How do you lift? Compound vs. isolation.

Hey Everyone! Hope you are all doing great and are enjoying this beautiful weather we are having in Southern Ontario right now! Get outside and be active, you will be amazed what this beautiful weather can do for your body and mind!

I have a cool little blog today. I’m going to talk about Compound Lifts vs Isolation Lifts! These are both very important to any well rounded program and they both serve a very important purpose! First off I am going to define each of these movements then I’m going to tell you what I think the benefits of each of them are!

Compound Lift

A compound lift is a movement that targets and utilizes multiple major muscle groups and joints at the same time. Every well rounded program should have a compound lift every day in my opinion. Your training session should be built around that specific lift that day. For example if Monday your program is built to hit heavy legs, then everything else you do that day should complement your compound lift. Basically your compound lift is the Meat portion of your dinner plate! 

Top Three Benifits of Compound Lifts

Below I am just going to touch on what I think are the benefits of compound lifts, and why they should be a huge part of your program!

1. They Make You Stronger – Simply put every program should have some variation of a squat, bench and deadlift. They are the biggest bang for you buck!

2. Coordination – Core Strength – Every compound lift makes you engage your core in some way shape or form. Most importantly they all will improve your coordination!

3. Burn More Calories – It is proven that you will burn more calories doing a compound lift such as a squat than going on a run! Compound lifts challenge your CNS and make you work!

Isolation Lifts

Isolation lifts are movements that target a specific muscle group and only use one joint like the triceps in a triceps extension, whereas a compound exercise utilizes multiple muscle groups and joints to perform that specific movement. The same can be said about isolation lifts as compound lifts, every well rounded program needs them! I personally think that isolation lifts are great for fixing deficiencies in the body. For example if someone has weak glute and can’t get them to fire, you can still have that person Squat (Compound Lift) but you can also build some single leg glute bridges in to target that specific area! Like I said before the compound lift is the meat, your isolation lifts are the veggies!

Top Three Benifits of Isolation Lifts

Here are my thoughts on what I think are the biggest benefits to isolation lifts!

1. Rehab – Being able to target a specific muscle group that has been injured to help recover it is key to getting healthy quick!

2. Fixing Deficiencies – Like I said above, some athletes have problems areas that need work. Isolation lifts can help get this done for you when building a program

3. Compliment To Compound Lift – I think the most important benefit is that you can use these lifts to compliment the big compound lifts!

Email Bskinner@sstcanada.com to book your complimentary demo session to talk to us about how we use compound and isolation lifts in your programming to get the results you need!

Nutrient Timing for Athletes: Does It Really Matter When We Eat Post-Exercise?

            People have recently started to question the idea of an ‘anabolic window’ post-exercise and whether we really need to eat or have that protein shake after our work-out. But where these opinions fall short is in the interpretations of the current research and literature to an athletic population.

            The idea is that a recent meta-analysis found that our total protein intake over a day is more important than the amount of protein we eat after our workout for building muscle mass, and while this is great information it largely gets mis-interpreted in the media. This is because while total protein intake during the day is more important than the amount we eat during the anabolic window (time after exercise where our ability to absorb nutrients is increased). If we are an athlete why wouldn’t we want to take advantage of this time of increased nutrient absorption? Even if the advantage of eating post-workout is smaller than we originally thought, most sporting events are decided a fraction of a second or a very small percentage, so if we aren’t taking advantage of this window (when our competitors are) then we are sure to fall short in competition. As athletes we must remember that we are in the performance business and not the physique business. While having a low body-fat percentage a key contributor to athletic performance, if we are not fueling our bodies properly than we will not be able to perform no matter how low our body fat percentage is. Also remember that protein does A LOT MORE for our bodies than just build muscle, and helps other bodily tissues recover, repair, and regenerate post-exercise.

            Furthermore, for a lot of our athletes they are partaking in two training sessions on most days (one sport session; one lifting session), so in this scenario is it really practical to post-pone eating after one session and not re-fuel before the next one? Does it ever make sense to not fuel before a session when we are in the performance business? Athletes who fuel better, perform better. Athletes who eat breakfast perform better. Therefore, we don’t usually recommend intermittent fasting to our athletes either. While it is totally possible to train after an overnight fast or a prolonged fast period (cue fasted cardio proponents), if it is going to affect our performance in that workout or training session is the small advantage we might get in body composition going to be worth it? This is like popular ketogenic diets (as we don’t generally recommend these to our athletes), as most studies have found performance isn’t improved with these diets (even though body composition might). This doesn’t make us promoters of high carbohydrate diets, but we do need to refuel the glycogen stores in our muscle that our athletes exhaust with high-intensity exercise bouts, especially following competition. 

Bottom Line: If you are not taking advantage of nutrient timing and the post-exercise window as an athlete you are missing out on important opportunity to fuel, regenerate, and repair your body for optimal performance. For athlete’s there is really no situation where it is a good idea to delaying feeding after exercise no matter what you’ve heard on social media.

Here are some guidelines to help maximize your post-exercise nutrition:

Post-Exercise Maximize Glycogen Re-Synthesis (within 30 min):

HIGH GLYCEMIC CARBOHYDRATES 1-1.5g/kg/hr

ADD PROTEIN! 0.25-0.5g/kg/hr enhances effect; as long as <1.2g/kg/hr

Example (70kg individual) ***individual needs may vary***

  • ~70g CHO/HR ~30g PRO/HR
  • (Large Banana, English Muffin with Jam, Protein Drink)

Click here to Book your nutrition session today to ensure your diet and training are working together to have you at peak performance!

Click here to visit our online store to order your Protein today!

Dinosaur kale salad.

Dinosaur kale salad.

A fresh spring/ summer salad that with a quick substitution can change from started to main course.
Prep Time 10 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Bowl dinosaur kale with stems removed
  • 1/2 cup sliced radish
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • sliced gouda cheese
  • 2 lrg avocado
  • Dressing
  • 1/4 c raw tahini
  • 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tbsp. maple syrup
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 c water to thin
  • Topping options
  • 1/2 pkg Smoked salmon
  • 1 Chicken breast per person
  • Sliced steak
  • Grilled tofu

Instructions
 

  • Remove stems and wash kale, then tear into smaller pieces.
  • Slice radish and dice avocado then place in bowl with kale and cranberries.
  • See Crispy chickpea recipe for cooking instructions then generously add to salad bowl.
  • Whisk dressing ingredients and pour over salad.
  • add any optional toppings you want!

Red pepper and Garlic roasted chickpeas.

Crispy Chickpeas

Use as a snack or on a salad, chickpeas are a good source of manganese and folate. They are also a very good source of magnesium, iron, copper, potassium, and thiamin.

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups canned chickpea 400 g, drained, rinsed and dried
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ¼ teaspoon black ground pepper
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (180˚C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Combine the chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt in a large bowl and toss to coat.
  • Transfer the chickpeas to the baking sheet and bake until golden and crisp, 40-45 minutes, shaking halfway through cooking.

Offseason Hand Eye Training

In every sport, there is some sort of task that an athlete must complete that requires some sort of hand eye coordination. Hand eye coordination is a skill that some people are better at than most, but at the same time that skill can definitely be trained to a higher level. Take a look at the “5 Major Sports North America Sports” Football, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer and Baseball. All these sport require an elite level of hand-eye coordination to either score in that sport, or to play defence in that sport! In this blog I’m going to give you a few cool ways to train hand eye to help with your ability to see and react to whatever is happening on the field or court in your sport!

Hand Eye coordination in athletes

Left Hand Training

This one is pretty straight forward! Most people have one dominate hand. For me I’m right handed and during the early part of my career I really struggle with my left hand. As a center in football I snapped with my right so I had to get better with my left hand as it was my first line of defence. So I started doing everything I could with my left hand; writing, opening jars and doors playing catch, before I knew it I had my left hand caught up with my right. Here the deal though, it has to be a constant effort. You cannot just do this for 2 months and have a great “offhand” it’s something that you must continually train or you will lose this skill you have gained!

One Handed Catch Training

Again another very straight forward drill, but extremely effective! Have someone throw you a tennis ball and catch it will one hand. The key to making this drill work best is to have the throw come at you on different angle, don’t just have the ball come straight at you as this isn’t realistic! This drill is really good for football and baseball guys. They have to make one handed catches all the time, so they should be constantly training that skill. One cool little way to make this drill harder is have the player who is catching the tennis ball slowly jog to the person who is throwing it; this will add different levels of depth perception that will help the hand eye!

Reaction Ball Drill

This is by far my favourite hand eye drill that I have in my tool box! There are two reasons why! Number 1; you can do this drill by yourself and number 2 the ball makes you react and move your feet instead of just standing in one place or jogging to a spot! Here is the drill; stand about five years away from the wall and throw the ball on a one hop at the wall and react and go catch it before the ball hits the ground! Seems simple right!!! It is but the great part is no two reps will be the same! The ball will always jump somewhere different! Below is a picture of the ball that I have, it’s a Nike product I used it for a long time and saw great results!

Off season is the time to get better! Come into the gym today to see how we can help you prepare for next season!!

Why Flashy Footwork, Agility Ladders, and Sprint Mechanic Drills are MOSTLY A Waste of Time

One of the most common pieces of equipment sport coaches and strength and conditioning coaches love to use are agility ladders… but why? Mostly people love to use them because they are very portable (can take to practice, use on the field), easy to set up and requires little instruction to demonstrate patterns for athletes to go through. But is this a reason for using them?

            While agility ladders and footwork drills do have their place for building general coordination and foot speed in younger athletes (or as part of a warm-up), for developing athletic multi-planar speed and power, they are largely a waste of time and our efforts can be better spent elsewhere. I would even argue for soccer (the sport where foot speed is probably the most important) they are largely a waste of time as through practice for their sport they will build these foot speed skills that are more specific to their sport and learning agility ladder patterns is not going to improve this further.

            I would even go on to say a lot of drills commonly used by coaches that work on foot speed are also a waste of time. If we are wanting our athletes to get faster, the number one thing that can be done do to improve their speed is to have them run FAST!!! The more practice our athletes get at accelerating, changing direction, and reaching and maintaining maximal velocity the better off they will be.

            Another common thing I see in coaching is to spend hours on sprint mechanics and track and field type drills. While I believe these have their place (in warm-up; extra work sessions) we must remember that our field sport athletes are NOT sprinters. While we can use these drills to work on some of their MAJOR deficiencies in sprinting form, we must remember that some of the running styles and techniques develop from their sport and help them to perform at their best.  

            While there are techniques we can use when getting our athletes to run fast such as resisted sprinting, sprinting with sleds etc. sometimes simplicity is key when it comes to getting our athletes faster! We combine our speed training with plyometric and resistance training exercises specialized for our athlete’s sports and position, keeping in mind the work to rest ratios used in their sport. Keep in mind, we can’t do speed training if we are tired! To run fast and do proper speed training this involves FULL recovery. So, when coaches are doing endless conditioning drills just remember this also is not training SPEED.

            Bottom line, to get our athletes faster we run… and we run FAST!!! We love to use reactionary drills to mimic the sporting environment, and to add competition to our drills to push our athletes to their fullest potential. Athletes want to compete, and you get the best out of them when they are doing just that, competing!

Want to get faster with us? Click here for more information or to sign up for our FAST program!

For more information regarding our soccer speed camps please contact us at sst@sstcanada.com

What coaches look for!

Hey everyone! I’m excited to write this blog today! What I’m going to talk about is something I preach to my athletes all the time! Being a coach, and knowing a lot of coaches I often find myself talking to other like minded individuals about what we are looking for in an athlete. After all my time talking to people and other coaches, this are the three traits that I look for in an elite athlete; flexibility, aggression and a driven mentality.

Flexibility 

This is such an overlooked aspect of training! There is a misconception people have think that certain people can’t be flexible, because they weren’t born with it. This is so wrong!!! Sure some people are going to be more pliable than other, but don’t judge your flexibility against someone else’s. The more flexible your can be the better athlete you are going to become. If you take a “none flexible” person and work on stretching and mobility, you will see over a time period that they will become more mobile and become a better athlete! There are lots of studies that prove that pliability is so important when determining how much force a muscle can create. 

Aggression – No Fear

No matter what the sport is, I want aggressive people. Someone who is willing to take risks, someone who is not afraid to roll down a dark alley! This couldn’t more true, especially in contact sports such as football, hockey and basketball. Let’s look at basketball, one of the best points guards in the NBA is Kyle Lowry. He has never been afraid to take the ball into the paint where there are guys way bigger than him. He gets hit all the time and had even gotten hurt going into the paint but, he continues to go in there because he knows it’s helps his team! I’ve seen a lot of athletes who are freaks in the weight room and on the track but when they get into thier completion the struggle because they are afraid of contact and getting hurt! YOU CANT BE!!!

Driven Mentality 

This is what separates the good from the great! Good athletes are just that, they train to get better and be good at there craft. Great athletes train to be the best of all time. One of the greatest NBA Player of all time Kobe Bryant, who just recently pass away had something he called “The Mamba Mentality” This was basically his process of out working everyone. I remember a story of the lakers drafting someone and this kid started working out in the gym at 5:30 in the morning, Kobe caught wind of this and started his day at the gym at 4:00am, just to prove the point that he would outwork everyone! This is truly what an elite person is, someone who is incapable of losing!!!

This is just my take. If you asked another coach the same question he/she would probably have a different answer for you. But the great ones I’ve been around or seen have these traits in common!! 

There is no off season, come into SST today and lets get faster stronger and out work the competition! Email Bskinner@sstcanada.com to book a free demo session.

Bulgar stuffed sweet peppers.

Bulgar Stuffed sweet peppers

These take a little bit of time to make,
but they are sooooo worth it! Hearty and delicious. Serve with a side salad and you are good to go!
Course Dinner
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup bulgar
  • 4 sweet red peppers
  • 4 cups Mushrooms
  • 2 cloves Fresh garlic
  • 2 Diced tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp Lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp freshly chopped sage
  • 1/4 cup Freshly chopped parsley
  • 2 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1/2 cup shredded asiago cheese
  • 1/4 cup toasted almond slivers
  • 1 tbsp Salt and pepper or to taste

Instructions
 

  • In large bowl, pour
    1 1/3 cups boiling water over bulgur; cover and let stand for 15 minutes.  Drain and press out moisture; return to dry
    bowl.
    Meanwhile, slice
    tops off red peppers leaving 2-inch high sides; core and scrape out seeds.  Dice tops and set aside.
    In food processor
    or by hand, finely chop mushrooms.  In
    large nonstick skillet, heat half of the oil over medium-high heat; fry diced
    peppers, mushrooms, onion, garlic, sage and ½ tsp each of the salt and pepper
    until liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes. 
    Add to bulgur along with cheese, toasted almonds and parsley; toss to
    combine.
    Spoon bulgur
    mixture into peppers, mounding if necessary. 
    Place peppers, stuffed side up, in a 8-inch square glass baking
    dish.  Drizzle with lemon juice and
    remaining oil; top with tomatoes. 
    Sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper.

    Cover with foil;
    bake in 350◦ oven until peppers are almost tender about 1 hour.  Uncover and bake until tips are crusty, about
    30 minutes.

Acceptance of a problem – Are you coachable?

I personally think that any athlete can come into the gym, pick up some weights and lift. That is truly not hard to do, if you are the least bit dedicated to your craft. Where I find the difference lies in traning an athlete is there ability to be coached and listen to the advice that they are given. There is a reason professional athletes have a training staff, because they not only need direction but they want to be told how to get better! There is one trait I can see in every great athlete…. the desire to be coached! Below you will find my key point on being coachable!

  1. Acceptance of a Problem – The only way to truly fix something, is to first admit that it is broken. You as an athlete are training because you are trying to get better. Don’t act like you have everything accomplished already!
  2. Reaction to Criticism – When your being coached, there is nothing worse than arguing when your doing something wrong! If you don’t agree with something, that is fine but there is a certain way to ask the question of why is this or that being done.
  3. Changing of Mindset – The biggest tool any athlete has is their brain! If it is used in the right way. You need to allow coaching to happen, take the criticism and ask yourself questions! This is the true definition of an athlete, someone that can process information about their body, good or bad! Having a clear mindset of always understand why your doing something and how to do it is so undervalued!
  4. Performance – The reason why you are being coached is so that you get better at your craft. One of key points of being coachable is using the tools that we have given you to become a better athlete. Most importantly not going back to your ‘old ways’ before you made changes.
  5. Desire – Training at a high level is not easy. Especially if you are constantly trying to get better, it is an uphill battle that never stop! If you are an elite competitor you will never hit the peak of your game, because you will always want more. The only way this is possible is with high level coaching and letting people help you!

Having a coach is just like having a mechanic you trust, you’re always going to listen to their advice even if it is something that you don’t want to hear! People who are afraid of criticism never make it to the top, because they think they are the best and they simply aren’t! Elite people get better at what people say they are deficient in and make that a strength! If you can take one thing from reading this blog; just listen to the people who are trying to help you! Even if you don’t agree, it will make you a better person and athlete!

If you want to be Coached by Coach Jamie, CLICK HERE to sign up for his upcoming Big man camp!

Not feeling on top of your game?

A human body produces vitamin D as a response to sun exposure. A person can also boost their vitamin D intake through certain foods or supplements.Vitamin D is essential for several reasons, including maintaining healthy bones and teeth. It may also protect against a range of diseases and conditions, such as type 1 diabetes.

Despite its name, vitamin D is not a vitamin, but a prohormone, or precursor of a hormone. Vitamins are nutrients that the body cannot create, and so a person must consume them in the diet. However, the body can produce vitamin D however in places with less sun exposure all year round we should be consuming enough through diet or supplements to ensure we don’t have a deficiency.

Vitamin D play a few vital roles in the body;

Bones; It’s well-documented that vitamin D is essential for the proper absorption of calcium, and it’s been shown to greatly reduce fracture risk in two ways. First, it helps with the formation of stronger bones; second, Vitamin D helps improve balance and prevent falls by enhancing muscle contraction.

Mood; When it comes to being happy, the scientific evidence is clear, lower vitamin D levels have long been associated with a higher incidence of depression. Interestingly, when vitamin D3 supplements were compared to anti-depressants in a 2014 study, the positive effect of vitamin D3 on mood was comparable to the effects of the anti-depressants. When a new immigrant from a sunny country arrives to canada, often Dr.s will recommend they take a supplement to make up for the difference in climate.

Muscles; One of the byproducts of vitamin D’s breakdown, called 1,25(OH)2D, enters muscle cells and affects the nucleus. Once there, the vitamin D metabolite enhances the cell’s contraction ability. Since muscles work by contraction and relaxation, a muscle’s ability to contract is essential to its strength and response to outside forces. Vitamin D, then, makes muscles stronger in a very direct way.

Lungs; As many studies indicate, vitamin D plays a role in keeping our lungs healthy due to vitamin D possessing a range of anti-inflammatory properties – with greater concentrations of vitamin D resulting in greater lung health benefits.

Heart; Research has demonstrated an inverse relationship between vitamin D levels in the blood and high blood pressure (HBP or hypertension). In other words, the lower the vitamin D, the higher the blood pressure. The excess strain and resulting damage from high blood pressure causes the coronary arteries serving the heart to slowly narrow and harden, greatly increasing the risk of a heart attack.

Kidneys; Because vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, it helps to regulate kidney function and plays a very beneficial role in treating kidney disease.

Weight Loss; When you don’t have enough vitamin D, you feel hungry all the time, no matter how much you eat. That is because low levels of vitamin D interfere with the effectiveness of leptin, the appetite hormone that tells you when you are full. When vitamin D is replenished and back to normal levels, leptin’s actions are restored, thus creating feelings of satiety and aiding in weight loss.

Cognitive Function; In the past few years, many studies have linked shortage of vitamin D with cognitive impairment in older men and women. Research has demonstrated that vitamin D has a variety of neuroprotective roles, including helping to rid the brain of beta-amyloid, an abnormal protein that is believed to be a major cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, an international study (the largest to date) shows that seniors with very low levels of vitamin D are at twice the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Deficiency; Although the body can create vitamin D, a deficiency can occur for many reasons.

Skin type; Darker skin reduces the body’s ability to absorb the ultraviolet radiation B (UVB) rays from the sun. Absorbing sunlight is essential for the skin to produce vitamin D.

Sunscreen; A sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 can reduce the body’s ability to synthesize the vitamin by 95% or more. Covering the skin with clothing can inhibit vitamin D production also.

Geographical location; People who live in northern latitudes or areas of high pollution, work night shifts, or are homebound should aim to consume vitamin D from food sources whenever possible.

Breastfeeding; Infants who exclusively breastfeed need a vitamin D supplement, especially if they have dark skin or have minimal sun exposure. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that all breastfed infants receive 400 international units (IU) per day of oral vitamin D.

Although people can take vitamin D supplements, it is best to obtain any vitamins or minerals through natural sources wherever possible.Getting sufficient sunlight is the best way to help the body produce enough vitamin D. Plentiful food sources of vitamin D include:

fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel, and tuna, egg yolks, cheese, beef liver, mushrooms, fortified milk

Dosage should be discussed with your doctor however sensible sun exposure on bare skin for 5–10 minutes, 2–3 times per week, allows most people to produce sufficient vitamin D. However, vitamin D breaks down quite quickly, meaning that stores can run low, especially in winter.

If someone is taking supplements, they should choose their brand carefully, as the FDA do not monitor the safety or purity of supplements.

Even though there are a selection of vitamin D supplements available, It is the total diet and eating pattern that is most important in disease prevention and good health. It is better to eat a diet with a variety of nutrients than to concentrate on one nutrient as the key to good health.

Email Bskinner@sstcanada.com to schedule a Nutrition session with SST to make sure you are on the healthiest path possible!