As part of the ongoing renovations of our King Street facility, we are excited to announce that the new men’s locker room is complete, which brings us to the end of phase 1. It looks amazing! We have brand new beautiful wooden lockers (seriously—they are gorgeous), modern tiles, and a luxury infrared sauna. But, sadly, the men will have to wait to see what it looks like, because the women have moved in while their locker room is being renovated. Sorry guys. Ladies, you’re welcome! Current updates: 1) Women will move into the new men’s locker room. Men will stay in their current locker room until the renovations to the women’s locker room are completed. 2) Construction has begun on the new lounge and reception area. We are really looking forward to opening up this space! Thank you again for your support through this process. The new space is really coming together! We hope you are as excited as we are for the wonderful changes coming to the Totum King St. West club.
As you know, we’re serious about fitness and lifestyle. Passionate is a better word. This extends to all the products we carry. We look for items that add to a person’s lifestyle—whether that’s food, equipment or, in this case, clothing. Getting to where you want to be isn’t easy, and so we thought, Why not make this journey as comfortable as possible? Vuori is the answer. Vuori is a leisure brand that grew out of pure California beach in Encinitas, CA. It’s designed by Joe Kudla, who played a lot of football and lacrosse; he switched his interest to Yoga but was disappointed with the limited offerings of clothing for men. Since 2015, Vouri (meaning mountain) has evolved into a men’s and women’s activewear line. The pieces are comfortable and, in our opinion, clearly rise above a crowded field, for a price point similar to that of Lulu lemon. Vuori is now available at our King Street and Rosedale locations. Ask our front desk staff for more details.
The idea of exercise as a tool for brain development should be very attractive to anyone involved in education. A simple way to benefit from this idea is to use exercise as a “primer” to enhance your brain’s ability to function. This is such a simple concept, yet it is rarely utilized in our busy world. Over the past decade, neuroscientists have made significant gains in their understanding of brain development and function, with the most exciting research done in the area of neuroplasticity. Based on this research, we now understand that the brain has the ability to change itself through the growth of new neuronal structures. In his bestselling book, Brain Rules, Dr. John Medina lists 12 rules that explain how brains really work. I am particularly interested in rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power. Dr. Medina’s book explains that exercise will stimulate the birth of additional neurons in the hippocampus of the brain, and that this neuronal growth creates a positive environment for your brain development. Dr. John Ratey, the author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, has further explored these concepts in an experimental environment, testing children’s cognitive abilities with and without exercise. Based on these findings, Dr. Ratey believes that exercise prior to learning or testing is an effective way to optimize the functioning of the neurons in your brain. Exercise has also demonstrated a positive influence in the prevention of cognitive decline in older populations. University of Illinois neuroscience professor Arthur F. Kramer, in his meta-analysis looking at exercise and the aging brain, concluded that “the benefits of physical exercise or physical activities promote brain and cognitive vitality well into older adulthood.” Based on this research, we can safely say that, in addition to the many health benefits we already know about exercise, brain development can be enhanced by exercise. For these, and many other obvious reasons, it’s very discouraging to witness the continued decrease in the physical activity levels of children, both in and outside of school. Currently, the public school systems in Canada offer physical education classes one to two hours per week, for most grades. In many high schools there is no requirement for physical activity. Our growing problem with childhood obesity supports the idea that children are becoming less active. Inactivity in children is not only negative from a physical health perspective, but I believe it could also have a detrimental impact on students’ learning and overall brain development. Our growing population of inactive and obese children will not reach their physical or intellectual potential if they remain inactive throughout their formative years. This is a major problem that parents, teachers and all levels of government cannot ignore. I have been involved with many discussions around these issues, but I have yet to see effective solutions. Obesity is still increasing in our country. The idea of exercise as a tool for brain development should be very attractive to anyone involved in education. A practical solution would be to start each school day with 30 minutes of supervised physical activity. Teachers and students could participate together. This would allow everyone to start their day with enhanced brain function. A brisk walk through the neighbourhood or laps around the school would be enough exercise to provide significant benefits. It is quite possible you would be able to recruit a few parent volunteers to help supervise the students. I am sure most adults would benefit from an extra 30 minutes of activity a day. I have a couple of ideas to help get you started with your brain development: The next time you have a very important meeting that requires quick thinking and active listening, head out for a brisk walk 10 minutes before the meeting, or climb some stairs, or (if you have a private office) try some standing squats alternating with wall push-ups. If you are a student, try exercising prior to your exams and important lectures. If you are a writer or journalist, try exercising right before you sit down to formulate your latest ideas. Finally, if you are a parent and you have something important to discuss with your children, ask them to take a walk with you in a quiet place where you can share ideas, enjoy nature and build some mental strength. The research shows they might actually be listening and absorbing the information more effectively. The message is simple: do some exercise and build your brain!
Does your program train for [insert any sport here] specifically? It’s a common question from players and parents. The short answer is yes, but perhaps not for the reasons you may think. Sport-specific training is really just training. There are certain areas of focus that are important, such as power for power sports and endurance for endurance sports. For youth, the rationale is the same, however, the physical development of the youth athlete is critical to understanding and programming specifically for the individual. No matter the level of athlete, there is always an individual assessment that finds the “needs” of the athlete, not their “wants.” What do athletes need to play their beloved sports this season and for the next twenty seasons? This is, perhaps, more important in youth athletes. That is the aim of the Totum Youth Training Academy.
“If a young athlete does not master fundamental movement skills at less intense levels, deficits displayed during the exercise will likely be amplified as training intensity is increased.” — Myer et al. 2011.
There’s no “fast-tracking” or skipping ahead in skill acquisition. We start from the foundational base and build the basics. It’s no different than building a foundation for a house. The more you skimp, the greater the risk of problems down the road. That’s why too much of any one sport for youth can create unique problems. The more variety in movement produces stronger foundations. Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are the building blocks for more advanced, sport-specific movement patterns. FMSs include locomotive, manipulative and stabilizing skills that should be available for every athlete to utilize in a range of novel or dynamic situations, from tag on the playground to sports. For example, we ask hockey players to crawl and soccer players to skip. Why? The components associated with these simple skills tell us a great deal of information. Skipping requires the ability to rapidly produce force in the correct direction using a single leg muscular stretch-shortening cycle. Crawling requires trunk stability and the coordination of upper and lower body mechanics, and indicates levels of mobility and stability of the hip, ankle and shoulder joints. We look for movement limitation, muscular imbalances and compensations that we can address, which can then reduce the risk of both acute and chronic injury. Using the appropriate activities at the appropriate intensity creates a solid movement foundation which enables an athlete to exert optimum forces in any athletic scenario. In short, it makes them better at their sport(s) and reduces their risk of injury.
“A youngster’s participation in sport should not start with competition, but rather evolve out of preparatory conditioning and instructional practice sessions that address individual deficits.” — Myer et al, 2016.
When we break it down to its various components, it’s not so basic after all! These FMSs tell a trained coach a great deal of information about an individual athlete and the best actions to take for optimal development. Going back to basics, then, is not regressing or making things “easier;” it’s about assessing where an athlete’s current abilities lie, what are their limitations, and how best to give the athlete a solid base of movement skills that will serve them for years to come. So yes, there is sport specific training for youth athletes. Specific, that is, to each individual athlete. References: Myer, Faigenbaum et al. Integrative Training for Children and Adolescents: Techniques and Practices for Reducing Sports-Realted Injuries and Enhancing Athletic Performance. The Physician and Sports Medicine, 2011. Myer GD, Jayanthi N, DiFiori JP, et al. Sports specialization, part II: alternative solutions to early sport specialization in youth athletes. Sports Health. 2016;8(1):65–73. Zwolski, Christin et al. Resistance Training in Youth: Laying the Foundation for Injury Prevention and Physical Literacy. Sports Health A Multidisciplinary Approach, 2017.
