York University is one of only a handful of institutions in Canada that has dedicated strength and conditioning specialists for its student-athletes. At York this team is led by Adam Douglas, a certified strength and conditioning specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and a certified exercise physiologist with the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology (CSEP).

Douglas graduated from Queen’s University with a bachelor of physical and health education and a bachelor of arts in health studies, and while attending Queen’s he was also a member of the Gaels football team.

He has trained professional athletes from several major sport associations, including the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Prior to coming to York University he spent one season as the strength and conditioning coach with the Ottawa Senators of the NHL and before that, he was the manager of the Athletic Conditioning Centre in Ottawa, overseeing strength programs with a focus on sport performance. He also previously interned at Cris Carter’s FAST program working with football draft prospects on off-season conditioning and combine preparation.

Douglas has also worked with amateur athletes from both summer and winter sports as they prepared to represent their country at the Olympic Games, and with Hockey Canada and the national women’s hockey program.

As the strength and conditioning specialist, he creates both in-season and off-season strength and conditioning programs for our student-athletes. Every training session is designed for the needs of the athlete and individual sport. The training phase and focus changes throughout the year and are based on the competition schedule and off-season periodization program. We provide our student-athletes with all of the tools necessary to become stronger, faster and more powerful. Douglas also works closely with the athletic therapy group on rehabilitating injured players.

EXCLUSIVE FITNESS CENTRE

The Varsity Strength and Conditioning Centre is for the exclusive use of Lions student-athletes. Training here allows the student-athletes to work in a high-performance environment where all equipment and programming is selected with the needs of the high-performance athlete in mind.

Located on the bottom floor of the Tait McKenzie Centre, the centre features 1,500 square feet of space, including six platforms, Keiser performance equipment and bumper plates.