by Henry Gould – Dec 17th, 2019

We all know that anxious feeling of going to bed for an early wake-up, and immediately calculating how much sleep you’ll get if you can just fall asleep right now.

Or there’s the dreaded “It’s-1:45am-and-I’m-still-at-the-bar-doing-shots-but-I-have-to-be-up-for-an-8:00am-meeting” kind of sleep calculations which we won’t even get into.

Sleep is a fascinating subject. From an evolutionary perspective, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense why we sleep. In theory, we’d be way more productive if we didn’t sleep, not to mention we expose ourselves to risk every time we close our eyes and doze off. Lots of people try to wear their lack of sleep as a badge of honor (“I only need 3 hours a night”) but they’re either lying to you, or lying to themselves.

Sleep is very, very important.

From this blog back in April, we talked about just how important it is to a healthy immune system (LINK). However, this recent studied published in Nature: Human Behaviour talks about the link between lack of sleep and anxiety. Unsurprisingly, the less sleep we get, the more anxious we become!

Obviously this can be tough, especially if one suffers from insomnia, as they will then feel anxious about not getting enough sleep, thus starting a feedback loop. I can’t sleep because I’m anxious, I’m anxious because I can’t sleep.

Many external factors can contribute to a bad sleep:

• Light
• Noise
• Temperature
• Pillow, Mattress, Bedding
• Injury, Pain
• Alcohol, Drugs, Medication
• Dehydration, Overhydration
• Diet

Take all these factors into account if you’ve been having trouble sleeping. Things like dimming lights an hour before bed, reducing screen time, wearing earplugs, adjusting the heat in your house, getting a good mattress, avoiding alcohol, these can all make a major difference.

Another often overlooked factor is stretching. When muscles are sore and tight, they can contribute to a bad sleep by causing restless tossing and turning, or just general soreness. Exercise is one of the best ways to stay healthy and thus get a better sleep, but remember to focus on stretching just as much.

From back in the early blogs days –> “Looking For A Better Sleep? Stretch Before Bed”

The post Sleepless Nights = Anxiety appeared first on Yard Athletics.

by Yard Athletics – Nov 1st, 2019

Heads up to all our Yard Athletics community. As of today there have been some adjustments to the pricing for Group Training, as well as Customized Strength & Conditioning 1:1 and 2:1 packages.

Please take a look below and familiarize yourself with the new pricing. If you have any questions, feel free to email “info@yardathletics.ca”

See you in the gym! #YARDHARD

Athletic Group Training

Customized Strength & Conditioning

The post Price Adjustments For Groups, 1:1, 2:1 appeared first on Yard Athletics.

by Henry Gould – Oct 25th, 2019

Ragu Bolognese, the slow cooked meat sauce typical of the city of Bologna, served often but not always with tagliatelle egg noodles, is well loved the world over. However, if you want to start a quick argument, try asking four Italian Nonna’s the “correct” way to make it. Questions like this are almost guaranteed to end in shouting, dramatic hand gestures, and hurt feelings.

Below is the version I like to cook, which I think would stand up nicely in any trattoria across Emilia-Romagna, and hopefully not offend too many grandmother’s. I’ve eaten ragu from Parma to Modena and this tastes just as good, if not better, so take that for what it’s worth…

There’s lots of debate around ragu Bolognese (milk, tomato, type of meat(s)). This version uses some milk, a little white wine, 3 different types of meat (sausage, beef, lamb) and a small spoon of tomato paste. If you want to add or subtract any of those, go right ahead.

Buon appetito!

Ragu Bolognese

• 6 Italian fennel sausages, uncased
• 250g ground beef
• 500g boneless stewing lamb, cut into tiny pieces
• 1 bottle dry white wine (Cono Sur Viognier is cheap and good for cooking)
• 500ml 2% milk
• 1/2 can tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp ground Coriander seeds
• 1 Nutmeg seed
• 1 large white onion, finely diced
• 1 large carrot, finely diced
• 2 sticks celery, finely diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely diced
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Butter
• Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (for serving)

In a big pot, heat some olive oil and butter to melt, then add the carrot, celery, onion and garlic and begin to cook. Cook for 20 minutes slowly, making sure not to let the vegetables brown.

Add all the meats, season with salt and pepper, and start breaking up with a spatula or wooden spoon. This takes a while, you don’t want any big chunks of meat. Everything should be very finely broken up, so take the time to make sure it’s nice and broken up.

Ragu Bolognese in waiting…

Turn the heat up and continue cooking. Add the bay leaves, coriander, and finely grate in half the Nutmeg seed. Now, this stage takes a while… like an hour. All the water will start releasing from the meat, and following that just the fat will be left, at which point you will keep stirring and cooking the meat until it start to brown. If the bottom of the pan seems too dry, add more butter and olive oil. If there’s not enough fat the meat will scorch to the bottom of the pan, ruining the sauce. Fat is your friend…

After ~1 hour, the meat should be starting to brown nicely. Add the tomato paste and start to fry it in the fat left in the pan. Keep stirring to caramalize all the meat in the tomato paste.

Then, add some white wine to deglaze the pan (~250 – 350ml), scraping everything off the bottom of the pot. Start with about 1/2 bottle of the wine, but use more if it seems too dry. Cook until almost all the wine has evaporated.

Then, add some milk (250 – 500ml) until the sauce looks quite loose, but not too watery. It should be reddy brown, like a brick. Lower the heat, cover with a lid, and allow to cook for an hour. After an hour, check the seasoning. Because you’re probably going to be eating this sauce with some sort of grain (pasta, risotto, polenta) you want it to be richly flavored and well seasoned. Season with salt and pepper.

If serving with pasta, add some of the ragu to a different pan and put on medium heat. Cook your pasta until 1 minute under package instructions, then toss the pasta in the ragu pan and cook for a final minute together. Toss in grated parmigiano reggiano and serve.

The post RECIPE – Ragu Bolognese appeared first on Yard Athletics.

by Henry Gould – Sept 20th, 2019

Positive thinking is more than just a catch phrase. Often times we doubt ourselves and our abilities, and we give up before we’ve really, truly pushed ourselves, or before we’ve exercised all potential options in front of us to achieve a goal. Whether this is at work, at home or at play, having a particular mindset established when you hope to complete a goal is a huge factor in whether you do it or not.

I’ll give a personal example: in the last 12 months I’ve been training every week with Ilan, Shawzo (and occasionally the godfather, Jeremy Martin @ Loaded Athletics) learning the ropes of olympic weightlifting. Outside of my 10+ years playing rugby, olympic weightlifting is the hardest physical activity I’ve ever done. Not only is it physically demanding, it is incredibly mentally demanding. For each lift (i.e. clean and jerk) you are working within a small threshold of the maximum weight you can physically lift, all the while thinking about correct form, posture, and above all else, trying not to drop 100kgs on your head.

Countless times Ilan or Shawzo has loaded the bar with a heavy amount of weight, and I fail. Usually, it’s because there was a creeping sense of doubt in my mind that I couldn’t do it. But, more often than not I will try again, and once I’ve taken a moment to regroup – perhaps also getting some encouraging words – I will eventually make the lift. I didn’t get stronger in between each lift, I just had to focus, think through everything, and trust that I could do it.

The power of positive thinking can transfer to any aspect of life, but is particularly interesting with physical pursuits. After all, professional athletes constantly rely on sports psychologists to help them get in a strong head space before a game or competition. Self doubt can be one of the most negative influences on an athlete, whereas positive thinking and visualization of winning can be the most powerful.

Below is an article about the Canadian World Junior Team, and the sport psychologist who worked with the team the entire tournament enroute to their Gold Medal win.

CBC: “How the mental skills needed to win hockey gold are used for all athletes”

We were also lucky enough to receive a great piece on the Power of Positive Belief (and the inspiration for this blog) by longtime Yard Athletics client and resident psychologist, Dr. Debbie Samsom. Debbie is running a marathon in a few weeks, and felt inspired to pen the below from her longtime hero, Terry Fox, whose annual run we celebrated on Sept 15th, 2019.

“The Terry Fox Run is happening all over the world this Sunday. This run has been an annual event since 1981, the year Terry died. That 1981 run was the first 10K I ever completed. I have been running ever since.

Terry is my hero. Every year as the Terry Fox Run approaches, I reflect upon his incredible fortitude, grit, and indomitable spirit. He ran a marathon a day for 143 days, with a prosthetic leg and in constant pain. He only stopped when cancer spread to his lungs, ultimately resulting in his death. How did he do it?  He achieved this because he believed he could. Simple as that. Belief is the most powerful tool that we have to help us accomplish our goals – physical or otherwise. 

I am running a marathon in a couple of weeks. I know it’s going to hurt (it always does). I know that with about 10K to go, negative thoughts will start entering my brain, telling me to stop running (Who cares if I walk? Why continue to suffer? ) I will fight these thoughts, and Terry will help me. It’s just one measly marathon. If Terry can do 143, I CAN DO THIS.  

So what do you believe you can achieve?  Not because it’s easy, or comes naturally to you, but because you are willing to dig deep and give it everything you’ve got.”  

“I just wish people would realize that anything is possible if you try; dreams are made possible if you try” – Terry Fox

The post The Power Of Belief appeared first on Yard Athletics.

by Yard Athletics – Sept 19th, 2019

By far one of the most exciting merch collaborations Yard Athletics has done to date. Available now in the gym are both new YARD branded Ciele running hats, as well as YARD branded Specialized water bottles.

Ciele started in Montreal over 5 years ago, and has since grown to become the hat for runners around the world. These hats have the YARD logo on the front with Ciele Athletics stitched on the side. Hats are all black.

Ilan demonstrating the squeeze capabilities of the new Specialized water bottles

We’ve also got new Specialized water bottles covered in the Yard Athletics bull logo. They’re squeezable, meaning getting a quick sip of water without taking the lid off is super easy. Given Specialized and their history with road biking, we figured they would know what’s up.

Ciele Hat – $44.99 +tax

Specialized Water Bottle – $19.99 +tax

#YARDHARD

The post New Ciele Yard Hats + Specialized Water Bottles! appeared first on Yard Athletics.

by Yard Athletics – Sept 17th, 2019

Since the early days of Yard Athletics (who remembers the text message group??) there has always been a strong relationship between Ilan Cumberbirch and lululemon. What started as lululemon’s Robson employees coming to train at Yard, blossomed into an amazing ambassadorship program that has helped support local fitness talent to grow and prosper in the Vancouver community.

lululemon has also been a proud sponsor of our Yardwork events, the most recent of which was at Thunderbird Stadium this summer. Without them none of it would have been possible, so any chance we get to say thank you is one we take!

We wanted to learn a bit more about the lululemon brand, so we put together a few questions for Christina Adamson, Assistant Store Manager from the Robson flagship store in Vancouver. Take a read below!

For someone who doesn’t know, tell us a bit about the lululemon brand?

lululemon was founded in Vancouver in 1998 as a yoga inspired technical athletic company. From the start the goal has been to create more than just quality gear for your sweaty endeavors; it’s been about connection and community. It’s been about the people: the people who work here, the people who come here, the people in our communities.

How does lululemon’s ambassadorship program work?

One of the things that we love about our Ambassador Program is that each partnership evolves in its own unique way. We work with each ambassador to create and define what being an ambassador means to them. That’s because our ambassadors come from all walks of life. They’re runners, trainers, athletes, yogis, entrepreneurs, artists, and creatives who share our core values. Our ambassadors are not just in partnership with the lululemon brand, they are an extension of our brand. They represent lululemon in their community in a way that is authentic to them.

Ilan Cumberbirch and Yard Athletics have been lululemon ambassadors for several years; can you tell us more about how that relationship started?

I remember being brought to a basement gym on Granville Street a few years ago to checkout a workout with some big guy. The class was small, but Ilan’s energy was out of this world. Brand new to the type of workout we were about to go through I had no idea what to expect. I loved it and I kept going back and bringing more people. Soon a lot of the Robson team knew Ilan and were going to his gym regularly. We asked him to be our ambassador because we saw the community he was building and we wanted to be apart of it.

What does lululemon look for in a local ambassador? What are the responsibilities / goals / roles they play in the community?

Again, this looks different with each of our ambassadors. There’s no one specific type of person we’re looking for, there’s no checklist.

What’s new in the lululemon catalogue? Anything new and cool  in terms of clothing?

There’s always something new and cool, we get new product every week. We’re particularly excited about our outerwear right now. Come see us and we’ll make sure you get what you need.

The post Yard Athletics x lululemon appeared first on Yard Athletics.

by Yard Athletics – Sept 6th, 2019

Yard Athletics is proud to announce the newest member of the team, Torin Nikiforuk, as Junior Strength & Conditioning Coach!

We couldn’t be happier to bring Torin into the fold, and look forward to him bringing a new energy and motivation to all sessions with the #YARDHARD squad.

Torin is now available on the MindBody app for all different sessions, and for a limited time all 1:1 sessions are 50% off! If you can, log onto the app and book a class with Torin to welcome him into the family.

We figured this would be a great chance to get to know Torin a little better, so we fired a couple questions at him to hear more about his fitness background on philosophy.

Hometown?

Fitness background?

What made you get into personal training?

Favorite sports growing up?

What is your fitness philosophy?

Favorite / worst exercise? 

What can people expect when they train with you at Yard Athletics?

The post Introducing Torin Nikiforuk! appeared first on Yard Athletics.

by Yard Athletics – Sept 5th, 2019

At long last… summer is over… *single tear streams down face*

That doesn’t have to be a bad thing! The approach of Fall means there’s a perfect excuse to get back in the gym (after a few too many summer patio drinks…) and tighten up that body. Your best bet? Book in for classes over the next few weeks on the MindBody app as things are starting to get busy in the gym.

Now, crushing your fitness goals means exercising, but it also means getting the right nutrition throughout the week so your body can recover. And to build more muscle you need…? PROTEIN

That brings us to our friends at Blonyx, who have just released a delicious new egg white protein powder. The best part? If you go online and use the “YARDHARD” discount code, you can get 10% off your purchase, along with any other Blonyx products you may need!

Some quick facts on the new Blonyx Egg White Protein Powder:

• 20g protein per serving
• 130 calories
• 4g BCAA’s
• Tastes great (no eggy taste)
• Mixes easily in water

THERAGUN

You might have also noticed some cool new toys in the Gym lately. These are called “Theragun’s“, a percussive therapy tool that allow you to get out all those pesky knots sitting in your legs, hips and backs, without asking your significant other to massage you all the time.

The benefits of percussive therapy are huge, with tons professional athletes using tools like Theragun to recover quicker. Next time you’re in the gym, give the Theragun a try. Also, if you’re interested in purchasing a Theragun give us a shout at “info@yardathletics.ca” to find out more details.

MERCH

We got merch people! See below for the current stocklist of what’s in the gym. We’re also taking orders on these wicked Jensen Lee Canvas Duffel Bags ($80) that we can customize with any name on the side panel. Send us an email “info@yardathletics.ca” to reserve yours now.

Snap Back – $39.99

Dad Hat – $29.99

Glute Bands – $35

Shaker Bottles – $10

Stickers – FREE

*** FINAL NOTE – please direct all booking and scheduling questions to “info@yardathletics.ca” or use the MindBody app, and refrain from texting or DMing on Instagram posts.***

The post Blonyx X Theragun X Merch appeared first on Yard Athletics.

by Henry Gould – July 19th, 2019

#YARDWORK2019 is one day away! With a fully sold out event this is shaping up to be one of the best days of summer. A huge thank you to everyone who signed up, volunteered, organized and supported this amazing event getting put together.

Make sure to stop by the DJ tent and say hello… requests always welcome, just no guarantees I’ll have your track in the record bag 😉

For those who did YARDWORK 1.0 in Stanley Park, you know it was no cake walk. Chains were hauled, tires were flipped, and kettlebells were speed-walked at a very brisk pace. There were a lot of sore bodies the next day, which means fueling up with the right nutrition before / during / after the event is crucial to minimizing soreness, maximizing gains, and overall performing at your best.

Below are a few meal ideas for tonight, as well as breakfast ideas for tomorrow, snacks for during the day, as well as a stretching protocol.

NIGHT BEFORE // #YARDWORK2019

• Curious about trying intermittent fasting or a Ketogenic diet? Now is definitely not the time to start! Save it for next week. Training the body to run on stored body fat takes time, and if you’re not used to it you might crash and burn on the 50 yard line, halfway through a tire toss.
• “Carb loading” is the cliche before big sporting events, but there is no doubt your muscles need to be full of glycogen to perform at their best (glycogen being how the body stores sugar for energy).
• The night before, keep it simple:
  • Protein (chicken breast, chicken thighs, pork tenderloin, steak, tofu, cooked chickpeas)
  • Simple carbohydrate (pasta, rice, potato, sweet potato, squash)
  • Vegetables (salad, green beans, stir fried zucchini, roasted asparagus)
  • Avoid excess salt as you don’t want to get dehydrated
  • Limit alcohol, or abstain for one night (save it for the margarita bar at #YARDWORK2019…)
  • Water, water, water
• Stretching
  • Stretching should be done throughout your day, every day of the week. If you’re active, your muscles will constantly be getting tight due to the hard work you’re putting in, so stretching helps lengthen the muscle fibers, improving flexibility and preventing injury.
  • Get in a long, 10 minute stretch of the back, calves, hamstrings, quads, groin and neck the night before.

MORNING OF // #YARDWORK2019

• Again, simple carbs are key as you want to eat something easily digestible. Eating fried eggs and bacon is a bad idea, as those foods are much harder to digest and could leave you bloated and lethargic when the opening whistle starts.
• I can’t live without coffee, but before an event the caffeine can mess with your digestion, as well as dehydrate you. If you can, skip it and stick with water.
• Breakfast:
  • Oatmeal with berries, nut butter, yogurt + scoop of protein powder
  • Toast with nut butter, jam, yogurt
  • Natalie Cumberbirch’s “Coconut Peanut Energy Balls”
  • Ashley Hildebrand’s “Chickpea Flour Banana Pancakes”
  • Henry’s daily breakfast shake
    • 1/3 cup rolled oats, soaked in 1 cup of water for 10 minutes
    • 1 pinch cinnamon
    • 1 tsp honey
    • 1 scoop chocolate vegan protein powder
    • 1/3 banana
    • 2 ice cubes
    • 3 tbsp’s kefir yogurt (optional)
• Stretching#2
  • There will be a group warmup before the Social & Competitive divisions, but stretching before you get to Thunderbird Stadium is a really good idea.
  • Start from the ankles and work your way up. If something is really tight, don’t ignore it just because it hurts. Push through it, and allow the muscle to relax. Remember, any discomfort during stretching is always better than being injured.

DURING & AFTER // #YARDWORK2019

• There will be lots of water and Gatorade available during the event, but bring your own bottle to refill as it’s going to be hot. Your sweat is full of salt, which means you need to replenish those salts throughout your activity to avoid cramping. Gatorade has salt in it, but consider bring a spare in your bag just in case.
• Bring sunscreen! It’s going to be hot and sunny.
• Lunch is provided by Big Day BBQ, but just in case, stuff some of these in your bag:
  • Energy bars or protein bars
  • Bananas
  • Potato chips (carbs + salt + fat = great recovery snack)
  • Protein shake (bring the dried powder in a shaker cup, fill with water at the event)
• Stretching #3
  • When you’re done a big workout, usually the last thing you want to do is stretch. Unfortunately, this is the time you really need to be stretching.
  • Grab your team, get a cold beer, and sit down for a quick 5 minute stretch to release those tight muscles. Your body will thank you on Sunday…

That’s it! See you tomorrow at Thunderbird Stadium.

#YARDWORK2019

The post Fueling Up // #YardWork2019 appeared first on Yard Athletics.

By Henry Gould – June 11th, 2019

The last few years have seen a huge uptick in a number of health and wellness trends, including stuff like ketogenic diets, fermented foods, intermittent fasting and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Some we’ve covered on this blog before; others like intermittent fasting seem worthy of a longer discussion in the future.

One item that seems to have somewhat missed the “health buzz word” news cycle is something called Resistant Starch (RS). RS, as will be explained below, is a longer chain, less digestible form of starch (i.e. sugar) that is not as easily turned to glucose in the body, thus keep your blood sugar and insulin levels lower while still allowing for a feeling of fullness, a production of short-chain fatty acids, and other nutritional benefits.

I found it particularly interesting because many times when we think of the food we’re planning to eat, “carbs” all get lumped into the same negative pile. In reality they can have vast differences in terms of their effect on our body. A bag of skittles and a boiled potato are both technically carbs; both contain sugar, but one is going to have a much different impact on your health.

Let’s dive a a little deeper…

What is Resistant Starch (RS)?

RS is a form of starch (starch = large chain of glucose molecules) that is not digestible – resistant – in the stomach, or digestible only in certain forms (RS1, RS2, RS3).

What foods do you find RS in?

RS is found in many foods, however the temperature of the food can also play a factor in how much RS is available. For example, a cooked and cooled potato will contain more RS than a hot boiled potato, as the RS molecules have had a chance to consolidate and reform. When the food is hot, they denature and break apart, thus becoming easier to digest, and subsequently more glucose is available in the body.

Foods that are high in RS include oats, potatoes, legumes / beans, grains, green bananas, and cooked and cooled rice. As mentioned above, all these foods generally have more RS once cooked and cooled, or not cooked at all.

Why is RS good for you?

Despite what you might hear from strict followers of ketogenic or carnivore diets, the human body needs glucose to function. Typically that glucose comes in the form of fruits, vegetables and grains. All these items contain differing amounts of glucose, some in very simple forms (i.e. sugar in an apple), others are in longer chain, more complex forms (i.e. the RS in a potato).

RS is a chain of starch so long that is either not able to be digested, or can only be digested by gut bacteria fermentation. If it’s completely undigestible, the RS will pass through the body similar to fiber, thus helping to create regularity in the digestion which has its own positive effects on the body. It can also lead to a feeling of fullness without severely impacting the blood sugar. This can be particularly useful if one is trying to lose or maintain weight, but has a hard time feeling full after a meal. Many times we eat a healthy dinner (salad + protein) only to feel hungry an hour later, thus becoming prone to snacking on less healthy things, or just overeating entirely. If a small amount of cooked and cooled chickpeas are added to the same salad, the feeling of fullness is much greater without sacrificing an increase in bad carbs.

Since some types of RS are fermented by our intestinal bacteria, which can lead to the production of many beneficial compounds including short-chain fatty acids and butyrate. These and other compounds have a variety of benefits to the body including the promotions of healthy colon, lowered risk of colon cancer, as well as increased absorption and production of vitamins.

Some people have taken it to the very extreme, putting scoops of potato starch in water and drinking it on a daily basis. By all means try that out (it sounds disgusting!) but overall, eating a variety of fruits, vegetables and grains will likely help increase your RS levels.

The post What is “Resistant Starch”? appeared first on Yard Athletics.