ADVISORY BOARD & CONTRIBUTORS

OUR KNOW IT ALL BOARD OF PROFESSIONALS FOR ALL MATTERS HEALTH & FITNESS

MEET OUR

Julie Krol: Editor & Head Writer. A fan of military style fitness training, CrossFit and MMA, Julie can often be found at the local gyms swing-ing from gymnastic rings, hitting the bags, and doing commando crawls across the floors on her elbows. She is a well trained actress with her eye on serious dramatic roles, and enjoys active lifestyle modeling, preferring to do dynamic , sports based photo shoots as opposed to just standing in front of a camera with a dumbbell looking pretty.

Liz Rosa: Head Photographer. An ace behind the camera, Liz is also very capable of being in front of it (see this issues cover). She has been responsible for many covers and publicity pho-tos for a number of publications, and is the head photographer for FORM Fitness. Her work can be seen adorning the walls of Harbour Dance Centre as well. Liz is a also very talented at headshot photographer, something that the talent community in Vancouver is taking notice of. www.LizRosaPhoto.ca

Rory McMillan: Co-Publisher & Fitness Writer. An fitness fanatic, Rory doesn‟t like to be pigeon holed into one category of training. A fan of MMA, CrossFit, power lifting, O lifting, boot-camps and krav maga, Rory is the fitness coor-dinator of FORM Fitness. He is also a profes-sional fitness trainer who has appeared numer-ous time on Vancouver TV. Rory is also respon-sible for running courses for certifying and recer-tifying Vancouver based personal trainers. www.RORfitness.com

Dai Manuel: Active Lifestyle Writer. As Chief Operating Officer of Fitness Town Inc, he over-sees the daily operations of 8 retail stores and 2 commercial divisions. Dai‟s also an active mem-ber of the White Rock Early Edition Toastmasters organization, and when not honing his public speaking skills, lives out his passion for writing and sharing the best health and fitness practices as the editor of both the Fitness Town Health & Wellness Blog and The Moose is Loose.

OTHER STAFF: Mindy Anderson: Sales Tyrone Anderson: Fitness Consultant Alex Panek: Co-Publisher Lee Dixon: Extreme Sports Janice Collins: Social Media Cover Model/Photographer: Liz Rosa www.formfitnessmag.com Spartacus Photos: Starz Network Steven S. DeKnight Photo: Lesley Bohm Photography Katrina Law Photos: Joe DeAngelis Photography Manu Bennett Photos: Xavier Wallach

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F FORMFITNESSMAG.COM

Photo courtesy of Starz

Who‟d have thought that a man in present day Los Angeles could retell history in such a way as to cause a cult following among hardcore fitness en-thusiasts. So where does the story for the Spartacus creator and executive producer begin?

By Jupiter‟s cock, it all started on MTV‟s Undressed over a decade ago. From there, Steven went on to write for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, where he tried his hand at directing, and began a working relationship with

Joss Whedon. Once Angel had wrapped, DeKnight was hired on as a writer and director for Smallville for 3 seasons, and then once again recon-nected with Whedon for Dollhouse.

After the concept of Spartacus had been sold to Starz, the network was on the lookout for a talented writer who could really develop the series, so figuratively speaking, in walked Steven S. DeKnight and the rest is history in the making.

After one successful season

(Blood and Sand) and a prequel mini series (Gods of the Arena), Spartacus: Vengeance has thus far surpassed every fan‟s expectations.

So where does Steven get the content for each episode? Working from his of-fice in Burbank is far from Capua, yet each episode captures the essence of what old Rome would have been like now for the fallen House of Batiatus.

To recreate the life that Spartacus and the Roman Republic led, Steven works along side two historical consult-ants. “They look at everything I do and poke and prod,” describes DeKnight. “In television there‟s just not enough time to do all the in depth research you would need to do on each episode because of the turnaround time, so these guys just know everything about this time period and they read everything and give me copious notes and suggestions.”

Always having an interest in writing, Steven studied Acting and Playwriting as an undergrad at the University of California Santa Cruz and then went on to get his masters in Playwriting at UCLA. “I dabbled in short stories and very bad poetry like all young people do, and when I was in Santa Cruz I really went there to study acting be-cause I wanted to be an actor. Some-where along the line I realized I was an okay actor, but I thought I could be a pretty good writer, so I started writing plays instead of just acting,” recalls DeKnight

Although Steven has been given the title of Creator, which is actually a credit reference because he wrote the first episode, the show‟s concept originally game from Robert Tapert before Starz decided to take on the series.“Rob Ta-pert, my producing partner who‟s actu-ally in New Zealand overseeing every-thing has just as much to do with the success of the show as I do,” says Ste-ven. “We‟re like two halves of the same brain.”

Aside from Spartacus being the origi-nal underdog, like many historical events, history has a tendency of re-peating itself, and that was something Steven was really interested in explor-ing. “Spartacus is relevant now because there is for all intensive purposes a slave class of workers, a divide between the very rich, the elite, the quote on quote Romans and the slave class, the working class poor has just gotten wider

Steven S. DeKnight is rewriting a Roman tragedy and causing masses to flock to their television screens each week.

By JULIE KROL

FORMFITNESSMAG.COM

FORMFITNESSMAG.COM

Photo credit: Lesley Bohm Photography

and wider, the middle class has been wiped out,” says DeKnight. “And you really saw so strongly this past year with the Arab Spring uprisings and Occupy Wall Street this seething dis-satisfaction from people who have been taken advantage of.”

Steven was also drawn to the fact that aside from speculation, no one really knows how Spartacus got his name, although they are a few theo-ries out there. “I always get questions like, „when are you going to reveal what Spartacus‟ real name was?‟ So I‟m always like, „If I threw a name out would it mean anything?‟ You know, it‟s Bob, his name was Bob,” jokes DeKnight. “Nobody knew what his real name was, and that‟s one thing I was clear about with everybody from the start, I love the fact that you never know his real name.”

From vampire slayers to Superman to the leader of slaves in the Third Servile War, Steven has always been drawn to physical projects and they have kept him in check, “I‟m a bit of a gym rat, I try to stay in shape.” Aside from drinking protein shakes and tak-ing his vitamins, DeKnight has tried many different workouts over the years and found that one in particular has really worked for him. “At the end of last season I got a little fatter than I‟d like, so I decided to switch up my workout and do the Tyler Durden workout/diet from Fight Club, and I gotta say, workouts were greatly shortened each day, I worked out 6 days a week and the results were much better than I‟ve ever had,” boasts Steven.

With his physique back to warrior form, Steven can attest that just like Fight Club, watching attractive fit bod-ies on the big screen or from your couch at home can definitely light a fire in anyone‟s fitness regimen. And Spartacus is definitely at the forefront right now, showcasing the fittest cast out there.

“Yeah, Spartacus is a catalyst for getting people in shape. During that first season of Spartacus we came out with a Spartacus workout and I was shocked, there‟s a gym in my office building and there‟s a gym that I work out at near my house and to this day I still see people doing that workout,” says Steven. “I got a lot of messages

from people saying that they were try-ing and it was really working for them. And also as a guy, I think you sit there and watch the show and you see the men on our show and you instantly feel extremely bad about yourself and you want to go to the gym. So I think there‟s a lot of motivation for watching the show.”

Apart from the physiques and stellar acting, what sets Spartacus apart from numerous other programs is the unfor-gettable dialogue. What has influenced Steven is a combination of Shake-speare and Robert E. Howard, along with the fact that he just loves to play with language. The show‟s dialogue has even spawned a “Jupiter‟s Cock” drinking game, but if you want to look like the cast, I wouldn‟t recommend it.

Spartacus has already been given the green light for a third season, and is rumored to have five in total, al-though it‟s inevitable that the main cast will eventually die as history would have it. “I hope I‟ve prepared the fans for the death of the characters they love since the first season because I have no qualms about killing off a char-acter if it works for the story,” states DeKnight. “First and foremost, I have to be true to the story that I want to tell. Everybody knows that it does not end well, but I think the trick is to find a ray of hope the way Howard Fast and Stanley Kubrick did so brilliantly, to find that moment of victory even in defeat.”

Planning ahead for when that mo-ment of defeat presents itself to the series, Steven has already set his eyes on new projects.“I‟m developing a new

show for Starz and Vancouver is on the list for possible places to shot it.” But that‟s all he could say about that.

Mr. DeKnight has however been plotting the rise of a new unbe-knownst breed of superhero. “I have an original superhero movie in mind I have been kicking around for quite some time, that‟s as you might imag-ine dark, twisted and extremely vio-lent. Hopefully one day I‟ll be able to dust that off and get it running.”

This of course led me to inquire about Steven‟s favorite superhero. “I‟m a huge fan of Batman, I think what I love most about him is his backstory,” adds DeKnight. “A man that suffered such tragedy and de-cided to do something about it and in the process of doing something about it just becomes psychologically even more damaged, as much good as he‟s doing.”

At the end of the day, this screen-writer/producer/director wants to push the envelope with whatever project he takes on, and I can‟t wait to see what‟s next for Steven S. DeKnight.

“I just want to keep making enter-taining, emotionally powerful televi-sion, and hopefully movies. Entertain-ing the audience often means ripping out their hearts and stomping on „em,” declares Steven. “I want my audience to yell at the TV, jump out of their seats, and when I kill of their believed character and they swear they‟ll never watch the show again, but come back the next week to see what happens, that‟s what it‟s all about at the end of the day.” FF

IN ARMS BROTHER

MANU BENNETT

IN ARMS BROTHER

By JULIE KROL

FORMFITNESSMAG.COM

resistance purely with my own body weight. I think of the Da Vinci draw-ings of man and try to copy that artis-tic version of balance.

As for the fight scenes in the show, what kind of fight training do you guys tend to do? Our instructors introduce all types of fighting styles to our show and eventually you take what you need. There was definitely some MMA moves put into the mix because all of our stunt trainers are hooked on MMA. I like to throw in moves that a Maori warrior might have used as well.

Did you study Greco/Roman his-tory to prepare for your role? How do you mentally prepare to become Crixus? I have looked into various aspects of 'warrior' over the years and my own Maori heritage helps stimu-late my identity of the term warrior, but in fact I know only little of the his-tory of Crixus, such as his name means "the man with the curly hair". There is little known of the man and the only thing I have ever made "the essential factor" of Crixus is that I commit to fight 110% to honor him as warrior and to present myself, as an actor, at my best.

You studied Dance and Drama in university? I attended the University of New South Wales in Australia, but during my first year I was offered a long-term contract on a TV soap and took that option to get experience.

Photography by XAVIER WALLACH

Photo as Crixus courtesy of Starz

You’ve always been in shape, but obviously Spartacus takes it to a new level. Did you have to adjust your physique for the show? In the

first season I had to train hard as I was then the Champion Of Capua. The pre-quel followed in which Crixus' story began from his arrival at the ludus as a slave from the mines completely with-out knowledge of fighting or the arena. This reversal meant I had to lose all the size I put on for Season 1 and now for season 2 I had to work back toward the champions physique, but also keeping the reality of being on the run without resources, especially food. The three seasons have been a physical roller coaster, but ultimately I have to stay fit as physical requirements are always very demanding.

What kind of training did you do? I do a lot of different training, physical and spiritual. I am a Maori (native New Zealander) and live on the ocean. Be-ing sponsored by 2XU, I do a lot of Stand up Paddle Boarding and like to hit the ocean before the sun comes up. There's something about training at sunrise that makes you feel part of the universe, the sun launching you into another day. I also like doing boxing. I believe it's a healthy exercise to incor-porate your fitness goals with your en-vironment, friends and family as it makes everything more integrated.

Do you do traditional weight train-ing? Sure. There are proven methods for different muscle groups and like any art you adopt that particular phi-losophy. My latest thing is actually re-sistance training and exercising in ways that lengthen my muscles and stretch my body as a whole. Each sea-son has taken a toll on me physically and I have spent weeks at times trying to get over kinks and bruising, and as your body reacts to injury you tighten up, so I am now treating my body to more subtle ways of gaining strength. Like Da Vinci noted, we move in a

universe of cycles and circles, so full rotation is key to keeping heavy levers, like arms and legs mobile. Something important I've learned is keeping bal-ance, making sure I'm working my back equally as my chest, that I'm keeping my core switched on and not just yank-ing at weights. In my book the slower the better most of the time, keeping reps regular and controlled, precision in a rep is key to optimum muscle re-sponse and solid shaping.

What kind of training facility do you actually workout out at? The gym, the

ocean, the squash court even the street on my bike or skateboard. I treat the environment as the gym, basically working out is both a spiritual and physical process for me, just aimed at becoming a better, stronger person. If someone told me the gym was closed I wouldn't be phased, in fact I haven't been to my local gym for several months now, but I still train every day. When I'm in LA I'm running up and down Runyan Canyon, doing presses or curls with rocks and chin ups off peo-ples fences.

Every time I talk to a guy, they all say they ‘want to look like Crixus’, what does it take to look that way? My parents.

Do you follow a pretty strict nutri-tional program? I don't eat junk food,

unless I'm absolutely craving for a pickle between an otherwise nutri-tionless bun.

At what point in your life so far would you consider you’ve had the best phy-sique and why? I spent several years doing break-dancing, ballet and modern dance, and as a physical activity it was right up there in terms of having overall fitness and strength. Look at dancers or gymnasts, their physiques are very strong all round. I don't do that at all now, which I re-gret, but it was a time when my body was in top condition.

Do you have a favorite piece of fitness equip-ment, or a favorite exer-cise or body part to train? I like using cable machines, counteracting

FORMFITNESSMAG.COM

How did you get interested in Dance? What styles? Well, ballet was very con-

ventional and break dancing was pretty primitive so the two gave me a wide scope of movements and rhythm and also had me mixing in completely different circles.

You got a scholarship to the Lee Stras-berg Theatre Institute? How has what you learned there translated to your act-ing career? By chance I was introduced to

Anna Strasberg in New York whilst out having dinner with my agent and Anna in-vited me to the school the next day where she then offered me a scholarship. At the time I was working on the TV soap in Aus-tralia, but took up her offer a year later and attended the Lee Strasberg Institute in LA.

I was in my early 20's and a bit lost in LA and I didn't really make the most of the op-portunity, however a teacher there named Mano, gave me some important direction and one particularly huge compliment that helped me grow. I have never forgotten Anna's generosity and belief, which has always had an effect on the way I perceive myself as an actor.

Your dad was a singer in New Zealand, has his musicality rubbed off on you?

Yes, my father has had a huge influence on my life but he chose music and I chose acting.

Are you interested in being involved in musicals? I'm not a confident singer, but wouldn't say no. What a challenge, in fact we often joke on-set about the musical ver-sion of Spartacus and have mocked up some pretty awful tunes. There's our Spart-acus version of Bohemian Rhapsody, which we totally butchered. Luckily the fans won't see that.

Where would you like to see your career go? I hope I continue to get roles as emo-

tionally complex and physically challenging as Crixus. It's a role I love and relish in.

Do you have a motto in life that you live by? Te Arawa, the Maori tribe I originate

from paddled from Tahiti to discover Aotearoa (New Zealand). Before leaving and upon arriving at the new land they said a karakia (prayer) which ended in the en-tire group exclaiming Hui e! Ta iki e! The phrase loosely means „Let it be done!‟ an acknowledgement of strength and unifica-tion. Whenever I commit to something, set goals or arrive somewhere significant I speak this motto: Hui e! Ta iki e! FF

There's something about training at sunrise that makes you feel part of the universe, the sun launching you into another day.

There's something about training at sunrise that makes you feel part of the universe, the sun launching you into another day.

Medicine Ball Russian Twists with Ball Throw in the middle

Heavy Bag Drill: Jab/Cross/Hook

TRAIN LIKE A MODERN DAY GLADIATOR

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Model: actor Jackson Berlin Location: CrossFit Kitsilano . Special thanks to Fynn Mulligan, owner CFK

To train like a gladiator, you must think like a gladiator. Tough, deter-mined, and not willing to give up. To train like a gladiator you better be prepared and ready to lift heavy, hit hard, and move fast. Warmup: Start with a full body dynamic warm up, including bur-pees, air squats and lunges. Strength: Make sure that each

of your training sessions begins with a strength movement taken from powerlifting or Olympic lifting like bench press, shoulder presses, squats and cleans. Aim for 4 sets of 5-6 reps @ 80%1RM Circuits: Creating your own cir-cuits can be fun and challenging. Aim for a minimum of 3-5 stations, and spend 1 minute at each station. Take a 1 min break after all 5 sta-tions are complete, then repeat 3-5 times. ViPR Flips

TRAIN LIKE A MODERN DAY GLADIATOR

Sandbag Log Get-Ups

Pullups with Lateral Shift

FORMFITNESSMAG.COM

FORMFITNESSMAG.COM

Since my mother was Buddhist and my father was Catholic, I was given a unique and often humor ous look at the world from the start. As for my physic cal appearance, I feel like I am, in a weird way, a hint of what the future of human kind is going to look like.

How did you get into acting? I was

a dancer my entire life and then one day someone suggested that I audi-tion for a Summer Stock production of A Chorus Line. I ended up landing the role of Cassie and it was the first time in my adult life that I got to sing, act, and dance at the same time and I fell in love.

What's been the most rewarding part of acting? Most challenging?

The most rewarding part of acting for me is getting to step into a charac-ter's shoes and trying to figure out how they got to where they are in the story. I learn so much about people, the world around me, and myself through the process and it forces me to put my judgments aside and just accept who they are. That being said, sometimes not judging my character can be a bit of a challenge for me, especially if I perceive them to be weaker or darker than I would ideally like them to be.

I've also read that you dance? What styles? I

feel like I have danced every style of dance there is to dance at some point in my life. I did the stan-dards of tap, ballet, and jazz but I focused mainly on Modern Jazz.

How has dance helped your career? Dance has given me a freedom of movement that I can choose to draw on when and how I need it. As an actor, your entire body is

your tool used to tell a story and the more control you have over it the bet ter. With Spartacus being such a stunt heavy show, picking up fight choreogra-phy quickly and concisely was essential and I feel like dance training helped

me to do that.

And, you're the lead singer and bass player in band? Yes! We are

called Soundboard Fiction! Patrick Bolen and Jack Mahoney and I have been together for about 5 years now. We are a studio band and have ri-diculous amounts of fun creating and recording music. We joke that we are Stevie Nicks meets No Doubt meets Lady Antebellum. We are about to release our second album in the next few weeks.

How do you find time to do every-thing? I don't! I constantly wish for a

time machine that stops time so I can fit in all the things that I want to do into the day. Usually this is followed by me telling myself that I watch too much SciFi.

What made you do the gladiator bootcamp since it wasn't a prereq-uisite? I'm a bit of a tomboy so the

thought of being part of the Gladiator Bootcamp just made me giddy. I also don't think that production was even aware that some of the women on the show might want to be a part of it, so they didn‟t ask.

Bootcamp was amazing. I have never done anything like it before. The way bootcamp was set up really supported a team atmosphere and had everyone rooting for each other and encouraging you to finish up your last rep or gut drill. I also knew that I would be the only female on the "Rebel's side of the set" for the first few months and I didn't want the boys thinking that I was a delicate flower and constantly be tip toeing around me so I figured if I became one of the boys, that problem would go away...and it did.

What did you enjoy the most? Least? My favorite part of Gladiator Bootcamp was the 'circle of death.' One person stands in the middle of the circle and just gets annihilated by having to catch weight bags being thrown at them and then throwing

Photo courtesy of Starz

NO FURY...

By JULIE KROL

Photography by JOE DeANGELIS

HELL HATH

KATRINA LAW

If you‟re not familiar with Spartacus,

you clearly don‟t know what you‟ve been missing. This ground breaking Starz show is pushing all boundaries when it comes nudity, sex, vulgar language, choreography, and cine-matography. Plus, it boasts the most gorgeous cast on any network. Al-though Spartacus‟ heart once pined for Sura, it is the breathtakingly beautiful Mira that steals our hearts on this seasons‟ Spartacus: Venge-ance. FORM Fitness caught up with Katrina Law to get the lowdown on this fiery actress.

First off, you have a very unique look and a diverse cultural back-ground. What was it like growing up? Growing up I felt just like every other kid on the block. It wasn't until I hit my teens that I started to notice the differences of my upbringing when compared to the others around me.

FORMFITNESSMAG.COM

them back, pushups in between, all non-stop until they go all the way around the circle. I also loved the cir-cuit training and tire flip races. And I absolutely hated anything that involved the word 'burpee‟, and gut drills made me want to cry.

What type of training do you nor-mally do? And why? I mix it up be-tween weights, cardio, yoga, and plyo-metrics. The variety keeps me from getting bored because when you're working out regularly, boredom is the kiss of death. Weights are so important for shape and tone and all of the other benefits that go with having strength and muscle support. Cardio for burning calories and for being able to walk up a flight of stairs without humiliating your-self by being breathless at the top. Plyometrics is an all encompassing fun and fast way to work out. Yoga for stretching and toning and for giving your mind a break from the stresses of your day.

How important is diet to you? And what's your diet like? Diet is almost more important to me than working out. I usually eat five small meals a day to keep my metabolism active. When I am being strict, the ingredients in each of my meals are actually measured by weight: protein, oil, etc. In more re-laxed settings I just make sure the meals take up no more space than the size of my hand. Breakfast is usually oatmeal, almonds, cinnamon, peaches, and protein powder. Meals throughout the day are a balanced portion of chicken or fish, with veggies, sweet potato, with a little oil.

Looking at your body of work, you tend to do more physical roles, do you prefer them? I love physical

roles. I seem to have fallen into this category of acting organically and I am having a blast! Some of my best days on set have been the days where it was action/stunt heavy.

Do you have any martial arts or KravMaga training? I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and of course my „Take Back the Night‟ training from col-lege.

In your opinion, what's the biggest misconception you think women have about weight training? I think women are afraid of weights because they think they will end up looking like a man. Unless you have high levels of

testosterone in your body, I don't think that will happen. A lot of women also just want to lose fat and think that doing hours of cardio is the most effective way. What they don't realize is that as soon as they get off the cardio machine the work out is over. With weights, the calorie burning continues long after the workout is over. Light weights with high amounts of repetitions will tone and strengthen in a way that will keep women looking feminine. And always remember to include your leg work-outs! Because your legs are your largest muscle groups and therefore burn the most fat and calories.

This season seems to put woman in the forefront a bit more, how do you think that will translate with viewers? I think the viewers are itch-ing to see the females on Spartacus fight. The male and female viewers may have different reasons why, but most people like watching badass women running around kicking ass.

How would you like to see her character played out? I would love

to see Mira find her own, independ-ent reasons for existing. And through that find true love and her rightful place in the world. I would love to see her fully discover her potential and then live it out to the fullest.

What's the biggest change in Mira from Blood and Sand to Venge-ance? I think Mira is no longer stag-nant. In Blood and Sand, she was resigned to her life and what she had to do in order to stay alive. There was no future or hope or dreams or feeling of worth in herself as an indi-vidual. But in Vengeance, Mira's world is shaken, her beliefs chal-lenged and her perceptions reinter-preted. And through her first taste of freedom, you can feel her start to vibrate at the possibilities of the fu-ture and what it may hold for her. This season she fights: for love, for freedom and for hope.

Lastly, what's written in the stars for you? And Mira? I would love to say there is a lot of love, laughter and happiness in my future. I've been incredibly blessed in my life. As for Mira, I don't know that I can say the same lies in store for her, but I do know that she sure will fight for every

bit of it that she can get. FF

SPORTS CONDITIONING

with the Human Trainer

SPORTS CONDITIONING

with the Human Trainer

Reverse Lunge with foot in cradle

Pistol (single leg) Squat holding handle

Using the highly versatile and dynamic Human Trainer, you can train to hit the streets and Seawall hard this running season with a tighter core, increased power and improved stability and balance. Do each of the following exercises for 3 sets

of 10 reps. www.astonefitness.com/trainers By Rory McMillan, Exclusive Personal Trainer: www.allfit.ca

FORMFITNESSMAG.COM

Location: CrossFit Kitsilano Model: Jackson Berlin

Extended Plank to...

Pike Position

Sprinters Runs

Decline Row

Front View

Back View

Rotating Long Reaches Point A

Point B

Point C, then reverse.

FORMFITNESSMAG.COM

Ask An Expert: "I Want to Be a Personal Trainer" By. Andre Noel Potvin, Msc, BCRPA-TFL, ACSM INFOFIT Educators: School for Fitness Professionals www.infofit.ca 604-683-0785

Who are great candidates in choosing a career as a Personal Trainer? Anyone with a passion for health and fitness is perfect. Even if you have never been in a gym before, you can still take INFOFIT‟s Personal Trainer‟s Program as it accommodates those from all backgrounds. Any age group from late teens to retirement age are perfect candidates as there are many different niches that demand a specific style of trainer.

What various career options are available for personal trainers? There are many directions you can go. You can work independ-ently and train your own clients, you can work as a trainer or Weight Room Instructor or Personal Trainer in a Community Centre, or you can work for an established company and train their clients.

How much time does a person need to dedicate to be certified and be in business for themselves? This depends on the back-ground of the individual. There are sometimes less steps needed if the person has a background in Kinesiology or a related field. Those who play sports may already have an extensive knowledge of training themselves in the gym, however training others at a scientific and elite caliber is something that must be learned and practiced. The amount of time it takes to learn the material, practice it in a gym and write your exam takes an average of 4-8 months. Are there ways to become more knowledgeable as a Personal Trainer? There are plenty of options in regards to Continuing Education for Certified or Registered Personal Trainers. The Personal Trainer has more knowledge of modifications and revisions to an individual‟s exercise regimen than the average boot camp of Group Fitness Instructor. It is a Personal Trainer‟s responsibility to ensure a program is balanced and suitable to a client‟s individual needs, keeping in mind that client‟s medical background, age, fit-ness level etc…

What education is available for that? INFOFIT offers many forms of Continuing Education Courses. There are courses to help you develop and market your Personal Training business as well as learn effective communication and leadership. There are programs available to help you gain experience as an elite Personal Trainer with real clients if you are just starting out as well as a whole course dedicated to teaching you the basic exercises and technique so that you can teach effectively to your clients.

Is there a demand for basic and elite trainers and why? According to recent labour statistics, by the year 2016 there will be a 27% shortage of personal trainers and a 28% increase in de-mand. Essentially, people are recognizing the benefits of having a personal trainer, with motivation being a big one of them.

Every year between October and May something happens to Vancou-verites. Most of the time we don't even realize it‟s going on, but just think of the way everyone changes on that occasional sunny winter day when the sun finally breaks through the clouds after weeks of gray and misty rain. Being in the northern part of the western hemisphere, Canadians on a whole have one of the lowest amounts of circulating vitamin D in the world. On average during the summer months, our bodies create about 10,000 iu‟s of D daily, how-ever in the colder months, when we dress in long clothes and spend most time indoors, we cut our Vita-min D creation by about 20. It‟s been suggested that approximately 97% of Canadians are deficient in D at some point in the year, and a lack of D has been linked a number of cancer risks, heart disease, MS and

speak to your doctor or health care professional, and see if maybe you should be increasing your Vitamin D intake. And maybe, just maybe, you‟ll find yourself smiling a little more too.

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Osteoporosis. The Canadian Cancer Society and the Cdn government suggest we take

1000 iu‟s a day, but judging by the severe lack of sun we get, many specialists are suggesting we need a lot more. Ethan Burnette, who holds a PhD in Pharmacology and is the manager of Genesis Nutrition on Davie St. believes more vitamin just might be key in overcoming SAD, “I would suggest a lot more than the 1000 iu’ that the guidelines suggest. I would say during the winter, a minimum of 3,000 a day.” And a quick look through the literature on D makes even this suggestion low. Dr. John Cannell of the Vitamin D council suggests a D dose of 1000iu‟s per 25 pounds of body weight, while there have been other cases of doctors like PhD Michael F. Holick recommending upwards of 50,000 iu‟s over 8 week periods. Now before you start downing mega doses of Vitamin D, under-stand we are not telling you to do this, but we do suggest that you

SHINE A LIGHT ON ME…. VITAMIN D

SHINE A LIGHT ON ME…. VITAMIN D

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For those of you looking for the ulti-mate workout, you should look no further than Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. This is the only class where I have literally seen steam coming off people, and I have done, and am a fan of many kinds of training: CrossFit, MMA Con-ditioning, Olympic Lifting, but I haven‟t found anything that beats BJJ when it comes to beating you to a breathless pulp. For those of you unfamiliar with BJJ and its training, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a from of ground fighting, where no striking (punches, slaps, kicks) is al-lowed. Instead the goal is to get your opponent into a position where they cannot gain control of their movement and are either choked out, or placed in a very uncomfortable position through the use of joint locks, and must literally „tap out‟ or risk injury to a joint or losing air and passing out. It actually sounds much more in-timidating than it really is and every-one from business men to weekend warriors are reaping the benefits of BJJ training. Not to mention more and more women are starting to get in-volved every day. Bruno Capdeville is a BJJ Black Belt and Head Instructor at Tactix Gym in downtown Vancouver, how-ever, he insists that you don‟t need a background in martial arts to reap the benefits of a ground workout. “My BJJ classes at Tactix are very much aimed at everyone, from the professional fighter to the average office guy. The point is to make them have fun. BJJ is very technical, and I’m a little guy, so little guys like me have to be sneaky and technical when we spar, and people love to see the little guy beat the big guy”. And that‟s one of the things that BJJ teaches you, its not size that mat-ters, but skill. Being able to visualize where you are in the fight, where you need to go, and how to get there to maintain the dominate position. Another thing you‟ll often notice is the never ending debate of Gi versus

THE

GROUND GAME

Written by Rory McMillan

no-Gi, (a Gi being the traditional gar-ment wore by BJJ students). So, which is better? According to Bruno, you can‟t really separate the two entirely, “These days you have to learn both, they comple-ment each other in many ways. But definitely, you should always prioritize your Gi game. If only just because it’s the original BJJ form and the most popular in gyms. The overall game is the same, just the grips and speed changes from Gi to no-Gi vary. No-Gi is sort of incomplete as you can’t do collar chokes, certain grips, sweeps, etc”. If you‟ve decided to learn with a Gi, make sure that you find one that fits well and is made from a strong material that also has some give, as there will be a lot of pulling on the material, and a lot of movement. “In my classes I really focus on a lot of movement, and speed. I spend more focus on having the students move around like monkeys, than teach them just pure submissions. Submissions are easy, moving around and getting

into positions is hard. As far as Gis are con-cerned, there are a lot of good ones out there, and it really comes down to personal tastes”, says Bruno. (On a personal note I‟m a big fan of my Redstar Stamp Gi, a great BBJ brand from right here in Canada. See page 20.) Besides having fun, there are num-ber of ways to make BJJ challenging and really test one‟s body and fitness level. “There are dozens of BJJ tourna-ments, Grapplers Quest, Grapplers Inc., Tiger Balm, Westcoast Promo-tions, and we have the BC Open Championships coming up, for those looking to compete and show their hard earned skills,” boasts Bruno.

For more information on Bruno Capdeville and his BJJ classes, visit him at Tactix Gym, 1449 Hornby Street, Vancouver or check out his online schedule: www.tactixgym.com.

HOLLYWOOD

RAMONA BRAGANZA

3-2-1

Celebrity Trainer

get us in Hollywood

shape & it’s as easy as

FORMFITNESSMAG.COM

WORKOUT

The

HOLLYWOOD

Just a few of Ramona’s clients

Ramona’s 3-2-1 Training Method involves 3 cardio stations (see next page), 2-3 station

circuits (an example, chest-tricep-leg) is seen to the left, and at least 1 core exercise

(see next page).

Plank to Pushups

Dumbbell Swings

Bodyweight Tricep Dips

Catching up with Ramona Braganza can be a workout on it‟s own. If you don‟t know who Ramona is then you‟re in the minority, but you‟re definitely aware of her work.

Ramona is one of the world‟s lead-ing celebrity trainers and her client list has included some of the world‟s most well known celebrities: Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Bradley Cooper, Kate Beck-insale (who she just recently finished training for Underworld 4), Scarlett Jo-hansson, and her number one client Jessica Alba who she met here in Van-couver many years ago when she was asked to train Alba for Dark Angel.

We managed to snag Ramona on a visit to Vancouver recently while here on some promotional work for the new reality series ‘The Real Housewives of Vancouver’, where she can be

seen personally training housewife and fitness fanatic Reiko MacKenzie, and we asked her to put our own head writer and actress Julie Krol through a 3-2-1 workout to kick start Julie‟s 2012 aggressive fitness goals.

The 3-2-1 Training Method Defined

Designed for Hollywood star Jessica

Alba, the 3-2-1 Training Method was cre-

ated to ensure a fast but effective work-

out that could take place between takes

on set. Quite often Ramona would only

have 20-40 minutes to ensure a proper

workout, so she needed something fast,

efficient and effective.

3-2-1 is an acronym for 3 cardio ses-

sions of 10 minutes each, with 2 circuits

between, and 1 core exercise.

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Coming Soon Learn to train with the 3-2-1 Method

for yourself or clients through Ramona’s new 3-2-1

Training Method certification courses

& workshops with credits available through canfitpro. To find out information more visit:

www.ramonabraganza.com

(coming soon)

Boat

Side Bridge

Core Training is important to ensure no maintain proper strength through-out your upper body to avoid injuries, not only in the gym, but in everyday life. Many of Ramona’s exercises are derived from Yoga and Pilates based movements.

Cardio is the cornerstone of the 3-2-1 Training Method, and you can literally do nearly any cardio exer-cise provided it raises your heart rate accordingly. To the left we have a number of options, but even if you don't have access to fancy machines, fear not, Ramona says simple stairs are the perfect cardio tool.

A Typical Day in

a 3-2-1 Workout

With such busy clients some-

times only having 30 minutes to

workout, Ramona’s 3-2-1 program

delivers results in record time.

Segment I: Treadmill x 10 min

Segment II: Circuit A

Pushups

Tricep Dips

Dumbbell Swings

Segment III: Spin bike x 10 min

Segment IV: Core

Planks/Bridges with variations

Segment V: (not shown)

Lunges with twist

Incline Pushups

Lateral Raises

Rowing

Stationary Bike

Stair Climbing (using cross-over steping)

Elliptical

to equipment make it feel much lar-ger. Only opening in late May of 2011, CrossFit Kitsilano has seen a stagger-ing jump in memberships, and the gym floor is constantly in motion. Unlike many CrossFits which seem to be closed in the afternoon, this Cross-Fit always has a new convert going through the basic movements all new members must learn: a variety of squats, Olympic lifts, kettlebell swings

CROSSFIT

KITSILANO

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pushups, kipping pull-ups, burpees, box jumps, and measured runs of 200, 400, 800 and 1000 metres. CrossFit Kitsilano‟s newest pro-gram is the Saturday morning „Immortals Bootcamp‟ which incor-porates CrossFit movements, HIIT, as well as traditional athletic condi-tioning, and is an indoor/outdoor fitness training program. Call (604) 558-3488 to get started.

www.crossfitkitsilano.com

Other Awesome Gyms/Studio’s

We Didn’t Have Room For, But

We’ll Get To Them Soon!

CrossFit Vancouver

CrossFit Lions

CrossFit Westside “Basically if you can find a CrossFit you’re

golden.”

Universal MMA

V21

GoodLife (for introducing the TRX to

the mass population)

Evolution Martial Arts

Level 10 Fitness

Gold’s Gym Burnaby

Fitness Town Burnaby (not open for

public workouts), the staff have set up a

great functioning CrossFit showroom.

Revolution MMA

Pure Athletics (Deep Cove)

Finding a good gym can be a daunting task for anyone, and at FORM FITNESS we feel your pain. On more than one occasion I have joined up only to find that the looks were deceiving, or my more colorful style of training, a mix of CrossFit, powerlifting, MMA, Strongman, aren‟t really well received. Anything out of the ordinary like an overhead squat, or snatch causes bewildered faces to appear. Training in socks or bare feet only during a deadlift (if you‟re allowed to do a heavy D-lift at all) or a squat, lines you up for a verbal reprimand (I can give them all the studies to show I‟m actually doing it safer than with shoes on, but they don‟t care). Heaven forbid you try any sport specific methods involving the ATP-CP system, you spend more time having to explain what

you‟re doing to every looky-loo than working out. And never mind trying to

bring in something like a ViPR, Training Mask, sandbag or TRX, there‟s no room to use them, and again, back to the weird looks and explanations. So what are you to do to help you get through this modern fit-ness dilemma that softens down fitness to the more PC term “wellness”? Well, you can let us do the work for you and round up the best of the best, so you can ditch the rest. Our „Real Deal‟ Gym Roundup is far from the all and end all of gym reviews, and we are sure that there are many more good (and bad) gyms out there, but we like to think it‟s a good place to start. And we hope that at least one of the gyms we have profiled here is of interest to you. If you‟re going to put in the effort to go to the gym, you may as well be going to the best one you can get.

The “REAL DEAL” GYM ROUNDUP

Of all the CrossFits we have seen, none have come close to hav-ing the passion of CrossFit Kitsilano, and that of its owner Fynn Mulligan. He is a self described „CrossFit dis-ciple‟ having “drank the CrossFit Kool-aid” many years ago. Fynn began his training at Cross-Fit Vancouver, and then travelled to Santa Monica, California to receive his CrossFit level 1 instructor certifi-cation. After many years of doing his „CrossFit-on-the-Go‟ and at home training, which involved travelling all over Vancouver and the north shore, he was finally in the position to see his dream fulfilled, opening his own CrossFit in his home town. CrossFit Kitsilano, may be the smallest of the boxes (the term for a CrossFit gym) we looked at, not much larger than 1300 square feet, but its sheer number of members and new CrossFit converts speaks to it‟s passionate instructors and its clean, minimalistic approach

Welling, and Deadliest Warrior host Geoff Desmoulin, just to name a few.

The UFC even chose Tactix Gym to host its media workouts at last years UFC 131, due to its sheer size, and not to mention an exact working replica of the UFC Octagon cage. Tactix Gym has almost as many varieties of fitness classes as your regular gym, but with one HUGE dif-ference, they are actually made to get you fit. There is no putting on wraps and hitting the air like in your corpo-rate puff gyms. Home of CrossFit Ludus, they also offer krav maga,

Hybrid is seeking to make itself your „3rd place‟! What does that mean you may ask? Well, owner Nate Beveridge explains, “we want people to think of this as their 3rd place: home, work, and Hybrid”. They want to make fitness, real fit-ness, a way of life, and working out no less common then a daily activity. At Hybrid they want you to take full advantage of what they offer, and they offer A LOT! Hybrid has a flexibility mezzanine, where mem-bers can work on their flexibility and mobility, a full lounge upstairs com-plete with big screen TV, couches and seating for some post workout meals, and they also offer a child minding area. Now we know what you're think-ing at this point…‟so Steve Nash has TVs and childcare, why the need to visit Langley‟? Easy, this gym will kick your ass unlike any-thing you have seen, and FORM FIT

NESS has seen enough gyms to know this one offers the best athlete conditioning around. Hybrid has a full 30 meter indoor artificial turf track which will have you dragging and pushing sleds and a very special, hard to find, life alter-ing piece of equipment called a Prowler 2. This state of the art train-ing facility also hosts over a half dozen Olympic lifting platforms, a dozen sets of gymnastic rings, Con-cept 2 rowers, strongman Atlas

Brazilian jiu-jitsu, MMA, kick-boxing, Stretch (a tough guy version of yoga, minus the foo-foo chanting, romance voice and zen talk), personal train-ing, early morning bootcamps and Tactix Conditioning: a blend of CrossFit and kickboxing. Tactix is also a large proponent of education for trainers, hosting a number of seminars including Olym-pic lifting, MMA workshops, and In-corporate! Personal Trainer CEC courses, with plans on many more including strongman, sandbag, sus-pension and canfitpro certifications. For more info call (604) 719-7745.

TACTIX GYM

ATHLETICS

FORMFITNESSMAG.COM

If just doing CrossFit isn‟t enough to keep you satisfied and you‟re feel-ing the need to take out a little ag-gression or just plain hit something, then Tactix Gym in downtown Van-couver was built for you. Tactix Gym has had a number of celebrities and television stars training within its walls including, X-Weighted host Paul Plakas, Hollywood celebrity trainer Ramona Braganza, UFC fighter Chuck Liddell‟s head coach John Hackleman, Human Target‟s Mark Valley, Smallville‟s Tom

Stones (if you happen to be in the mood to lift some solid concrete balls), full sets of bumper plates, spin bikes, cables, dumbbells, Dyna-max med balls, Rouge pullup/squat systems, and floor to ceiling climbing ropes, and this is just from what you can see in this picture. Hybrid also offers CrossFit classes. Need we say more? For more information call (604) 817-6357 to learn more about all Hybrid can offer you.

www.tactixgym.com

www.hybridathletics.ca

HYBRID Photo credit: Rob Sombilong

Liz Rosa may be FORM FITNESS‟ head photog-rapher, but she spends so much time behind the camera we thought it was about time she got in front of the lens and graced our cover. Beautiful and talented, Liz is one of Vancouver‟s most sought after photographers, travelling between Vancouver and LA to improve her skills and maxi-mize her already impressive portfolio. She has done photo shoots for a number of well known print and website publications all over North America, and is the go-to choice when it comes to Vancouver‟s own Harbour Dance Centre. Blessed with an artistic eye, Liz is in high demand when it comes to headshot and fashion photography for many actors, dancers, and entertainers, includ-ing newly signed artists at Interscope and Universal. Since graduating from Langara, she has booked work in Toronto, LA and here in Vancouver, and her ever expanding images have caught the attention of a number of fashion, beauty and clothing lines across the North America. A simple glance at her website will find you star-ing at a number of well known faces she has photo-graphed...and for Liz, the sky‟s the limit.

www.lizrosaphoto.ca

Form Profile: ROSA Liz

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With the barefoot trainer race on a number of companies are scrambling to find their way into the market and it looks like the new adiPURE Trainer by Adidas may be making a sprint for the lead in the race. While the de-mand for barefoot trainers is still a small piece of the run-ning/training shoe demand (3-5%), there is a loud cry by these barefoot enthusiasts for more selection and an end to the Vibram monopoly on the market. The Adidas adiPURE Trainer‟s are without a doubt the most comfortable barefoot trainer we at FORM Fitness have tried to date. Fitting like glove, the adiPURE Trainer feels very similar to a scuba diving bootie, but with more toe freedom, and the slightly thicker soles are much more forgiving when climbing over small rocks or pebbles.

www.shopadidas.ca

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Looking for the ultimate guide to help with your MMA training? Then you should check out the aptly named Ultimate MMA Conditioning by Joel Jamieson. This well written guide is filled with some of the most scientific and useful conditioning information for combat athletes that you will ever find. Each chapter is broken down into understandable and easy to grasp language, and the scientific jumbo is kept minimum and is instead translated into layman terms so anyone can utilize Joel‟s information with ease. His chapters are aimed to help you de-velop endurance, strength and power while making sure none suffer at

the cost of another. www.ultimatemmaconditioning.com

Now you never have a reason to miss your speed bag workout again! The Burn Machine is the answer to the days you can‟t make it to the gym, or it can be your best companion at the gym. Great for developing hand speed, strength, and power, the Burn Machine is an invaluable tool in your fitness arsenal. Simple to use, the Burn Machine is basi-cally two weighted spinning handles available in one of three weights: 4,8 & 12lbs. We tried out the 12lb one personally and found it to be one heck of an upper body workout, making the piece of equipments name ring painfully true. Go hard or go home, right? It also in-cludes a great circuit training DVD featuring UFC fighter Kyle Watson.

theburnmachine.com

Any fan of BodyRock, CrossFit, MMA conditioning, Caveman training, or just good old fashioned bootcamps, can‟t get by without a solid sand bag for their func-tional training program, and The Ultimate Sandbag delivers. The same one used by fitness guru and BodyRock.TV host Zuzana Light (see last issue), the USB is made from a super strong outer vinyl shell and rubber reinforced handles (5 in total) allowing for any number of move-ments including swings, farmer walks, log get-ups, cleans and presses. www.ultimatesandbagtraining.com

LOCKER ROOM

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How many times has your grip strength (being able to hold onto the bar) been the limiting factor in your Exercises...deadlifts and shrugs, with the fingers giving up before the larger muscles of the back and shoulders resulting in missed strength and mass gains. Not anymore! With Fat Gripz you can now take any regular dumbbell or barbell and turn in into a strongman fat grip bar. Fat Gripz are the best tool you can have in your gym bag to supply forearm shredding, wrist swelling, finger numbing strength gain. Try slapping a pair of these onto your bar before doing any farmer walks, reverse curls, pull-ups or rows, and see the difference. But, be ready for a slight dampening of your ego, as you will see you have some weaknesses to work on!

www.fatgripz.com / www.roguecanada.ca

Everybody‟s looking for a boost at the gym: lotions, potions, pills, and powders, but what if we told you that real result improvement may be all under the tip of your tongue? Enter the Under Armor ArmourBite. As far back as ancient Rome, warriors and athlete‟s bit down on small pieces of leather to keep their teeth from clenching, hence improving strength and flexibility. Under Armor used that same methodology bringing it into the 21st century with the AmourBite. Available in 3 styles: a conditioning mouthpiece, a super strong alloy con-ditioning mouthpiece, and a full contact mouthguard, the ArmourBite is also available for custom fitting. The mouthpiece fits over your lower or upper teeth (depending on model) just like a common mouthguard, except the unique design which counteracts clenching of the jaw allows for more movement of air in the airways resulting in 25% less lactic acid buildup, increasing strength by 20%, decreasing stress and improving response times to both auditory and visual cues.

www.armourbite.com / www.jawshield.com / Also available at Sport Chek

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One of the most important pieces of training gear any true practitioner of MMA or BJJ can own is a good quality Gi, and who would have known that right here in Canada, you can get one of the best quality Gis in the world. Enter the Redstar „Stamp‟ and Competition Gis. Redstar is based out of Toronto, Ontario, and their Canadian-made Gis are quickly becoming a must have for any true student to the art of ground fighting. Their catchy designs and rich colors (available in black, blue and white) will leave a lasting impression in addition to their high quality fabri-cation and tough durability. Redstar‟s flagship model Stamp has recently undergone some massive design changes with the help of client feedback, which is always welcomed, to improve their amazing Gis. Stamp comes 100% pre-shrunk to avoid any surprises after washing in a 450 Pearl Weave jacket fabric, slim fit with longer sleeves, a reinforced thick and stiff collar and with 12 oz cotton canvas pants. And if that weren‟t reason enough to get a Redstar Gi, the company also ships across Canada for no charge, saving you quite a bit of money in ship-ping and brokerage fees which come from American or International shippers. Keep an eye out for their new line of rashguards, shorts, gloves, thai pads

and focus mitts coming in June. www.redstarbjj.com

Walk around any gym in the world and you will without a doubt see a lot of over developed chest muscles trying to burst through tight t-shirts at the gym, but what really stands out is a sever lack of well developed back muscles and posterior del-toids (rear shoulders). This is due to a number of reasons: 1. The chest is seen by the trainee more often, so people tend to train what they can see. 2. There is a huge range of chest exercises available, and everyone knows how to tweak an exercise to get a little better result, such as twist-ing the dumbbells in at the top of a fly, or using the cables from a number of angles. 3. The back only seems to have a few exercises that give it any help: pull-ups (if you can do them), pull-downs, which helps the back with width „the wings‟, and a few variations of bent over rows with dumbbells or a barbell, many of which load the lower back significantly. The main problem with the back is that to get

thickness, you need to go heavy, and the angle of a barbell doesn't allow for a natural alignment of the wrist, forearm and back, creating a weak grip, and in turn creates a weak or lighter than needed pull. That was of course, until now. The BackBull by Cardin is a simple but revolutionary tool to add to any true lifters fitness regimen. Created by Dan Cardin, a former bodybuilder and current personal trainer, the BackBull is designed to give you the best and most effi-cient back workout of your life. Dan literally tried dozens of variations on angles and designs to bring you the BackBull. The entire point of this tool is to allow you to maximize your back training through body weight on a simple Smith ma-chine, and allows you to avoid the lower back loading exercises mentioned pre-viously. The BackBull. Simple. Efficient. Safe.

www.thebackbull.com

FORMFITNESSMAG.COM

You need to open your mind to moving an object that you might otherwise imagine impossible. Visualize, see it and do it. If you think you can’t, you won’t.

An extreme athlete is someone who is involved in activities perceived as having a high level of inherent danger. So when it comes to lifting something heavy, like a car, there‟s only one group of people that can handle that kind of task: Robin Wright and his team of BC Strongmen. Strongman training is definitely not your average day at the gym. Training can include lifting logs over your head, pulling trucks, lifting cars, flipping 600lb tires, and carrying 800lb yokes across the gym floor on your back. How‟s that for a days‟ training? This type of training is not for the faint of heart, yet Robin Wright is get-ting ready to launch a new Strongman certification course throughout the west coast in association with Incorporate! personal training continuing educa-tional courses. And according to Robin, the point of the course is not to turn all the attendees into Strongmen, but rather to teach you how to place Strongman training principles into your own training regimen, increasing strength gains through the roof, and breaking any of the plateaus you may have hit in the past. We managed to catch up with Robin recently and get the low down on Strongman training and the BCEA.

What exactly is Strongman training?

Strongman training is the practical ap-plication of power and strength to un-ordinary objects.

How did it begin historically? The

origin of Strongman is very old. To the time of Celtic Warriors and Vikings, even as far back as the Greek Olympi-ans. Highland Games is best known as the grandfather of Strongman. 100-150 years ago men and woman had to be strong just to live, if the tire on the trac-tor needed changing they changed it ,

LIFT! with

BC’s

EXTREME

ATHLETES By Rory McMillan Photos by ShotsByRick

A Week in

Strongman Land. How does your training match up?

Monday: Legs and Core,

Tire work and Rope work

Tuesday: Back and Bi-

ceps, Log Press and Atlas

Stone work

Thursday: Chest and Tri-

ceps, specific Grip work,

Farmers Holds

Saturday: Stretch and

Cardio

FORMFITNESSMAG.COM

heavy or not, it had to get done. There has also always been some people who were exceptionally strong. These people sometimes made a living showcasing their great strength in shows or exhibi-tions.

What kind of training should someone do if they want to get begin to train for strongman training? In my opinion the best training to enter into strongman is obviously the events themselves but the core exercises like deadlift, squats, power cleans and incline or over head pressing is most effective and translates into the best functional power. You need to open your mind to moving an object that you might otherwise imagine impos-sible. Visualize, see it and do it. If you think you can‟t, you won‟t.

What pieces of specialized equipment should one look at to really train for a

strongman comp? If I were to pick 3 pieces, I would choose an Earth Mover Tire, Log Press and Atlas Stones. These are classic and events you will find in almost any true strongman event.

What's an average weeks training like? Ideally, a week‟s training would look like: Day 1. Legs and Core exercises, Tire Flips and Rope work. Day 2. Back and Biceps, Log Press and Atlas Stone work. Day 3. Chest and Triceps, Specific grip work, Farmers hold. Day 4, Stretch and Cardio. You can make your programs basic like this or very complicated. But adding in some element of events to your train-ing will go a long way to enhancing your competition technique. I have learned firsthand that stretch is underrated and the long term damage that can be done when NOT done.

I'm guessing that you are working only the ATP-CP energy pathway when you train mostly, would this be correct? I would have to say most strength athletes train in that aspect, fast burst of power then longer rest peri-ods. I think of tire flipping, powering through an 800lb tire for reps, the reps need to be fast, as you are pushing power and cardio together. Energy reserves are very quickly depleted and take time to recover.

What are some of the events that are seen in a strong-man comp? Log Presses, Tire Flips, Farmers Walk or Stand & Hold, Car

Keep a lookout for BCEA courses as they will be presenting seminars in Association with INCOR-PORATE! Personal trainer CEC provider in BC.

Visit www.xathletes.ca for further details.

YOKE ATLAS STONE

LOG

TIRE & HAMMER

Deadlifts, Car Flips, Truck Pull, Ob-ject Loading, Dumbbell and/or Keg Pressing, Squatting for Max Weight, Medley Courses, Weight Carry for Distance, and Atlas Stones are some of the events that you can expect to see.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE