Blog - Tag: SIRC Collection

When is Pain "Acceptable"?

Anyone who has trained even moderately will have experienced pain sometime during a workout. However, if we all stopped exercising every time we had an ache or pain, we'd never get off of the couch. When you experience pain, it's your body telling you that it is under stress and being potentially damaged. Guidelines are always helpful in determining the extent of an injury but if you are in a lot...Read more

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Maintaining your Summer Fitness Gains

Many of us have been taking advantage of this hot summer to exercise and further our training goals, so with fall just around the corner, how can we maintain the fitness gains we worked so hard to attain? Consistent commitment to any exercise training involves a lot of motivation, effort and hard work that we don't want to see decline over the winter months. Long-term exercise training has many...Read more

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Coaching Young Athletes

As a coach, there is always a chance that you will spot exceptional talent in a young athlete. When this happens, it can be easy to forget that that talent is wrapped inside the body and mind of a child. Kids think differently than adults, especially when they are younger. Abstract thinking doesn't really start developing until adolescence, so it can be quite a challenge as a coach to effectively...Read more

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Long Term Athlete Development

Going for Gold!

SIRC Newsletter now available online: Going for Gold! With the 2012 Paralympics just around the corner (Aug. 29-Sept. 9), adaptive athletes are putting on the finishing touches to their preparations. The excitement and spirit of competition will come alive for 10 days when we all get to watch the dedication, hard work and motivation that will pay off when this year's Canadian Paralympians go for...Read more

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Overcoming the Fear of Re-injury

Athletes often push their bodies to the limits to keep them fit and make them faster. While this attitude keeps athletes at the top of their game, it also comes with a risk. Injuries are commonplace in the sport community, freak accidents happen to the best of us even with extra precaution and care. After a major injury, an athlete may become 'injury-prone' . This can happen when fears, conscious...Read more

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Coaching and Constructive Feedback

The goal of great coaching is to guide, inspire and empower athletes to develop to their fullest potential. Much of coaching depends on the ability of the coach to communicate criticism in a way that fosters trust and positive outcomes. Providing constructive feedback can be one of the most challenging skills for coaches to master but when done properly can yield great results. Every athlete and...Read more

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Nutrients for Busy Athletes

Most athletes, professional and recreational, often eat relatively well but with busy lifestyles it can be very useful to be informed of a few of the key nutrients you can target for optimal health . We all know that we need to eat more fruits and vegetables, drink more water and choose low fat foods but did you know you may be missing some key nutrients including, calcium, zinc, iron and...Read more

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Are Cool-downs Worth your Time?

After you finish an intense workout , you must remember that your body will still be trying to deal with the stress you have been putting it under for the past few hours. Since muscles need oxygen, our heart will continue to pump hard in order to transport the oxygenated blood through our bodies. Respiratory rates will be high, the muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments will all experience...Read more

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Winners Wear Red?

Anyone who is familiar with psychology is aware that colour can have a profound psychological effect on humans. While this information is not new, with the London 2012 Olympics in full swing some are questioning whether the colour of team uniforms will have an effect on overall performance. A recent study explored the idea that athletes who wear red may have an advantage over their rivals...Read more

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Train Like an Olympian

SIRC Newsletter now available online: Train Like an Olympian With everyone talking about the London 2012 Olympics, it’s fun to see what elite athletes do to attain such high levels of performance. For most athletes, the Olympics is the peak of their athletic career and as such, they strive to reach the highest levels of achievement. Training is long and intense and sometimes comes with setbacks,...Read more

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