Wednesday, 17 May 2017

Coach Training - May 18

School Gear Workout

3 Rounds and Four Exercises

Bar Dips x 10 (Universal Machine on Stage)
Box Jumps x 10 (16 inch and 24 inch boxes on Stage)
Leg Raises x 10 (Universal Machine on Stage)
Medicine Ball Slams x 10 (Medicine Balls on Stage)
Dumbbell Plank Position Row x 10/side (Dumbbells on Rack on Stage)

Coach Training - May 17

Run Day - Welcome to the Start of a 5km Run.

Walk 30 seconds, run 30 seconds for 10 minutes.

Walk 30 seconds, run 1 minute for 12 minutes or 6 rounds.

Walk 30 seconds, run 30 seconds for 4 minutes.

Walk 5 minutes to cool down.

Coach Training - May 16

Five Rounds of All Eight Exercises.

10 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest.
20 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest.
20 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest.
30 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest.
20 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest.
10 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest.

Mountain Climbers
Push Up
Jump Lunge
Box Jump
Battle Rope
Med Ball Slam
Burpee
Leg Lifts

Coach Training - May 15

Leg Day

Three Rounds - Five Exercises

Calf Raises x 30
Clock Lunge (lunge forward each side, lunge back each side, lunge to each side) x 10 (forty lunges total)
Squat x 10
Squat Pulse x 10 (only the bottom portion of the squat)
Box Step Up x 10 (five per side)

Coach Training - May 12

Easy Does It.

Five Rounds. Three Exercises.

Bench Dip x 30
Walking Lunge x 15/side
Mountain Climber x 30

Coach Training - May 11

Three Rounds of the following circuit with a partner.

Jump Squats x 20
Bench Dips x 20
Bench Squats x 20
Flutter kicks x 200
Bench Dips x 20
Speed Test x 1
Triceps Push Ups x 20
Stage Get Up (4.5 foot climb) x 10
Wind Sprint x 4 (x 50m)
Agility Ladder (Two Step or Icky Shuffle) x 4 lengths

Run with Coach Howard x 2.5km

Coach Training - May 10

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Workout40-20 Challenge
40 seconds
20 repetitions

The challenge works as follows:
Eight (8) exercises total
Four (4) exercises that are cardiovascular based
Four (4) exercises that are strength/weight based
40 seconds of work on the cardiovascular exercises
20 repetitions of work on the strength/weight exercises
Complete in pods of two (2) as follows

Mountain Climbers (40 seconds)
Rotational Bicep Curls (20 repetitions)

Burpee (40 seconds)
Dumbbell Floor Chest Press (20 repetitions)

Reverse Lunge (40 seconds)
Overhead Press (20 repetitions)

Flutter Kick (40 seconds)
Bent Over Dumbbell Row (20 repetitions)

Coach Training - May 9

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Coach Training - May 8

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Coach Training - May 5

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Coach Training - May 4

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Thermopylae Training - Guardians Workout - May 17

Five Rounds of All Eight Exercises. 

10 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest.
20 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest.
20 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest.
30 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest.
20 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest.
10 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest.

Mountain Climbers
Push Up
Jump Lunge
Box Jump
Battle Rope
Med Ball Slam
Burpee
Leg Lifts

Thermopylae Training - Circuit and Run - May 15

Three Rounds of the following circuit with a partner.

Jump Squats x 20
Bench Dips x 20
Bench Squats x 20
Flutter kicks x 200
Bench Dips x 20
Speed Test x 1
Triceps Push Ups x 20
Stage Get Up (4.5 foot climb) x 10
Wind Sprint x 4 (x 50m)
Agility Ladder (Two Step or Icky Shuffle) x 4 lengths

Run with Coach Howard x 2.5km

Thermopylae Games #4 - Arbour Lake School

Congratulations to all of the individuals, coaches and parents for coming out to Arbour Lake school for the final Thermopylae games of the 2016-2017 season.

The five exercises were as follows:
Kangaroo Jumps

Plank Jacks

Leg Raises

Star Jumps

Bench Dips

Congratulations to Sir John Franklin school for finishing in first place, Valley Creek in second place, Arbour Lake in third place, Crossing Park in fourth place and William D. Pratt in fifth place.

Great job to all and we look forward to seeing all of you at the final event, the Thermopylae Obstacle Course Race, at Valley Creek school on June 6.

Find a Way or Make One!!

Tuesday, 9 May 2017

Gorila Fitness - Canadian Fitness Brands

1.      Can you tell me a little about yourself and your brand?
The whole idea was to bring quality equipment in Canada and save Canadians the ridiculous shipping fees of international orders. We're two brothers; Vincent & Martin Roy, we love training and a couple years ago discovered and fall in love with Crossfit method. So when we wanted to train at home our parents gave us the shed for a home gym. Shopping around for a squat rack, everything was too expensive (mostly because of the USD, shipping & custom) so we opted to build it. My brother (Vincent) has a background in mechanical engineering and welding so we've designed a simple squat rack for our home gym, roughly painted and everything. Probably a week after that, a friend of our parents (Luc Marotte, now our partner in the company) was looking for a squat rack and asked us to build it and we did. After that a gym owner contacted us and asked for a rig, then a sled, and the demand just never stopped growing so we started a company and bought some tools and stuff.
2.      What was the “spark” or start of your company?
We just knew we could build something as good or even better then competition for the same price or even sometime cheaper but saving our clients the shipping and customs was enough to convince them to buy local! We are building every home or commercial gym as if it was ours, I think that gives a more human touch to the fitness equipment industry. Plus, almost nothing was made IN canada, obviously there was a lot of Chinese products on the market and the quality was not at all what we wanted for our clients: poor quality and construction equals poor longevity, less movements possibilities and less options.  Today, 80% of what we do is Canadian made in our facility in Chambly (South sore of montreal) guaranteeing not only the quality but also functionality, design and most of all, accessible customer service!
3.      Where did the idea for your brand come from?
We were inspired by big companies in the USA and wanted a badass name and logo to compete with them so we were searching for big fierce animals. The gorilla was our first idea but we knew there was a few Gorilla Gym and stuff and didn't want people to get confused. After weeks of research we thought "let's just remove one "L" from there for trademark issues and move on with Gorila Fitness", so we did!
4.      What is the goal, or main priorities, of the brand and company (outside of financial)?
The ultimate goal is certainly to be known for our quality and become a reference in Canada for Strongman, weightlifting, crossfit & training equipment in general! That's precisely why our client's satisfaction is our top priority and I know it sounds cheesy but it's true. Anything our clients are not happy with, we're not happy with. That's how we've been thinking since day one and I think that's part of our success. Finding the perfect products that would meet all the special needs of our customers!
5.      How do customers/athletes, and their opinions, influence or impact your brand?
A LOT! We're always asking around for reviews and ideas! We try a lot of them and most of our new products comes from client's suggestions or athlete's tips. It's a never ending process and we know we can count on our clients honesty to improve our quality of service and products. Everybody's needs are different and the goal is to find the product that will fit most perfectly. That's precisely where the "custom" part of what we do is coming handy, being able to customize pretty much anything to client's specs is a huge plus for us!
6.      Where do you see your brand in one year and in five years?
In one year we would like to improve our client base in western Canadian market & military market and give our customers more variety. We are also working on improving our website & social media platforms! Now in five years we'd like to be the reference in Canada, we know that's still probably a bit short term but I believe in our team's capacity to do it and I believe in the quality of what we do.
7.      What is the impact of social media on your brand and business?
I think social media plays a big role in pretty much every business today and we're no exception. We were a bit struggling at first but still were getting a lot of orders through our facebook page. Now that we have a social media team, the goal is to give our followers creative and interesting content every day.
8.      How does your brand innovative and rise about many of the others in the industry?
The "Made in Canada" tag is a big deal for us. We take huge pride in that and I know it's very important to our customers, knowing they can buy a canadian product at about the same price as an imported product.
Now equipment wise, the big difference is in the quality and durability without a doubt. We won't settle for products that won't last a lifetime, that's especially why we've established a satisfaction guarantee. We use the best materials available and make sure the fabrication is done perfectly from start to finish. We're also always asking ourselves how to improve a certan product. For example, how could we make a flat bench into a ghd for home gym purpose (might be coming soon, might not ;) )
That said, the branding is also a big part of our difference I think, the logo is freaking badass and people love it.
9.      What is a priority for you, as an individual and as a brand, moving forward in fitness?
Having fun! Whether it's in training, at work or in life. Almost all the marketing in fitness is about being fit and badass and we want to change that, we do not want to take ourselves seriously.
10.    If you wanted people to know one thing about the clothing (art, fit, durability, etc).  What would it be?
We had a hard time finding the right blend for our shirts and tank tops because we wanted people to wear the shirt while training and going out with friends. Very proud of the blend, seriously super light and comfy plus the colors are awesome.
11.    As a Canadian brand, what do you feel is the most important piece of information to    leave with your community?
I want people to start doing more things in Canada. Over the years, we've learned that although it can be a bit more expensive at first, it's totally worth it. Shorter production & shipping time, a lot more control on quality and design, faster customer service, much easier to deal with the suppliers and clients love it!

Sunday, 7 May 2017

Thermopylae Games #4 - Arbour Lake School - Final Games Event of the 2016-2017 Fitness Year

Arbour Lake School, home of the Coyotes, will be hosting the final Thermopylae lead up event Next Thursday May 11th.  They would love as many people to come out as possible. 

At the event there will be Thermopylae shirts for sale for $12. Coach Maher has a selection of sizes and they will be bringing those along, please tell your athletes.

They will run the event slightly different from those previous in the respect that they have a bookmark in their clock so that everyone has a break. 

It goes 2min partner 1, 3 min rest, 2 min partner 2, 3 min rest (rotate to next station) 2 min partner 1, 3 min rest, 2 min partner 2, 3 min rest etc… 
They did this last year and found that the athletes had enough time to get to their next stations but weren’t pushing themselves over the edge. It is run time and we will explain on the day if this didn’t make sense. 
We would like to start as close to 4 pm as possible but no later than 4.30, we will wait for all schools to have representatives and there will be two challenge stations at the end (if Someone is late).

Our 5 exercises will be:

Star Jumps- Hands start  between knees, feet together. Jump out into a star shape with both feet off the ground and elbows above ears, then land back in starting position.

Tricep Dips- On benches, elbows at 90* legs straight

Double leg raises- lying on ground, hands under bum. Legs must go from ground to 90* while remaining straight

Plank Jacks- Staring feet together. Feet go out wider than shoulders then back together for 1 count

Kangaroo Jumps- Start in Squat position, hands behind head. Jump forward to full bend (90*) for 1 count and then jump backwards to starting position for 2nd count

Thursday, 4 May 2017

40-20 Challenge

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Workout
40-20 Challenge
40 seconds
20 repetitions

The challenge works as follows:
Eight (8) exercises total
Four (4) exercises that are cardiovascular based
Four (4) exercises that are strength/weight based
40 seconds of work on the cardiovascular exercises
20 repetitions of work on the strength/weight exercises
Complete in pods of two (2) as follows

Mountain Climbers (40 seconds)
Rotational Bicep Curls (20 repetitions)

Burpee (40 seconds)
Dumbbell Floor Chest Press (20 repetitions)

Reverse Lunge (40 seconds)
Overhead Press (20 repetitions)

Flutter Kick (40 seconds)
Bent Over Dumbbell Row (20 repetitions)

Darth Vader Yoga - May 4, 2017


May the Fourth Workout #2 - May 4, 2017


May the Fourth be with you - Star Wars Training - May 4, 2017


Coach Training - May 3

Coach Training - May 2

Coach Training - May 1