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!