CANMORE – If Omnia Movement and Performance has its way, you won’t need to be the Six Million Dollar man to get better, faster, stronger through science.
Chelsea Deschamps, owner of Omnia, is working with clients to provide the best possible workout through using the most current research in a way that works for them.
“My goal is always to make it doable for people regardless of their life situation,” she said.
“There’s a methodical physiological base for everything that we’re doing”
Deschamps is a self-professed “movement nerd,” who has spent thousands of hours in the gym, as both a high performance athlete and a coach.
She holds a masters of kinesiology from the University of Calgary, is a certified personal trainer and a certified strength and conditioning specialist.
For her, taking clients to the next level in strength training means applying the best possible workout techniques so they are able to lift smarter to become stronger without injury.
She said although some of the exercises might look the same, there are key differences in how she works with clients to tailor how those exercises are performed to meet their
fitness goals.
“It might not look that different from the outside, but [it is] in the programming and the attention that you put into your workout.”
Key to this is ensuring the proper form when lifting weights, changing the number of repetitions performed, and even the length of time it takes to lift and put down a weight.
She said that most people don’t realize when they think they are lifting heavy at the gym, they’re actually not reaching their full muscle potential.
“The strength adaptation is when we put a large load on there and push what you can lift so that you’re struggling enough that you have to recruit the last 25 per cent of that muscle,” she said.
“But when you do get to maximum lifting, you’re struggling to the last of the sticky points of a lift, like a bench press or squat, then that’s when you’re increasing your access to the last 25 per cent of your muscle because your brain is like, ‘oh, we actually need that.’ ”
“The scientific half of it doesn’t look scientific on the outside, but it’s kind of in how you put the parameters into a training program.”
Another key component of lifting heavy is doing it safely, and Deschamps’ experience allows her to work directly with her clients to get the best possible form that won’t hurt them.
“Everything that I’ve done with my clients was done on myself at some point,” she said.
Her educational and athletic background plays a large part in her ability to gather and disseminate the highest quality workout forms and information for her clients.
To that end, she offers her clients annotated videos of their workouts, helping them visually to see where they can improve. She also wants to make sure that her clients aren’t emulating what she says is poor form from workout gurus on social media or YouTube.
Deschamps offers in person training, and online training programs.
In addition to the video offerings, she provides feedback through online software to custom tailor the intensity of workouts.
The online feedback allows clients to workout anywhere in the world, and in cases where they might not have access to a full gym, Deschamps is able to tailor workouts for what is available.
She says that this has been particularly useful for athletes traveling to compete at various events around Canada, and for clients travelling internationally.
Prices start at $100 per month for online workout programs, with an additional $20 per month for video feedback. She also offers in person coaching for $100 per hour.
For more information, or to book a free consultation session, see www.omniamoveandperform.com.
