The power of plyometric training

Plyometrics (jump training) are exercises designed to produce fast, powerful movements that enhance explosive muscular performance. Many of you may have already used these techniques and not known they are called plyometrics. Plyometric exercises may include; jumping, bounding, hopping, arm pushing, and "catching and throwing" weighted objects such as medicine balls. These are movements that...Read more

Conquer competition anxiety and harness it for success

Everyone of us has experienced anxiety at one point in our lives, sweaty palms, 'butterflies' in your stomach, your heart starts to pound and you think "I can't do this." Anxiety in athletes usually occurs during high stress moments, competitions, performance evaluations, and fears of re-injury. The good news is there are many ways in which an athlete can take these feelings and use them to their...Read more

Icy Recovery

Cold therapy is a technique that is very popular in multiple sports and disciplines with many high-performance athletes claiming it as an essential part of their training. Cold water immersion is used as recovery method where exposure to cold is believed to help alleviate the soreness of small tears that occur in muscles fibres followed by intense or repetitive exercise (DOMS) . Ice baths are...Read more

Introducing the 'sunshine' vitamin!

Canadian winters mean short days and bundling up against the cold, so getting the required amount of sunlight for absorbing Vitamin D can be difficult. Vitamin D (sometimes called the 'sunshine vitamin') is unique in that it requires the skin to be exposed to ultraviolet-B radiation for optimal absorption. Because it is present in very few foods and many people use sunscreen to protect themselves...Read more

Beet the competition

A handful of studies performed over the past several years have found that consuming beet juice may lower the oxygen cost of exercise, due to the high concentration of nitrates found in beetroot . As a result, many athletes are consuming beetroot juice as a way to enhance performance . So, how does it work? A compound called ' nitric oxide ' (NO) is a compound that is made in the body but can...Read more

InBody Body Composition Analyzer

At the Canadian Sport for Life National Summit in Gatineau-Ottawa, Canada, the staff at SIRC got to meet some very friendly and knowledgeable people and we learned a few new things as well. One of the interesting experiences we had was trying out InBody 's body composition analyzer. This machine measures body composition using Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) to give you a fast, non-...Read more

High Intensity Interval Training

Many Canadians cite a " lack of time " when asked about barriers to adding physical activity into their lives. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is used by many athletes and fitness enthusiasts to reach their performance goals and enhance their fitness levels. HIIT is a type of cardio training that involves alternating bouts of light-to-moderate intensity with bouts of high intensity. HIIT...Read more

Preventing Burnout in Children

Burnout in sport is defined as “physical/emotional exhaustion, sport devaluation, and reduced over-training and by competing too often. This is an important issue in youth sports because it often leads to dropping out of sport completely. Participation in sport offers many benefits to children and with so many people leading sedentary lifestyles, it's becoming even more important to keep our kids...Read more

Core Training - Not just for your abs!

We've all heard fitness experts claim that core training is important for overall fitness and health. Health clubs offer core training exercise groups and physio therapists recommend it for those recovering from injury. Your core is the collection of muscles that stabilize the spine, this includes the hips, pelvis, abdominals, lower back, mid-back, and neck regions of the body . These muscles are...Read more

Let kids play!

Most experts agree that Canadian children need to increase their physical activity . We also know that organized sport can help achieve that. However, concentrating on one sport or putting too much focus on winning may lead to kids dropping out of sport altogether. A recent survey has shown that the main reason that kids drop out of sport is that they just aren't having fun anymore. While...Read more