Today we’d like to introduce you to Clance Laylor.
As one of only four PICP Level 5 Master Strength Coaches in Canada, Clance Laylor has emerged as one of the most respected names in professional strength and performance training.
Founder of the Athlete Activation System Strength Coaches Certification, a complex, systematically periodized athletic development approach that has maximized the performance of elite athletes from a variety of sports.
A secret weapon of top Olympians, competitive athletes, coaches, and driven professionals alike, Laylor’s reputation as a tough, no-nonsense Trainer skyrocketed with the success of his young client P.K. Subban. The star defenseman of the Montreal Canadians trained with Laylor from his early days in the OHL through the NHL draft to his recent win of the coveted Norris Trophy and an Olympic Gold at Sochi in 2014 as part of Team Canada.
In addition to Subban, Laylor also trains key NHL players on teams such as the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins while working closely with leading coaches – from rugby to weightlifting — to develop programs to optimize the performance of their athletes.
He has also been responsible for the strength and conditioning training of Braxton Papadopoulos, Gold Medalist in the 63 kg class of women’s wrestling at the 2015 Pan American Games and medal favorite for the 2016 Olympics.
Under his tutelage, Laylor’s own 23-year old daughter, Maya Laylor, has developed into the reigning Canadian junior weightlifting champion and record holder and is favored to represent Canada at the Olympics in 2020.
Background & Methodology
Laylor’s approach is set apart by his tough, results-driven approach and science-based methodology. A former sprinter who suffered a career-ending injury, he went on to train with some of the best strength coaches in the world, including Charlie Francis, Charles Poliquin, and Pierre Roy.
In 2013, he was accredited as a Master Coach through the Poliquin International Certification Program (PICP) putting him in an elite group of 16 coaches worldwide (only 4 in Canada) to have attained this level of excellence.
Certifications:
Director of Poliquin Performance Centre, 2007, 2008 (Toronto)
Certified Poliquin International Coach (Specialized)
Poliquin Instant Muscle Activation Techniques, 2007
Sports Specific Training Internship, 2007 (Sweden)
Society of Weight Training and Injury Specialists, 2004, 2005
Resistance Training Specialist Lecture: Biomechanics and engineering of the musculature, 2004
Upper-body functional muscle testing, Lower back, hip and lower extremity functional muscle testing, with Dr. Ken Kinakin, 2003
Certified Fitness Trainer, International Sports Sciences Association
Certified Specialist in Performance Nutrition (Specialized), International Sports Sciences Association
Certified Specialist in Sports Conditioning (Specialized), International Sports Sciences Association
Before starting his own strength training business in downtown Toronto, he was director of the Poliquin Performance Centre in Toronto. Prior to that, he worked overseas with the Swedish hockey team, training the athletes and developing performance optimization and training programs.
Today he trains both executives and Olympic, professional and amateur athletes at the LPS Athletic Centre in North York, ON. Laylor has developed this unique LPS Off Season Program to help both professional and amateur athletes improve their strength, power, speed, and conditioning between seasons.
Athlete Activation System Certification
Laylor’s 30+ years of research and development has also led him to co-found & develop the Athlete Activation System (AAS), a complex, systematically periodized athletic development approach that has maximized the performance of elite athletes from a variety of sports.
The fundamental goal of the AAS is to provide strength coaches with the practical and theoretical knowledge that will enable them to achieve optimal results with the athletes they train. This is real world strength and conditioning for athletes, which has been tested and proven at the highest level of competitive sports. It is a direct response to many trendy training methods that pop up so regularly.
In Laylor’s opinion, most of these are simply quick money-making schemes promoting systems or gimmicks that are trying to replace the hard work that is involved in real training for maximum performance.
Weightlifting Foundation
Among his accomplishments, Laylor is most proud of his foundation “Lifters Life”, a non-profit organization that builds awareness and support of weightlifters in Ontario, along with promoting the many benefits of weightlifting for improved sports performance.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Definitely not a smooth road, biggest obstacle is staying true to my values, even if it means losing clients. There are so many gimmicks, misinformation for sale in my industry which makes it hard for clients to know what is truth and what are lies. But our results speak for its self and that’s how I built my business through hard working core values that builds a culture of good habits and results.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with LPS Athletic Centre – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am a strength and conditioning coach.
I specialize in building tremendous speed, power, strength in athletes. A well as injury prevention, we build durable athletes that can with stand the stresses and grind of their sport.
We are known for getting athletes strong, fast and powerful.
Our hard working culture, athletes who don’t work hard are asked to leave or our gym culture usually pushes them out. We don’t care how much money you make, no pre Madonna’s in our gym.
What sets us apart in combination with our culture is are ability to turn athletes into an athlete who moves with fluidity and is flexible, strong and explosive. Most athletes are tight and robotic, we reverse this.
Habits drive Behaviour
Behaviour drives Results!”
– Alan Stein
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I believe 90% of the strength and condition programs for athletes actually potentiate injury over a period of 4 years plus of being exposed to incorrect training methods. Over the next two years I plan on slowly turning this around by exposing coaches and athletes to the correct methods. This will be huge for our company, it will be a game changer.
Contact Info:
- Address: LPS Athletic Centre
12-125 Martin Ross Avenue
North York, ON M3J 2L9 - Website: https://lpsathletic.com/
- Phone: T. +1 416 360 0460
- Email: train@lpsathletic.com
Image Credit:
LPS Athletic Centre
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