beckfordfitness, New York, NY (2026)

03/15/2023

💥 WALL REFERENCE TRAINING 😏

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Using a wall is extremely helpful as a point of reference. Our feet when connected to the ground or on a wall during closed chain movements creates tension up the kinetic chain and allows us to orient the spine, ribcage, pelvis and legs when you do a movement pattern. When you incorporate the feet on the wall, it allows for inertia to be created and tension to flow through the body.

In addition to this the wall can be utilized as a point of progression and regression for both stability & instability factors as you can add more load, change the angle of movement, etc.

The wall is great for doing at home or at the gym!

Here’s 6 movements to try!

1. Ipsilateral Bird Dog
2. Contralateral Bird Dog
3. Foam Roll Ipsilateral Dead Bug
4. Wall Tall Plank
5. Wall Assisted Dumbbell Pullover
6. Side Plank w/Knee Drive

03/24/2021

Hi team!

Did you wake up today not feeling rested? If so, you will want to do this "Improve Your Sleep Breathwork" tonight before bed.

This is one of a 6 part series. Breathwork isn’t something that is commonly talked about or shared, so I figured it would be beneficial for my followers to see and experience what a full practice is like.

If you’re new to breathwork I strongly suggest you watch the whole video and not to skip along.

Breathing is the thing we do the most of in our lives but we seldomly pay attention to, yet it is vital for every single activity we do in life.

This breath practice in particular focuses down regulating the nervous system and getting you into a place of relaxation so you can let the day go. We activate the guna of tamas in the practice which in western terms is our parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The PNS responsible for all of our "rest and digest" functions.

There's a lot of reasons why we would want to do a practice to improve our sleep, one of the major ones being that we're chronically overworked, under slept and deal with high degrees of stress on a daily basis especially during these times.

Stress is caused by external factors which left unchecked can cause serious health problems, weaken the immune system, and lead to over/under eating, insomnia, depression and anxiety and affects how we treat people.

Doing a breath practice can immediately improve how we feel and can help to diminish those feelings. Relaxation and sleep is necessary for the mind and body to repair themselves. However most of us relax our bodies without resting our minds due to future projections of ourselves that may or may not happen and have perpetual running of thoughts as a result. (I'm guilty of this too sometimes!)

While it is necessary to prepare for the future, we can only truly relax when we are present. With a breath practice, it fully allows for us to be present.

Be sure to practice this in a quiet place with limited distractions and do all of the things you need to do before bed.

I'll keep this video up on my feed until Friday!

Enjoy, and let me know how this goes!

03/13/2021

Yoga bloopers! 🧘🏾‍♂️😂🤷🏾‍♂️

I know it might seem that a lot of yoga teachers are pretty zen and chill but were quite human and so for the weekend I wanted to keep it light and real, and post some bloopers from a recent Deep Flexibility class I filmed.

Being a strength coach is my passion! But yoga helps me find calm and inner peace. But you wouldn’t know it by this video 🤣

Why do you think us teachers found yoga to begin with ? 😂

Hope this gives you some laughs going into the weekend !

03/09/2021

I have a huge smile on my face as I’m enjoying the warm weather outside today. 😀 ☀️ It’s a sign that spring is right around the corner!

As much as I try to enjoy winter and promise myself to do more winter sports and activities, deep down I’m simply not as motivated when it comes to going outside and doing warm weather sports and activities!

I realize I can’t get rid of the California roots no matter how long I’ve lived Canada! 😂🇺🇸 🇨🇦

I’m looking forward to long distance runs, bike rides, lifting & yoga outdoors, and getting into the water sooner than later! 🚴🏾 🏋🏾‍♂️ 🏊🏾‍♂️

What do you enjoy more? Warm 🥵 or cold 🥶 weather activities? And why?

03/05/2021

💫 Shifting Perspective 💫

Today is Friday! As we conclude the week are there any self-limiting beliefs that are holding you back from getting towards your goals?

I won’t ask for you to comment, but it’s something you think about as we head into the weekend.

Often we get stuck in negative thought patterns that repeat themselves that are rooted in the past.

The positive news is they we can change this through consistent and mindful practice by staying focused on the present. Life happens in the now!

Hope this helps 😊

03/01/2021

Which body version one is better?

Answer: It depends.

Picture on the left: I was two weeks out from doing a half marathon race last October. I was 174 lbs then and my running mileage was quite high (60-70k/week) and strength training 2-3x a week.

Picture on the right. Taken 2 weeks ago. I’m 186 lbs, only doing rowing machine for cardio and lifting 3-4x a week and doing yoga 4-6x a week.

Both versions I was healthy but my goals were different. I was eating the same quantities in the photo on the left but my calorie expenditure was way higher.

Where as on the right I’m expending a lot of energy but not burning 1000 calories + on my long training runs.

The fitness industry makes it seem like you need to be ripped all the time and it’s certainly not the case. There have been times I was lighter than the first photo and there was a time I was hovering around 230lbs not in good shape and not nearly as strong as I am now.

This is all to say, you can be flexible with your physique goals and how you want your body to look as long as you’re happy with whatever version of yourself you’re at, in the particular moment you’re at in your life. Love yourself throughout all parts of your fitness journey!

Hope this helps 👍🏾

02/11/2021

Hi team!

I know everyone is feeling a little more anxious these days, so I wanted to come on here and post some breathing techniques that I use to give me balance and harmony when I'm feeling anxious. In the video I explain the science behind each breath practice and why they work as well as guide you through a sequence in each.

In this video there's 4 breath practices I take you through. Those practices are:

1. Sama Vritti
2. Kapalbhati
3: 4:7:8 Breathing
4: 10:10:2 Breathing

These sequences in focus on the improving the "gunas" which are our modes of existence.

Sattva guna: balance and harmony
Tamas guna: passivity, relaxation and restoration

Be sure to practice this sequence somewhere quiet and uninterrupted in order to really get in tune with your own breath. Your breath is one of the things you can truly control, however it's something that is subconscious and not paid attention to, unless you decide to pay attention to it. Focusing on your breath can help yourself feel energized or at peace when you need those things.

Adjust the practice to make it work best for you!

Namaste ! 🙏

02/09/2021

Hi team!

New articles for the week are up.

Article 1:

Prone Cobra Variations & Considerations (Bhujangasana)

In this article I discuss how lockdown is severely impacting our posture and how this exercise can help to improve it.

Article 2: Enhancing Your Winter Lockdown: Taking Immediate Action.

Time waits for no one, even in lockdown. We’re almost a year into this. Here’s 10 tips you can use right away so you can come out of the pandemic stronger than you did going in.

Link in bio !

@ Toronto, Ontario

02/07/2021

Hi team! 🙋🏾‍♂️

I restarted my blog. I’ll be writing content on all things when it comes to fitness, nutrition, wellness and lifestyle, in addition to my own ramblings when I feel the need to rant. 😂

Today’s article is.

Break the Lockdown with Your Wall (No Equipment Needed)

Normally, if you’re travelling, the wall is a great tool to use for a quick workout in your hotel before a work conference or hitting up the beach on while your on vacation.

However, due to current events, most of us are training at home a lot more these days.

Regardless of whether you have a lot, a little or no workout equipment at all, you need versatility and different variations of difficulty when it comes to your workouts...

To read more..link in bio!

01/16/2021

Hi Team!

It’s official ! I’m a Registered Yoga Teacher. Going through the process these past few months involved a lot of dedication to my practice which has been an amazing journey physically and spiritually!

I also wanted to add in some of the notable certifications I’ve done since I’ve been in the fitness industry. Normally I wouldn’t post this kinda thing online, but since I’m running my own business and not working in a corporate gyms anymore I’d share with you what I know. Going on year 7, there’s a lot of fake certifications being advertised by “coaches” and while it won’t stop anytime soon, so the least I can do is explain what I do and how my services can most likely benefit you in some shape or form.

I’ve been a certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist for the past 2 + years through the -perhaps the hardest Personal Training Certification you can get in the fitness industry.

- I’m Online Training certified, meaning I’ve done training specifically meant to help coach clients online.

I’m certified through as a Level 2 Coach - This course was a year long intensive (masters level course)

I’ve been certified as a Fascial Stretch Therapist for the past 5 + years as well.

I added a few other courses that I’ve been working through that are rehabilitation specific that I’m passionate about as well.

This all goes to say, if you’re looking to hire a coach - don’t judge by how many followers they have (I’m running a business with only 800 + followers) but rather what they know.

I’m still working and learning more things that I’m really excited and passionate about which I’ll keep you informed on!

01/14/2021

Hi team!

I took a few pics of some of my favorite poses I’ve been working on as of late. Some of them are inverted, some aren’t. With each of them I’m focusing on full engagement of my limbs and core stability.

Whenever we try something new there’s anyways an initial fear of failure but with anything new we try, it comes back to knowing oneself and our tendencies and triggers. In the yoga practice it’s a combination of body and mind to get us into the posture as well as our breath to maintain the postures. Nothing can be ignored.

So, how do you wish to grow? Growth comes from commitment and being dedicated. When we lack the discipline for growth we become stagnant and it’s harder for us to reach our goals.

Creating a routine that supports you mentally and physically involves intention to create attention to what our bodies fundamentally need, which is daily purposeful movement.

Hope this helps.

Much love and sweat 💦😃

01/11/2021

In my last post I talked about stopping weight training minus the minimum I needed for a little while to work on my flexibility. Here’s another example.

2 years ago I was running pretty heavily probably about 80-120km each month. I was doing a recovery work to an extent but not nearly to the amount I should have been doing.

By October/November 2019 I was running the fastest I ever was, my resting HR was around 42-46 BPM (low HR translates to better endurance performance - usually) but I was becoming more and more inflexible. My weight was light, but all of sudden my run speed kept dropping and dropping, mainly because the stretching I did vs the miles I was doing wasn’t congruent with sustaining it long term.

It wasn’t until this summer when life slowed down for me, having to stay inside was when I forced myself to make flexibility a priority. I kept putting it off..

Some excuses I had we’re:

“Oh..when this until this next race is over I’ll work on it”

“My client schedule is too busy, so I don’t have enough time to stretch.”

“I’m stressed and tired”, can’t be bothered”

I write this because accountability is something we all need, even trainers and experienced trainers too. We’re human after all.

In the photo to the left my “Superficial Back Line” (it’s a fascial line that runs from your heels to your head) was extremely tight which is why you see such massive rounding in my spine. When your fascia is tight your muscles get compromised in turn as well. In other words, my ankles and my thoracic spine lacked a whole lot of mobility and flexibility.

I think the part that made it worse for me was that I spent so much of my days in corporate making people more mobile and feel better through treatments, workouts etc. Being a bit of a workaholic I didn’t really take the time to fully give myself the same work I was giving to others. COVID has been a blessing in some ways for me, otherwise I would have ignored my bodies signals to slow down.

So I’ll ask, are you listening to what your body needs? Truly, are you?

I have two spots left on my client roster, afterwards I won’t take anyone until spring. DM me, let’s chat!

beckfordfitness

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