Hello from Halifax!

Change is Imminent
by Michele Walker, SIRC

When a city is awarded the Canada Games, there is no doubt change is imminent.

Businesses stock up on more supplies. Staff get extra hours. Hotels are fully booked at a time of year that most would not be. There are more flights in and out of your city.

Schools change their schedule. In fact, one of the biggest changes affects everyone in the entire region. Moving the school spring break to February and closing schools for an additional week follows the practice for previous Winter Games. The last three provinces and territories to host the games -- New Brunswick (2003), Yukon (2007) and Newfoundland and Labrador (1999) -- moved March break and closed schools in the host region to accommodate the Games. To ensure students in the Halifax region do not lose valuable class time in 2011, the school year started early and will end late going through to June 30, 2011. Christmas break was shortened, and one teacher professional development day had to be rescheduled.

But the most interesting ‘change’ is that of ‘change over’ day in the middle of the Games. Unique to multi-sporting events in the world is the fact that the Canada Games hosts half its sports in Week One and the other half in Week Two. This means that missions staffs have to be moving athletes in and out of the host city twice. Those athletes who enjoyed the Opening Ceremony are not even in town to attend the Closing Ceremony, which is enjoyed by the Week Two sport athletes. The Local Organizing Committee in Halifax has to reset venues for a whole new batch of sports, set up new venues, and not to mention the complete cleaning of the Athlete’s Village top to bottom so it’s as fresh and clean as it can be and ready to host a whole new group of athletes and coaches.

Check out SIRC's Canada Games webpage for more information!

Developing consistency in your training

When we exercise, train, and eat properly, we do these things for our overall health or because we have a certain goal we want to achieve. Whether it be winning world titles or just losing several pounds, we are motivated to pursue a certain outcome. Perhaps the most important thing about achieving your goals is consistency.

Great athletes become great athletes because they are consistent in their training, diet and in their daily routine. They understand that to get the results they desire, they have to stick to a set of guidelines or a routine. Once they have achieved the desired results, they increase their training or adjust it according to their next goals.

A few tips to develop consistency:

• Seek simplicity- find a program you can stick with; once you start getting results you will end up loving it.
• Establish a routine - schedule your training session for the same time each day or each week. 
• Get a coach or training partner - increases accountability, as it becomes harder to push the workout to another day. 
• Get a training log – keep track of your workouts to show improvements from workout to workout. You can also take pictures of your physique and keep a diary to see your improvement. 
• Allow for a day off – every now and then (once a week or once every two weeks), break your eating habits and training. Take a break and enjoy that chocolate bar. 

We all have busy lives with our families, jobs and life obligations. However, sticking to a fitness program until you have achieved your desired outcomes will give you better results than jumping from one program to the next. Being consistent with a training or exercise regime allows you to love what you are doing and enables you to improve to the next level, or to reach for your goal.

References from the SIRC Collection:

1. LOUW A, VAN BILJON A, MUGANDANI S. Exercise motivation and barriers among men and women of different age groups. African Journal For Physical, Health Education, Recreation & Dance. December 2, 2012;18(4):759-768.

2. Miranda M. Training and Competition Log for Tennis Players. Coaching & Sport Science Review. December 2007;43:14-16.

3. Shafizadeh M, Taylor M, Peñas C. Performance Consistency of International Soccer Teams in Euro 2012: a Time Series Analysis. Journal Of Human Kinetics. June 2013;38:213-225.

4. Sonnentag S. Burnout research: Adding an off-work and day-level perspective. Work & Stress. July 2005;19(3):271-275.

 5. TRAINING PARTNERS. Flex. January 2010;27(11):80.

 6. Weinberg R, Stitcher T, Richardson P. Effects of a Seasonal Goal-Setting Program on Lacrosse Performance. Sport Psychologist. June 1994;8(2):166-175.