Well, hockey fans, as the Vancouver Canucks news cycle slows to a crawl, I'm trying to get creative about new hockey angles that I can share with you in these summer months.
Today, I got up at dawn and headed down to the Olympic torch at the Vancouver Convention Centre to work out with Edmonton Oilers captain Andrew Ference and a group of like-minded enthusiasts.
Our outdoor workout happened on the plaza right next to Trevor Linden's Club 16 fitness centre in the Convention Centre, so I guess you could say that we were "Canucks-adjacent"?
I'm not typically an early riser but I'd seen Ference in action with his November Project group on that Oilers docu-series "Oil Change" that runs on Sportsnet. I thought it was a very cool concept so I wanted to check it out for myself. Figured it's the only chance I'll ever get to train alongside an NHL pro.
As this
Boston Globe article
explains, the movement was started by a couple of rowers in the Boston area in 2011 with an eye towards finding motivation for offseason training.
It has grown from there and now boasts "tribes" in 17 cities who meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6:30 a.m. Ference got involved when he was in Boston as part of the Bruins and formed a new tribe when he arrived in Edmonton last year.
Today, he was in Vancouver on some family business and explained that group leaders like him, who travel frequently, will often host "nomad" workouts like the one we did today to help spread the doctrine.
The workouts are free, require no equipment and are open to people of all fitness levels—though you'd better be prepared to work. There's a real emphasis of support and positivity that comes from the roots of the program, and Ference delivered that in spades.
Accompanied by his wife and two young daughters—who are all November Project veterans themselves—Ference offered warm welcomes to all the nervous participants who rolled onto the scene and encouraged people to introduce themselves to each other, and to interact. I've led run clinics in the past and always tried to foster that spirit of camaraderie to help the group bond together and support each other. His tactics were masterful and highly effective.
I guess that's the skillset that earns you the captaincy of your hometown hockey team!
Here's a shot taken by one of the members of the group, before we got started:
The workout consisted of two sections: 25 minutes of running—with plenty of stairs involved—and an exercise he called the "Sebastian," named after an early participant: seven minutes of continuous burpees.
More team-building was worked into the running segment. After we completed one of three loops—at our own pace—we had pick a person we didn't know and play rock/paper/scissors. The winner would determine which loop we'd do next.
I ended up running significant chunks of most loops with different people, talking about their backgrounds and what brought them out to the workout. Everyone had a great attitude and was very encouraging of each other. Even got to do one lap with the man himself: he hung with me until I understood the directions, then left me in his dust.
The final requirement after the burpee torture: sweaty hugs with three strangers, then a group photo. To cap things off, Ference pulled out a stencil and some spray paint and personally tagged the shirts of those who wanted a souvenir of their morning's activities:
I was wearing black, so I got him to tag my towel.
I only heard smatterings of hockey talk. There were some displaced Edmontonians in the crowd who'd come out specifically for a chance to interact with Ference. There was a strong contingent on hand from Lululemon and Vega nutrition products.
I wouldn't be surprised to see either of those companies get involved with continuing the November Project here in Vancouver on a permanent basis. It's a great experience and I'd encourage you to give it a try if you get a chance.
I also came away very impressed with Ference. He's found a highly social way to go about his offseason training. His family's terrific. And his enthusiasm for the program is definitely contagious.
Listed at 5'11" and 187 pounds, Ference is definitely on the small side for an NHL defenseman. Today, I saw how his heart and his commitment to fitness have been key parts of keeping him at hockey's top level for 15 years.
Hope you enjoyed that little diversion from our regularly scheduled programming. I'll turn the focus back to more traditional Canucks news in the next blog.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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