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Yoga · Fitness · Lifestyle
CrossFIT or CrossSICK? Are you fit enough to crossFit?
99%
PERSPIRATION
work it out and rev it up Exercise your way to the
PERFECT CHATURANGA BEAUTY FROM WITHIN a diet for gorgeous skin
iGITA
Oakville’s newest hot yoga club
global mala’s sweat equity
PG 26
KEEP FIT FALL FASHIONS
YOGA
Celebration BECOME THE CHANGE YOU NEED!
WINTER 2010 WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM
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CONTENTS
PG.16 / PG.68
WINTER 2010
YOGA
FITNESS
16 / Yoga Celebration
73 / I-On Fitness
Not Perfect, But Present
17 / Style Guide Don’t Hit Your Mat Without This
20 / Asana Exercise Your Way To the Perfect Chaturanga
FEATURES 12 / Yoga Celebration Become the change you need - and discover the secret of yoga
27 / Fall Fit Fashions WORK - it out – REV- it up! Strut your stuff in Lulu’s fabulous fall collection
57 / Profile
Interview with Kimberly Fowler- Yoga for Athletes pioneer and NIKE’S new face of yoga
71 / Crossfit Siege On Fitness A new way of working out is change the landscape of fitness. Welcome to the house of pain!
6 / Publishers Note A journey from ambition to meaning
7 / Se Contest Your chance to win a fantastic Sweat Equity Lifestyle Transformation
8 / Editor’s Note Welcome to the magazine
9 / Advisory Board Our Team of Experts
10 / Community Sweat special events around the GTA
22 / Studio Profile
Downward Dog Yoga Centre
A BETTER YOU 24 / Soul Sweat Navigating The Soul a simple exercise to create what you want by William Michael Forbes
LIFESTYLE
68 / W.O.D Work Your Assets
67 / Cross Training Are You Fit Enough to CrossFit
SWEAT 63 / Judge Me By Results 62 / Take 10 61 / Steady HIIT of Cardio
STUDIO PROFILE 59 / Totum Life Science
26 / 99% Perspiration When Global Gets Local
FOOD 32 / Whole Health Neon Chips, Fluorescent Cereals and Rainbow Coloured Foods - are we paying a steep price? by Jane Durst Pulkys
34 / Soul Kitchen
A Fresh Take on an Old Favourite
36 / Delicious Living Eat. Live. Breathe – at L.A.B. Restaurant
IN EVERY ISSUE 40 / Eco- Centric 42 / Beauty Bare Essentials by Kristen Ma
44 / Beauty 46 / En-Lighten Up My Other Car Is A Yoga Mat by Beth Lapides Cover photo credits Yoga: Paige Veira model Fitness: Nathane Jackson model Liana Louzon photographer
Profile, Competition and Challenge
47 / Marketplace
PG.27-30
NUTRITION 55 / Fuel 10 Nutrients Men Need
53 / Fuel Product Review
52 / Fuel Exotic Fuel
SPORTS & SCIENCE 51 / Yoga For Athletes Iron Warrior to Iron Yogi
49 / Dr. Ken Getting the Body You Want by Dr. Ken
48 / Marketplace WINTER 2010 | WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM 5
« PUBLISHER’S NOTE
A BETTER YOU IT WOULD SEEM rather glib to remark that our health—physical, mental and spiritual—is of greatest importance. Yes…of course it is. Children at age 3 or 4 know or sense this truism. And those in retirement years may regret not making the holy grail of overarching health a life long pursuit. After all, the poorly-termed sunset years have the potential for being supernova years in stamina, creativity, contribution, world and self-discovery. The Greeks understood the synergy between physical fitness, diet and contemplative practices, as did the Chinese and Indians. Over the past 100 years we’ve seen the advent of yoga in the West, advanced physical training methods, human performance sciences emerge and radical insights into nutrition. In 2007 there were 10.46 million people practicing yoga in the US, with 1.2 million starting each year. Personal fitness and healthy nutrition has crossed from a fringe fanatic following to a national cultural awareness. Thanks to mainstream media and the internet, we now see fitness and internal health at the forefront of our culture. This indicator speaks powerfully of where we will be in the 22nd century. This inaugural issue of Sweat Equity sets a high bar: a bar of publishing a great eclectic buffet of articles and resources that explore yoga, fitness, nutrition and lifestyle in ways that are engaging, pragmatic, thought-provoking, surprising and inspiring. Sweat Equity reaches out to leading experts worldwide for meaningful insights and useful information in all fields touching our core presentation of yoga/fitness/lifestyle. We bring in writers with stories and experience—written for those who are searching for more.
« THIS IS A JOURNEY FROM AMBITION TO MEANING »
What does Sweat Equity mean to me? Simple. 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. What we put into personal training, nutrition habits and yoga pursuits (sweat) is ownership (equity) in a more healthy, productive and profound you. What is sweat a measure of? Sustained effort. Discipline. Consistency. Intensity. Burning. Abstaining. What does sweat bring? Change. Flexibility. Breath. Stillness. Self-awareness. Accomplishment. Exhilaration. Celebration. Through Sweat Equity, we are recording for you the fitness/nutrition/yoga equivalent of Thomas Edison’s deliberative insight: “Genius is 1%inspiration and 99% perspiration.” My mantra is: “Life is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” And this magazine speaks to this equation of being catalyzed with spirit (inspiration) and sticking to the path of self-improvement (perspiration). Why am I doing this? Sometimes, when I see things, I think they should be different, and so I change them. Sometimes I see things, and I want to improve them, so I do. Sweat Equity is my attempt at doing. This is a journey from ambition to meaning. We aim to reach the everyday committed and the weekend warrior. Our intention is to give inspiration, information, anecdotes, background, and practical knowledge so you feel supported on your journey. Our magazine will explore social issues that impact us in mind, body and spirit, all with our goal in mind: for you to go forward creating the life you want and a better you!
Fred Antwi, Publisher
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Exclusive interview with ‘Yoga for Athletes’ pioneer KIMBERLY FOWLER! Flip to fitness
»
THE RIGHT HABITS CAN BRING POSITIVE CHANGES INTO YOUR LIFE, WHICH IS WHY WE’VE DECIDED TO GIVE YOU THE CHANCE TO WIN A SWEAT EQUITY LIFESTYLE TRANSFORMATION! In partnership with some of the city’s best businesses and organizations, we are providing the opportunity for one deserving individual to embark on a journey to ‘a better you’ – inside and out! As the lucky winner, you will receive a prize pack that will assist you with your sweat equity transformation through yoga, fitness, lifestyle, food and community. These are the pillars of our sweat equity lifestyle and we want to help you use them!
HERE IS WHAT THE WINNER WILL RECEIVE: YOGA: 3 months of free unlimited yoga; FITNESS: 3 month gym membership and a consultation with your very own trainer; LIFESTYLE: a gift card from GNC, Life Is Good and Titika Active Wear; FOOD: a gift card from Whole Foods Market and a consult with a holistic nutrition specialist; COMMUNITY: An opportunity to volunteer with a reputable organization and feel great about giving back
We’ll video you, blog about you, post your progress ..and you’ll appear in our spring issue!
Visit sweatequitymagazine.com & click Enter to Win to nominate a special person in your life for a chance to be picked for our Sweat Equity transformation. Send us a photo and a description in 250 words or less telling us why you feel this person should win. All entrants will be posted on our website so you, the readers, can vote for whose life you want to help change. Facebook, Tweet or blog our contest details to help your top pick earn votes. The person with the most votes by contest deadline will win!
Contest deadline: December 31, 2010 by midnight.
PREMIERE ISSUE
« EDITOR’S NOTE
This is, quite possibly, the tenth version of my first note as Editor in Chief of Sweat Equity.
PUBLISHER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR Fred Antwi fred@sweatequitymagazine.com Editor Sandy Braz editor@sweatequitymagazine.com Editorial Director /Promotion Manager Debra Antwi debra@sweatequitymagazine.com Art Director Smith Production Manager/Staff Writer Sarah Lichtman production@sweatequitymagazine.com Copy Editor Alicia Skoons Contributors Adam Benton, Jason Bird, Sara Elizabeth Ivanhoe, Jane Durst Pulkys, Mary Luz Mejia, Signe Langford, Tara King, Liana Louzo, Zabrina Way, Dave Draper, Brent Bishop, Sheldon Shannon, Diane Bruni, William Michael Forbes, Dr. Ken Kinakin, Beth Lapides, Pamela Lee, Kristen Ma, Leslie Pepper, Amanda Suede, Ruth Tal, Advertising Director Boss Antwi sales@sweatequitymagazine.com Circulation Fred Antwi circulation@sweatequitymagazine.com While every effort has been made to ensure that advertisements and articles appear correctly, Sweat Equity Lifestyle Media Group cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage caused directly or indirectly by the contents of this publication. All material is intended for information purposes only. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of its publisher or editor. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part prohibited without written permission from the publisher. Owned and published by Sweat Equity Lifestyle Media Group 6-1500 Upper Middle Road West Oakville, Ontario, L6M 0C2 email: info@sweatequitymagazine.com Sweat Equity Magazine is published 4 times a year (January, April, July, October) For advertising/sales inquiries please contact sales@sweatequitymagazine.com Printed in Canada on paper from a sustainable source using vegetable-based inks. CONTACT US Readers are invited to contribute comments, views and photos. Article submission and photography should be emailed to: editor@sweatequitymagazine.com. MODEL/PROFILE SUBMISSION If you are interested in being considered for a model profile feature please submit photos to: editor@sweatequitymagazine.com
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How do I begin to tell you what sweat equity is anyway? In a world of consumption, mass production, dollars and cents, I think we’re reaching that tipping point of opportunity to invest in our own actions once again; to give the value of our passion and drive, a bump in its stock, and to remember what it means to put in a hard day’s work and feel like you’ve accomplished something spectacular. To us, that’s sweat equity. I thought about how I would describe our magazine if you and I met at a party. How could I summarize what we’re all about in one minute or less? Well, I think it would go something like this: Whether it’s spending hours at the helm of a bike’s handlebars navigating the city streets, running in the grassy borough hills, sweating on a yoga mat, training for a marathon, making healthier food choices or raising a family, through all of this, it’s the love of the journey and our drive to do something great – for nothing in return other than the pleasure of sheer satisfaction – that defines the value of our personal sweat equity. With that in mind, think of this magazine as a resource of stories, articles and workouts that offer you a glimpse into that very lifestyle, whereby what you put into your journey you will surely get back. In every issue (we publish four times per year) we explore how fitness, yoga, community and food create a focal point in our lives and bind us together as friends, co-workers and neighbours. We feature reviews on gyms and yoga studios, profiles on local instructors and athletes and the best place to grab healthy food on the fly. Here, you’ll have a place to ‘nerd out’, as we say, over the things that make the yoga and fitness communities special. We’re an evolving publication and we look forward to each issue as an opportunity to learn more about you, our reader. We want to hear your ideas about what you want to see in our next issue (due out January 2011); we want to know who you are, where you train, your favourite yoga studio, your thoughts about healthy living and giving back to the community and what you do to keep yourself beautiful, both inside and out. The last part of our story is that we don’t charge for what we feel you deserve to know: we’re a free publication. All we ask is that you support us by spreading the word about what we’re doing and who we are. Pass this issue on to a friend in your class, a colleague in your network or the person standing in line ahead of you for a latte. Simple and doable and just another way you can do a lot, with a little sweat equity. Breath in, peace out, Sandy Braz
“ Yoga Celebration” “ Crossfit Siege on Fitness” “ Yoga for Athletes”
ADVISORY BOARD / CONTRIBUTORS »
Kristen Ma Kristen is an Ayurvedic practitioner and co-owner of Pure + Simple Inc., an independent chain of holistic spas in Toronto. She’s the author of Beauty: Pure + Simple and writes the popular blog, holisticvanity.ca. There, she shares her thoughts and knowledge on Ayurveda and it’s beauty benefits. Visit her spa at pureandsimple.ca WillIam Michael Forbes For almost thirty years William has been a trusted expert in the area of self-help. He is an inspirational speaker, writer, healer, teacher and personal development coach. His program, Navigating The Soul, helps its participants identify the root cause of their behaviour, problems and thought patterns and has proven to be helpful in treating those dealing with depression, anxiety, stress and relationship issues. Visit behappyin15minutes.blogspot.com Jane Durst Pulkys, BSc RNCP Jane has appeared on television and radio providing sound advice and sharing insight on the many facets of healthy living, particularly in a corporate context. She is recognized as a powerful motivator, well respected speaker and facilitator with credits around the world as an educator of balanced living through options of holistic care. Learn more about Jane at creativehealth.ca Dr. Ken Kinakin Dr. Ken is a chiropractor, certified strength and conditioning specialist and a certified personal trainer who teaches across Canada and the United States. A competitive power lifter for over 20 years, Dr. Ken regularly lectures to doctors and personal trainers about weight training, rehabilitation and nutrition. He is the clinic director for the AIM Health & Wellness clinic and rehabilitation and training centre in Mississauga. He is the author of Optimal Muscle Training and the founder of the Society of Weight-Training Injury Specialists – SWIS. Visit aimhealthgroup.com Diane Bruni One of Toronto’s most celebrated yoga teachers, Diane– co-owner of the Downward Dog Yoga Centre in Toronto – has been studying various forms of yoga for over thirty years. Through her pursuits in yoga, she strives to understand and support the needs of the individual, approaching each class as a gateway to a magical healing journey. In 2000, she was able to communicate this approach to mass audiences, filming 65 half-hour episodes of Breathing Space Yoga. The show has been airing around the world ever since, and is today shown regularly on channel ONE. Visit downwarddog.com Jason Bird, RMT Jason is a certified personal trainer, a certified CrossFit Trainer and a Registered Massage Therapist with 20 years of experience in the fitness industry. In addition to being a two time Ironman, Jason has competed in numerous triathlons and running events throughout his fitness career. A varsity football player, Jason graduated from McMaster University with a degree in Kinesiology. Jason has motivated and challenged hundreds of Burlington area residents to be the fittest and healthiest they can be and to achieve things that they never dreamed possible. Jason co-founded Crossfit Connection in 2008. In, 2009 at 39 years of age, Jason competed in the Crossfit Games in California and finished as the Canada East Champion. crossfitconnection.com Brent Bishop, Bcs Kinesiology A highly sought after personal trainer and coach, author, actor, fitness model and functional conditioning host of the series, Body Fuel. This renowned fitness expert’s business endeavors include managing elite personal training studios in both Canada and the U.S. and he is currently the owner of Think Fitness Studios. Bishop is also the author of his soon to be released book, The Think Factor, a practical model for healthy living and optimal performance. He is a member of the Canadian Fitness Professionals Association, the American Council on Exercise and has worked with Olympians, sports stars, actors, corporate clients and both amateur and professional athletes. Visit thinkfitnessstudios.com Please go to sweatequitymagazine.com for more details about our fantastic team of contributors! WINTER 2010 | WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM 9
S p e c i a l
Relaxation, weight loss, self-empowerment – whatever your goals iGita is there to assist you on your journey.
igita.ca
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Power Yoga Canada We are excited to announce the opening of the FIRST Power Yoga Canada Affiliate Yoga Studio in Toronto! Now you can enjoy your favourite PYC teachers in Mississauga at Clarkson Village or in Toronto at Liberty Village.
Yoga in Motion
poweryogacanada.com SPRING 2011
iGita Hot Yoga Club, Spa & Boutique is the ultimate urban oasis. A unique members-only hot yoga studio located in the heart of downtown Oakville promises no over-crowded classes and lots of individual attention. They have a full service wellness centre offering Classical Osteopathy, Certified Kinesiology, RMT, Bowen Therapy, Reiki, mannies and pedis, meditation classes and so much more….including the addition of Nzyme on the second floor. Nzyme is a RAW, vegan, organic restaurant and juice bar that is giving a whole new meaning to fresh and delicious!
e v e n t s
Join over 400 other yogi’s in a motion to find a cure for breast cancer. Yoga in Motion is looking for volunteers for the next event starting this fall.
yogainmotion.ca
Sunday, Sept 26, 2010
Oakville Launch
iGita Hot Yoga Club
Grand Opening! September 18, 2010
« COMMUNITY
Scotia Toron Wate mara
Join 23,000 ru marathon’s 21s Phillips Square
torontowate
a r o u n d
t h e
G T A
COMMUNITY »
unners from 40+ countries for the st Anniversary Celebrations at Nathan e, in Canada’s #1 big-city marathon.
erfrontmarathon.com
Weekend to end Women’s cancers
During one amazing weekend, September 11-12, 2010, thousands joined together along with CP24’s Mika Modolo and walked in the battle against all women’s cancers.
endcancer.ca Sunday, October. 3, 2010
abank nto erfront athon
September 11-12, 2010
Have an event you want to see on this page? Send us a photo and description to events@sweatequitymagazine.com
CIBC Run for the Cure The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure is Canada’s largest single day, volunteer-led fundraising event dedicated to raising funds for breast cancer research, and education and awareness programs. Join thousands of Canadians of all ages and from all walks of life by participating in the Run.
cibcrunforthecure.com
WINTER 2010 | WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM 11
« YOGA | FEATURE
YOGA
Celebration
BECOME THE CHANGE YOU BY ADAm BentOn
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FEATURE | YOGA »
« WHAT DOES YOGA HAVE TO DO WITH NATURE AND THE EGO? WELL, EVERYTHING, REALLY »
As a protective mechanism, the ego continuously strengthens itself through physical training of the body, conditioning and education of the mind, securing a ‘comfortable’ place in the world socially and financially, and so on. Basically, the ego always looks out for itself, even at the expense of others.
REFLECT FOR A MOMENT. After all, isn’t all knowledge ‘hanging’ somewhere in some collective consciousness? Often, learning is remembering, or recognizing something distantly familiar. As a cohesive and practical system, yoga was developed over five thousand years ago. Why did it take this long to become popular? Five thousand years! There have been many yogis throughout history, but never was the system so widespread as it is today. Is there something about yoga that stunted its growth in the past? Ancient yogis recognized powerful effects of this practice on one’s physical, energetic, and mental constitutions. As a service to the world, the rishis of the past sent out a wish into the future (a mental projection of sorts) that whenever the planet needs this ancient wisdom, it would re-surface.
NEED!
And like a seed planted long ago, yoga popularity has germinated, sprouted, and now become a beautiful bloom with all of its traditions, styles, and variations. Obviously, the need is here and now. The world needs its message. Why? What is so special about yoga? What did ancient yogis foresee? They saw ego. Yes, a huge ego, growing into billions of faces and invading hundreds of cultures. The ego, or the sense of separateness, is an essential part of the mind. It places us in the infamous human predicament: ensuring our physical and mental safety, but robbing us of the continual experience of inner peace.
When dealing with other egos, there may be conflict. If unregulated, conflict may grow into war. History has shown how prevalent wars have been in ‘solving’ ego’s problems. However, when dealing with the natural world, which has no ego and doesn’t consciously wage war, there is consistent, on-going abuse, overuse, and destruction. As a conscious human being living in today’s world, you already know the damage caused by the constant onslaught of human ego-driven activity on our precious planet. This is where yoga comes in. but what does yoga have to do with nature and the ego? Well, everything, really. WHAT IS YOGA, ANYWAY? UNION. RIGHT? Union of everything: body, breath, mind, inner self, and every other living and nonliving thing in the entire existence: rocks, plants, animals, other humans, everything. Yoga is a realization that there’s oneness behind everything and this oneness is who you are. It’s inexplicable in words or thoughts, but one feels it anyway, when, suddenly but often enough, one peeks beyond the mind’s constant chattering. This experience of oneness, of yoga, of lasting inner peace and happiness, is the opposite of ego, the sense of separateness. In fact, yoga, and absolute happiness, are experienced only when the ego is clear, or, to use the language of yoga, purified. Once the ego is pure, yoga happens naturally. This may seem unexpected for some of you, but, as a science and a practical system, yoga primarily deals with the mind. It may begin with the physical conditioning of the body - postures and sequences to gain physical control, but all to get a handle on the mind.
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« YOGA | FEATURE
According to yogic wisdom, to control the mind perfectly is the most difficult task in the universe. The body is much easier to control. Gradually, the transition is made from the physical to the subtle energetic and mental exercises. WHAT ABOUT YOGA‘S SECRET GOAL?
experience of yoga. Imagine if people could sustain ego-less existence for periods of time long enough to feel compassion for all other beings on Earth. As yogis, awake to our inner nature and in union with our environment, ever conscious of the One essence behind all, we realize that we are inseparable from Mother Earth.
Imagine what would happen if large numbers of people had an authentic
The purpose, or goal, of yoga becomes our purpose in life. We realize that it is our
inherent duty to take care of our planet and all its creatures, to live in harmony, as a family, as brothers and sisters, with all. As yogis, we become ecology-warriors, messengers of Peace, and guardians of Mother Nature, and of Life itself. We realize that we are the caretaker-species; and that is why we have our intelligence and the energy for this grand task. We naturally dedicate our lives to alleviate the suffering of others, create peace in the world, raise our common consciousness, and awaken others to their true nature and the unity between all life.
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« THE PURPOSE OR GOAL, OF YOGA BECOMES OUR PURPOSE IN LIFE »
NO ADDED SUGAR
So this is the seldom-told secret about yoga: its goal is to bring about change in the world – global transformation of consciousness. This is what has been projected by the great rishis of the past as a means to save our precious Mother Earth and learn to live in harmony and love. Why is this a secret? Perhaps, ‘hidden’ or ‘unapparent’ may be better words. It is unapparent about yoga that it has such a deep transformational effect on one’s consciousness. Often, yoga comes into one’s life through the back-door of the ego. People are usually attracted to yoga because of the ego. The reasons for starting a yoga practice range from getting a yoga-butt to searching for inner peace. Thus, the ego plays a crucial role in one’s path to self-discovery and ego-purification. With the regular practice of Love for the body, mind, and heart, yoga practitioners transform. There are countless examples of such yogis, and you may very well be one of them. So thank you for your work. This is a celebration. Please continue on your path, inspire others by example, and become the needed change we want to see in the world.
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« YOGA | YOGA CELEBRATION
NOT PERFECT, BUT PRESENT By Sara Elizabeth Ivanhoe
« I LOVE WHEN A STUDENT GOES FLYING OUT OF A BALANCING their face, the sounds they make and – POSE...THE hopefully- the laugh they get from doing it. In that moment when they are falling, the IMPERFECTION imperfection connects me to them, we are totally in the now, totally together in union, CONNECTS ME yoga- and it is the mistake that brought us there. TO THEM...” » My heart goes out to the students whom I see pushing, yanking and straining themselves into postures because they think it will help their practice. Instead of learning to relax, fl ow with grace and breathe, I’ve seen yogis come out of a yoga class feeling more stressed out than when they went in. It is wonderful to be passionate, precise and courageous in our yoga, but is it really about an agenda? Don’t we spend enough time trying to “get things right?” Instead of mechanically doing the same yoga postures you did yesterday, practice being a yogi. Try asking yourself
questions like, “Where in the body does the breath travel?” or “Where can I be more grounded?” Or even better, “Where can I relax without collapsing?” It will help you focus on the real goal, which is being totally accepting and present with what is. I may not be doing a triple back fl ip with a twist, but when I practice, I am here in this body right now. When I show up and “not push,” I stop “doing the yoga” and start “being the yogi.” I step into myself as I am right now. I am not perfect, but present.
Want to share your yoga experience and see your story published? We’re looking for unique, endearing or funny stories about your first yoga experience or a yoga-moment that you would like to celebrate. Send your story to editor@sweatequitymagazine.com. 16 WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM | WINTER 2010
Photography by DavidYoung-Wolff.com
My teacher, Erich Schiffmann said it best,“If you want to push yourself in yoga, push yourself to show up often.” With a chuckle, he would add “Once you’re there, there’s no need to push yourself. If you do, you get hurt. Then you get mad at yoga, and it’s not yoga’s fault. It’s your fault, for pushing yourself.” Most of us begin yoga because we want to feel better. We want to be healthier, have more energy and feel more at ease with ourselves and others. But somewhere along the way, our deep- rooted patterns of perfectionism have transferred onto our yoga practices. We’ve taken our daily struggle to be the best, to achieve and to excel, into our yoga- completely defeating the purpose. Our drive towards perfectionism has origins way before the yoga mat. We want to be the ideal parent, the model employee, an exemplary spouse. All the time we are striving for perfection, we are missing life along the way. It is the nuances, the imperfections, the mistakes that bring us back to our own hearts and into the present moment. How endearing is it when someone you love, in a totally non-perfect, non-graceful way, hits the ketchup bottle one too many times and ends up spilling it down their white shirt? Don’t you just love them for doing it? What about the smile that it gives you, the laughs that you share and even better, the story you get to tell about it? “Remember the time you spilled ketchup down your white shirt?!” It is hard for us to believe the same goes for the yoga room, but I swear it does. As a teacher, I love when a student goes flying out of a balancing pose. I love the look on
Photo courtesy of Kimberly Fowler
STYLE GUIDE | YOGA »
DON’T HIT YOUR MAT
WITHOUT THIS!
The 411 of yoga styles, their benefits and what to expect in your next class
By Adam Benton
So you want to try yoga but have no idea where to start? You’re not alone. Along with yoga’s boost in popularity over the last five years, there’s been a host of styles seen on yoga studio schedules across the country, which is a good thing since each style has its own set of benefi ts to offer, but the selection can be overwhelming, particularly for the yoga newcomer. Before you can experience the myriad of benefi ts yoga offers, it’s important you know what you’re getting into, literally, when you step on your mat. to get you started, we’ve pulled together a yogastyle guide of the most popular (meaning, most often practiced) styles to help you determine which one is ideal for you.
what to expect Hatha yoga can be used interchangeably with many “yoga” styles. this is a good place to learn basic poses, relaxation techniques, and become comfortable with yoga. A hatha class will have moderate stretching and likely involve some simple breathing exercises and perhaps seated meditation. where to get it Maureen Rae’s Yoga Studio, Etobicoke Mraesyogastudio.com Vinyasa
hatha
Like hatha, vinyasa is a general term that is used to describe many different types of classes that encompass flow, meaning that one pose flows into the next, connected by the breath. Vinyasa tends to be a more vigorous style based on the series of poses called, surya Namaskar (or “sun salutations”).
Considered the umbrella of yoga, “hatha” refers to any physical type of yoga (there are styles of yoga that are spiritual and meditative only). if a class is described as “hatha” style, expect it to be gentle to moderately paced, providing a good introduction to the basic asanas (poses).
what to expect A vinyasa class will typically start with a number of sun salutations to warm up the body for more intense stretching that’s done at the end of class. if your yoga class schedule lists a vinyasa class, expect lots of movement and a good sweat!
where to get it Yoga Space, Toronto yogaspace.net ashtanga Ashtanga, which means “eight limbs” in sanskrit, is a fast-paced, intense style of yoga that follows a series (first, second and third series) of postures. Ashtanga practice is very physically demanding because of the constant movement from one pose to the next; it is also the inspiration for what is often called “power yoga”, which is based on the flowing style of ashtanga, but does not necessarily keep strictly to any of the set series. what to expect Be ready to be challenged! Ashtanga yoga is a sweaty, aerobic form of yoga and is often touted as a workout. if you’re planning on trying ashtanga, simply be aware of your physical limitations in performing certain postures. Most teachers will modify the series to make it more adaptable to a wider range of people. where to get it Ashtanga Yoga Centre of Toronto Aystoronto.ca
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« YOGA | STYLE GUIDE
Iyengar
Bikram or Hot Yoga
Based on the teachings of the yogi B.K.S Iyengar, this style of practice has an intense focus on bodily alignment. Iyengar practice emphasizes holding poses over long periods versus moving quickly from one pose to the next (flow) like in ashtanga. Also, Iyengar practice encourages the use of props, such as yoga blankets, blocks and straps, in order to help bring the body into alignment.
Pioneered by Bikram Choudhury, this style is generally referred to as “hot yoga”, although various brands of hot yoga are now practiced today, particularly in Western cultures. It is practiced in a room heated to between 95 and 100 degrees Celsius, which allows for the loosening of tight muscles and profuse sweating. This is thought to be cleansing. The Bikram method is a set series of 26 poses, but not all hot classes make use of this series.
Where to get it Iyengar Yoga School of Toronto, Toronto Iyengaryoga.ca Kundalini The emphasis in kundalini is on the breath in conjunction with physical movement, with the purpose of freeing energy in the lower body and allowing it to move upwards. All asana practices make use of controlling the breath. But in kundalini, the exploration of the effects of the breath (also called prana, meaning energy) on the postures is essential. What to expect A kundalini class begins with a chant followed by a warm-up to stretch the spine and improve flexibility. The main work of the class is called a kriya, which is a prescribed sequence of poses and pranayama that focuses on a specific area of the body. Kundalini is one of the more spiritual types of yoga and seeks to go beyond the physical aspects of poses. Its emphasis is on breathing, meditation, mudras and chanting. Where to get it Kundalini Healing Arts Centre kundalinicanada.com
Sheldon Shannon
What to expect Whether you are athletically super-fit or you haven’t lifted anything other than wine and cake for the last few years, this form of yoga will whip you into shape and increase your mind-body connection. You’ll be sweating and so will your classmates. If you have a problem with this, then this isn’t the style of yoga for you. Be sure to bring a large towel to class, along with a bottle of water. If at any time during the class you begin to feel dizzy, lightheaded, nauseated or if you have a headache, take a break and lie down on your mat and drink some water. Where to get it Active Yoga, Toronto Activeyoga.ca Anusara Founded in 1997 by John Friend, anusara combines a strong emphasis on physical alignment with a positive philosophy derived from tantra. The philosophy’s premise is belief in the intrinsic goodness of all beings. Anusara classes are usually light-hearted and accessible to students of differing abilities. Poses are taught in a way that opens the heart, both physically and mentally, and props – like blankets, blocks and straps – are often used. What to expect Anusara classes are positive and fun. These classes include vinyasa flow and a lot of alignment work. Anusara encourages the use of props making classes accessible to students of all levels. Anusara appeals to those who want to work both their physical and spiritual wellbeing. Where to get it Free Spirit Yoga, Mississauga Freespirit-yoga.ca
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Photography by Liana Louzon Model Sheldon Shannon
What to expect Since the Iyengar method is so precise, Iyengar teachers must go through two to five years of study before being allowed to teach this method, so you can be sure that they possess the necessary qualifications to teach this very serious method of yoga. When you take a class, expect a lot of verbal and physical adjustments from your teacher. In other words, if you prefer to be left alone as you down-dog, you’ll have to step out of your comfort zone.
Toronto-based yoga teacher,
STYLE GUIDE | YOGA »
Jivamukti This style of yoga emerged from one of New York’s best-known yoga studios of the same name. Jivamukti founders, David Life and Sharon Gannon, take inspiration from ashtanga yoga and emphasize chanting, meditation, and spiritual teachings. they have trained many teachers who have brought this style of yoga to studios and gyms, predominantly in the U.S. (although there are teachers in the GTA who teach this style). these classes are physically intense and often include some chanting. what to expect Jivamukti is a vinyasa style practice and classes can be physically intense. each class has a theme – such as focus on a body part, ailment or spiritual blockage - which is explored through yoga scripture, chanting, meditation, asana, pranayama and music. Attend class at the Jivamukti yoga school in New York, and you may find your mat next to such Hollywood and music industry celebrities as Gywneth Paltrow, Christy Turlington, Russell Simmons, and Sting -- all devotees of this method. where to get it Jivamukti yoga, toronto Jivamuktiyogatoronto.com
4. Proper diet (Vegetarian) 5. Positive thinking (Vedanta) and meditation (dhyana) what to expect A typical sivananda class includes pranayama and is slow paced, allowing for a full exploration of each pose. After warming up with sun salutations, the focus is on mastery of the twelve basic poses: sivananda will appeal to you if you want to take it slow and gentle. you will learn to fully reap the benefits of its featured postures. where to get it Sivananda Yoga Centre, Toronto Sivananda.org
For a complete listing of yoga studios in the region, please visit our website www.sweatequitymagazine.com and view our directory.
moksha Moksha Hot Yoga was founded in toronto in 2004, by yoga teachers Ted Grand and Jessica Robertson. Moksha has quickly gained popularity and has over 30 affiliated studios around the world, predominantly in Canada. A set series of 40 poses is done in a hot room; Moksha is designed to be both accessible and challenging, supporting life-long health. what to expect A type of hot yoga, the Moksha series begins and ends with savasana (corpse pose). Students are often invited to set an intention for their practice before moving into a series of standing poses. Once warm from standing poses, the class moves on to a floor sequence that includes hip openers and spinal or upper bodywork. Moksha is designed to be very accessible for beginners and a great place to start your yoga hot practice. where to get it Various locations around the GTA Mokshayoga.com sivananda The first Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre was founded in 1959 by Swami Vishnu-devananda, a disciple of Swami Sivananda. there are now close to 80 locations worldwide, including several ashram retreats. The Sivananda method is based on five key principles: 1. Proper exercise (asana, focusing on twelve poses in particular) 2. Proper breathing (pranayama) 3. Proper relaxation (savasana)
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« YOGA | ASANA PAGES
Exercise your way to the 4 steps to master perfection By Sandy Braz
Execution of the perfect Chaturanga Dandasana – the four-limbed, staff pose that flows into an Upward Facing Dog (or Urdhva Muhka Savanasana) is the yogi secret to toned arms, core strength and synchronized breath. In fact, ever notice how the body of the experienced yogi seems to levitate inches over the floor in this pose? Beginner yoga students transitioning into the intermediate phase of yoga instruction are particularly daunted by what appears to be an effortless pose. Repeated practice of Chaturanga may result in the novice becoming highly aware that specific parts of his or her body lack the strength and endurance to execute this very necessary pose. it’s aLL in youR stRengtH: The key is to focus on strengthening four main body parts: the chest, shoulders, triceps and core, which are the areas that, once developed, will help you achieve the perfect Chaturanga. This conditioning can be achieved through one simple exercise you can do at home: push-ups! Try this to prep your body for Chaturanga:
The push-up is the primary exercise to help you to achieve this conditioning as it works both the chest and shoulders while also targeting your triceps and core. Start with modified push-ups, one to ten repetitions for three sets or as many as you can do without breaking your form. When these push-ups become easy, graduate to traditional military pushups and begin practicing the four steps to the perfect Chaturanga.
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Photography by Liana Louzon Model Diane Bruni
PusH-uPs
ASANA PAGES | YOGA »
1. High Plank Position your shoulders right over your wrists. While maintaining them pulled away from your ears, keep your body in a straight line. Press your hands actively into the floor, fingers spread, creases of the wrist parallel to the front of your mat. Keeping your abdominal muscles tightly held in, maintain your neck and head in line with your spine. Stay focused as you hold this position for 1-3 breaths. Flow with an exhale, as you begin to come down into low plank. 2. Chaturanga Dandasana (Low plank) Elbows bent to 90 degrees,
firmly pressed against the ribs, extending your breastbone forward and keeping the tops of the shoulders lifted. Stay for 1 to 3 breaths 3. Urdh va Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog Pose) Roll over on to your toes, remaining low, in preparation for upward facing dog, where you will inhale lift the chest through into upwardfacing dog. Make sure your shoulders are directly over your wrists and press evenly into the base of each knuckle. Once your chest is open and lifted, raise your head and gaze up.
4. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward –Facing Dog pose) Push back into your heels to downward –facing dog. Spiral your inner thighs and hug your shins towards each other. Draw your belly and ribs towards your spine and lengthen your body. Lift your arms away from the floor as you press your shoulder blades flat into your back and melt the centre of your chest towards the earth. Notice how there are only two breath cues – that’s because chaturanga happens in a short time span – just an exhale and an inhale. It moves fluidly and quickly.
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Where the city’s yogis come to work it all out
« YOGA | PROFILE
DOWNWARD DOG YOGA CENTRE By Sandy Braz
There are the few studios that have helped pioneer ashtanga yoga in Canada the way The Downward Dog Yoga Centre in Toronto has. There are even fewer that have lasted more than a decade in the ever-changing landscape of the practice that has been deemed, much to the yoga community’s chagrin, “trendy”. So, what keeps the city’s most devout yogis coming back? Founded by friends turned business partners, Diane Bruni and Ron Reid, the studio has become a mainstay in the yoga community, not only locally, but abroad as well. The studio’s yoga teacher training program, which has been running for the last decade, attracts students from around the world, from the United States to the UK. To date, it’s turned out hundreds of graduates, many of whom have gone on to create their own full-time careers in yoga.
« YOU HAVE TO TEACH WITH KINDNESS, BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER. »
So, how does this quaint and yellow-walled, two-room studio perched above a bar on trendy Queen West draw some of the most devout ashtanga yogis, including celebrities like Sting? (The rock star has been a student at the studio over the years, while on tour).
Photography by Tim Bermingham
good question
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Bruni, who started practicing yoga more than 30-years ago, says it’s all about the energy created in every class which is also a good way to tell if a yoga studio or teacher is right for you. “Kindness.” Diane says after a brief pause. “You have to teach with kindness, because that’s what people will remember.” Bruni’s long-time business partner, Reid, who has a devout following at his popular Yoga Jam classes, bends the rules of traditional ashtanga yoga, improvising with vinyasa flow and inversions to create a twohour class
PROFILE | YOGA »
that leaves both yogis and newcomers drenched in sweat and inspired to deepen their practice. Luckily, the class is held three times per week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays) to accommodate its devotees. For some students, going to class at the studio is therapeutic, both physically and mentally, giving them a break from the intensity of living in one of the busiest cities in the country. For others, it’s an opportunity to study with two of the industry’s best, a rarity in a city where yoga studios seem to open and close as often as coffee shops. Both Bruni and Reid bring their own unique vibe to each class:
Bruni, for instance, has her son drum for her popular Ujjayi Pulse classes – a highlight that helps people keep time with the their breathing. For Reid, it’s ending a class in savasana or “corpse pose” with a recording from his band Swaha, a passion project he takes on the road several times a year – as far as Thailand and Mexico – with his fellow musician and partner, Marla Meenakshi Joy, also a teacher at the studio. The reputation of Downward Dog precedes it, with many newcomers admitting that they were reluctant to attend classes there. “I used to be intimidated to come here,” says Liz, a regular at the studio for more than a year. What enticed her to finally give
a try was the studio’s newcomer-friendly pricing – just $20 for a week of classes and just $10 for students. “It squashed my excuse to not at least try it out,” continues Liz, who regularly attends Reid’s classes. “Now, I can’t stop coming – it’s my number one source of exercise and stress relief.”
Downward Dog Yoga Centre, 735 Queen Street West, 2nd floor downwarddog.com For the full version of Diane’s interview, check out sweatequitymagazine.com and click on studio profile.
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« A BETTER YOU | SOUL SWEAT
NAVIGATING THE SOUL
A simple exercise to create what you want By William Michael Forbes
The truth? Positive thinking alone isn’t enough to get you where you want to be in life. In fact, setting goals will give you direction, but can only be realized by doing the work. Certainly this is not the most popular perspective with the self-help advocates out there, but that doesn’t mean that positive thinking and goal setting don’t work, it just means that they need to be part of a total package if you really want transformation. How do you access the power that positive thinking has to offer? Check out our plan to help you get into the right frame of mind. YOU TRY… AND THEN YOU TRY AGAIN Initially you can be very passionate about what you would like to do with your life; take courses and classes, read all the books on happiness and success, be inspired by amazing people and their achievements. But I’ve seen this happen before, only to watch people’s efforts, money and energy dwindle away with little or nothing to show for it after yet another attempt at improving health, relationships and career. So, why does this happen? Because positive thinking is a powerful tool for changing your life, but it needs a companion – action – in order for it to be effective. POSITIVE IN, ACTION OUT Your thought, idea or goal, if it is exciting enough, will start a flow of electrons and chemicals in your brain that cause your body to react in very precise ways. For example, I have an idea that I want water. I’m thirsty. If the desire is great enough, my actions will comply – eventually, I will seek out and find water and drink it, satisfying my thought or idea to “find water.” The same applies to your personal goals. Your thoughts will be directed through your body as actions that support the specific outcome of your idea. The effects that are occurring in your life right now are effects of thoughts. So, in essence, control your thoughts, effect your actions. START SMALL When I had difficulty sleeping thirty years ago and first tried this process, it didn’t work well. My thought for going to sleep was, ‘I’m going into a deep, deep and peaceful sleep.’ I’d repeat the thought for a long time and still be squirming in frustration, until one night I realized the way I was thinking was actually making me anxious to fall asleep. I experimented by making my thought sound like I was really sleepy...I even stretched my arms as if I was sleepy and
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yawned as if I were really tired. To my surprise I fell asleep without even realizing it and awoke having had my first good eight hours sleep in twelve years. Since then I can fall asleep easily within five minutes and even tell my body to wake up before the alarm goes off. Try this: SELECTIVE THOUGHT PROCESS This is a simple and easy exercise you can do every day, to develop the skill to produce emotions and feelings that will support you in creating what you want, help you sleep better at night and quiet your mind-chatter easily. I suggest trying this with something you struggle with, such as getting a good night’s rest or battling food cravings. Start small, then work your way up to more challenging changes. 1. Pick a single feeling that you would like to experience more of and a thought or idea that represents that feeling. For example say you choose the thought, “My mind is calm, peaceful and quiet.” Think or say the thought to yourself in an internal or external voice that sounds as if it is true and notice what you feel immediately after saying or thinking it. 2. Repeat this five or six times. Increase the tone of your thought or voice to sound more and more like what you are saying or thinking is really true. After each repetition, notice what you feel, notice how your body is responding, observe what is occurring in your mind until you’ve done this at least five or six times. 3. Write down what you felt each time you applied this exercise to your daily life or share the results with a friend or spouse – it’s ideal to keep track so you know where to improve the process. After doing this exercise people notice that their breathing becomes relaxed, their mental chatter decreases and muscle tensions diminish. You can use the above process with any thought or idea that you’d like to create. You can choose any thought you want to experience – fewer cravings, more confidence, reduced stress – but I suggest you start with something which will give you fairly easy results like getting to sleep, calming your mind, releasing tension from your body, being more alert at work or being a good listener. Try tackling the simpler items on your list before you move into other areas like better relationships, more money or increased business opportunities. It’s the small ‘wins’, as they say, that will eventually add up to big rewards.
Now you can travel light and nutritionally smart
The pocket-size pak that paks a performance punch GNC has done the science. All you do is open the pak and get the nutrition your body craves. Now you can travel light while still getting the performance support you need. GNC’s performance program for active women and men delivers the energy and nutritional support your body requires when it is achieving peak performance. And it’s all in one handy, organized little Vitapak that you can pop into your pocket. Take it to the gym, to the track, or your next yoga class. Women’s Ultra Mega® Active Vitapak and Mega Men® Sport are small, light, optimally nutritionally balanced packs of premium multiple vitamins and minerals. The energy-enhancing, muscle supporting, thermogenic formula helps boost metabolism, optimally burn calories and enhance cellular energy utilization, while antioxidants protect your cells from damaging free radicals. Unique to Women’s Ultra Mega Active Vitapak are calcium, vitamin D3 and magnesium to assist in building bone, with calcium 650 mg added as an extra bone-builder. Potassium and chloride help regulate body fluids. Unique to Men’s Mega Men Sport are branched chain amino acids which help reduce protein breakdown during intense exercise, and a nitric oxide maximizer that works to maintain blood vessel tone. GNC Women’s Ultra Mega Active Vitapak and Mega Men Sport. Easy and convenient, they’re the no-sweat way to take your supplements – because you sweat enough.
Visit GNC.ca for the location nearest you © 2010 General Nutrition Centres
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« LIFESTYLE | 99% PERSPIRATION
Photography by Amir Magal
When global gets local
Photography by Nicole Shabada
The annual Global Mala brings yoga lovers together from around the world, right in your own backyard By Amanda Suede
On September 18, 2010, something special was happening not far from where you sit right now. And it surrounded the number “108” and a whole lot of yoga. One-hundred and eight is the number of times yogis from around the world, including those in the GTA, repeated Surya Namaskar (or “Sun Salutation”) to celebrate the Global Mala – an awareness event created in 2006 by renowned yoga master and teacher, Shiva Rea. Why 108 times? According to yogic tradition, there are 108 “pithas” (sacred sites) throughout India. In the same tradition, it is also believed that there are 108 marma points (sacred places in the body). also, mathematicians of the Vedic culture once saw 108 as a number of the wholeness of existence; this number also connects the sun, moon, and earth, as the average distance of the sun and the moon to earth is 108 times their respective diameters. This number, 108, has other ritual significance in Indian culture. It’s estimated that tens of thousands of people participate each year in the mala in an effort to raise local awareness around global issues, through yoga. Even though it’s a hugely popular event, the day remains grassroots in its approach, drawing on volunteer yoga teachers, musicians and donated practice spaces in which to hold the event.
Photography by Nicole Shabada
One of Toronto’s many Global Mala gatherings took place beneath the historical wood and steel beams of the recently restored (2008) Artscape Wychwood Barns in Toronto’s St. Clair and Christie neighbourhood. The yogis in attendance were invited by 889 Yonge yoga studio and spa. The studio’s Yoga Director, Nicky Poole, says that the day was also an opportunity to raise funds and awareness for the Canadian charity, schools Without borders. (www.swb.ca) “We were able to raise $21,000,” says Poole, “to help build a community centre and an acre of land for a community garden in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya.” Other teachers volunteering that day included, Michael DeCorte, Davian Den Otter, Amica Hilton, Marla Joy and Ron Reid. Each teacher led 18 rounds of the Sun Salutation. “The coming together of different people, from different countries, cultures, traditions, religions and yoga styles reminds us that, at heart, we are all the same,” adds Poole. “We all wish for happiness, we all long for peace.”
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Photography by Amir Magal
FEATURE | LIFESTYLE »
LORI scoop neck tank: Supportive tank with a built in bra, perfect for all levels of activity. Luon fabric is 4 way stretch and flat seamed for ultimate comfort. wunder under crop: Medium rise and flat waistband with a hidden pocket to keep your valuables, great for yoga and the gym. Gusset provides comfort and room for movement.
Who says you can’t look runway-worthy while perfecting your plank pose? On the mat, in the park, or on the way to the café to meet that neighbourhood hottie for a quickie (we mean coffee of course), you can step out in stylish comfort with Lululemon Athletica’s Fall 2010 collection. By Mary Luz Mejia
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« LIFESTYLE | FEATURE
Keeping in line with catchy, cat-walk palettes, Lululemon packs a punch with their hot pink hoodie or concord grape, body hugging front-zip jacket. The perfect companions to the sleek black or steel grey silhouettes preferred by any fashionista on the go. Flat seamed, moisture wicking, chic and versatile- athletic wear today is fashion-forward enough to take out to lunch, especially if that coffee date went well! Check out our picks for this season featuring local Lululemon Ambassadors and trainers, Lori Kirwan (Eaton Centre), Jason Inglis (Scarborough), Michael DeCorte (Queen Street) and Ruth Sheridan (Oakville)
« Pair it with jeans for a casual feel »
Jason Top & bottom perfect for warm up and the professional personal trainer. Both items are moisture wicking and flat seamed so less chafing for the busy guy! Lori Define jacket is the classic piece for to and from the yoga studio, straight to coffee with your girlfriends. Special features include a zipper garage and pockets to hold your valuables. Michael Response shorts have a built in coolmax liner, accessible pockets
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FEATURE | LIFESTYLE »
JASON
MICHAEL
Photos: Liana Louzon Stylist: Ashley Braz Makeup: Valeria Nova Hair: Urban Textures
« Match these up with a pair of jeans after class and you’re good to go for a meet up with friends »
Ruth scuba hoodie: Ultimate comfort piece for the fall/winter! Available in variety of colours to match your mood, zipper garage and pockets, and longer sleeves for additional coverage. reverse groove short: High waist for further coverage and support. Great for cycling, hot yoga and running. swift bra: High support bra, cross straps for additional support. Appropriate for all high impact activities.
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« LIFESTYLE | FEATURE
Evil Twin Emotion Sickness Jacket $175 Dolce Vita Vanessa Black Ankle Bootie $275 “Next best thing to bare feet!” says Sweat Equity stylist, Ashley Braz
LNA Crop Tail Back Tank $75
“ 60’s and 70’s sophistication i Should the occasion turn into something more seductive, the cutting-edge designs at Jac Flash will take you from casual to chic and sexy faster than you can slink into a slip dress. 60s and 70s sophistication is du rigeur this fall with draped dresses that range from innocent and pretty to metallic rock’n’roll glam.
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He’ll be sporting military-nuanced, structured jackets, armyinspired lace-up boots, and dare we say, derriere defining jeans in the darkest navy blue because what happens after dark stays between the two of you.
Alice + Olivia Gabby Embellished Taupe Dress $595 Dolce Vita Vanessa Black Ankle Bootie $275 Hyden Yoo Black Masbro Jacket $445 Nice Collective Black Hack Jean $200 Bedstu Prego Viking Boot $275 Christy’s Straw hats $40-$65
Nice Collective Co-Op Inset Sweater, $150 Bedstu Prego Viking Boot $275
is du rigeur this fall..” Jac Flash has become a destination for the fashionably inclined and is a space that blends style, glamour and music seamlessly! WINTER 2010 | WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM 31
Models: Moonzir Butt / Ashley Braz Photos: Liana Louzon
FEATURE | LIFESTYLE »
« FOOD | WHOLE HEALTH
NEON CHIPS, FLUORESCENT CEREALS AND RAINBOW COLOURED FOODS – are we paying a steep price? By Jane Durst Pulkys, BsC RNCP, Clinical and Holistic Nutritionist
As I left my recent seminar about health and wellness at a local high school, I noticed a significant lack of energy from the students – they seemed lethargic and fatigued. I had no doubt that this was linked to the “foods” they were munching on during the talk. It’s never far from my mind that, in our world of food, burgers reign king and dairy is queen. We’re certainly more removed from whole, natural foods then we were even just 10 years ago. And, I see it in my work everyday; fatigue, weight problems, digestive issues. Unfortunately, it’s our kids that are paying the price for this increase in mass-produced and unnatural food. Identifying the problem. Truth is, there are five new food groups available today: fast, frozen, fried, refined and processed. These categories contain foods that are void of vitality, water, enzymes, minerals and fibre. Not to mention the over 250,000 types of chemicals added to them to make them taste good so you keep coming back for more! Unless changes are made, many health professionals suspect that up to 50 percent of the population will be in trouble. We take daily precautions to safeguard our bodies by wearing helmets and seatbelts yet we knowingly consume products that have alarmingly high amounts of processed sugar, chemicals and trans fats, thereby exposing ourselves to deadly diseases like diabetes and obesity. More than half of us are doing this on a regular basis. But how did we let this happen? Some say it’s because of an outdated Canadian Food Guide. Created more than 50 years ago, it is still generally accepted, mass marketed, recommended by professionals, taught in schools, and also supported by Canadian farmers. The guide however, is lacking in the promotion of fibre, B vitamins and vitamin E, so it’s no wonder that childhood obesity problems and diabetes are on the rise. It has even been shown through studies that the food we’re eating today isn’t even as nutrient-dense as it was when the Canadian Food Guide was first created. Something to think about.
How do we make this easy and enjoyable? Life is about balance. As a Holistic Nutritionist I strive to educate my clients to follow the 80/20 rule. It is what you do 80% of the time that matters most. Keep your food clean and whole 80 percent of the time; the other 20 percent is for those special weekend occasions or treat days. Rather than focusing on the negative, I look at this as putting emphasis on the positive. Instead of taking
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all of the bad foods away and feeling deprived, I encourage clients to add healthy foods into their diet – one every day. The beauty of doing this is that in effect, you help to create a healthy craving. The more you eat this way, the more your body craves the right foods and the old habits just fall away…and so do the extra pounds! No one wants to be lectured, but a little encouragement to make good choices goes a long way. My professional opinion and personal belief is that you should wake up every day feeling fantastic and go bed feeling fantastic. Trust me, with a good diet, it’s possible.
So what can we do today? Keep it real. Eating foods that exist in nature is the first step. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and protein should make up the bulk of your grocery cart. If your food comes in a bag, box, pick up window, or has a bar code, it’s probably not in its original and natural form. If it had to pass a chemistry lab on the way to your mouth, don’t eat it. If you can’t read the ingredients, don’t eat it. If it is in the middle of the grocery store it is probably processed. We need to eat foods that have all their goodness intact. These are the foods that provide the vitamins, minerals, enzymes and essential fatty acids. We need 42 nutrients each day to keep our body biochemistry alive and well for optimal health and cellular repair. Mineral deficient foods cause overeating since the body never finds what it’s looking for. The more you eat white, refined carbohydrates, the more you’ll crave them, depleting your body of essential minerals over time. If you look down at your belly and you are not too happy with its size, ask yourself if it got there by eating fruits and veggies? Think like a healthy person. Eating should be fun. It should bring up good emotions and help make us feel good. Even our own thoughts can affect our vitality, so be kind to yourself. Remember that simple things like drinking more water, not eating too late, and exercise, all help to give our vitality a boost. Enjoy real food and teach children to develop these same healthy habits. Do something good for yourself every day and watch the miracles happen! Have a question? Email me at feedback@sweatequitymagazine.com.
« FOOD | SOUL KITCHEN
Our Soul Kitchen columnist dishes her recipe for Toronto’s most loved veggie pattie
When we think about what feeds the soul, there’s more to it than just a spiritual or zenful source – there’s food. Our Soul Kitchen section is a place you’ll find some instant gratification – a tease for your taste buds and a little inspiration for your inner chef. These recipes not only fill your belly, but your soul, too, featuring fresh and whole ingredients that deliver as much taste as they do substance. Just another way your sweat equity (in the kitchen) can serve up a few hearty rewards.
At Fresh, we take our veggie burgers seriously. They are mouth-wateringly good and a vegetarian food so good that you won’t miss the meat! To strike the ideal balance between flavour and fuel, our high-protein burgers are made with
By Ruth Tal, founder of Fresh Restaurants
a variety of vegetables, grains, tofu, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices. So, why am I giving away the recipe to one of our bestselling menu items? Because food this good deserves to be shared. Enjoy!
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The Fresh Mushroom & Onion Burger is so delicious and filling they can be served without the bun to accommodate your diet. The burger mix stays fresh for up to three days in the fridge and can be conveniently frozen for future meals.
SOUL KITCHEN | FOOD »
The Fresh Mushroom and Onion Burger *Makes 6 Fresh burger patties The Goods: • 1 cup filtered water • ½ cup *uncooked hulled millet • ½ cup *uncooked pearl barley • 3 tbsp. *sunflower seeds • 1 ½ tbsp. chopped almonds • 2 tbsp. chopped parsley
• ½ red onion, chopped • ¼ cup grated carrot • ¾ cup firm tofu • 3 tbsp. grated beets • 1 ½ tbsp. tamari (low sodium soy sauce) • 2 tbsp. spelt flour • 2 tbsp. *Engevita yeast
• ¼ tsp. cayenne powder • 1 tsp. chili powder • 1 tsp. curry powder • 1 tsp. sea salt • |1 tsp. cornstarch • 3 tbsp. mixed dry herbs • 2 tbsp. carrot juice or water
How To: 1. Place millet, barley and water in a small pot over high heat and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let cook until water is absorbed. Put the grains in a large mixing bowl. Let cool. 2. While the grains are cooking, grind the seeds and nuts in a food processor. Add these to the ingredients in the mixing bowl. 3. In the same food processor, puree the garlic, parsley, onion and carrot, add the tofu and process until smooth.
4. Put this mixture in the mixing bowl with the nuts, seeds and grains. Add the remaining ingredients (except carrot juice) and mix thoroughly with a large spoon. Add small amounts of carrot juice or water if the mix is too dry for shaping into patties. 5. Divide and form into 6 patties by rolling the mixture into 6 even balls, then gently pressing down until flat. 6. Pan-fry, boil or grill the burgers until slightly crisp and brown on both sides, about 5 minutes each side.
7. Top the Fresh Burger Patty with sautéed button or Portobello mushrooms and onions (or other healthy toppings of your choice). Garnish with tomato, alfalfa sprouts and lettuce. Dress with your choice of sauce or condiments. * These ingredients can be purchased at your local health food or bulk store
Want to be a part of our Soul Kitchen? Send us your favourite recipe (that uses whole foods and no refined or preserved ingredients) and earn a chance to share your soulful meal idea with the GTA. Email us at editor@sweatequitymagazine.com
WINTER 2010 | WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM 35
« FOOD | DELICIOUS LIVING
Photo: Signe Langford
At l.A.B., Toronto’s newest shrine to good food and good design, things are not always as they seem. By Signe Langford 36 WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM | WINTER 2010
Photo: Mark Tym
DELICIOUS LIVING | FOOD »
A Chef’s Survival Kit
“ ...We simply take the best of what’s out there, old and new.” A lone Brussels sprout sits, bathed in a broth of vegetable stock and ale. At least, it looks like a Brussels sprout. But at L.A.B., looks can be deceiving. Cut into this little emerald gem, and out spills a cleverly concealed purée of parsnip. And that’s just for starters. It’s tempting to pigeonhole Howard Dubrovsky as a molecular gastronomist, but he’d disagree. “The problem I have with the term molecular gastronomy is that it is not well defined. People consider an immersion circulator (sous-vide machine) to be MG but is it really that much more scientific than an experienced chef poaching something at a low temperature? I think people are too quick to label new technology and new techniques as molecular.” According to Dubrovsky, all cooking is molecular. “Every cooking method manipulates the molecules of food. At L.A.B. we rely on classic cooking techniques as much as we do on new techniques; we don’t like to categorize ourselves as one thing or another. We simply take the best of what’s out there, old and new.” He can disagree all he wants, but he can’t deny that his menu is damn playful, experimental, tongue in cheek, and it does borrow techniques from the MG school of science lab cooking. Case in point: smoked tomato salad with Ontario buffalo mozzarella and pliable oil, and from the dessert menu, movie snacks
I’m reading now: My Family and Other Animals, by Gerald Durrell Photo: Signe Langford
I couldn’t get through the day without: coffee
with cola cake, candied popcorn, and Twizzler sauce, or Ritz cracker pie with apple fluid gel and lavender ice cream. Clearly his sense of humour and kitsch is in fine form. A trained pastry chef and proud vegetarian since the age of 14, Dubrovsky’s primary focus during service at his hip little boîte on Toronto’s trendy College Street, is on appetisers and desserts. Taking care of—what may or may not be meat and potatoes; so much kitchen magic, it’s hard to tell sometimes—is Chef Chris Scott, Dubrovsky’s culinary right hand man and the ever-changing menu’s co-creator. Having cooked his way around Italy, the U.K. and across North America along side celebrity chef David Adjey, Scott, a diehard carnivore, engages in his own brand of kitchen slight of hand. Cuts of meat are broken down and reassembled looking nothing like their former selves, egg yolks slowly poach inside vacuum bags at a mere 64 degrees—this would be the sousvide part—and cheddar is caramelised. Together, the pair conspire and create the unexpected, each in turns critiquing, questioning, and encouraging the other. And together, they engage in a healthy dynamic and form a perfect balance, on the menu and during a busy service. “Chris brings a ton of experience to the game. We share very similar points of view on food, style, and plating. We have enough similarities to make our food cohesive, but enough differences to make
I couldn’t get through my life without: coffee To relax I: workout with kick-boxing My favourite culinary destination: New York City My favourite kitchen tool: Chefs’ knife My dessert island herb: Parsley. I adore flat leaf, eat it in my salads. My dessert island spice: Salt If I had to choose, olive oil or butter: I can’t, I love them both, for different applications. My mentor: I have a lot; Heston Blumenthal, Grant Achatz, Thomas Keller, Julia Child and Alton Brown. I take inspiration from many people. My favourite charity: Covenant House, shelter for homeless youth. My favourite meal of the day: Breakfast; any time!
WINTER 2010 | WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM 37
Photo: Mark Tym
« FOOD | DELICIOUS LIVING
“The restaurant business is the sort of business that is both physically and mentally demanding”
L.A.B. Live and Breathe 691 College St., Toronto 416-551-5025 www.labrestaurant.com
Photo: Signe Langford
us good sounding boards for each other, and Chris is a powerhouse in the kitchen. He can cook fast, precise, consistent, and perhaps most importantly, with a definitive understanding of good food.” This is Montreal ex-pat Dubrovsky’s, first foray into the brutally tough world of restaurant ownership, but the man comes well equipped to take it on; and take it on he does, with a Zen-like calm rarely seen in a stressed-out chef. Dubrovsky admits, “I think every restaurant owner is losing it on the inside, some just show it more than others.” The restaurant business is the sort of business that is both physically and mentally demanding, says Dubrovsky, “It’s the hours of a first year lawyer, but entirely on your feet. Staying calm is a survival tactic.”
And the punching bag? Dubrovsky works out whenever he can find the time, and as part of his varied fitness routine—freeweights, plyometrics, yoga—Dubrovsky practices Muay Thai, or Thai-style Kickboxing. “It’s very hard hitting and quite practical. I had the chance to train a bit in Northern Thailand, as well as here and in the States, but my first love was another martial art called Tang Soo Do.” Travel is another big part of what keeps Dubrovsky centred and inspired. At 31, he’s already been throughout Asia, Central, South, and North America, Europe and The Middle East, and his menu is peppered with the culinary souvenirs he brings back, either stashed in a suitcase or filed away in his imagination, to one day become part of his ambitious repertoire.
But even the most serene chef can lose it when the pressure gets to be too much. “Even I blow up from time to time. Such is the industry, and the job. But, a good workout does tend to set me right. Thank God for punching bags!” And since the very centered chef mentioned God and punching bags in the same breath; well, is there a connection between the man’s spirituality, physical exercise regimen, and his sense of calm and balance?“ Signe Langford is an experienced Toronto writer and chef who loves buttery foods and yoga in equal portions. She shares her Toronto Victorian with three sweet rescues: a Chihuahua and two budgies. Visit her at signelangford.com
God in this case is purely an expression; I’ve never been one to subscribe to a religious point of view. Spiritualism for me is found in many things: nature, synergy, joy of craft.”
38 WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM | WINTER 2010
Photo: Signe Langford
DELICIOUS LIVING | FOOD »
RECIPES FROM THE L.A.B.
Photo: Mark Tym
INGREDIENTS 2 cups Arborio rice 2 tbsp olive oil 1 cup pear puree 6-8 cups vegetable broth 1 cup spinach, sliced into ribbons Salt and pepper, to taste Garnish Blue cheese Fried spinach leaves Spinach powder (dry spinach in an oven set on the lowest temp, then crush into a fine powder)
PEAR RISOTTO -DIRECTIONS 1. Sautee the rice in the olive oil for 1 minute 2. Add the puree and cook another minute 3. A dd the stock, one cup at a time, letting the stock absorb before adding the next cup 4. T he risotto is ready when the rice is al dente and there a creamy sauce in the pot 5. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper 6. Add the spinach ribbons right before serving To garnish, crumble the blue cheese over top and lay on the fried spinach leaves (and powdered spinach, if desired)
CARROT and BLOssom soup -INGREDIENTS 2 ½ lbs carrots, (8 cups, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces) 1 onion, roughly chopped 2 tbsp olive oil 1 cup orange juice 10 cups water 1 tbsp orange blossom water ½ cup coconut milk Salt and pepper, to taste DIRECTIONS 1. Sautee the carrots and onion in the olive oil for 5 minutes 2. Add the orange juice and continue to cook another 2 minutes 3. Add the water and cook until the carrots are fork tender
Photo: Mark Tym
4. Puree the soup until smooth 5. Add the coconut milk and orange blossom water, and season with salt and pepper Ginger noodle 1 cup water 2 tbsp ginger (shaved with a rasp) Pinch of salt 1 tbsp agar (or per instructions on the bag) 1. Mix all the ingredients together and bring to a boil 2. Pour the mixture out onto a lined baking sheet 3. Let the mixture set and cut into noodle shapes WINTER 2010 | WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM 39
« IN EVERY ISSUE | ECO-CENTRIC
40 WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM | WINTER 2010
ECO-CENTRIC | IN EVERY ISSUE »
WINTER 2010 | WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM 41
« IN EVERY ISSUE | BEAUTY
Skin care specialist, Kristen Ma, clears up the mystery behind Ayurveda-style beauty By Kristen Ma, Author of Beauty: Pure + Simple
Literally translated, Ayurveda means “science of life” and its secret lies in the intricate and personalized combination of diet, exercise and lifestyle. And, although it’s not an overnight fix you can simply apply with your fingertips, chances are you already have what you need to utilize Ayurveda, right in your home. Energy and your beauty Energy is central to Ayurvedic philosophy. There are three types of energies called “doshas”, which we possess in unique proportions: Vata dosha (air energy), Pitta dosha (heat and fire energy), and Kapha dosha (water and earth energy). When one or more doshas are in excess or deficient, it can lead to skin and body imbalance and even disease. In our culture, we hear about “achieving balance” all too often, but with little or no understanding of what that means to us as individuals – one person’s balance is another’s imperfect measure – we’re left vulnerable to the promises of “quick fixes” and overnight methods. Ayurveda, as a practice and as a science, explores personal balance in order to create the ultimate beauty elixir to last a lifetime.
The Doshas Vata people are open-minded, creative, and highly conceptual; but too much of
this creates over-thinking and anxietyexcess depletes and dehydrates the skin. One of the best ways to combat high air is through oil. Taking oils to nourish the internal body while oiling the skin protects and moisturizes it. Sesame and sunflower oils are best for Vata as they are rich and warming (promoting circulation). Another Vata reducer is slow, restorative yoga, as it helps pacify nervous energy. Pitta is characterized by heat and fire. Those with high Pitta energy are prone to internal heat and inflammation. These are Type A personalities who are natural organizers and leaders. But along with these good qualities comes a vulnerability to rosacea and acne. Typically these conditions don’t mix well with oil, but in Ayurveda the use of coconut oil to helps reduce skin inflammation and bacteria. Also, avoid fried and spicy foods. Kapha elements are earth and water. Emotionally, Kaphas are grounded, sentimental and dislike change. When
42 WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM | WINTER 2010
Kapha is excess, water-retention, puffiness and clogged pores can become a problem. To combat these common problems, hazelnut oil on the face and mustard seed oil on the body to heat and clear accumulation are ideal. Also, good news, a vigorous massage and lymphatic drainage can be great options for a body trying to balance its Kapha energy. When beauty is seen Ayurvedically, it becomes less about vanity or simply “looking good” and more about rebalancing our lives. A balanced life is rewarded with beautiful skin, but can also inspire us to examine ourselves more deeply – it can be an indicator to slow down, eat better or take our exercise more seriously. This kind of self-knowledge isn’t available in a bottle, but, once tapped into, is certainly available in abundance.
BEAUTY | IN EVERY ISSUE »
Your DIY Ayurvedic Facial On the occasion that time or money doesn’t allow for a spa visit you can try following these simple steps to a do-it-yourself facial and take beautiful skin into your own hands.
1. Cleanse: Remove dirt, pollution and excess sebum - Pittas and Vatas should use a gentle, hydrating cleansing milk, while Kaphas can use a more astringent gel wash. 2. Exfoliate: Sloughs off dead skin cells and promotes cell-turnover, allowing products (and next steps) to penetrate more effectively. 3. Steam: Sweat out impurities and porecongestion. Simply bring a pot of water to a boil, take it off the
stove and add herbs you have in your kitchen. Chamomile tea has Pittasoothing properties, while sage leaves disinfect blemishes on Kapha skin. Hover six inches from the pot and drape a towel over your head to trap the steam; 5 minutes max. 4. Mask: after steaming, when pores are open, use a treatment mask. While cooling gel masks calm Pitta skin, rich cream masks replenish Vata skin. Clay masks are best for Kapha skin drawing and drying out congestion. 5. M oisturize: Pittas should opt for calming coconut oil, Vatas benefit most from heavy, fatty, nourishing sunflower and sesame oils, and Kaphas resonate best with hazelnut oil as it is light textured and regulates oil-production.
Ayurveda 101
What’s your skin’s personality? VATA: airy & lightweight energy · Dry hair · Thin, fair skin · Slim body frame PITTA: leaders & “Type A” energy · Prone to acne · Occasional skin inflammation · Visible capillaries KAPHA: grounded & earthly energy · Voluptuous or curvy · Oily skin · Thick hair and strong nails
WINTER 2010 | WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM 43
« IN EVERY ISSUE | BEAUTY
A diet for GORGEOUS SKIN By Leslie Pepper
THE BEST GET-FLAWLESS-SKIN REGIMEN? It’s not a trendy spa treatment. It’s a way of eating. Yeah, yeah, we know that for years, experts said greasy foods and chocolate don’t cause pimples and that overall, what you eat has no effect on your skin. But new research proves otherwise. So follow these four rules on how to feed your face. Lay Off the White Stuff Turns out french fries do cause breakouts. But it’s not the grease that’s the culprit, it’s the potatoes. In one study, researchers looked at 1,200 natives of an island near Papua New Guinea and 115 hunter-gatherers in Paraguay and couldn’t find a single zit in the lot. What’s their secret? “A diet that consists almost exclusively of protein, fruits and veggies,” says Loren Cordain, Ph.D., lead author of the study. Absent from their meals: the simple carbohydrates -- such as white bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and sweets -- that are the basis of our modern diet. These carbs send our insulin levels soaring, and researchers speculate that this sets off a series of reactions that leads to breakouts.
44 WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM | WINTER 2010
BEAUTY | IN EVERY ISSUE »
Look
10
YEARS YOUNGER... Simple food switch: Instead of refined white carbs, go for moderate amounts of complex ones like whole-grain bread, brown rice and whole-wheat pasta (they’re digested more slowly and don’t lead to that skin-sabotaging insulin spike). Savor Seafood Fish is a great source of essential fatty acids (EFAs) like omega-3 and omega-6, which reduce inflammation in the body.”Inflammation triggers the cells to clog the pore, causing acne,” says Nicholas Perricone, a dermatologist and author of The Perricone Prescription. “It also leads to wrinkles down the line.” The fish that contain the most EFAs are salmon, mackerel and tuna (particularly the albacore and bluefin varieties). EFAs are also found in almonds, hazelnuts and flaxseed. Simple food switch: Have smoked salmon for breakfast, eat tuna-fish sandwiches for lunch and swap hamburgers for salmon burgers. If fish isn’t your thing, make a handful of almonds your afternoon snack. Banish Blush Triggers While a little bit of color in your cheeks is flattering, full-on ruddiness isn’t exactly the look you’re after. And certain foods
and beverages, such as spices, cured meats, MSG and alcohol (particularly red wine), cause blood vessels to dilate, bringing on facial redness, says John Wolf, M.D., chairman of the Department of Dermatology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Simple food switch: If you tend to redden easily, pay attention to which foods bring it on, since people have different triggers. If spicy foods get you, order Thai without the curry and steer clear of wasabi when you go for sushi. If you flush after a few drinks, cut back on the booze or at least pass on red wine. Indulge in Olive Oil If you avoid fat for the sake of your waistline, your face could be paying the price. “A lot of young women have dry, flaky skin because they don’t eat enough fat,” says Joy Bauer, a nutritionist in New York City and author of The 90/10 Weight-Loss Plan. If you’re getting fewer than 20 grams of fat a day (roughly 2 tablespoons of oil), your skin may not be able to lubricate itself and your body may not absorb enough vitamin A, which your skin needs to prevent premature aging. Simple food switch: Sprinkle your salad with olive oil and toss in some avocados and nuts. We swear, this won’t have an adverse effect on your jeans size.
« ...french fries do cause breakouts....it’s not the grease ... it’s the potatoes. »
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« IN EVERY ISSUE | EN-LIGHTEN UP
Beth’s very uniquely personal and funny take on living yoga off the mat and deepening her - and hopefully your - experience on the mat. By Beth Lapides
LET IT GO GO Like many yogis, I’m not just a free spirit, I’m a Type A free spirit: always working very hard to let the wind blow me where it will. Of course that extends into over-efforting in my yoga practice. For instance one of my teachers, Dennis, has us do a final lying-down twist in which he adjusts you by lifting you up then laying you down deeper into your pose. “Ahhhh,” I hear all around me. But it just never goes well on my mat. “Grab on,” he says, offering me his hand. I do. “Let go,” he says. Then, apparently, I don’t. Because he says it again more sternly, and then we laugh. “Trust issues?” he asks one day. Sure, I thought. I live in Hollywood, don’t I? “Let go,” he reminds me. “I’m trying,” I say. Of course, trying is the opposite of letting go. Trying is willful. Letting go is willing. Sometimes I feel like I have spent my whole life learning to change one syllable. Sometimes you can fix something on your mat and it resonates 46 WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM | WINTER 2010
in your life and sometimes you need to fix your life before you can see results on your mat. So I looked at my life. And I noticed that I was drinking out of a mug with the logo of a project I was desperately trying to let go of. Everyday, all day, I was literally holding on to it! So I surrendered to shopasana and went out and bought myself some new mugs. I finally took a little time out from patting myself on the back to go to the dentist where, much to my horror, I learned that I’m a chronic hard-core jaw clencher. Jaw clenching is even more the opposite of letting go than trying is. Jaw clenching is seen as a desperate attempt to hide your own stress from yourself.The dentist recommended a solution to prevent oral catastrophe: start wearing a night guard. No way. If I’m going to spend $400 on something to wear in bed, it’s going to be a lot sexier than a night guard. There must be a better way to deal with it, I thought. That kind of innovation-seeking is the good part of being willful. I remembered a CD Jenifer, one of my favorite massage therapists, who also happens to be a hypnotherapist, made after she had felt my jaw clenching last year. At that point I’d rationalized the jaw clenching. I’m a professional talker! Of course my jaw is tight! Now, with the wake-up call from my new yoga teacher; the dentist, I was taking it to heart. So I took it to my mat, and in my practice I directed my consciousness and a blue healing light toward my fifth chakra, the energy centre at the throat, and the area around my jaw. For the first time I could actually feel the tightness. You never know how many times you have to listen to something till you hear it. Until you let go of not hearing it. Like in class when every single day a teacher says something like hug your muscles to the bone, and then one day you are like, “Oh! Hug my muscles to the bone!” I let the tightness go. A little. Then, maybe because it’s my jaw, and my jaw is so near to my brain, I somehow got that “let go” means let and then you can go. Allow and then you can move. Surrender and then flow. Trying is willful. Letting go is willing. Sometimes I feel like I have spent my whole life learning to change one syllable. So I have been letting go. Not just projects and kitchenware, not just tension in my jaw, but also clothes and papers; old ideas and habits. I unsubscribed to my cable TV. I cancelled one of my phones. Stopped eating soy. And now, when I am holding on to something, or someone or some way, it is more often, not out of habit or fear, but because I love it. Like when I was practicing Googleasana; when searching “jaw tension yoga” I found jiva bandha. I’ve been taught other bandha (energy locks), like moola bandha, the floor or first chakra lock, and jalandhara bandha, throat chakra lock. In jiva bandha, the tip of the tongue rests at the roof of the mouth; like you’re saying nnnnnn. As in: nnnnno jaw tension. Besides relaxing the jaw it also stimulates the pituitary gland, essentially the third eye. Wow! I start practicing jiva bandha, which is to say, I catch myself, about a thousand times a day, with my tongue, not in jiva bandha but plastered to the roof of my mouth! Yikes! Let it go! “Give me your hand,” Dennis said yesterday. I did, thinking, “Wow I am really letting go!” “Let go,” he says patiently. And instead of trying, I didn’t try. “Better,” he said. And I smiled. Which does use the jaw muscles, but in a very different way.
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DR. KEN | SPORTS & SCIENCE »
GETTING THE BODY YOU WANT DR. KEN EXPLAINS HOW TO CUT DOWN YOUR TIME IN THE GYM AND RAMP UP YOUR RESULTS By Dr. Ken Kinakin, D.C., CSCS
There are dozens of training styles out there, each of them claiming to give you the best body of your life. But without the knowledge of what each style can really offer, you can end up training in circles. When clients ask me what kind of workout to use in the gym, I give them the breakdown of the four major groups of training. And, although these methods have layers of great details and tricks to make them, this is my prescribed go-to guide when sifting through the menu of physique training options. In exercise physiology we use the SAID principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand) to identify the training style that can offer the end result you’re looking for, whether it’s muscle gain, fat loss or increased strength. Once you figure out what your goals are (and they can be a combination of all of the above, of course), you then apply one of these four training methods to get you to that goal. Physique Training The most popular style of training. Research shows that getting a lean, toned physique is why 88 percent of the people sign up for a gym membership (whether they stick with it and get those results is another statistic entirely). The main focus of this training method is to lose weight and look better. The goal is to increase lean muscle mass, also called “tone”, and decrease fat. The style of training utilizes free weights, machines and some cardio training to increase metabolism.
Dr. Ken with Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Arnold Classic.
Functional Training This method hones in on correcting the body’s weakest points (balance, endurance, strength) through bodyweight exercises such as Pilates, yoga, push ups, squats, chin ups, etc. Equipment like stability balls, kettle bells and bands are also tools used in this type of training – a vast difference from Physique Training, which utilizes weights.
Experiential Training The goal is not outcome based, such as optimizing sports performance, but rather simply for the enjoyment of working out (ideally, this is why we all work out). For example, take a runner that just likes to run everyday and loves the endorphin high they
experience and doesn’t measure distance or time. Whereas most people want a specific outcome like weight loss or muscle gain, this training is mostly about the journey, not the destination. Sport Specific Training The goal is performing exercises that will allow you to play your sport more effectively. This style of training utilizes explosive exercises, such as plyometrics (jump squats, combination power-moves, etc) and medicine ball work, which is a small, weighted ball that can be tossed between two partners or used as additional weight in ab exercises or squats. Although everyone’s needs are different, I advise my clients to change up their styles throughout the year. So this could mean doing physique training in the late spring and summer to get beach ready, while sports specific training is great for late summer, early fall to prepare for hockey and skiing season. Experiential training in the winter and early spring can help rebuild those weak areas in the body and just enjoy training for the sakeof training. This way you never get bored of training and you can achieve all types of outcomes effectively. Dr. Ken Kinakin is a Mississauga-based chiropractor, certified strength and conditioning specialist and a certified personal trainer that teaches across Canada and the United States.
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« SPORTS & SCIENCE | YOGA FOR ATHLETES
From Iron Warrior to Iron Yogi By Fred Antwi
51 WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM | FALL 2010
From pro-football players to professional golfers, athletes from all walks of life are discovering the key benefits of incorporating Yoga into their exercise routine. Whether you are a serious basketball player, marathon runner, or a fitness enthusiast of any kind, yoga helps to improve your game by providing greater strength and mental focus. In fact many male-dominated professional sports teams have incorporated this practice into their workouts, thus supporting its importance to physical fitness for athletes requiring optimum health and peak performance. This hot new trend in fitness is something that has actually been around for at least 5,000 years. Yoga, which literally means “union” in Sanskrit, represents the idea of blending or joining back into wholeness. It is a versatile system of education for the whole body, mind and inner spirit, and is flexible enough to suit the needs of any individual. Yoga can be a way to control stress in a hectic lifestyle, a gentle introduction to a physical fitness regime, a secret weapon in the arsenal of a competitive athlete or a path to greater self understanding; all of which I have experienced to be true!
YOGA FOR ATHLETES | SPORTS & SCIENCE »
IF YOU’VE HIT A PLATEAU IN YOUR TRAINING... YOGA IS YOUR ANSWER. Ask the average hard body to take a yoga class, and the response may be a smug grin that indicates there is no room for the kinder, gentler approach in a proper bodybuilding regimen. That would have been my answer 10 years ago… What many bodybuilders and athletes may not know is that yoga actually has many benefits for them. In fact, if you’ve hit a plateau in your training, been bothered by nagging injuries, or feel your muscles losing flexibility, yoga is your answer. You may even be surprised to find that yoga can stimulate new muscle growth and accelerate your muscular development. How? Listen up! FASCIAL STRETCHING When you think about gaining muscle, stretching is probably not the first thing that pops into your head. But stretching plays a critical role in building muscle. Every muscle in your body is enclosed in a bag of tough connective tissue known as fascia. Fascia is important for holding your muscles in their proper place but your fascia may also be holding back your muscle growth. Think for a moment about your muscles. You train them and feed them properly. They want to grow and will grow but something is holding them back. They have no room to grow! By stretching your muscles under specific conditions, you can actually stretch your fascia and give your muscles the space they need to expand. Yoga postures not only stretch the main muscles responsible for the movement but also stabilizer muscles that contribute indirectly to the movement. This translates to more muscle fiber stimulation, and by extension, faster growth. When Arnold Schwarzenegger was competing, he used to hold bodybuilding poses that could
last hours. Arnold used this tightening and releasing of the muscles - isometric contraction - to gain a competitive edge. Like posing, yoga works the minor but essential muscles that are often hard to hit with weight training. These smaller muscles that we tend to ignore until leading up to a competition, are stretched and toned and will provide stronger and more stable tieins with the major muscle groups. It will also create definition and muscle separation that normal workouts won’t provide. Oh yes, and let’s not forget stage presence and your ability to hold your back double bicep pose without the dreaded shakes. Overall, I would have to say that the recovery benefits outweigh any hesitation for athletes wanting to try yoga. My journey is one from unbridled ambition to meaning. I was a high school football player and started weight training in 1987 to help recover from a knee injury. The inner drive, discipline and profound results from weight training set me on a course of winning ten years of amateur bodybuilding competitions. In 1999 I went professional and garnered the Mr. Canada title. I was at the peak of accomplishment and fame in bodybuilding. Alongside the accomplishment was the near constant aura of body pain. My knees and elbows ached, and after doing leg press and squats for so many years, my quads had become tight and overworked. I realized that for all my physical and mental discipline over twelve years I was missing a huge element in my life. I retired from professional bodybuilding and that interior chasm of missing meaning took me into a physical and spiritual search that led to yoga. In 2003 I started my first elementary hot yoga practice. At first my legs shook
violently during some postures-not because they weren’t strong, but because they were exhausted. The heated room really helped the muscles to relax and allowed me to go deeper into the stretches. Within a few months my muscles were stronger and more symmetrical, and the back, knee and elbow pains had disappeared. I credit this to the yoga Asana which gives muscles and connective tissues an easy stretch, while the slow movements and deep breathing increase oxygen-rich blood circulation to the muscles, removing lactic acid in the fibers and aiding the body to repair itself. These gentle movements also nourish the internal organs, eliminate waste and improve metabolic imbalances. Bodybuilders who incorporate yoga concurrently with their training will discover that the benefits go far beyond the effects of simple muscle stretching and injury prevention. You will also reap the benefits of mental, emotional, and physical balance, thereby improving concentration and endurance. So go ahead! Experience the benefits for yourself. And don’t be surprised if your next pose-down may include a Sun Salutation or two.
FRED ANTWI is a certified personal trainer, 1999 Mr. Canada and former IFBB professional bodybuilder and an avid yoga practitioner.
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« NUTRITION | PRODUCT REVIEW
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WHEY GOURMET NATURELLE Whey Gourmet® can boast about being “The World’s Best Tasting Protein Shake!” because of the meticulous effort put into designing real flavour sensations for each taste experience- available in six delicious 100% natural flavours; no artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners. Amazing taste is joined by high quality ingredients and proven health benefits. Whey Gourmet is made with a blend of the best quality whey isolates and concentrates scientifically designed to provide time released energy. The result is pure satisfaction and several hours of quality energy levels without feeling hungry. Delicious and good for you! Whether you are looking to add lean muscle, tone up, slim down, or just seeking a healthier addition to your diet, Whey Gourmet is the perfect solution. VANILLA BEAN - CHAI LATTE- BLUEBERRY POMEGRANATE - STRAWBERRY BANANA - MATCHA GREEN TEA - CHOCOLATE • 120 satisfying calories! • Low in fat, only 2 grams (18 calories) per serving. • Low in carbs, only 5 grams (20 calories) per serving. • Provides a full serving of protein, 20 grams per serving. • Low in sodium. • High in calcium for strong bones. • Rich in amino acids especially the branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) which help to build and rep lean muscle tissue.
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PVL ISO-GOLD Iso-Gold® is the extra premium whey isolate! The new and improved formula brings together all six of the necessary technologies for superior uptake, delivery and results. …and Iso-Gold tastes great too! TRIPLE THE ISOLATES Iso-Gold features an exclusive trio of the world’s strongest muscle building whey isolates: CFM whey isolate is the highest protein source of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) for true anabolic muscle building. The world’s cleanest whey isolate; this is the one true, gently cross flow microfiltered/cold-dried & patented whey isolate, fully loaded with all the key micro fractions. HYDROFLOW-XP is the premium whey isolate from Australia, a whey hydrolysate enzymatically activated for lightning quick uptake that delivers superior post-workout absorption. ActiNOS, is the fully patented muscle building, arginine-peptide rich whey protein fraction; it pumps more nutrients directly into the working muscle and increases lean muscle N.O. levels (nitric oxide) by 950%! EASIEST DIGESTING FORMULA ANYWHERE Even trace amounts of lactose, which are found in most whey protein products, can be difficult for some people to digest. That is why Iso-Gold has been fortified with Lactase, an enzyme that breaks down lactose, making Iso-Gold the easiest protein to digest. • 54 g pure whey isolate protein • Highest in BCAAs – 12.4 g per dose • Highest in Anabolic Leucine – 6 g per dose • 300% better absorption – patented & proven • Double the immune boosting power • Delivers a broad spectrum of inherent intact whey isolate microfractions • Natural Growth Factors IGF-1 and IGF-2 • No inferior protein • Mixes easily and tastes great
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Photograph courtesy of Ruth Tal
FUEL | NUTRITION Âť
By Ruth Tal, founder of Fresh Restaurants
Fuel is an integral part of operating any machine efficiently. We thought you might appreciate a premium fuel to operate your machine, rather than the low or mid-grade stuff! So here you have it! Premium fuel you can pump into you body with this all-natural shake to give you some extra calories and complex carbohydrates that you can enjoy before or after a workout. Date aLmonD Power sHaKe This drink also doubles as a super protein power shake. The almond butter has a delicate nutty flavour that is enhanced even more by the exotic sweetness of the dates. ingreDients 4 6 oz. 1 1
dates, pitted (soaked in hot water) vanilla soymilk banana, peeled tbsp almond butter
1 tsp. maple syrup ( grade c) 1 shake of cinnamon 4 cubes ice METHOD Soak the dates in hot water for 5 minutes. Put the soymilk, soaked dates and banana in the blender. Start the blender on a low setting while you add the rest of the ingredients. Switch to a higher setting and blend for about 2 minutes. Pour into a tall glass. WINTER 2010 | WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM 52
« NUTRITION | FUEL
By Zabrina Way
Whether it’s meeting deadlines at work, studying for school, playing sports, socializing with friends, or even all of these pursuits in one day, men lead busy lives. If you rely on energy drinks or caffeine to stay strong and energized, look towards a more natural solution —a balanced diet will ensure you stay strong and healthy while on the go. Through a survey of 21,000 people, they found that not a single one was getting all of the nutrients needed for a healthy diet! Here are the top ten nutrients that men need, and some ways you can incorporate them into your diet without a hassle. 1. OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS This is one of the keys to good health, as omega-3 fatty acids help prevent heart disease, the number one killer of men. Obesity and blood pressure are also regulated with these nutrients. The body doesn’t produce them, either, so fatty acids have to be obtained through a healthy diet. Nuts like almonds and walnuts, cold-water fish including salmon and tuna, and leafy green vegetables are good sources of omega-3s. 2. ZINC This nutrient is a major factor in preventing prostate cancer, and helps synthesize testosterone. It also is involved in a healthy immune system and quick recovery from injuries, as well as overall development. Over 100 functions in the body require zinc. Men naturally need more zinc than women. Quality meats including oysters and crab,
chicken, and pork are good sources for zinc. It can also be found in beans, cashews, and almonds. 3. MAGNESIUM Muscle contractions, bone building, and heartbeat, and over 300 body reactions all rely on this nutrient, which also prevents diabetes and blood clots. It is most often found in the body’s bones and tissues, with a little in the blood, but keeping enough magnesium in your diet so your body can regulate these levels properly is important. You can get more magnesium from brown rice and nuts including cashews, almonds, and peanuts. Other sources are halibut, baked potatoes,and apples -- “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” does hold some truth! 4. VITAMIN E This vitamin works with other vitamins like vitamin A and C, and other substances. They
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help reduce the risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, strokes, and more. Antioxidants can be found naturally in fruits like peaches, citrus fruits, papaya, and guava. Fruits that are bright red, orange, or yellow are the best sources, but nuts and poultry meats are also good sources. 5. VITAMIN B6 This vitamin is important because it’s involved in over 100 protein functions throughout your body, your red blood cells, and your nervous and immune systems. It also helps maintain your blood sugar. You can get more vitamin B6 through baked potatoes and bananas, meats like chicken breast, pork loin and roast beef, and fish like trout and salmon. 6. VITAMIN B12 A crucial vitamin that contains the metal cobalt, vitamin B12 helps prevent anemia and make DNA, and is often lacking in a man’s
FUEL | NUTRITION »
A BALANCED DIET WILL ENSURE YOU STAY STRONG AND HEALTHY WHILE ON THE GO
SUPERSTAR SOURCES Instead of snacking on unhealthy food, try these foods:
diet. Foods that come from animals are good natural sources of this vitamin. The best sources are meats, including clams, beef liver, and fish like trout, haddock or salmon. It can also be found in dairy products like milk, cheese, and eggs. 7. FOLATE This nutrient isn’t just for women. It helps reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and clogged arteries. It also helps slow the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive problems related to age. Most men don’t get enough of this nutrient, which can be found in leafy green vegetables and fruits. Some sources are black-eyed peas, spinach, beans, asparagus, or broccoli. 8. CALCIUM Another nutrient that is primarily associated with women’s nutrients, men need this nutrient just as much. Worryingly, more than 55% of men don’t get enough calcium, which can have severe effects. Calcium supports healthy bones and teeth, as well as your muscles, blood vessels, and nervous system. It works to keep your bones strong,
and brittle bones break more easily. Calcium is easily obtained through dairy products like a glass of milk, a dish of yogurt, or cheese. Vegetable sources include green vegetables like kale, broccoli, or spinach. Drinking orange juice is another good way to get a little extra calcium. 9. VITAMIN A Vision, bone growth, and the immune system all rely on vitamin A. It helps white blood cells fight off infection, makes the linings of your respiratory and intestinal tracts more resistant to infection, and even helps your skin become a barrier to infection. This nutrient can be found in animals or plants. Animal sources include beef or chicken liver, or dairy like milk and cheese. Some plant sources are carrots and carrot juice, spinach, kale, and cantaloupe. 10. LYCOPENE This nutrient is involved in prostate health and protection. Red foods like tomatoes, watermelons, pink guava, and pink grapefruit contain good levels of lycopene, but do note that strawberries and cherries don’t. In order
• Bright-colored fruits like apples • Almonds, walnuts and other nuts • Dairy products including yogurt, milk, or cheese cubes • Drink milk and orange juice, fortified or not
Some foods better incorporated into meals are: • Tomatoes, or related foods like tomato sauce and ketchup • Green vegetables like spinach and broccoli • Trout, salmon, and other fish and clams • Quality meats like chicken and beef liver
to absorb this nutrient properly, heated and grease-cooked foods are best, so cooked tomatoes are a valuable food in your diet. You can also get lycopene from tomato by products like ketchup and sauce. Some foods are great sources of more than one nutrient. Add the following foods to your list for maximum impact! Overall, men need similar nutrients as women, but a greater amount of most of them. Vitamin supplements or fortified cereals are good choices for men who need extra nutrition. A healthy diet will ensure you don’t get sick, help you avoid common disorders, and keep you strong and energized each day.
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« PROFILE | FEATURE
“I’M NOT YOUR GURU ... YOU ARE” Interview with Yoga for Athletes® pioneer Kimberly Fowler By Debra Antwi
Because I can’t stop! It’s the only class my boyfriend will go to…. To fit into my wedding dress. To escape from my kids. It’s cheaper than therapy! Because it makes my day! These are just some of the many reasons why devoted members of YAS, continue to practice Kimberly Fowler’s hybrid yoga class; Yoga for Athletes. Created by an athlete, for athletes….or anyone! We had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Kimberly Fowler, creator of Yoga for Athletes, and YAS studios. Yoga for Athletes is a movement that Kimberly has nurtured and developed for the past nine years. From scratch she built this one off studio in Venice, California into a fitness empire with locations opening across the country. Having just released her new book, “The NO OM Zone”, we were lucky to be able to catch up to her in the midst of her whirlwind schedule! What inspired you to create Yoga for Athletes? When I first started YAS in 2001 – I had a traditional yoga background – Sivananda, Iyengar and some Ashtanga so I just thought I would incorporate spinning with traditional yoga. I was a former professional triathlete and I knew, firsthand, the benefits of yoga and I wanted to share that with people. You’re an athlete because you have the drive to compete and win. Well, stress comes with that. And yoga helps calm you down. My first few classes were full of type ‘A’ personality athletes who hadn’t really practiced much yoga. The instructors were all talking in Sanskrit and they were twisting themselves up into pretzels and basically the class just sat and watched them. And I went…”UH OH… we have a problem”. That is exactly the opposite of what I wanted to have at my studio. How did you rectify the problem? I had to go back to the drawing board. When I was putting YAS together my intent was to provide different levels of workouts where everybody feels welcome. This was very
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FEATURE | PROFILE »
important to me because of my own experiences. I had been practicing yoga since 1983 and taken 3 teachers training courses and –walking into a studio in LA – I would feel intimidated. That is the last thing that I wanted to have happen at my studio. So I realized that I was going to have to come up with a sequence that type ‘A’ personalities, people who can’t touch their toes, executives and athletes- were going to want to take. What makes your yoga style/program unique for athletes? One of the first things I did was to observe. In all of the classes I was taking at the time, half the class was gone after one hour. They missed out on their inversions and corpse pose and the things that you really need in that last part of the class. So I made my class more concise and limited it to one hour. I was one of the first to offer the one hour class. Now it is pretty typical but nine years ago no one did that! I got blasted in the yoga community for making it only an hour. They said it wasn’t real yoga but my intent was to actually offer the full experience of yoga within an hour – not make it un-yoga. Even for me, I knew the benefits of taking the whole class but it was hard to stay past an hour. Your focus starts to wane and you start to think about what you have to get back to doing. An athlete can’t add that hour and a half into their training schedule, especially more than once a week. So I put together a sequence that was shorter. Secondly, I had to make them sweat. You know athletes; if they don’t sweat they don’t think they are getting anything out of it. I designed the sequence to be a strong flow class that was safe, effective and concise. Finally, as a former competitive athlete, I looked at what areas of an athlete’s body needs the most help – hips, hamstrings and upper body. Most athletes with the exception of swimmers use their lower bodies and therefore have really strong legs but they don’t have as much focus on upper body strength. My program involves a lot of planks and hovers, so you gain a lot of upper body and core strength along with flexibility.
So it’s a tough class? It is a tough class but it’s doable. If they have never done a sport it is a very challenging class but we offer three different levels. We have a level one/two which is for someone that is a beginner. We have an all levels class where we provide different modifications, and then we have a level three which is more challenging; a lot more balancing postures and a faster pace. What do you think about people in the yoga community who might frown upon the idea of yoga as fitness? For me, I believe that everyone gets what they want out of yoga. If you don’t want the physical aspect and you want the spiritual aspect of it then you can get it– especially in LA there is a yoga studio on every block so you just have to find what resonates for you. For athletes – they want the physical benefits of doing yoga! Can you tell us a little bit about some of the different athletes that have come to your classes and the benefits that they have experienced from your program? There has been a lot – it runs the full spectrum from Olympic athletes, rugby teams, baseball teams, basketball, football, and tennis. I have worked with the Detroit Tigers and several Olympic swimmers. As for the benefits – well there are so many but aside from the physical benefits of doing yoga for athletes, injury prevention is number one. I hear from most of the athletes that come to YAS or do the DVD – this is the first year that they didn’t get injured. I hear a ton of testimonials that they are actually better at their sport because they didn’t have to take time off from their training due to injury. Their times get faster – performance is improved because they have more focus – a direct benefit of corpse pose which I encourage because it allows them that time for inward focus.
that question all the time especially from people who like the DVD and then want to take a class. If they are an athlete and they have an injury I usually send them to an Iyengar class because it is very structured. What do you think are the top qualities that someone should look for in a yoga instructor? Find a yoga instructor that is certified, cares about their students and is aware. Being aware of your students is so important! My tagline – ‘I’m not your guru, you are’ – stresses this point and we talk about this in the teacher’s training courses I offer. For teachers, it’s not about you it’s about your students! One of the things we always say is a sign of an inexperienced teacher is one who does the whole class with the class. In our course we focus on showing the instructors how to adjust, making eye contact and establishing a personal connection with each and every student. That’s key! What is your mission? I would love to see everyone try yoga. It’s really important! It’s changed my life on multiple levels and I’ve seen it change other people’s lives…and it can change your life too! I wrote my new book – “The Practical Guide to Yoga – The NO OM Zone” to share my passion, for a practical approach to yoga and fi tness, with the world! It’s a great practice, a great exercise for anyone! That’s my mission - to make it accessible; it may not be your thing, but get out and try it - you might love it! YOGA for ATHLETES® DVD $14.95
There are so many different styles of yoga out there, what would be the most suitable for an athlete wanting to try yoga? I always tell them to go to power yoga. I get
Purchase any of Kimberly Fowler’s DVD’s on Amazon or from her website:
www.go2yas.com
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« FITNESS | STUDIO PROFILE
It’s not fitness, it’s LIFE. By Pamela Lee
When you enter Totum Life Science, expect to be greeted, more than once, by an enthusiastic and friendly bunch! This big, warm welcome is then followed by a tour of their full service fitness and sports rehabilitation facilities. Located in the trendy King West entertainment district of Toronto, this upscale, modern, stylish fitness centre leaves nothing to be desired. It features the best in functional equipment, design, and their personal training and rehabilitation professionals are the top notch in Canada. Responsible for this 11,000 square foot award winning space is 3rd Uncle, an established leader of innovative design who garners praise for such notable landmarks
as the Drake Hotel and projects in Toronto’s historic Distillery District. This accomplished design group captures the essence of a loft style in Totum and delivers the wow factor unsparingly. Branded by Bruce Mau Design, Totum on King has a boutique mentality to help you achieve your fitness and health goals. The Totum Approach At Totum the approach is a ‘team-effort’ collaboration between their rehabilitation and fitness professionals. To that end they have a well-rounded group of rehabilitationprofessionals that embody this philosophy of client care. As their name states, they believe that all of the services
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they provide be based in science. With a state-of-the-art Sports Medicine Centre that includes Chiropractic, Physiotherapy, Massage Therapy, Naturopathy, Nutritionists, Acupuncture and ART services, they stand strong in their philosophy which is to help you achieve peak performance quickly. This is accomplished in part through innovative treatment techniques from their rehab team that will help you stay injury-free. Not to be out done by the treatment side, the balance of their philosophy lies in their well-trained fitness professionals. The company was founded on the quality of their personal training program which means that Personal Training at Totum Life Science is serious
Photography by Andrej Kopac
TOTUM LIFE SCIENCE
STUDIO PROFILE | FITNESS »
business. “Our greatest asset and the key to our success is our people.” They make this claim with conviction, knowing that their professional Personal Trainers come with extensive experience and education to go along with their athletic backgrounds. So for those of you that are seeking personal attention, motivation and expert advice to help you focus your efforts in achieving success with your health and fitness goals, you are in great hands at Totum! Totum also offers a full spectrum of classes including spinning, Muay Thai, yoga, boxing, athletic conditioning and Pilates. Their
classes are as diverse as they are effective with trained professionals guiding you all the way. Special events and educational programs including Run Clubs are also available. For those of you that crave those ‘extras’, you’ll appreciate having a steam room, rain head showers and towel service as just some of the amenities at your fingertips! With such an elite, multidisciplinary team of health-care professionals you will receive state-of-the-art care from the start to your finish line. They have endeavoured to service their clients as their mandate and as
the Latin translation of totum, meaning [the whole], implies, Totum Life Science is not just about fitness, it’s about your whole life. Totum claims to have ‘re-defined fitness’ as they aim to improve your life in every possible dimension. We give credence to their claim and we’ll add to it: ‘totumlly hip hipsters club’! 445 King Street West Suite 101 Toronto, ON Tel: 416- 979-2449
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WINTER 2010 | WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM 58
« FITNESS | SWEAT
BUrn BaBY BUrn!
We all want to max out our fat-burning potential with as little effort as possible… Amen. CAN CARDIO SERVE US UP THAT TALL ORDER? There are essentially two types of cardio: high intensity and steady-state cardio. Before we go any further, let’s define both types so that there is no confusion. High-intensity cardio, for the purposes of this discussion, is defined as something so intense that you couldn’t keep it up for more than 60 seconds — no matter how much you wanted to! So even though your incline treadmill walk may feel like “high-intensity cardio,” it ain’t.
By Dave Draper
Running at 10 mph on a 10 degree incline for 10 seconds; now that is high-intensity! You can clearly see that to do high-intensity cardio, you’d have to do it in spurts — do some, rest, then do some more, and so on. That’s exactly what we call high-intensity interval training, or HIIT (pronounced “hit”). When most people think of cardio, they think of steady-state cardio. Since highintensity cardio has it own, cool acronym, let’s refer to steady-state cardio as “SSC.” Steady-state cardio is any cardio that’s done at an intensity low enough such that it can be sustained for a longer period of time. While you may warmup and cooldown, any cardio session where you keep roughly the same pace throughout your session is steady-state.
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SWEAT | FITNESS »
Which Type Should I Do? The answer to this question could be complicated and dependant on a number of factors; but the truth is, it really boils down to one simple question: What do you want to accomplish? Do you fit into the category of the “last 10 pounds bootcamp” or are just about to sign up for “the biggest loser”? Ultimately, how much weight you need to lose and how fast you want to lose it are the key questions in figuring out your plan. If you’re not getting ready to strut your stuff in Cancun next month, then an important factor to consider in laying out your cardio plan is knowing what type of cardio do you enjoy? If you enjoy it, or find ways to make it enjoyable than most likely you’ll stick to the plan… a key ingredient for success! Most people enjoy steady-state cardio more than HIIT, purely because of the intensity factor. However, if losing fat is high on your priority list, the best, most time-efficient cardio plan might be three HIIT sessions per week. Before or After Eating? HIIT ends up burning the same amount of fatregardless of whether you do it on an empty stomach or after eating; so when you do HIIT is really not important. Whew! That’s one less thing to worry about! SSC, on the other hand, should be done when blood glucose (and ideally liver glycogen) is fairly low (first thing in the morning on an empty stomach). Otherwise, blood sugar (and its’ reservoir, liver glycogen) ends up serving as a more significant fuel source…. oops missed the fat train! If blood glucose is low, however, the body will be forced to mobilize and burn fat in greater quantities. Sure, SSC is still “good for you” and still burns calories (and some fat) even if you do it at the “wrong” time, but it’s just not as efficient for fat burning. Before or After Weight-Training? Another good time to do SSC is after weight training. Assuming you don’t have a carbladen post-workout drink immediately after, your blood glucose will be low after training with weights. That makes post-
workout a viable alternative to doing cardio first thing in the morning. Unless your goal is to build less muscle while burning less fat, you should never do cardio (HIIT or SSC) prior to weight training! Sure, a 10-minute warm-up session is fine, but doing a real cardio session before lifting weights will decrease performance (and the subsequent results) during your weight training session and decrease the amount of fat burned during cardio. How Much Cardio Should I Do? How much cardio one should do is the million dollar question. And, as is virtually always the case, the answer is... it depends. While a lot of variables and uncertainties exist around the topic of how much cardio, let’s look at a few facts. If you do HIIT, you will need to do less cardio. Since HIIT is taxing to your central nervous system (CNS), you can only do so much before your recuperative capacity begins to diminish. Generally speaking, three good interval sessions per week is about what you can expect your body to tolerate before it begins to rebel. Steady-state cardio, on the other hand, is pretty hard to overdo. Although logging lots of hours per week on the same type of cardio may lead to repetitive stress injuries (i.e. plantar fasciitis), SSC is not very taxing to the muscles or to the CNS. To burn fat, you either have to decrease the amount of available energy in your diet, increase the amount of energy your body burns each day, or a combination of both. Here’s a nifty little chart to summarize the pros and cons of HIIT and SSC: High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Pros: • Boosts metabolism for up to 24 hours. • Burns far more calories per unit of time. • Less boring. • Can be done anytime. • Tends to promote “athleticism.”
Cons: • Hard to do • Taxing to the CNS. • Slightly increased risk of acute injuries (i.e. a pulled hamstring).
Steady State Cardio (SSC) Pros: • Easy to do. • Not taxing on the CNS. •Can be very “relaxing” to the mind.
Cons: • Doesn’t significantly boost metabolism • Not very time efficient. • Tends to be boring. • Should be done with low serum glucose.
The main difference between HIIT and SSC is that the former is way harder but ends up burning way more fat, while the latter is much easier to do but doesn’t offer the “bang for the buck” that HIIT does. How Do I Put All This Together? Below are a couple of sample cardio plans to give you an idea of what you might need to do. Most people would steadily lose fat on the Fat Loss Cardio Plan if their diet and training were on point. Those of us who seem to have inherited the fat gene as opposed to the lean gene may have to do something a bit more extreme to lose at a satisfactory pace. However, reserve the Extreme Fat Loss Cardio Plan for when you absolutely need it. Always try to get results with less cardio as opposed to more. Fat Loss Cardio Plan Two 20-minute HIIT sessions per week. Two 45-minute SSC session per week. Extreme Fat Loss Cardio Plan Three 20-minute HIIT session. Five 50-minute SSC session. Wrapping Up Cardio is a tool, that when used properly, can cause amazing changes to your physique. Don’t be scared to use it, but don’t abuse it. With a little trial and error, you’ll figure out the exact type, frequency, and duration that’ll help you achieve the lean physique you desire.
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« FITNESS | SWEAT
The professionals & their client success stories
Client: Kim Davis Personal Trainer: Brent Bishop Location: Think Fit Studios, West Toronto True Strength Comes from Within By Brent Bishop Maya Angelou once said, “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” A person’s inner strength is often revealed in times of tragedy and loss. For Juno-nominated R&B recording artist and mother of two, Kim Davis, this is no different. Kim has weathered her storm and has purposely left the past where it belongs; she is ready to live in the present and is doing so with fitness, healthier choices, along with a flourishing music career leading the way.
Action Plan Bishop introduced Kim to what he calls ‘the Think Factor’, a lifestyle philosophy that has its foundation in using physical health as the vehicle to success. The key element, says Bishop is motivation through inspiration using interest-driven physical exercise as the ignition and metaphor to life success. All of Bishop’s clients begin with a personalized action plan. For Kim Davis, the program consisted of warm-up drills and functional exercises that would incorporate her love of track and field, and volleyball. To begin Bishop takes clients through a functional fitness evaluation where components such as body composition, strength and muscular balance, cardiovascular endurance and flexibility are considered. Kim’s evaluation also considered her nutrition and lifestyle habits. Overcoming Obstacles “When exercise becomes too predictable and monotonous, the inspiration and desire to continue is lost”, says Bishop. Bishop believes it is not the physical plateau but the mental plateau that is more detrimental to fitness success. To combat this plateau effect, Bishop divided Kim’s program into an evolving 12 week periodization cycles consisting weekly of 2 personal training sessions geared towards her athletic conditioning, 1 functional conditioning group class and 1 prescribed cardio workout along with 1 sport activity of her choice – 1.5 hours of volleyball. Another key element to Kim’s success has been the accountability measures and her support system. Kim’s program is ‘heart rate guided’ whereby Bishop requires her to train within specific heart rate zones to maximize her efforts and prevent plateau development. She also completes nutrition journals that help create the awareness of what goes into her body and when. Results Today Kim has dropped 12lbs in fat weight; gained 7 lbs in lean weight and has unleashed her inner athlete. With a whole new level of fitness, a rising singing career and her unmatched confidence, Kim is living proof that strength really does come from within.
First Steps When Kim met fitness expert and lifestyle coach Brent Bishop of Think Fitness Studios she had no idea how much a fitness program would redefine not only her body, but also her mind and self esteem. As a busy recording artist who is constantly on the move, Kim was making poor dietary choices and not making the time for her own health. “My confidence and self esteem were at an all time low; I knew I had to do something even though I had never really worked out except for playing sports in high school. After meeting Brent, I quickly came to realize that this was more than just an exercise program it was a total lifestyle overhaul.“ 63 WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM | WINTER 2010
For more information on Brent Bishop and Think Fitness Studios visit: ThinkFitnessStudios.com
Calling All Trainers— Do you have a client who has overcome the odds to achieve new heights in health and fitness? Send your story to editor@sweatequitymagazine.com and you and your client may be featured in an upcoming issue of Sweat Equity.
SWEAT | FITNESS Âť
a leg sculpting quick fix
[The workout] Reps: as many as possible in 30 seconds, with 10 seconds rest between sets Sets: as many as can be done in 10 minutes What you need: a timer
1. Jump Squat - Begin in a low squat, toes behind ankles and slightly turned outward. Inhale - Exhale and jump up into the air; land gently with bent knees, returning to a low squat position - Keep you shoulders pressed away from the ears.
2. High knees (hopping) - Start with feet shoulder-width apart; inhale - Exhale and hop onto the right foot, left knee in the air; then switch feet while hopping. Start slow, then speed up, picking up your pace with each set. -Keep your core engaged.
3. Mountain Climber - Start in a low lunge; right foot back, left knee tucked to the chest - Hop and switch legs, now leading with the right foot - Keep abs engaged and shoulders pressed down; breath Photography credit Liana Louzon Model Ruth Sheridan
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« FITNESS | CROSS TRAINING
ups, pull ups and....well the list goes on. I banged out 5 and had to stop for a breather – here’s where my hyperventilation kicks in full force. I managed to complete the 21 box jumps in an astronomically huge amount of time. Wrestling with my dinner, my shaky legs, throbbing hamstrings and my cramping glutes did not make for a very effi cient set of anything never mind the dreaded box jump.After my first ‘date’ with
Christine I was too exhausted to search for my ego or my dignity, besides I was so full of humble pie that I needed to lie down for a rest. And that was with a time of 19 minutes and 11 seconds – more than double the Christine world record. Jason had modeled all of the exercises and said that the mission of the circuit was to do all of the exercises as fast as I could –three times through – and improve my time
“So aiming to CUT YOUR TIME and INCREASE YOUR INTENSITY is the focus of EACH WORKOUT.” while hopefully increasing my weights with every attempt. I needed to be at an aerobic heart rate which meant not only are you sweating but you feel like you’re going to throw up! Although I think the puking thing is more like a badge of honour than a trip down ‘shameful lane’, I’d still like to keep my dinner intact! So aiming to cut your time and increase your intensity is the focus of each workout. These workouts are all about building muscle strength while staying at a cardio level to get it done as fast as you can. So instead of spending 45-60 minutes on cardio machines each day, you do a weight training/cardio mix a few times a week for 20 minutes and voilà! I think I put my fears to rest and debunked the myth of CrossFit. I love the shorter workouts, the professional supervision and I think the results that I’ll see in my fitness level and appearance is worth suffering through. The constant new challenges that are presented also keep it much more interesting! This high intensity workout is not for the faint of heart, but they do emphasize that you do not have to have an athletic acumen to start the CrossFit regimen as they will adjust the workouts based on your experience and ability. So reducing the number of repetitions, the amount of weight, and the distance is something commonly done so that everyone can participate at any level. To this I say “GREAT!”, or I would say it if I wasn’t breathless and suffering from exhaustion! 65 WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM | WINTER 2010
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« FITNESS | CROSS TRAINING
ARE YOU FIT ENOUGH TO CROSSFIT?
CROSSFIT or CROSSSICK... By Sarah Lichtman
Six minutes into what I anticipated was a simple, 20-minute workout of rowing, deadlifts and box jumps and I’m nauseous, head spinning and I can’t catch my breath. I’m spent. I get jolted out of my pity party by the sound of my trainer Jason nudging me! “Hurry up!” As a lifelong ‘gymthusiast’, I thought I was pretty fi t. I’ve had some sidebars and vacancies in my fitness regime to be sure. The onslaught of three children definitely had it’s setbacks in the ‘lean machine’ department but I had high hopes of my strong foundation, from so many years of training and good nutrition, being able to carry me through. I think my rationale was being put to the test. With this in mind, I set out on my mission. 67 WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM | FALL 2010
Photography by Alleh Lindquist
I’M HYPERVENTILATING!!!
CROSS TRAINING | FITNESS »
ARE YOU FIT ENOUGH TO CROSSFIT? This looming question sent me in search of some answers. I had seen some photos and short clips of some typical workouts and they looked challenging. With that in mind I conjured up some pretty daunting thoughts about this whole CrossFit thing! I hadn’t tried it and from what I had heard and read, it was a short workout of high intensity. Perhaps the stress on ‘high intensity’ was the fear factor for me and I drew the conclusion that you need to be the quintessentially fit person before even trying it! Wow! That’s a reputation! More like an urban legend – one that needed demystifying...or...not. CrossFit is extreme, intense cross-training that uses functional movements and some basic gym equipment and other objects – in a group or alone. Training is short intervals of high intensity; no snail’s pace here. The regimens are short and brutal, replacing ordinary weight lifting and steady aerobic training with mixed-up strength and conditioning programs developed to improve strength, speed, stamina, balance, agility, power, co-ordination, endurance, accuracy and flexibility. Nothing missing there! Regular workouts don’t exist so everyday is a new challenge for you to face. The workouts are posted daily, also known as WODs (workout of the day). The belief is that in every CrossFit client there is an athlete, no matter their age, size or experience. Greg Glassman of California developed CrossFit and implemented the program
in the 80’s. As a former gymnast turned trainer, he would experiment with his clients in order to provide his police and firefighter trainees a distinct edge. He found that when he added gymnastics moves such as handstands and ring push-ups to their regular weight-training workouts, he noticed obvious gains in strength, flexibility and co-ordination. Then he experimented with the addition of all-body fitness exercises like deep squat thrusts and medicine ball throws, and finally he added running to the roster, in intervals. Their fitness levels ramped up even more. CrossFit with its principles of functionality, intensity and variety was born! In 2000, Glassman started commanding attention from the mainstream fitness world when he launched a website and began posting his various WODs. He gave them female names, such as “Helen”, “Cindy”, and “Fran”, because they reminded him of hurricanes. The focus on functional body movements is meant to prepare you for everyday living, from the elite athlete to the sedentary office worker and the workouts give you measurable increases in both aerobic capacity and strength. The basic movements of squats, push-ups, pull-ups, dips, deadlifts, medicine ball throws, agility ladder, box jumps, rowing and more – emphasize full range of motion (debatable) and then are combined with short bursts of cardio. Whip that up for a smooth blend of metabolic mayhem please! So back to my mission. Prior to the workout there was a warm-up routine. O.k. maybe I was
a bit more out of shape than I surmised because the warm-up is what started the onslaught of hyperventilation. As a prelude to the warm-up, I was sent on a 500m+ jog outside. Back inside, we did shoulder dislocates, push-ups, sit ups, squats, Sampson stretch and supermans to stimulate the lower back, hamstrings and glutes. Ten reps each exercise and three rounds. Then we moved onto some technique instruction regarding the movements that were to be in my upcoming WOD. Her name (the WOD) was Christine and she consists of rowing for 500m, 12 dead lifts (striving to lift your bodyweight and I can assure you that 90 pounds I was not!) and 21 box jumps for three rounds in as little time as possible. Here’s what I learned: my form for dead lifts was completely sloppy; my concept of rowing was non-existent and my awareness of just how high 16 inches could possibly be was way off the mark, or at least my feet were telling me that as they nicked the edge of the box before finally landing ontop of it! So after completing what seemed like an hour of technique training, my workout was about to begin, my ego was flat on the floor and my dinner was gearing up for a re-appearance. My rowing was at a good steady pace and then I was onto my first round of dead lifts. Challenging to say the least but doable! I then approached the dreaded box to begin the box jumps. Not my favorite exercise. Infact being that this was the first time I ever did them I can safely rank them up there with burpees, chin
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(WORKOUT OF THE DAY) | FITNESS »
DEADLIFT Men use 225 lbs Women use 155 lbs * Kettlebell Swings : Men use 24 kg/ Women use 16 kg* BALL SLAMS Men use 20 lbs medicine ball Women use 12 lbs medicine ball*
The secret to becoming more athletic lies in your most overlooked set of muscles — the posterior chain!
REPS 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 21 reps of deadlift ; 21 KB Swings, 21 Ball Slams 18 reps of deadlift; 18 KB Swings, 18 Ball Slams Etc. Until you’ve completed 7 sets
By Jason Bird
We use them everyday, but give them little love, unless we’re punishing them with a deep set of lunges or hack-squats. But they’re back there, helping you build strength throughout your body. It’s time to bring what’s left behind to the forefront of your next training session – your posterior chain.
* These weights are recommended and need to be scaled according to your level of strength and experience.
Photography by Liana Louzon Model Jason Bird
What is it? The posterior chain is made up of primarily the hamstrings, glutes and low back. In order to reap the benefits of this powerful group of muscles we need to train them with compound functional movements. Training the posterior chain in this dynamic fashion transfers over to powerful and effective hip extension - hip extension is the key to any and every athletic movement. How to do it Both men and women alike tend to look in the mirror and want to improve the things they see: chest, arms, abs and quads. If it’s not looking right back at them, they figure it’s not important. Common mistake and we’ve all done it! But this is a problem, and a significant oversight, for a number of athletes. If you can generate effective power in your glutes, hamstrings and hip extensors, then you can run faster, jump higher, throw farther and, unless your sport is darts, improve athletic performance. The other, and possibly more important benefit of developing the posterior chain is injury prevention. Strengthening the posterior chain will do wonders to eliminate low back pain and is really the most important part of any injury prevention or rehabilitation program. The Work Out This CrossFit workout is all about developing the posterior chain, not to mention giving you a heavy dose of an anaerobic pump. As with any CrossFit workout, form is paramount; first comes proficiency in the movements, next comes intensity. 69 WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM | WINTER 2010
Deadlift A
Kettle Bell A
Kettle Bell B
Ball Slam A
Ball Slam B
« FITNESS | FEATURE
A new way of working out is changing the landscape of fitness.
By Jason Bird
3 sets of 10 reps – back, biceps, and shoulders. This is probably the way most of us workout. We pick a few exercises for each body part- do 2 or 3 sets of 10 reps and move on. Maybe we do some cardioa spinning class, or an easy run. We train our body in segments with isolation type movements. Segmented training provides segmented results and it’s not the way our bodies are designed to work. So what is the answer to the fitness riddle? The answer is not one thing: it’s constantly varied full body functional movements performed at high intensity mixed in with a lot of sweat, pain and determination. The answer is CrossFit. HOUSE OF PAIN CrossFit is very difficult to explain in a sentence, it’s something you have to experience to understand. Crossfit workouts are short, very challenging, very intense, full body workouts that blend
strength and cardio and everything in between, guaranteed to take your fitness to a new level. CrossFit workouts typically combine full body functional movements from Olympic lifts, the clean and jerk and the snatch; to gymnastic movements like pull ups, and ring dips; strength movements like deadlifts, squats, and presses; plyometrics and kettlebell training. If it’s brutal and it’s functional CrossFit has adapted it. Workouts are performed against time and measured and recorded as a gauge to monitor progress. Technique and form are of the utmost importance; first comes proficiency in the movements, next comes intensity. More work in less time equals increased fitness. THE GIRLS OF CROSSFIT The blood and guts of CrossFit is the WOD, published each day on www. crossfit.com, CrossFit’s online community
71 WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM | WINTER 2010
religiously complete, report, and track their performance on the site which is a great resource for learning proper technique in the movements. CrossFit uses benchmark workouts as a way to measure progress. These workouts are affectionately given girls’ names, originating from the way that hurricanes are named after women, and having the same effect - they leave you wrecked. According to CrossFit founder Greg Glassman, “anything that leaves you flat on your back gasping for air and wondering what the hell happened, should be named after a woman.” CrossFit also has a very strong presence in the military and is becoming the primary training protocol used by elite units like the Navy SEALS and Marines. CROSS PURPOSES The goal of CrossFit is to create the world’s FITTEST athletes. Not the best in one area
FEATURE | FITNESS »
but exceptional across a broad range. CrossFit defines fitness in 10 different areas – Strength, power, speed, flexibility, endurance, agility, balance, co-ordination, stamina, and accuracy. Development of all of these 10 areas gives you complete fitness and transfers over to any sport, skill or activity. The beauty of CrossFit lies in its infinite scalability which means that the workouts never get easy, but anyone, no matter their age and/or experience, can benefit from this type of training. The goal is to get everyone working as close to their maximum as possible. The other appeal of CrossFit lies in the length of the workouts; CrossFit workouts are typically
short in duration but very intense. The working definition of CrossFit is “increased work capacity across broad times and modal domain”. Meaning you want to be able to generate maximum output on short duration efforts of 1 to 2 minutes and be able to maintain near maximum effort for those 20 is to get everyone working as close to their maximum as possible. The other appeal of CrossFit lies in the length of the workouts; CrossFit workouts are typically short in duration but very intense. The working definition of CrossFit is “increased work capacity across broad times and modal domain”. Meaning you want to be able to generate maximum output on short
duration efforts of 1 to 2 minutes and be able to maintain near maximum effort for those 20 plus minute efforts. Whether you are a serious athlete or just looking for something new out of your fitness routine CrossFit will take your workout to a new level. Everything needed to start is available for free at www.crossfit.com. The only thing you risk is a little bit of soreness, and remember to check your ego at the door. Or you can go back to doing 3 sets of 10. Jason Bird is a former 2x Ironman and 2009 Individual CrossFit Games Competitor. He holds a number of prestigious training and coaching certifications and is the founder of CrossFit Connection, a CrossFit affiliate in Burlington, Ontario.
Photography by Matthew Brush
Crossfit Mantra 1. I will promise to do my best. My best will vary from day to day, from hour to hour, from minute to minute. But in that minute, I will do the very best I can. 2. Lactic acid is my friend. The wind is my friend. Anything that opposes me is actually helping me to become stronger. If I had no opposition, I would be WEAK. 3. If I can run, I run. If I have to walk, I walk. When I am forced to crawl, I crawl. And then I rest and live to fight another day. 4. I fear no person, but I FEAR my workout. If I don’t fear my workout, it isn’t hard enough. 5. I may puke. I may cry. But I will never quit. EVER. 6. I never cheat. There is no honour in cheating. What joy can there be in a victory I did not earn? 7. The workout missed is the opportunity missed. I will not cheat myself out of the opportunity to become a better athlete and a person. 8. I understand the value of the push up, the pull up, the sit up, the squat and the dead lift. Just as there are a million ways to make chicken, so to are there a million ways to squat, sit up, pull up, push up and dead lift. 9. I will give everything I have and then find more within myself. 10. I don’t complain. Complaining is for crybabies. There are 1500 babies born in Canada everyday. I will leave the crying to them and I will soldier on. 11. I will bite off challenges, spit out results AND BEG FOR MORE “.
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« FITNESS | I-ON-FITNESS
ALL VERY WELL INDEED 401/405 Commerce West Corporate Wellness Centre Nathane Jackson, our cover model, is designing a 30,000sq foot corporate wellness centre that is slated to open mid November 2010. Located in the 401/405 Commerce West building complex, the Corporate Wellness Centre will be so much more than just a gym. Jackson has collaborated with builders to create a facility that incorporates everything from yoga and meditation rooms to a 3,000 sq. foot turf playground along with many of his Mind, Body & Spirit programs such
as functional strength training, holistic nutrition, and metabolic conditioning. In addition clinical services will include chiropractic, registered massage therapy and life coaching. Reducing the number of traditional exercise machines, Jackson is replacing them with fun practical tools necessary to achieve not only a beautiful physique, but a strong, functionally sound mind, body & spirit. “We still have a room dedicated to isolation machines to set everyone at
ease” says Jackson, “ but we are excited to introduce more exciting ways of increasing ones fitness through a portable rock-climbing wall, tractor trailer tires, pushing and pulling sleds, slide boards, obstacles, vertical climbing ropes, kettle and club bells, and so much more.” Even though the above wellness centre will be a building amenity for the tenants of the Commerce West complex, Jackson will still operate his international online coaching program (Nathane Jackson Fitness Inc.).
PERSONAL TRAINING Dont wait till the next big event! Maybe it's a wedding, school reunion, vacation or New Year's resolution. Achieve and maintain your ULTIMATE FITNESS GOALS!
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Wayne Forsythe BSc. Kinesiology Master Trainer- R.T.S I.S.S.A Cooper Call: (416) 930- 4551
Enroll NOW and receive: * Complimentary 1st Session * Free Fitness Assessment wayneforsythe@rocketmail.com
"We don't tell you what to do... we teach you how to do it"
73 WWW.SWEATEQUITYMAGAZINE.COM | WINTER 2010
Nathane Jackson is a Toronto based strength & conditioning coach and wellness coach. He is a raw foodie, Pro Fitness Model and a Vega sponsored athlete. For more information about transforming your mind, body & spirit visit www.nathanejackson.com.
I-ON-FITNESS | FITNESS »
Whether competing against yourself, or competing against others, the innate desire to push your limits is the driving force behind your success in any training program. That’s why Element CrossFit endeavours to bring another level of challenge to your training. Healthy competition is beneficial and true competition is when there are a variety of challenges such as weightlifting, gymnastics and mono-structural exercises which is the foundation of the CrossFit Element Challenge.
Upcoming Challenge 2011 *OVERDOSE* An Rx’d only CrossFit challenge not for the faint of heart. This will be the hardest CrossFit competition Ontario has ever seen. Come out and see the best CrossFitters from Ontario compete. January 29, 2011 Check challenge.elementcrossfit.com
The 2nd Annual Element CrossFit Team Challenge was held on Sept 18th, 2010. 40 teams of 4-6 from across Ontario (literally from Sault Ste. Marie all the way to Ottawa) competed in 5 events during the course of the day , 2 Divisions - Rx’d (Prescribed) and Scaled. Top 3 teams from the Rx’d division were: CrossFit Connection Dirty Thirties (Burlington), CrossFit Altitude 1 (Burlington), and CrossFit Oshawa. Top 3 teams from the Scaled division were: CrossFit Toronto, Dynamic Conditioning Centre (Toronto), and CrossFit Altitude 2 (Burlington).
What is the UFE National Championships? As Canada’s leading fitness organizations and one of the fastest growing fitness organizations in North America, Ultimate Fitness Events attracts some of the top fitness competitors and models in the country. The UFE National Championships is the pinnacle event of the UFE. The opportunities are huge for, not only the winners of the event, but for all competitors who are in attendance. Many of the top magazines in the industry will be in attendance as will top photographers and representatives from some of the most recognized supplement companies. Combined with the BIGGEST prize packages offered in ANY fitness event, the UFE National Championships is THE event of the industry for drug free competitors.
UFE National Championships Saturday November 13th, 2010 The McIntyre Theatre @ Mohawk College 135 Fennell Avenue West, Hamilton, ON Elite Qualifier Show - 10am; Elite Championships - 6pm Over $60,000 in CASH and prizes to be won as well as 20 PRO Cards. Show info, event entry and tickets available at www.UFEshows.com!
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P R E M I E R E
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FLIP OVER FOR YOGA
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Iron Warrior to Iron Yogi
+10 BEST NUTRIENTS MEN NEED
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CrossFit
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