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!