New Equipment Alert! We are very excited to introduce the H.I.I.T. Mill-X as an amazing substitute for a sled push/pull, farmers walk and so much more!  What better way to take your outside training indoors and give yourself a new challenge!

Not sure what to do?  Take a look at our OAC trainers demonstrating various exercises that can be done on the H.I.I.T. Mill-X for a complete cardio and strength training workout. Have fun, and don’t hesitate to ask our Track Staff for assistance.

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1. Be mindful (aware, but non-judgmental) about your thoughts and feelings as you approach your competitive environment. Practicing meditation techniques can help you become better at this
2. If there are feelings of anxiousness obstructing you due to a sense that your perceived skill level is not high enough to match the perceived level of challenge, use arousal control techniques such as deep breathing or listening to calming music to relieve your anxiety
3. If you find your focus frequently wanders or you often feel distracted, incorporate focusing technique such as imagery or visualization into your routine to help increase your ability to maintain an engaged and concentrated mind
4. Visualize yourself becoming fully engaged, prepared, and confident when you step on the court with your opponent, ready to immerse yourself in the joy and rhythm of the game
5. Let yourself become engaged, feel the flow state of mind, and enjoy the feeling of testing yourself and competing

Pros are not the only ones who find an edge to win and control the emotional aspect of winning. Are you having problems winning the fifth set in an arduous battle of squash?

It may be mental not the “old” legs giving in. Did you mentally prepare to play that length of time under pressure? Up 2-0 love and the brain goes for a ‘walkabout”, suddenly losing next 3? Give yourself the flow treatment and watch your game change with a new awareness and state of mind.

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Hydration is important!

When we consult with OAC clients many say they don’t drink enough water, such an essential nutrient all biochemical reactions occur in water. In forms structures of large molecules such as protein and glycogen.

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The DOUVRIS Confidence course teaches children what confidence is and how they can experience being confident. The Confidence Course is a 6-week karate program aimed at instilling self-confidence while staying healthy and active!

Each student receives a confidence course booklet to help them understand how to be and feel confident. The booklet contains questions, examples and fill in the blank statements to help them recognize and celebrate their accomplishments.

Learn More about the course
https://douvris.com/programs/confidence-course/

Confidence

And when they are ready for a bigger challenge, we put our more advanced students in charge of teaching lower belts some of the techniques they know. Teaching experience gives our students a great boost in confidence, but it also makes them realize that they, in turn, can help younger or less experienced students gain confidence with the right teaching techniques and positive reinforcement.

“There are so many great cases here where we’ve seen our students become teachers and even become leaders – not just here at the dojo, but in their outside life as well, at school, at work – we have a lot of members, and a lot of younger members who seem older just because of their confidence and their maturity, taking it out of the dojo and basically showing everyone out there how confident they can be,” Sensei Cody says.

Source

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Not only do we have a new fleet of state-of-the-art spin bikes, but we are bringing in an exciting new program! Introducing Sufferfest… a virtual indoor cycling race through multiple tracks led by certified Sufferlandrian instructors.

The Sufferfest is training for bike, body, and mind.  It will help you unlock your full potential as an athlete on and off the bike! It allows you to train your body and mind so you can take your fitness regime to the next level.   With the seasonality of our Canadian weather, this will allow us to spin every season with a large library of structured workouts designed by elite coaches.  These high-intensity interval workouts are designed to provide you with the maximum benefit. Coming soon to the OAC!

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Ariane Zeba meets her goal of becoming a swimmer.

When I started with Team Triumph I was working out a little bit with a personal trainer and irregularly attending group lessons at a gym. My husband and I arrived in Ottawa and I began to look up triathlon clubs on the Internet for my husband to train with a club.

At first, Team Triumph looked like a pro club. I must admit that I was a bit intimidated when I first signed up, but my fears were assuaged because the coaches are very welcoming and so are the members of the club.

How I joined Team Triumph is an example of how sharing your dream with someone can lead to the realization of that dream! During a hike, I shared with someone that I would love to be able to participate to a triathlon, but my swimming was not good enough. She told me that Team Triumph Triathlon club could teach anyone to swim. That same day she sent an email to the Head Coach and myself. I started private lessons the week after. I then joined the spin class, yoga, and the running group.

My main goal was to become a swimmer.  This goal was important to me because my husband is a good swimmer and an Ironman. Triathlon is something we can do together. I had this goal for at least 20 years. I thought finding a motivational swimming teacher would help me achieve this goal.

The head swim coach is a very motivating teacher. The first time we met, she told that she has yet to find a person she could not teach how to swim. When I heard that, I knew I would soon become a swimmer. I had tried private lessons at Movati and group swimming at Brewer Pool, but they just did not give me what I was looking for.

What I like most about Team Triumph is how quickly I progressed and the social aspect of the club. I still need to get into the pool more often because I struggle with working out alone. On the plus side, I am so proud of the fact that I have participated in 2 triathlon races already. I am in better shape now and I know that I can do what I want if I train for it!

By joining Team Triumph, I have become a swimmer, triathlete, have more confidence in my abilities and I have met some awesome people. I do not want to think about where I would be if I had not started training with them. I am really happy to be where I am at today.

Thank you, Julia and Team Triumph for helping me achieve my goals.

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“When we’re talking about excellence, we’re really talking about effort,” Sensei Cody Diesbourg explains. “You don’t have to be the best at what you’re doing yet, but if you put in the effort that’s where you’re going to get to.”

In class, we often ask our kids what kind of effort they need to put into their karate. The right answer is “Black Belt Effort”, and we want them to yell it out convincingly. The idea is to make it clear to them that they shouldn’t be looking to stay at whatever level they are now, but to show the kind of effort that will lead them to where they want to be.

“When we see black belts give to us or show us what it takes to be a black belt,” Sensei Cody adds, “then that really pushes us to push ourselves and have that effort in class to strive to be that black belt, to get to that next level.”

To help our students stay focused and motivated we use short-term and medium-term goals, as well as the long-term goal of becoming a black belt. Our curriculum is organized by belt level, and each one is further divided into smaller levels. When students achieve a particular level, they get a stripe on their belt to indicate that they’re ready to move on to the next step – until they are ready to test for their next belt. This not only helps children stay the course, but it also teaches them the importance of setting goals and of dividing big goals into small, manageable chunks – and that’s a lesson they can apply to other aspects of their lives.

What happens once you get your black belt? “The story’s not over,” Sensei Cody says. “That’s when you have to set your new goals. At Douvris Martial Arts we always teach our students that when you achieve your goals, there are other things out there that you can go for. And really the effort and the time you put in and everything you put into your classes, is where you’re going to achieve that excellence.”

Source

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As Sensei Cody Diesbourg explains, one of the best ways we have to teach children about responsibility is our leadership program. Intermediate and advanced students are given the opportunity to assist in teaching beginner classes. Our leaders are expected to show up and help during the same classes, and to get there on time and with all their equipment, to make sure they understand how responsibility and accountability work. This is not something every seven- or eight-year-old gets to do everywhere, but we believe that giving children opportunities to be responsible early is a great teaching tool for character development.

However, we also take great care not to put too much responsibility on such young shoulders. “We’re not looking for perfection right off the bat,” says Sensei Cody, because that would certainly be unreasonable to ask of children that age. “We’re here to help our students along the way. And if you make a mistake, the important thing is that you’re not just hiding it. We try to show them that it’s OK to make mistakes, as long as you admit it and improve upon it; if you make excuses, you don’t make any progress.”

With responsibility comes accountability, and one of the ways we encourage our students to become better at both is by expecting them to practice their skills on their own so they remember the lessons from one class to the next. “That’s the give-and-take relationship between students and instructors here at Douvris Martial Arts where, when you come back, there’s that accountability that you should know your stuff,” Sensei Cody says.

Karate is a discipline where students learn skills that can be dangerous if used improperly. Our responsibility as instructors is to make sure students understand when it’s OK to use their kicks and punches, and when it’s not, and to remember that difference when they’re outside the dojo. As Sensei Cody explains, “The best way to prove that you’ve learned something is to not ever have to use it. Using your brain – it’s your best weapon – and being able to get yourself out of a situation without having to use your kicks and punches, really makes us happy.”

Source

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Linda Lafrance Completes the Boston Marathon!

I was apprehensive leading up to Boston. I know just how insidiously an injury can happen but this time I felt strong and ready. I had two good legs. The weather was tricky, 100% chance of rain with winds at 45-55 km/ hr from the East. So, a head wind all the way back to Boston. I think I got the layers right but the rain weighed me down in the wool socks and warmer long pants. Despite this, my leg muscles never warmed up. I had to fuel more often as my body was working hard at keeping me warm and at feeding my muscles. I started off the downhill at a pace of 5:00-5:15 then tried to stay under 5:20 for as long as I could but the wind was a force to contend with. The footing was slippery at times and after a while I didn’t even bother avoiding the puddles. Glide applied to my feet minimized friction and prevented blisters. Every time I felt like I was slowing down I checked in with technique and my speed improved. We were running side by side with people and through cheering crowds all the way. I enjoyed every minute of it but crossing that finish line made me feel elated. I finally finished what I set out to do 2 years ago. Run the Boston Marathon.

Mindful Racing- Coach Julia Aimers

Congratulations to Linda on not only qualifying for Boston but also completing a tough race!! The line that really sticks out for me in this report is something we have been talking about in the past couple of weeks: the concept of racing mindfully. If we race thinking about the future and what could go wrong, or the past thinking about how you may have felt a minute ago we don’t stay in the moment and focus on what we are doing.

When things got tough in Boston, Linda came back to thinking about her form and what happened next is she actually sped up! Thinking about form, counting swim strokes, breaths, strides, pedal strokes or simply looking around in gratitude at the scenery or at all of the amazing people you are racing with keeps you in the moment and takes away some of the over anxious feelings and keeps you in a positive mindset. Racing can be a blast if we can dance and sing in the rain.

Team Triumph Triathlon Club Summer Fun Program

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When I joined Team Triumph I had been working out which consisted of going to the gym, lifting weights, walking and cross country skiing in the winter.

I was prompted to join in the Swim program through Sue Martin Bush who knew that I enjoyed swimming when I went to her cottage. I had no specific goal in mind when I joined.  All I knew after a couple of swims was that I wanted to get out of that first lane.  In my mind, I targeted one of the women that I thought was swimming well and made it my business to beat her.

I also thought that maybe if I started spinning perhaps my cardio would improve and I would be faster in the pool.

I still want to beat the person in the lane next to me but it is getting harder.  Having a goal such as that is what does it for me whether it be surviving a tough spin class or getting through the whole workout written on the board at swim practice.

I think I just got bored with what I was doing before and I never had any plan to improve.  I had never worked out among such an inspiring, positive group of people before and that camaraderie has always made the difference when I am not sure I can do it some days.

At the time I enrolled with Team Triumph I was just looking for something different to try.  I came out of the first swim class feeling like I had a new lease on life.  I was so exhilarated by the intensity of the workout and the supported feeling of having a coach that watched and helped you to get to the best you could be.

I am still working on overcoming the challenge of how much I feel I can push at this point in my life and feeling a bit disappointed with my performance around competition anxiety, but I am still proud to have done the Perth Sprint triathlon.

I never thought I would be operating at this fitness level this late in my life. My kids and husband are proud of the efforts I have made and impressed when we go out for a bike ride or swim that I am so much stronger than I used to be.

I would say that one of the nicest things to discover is that even as we age there are still new things that we can try and new levels of fitness or new sports that we can learn.  Our age does not define our ability and there is no finish line.

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