Feeling sluggish? Follow these three rules for maintaining energy throughout the day:

(ARA) Whether you’re a busy parent, a career go-getter or both, modern life has never been more hectic. Busy days can leave even the most energetic people tired and drained. If you want to live a more healthful, energized life, some simple choices can help you make each day dramatically different.

For more info, tips and trends on back to school, healthy snacks, the San Francisco marathon and our community partners please subscribe to our newsletter!

On the road: Tips to enjoy your most nutritious – and delicious – summer vacation

…While grabbing your friends or family and heading out for time away may be great for enjoying all that summer has to offer, it’s usually never good for the waistline. Busy travelers often opt for convenience over nutrition, filling up on high-calorie foods that have little to no nutritional value. But with a little pre-planning, you can choose to avoid the food option pitfalls that frustrate even the savviest travelers…

Read great articles, tips and trends on everything from health and wellness, nutrition and our team ambassadors… subscribe to our newsletter and stay ELEVATED!

In celebration of our very own Vancouver Canucks and Stanley Cup PlayOffs, check out our newest Partnership with Crash Conditioning. A great article by Doug“Crash” Crashley, president of Crash Conditioning, a hockey performance center in Calgary, Alberta.

Effective Dry-Land Training Structure for Hockey Players
By Doug “Crash” Crashley, President of Crash Conditioning
Full Article in Stack Magazine

When developing a dry-land training program, hockey players and their strength coaches need to consider many factors to ensure that it is effective and leads to athletic development.

Some of the factors are obvious—e.g., age and development level. A veteran NHL player will not follow the same plan as 20-year-old Edmonton Oilers rookie Jordan Eberle, or as a 13-year-old bantam house league player. Also, simple differences in physical maturity between male and female athletes of the same age must be taken into consideration.

Other factors are more long-term and developed. Effective dry-land training requires a properly phased program, including workouts that are individually broken down. An athlete’s program should have small and medium goals that lead to his or her long-term development. Every exercise performed should have a reason, and progressions done correctly should link together like puzzle pieces—creating a better athlete overall.

At the simplest level, athletic development for hockey is structuring an individual workout to get the most out of an athlete. And with a basic program to follow, it can work for any age, skill level and degree of commitment. From the time an athlete shows up at the gym to when he or she is walking out the door, the workout structure should be designed correctly and efficiently.

For the most part, I use the following template to develop my players’ workouts:

General Warm-Up
Skip, bike or jog for five to 10 minutes; this increases physiological and psychological levels.

Dynamic Warm-Up
The athlete spends 20 to 40 minutes going through a series of exercises to increase range of motion; activate specific muscles and muscle groups; and wake up the central nervous system [CNS] to increase efficiency and reaction speed for movement patterns. I start to blend this phase with the next one, but some exercises can fit under either heading.

CNS Development
CNS development focuses on speed, agility, quickness and power [SAQP] training. During this time, the athlete works on various high-intensity exercises, never allowing fatigue to harm technique. The exercises include plyometrics as well as other agility drills such as speed ladders, mini hurdles, jump training and sprints. For older athletes, this phase may include Olympic lifts, as does the next phase.

Power and Strength
This phase can include any exercises that involve resistance training. According to livestrong.com, “resistance is simply putting a load on a muscle, making it move against a force. That force might be external, such as a weight, or it might be internal, like another muscle in your body.”

Energy System Development
This can actually be done on a separate day, involving as little as 15 to 20 minutes of work. It includes threshold training, jogging or biking to specific agility patterns for longer duration.

Recovery/Regeneration
Flexibility training, such as stretching and rolling out with a foam roller, and even ice baths and massages, are as vital as any other aspect of the workout, because they allow better nutrient transportation and recovery for the next event

Nutrition
After the end of a workout, it’s time to refuel the tank!

To view videos of the about training principles or to see Doug “Crash” Crashley in action please visit the full article at: http://blog.stack.com/author/doug-crashley/

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Doug “Crash” Crashley is the president of Crash Conditioning, a hockey performance center in Calgary, Alberta. Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith and nominee Mike Green, along with other NHL players and prospects, come to Crash each year to prepare for their seasons. Crashley’s training focuses on enhancing hockey performance through both physiological and psychological conditioning. He has been a lecturer and presenter for Hockey Canada, Hockey Alberta, Nike Hockey and CBC Hockey Night on Canada’s Hyundai Nation. His work has been featured in Hockey Now, Royals Report, Hockey Calgary and STACK magazine

Season Highlights From Our Athlete Ambassador – Ariane Lavigne

Wow! Winter as been flying!

Each year, I feel winter goes too fast… I guess it’s because I’m having fun!

Snowboarding is my biggest passion, and most of it comes from traveling and meeting great people with different culture, where we often travel to remote places locations sometimes do not always have the biggest mountains or the most popular resorts. Away from the tourist crowd; we get into the traditional vibe, meet locals, and ride on perfect snow all day long and when we have time, we go to hot spots or the beaches… what a privileged lifestyle I’ve got!

My top spot of the year? I would say Italy for the culture, food and good people in the small towns, close second, New Zealand for the spectacular views and proximity to the ocean, and coming in a close third, Barcelona for the city action and Spanish/Latin vibe!

Train hard to play hard: Adrenaline!

Another aspect of competing I really like is the excitement and challenge of racing with people from all over the world. At every start, adrenaline is cranking! I get to learn a lot when training with the best riders on the planet. World Cup athletes are definitely inspiring and I find they motivate me to always push my limits to the maximum.

When I think of my season, I have great memories: Technically, mentally and physically.

I feel I’m improving and getting closer to the top 16 in World Cup (finals by elimination). I got 18th twice in the last races, which is really close to my goal. I also finished in top 30 for overall World Cup standing, and on the NorAm circuit, things as been going great: 6 podiums and…the overall 2011 NorAm champion title!

So what’s my plan for next year?!

First, this summer I’ll be training a lot in Montreal to start next season in top shape. I also have few projects in nutrition and working as a nutritionist at Nautilus Plus gyms. We also plan summer training camp on snow, probably Chile in august (I cross my finger because it’s my favorite spot…snow conditions are AWSOME!).

And then World Cup circuit starts in October. I will focus more on world cup circuit, hopefully will do the whole tour (I missed 4 event last year). Top 16 and podiums are definitely the next step!

So far so good

I believe dreams can become true if we put positive energy into what we love. We just need inspiration, motivation, and faith in destiny.

Cheers to life! – Ariane Lavigne- Pro Snowboarder –Canadian National Team

By Sarah Jamieson, Personal Coach, YT, FMS 2

Winter hibernation has finally come and gone, however, if you are one of the many who are still somewhat, sloth like…get over it and get out of the hacienda!

As summer quickly approaches, parks and beaches will soon be in full swing. Why wait? Get out there and take advantage of the early bird summer season with 4 easy strategies to staying healthy and fit, post hibernation and pre summer bliss…. Subscribe to our June Newsletter for more info…

Alison Hooper- 3 Ways to Train, Top Lessons Learned

The way I see it there are 3 ways to train.

#1 – train consistently and go hard as much as you can without dying
#2 – train hard but not consistently
#3 – don’t train hard or consistently

Over the past 3 years I have trained in all three categories.

My first year was #2 for sure…with my body getting used to the sport of triathlon and my family adjusting to the different schedule from my competitive swimming background I can say I trained hard but not totally consistently.

Last year was an out of my control #3. With injury after injury and races and sickness I was unable to push myself to the max without experiencing something that made my training inconsistent.

Happily enough I am proud to rank myself currently at #1 . This training camp in Arizona this past two weeks has definitely been a stepping stone in the consistent direction for this upcoming race season. I don’t know if it is because I am away on a training camp without a lot of distractions, or perhaps the climate is more agreeable and my body adapts better, or because I have finished classes FINALLY…. or or or….I could probably go on forever.

All I am certain of is, that I am making the right training decisions and am happy that progression is taking place in all three sports. Sometimes it’s the small things that can make you get to that next level… maybe the small thing I should cut out of my schedule is school, just kidding! Education is first and foremost, perhaps schools should integrate with triathlon clubs! That’s a thought!

Consistency is here to stay!

Elevated Banana Power Pie Gluten Free and Tasty

Can dessert be GOOD for you? It is now! Thanks to Brenna Coupland, one of our resident athlete ambassadors; dessert can taste great, be healthy and come packed with protein and gluten free goodness!

Check out her recipe for her Elevated Banana Power Pie using Elevate Me! All Original and Coconut Cocoa Cluster energy bars! Yummmy…

Ingredients:

Crust

• 6 ElevateMe bars at room temperature, assorted flavors (I used 3 All Original and 3 Coconut Cocoa Cluster)
• 2-5 tbsp warm water
• 1/3 cup chopped almonds, or other nut

Filling

• 1 ElevateMe bar, at room temperature, any flavor

(I used All Original)

• 4 large bananas, ripe
• 4 large strawberries
• 2 – 10 tbsp water, juice, or milk
• 4 mejool dates, pits removed
• ½ – 1 tbsp lemon juice, optional

Directions

Crust:

1. With clean hands, break up ElevateMe bars into small bits and place into a large bowl. Using your hands will help warm the bars without ‘cooking’ them, preparing them for blending. Alternatively, leave the wrapped bars in a clean, warm place for 30 minutes before opening, and cut with knife.
2. Place bars into a Vitamix or quality food processor. Add one tablespoon of warm water, and pulse in processor 3-4 times. Add more water, one tablespoon at a time, pulsing 3-4 times with each addition, until mixture is soft and a ball can easily be rolled between the palms.
3. Add nuts to blender, and pulse until nuts are evenly dispersed throughout crust mixture.
4. Press crust into a lined 8” pie plate approximately ½ cm thick. Refrigerate.

Filling:

1. Break up ElevateMe bar into small bits as above and set aside
2. Break up bananas into a clean Vitamix or food processor, add strawberries and 2 tbsp liquid (water, juice or milk) and pulse 4-5 times. Adding one tablespoon of liquid at a time, continue to blend until mixture is creamy, thick and pourable.
3. Add elevate me bars and dates, and blend until uniform and no chunks in mixture.
4. Taste. If too sweet, add ½ -1 tbsp of lemon juice. If more sweetness is desired, add more dates.
5. Pour filling into crust, cover, and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

Now that’s a dessert… thanks Brenna!

Pie Eating Contest Anyone?

Check out our May newsletter for tips and trends on summer health!

Kicking of the summertime festivities check out the Events Section of our newsletter – New Partnership with the Dunbar Cycles, DC Pro Team, crushin’ it! Check them out: http://www.dunbarcycles.com/

ELEVATE ME! Teams up with Dunbar Cycles, Pro DC Team

In our newest endeavour to fuel the needs of many pro-athletes who indulge in “crush city particip-ACTION,” it was inevitable that two great companies would stumble upon each other to form a great partnership! Welcome aboard Dunbar Cycles, DC Team!

ELEVATE ME! is an advocate for anything that equates to getting dirty, work hard to play hard, thrill seeking adventure, crushing the competition and everything that gets your hind parts outside. We are proud to be fuelling the DC World Cup and Pro Mens Teams for through their competitive season.

Dunbar Cycles has the largest and most successful race team in Canada, more importantly they have a spankin’ blog site via the DC web portal that each pro-rider contributes to! Hello! Mass information overload, keep it coming. Oh, and of course they sell bike, bike parts, bike materials… all that jazz! If you are need of a great piece of two wheel machinery and want constant tips from the pros – then Dunbar Cycles is the place you should be! Ollie, Endo, Ride it, Rock it – Crushin’ it DC Style.

Elevate Me! is proud to be featured on the new iphone ap – Wheat Free World!

Wheat-Free World is designed to provide valuable resources for people coping with celiac disease or gluten-sensitivities, and for people serving or working with friends, family or clients on a gluten-free diet. A brilliant use of tabs for anyone needing fast gluten free info, here’s a sneak peek:

• The introductory info tab gives a brief outline of celiac disease and its symptoms and then guides the user through the app, describing the information provided in each tab.
• The recipe tab provides many delicious, nutritious meal and snack options, beautifully photographed on with icons for ingredients and the step-by-step cooking process.
• The medical tab, written by Michelle Lawton, Nurse Clinician, gives concise information about wheat and gluten-sensitivities including symptoms, commonality, diagnosis and screening.

Products are divided into two categories: Essentials For The Kitchen and Products We Promote. Essentials For The Kitchen lists everything one needs in their home or restaurant kitchen to serve a variety of delicious food that is gluten-free. Each tab is easily reached from the toolbar and the detailed photographs can be viewed in both portrait and landscape by turning the device horizontally.

The Wheat-Free World application is here to help educate and strengthen the health, happiness and well being of everyone who wants to live well without wheat. Get yours now through iTunes!