Uxbridge Fitness

Build Movement Quality First

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In today’s post I want to introduce a fundamental component of our programming philosophy. It’s integral to everything we do and I’ve even put it up front and centre on our main wall. Functional Movement Systems founder, Gray Cook, established a unique approach to identify underlying issues in the way we move. He took 7 basic movement patterns and developed a screen known as The Functional Movement Screen. The results of that screen provides a unique window into a clients strategy for completing simple movement patterns. When a compensation is detected, specific action can be taken to further determine the cause and prescribe corrective movement patterns and even patterns to avoid until the compensation has been cleared.

The video below goes into further detail about the system and our beliefs behind Body Fit’s Functional Movement Evaluation.

Mobility vs Stability …Part 2

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In part 2 of our mobility vs stability series, we have a closer look at thoracic spine mobility. If you are unfamiliar with the general concept of mobility and stability, please see the first video in the series from last week. You can find that video here: http://uxbridgefitness.com/mobility-vs-stability.html

This week, we have a look at two exercises that will help improve your thoracic mobility.

Eric Noyes
BHSc (Kin), CSEP-CPT, Lead Trainer
Body Fit Health Club & Sports Performance Centre

Mobility vs Stability

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Part 1 of a 3 part series….

The terms mobility and stability often get thrown around a lot. Most people have heard the terms, yet they don’t quite know what they mean. In this part 1 of a 3-part video series, I discuss the differences between mobility and stability.

Mobility refers to movement and a joints ability to move through a range of motion. Stability refers to control and a joints ability to maintain control of a joint position through movement.

In part 2 and 3 of this series, I will be discussing the impact that mobility and stability have on our posture as well as postural correction exercises you can do to help correct a few compensation mechanisms you may have adopted.

Eric Noyes
BHSc (Kin), CSEP-CPT, Lead Trainer
Body Fit Health Club & Sports Performance Centre

Free Boomer Trial

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Baby Boomers are getting some love at Body Fit for the month of March! It’s been almost 4 years now since we started our Boomer Boosters Small Group Fitness Program. Developed specifically to address this amazing demographic of individuals, this program has built a very loyal following. So loyal in fact, the program has been at capacity almost since its inception.

However, the time has come to welcome new faces into the Boomers program. During the month of March we are opening up 4 trial classes for new participants to check it out for FREE. If you are looking for a very social and supportive environment in which to exercise, then now is the time to get involved.

If this sounds like something you’d like to try, Then give us a call to get your name on the list! The trial classes are as follows:

Wednesday March 6th – 7:30am – 8:30am

Friday March 15th – 7:30am – 8:30am

Wednesday March 20th – 7:30am – 8:30am

Friday March 29th – 7:30am – 8:30am

Class size is limited to 8 for the trial. You can join us for one or all of the classes. Please call 905-852-6175 and we will be happy to get you signed up.

Working in the Scapular Plane…Part 2

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In part one I talked about the three main planes of motion that are most commonly referred to when talking about how we move. If you missed that video, you can watch it here: Part 1

Today I wanted to discuss planes of motion from a different perspective. Shoulder exercises and more often than not, rotator cuff exercises, are executed without considering how the shoulder blade (scapula) sits on the rib cage. If you are feeling a pinch or more tension in the front or back of the shoulder when doing things like internal or external rotation or even abduction, chances are, the ball and socket aren’t lining up right.

In the video below I show you how to set yourself up in the scapular plane so that you get the most out of your shoulder exercises.

About the Author:  Andy Luukkonen BPHE (Hons), FMS Level 2. TMR Level 1. Andy is a graduate of The University of Toronto’s School of Physical and Health Education. He holds his Functional Movement Systems Level 2 Certification and is a Certified Total Motion Release Practitioner. He is the owner of Body Fit Health Club and has been training general population and sport specific clients at Body Fit since 1996.  He can be reached at andy@bodyfit.ca for advice and consultation.

Walking on a Treadmill vs Walking on the Ground

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I’m often asked about the treadmill as a means of cardiovascular exercise. Usually the conversation goes a little something like this:

Client – “I plan on coming to the gym 3 times a week and was thinking of coming in to use the treadmill on my off days.”

Me – “That sounds like a great plan you have laid out for yourself. However, can I suggest perhaps going for a walk instead of using the treadmill.”

Client – “Why? Isn’t it the same thing?”
Well……. that question is answered in this weeks video. In the video I discuss the difference between walking on a treadmill and walking on the ground and which one you may want to consider when deciding how to get your cardiovascular exercise.

Enjoy!

Eric Noyes
BHSc (Kin), CSEP-CPT, Lead Trainer
Body Fit Health Club & Sports Performance Centre

Family Day Bonus Bucks!

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Family day is for sharing with friends and family. And that is exactly what we are doing here at Body Fit! Starting on Family Day (Monday February 18th) we are opening our doors to the friends and family of our members. And… We are keeping the doors open until Friday March 1st!

Because our members are so awesome we know that they have awesome friends and family too and we want to meet them. If you are a current member, we invite you to bring your guests for FREE! Let them meet our staff and mingle with the other members and if they join our Body Fit Family we are adding a 20% bonus on top of our already awesome cash for referrals program!

Yes, it’s that simple:) If your friend or family member joins our family between Family day and March 1st, we’ll add an additional 20% to your cash bonus!

Happy Family Day and we look forward to meeting more great people like you!

Correcting the Lunge

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The lunge is a great lower body strength exercise. I’m happy to say that I see many people including them in their routine at the gym. Unfortunately, I do see some pretty ugly lunges around here as well. When you perform a lunge correctly, it’s a tremendous glute/hamstring strength builder. When performed incorrectly, the lunge can be a harmful exercise to your knees.

If you’ve ever done a lunge and wondered why it was hurting your knee, the answer is simple, you’re doing them incorrectly. While performing the lunge, you shouldn’t have a lot of anterior shift (pressing forward) of your weight. This increases the shear force on the front of the knee and can cause pain and damage to the structures of the knee. Shear forces are not good!!!! In a correct lunge, your body weight should be traveling straight downward and upward. This reduces the shear force on the front of the knee and hopefully leads to a more pain-free lunge.

The video below further demonstrates how to perform a “pain free” lunge.

About the Author:  Eric Noyes BHSc (Kin), CSEP-CPT

Eric is  Kinesiology Graduate from The University of Ontario and holds his Training Certification with the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology.  He has been training general population and sport specific clients at Body Fit since 2013 and is currently the Lead Trainer.  He can be reached at eric@bodyfit.ca for advice and consultation

Planes of Motion …Explained

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One of the most common terms used in the fitness industry today is functional training. However, there seems to be about a million definitions used to explain what functional training is actually all about.

I like to explain it by using the definition of the word functional. Google the word and the part that applies to training is, “of or having a special activity, purpose, or task; relating to the way in which something works or operates. There are important functional differences between left and right brain”

When it come to training I will refer to the part that says, ” the way in which something works or operates “. This implies that you have to know how something operates before you can say you are doing something functional with it.

This is where an understanding of the planes of motion will help with your program design and implementation. We move in different planes; frontal, transverse and sagittal. These three terms are used a lot when talking about functional exercises and I know they can cause confusion. However, once you understand them, it becomes an easy way to communicate how you move or where motion occurs. So, I put together a couple videos. Below I explain those planes in particular and next week I’ll explain how planes can be used to correct alignment when doing common rotator cuff exercises

Tips to Improve Your Balance…Part 2

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A few weeks ago, we published a video talking about a single leg balance progression you can work on to help improve your balance. This week we are continuing the balance theme. In this weeks video we look at manipulating vision to increase the difficulty of your single leg balance progression.

We use our vision for approximately 70 percent of our total body balance and when we manipulate the use of our eyes, the single leg progression begins to get quite a bit tougher. Think of when you’re walking around in a dark room. There are a few reasons why. The first being somewhat obvious in that we don’t want to bang into anything. The second is a bit less obvious, and that is, we’re off balance!! It’s not something that is apparent to us in the moment because our bodies go on auto pilot and adapt to the change in the environment. We walk slower, we stick our hands out to feel for objects, and walk with a wider base of support.
Give these exercises a try and the next time the power goes out at home, you’ll be more than prepared to handle the conditions.

About the Author:  Eric Noyes BHSc (Kin), CSEP-CPT

Eric is  Kinesiology Graduate from The University of Ontario and holds his Training Certification with the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology.  He has been training general population and sport specific clients at Body Fit since 2013 and is currently the Lead Trainer.  He can be reached at eric@bodyfit.ca for advice and consultation.

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