How things change

When I first started training and studying sport in a scientific way, I thought I knew something about training.

Then I stated coaching and realized that nothing could have been further from the truth.

Once I spent some quality time with Meg and Mike Stone at East Tennessee State University, I must have "made it" right? I thought so.

Well I hadn't - and working in full-time sport back in England helped me realize that.

This is soccer fitness right?

1 week of matches

I posted a little while ago on grip strength and so I found this card amusing:

In a week of gaffs, upsets, and stalemates, I am sure we are all looking forward to a hopefully more productive set of group matches.

I am now settled in Tennessee so will have some content coming this weekend - all is well so far. Until then...

UKSCA 2010 Annual Conference Review Part II

This is part II of the UKSCA 2010 Annual Conference Review. Here is part I.

For each speaker I will write a little about their presentation in a positive light. I feel whenever anyone stands up in front of hundreds of people and presents about what they do, they deserve some credit. Also, every single one of them has more experience in this industry so who would I be to criticize. This is a reflection of the information they gave us - and are not my words. In alphabetical order...

Vladamir Issurin
Block Periodization

Vladamir Issurin kicked off the conference with this talk presenting his work from his recent book, Block Periodization. He covered some key principles that are fundamental to training program design and how important periodization is.

Competition - stress response should not be underestimated

• Example - drop in muscle mass at peak in endurance athletes

UKSCA 2010 Annual Conference Review Part I

Sitting here at the airport in Knoxville, Tennessee I thought I would finally get to write a few lines about the recent UKSCA Annual Conference. I had a fantastic time there last weekend, and thought that board member Duncan French really well to bring in such a diverse range of speakers. This was back up with the Belfast conference as far as quality, and the accommodation facilities were also excellent.

For each speaker I will write a little about their presentation in a positive light and copy & paste some of my notes - apologies for the scruffy format. I feel whenever anyone stands up in front of hundreds of people and presents about what they do, they deserve a lot of credit. Also, every single one of them has more experience in this industry so who would I be to criticize publically. This is a reflection of the information they gave us - and not my opinion. In alphabetical order...

Thanks to Steve's Gym & see Tyson training...

The ultimate workout partner...

This video is a little thank you to Rick and Laura of Steve's Gym in Newton Abbot, Devon, England. This is the place where I first learnt to squat and train properly when I was 17, and over the past few months I have been lucky enough to train and rehab there again. 

If you are in the South Devon area, you should check it out - a no-nonsense, friendly place where work gets done.

Thank you again Steve's Gym!

Monitoring training part III - calculating & analyzing load, monotony, and strain

This is the last part (for now) of a series of articles on monitoring training. Here is part I and part II. I will mostly talk about the calculating and analyzing the training load, monotony, and strain coming from a RPE-based monitoring system. This stuff is not rocket science and most certainly is not new, but may have been lost in the "strength and conditioning noise" of late. Remember that there are more objective methods to monitor training, as discussed in the previous two posts, but these may not be financially or logistically possible in your situation.