Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Physical Activity Can Start At Any Age

Physical Activity Can Start At Any Age

As the baby boomer generation continues to age, more and more people are feeling those age associated constraints we never thought about until now.  People with disabilities need to heed the warnings more so than their able bodied counterparts. For years now, we’ve all read about the various physical and psychological benefits of physical activity, and many of us have vowed to start exercising next week, next month, or made it a New Years resolution. However, with two out of three Canadians not physically active enough to benefit their health, according to a recent report by the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, it's clear that not too many of us have made it up from the couch. Yet physical inactivity is far more serious than we think, according to Health Canada, physical inactivity is the cause, chronic disease, disability and premature death.

One hour of moderate daily activity is necessary to achieve any long-term health benefits, according to the Canadian agency, and can be done in as little as 10 minutes at a time. Activities can include anything where movement is involved, such as walking, gardening, and even stretching and bending, and should become a regular and routine part of your day in order for them to reduce the risk of disease.

Mike Hayden, co-owner of the TopShape Fitness Studio, says more baby boomers are incorporating fitness workouts into their lifestyles than in the past. His studio, located at
95 Holland ave. is Ottawa’s Premiere Private Training Studio, sees an early-morning crowd that comes in for a 30 minute circuit class or a half hour of cardio exercise to start their day off, while others come in at noon for a work-out instead of lunch; people stressed out by their jobs often come in after work for the cities top one on one training.

“Exercise with a professional is smart because you get the knowledge on how to exercise for your body type”. “The trainer is there to teach you the program and remove the guessing.” “Our trainers are experts in different fields they will ensure you learn to train properly and reduce your risk of injury”. “You don’t go to a dentist for your eyes our trainers make it their business to know how to elevate your level of fitness.”

In all cases, it is advisable to see a physician for a check-up before starting slowly and building up to accumulate 30 to 60 minutes of moderate physical activity most days. According to Health Canada, in order to get the most health benefits from physical activities, a variety of such activities should be chosen from the following three groups.


 Continuous activities that make you feel warm and breathe deeply
  Increase your energy
  Improve your heart, lungs and circulatory system
 Gentle reaching, bending and stretching
 Keep your muscles relaxes and joints mobile
 Move more easily and be more agile
Strength and Balance
 Life weights, do resistance activities
 Improve balance and posture
 Keep muscles and bones strong
 Prevent bone loss

What's best about physical activity is that you're never too old to start and whatever your age or activity, the benefits will become apparent in a very short period of time. In as little as four months, those participating in some form of activity felt more energized, more relaxed and better able to cope with stress

Benefits of Regular
Physical Activity:

- Increased relaxation
- Sleep better
- Better physical and mental health
- More energy
- Movement with fewer aches and pains
- Better posture and balance
- Improved self-esteem
- Weight maintenance
- Stronger muscles and bones
- Relaxation and reduced stress
-For seniors, continued independent

- Build physical activity into your daily
- Do the activities you are doing now, more
- Walk whenever and wherever you can
- Start slowly with easy stretching
- Move around frequently
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator
- Carry home the groceries
- Find activities that you enjoy
- Try out a class at a fitness centre

“Until next time stay fit and be strong!!”
Peter J. Morel C.F.C, C.I.C, C.P.T.
President TopShape Inc.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Water isn’t just for fish!

Most of us use water everyday. We use it for bathing, doing dishes, laundry and a multitude of different things. But, how often do we think of drinking it?  For most people it’s not nearly enough! If you have waited for your body to tell you that you need a drink it’s too late! The dehydration has already set in and a host of negative side effects are already under way!

Most people these days understand how important it is to drink plenty of water, but many are still not drinking enough. Most North Americans only drink between 3 and 4 cups of water a day. Some drink the recommended 8 – 10 glasses a day but then counter that by drinking diuretic drinks like coffee and alcohol.

The price you pay for dehydration is dull senses, poor production, fatigue, and bad recovery from stress and illness.  I believe that knowledge is power, and if you understand how your health is affected the better the chance that you will change any bad habit.

Of all the nutrients we consume protein, carbohydrates, fat, minerals, vitamins and water the only one we can’t live with out for more than a few days is.......water. It goes without saying then that it’s pretty important! Water is being continuously lost through sweat, evaporation, respiration and waste. Water helps purge toxins from our bodies it transports nutrients to the cells and is a natural appetite suppressant just to name a few beneficial effects.

More and more doctors, strength coaches and nutritionists are coming out with studies stating that we need more water then ever. This is especially true if we exercise and if you’re an athlete you need to consume upwards of 1.5 to 2 liters a day.

The warning signals of dehydration are; first, thirst.  This is a red flag, telling you that your body’s functions are in desperate need of re-hydration. You need to be drinking before during and after a workout and all through the day you should never say “boy I’m really thirsty”.  

Drinking plenty of water before you exercise will allow you to perform at a higher intensity for longer periods of time. Why? Well, compared to other drinks water releases and absorbs heat slowly. Maintaining temperature control is extremely important for athletes. A study done by Columbia University showed that if water is not replaced that total blood volume dropped and oxygen delivery was delayed as blood is more than 50% water.
The findings of a study presented at the 48th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) in Baltimore. Conducted by scientists at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) in Barrington, Ill., looked at how accurately athletes could estimate their sweat losses and fluid consumption during a 10-mile race. Eighteen seasoned runners participated in the study. The results showed that the runners drastically underestimated how much sweat they lost and consequently drank too little to stay well hydrated.
The runners underestimated their sweat losses by an average of 46 percent and their fluid intake by an average of 15 percent, resulting in the runners replacing only 30 percent of their fluids lost through sweat.

The study was conducted during a competitive 10-mile race on a 400-meter track. Participants were given access to a sports beverage consisting of a 6% carbohydrate-electrolyte solution in a 20-oz. sports bottle at mile two, four, six and eight. They were allowed to drink at their discretion at each designated stop, as well as carry the bottle and drink while running. Despite this, the runners still became dehydrated.

Both your heart and brain use water for balance of electrolytes and for electrical signals to pass. According to the Gatorade Institute a drop of 1-2% in water will begin to affect concentration and cause fatigue. A drop of 3- 5% will cause dizziness, headache and then muscle cramps. The 3% drop will also cause up to an 8 % drop in muscular strength and a 10% drop in speed. Severe dehydration can lead to heat stroke and even death.  Also a lack of water in the system will stress your cardiovascular system. For every 2-3lbs of water lost during exercise an increase of 8-10 beats per minute can be seen and your heart puts out one liter of blood less per minute.

The majority of people trying to lose fat through an exercise program don’t realize that they're metabolism and digestion are working less efficiently because their dehydrated.
An athlete also wants toxins out and nutrients in. Water does both eliminating toxins through sweat and excretion and allowing nutrients to be absorbed through the water barrier in the cell membranes.

Water also helps with injury prevention and recovery by protecting the organs, tissue and helping create synovial fluid which lubricates your joints. It is the component which makes up most of the cerebrospinal fluid the shock absorbing fluid between the vertebrae and around the brain. People who are hydrated sufficiently have fewer instances of chronic back problems and strokes.

Many people believe that drinking to much water will lead to excess water retention. The truth is that fluid retention and bloating are more common in people who are dehydrated.
Dehydration causes the body to retain water to dilute excess sodium. Now many people believe that sports drinks are better than water. Not true, they cause bloating and give you lots of unnecessary calories. Now for endurance athletes and those who tend to train at high levels for more than an hour yes the replenishment of fluids and electrolytes is very important thus, electrolyte based drinks can be beneficial.

Here is one final test, if you don’t have a bottle of water in front of you right now while you read this article you’re probably not drinking enough! GO GET SOME WATER!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Energy Balance

Energy Balance
The truth about “calories in and calories out”.

You might be a believer in this rule.  If I am 150 lbs and my daily energy expenditure is 1800 calories per day (because this is what the online calculator told me) and I eat 1800 calories per day, than I will stay the same weight.  If I eat less than 1800 calories I will lose weight.  Sounds simple and there is a lot of good science to back up this philosophy.
There is only one problem.  It never seems to work in real life with most people.  The reason is that true energy balance needs an increase in activity and an increase in proper micronutrients to really work.  In most cases, I have found that people living by this method are not exercising regularly and not eating properly. I have found that they are eating under their daily resting metabolic rate (RMR) and are not losing, but gaining fat.  What they do lose, in the very short term is muscle and water, with very little coming from fat stores.
So why is this happening?

It happens for a number of reasons. The most likely being a low RMR (resting metabolic rate), which in turn makes you a thrifty calorie burner and great at storing fat.  Your pro-hormone levels are not activating properly.  Maybe you are insulin sensitive, have high cortisol, thyroid is high or low, growth hormone is low or testosterone or estrogen is too low or too high.  Perhaps you continually looked for a quick fix to your fitness challenge and tried 1 or more of the many fad diets that are advertised.  Any of these reasons could explain the challenges most people face in reaching there fitness goals.
Let me tell you another little secret.  You know those magazine pictures that show these dramatic transformations from fat and frumpy to lean hard body…you know the ones with the house wife who now has abs. Firstly some are fake, surprise. But some are real. I have even met a few of these individuals, and can vouch for there ability to change and keep it off.  In every case, 100% those men or women increased daily activity, lifted weights and did cardio. They also increased daily calorie consumption. In most cases they doubled or even tripled calorie consumption and used supplements.  They also ate very differently than there old habitual way of eating.

Nutrient partitioning
Nutrient partitioning refers to how many calories are directed into muscular stores verses how many calories are directed into fat stores when you consume food.
Well what the hell does that mean?  Here is a simple explanation. Everybody wants to put on muscle while losing fat. There is only 1 problem. This is very difficult. This is because of nutrient partitioning thresholds.  You may have a fat gain threshold of 2000 cal a day. If you eat more than 2000 cal per day you tend to gain fat stores.  You want to gain muscle to, but you have a muscle threshold of 2200 calories per day.  You need to eat at least 2200 cal to gain any substantial muscle.  So to gain muscle you always gain some fat as well. Very frustrating!
Here’s where I give you the good news.  You can lower the muscle gain threshold.  I would say 90% of trainers don’t have any idea how to do this.  But yet again most trainers can’t teach someone to squat properly, let alone construct a proper program.  Sorry… you want the secret of how to change the muscle to fat ratio!  First your 2000 cal (number of calories depends on client evaluation) must be more nutrient rich. So you see a calorie just isn’t a calorie. 
The ratio of protein to carbs to fats has to be balanced.  If I told you that a person eating 600 calories of protein, 800 calories of carbs (mostly sugars) and 600 calories of fats (mostly of it being trans and hydrogenated fats) would not see the results that a person eating 1000 calories of lean protein sources, 500 calories from carbs (mostly fruits and veggies and fibre rich grains) and 500 calories from fats (the majority from omega 3 fish oil and an equal division on saturated and polyunsaturated omega 6 and 9 fats).

Here are some food examples of nutrient rich protein, carbs and fats.
Chicken breasts
Lean red meat
Cottage cheese
Milk protein isolates
Whey protein isolates
Green vegetables
Low glycemic index fruits
Sweet potatoes
Mixed grain bread
Fish oil, flax oil, olive oil
Mixed nuts

Your success here truly depends on being properly evaluated. At TopShape we do this for you. We can also instruct you to do this yourself if you choose our online personal training package.  Check back for follow-ups on this subject in the near future. Good luck!
TopShape Fitness.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Why I love TopShape

 Why I love TopShape Fitness 

I love TopShape Fitness! It’s great to be able to train in a nice, quiet and private gym, with one-on-one guidence. The staff is very knowledgeable; and as a disabled athlete I am confident that I am following a training program that suits my needs and the needs of my sport. I feel that training at TopShape has improved many areas of my life, such as day-to-day activities and of course my game play.

Since training at TopShape, I am stronger, my stamina has increased and I feel more stable on and off the ice! Peter Morel has developed a sport specific training program, that is tailored to my individual needs,goals and stresses and movements of the sport! His knowledge of adaptive training is unsurpassed and is of great help to any athlete looking to get in the best condition possible.

I highly recommend TopShape to anyone looking to get in better shape for competition.

Marc Dorion                                       
Team Canada                                                               
Paralympic Gold Medalist and World Champion

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Get with the program

Recently the American Council on Exercise released the results of a reader survey.
The question asked was “what keeps you from going to the gym?”
46% of the readers said the gym was often too crowded.
21% did not know what to do in a gym.
19% were afraid they would be the only one who wasn’t already fit.
11% said that rude gym etiquette keeps the away (the wait for equipment was too long or the equipment was not clean)
3% were afraid to ask questions while at the gym.

In this article we will discuss these issues and possible ways to limit there negative effect.

Most commercial fitness facilities have peak times when the gym is most crowded. The peak times are usually lunch hour and 4:30pm to 7:00pm in the evening and this is because many of the members go at lunch, with the biggest crowds showing up after work. If you can find time during off peak times you will see a drastic reduction in the number of people in the gym. Most large commercial gyms usually have enough equipment and square footage to accommodate a large amount of people. There are also many private fitness studios popping up all over. They cater to people who don’t like a commercial gym’s atmosphere and are an excellent alternative.

Secondly, lack of knowledge seems to cause most people to purchase memberships and not stick with it. If you lack the knowledge to complete a task you either must find it or hire someone with it to help. There is a ton of information on the net and in books. You can find videos of exercise technique and literature on exercise at any book store. You can sign up for free news letters with valuable information on fitness.  But be cautious about your sources. Have a personal trainer or Professional Fitness and Lifestyle Appraiser design a program for you. They have the knowledge you lack, so use it to your advantage.

The third highest reason, was the fear of being the only person who isn’t fit. People go to the gym to get fit. Everyone there was once unfit probably as unfit as you or worse. The bottom line is if you don’t work at something you will never achieve it. You are not intimidated by the guy with a really nice car so why then should you be by someone who is in better shape then you. If anything those are the people you need to talk to, find out how they did it and use that information to help build your program

Rude gym etiquette is something we all have to put up with at one time or another. If someone is being rude or not following the rules then report them. You paid the same amount for your membership as they did. They don’t have the right to abuse the privilege of the membership. Wait times on cardio equipment in most gyms is often limited to around 30 minutes. If all the equipment is taken then sign up and then do your workout and return the cardio area later.  If someone is on a piece of fitness equipment you want to work on then ask if you can work in as they take their break between sets.

If someone has not cleaned a unit, inform the staff and they will clean it and remind that member of proper etiquette. Some people bring their own towel to sit on as well as a gym towel to dry off with.

Finally never be afraid to ask questions the staff is there for you. The reason they have a job is because you bought a membership. We love answering questions, it gives us a chance to use our knowledge to help someone and that is why most of us got into this business in the first place. If you’re too shy then purchase a session with a personal trainer. You will get all your questions answered and have the undivided attention of an expert!

Never let fear or misconceptions stop you from attaining a goal. Fitness is something you need to work at and the results far out weigh the negatives. “So get with it”.

Until next time, stay fit and be strong.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Have you got what it takes?

Have you got what it takes?

It has been said, that if you spend an average of six hours a week in the gym that you are considered an athlete. This statement is somewhat true but, if you intend on being a high level athlete six hours is just a beginning.

Six hours is much more than the average fitness buff spends on a fitness routine but again, if we look at an elite track athlete’s program or swimmer they have training programs that have them in the pool or at the track around four hours a day, and this does not include gym time.

As the Olympics and the Paralympics have come to an end, I want to give everyone an idea of the complexities involved in a training program for a high level athlete. Programming for an athlete involves many different training goals and each must somehow be incorporated into a program. Each program must be designed to have the athlete’s performance peak at a specific time. The program must allow for proper nutrition, recovery and must have the proper stimulus to create a positive adaptation.
We must remember that training is a stress; this stress is designed to create an adaptation. Hopefully the stress is enough to create a positive adaptation and not a negative one. Too much stress in the form of intensity or volume can have some very negative side effects. Some of these negative side effects include insomnia, irritability, loss of appetite, soreness in the muscles that lingers, injuries and more.

Along with an extensive training regime there must be a nutritional plan.
Nutritional planning for an athlete is no small task. Some nutritionists have made quit lucrative businesses in designing nutrition programs for athletes. Each person’s program is tailored to their specific needs for calorie intake, carbohydrate content, protein needs, recovery, and supplementation. Nutrition for an athlete is an ongoing process.
The program often needs to be fine tuned at different times of the training cycle depending on the athlete’s performance and adaptation to the stimulus. The issue of supplementation is one that often needs to be addressed. Top level athletes do not have the convenience of using many of the high tech supplements for fear they may contain any of the hundreds of banned substances. Most of them usually stick to the basic protein powders and electrolyte based sports drinks. But a good nutritionist will often recommend things like fish oil which will help the tendons and ligaments as well as the joints! 

Sport specific training programs must allow for many factors including, power, strength, speed, agility, coordination, quickness, flexibility, muscular endurance, aerobic capacity and aerobic endurance. The science of training cycles is called Periodization and is very complex and is beyond the scope of this article. The basic idea is the athletes program is broken into four different cycles. The cycles are designed to allow the athlete to achieve the many diverse factors needed to compete at an elite level.
Often athletes are training an average of four to six hours a day, six or seven days a week, with training sessions broken up over the day. The four main cycles are as follows; the “Pre-Season”, “On Season”, “Post Season”, and “Active Recovery” cycles. The basics of each cycle is something like this, the” pre-season” is designed to develop the athlete’s base in strength, power, endurance or cardiovascular base and this is where most of the heavy weight training is done. As the season approaches the exercises are transformed to more sport specific movements and we begin to add agility and coordination drills into the program. Flexibility and speed specific work are ongoing throughout the cycle.

During the “on-season” cycle the program is geared towards maintaining the athletes’ strength, power, endurance etc. Now, if at any time one or more of these factors begin to diminish we will add a micro-cycle or mini cycle of “pre-season” training into the mix to give the athlete a quick jolt.

As the season draws to a close we hope the athlete has not sustained any injuries.  But, if this is the case, then referral to the proper medical personal is the next step. Once the athlete has been rehabilitated we begin the final cycle called “active recovery”. The “active recovery” cycle is where the athlete remains active but is not training at a high intensity. Usually, the athlete will go swimming, ride their bike, do light jogs etc. The duration varies but is usually 2 to 4 weeks. The cycles then begin back at the “Pre season” cycle. Anyone who plays a sport, whether for fun or at a competitive level can make valuable use of Periodization.

As you can see the work involved in becoming an elite athlete is quite daunting!
The athletes must train, diet, work a regular job, and promote themselves and their sport.
All of which is done in a typical day where most of us will work 8 hrs and go home.

As a professional strength and conditioning consultant and athlete I have an in depth look at what it takes to get to the highest level of mental and physical conditioning and let me say that one out of a hundred people has what it takes. We call them champions!!
Our athletes deserve our respect, gratitude, and applause for the tremendous task they have before them.

To all our Olympic and Paralympic Athletes;

Until next time be fit and stay strong!
Peter J. Morel C.F.C, C.I.C, C.P.T.
TopShape Fitness Consulting

Friday, January 7, 2011

Keeping a Fitness Regime While on Winter Vacation

Winter is often travel time for many people.
I often get the question, “How should I exercise while on holidays”?

While there are no simple answers, the question remains a difficult one for most.
My recommendations differ from person to person depending on that client’s motivation, level of fitness and whether or not they really enjoy exercise.

You see, even though you’re on vacation your fitness is not. You need to workout in order to maintain your current level of fitness. Now, if you are a person who likes to exercise, you will probably make the effort to find a gym in the town or city your visiting and get your workouts done.

Now, if you’re like most people and find exercise boring or difficult, you probably won’t go out of your way to get it done especially on your holiday. Fortunately, there are some simple ways to get exercise in and not regress.

Simple body weight exercises such as push ups, sit ups or crunches as well as chair squats, split squats, lunges etc; are an excellent way to keep fit while away. All of these exercises can be done with absolutely no equipment right in your hotel room.  For a few dollars, you can also pick up some resistance tubes at any local exercise equipment store. With these exercise bands you can do a full body workout with resistance. Just toss them in your suite case and away you go.

Now, the goal while on holiday is to maintain your level of fitness and not regress. You need to maintain your level of strength, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness.

The most difficult aspect of fitness to maintain is the cardiovascular fitness. Cardio fitness is lost the quickest once you stop exercising. In order to maintain it you will need to do some sort of cardiovascular activity. This can be either a jog in the morning, a bike ride around town, or maybe swim some laps in the hotel pool. You can play some tag football in the park with the kids or a friendly game of soccer on the beach.

Always remember to limber up before playing any sports with some light stretches.
You can do a full body stretch before and after your activity and this will also help maintain flexibility.

Diet is equally important; you need to keep on top of this. We tend to over eat and drink on holidays. Each alcoholic beverage ingested is about 150 – 200 calories and that equates to 30 minutes on the treadmill. So I recommend that if you are going to drink, focus on the diet and watch what you eat.  Being on holiday’s is not a cart blanche to eat anything at anytime. Eat well; get plenty of fruits and vegetables, they’re often easy to find in tropical places.
Also, fish and chicken are fairly prevalent in most holiday locations. Pay attention to how it’s prepared and go with grilled and broiled instead of fried. Easy on the deserts and be careful of calorie laden baked goods.

You worked very hard to get fit; don’t go ruining it in a week, stay focused!

Let’s review the basics.

1. Get some form of resistance exercise in. Body weight exercise or use a resistance aid of some sort.
2. Get some form of cardiovascular exercise. Make it fun be it a competitive game of tennis or a fun game of tag football or a simple jog.
3. Stretch, before and after any activity.
4. Watch your intake of alcohol and be aware of your diet.

Follow these simple rules while on holiday and you will maintain your level of fitness and not end up having to start from scratch when you get back.

Until next time, stay fit and be strong.
Peter J. Morel CFC, CPT, CAFS
Managing Partner
TopShape Inc.