I am always on the hunt for the best running shoe. It’s a little obsession of mine.

Why it matters so much to me is that a few years back I chose a super cushioned running shoe that impacted my foot’s ability to support itself and the arches of my feet began to weaken and fall which contributed to knee pain during my runs. Now I don’t think it was solely the shoe’s fault, I think it was that I wore that same runner for all my daily activities.

Thankfully I went to a physiotherapist when my knee pain first began who informed me of my fallen arches and I immediately began to fix it. How I fixed it is further down this article.

For years and years I was loyal to the Asics Kayano, which is a huge stability shoe. I have run many races in various versions of this make and model. Never failed me. I then switched to the Altra Torin a couple of years ago and used it for everything: standing on the gym floor for hours on end, teaching fitness classes, personal training...

Exercise recovery is more than just resting after a workout. In this article I go over a few important practices that can help increase your body’s ability to recover from exercise.

Within the body there is a constant play of stability and mobility. Certain areas in our body function best when strong and stable and other parts of the body function best with more range of motion.

ACE Personal Trainer manual (5^th Edition) has a helpful list locating key mobility and stability areas within the body’s kinetic chain: 

• Glenohumeral (ball and socket joint where the top of the arm and the shoulder meet): mobility
• Scapulothoracic (shoulder blade attachment to upper back): stability
• Thoracic spine (upper back where ribs are): mobility
• Lumber spine (lower back): stability
• Hip (ball and socket joint where the top of the leg and side of pelvis meet): mobility
• Knee: stability
• Ankle: mobility
• Foot: stability

If you have ever taken one of my classes, you may have heard me speak...

As an experienced Pilates instructor, certified Exercise Coach and Corrective Exercise Specialist, many new clients have come to me with over-use injuries, even with a few acute injuries. While healing acute injuries is not within my scope of practice (that is the purpose of a medical doctor and a physiotherapist) I can help you prevent future injuries and work with your current chronic pain and over use injuries. 

Chronic injuries develop over time. They often develop from poor movement patterns. Patterns we have formed over years depending on the type of work we do, how many hours we sit in a day, how we walk and stand, and how we move our bodies with load (our bodyweight) and what trauma our bodies have experienced in the past. Every individual is unique with their own habitual movement patterns. 

However, it's guaranteed that if we don't work on fixing our patterns at a certain point incorrect movement patterns will cause pain, discomfort, and/or...

There are two categories of injuries: Acute and Chronic. 

Acute injuries happen from accidents causing muscle strains, corrective tissue sprains, cuts, and/or broken bones. Traumatic injuries are best treated immediately after the accident. 

Runner's First Aid: RICE

• Rest: don't make the damaged area worse by putting more stress on it, however, resting doesn't mean immobility either. Moving the injured area is important because it stimulates blood flow to the injured tissue. Your health care provider will advise how to move the injured area properly.
• Ice: swelling is part of the healing process, but too much of it slows down healing. Applying ice causes vasoconstriction of the local blood vessels which limits bleeding and swelling to the area. Icing the injured area reduces your recovery time (very important!). Apply ice for 20min and allow an hour in-between applications. Repeat for 24-72 hours. Never place the ice directly on skin, have a...

Pre-habilitation is a proactive approach to avoiding injury. Professional athletes know of its importance, but it is often the missing component in the exercise programs of recreational fitness enthusiasts.

All experts agree exercise is key to health and longevity. Exercise helps with:

• reducing risk of chronic disease
• lowering blood pressure
• reducing excess weight
• giving us more energy and strength
• boosts our mood
• increases health of skin
• boosts brain activity and memory
• helps with relaxation and sleep quality
• helping lessen aches and pains

One of the biggest issues with starting an exercise routine is muscle imbalances and repetitive motion with incorrect form that often leads to injury. I see this quite often with new clients coming to me for advice.

With pre-habilitation, qualified trainers use specific exercises to strengthen vulnerable areas, while lengthening tight areas of the body to avoid injury. Each body is different, depending on its own set of habitual movement...

Up until recently I was weight training 5 days a week. Using the body split training method. A typical workout week would consist of 75 minute training sessions broken down by body part, like this: Monday: shoulders and abs, Tuesday: legs, Wednesday: chest and triceps, Thursday: back and biceps, Friday: legs. I performed approximately 4 exercises per body part, 3 sets of 6-12 reps, going to failure every time (meaning: you lift weight heavy enough that when you get to the last rep you can’t lift it with proper form - please note then you don't lift it, because you should only lift with proper form). In addition, I was running 25 minute sprints and participating in 1-2 spinning classes a week. My cardio was mainly high intensity every time.

This is the popular bodybuilding workout plan. I think it’s been the most used model for building muscle for years and years (since the 70s). Because I was so focused on studying for the NASM CPT exam, I didn’t have time to...