Everything in these screenshots is made-up data for an athlete who does not exist. Nobody's real food logs, weights or names appear anywhere below.

It starts with two numbers

Most nutrition apps open on a settings screen and ask you to configure yourself. Proton asks six questions instead, one at a time, and does the maths itself.

01 / 28

First run asks one question at a time

Six steps, no settings screen. Where you are now, where you are going, and roughly what you eat today.

02 / 28

Your plan, before you log anything

Day one starts at one gram of protein per pound of goal bodyweight, with the calorie, carb and fat numbers derived from your goal weight and activity level.

The line that matters is after day 1: halfway between goal and yesterday. The target is not a fixed number you either hit or fail. It moves toward your goal from wherever you actually landed the day before, which means a bad day makes tomorrow easier rather than putting you further behind.

The daily screen

03 / 28

Everything for today on one scroll

A greeting that tells you what is still left, a bar for every macro you have unlocked, the last fourteen days, and today's meals. The bar card flips to stat tiles with a tap.

Note what is not there on day one. New members only see protein. Calories appear after five days hit, full macros after ten. It is the same app either way — it just refuses to hand you five numbers to track before you have proven you can hit one.

Logging a meal

This is the part people actually use, so it has three ways in and it always shows its working.

04 / 28

Photograph it

The sheet opens on the camera. Review the numbers the AI comes back with, or save now and let it fill them in afterwards.

05 / 28

Or just describe it

No photo needed. Type the meal in plain language and the same analysis runs on the text.

06 / 28

Every item, itemised and editable

Calories are locked and recalculated from protein, carbs and fat, so the numbers can never drift apart into something that does not add up.

07 / 28

Bulk log, for the plates that need three photos

Meal prep and big spreads rarely fit in one frame, so this takes several photos and notes together.

08 / 28

Merged into one meal

The AI folds everything into a single entry with a per-item list, running totals and an editable name.

Deciding what to eat

The features I get asked about most all live in the gap between "I have thirty-seven grams of protein left" and "so what do I actually eat".

09 / 28

Suggestions that know your day

Three specific meals based on what you have left, each with a reason attached.

10 / 28

An assistant with your numbers

The chat already has today's totals, your targets and your history, so you get an answer about your day rather than general nutrition advice.

11 / 28

Eating out, where most weeks fall apart

Type a restaurant name, paste a menu link, or photograph the menu.

12 / 28

Tick what you ate

When it finds the menu, the items log themselves with estimated macros.

13 / 28

Or it tells you what to order

When there is no menu to read it works backwards from what you still need, and says how to customise the order.

"Double the chicken, dressing on the side, swap half the rice for salad" is a more useful sentence than any number.

Going back and fixing things

14 / 28

Tap any meal

Full macros, with edit and delete.

15 / 28

Favourites the AI trusts

Star a meal and its exact macros join your library. Next time you mention it by name the AI uses those numbers instead of estimating.

16 / 28

History, the honest view

Days hit, days logged and hit rate, then every day with its meals and its percentage of goal.

17 / 28

Flagged for review

Anything the AI was unsure about gets a marker, and one tap filters history down to just those meals.

18 / 28

It tells you what it guessed

Every item carries a confidence score and a note. Low-confidence items get a panel where you add what you know and re-run the analysis.

That last one is the feature I am most pleased with. "Olive oil, fifty-eight percent confident, portion estimated from visible amount only" is the app admitting something. An app that quietly invents a number is worse than useless for anyone trying to learn what they are actually eating.

Progress

19 / 28

Thirty days at a glance

Days hit, consistency and average intake, with a star on every day above ninety percent.

20 / 28

Bodyweight trend

Weigh-ins plotted against the goal line, and a nudge when it has been a week.

Thirty plants a week

Spector is named after Tim Spector, and it tracks the thirty-different-plants-a-week guideline for gut health. The trick is that there is nothing extra to log — the plants get pulled out of the meals you already recorded.

21 / 28

This week's diversity score

Unique plants against a target of thirty, and how many food groups you covered.

22 / 28

Where the plants came from

Every meal with the plants found in it, grouped by day.

23 / 28

Twelve food groups

A running count over twenty-eight days, so the gaps are obvious. Mine is always nuts and seeds.

Accountability

24 / 28

Friends

I connect members with training partners. Fourteen days of hits side by side, ranked, with streak badges.

25 / 28

Open any card

The last seven days in full.

Nobody sees what you ate. They see whether you hit. That turns out to be the right amount of visibility.

Settings, and the bit that makes the AI good

26 / 28

Profile, and AI Notes

Stats, your coach, dietary flags — and free text the model reads before every single analysis.

27 / 28

Work out your macros

read the rest on the bifrost →

]]> https://simondamb.org/blog/camera-gear-for-sale https://simondamb.org/blog/camera-gear-for-sale Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Simon Damborg blog PHOTOGRAPHY photography technology vancouver Finally moved to a full frame body as my primary shooter, so clearing out some of my less used lenses & bodies. After years of using a crop sensor as my primary, and an old A7II body as my backup for events & full frame, I finally made the switch to a full fram A7CII as my primary lens, so time to cleanup and clear-out some of the less used pieces!

Will eventually get around to listing these on marketplace, everything is up for conversation or trade...

Sony E 16-55mm f/2.8 G — $999

Has been my daily driver for years - incredible lens and the go-to for majority of people shooting on a sony crop body. Not the latest model, so a lot more affordable than the newer options!

• Constant f/2.8 across the whole range, no light lost as you zoom

• Frames like a 24-82, which covers almost everything

• The lens that lived on my a6400 for years... the one I'll actually miss

• Serial 1813028, hood and (3d printed) caps included

Sony FE 24-50mm f/2.8 G — $899

Basically brand new, bought it when I got my full frame body but decided I should have sprung for the 24-70 since I don't mind the extra weight on my daily driver. This is a great option if you are looking for something a bit smaller / lighter (and much more affordable). Open to trades or combo if you want to pair this up with the A7ii body below.

• Full frame f/2.8 in a shockingly small package
• Weighs almost nothing in a bag
• Sharp wide open

Sony E 15mm f/1.4 G — $639

A great quality and fun wide prime lens to shoot with. Great for anything indoor, low light, and super sharp with that 1.4 aperature.

• Wide, fast, and TINY
• f/1.4 eats low light for breakfast
• Great for video and tight indoor spaces
• My "one lens, don't want to think about it" lens for a while
• Hood and caps included

Sony a7 II body — $600

My first full frame, still takes a lovely photo in 2026! Primarily used this as my secondary body when shooting at events. Older model, still works great and takes great photos - body is definitely used, but everything works great. Open to trades or combos.

• 24 megapixels, in-body stabilization
• Cheapest honest way into full frame
• Being straight: it's been USED. Grip and edges show wear. Everything works, nothing rattles, shutter count on request

Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 — $189

The classic first prime - a must have if you're shooting portraits or anything of the sort. Was my favorite prime lines before I started spending a lot more $$ on zooms.

• Biggest jump in image quality a beginner can buy for the money
• Everyone's first "whoa" photo comes from a fifty
• Not a pro lens (autofocus hunts, soft wide open) but at this price who cares

Sony E 16-50mm kit lens — Free with any other purchase

Tiny pancake, fits in a jacket pocket with the camera attached. Free if you want it with any other purchase :)

]]> https://simondamb.org/blog/my-adhd-brain https://simondamb.org/blog/my-adhd-brain Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Simon Damborg blog ABOUT ADHD mentalhealth perspective How I describe ADHD - everyones experience is different! I typically describe MY experience with ADHD (everyone's is different) as 5 conversations happening in my head 24/7...

...more coming soon!

]]> https://simondamb.org/blog/the-sport-dot-fit https://simondamb.org/blog/the-sport-dot-fit Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Simon Damborg blog ABOUT if3 functionalfitness CF3 Nerd After 12+ years of running Functional Fitness Leagues - all that knowledge of data management will now be used to help Functional Fitness Federations stay organized internationally. After running almost 30 seasons of the Functional Fitness League, I learned a lot. Not just about event coordination and management, but about movement standards, judging, and volunteer management too.

Right now, the sport runs almost entirely on volunteers. If we can earn government recognition, we open the door to real funding: the kind that can pay for professional technical officials instead of relying on volunteers forever.

To get that recognition, we need to meet Sport Canada's requirements, plus international sport accord standards. That's a mountain of paperwork and process most federations don't have the time or tools to manage well.

So I built TheSport.Fit. Software that takes everything I learned managing functional fitness and turns it into a platform for national and international governing bodies: membership, competition and qualification management, technical official certification, club directories, governance tools, all built around the standards these federations actually need to meet. The goal is simple: get internationally recognized movement standards and technical officials into the hands of every federation that wants them, faster and cheaper than building it themselves.

I've donated the full product to the Canadian Functional Fitness Federation (CF3) to serve as our beta tester, and it's already running their 2026 National Championship registrations. Next: rolling out subdomains and back end access to all 50 federations under the IF3 (International Functional Fitness Federation), so each one can meet sport accord requirements with efficient, transparent governance of their own.

Check it out: http://cf3.thesport.fit

]]> https://simondamb.org/blog/impact-magazine-full-body-workout https://simondamb.org/blog/impact-magazine-full-body-workout Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Simon Damborg blog WORKOUTS SCHOOLS.FIT @Home Workout functionalfitness Training the workout you DO beats the perfect one you skip. four moves, one dumbbell, every muscle group covered (built for impact magazine).

Regardless of what any trainer tells you, there’s one thing that is the single most important factor of your workouts: that you do them! Especially for kids or those aging, more important than following a perfect workout routine is that you engage every muscle and movement pattern for 30+ reps (minimum) 1-2x / week. For kids, this is what ensures balanced growth and development of muscles, bones and joints – and for the aging population it’s as simple as ‘use it or lose it’ so as long as you continue to pass through full ranges of motion with a bit of external loading, you won’t lose that muscle mass—and that’s the single most important factor for healthy aging!

That’s why I’ve put together a single dumbbell workout that hits every major muscle group so that you’ve got no excuse to get it in whether you’re at home, the gym, or somewhere in between—all you need is a weighted object (dumbbell obviously works best) and you’ve got no excuse to not keep your basics going!

I recommend performing 2-4 sets of each exercise. If short on time do them as a superset with a 30-60 second rest between each movement.

Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift into Lunge

6-10 reps (depending on weight) of both movements/side
Pattern: Lower Pull & Lunge

Focus on control through the lower leg, keep the hips square to the ground as you raise your back leg and let your torso tilt down. Focus on lifting the back leg rather than bending at the waist, focusing on targeting the hamstring of the supporting leg rather than how far down the dumbbell goes. Once you come back to standing, we’re going right into a step-back lunge so we can target the glute of that same leg all in one movement.

Dumbbell Row to Curl & Press

6-10 reps (depending on weight) of both movements/side
Pattern: Lower Pull & Lunge

Starting in a hinged position with a flat back, perform a single-arm dumbbell row focusing on driving the elbow back and engaging the lat. Then stand up tall, curl the weight to your shoulder and then press it overhead. If you’ve got a heavy dumbbell, you can treat the curl as a bit more of a swing, and then use the legs to perform a push press to get the DB overhead.

Bonus: If you have two dumbbells, you can do both arms at the same time!

1+ ¼ Cyclist Squats

6-10 reps
(depending on weight) with a controlled tempo

The reason we use a cyclist squat (heals elevated) over a conventional squat is we’ve already targeting the hamstrings and glutes – so in this move we’re trying to get into DEEP knee flexion to ensure longevity and healthy knees while also targeting the quadriceps more specifically. Elevate your heels with whatever you’ve got that’s one to two inches tall!

Plank Drag ThroughPlank Drag Through

10-20 reps
Pattern: Core/Obliques (and scapular strength)

Starting in a tall plank position you’re going to drag the weight across the floor by pulling it (not pushing it) while trying to minimize the movement through your torso. If you’ve got a lot of butt movement going on widen your stance, if it’s too easy bring your feet closer together! This movements not only great for targeting the core and obliques but also helps strengthen our upper back and scapula which helps with mobility and posture as well.

---

Photography: Bob Garlick

The Anywhere Dumbbell Workout | IMPACT MagazineRegardless of what any trainer tells you, there’s one thing that is the single most important factor of your workouts: that you do them! Especially for kids or those aging, more important than following a perfect workout routine is that you engage every muscle and movement pattern for 30+ reps…IMPACT Magazine · Simon Damborg

]]> https://simondamb.org/blog/community-code-of-conduct https://simondamb.org/blog/community-code-of-conduct Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Simon Damborg blog BEYOND BINARY SCHOOLS.FIT raincity athletics the rules we live by at raincity, version 3.2. inclusive by default, accountability over intent, kindness as the floor. open-source so anyone can borrow. View the full live document:
https://www.raincityathletics.ca/code-of-conduct

Raincity Athletics

COMMUNITY CODE OF CONDUCT
V3.2

License: Creative Commons Attribution–ShareAlike 4.0 Based on: Geek Feminism, Seed&Spark, and XOXO, StoryHive Codes of Conduct
Aligned with: Raincity Operations Manual

Our Purpose

Raincity Athletics is built around a single idea: Find Your Fit.
That means building an inclusive, empowering space where people of all backgrounds, identities, and abilities can train safely and confidently – free from discrimination, harassment, or harm.

This Community Code of Conduct outlines our commitments as well as our expectations for all those enrolled in our classes and programs, private training and engaged in our online spaces. We acknowledge that everyone in our fitness community brings a diverse set of lived experiences, and we recognize that some may face systemic barriers or prejudice due to their intersecting identities. Raincity Athletics is committed to creating a space free from racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism and other forms of oppression, with the goal that everyone feels safe and supported so that they can actively pursue becoming the best (and fittest) version of themselves.

Who This Applies To

Everyone who takes part in Raincity Athletics, including:

• Members and drop-ins
• Coaches and apprentices
• Contractors and volunteers
• Parents and guests
• Event participants
• Anyone representing Raincity in person or online

These standards apply everywhere our community interacts: in classes, events, travel, social media, and digital spaces connected to Raincity or anytime you are representing the Raincity brand and community.

Our Shared Commitments

We commit to:

• Welcoming and respecting all individuals, regardless of gender, race, sexuality, age, ability, or background.
• Using inclusive, affirming, and accessible language.
• Keeping our community physically and emotionally safe for all individuals.
• Listening, learning, and correcting our own mistakes without shame 
• A culture that values feedback and accountability from all community members 
• Taking responsibility for our impact, not just our intent.

Expected Behaviors

Everyone is expected to:

• Follow all posted safety rules and instructions.
• Assume coaches are acting for the safety and benefit of the group, even if the reason isn’t obvious.
• Respect all personal boundaries; physical and emotional, ask before making physical contact, ask before taking pictures or videos that someone may be in the background of.
• Use names and pronouns correctly and update them if corrected.
• Keep conversations respectful, assume good intent, and avoid escalating unnecessary conflict.
• Maintain hygiene standards (clean clothes, deodorant, wipe down equipment after use).
• Communicate concerns early, no matter how small, using the reporting process.
• Default to kindness when witnessing someone struggling.
• If you’re unsure, ask (and assume good intentions when someone does ask).
• Share positively about each other, celebrate victories (and be conscious of the impact of the words you share).

Unacceptable Behaviors

Harassment, bullying, and discrimination of any kind are not tolerated.
This includes (but is not limited to):

• Intentionally creating a negative environment for any member of our community.
• Harassment, discrimination, or offensive comments: Including comments about gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neurotype, physical appearance, body size, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, language, or religion.
• Unwelcome comments about personal lifestyle choices: Food, health, parenting, employment, drugs, or other personal practices.
• Deliberate misgendering or use of rejected or dead names.
• Sexual content or behaviour in inappropriate spaces: Including sexual jokes, sexual imagery, or sexualized actions that do not belong in our environment.
• Physical contact without consent: This includes touching, simulated physical contact, or continuing after being asked to stop.
• Threats or encouragement of violence or self-harm.
• Intimidation, stalking, or following.
• Harassing photography or recording: Including any attempt to monitor or log someone’s activity for harmful purposes.
• Sustained disruption of class, discussion, or community spaces.
• Unwelcome sexual attention.
• Patterns of inappropriate or intrusive social contact: Repeated attempts to create unwanted intimacy or closeness.
• Ignoring requests to stop one-on-one communication.
• Outing someone’s private or personal identity without consent.
• Sharing private communication without consent: Even when it is not itself harassing.
• Knowingly making false or harmful claims about another person.

Raincity follows widely accepted best practices for community safety and therefore does not act on complaints about:

• Reverse racism, reverse sexism, or similar claims.
• Reasonable boundary setting, such as “leave me alone” or “I’m not discussing this.”
• Someone using a tone you personally do not prefer.
• Criticism of racist, sexist, transphobic, or otherwise oppressive behaviour or assumptions.

Consequences

If someone’s behavior violates this Code, Raincity may:

1. Issue a verbal warning (for minor infractions)
2. Issue a written warning (for second offenses, or major infractions)
3. Terminate membership, contract, or coaching role (if requested changes are not respected)
4. Contact external authorities if safety or legality is at risk.

Every situation will be reviewed fairly and privately according to our Reporting Procedures from the Raincity Operations Manual.

]]> https://simondamb.org/blog/youth-training-presentation https://simondamb.org/blog/youth-training-presentation Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Simon Damborg blog FITCLUB SCHOOLS.FIT raincity athletics Training coaching functionalfitness trainingbasics fitnessmyths @Home Workout a talk to langara's EA program on training kids. forget specific exercises, train movement patterns. the best workout is the one your athlete will actually do.

When you remove the obligation to try to get your athlete to complete a specific movement, you unlock an infinite number of scaling options, gamifications, or other ways to engage with your athlete. Our goal isn't to get them to perform a specific exercise, our goal is to get them to perform a variety of movement patterns.

This is the simplest breakdown of patterns in a way that covers every muscle in the body. The more experienced you get, the more you can begin to break this down into muscle groups and other details - but to start, learn to understand the major patterns of the body rather than trying to memorize specific exercises.

Not everyone can squat, but almost everyone can perform SOME type of 'Lower push' exercise. If you can walk up stairs, sit on the toilette, or even just bend your knees through any range of motion - then you're able to perform the lower push pattern.

The goal isn't exercise for the sake of exercise, the goal is to accomplish a broad variety of movements and to work just 10% harder than they want to or have before. With this approach, there is an infinite number of ways to engage your athlete in a way that is fun rather than a chore.

The best workout for your athlete is the one that they do. Don't overcomplicate it or set the bar unattainably high. 30 minutes once a week is 1,000x better than nothing, and 30 minutes 2x / week consistently over an extended period is enough to make some major life changes for athletes of any age or ability.

Exposing our body to stress in a controlled environment, whether physical or emotional, is how we adapt and grow as human beings. Teaching regulation to athletes through their physical body is MUCH easier then trying to get inside their heads, but as they learn physical regulation, the emotion regulation follows right behind.

If you're working with an athlete who spends a lot of time already doing a specific sport (or movement pattern) then if you remember our goal of ensuring athletes complete a broad range of patterns - then our most effective use of time to ensure a balanced and health athlete is to train the ones they're not already doing.

The goal is long term progression, not short term goals. Don't scare them off by making it too hard. As long as you can get your athlete to do 10% more than they wanted to, or have before - then the workout was a win. Maintain this approach over extended periods of time, and the results will speak for themselves.

My SCHOOLS.FIT web-app of Resources

Check-out the full list of resources, with on demand workout videos, movement demos, workout builders and more coming soon on my web app I'm building specifically for educators, parents, and anyone who works with youth.

SCHOOLS.FITA resource from coach Thor for parents, educators, and anyone who works with youth.Raincity School Resources

]]> https://simondamb.org/blog/japan-must-dos https://simondamb.org/blog/japan-must-dos Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Simon Damborg blog JAPAN rwueats japan disney animals technology attraction travel a curated guide to affordable, locally-loved spots in japan. mobile-friendly, filterable, free (no paywall, no gatekeeping). For those that don't know - Rebecca (aka rwu) is a biigggg foodie, and although she hates posting on or being on the internet, the work she put into researching every single meal of our trip to Japan was too good to gate keep!

Why #rwueats?

The only thing rwu might like as much as food? A good deal.

Eating with rwu isn't just about finding the best food in town (that's easy, and usually expensive) it's about finding the top rated locally recommended and affordable places to eat in town!

This doesn't mean every meal we had was cheap by any means, but it does mean that every great meal doesn't have to be expensive.

Why should you care?

Between rwus obsession with good deals on great food, and my obsession with spreadsheets, organization & technology we did two things;

• Curated the best of and must-do food (and some other) items in Japan
• Built a mobile friendly search & browsable web app for you to actually use & find them

This isn't just a blog post you scroll and forget, it's a web app you can save to your phone and utilize while you travel through Japan.

How do I use it?

• Browse the whole list, or filter the food by place, price and rating

• You can click to view more info including;

  • Store hours & locations / address
  • Whether you need a reso, can walk-in, or when to line up

• a quick note from us on our experience there

• Whenever possible we included a link to their website, instagram, or whatever page we used to find more information about them so you can too :)

👉simondamb.org/collections/japan

Japan Must DosOur top currated affordable and delicious recommendations you must see & do in Japan!the bifrost

Use now - pay later (optional)

Although we put this together for anyone to freely browse, use, and share - it did take a LOT of time to research and build and many bloggers will gate keep this type of thing behind a pay wall - but we're doing the opposite.

If you loved it and used it, we'd love you to let us know by making a small donation of $5-10 (or more if you're feeling generous). %100 of proceeds will go to feeding rwu more delicious food, which obviously we'll share with you!

MAKE A DONATION (paypal)

]]> https://simondamb.org/blog/the-budapest-zoo https://simondamb.org/blog/the-budapest-zoo Tue, 06 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Simon Damborg blog PHOTOGRAPHY photography photos from a december visit to the budapest zoo. animals, architecture, light.

Want to see the full album?

Check out the full dump in the google photos album, or scroll through it via the slideshow below.

Most gyms (and their landlords) think that they have, or are going to have, a noise issue. They don’t. What gyms actually have is a vibration issue, especially if your space is above an underground parking garage that creates a nice big hollow drum of vibrations. When you’re in a densely populated area like Vancouver, almost every building has underground parking. But even if it doesn’t, there have been cases of vibrations from weights being dropped travelling up to 50 floors vertically (from four floors underground), or up to a full city block away, even when buildings do not share a concrete slab.

As one of the only gyms in Vancouver that has not had to move due to lawsuits or noise complaints, I’m sharing this post to help educate future (or current) gym owners on what you can, and must, do to avoid these issues. My hope is to help more functional fitness style clubs flourish and help more people find their fit.

2010: The First Platform Variations

At CrossFit Optimum Performance

Long before Raincity Athletics existed, I was already being introduced to the realities of vibration in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time. One of the earliest wake-up calls came at CrossFit Optimum Performance, where we began receiving complaints from businesses four floors above us. Not next door, not directly overhead, but four floors up.

Someone before me had already tried a simple solution, using multiple strips of carpet underlay inside the “wells” of a lifting platform to absorb drops. I loved the idea of this solution, as carpet underlay (specifically the viscoelastic foam variation) was literally designed for this purpose, dampening the vibration of footsteps. In theory, this was the cheapest way to get large quantities of the right type of foam.

The issue was movement. You needed so many layers of foam to handle 300 lb+ drops, but once stacked, the material began to shift, creating an uneven lifting surface. It was a good start, but version one needed a lot of work.

Some of the only photos I have of the originally designed platforms that lowered down from the wall. They were far too heavy to be regularly used...

We tried to improve it with a second iteration, wall-mounted platforms that dropped down like drawbridges, with shallower, more defined wells that contained the foam. Technically, they were a significant improvement, but practically, they were so heavy and awkward that no one ever wanted to use them. That was the first big lesson. A solution can be structurally sound and still fail if it doesn’t fit the reality of how people move and train.

2013: Raincity Athletics 1.0

And my first attempt at a subfloor across a whole gym.

After a lot of tinkering, and coaching at multiple different gyms over the years, a lease had finally been signed and I was opening my very own location. Having seen the negative experiences of so many other gyms, even by 2013, dealing with vibration issues, I did thorough testing with the landlord and made sure our lease included language that as long as work was being done to avoid vibration issues for their other tenants, I couldn't get kicked out.

One of the biggest saving graces, and most important lessons, was this:

There were no private owners sharing the building or even the block. Every tenant was on a commercial lease, which meant that if they had an issue, it went through the landlord. This is very different from having private apartment or space owners nearby. If they have an issue, you get sued.

It was time to put my mockups to work, and we built what I believe was the first truly affordable floating anti-vibration subfloor. I’m not the first person to ever do this, but the solution I came up with cost less than a quarter of what it would have cost to hire it out. If you are not handy or a builder, I highly recommend contacting someone like GSP Flooring. They offer very similar (albeit much pricer) solutions , and I still use them for rubber to this day.

The center of the platforms were solidly supported underneath with wood, as was the perimeter. The middle section of the gym was ¾-inch tongue-and-groove plywood floating on one to two layers of carpet underlay. This wasn’t intended to function like a traditional platform, but rather to dramatically reduce day-to-day drops and slams, which it did... at least for a while.

The problems came quickly. One layer of ¾-inch plywood relying on tongue-and-groove joints was not enough. Within the first year, the floor became lumpy as the plywood took a beating and seams began to separate. It still worked, but it wasn’t ideal.

Back to the drawing board....

2017: Raincity Athletics 2.0

Upgraded versions of everything I had built before.

In 2017, I signed the lease next door to triple the size of our space. It was time to combine over a decade of anti-vibration building experience with everything I had learned so far.

We built platforms against one wall to host the Raincity Barbell Club, allowing athletes to freely drop weights of any load without relying on crash pads. Instead of purchasing individual crash pads for each well, I sourced the actual material inside commercial crash pads and built it directly into the floor, then covered everything with heavy-duty rubber.

Next was rebuilding the floating subfloor, version two, with longevity in mind. We glued and screwed two layers of ¾-inch plywood together, creating a 1.5-inch thick floating layer (think a 2x4 laid flat), on top of two layers of carpet underlay totaling roughly ¾-inch, with ⅝-inch rubber on top.

We made only two crucial mistakes, which would later become some of my biggest lessons, not just in building floors, but in life.

I wish I had more photos of this buildout. Huge thank you to Justin Cameron, a member at the time, who headed up the majority of this construction and helped bring Raincity 2.0, aka “The Annex," to life...

One Mistake, 7 Years of Trying to Fix it.

The lesson I learned after cutting up and rebuilding my sub floor.

Over the next five to seven years, I spent almost every Christmas and Boxing Day at Raincity trying to fix issues with our lumpy subfloor. I refused to close Raincity for more than two days, so all renovation work happened on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. I assumed the lumps had formed from years of heavy barbell drops, liquid from floor mopping, and general wear and tear on the plywood, but I was wrong.

It wasn’t until the most recent renovation, when we cut the entire subfloor out and rebuilt it, that I realized the real issue that had caused my 7 years of headaches and holidays wasted: It was all because we never leveled the concrete subfloor underneath. At the time, we didn’t think the 1.5-inch dip in the middle was a big deal, and assumed we could make it up with extra padding. We were very wrong...

After a couple of years dealing with the dip (aka the bathtub), I tried re-leveling by adding more underlay to the center and patching over it. This helped temporarily, but as weights continued to drop, the middle settled again.

The next attempt involved roofing membrane. In theory, it was perfect. I could add layers where needed, melt and feather the edges, and gain liquid protection at the same time. Brilliant, right?

One problem. Rubber flooring hides nothing. The 1/8-inch to 1/16-inch edges left by the membrane were visible and noticeable underfoot during every workout.

Over the next few years, I spent Christmas and Boxing Day trying to remove those edges. One year I tried outdoor park rubber mulch and glue, thinking I could trowel it smooth. I was wrong. The next year, I tried a full layer of high-density fiberboard, hoping it would smooth everything out. I was wrong, again.

During COVID there wasn't much of a budget to try to fix the floor, but with everyone working out in taped squares, if you had a lumpy spot you were stuck with it. It wasn’t until 2025, after finally fully recovering financially, that my accountant finally gave me the green light to try and fix it properly.

For the first time in 14 years, Raincity closed for more than two days (outside of COVID shutdowns) so I could rebuild the floor the way it always should have been done.

2025: Raincity Athletics 3.0

The final update, and the big discovery.

For anyone wondering why you felt bumps and lumps under your feet, this is what five-plus years of attempted fixes looked like...

Raincity Holiday Renos - Each day in :30 timelapse

Day 1 - Dec 23rd:

Pulling Everything up & Cutting it Out

Huge thank you to the members who helped clear the floor. Removing years of layers and Christmas fixes was both triggering and deeply satisfying, knowing it would be the last time.

Day 2 - Dec 24th:

Clearing it our & Preparing to Rebuild

Once the center was removed, we assessed the situation, continued removing material, prepped the edges, and began laying carpet underlay in strips instead of full sheets. This turned out to be another missing piece. Full sheets had shifted over time, creating soft spots. Strips with gaps, lightly glued, solved that issue.

Day 3 - Dec 25th:

Leveling & Rebuilding

After breakfast, I came in solo to properly level the floor from the bottom up and lay the first layer of plywood so Dillan could return the next day to glue and screw the second layer.

Day 4 - Dec 26th:

Laminating Wood

With enough glue and screws, two sheets of plywood become one. Over 48 hours, Dillan and I installed more than 3,000 screws. My construction days prepared me for this. My body did not. Some hand issues followed, but mostly recovered now.

Day 5 - Dec 27th:

Putting it Back Together.

On the final day, the community showed up and helped turn it back into a gym.

Finally we had a finished product. Though it was by no means perfectly flat / level (because it would have cost bout $10k to actually have re-poured an entire concrete sub-floor) it was sturdy, and it was smooth!

Lessons Learned?

Just do it right the first time 🤦‍♂️

As we pulled up the subfloor wood, I was surprised, and honestly emotional, to see that it was still in great shape. The soft spots and bumps weren’t from structural degradation like I had previously thought, they were the result of years of trying to fix my own half-assed fixes 😭.

By intentionally leaving gaps in our underlay, it allows some shifting and moving without causing the whole sheet to shift and move. Simple, but effective.

The only other mistake in my design was using full sheets of carpet underlay instead of strips. The soft spots we found weren’t from bad wood, but from seams where flex had slowly pushed the underlay away over time, creating weak points. Proper gluing, screwing, and fastening the underlay in strips solved this entirely.

The Blueprint

So you can build your own sub floor, learning from my decades of mistakes.

Coming soon...

Overview

The Canadian Functional Fitness Federation (CFFF) is committed to transparency, athlete wellbeing, and the long-term growth of our sport in Canada. Following the 2025 competitive season, and Canada’s participation in the IF3 Junior and Senior World Championships, we reviewed feedback from athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, and provincial partners through direct communication and formal event feedback surveys.

This summary focuses specifically on the 2025 CFFF domestic season and Canada’s participation in the IF3 Junior and Senior World Championships. A separate report addressing the IF3 Masters World Championship will be prepared once IF3’s findings from that event are formally released. Feedback related to the Masters event continues to be collected and will be incorporated into that subsequent report.

This review also includes reflection on national leadership responsibilities. A consistent theme in the feedback was that we need clearer role definition, stronger delegation, and expanded on-site national representation at major events so athletes, coaches, and families feel supported and connected to CFFF leadership. That is on us to improve, and those lessons are already being built into how we plan and staff future seasons.

What follows outlines what we heard, what we learned, and what we are doing next to strengthen athlete experience, improve alignment across the sport system, and ensure Canada continues to meet international and Sport Canada expectations.

Key Themes Identified

1. Athlete Experience and Event Expectations

Athletes value clear communication, consistent standards, and visible leadership presence at national and international events. Feedback reinforced how important it is to know who to approach, what support exists on-site, and how national leadership is represented in real time.

Key takeaway: Athlete experience is directly tied to clear roles, accessible support, and consistent expectations across provincial and national levels.

2. Funding and Event Scale

CFFF Nationals are currently funded primarily through registration fees and modest annual athlete memberships. Without predictable, shared funding alignment across provinces, national events face limits in scale, production quality, and athlete services.

Key takeaway: Sustainable growth of Nationals requires stronger national and provincial funding alignment, and shared responsibility for national programming.

3. Communication, Governance, and Leadership Structure

Feedback pointed to confusion caused by fragmented communication pathways and unclear escalation processes. In some cases, this was compounded by insufficient clarity around national leadership roles and the scope of on-site responsibilities at events.

Key takeaway: Clear governance structures, defined communication pathways, and well-supported national representation are essential for trust, consistency, and effective engagement.

4. Coaching Standards and Athlete Development

Observations at international competition reinforced the importance of emotional regulation, respect for officials, equipment safety, and coach behaviour as part of long-term athlete development, particularly for youth and junior athletes.

Key takeaway: Competitive success must be balanced with psychological readiness, safety, and development principles that support athletes over the long term.

Alignment With Long-Term Athlete Development

These themes align closely with the Functional Fitness Long-Term Development (LTD) Framework. When competitive intensity increases faster than developmental readiness, challenges can emerge related to stress management, behaviour, and athlete autonomy.

CFFF remains committed to reinforcing LTD principles across all levels of the sport to support athlete wellbeing, retention, and sustainable performance.

What Happens Next

This is where we move from “themes” to “implementation.”

The actions below are designed to be practical, non-punitive, and focused on clarity, consistency, and sustainability. They are not about calling out individuals. They are about building a stronger system that supports athletes, protects officials and volunteers, and improves the experience for everyone involved.

1) Stronger National Representation at Major Events

• Clearer, published role definitions for CFFF representatives at major competitions (so athletes and families know who does what, and where to go for what).
• Expanded delegation and on-site support, so national leadership presence is not dependent on one person trying to do everything.
• Better advance planning for event-specific responsibilities (including presence management), so athlete support does not get lost inside logistics.

2) National and Provincial Alignment on Funding and Responsibility

• Formalizing a shared funding model that supports Nationals and national programming. This includes a phased approach for implementation beginning in 2026, with the goal of full alignment by 2027.
• Clear annual reporting on how national funds are allocated, including Nationals production quality, athlete services, judge and volunteer development, and standards enforcement.
• Stronger integration of provinces into national planning so expectations and realities are aligned early, not debated under pressure later.

3) Governance Representation and Clear Communication Pathways

• Encouraging each province to have formal representation within national governance and operations, including Board and committee involvement.
• Strengthening national committees (Athlete Development, Coaching and Education, Technical Officials and Standards) with broader provincial participation so decisions reflect real on-the-ground context.
• Defining clear, consistent communication and escalation pathways so athletes, clubs, and provinces know where “official updates” live, and how concerns are raised and addressed constructively.

4) Coach and Guardian Expectations That Match the Level of Competition

• Implementing a formal Coach Code of Conduct for CFFF Nationals and IF3-sanctioned events, aligned with Safe Sport and long-term development principles.
• Requiring acknowledgment of that code as part of coach accreditation or nomination processes (without creating new, parallel disciplinary systems).
• Standardizing a mandatory pre-event orientation for coaches and guardians attending Nationals and Worlds, delivered annually (roughly 60 to 90 minutes), covering:
  • international event realities and rule clarification processes
  • access limitations at IF3 events
  • expectation setting, escalation pathways, and athlete support best practices

This is a simple step that prevents a lot of avoidable conflict.

5) Consistency Through Shared Tools, Event Sanctioning, and Continuous Improvement

• Improving visibility of sanctioned events, standards, and expectations so athletes are not relying on informal channels to stay informed.
• Developing clearer event sanctioning protocols across levels to support consistency and quality.
• Expanding committee and volunteer involvement to reduce over-reliance on individual roles and build a more resilient federation structure.
• Continuing to use athlete and member feedback to guide ongoing refinement, with a stronger cadence of review and follow-up.

A Shared Responsibility

The continued growth and credibility of Functional Fitness in Canada depends on collaboration between athletes, coaches, clubs, provincial federations, and national leadership. Strong provinces help shape national standards. National alignment ensures consistency, fairness, and international credibility.

Our objective is simple: build a system where athletes feel supported, informed, and proud to represent Canada, with leadership structures that are clear, accessible, and resilient.

Thank You

Thank you to everyone who contributed feedback and engaged constructively throughout the 2025 season. Your input directly shapes how CFFF evolves and improves. Ongoing feedback is always welcome at: www.cfff.fit/feedback

Simon Damborg

CFFF President

How I get 50 grams of protein at breakfast

• 2 Packets of Protein+ instant oatmeal from Quaker (24 grams)
  • OR 2 scoops of regular protein + 2 scoops of Blonyx Egg White Protein
• 250g of Siggi's high protein yogurt (24 grams)

Make your protein, throw a few giant scoops of yogurt on top. BOOM.

Colonial systems didn’t just take land and resources, they forced a worldview built on binaries: superior versus inferior, civilized versus primitive, powerful versus powerless. They convinced us that domination is human nature, when in reality cooperation is how we survived for thousands of years.

If you ask me, the future of human survival and happiness requires a return to many pre-colonial values... Balance instead of extraction. Land shared instead of owned. Communities and councils (or non profits) instead of top-down rulers. Value measured in relationships and reciprocity, not in greed and how much you could stockpile for yourself.

The Indigenous peoples of Canada knew this, and built systems on the commons where land and waters were held collectively and managed with respect for balance. Decisions were made in councils and circles, where every voice mattered and consensus held more power than force or being the loudest. Survival and prosperity came through cooperation, knowledge sharing, and reciprocity: taking what you needed, giving back what you could, and protecting a future for generations to come.

Colonialism over a few hundred years has convinced us that domination is human nature, or that we wouldn’t have what we have today without the destruction and extraction. And yet, the greatest innovations of our species (like the light bulb, the internet, or the computer chip) were born out of passion and curiosity, before being milked for capital.

Over the years I've learned that my views are less of a 'leftist' and more about rejecting colonial thinking on all sides. I believe in a future built on the same core values humanity held for tens of thousands of years before colonialism (and late capitalism) broke us, and our planet, down both inside and out.

I believe our future (both planet and species) depends on our ability to care for and learn from the people who cooperatively inhabited this land for thousands of years before we arrived 🧡

📸@kw.curated

Find the full follow along video by following the link below to see the full workout.

This workout should be completed 2-4x during weeks 1 & 2 before moving onto workout 2. Progress by increasing external load each week (if equipment available) OR increasing sets & reps each week.

Workout DetailsFull breakdown including movement demos and more of your Raincity workout.RAINCITY PROGRAMMING App

Warmup

2 minutes get blood flowing: run in place, jumping jacks, high knees, or cardio of choice.
Dynamic stretch; leg swings, calf swipes, samson lunges, good mornings
Joint mobilization: ankle rotations, lunge to hamstring
Activation: Glute bridge march, air squat, plank shoulder tap

Week 1: 2-3 sets of each superset
Week 2: 3-4 sets of each superset and/or increase complexity

PART A: Glutes & Hamstrings

A1) Single leg romanian deadlift x8-12 reps / side
⬆️with load or @ tempo
⬇️hand assisted

A2) Hip Thrust x8-12
⬆️with band on knees or load on hips
⬇️glute bridge on floor

PART B: Quads & Calves

B1) Bulgarian split squats x8-12 reps / side
⬆️with load or @ tempo
⬇️split squats (not elevated)

B2) Wall sit calf raise x15-20 reps
⬆️with load or pause at top
⬇️Wall sit, then perform calf raises after

PART C: Lateral Lunges & Hamstrings

C1) Skater lunges x12-20 alternating
⬆️holding external load or
⬇️Step back lunge

C2) Glute bridge walk-out x4-6
⬆️hold at extended position
⬇️partial range of motion

Checkout all our free sample workout programs on the Raincity Programs web app:

Free Raincity WorkoutsCheck-out our FREE workouts and programs from Raincity Athletics. Whether you’re looking for at home on demand equipment free workouts, or something with a barbell to follow at the gym - we’ve got a free program for every age, level, and ability.RAINCITY PROGRAMMING App

These ones were filmed with Y@HOME as we practiced and refined our process. The goal is to start filming ~10 minute follow along videos that parents or teachers can pop on and complete with their kids or students. These on demand workouts are a bit more advanced than that, but offer a great starting point to check out!

At Home Strength On Demand Workout #1

PUSH: Upper & Lower

A1) Pushup Variation 2-4 sets x 8-12 reps
1️⃣Pushup with hands elevated (on bench, to wall, etc) 
2️⃣ Pushup negative only (lowering)
3️⃣ Full Pushup

A2) Squat Variation 2-4 sets x 8-12 reps
1️⃣ Assisted deep squat 
2️⃣ Air Squat 
3️⃣Tempo air squat 

PULL: Upper & Lower

B1) Curl or pull variation 2-4 sets x 8-12 reps
1️⃣Bicep curl 
2️⃣: Single arm supported row 
3️⃣ Bent over row (banded or single arm loaded)

B2) Hinge or bend variation 2-4 sets x 8-12 reps
1️⃣ Prisoner good morning   
2️⃣Stagger stance good morning 
3️⃣Banded or goblet good morning

CORE: Planks & Balance

C1) Center plank variation 2-4 sets x :20-:60 seconds
1️⃣Hands & knees 
2️⃣Hands & toes 
3️⃣ Elbows & toes

C2) Single leg balance 2-4 sets x :20-:30 seconds
1️⃣Single leg balance 
2️⃣With knee touches 
3️⃣ with toe touches 

Check-out the full breakdown and video links here;

Workout DetailsFull breakdown including movement demos and more of your Raincity workout.RAINCITY PROGRAMMING App

Thank you to everyone who donated during the month of October towards the Van Tech Scholarship fund. Every $20 donated got you an entry into the raffle and we raised over $2500 - thank you!

Special thank you to @chaz_yvr for donating the $500 Air Canada gift card and to @raincityathls for donating the private training session and Strength & Conditioning OnRamps.

Your raffle winners...

👉PT Session: Chuck Chamberlin 👉SC OnRamp: Diane Buckley 👉$500 Air Canada: Erick Sung

We'll reach out via email with instructions on how to collect your prizes 🎉

Watch the raffle draw with coach Thor & Kim

OCTOBER, 2025: Support the Jonah SCHOLARSHIP FUND & YOU COULD WIN $500 to Air Canada (and more)…

As part of the memorial fund, Jonah's family is also creating a dedicated annual scholarship starting this year in Jonah's name to a grade 12 student as chosen by the Grade 12 counsellor and the scholarship community at Van Tech High School where Jonah would have been graduating from this upcoming June. As part of a campaign push to raise funds for this scholarship, Raincity Athletics' long time member (and training friend of Jonah's) Chaz has donated a $500 Air Canada Gift card, and Raincity will be donating an [SC] OnRamp as well as a [PT] Private Training session with coach Thor as part of the Raffle.

WHAT YOU COULD WIN.

1. $500 gift card to Air Canada
2. [SC] 3 Session Raincity OnRamp ($250 value)
3. [PT] Private Training session with Coach Thor ($130 value)

The draw will be made sometime in the first week of November once all entries are confirmed.

HOW TO ENTER the 2025 October raffle.

• Every donation of $20 to the Jonah Berger Memorial Fund before October 31st will get you 1 entry into the raffle (example: $60 donation = 3 entries)
• Donations may be made directly via the fund (required if you want a receipt) or by e-transfer directly to Chaz who will forward all donations to the fund
• Once a donation is made you must report it via our FORM in order to get raffle credit (we will confirm donations via the fund/Chaz)

1. Make a Donation

2. Report Your Donation (closed)

3. View Raffle Entries

MORE ABOUT THE Jonah Berger Scholarship

This scholarship will be awarded annually to a student at Van Tech who demonstrates:

1. "Courage to Come Back" - resiliency in the face of challenges (physical, emotional, social etc)
2. Attending some sort of education after graduation (courses, diploma, university, trades etc)
3. Financial Need

Jonah's Journey

From Coach Thor

In January of 2020, at the age of 12, Jonah was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. After having it removed and undergoing multiple bouts of chemo, Jonah was left unable to walk. After lots of physiotherapy work with Maria at Kids Physio Group, he was referred to me (Coach Thor) in May of 2022, and we started training together weekly. At this point, he had regained his ability to walk but still lacked a lot of function and proper motor control on the left side of his body. He'd already come so far he was more than ready and willing to put in the work.

We started with basic motor function and re-strengthening work, but with such limited coordination on one side of his body, we quickly moved into utilizing the barbell, and Jonah fell in love. We made some incredible discoveries: heavy lifting (specifically deadlifts) had an amazing effect on his nervous system and his brains ability to regain motor control more consistently on both sides in ways he had never experienced before. I remember the first time we tried to do walking lunges he got so frustrated as he kept falling over and we didn't know if that was something he'd ever be able to do. I'll never forget the smile on his face in the middle of a workout as he realized he was doing walking lunges with a dumbbell in his hand... which is why they had to be in his workout.

Seeing me once a week wasn't enough for him. He started coming into Raincity 2-3 times per week on his own, completing workouts that I wrote for him focused on squats, deadlifts, and bench press. Focusing on the barbell not only helped stimulate the CNS, but he was hooked on the gains as he went from a 25lb kettle bell to a 150lb barbell deadlift, a 100 pound bench press and a 135lb squat, even while the left side of his body didn't always want to cooperate. Once in a while, he'd even do a bit of cardio, or join coach Katie for a CrossFit style workout. He took part in the #RaincityOPEN (aka CrossFit Open) with his training partner, Nik. That is where he really discovered his love/hate relationship with burpees and dumbbell snatches... which is why they had to be in his workout.

By the summer of 2025, Jonah wanted to spend even more time in the gym and had started prepping his resume to work at Raincity during the summer. He was also preparing to be my equipment lead at the Canadian Functional Fitness National Championships. Our team couldn't have been more excited to have Jonah around more often, his shy but friendly demeanor brought nothing but joy to those around him.

At the end of June, this was all put on hold, as he began experiencing debilitating headaches and nausea. Within 48 hours, he was back in the hospital. They had found water on his brain and signs of tumor regrowth. After a couple of days of scans and surgeries, it was confirmed that the tumor was regrowing at the base of his brain stem/cerebellum - and there was nothing they could do.

I feel incredibly fortunate that Jonah was able to come in and see me on July 26 (after another round of surgery), though we were unsure how much time he had left. When I asked how the surgery went, his response was, "Last time I woke up in a hospital I was paralyzed, so this one was a breeze." He went on to say, "Everyone around me is really sad right now, but that just feels like a waste of time." Those words will inspire me forever.

On July 30, Jonah passed away in his bed, surrounded by his family.

Jonah Berger Memorial Fund

ANNUAL Jonah Memorial Workout

In honor of Jonah and the inspiring struggle our community had the privilege of watching and helping him through, Raincity will begin an annual fundraiser workout where we will complete our new benchmark workout 'Jonah'. It includes a lot of things he loved, but also a few he hated - because he knew better than anyone that that's how you build strength and character.

Raincity will do this workout annually on the labour day long weekend and we encourage you to join in, either at Raincity if you're in the area, or at your own gym. If you do not have access to equipment don't hesitate to contact us and we can put together an 'at home' version as well <3

Jonah Benchmark Workout

Jonah Berger Memorial Fund

Going forward, @raincityathls will be completing this workout annually on Labour Day weekend to remind ourselves of Jonah and the constant smile on his face no matter what challenges life (or the gym) threw at him.

The three levels of this workout not only ensure that people of any fitness level can join in, but they represent Jonah’s fitness journey at Raincity (after already having to regain his ability to walk with @kidsphysio). From struggling with ring-supported split squat or lifting a kettlebell, to deadlifting 150 lbs and doing weighted walking lunges. Every year, this workout will remind me of his inspirational work ethic and his commitment to fitness despite adversities I can't even begin to imagine facing.

The workout is also written to mimic a typical 45 minute training session for Jonah (make sure to warmup). He loved lifting heavy, so we always started with some variation of deadlifts, bench, or squats. So take your time and move well in those first 10 minutes, and adjust the weights to be challenging but doable. Then, even though he never stopped talking about how much he hated #crossfit style workouts (like during the #RaincityOPEN), he'd still ask for them and always agree to tackle them with a smile on his face, so remember that as you chip away at part two.

We recommend doing this as a pair: alternate with your partner for part one, and then in part 2 alternate the sets of snatch + burpees, thruster + burpees, and lunges until you've completed 6 full rounds. Modify the workout as needed to challenge yourself appropriately or based on what equipment you have available.

He never made excuses for not being able to do something and never doubted that eventually he'd be able to do it, be more like Jonah ❤️

Read more and donate to the Jonah Berger Memorial Fund: www.rncty.ca/jonah

#jonahbergermemorial #RaincityJonah

In January of 2020, at the age of 12, Jonah was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor. After having it removed and undergoing multiple bouts of chemo, Jonah was left unable to walk. After lots of physiotherapy work with Maria at Kids Physio Group, he was referred to me (Coach Thor) in May of 2022, and we started training together weekly. At this point, he had regained his ability to walk but still lacked a lot of function and proper motor control on the left side of his body. He'd already come so far he was more than ready and willing to put in the work.

We started with basic motor function and re-strengthening work, but with such limited coordination on one side of his body, we quickly moved into utilizing the barbell, and Jonah fell in love. We made some incredible discoveries: heavy lifting (specifically deadlifts) had an amazing effect on his nervous system and his brains ability to regain motor control more consistently on both sides in ways he had never experienced before. I remember the first time we tried to do walking lunges he got so frustrated as he kept falling over and we didn't know if that was something he'd ever be able to do. I'll never forget the smile on his face in the middle of a workout as he realized he was doing walking lunges with a dumbbell in his hand... which is why they had to be in his workout.

Seeing me once a week wasn’t enough for him. He started coming into Raincity 2-3 times per week on his own, completing workouts that I wrote for him focused on squats, deadlifts, and bench press. Focusing on the barbell not only helped stimulate the CNS, but he was hooked on the gains as he went from a 25lb kettle bell to a 150lb barbell deadlift, a 100 pound bench press and a 135lb squat, even while the left side of his body didn’t always want to cooperate. Once in a while, he’d even do a bit of cardio, or join coach Katie for a CrossFit style workout. He took part in the #RaincityOPEN (aka CrossFit Open) with his training partner, Nik. That's is where he really discovered his love/hate relationship with burpees and dumbbell snatches... which is why they had to be in his workout.

By the summer of 2025, Jonah wanted to spend even more time in the gym and had started prepping his resume to work at Raincity during the summer. He was also preparing to be my equipment lead at the Canadian Functional Fitness National Championships. Our team couldn’t have been more excited to have Jonah around more often his shy but friendly demeanor brought nothing but joy to those around him.

At the end of June, this was all put on hold, as he began experiencing debilitating headaches and nausea. Within 48 hours, he was back in the hospital. They had found water on his brain and signs of tumor regrowth. After a couple of days of scans and surgeries, it was confirmed that the tumor was regrowing at the base of his brain stem/cerebellum - and there was nothing they could do.

I feel incredibly fortunate that Jonah was able to come in and see me on July 26 (after another round of surgery), though we were unsure how much time he had left. When I asked how the surgery went, his response was, “Last time I woke up in a hospital I was paralyzed, so this one was a breeze.” He went on to say, “Everyone around me is really sad right now, but that just feels like a waste of time.” Those words will inspire me forever.

On July 30, Jonah passed away in his bed, surrounded by his family.

Read more about Jonah and some of the things we're doing at Raincity Athletics to honor his incredible and inspiring life.

Remembering Jonah Berger | Raincity Athletics Functional Strength & Conditioning in Vancouver, BCRemembering the most inspiring athlete to ever by a part of the Raincity Athletics community.Raincity Athletics · Simon ‘Thor’ Damborg

Jonah’s progress and determination was a source of inspiration for everyone in the Raincity community.

But seeing me once a week wasn’t enough. He began training 2-3 times per week on his own, working up to a 150lb+ deadlift, 115lb+ back squat and 100lb bench press even though the left side of his body still didn’t always cooperate. He started joining coach @katienad for some #crossfit workouts and even took part in the #raincityopen with his training buddy Nik. By summer 2025 he wanted to spend even more time at Raincity, he had prepped his resume for a summer job, and was ready to be equipment lead for me at the @canadian_functional_fitness national championships.

In late June everything changed. He developed severe headaches and nausea, and within a week ended up back in the hospital for another surgery where they found the tumor had returned at the base of his brain stem - and there was nothing they could do.

I feel so fortunate I got to see Jonah on July 26th after the 2nd surgery. When I asked how it went he said “Last time I went in for surgery I woke up paralyzed, so this one was a breeze.” He continued “everyone around me right now is really sad, but that just seems like a waste of time,” and those words will stay with and inspire me for the rest of my life.

On July 30 Jonah passed away in his bed, surrounded by family.

On Sept 1st at 4:00pm Raincity will host the first annual Jonah memorial workout and complete our new benchmark #RaincityJonah, built around movements he loved (and some he hated).

Join us to remember one of the most inspiring RAthletes to ever attend Raincity, with 100% of proceeds going to the Jonah memorial fund.

Details & rsvp: www.rncty.ca/jonah

Raincity Program DetailsCheck-out this workout from the Raincity Programming app.RAINCITY PROGRAMMING App

[

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A post shared by Simon aka coach Thor (@thor604)

First thing on arriving very jet lagged after being awake for 2 days of travel & time change we started on Rebecca's food list with @roastbeefohno (last pic) and I'm not sure if it was the fatigue but that was the best clear soup / broth I've ever had in my life.

The next morning we headed into the Tsukiji Fish Market where we checked off a number of food items as well, and I got a taste for what our daily calorie consumption was on pace for...

We'll make a full list of recommendations available later, for now just a few of my fave 📸 from the market.

I then got to experience my first time at @donki_jp_en which was a gloriously overwhelming experience (not pictured, yet).

After that we got our steps in (30k/day minimim) as we headed to @age.3_ginza for what can only be described as gloriously creamy half sandwich things, which we managed to (barely) beat the massive lineup up around the block for.

Thanks to our weird (and non stop) eating schedule this was a trend for the majority of the trip...

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A post shared by Simon aka coach Thor (@thor604)

We made our way over to the mayhem that is Shibuya. I'd been here before many moons ago for a bachelor party - it was nice to experience a different vibe (and be sober enough to remember 😅).

A quick snack at the locally top rated hole in the wall for Ramen (full food list will be done seperatelt) fueling us for a big day of eating in the rain the next day.

The day started with @r_wu getting in line 45min before opening for Mukai, which had a bigger area to line up than the resteraunt itself. Worth it. 🤤

We hitup @i.m.donut which was easily worth the wait in the rain, then it's sister bakery up the street to pack some protein on top of all that sugar.

We then took a train across town for a coffee shop so that Rebecca could hold @pongthetort in her hand with some impressive artwork from @hat_coffee

Then one of many stops at Pokémon stores, obvs.

One of the craziest things about Tokyo is everywhere feels like a city center. You pop out of a train station into what seems like a popular area... Then you look in any direction and realize every area is a popular area. Insanity and I loved it.

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Day 3 of #thorwudoesjapan and the first of many animal cafes.

The first and probably best animal Cafe of the trip, not just because these giant rodents are hilarious but because it's the only one that actually gave us a little lesson and talk about them.

Whats your favorite random capybara fact? The one I didnt realize is that they're the world's largest rodent... And they really are just 100lb rats 😅 but adorable, friendly attention seeking rats...

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#thorwudoesjapan the final day in Tokyo (before spending 2 days at #disneyland).

Did you know Michelin star shaved ice was a thing? Because I didn't. But that's why @r_wu was in charge of the food 🤤. She managed to nab us an elusive booking in the 6 seats available for one of those life changing experiences with food. After eating one each (and French toast) someone beside us ordered the torched banana one... We tried to order a 3rd but they said we were our of time 😅

We then continued around #shinjuku where we waited in line at a tiny hole in the wall coffee shop for another top rated life changing basque cheesecake 🤯

After a couple hours shopping at my new favorite store #GU we then finished the days eating with cook it yourself beef tonkastu that no words can describe.

After a very long day of eating and shopping it was time to pack our bags and head to the Disney hotel to prepare for 2 big days at the happiest (and top rated in the world) place on earth.

We'll be putting together a full pdf with food names, locations, and recommendations once we get over this jet lag - stay tuned.

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Day 4 of #thorwudoesjapan and the first of 3 spent at theme parks (we're biiiiig disney/theme park fans) and the only park day not in the rain ☔

First thing I saw was Roger rabbits cartoon spin - and thanks to my #adhd brain I couldn't tell you what I had for breakfast, but I told @r_wu every part of that ride because I remembered it exactly from when I was ~8 years old.

This is when I really realized how much I love my @insta360 - many people will say 'put your phone away and enjoy the moment' and as I watched everyone else experience the magic while looking at their screen, all I had to do was click a button and hold it overhead to get some of my favorite shots & memories of the trip.

Seeing all your favorite classic characters in Japanese was also 🔥 😂 good thing we know every word and didn't need a translator (though they were provided for some rides too).

We were also there during #donaldducks birthday week and holy 💩 do the Japanese love him! He had a birthday parade every 2 hours that was probably everything the orange man down south could have dreamed of - couldn't hear any squeaky wheels because the crowd was going wild the whole time #iykyk 🙄

Disneyland Tokyo and Disney sea are the top rated Disney's in the world, and the only ones not owned by Disney. More evidence that bigger isn't better and a local company (even a big one) will always deliver a better more targeted experience than any generic big one #raincitysupportlocal

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I gotta pick up the pace or I'm never going to make it through my #thorwudoesjapan photos...

After a big day at Disney if was an equally big, but much wetter day, at Disney sea. Big Disney fans but @r_wu was especially calculated on this trip... After spending one night in a Disney hotel for 6 hours just to get early access, a sprint into the park while simultaneously booking rides and we hit all the big rides in the first hour before they became a 3hr lineup each 👏

The Peter pan ride was genuinely 🤯 as a theatre design graduate/nerd I could barely comprehend how they made it such an experience! And of course listening to kids belt out frozen in Japanese is 🔥 too.

After Disney sea it was a long journey by bullet train and public bus to the only time we actually relaxed (for 24hours) in hakone - where we had a private onsen bath in our suite that overlooked mount fuji. So that was pretty cool (mostly that I found a bath I fit in).

Then it was back on the bullet train to #kyoto where we got a lot more exercise than planned looking at red arches. Very happy we had our @vivobarefootcanada on as always!

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#thorwudoesjapan the next couple days in Kyoto was spent hitting up the main touristy spots, some more Michelin star eating my taste buds weren't worthy of, and failing the tism-test by getting far more excited about old trains than any neurotypical will understand.

First thing we noticed in Kyoto was how many more tourists there were. Not sure if there's just less people overall, so it seemed like more - or it's a more popular tourist spot - but it changed the vibe more than we expected.

🚉 With a much less modern rail system I got a little overly excited at all the classic trains we were taking around town 😅 to see the usual sights like the #bambooforest. We also found our next house if someone can put us in touch with the owners of the house on the hill? I took 50+ photos of it before I realized there were people on the patio 😅

@r_wu spent hours lining up for food while I wandered around taking pictures 📸

At the last spot the menu was emojis only, but the 🦆 🍜 was delicious. They'd allow 5 people to lineup in the creepy hallway then the other 50+ were around the corner on the street 🤯.

Full food list and recommendations coming soon once I finish editing my photos (which is what these posts are to help make sure I do) and we'll add locations and #eatingwithrwu official recommendations.

Next stop was one of my favorites on the trip where I got to live our my Disney princess fantasies 🦌

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#thorwudoesjapan @r_wu "we're going to a place where deer bow to you and you give them cookies"🤔🦌

A lot of the trip was me just getting us places that I'd mapped out based on a spreadsheet of rebeccas todos (mostly food)... This one I was very confused by, and had no idea what to expect but honestly ended up being one of the highlights of the trip getting to live out some of my Disney princess dreams - still upset Disneyland didn't sell dresses in my size #lawsuit

Though she was right they bowed - but then they got pretty forceful about expecting a cookie, or their 20 friends showed up also expecting cookies. Apparently these are the Canada geese of Japan. Protected species that have gotten a little agressive and entitled 😅

I'd still rather face off with 20 of these guys than a single goose though...

Oh and we got to see some old guys beat up some green stuff too #mochi

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#thorwudoesjapan aka the animal & food tour continues with our final few stops in Kyoto before heading to Osaka for the last leg of the trip.

Another favorite video from the @insta360 capturing @r_wu disappointment when the cutest pig of the bunch didn't want to hangout with her 😅 they're cute (but not cute enough to make me give up 🥓) until you try to move them, and then it sounds like the world is ending with their howls 😂

We spent a day down in Uji the matcha capital of the world. Apparently there's a matcha shortage? I'm ok with that now because we consumed enough delicious matcha / hojicha foods for at least a couple years...

We also took part in an official tea ceremony, where I'm sure my Japanese was flawless👌🙄

Then we trained back to Kyoto and had to sprint for a dinner reso for not only the best meal of the trip, but one of the best of my life 🤤. A set meal of 3 patties and although I couldn't have eaten more, you didn't want it to end. It was 🤯 @hikiniku.to.come

As I finish up going through the photos, Rebecca is putting together the official food recommendation pdf which we'll make available for $10 because she put in months of research. We didn't eat a single meal on this trip that wasn't a specifically planned place 😬

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Been home a month but finally made it through the photos from the final leg of #thorwudoesjapan where we finished up with a few days in Osaka before one night back in Tokyo and then the journey home.

We weren't originally going to go to Universal studios, but even in the rain I'm sure glad we did. The thousands of hours I've spent in princess peaches castle I should have known it would have been magical to see it all IRL 🤩

We made a couple trips to #dotonbori because the food and entertainment goes on for miles in every direction.

Of course we had to hitup the final animal Cafe and see some #hedgehogs 🦔 #alltheanimalemojis

We hitup the usual touristy spots throughout #osaka and of course also had some Michelin star pizza because that's a thing (full food list coming soon) 🍕

And then the bullet train back to #tokyo for a night and my final trip to 711 which is honestly probably one of the places I miss most being home 😭

Full food list and photo album with travel details and recommendations coming soon. If you don't like being on your feet for 12 hours / day I would not recommend our itinerary, but if you want to see as much of Japan as possible in 2 weeks, with a major focus on animals, theme parks, and food - then I'd 100% recommend the way we did it 🔥 could have done with one extra night relaxing in hakone in the middle, but otherwise a nearly flawless trip 😊

🔥 To the only greens supplement I've ever actually enjoyed drinking, and their willingness to jump head in to support the athletes on every event I'm part of @bioedgesciences

🤤 The only brand who I blindly trust every product they make, and I can finally go back to my daily consumption of egg white protein @blonyx

💦The hands down best tasting and actually refreshing ready to drink whey protein on the market @team.gud

🍬The newest on my brands/products I'm completely obsessed with and consume daily @gotgummygainz

👕My printer for every piece of apparel I've done with @raincityathls or @functionalfitnessleague in the last 6+ (maybe more?) years @whiterabbitcreative

🙏Thank you to @claytonphysio for their generous donation of massages & more which we gifted to my good friends (and old bosses) at @hybridathletic who stepped up to save my 🍑 and host this awesome event

🤩Also big shout out to @bodyenergyclub for the athlete bags, @celsius_canada for a caffeinated energy drink that doesn't make me think of alcohol.

🤝Also massive thank you to @djrhynoyvr who couldn't make it but lent me the gear to make sure the tunes were poppin, @hyroxkyle for coming out to show represent the #hyrox community and show that all versions of #functionalfitness can be friends, and @harboursideyouthfoundation for everything they do to support me and my @raincityfitclub kids.

I don't remember much from the weekend, but I do remember a few moments of looking up and realizing the line of tents at the event were literally all of my favorites in a row, and that meant a lot 🤗

#thortakespics (just not of the brands he loves apparently).

#functionalfitness #sportoffitness #canadianfunctionalfitness #nationalchampionships #CFFFpartners #brands #supportlocal #canadianbrands

We weren't originally going to go to Universal studios, but even in the rain I'm sure glad we did. The thousands of hours I've spent in princess peaches castle I should have known it would have been magical to see it all IRL 🤩

We made a couple trips to #dotonbori because the food and entertainment goes on for miles in every direction.

Of course we had to hitup the final animal Cafe and see some #hedgehogs 🦔 #alltheanimalemojis

We hitup the usual touristy spots throughout #osaka and of course also had some Michelin star pizza because that's a thing (full food list coming soon) 🍕

And then the bullet train back to #tokyo for a night and my final trip to 711 which is honestly probably one of the places I miss most being home 😭

Full food list and photo album with travel details and recommendations coming soon. If you don't like being on your feet for 12 hours / day I would not recommend our itinerary, but if you want to see as much of Japan as possible in 2 weeks, with a major focus on animals, theme parks, and food - then I'd 100% recommend the way we did it 🔥 could have done with one extra night relaxing in hakone in the middle, but otherwise a nearly flawless trip 😊

📸 #thortakespics #sonyalpha @insta360

#Nintendoland #universalstudiosjapan #takashitastreet #osaka #photographyjapan #photography #japanfood #japantravel #japanfoodie

Don't get me wrong, if you're at risk of heart disease, hypertension, or already have high blood pressure - this post is not for you, but if you train (and sweat) regularly and are otherwise healthy, increasing your salt intake might solve some nagging health issues you had no idea were related.

My Salt Journey

During COVID when we were all working from home (and my west facing apartment would get real hot) I started getting weird stomach cramps towards the end of some of my long WFH days. After weeks & months of trying out different things, I initially determined that my afternoon coffee was the culprit. If I cut it out, there was an ~80% less likely chance of evening cramps... but they'd still happen. Eventually I realized that the coffee wasn't the core issue (though I still avoid caffeine after 11AM) but it was actually just increasing the symptoms of my dehydration. I already drink a lot of water (4L/day or more) so I started supplementing salt... eventually I found that adding ~1g/day of supplementation essentially completely eliminated my cramps (though not enough to bring back my afternoon coffees😞).

This sent me down a rabbit hole of research to understand how much salt my body actually needed... and what I found was very interesting.

How Much Salt do you Sweat?

Sweat isn’t just water. It’s a salty cocktail of sodium, chloride, and trace minerals that keep your muscles firing and your nerves talking to each other.

The trickiest part of these calculations? All the conversions🤦. When we talk about consuming salt its in mg (or daily recommended intake) but when we talk about sweating salt its in mmol/L (aka millimoles per liter). Here's a quick reference table:

mmol/L → grams: quick reference

Sweat Sodium (mmol/L)

Sodium (g/L)

Salt, NaCl (g/L)

20

0.46

1.17

40

0.92

2.34

60

1.38

3.51

80

1.84

4.67

100

2.30

5.84

Rule of thumb: 1 mmol/L Na ≈ 23 mg sodium ≈ 58 mg salt. 40 mmol/L ≈ ~1 g sodium per liter.

A 2010 study on endurance athletes found that in just 90 minutes of training, sodium loss could hit 4.2 g. In extreme scenarios (think multi-hour sessions or competitions), daily losses can exceed 10 g of sodium, equivalent to 25 g of table salt (PMC2267797).

Let that sink in. That’s more salt lost in a single day than the government recommends you consume all week.

One of Many Reasons Why the RDA is Outdated

The current Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for sodium is about 1,500 mg/day, with a “limit” at 2,300 mg/day. Those numbers were developed for the general population, assuming low activity and a primary goal of minimizing hypertension risk without considering what other issues it may cause.

If you're an active healthy individual, these numbers don't apply to you. Many studies show that too little sodium can be just as harmful as too much when you train often. It can cause cramping (like I had), dizziness, lower plasma volume, reduced endurance, and even limiting your muscles ability to contract (and grow).

A 2021 review in Frontiers in Nutrition points out that sodium plays a direct role in maintaining blood volume, nerve function, and thermoregulation during prolonged exercise. This is why water alone isn't enough to keep you hydrated during exercise.

It’s also worth noting that low sodium intake triggers your kidneys to conserve sodium, increasing stress hormones like renin and aldosterone. Both are linked to poorer cardiovascular outcomes in athletes who chronically under-salt (Graudal et al., Am J Hypertens, 2017).

Time to Add Salt to Your Performance

Sodium does three major things during exercise:

1. Regulates fluid balance - helps you retain the water you drink instead of just peeing it out.
2. Supports muscle contraction and nerve signaling - low sodium means slower muscle response.
3. Prevents hyponatremia - that’s when you drink too much water without enough electrolytes and dilute your blood sodium levels.

A 2022 paper in the European Journal of Applied Physiology found that sodium intake during endurance events significantly improved plasma sodium concentration and prevented performance drops from dehydration.

Even moderate sodium intake before or during workouts (roughly 300–600 mg/hour) can maintain hydration and boost endurance, especially in the heat (Sawka et al., 2007).

Below I'll put into context how much salt that is (and how to get it), but first...

When “More Salt” Isn’t the Answer

Now before you start dumping salt on everything, remember that context (always) matters. If you:

• Have hypertension, kidney disease, or heart failure
• Take blood pressure medication
• Live a mostly sedentary lifestyle

...then you should consult with professionals (and get your ass off the couch).

As Dr. James DiNicolantonio (author of The Salt Fix) summarizes:

“We demonized salt while ignoring sugar, but most people’s problems aren’t from sodium overload, they’re from processed food and inactivity.”

Steps To Increase Your Salt Intake

• Add electrolytes for long sessions: if you train more than 60-90 minutes or in the heat, add 500-1,000 mg sodium/hour.
• Salt your food to taste: simple but effective. If you crave salt, that’s your body talking.
• Pair sodium with carbs post-training to replenish glycogen and fluid faster.
• Hydrate smarter: plain water is fine for short workouts, but over-hydration without salt can lead to the dangerous drop in blood sodium called exercise-associated hyponatremia.

Preferred Methods of Salt Intake

Biosteel is just one of many ready to drink hydration drinks on the market, but it's definitely not the most cost effective way to get what you need.

At Raincity Athletics we have a fridge stocked full of different hydration drinks (as well as proteins and others). Here's a quick and simple breakdown of the most popular ones to show you why I now just utilize capsules (the bottom one).

Popular Hydration & Electrolyte Options in Canada (2025)

Product

Sodium (mg)

Potassium (mg)

Magnesium (mg)

Calcium (mg)

Cost / Serving

Link

Liquid I.V.

500

370

0

0

≈ $1.15

liquid-iv.ca

BioSteel Sports Drink

230

250

25

50

≈ $3.33

biosteel.com

Vega Sport Hydrator

240

400

100

0

≈ $0.85

myvega.ca

LMNT Recharge

1,000

200

60

0

≈ $2.00

drinklmnt.com

SaltStick Capsules

215

63

11

22

≈ $0.38

amazon.ca

*Values based on 2025 Canadian product labels. Rounded to nearest 5 mg. Prices approximate and vary by retailer.

If you're looking for something to sip on during exercise, any of these options will work and you can go by preferred tase (or cost). But when it comes to adding 1g+ of supplementation a day without breaking the bank - capsules are the only way to go.

The Bottom Line

If you are a health and active individual, it's time to stop fearing salt.

The RDA was made for the average office worker, not the athlete. For most of us in the gym, on the bike, or getting ready for Hyrox, a little (or a lot) more sodium might actually keep us healthier, stronger, and performing better.

As always, be smart, talk to your doctor if you’ve got heart or kidney issues, and listen to your body. Otherwise... don’t fear the salt shaker. It might just be the missing link between feeling flat and firing on all cylinders.

First thing we noticed in Kyoto was how many more tourists there were. Not sure if there's just less people overall, so it seemed like more - or it's a more popular tourist spot - but it changed the vibe more than we expected.

🚉 With a much less modern rail system I got a little overly excited at all the classic trains we were taking around town 😅 to see the usual sights like the #bambooforest. We also found our next house if someone can put us in touch with the owners of the house on the hill? I took 50+ photos of it before I realized there were people on the patio 😅

@r_wu spent hours lining up for food while I wandered around taking pictures 📸

At the last spot the menu was emojis only, but the 🦆 🍜 was delicious. They'd allow 5 people to lineup in the creepy hallway then the other 50+ were around the corner on the street 🤯.

Full food list and recommendations coming soon once I finish editing my photos (which is what these posts are to help make sure I do) and we'll add locations and #eatingwithrwu official recommendations.

Next stop was one of my favorites on the trip where I got to live our my Disney princess fantasies 🦌

📸 #thortakespics

#photography #sonyalpha #japan #traveljapan #japanphoto #photographyjapan #bamboo #japanfood #food #japan

Becoming a sport Canada recognized sport can only be accomplished via a non profit governing body. And the benefits that brings are something I believe so whole heartedly in that I'm putting a lot of @raincityathls and @functionalfitnessleague money on the line to support @canadian_functional_fitness in trying to make it happen.

All I'm asking from you is to show up, in literally ANY capacity. If you do, over the next 4 years as president I hope to get Functional Fitness government recognition. Which means not only access to massive amounts of government funding (that 100% goes back to supporting athletes via keeping large scale events affordable, helping with travel costs, and even helping pay for and to train internationally recognized judges - for ALL types of events) but I'm doing this because it's how we can get all variations of Functional Fitness into schools.

I want to see your kids get school credit for attending your gym. I want to see your coaches get hired by the school to run functional fitness style workouts and programs. I want to see the next generation growing up with the same love and passion for fitness that this community gave us.

This isn't about FF vs CF vs Hyrox - if I can accomplish what I hope over the coming years we can make all variations of Functional Fitness something that all kids grow up doing.

This can only be done via a non profit organization, and I'm putting everything I've got on the line to try to make it happen.

Signup as an individual athlete, join a team, or volunteer - or even just come say hi and support some of the incredible Canadian brands that will be there.

🙏 Help me change the world and bring whatever brand of functional fitness you support into every kids life for generations to come.

www.cfff.fit/nationals

Please tag or share this with someone you know would support this goal.

First thing I saw was Roger rabbits cartoon spin - and thanks to my #adhd brain I couldn't tell you what I had for breakfast, but I told @r_wu every part of that ride because I remembered it exactly from when I was ~8 years old.

This is when I really realized how much I love my @insta360 - many people will say 'put your phone away and enjoy the moment' and as I watched everyone else experience the magic while looking at their screen, all I had to do was click a button and hold it overhead to get some of my favorite shots & memories of the trip.

Seeing all your favorite classic characters in Japanese was also 🔥 😂 good thing we know every word and didn't need a translator (though they were provided for some rides too).

We were also there during #donaldducks birthday week and holy 💩 do the Japanese love him! He had a birthday parade every 2 hours that was probably everything the orange man down south could have dreamed of - couldn't hear any squeaky wheels because the crowd was going wild the whole time #iykyk 🙄

Disneyland Tokyo and Disney sea are the top rated Disney's in the world, and the only ones not owned by Disney. More evidence that bigger isn't better and a local company (even a big one) will always deliver a better more targeted experience than any generic big one #raincitysupportlocal

📸 #thortakespics
📹 @insta360
📍 Disneyland tokyo

Not just because we're partnering with @canadian_functional_fitness to host the first-ever multi-day super playoff event, but because if we can make that event what it deserves to be, it'll help show the Canadian government that Functional Fitness is a sport Canadians care about—getting me one step closer to my real dream...

When I opened @raincityathls a decade ago, I dreamed of kids coming to my gym and earning PE credit for working out with their parents, being part of a healthy community. I imagined my coaches being hired to teach the proper mechanics of an air squat or a burpee in schools.

If I can legitimize FF as a sport in Canada, I can finally make that happen. One of the biggest hurdles? Awareness.

Functional Fitness isn’t here to replace @crossfit, @hyroxworld, obstacle racing, or anything else. We're here to legitimize the umbrella so we can access grant funding—and, more importantly, so I can finally get my @raincityfitclub kids school credit for all the torture I put them through (jkjk 😉).

So I’m asking for your help. I have 💯 confidence in my ability to run incredible events—if you've been part of any of the 25 FFL seasons or playoffs I’ve run, you know that's true...

The only thing I don’t know how to do? Get the word out.

I'll be sharing a LOT of videos and content over the coming weeks. If you can help spread the word, I’d appreciate it more than you can ever imagine 🙏

#FunctionalFitness #FunctionalFitnessCanada #canadianfunctionalfitness #FunctionalFitnessLeague #FFL #FFLYVR #sportgovernance #nationalsportorganization
#nso #volunteer

Why We’re Moving On From Zenplanner

Raincity Athletics has relied on Zenplanner for over 10 years, and in the early days, it was incredible. I had regular calls with their programmers, and the software truly adapted to what gyms like ours needed. It felt like we were building something together.

But in 2017, Zenplanner was bought by Daxko, and at first, the changes were small and mostly positive. Then, things took a turn in 2021 when Daxko brought in Genstar Capital as co-investors. Suddenly, promised improvements—like merging Zenplanner with SugarWOD—never came through. Features we'd depended on were becoming obsolete, new ones hid behind paywalls, and support was practically nonexistent. What used to be a reliable partnership now felt like a company that had was just trying to squeeze us.

The reason I tell this story is because, while our new software is miles ahead in some ways, it's also been a tough transition—no fault of Push Press, but rewriting all our backend processes has been a real challenge. However, the difference is, when I reach out to Push Press support, I hear back within hours. I’m dealing with the same people every time, and they genuinely care about our business, no matter how big or small we are. It's brought back that essential small-business connection - and if you haven’t seen our blog, we’re BIG fans of supporting local and/or small business.

So, as we say goodbye to a decade's worth of data stored in Zenplanner, I wanted to make sure to put it somewhere we can look back on and reflect—because it was one hell of a decade. Thank you to everyone who was a part of it, and I can’t wait for what’s to come in the next one.

The Members.

One thing we cannot transfer over is the total attendance from Zenplanner. So we’ll be starting fresh in Push Press - but here are your top attendees in our first decade and the number of sessions/classes they attended <3

• Nicole Nybo: 2, 310
• William Newhouse: 2,007
• Christopher Tan: 1,954
• Misch Shomura: 1,913
• Ryan Holyk: 1,773
• Billy Huang: 1,605
• Alex Tang: 1,512
• Raincity Dentist: 1,446
• Jesse Bittle: 1,422
• Randy Romero: 1,372

The Animals.

Although this data is no where in Zenplanner, it’s obviously a crucial part of our first decade :P

Check-out @dogsofraincity on instagram to see the saved stories and hashtags of the 75+ dogs that have made their way through our doors (among a few cats, and a tortoise).

Here’s a few of the top attendees: #raincitytobey, #raincityeric, #raincityabby, #raincitytilly, #raincitytrousers, #raincitylucy

And a few of the OGs: #raincityrevi, #raincitymia, #raincitysawyer, #raincitysadie

And of course the new mascott: @pongthetort

The Coaches.

As our facility grew, so did the need for more coaches. What started with three owners and one full-time coach in a 2,500 sq. ft. space expanded into managing a team of 6–8 full-timers, 5+ part-timers, and a 7,500 sq. ft. facility.

Over the years, we’ve had 14+ full-time coaches (earning the majority of their income at Raincity), with an average tenure of over four years. We’ve also worked with at least 14 part-time coaches, whose time with us ranged from 6 months to 10 years.

For the full current team, check-out the coaches page.

The Causes.

Over the years we’ve supporeted a lot of incredible causes and communitys. I love to bring in Qmunity to work with our staff on ensuring we create a safe and welcoming environment for all. We’ve donated and volunteerd at food banks, regular clothing drives and donations, and so much more.

The biggest one that we’ve continued to support for a decade plus? Special Olympics Canada. Over the years through our annual CF24 event we’ve raised over $50,000 to help ensure that athletes of all levels and abilities have access to the benefits of sport, just like Raincity provides to it’s members.

The Community.

From day one, my goal was never to create the "best gym ever" because "best" is subjective. Instead, I set out to build a community where anyone feels welcome—a space to connect with people from all walks of life and somewhere you actually want to spend your time. From there, we’ll make sure you move, sweat, and take care of both your body and mind.

Over the years, we’ve hosted dozens of events. While we don’t party like we did in the early days (thankfully), I still love any chance to bring our community together beyond group classes.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our community in the first decade, and I hope you’ll stick around with us for the next one.

The Athletes & Results.

• 161,207+ results were logged
• 1,878 Athletes walked through our doors
• 1,334 of those athletes attended 10+ sessions
• 555 of them attended over 100 classes
• 14 of them attended over 1,000 classes

Top results?

…coming soon as we export the leaderboards from Zenplanner :)

For the kids and families I work with

A big part of why I set up this blog is for the kids I work with, and their families. As someone who works closely with a lot of kids and parents, I think it’s crucial to have full transparency. Parents deserve to know exactly what kind of person is teaching life lessons to their children.

For myself

On top of that, this blog is also about transparency and accountability for me. As someone who is neurodivergent (diagnosed and medicated for ADHD, with some undiagnosed autism mixed in too), I have a lot of thoughts. Usually more than I know what to do with. This blog gives me a place to put those thoughts, somewhere that isn’t social media. People can engage with the content if and when they want to. I’ll still share pieces on social media and other platforms, but this blog is my home base. It’s a place I own, where I can look back over time. Basically, a public journal.

Transparency - for myself, and those I work with

If you know me at all, you know I’m a BIG advocate for transparency. This blog allows people (myself included) to look back on my past opinions and see the consistency in my values. I didn’t realize how rare that was until I got older, and especially until I revisited some of my older blog posts from years ago. It felt good to realize I’m still pushing the same ideas more than a decade later.

296 ‒ Foot health: preventing common injuries, enhancing strength and mobility, & picking footwearView show notes here: https://bit.ly/43Ff0ZxBecome a member to receive exclusive content: https://peterattiamd.com/subscribe/Sign up to receive Peter’s email…YouTube

From my top recommended podcast

Recommended Podcast: Peter Attia ‘The Drive’Anyone who knows anything in the health and wellness space is listening to everything coming out of this podcast…The Bifrost by Coach Thor · Simon aka Coach Thor

Experience: My background in Functional Fitness

In 2013, I founded Raincity Athletics, a CrossFit gym that grew to 7,500 sq. ft. with 6 full-time and 8 part-time coaches. In 2017, we dropped our CrossFit affiliation to become the first recognized Functional Fitness club in BC. Post-COVID, we downsized to 5,000 sq. ft. with 4 full-time and 6-8 part-time coaches which we still operate today in Vancouver, BC.

As an athlete, I competed from 2009 to 2013, at sectionals/regionals as an individual and team athlete, until injuries led me to shift focus to coaching. Since then I’ve coached multiple athletes to regionals, and a master's athlete with multiple games apperances, who placed 6th at the CrossFit Games in 2019.

I also run the Functional Fitness League (FFL), the longest-running recreational competitive league in the sport, with over 20 seasons since 2015. Known as the "beer league" of functional fitness, FFL focuses on accessible, affordable team events while attracting top athletes over the years.

Additionally, I created the Raincity Fit Club, a program for children on the autism spectrum. As a government-approved behavior interventionist, I prioritize inclusion, fairness, and accessibility—values I carry into all aspects of my work as we develop and grow the sport nationwide.

Functional Fitness vs. CrossFit: Understanding the Difference

One of the most common questions I get asked is, "What’s the difference between functional fitness and CrossFit?" It's simple: CrossFit is a brand, much like the NFL or NHL, while functional fitness is the sport itself—comparable to soccer or hockey. CrossFit is a private company that uses elements of functional fitness but operates with its own rules and standards. Our role at CFFF is to govern and develop the sport of functional fitness, much like international federations standardize sports for the Olympics.

We create and oversee the rules, standards, long-term athlete development plans, and judge certifications. Our goal is not to replace CrossFit but to complement it by providing a pathway for athletes and coaches to develop in a fair, consistent, and athlete-centered environment.

Our Vision: Bringing Functional Fitness to Schools

One of my personal long-term goals is to see functional fitness integrated into schools across Canada. When I opened my CrossFit gym 11 years ago, I dreamt of offering PE programs that would teach students the basics of squatting, lifting, pressing, and carrying—fundamental movements that go beyond the gym and impact daily life. Unfortunately, CrossFit, as a brand, can’t be part of school curriculums. But functional fitness as a recognized sport can.

Imagine a world where your child can attend a functional fitness class, earn PE credits, and learn lifelong habits in a supportive, community-driven environment. The focus wouldn’t just be on competitive fitness but also on building strong, healthy movement patterns that benefit kids in all areas of life. This vision drives much of our work at the CFFF as we aim to make functional fitness a sport recognized provincially, nationally, and, eventually, internationally.

Why Do We Need Governing Bodies?

Recent events at the CrossFit Games have shown us why athlete-centered governing bodies are so essential. CrossFit is a private company that, like any business, prioritizes entertainment and sponsors over athlete safety and development. This is why we need non-profit governing bodies like CFFF—organizations created by athletes, for athletes. We exist to ensure the sport’s development is focused on what matters: athlete health, long-term development, and safety.

Governing bodies like CFFF set the rules and standards for the sport, free from profit-driven motives. Our nonprofit status allows us to prioritize fairness, transparency, and accountability to athletes, not shareholders. As athletes and coaches ourselves, we understand the importance of being deeply involved in the decision-making process, and that’s what makes functional fitness unique.

Ongoing Projects and Initiatives

We have a number of exciting projects in the pipeline, all focused on building a safe, inclusive, and fair sport for everyone. Here are a few of the key initiatives:

• Athlete Feedback: We want to hear from you! We’ll be sending out a survey to gather input from athletes, coaches, and clubs on how we can make functional fitness the sport you want it to be. Your feedback will shape the future of functional fitness in Canada.
• Consistent Movement Standards: Athletes and judges alike know the frustration of constantly changing standards. We’re working with the International Functional Fitness Federation (IF3) to develop consistent standards for all movements. These standards will ensure athletes know exactly how they’ll be judged, allowing them to focus on performing their best.
• Professional Technical Officials: We’re building a pathway for certifying technical officials (judges) who will be consistent across all competitions. This standardized process will ensure that every judge knows the rules inside out, creating a fair competition environment for athletes at all levels.
• Coaching Standards: Just like we’re standardizing technical officials, we’re also creating a certification process for coaches. This will ensure that all coaches understand safety, long-term athlete development, and best practices for working with athletes of all ages and skill levels.
• Olympic Pathway: While the long-term goal of the Federation is to see functional fitness as an Olympic sport, I personally believe the focus should be on integrating it into schools. Provincial and national recognition will pave the way for students to learn the sport in high schools and universities, gaining valuable movement and fitness skills.

Building International Recognition

Functional fitness is gaining momentum on the international stage, with over 70 countries involved in the IF3. Some countries, like Sweden and Norway, have already recognized functional fitness as a national sport, with government support for their athletes. This international recognition is what makes functional fitness unique and gives us the opportunity to create a truly global sport, one that is inclusive and accessible to athletes from all over the world.

Developing Custom Software for Growth

To support the growth of the sport, we’re also working on developing custom software that will manage athlete profiles, clubs, technical officials, and more. This software will standardize data across countries and federations, making it easier for athletes, judges, and coaches to connect and grow the sport together. The ultimate goal is to create a centralized platform that’s accessible to all countries involved in functional fitness, helping streamline event management, certification processes, and athlete tracking. Check it out at cf3.thesport.fit.

Get Involved!

We’re passionate about growing functional fitness in Canada and internationally, but we can’t do it without your help. Whether you’re an athlete, coach, or simply a fan of the sport, we encourage you to get involved. We’ll be sending out a survey soon, but in the meantime, create a profile on our website and start sharing your ideas. This sport is for you, and we want you to have a voice in shaping its future.

Final Thoughts

The future of functional fitness is bright, and we’re excited to build a sport that prioritizes athlete safety, long-term development, and fairness. With your involvement, we can create a sport that’s inclusive, transparent, and accessible to everyone. Let’s work together to grow functional fitness in Canada and beyond, and make it a sport we can all be proud of.

Thanks for your support, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

– Simon Damborg
President, Canadian Functional Fitness Federation

“What pressure?”

“When I compete”

“Just think of it as another workout and have fun”

Hmmm, Good Point.

That was a from a conversation I had a couple of weeks ago, and although it’s not exactly word-for-word that’s more or less what was covered and it stuck in my head.

When someone plays a sport, has a hobby or does pretty much anything their actions are driven by two different types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation originates from within and is associated with personal enjoyment or feelings of fulfillment (e.g. running because you love being outside and it makes you happy); whereas extrinsic motivation is derived from external sources and is associated with a reward (e.g. running a race to win prizes or money) and people are typically motivated by a combination of the two. However, while both extrinsic and intrinsic factors are super important, if you to want stick with something and avoid burnout I believe it is the intrinsic factors that really matter.

ON BEING COMPETITIVE

So Here’s the Thing

I am a very competitive person and I can get competitive with pretty much anyone or anything (friends, family members, inanimate objects), but the person I get most competitive with is myself. I want to excel at (almost) everything but even when I do a part of me always thinks I could have done just a little bit better. Now I like to compete for a number of reasons…. its fun, it makes me push my comfort zone and I feel super alive (intrinsic) but I admit I also really like ‘title’ or ‘recognition’ that comes along with winning (extrinsic). If I don’t win that doesn’t mean I didn’t have fun along the way or step outside my comfort zone (although the disappointment of losing sometimes makes me forget that I did) but if I’m not having fun anymore not only is ‘the win’ less likely to happen but it’s not as satisfying if it does.

Competition (official or me deciding to compete against someone often without their knowledge) motivates me to keep going when I want to give up because it gives me something (or someone) to chase. When I have a goal I push myself to try things that scare me…

Check out the full post on Coach Taryn’s blog: Go Hard Get Strong

In a time where almost anything, from online reviews to personal identities can be replicated or faked, the importance of maintaining and surrounding ourselves with genuine, trustworthy relationships has never been more crucial.

Over the next couple of years, it will be vital to be part of a community that genuinely prioritizes your well-being, and where you can be confident that your best interests are in mind—something that, realistically, is only achieved by small, and even more so local businesses.

As we all know by now—Loblaws doesn’t care about you, your health, your happiness, or your wellbeing in any capacity, and I hate to break it to ya—neither does Netflix, Anytime Fitness, Facebook, or anything in between. This became painfully apparent during the pandemic; while major corporations maximized their profits, good local businesses focused on ensuring their clients felt safe and supported in a time when they needed it more than ever. While corporate giants saw record profits, small businesses took on more debt to ensure they could continue to provide a safe space for their communities. Not only that, but knowing how much local businesses were suffering we ran additional campaigns to help support local restaurants (like our neighbors To Dine For), to help ensure they’d survive the pandemic - even when we weren’t sure if Raincity was going to.

To the big corporations, you are a number that they want to squeeze as much capital out of as possible. Of course, a small business needs to create capital as well—but for us to do that, we interact with you daily, we collect feedback, we put our clients first, and we mold our services to what our community needs. That’s the power and importance of small businesses, and that is what will be CRUCIAL for our health (both physical and mental) over the coming years.

Still waiting for my invite to Anytime Fitness’ Ice Cream Crawl #RaincityIceCream

Supporting Local is a Two-Way Street

Over the past four years, my Disney+ subscription has doubled - and we get notified of these increases via a no-reply email address… Imagine if your local shop tried to pull that off?

I’ve had a lot of conversations over the years of owning multiple small businesses where clients bring up how long they’ve supported Raincity via paying for a membership. Obviously, this is an integral part of our business and I greatly appreciate anyone who chooses to spend their hard-earned $$ with us; but I am also confident in the product we sell.

For a couple hundred dollars a month, we’ve provided not only awesome workout classes, but a local community, lifelong friendships, and likely a higher level of health and fitness than you ever thought you’d achieve - so aren’t we supporting each other?

Unlike the corporate giants, small businesses don’t have the opportunity to profit off you (aka your data) outside of the services you pay us for. And since we typically operate in competitive, location-based industries, we don’t have monopolies that allow us to set our own prices knowing you can’t go anywhere else. You can be confident we’ll never send you a price increase notice from a no-reply email address.

Lastly, it’s a two-way street because local businesses actually care about you, not just how much capital we can generate from you. We’re on the ground and face-to-face with our clients and community; we get joy out of seeing your results and your enjoyment of our products. We do what we do because we love it, and because we love what it allows us to provide to our local clients and community. But in a world where capital is king, this model isn’t sustainable without a little extra help. Thus, the goal of this post is not merely a call to action; it's an invitation to actively participate in nurturing our local communities (and the small businesses that create/support them) so they can thrive as we head into a time where our mental and physical well-being are going to need them more than ever.

HOW TO Show Support for Your Favorite Local Business

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be expanding on each of these ideas, with easy, direct, and actionable things that you can do that won’t cost you a penny but will have a huge benefit for the growth and sustainability of our favorite local businesses. We’re going to link to ways you can directly do these things with Raincity - but we’re sure your favorite local shop has similar options. If you’re a local shop looking to improve your accessibility and communication with your community, feel free to contact us - we’re happy to help :)

Ok we said ‘free’ ways - this one might cost you a little bit, but chances are you already own some gear, so just take an extra second to try to wear that gear more :)

• Local businesses don’t have the advertising budget of the big kids—so getting our logos out there as much as possible is CRUCIAL.
• The likelihood of someone asking you about it and following through to look us up is 10x higher if they see a logo on a friend, as opposed to a billboard.
• Even if people don’t ask you about it, visibility is key—and the more times they see it, eventually, they’ll be curious enough to see what we’re all about - especially if they see what awesome people there are ;)

This one's super simple and massive—again, without the advertising budget, you’ll rarely get spammed with ads from a local business—so every time you like or share something from us is massive.

• Engagement is everything—sitting on your phone doomscrolling? Pop over to your favorite local business account and make sure you’ve liked everything on their feed and even throw down a few comments or tag some friends.
• Regardless of the latest algorithm - they all know that you’re more inclined to be hooked onto something that your friend is already/also interested in - so your comments or shares on a small business post will almost do more for them than if they paid for ads.
• This helps not only drive engagement but LOCAL engagement from your friends and followers, who are much more likely to become clients.

This is always a hard one, we get it - you found your dream community that’s a nice break from your regular circle of friends or work colleagues, and you don’t want to have to go on a waitlist to get into classes. There’s a reason why the big studios (aka Barry’s, Ride, etc) have aggressive (12-24 hour) cancellation policies with no refunds; because they know that their number 1 priority is a full class.

• You can talk about how much you love something, but just like you weren’t hooked until you tried it out - your friends will be the same. Bring them in to try out a class or a sample of whatever product your favorite local shop has.
• There’s no amount of money you can spend at a local business that will match if you refer a handful of friends, who hopefully also become lifelong customers.
• Is there a reason your friends don’t want to join? Well then….

This is probably the most underappreciated one—as we’ve discussed, one of the biggest reasons to support local is because they actually care about you and your feedback.

• Provide constant and constructive feedback, no matter how big or small. It doesn’t mean that things will change because of your comment, but we’re always listening, and if something comes up enough times, we begin to plan changes around it.
• Local businesses provide a local experience - they’re not told what to do by someone in another country which is why they’re able to tailor their product to the needs of their local community - so make sure they what those needs are!

More Info…

Questions?

• Email info@raincityathletics.ca
• Or checkout our FAQ: www.rncty.ca/faq

Feedback?

• Our members can utilize our anonymous feedback form ANYTIME: www.rncty.ca/feedback
  (password the same as RAthletes wifi posted in the gym)

Want to try us out?

• Whether you know someone at Raincity or not - schedule your free trial today: www.rncty.ca/join

Want to bring a friend?

• Have them register for a free trial FB class, or just email info and we’ll help you get them setup! www.rncty.ca/free-class

Mark Whitehead from Get the Shot Studio contacted me and said he had some 'ideas' he wanted to try out. We got together and shot some basic headshots, and then he had some fun doing some #epic shots! Take a look at his post about it, and his portfolio of the other awesome shots he's done: http://gettheshot.ca/blog/Simon-Damborg.php

And what's even more 🤯 than that is every one of these affiliates invited the FFL in out of love for the community, as we fumbled to try to find a system that worked 😅 and that's the only reason the FFL was able to function for so many of those early years 🙏.

Fast forward to 8 years, 25 seasons, hundreds of matches, 6 different softwares and 20+ playoffs later... and I'm proud to say we've sent out our first commissions to affiliates who hosted a match! We're also able to pay competitive hourly rates to their coaches who are able to help facilitate the matches they host💸

Our events are by no means perfect (hence the debrief) but I finally feel I can confidently say I have the experience, and a custom built back end, that help us run very efficient and enjoyable events, while still being affordable and accessible to athletes of any level or ability 💪

So if you want to generate some easy income for your affiliate (and your coaches) while also getting a huge community boost (everyone comes out for a home team match!) then let's chat 2024 season 📩 simon@league.fit

Huge thank you to everyone who's been a part of getting the FFL to where it is 🙏and allowing me to treat entire regions like a big group class 😂 and to my better half hiding behind the desk @r_wu 😘 and I'm very excited for our post COVID regrowth alongside our partners over at @bioedgesciences 🤩 stay tuned.

#Functionalfitnessleague #FFLYVR #FFLYYJ #FFLYYC #functionalfitness #ffcomp #competition

Coach / Bossman Thor here - I didn’t want this to get lost in a newsletter, so I’m adding it to the website blog that many didn’t even know we had :D

In my 10+ years of owning Raincity Athletics there are many moments where you could say ‘proud coach’ but there are no bigger moments than what went down last weekend at the IF3 World’s Masters / Juniors world championships.

For those that don’t know - on top of owning Raincity Athletics and the Functional Fitness League, I am also the president of the BC Functional Fitness Sports Association; the non-profit governing body of the sport of Functional Fitness in BC which includes being on the board of the Canadian Functional Fitness Federation. For a full breakdown of how all the FFFFFs work and what that means, you can check-out a little video I posted a few weeks ago.

The Qualifiers

A few months ago we convinced a handful of athletes into spending their weekend doing the IF3 Candian online qualifiers. Aaron & Michelle have been doing these qualifiers for a couple of years now, and Michelle qualified last year and flew out to Aruba to compete at this same event in 2022! Since the championships were in BC this year we managed to convince a few others to join in. In the end 5 qualified, one of them being the Dentist who unfortunately has had to withdraw from competitive weightlifting and functional fitness due to injuries :( we miss him… more on the other athletes later.

The Call For Help

About 6-8 weeks prior to the IF3 World Championships coming to Vancouver (which I had intended to volunteer for, but wasn’t planning to have a major role in running) I got an email from the IF3 President Gretchen. There had been some personal issues for our Canadian President who was in charge of the event, and they were in need of quite a bit of help. At that point we had over 200 athletes registered, and only about 15 volunteers - I knew we were in trouble.

Raincity SHOWS UP

This is where the proud coach moment comes in. Not only because of our epic athletes that threw down that weekend but also the 30+ of our members/community who SHOWED UP to volunteer. Who went above and beyond to help ensure this event not only happened, but was an amazing time for the 300+ international athletes that flew in from all over the world for it. This doesn’t even include the dozens who reached out to let me know they were sorry they couldn't help <3

This is the type of community that makes me proud.

Being fit and winning competitions will come and go, but being a community that is willing to step up to support the greater good (in this case the FF community) when called upon is a trait that sticks around. I couldn’t be more proud that we’ve attracted so many of those people to Raincity Athletics.

The RAthletes

Although I never like to prioritize ‘winning’ events - for those that don’t know…

The Raincity Rules of Competition; Make friends Look good Have fun Don’t lose

And in terms of that last rule, as long as you hit the first 3 then whatever place you end up in is irrelevant…

Honarary RAthlete Theron

Thank you for being the (sometimes too) calm collected mind and providing guidance for Dillan in his first competition. It’s always awesome to have an athlete with so much experience to help guide the newer groups. However when it comes to Theron; please do what he says not what he does ;)

OUR FF PRO MICHELLE

This was her second time competing at this event (after flying out to Aruba last year) and I couldn’t be more proud to have her represent Raincity & Canada both at home and internationally. Michelle embodies everything I want to see in a Raincity Athlete on the workout floor. Always has a smiling face whether she’s winning or losing. If she’s not winning, it’s only because she’s too busy admiring her fellow competitors and being inspired by them :D

COACH KATIE

When coach Katie casually mentioned she might take part in the qualifier, we got pretty excited. Katie is one of those elite athletes not because she tries to win, but because she loves the process. If you ever want to be elite in this sport - that’s the only way. So I appreciate what it means for Katie to step off the training floor and onto the competition floor. She even managed to take first place in an event (in a pretty stacked division of athletes) while simultaneously making sure our whole crew was taken care of and had what they needed both weeks prior and all weekend. Thank you for being coach as well as athlete in a time when I could not <3

THE REAL ATHLETE DILLAN

I have to say this is the guy I’m most proud of. On a whim (and with some force from me) he was convinced to join in on the qualfiier weekend and have some fun. Next thing he knew he was registered for his first-ever competition which happened to be on an international stage with hundreds of athletes from all over the world. That is NOT an easy first comp… and although Dillan’s nerves were on display leading up to the event, it was the final week where we could see them really started to take a toll… but in the end, I think we can easily say Dillan had the most fun of any athlete out there! Thank you, Dillan for blindly trusting me when I threw you into the deep end and promised you it would be ‘fun’ - even when you didn’t understand how that would be possible - you showed up and crushed the Raincity rules of competition #somanynewfriends.

Thank you

Again, there are no words for how proud I am of our community, and how much gratitude I have for everyone who stepped up and helped us make sure this event was a huge success, and it was. I want to give one extra special shout-out to my right-hand Assistant Head TO who helped me manage multiple competition floors all weekend; Donal.

When I decided to go all in on this event I knew what I was getting myself into, I have run many competitions in the past, and volunteered at short handed ones too. Donal stepped up early and offered his experience as a head judge from prior CF events, and was rewarded (ha) with an assistant head TO position. In the end this meant he was on the floor with me for upwards of 10 hours a day with very short breaks (as there was only 1 of each of us). I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty impressed with how many hats I was able to productively wear throughout this weekend, I made some magical sh*t happen - but the ONLY reason I was able to do that was because Donal gave me 100% confidence in his ability to manage and communicate with me the needs of our judges & floor at all times.

SO MANY Familiar Faces

Again, THANK YOU to all of you (whether you were able to help or not) for embracing and encouraging a community that gives back <3

If you’re interested in getting involved in Functional Fitness as an athlete, board member, or anything in between, make sure to follow BCFFSA & IF3 online and don’t hesitate to reach out :)

Simon Damborg aka Thor Owner; rncty.ca & league.fit President: bcffsa.org

To keep this from being a(nother) blog post you can get the quick story on the last pic - or the full story, and a recap of how incredible the @raincityathls community is over that blog (rncty.ca/blog).

This post is going to be about my why.. why would I give so much of my timer, energy, equipment and more to help run a competition that doesn't pay me?

It's simple; because my ADHD LOVES the pressure, because I knew I was the right guy for the job having run literally dozens of competitions / matches / playoffs via the @functionalfitnessleague , because I had faith the @raincityathls community would show up to help, but most of all...

Because I believe in it. I believe #functionalfitness deserves a place as an internationally recognized and regulated sport... And tbh the people who are willing to do this 💩 for free are the people you want writing the rules & regulations for its growth and development.

At the end of our event debrief I made a proposal to the IF3: technical fouls aka athletes yellow/red cards. If a head or Assistant head TO (judge) catches an athlete being aggressive (verbally or physically) towards their (volunteer) judge they can show a card. Nothing stops happening / moving but it's an automatic % score deduction (ie 5-10% added to time or deducted from weight etc).

These are the kinds of regulations that ensure this sport grows in a way that everyone who takes part will benefit from. These are also the types of regulations that companies have much less incentive to take the time to develop and apply.

Support the legitimate growth of the sport of Functional Fitness in BC and around the world ❤️ it's pretty cool stuff to get to represent your country in the sport you love.

Follow @bcfunctionalfitness @canadian_functional_fitness and sign up for the mailing lists so you don't miss the next qualifier 😉

📸 some pic credits and explanations in the comments.

Vancouver #functionalfitness community we need your help!

Many don't know or understand the difference between Functional Fitness and CrossFit, so I made a quick video explaining what we do as National and Provincial sports organizations, as well as asking for help to show your support for the international FF community next weekend.

On Sept 30 to Oct 2nd over 300+ athletes from all over the world are coming to the Richmond oval for the @internationalfunctionalfitness
Masters & Juniors world championships, and we need (more) volunteers!

If you've got FF/CF experience and are around next weekend, help support the growth of the (official) sport in BC and get a chance to meet some awesome international athletes! If you don't have FF/CF experience we'll still need all the hands we can get 🙏

Don't hesitate to reach out with questions, preferably via info@bcfunctionalfitness.org but I'll answer anywhere I can.

Thank you for listening (and sharing):
www.bcffsa.org/volunteer

@internationalfunctionalfitness
@canadian_functional_fitness
@bcfunctionalfitness

*Apologies for the quick edits and bags under my eyes it was filmed at 830pm after a long day 😅 #smallbusinessowner #volunteer

#functionalfitness #vancouverfitness #fitness #crossfit #sport #sports #pso #nso #governingbodies #competrtion #vancouver #volunteer

Looking back over a decade of owning a brick and mortar small business in Vancouver, I can honestly say there was a cumulative total of maybe 2-3 years (out of the 10) that I wasn't dealing with something extremely mentally & emotionally taxing. Between partner buyouts, HRT lawsuits, and a pandemic (just to name a few) it's hard to find the time to remind yourself that you love (or at some point loved) what you do...

I only share this now because for the first time in a long time, I've had time to be reminded of how much I love what I do. Since downsizing I've been able to get back on the floor, coach more classes, do more programming, and get back to doing the things I started this for; rather than just stressing and trying to keep the doors open.

This doesn't mean Raincity is in the clear yet. Just like all small businesses; we survived COVID by deferring debts... and the majority of us still have a lot of them to pay off. But, for the first time in years I've had an incredible few months with an incredible team and community which has finally again made me excited for Raincity and it's future.

So a huge thank you to anyone and everyone who's supported and/or put up with me (and Raincity) in the last decade. Whether you've worked out, coached, or even just come by for the the parties and animals - thank you, and I hope you'll join us for another 5 (sorry it's not going to be another decade 😅).

- coach @thor604

Ps sorry not sorry I spent more time taking pics of animals than people #thortakespics #raincitybirthday

#rathletes #raincityathletics #findyourfit #smallbusiness #smallbusinessbccanada #rwutakespics

I know that sounds grim… but as a small business owner who just carried a 7k sqf brick and mortar shop through a 2 year long pandemic, I think it’s allowed.

Funny enough, surviving the pandemic wasn’t the hard part… bouncing back after has been. To be frank; Raincity has barely broken even since COVID (and the gov wants most of their money back soon).

My only options to try to get my life back, or make some actual $$, were a) to sell (not a lot of people buying gyms post pandemic); b) to try to retract to the OG side only and become a small private training studio (ending most/all group classes); or c) to run Raincity into the ground and pursue bankruptcy…

Last year I made the extremely difficult decision for my own mental health, that I would execute one of these options by Raincity’s 10th birthday (August)… but then a dream opportunity landed in my inbox; sub leasing out the high ceiling OG space and keeping the bigger side + access to the bathrooms.

This weekend we begin our renovations to say goodbye to (most of) the OG space, and we move full time into the 5k+ square foot Annex side.

Thank you everyone for the positive support in the many extremely difficult decisions I've had to make since COVID... and ✌️out to anyone who tries to bring negativity into the welcoming and inclusive community I've spent the last decade of my life building.

Tho our physical space may be getting smaller, I promise in every other way this change will allow Raincity and it's incredible community to grow bigger & better than ever ❤️

For the full breakdown of what's coming up: www.rncty.events

@raincityathls
@raincityfitclub

#raincityathletics #raincitysquad #rathletes #findyourfit #community

Unified Movement Standards Database

Athletes and judges deserve consistency when it comes to movement standards. I am working directly with Brent Fikowski of the PFAA as well as the AFJ team to create a unified database for all variations of Functional Fitness.

Professional Fitness Athletes' Association (PFAA)
Association of Fitness Judges (AFJ)
Canadian Functional Fitness Federation (CFFF)

Check it out

Schools.fit - resources for parents & teachers

Building out a database of resources for teachers and parents to help keep kids moving. Everything from movement demos, training principals and nutrition advice tailored to kids and families.

Check it out

For the prior news updates on the changes (and reasons why, as well as why there were so many delays), you can check out the news blog posts here and then here.

With 4 different group programs available to ALL our group class athletes, you can pick which programs to follow based on your goals and ability! We recommend joining in the group classes as much as possible, but we expect a lot of athletes to follow the [FB] Functional Body and [FF] Olympic Lifting programs on their own time during open gym as well.

[FB] Functional Body PROGRAM

Workouts are available via Zenplanner (click 3 buttons / profile top left > workouts). For those following the program NOT in a group class, join the #athletes-fb channel & tag @coach with questions!

• Tuesdays & Thursdays: full body workouts based on stability mobility & core
• Fridays: Conditioning intervals following 4 week blocks & mobility
• Sundays: Bodybuilding style strength with a mixed modal conditioning piece

[FF] Olympic Lifting Program

Will continue to be 2 days / week posted on Thursdays & Sundays. The Friday AM class will complete the Thursday programming. Join the #athletes-barbell channel and tag @coach for questions or anything you need to know for each block :)

Unattended Access

We have updated our insurance to allow athletes to train even if a coach isn’t present! This is NOT to allow 24/7 access to the facility, but so that during odd times during the day when coaches are in and out, OR during the first/last block of the day when clients like to show up extra early or hang around a bit after class - we can now allow that :)

We have given keys to select athletes who are regulars at certain times of days (ie morning, midday, and evening) who are typically hanging around. If a coach is ever leaving you at the gym, they will clarify any instructions (ie just make sure the door locks behind you, or make sure to listen to whatever key person is left there / in charge).

[FF] Throwdown Class Saturdays @ 8:30AM

Come join coach KatieN for a Saturday morning ‘throwdown’ every week! This class is open to all athletes with at least 6 months [FF] group class experience as the weights will be heavy and the volume will be high! We’ll always have scaling options available, but make sure you’re ready (mentally and physically) before jumping into this one!

[FF] Comp Prep Class

The Monday night is for athletes who can ‘Rx’ all the [FF] group class movements as we’ll be focusing on progressing through higher level skills at higher volume like muscle ups, handstand walks, and more.

Pre major competitions (like Canwest games), this class will open up to all athletes registered for the upcoming event.

   View the schedule

membershipS NOW APPLY TO ALL group class programs

The [FB] Functional Body, [SC] Strength & Conditioning and [FF] Functional Fitness programs will all utilize the same memberships, contracts, and options - but we (on the back end) will adjust that membership to allow you access to the programs & classes you are approved/trained for (based on OnRamp completion or prior training experience).

If you purchase a new punch card/membership - please email info@raincityathletics.ca to ensure the classes are enabled for you (just in case).

All memberships ARE now sessions / MONTH instead of / WEEK

Your ‘month’ will re-set based on your billing date - so if your membership begins on the 15th, you will have 8 (casual), 12 (part time) or 24 (full time) sessions available from the 15th to the 15th of the next month.

Programming & Addon memberships UPDATES

With our new focus being back on our popular group classes, we’ve made some adjustments to our programming memberships, addon combos, and options. These will only apply to NEW memberships - but if you’re currently on programming and want to switch to one of the new addon options don’t hesitate to reach out.

COMING SOON: CHEAP PRIVATE TRAINING SESSIONS FOR GROUP CLASS ATHLETES

Stay tuned for details - but we want everyone to be able to afford to reap the benefits of 1-2 private training sessions/month (or week?) with a coach to help maximize your group class gains!…

   view memberships

We’re making our group classes more accessible than ever! With the new schedule switch to having [SC] Group Classes Monday / Wednesday, athletes can now attend those classes if they complete a 3 session [SC] OnRamp OR demonstrate adequate barbell & training experience.

The 3 session [SC] OnRamp is also a great option for current [SC] athletes who never completed an OnRamp and are looking for a review before joining the [SC] Group Classes on the Annex side this week.

OTHER UPDATES

These updates will be reflected in our FAQ in the coming days/weeks, thank you for your patience - but here’s what you need to know:

Workout transition back to Zenplanner

Over the coming weeks we will be transitioning ALL our group class programs back to Zenplanner for workout logging. This will allow us to check your results & scores from our TV / faceboard, including allowing you to enter your scores (without having to use your phone).

We are in the process of exporting results from SugarWOD into Zenplanner - stay tuned for details. We will be fully transitioning to Zenplanner in the next 2 weeks. You will continue to have access to SugarWOD even after Raincity stops utilizing it.

NO-SHOW POLICY UPDATES

You will now only be charged if you no-show for a FULLY BOOKED CLASS. Reservations & cancellation windows remain the same (4 days to book and up to 2 hours to cancel).

If you miss a class and it was not full, simply reply to the automated email 1 hour after class letting us know and we will return it to your account :)

Please note: If you know you are unable to make a class (and it’s not full) there is no point in contacting us, your ‘punishment’ for late cancelling is that you will have to wait until after the class (reply to the automated email) to get your class back & re-book. If you cannot make it and the class IS full - we recommend posting that in slack in hopes that someone can fill your spot for you so you don’t get charged :)

About a year ago we set out on a little snow shoe adventure... The goal was Brew Lake Hut for the night. There had been the first big dump of snow that week, and the access bridge we'd planned to utilize had been taken out.... If we were smart we would have scrapped the trip - because you can't beat mother nature - but we hadn't learned that lesson yet so instead we audibled to take an alternate route up.

We hit the road at 5am... 2+ feet of fresh snow had us moving MUCH slower than planned, and at about 4pm as the sun was about to start setting we realized we may not make our objective before dark... And so instead of continuing for <1 hour up in the dark & unknown, we opted for the 5+ hour return the way we came.

At this point I called 911 (which is how you get Search and Rescue). We weren't in any trouble, as we had the gear & good to spend the night if needed... but we wanted to let them know our situation and decision, just in case.

The second I connected with them my phone showed an alert that it was in "emergency mode" - all notifications had been unblocked and my location was being pinged back to emergency services. The SARs team was very relieved to hear how prepared we were (including always having a spare battery pack for my phone). They called us every hour just to check in, and then had someone meet us at the trail head when we finally got back to the car, at almost 1am.

Moral of the story? KISS. Listen to the pros... not the internet

Do NOT use apps like my3words - learn to get the GPS coordinates via your phone so the SAR team doesn't have to download an app to find you.

Do NOT waste your battery calling anyone other than 911, period and this includes voicemail. Emergency calls utilize any cell tower (not just your provider) and allow them to track your location.

Do NOT go into the mountains unprepared - checkout @bcadvsmart for more info.

According to Yale Medicine, the average injury rate of runners is 65% This is largely because running is so accessible and easy to do; it is also due to the lack of focus on technique, as well as muscle imbalances. If coaches were to take the same approach to teaching a deadlift as many do to teaching running, then any rep that lifts the bar off the ground would be considered a good rep, regardless of form (like how rounded the athlete’s back was). After a good rep? Add more weight of course! No good coach or athlete would ever take this approach to lifting, yet it is the exact approach taken to running – “if I can get from A to B then I am a good runner and I should run farther!” And this is why we end up with a 65% injury rate. Here are a few quick, easy exercises you can add to your running routine to help remove muscle imbalances as well as refine your form to minimize injury and increase your pace without increasing your effort (yes, magic, I know).

read the full article on page 20 on issuu

Simon ‘Thor’ Damborg, 34

Group fitness instructor and owner of Raincity Athletics, Vancouver, B.C.
www.raincityathletics.ca – Instagram – Facebook

The Raincity Athletics head coach/owner focusses on building community around fitness. Simon is president of the BC Functional Fitness Sports Association and as a group fitness instructor teaches functional fitness and Olympic lifting. Raincity’s Fit Club is an approved behaviour interventionist provider which allows Simon to work with kids on the autism spectrum and at schools across the Lower Mainland where he shows that everyone can benefit from a proper fitness program.

“I believe functional fitness should be fun and accessible to athletes of any level, age and physical or mental ability. We provide two things — community and accountability.”

Impact Magazine Blog View Magazine on issuu

@impactmagcanada asked for a blurb and a workout for their Runners Edition magazine, so obviously I opened it by pointing out that the average annual injury rate of recreational runners (according to Yale medicine) is as high as 65% 🤯 🤦‍♂️

6️⃣5️⃣%!?... That's not ok!

I'm sorry, but just because you can get yourself from A to B does not mean you're a 'good runner' and it especially doesn't mean that you should challenge yourself by running further... That's like saying 'I can pick stuff up off the ground so I'm good at deadlifts and should try to pickup something heavier!'

If you've never learned run technique, or consciously practiced it (ie pose method)... Or if you've never tracked your pacing & cadence... or run paced intervals... Aka if you're just seeing how far you can make A to B and sometimes you time it... Then sorry, you are not a good runner, and you're going to end up contributing to that 65%, if you haven't already.

Shout out to @impactmagcanada for likely not getting what they were looking for, but still giving it a big spread 🙌

If you're in any pain when you run, please stop and see a trainer, or physio, or someone legit to assess why - dont just ignore it! You can come see us @raincityathls or pop by @thephysioshop if you want to get fixed up and make sure all those old running injuries and owies don't come back this summer!

Congrats on toughing out that whole rant :D

#thorpretendstobeabigdeal
#lifeadvicewiththor
#whatsonthorshead

Luckily I read the blurb about how the contest works... "scored on subjects such as education, certification, years in the business, philanthropy and community service" which was a nice change to see, so I took some time to reflect on what I've done over the years, something I (and most entrepreneurs) dont spend enough time doing...

Thank you Impact Magazine for reminding me that I should take some time to toot my own horn once and a while...

📯 I opened, own, and run a 7k+ sqf fitness facility with almost a dozen coaches and 300+ members and an incredible community like no other at @raincityathls www.rncty.ca/join

📯 I started (tho currently on hold) and ran the first 'beer league' bringing #FunctionalFitness competition to almost 1000 athletes of every level and multiple regions with the @functionalfitnessleague (it'll brb I promise)

📯 I became a government approved behaviour interventionist, allowing me to work with almost a dozen different kids (currently) on the autism spectrum both at Raincity and at schools with the @raincityfitclub

📯 I am the president of the BC Functional Fitness Sports Association @bcfunctionalfitness the non profit provincial sports organization (PSO) legitimizing the sport of Functional Fitness in BC, Canada @canadian_functional_fitness, and internationally @internationalfunctionalfitness

BUT to be honest the most surprising part of this article is seeing in writing that I'm 34 years old 🤯... Thank God I had some time to reflect on some accomplishments before seeing that 😅

Thanks to everyone who's been there to support me and my lack of sleeping over the years. I'm going to go have a nap.

#thorpretendstobeabigdeal
#lifeadvicewiththor

#raincityfitclub
#raincityathletics
#findyourfit
#impactmagazine

About the Raincity OnRamp

• It will still focus on teaching athletes the basics of all the major lifts & gymnastics movements
• It will still have 6 or 10 session options depending on the athletes level (which will be assessed at their FREE private workout trial)
• Full details about the Raincity OnRamp: www.rncty.ca/programs/onramp

Schedule online consultation

Updated OnRamp Options

The OnRamp coach will work with their athlete to determine the best way to move forward after their 6 or 10 OnRamp sessions…

OPTION 1: For athletes who are feeling confident in both movements & understanding the [FF] programming options after their OnRamp

Athletes can still utilize the existing 2 weeks of full time membership that's included if they feel comfortable & ready for [FF] Individual Access, your coach will help you reserve your first few sessions!

OPTION 2A: For athletes who are confident in their movement, but need a little more direction on how to read & understand the workout programs in SugarWOD

This option includes 2 additional OnRamp/PT sessions during [FF] Individual Access blocks & replaces the existing 2 weeks of full time membership option.

Instead of 2 weeks of coming in on your own, you'll get 2 additional Private Training ONRAMP sessions where the coach will reserve you for [FF] Individual Access & then come in with you to help ensure you are comfortable reading, understanding, and following the workout of the day from SugarWOD.

OPTION 2B: For athletes who aren't feeling confident enough to follow the [FF] programs in a group environment yet.

This option may also be utilized if scheduling doesn't allow for option 2. It also replaces the existing 2 weeks of full time membership option.

Not ready to be amongst everyone else yet? No worries! Your coach will take you through 2 additional Private Training sessions to help ensure you're ready!

Schedule online consultation

OnRamp Details

OK I lied, I may be big but I'm definitely not as tough as my rugged exterior or belligerently loud voice may make it seem... But the idea that I should be has definitely messed with my head all my life.

So join me tomorrow for one or all of the 5 #raincityathome workouts I'll be doing... There's a good chance I'll cry at some point, I'm just not sure if it'll be from all the #thordoescardio or from how hideous my face will look as I shave a section every hour.

Links: www.rncty.ca/thorsmo

☑ Join the workout via zoom & pick what section I shave after ☑ Watch me cry via @raincityathls IG story live stream ☑ Donate to support the mental and physical health of broken boys like me

😘 😘 😘

#Repost @raincityathls ・・・ Starting at 8AM tomorrow coach @thor604 will be going live on our IG completing a #RaincityAthleticsAtHome workout every hour on the hour for 5 hours to raise money & awareness for our @movember team & for all the men out there dying way too young.⁠ ⁠ Join him for a workout (link in bio) and you'll get to choose which section of beard he'll shave off after each hour!⁠ ⁠ Workouts start on the hour: 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 & beard trimming happens after each one!⁠ ⁠ join or donate: www.rncty.ca/thorsmo⁠ ⁠ #RaincityMovember⁠ ⁠ #Raincityahtletics #RAthletes #Findyourfit #FunctionalFitness #vancouverfitness #vanfit #vancouverfitness #vancityfitness

I have a rule... once I have to tell the same storie(s) enough times it's easier to just put them on the internet... So here's a few from this weekends adventure - with each slide:

1 - this is mountain thor aka #thorgoesoutside, he's the newest evolution of thors to grace this ig. You may recognize prior editions like; fit thor aka the guy who loved #Crossfit a bit too much... bearded thor aka #thorpretendstobeabigdeal , and fat thor who still occasionally makes appearances.

2 - we hitup the How Sound crest trail for a night because the weatherman said the smoke and rain would clear up by midday. It's a pretty epic route!

3 - it never cleared up. Actually it got foggier and wetter. We covered over 17km and 1500m of elevation on day 1, summiting 7 mountains... and these things were straight up and down.

4 - we're very lucky we were prepared for the worst. Because we were hit with the worst... I highly do not recommend attempting this route in the wet or fog :S

5 - we had to call it a day one mountain short of our goal of the meadows because we wanted to setup camp before nightfall and the weather had us 2 hours behind schedule. The only glimpse of blue sky we got was for 20min in the am as we had breakfast. We crossed our fingers for some clear skies to make it worth finishing the next 16km.

6 - the fog rolled back in pretty shortly after so we said 🖕 this and took the bush whacking 12km trail out (there was a marked trail - just not very utilized)

7 - #spoileralert... we made it! And in the end it was one hellova fking adventure. I can't wait to hit that route with some sunshine and views next year.

8 - the basics. Sorted from most accessed on left to last access needed on right... Cept the sunscreen.

Thanks for reading about my adventure with @tyeecook & @chlozet - and your welcome for not flooding your news feed with 8 separate posts :D

#thorgoesoutside
#thordoescardio
#beautifulbc
#getoutside

#Repost @bcfunctionalfitness
・・・
A governing body that we are PROUD to be a part of, work with, and represent.

If you're interested in getting involved with the BCFFSA in ANY way to assist us in making sure these commitments happen (from a provincial to national to international level) please reach out.

We've got a lot of work to do, and it's going to take time to do it - but we are committing to following through long term.

#Repost @internationalfunctionalfitness
・・・
Racism is unacceptable. Period. Discrimination is unacceptable. Period. There is no discussion to be had on these points.
Like the rest of the world, we have watched as the events of the past few weeks have shed light on long existing systemic racial inequalities. However, we are firm believers that actions speak louder than words and felt it was not adding value to the conversation to speak up until we had an action plan in place to address how the iF3 can contribute to being part of the solution.
The events of the past few weeks speak to the inarguable need for black and ethnic minority voices to be properly heard and have a seat at the table in decision making in government, business, and sport. In order to actively contribute to this need within our sport, the iF3 has committed to the following 3 step action plan:
\1) Ensure that our internal structures (committees, commissions, etc) are ethnically balanced and that black people and other ethnic minorities are adequately represented.

\2) Work with our National Federations to ensure that they are working to similarly balance their internal structures, and discuss with them other initiatives they can take in their countries to engage ethnic minorities in the sport and increase representation.

\3) Actively seek out partners who are interested in helping us develop programs that will increase inclusion and diversity in the sport and who can help us to understand and educate us on the issues at play on a deeper level.
There is no room for racism or those who support it in our sport.

Coach Liz here, as I’m sure most of you are well-aware, we are re-opening our doors today, and we will host our first official group classes since mid-March tomorrow!

We are starting off with members getting access to 2 group classes a week, over 3 potential days (Tues, Thurs, or Sat). (read more about our phased re-opening approach here)

Why Only 2 Workouts per Week?

Testing Procedures

First, to make sure our new COVID procedures function as we imagined with that many members coming through every day, and to make sure those procedures can be replicated as we continue to add back more classes.

Progressive Training Volume

Second, to make sure you all are safe and not overdoing it your first week back to the gym. Most members have been without a barbell or pull-up bar or intense group training atmosphere for going on six weeks! Going back to four to five workouts a week that include all of those things is a recipe for disaster. Remember how sore you were after the first OnRamp session or two? Imagine that, except worse, because your ego is getting the best of you and you’re trying to do the things you could do at the gym Pre-COVID.

Group Class Programming

Having said that, we wanted to notify you about what the in-gym programming will look like for the next couple of weeks to manage your expectations - and honestly, it will be pretty boring (though still exciting to be utilizing all the equipment). We will do lots of tempo strict work to help ensure you’re not picking weights that are too heavy.

It’s a great opportunity to refine your basics! When’s the last time you concentrated 100% on front squat technique? When’s the last time you did tempo strict press or push press?

We will also do a lot of workouts with low volume of movements, and added rest. This will allow you to slowly build back capacity for things like pull-ups and toes to bar without overdoing the numbers of reps relative to your current capacity. Also, adding the rest into the workouts will help you work on these skills without your heart rate at 1000% the entire workout. It will also allow us to avoid tearing your hands, or hurting your shoulders, in your first week back - imagine having hand tears for all the hand washing and disinfectant you’re doing during COVID-19? Ouch!

It’s not the ‘New Normal’ - It’s a Rebuild

So, as you return to the gym this week, just keep in mind that it will be pretty different than the last time you walked through our doors. The physical space will be different, you will be further apart from your friends/coach/fellow gym members (#socialdistancing!), and we will be getting back to basics in the programming. From here, let’s build back up!

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Coach Liz

FULL COVID FAQ has now been added to the RAthletes FAQ - faq.raincityathletics.ca

Please note: based on the workout of the day your coach might instruct a slightly different process - always follow your coaches instructions.

AFTER YOUR SESSION CLEANING

Watch coach Thor take you through the most effective & efficient (we've tested them all) process to your post workout cleaning! The video demonstrates the 6 steps written out below - scroll down to read the explanations.

Video: https://youtu.be/ggBWUHYsXZc

After Class Cleaning

Step 1: LAY OUT all equipment utilized in your square

• Spread out all equipment that you utilized in your session
• Plates, dumbbells, barbells, kettle bells, abmats, etc.

STEP 2: Spray the entire area (and equipment) with a light mist

• Make sure everything gets a light misting from your Sanitol spray bottle
• You do NOT need to soak things - just make sure everything facing up gets lightly misted
• Let it sit for minimum 2 minutes

STEP 3: WHILE IT SOAKS - WIPE DOWN 'HANDLES'

• Sanitol takes 5+ minutes to fully kill all the COVID - so while side 1 of your equipment 'soaks' wipe down your handled pieces
• This includes pull-up bars, rings, handles of kettle bells & dumbbells, barbell center
• Also take this time to wipe down things that can't be sprayed - like your rower screen

STEP 4: FLIP IT & SPRAY IT AGAIN

• After wiping down all the 'handled' things it's time to spray the other side of your equipment
• Flip over your plates, roll your barbell, spin your dumbbell & lightly mist it all again

STEP 5: ENTER YOUR SCORES IN SUGARWOD

• Give the Sanitol a few minutes to 'settle in' on the 2nd side of your equipment
• Utilize this time to enter your scores into SugarWOD! (How do I do that?)
• Remember - coach will NOT be entering any scores for you anymore!

STEP 6: PUT IT BACK

• Now that the 2nd side of everything has had a few minutes to soak you can put it back how you found it
• If your equipment is still 'damp' that's ok!
• If there's any excess liquid pooling - please wipe it up with the provided cloth
• Coach will instruct you whether to leave your equipment in your square or where to return it to
• Give air high 5s to your coach & fellow RAthletes & once coach gives you the thumbs up you're good to go!

Before contacting us with questions please make sure to check the COVID FAQ:

COVID-19 FAQ

COVID-19 INTERIM MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS

*The fine print:

• all memberships are on month to month basis & no contract
• all membership subject to change as things progress - but COVID membership purchases will be eligible for re-allocation within the same program as per our existing contract*

Raincity At Home WORKOUTS & Community Access:

$50 / month

Read more: www.rncty.ca/programs/raincity-at-home

• includes full access to our Raincity Athletics SugarWOD which includes 3-5x / week strength & conditioning at home workouts, as well as demo videos & workout descriptions & notes.
• For best results - we recommend you have a single weighted object (Kettlebell or Dumbbell) and a band to maximize results - but all workouts include NE (no equipment) options as well

[COVID] Group Classes 2 / Week:

$150 / month

Only $18.75 / class

• Our June 1st phase starts with 2 workouts / week & will increase from there each week
• This includes gym access for up to 2 classes / week for our [FF] COVID Classes - see the schedule: rncty.ca/schedule
• This also includes access to the RAAH Program & continued equipment borrowing IF you were on this membership previously
• We do not guarantee lending equipment out to NEW signups for this membership

[COVID] Group Classes 3 / Week:

$215 / month

Only $17.92 / class

• We anticipate having 3+ workouts / week available within 2 weeks of Phase 2B (early June)
• See the FAQ for full timeline details

[COVID] Group Classes 5 / Week:

$275 / month

Only $13.75 / class

• We anticipate having 5+ workouts / week available by the end of Phase 2B (end of June)
• This is the closest we will be offering to 'unlimited' memberships during COVID-19
• See the FAQ for full timeline details

5 Drop-in / Punch Card:

$125 / single payment

Only $25 / class

• 3 month expiry
• ONLY open to existing punch card holders or members
• More options available email info@raincityathletics.ca for details

SMALL GROUP PRIVATE TRAINING

• A great and affordable way to have a custom small group class for you and 2-5 friends
• Each athlete will have their own full lifting rack & station
• Program will be custom written based on your request and the groups needs

4 Person Private Group Training

$160 / session

Only $40 / person

5 Person Private Group Training

$175 / session

Only $35 / person

6 Person Private Group Training

$180 / session

Only $30 / person

IMPORTANT CHANGES

Some things to note for existing RAthletes that have changed (besides the full process below)

Sport access blocks are 1:20 - this will include getting your equipment, and then cleaning & returning it after. If you have a big session to fit in - you may drop your (minimal) belongings at the gym (or keep them in your car) and then begin your warm-up outside prior to your sport access block.

Reservations open 5 days in advance - this allows plenty of time to consider your schedule & reserve classes accordingly.

Cancellations CLOSE 24 hours prior to class - this ensures time for anyone on a wait-list to be able to get into class with time to complete their mandatory self assessment. Note: all no-show charges still apply UNLESS you have self assessed and are required to self isolate.

Reservations CLOSE 12 hours in advance - if there is room in the class <24 hours you can reserve and will recieve the self assessment email immediately. note: if you reserve by mistake between 12-24 hours prior to class you will NOT be able to cancel yourself - so please email info@raincityathletics.ca IMMEDIATELY if this happens so we can remove you.

All in person private training sessions are now :50 - this allows time for the coach to setup / prep / cleanup between clients. If you'd like to get the full :60 or longer just talk to your coach about pricing.

BEFORE THE SESSION

CLIENT

Wait for permission from coach to enter the facility.

1. WILL reserve their block in advance - see COVID-19 FAQ for most up to date timeline

2. WILL NOT cancel their appointment under 4 hours prior UNLESS they tested negative to the self assessment (updated 2020 10 01)

3. If client shows evidence that they are staying home to self isolate all cancellation fees will be waived

4. WILL NOT be eligible to enter the facility if they do not pass all current requirements posted by the BC Government in the self assessment tool. (UPDATED 2020 06 15)

5. WILL acknowledge that they have self screened 12-24 hours prior to their session

6. WILL NOT be permitted into facility more than 5 minutes prior to their scheduled session

7. Any clients arriving early will be asked to wait in their car, or utilize the 2 metre markers outside of the facility until permitted entry by their coach

8. As outlined above - a client may begin their warm-up / dynamic stretch etc OUTSIDE the facility prior to their session - but will not be granted entry until 5 minutes prior.

9. WILL bring the minimum clothing / gear required for your session & come dressed ready to move

10. WILL assess the equipment that they require for their programmed session PRIOR to entering the facility

Both entrances have a disinfecting station right by the entry - make sure to use it or go STRAIGHT to the washroom to wash your hands!

ENTERING THE FACILITY

CLIENT

1. WILL head straight to a free station to drop off their belongings

2. WILL review all equipment they require for their training PRIOR to heading out of their station to collect it

3. WILL then approach the equipment storage area, utilizing the orange squares to maintain social distancing from any other clients getting equipment

4. All equipment has been disinfected before being returned to storage

5. An initial disinfection of the equipment is NOT required but always encouraged if time allows

6. WILL NOT bring their bike inside - but you can utilize our new handy bike rail directly in front of the (no longer blocked) window!

DURING YOUR SESSION

If your station is not pre-equipped with a cleaning kit - grab a bucket it will have fresh cloths and a sprayer! Please make sure the mops & brooms are returned to their hangers!

A COACH

1. WILL NOT come within 2 metres of the client - unless approved by coach & client

2. WILL NOT be able to spot max lifts - so please plan & load accordingly (and follow your coaches program)

3. WILL be there to answer questions regarding your program

4. WILL be there to answer your questions regarding COVID-19 processes & procedures

In case of an emergency during session:

1. All coaches will have a mask and gloves on hand to be utilized if required to come within 2 metres of the client

2. If a coach is forced to break social distancing measures, that client will be followed up with 24 hours after their session for signs or symptoms

CLIENT

1. WILL complete their prescribed work by there coach while staying inside their designated training area

2. WILL NOT share their equipment with other clients OR touch any equipment that is not part of that days training

3. WILL utilize social distancing orange marks when moving throughout the facility - including waiting for equipment or washrooms

4. WILL NOT linger outside of their designated training area when getting equipment or going to the washroom

5. WILL utilize their own chalk that they brought (or purchased from the front desk)

6. WILL minimize bathroom usage & be sure to disinfect / wipe anything they cough when utilizing the bathroom

7. WILL respect their program & follow the appropriate tapering of volume in order to avoid tearing hands, injuring shoulders, and excessive DOMs restricting performance on subsequent workouts

Remember to keep your belongings with you and bring them into your designated training area!

AFTER THE SESSION

A COACH

1. WILL be available to ensure clients properly disinfect all equipment before putting it away

2. WILL remind athletes 15 minutes prior to end of session to begin getting ready to clean-up

3. WILL not allow clients to leave the facility without permission from the coach & demonstrating that all items utilized have been disinfected before being put away

4. WILL remind all RAthletes that they're superstars

For uncoached sessions clients will be in charge of cleaning ALL of their own equipment.

CLIENT

Make sure to utilize appropriate entry & exit door ways on either side.

1. WILL begin cleaning up MINIMUM 10 minutes prior to the end of their training block

2. WILL lay out all equipment utilized and apply Sanitol via provided spray bottles and cloths

3. WILL wipe down all 'handled' pieces of equipment (Kettle bells, dumbbells, barbells)

4. WILL follow plate cleaning procedure as seen in video below - ensuring Sanitol is applied to all surfaces of plates (but not required to be fully wiped)

5. WILL utilize a disinfectant wipe to wipe down high traffic devices or equipment that should not be sprayed (ie rower and bike screens, handles, etc)

6. WILL confirm with coach that all equipment has been appropriately disinfected BEFORE putting it away

7. The worker will then instruct them to put all equipment back

8. WILL then exit via the same pathway they entered and utilizing appropriate door

9. WILL maintain distancing protocols by following the orange squares

//www.youtube.com/embed/eDWc7ioJBHY?wmode=opaque&enablejsapi=1

IMPORTANT CHANGES

Some things to note for existing RAthletes that have changed (besides the full process below)

Classes are now :50 minutes - this allows us a 20 minute transition between classes to sanitize & clean and prep for the next group. As we get more efficient with our processes (or as requirements get loosened) we will extend class times and shorten the breaks between.

Reservations open 5 days in advance - this allows plenty of time to consider your schedule & reserve classes accordingly

Cancellations CLOSE 24 hours prior to class - this ensures time for anyone on a wait-list to be able to get into class with time to complete their mandatory self assessment.

Reservations CLOSE 12 hours in advance - if there is room in the class <24 hours you can reserve and will recieve the self assessment email immediately. note: if you reserve by mistake between 12-24 hours prior to class you will NOT be able to cancel yourself - so please email info@raincityathletics.ca IMMEDIATELY if this happens so we can remove you.

All in person private training sessions are now :50 - this allows time for the coach to setup / prep / cleanup between clients. If you'd like to get the full :60 or longer just talk to your coach about pricing.

Coaches will lay out and sanitize ALL your equipment PRIOR to your class or session

PRIOR TO YOUR SESSION

CLIENT

1. WILL reserve their class between 5 days and 12 hours prior to the class

2. WILL NOT cancel their appointment under 24 hours prior UNLESS they tested negative to the self assessment

3. If client shows evidence that they are staying home to self isolate all cancellation fees will be waived

4. WILL NOT be eligible to enter the facility if they do not pass all current requirements posted by the BC Government in the self assessment tool. (updated 2020 06 15)

5. WILL acknowledge that they have self screened and answered the automated email 12-24 hours prior to their session

6. WILL NOT be permitted entry without notifying their coach in writing (by responding to email) that they have a negative result on their self assessment

7. WILL NOT be permitted into facility more than 5 minutes prior to their scheduled session

8. Any clients arriving early will be asked to wait in their car, or utilize the 2 metre markers outside of the facility until permitted entry by their coach

9. WILL NOT bring their dogs or children to the facility (during the initial phases)

10. WILL bring the minimum clothing / gear required for your session & come dressed ready to move

Wait for permission from your coach before entering.

ENTERING THE FACILITY

Utilize the orange marks both outside & throughout the facility to ensure consistent physical distancing.

1. Coach Tak demonstrating how exciting it is to disinfect your hands upon entry.

CLIENT

1. WILL disinfect or wash their hand immediately upon entry

2. WILL NOT utilize the locker area or changing rooms

3. WILL keep their belongings with them in their designated training area

4. WILL utilize designated entry and exit doors and social distancing markings when entering or exiting

5. WILL bring their own chalk - or purchase a block to keep with them from the front desk ($5)

6. WILL NOT bring their bike inside - please utilize the new lock rail right outside the window

We've added a temporary bike lock rail right outside the highly visible (now unblocked) windows for RAthletes to utilize! Please do NOT bring your bike inside.

DURING YOUR SESSION

Bring minimal belongings - and keep them at your station with you.

COACH

1. WILL NOT come within 2 metres of the client - except in case of emergency (see below)

2. WILL NOT touch any equipment that the client us utilizing

3. IF required to (equipment malfunction or change) they will utilize clean gloves or cloths OR give the client permission to get their own equipment change

4. WILL wear a mask IF any client requests it

5. Clients can request it upon entry OR when replying to the pre-session self assessment email

6. WILL have each athlete check their area to ensure they have all of the appropriate equipment to utilize for their workout

7. IF they need to change a weight (ie heavier / lighter wallball) coach will EITHER get it for them, or give them permission to grab their own

In case of an emergency during session:

1. All coaches will have a mask and gloves on hand to be utilized if required to come within 2 metres of the client

2. If a coach is forced to break social distancing measures, that client will be followed up with 24 hours after their session for signs or symptoms

No 2 orange marks are within 2m of each other! So anytime you're moving about the facility - or talking to a fellow RAthlete - just ensure you're never both standing between two orange marks!

CLIENT

1. WILL check that they have all appropriate equipment to utilize for the days workout

2. WILL NOT share their equipment with other clients OR touch any equipment that is not in their designated area without permission from coach

3. WILL NOT leave their designated training area without permission from coach

4. WILL NOT be permitted to use any shared gym chalk or to share their chalk with other clients (see above - you an purchase your own to keep upon entry)

5. WILL minimize bathroom usage & be sure to disinfect / wipe anything they cough when utilizing the bathroom

6. WILL utilize social distancing orange marks when moving throughout the facility - including waiting for equipment or washrooms

7. WILL respect the programming & follow the appropriate tapering of volume in order to avoid tearing hands, injuring shoulders, and excessive DOMs restricting performance on subsequent workouts

AFTER THE SESSION

Make sure to utilize the appropriate entry & exit doors

CLIENT

1. WILL break down all equipment that was utilized during their session

2. WILL disinfect / wipe all HANDLED parts of equipment; pull-up bars, kettle bell & dumbbell handles, barbells, etc

3. WILL follow coaches orders in regards to cleaning up their equipment - coach will request 1 of 2 methods;

4. wipe and disinfect ALL equipment & put it back exactly how it was found in your space

5. OR break it down and spread it our for coach to disinfect

6. WILL record their score in SugarWOD - coaches will NOT be recording scores for you to minimize time touching / sharing computers

7. WILL exit via the appropriate door once they have gotten permission from their coach

8. WILL maintain distancing protocols by following the orange squares as they exit

Make sure to utilize appropriate entry & exit doors - and remember, no 2 orange marks are within 2M! Making it very easy to maintain social distancing while moving throughout the facility.

COACH

1. WILL remind athletes on the cleaning process & procedures at the end of the session

2. WILL ensure clients do NOT leave without permission and after demonstrating that they have followed all cleaning process & protocols

3. WILL NOT enter scores for athletes - but will remind them to enter their own in SugarWOD

4. WILL give each athlete permission to leave the facility once satisfied with cleaning

5. WILL remind each RAthlete that they're superstars

ASK THEM, duh! Not only how our community can support them, but their input on where this is going.

And that's what I plan to do tomorrow night at 7PM. Hit me up if you want to join. PS. not sure Adam knew what he was signing up for when I told him I wanted to have a chat 😂 #repost @raincityathls

#RAthletes - join us for a special edition of #RaincityAfterDark - with a Raincity EMS Town Hall.⁠ ⁠ On Friday May 22nd @ 7:00PM (tomorrow night) coach @thor604 will be hosting a conversation with a panel of RAthletes who are emergency medical services personnel or front line workers, including long time RAthlete & friend Adam Greene - the Critical Care Paramedic Cheif of BCEHS - Vancouver air ambulance station). ⁠ ⁠ We want to not only support our first responders, but include them in the conversation of our re-opening process.⁠ ⁠ Coach Thor will open the discussion by reviewing Raincity Athletics phased re-opening approach and timeline, then having an open discussion with our panel of EMS & first responders regarding the current state of affairs, their thoughts and experiences so far, how they imagine things will look in 1-3-6 months, and any recommendations or input into Raincity's process.⁠ ⁠ This is open for all Raincity Athletics members to join in - we will take questions via the chat.⁠ ⁠ If you are an EMS or front line worker that has NOT received an email from Thor - please contact him ASAP if you'd like to be involved!⁠ ⁠ Link in bio for details & to join: www.rncty.ca/news

#raincitycovid #raincitynews #rainctyems #rathletes #functionalfitness #covid #frontlineworkers #supportlocal #supportsmallbusiness #covid #covid_19 #nurse #firefighter #ems

For those that don't know I took on a new little project setting up the first Provincial Sports Organization (PSO) of the @canadian_functional_fitness as Director of the @bcfunctionalfitness Sports Association.

FYI. #CrossFit isn't a sport - it's a company (like my other company the @functionalfitnessleague). 'Real' sports (Olympic recognized) have non profit governing bodies at every level and around the world - like the @internationalfunctionalfitness aka IF3.

We've got a big year of high level competition coming up for the BCFFSA - but what I'm most 😁for is the ability to bring Functional Fitness to kids. As we develop the sport & it's guidelines we'll get access & government support in bringing FF into schools, programs, extra credit, etc - something I dreamed of doing with #CrossFit (before I understood how all these things work). Can't wait for what this will mean for the @raincityfitclub ♥️
Speaking of understanding how things work; as usual I have no idea what I'm doing 🤷‍♂️... 'hey Google - how do I do taxes for a non profit?' An actual goal for 2020 is to learn to ask for and accept help - so if anyone's got any XP in NPOs etc I'd love to chat!

Ps. This is my productivity cave 😍
@raincityathls
@functionalfitnessleague
@bcfunctionalfitness
@raincityfitclub
#thorsabignerd
#thorsabigsoftie

#Repost @canadian_functional_fitness
・
Have you seen it? Our first official Provincial Sports Association. In their first year, they will be running a world championship qualifier and assist with hosting the world championships...what a first year!! Official clubs in the province of BC, as well as more provincial organizations will follow soon!
.
Reposted from @bcfunctionalfitness We, the @bcfunctionalfitness , aka the BCFFSA, are a non profit corporation recognized by the @canadian_functional_fitness federation that facilitates the growth of the sport of Functional Fitness in British Columbia.

Stay tuned to register your club and athletes as an officially recognized Functional Fitness club in BC.

#functionalfitness #federation #sports #olympicgames #thesportoffitness #fitness #competitivesport #competiton - #r

“Constantly Varied Functional Movement High Intensity”  

— CrossFit’s Definition of programming

Program Director Liz Carrier shares her thoughts behind Raincity Athletics group class workout programming, and what aspects do and don’t align with the CrossFit methodology.

This article is also an expansion of Why Raincity Athletics is no Longer a CrossFit Affiliate.

One of the reasons we decided not to re-affiliate here at Raincity Athletics was our emerging re-interpretation of the tagline above, let’s break it down together:

First, “constantly varied”.

Sounds great, right?

Always doing new stuff. The problem with this model is that it gets harder and harder to progress a certain movement (aka set a personal record (PR) on your back squat or clean) when you don’t have a set progression in place. The more experienced you get as an athlete, the more you actually need a plan in order to get from where you are to a new lifetime PR.

So, we want “structured, but not boring” here at Raincity.

Second, “functional movement”.

Originally, Crossfit used that part of their slogan to promote free weight (aka barbell and dumbbell and kettlebell) movements rather than machines. Obviously, we believe that! But, in an effort to promote “functional” movements, Crossfit eschewed bodybuilding-style training and other free weight exercises that involve smaller muscle groups rather than big, multi-joint movements (think deadlift and back squat). But in fact, when applied properly, those movements can be very functional too!

If you want healthy shoulders, you will probably need to work those little muscles in the back of your shoulders (face pulls, rear delt raises, etc).

If you don’t have a strict pull-up and want to get one, you will probably need to do some biceps curls and lat pulldowns.

So, here at Raincity Athletics, we believe in Functional Movements, just in a broader sense than most Crossfit affiliates.

Finally, “high intensity”

We believe in relative intensity. Basically, you shouldn’t go 100% all the time. Sometimes, maybe it’s your third day in a row, maybe you’re really sore from the “almost Karen” on Monday, but your body is letting you know that 100% is not there, and that’s fine; do the workout, move well, hit 80-85% for that day and focus on consistent efficient movement.

Sometimes, you want to try a heavier weight or higher skill movement than usual in the WOD (let’s say chest to bar instead of regular pull-ups). Do that! That’s why we break all our class programs down into 5 different levels (and not just Rx & Scaled). So if there’s a higher level you want to try that day, try it; but you’ll have to dial intensity back a little in order to move well. So, again, think intensity relative to the athlete, their program, and their ability… not 100% all out all the time.

This brings us to our much less flashy slogan:

“Structured, but not boring, functional movements executed at a relative intensity”  

— Raincity Athletics much less sexy definition of programming

See our programming in action

   2019 09 cycle outline      Today's Workout Of the Day

A note from Raincity Athletics owner Simon Damborg (aka Thor)

Coaches                                  

                                    Simon 'Thor' Damborg

He / Him Program Director Group Class & Private Trainer Fit Club Head Coach CrossFit Level 2 Coach

Our programming moved away from the standard CrossFit model years ago… but when Liz Carrier joined our team we shifted much farther away.

As someone who had been doing ‘balls to the wall’ style CrossFit for almost 10 years, it was a hard thing for me to swallow. But as I looked around at the athletes I had trained with, and the athletes in our gym, and as I myself aged (I was ~20 when I competed in CrossFit) I realized that even though our new style didn’t seem as ‘fun’ - it provided a progressive longevity that will allow our athletes to continue to progress and train for their entire lives.

Now, it’s an honor to work side by side with Liz in writing our programs - she brings her vast knowledge of programming to the table, and I bring a little bit of the ‘let’s mess them up a bit too’ and together we write programs that provide a variety of butt kickings, mental grinds, but most importantly a linear progression that will provide longevity to you and your training.

Featured                                  

                                    Why Raincity Athletics is no longer a CrossFit® Affiliate

In September of 2019 Raincity Athletics has officially dropped it’s CrossFit® Affiliation, right after putting 4 coaches through their CrossFit Level 2 Certificate course - find out why. Read More →                                  

                                    The 'Why' of our Group Class Training Programming

Program Director Liz Carrier explains why Raincity Athletics doesn’t follow the ‘constantly varied, functional movements, performed at high intensity’ prescription for programming.  Read More →

CrossFit® is a registered trademark of CrossFit, Inc. Raincity Athletics’s uses of the CrossFit® mark are not endorsed by nor approved by CrossFit, Inc., and Raincity Athletics is in no way affiliated with nor endorsed by CrossFit, Inc.

[caption id align="alignnone" width="2500"]

The CrossFit Pacific Central decal came off our wall over a year ago, and the front entrance sign is in the process of being replaced.  [/caption]

Raincity Athletics is no longer crossfit pacific central.

WHY not?

Many don't know this, but CrossFit® is not a workout, or a sport, or governing body, or even a franchise; it's a company, aka a brand. A brand that gyms pay $500-$3,000 USD to be able to use the name of, and that’s it:

From CrossFit.com’s ‘About Affiliation’ WHAT IS INCLUDED IN BEING A CROSSFIT AFFILIATE?

• Legal use of the CrossFit name, logo, and promotional materials • Legal use of the CrossFit Kids name • Promotion from CrossFit.com • Support from CrossFit, Inc. on specific and general issues. CrossFit vigorously protects its brand and those licensed to use the CrossFit name.

read more: www.crossfit.com/affiliate

this year we put 4 coaches through the crossfit level 2 certificate course.

[caption id align="alignnone" width="2110"]

Coaches Katie, Rebecca, and Scotty all completed (and passed) their CrossFit Level 2 Certificate course as well as Simon who re-upped his certificate. [/caption]

Why would do you care about your coaches being completing CrossFit courses if you are no longer an Affiliate?

We will still proudly pay & support CrossFit® for any courses, certificates, or training that we see value in for our members and community; but use of the CrossFit® name is no longer on that list.

WHAT DOES THIS CHANGE?

For our members & community? Essentially nothing.

We opened Raincity Athletics as just that (and not CrossFit® Pacific Central) because we knew a day would come that we may want to take our brand in another direction. We never set out with the goal of being ‘the best CrossFit gym,’ or to make our members better at ‘CrossFit®’ (though we’re pretty good at that having sent multiple athletes to Regionals as well as masters to the CrossFit® Games) - it’s to hold people accountable to achieving a higher level of fitness, which may include performance at CrossFit® events.

Our un-affiliation means the renaming of our higher skill based ‘Functional’ Strength & Conditioning Program - which is now simply  titled '[FF] Functional Fitness’ to work alongside our lower skill based [SC] Strength & Conditioning Program.

OUR PROGRAMS

We’ve always offered much more than just ‘CrossFit’ classes. New name, same incredible community, classes, and workouts.  Book your free [SC] class now!

Programs old                                  

                                    Strength & Conditioning [SC]

Group classes for athletes of every level. Barbell, structured strength, and cardio - without the high skill Olympic lifts or gymnastics movements. Read More →                                  

                                    OnRamp to [FF]

Required before joining our [FF] program. Learn the higher skill Olympic lifts & gymnastics movements. Read More →                                  

                                    Functional Fitness [FF]

OnRamp required before joining. Group classes that include olympic lifting & higher skill gymnastics. Read More →                                  

                                    Private Training [PT]

Open To All Levels

The fastest way to obtain the results you want. Private/semi-private options. Read More →                                  

                                    Private Group Training [PTG]

Corporate / Schools / Teams

Private group classes to boost team performance mentally & physically Read More →                                  

                                    Sport Training & Programming [SPRT]

Individualized programming & gym access to complete it. Read More →                                  

                                    Raincity Barbell Club [OLY]

#RAINCITYBARBELL 3.0

Our 3 day / week in house [OLY] Barbell Club programming is currently included with all [FF] Memberships. Read More →                                  

                                    Lifestyle & Nutrition Services [NUT]

Open To All Levels

Maximize your results with custom private or group nutrition & lifestyle programs. Read More →                                  

                                    (ON HOLD) RA At Home [RAAH]

Open To All Levels

At home on demand workout videos 7 days a week - included with ALL Raincity Athletics memberships! Read More →

What about the programming / WODs?

As we mentioned above, CrossFit® had no part in our group class programming. Contrary to popular belief, our method to program is NOT what is recommended by CrossFit®.

As a matter of fact, almost no CrossFit Affiliate in Vancouver follows the CrossFit prescription for programming. As our coaches were reminded during our CrossFit Level 2 Certificate Course, a ‘heavy day’ program would be: Back Squat 5 x 5…. that’s it. They teach that if you need more than that in your workout, you’re not hitting those squats with enough intensity… The typical model of strength work & a ‘sweat’ is NOT endorsed or promoted by CrossFit, but as we have said, there are many parts we do embrace.

Articles About Raincity's Programming                                  

                                    The Return to Training - Coach Liz                                                  

                                    The 'Why' of our Group Class Training Programming                                                  

                                    The 'How' of our Group Class Training Programming

The things we embrace

As we mentioned above, there are many parts of the CrossFit ideology that we embrace and support; but these are universally accepted things that have nothing to do with the direct affiliation with the brand.

Functional Movements

We define functional movements not only as full body compound movements you already do everyday (like a deadlift, squat, clean & press, etc) but we also embrace the accessory work that compliments these movements. As Marcus Filly likes to put it: ‘Functional Bodybuilding’. By properly applying functional accessory work we can help you achieve more personal records (PRs) with less fatigue of your nervous system, because contrary to popular belief: more does not = better.

Read more about why ‘Functional Fitness’ on our [FF] program page.

“The best program is not the one with the most stuff, but actually the one with the least stuff, the provides the most results. ”  

— Smart Coaches

Measurable RESULTS

Similar to CrossFit - our goal is to increase your ‘work capacity’. This is your ability to do anything, and everything you want or need to do in your daily life. The only way to guarantee improvement is to track your results. This is why we utilize a software that allows us to track your daily score so that we can repeat benchmark workouts (aka #RaincityBenchmark) so that we can guarantee you are progressing in strength, skill, and capacity. The idea of tracking results is neither new nor revolutionary - any Weightlifting, Strength and Conditioning, or Endurance coach will tell you this. As a matter of fact, our 10 week program cycles allow us to track your results even more accurately than a typical affiliate’s prescription.

COMMUNITY BASED

We always say, Raincity Athletics is less of a gym, and more of a space & community you want to spend time with - that’s also going to hold your accountable to achieving your fitness goals.

So now what?

That’s about it!

Nothing is going to change other than the names of our programs, and the fact that we can no longer validate your CrossFit Open scores without a video - but as our athletes know; we have encouraged our athletes to do the #RaincityOpen every year rather than registering for, and being forced to do, the (not so well thought out) scaled variations of the CrossFit Open workouts anyways.

What are we then?

Raincity Athletics is a registered Weightlifting Club and is in the process of becoming a registered Powerlifting Club, and Kettlebell Club, as well as lined up to be the first Functional Fitness Club in British Columbia.

We are a community of people that share a common interest in improving their health and fitness…

…. and dogs & ice cream.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or thoughts about Raincity Athletics and it’s un-affiliation; don’t hesitate to reach out to us via the CONTACT US button below.

CrossFit® is a registered trademark of CrossFit, Inc. Raincity Athletics’s uses of the CrossFit® mark are not endorsed by nor approved by CrossFit, Inc., and Raincity Athletics is in no way affiliated with nor endorsed by CrossFit, Inc.

Note📝 This post got real long - scroll down and start at the 📑 if you have time to read the whole ramble)

The community I love is not tied to any one gym or brand (CrossFit is a brand, not a sport). It's all of the people I have met and connected with along the way who share a common attitude, interest, and goals. It's why we created the @functionalfitnessleague, to remind people that our fitness community is bigger than just whats inside your affiliates walls.

This photo represents everything this community means to me. There are athletes from every gym in Vancouver I coached, at or at one point called home... And for the next little while we get to all call the same space home together again.

A huge thank you to the #raincitystaff team who have worked their a$$es off for the past month to prepare for this and helping ensure our existing #rathletes get to reap the benefit of our communities growth.

#raincityxcfbc #raincityathletetics #findyourfit #morethanagym

Full ramble 📑 Here's the original ramble I wrote if you want to read more 🙄

I started doing #CrossFit 12 years ago after @jayhollenberg came back to UVic with this ridiculous workout running around swinging dumbbells. From then I did as any new crossfitter did pre 2010, I went and got my level 1 certification and did 'Cindy' 1-3x a week for 2 years.

After University, I moved back to Vancouver and joined my first official CrossFit gym - where Jordan had started with @kravkt (and back then a young @sophiestraith ) at @crossfitbc.

A year or so later I switched to #crossfitoptimumperformance where I had my own coach and trained & competed in CrossFit for years & I fell in love with coaching. After a few years I left 'COP' and ended up back at #CrossFitBC where I coached classes, represented them at regionals, and more.

4 years ago COP closed their doors and their athletes & coaches joined us at Raincity. Recently CrossFit BC had to leave their space and we are hosting them until their new space is ready. (Now read the first part if I haven't lost ya 🙄) #raincityxcfbc

Over the years I've come to appreciate the privilege that I have. I'm a straight white cis gender male, on top of that I'm born into an incredible family in one of the greatest countries in the world; but that doesn't mean I'm always comfortable in my own skin, and it doesn't mean it's automatically easy to be proud of who I am inside. I'm a Theatre major, computer nerd who's extremely introverted when not in front of a crowd - and if you'd asked me to admit that publicly years ago? It never would have happened, so thank you #pride for reminding me of the importance to love myself.

That being said, I appreciate that I will never truly understand how hard it would be to be a member of the queer community and to live in a world that would make you feel shame for being who you feel you are inside. I'm sorry that at any time you've had to live in a world like that, and though we have a long way to go I hope you feel we're still moving forward and in the right direction.

Today we did a small part to help: not only by raising $$$ for the incredible group @qmunity (who came in and worked with the @raincityathls staff on the importance of understanding the complexity of these topics); but by rocking our strut to @todrick during our warmup.

Why? Because we work hard for Raincity to be a safe space where people can just let loose and be who they want to be, or in this case throw fear of judgement out the window, throw on a little #nailshairhipsheels and strut like nobody is watching (even with @athlete_inside snapping pics). Thank you everyone who came, out and especially to those who stepped out of their comfort zone for a couple runway walks with me during our warmup, some of the facial expressions are everything I could have hoped for.

Be proud of you who are.
Be proud of who you love.
#LOVEISLOVE

HAPPY PRIDE 😘🏳️‍🌈 #rathletes #raincityathletics #happypride #vancouverpride #safespace #ally #pride
#thorsgotatheatredegree #thorsabigsoftie

HOW OUR BODIES CREATE ENERGY AND ALLOW US TO EXERCISE/DO PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING (I.E. THE 3 ENERGY PATHWAYS)

Keep in mind that the process of creating energy is way more complicated than this, but essentially the body converts substances within our body (such as food) to useable forms of energy and in order to do so there needs to be oxygen (among other things) present. Our bodies have 3 different methods of creating energy and the one we use at any given time depends on the energy requirements of the activity we are doing at that moment. The Three Methods (pathways) are…

1. The Phosphagen Pathway: fuels intense exercises which are only sustainable for up to 30 seconds (think maximum effort sprints)
2. The Glycolytic Pathway: for when we engage in moderate-to-high intensity exercise lasting approximately 2 and a half minutes but not longer (running around a 400m track for time)
3. The Oxidative Pathway: for low-to-moderate intensity exercises that can be sustained for long periods of time (running a 5k, a 10k, a half marathon….you get the idea)

WHAT THIS MEANS RE: CARDIO & TRAINING

The first two pathways (Phosphagen and Glycolytic) are anaerobic, meaning that they use oxygen quicker than our bodies can supply it (not that our bodies don’t try, think back to your breathing last time you did some sprints). It is because of the demand for oxygen..

Checkout the full post on Coach Taryn’s blog: Go Hard Get Strong

Catch-up:
I've gotten a lot better at reflecting on why I love what I do. Sometimes when you're 16 hours deep in your day, or you haven't slept in days because of stress, it's hard to remember why you started... and I know this isn't just an entrepreneur problem (but we're real good at it). And then I remember... It's because I love people. Working with people. Helping people. Teaching, and learning from people.

Epic people like these 3... who one day just popped in from down under, and then ended up sticking around just about everyday for the almost year they were in Canada. They left us months ago now and I can't decide if it feels like yesterday or if I'm even sure if they were ever actually here.

@raincityathls isn't a #crossfit gym. It isn't even a regular gym. It's just a big group of epic humans that have decided their health is important to them.

Current:
#mythorknee #knupdate - sometimes I do my slow controlled rehab/prehab with an empty barbell and perfect movement... And sometimes I just wrap it up tight and make sure I can still move around moderately heavy sh*t. Feels good to have an awesome coaching team that let's me join a class for some lifts <3

@ryu_apparel new favorite T 👌

#thordoestheexerciseandspamstheinternets
#thorsabigsoftie
#thorstillavoidscardio
#raincityathletics #rathletes #olympiclifting #barbell #vancouver #vancouverfitness

I don't carry all this in my @ryu_apparel quickpack all the time, but it's a few pieces I got deals on over the years that i use almost daily at home or work - or keep ready to grab if going somewhere I may need one of them.

Most of these things can be bought on Amazon pretty cheap (especially on sale) or when on sale at most tech stores.... @amazonkindle Paperwhite.

Short HDMI cable + female to female coupler (guarantees you'll be able to connect to any device)

Generic Usb C to HDMI hub w/ a 64gb micro USB thumb drive in it (you can get both for about $15 each on sales)

Logitech MX Master 2s (links my home computer + office computer + laptop like they're one machine)

@google Chromecast + usb micro + apple wall usb plug (they're the best made)

@garmin Fenix 3 smartwatch (always on screen + 7 day battery life, only medium smart - which I like) + spare charger.

20,000 mAh battery pack + 6' braided usb C cable (about 4 full phone charges or more from that)

My personal and work @moleskine both with some random multi pen that I'm obsessed with. -

If you actually made it this far let me know if you have any questions or if this was useless af (it kept me from doing work for an hour so I'm happy either way 😂). #thorsabignerd
#nobodyevenpaidmetodothis
#amidoingitwrong
#thorneedstogetalife
#lookmomimatechbloggernow

#mykneeisthor
#mythorknee
#thordoestheexerciseandspamstheinternets just kidding.

Though I didn't get to compete these season like originally planned thanks to #mythorknee (#mykneeistoothor) it was awesome to (kind of) be on a team, and allow @laurentindale & @s.dnldsn and the rest of the behind the scenes #functionalfitnessleague help with the leg work (heyooo!). In the end I still took on the lead at Playoffs, but it was a lot more fun not having all the back end stress just on me.
We've built something awesome and we've created the back end to make sure it's consistent from region to region.

Checkout or regions that have kicked off or are coming in, and don't hesitate to contact me if you think you've got interest to bring it to yours.

League.fit/regions -

Thank you to @athlete_inside for being a constant reminder of what an amazing thing we've created at the league through incredible photos and media.

Thank you to my favorite humans, our division 3 team that dressed up as me for playoffs complete with super hero suits and knee wraps 😂 that's the kind of (slightly offensive) support that means the world to me <3

Thank you to our @raincityathls team that lost 2/3 of it's Raincity athletes (@leobman survived) in the season due to injury 😂 they showed up, had fun, made friends, and didn't lose! Crushed it. Even without their best athletes (that's me and Scotty obvs 🙄) Thank you to @ovrdriveathleticclub for hosting, and all our other partners and volunteers this season, couldn't do it without the community support every season -

We've got some really exciting stuff coming down the pipeline for 2019, including FFL ELITE - working with the @canadian_functional_fitness to provide qualified paid judges, and bring back year round top level competition & affiliate pride.

Sign up for updates: league.fit/elite

I'll be heading to Victoria in a couple of weeks for playoffs of their season that's currently running! Can't wait.

#fflyvr #fflyyj #functionalfitnessleague #crossfit #competition #thefitleague #findyourfit #community #vanfit #vancouver #vancouverfitness #mythorknee

After over 3 years and 14 seasons of running & developing the @functionalfitnessleague I finally feel like we've got a refined product that we can take to any region.

As I sit on the ferry heading to Victoria to @cftaranis I'm both terrified and excited.

Terrified... because as a Vancouver born and raised it's easy and comfortable to go out on a limb in the city I've lived in in my entire life...going out on that same limb in a new city is terrifying.

Excited... Because I know how incredible the league is for everyone who gets involved. I don't need to sell amything I just need to do justice explaining how incredible it really is.

Athletes love it.
Gyms love it.
Brands (local and national) love it.
Communities flourish in it.

It reminds #crossfit & #functionalfitness athletes everywhere that every other box has just as many amazing people as their own, and now you get a chance to throwdown with them on a regular basis!

Excited & terrified... because I know once we prove the @functionalfitnessleague model works outside of Vancouver it's going to be a landslide across Canada... And that's going to be a heluva adventure.

A huge thank you to every gym, athlete, ambassador, owner, company, brand, person, dog and everything in between that's helped make the league what it is, and put up with me while I try to grow it.

If you're in or around the Victoria area and want to know more. I'll be at CrossFit Taranis at 5:30pm doing a lil presentation! Come on by you might get a treat (and no I'm not claiming that listening to me ramble is a treat). 🤞

#functionalfitnessleague #thefitleague #fflyyj #fflybr

Event 1: log 1 rep max clean and jerk.
Pretty jazzed on having one of the top scores across all weight classes.

Event 2: Sandbag toss. Adam went beast mode and forced me to try to keep up! We won that one by a landslide (both being over 6' helped there)

Event 3: the triple carry... Adam legitimately blacked out during the first carry. Rallied and followed up with a 500lb yoke carry (he still doesn't remember this). We came into this event in first and I assumed we'd lost it after that... Which Adam and I were both totally ok with because we were having fun... And because he lay on the ground borderline unconscious for about 45minutes after.

Event 4: the stones. After doing some math and realizing we were coming into the final in a 3 way tie for first I had to go to Adam (who was now sitting up... Barely) and the conversation went something like this "Adam, I've got bad news. We're not out of this. We're tied for first. So ima need you to get up and pickup some rocks with me and let's win this shit"
"...how long is the event?"
"2 minutes, want to practice some stones?"
"No... No energy for that (chugs an OJ and slowly stands up)... let's do this"

We went on to be the only team to finish all the stones. Securing us first place in the most competitive weight class!

Thank you to @crossfitsquamish & Jesse & the whole team for hands down my favorite competition every year. To the @raincityathls crew for coming out. @athlete_inside for always being everywhere. @ryu_apparel for the epic gear. @endurapparel for my favorite socks.

Final shoutout to the 2 MVPs of the event: my partner Adam for forcing me out of retirement to do this event with him, and @walesyyy for making my arms look incredible.

#doitforthegram
#thordoestheexerciseandspamstheinternets
#thordoesntdocardio
#stonesandstrength

Thank you @ryu_apparel for always being so supportive of me and all my (not so little) projects.

It was awesome to get to share a room with crossfitter from affiliates all over the lower mainland, and I'm pretty excited for everything coming down the pipeline.

Thank you to everyone who's helped get it his far. Excited to keep it rolling!

If you're gyms not listed it means we need someone representing your box at the table so shoot me a DM and let's get you on the team!

#Repost @functionalfitnessleague
・・・
A huge thank you to @ryu_apparel for hosting our ambassadors tonight at their metrotown location so we could taco about how to make the league the best it can be. #tacotuesday #tacoboutit

The Functional Fitness League is not only about bringing recreational weekly league format games to the sport you already love, but it's uniting all the incredible communities in the region.

The #FFLAmbassador program gives us a touch point at every affiliate so we can not only get feedback, but also help make sure your affiliate is kept up to date on what's going on!

Got feedback or questions? Talk to your ambassador!
Gym doesn't have one? Apply now!

League.fit/ambassadors-partners

@girl.in.a.dress // @surreyathletics
@mikxrock @salina.autumn // @semiahmooathleticclub
@flashmawji // @studeocrossfit
@sthom21 // @driftwoodcrossfit
@haveanicedavedude // @crossfit_cbc
@thesmallcimo // @dogsdencrossfit
@nikkicvitrealtor // CrossFit Overdrive
@laurentindale @_amandalei // @raincityathls

@julietafb_ // @athlete_inside
@jaimealmond @s.dnldsn // @functionalfitnessleague

@thor604 // Commissioner

#functionalfitnessleague #fitnessleague #fitleague #crossfit #beerleaguecrossfit #sports

It's not often I take the time to truly step back and feel proud of some of the things I've built. I know I should. But as any entrepreneur knows we're too busy trying to make things better.

Our 11th season was one of the 2nd largest we've ever had (even with playoffs on a long weekend) with almost 150 athletes taking part, and it was the smoothest most effortless one yet.

Now that's something I am truly proud of.

Thanks to an incredible team of workers, volunteers, ambassadors, and brands we've managed to streamline the process of running the largest League format competition for the sport of Functional Fitness (and #crossfit) in Canada, and we've managed to make it a step by step streamlined process (#spreadsheets)

With our eyes set for leagues in Victoria & Kelowna we'll be taking it to Calgary and Toronto after that. If you're in these areas check the link in the @functionalfitnessleague bio for how you can get involved.

THANK YOU.

Huge thanks to all the volunteers & ambassadors who help make this possible as well as @surreyathletics for letting use use their incredible space this season!

And always to @athlete_inside for the absolutely incredible photos.

And of course to my team of helpers who put up with me all season and have helped make this everything it is today:
@laurentindale @jaimealmond @s.dnldsn @flashmawji @daniel_heroculture @cschaalo

Our team is growing so don't hesitate to reach out if you want to get involved!

#entrpreneurship #functionalfitnessleague #fitleague #fflcanada #fflyvr

In no particular order:

Raincity Athletics

- Owner, Program Director, Head Coach, Lead Administrator - I have rebuilt our staff and business model to focus on revenue splits allowing my coaches here to grow and flourish their own businesses while myself and my administrative team focus on taking care of the back end headaches

- Allows my team more flexibility in growing their own business, without all the headaches - Allows me to be more hands off in day to day operations, and focus on growing my other projects as well

WWW.RAINCITYATHLETICS.CA

Functional Fitness League

- Owner, and everything else... - Currently working on expanding into new regions including Kelowna, Victoria, Toronto and Calgary - Exploring potential options for everything from franchising growth to continuing in house management and assessing the pros and cons of each as we expand

WWW.FUNCTIONALFITNESSLEAGUE.CA APP.LEAGUE.FIT FAQ.LEAGUE.FIT

Raincity Fit Club

- Head Coach & Facility Host - Working alongside 'Skills 2 Play' as a registered service provider for kids with special needs - Brining the benefits of fitness to kids of all mental and physical abilities

- Having done a lot of work with Special Olympics Canada and others I was reminded of all the benefits of exercise both physically and mentally (and loved watching the kids at special O reap these benefits) - So I worked with a client (owner of Skills 2 Play who works with these kids and commonly brought them in for our special olympics events) in house to begin discussing the idea of small private group classes to bring this benefit to special needs kids

WWW.RAINCITYFITCLUB.COM @RAINCITYFITCLUB

The Canadian Functional Fitness Federation

- On the board of domestic development to help legitimize the sport of 'Functional Fitness' - working towards legitimizing & standardizing everything to do with the sport from competitions, to movements, and everything in between with the goal of one day having it eligible to be in the olympics

WWW.FUNCTIONALFITNESSFEDERATION.CA

CF24 // Motionball // Special Olympics Canada

- Assist in organization & management of CF24 fundraiser each year to help raise funds for Special Olympics Canada - Having taken part and helped behind the scenes for over 4 years with this event, I will be moving into a more prominent position to help organize & manage the event across Canada

WWW.CF24.CA

Small Business Consultation Work

- Working with multiple other small businesses to help them with anything from getting setup (website, email, etc setup) to streamlining their systems and processes - Available on monthly retainers or hourly wage depending on the companies goals

Brands I Work With

RYU Ambassador - www.ryu.com

Endur Apparel - www.endurapparel.com

Bullying can happen in many forms. Whether it's emotionally making somebody feel bad, pressuring them, or physically - like I got it in highschool.

I was a large, loud softie in highschool who rarely fought back; and this made me an easy target. During PE class if the teachers weren't around it wasn't uncommon to have my face shoved into the dirt (with a knee in the back of my head) or a basketball thrown at my head. I had rocks thrown at my windows, dog shits set on fire on my porch, and threatening phone calls and voicemails. It peaked at the end of grade 9 when during the last day of school water fight I had 6 guys kick me on the ground almost breaking my ribs, in front of the whole school. For the 2 weeks following this I basically stayed locked in my house out of fear of repercussions from the bullies 'friends' who had stolen yearbooks to cut out my photo so they could find me.

Having beena bully at times myself, I knew why these guys were doing this to me - and I felt bad for them. I knew that their issues weren't with me, they were within themselves but I was an easy target to take it out on. I knew they were going to do it to someone, and figured I could handle it better than many. I knew that once highschool was over, I'd get away from them and it, and life would go on.

What I didn't plan on was the mental toll it was taking on me. Even when you empathise with the bully, having someone (or multiple people) constantly trying to tear you down takes a toll that can take a lifetime to recover from, or cause you to bully others in a similar way.

Part of being a man means you need to be tough enough to deal with your own shit... Bullshit.

If you're being bullied or maybe are unintentionally might be bullying someone, don't keep it to yourself.
Talk to someone, get help, and let's make bullying a thing of the past.

#lifeadvicewiththor
#antibullying
#dontbeabully
#dontbeatoughguy

Raincity Athletics’ bread and butter is our [FF] Group Class ( rncty.ca/cf ), and a big part of that (outside of a wicked community and coaching) is the programming it follows.

Each and every gym is free to write and follow their own program, and every affiliate has a different way of creating their own. Many (see: most) gyms share the programming between coaches with each coach writing 1-4 weeks at a time, other gyms have one person (or hire someone) to write a program for their facility.

At Raincity Athletics we take pride in the thoroughness of our programs and once you see how it’s written, you’ll understand why.

Our [FF] Group Class Programming Method

The program is developed and put together by your owner Simon Damborg and Manager as well as lead programmer Liz Carrier. Take a look at their bios for the long list of certifications and experience backing them.

[caption id align="alignnone" width="2500"]

Raincity Athletics Owner, Simon Damborg [/caption] [caption id align="alignnone" width="2500"]

Manager and Lead Programmer, Liz Carrier [/caption]

Step One - Meet & discuss

Our team of lead coaches get together every 2 weeks to discuss how things are going, what weaknesses or strengths they’re seeing in clients, as well as any other feedback they’ve gotten from their classes or clients.

Step Two - Develop and outline

Simon and Liz meet to discuss & outline the following cycle (or tweak the current on) based on these meetings. Cycles are outlined in 4, 8, or 12 week blocks depending on the focus and the primary strength / skill focus is outlined.

Step Three - Add in the sweat

An initial draft of the full cycle’s strength work is produced, and then the WODs (the ‘constantly varied’ part) are roughly laid in as well.

Step Four - Fine tune the details

Coaches Thor and Liz spend a few days going back and forth editing the daily workouts to ensure everything from variety of movements, domains, and more, but still ensuring they are tailored to best suit the needs of the general client base (based on the conversations from step one).

Step Five - Get it to the coaches

Once the workouts are finalized, they are moved to a document for all the coaches to be able to see the upcoming weeks, as well as any important notes, links, demos, etc.

Step Six - Get it to the clients

Once finalized, the workouts are added into Zen Planner and set to automatically display at 6PM the day before. Sometimes final / last second edits are made here based on weather changes, etc.

Constantly varied, but not random.

This method ensures you get the best of both worlds that are guaranteed to get you towards your goals, while providing a good variety.

We can only track what you log!

All of our clients are encouraged to log all their daily results via the Zenplanner App (check your app store) as we (your coaches) follow these results to help us determine what you need next! So if you want the program to be tailored to your needs, you have to log your results :)

If you haven’t met the incredible team we’ve got at raincity, head over to rncty.ca/staff and meet the squad.

On top of that, I’ve connected with some awesome brands & people who have shown me unwavering support, and some amazing products.

@ryu_apparel is sweeping across Canada with more and more incredible products, but that’s not even the companies highlight. They embody everything I believe in, offering free workout classes in their stores, and supporting any and all of my ridiculous endeavours including fundraisers and other projects. They’re not just keeping me feeling/looking good, they’re building a community - and that’s how all businesses should be built.

@endurapparel is keeping my sock (and now underwear) addiction fuelled. We got a set of custom branded ones done for @raincityathls and I was instantly obsessed. Hit me up if your sock or underwear game needs to be stepped up!

@athlete_inside has grown from a friend wanting to take some pictures, to a feed that brings tears to my eyes with her ability to capture and document some incredible moments. Expect big things, and I’ll be sharing more of her stuff later 😃

On top of working with these brands I’ve worked alongside numerous other small businesses and facilities to help them grow or figure out the next steps.

Never hesitate to shoot me a note and hit-up a coffee to talk about working together, or how I can help / support you.
Simondamborg.com

#thorpretendstobeabigdeal

#thordoestheexerciseandspamstheinternets
#athleteinside
#rathletes #Raincityathletics
#beautifultough

Thank you to every athlete who took part in what I'd consider the best @canaffleague season yet.

Thank you to our incredible photographers @athlete_inside and @dan_ika for making sure we get to keep the memories.

Thank you @semiahmooathleticclub for being incredible hosts and welcoming the entire community with open arms.

Thank you to every gym owner who let their teams take over their space for an hour or two every week.

Thank you to the incredible communities that exist in those spaces, that hopefully are a little tighter after every season we put together.

Thank you @heroculture for managing so much creativity within such a basic design every season.

Thank you to everyone who travelled near and far week to week to throwdown and make new friends.

Thank you to the @internationalfunctionalfitness for coming up with an epic format for our finals, and I'm even more excited for the things you'll bring in the future.

Especially big thank yous to the volunteers who are genuinely excited to be involved in helping me bring all these communities together and who ask for nothing in return except the joy of being a part of something.

And last but definitely not least, thank you to the behind the scenes team that puts up with my freakouts, finds my typos, and helps me put together the spreadsheets, the floor plans and the systems to help make it as easy as possible for the volunteers to make sure the athletes have an incredible season & final day.

This was our 8th season of the #canadianaffiliateleague and the smoothest most exciting one yet. I can't wait to show you all what we've got coming down the pipeline as we work alongside @canadian_functional_fitness in helping legitimize this incredible sport.

#Functionalfitnessleague aka #FFLcanada coming in hot.

I hope you're ready. I know we are.

#thankful #crossfit #competition #calyvr #canaffleague #vancouver #competition

This is an article that I wrote in August of 2015 after attending the games with one of our Masters Athletes. Having attended the games multiple times before, this was my first time being 'behind the scenes' and I was upset with my experience.

I wrote this article in hopes of helping to improve the games, and though some of these issues have been addressed since, many of them still remain.

Stay tuned for more posts on my opinion of the future of this 'Sport' and where it's headed.

I need to start by saying I love CrossFit. I’ve heavily drunk the Kool-Aid and I love this shit; I love what it does for people, I love the communities it builds, and I love what it’s done for me [bio], so I say this out of love of this sport & community, and out of fear of it not maximizing its potential to help more people and be even more incredible than it already is.

I think there are a TON of great articles (which I link to in here) out there discussing different issues & different opinions; from the infamous peg board, Murph, programming being too hard, too easy, etc. Though I think these are great topics of conversation, I don’t think they cover the underlying issues that are going to cause long term harm to our beloved Games.

I think the CrossFit Games are at risk of rapidly diminishing if we (as a community) don’t help fix some basic requirements.

[caption id align="alignnone" width="1024"]

and NOT because of a silly peg board… [/caption]

Many of these topics merely need to ignite conversation with some awareness (who knows what the answer is), but some are also pretty major & obvious issues that I need to be addressed so that we can continue to watch this incredible sport & event continue to grow [How Fast are the CrossFit Games Growing] and flourish.

Side note: I’m going to mention ‘The Grid / NPGL’ a lot – I remain a bit skeptical of The Grid as a sport, but it’s growing on me. I do love what it could potentially do for our beloved Games which I think is a great reason to support it. Everything thrives with a little competition.

The Games need…

Paid & Professional Judges

More Transparency

Proper Focus on Athlete Safety

1. PAID & PROFESSIONAL JUDGES / REFEREES

Volunteers drive this community, and it’s INCREDIBLE. We all love to be a part of the big picture & help out – but I think we’re close to crossing a line where volunteers and the community are being taken advantage of.

We all know (or are) volunteers, some of them have a hell of a time and loved it – they worked hard with setup and takedown, and were rewarded with behind the scenes views, awesome seats and/or free tickets – they got their value. Others (usually higher on the volunteer food chain) have left their jobs for extended periods of time (likely without pay as they probably own or work at an affiliate) – they have got to be getting paid (some do, many don’t).Putting aside what people ‘deserve’, there’s 1 very real reason we need professional (paid & trained) Judges:

Accountability

People are giving up legitimate paid opportunities or putting their business’ on hold to pursue something that might ultimately come down to a split second decision made by a volunteer – that’s a little scary.

Again, Volunteers are incredible people, which is why you can’t (and shouldn’t) yell at them. If they make a mistake it’s totally understandable as it is NOT their job. It doesn’t bring any bread home, as a matter of fact we pay to volunteer. They’ve learned what they could in the time they had, which is likely the open and then hopefully a couple of Regionals. Even with sub par training they are still kicking ass most of the time and are doing an incredible job.

The problem is this is no longer a handful of people getting together at a ranch to throw-down for a couple hundred bucks. You now have (essentially) pro & semi pro athletes, as well as people that are leaving different legitimate paid opportunities [Matt Fraser Gives up grid to focus on his dream of winning the CrossFit Games] and putting their businesses on hold to train & to pursue something that ultimately might come down to a split second decision made by a volunteer – and that’s a little scary.

If the Games want to be considered professional, shown on live TV, and brag the title of ‘Fittest on Earth’ – these calls need to be made by fully trained & paid professionals.

[caption id align="alignnone" width="800"]

No rep? [/caption]

Remember what happened last time a professional league took a step backwards (to semi-pro and experienced refs) and how it went? [2012 NFL Referee Lockout]. I think there will be a time (hopefully soon) where we’re going to look back and laugh at the fact that we survived as long as we did without trained, professional, and even full time referees/judges.

In the West regional this year, Fikowski of the #trashtalktrio missed out on going to the games (would have been 4th place I believe) by .5 of a second on a speed clean ladder (an ‘original’ event… that was taken from the grid – but that’s another convo).

One wrong call can very quickly mean an athlete isn’t standing on the podium, especially with the new scoring system [Your Guide to Scoring].

Once again, I don’t love The Grid (I think it has potential, but more importantly I think we need the competition) but watch a grid match. The judges are artwork! They all look the same, signal the same, count the same, they’re in full uniform, and most importantly – they’re held accountable to their calls [challenge flags in the grid].

I think there will be a time (soon) where we’re going to look back and laugh at the fact that we survived as long as we did without trained, professional, and even full time referees/judges.

Personally, I don’t believe the title of ‘Fittest on Earth’ to necessarily be true if calls are being made by volunteers, and that begins at a regional level [Volunteer Judges, Regionals, and the CrossFit Games].

Once again, THANK YOU to the volunteers that have gotten our community and the Games this far, but I think we can all agree it’s time that professionals are trained (and paid) at a level that matches the athletes that they’re judging.

2. TRANSPARENCY

Who is deciding the definition of ‘Fitness?’

“Increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains.”

Who is really making all the calls?

There are a lot of very large companies heavily invested in the Games and it’s athletes and I don’t think its fair for one man to have to deal with that kind of pressure. We know there’s a small team, but I think it’s fair the community, and those dedicating their lives to train for it, be involved or at least made aware of the thought process.

A larger team of organizers would also help ensure the minor details are taken care of;

• like keeping bars cooler
• or getting timing devices that work
• and even making sure open event rules don’t need to be changed at the last second

and so much more… but more on that later

Talayna Fortunato is adamant that these events are not written for one athlete – which I hope (and believe) is true, but I think a little more transparency in the development process could help ensure we can all be confident in that.

Especially in the middle of this petty (though sometimes entertaining) brand war that directly affects many Games competitors. This war isn’t just about shoes either – look who’s here, and is now no longer here.

If these answers are out there and I just can’t find them, please share them with me and I will happily update this post. If these answers aren’t out there then I think it’s about time they were.

There’s a pretty epic media team that cranks out some incredible content – so why not use that to answer our questions and restore our faith rather than trying to poke jabs at the competition.

Here’s a coupe basics I’d like to know, but I’m sure the community has more:

• Who comes up with the events? Based on what qualifications? 
• When are these events finalized or decided?
• • When are the TBA events actually decided?
• Who decides to bring in a Watt Bike? Or an Airdyne? or a Trueform?
• • Are these companies paying for this in some way?

And last up, really?… This is the only explanation we get?

NOTE - UNABLE TO FIND PHOTO (was in regards to a scoring adjustment made during the sprint event that miraculously led to Ben Smith being on top of Matt Fraser - or close to)

3. A Proper Focus on Athlete Safety

[caption id align="alignnone" width="299"]

I wasn't aware this was part of fitness... [/caption]

I think this has already been very well vocalized via a number of blog posts so I won’t get into it much. The fact of the matter is I don’t want to see the athletes I’ve grown to love drop dead in front of me. On top of that, as a Coach, do I want to push my athletes so far that when they are finally on the brink of their dream at the Games they legitimately have to consider a life or death choice?

All sports have their risks, and some have higher injury rates than the Games, but something as simple as burning your hands on a bar is just careless.

It not only doesn’t relate to a test of fitness, but makes for a significantly worse show – especially on live TV. I think it’s time for a larger professional team to help eliminate these issues.

The real issue isn’t the workouts being ‘too hard’ [The CrossFit Games Aren’t Too hard] but the small details missed that are straight-up dangerous and not assisting in the test of fitness in any way.

There are plenty of dangerous sports out there, but even they have basic minimum requirements to ensure their athletes safety (helmets & equipment requirements, hitting standards, field standards, etc). The lack of attention to these minor details could lead to the fall of our sport, or maybe an athletes union? – which may or may not be a good thing [Lockouts, Strikes, and and Labor Politics in Pro Sports].

A couple of my favourite articles related to the topic of safety:

Open Letter to CrossFit HQ

Here’s what you need to know…

• The CrossFit Games are an awesome spectacle, but HQ needs to do more to protect the health of the athletes.
• CrossFit’s popularity has outpaced its maturity according to Dr. Schulte.
• Dedicated medical personnel, if properly utilized by HQ, could advise the gamemakers and help prevent many issues.
• CrossFit Games fans need to speak up and demand that athletes are treated better. CrossFit HQ should additionally apologize to competitors.

Survival of the Survivors the Crossfit Hunger Games

We can always trust Patrick McCarty to be first to point out issues with the Games & HQ, but he can bring up some real valid points.

List of Athletes Injured during the 2015 Reebok CrossFit Games

Doesn’t need an opinion, but an interesting list to view.

“These are athletes, not soldiers” – CrossFit Games 2015

Yes, he shouldn’t be sending athletes out that are fearing for their life, but they probably shouldn’t have to have that fear in the first place.

In Conclusion…

I love the Games. I want to see them continue to grow, and flourish, and be awesome.

The Games do an incredible job of testing our athletes and pushing their limits. As Rudy says, failure is part of the test and you should learn your history but I think it’s time we hold them to the same standard they’ve been holding our athletes to.

I think it’s time we forced the Games up against their own peg board to challenge them and help ensure they become the best they can be.

BONUS RANTS:

Just A couple random additions that in my opinion could also dramatically improve the Games…..

LIVE SCORE KEEPING

Once again, they’re only a couple years behind Grid [The Grid: The Live Scoreboard] and it still didn’t work half the time from what I could tell (random numbers all over the map sometimes!).

PROPER TIMING TECH

Though the Sprints and hurdles were one of my favourite events – the scoring was all over the map and let’s be serious, ankle chip timers? There are an infinite number of more accurate ways to do that.

Grid is introducing some pretty epic technology for our sport [like pullup bars with built in counters] that would help eliminate all kinds of issues.

PROPER COVERAGE

Don’t get me wrong Froning is incredible. He’s been the perfect face of this sport during it’s growth – and I’m sure he’s made a lot of people (including himself – which is totally legit he’s earned it) a lot of money, but you know who else is awesome? ‘[…]Froning and Rich Fronings Teammate!’, or any/every other athlete that’s competing at the same time he is.

At the very least, throw up a couple selfie drones [Meet Lily], and let me choose which of their feeds to watch!

NOTE: All Photos link back to their original source.

Joce was the first official (non friends and family) member of Raincity Athletics over 4 years ago.

Now she's helping her own classes #findyourfit as Ride Cycle Club's newest instructor, go try it out!

#RaincityRIDE Promotion

   Book Your Ride

Raincity Athletics will pay for half the class for any #RAthletes that drop in Joce's classes - just tag @raincityathls #raincityRIDE @joceerickson. (details below)

#RaincityRIDE Promotion Details

• Only open Raincity Athletics members who are on a monthly membership or contract
• Only one per member
• The photo must be posted to Instagram or facebook for validation (can be removed after)
• Credit will be applied to members next bill

It was also a special year in that I got to watch two people I consider good friends and special people make it to Regionals for the first time. As some of you may know, Taryn has competed at Regionals as an individual previously, but Janel and Charli had not-- Janel had gone on a team before, but shockingly, for Charli, Regionals this year was probably her third career Crossfit competition.

So, for me, as their coach and their friend, I felt a real sense of pride at the beginning of the weekend, seeing the three of them walking around with their athlete badges and their big name placards on the floor. I saw a lot (but probably not all) of the hard work and sacrifice that went into them succeeding in the Open and qualifying for Regionals. The hours spent training, the hours spent recovering, food-prepping, analyzing their workout performances, etc, etc. For the three of them -- Charli, Janel, Taryn, getting to Regionals is an awesome feat.

I also felt very impressed and proud of the way all three of them handled themselves at Regionals all weekend. The competition itself can be a pretty intimidating experience -- you walk into the warm-up area and Emily Abbott, Carleen Matthews, and Alex Parker are there staring you down (not actually) and looking really, really fit. There’s a million judges on the floor, the crowd and music are super loud, and before each workout, you have to stand around for 10-15 minutes in a “corral” not exercising and over-thinking the workout that’s about to happen.

And that’s not even taking into account what the workouts actually were!

As many of you may know, this was the first Regionals to not feature any barbells in any of the six events over the weekend. There was running on a weird new type of treadmill, odd object lifting, dumbbell lifting (but heavier than the open!), and many, many bodyweight gymnastics movements.

Based on each event, and their individual strengths and weaknesses, we came up with a game plan and practiced pacing/running each event with said game plan in the weeks leading up to Regionals.

Sidenote -- qualifying for Regionals is super exciting and a big deal. Training for Regionals, once the workouts come out, is pretty fucking boring. Charli, Taryn and Janel did strict HSPUs twice a week once the workouts were announced. They did accessory work for strict HSPUs at least once a week. They did ring dips, they did some more ring dips. They did some muscle-ups, they practiced strict and weighted muscle-ups, and then they did some more regular kipping muscle-ups.

Anyways, when it came down to #gameday for the Regionals workouts themselves, all three athletes did a great job of executing their own individual game plans. I would say they were able to go as fast or faster than training on 90% of the Regional workouts, which is not easy, considering things like the variability of judging, high-level competitors next to you going at break-neck pace, remembering to do all the little weird things like move the dumbbell forward every seven reps and face the right way while doing toes to bar, blah blah blah.

I also thought all three athletes did a great job not “leaderboarding” during the weekend. It’s easy to get bogged down in the high of your best event or the low of your worst, or to spent a ton of emotional energy looking at your placing before and after each individual event, but my thought, as a coach, is that generally does not help with the athlete’s overall goal - to complete each individual event to the best of their ability. If you are too caught in emotions related to an event that have already happened, you cannot focus your efforts in the next workout! And, during Regionals, the athletes only get a short break -- 90 min max -- before they have to clear their brains from whatever they’ve done in the earlier part of the day before refocusing and warming up for the second event of the day. If you are caught up in how fast the person in the next lane is doing muscle-ups, you cannot focus all of your energy on your best/fastest/most efficient reps.

Once the final day’s events were over, we celebrated by eating Mexican food, not being able to drink beer at the restaurant due to our Canadian IDs, and eating a shitton of oreos (one thing my native country does well -- Oreo flavors). This week, these three amazing athletes get to rest, and the week after, we embark on their plan for 2018!

- Coach Liz

For more checkout...

@cnano89  //  @tarynemilyh  //  @janelbrine

   #VFLPT on IG      Athlete Inside on Facebook

A post shared by Athlete Inside (@athlete_inside) on May 6, 2017 at 11:40am PDT

#Repost @crossfitwhl ・・・ We are so proud of our coach @cnano89 for completely beasting the CrossFit Open this year, earning her spot to compete at Regionals. She is strong, intelligent, skillful and has the killer instincts of an apex predator...which is why this shirt had to be made to support her journey. These will be printed on tanks - colours will include black and black aqua, both men's and women's sizes. Stay tuned, we will be announcing the mockups and release dates soon! ALL profits will go towards getting Charli to Regionals and prepped for the challenge that awaits her. Please support your local athlete, she is making our city proud! More info please go to @crossfitwhl #CrossFitWHL #CrossFit #WORKHORSENATION #roadtoregionals #roadtoregionals2017 #raincityathletics #RAthlete #infinitcanada #rathletes #rathletics #athleteinsideprofiles

A post shared by Athlete Inside (@athlete_inside) on May 10, 2017 at 6:14pm PDT

Hollow Body
https://youtu.be/VyrUmzIHmzw?t=22s

Superman

Hanging Lat activation (Scap pullup)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1_DN3orFFI

D) Strength Development

Top of pull hold
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOCL43KyDgQ

Jumping Negative CTB
https://youtu.be/bQ01GUKbefA

C) Skill development

Hollow Kip tight & short
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Gw7ZGxunNc

Hollow Kip + closing shoulders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5NWdkuo2ug

1/2 Kipping Pullup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csr5WX92ReU

B) Advanced Skill Development Butterfly

Butterfly Pullup Progression 1 (hold + pull through)
https://youtu.be/yBm8hyAST-A?t=32s

Butterfly Pullup Progression 2
https://youtu.be/y8z5d7btIws?t=47s

A) Advanced Skill Development Chest To Bar

Kipping CTB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXYLIZnivXY

Butterfly CTB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBNOqOzGPNA

The best part of holidays off the beaten path are the people. In such a short period of time they can change your life and you can only hope that you changed theirs a little bit.

On top 'Men' and 'Lady' (actually their names) took care of our airbnb, got us anything and everything we needed from bikes to ponchos to city tours. Lady made us breakfast Pho every morning and brought her kids and friends around the house between cooking and cleaning. #bestphointown

Bottom right were our ladies who made us some amazing clothes. We visited them multiple times a day and almost brought them out drinking with us to the bar (2 of them really really wanted to). We had lunch with them and would pop by just to say hi whenever we were driving by. Best tailors in Hoi An hands down, or maybe I'm just saying that because they called me the 'handsome man that came from the sky'. #strokemyego #itsjustabeard

Bottom left was the family in the middle of no where that served us a giant bowl of noodles and God only knows. We chugged glasses of I have no idea with the dad in the back who tricked us into drinking some weird sh*t. They barely spoke English but they sure loved having guests and serving us their home made fermented death drink.

A perfect little holiday (from the holiday) off the beaten path in Hoi An. If you're heading there anytime soon hit me up so I can introduce you to some of my new and amazing friends.

We're at the airport back to Hong Kong for 2 more days before the long trip home.

#thordoesasia #vietnam #hoian #travelfriends #locals #sofriendly #byefornow

Taryn Haggerstone is a competitive CrossFit athlete and Olympic weightlifter. She is also a coach and regular contributing writer to various CrossFit and fitness blogs. Her training style, which emphasizes weights, functional movements, and high intensity intervals, aims to show that with proper training and motivation, anything is possible.

What is CrossFit?

CrossFit is a style of training developed by Greg Glassman which focuses on the use of functional (full body) movements, high intensity and varied programming, while simultaneously creating a community-based environment in which to train. CrossFit combines elements of gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing and a variety of other sports to help people become fitter and more well-rounded. Over the past few years it has grown in popularity at an exponential rate. Every year more and more CrossFit gyms open up worldwide, more and more people are joining gyms and trying CrossFit for the first time, and if you’re reading this, chances are you are one of those people considering giving CrossFit a shot. But, before you sign up with your local gym, there are a few things to consider.

1. Do your Research

In order to open up a CrossFit gym, all gym-owners must pass the CrossFit Level 1 and pay the annual affiliation fee. Aside from that specifics (such as how the gym is run, the style of programming, coach and client expectations, etc.) can vary greatly between locations. As a result there are a lot of really good gyms out there, but unfortunately some not so good ones as well. Be aware, the difference isn’t always apparent at first glance. So, if you are considering dipping your toes into the world of CrossFit, it’s a good idea to do some background research:

• How do the different gyms compare price-wise?
• What sort of education do their coaches have?
• What programs do they offer?
• What do the online reviews say?

Once you’ve done that, make an effort to check out a few different locations in person. Every gym has its own ‘vibe’ and sometimes a gym that is great on paper can be the wrong fit for a particular person. Community is a big part of CrossFit – it’s not just a gym where people show up with headphones in, do their own thing for an hour and leave. As such, it’s important to find a gym where you feel comfortable.

2. Bring a Friend

Trying CrossFit for the first time can be intimidating. It’s easy for thoughts like “what if I’m not good at it”, “what if the people don’t like me”, “what if I make an idiot of myself” to creep into our heads and stop us in our tracks. That’s why enlisting the help of a friend is always a good idea! Trying something new can be a bit scary, but it will be less so when you have a familiar face beside you as you walk in the door that first time.

3. Be Prepared to do an Intro Course First

CrossFit incorporates a variety of movements and skills from different sports (gymnastics, weightlifting etc.), many of which you may not have done in high school. This means there will probably be a lot of unfamiliar movements. Rather than throwing new members directly into classes that are way over their heads, any good CrossFit gym will require them to go through some sort of ‘Foundations Program’.

The size and cost of these introductory sessions can vary between gyms. Typically speaking, the sessions are smaller, more hands on and slightly more expensive than the regular classes.  Not every gym has a mandatory foundations course. It can be tempting to go to a gym that doesn’t because it means we can start ‘right away’ without paying the extra fees. Just keep in mind, the foundation courses are there for a reason –  to teach you proper techniques and keep you safe. Any gym that doesn’t make that a priority is one I would avoid.

4. It Takes Time

Within CrossFit there are certain movements that always seem to stand out (think the muscle-up, handstands, the olympic lifts), but it’s important to remember that the advanced skills are built from a solid foundation of the basics. The best CrossFit athletes out there aren’t necessarily the ones who got their muscle-up the quickest or walked in the door with the heaviest deadlift. They are the ones who were patient, consistent and and who didn’t skip the basics. CrossFit is like a pyramid, where the bottom-most level is made up of the basic, fundamental movements and the top is where you find the more advanced/challenging skills. The wider and more solid your base is, the higher you will be able to build and the more stable your pyramid will be.

5. Ask Questions

If you’re ever unsure about a movement – how to do it, why we do it, etc. – don’t be afraid to ask the coach. If you ever feel unsafe doing a particular weight/movement – let the coach know. A good coach will listen to your questions/concerns and should be able to provide you with an explanation of the reasoning behind a certain movement and/or an appropriate substitution. If you ever feel genuinely unsafe during classes or like your concerns are being ignored, bring it up with the gym owner and if they fail to address it, don’t be afraid to take your business elsewhere.

Don’t forget to follow Taryn on Instagram and be sure to subscribe to her blog! Special thanks to Athlete Inside for the photos.

Throughout this series you'll learn:

1. Who the go-to movement experts are in Olympic Village

2. The first steps you can take to increase the quality of your movement

3. The easiest ways to get fit in the least amount of time

All of which lead to benefits like:

• Increased energy

• Improved stamina

• More endurance

• Better coordination

• Restful sleep

• A happier life

This one is for anyone struggling to fit movement into their busy lives, former athletes who have fallen off track, or those who have never been active and don't know where to start.

WHAT IS THE FIRST STEP SOMEONE CAN TAKE TO INCREASE THEIR ACTIVITY?

SIMON "THOR" DAMBORG

OWNER/HEAD COACH @ RAINCITYATHLETICS.CA

Start slow and simple!

Too many people jump into extreme programs chasing dramatic results, which increases their risk of injury and the likelihood that they quit. Instead, focus long-term. Build a basic healthy lifestyle where physical activity of any kind is a regular part of your life. Once that base is built, you can increase intensity and complexity.

We treat every athlete at Raincity Athletics exactly like that… AS AN ATHLETE. Whether they're a pro or it's their first time off the couch, the same basic principles of periodization and preparation apply.

A strong base is best achieved through small lifestyle changes and a supportive community, which guarantee longevity in health.

Check out the full post to see the other experts advice: http://www.thepowerhousevancouver.com/boost-activity-4-experts/

Throughout this series you'll learn:

1. Who the go-to movement professionals are in Olympic Village

2. The first steps you can take to increase the quality of your movement

3. The easiest ways to get fit in the least amount of time

All of which lead to benefits like:

• Increased energy

• Improved stamina

• More endurance

• Better coordination

• Restful sleep

• A happier life

WHAT DRIVES YOU TO GET OUT OF BED IN THE MORNING AND DO WHAT YOU DO?

SIMON "THOR" DAMBORG

OWNER/HEAD COACH @ RAINCITYATHLETICS.CA

For years I struggled with what some would call 'manorexia' or 'bigorexia'. I spent 1-3 hours a day in the gym bodybuilding, chasing aesthetics. My mood was determined by how satisfied I was with what I saw in the mirror, more than the aesthetics themselves. I yo-yoed between extreme training programs and diets.

When I discovered CrossFit and functional training, my focus shifted to what I could DO instead of how I looked. I lost almost 40 pounds in under 8 months, and ended up leaner, stronger, and looking better than I ever did chasing aesthetics directly.

90% of clients come to me with aesthetic goals, but a focus on aesthetics never satisfies. My mission is to build my clients into badasses who can do things they never imagined possible. Once they can, they're satisfied with how they look too.

Checkout the full post for the rest of the expert opinions: http://www.thepowerhousevancouver.com/olympic-village-movement-experts/

Over the years I’ve gone from a 250lb bodybuilder to a 205lb CrossFit Games Regional competitor. From running a free blog called ‘Globofit’ for my gym-rat friends to follow CrossFit workouts, to owning, operating, and programming hundreds of workouts for thousands of athletes through my 2 businesses Raincity Athletics and The Canadian Affiliate League. From running free boot camp classes in a park as a way to sell protein shakes, to training a variety of high level athletes. Every one of these accomplishments was a very long, twisted, and stressful road full of learning.

This is due to the fact that I tend to obsess over things. I like to overdo it. Whether it’s as simple as a song that I put on repeat for a week, training and exercise, or opening my own business. In my lifetime I have overdone many things in both good and bad ways, and I’ve learned a lot from these experiences. Learning from these mistakes is why I love running Raincity Athletics. I get to teach my clients (and coaches) how to not make the same mistakes that I have made. And there have been a lot...

CHECKOUT THE FULL POST: http://ca.ryu.com/blogs/news/116589700-is-our-obsession-with-health-healthy

Rounds
– 10 Samson Lunges
– 10 Rolling ‘Pistols’ *start with 2-feet, progress to 1-foot if capable
– 10/side Ankle Circles
– 10 Wall Angels
– Banded Ankle Distraction ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PIKcglsb28 )

Pistols
1. ‘Strength/Movement Pattern
– 2 x 5/side Kneeling ‘Step-Ups’ ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXDyWBqHGvM )
– 2 x 5/side ‘Pistol to Bench’ ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yZTviA8F3s )

2. Assisted Pistols
– ‘2 x 5/side Pistol Holding onto Rig, Ring or Band ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahds8LyneoI )
– ‘2 x 5 Pistol’ Sitting into band (use discretion based on ability/coordination) ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAcOtNFm5Rs )

3. Modified Pistols
– 2 x 5/side Heel elevated Pistol
– Pistol w. Counterbalance (10-15lbs held out in front)

4. Pistols
– Unassisted/Unmodified Pistols (both sides)
– Alternating Pistols

Double Unders Key Points of Performance review
– keep the arms in close/slightly in front of the body!
– use the wrists to spin the wrist
– Nice & Tight, keep body hollow (brace abs)

Singles (get the rhythm, keep body position!)

3 x Singles + 1 x “Power Jump” (i.e. higher jump, dont break form)
3 x Singles + 1 x Double Under (keep form)
Small Sets of DU (2-3 reps, don’t break form)

Larger DU Sets (stop when technique falls apart)

Doubles under with no “single skips” to “buy in”

Hollow Rocks x 10
Legs straight, arms overhead, squeeze your core and lift both arms and legs a few inches off the ground. Low back should be pressed into the ground and arms/feet should remain only a few inches off the ground as you rock

Superman Rocks x 10
Legs straight, arms overhead. Squeeze your posterior chain (glutes, hammies, back) to lift arms & legs off ground into “superman position”, Maintain this position as you rock

V-Sits x 10
Legs straight, arms overhead. Contract your abs and raise your legs off the ground, simultanously raising your torso & arms/reaching for you legs.

C) Strength & Mechanics

Hollow Hold Lat Push-Down x 10 (3s pause)
Same start position as hollow hold, except arms are in front of the body on the dowel. Squeeze your core and raise legs/shoulders slightly off the ground while using lats to push down on dowel. Hold for 3 seconds, relax.

Lat Pushdowns while hanging From Pullup Bar x 10
Hanging from the bar, hands approx shoulderwidth apart. Engage lats (just like push down) and push down on the bar to go into a hollow hold

Exaggerated Beat Swing x 10
Hanging from the bar, activate your shoulders and push down on the bar to go into a slight hollow body position, then open the shoulders and push your head/chest through into superman position. Alternate between these two positions using shoulders (not feet) to initiate swing

B) Basic Skill Development

Knee Raise: x 10
Same idea as the beat swing, but this time in that hollow body position bring your knees up to your chest. Remember to focus on pushing down on bar with your lats/shoulders (vs doing a dead hang and raising knees)

– Exaggerated Knee Raise x 2-5

– Knees to Elbows: x 2-5

–Toes to bar: x 2-5
focus on keeping rythm, if you lose it go back to last stage you had it at and work up
keep neck/spine neutral (Don't crank back and look at the bar)

A) Advanced Skill Practice

Fast Kipping Toes to Bar x 8-12
Maintain consistency and control through bigger sets and while under fatigue

How To Video:

Hollow Body Plank
( https://youtu.be/5T7NZQMkAjE?t=1m1s )

Handstand Floor Press
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hakg0Ab23IE )

D) Application of  Proper Position

Wall walk & hold (nose to wall) – minimal contact with wall
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxnfyPL8PCM )

Kick-up to partner assisted hold

Shoulder Taps
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI-RmGBNl44 )

C) Strength development

Partner Assisted Negative
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZcokvVTHqo )

Seated KB or Barbell Press
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE5ww5JkFWA – not with rack, keep it light and focus on position)

Negative @ tempo + popup (with our without parallettes)
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CK17z9aPsE )

B) Advanced Strength Development

Strict HSPU to abmat

Strict Rx HSPU

Strict Deficit HSPU

A) Kipping Skill Development

N/A (yet – next week)