THE CANADIAN PRESS

MONTREAL -- Anwar Stewart credits eating better and practising yoga for the extra energy he's shown on the field this season.

The Alouettes rush end was named the CFL's defensive player of the week on Tuesday for his play in a last week's 21-8 win over Hamilton, but that was just one of four strong games the 32-year-old has had this season as Montreal has charged out to a 4-0 start.

"I changed a lot in the off-season - my diet, my eating habits, working out," the eighth-year Alouette said. "Everything's good.

"My family's really good. It's like everything goes hand in hand. You can help but smile and enjoy life."

Stewart, the league's defensive player of the year in 2004, looks as fit as he has ever been since he joined the Alouettes in 2002 from the Calgary Stampeders, who cut him twice.

The Panama City, Fla., native is a year-round resident of Montreal, and last winter he went on the team's off-season fitness program. Like many athletes in these days, he took up yoga with fellow defensive end John Bowman.

So far, the results have been exceptional.

Stewart has three sacks and has been consistently in the opposing team's backfield. He even had a nifty play in which he blocked and then intercepted a Darian Durant pass two weeks ago in Saskatchewan.

Part of his regime was cutting out fried and starchy foods, but his new energy also came from a steady training regime and yoga.

"It helps with my balance and flexibility," he said. "They say it's a spiritual thing, but I don't know. I kind of have that wrapped up because I grew up in a spiritual family, but it really helps. The eating and the yoga leans you up. It make you feel longer and strengthens a lot of smaller muscles.

"You go in there and the little guys can hold those poses all day, but the big bulky guys like myself, we're struggling and sweating. They're all laughing at us, but it's cool because I can actually see the difference."

Both Stewart and Bowman have been key men on the league's stingiest defence this season.

Montreal has allowed only 64 points in four games, 28 fewer than the next best defence in Hamilton, for an average of just 16 points a game.

It starts with stopping the run, where the defence has been exceptional.

In the first week, they held Calgary's Joffrey Reynolds to 19 yards on six carries. Then Edmonton's Arkee Whitlock gained only 29 yards on 12 carries. Saskatchewan's Wes Cates got 34 yards on nine tries, and last week, Hamilton's DeAndra Cobb gained a mere 16 yards on seven carries.

That's 98 yards on 34 carries by the opposing club's top tailback over four games.

"We're taking pride in stopping the run because if we can put them in second and long or medium, we know we have a good chance to go out," said Stewart.

"And also, because of the way we've been rushing, we haven't been blitzing, so that's another incentive."

The Alouettes have allowed only 227 total rushing yards, more than 100 fewer than next-best Winnipeg, and also have allowed opponents to complete only 55.1 per cent of their passes.

Montreal had a decent defence last year in taking the East Division before falling to Calgary in the Grey Cup game.

There was major retooling in the off-season as a result.

Defensive back Chip Cox was converted into a linebacker to give them more speed and better pass coverage. Veteran Reggie Hunt was let go and Canadian Shea Emry stepped in at middle linebacker. Rookies Billy Parker and Jerald Brown moved into the defensive back spots and the team added more man-to-man coverage schemes.

As the season started, it was assumed they would have a strong offence because all 12 starters were back, but the defence was a question mark. So far, all of the questions have been answered.

"What everyone wants to do is rush four guys and put enough pressure on the quarterback that we can cover behind it," said head coach Marc Trestman. "Up to this point, we've done a very good job of that."

Cornerback Mark Estelle said the changes fit right into his strengths as the team's best cover back.

"I'm a man-to-man cover corner and we're playing it a bit more," he said. "We have some additions to our game and some good rookie guys. I feel we have one of the most talented secondaries in the league."

The defence will be severely tested when the Alouettes play at Edmonton on Thursday.

Even though they trounced the Eskimos 50-16 on July 9 in Montreal, it had a lot to do with Edmonton playing poorly.

Eskimos quarterback Ricky Ray's statistics are below average this season, but Trestman says it's just a matter of time before that rights itself.

"We're going to see a different Edmonton team than we saw a few weeks ago," said Trestman.

"When you face Ricky Ray you're really tested because you think he's down and he's not down, you think he's been hit 10 times and he still gets back on his feet. He's the truest of champions. He's an amazing player to me. I watch him with complete respect because he'll take some vicious hits and get right back up and play. The game is never over as long as he's standing, so it's a great challenge."