Movement Innovation

Im taking some time away from heavy lifting to fix my imbalances - the guy that never actually fixes his imbalances yet tells everyone how great the supple leopard is. Theres a time and a place, and some people do need to change their program to manage extreme imbalances. These are often sport driven out of the necessity of performance. You won’t fix them, and if you do you might get worse at the sport. A good coach will help you balance competing demands f...or both performance and health, and understand that the body is resilient and will adapt. Humans aren’t perfectly symmetrical creatures, and we develop specific movement patterns to complete tasks. 3x10 of your favourite prehab exercises might help, but it sure won’t reverse the thousands of repetitions that got you there. Focus on maintaining control of your body through different movement patterns to preserve movement options. Change the main exercises if needed but don’t stop training with intensity. #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerlifting #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding See more

Another one Big shout out to @lpmcfarlane pretty casually pulling his previous deadlift max. This was super exciting to see as we have been very conservative with Liams deadlifts so far to account for some previous injury. This was the final lift of the week for what was a sub maximal testing week and highlights very clearly how useful this can be. In Liams case, we had been working together for 4 months and wanted to get a gauge on progres...s so far. While things like rep outs can be good for field sport athletes, with powerlifters, or people looking towards increasing their 1rm, we need to be more specific. On the flip side, properly peaking to hit max lifts and taking these to failure often has more cost than benefit outside a true meet setting. Hitting a single at 90-95 % can often give a good gauge while falling somewhere between an RPE 8-9. This can help guide our training decisions without losing training time to peak for a max lifts. The lifter should feel like they could lift the day after any of these sessions as although they are hard, theres a little left in the tank! #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerlifting #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding See more

Sit ups are not bad for your back Transitioning people away from doing 500 sit ups a day as their only core training was probably a good idea for both health and fitness. The reasoning and message however had unfortunately been misconstrued. Theres nothing wrong with doing a sit up. Its a functional movement pattern that is inherently harmless for any healthy individual. The problem was more likely the thousands of weekly reps taking plac...e. But now we unfortunately have the opposite problem. 0 reps and elimination of a movement pattern is also never a good idea. Neither is a phobia of positions , and the feeling of fragility athletes feel when they move outside perfectly neutral. Sometimes spinal flexion makes a task easier and sometimes it makes it harder but maintaining the options for both will never let you down. Load gradually, let your body adapt, and you will be surprised how durable we can become. #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerlifting #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding See more

Building a bigger engine For most people, developing work capacity and working in the 8-12 rep range will be one of the primary focuses of training. Sure you could do just about any exercise and get some benefit, but choosing the right one can not only increase training effectiveness, but also minimize unwanted side effects. Lets assume the goal is to build lower body muscle mass. The list of possible exercises is endless, so why is the ssb ...hatfield squat as shown here the right choice for high volume training? To start, we want an exercise that we can add load to, and we want the limiting factor of the load to be the target tissue, or if short on time, several specific target tissues. We also want to take some component of skill out of the movement and put constraints on it to make the goal of the exercise to push load and not overly focus on technique. We want an exercise that can go through a joints full range of motion, throughout its natural pattern, sometimes de-leveraging one joint, to direct emphasis to another. Finally we want an exercise that doesn’t place unwanted stress on non target tissues or joints. While there is sometimes a trade off between these goals, this exercise does a pretty good job at hitting them all. Load may not be quite as much as a low bar back squat, but it does a better job at the rest. If your gym has a leg press, hack squat, belt squat, ect, you should probably be using them. Theres certainly a place for more technical lifts, or single leg movements, but at the end of the day, you need the right tool for the job and one exercise does not fit all! #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerlifting #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding See more

Anyone else hate doing core work? I know I’m not alone. For most people it gets tacked on to the end of a lift and is a drag to get through after a long workout. Some people live for it and that great, but thats definitely a minority. I often to sneak it into warm ups, or supersets but sometimes it has to be done at the end and thats where getting rid of the boring stuff and doing something more fun comes into play. ... This exercise isn’t any secret nor is it the best for any specific adaptation but guess what, if combining a tricep exercise with a hollow body hold makes training adherence better, then its a good exercise. This isn’t a major movement that needs to be carefully tracked, it just needs to get done, so grab a plate and let er rip until you can’t do anymore. #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerlifting #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding See more

Lets talk about habits for a second Understanding that a successful diet for weight loss is just a tool to get you in a caloric deficit is important. However, telling our clients that this is the only thing going on is problematic. It seems like everyone is either married to a diet or against the idea completely but failing to see whats really going on. Why did a diet get you in a caloric deficit? Now thats a question worth asking. Does a s...hortened window of eating work for you? Does a diet reduce consumption of a food you tend to overeat, or have GI issues with? Does it teach you discipline? Is it sustainable? Does eliminating soft drinks significantly change the balance for you? Does a flexible diet improve your adherence? Lets start asking these questions. Finding a diet that works short term is one thing, but if it is going to work long term, its about learning why, and diving into that. While we tend to stick to the training side of things and refer to @victoremnutrition for nutrition, but it’s always important to consider the big picture of what we are accomplishing. Most of us aren’t pro athletes,and if you’re training for health, or simply because you enjoy it, building better habits will never let you down! #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerlifting #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding See more

High rep deadlifts are probably a waste of your time. Good exercise + crappy rep ranges= suboptimal results. Deadlifts for more than 6 reps probably take front and centre on this one, and avoiding them is one of the few things I did in my first year of coaching that I haven’t really changed my mind about. After programming them in a block as backoff work for the first time in 5-8 years I was reminded why. They are absolutely awful to do, and they take a l...ot of recovery resources. The return on investment sucks. If you don’t have solid technique- avoid high rep deadlifts. They get sloppy no matter how good you are, don’t go from bad to worse. Unless you actually compete in CrossFit- keep them our of your WODs at all cost, you do enough loaded extension under fatigue. If you want to build your glutes- do rdls with a tempo instead. If you powerlift- rep one is what matters, find a variation that makes you better at that. If you train for general health- im not sure you need a ton of straight bar deadlifts, stop at 5. If you want to fatigue your back extensors and get a gnarly back pump (which is okay and won’t hurt you)- this will actually do a pretty good job at that. But if you really want to build the tissue strength, again, theres better options. If you are trying to build capacity in the exercise- more sets with shorter rest periods give you the same benefit with less negative. Deadlifting is generally safe and effective. As always tho, its about the right dose. #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerlifting #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding

Please do this one the right way! If you live somewhere where gyms are opening, or if you’re going back to lifting at a friends home gym, take a read! Otherwise hit save on this post for when the time comes! This is one if the big areas where we believe people will really need help post lockdown as the get back into the gym. Theres many different ideas about the best way to get going but these tips will help just about anyone get their legs ...under them again! If this is helpful, share it with a friend and help save them too from a bumpy return! #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerlifting #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding See more

Find what fuels you I couldn’t help but reflect last week when my grandparents made a joke about what a waste of energy they thought of the cyclists that go by their house every day. Meanwhile they are both in their late 80s, have been in great physical health while living on a farmhouse, spending their day working outside on the lawn, garden, or workshop. They are always on the go. While we live in the niche of personal trainers and perfo...rmance coaches, our role more broadly under the umbrella of kinesiology should really be focused on promoting a healthy lifestyle. We obsess over the minutiae and often forget that almost any form of physical activity will come with a whole spectrum of health benefits, with traits like strength, flexibility, conditioning, or agility being more of a focus in some activities than others. Doing a variety of physical activities is probably a great idea. But at the end of the day, finding something that keeps you moving is the most important thing. Almost every health marker is improved with a moderate amount of almost any kind of physical activity. So lift, garden, jog, paddle, skate, do crossfit, yoga, or go build something, it doesn’t matter. Do it forever and never look back! #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerlifting #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding See more

Your training doesn’t need to be very hard You read that right! In fact most of your training can probably be pretty easy. And this isn’t just for strength. Muscle growth, fat loss, conditioning, flexibility; the formula is simple, and although were always looking for optimal training, for most people it really doesn’t have to be. Consistently showing up and giving a good effort, while rarely pushing to a 10/10 will lead to far greater prog...ress than showing up once or twice a week, working till you want to puke, and then not training for several days because you are sore/tired/ otherwise unmotivated to have to give that same all out effort again. If you are dead after every session, you are doing it wrong. Everyone wants to do the secret plan that the pros do. But what the pros do isn’t any secret. Showing up consistently, year in, year out, and focusing on executing the plan, is. #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerlifting #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding See more

Keep Moving During Lockdowns We’ve listened to your feedback and are excited to bring you a program focused on keeping you feeling your best while stuck at home! This program is focused on mobility and stability, with our favourite movement flows mixed in to get your heart rate going. At a budget friendly 9.99/3 week subscription, were giving you access to our Get Up and Move program, all neatly delivered to you via our custom app! If yo...u’re the person that values their health and fitness but struggles to find motivation for gruelling workouts at home, or isn’t sure where to start, than this program is for you! These workouts are a little shorter than previous strength based programs and are perfect to get a light sweat on to break up your day, or for the more hardcore lifter as a recovery program to mix in and hit some key areas you may be missing. These workouts are designed to keep your body feeling good and keep you feeling fresh. Check out the link in bio to get signed up today! #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerlifting #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding

This is as close to a hack as it gets. And yes, you could actually add 10 lbs to your lifts without getting any stronger. The best way to do this is to develop a simple checklist of things to think about in your set up, and quit rushing the set. It’s simple cues like, big breath, squeeze the bar, feel tension, weight in mid foot, and proper equipment set up. Find what works for you and do it the same every time. This may be an overnight c...hange, or it may take some time to practice, but once you are actually lifting the bar, you can’t be thinking much anymore and really can only handle maybe one cue at a time. If you obsess over your technique but end up with paralysis by analysis (you can bet we do this to ourselves as coaches) pay attention to where your cues happen. If all your cues are during the movement, but you started with an unstable bar position on your squat, or didn’t tension your body on the bench, none of your cues can work because you had already lost the battle from the start. Next time try this, obsess over your set up, and then just think about pushing as hard as you can when its time to move the bar. Setting your hips in the right position, taking a big breath, and then simply pushing the floor away will do far more for a deadlift than thinking about pulling your shoulders to the right position as you’re lifting. If you need help with your lifting, check the link in our bio to learn more about our online coaching programs #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerlifting #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding

The Most Important Graph for Success While this curve represents strength gains, the idea is true tor just about anything in life. Progress is never linear, and if it is, you’re too zoomed in. Keeping perspective of the big picture is extremely challenging, but this image often helps clear the waters. As you follow the line, there will be several points where you want to quit. The first time things get hard, and progress plateaus many peopl...e drop. The rest that stick around typically break through, but chances are things are a bit bumpy. Then something really goes wrong, whether its injury, failure, or other major changes in life, the progress comes to a full stop or even backtracks. This is the next major dropout point. At this point you decide whether to keep going or not. Those that break through this are on their way to success, but don’t be fooled. Hard decisions will have to be made, decisions built off experience of past failures, that will guide the future. The better you learn from the past, the quicker you avoid it in the future. How high the curve goes from here is different for everyone, the endpoint of success is different for everyone. Its never linear, but in the end if you want it bad enough you will get to where you you were meant to go. We are all at different points of the curve. Always follow your own curve, but don’t stop going forward! #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerlifting #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding

NEW HABITS We’ve all done it: get an overwhelming sense of motivation, set these lofty goals and go ALL IN ... for a week then we stop. You don’t have to flip your life upside to achieve new successes in your life, but you do need to make enough change to facilitate movement toward your goal. ... Next time you decide to eat healthier, exercise more, or be more mindful, write out all the things you could on a daily basis that will help get you to your goal. Go over that list and look at the ones with the greatest energy:return ratio (which ones won’t be too big of an ask to introduce to your day to day), and start doing those EVERYDAY for at least 1-minute. These 1-minute efforts will not only compound over time, but slowly these habits become a greater part of your life and it becomes easier and easier to prioritize them. *Note* this is for lifestyle goals. If you’re an athlete it’s a different story (sort of). Write out your goal, then reverse engineer what it’s going to take to get there. Build out your same list of habits and GET IT DONE Sometimes athletics is a game of speed and you need to adjust your day to day accordingly. BUT, you still need to build daily habits that keep you moving forward. #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding #nutrition #nutritioncoach #eatclean #healthylifestyle #transformation #weightloss #weightlossjourney #muscle #musclebuilding #homeworkout #workoutathome #bodyweightworkout See more

CLIENT HIGHLIGHT Huge shoutout to @shamthelamb for crushing out this 435 high bar back squat!! Talk about commitment - when the shutdown happened this guy scrambled to outfit his TO apartment with what he needed to keep training ... Shamik has been trying to balance training and a busy work life for quite some time, and over the past few weeks has really made a commitment to training and recovery. The results? PR CITY #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding #nutrition #nutritioncoach #eatclean #healthylifestyle #transformation #weightloss #weightlossjourney #muscle #musclebuilding #homeworkout #workoutathome #bodyweightworkout See more

Perspective is everything. To some, this picture is exactly what it is. Rock bottom of a max squat, darkness closing, the feeling of being driven through the ground by a heavier weight than you’ve ever felt. To others this is the exact opposite. This is pure excitement, a chance to overcome something you previously couldn’t, an opportunity to succeed. Sure it feels like shit, but you’ve learned to love that. ... For many of us we are lucky that a max squat, or gruelling interval sprints are the hardest thing we have to overcome in a day. But that’s what makes them so necessary. Without them life is too easy, we’re not challenged enough. While some may find weight training silly, if you’re still reading this you are like us. You view it as a challenge, but a challenge that you can grow from. Continue to challenge yourself every day, and let your perspective of what hard really is, evolve. Sooner or later this perspective will reach outside the weight room, and the success will follow. All those hours won’t seem so silly anymore, when there’s nothing you can’t overcome... and that is why we train. #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerlifting #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding See more

It only gets harder... No matter what it is, progress slows. The next percent is always harder than the last percent. Don’t say you really want it if you really just like hitting prs every month and expect that to continue. Don’t say you want to jump higher, or run faster if you aren’t prepared for the plateaus, the injury risk, and the extra hours it takes to get 1% better. If were talking about training qualities for a sport, you have to b...e very selective about which qualities you choose to ride well past the point of diminishing returns. If you are a wide receiver, you are going to take sprint training to the bitter end. Going from a 315 to 350 bench takes a ton of work, and might not pay dividends. However going from a 4.45s to a 4.42s 40yard dash... that could be the difference between winning and losing, between getting drafted or not. Getting really really good at something takes focus, takes consistency, takes ruthless intent, and a whole lot of grit. You can’t be the best at everything at once, you don’t have the time in the day or the energy to recover. Be selective about what skills you pick to take to the extreme, and get ready for a bumpy ride! #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerlifting #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding See more

MINDSET Think about those 11:59pm paper submissions, or those scrambles to get to the airport in time. Why were you able to get these done? Because you knew you absolutely HAD to, so you found a way. When you really want to achieve a goal, you’ll be driven by motivation and will work as hard as is convenient to get it done. Conversely, when you feel you absolutely HAVE to achieve something, you are driven by necessity and will find a way to get it done. ... Our capabilities don’t change with either scenario - what changes is our mindset. If you really want something in your life you need to make it a necessity, and once you do that you will find a way to succeed. #onlinetrainer #onlinetraining #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinepersonaltraining #athlete #athletes #athletetraining #sports #sportsvideos #highlights #workoutmotivation #workoutroutine #workout #gym #gymmotivation #powerliftingwomen #bodybuilding #nutrition #nutritioncoach #eatclean #healthylifestyle #transformation #weightloss #weightlossjourney #muscle #musclebuilding #homeworkout #workoutathome #bodyweightworkout See more