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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Thanks for taking the time to read it.

James Marshall

1. What are the 3 stages of fitness testing?

   5th February 2015 3:08 pm

   “I test athletes to justify my job” s one reason that fitness testing has become maligned and dreaded by coaches and athletes alike.
   Others include “to look professional” or “to use my new bit of kit” or “to identify talent”.

   9 Comments | Read More | fitness testing

2. Weight lifting program

   3rd February 2015 10:56 am

   6 week weightlifting program

   Here is the schedule for the next block of training for the Excelsior Weight lifting Club. 

   0 Comments | Read More | weightlifting

3. Squat versus deadlift

   28th January 2015 2:41 pm

   

   When should I deadlift?

   I have never been a deadlift fan, instead working on squats and using the snatch and clean to develop power.

   However, I have recently been using it to create some variety in environments with no squat rack.

   0 Comments | Read More | strength

4. Fitness training for squash

   27th January 2015 1:42 pm

   How do I get fit for squash?

   There are many ways, we have been lucky enough to have worked with some outstanding young squash players. Here is what we did with them.

   11 Comments | Read More | fitness, squash

5. How to manage “Growing pains”

   26th January 2015 11:02 am

   A guide to common growing pains in athletes

   Children and adolescents endure many of the same injuries and mechanical dysfunctions as adults. However, in the maturing skeleton there are some specific conditions that are only seen in the young.

   Here is an overview of the common conditions, their causes and how to manage them.

   5 Comments | Read More | LTAD, physiotherapy, sports injury

6. Should I use a foam roller in my warm up?

   10:06 am

   Foam rolling is very popular in some parts of training, one of the questions we are asked is “How Can I use a foam roller in my warm up?” Here is an in depth look at that, with references and some exercises shown.

   6 Comments | Read More | warm up

7. Madden on footwork

   24th January 2015 7:35 pm

   In “One knee equals two feet”,  John Madden talks about footwork for linebackers. Madden was talking to a linebacker and asked him to analyse what he did…

   “My feet and shoulders are lined up together, one told me. My first step is short, only 6 inches, then my next step is...”

   3 Comments | Read More | jack Dempsey, protein

8. Athlete screening: Reduce injury risk and improve performance

   23rd January 2015 9:08 pm

   What is athlete screening ?

   The screening of an athlete is used to identify the current musculo-skeletal condition of that individual. If carried out initially during the pre-season period, it can provide a set of baseline values for the athlete’s data base or personal physical profile.

   19 Comments | Read More | physiotherapist, structural Integrity

9. Discipline versus liberty: how your actions affect society

   5th January 2015 9:00 am

   “I can eat what I want, when I want”

   Those were the famous words issued by a friend of mine through a mouthful of cake, two weeks before he was admitted to hospital with a gall stone attack.

   His actions led to other people having to look after him: his wife, nurses and doctors. His children were affected as they were worried and concerned about his health. He had the liberty to do what he wanted, but lacked discipline.

   This impacted our society.

   2 Comments | Read More | discipline, goal setting

10. Hepburn’s laws- training manual

    17th December 2014 9:37 am

    “The journey to becoming a champion of super strength begins with obtaining the right kind of knowledge.”

    Doug Hepburn’s book on strength training is an excellent text about strongman training from 1980.

    In it, he lists a few rules which he found to be essential when learning how to get strong.

    You may be thinking “what can I learn about strength training from that old geezer? He doesn’t even have a twitter account!”

    1 Comment | Read More | millfield, tommy baker