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Welcome to the Excelsior blog. It is a mix of current research and thoughts on Athlete and Coach Development, Strength and Conditioning and personal reflections.
Comments are welcome (please leave your name) and you can subscribe by clicking on the RSS feed.
Thanks for taking the time to read it.
James Marshall
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My books of the year: 2022
Tough to choose just one book It’s that time of year (or slightly early as I am trying to help those looking to buy books before Christmas) to review and recommend what I have read. I started listing back in 2013 so that I didn’t read the same books by mistake. I have split the […]
2 Comments | Read More | book review -
New Course for sports coaches
Gymnastics for sport Over the past 5 or so years, I have been running Movement workshops for sports coaches and p.e. teachers. The participants have enjoyed learning how to teach movement and basic gymnastics that they can then share with their players and pupils. Players who are stronger, more agile and more adaptable can pick […]
0 Comments | Read More | coaching courses, gymnastics, movement -
Muscles Strengthening exercises: why the 5km run is not the health panacea.
Muscle-strengthening exercises such as bodyweight exercises, exercise bands, and dumbbell, barbell and machine resistance training exercises have been shown to impact a variety of health outcomes including: · Improved muscular strength. · Bone mineral density (stronger bones). · A decrease in all-cause mortality (the chances of dying from health-related diseases). · Improvements in cardio-metabolic health […]
2 Comments | Read More | healthy lifestyle, running -
Coaching at a weightlifting competition
Three things I had in mind to help the weightlifters Last weekend I coached three of our club weightlifters at the Wild Boar Tier 3 event: Gabby, Will and Chris. This was their first competition outside of the club. Whilst every ‘S&C coach’ does ‘Olympic Lifts’ they do not coach the lifts in competition. There […]
0 Comments | Read More | competition, weightlifting -
Summer reading recommendations 2022
It’s that time of year: schools are breaking up, annual holidays are planned and the thought of sitting down with a good book comes to the minds of many people. My summer reading recommendations are taken from the 44 books I’ve read, so far, this year. The reason I say the number is that I […]
1 Comment | Read More | book review, books -
3 Take Home Lessons from GAIN 2022
I have just returned from Vern Gambetta’s GAIN conference at Rice University, Houston. This was my 9th time attending this event. It is a mixture of practical workshops, lectures and small group discussions between sports coaches, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, athletic development coaches, administrators and at least one professional athlete. ‘So what?’ You […]
0 Comments | Read More | -
Beware the Sirens
Odysseus was able to resist the call of the Sirens by having his sailors tie him to the mast. They stuffed their ears with wax so as to avoid being called to sail onto the rocks and be wrecked. Odysseus listened to their beautiful song but his ship stayed on course because of the strength […]
1 Comment | Read More | -
How to start weightlifting pt3: your first competition
Your first weightlifting competition. Entering your first competition is a big step for every weightlifter. Every single Olympic weightlifter has had to enter as a beginner at some point. Whilst you may not be able to control your nerves, and you can’t control what the other entrants are lifting, you can prepare yourself by eliminating […]
0 Comments | Read More | competition, preparing, sports psychology, weightlifting -
Free the children
Have you been to a zoo recently? You might see a collection of animals behind bars. They have some space to roam but, for the likes of the speedy cheetahs, not enough to get up to full speed and hunt. They were born to do this. I have written previously about the stunted development of […]
0 Comments | Read More | LTAD, power, speed -
Book review: How the World Really Works by Vaclav Smil.
It’s rare nowadays that I add a book to my recommended reading list. Not because I don’t read much, it’s mainly because of a lot of rehashed ideas that are repackaged and branded as new. Not this one. Subtitled, ‘A Scientist’s Guide to Our Past, Present and Future,’ Smil does an excellent job of covering […]
0 Comments | Read More | book review, science
Client Testimonials
During the build up to the Beijing Paralympics I was fortunate to be able to train with Excelsior. During this time James delivered a specific eleven month training block to me starting from base fitness up to more complex circuits and exercises. James would always take part in our sessions and this really helped motivate me, as we would push each other to achieve during the sessions. James was flexible around my shift work and would always answer any questions I had, however daft they sounded!
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