge is designed to get you motivated to build habits toward a longer, healthier and happier life! There are five separate challenges you can partake in:... The Meal Log Challenge 5K A Day Step Challenge Hydration Challenge Mobility Challenge Workout Challenge Completion of all 5 challenges qualify you for a giveaway of 8 FREE personal training sessions with Atom Athletics ($550 Value) Completion of the Meal Log, Hydration Log, and Step Challenge qualify you for a giveaway of three months of online personal training ($300 Value) Like, Share and Comment on this post with the challenges you are interested in being a part of, and I will personally message you with more details! #gym #gymmotivation #fit #fitness #fitnessmotivation #fitspo #power #powerlifting #powerlifter #squat #squats #deadlift #bench #benchpress #instagood #insta #instadaily #fitfam #toronto #canada #personaltrainer #personaltrainertoronto #torontopersonaltrainer #instatoronto #torontoigers #torontotrainer #torontofitness #torontofitfam #libertyvillage #kingwest

Chelsea has now been working with Atom Athletics for four weeks through online coaching. She comes from a background in muay thai but has been dealing with gym closures all year long. Her gym was, however, nice enough to loan out some equipment to help her train at home. With online coaching it will take a few weeks to familiarize yourself with your clients abilities, schedule, available equipment, how best to use it, their nutritional habits and so much more. A great deal o...f ongoing feedback is needed from both the coach and client, but it is especially important in the beginning phases of the relationship. We began week one with simple squat, hip extension, pressing, rowing and plank variations to assess where Chelsea was in the strength and work capacity spectrum. With each workout she recorded videos of her performance, as well as logging the difficulty using rate of perceived exertion models, and we began slowly increasing the intensity. She informed me of how long each workout would last and if she felt she could handle more. 3 weeks later and her program has really taken shape. It became apparent quickly that she had a great deal of kinesthetic awareness, excelling with most of the movements she was given. Each and every week she has impressed by taking on a new progression of these movements. In this video she is performing tempo rear foot elevated split squats, 1.5 rep goblet squats, and kickstand romanian deadlifts. Chelsea has just celebrated her 26th birthday this past weekend, and is ready to begin ramping her training up with Atom Athletics. Congratulations Chelsea, and Happy Birthday!

Last week I spoke of starting your warm up with an easy, and short cardio based warm up to bring up your core temperature leading into mobilizing key structures of the body with dynamic and static movements. The next phase of a well built warm up is foam rolling and self directed tissue release. Foam rolling has shown to improve range of motion acutely (short term). The evidence behind its long term effect for improving flexibility and or mobility is waning, but it still h...as its place in a warm up. When using a foam roller, just like the previous phases of warm up, you should not be spending too much time with it. It is not uncommon to see many athletes and fitness enthusiasts on the floor flailing about for 30 minutes. This is an unwise use of time. Instead, find some typically tight and sore areas on your body. The use of a foam roller can be much more individualized, but I would typically recommend, rolling the quads, lats, and calves. Roll in short lengths (1-4 Inches), looking for areas of heightened pain or trigger and lean into them. This undoubtedly will hurt, but will be worth it. Some areas that may require attention are often a bit more difficult to reach with the wide base of a foam roller. This is where a tennis ball for the faint of heart, and a lacrosse ball for the sadists will help a great deal. A small dense ball like this will aid in reaching some areas like the glutes (specifically the glute med.), arches of the feet, pecs, and hip flexors. With the use of a smaller tool the movement should be even less (<2 inches in length), as the structures you are looking at relieving are also much smaller. It would be difficult to fit all the recommended areas into one warm up session. Do your best to not spend more than 5 minutes attending to this aspect of the protocol. Prioritize the biggest areas of need and rotate in the less important areas when there is time. Next week I will discuss stabilization movements, the final aspect of a great warm up protocol.

We are now two weeks into the first round of the Healthy Habits Fitness Challenge! You can see the faces of the over 20 entrants from the first wave. This 30 day fitness challenge is designed to get you motivated to build habits toward a longer, healthier and happier life! There are five separate challenges you can partake in: The Meal Log Challenge... 5K A Day Step Challenge Hydration Challenge Mobility Challenge Workout Challenge Completion of all 5 challenges qualifies you for a giveaway of 8 FREE personal training sessions with Atom Athletics! ($550 Value) Completion of the Meal Log, Hydration Log, and Step Challenge qualifies you for a giveaway of three months of online personal training. ($300 Value) Like, Share and Comment on this post with the challenges you are interested in being a part of, and I will personally message you with more details!

Proud boyfriend moment. Heather has been training with me with a few covid bumps in the road but this is her first week using a barbell. She is already deadlifting 135x5 and squatting 95x5. Next up pullups.

Congratulations to Japman and Sophie for winning the Atom Athletics Healthy Habits Challenge giveaway. Japman was a standout challenger. He was able to complete all 5 challenges for 30 days, while being easily the most organized person involved. He made tracking all his metrics incredibly easy on me and he has now won 8 free in-person sessions. Sophie was one of my more curious challengers, this curiosity led to many positive conversations that empowered her choices and com...pliance within the challenge. Sophie completed the Meal Log, Hydration and Step challenge and has now won three months of online training. Thank you once again to all the Healthy Habit Challengers. New groups will be fielded in the new year!

It's the time of year where seasonal affective disorder creeps in for many and down right stomps on others. This pandemic has done nothing to make any of it easier. Exercise has proven to improve mood and aid in the combat of many mental health disorders. Not everyone can get up for a workout and the undue stress of even wrapping your head around a workout can exacerbate the issue at hand. But for many, this approach works.... If you find yourself with a modicum of motivation today try putting a little time towards exercise and see how it makes you feel. You might be find it beneficial!

It goes without saying that you should be warming up each and every time you workout. A good warmup should bring your core temperature up, lubricate joints, and generally get your mind and tissues ready for the work ahead. When building a warm up protocol you typically want to do a short and low intensity cardio component, mobilize key areas, and stabilize others. A part of warming up includes taking a gradual approach in sets towards your working sets. This is increasingly ...more important for strength based athletes. But there is some unmentioned value in maintaining the SAME warm up each time. When using a warm up that is the same it becomes a form of auto-regulation, which simply means a way for you to check how you are feeling and predict how you will perform in that session. If you had a poor night of sleep, you might notice a little less whip in your movement quality during your warm up. Perhaps you haven’t yet recovered fully from the previous session and are feeling particularly sore in a key area meant to be used for the workout of the day. Your warm up is a way to take note of these little messages your body is sending you. These messages will let you know that maybe today you should reduce planned volumes, or get away from a particular movement all together. Conversely you may notice the bar speed is incredibly fast today, and your hips are feeling extra loose. On days like this you may want to push a little harder, perhaps even hit a personal best. If you are not warming up before your workouts you are doing yourself a great disservice. If you are not using the information you can get from your own body while warming up you are missing a big piece of the puzzle that is training. If you need some help putting together an effective warm up that addresses your own particular areas of need and reflects your goals and style of training more closely, direct message me now!

Found a new home away from home. Thanks @iastrength for the hospitality. 245x5x5 315x1x5 ... Easy Peasy.

AtHome Athletics 2.0 up for FREE download: This program is designed to keep your progress coming while working out from home. Download includes: ... Comprehensive instructions and exercise terminology. Movement library with hundreds of exercise variations, and colour coded legends to decipher which movements fit your level of fitness. Various movement options from body weight, suspension trainer, dumbbell and clever work arounds using towels, and weighted back packs. Beginner, Intermediate, Body Builder, and Athlete templates. Express Workouts

Miss the summer days of bootcamps with my Joe Shuster neighbours. Here's what one camp member had to say.

Client progress: Alexander Opassinis Opa is coming of a deload week, looking denser and well rested. When we first started he was eating a mere 1600 calories a day trying to get lean. His weekly average last week clocked in at 3300 calories and he is down around 8 lbs from 8 weeks ago.... Looking forward to seeing what the next phase has in store! Well done mate.

When conducting your warm you will to first increase your core temperature and increase blood flow with a cardio based warm up. I prefer something low impact, and demanding like a rowing machine or assault bike, but do what makes the most sense for yourself. Stairs, treadmills, a light jog, jumping jacks or body weight lunges will all get the job done. This is the easiest part of your session preparation and should take no longer than five minutes. Keeping layers on during ...the warm up can help bring up your core temperature faster. Ideally you are building up a sweat, lubricating joints, and preparing for the mobility work ahead. A cold muscle is a tight muscle. Next you will want to mobilize key areas. Dynamic movements are preferred but you can also use static stretches. Static stretches should not be done at great length (20-30 sec will suffice) as they have been proven to decrease strength performance at longer durations. They also come with a potential risk of injury if the general warm up which precedes it was not done properly. The areas you will want to address are the ankles, hips, shoulders and thoracic spine. Mobilization of these areas typically will address common stiffness for individuals that are seated at a desk for long durations but will also benefit standing those that work on their feet too. You can improve posture, while ensuring access to ranges of movement that improve performance, and prevent injury. Athletes will also benefit from the mobility gained here. Better ankle mobility will lead to a more upright squat. Mobile hips allow for a better catch position in any olympic lift etc. In most cases everyone benefits when taking their mobility seriously. It is important to remember that these are not rules and only guidelines. In some cases some areas may need less attention while others need more. If you would like free access to 9 mobility drills you can easily add to your warm up protocol comment below or DM anytime. I am always happy to help! Stay tuned for part 2 where I will touch on foam rolling and stability drills.

THOUGHTS ON ACCOUNTABILITY As a new coach I knew the role of a personal trainer was to motivate, write great programs, challenge, and push people to progress. What took me some time to realize was that accountability was the most important factor. Clients do not necessarily LOVE working out (a strange realization for me), but they do understand that they should. Accountability as a theme in coaching is pervasive. I hold you accountable to show up first and foremost. This see...ms to be the biggest variable in maintaining consistency, which trumps all other factors pertaining to fitness and achieving your goals. Having a scheduled appointment with a fitness professional is paramount for many, and the true key to their success. Once you arrive at your session there is a great deal of accountability in the quality of your workout. Having a trainer present ensures you are pushing yourself enough, and not simply going through the motions. It ensures you are progressing from one session to the next. Another layer of accountability is the food journal youre asked to keep that may curb your decision to reach for that second helping or the online homework sent your way when you are travelling or have a scheduling conflict. The most obvious of all is the financial investment associated. Personal training is not free. When you have committed financially to something, you do not want to waste your money or your time. There is a great deal of free resources on the internet, and yet many of us walk around injured, unhealthy, and unhappy. Today, all of my consultations include the question, how can working with me benefit you most? 90% of the time accountability is the answer.

Client Update: Alexander Opa Opassinis Opa is 6 weeks into working with Atom Athletics, and is 100% bought in. His program is a high frequency moderate volume approach, training 6 days a week. Hitting all muscle groups twice a week. He tracks every meal, and continues to hit his weekly lifestyle goals. His program includes a nice blend of low rep strength work with the big lifts, moderate reps with supplemental lifts, and higher rep single joint and (p)rehabilitation work.... He also does hill sprints 3x weekly, goes for the occasional jog, and plays soccer. With a job that has him on his feet all day as a contractor he requires a great deal of energy to fuel his body. The first 6 weeks have been spent learning what his daily caloric needs are, new movements and programming, how to implement RPE (rate of perceived exertion) into his training, and balance a busy lifestyle with his training. Moving forward we will start increasing calories and volume to really build some muscle and keep the momentum up.

A huge thanks to the first ever Healthy Habit challengers. This was my first time running a challenge and it was a very rewarding experience. I learned just as much as I had hoper and am looking forward to improving upon this challenge series in the new year. Check out what one challenge, Sophie, had to say about the challenge: ... "I did a challenge with Alex and recommend anybody who wants to work with him in any capacity to jump at the chance. I am not a "boot camp" kind of person. In fact, I had just come off an illness and a drug that had done quite a number on my body and Alex's challenge -- but really Alex's attitude -- was the perfect reset. He is so open about meeting each person exactly where they are at. He is amazing! I cannot say enough nice things about him. He kept me motivated because he cared about my individual progress rather than some objective idea of where people should be. He is just not like other trainers! He has all the knowledge they have but so much more heart!"

The pursuit of perfection can often lead to no progress at all. Not tracking your meals perfectly is always worse than not at all. Not working out because the gyms are shutdown may stall your progress further. ... What project are you putting off waiting for the perfect time?

New Blog Post Alert: One of the biggest struggles with clients is getting them to increase their protein intake. Finding some quick, easy options that are cheap and come with little to no preparation go a long way.... Check out the link in my profile for a bunch of ideas, the cost associated and the average serving of protein for each!

Kind words from one of the first Atom Athletics clients. #gym #gymmotivation #fit #fitness #fitnessmotivation #fitspo #power #powerlifting #powerlifter #squat #squats #deadlift #bench #benchpress #instagood #insta #instadaily #fitfam #toronto #canada #personaltrainer #personaltrainertoronto #torontopersonaltrainer #instatoronto #torontoigers #torontotrainer #torontofitness #torontofitfam

When it comes to the many variables involved with training, people are always quick to jump to the minor details. What supplements should I take? Whats the best program I should do?... What protein brand do you prefer? What macronutrient ratio best suits my goals? Should I take cold showers for better recovery? I get these questions on a weekly basis. My response is always: Are you getting between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night? Are you getting to the gym consistently 3 times per week? Are you tracking your calories and macronutrients? Are you drinking 2-3 litres of water daily? Are you getting 5 to 6 servings of fruits and vegetables daily? More times than not, the answers are "no" to all the above. The point here is that were always quick to jump to many of the flashier aspects of fitness that are highly marketed and ignore the less sexy qualities: Hard work Discipline Consistency If you are not getting enough sleep for recovery no amount of cold showers will help you recover. If you arent tracking, how can you be sure you are in a caloric deficit, when you goals is to lose weight? If you are constantly dehydrated your energy levels will always remain low. Start with the simpler tasks, and when you can finally answer yes to all the questions above lets dig deeper into the variables, or else youre just selling yourself short.

Suheil was born in India, then raised in Nigeria. He went to school in the U.S and now finds himself working in Canada as an account executive in the sales world. He is new to the Liberty Village area and has immediately fallen for the community. He is a proud dog owner of a golden-doodle who he loves to walk often. Suheil last worked with a personal trainer when he was in San Francisco and had positive experiences working with a trainer. He is now looking to regain that structure in his life pick up where he left off in his fitness journey. With a strong baseline and experience level it will be easy to get him back to where he wants to be, welcome to the team Suheil!

Today was the first day of the bootcamp I am running for the remainder of the summer! Little statuses like this always warm the heart.

THOUGHTS ON THE ART OF CUEING There is a small percentage of clients with the ability to pick up a new movement after simply seeing their coach perform it once. The overwhelming majority, however, will struggle during the acquisition of a new skill. Patience is needed, but understanding the different ways that humans learn will go even further. The main learning styles are visual (seeing), audible (hearing), kinesthetic (doing) and through reading and writing (language/emoti...on). Rarely do we neatly fit into one category. Most of us are a blend of these, so figuring out where your client is on this spectrum is imperative. Each client will require different types of cueing styles based on their learning abilities and learning style. Verbal cues like "make a double chin," in order to maintain a neutral position through the cervical spine, or protect your armpits from being tickled for lat engagement, can not only add humour to the session, but benefit audible learners. Tactical cues for the more hands on approach will likely benefit everyone, but kinesthetic learners will appreciate it most. The picture above I am cueing lat engagement for greater tension pre-pull. Another favourite of mine is asking a client to pinch your finger with their shoulder blades in order to retract their scapula properly. Visual learners may need repeated examples of how to perform the movement through trainer demonstration. But another great tool for them is to be recorded and then analyze their own movement. They will notice the difference between your example and their performance with their keen eye. For the language learners an email with a few resources such as, The 7 Most Important Squat Cues may go a lot further than you hounding them during your session together. A trainers abilities are not simply defined by their exercise library, but their ability to teach these movements to inexperienced populations who all learn uniquely. At the end of the day we as trainers need to understand we are not just managing bodies but personalities as well!

The bulk of your training stimulus typically comes from larger bilateral (both arms or legs) compound movements. Squat, press, deadlift and pull variations are the meat and potatoes of your training. But your accessory movements should primarily be of the unilateral (one arm or leg) variety. These are your vegetables. Here are some benefits to unilateral training:... Loads are typically lower with unilateral movements which allow for more concentrated mechanical tension. More tension = more growth. These lower loads also give your spine a break from heavy axial loading. Back injuries are one of the most prevalent in both lifting and non-lifting populations. Easing up on your spine will go a long way for preventing an injury. All of us are asymmetrical to some degree. The asymmetries lead to imbalances in strength and movement, and compensatory patterns. Many of us walk with a mild discrepancy in stride length and dont even know it. These discrepancies can lead to overuse injuries on one side, but also inefficient movement and lifts. Unilateral movements give you the opportunity to directly address variance from one side to the other. Some of my favourite variations include: Bulgarian split squats, any dumbell press variations (specifically low incline presses), chest supported dumbbell rows, Copenhagen planks, single leg hamstring curls and unilateral loaded carries. If you need some help adding more unilateral work to your programming hit me up!

Its important to track your progress in the gym. When logging work outs, you want to make sure you are including the weight used, reps performed and number of sets at the very least. There will be good days and bad days performance wise. Taking note of any factors that may have had an impact would also be beneficial. Perhaps you didnt get enough sleep, maybe your shoulder was achey, or you didnt have time to get a meal in before the workout. Write it down.... At the end of the day progressive overload is the name of the game when resistance training. If you arent logging your workouts you are not ensuring that down the line you are using either more weight, reps, sets, etc.

#blackoutuesday... #nra #bluelivesmatter #blueline #buildthewall #usa #police #secondamendment #freedom #usarmy #military #draintheswamp #guns #serveandprotect #makeamericagreatagain #keepamericagreat #trump #trump2020 #alllivesmatter #trumpsupporters #confederateflag #redneck #rednecks #america #usarmy #usnavy #militarylife

Days before the gym closed. #kindafitkindafat @nick_basra

The AtHome Athletics 2.0 is still available for FREE download. . . The At home workout program includes: * Comprehensive instructions... * Exercise terms * Movement library with hundreds of exercise variations, and colour coded legend to decide which movements fit your level of fitness * Various movement options from body weight, band, suspension trainer dumbell and work arounds using towels, and weighted back packs * Beginner (3 Day), Intermediate (4 Day), Body Builder (6 Day), and Athlete (4 Day) templates * Isometric and Blood Flow Resitriction methodology * Express Workouts . . Download link in my profile! See more

Really miss helping others chase their own fitness goals. #gym #gymmotivation #fit #fitness #fitnessmotivation #fitspo #power #powerlifting #powerlifter #squat #squats #deadlift #bench #benchpress #instagood #insta #instadaily #fitfam #toronto #canada #personaltrainer #personaltrainertoronto #torontopersonaltrainer #instatoronto #torontoigers #torontotrainer #torontofitness #torontofitfam

Atom Athletics is now offering online training at a discounted rate. Just 59 dollars per month. . With gym closures unlikely being lifted for quite some time there is a bigger need for help regarding your own programming. I can help you create a program with exactly what you have available to you, whether its dumbbells or bands, full gym set ups, suspension trainers or no equipment at all. . Included in your online service is: ... * 24 hour text support * fully customized program tailored to your needs and goals * nutritional guidance * video links to all prescribed movements . . DM now for more information. See more

New Client: Chelsea Chelsea was training at a local muay thai gym in Toronto when Covid changed her exercise routine. Her day to day routine was also flipped upside down as she was forced to begin working from home like many of us. To say her activity levels plummeted was an understatement. She has kept busy with some online resources but was looking for something a little more advanced and personalized. Her goals include growing her glutes, reducing her waistline and incre...asing her strength with an eye to returning to her muay thai training when the pandemic passes. She will be training 5 days a week, with step goals to offset her long days of sitting. Welcome to the team Chelsea! If you are interested in discussing options to help you work around these new closures hit me up anytime.

The AtHome Athletics Version 2.0 is now up for FREE download. >>>>>>>>>www.atomathletics.ca/downloads<<<<<<<<<< Home workout program now includes: ... * Expanded movement library with hundreds of variations from body weight, dumbbell, suspension trainer, bands and clever work around including towels, and bags. * Colour coded progressions to help you discover which movements are right for your level * Improved lay out for easier navigation across multiple pages * 8 additional Express workout templates for those looking to simply fit in a workout * New isometric variations * More concise explanations of exercise terminology * Blood flow restriction technique * Edited existing programs for all levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Body Building Split and Athlete. * New conditioning techniques !DOWNLOAD NOW!

Took the opportunity for the last day gyms were open to yolo lift and maxed out on the squat, bench and dead. Squat= 365 (88% comp max) Bench= 235 (95%) Dead = 419 (91%) ... Total = 1019 (91%) With having been 10 lbs lighter than my comp max numbers at 154 lbs, and having only been back at fortis for a month this was not too shabby. We will see you soon @fortisfitness.

AtHome Athletics weighted push up PR. 3 sets of 15 reps @ 45 lbs. . . I have been following the AtHome Athletics advanced athlete template for 6 weeks now. Not having access to a gym has been a bummer but has presented a ton of new challenges. Ive been fortunate enough to have adjustable dumbbells, a swiss ball and some serious band tension at my disposal and Ive even used my girlfriend as a barbell for bulgarians, squats, hip thrusters and good mornings. Ive added sprint...s and plyometrics and have a little bounce back in my step. . . Many lifters become obsessed with optimal forms of training. Nothing about this pandemic is optimal, but sitting idle is definitely the farthest thing from it. Adaptation is key. . . If youre looking for home training ideas you can find the program that has helped me make gains during quarantine despite a lack of gym. Link is in my bio and 100% FREE. . . DOWNLOAD NOW! See more

Its been 45 days since my last real lift. To say I miss getting under the bar is an understatement. I cant wait to start training with my new trap bar next week. And I cant wait to be on a platform again whenever this is all over. #gym #gymmotivation #fit #fitness #fitnessmotivation #fitspo #power #powerlifting #powerlifter #squat #squats #deadlift #bench #benchpress #instagood #insta #instadaily #fitfam #toronto #canada #personaltrainer #personaltrainertoronto #torontopersonaltrainer #instatoronto #torontoigers #torontotrainer #torontofitness #torontofitfam

Focus on a few goals at a time. It is very important to set goals in life and in the gym. Without goals, it is very difficult to develop a directed plan, which can lead to spinning your wheels and never getting any results. There can be two sides of the spectrum: One side doesn’t set any, and the other is setting TOO MANY. This can be just as detrimental to your progress and ultimately your goals. You see this plenty, the person who wants to lean out, while gaining strength.... Or the person who wants to build muscle and train for a marathon simultaneously. The person who wants to radically change their life over night by getting more sleep, cutting out carbs (not necessary by the way), drinking more water, starting a food journal, going for 3 runs weekly and adding resistance training all in the same time frame. The most obvious issue with too many simultaneous goals is giving yourself many opportunities to have shortcomings. These minute failures can compound into a sense of despair, deterring you from your goals all together. This tackling of one goal at a time builds a sense of accomplishment, further motivating you. Having too many goals at once often leads to contradicting mechanisms as well. If you are looking to gain strength while cutting you are doing yourself a great disservice as your body will struggle to recover while in the caloric deficit required to cut weight. The point of the matter is you must decide what is important to you in the gym. If it’s getting stronger focus on lifting heavy, getting sufficient sleep and nutrition for recovery and dial back the cardio. If you are looking to get super lean, ditch the heavy lifting, consume less than maintenance calories, and maybe slowly add some cardio. If you are new to fitness all together maybe just start with getting into the gym 3x per week before worrying about which program best suits your long term goals. Nail these goals one at a time and watch them compound into years of success in the gym.

The Atom Athletics Home Workout Program is up for download on my website now! . . This program comes with endless variations of squats, presses, pulls, lunges, hinges, plyometrics, mobility drills, stretches, and video links for every single one. .... . Featuring 4 different templates for all levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Body Building Split, and Athlete. . . Variations include no equipment, bands, dumbbells, stability balls and TRX. . . Go to www.atomathletics.ca/downloads to get your copy NOW! #athomeathletics

Gyms are once again closed and that really sucks but I still have a lot to be thankful for. These two keep me going. @heather_redfern @royorbisonthedog

Last nights lower body work out: . . A1. Bulgarian split jumps 3x5 per leg B1. Jump Squats 3x5 ... C1. Single Leg SB Ham Curls 3x12/leg C2. SB Dead Bugs 3x20 D1. Bar Belle tempo pause SQ 3x12 D2. Plank walkouts 3x6 E1. Kickstand DB Romaians 3x15/leg E2. SB Rollouts 3x10 F1. Reverse Hypers 2x15 Finisher = 100 alternating reverse lunges . . The Atom Athletics Home Workout template is now fully operational. With terms, an exercise library including progressions and regressions, and 4 separate templates for beginners to athletes theres something for everyone. Link is on my profile for absolutely FREE. See more

I am launching a new FREE 30 Day fitness challenge! Atom Athletics Healthy Habits Fitness Challenge This 30 day fitness challenge is designed to get you motivated to build habits toward a longer, healthier and happier life! There are five separate challenges you can partake in:... The Meal Log Challenge 5K A Day Step Challenge Hydration Challenge Mobility Challenge Workout Challenge Completion of all 5 challenges qualifies you for a raffle giveaway of 8 FREE personal training sessions with Atom Athletics! ($550 Value) Completion of the Meal Log, Hydration Log, and Step Challenge qualifies you for a raffle giveaway of three months of online personal training. ($300 Value) Like, Share and Comment on this post with the challenges you are interested in being a part of, and I will personally message you with more details!

Heres tonights work out. Thanks to @heather_redfern for always being a good sport. Wifey Bulgarian Split squats 3 sets of 8 per leg ... Wifey hip thrusts (rated R) 3x20 Wifey good mornings. 3x10 As always featuring @royorbisonthedog.

Huge client win the other day with Olivia @lilmangosalsa. Olivia has been working with me for parts of the winter pre-covid and again when outdoor work outs were no longer prohibited. During our first session she was only able to do 8 push ups from an elevated surface. We continued to progress towards to the ground with tempo variations, 1.5 rep push ups, and lowering the surface.... The hard work paid off as she is now doing push ups from the ground for reps. This set here she completed 12 and was able to complete 30 total over 3 sets. Great work Olivia!

The Atom Athletics Covid Home Work Out Template is nearly complete. But you can hop on now and get started. This program will continue to evolve with various ways to divide this weekly split, more and more movements, and even a glossary of terms and FAQs section. For now visit my profile page for a link to the google document so you can get started today !

In life music sets the mood. It is the soundtrack to your life. In the gym, it sets the tone, drowns out the grunters, chatters and radio stations you probably hate. But it really can do so much more. First off, almost all of us already believe music amps us up. The more amped the more ready to lift we become. If you know anything about the powerful affects of the placebo effect, you know that belief is a strong factor. Listening to music causes heightened arousal, concentrat...ion and focus, what it doesn’t do however, is improve maximal strength, or your one rep max. There is some research touting its effects on strength endurance, or your ability to perform repetition based movement. Over time this is extremely useful as you can accumulate more volume, building more muscle and likely improving that one rep max anyhow. In one study there was an effect on take off velocity, rate of velocity development, rate of force development, in the squat jump when choosing music of your liking to train with. With this in mind, getting a pair of headphones that will stay in ear during plyometric or olympic style training and its many variations will go a long way. If you have ever shown up to the gym only to realize you forgot to bring or charge your headphones, you know just how demoralizing it can be. Keep those headphones charged and in your gym bag and play some crunchy tunes if you want to optimize your results!

The best nutritional protocol, or program in the gym is the one you will adhere to consistently. #gym #gymmotivation #fit #fitness #fitnessmotivation #fitspo #power #powerlifting #powerlifter #squat #squats #deadlift #bench #benchpress #instagood #insta #instadaily #fitfam #toronto #canada #personaltrainer #personaltrainertoronto #torontopersonaltrainer #instatoronto #torontoigers #torontotrainer #torontofitness #torontofitfam

With many people reaching out for home workout ideas, and many of us having access to different exercise weights and inplements: I have started a template that touches on how to build a work out from home ranging from body weight, back packs filled with cans and books, dumbbells, bands and even some TRX if you are so lucky. . You can check it out here : https://tinyurl.com/uhfb3e4 .... . The template is organized by implement type and in order of progressions. If you have any questions, or unique situations or equipment dont be shy to ask how to include them! . . Below is just an example of the different progessions I have provided in the template. Ill be posting all the different movements in my IG story highlight in the coming days. Happy lifting! . . @royorbisonthedog @heather_redfern Jef - skate See more

Back at @fortisfitness for 2 weeks. Decided to do a little mini test. Squat 335x1 (81%) Bench 215x1 (87%) Dead 355x1 (77%) ... It ain't much but its honest work. Body weight is still 153 lbs so all in all fairly successful first 2 weeks back.

Mikey has now completed The Atom Atheltics Offseason Program. In 3 short months he has increased his deadlift from 475 to 525 (second clip), his squat from 445 to 475 (first clip) and push press from 185 to 215. . . Mikey puts in the work, no.excuses. With a new job as an engineer, overseeing a new project that has him working extended hours, rugby practice and a social life it would be easy to rack up the excuses. He shows up and his hard work has paid off. .... . Weve got two more of his teammates now in beta testing for this program so stay tuned for some more personal bests from some new faces. @t_laru See more

With gyms shut down for months this past year, and powerlifting competitions on hold in most federations I decided to cut weight for the first time in years. From 2017 to 2019 I went from 140 lbs to 170lbs. The weight helps with powerlifting but the dirty bulk was real and I began to become displeased with my aesthetics. On the left I am 165 lbs. 12 weeks later I was 153 lbs. I took a nice gradual approach not wanting to lose any muscle gained in the afformentioned years.... How did I do it? High protein diet. 1 gram per lb/day Track every meal. 84 days in a row. Plan ahead. Stay in a modest deficit. If you need help losing weight, and getting into the gym hit me up direct and we can discuss how we can get there together!!

Surrounded by so many strong women. None stronger than @heather_redfern.

Train Barefoot When training any large lower body compound lifts, it is beneficial to ditch your pair of thick soled runners. When doing so you will see greater force production because you have direct contact with the floor allowing for a better muscle mind connection with your feet. You want to focus on pressing your big toe, pinky toe and heel evenly into the ground, which in turn activates the arch of your foot. Most of us have a poor relationship with our feet. Training... barefoot begins to build that relationship. By ditching the soft sole you are no longer losing any energy or force. You can liken it to squatting on a bosu ball (something I do not recommend), it is much easier to squat big weights on a stable surface. These soft soles can also lead to over pronation of the ankles (rolling inward), and in turn cause the often vilified knee valgus (caving in). Purposeful knee valgus to activate the adductors is a bit controversial, but for most populations is best avoided. A typical sole is nearly an inch in height. When deadlifting you are adding an inch to your lift, creating a deficit, on an unstable surface. Want to quickly add 10 lbs to your dead? Ditch the shoes. Not all gyms allow for barefoot training, but at the very least invest in a pair of flat, and thin soled shoes. Vans and Chuck Taylors are fairly popular for this, but you can go with wrestling shoes (asics are great for this), or deadlift shoes (Sabo is the standard there). Vivo is a minimalist brand that is also great. The only issue that may arise with these brands is being able to spread the toes properly for wider feet. Bearfoot is the new kid on the block making a perfect design to circumvent this issue. Regardless, the choices are endless. What is your favourite shoe to lift with ?

Did a little non peaked offseason testing this weekend to base my upcoming volume block off of. Hit 90% off my comp maxes with out a peak, or much volume in the last 8 weeks. Squat: 375 Bench: 225 Deadlift : 405

Last nights lower body work out: . Deadlift from blocks: 135x5, 225x5, 275x3, 295x3, 315x3, 335x3, 355x3, 335x3, 315x3. .... SSB squats: 65x5, 115x5, 155x5, 205x3, 225x3, 245x3, 275x3, 245x5. . Hamstring curls Calf raises Palloff press with twist See more

Client @hebert_mike with some testing again. . 410x7 squat (after a 460x1) 455x5 dead (after a 510x1) 180x4 push press (after a 215x1) ... . The depth on the squat leaves something left to be desired on the squat but he is training for rugby not powerlifting. He is hard on himself for it but he also trains beltless and sleeveless like an animal. In any case his progress has not slowed. See more

Client update: . Felipe takes 495 for a single on deads, 380 on the squat with a 345 AMRAP for 7, with a lot left in the tank for the top singles Felipe should expect to break into the 400 squat and 500 deadlift club shortly. . Felipe went to Brazil for a few weeks and continued to train. We changed the program during that time reducing the number of days he was in the gym as well as the split type. Customized programs pay dividends, but the consistency Felipe continues to br...ing is even more commendable. . With testing set for 4 weeks from now we are aiming to have gone from a 280/280/385 (squat/ bench/ dead) to 405/325/520 in one year. Thats over 300 lbs to his total in 365 days. See more

Squats from last night: 135x5,185x3, 225x3, 275x3 naked. 315x1, 335x1, 355x1, 315x2x3, 295x2x5, double pause 225x2x5. . Speed deads:... 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 275x6x3 Landmine lateral lunges Landmine anti rotations Prowler push See more

Thursday Lower Body: . Cambered bar box squat with chains 70x15, 160x5, 210x5, 250x3 naked 250+40 in chains 3x3, 250+80 3x3.... . Trap bar deads 155x5, 245x5, 295x3, 335x3, 365x3, 335x2x6. . Landmine skater squats Ab wheel Glute Ham Raise Pot stirs. . Sand bag carry + KB swings 5 rounds See more

This is that shit right here. Marc was one of Atom Athletics first clients. We worked together for a few months to get him into shape for a big performance he had in Toronto. . . Recently he has moved back out east to ditch the Toronto grind, write music, and spend time with family. Today, he surprised me with this heartfelt message.

Upper body tuesday: . Duff bench: 55x5,105x5, 145x5, 170x3, 185x3, 195,3, 200x3, 175x2x5 . .... Horizontal rows Chin ups Viking press Kb seal row Chaos push ups Lat pull downs Farmer Carry See more

Monday skwat with the Duff: 145x5, 195x5, 235x3, 285x2 naked af 325x1, 345x1, 325x3, 305x3x3, 285x2x5 Volume: 8515. .... Sumo dead: just working on technique 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 245x3, 275x3x3. . Half kneeling palloff press with twist DB Romanians Front elevated split squats Elevate side plank raise Sled drags and prowler push See more

Client Profile Heather: . Heather is a masters student in Human Geography at the University of Toronto, currently writing her thesis on a geographic analysis of the ways in which biodiversity conservation plays out in central america through an analysis of law, race, gender, and resistance. . She is a part time server, full time dog mama to @royorbisonthedog, and the love of my life. ... . Heather has recently out grown her previous program and will be looking to start a new more challenging approach to her training as she strives toward her goal of being able to beat me up. See more

Upper body from last night. Still suck at incline bench press. . Incline bench 135x3x5 (shown) Narrow grip lat pull down 105 3x12. .... Weighted push ups with chains 30lbx8, 60lbx8, 80lbx8. . Neutral grip inverted row with chains 30lbs 3x8 (shown). . DB pull overs 40 lbs 3x8 (shown) DB rows 40lbs 3x15 . Bradford press 45lbs 2x15 Banded face pulls 2x30. . Bis and tris 50 reps of each Rotator cuff work. . Arm over arm pulls 4x50 feet @ 150 lbs, 2x50 feet @ 105 lbs. . Battle ropes See more