What’s the Process?
The first thing to do is to be tested with our proprietary Injury Proof Screen and Performance Profile, where the athlete is taken through a complete medical physical, a battery of physical performance tests, and a functional movement screen. A report will be developed that the athlete can take home with them. Results will be compared to normative data that is age and sport specific. When necessary more advanced testing procedures may be required, that can by conducted either in-house or referred to the appropriate professional.
Based on the results we’ll determine the most appropriate group and we’ll make recommendations based on your test results, your aspirations, current strength, weaknesses and risk of injury on:
- frequency of training
- type of training
- homework
- additional testing if necessary
Click here to learn more about our programs
To make an appointment call or email us:
FITS TORONTO
E: info@fitstoronto.com
T: 416.628.4333
FITS OAKVILKE
T: 905-469-0939
By analyzing the results from the Injury Proof Screen and Performance Profile we develop a customized periodized program that will improve your sport performance while helping you prevent injuries. Specific outcome measures and a timeline to achieve your specific goals are developed and explained. When appropriate your coach and primary health care practitioner will receive your Performance Profile report and the copy of the program.
Now it’s time to train. Our athletic development team are prepared to guide you through every aspect of training. Emphasizing technique and through a combination of Foundation Training and Performance Lifting through FULL SPECTRUM loading we’re confident you’ll achieve your goals. To add to the process we have a dedicated staff of health care professionals specializing in sport medicine to help you with injuries, regeneration, recovery, and nutrition.
Track and analyze. We have developed proprietary methods to monitor and track your performance. We’ll understand and explore how you are adapting to your program helping us refine your program and reduce over-training and injuries, enabling consistent improvement.
General Questions
Age related questions
Great question! NO. The big concern many people have with strength training / plyometric training and young athletes are growth plate fractures and growth impairments. Scientific Research fails to find any correlation with the previous statement. In fact the rate of loading, the degree of loading and the number of exposures to high loads in normal playground games and unstructured play greatly exceeds those experienced in the gym. Many athletes from all around the world train with loads prior to 10. In fact, training at such a young age sets the stage for tremendous strength gains with appropriate continued training that exceeds a young athlete that does not train prior to 14 or prior to their peak height velocity. So young athletes can strength train, but it needs to be supervised.
Much like learning a language developing motor skills, such running, jumping, throwing and kicking are much easier when one is younger. According to the Long Term Athletic Development the appropriate time to develop these qualities are during Adolescences, starting around 9 years of age. With a strong foundation of physical literacy or movement skill intelligence the young athlete will have these abilities for life.
Based on male and female development the best time to develop speed and power is 14 and 12 years of age respectively. This period coincides with a child’s growth spurt, or peak height velocity. To make best use of this period you need to start training these specific qualities prior to their PHV and continue this for 10 years or 10,000 hours to reach full athletic potential. If this period is missed, they will never achieve their full potential.
We will work with athletes as young as 8 years to develop their movement qualities or physical literacy in accordance to the Long Term Athletic Development Model..
Our Experience
We work with, in no particular order Alpine, basketball, volleyball, hockey, soccer, football, endurance sports, dragon boat, baseball, combat sports amongst other sports. We can do this because we understand biomechanics and work capacity. Based on the unique qualities of your sport we design strength and conditioning programs. This process is very extensive and is based on decades of experience and scientific research.
Program Questions
Yes! But the method we use to train the core may be different than what you expect. The main reason for this discrepancy relates to the fact that popular core training methods are flawed for the following reasons:
- The cores’ main function is to remain in neutral throughout it’s entire length and to transmit forces.
- Loads to the Core in conventional exercises do not come close to the loads experience in ground based resistance training movements.
- The core behaves not like a conventional muscle.
- “Conventional” Core exercises often teach faulty movement patterns, namely trunk flexion and what we call the “C” Spine
- “Core” muscles involve other muscles other than the muscles surrounding your abdomen.
- Proper development of the CORE requires attention to what the core is doing in all movements, to avoid common mistakes such as the “Sandwich”, the “C-spine” and the “Twister”.
Each athlete develops at different rates. By training and eating properly the child will naturally increase their musculature and improve their body composition. More often this is sufficient, but in cases where the sport demands and where the child is under sized we will incorporate a training program to increase size, but not at the detriment of physiological development.
During the off-season a dedicated athlete can gain significant improvement in 10 – 12 weeks of focussed 3 – 5 times per week of training. This amount of time is a minimum. To reach expert levels requires focussed training for 10 years or 10,000 hours. A summer program provides approximately 150 hours, so a lot more training is required (note games and practices can be included in the 10 years or 10,000 hours concept – see LTAD). To maintain this improvement a maintenance program is recommended at 1 – 3 times per week, depending on age, time commitments, skill level, and future aspirations. See our recommendations …
During a focussed off-season training block we recommended a minimum of training 4 times per week for the serious athlete. Our centralized Provincial Sport Programs train 5 days per week. The frequency is necessary because athletes require structure, practice, discipline, exposure to develop a wide range of strength, power and work capacity qualities, and an education on how to transfer gym gains into their sport.
We make general guidelines for the young athlete that are simple and are realistic. We strongly feel that sound, basic nutrition habits must be formed for a minimum of 3 months before any advanced nutrition practices are introduced. For the young athlete the most important nutrition considerations revolve around their pre and post workout nutrition and making sure they eat frequently and healthy. For any athlete that joins a FITS program we provide them with a package for them to follow. Do you develop the aerobic system?
We structure our programs based on qualities that need development for athletic success in accordance to the athletes’ physiological and neurological development. We have a strong understanding of what strength, power, speed, agility and work capacity qualities are necessary for athletic success in your sport. Based on your results from the Performance Profile and compared to normative data from amateur and professional athletes we build a program to get you to the next level and beyond. Our programs continually build upon each successful training block – where consistent improvement for 10 years can be expected. There are two main components of our programs – Foundation Training and Performance Lifting.
We love to correspond with coaches. Their input into what needs development can be of great value. We take our understanding of the qualities that need development and the coaches’ impressions to build programs to fit the unique needs of each athlete. This correspondence is vital.
NO. Improper strength training can reduce flexibility. A proper program that encompasses mobility work and proper technique during strength training will improve flexibility, improve strength, and most importantly improve performance concurrently.
As an athlete develops their needs change. Likewise, athletic qualities develop at different rates for different athletes. This makes the process challenging if you don’t have a method to compare their results to their peers and against elite standards. This is why we have developed the Performance Profile. We know exactly where the athlete strengths and weakness are, and with this we develop the appropriate sport specific qualities.
