By Campbell Maffett (c) This article is for the busy athlete who has little time for fuss, let alone endless training. They want the best results from the least training…and they don’t care too much for fluff and waffle. So let’s get straight into it!! 1. Make it a team project Most busy athletes will
by Campbell Maffett (c) Do you ever stop to wonder why sports seem so complicated? Do you wonder what changed from when you remember just heading out the door to enjoy the beauty of being fit, outdoors, pumping adrenalin and just going hard? At times they can seem like the long lost days of the
Joe Friel is a guru and enormously well respected coach in the cycling and triathlon world, and author of the well known “Training Bible” series of books. He writes a regular blog which I subscribe to (http://www.joefrielsblog.com) from where this article came from. I believe that the most important thing an athlete takes to the
The following article comes from www.speedendurance.com, a web-site mainly focused on athletics sprinting but also includes some interesting info, like this one. A recent study from the Experimental Aging Research asked the question: Of the 6 sports, which had the greatest decline in performance with age? Athletics (Track and Field) Swimming Rowing Cycling Triathlon
The following is another article from Dr. Gabe Mirkin (www.drmirkin.com) about a very common problem experienced by many people who exercise – cramps. Read on… Muscle cramps are common during very intense exercise and occur far less often during less-intense training, because the most common cause of muscle cramps in exercisers is muscle damage from
Most runners would agree that running makes them feel better. Whether a marathoner, sprinter, or just a recreational jogger, all would say similar things about running: “I feel powerful when I run”, “Running makes me feel strong”, “When I get stressed, I run”. Such statements would attest to the effect exercise has on mood. While
Happy new year!! As is wont at this time of year, making resolutions for the coming 12 months is a great way to define a path and routine to achieve your goals. To me, resolutions are the new process you aim to create which will (hopefully) lead to your goals, which by definition are different
The following is gold-value information, and comes from Wayne Goldsmith who is an Australian sports coach, consultant and one of the smartest sporting brains around. His web-site (from where you can subscribe to his blog) is www.sportscoachingbrain.com Read the following very carefully!!! Wayne Goldsmith I have been lucky to be involved in high performance sport
Another article from Dr. Gabe Mirkin (http://www.drmirkin.com) which I found very interesting as it runs contrary to conventional advice… Lifting weights before puberty makes children stronger and has not been shown to stunt growth or damage the growth plates in their bones (Pediatrics, November 2010). The older the child, the greater the gain in muscle
By Campbell Maffett, (c) 2010 Deep water running (DWR) doesn’t get much good press, probably because the people who are mostly talking about it are doing it because they’re injured…and grumpy. Sure, it doesn’t compare to the satisfaction of “real” running and it is eternally boring, however, DWR can be a effective training session not
This is not a reference to a type of training, but moreso the outcome/result of training over time. The point is simply that an athlete gains aerobic fitness (or even anaerobic fitness/tolerance) quicker than their structure – their bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments – can handle that fitness. For this reason I’m increasingly an advoctate
Another article from Dr Gabe Mirkin (www.drmirkin.com) which provides some explanation and background to training strategies. It is generally a very good article – we use/apply the principles in our sessions without necessarily following the specific details he offers. To have great endurance for any sport, you have to do interval training: short
In a separate post called Stretching Q&A a few myths about stretching were debunked based on the advice from a sports physio. In essence, stretching is useful but not to the extent that is commonly believed, and the timing and type of stretching is critical to performance. The latest edition of “Modern Athlete & Coach”
I’m not an advocate of stretching as part of training sessions, in particular not as part of the warm-up or during the session. This is a conscious decision from my perspective, preferring dynamic warm-up and dynamic stretching via drills, stride-throughs, etc. Stretching post-session is a good idea, however, as part of muscle maintenance in the
Copyright (c), Campbell Maffett If you have a coach think for a moment what you rely on them for, why you need them and what you think they’re responsible for as part of your performance. I’m guessing the list will be long and varied…it’s a tough gig being a coach!! But now draw up another