HUMAN PERFORMANCE EXPERT, BRAD VAILLANCOURT ON WORKING WITH HOCKEY PLAYERS AND CORRELATIONS TO EVERYDAY PEOPLE IN EVERYDAY LIFE FOR SELF-IMPROVEMENT

Distinguished Human Performance Expert, Brad Vaillancourt on Working with Hockey Players and Correlations to Everyday People in Everyday Life for Self-Improvement

Author: Clarence Paller, BA. Twitter @Cpaller10   Email: [email protected]

Introduction

Brad Vaillancourt, is a Human Performance Expert.  Brad specializes in developing athletes and helping people with their rehabilitation. His vast breadth of work includes: athletes across 23 different sports ranging from the beginner to the pro level, people who have had strokes and other health limitations, people with injuries ranging in severity, and people like you and I who dream to improve! This article uses hockey players as an example of the work that Brad does, however, the wisdom and insight that Brad shares correlates to our daily lives and directs us to improving our overall health, energy levels and the way we feel. We will learn about methods such as Active Release Techniques, Body Talk, BioSignature Modulation, the Yuen Method, Total Body Balancing, Instant Performance Boosters and Nutrition.  After reading this article you will have a better understanding of how the body works and will be able to identify areas that are limiting you from feeling better. From there you can start on a journey of self-improvement!

Background

Brad began as a university student at Texas A&M where he played lacrosse for the school. His aspirations were to use his athletic ability to help people. After University, Brad came back to Canada and began working as a firefighter. However, another opportunity presented itself. One of Brad’s colleagues, Kevin Stubbington approached him. Kevin actually is the founder of the non-profit organization, Safety Towards Other Players (STOP) program which is the little stop sign that you see on the back of every minor hockey jersey internationally. At the time Kevin was coaching the University of Windsor’s women’s hockey team. Brad explains, “Kevin came to me to help him with his coaching. He wanted a sports performance coach and he knew I had a background in it. I thought, “this sounds like a lot of fun I’ll give it a shot”. By the end of the season, Kevin took that team from winning four games total in four seasons to barely missing the playoffs by two points.  What’s more, they won their first tournament in that same season. After having so much fun in that program, I decided to change my career direction. I found in firefighting, I wasn’t enjoying it as much because a firefighter’s job ultimately is to slow destruction by acting as quickly as possible to put the fire out, save a life, etc. Whereas, a Human Performance Expert, I develop athletes’ abilities to their full potential. I went from going from stopping destruction to building someone’s potential and it created an amazing feeling inside me, and I have been living that passion ever since.  I owe my career to Kevin Stubbington and his foresight for young hockey player’s safety, as well.  Ever since my first coaching job, I’ve been a student of every aspect of human performance and for the past 18 years I have been learning all kinds of wonderful cutting edge techniques to help athletes be the best they can be in the quickest way possible, so they can leave their sporting legacy.

Working with a Hockey Player

Work with a hockey player begins with assessing the player. Brad explains, “When I see hockey players during the season and in the offseason, they are assessed in ways that cover every area to make sure they get complete care. I need to figure out where they are physically, mentally, psychologically and emotionally.  They need the fastest results to get them performing at their best, and stay playing at that level for the entire season.”

Brad continues, “When I work with a hockey player in the offseason, I typically have less than 12 weeks to help them get to optimum performance level, regardless of their current condition and limitations. In that time we have to fix problems that the season made for them (eg. overuse and imbalances in strength and density), and then re-build the foundation and go on from there. When you have a solid foundation, you can build an amazing hockey player at a super-fast rate while making the athlete more resilient. Their performance will rocket to new levels in strength, speed, agility and they will be able to consistently recover at the quickest rate.”

Hormonal Systems as Part of Strength and Conditioning
Brad explains when an athlete comes to see him; one of the first things they have to do is to balance the athlete’s hormonal system. As the season wears on athletes start to get stressed. The same is for everybody.  When people get stressed their cortisol levels go up. Cortisol is one of the main hormones released by the adrenal gland in response to stress. When cortisol goes up, testosterone, the energy building hormone goes down. How can you have the energy to keep going if cortisol levels keep rising? You keep getting more and more stressed and the more stressed you feel the less energy you will have. When cortisol levels go up, insulin levels also rise. That is why people want a sugar fix when they’re stressed.

Another problem is when athletes are doing prolonged aerobic work; it drives down testosterone levels and brings up estrogen levels as well as cortisol. With hockey players because the amount of gliding they do, the aerobic fitness comes from their all-out sprints that happen each shift which is roughly 20% of the shift’s duration.  Brad explains, “For a hockey player to optimize aerobic fitness, proper training such as building the amount of dryland sprints they do to get close or even surpass their game time on ice (TOI) total will make them better. Whereas, going out for 5 mile run will only make them slower. Any hockey player who spends his summer playing sports like box lacrosse will become a faster skater and one who can maintain that tempo throughout the game.  This is due to the high amounts of sets (shifts) that last 30-45 seconds.”

In one example, a particular goalie Brad was working with in the Alberta Junior League would have a hard time in the third period. The issue was he had just nothing left in the tank for the third period. This was due to his cortisol levels going up way too high in first part of game which in turn drove his testosterone too far down resulting in him having nothing left for the third. The simple thing Brad did was put lemon in the water bottle that sat a top of his net. Lemon and lime are low in sugar but they have particular chemical that keeps cortisol levels down consequently keeping testosterone levels up.  As part of the goalies strength and conditioning program, balancing his hormones was one of the factors that allowed the goalie to play better. Later in this article we will revisit this example and talk about the other work Brad did with the goalie. This goalie would go on to receiving a scholarship to div 1 school.

For those of you at home, that notice that you struggle with getting enough energy for the day, what might be helpful is the increasing the amount of water that you are consuming in the morning. However, also like the goalie, adding lemon or lime to the water.

Digestive System as Part of Hormonal Systems

For an athlete to be at their best you want to make sure digestive system is working properly. If the digestive system is not working properly it will limit the athlete’s strength and their ability to fully recuperate. If the athlete has a hard time recuperating then when they go into training camp they will decline in performance shortly into the season, creating a snowball effect until they get less playing time and/or injured because they can’t keep up with demand the team is trying to build. Nutrition and hormones are crucial to digestive health.  An athlete’s ability to recover comes in large part, due to the ability to absorb the nutrients taken, and at a fast enough rate.  Too much “bad bacteria” will limit performance and recovery ability.  Whether an elite or recreational athlete, healthy gut flora will keep you lean, energetic, and speed your recovery.
Nutrition as Part of Hormonal Systems

 A critical component of digestive health is nutrition. Proper nutrition is fundamental to energy and performance whether in sport or in everyday life because of the nutrients they possess and its impact on how we feel when we function. Things like having pasta before hockey will throw off the insulin balance as well as enhance estrogen levels, resulting in less energy producing testosterone in most of the people, because they cannot function properly with all that flour in their digestive system.  To perform better based on your needs you can turn to Yin and Yang foods. Yin foods are great for endurance sports performance as they give you the fuel you need sustained over time (different than the blood sugar release rate of carbohydrates). Yin foods include: salmon, rice, etc. Whereas, Yang foods like steak, eggs, etc. are great for power sports as they provide the high amounts of energy needed in high intensity sports.

When it comes to breakfast in the morning, Brad always says “that the individual needs fat and they need a lot of protein first thing in the morning. And if they want to have carbohydrates, they wait (depending on a person) between 10 minutes to an hour. What this does is sets the neurotransmitters, like a dial. You need to set the dial high, so you think clear and be ready for action. The brain uses carbohydrates for the energy to propel you though the day. But timing is also very important.

Other Factors of Hormonal Imbalances

Other factors of hormonal imbalance could be caused by pathological patterns in ones psyche and emotional factors.  For example maybe it is a response to a particular memory that causes stress and consequently muscles hold on to memory. Let’s take for instance someone who was in car accident  and now every time they go by that crash site they might get all tensed up because the attachment to the memory of the accident. Same goes with hockey, for example a team who always struggles in a particular arena, facing that same team will pathologically relate to, and store memory of intense struggles and defeat, making their success more difficult to achieve.  Their bodies feel heavy; concentration is significantly lowered, etc. Just ask players who has experienced such a phenomenon they try almost everything to win but, always struggle the most.

Resolving Hormonal Imbalances

Brad utilizes several methods to resolve hormonal imbalances whether the root of the problem is mental, emotional, physical and/or psychological. The method he chooses or the combination of methods is all dependent on the problem(s) the athlete or individual is facing.
One such method is BioSignature Modulation, developed by Charles Poliquin to determine which hormones are over and/or under produced, causing such maladies as loss of sleep, lack of ability to make full recovery, and increases of adipose (fat) tissue in specific regions being caused by specific hormone imbalances.

Another method is Body Talk which was developed by Dr. John Veltheim and is a method of protocols used to help athletes get, and stay in “the zone”. Also, it is used for athletes who are injured, to recover faster. As part of Body Talk there are performance agendas that help an athlete to play at their best throughout the competition hence, getting and helping the athlete stay in “zone”.  For example, some players experience a 2nd or 3rd period lull, where they lack energy and production.  A performance agenda for a hockey player for example is complete focus that will help them compete through the entire duration of the game.

Brad recounts setting a performance agenda for himself when he was competing in an Ironman triathlon.  Brad explains, “When I was going through the Ironman, the cycling portion was the toughest component; it took about 6 hours, cycling up and down hills. Some hills were 12 km long. And a marathon (26.2 miles) followed. So, setting up performance agendas, I accomplished a lot. I managed to pass 1454 people on the bike alone. I had a fantastic day and I had fun.”

Another method Brad uses is the Yuen Method, developed by Dr. Kam Yuen who is a Kung Fu grandmaster and a former world champion.  The Yuen Method is a great way to help athletes enhance focus, enhance performance, and rehabilitate from injury at an amazing rate. For example, if someone is taking a slap shot and they over-rotate their hips, too much pressure is placed on the shoulders, resulting in aim being thrown off. Over time, this can cause pain in their shoulder(s) because of extra torque. Through the Yuen Method, Brad can quickly figure out and correct the issue usually within seconds.

Another technique Brad utilizes is Active Release Technique (ART) which is a soft tissue manual therapy based system developed and patented by Dr. Michael Leahy which is different from massage. Its purpose is more re-aligning the tissue due to scarring, adhesions, and/or nerve entrapments.

Another remedy for soft tissue damage is an invention by a Canadian sibling duo. The device uses electromagnetic pulsing therapy to reduce inflammation and to help strengthen weakened strands of soft tissue.  People feel absolutely nothing and reap huge benefits.  Brad explains, “It’s like welding the fibers back into place, rather than using “craft glue”. Results are immediate and help the person to recuperate up to 30% faster.”
Now using these methods in an integrated manner, Brad can correct issues with the athlete and help them by freeing the body from all the friction and unnecessary torque, which in turn allows their body to perform at an outstanding level. Brad uses soft tissue as an example, “if we look at what is going on with soft tissue: sometimes scar tissue can build up. If you think of scar tissue as a plate of spaghetti, a healthy tissue looks like packaged spaghetti, i.e., straight lines. Scar tissue is the same tissue, but it’s been twisted and possibly “braided” limiting range of motion and strength. With the Yuen Method, Active Release Techniques or Body Talk Method the tissues can be separated again, so they can move independently. Again, it takes just a few moments.”

Having explained and provided context to hormonal imbalances and introduced the techniques and methods that Brad uses, we can move on to the physical side of Strength and Conditioning.

Different Weak Areas and Exercises and Methods to Strengthen these Areas
Physical issues with hockey players are usually weak knees, groin, abdominal region on one side, shoulder and neck problems. Typically these areas get weak because of the repetitive rigors of the season.  Causes come in a variety of ways and may include fatigue due to improper technique after many repetitions of the same motions for example shooting over and over as well as certain muscles being used a lot while others get neglected much like what happens from  shooting from the same side ie. Left or right handed shooting.  Ultimately, athletes are going to lose muscle mass all over the body as the season progresses.

When it comes to injury, no two athletes will have the same problem, even if they suffered similar incidents.  This is due to a multitude of factors which are too numerous to duplicate. Here is a potential scenario. If it’s the knee area that is weak you have to look at culprit areas such as calves and hamstring and one of quads called Vastus Medialis Oblique (VMO) which is that tear drop muscle in the front of the thigh. To fix areas such as knees and groin you can do different exercises such as Peterson step up, split squat, split squat with low cable in opposite hand, split squat with either front or rear foot elevated or different variations to help with groin and VMO muscle. By doing these you can help a lot of areas that get neglected.  Hockey is all about bursting speed and explosive strength.  Doing moves such as squats, jump squats and push/pull or drag the prowler with sprints right after, all these things are great and provide quickness as well as muscle density.
Referring back to the goalie example earlier in this article aside from balancing his hormone levels, Brad also fixed a few areas just by enhancing strength in the goalies knees, hamstrings and Vastus Medialis Oblique (VMO) muscle of the quad. With the increase in strength the goalie was able to move laterally that much better.  As a goalie you have to be able to pop up, you have to do that explosively time after time. This motion is something you have to condition and it requires the proper muscle balancing first so you can keep doing that explosively and with power. With muscle imbalances you fatigue much faster. Brad explains, “Whenever we are fixing the imbalances, you have to go to the root of the problem. You have to look at all different things like scar tissue, adhesions, fascial misalignment and nerve entrapments build up which as discussed earlier can be resolved through Body Talk, Total Body Balancing, and/or theYuen Method.”

One area that is really common with athletes, especially with hockey players, is really tight ankles. Because they are in boots for the entire sport, they can develop adhesions in the foot and ankle area. So instead of pointing toes when skating, they lift their heel too soon, torqueing the knee, limiting their speed and agility. This can cause an injury.  If they lift heels to soon while walking they throw themselves forward. Then the knee has to compensate. This creates a whip motion that can affect everything up to the neck and even in the opposite direction. The last of the whip is going to be at the neck point. It does create major neck and other joint problems.  To correct such issues, depending on the problem(s) causing the adhesions, Brad uses an integrated approach of Yuen Method, Body Talk, Electromagnetic Pulsing, as well Total Body Balancing and PIMST which will be introduced in the next section.

Another thing that will restrict athletes with range of motion or with pain is something that sits on the top of the muscle called fascia tissue. To realign fascia tissue so the athlete can move again, the old method consisted of actually grabbing on to it and pulling it back over where it needs to go which is incredibly painful! What’s more, if you are already in pain, your cortisol levels have risen. Consequently, when the cortisol levels are up, the pain tolerance goes down.   Alternatively to pulling the fascia tissue depending on the problem(s), methods such as fast acting, Total Body Balancing(developed exclusively for fascia tissue realignment by Canadian Osteopath, Dr. Kerry D’Ambrogio), BioSignatrue Modulation, and Body Talk Method correct the issue. The treatment is so gentle with minimal pressure that sometimes the patients fall asleep while in session, on the therapy table. Brad comments “It is an amazing system that is roughly only 6 years old. With this technique, I helped one person increase their lung capacity by 50% after their first session!”

As we can see a combination of exercises and techniques can remedy and then strengthen an athlete. Sometimes when injured athletes come in, only the symptom(s) were previously addressed instead of the problem(s). For instance, someone may have a rotator cuff issue but, the problem may be somewhere else like tight ankles, weak hip flexor, etc. So they keep going back again and again with the same symptoms, while the problem only gets more agonizing. Additionally, if you are stressed and the cortisol levels are high, energy will go down. If your cortisol levels are completely messed up, then you can have such things as sleepless nights, low energy, and be prone to overuse injury. Generally if people wake up between the hours of 1am and 3am, they have a liver issue. If they wake up between 3am and 5am the issue could be due to too many free radicals in their lungs making it difficult on their immune system.  Brad emphasizes proper sequence in integration of methods along with strength and conditioning program for maximum results. Once the issues have been assessed and resolved and a program established athletes can go on to achieving great feats. Furthermore, the athlete’s performance can be even more enhanced instantaneously.

Instant Performance Boosters (P.I.M.S.T) Poliquin Instant Muscle Strengthening Techniques

“PIMST is a method used to increase an athlete’s speed, strength, and flexibility within 3-10 seconds whether someone is an athlete or average person, EVERYONE wants to be stronger, faster, and more mobile.” Brad. V
Charles Poliquin who we referenced earlier in this article also came up with Poliquin Instant Muscle Stimulation Technique that helps athletes become stronger and more flexible in about 10 seconds.  Brad recounts, “I was very fortunate to be in the first class that was ever taught in Dublin, Ireland. Funny enough, taking that course had a huge effect on my whole life. Before the athletes even lift the weight, they are going to be between 5 to 10 percent stronger every time.” How PIMST works is that, nerves send constant impulses to muscles.  The rate/min is important.  The slower the number of impulses to the muscle, the more flexible the person becomes. The intensity of the electrical impulse dictates the strength of the contraction. Therefore, the less frequent the impulses, the more flexible, and the higher the intensity of the impulse, the stronger the person. Brad explains, “There are several techniques as part of PIMST, depending on the body part and the issue.”

Brad recounts when he was showing the 2010 Women’s Swedish hockey team PIMST’s relevance to hockey, “we took one of their team members and had one of them do three standing long jumps to replicate the explosiveness of starting speed.  After the third attempt, I performed PIMST and had them jump 1 more time.  The landing was 7 inches farther! That’s a force equivalency to a step and a half blowing by the defenceman.”  Brad’s work with the team helped them get to the Bronze Medal game in the Olympics.

Conclusion

Brad Vaillancourt has a lot to offer from the most elite athletes playing on the biggest stages to everyday people who want to improve their lives and function at optimum levels.  Any individual working with Brad whether in person or remotely will receive the necessary guidance and hands on approach to dramatically improve their strength and conditioning and ultimately how they feel and function. Brad is an expert in his field and his experience and credentials speak for themselves. More importantly, Brad is a great practitioner with a genuine desire to help people live an enriched quality of life. His dedication to learn and then implement cutting edge techniques and resolve all the issues a person may have has made tremendous and meaningful impacts in the lives of those who he has worked with. As a Human Performance Expert, Brad’s mission is to positively impact as many lives as possible and help people live a better quality of life, reach their goals and achieve feats they would never thought they could have achieved, in record time, leaving their sport legacy. That mission and passion is the premises of this article.

For more Information, Brad can be reached at:

Brad Vaillancourt

VIPERFORMANCE

Phone: 1 (250) 979-8507

Web: https://www.viperformance.ninja