LAST POST!

Hi Guys,

This will be the final post on the blogger site...don't panic...I'm still going to be sharing my thoughts on all things strength and conditioning, it's just I've got a new home. Check out the new site www.nickgrantham.com - it is still a bit rough around the edges but it is going to shape up to be a great site. More than just a blog.

Thanks for following and I hope you continue to follow me over at www.nickgrantham.com.

WWW.NICKGRANTHAM.COM

Go Backwards to Move Forwards

OK, this is not a post about taking a false step to move forward (we can do that another time!). A colleague sent me a clip of a coach with a nice, very polished video of some 'tennis specific' speed and agility drills. Knowing that I work with a group of young and talented tennis players, he thought I would be interested. I was...what I found really interesting was that all the drills were linear drills. There were some 'lateral' drills in there but the lateral drills were not lateral - facing forward at the start of the drill, then turning 90 degrees and running forwards is not a lateral drill, its just a linear drill in a different direction! I was also interested to see the distances covered (at least 20m)- the coach must have their tennis players playing on a huge court! Finally - there were no drills where the coach went backwards! This is one thing that really boils my P**S! The title of the blog post says it all, we need to coach our athletes to go backwards - but most books/DVD's are packed full of drills that go forwards, or left/right - maybe I just live in an alternate universe where people do have to move backwards from time to time!

It was a nice video but the content was lacking.

My advice for anyone wanting to develop tennis (or any sport really)specific speed and agility would be:
1. Work all multidimensional (that's one of Vern Gambetta's) - forward,BACKWARDS, left, right, up etc etc.
2. Keep the distances short - in tennis a point is played with between 3-7 changes of direction in a confined area - if your drills are in excess of 10m then you need to tighten things up.
3. Practice going BACKWARDS - everyone wants to get fast going forwards - everyone forgets that you need to be good going backwards as well!

Once again we have coaches taking 'track' drills that get people moving fast in a straight line (with the occasional left turn) trying to convince us that they will help with the performance of a multidimensional sport such as tennis! STOP IT!

Do You Need A Coach?

I'm still amazed at how often I watch people working out in a gym for months, even years, without getting any results. They must be happy spending significant amounts of cash on gym memberships, content that they are not really getting any results. Why do people have the mistaken belief that they know what to do when it comes to getting fit...news flash...you don't.

If I want my car fixed I go to a mechanic, if my boiler breaks down I call a plumber...the list could go on. I, like many other will pay for an expert to come and fix things. Why? Becasue they are experts at what they do, they will solve my problem quickly and efficiently. But when it comes to fitness everyone is an instant expert! Even my friends and family become expert,s having read the latest training or nutrition advice in HIYA or OI magazine! They are happy to tinker around with the most important thing in their life (their body - HEALTH and fitness) and work it out as they go along!

So lets have a reality check. If you are serious about getting into the best shape of your life, then guess what - you need to hire an expert to help you to achieve your goals. Research proves that you'll have more success if you hire a coach - you will also hit your targets a whole lot quicker (so in the long run you'll actually end up saving time and money). Data shows that working out with a coach is an effective method for changing attitudes (gets you out of your comfort zone and breaks your habits) and thereby increasing the amount of physical activity you do, which will make you fitter and healthier. It also shows that you are more likely to have long-term success - we can all hit the gym for a couple of weeks or sort our nutrition out for a couple of days, but you need to be in it for the long haul (Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2003) 2, 10-14). Just in case you are still not convinced and think that you know more than most coaches (forget the fact that I spent 4 years gaining undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications and then a further 12 years working on the floor to back up the book smarts), here are some more scientific facts:
•Supervised training with a coach is advantageous compared to figuring it out on your own.
•Women training in health clubs don't select appropriate training intensities needed for gains in performance.
•Training under supervision and guidance of a coach leads to greater gains in strength, workout intensity and workout levels. (Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol22 (1) 2008
Ratamess, NA, Faigenbaum, AD, Hoffman, JR & Kang, J. )

Still, want to go it alone...crack on...but remember, you only get one body...think carefully about who you want to be looking after it.

Fitness Camps - Why are they so popular?

Why do people drag their backsides out of bed at 06:15 to go and train in the wind and rain when they could be grabbing an extra hour in bed catching z's?

Let's find out. I sat down today with the owner of the NE's most successful fitness camp (sorry if that upsets some of the other bootcamp companies out there but that is just the way it is!)to find out how is has transformed himself from an overweight out of shape engineer into one of the countries leading body transformation experts.

Paul Mort is an intersting character and has more energy than the energizer bunny. We spent 15 minutes exploring his background, grabbing some top fat loss tips and finding out why he is killing it in the NE compared to the competition. Love him or hate him, love bootcamps or hate bootcamps - it doesn't really matter - this guy gets results. Anyway, the boy can talk, the interview is in three parts!

Intro


Part II

P.S. Apologies for the quality of the video - I've not worked out why we look like it was shot is sepia! Anyway, I'm a coach, not a cameraman!

Part III

What makes a good S&C Coach

I delivered a session last night at the NE S&C Forum. I was opening up the topic of what makes a good S&C coach and challenging the group to answer the following questions:
1. Do you need to demonstrate the drill/exercise to be a good coach?
2. Do you need a variety of coaching styles to tackle a range of clients? (Young – Old, Male – Female, Able Bodied – Disabled, Team – Individual, High Performance – Average Joe)
3. Is it our job to motivate...are we entertainers, motivators or coaches?
4. How do we get our clients ‘focused’, ‘switched on’?
5. Is there a right or wrong way to coach?

The discussions that followed each question were very good and it was great to see everyone parking their ego's at the door and voicing their opinions. At the end I asked each coach for one piece of coaching advice. Here are the responses (some may seem obvious, but we often overlook the obvious!):

1. Always try to choose methods that will work best, not just what might the easiest or most convenient.
2. Recognise that all athletes are individuals with different motivations.
3. Relate sessions to upcoming goals.
4. Get to know the athlete, train them for what they need to be not what you want them to be.
5. Always maintain a fun element.
6. Treat the athletes with respect - as you would expect them to treat you.
7. Be able to coach a skill in more than one way.
8. Educate the athletes as to why they are doing what they are doing.
9. Try being coached yourself to experience an athlets perspective.
10. Be reflective on your practice/sessions.
11. Start sessions the way you mean to carry on.
12. Dont get sued (if what you are coaching is so dangerous that it could result in a court case then maybe you need to change your programme!)
13. Stick to core principles and philosophies but be flexible within them (big rocks).
14. Use simple but effective progressions
15. Athletes will respect the coach through the coach's example and behaviour
16. Dont change too much at once - try not too be overly innovative.
17. Dont give all coaching cues at once - and not during sets/reps. Wait til recovery and pin point 2/3 (max) coaching points

Going back to the 5th question - Is there a right or wrong way to coach? In my opinion - absolutely. Coaching is a process and you need to adapt your coaching to suit the athlete/client/situation. If you only have one style you will be limited.

On The Move

As we head into the last quarter of 2009 there are going to be a few changes! Don't worry, the content is still going to be as good as ever...we are just going to bring things up to speed with a new great looking blog that I know is going to be really user friendly. My IT guys are working flat out to get the site up and running and I'll let you all know when we are ready to do the switch so you can get the new site into your favourites list!

Coaching Female Clients

One question that I get asked a lot is how do I coach female clients. Do I take a different approach to working with male clients. Bottom line is no - I train the person in front of me, regardless of gender. That said there may be some subtle differences in the way I interact with a female client compared to a male client but whether you are male or female you still need to get in and train hard!

Without doubt, if I ever have any questions regarding training my female clients there is one person I go to. My go to girl is Rachel Cosgrove. Rachel knows her stuff. Why? She has been where a lot of my female clients have been - out of shape and not happy with how she looks or feels. She know's first hand what it takes to get into fantastic shape and she is now a hugely successful coach - she gets results.

If you want to find out how Rachel can help you to transform your body check out her fantastic new site The Female Body Breakthrough

Train With Intensity

I recently posted a clip of a training session that I love, up on our Smart Fitness group on Facebook. I've had a lot of comments (mainly from my clients who are enjoying seeing their coach suffer for a change, and others who think I'm a bit bonkers - masochist was the term used by one of my clients!). I also had comments from two guys in the industry that I have a huge amount of time and respect for:

Alwyn Cosgrove "...Good face on the sprints!..." -this is a face he recognises from back in the day when we were training partners - the shutters were down!

Robert Dos Remedios "...great face....that's what I talk about in my lectures about overload.....lots of personal confrontation going on there HAHA!..."

Now as coincidence would have it I started reading a book today about Marco Pantani (an iconic cyclist who won both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in the same year - that doesn't happen all that often). And this was the preface;

"Io amo la montagna, ma nel momento della fatica ho dentro un grande odio. Cosi cerco di abbreviare la mia agonia"

I bet you didn't know I could speak Italian! Basically this is what he says;

"I love the mountains, but in the moment of exertion, I'm filled with deep hated. So I try to shorten then suffering"

For me this pretty much sums up how I train and what I expect from my clients! (I know it won't compare to what he put his body through), but for me I want to get the maximum out of every training session that I client do so that I can spend as little time training as possible! Check the video out, during that last set be under no illusion that I'm hating every second, but as soon as that 10th set is finished I'm really, really happy. Why? Because I know that in that short 20 minute session I've pushed myself as hard as I can and the benefits will be with me for a long time after the session has finished.

It is not about duration of exercise - it is about the intensity you take to the session. Just like Alwyn and Coach Dos, I'm always looking for ways to shorten the suffering - it just means that if you train with us you need to bring some intensity to your session! If you still wear a badge of honour because your training session lasted 2 hours then maybe it is time for a rethink - Imagine what else you could be doing with all that spare time!

Pre-Season Rugby Testing

No rugby players were harmed during the making of this video! I've been working with several local players who are wanting to get in shape for the forthcoming season. Before I put their programmes together we took a look at what was in their locker!This is just a short clip of how tough the testing is....imagine the training!

Stong Shoulders

If you grapple as part of your sport (rugby, wrestling, judo MMA) then add this into your conditioning sessions. I showed this clip at a shoulder conference full of physio's and surgeons and once they had uncovered their eyes they loved it - if your sport requires a strong and stable shoulder complex then you need to train it!

Fat Loss Strategies of Elite Athletes

I've recently linked up with one of the countries leading nutrition experts, Matt Lovell. Matt has worked with the England Rugby team on a number of their campaigns and has helped these player get in great shape with his proven nutrition strategies. He has put together a great resource that lets everyone out there tap into to some of the previously closely gaurded secrets that have helped the athletes he has worked with get lean.

I'm sure you will all have your holidays booked - if you are not looking too good in your speedo's you should check out Matt's programme and get lean in just 4 weeks.

In his plan Matt will explain

Cutting edge fatloss strategies used by international athletes now available to the
General Public.
No hype or bull- only proven stategies that burn fat

Inside, you will discover Matt Lovell's (England Rugby Nutritionist) strategies...

# 1 reason why most Dieters fail and how you can protect yourself from this curse
Video -TIME BUSTER- How to prepare 5 fat burning meals in under 15 minutes.

7 most common questions people ask about fatloss... and the answers.

How to time your meals (allowing you to eat more but still lose weight)

Three Weight Loss mistakes almost everyone makes (are you making them)?

Introducing Duncan French

Back in the day I had a website that ran a lot of Q&A's with leading experts in their chosen areas. They were all text heavy and took a long time to read through and produce. I've got a video camera now and we have already posted a couple of entries from the legend that is Alwyn Cosgrove! Here is a quick intro to a great S&C coach based right here in the UK, Duncan French.

Interview with a strength coach - Duncan French

Check out the first instalment which will bring you up to speed with Duncan's background.



Keep an eye out for future posts where Duncan and I discuss a range of topics, including:

1. Myths of youth resistance training
2. The importance of recovery and regeneration
3. Why endurance athletes that don't strength train are missing a trick
4. Why female clients and athletes can train like the guys and still look great and deliver fantastic performances.

Storm Force Kettlebell Course

Smart Fitness is teaming up with kettlebell expert Jon Le Tocq (creator of Storm Force Fitness and Worlds Toughest Workouts) to bring his Kettlebell Tour to Newcastle in September. The event will be taking place on Saturday 5th September at the Smart Fitness training facility within the Complete Football Centre, and will run from 10:00-17:00 (spaces are limited to just 16 so book now to avoid dissapointment).

What’s On The Tour?

1. Learn to master the key exercises
2. Muscle activation and mobilisation to eradicate problem areas / injuries
3. Using full body tension to increase strength instantly
4. How to develop awesome power and power endurance without needing Olympic lifting
5. Holding the kettlebell to greatly reduce callouses
6. Structure workouts for different goals
7. Bonus ’show boat’ exercises to practice!
8. Actual workouts so you know how they should feel!

Tour bonuses…..
You’ll also get all of the following extras for completing the course so you are perfectly set to wake up the next day and transform your fitness and physique…
1. Kettlebell Technique Development Manual And Videos
2. Metabolic Accelerator Nutrition System
3. Kettlebell Program e-book with programs for strength, conditioning, fat loss and muscle building including how to use GVT and EDT with kettlebells for muscle growth
4. Five Stage Flexibility Program
….and much more!

This is going to be a great workshop and is open to anyone that wants to learn how to get into great shape with a fast and effective training method (athletes, PT's, S&C coaches, weekend warriors)

For more information and to book your place on the Kettlebell Workshop check out the website HERE

What Makes A Good Coach?

I was recently talking to a local fitness coach/business owner and we were discussing the issues around hiring coaches. The final upshot of the conversation was that we don't need to have the very best, most highly qualified coach that can real off complex training theory(I can teach them the technical skills required). What we need, that sets a good coach apart from an average coach is the ability to 'connect'.

Sure I need my coaches to have a good background knowledge of strength and conditioning but more importantly I want them to be meticulous when it comes to talking to clients and athletes and listening to them. Our initial evaluation is a great opportunity to gather a whole host of information that will influence the final programme that is produced. Yes we look at them physically, but more often than not more is revealed during the informal conversations that take place.

I feel strongly that whilst we are producing good coaches with a sound background in the science of conditioning, we don't always produce coaches that can actually 'connect' with their client or athlete. If you can't connect, you can't coach. The coach and client/athlete need to understand and trust each other, that can only happen if they have taken the time to connect.

Priming

Can thinking fit help us get fit? This is not a sales ad for the latest quick fix fitness plan - I'm sorry, you can't simply lay on the couch thinking yourself to a fitter, healthier you! But what if there was a simple strategy that could potentially help you maximise each and every training session?

The way you approach a training session can have a huge impact on the final outcome (both as a coach and as a client). Let's face it, there are times when you or your clients don't feel like training/coaching. It's these moments when you can make a difference through PRIMING. Have a try the next time that you don't fancy training/coaching. Spend 5 minutes just thinking about your final goal, how great you will feel when you achieve it - you will have a better training session - guaranteed.

If you are coach you can influence how well your clients/athelte's train by simply priming them before and during the session. Make use of those snippets of conversation during a training session to reinforce the benefits of the training they are undertaking (be a bit subtle about it!) all you are trying to do is put your client into a 'fit' frame of mind.

If you are interested in reading a bit more about the effects of PRIMING, pick up a copy of Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell.

Rat Race - Edinburgh 2009

Well I'm back safe and sound (much to the relief of my wife - she knows that when it all gets a bit competitive I can be a bit daft) - best not talk about the last 5 minutes through the streets of Edinburgh as we raced to make it back before the cut off time - it all got a bit....well....lets leave it at that!

The event was fantastic. I've done a bit of running, a fair amount of mountain biking and I've even completed some triathlons but I have to say this was the most challenging and yet enjoyable event I've ever taken part in.

Me and Tom looking fresh!

I entered this event back in November with my mate Tom, we both keep pretty active and didn't really know what to expect. What followed was 2 days of full on physical exertion and some serious team work. Saturday saw us running through the streets and parks of Edinburgh as we gathered points at each checkpoint. Tom is a pretty strong runner so I spent 2.5 hours looking at his arse from about a 20m distance - with just 45 minutes gone I was already suffering but just had to keep on going. Tom telling me we only had another hour to go didn't do much for my motivation! On the other hand a large group of females on a hen night was just the motivation I needed to stop walking and start running with a spring in my step! We completed the event on time but were disappointed with our points total. I couldn't help thinking that I had held Tom back and we could have picked up some more points.

Anyway, we didn't have time to worry because all of a sudden it was 07:30 in the morning and we were studying our map working out what the next 8 hours would bring on the mountain bikes! The bike section was our strongest day, Tom suffered a bit halfway through but dug in and kept the pace. Some of the challenges were funny (throwing each other in the sea!) and others were tough - cycle up a bloody great big hill to a lake on a windswept hilltop only to be told that one of you has to get in the lake and swim 100m! OK, 100m is not far, but it is when you have 2.5 hours if running and 6 hours of cycling in your legs! Lets just say the water was cold!

We raced back and finished with 1000 points (the maximum) and with 90 seconds to spare! We felt we had done ourselves justice and we have checked the results to find that out of the male pairs - we were 7th!!!! 30th out of all the teams (that included the 3 man teams). Now, here is the problem - having come so close without too much planning and preparation, I'm now starting to think how much I need to do to make it onto the podium! The running is the weak area and the place to make up the points.

If anyone is looking for a challenge and a great weekend I can really recommend the Rat Race. When it comes to Newcastle in 2010 - I'll be at the starting line!

Fitness On The Go

I've had a pretty crazy week this week and I'm finishing it all off with an urban adventure race (The Rat Race) in Edinburgh - 2 days running and cycling around the city, with some kayaking, abseiling and other generally crazy activities thrown into the mix.

I'm managing to keep on top of my training during the final build up for the event with some short yet highly effective training sessions. This is one that I banged out in just 20 minutes between clients (that is a long session for me - most of my work is 5-10 minutes) - interestingly I had a medical yesterday as well (I'm asthmatic so I have to have an annual check on lung function etc - my scores were up on previous years...good news and due in no small part to my training).

Here's yesterdays training session.

Strength Circuit (15 seconds work :15 seconds recovery - repeat for total of 5 mins)

1. Jump Squats

2. DB Swings

3. Push Ups

4. Mountain climbers

Tabata Row

Set the ergometer to 3 on the resistance and then complete 8 repetitions of 20s work : 10s recovery

At this point I was ready to drop and was getting some odd looks from the gym bunnies that were doing their steady state cardio whilst watching TV and reading books! Knowing I had a bit of extra time I went at it again and repeated the sequence. BRUTAL!

I'm really enjoying my training at the moment and the intensity is really what does it for me. If you are also looking to get in great shape and drop some fat, and are looking to do it in a hurry then check out Craig Ballantynes - Turbulance Training. This programme is a very time efficient, short workout programme that builds muscle and burns fat without you having to spend hours in the gym. I love it!

Thin Slices and Locked Doors

I'm possibly the slowest reader in the world with the memory of a goldfish! I still read as much as I can though. The latest book that I'm working through was given to me a couple of months ago by a strength and conditioning intern that I mentored whilst working at the EIS. The book is called BLINK and is written by Malcolm Gladwell who also wrote THE TIPPING POINT (another great read).

I'm zipping through this one as it is a great read (a real page turner! - anyone that is a fan of comedian Michael McIntyre will understand why that is a funny thing to say about a book). Anyway, the reason for this post is that one thing I tend to point out during talks that I give is that whilst research is fine and can be very useful it is usually playing catch up with what is happening out in the real world. As Alwyn Cosgrove likes to sum it up 'researchers are historians!'

One story that I recount is that when I started off working with the British Gymnastics team as a young graduate I thought I knew everything there was about sport science! I couldn't work out why the coaches that I watched didn't appear to monitor the gymnasts training more closely.

I monitored and evaluated every training session to 'check' that the coaches were working the gymnasts appropriately (reps, sets, volumes, intensity, work rest ratios, the lot). At the end of a month long research period my findings concluded that the coaches were spot on - they didn't use heart rate monitors, they didn't capture hours of footage on video, they didn't use a stopwatch - they just knew. This was the 'art' of coaching. In that month I learnt a lot about coaching in the real world! These coaches were able to "THIN SLICE". Through years of coaching they were able read deeply into the narrowest of slivers of experience. They didn't need to have facts and figures-they just knew - FANTASTIC.

Back to BLINK. In one of the opening chapters of the book there are a couple of pages took me back 10 years to my work with gymnastics. Here are some of the key sentences.

"Our world requires that decisions be sourced and footnoted, and if we say how we feel, we must also be prepared to elaborate on why we feel that way"

When I spoke to the coaches they were not always able to articulate why they performed a certain type of training. My scientific mind then had alarm bells ringing. If they can't explain why, then how do they know it is working. I had to try to find out why - it simply wasn't enough for them to refer to instict or gut feel!

For me, like many others it was a lot easier to listen to the scientists, after all, as Malcolm Gladwell points out "...because the scientists could provide pages and pages of documentation supporting their conclusions."

What I learnt back in 1998 has stood me in good stead during my coaching career. Working in sport is not an exact science. Yes we should always strive to understand why we are training in a certain way but we must also acknowledge the 'art' of coaching. Sometimes we just have a hunch, an instinct, a gut feel that what we are doing or seeing is the way to go.

"We need to respect the fact that it is possible to know without knowing why we know and accept -that- sometimes we're better off that way."

Quick Fire Top 10

Here is another one from the archives. Eric Cressey asked me to give him my top ten pieces of training advice that would help the readers of his newsletter become leaner, stronger, faster, and more muscular? Here's my respsonse.

1. Set goals – SMART goals so that you know where the journey is going to take you and how you are going to get to your destination.

2. Keep a training diary – You need to track your progress.

3. Train consistently – Set a plan and stick to it. It’s all too easy to say, “Hey, I’ll train today.” If you don’t schedule a time to train, chances are you will get to the end of the day and you will have missed your session.

4. Recover well – anyone that follows my blog will understand why!

5. Concentrate on the 98% - Everyone is so busy trying to find the extra 1 or 2 percent that they forget about the other 98%! - Do the basics well - repeat!

6. Include conditioning work (prehab/remedial/injury prevention….call it what you like….my choice is conditioning) in your training session. Superset between the main lifts – that way the work gets done and you will be on the way to becoming “bulletproof.”

7. Replace steady-state running with high intensity intervals – Come on, do I really need to explain this one? Intervals will give you more bang for your buck than slow steady-state running.

8. Don’t get hung up on TVA recruitment – Isolating a muscle will not necessarily transfer to improved core strength during athletic movements. Train how you are going to perform; make sure you hit all of the major muscle groups (rectus abdominus, obliques, erector spinae, etc.).

9. Learn to handle your bodyweight – I’ve worked with elite gymnasts – these guys are super strong. I don’t really care what your bench is if you can’t even handle your own bodyweight with good form. Don’t neglect the basics (see my point 5).

10. Whole body hypertrophy programmes – I’m with Alwyn Cosgrove on this one. Why go for split routines when you can get a greater training effect from a whole body hypertrophy routine?

Recovery and Regeneration

Anyone that has followed my work over the years knows that I'm a huge believer in the benefits of recovery and regeneration - in my mind recovery interventions can make or break your training. Hours training in the gym can be rendered useless if you don't take care of business outside of training.

We are at the business end of the year for a lot of the guys I work with and I've put together a short video just to act as a reminder of the key things they need to consider when it comes to recovery and regeneration. I've condensed a 90 minute presentation and extensive e-manual into a 4 minute video! (I sound like I have a cold on the video - apologies - I think I need to play around with my microphone settings!)

If you want more information then you can check out Recovery and Regeneration: The Essential Guide To Training Hard Without Falling Apart. As I highlight in the video rigorous scientific investigations looking at the effectiveness of recovery strategies are rare. However, anecdotal reports from coaches and athletes continue to grow. So I could wait for another 10-15 years for the science to catch up before bringing you up to speed on recovery or, seeing as I know that you can't always hang around for the science to catch up, I could tell you what's currently happening in the field and how you can improve your training programmes by taking care of recovery. The decision was made and now you can get your hands on the e-manual you have been waiting for!

Coaching the Coaches

I've just got back from a great coaching conference hosted by County Durham Sport. The two day County Durham Sport Coaches Conference (was an opportunity for local coaches to develop their knowledge and understanding of key coaching concepts. I had a busy day, delivering two sessions.

The first session was looking at Fitness Monitoring and the final session was exploring programme design. The sessions were great and whilst there was a wide range in coaching experience everyone got stuck in and contributed to the learning experience.

I was up against legendary coach, Dr Frank Dick OBE, who was delivering a parallel session at the same time as my fitness monitoring session! Once we had established that everyone who was in my audience actually wanted to be there we got cracking! In one way it was reassuring to have such a good turn out for the session, despite someone of Franks stature talking at the same time - it confirmed that the delegates really wanted to learn about fitness testing.

When I talk about fitness monitoring I have to qoute Alwyn Cosgrove "If you ain't assessing, you are just guessing!" - how true (the cartoon sums it up!). We had a great hands on session which highlighted how fitness monitoring didn't have to use state of the art expensive equipment - something that I know the coaches attending the session appreciates, as budgets are always tight! (nice form by the way Andy - once a sprinter, always a sprinter!)

The programme design session was a monster! Cover every aspect of programme design in an hour and half - the mission impossible soundtrack just kept going round and round in my head! This was a content heavy session but I think my opening slides really say it all.

Well done to the County Durham Sport team for organising a great event - thanks for the invitation Catherine, I had a blast and I hope I get called back next year - just don't put me up against a coaching legend!

Steelman Triathlon

Just a quick one to wish all the triathlete's that I've worked with recently the best of luck in today's Steelman event in Cleveland. There should be some great battles taking place today - especially amongst all the guys and girls that train with me at Smart Fitness. Have a good one, it's going to be hot!

Training Ballet Dancers

I've been looking back throuh some of my archives and I'm going to start posting up some of my old Q&A's. These are not available anywhere else (due to the fact that the building that held the servers for my very first website burnt down!).

First up we have an interesting Q&A with Nick Allen. Nick runs the rehab for one of the UK's premier ballet companies. In his interview he shares with us how he has transitioned from the world of professional rugby to working with professional dancers.

NG: Thank you for the interview. Why don't you start by telling us a little bit about your current commitments?

NA: Thanks for the invite. At the moment I am the Clinical director of the Jerwood Centre. For those who are not familiar with it, it is a £¼ million rehabilitation centre specifically designed for elite level dancers and athletes. I have also continued my work with England Hockey and sit on a register available to other National Bodies who require clinicians with international or elite level experience.

NG: Nick, you've been around a bit!! Can you tell the reader your educational or previous career background and how you ended moving from professional rugby to work with Birmingham Royal Ballet.

NA: I have had a very fortunate career so far. I hold an honours degree in Physiotherapy and a Masters in Sports Medicine. I am currently working on my expression of interest for my PhD. I have amongst others, worked as a Clinical Specialist in Sports and Musculo-skeletal Medicine in the NHS, been part of the RFU’s Regional England Academy set-up as well as Head of Medical Services for a Premiership rugby club. The decision to give up a top Premiership job wasn’t easy. What challenges me professionally are the cases that despite extensive intervention they still have problems- whether they be a persistent injury or just a catalogue of different injuries- this post gives me the opportunity to take the time to focus on those individuals, often working with their own medical teams to provide a solution.

NG: What have you taken from your work in elite sport and implemented into the Ballet. How have they taken to it? What matters are you still banging your head against a brick wall about?

NA: I feel strongly about manipulating all variables that contribute to optimal performance. One of the main omissions that I noted, was the dancers are happy to push themselves to the utmost limit, but failed to take on effective recovery strategies to take full advantage of all their good work. The other issue is a combination of determining fitness needs and nutrition requirements. We are still working hard to determine the true physiological demands of their discipline so we can provide effective programmes both to enhance fitness and provide the fuel needed while maintaining optimum body mass (an all to common scenario in the sports world!). In regard to banging ones head up against the wall, we, like in sports medicine come across the usual “we didn’t have any of this in my day and worked flat out 17 hours a day and never got injured” coupled with some dancers who still don’t see what they do as any relation to sport so are reluctant to do anything else but dance. That said I work for what must be one of the most progressive companies in the business that gives me fantastic support for my work.

NG: I guess the flip side of that is what could coaches and physios working with sports people learn from the performing arts?

NA: I always describe myself as a cultural heathen. Prior to taking this post my only venture into the arts world was taking my wife to see the Lion King as a gift (not much has changed since, having been with the Company for 1½ years I have only been to one ballet -another gift for the wife!) So when I originally watched the dancers jump and lift I figured they must have a pretty comprehensive Olympic lifting programme, nothing could be further from the truth. I have come to realise that what makes the dancers so exceptional is their skill and technique. Their ability to repeat a movement technically correct time after time gives them an efficiency I have not seen in any other sporting discipline. Second is the issue of “core stability”.

NG: What in your opinion are the essential skills needed to be a successful physio working in a high performance environment.

NA: I think the clinical side is a given, a more important factor is the clinical reasoning. But I think the key is to understand that an injury may not be just an injury. Appreciating what an elite competitor has gone through to get to that stage in their career gives an insight as to the impact it may have on their training and ultimately their career. Simon Barnes of The Times when describing David Beckhams metatarsal fracture indicated pain is the staple diet of sport and anyone who participates in it! I think this summarises the ethos of elite performance- they are simply prepared to push past the point at which the likes of Joe Average would say “no more”. As a clinician working with elite performers you need to be aware of that. A decision to continue competing should be based on whether the injury would get worse as a result, or that the convalescent time is extended as a result rather than necessarily pain. It really is a balance between seeing performers as both patients and athletes. Favour the patient side and you could inadvertently hinder the progression of an athletes career, favour the athlete side and you could prematurely end an athletes career. Some might argue not an enviable position to be in!

NG: What are your typical clients and personal achievements as a physio?

NA: I am not sure I have typical clients, actually it tends to be the opposite- I generally see the atypical patients. From an achievement point of view I have been very fortunate to be part of a team that won the end of season Championship, the Cup and finished the season 11 points clear at the top of the table- only European glory eluded us. I also count as my personal achievements working 1:1 with a number of international athletes with potentially career threatening injuries and seeing them return back to competition. It’s a good feeling.

NG: Can you describe a typical day at Birmingham Royal Ballet?

NA: It does depend on what day it is. Monday I start the day with a meeting my physician where we discuss all current cases to ensure we are constantly exploring all options to help speed up the healing process. It’s normally followed with his treatment session (He won bronze at the World Triathlon Championships in Hawaii last year). I have a similar meeting with rest of the Jerwood Centre team where we discuss at length each case programme. The rest of my time is committed to clinic sessions with some time allocated for our research project (I am currently drawing correlations from our musculo-skeletal and physiological profiling with an injury audit to develop an effective tool for predicting injury).

NG: What does a day in the life of a dancer look like?

NA: This varies a little depending on whether they are in rehearsal or performance periods. Generally there is class at 10.30 for 1¼ hours. This can be followed by up to 5 hours of rehearsal calls, then during performance periods this may be followed by a show from 7.30 –10.30. It becomes a bit of a nightmare trying to fit in things like complimentary training aspects, let alone nutrition and recovery.

NG: How do you keep your dancers performing. I'm guessing you face similar issues to coaches trying to keep athletes healthy for a full season. What are your 3 top tips for keeping dancers out of the treatment room?

NA: I am a strong believer in fitness, more specifically aerobic base. We have a physiological lab here at the Jerwood Centre and perform VO2max testing on all dancers as part of our screening. I also believe you cannot get the best out of your body if you don’t treat it with respect- we work hard on nutrition and recovery. But probably the most important focus is on symmetry. I can’t often tell you how strong is strong enough but I can tell you is asymmetry exists- be it muscle imbalance, range of movement- there is a good chance some structure within the kinetic chain may sustain an injury.

NG: What's the one thing that really gets under your skin when it comes to sports physiotherapy?

NA: Insecurity. It’s by no means across the board but some individuals tend to want ownership over their patients. I think they feel that they are exposing weakness by allowing other thoughts or specialities to become involved. It comes down to accountability. One of the lessons I learnt heading up a medical team for a professional club was that whatever the situation you have to find a solution. I do think you need to be absolutely certain and confident which sources you use and that they have a proven track record with elite level performers and work well with you own objectives but ultimately I don’t care who gets my patients better, as long as they get back to playing

NG: What's your opinion of S&C, where does it fit in with physio?

NA: I was going to say hand-in-hand, but the mental picture it conjured up is disturbing me a little. I believe the greatest successes are born out of good working relationships between S&C and physios. Again it comes back to this issue of insecurity, but I think it is great to have some overlapping skills as it allows the bridge between clinical rehabilitation and functional rehabilitation. If you are secure in your skill set and want the best for your athlete, there shouldn’t be a problem.

NG: Core stability - everyone does it but not many people understand what it really means!!! It's all recruit TVA and multifidus, fire through the core, co-contract - but are we missing the point? When we are talking about sporting performance (not a clinical pathology - low back pain etc) which is the most important - the ability for a healthy ahthlete to recruit deep muscles or the ability to use larger global muscles (RA, Obliques etc)?

NA: I suppose this is where I stick my head out a little bit. I don’t believe in injury prevention! I believe in performance enhancement. The body has an optimal but finite amount of loading it can withstand, beyond which the structures will fail. Unfortunately, most of our athletes break down before this point. How we “prevent” that is to manipulate all the variables that affect it, like fitness, strength, co-ordination, skill, nutrition and hydration, and yes I am afraid “core strength muscles”. A simple analogy would be if you and I had a one lap race of our rehab pool here at the Jerwood Centre (aprox. 8m) but I get to push off the wall at the start but you don’t. Chances are I would win. Core stability muscles provide a stable platform from which larger global muscles can generate force. The more stable the platform the greater potential for force production. So I think the short answer is they are both important if we are considering optimal performance.

NG: In my experience, most physio's are pretty poor at programming (3 x 10 seems to be a favourite). What do you think?

NA: You mean 3x10 doesn’t fit every scenario?? Sorry but I would tend to agree. I know from my own development both my postgraduate degree as well as working along side physiologists has improved my understanding as to applicable programming.

NG: I know you study the field a lot. Who do you go to for advice?

NA: In regards to S&C I have been fortunate to have worked with Mike Anthony from the New Zealand All Blacks, Rudi Meir from Australia and Ed Archer from South Africa (who is currently doing some great work at the moment trying to bridge the “functional Rehabilitation “divide) and Dr Matt Wyon. They tend to be my first port of call

NG: Who else in the field has influenced or helped you? What are the best tips you learned from them and can pass on to your readers?

NA: I used to work with a chap called Dr Wayne Diesel (Head of Medical Services at Charlton Athletic Football Club). I think sometimes we can tend to over complicate matters. Wayne always told me to keep it simple. Work with the basics and the solution is there.

NG: What tips could you add of your own?

NA: Listen to your body. It is telling you something- our job is to find out what and to make sure it doesn’t progress into something that will hinder training or performance. Be wary of asymmetries- they could become a cause for concern

NG: What are the most common injuries that you see in your clinic?

NA: The whole spectrum really. My particular areas of interest are the biomechanics and peripheral nerve entrapments. Those odd injuries that appear common enough, but where the mechanism of injury may not always fit the injury, or it doesn’t seem to settle in the normal time frame. That’s when we start to look at the whole kinetic chain and appreciate the various influencing factors.

NG: What do you think about some of the supplements on the market such as glucosamine, chondroitin etc. Do you think they work? What would you recommend.

NA: I think in regards to the supplements as a whole, my fear is that athletes tend to rely on them rather that just good fresh food. Short of endurance athletes (like some cyclists), generally most athletes can plan their nutrition around their training needs. That said there are times when the body needs more that n the usual and supplements can play a role. Glucosamine and Chondroitin have always been interesting. As a supplement rather than a drug had meant the major drug companies weren’t as interested in researching it, as they couldn’t hold a license for it. But some research has been trickling through and the results seem to be positive. Anecdotal evidence from some of my surgeon friends is also encouraging in support of its use.

NG: What are your goals as a physio?

NA: This is not to sound altruistic but providing support to elite athletes allowing them to achieve their goals allows me to fulfil mine

NG: In a nutshell - What is your philosophy?

NA: Keep it simple

NG: Anything else you'd like to mention?

NA: I suppose I would like to commend Birmingham Royal Ballet Company for the investment in the Jerwood Centre but also the work they are doing in the community. They are currently involved in a huge charity project that is brining the experience of the arts to disadvantaged communities. (See up coming series on Channel 4 in September including an interview with yours truly- on the “3 minute wonder” series)

NG: Where can people read more about your theories and programs?

NA: I am currently talking to a number of partners to try arranging some sessions looking at functional rehabilitation and specific stability training but I still remain primarily a clinician.

NG: I'm asking all of our contributors for their top three books - the ones every S&C coach should have in their library? We've had some great answers and I'm building a virtual library on the links page of the web-site....what are your top 3?

NA: One of my principal reference books is Clinical Sports Medicine by Peter Brukner and Karim Khan. It provides a good quick reference guide to the normal and not so normal pathologies I see in clinic. Then I tend to spend a bit of time with the bigger anatomy and physiology texts like Gray’s. Sorry, it tends to be building my cases around comparisons to “normal” anatomy and biomechanics.

Wimbledon Fever

Wimbledon fever is sweeping the UK and whilst the senior mathces have so far been fantastic (even if Andy Murray is making life pretty tough for himself), I've been watching this year's Junior Wimbledon with some interest.

For the past 9 months I've been working with the Northumberland Tennis Academy, looking after the conditioning for their talented young players. One of the players I look after is Alex Walker and this week she came close to pulling off one of the shocks of this year's Junior Wimbledon.

After gaining a wildcard entry into the tournament Alex had a second round singles clash against the girls' number 10 seed Camila Silva of Chile. Despite being up against a player 268 places above her in the world rankings, Alex battled all the way before finally succumbing 6-4 7-6 (8/6) in stifling conditions at the All England Club.

Well done Alex and keep up the good work.

Wrightington Sporting Shoulder Conference

I've just got back from a the Wrightington Sporting Shoulder Conference. This was the second time that I've presented at the conference and it is always amazing to sit and watch the surgeons present the lastest surgical techniques (even if some of it is a bit tough for me to handle straight after lunch!).

This year was superb and I was in esteemed company. The surgical team included Joe de Beer, Lennard Funk, Giuseppe Porcellini and Dan Guttman. The line up of physio's was equally impressive and I really enjoyed the sessions from Ann Cools and Jo Gibson (something of a legend when it comes to shoulder rehab in the UK!). The gap between physio's and strength and conditioning is narrowing and I thought I was 'aggresive' when it came to accelerating the rehab process but I think Jo and the team that work at Wrightington are giving me a run for my money! As Jo said, she likes to get her patients moving day one after surgery (gone are the days of walking around with your arm in a sling for weeks), after all if the surgeon has done a good job then there shouldn't be problem!

I was delivering two sessions, the first of which was on Saturday morning and covered late stage rehab from shoulder injuries. During lunch I had a chance to visit the Charnley Museum at Wrightington. The museum is dedicated to the pioneering work of Sir John Charnley. Sir John Charnley was an orthopaedic surgeon who spent years at Wrightington perfecting artificial hip replacements in the early 1960s. It was a fascinating tour. We started off in what looked like a garage workshop. This was the hospital metal workshop where Charnley tasked the metalworkers with producing the early prototypes! We then looked around the museum, the displays housed the original hip replacements, tools etc as well as the original clean air sytem that Charnley developed to helped reduce infection rates!

After lunch I was able to relax and become a delegate for the afternoon! There were some fascinating lectures and I really enjoyed listening to Stuart Cosgrove talk about the techniques he uses to help power lifters and body builders recover from shoulder surgery. Stuart is a physiotherapist based in Manchester and was a competitive body builder himself (NABBA Mr UK in 1987, Mr Britain, 1996, UK Squat Champion, 1989 and physio to non other than Dorain Yates and Ricky 'the hitman' Hatton!) If you tear your pec, Stuart is the man to see!

The next day was a chance to get a little bit more practical and I took the delegates through some practical examples of the exercises that I use to help the clients that I work with get back to full fitness following shoulder surgery. This type of session is always my favourite as it is a chance to get 'hands on'.

As always this conference is one of the highlights of my year because it is so different to the majority of seminars that I attend. If you would like to look at the presentations from the conference then follow this link Wrightington Sporting Shoulder Conference

Seminar Season

Wow, what a week! I've just got back from Lilleshall where I spoke at the Football Association's Fitness Trainers Course. I've spoken at their national conference several times and have also delivered on their courses so it was great to be back in my old home town working with a great group of coaches. I delivered a practical session on speed and agility training and it has been interesting for me putting the session together to see how my own thoughts on this area have been shaped during the past 12 months. Sspending time with Robert Dos Remedios and listening to Marin Rooney speak at the UKSCA conference have certainly influenced my thoughts on speed and agility development.

The use of CHAOS training drills and the emphasis on the ability to apply the brakes are featuring more and more and it just seems to make sense when you are developing programmes for athletes taking part in a wide range of different sports. It just goes to show that you can always learn something new!

With a quick turn around I'm just putting the finishing touches to a presentation for a two day event looking at shoulder rehabilitation. I spoke at the same event last year and I'm back again to present a theory and practical session on rehab and return to sport for athletes with shoulder injuries. The Wrightington Sporting Shoulder Conference is a fantastic event run by Lennard Funk (great name for surgeon!) and I find it very humbling that me, as an S&C coach is invited back each year to speak to a room packed full of medics, surgeons and physio's.

My final speaking enagement for the summer is on Saturday 4th July at the County Durham Sport Coaches Conference. This should be a really good event and you can download a booking form from wwww.countydurhamsport.com.

I'm going to be delivering two seperate sessions. The first will look at fitness monitoring and how to use simple tests to monitor your training progammes. The second session is going to look at programme design and how to put together an integrated training programme.

It's a busy couple of weeks but I'm looking forward to getting out and about and meeting the delegates and presenters at each event, as well as having the opportunity to pick up some new information myself. Fortunately I've got a short break in between so I can spend some time away with the family!

Fat Loss and Fitness

I recently had a chance to sit down with Alwyn Cosgrove and talk through some of the fundamental principles that he uses with his clients to help them not only improve their body composition but to also improve general fitness levels.

Check out what Alwyn has to say during his interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpa5hz6v7_8 . If you want to take advantage of his top tips check out AFTERBURN, the ultimate 'burn fat training solution'.

Enjoy!

UKSCA National Conference

I've just returned from a bit of a road trip. I attended the UKSCA Natioanl Conference which was held in Bedfordshire this weekend, and I have to say I really enjoyed the conference (not a sentance I would have come out with a couple of years ago!). The speakers were first class and included several overseas speakers including Avery Figenbaum, Martin Rooney and JeremyBoone. There was a strong showing from the UK as well, but I've got to be honest I was there to see the guys from America (a chance to see guys at the top of their game in your back yard can't be passed up).

I really enjoyed Avery Fagenbaum's keynote presentation on youth resistance training. Anyone that starts by telling the audience that his laboratory is the gym is onto a winner in my opinion!

Two messages really struck home for me.

1. The best coaches should be working with young athletes - all too often this is where money is scimped and saved and graduate coaches and volunteers are let loose on young children, sometimes with disastourous effects. The best coaches more often than not work with the pro's and elite athletes. This could be completely back to front...if a better job of coaching and conditioning took place during the formative years then the senior athletes would have all the tools they needed to go out and perform. If you run a youth programme and are looking for coaches find a way to hire the most qualified coach available - don't rely on volunteers and helpers.

2. Don't be a supply teacher - make a connection with your clients. Your job is to coach and you can only do that if your have a connection with your client. Rember when you had a supply teacher at school - fantastic - easy street... and more often than not you could make their life hell and not really pay attention! Think about your old teachers and which ones had the most impact on your learning, I bet they were the ones who made a connection with you.

The second standout presentation was from Marin Rooney of Parisi Speed Schools. He delivered a great session on multi-dimensional speed and agility. The key take home message for me was the importance of having good brakes!Most athletes and clients don't spend enough time learning how to decelerate - you wouldn't drive a sports car with not brakes would you?!

He also had a great slide which summed up the weekend nicely for me;

K - A = 0

K = Knowledge

A = Action

0 - Nothing

I picked up some great training information from the presentations and made sure that I took action (in fact I've already been using some of them with the young tennis players I work with today!).

Well done to my friend and colleague Duncan French on organising a great conference, I'm looking forward to next year already!

Dave Wilson Starts For England

Just a quick post to wish Dave Wilson all the very best for Saturday.

Dave Wilson (former Newcastle Falcon prop) recently completed an intensive 3 week training period with me at Smart Fitness and will start for England in their match against the Barbarians at Twickenham on Saturday. All the best big man.

If you read the earlier post today about being chased by a freight train - I just need to think of Big Davey Wilson coming after me! Look at the intensity in that face - awesome.

CHASED BY A FREIGHT TRAIN

I was fortunate enough to grab an interview with Alwyn Cosgrove at the weekend and we were talking about Tabata training and how so many people just don't train at the right intensity. He shared with me how Chad Waterbury describes the intensity that is needed to his clients.

"imagine you find yourself on some rail track and you hear the sound of train coming up behind you, you turn around and see a freight train thundering towards you...your only option to run, and run hard. You try to out run the train for 20 seconds and just as it is about to hit, you jump off the tracks onto another rail track. Your lungs are bursting and your muscles are screaming at you but after just 10 seconds you hear another train coming and you have to run for your life again!!! That is the intensity - and guess what, you get chased by a total of 8 trains meaning you are running for your life for 4 minutes"

Robert Dos Remedios also talked about tabata training at our Functional Training Summit and how people pick crappy exercises - you should only pick whole body exercises that you can perform balls out for 20seconds.

I'm just sitting writing this before I jump in the shower. I've been out in the back garden and have been chased down by a freight train! My neighbours probably think I'm nuts but when your schedule is so busy 4 minutes being chased by a freight train is a really effective way of keeping myself in shape! I should stop sweating in a bout 3 hours!

Alwyn Cosgrove - Secrets For Success

Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove were in the UK on vacation and we spent some time with each other over the bank holiday weekend. I was a bit cheeky and asked if Alwyn would spend ten minutes running through some of his business and training tips. In the first of a series of interviews Alwyn reveals some of the key strategies that you can use to take your business to the next level.

I've read from cover to cover my copy of Alwyn's business book that he launched back in January 2009 "55 Fitness Business Strategies for Success" and I know that the simple and effective advice outlined in the book has really helped me develop my business this year.

Listen to what Alwyn has to say about his Business Mentorship Programme and his top 3 tips that will help you to stop counting reps and start counting revenue!

EXCLUSIVE: UK BUSINESS SEMINAR

If you would like to listen to Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove live in the UK let me know. We are looking at hosting an exclusive 2 day event in which they will deliver their highly successful Business Mentorship Programme. We are looking at London based venues and hope to be able to get this up and running for a weekend in October.

In the meantime you can pick up Alwyn and Rachel's business manual here here => 55 Fitness Business Strategies

Triathlete's World - Flexibility

If you would like to catch up on my thoughts on flexibilty training and the role it has to play in triathlon performance pick up this months edition of Triathlete's World.

Just look out for the magazine with a picture of Total Racing International's very own Elite Triathlete, Fraser Cartmell on the front cover.

The article highlights 4 simple moves that will help you injury proof your body for the forthcoming season. Find out what flexibility actually means, the four main types of flexibility training and a step by step guide to what and how to stretch effectively.

Speaking Engagements

Just a quick update of a couple of new dates that have been added to the summer speaking engagements.

Wrightington Sports Shoulder Conference

I'll be making a return visit to this fantastic conference and will be speaking on the 19th and 20th June. I'll be talking on the 19th about the transition back to performance and the use of strength and conditioning, as well as delivering a practical session on the 20th.

This is the first and only annual International Sports Shoulder Conference in the UK, with a large multidisciplinary and distinguished international and UK faculty, including leading surgeons, sports physicians, trainers and therapists.

The 2009 Conference will include:
Joe DeBeer - South Africa - shoulder surgeon
Prof Ann Cools - Belgium - Professoer of Physiotherapy and world authority on overhead athletes shoulder disorders
Guiseppe Porcellini - Italy - shoulder surgeon
Dan Guttman - USA - shoulder surgeon
Ehud Rath - Isreal - sports surgeon
Paolo Paladini - Italy - shoulder surgeon
Nick Grantham - UK - Strength & Conditioning trainer
Jo Gibson - UK - Shoulder Therapist
Stuart Cosgrove - UK - physiotherapist specialising in strength athletes
Mike Loosemore - UK - British Boxing doctor
David Jones - UK - Sports Physician, English Institute of Sports
Jonathan Harris - UK - Musculoskeletal radiologist

The meeting comprises a mixture of lectures, case discussions, workshops and live surgery. For full details download the booking form here http://www.wrightington.com/content/assets/1449-9.pdf

County Durham Sports Coaches Conference

I've recently been asked to speak at the first County Durham Sport Coaches Conference on the 4th and 5 th of July.

I'm delivering two sessions on the 4th of July. The first session will look at how coaches can develop a comprehensive training programme that will enhance all of the physical qualities, whilst the second session will offer practical advice on fitness monitoring to coaches - this is not a bells and whistles talk - it is about, simple and effective tests that can be used to track performances by coaches that are working with minimal equipment and on tight budgets!

This promises to be a fantastic event and full details, including a booking form can be downloaded here http://www.countydurhamsport.com/files/coaches_conference_booking_form.pdf

If you are a coach in the North East then this is one event you don't want to miss...and I'm still trying to work out how they can put on so many great seminars and still only charge £20 for the event. Get booking before someone at County Durham Sport realises they could be charging ten times the amount! Book now as at this price I'm sure spaces will go very quickly

Fat Loss Strategies of Elite Athletes

My training company, Smart Fitness works with a lot of clients that are looking to get in shape in a hurry! Usually a special occasion is looming or they realise that the summer holiday is just around the corner and they want to look good in their swimsuit. We use a range of nutrition strategies to help our clients reach their targets and I'm always on the look out for programmes from credible sources that actually get results.

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Matt Lovell. Matt is one of the most recognised UK Sports Nutritionist’s and he has been the Sports Nutritionist for the England Rugby Team since before the 2003 World Cup. Matt also currently works with London Wasps, Leicester Tigers, London Irish and Saracens as a specialist Rubgy Sports Nutrtionist. He shares my passion for sport and is also a keen martial artist.

I thought our conversation would be focused on performance nutrition for athletes (which it was for the most part), but then I discovered that Matt actually works with a whole host of private clients and has actually produced a fantastic 4 week Fat Loss Programme that applies the principles he uses with his athletes to the man and women in the street! I have to admit that I was excited about by what he told me and I had to find out some more about his programme.

Here is a quick overview of the key points.

"Elite athlete's have to make the same choices THAT WE ALL DO. Decisions about what they eat and when they eat it. Just because their 'job' revolves around keeping fit if they don't eat correctly they can put on weight just like any other person can.

Many top athletes trust Matt to ensure their body composition is bang-on. Being in the best possible physical shape is absolutely necessary for them. Their careers depend on it! That's why they make sure they get the best possible advice available.

The trouble is that if you do any research on-line or in your local book store for weight loss or fat loss programs it's easy to END up CONFUSED by conflicting information. A lot of the ideas are frankly ridiculous and the good information ends up buried by the latest FADS.

Confusion pervades the Weight Loss market, when you're confused you flip- flop from one plan to another or do NOTHING If weight loss and body management is important to you it’s vital to find someone who knows what they are doing so you don't end up chasing rainbows.There's a lot at stake. You've obviously got your health and long term well being to think of and it’s no fun CONTINUALLY beating yourself up because you’re a bit on the cuddly side.

Matt has developed his 4 Week Fat Loss Programme so that you can use the exact same SCIENTIFIC principles strategies that elite athletes use to get lean and stay lean. So you can lose as much fat as you want to.

I asked Matt what prompted him to pull this information together now and to reveal the secrets that his private clients pay him very very well for? He explained that he comes into contact with many people from many backgrounds and he is continually being asked about the latest plan that's being hyped by the press, a few years ago it was the Atkins Diet that everyone was asking my opinion of. Then a celebrity would come out with a new program or get a gastric band fitted and there would be a hoo-ha about that and my inbox would be flooded again.

Rather than keep giving his opinions about what all the other programs are like Matt decided to collate all his information and experience and make it available so that anyone can use the principles that definitely work.

So he created Four Week Fat Loss a program based on scientific principles that will give you a strategy that will work for the rest of your life.

Matt was tired of having his friends and clients being duped by all the mis-information in the market place. It's so conflicting that it is no wonder that people are flip-flopping from one fad to another or just end up doing nothing!"

I was blown away by what I was hearing and it is refreshing to find someone of Matts calibre that is willing to share their nutrition strategies.

Keep an eye on the blog for updates and a special Q&A with Matt.

Firing Line

Today got off to a slightly more demanding start than usual! One of the clients I'm currently working with had a particulalry tough conditioning session scheduled and one of the drills required a partner (that would be me then!). Now normally my involvement in the session takes the form of me on the side line offering polite words of encouragement whilst the client runs themselves ragged. Not today - today I had to get my hands dirty!

The basic drill is simple enough, a simple defensive drill where we both start on the ground on our chest facing each other approx 6m apart. On my command we get up as quickly as possible and then my partner moves toward me to try and defend me with a two handed touch - meanwhile I'm trying to do my best to evade my partners 'touch' and get past him.

That all sounds very simple - that is until you factor in that I'm about 78kg (soaking wet) and my partner is an international rugby player that is tipping the scales at about 123kg! Now, for 3 weeks I've been putting this guy through his paces and it suddenly dawned on me that this was his chance to get one over on the coach.

I now know what it must be like to face a man mountain that is intent on smashing you into the ground! Contact was made on a couple of occasions - which pretty much meant me bouncing off a solid 123kg wall shaped like a human - I'm not sure he even noticed.

I don't think that the 'contact' I experienced was really anything to write home about - particularly when you consider that experts believe the level of contact that elite rugby players experience in an international match is similar to 10 car crashes....that's right.....10 car crashes! I think I experienced a little bump!

A great way to start the day!

Unbreakable

I'm putting the finishing touches to a presentation I'm giving this weekend at the Smart/TRI Seminar Series. The final session in the series is looking at injury prevention and rehabilitation so imagine my delight when I received an e-mail from my good friend and colleague Alwyn Cosgrove telling me about a “first of its kind” system to help anyone deal effectively with all of their physical issues.

The system has been developed by Keith Scott and he has produced a ‘400-plus’ page system that will finally help you eliminate all of your physical pain, restrictions, weaknesses and any other problems that are slowing you down or taking you away of what you truly love to do.
Staying physical healthy is one of the biggest keys to success in any fitness program. If you cannot exercise, weight-loss and muscular development will be stalled, and by the time you are healthy, you have to start all over again.

Keith’s UNBREAKABLE system will teach you how to stay healthy, deal with old injuries or problems and work around any lingering issues so you never have to miss a workout because of pain or injury again.

Unbreakable <= Check out Keith’s system here

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Functional Training Summit - Round-up

Well the dust has just about settled from last weeks Functional Training Summit! Delegates travelled from all corners of the UK to converge on Kingston Park Stadium in Newcastle Upon Tyne. The line up of presenters was impressive and included myself, Neil Parsley from the English Institute of Sport, Nick Ward, Lead S&C for TASS and our international speaker, Coach Robert Dos Remedios who had brought the Californian sunshine to the North East with him!

Coach Dos kicked proceedings off with the first of two feature presentations. In his first session he shared with the audience how he had helped competitive and recreational athletes achieve their goals. He introduced everyone to his world of performance-based training, where function comes first and physical benefits are unmatched.

After a break for lunch (supplied by the fantastic Regent Sandwich Company), delegates returned for the afternoon programme which got underway with a session looking at Total Training for Combat Sports - Conditioning for the modern combat athlete. Myself and Neil showed real world examples of how to get combat athletes ready to step onto the mat and into the ring. We outlined the strategies wehave used to train boxers, wrestlers, judokas and taekwon-do competitors. Once all the talking was completed delegates had a chance to experience first hand our hardcore mixed metabolic training to learn how to develop strength using ascending and descending training and discover for the first time Eastern block training secrets that we use to help our personal training clients stay ‘bullet proof’ and their fighters win World Championships!

Nick Ward then delivered an insightful session exploring his his Performance Planning Matrix, a tool he has developed to help analyse goals and objectives to ensure results are delivered for his clients. This session showed exactly you to get the most out of athletes and personal training clients.

In the final session of the day Coach Dos demonstrated and explained the concepts and techniques involved in combination lifting. Featured exercises ranged from beginner to advanced and everyone was able to get to grips with exercises that were suitable for use in general fitness programs all the way up to advanced athletic conditioning programs.

As the session closed delegates departed for a night out in Newcastle, something I think Coach Dos and Chris Poirier from Perform Better are still trying to get to grips with (Newcastle has to be one of the best places to party in the UK, if not the World).

Day two got underway with Coach Dos' second feature presentation. This time Coach Dos shared with the delegates to take thier speed to the next level. He explained CHAOS training puts the athlete/client as close to sport demands as possible and in this session they not only found out the theory behind the training concept, they had a chance to experience it first hand during the hands on training session out on the training pitches. The weather was fantastic, although Coach Dos still thought that 17 degrees was not really hot! (he needs to live in the North East a little longer and then he will know why we were all out in t-shirts and shorts!

A slight change of schedule meant that I delivered a session on Recovery and Regeneration, exploring why this area was currently so popular with athletes and looking at how a comprehensive recovery and regeneration strategy could unlock a clients training training potential.

Keeping the tempo going, myself and Coach Dos delivered the final session of the summit. In our session, Ultimate Core Conditioning –Strong and Stable we showed why current ‘core training’ recommendations fall short of the mark when it comes to training athletes! In the final practical of the weekend delegates experienced how to develop a strong and stable core through a combination of bridging and stabilisation exercises, rotational and anti-rotational core exercises and ‘uninhibited’ strength and power exercise!

The Functional Training Summit was a huge success and delegates left on Sunday with with ‘Monday morning’ exercises that would immediately improve the way they trained their clients and athletes. I would just like to take this opportunity to thank Coach Dos for coming over to the UK and sharing his training strategies with everyone at the event. I would also like to thank Charles, Clare and Nik from EXF who helped to make sure that the whole event was a huge success. Thanks also goes to Nigel Stockill from Optima Life for coming to the summit and showing attendees the revolutionary monitoring system developed for both athletes and general population.

We are already looking to put together another summit before the end of the year, and it looks like we will be bringing the summit to London. Keep your eyes on the blog for more details coming soon. If the feedback is anything to go on we will have another great event.

What the delegates thought.
"Great speakers on useful and meaningful topics..."
"The practical sessions very good..."
"CHAOS speed training session was very useful..."
"I loved the hands on, practical approach and layout. This was a well organised and thorough seminar, well done..."
"Great practical aspects, very good presenters..."