Blog

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.

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James Marshall

1. How to Get Fit for Handball pt1

   25th June 2015 8:42 am

   Handball is the second most popular team sport in Europe

   Since London 2012, the number of clubs in England has nearly doubled. It is one of the country’s fastest growing sports, with total participation increasing by 400% in the last three years. 

   6 Comments | Read More | handball

2. Speed Endurance for Football: Theory and Practice

   20th June 2015 2:08 pm

   How to train for speed endurance

   Not so long ago, speed and speed endurance were mentioned far less than they are currently.

   Arguably, it could be said that speed, strength and power are excessively emphasised and tested in British football.

   However, that could be countered by saying the British style of play needs and suits these requirements.

   3 Comments | Read More | football, speed

3. How to make your own sports drink

   2nd June 2015 4:40 pm

   Lucozade and Red Bull are expensive
   how to make your own sports drinkbut not necessarily better than water (see here for comparison). You can easily make your own sports drink which will help you save money and tailor it for your own needs.

   5 Comments | Read More | hydration, sports nutrition

4. Is my child overtraining?

   20th April 2015 9:46 am

   Exam season is upon us, and they may have pushed your teenager to breaking point

   Overtraining is common in young athletes due to the high demand put on them by schools and sports teams.

   Schools will get talented young athletes to compete in as many sports as possible and these same athletes will also train outside of school for a team they play for in one or more sports.

   1 Comment | Read More | overtraining

5. How to Prevent Illness by Boosting Your Immune System

   6th April 2015 3:10 pm

   Are you constantly suffering from colds and sniffles? Feeling run down and lethargic? Then it could be that your immune system is depressed. Matt has done some research and come up with some ideas on how to to help you.

   4 Comments | Read More | health, illness, overtraining

6. Principles of Training: Overload variations

   30th March 2015 4:41 pm

   “If your only tool is a hammer, then everything becomes a nail”

   If your only way of overloading an athlete to cause adaptation is adding weight, then you are limiting what they can achieve.

   Not every sport, or every athlete needs to be loaded in the same way. One way of defining overload (as I learnt from Jim Radcliffe on GAIN 2011) is shown here:

   3 Comments | Read More | plyometrics, strength training

7. How to warm up for fencing

   23rd March 2015 9:46 am

   “We want faster, cleverer and more independent fencers”

   an aspirational goal discussed by SW Fencing hub coaches last week.

   I was fortunate enough to be working on 2 great fencing camps last week: Norman Golding’s summer course at Millfield School and James and Ian Williams’ sabre camp in Grantham.

   The above quote came from many conversations I had with some great individuals over the course of the 7 days on camp.

   2 Comments | Read More | fencing, warm ups

8. Water intake for athletes: Body weight chart

   20th March 2015 2:59 pm

   How much water should I drink during exercise?

   I hope the table below is useful to the all the athletes we train. It outlines the quantity of water that athletes should be consuming in a normal resting day and training days, with different amount of fluid intake dependent on number of hours training.

   5 Comments | Read More | hydration

9. Guide to eating before competing

   2:48 pm

   “When should I eat before a competition?”

   is one of the questions we are asked most often, followed by “What should I eat before matches?” Pre- competition nutrition is a vital part of any athlete’s preparation. Maximising available energy and properly hydrating are necessary to ensure that you perform at your best.

   9 Comments | Read More | hydration, sports nutrition

10. From the ground up: how to get fit for netball part2

    11th March 2015 2:23 pm

    Netball is primarily a female sport, which due to their anatomical construction are prone to knee injuries in sport before adding in the complications of landing, jumping and multi directional movement.

    2 Comments | Read More | coaches, hurdles, speed