THUNDER BAY -- Kelin Ainsworth thought he was on hand for a photo shoot. Little did he know he was about to get the workout of his life.
The Lakehead Thunderwolves hockey star joined several teammates and university athletic director Tom Warden last week testing out the Moksha Yoga Thunder Bay’s newly installed Revkor program, a workout using high-tensile resistance training designed to push athletes to their fullest.
According to studio owners Debbie Zweep and Myles Ball, Revkor’s system allows athletes to build muscle, lose weight while making improvements to their cardiovascular system.
“It’s a pretty dynamic system where we’re using suspension hanging from our ceilings that allows us to deliver a pretty dynamic sequence to anyone from the elite athlete to the beginner in a safe way.”
Designed by London, Ont.’s Angela Rivard and Cambridge, Ont.’s Erin Moraghan, Revkor provides a variety of different workouts tailored to the individual needs of those taking part.
“There are a variety of sequences that can be used. I think there at about 15,” Ball said. “Everything from using Asana poses in yoga straight through to interval training, cardiovascular work and everything in between.
“We’re working with the hockey team right now and there’s one that was specifically designed for hockey players by Doug Stacey, an athletic trainer with the (OHL’s) London Knights.”
The Knights collaborated with company founders to develop a regimen that suited the sport.
Zweep said the Revkor program fits in perfectly with their pillars of success, which include healthy living and accessibility.
“We all do hot yoga, but there’s always an opportunity to look at how we keep ourselves healthy in different ways,” Zweep said. “And we have to be accessible. The elite athlete and the beginner can be in the same class and still get a great workout in a safe manner.”
Zweep added she saw changes in her body in just five days using the Revkor system.
“It’s evident in the body,” she said.
“It’s set up in a way that you’re going to be able to push yourselves as hard as you want,” Ball added. “So something like the yoga postures you’re going to be using your body in a different way than if you were using the RevMix, which is really focused on the cardiovascular and body-weight movements. So it’s unique in that way.”
Ainsworth said he's tried yoga before, but this took it to a new level.
"I think it's good for hockey players, especially for the core and flexibility and all that stuff. I think it's something we could implement on our team and it would be good for us to do some of that stuff," said Ainsworth, still mulling the possibility of returning to the Thunderwolves for a fifth and final season.
Moksha Yoga Thunder Bay is located at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse at Lakehead University. For more information, visit http://thunder-bay.mokshayoga.ca/.
