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.

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

1. How to start weightlifting pt2

   27th October 2014 8:35 pm

   The main lifts in weightlifting

   The 2 major exercises are the snatch (pictured right) and the clean and jerk.
   The snatch requires the lifter to pick the bar up from the floor and above their head in one quick action. They then have to stand up from this low position until the judges say that the lift is finished.

   3 Comments | Read More | athletic development, weightlifting

2. How to start weightlifting pt1

   25th October 2014 9:54 am

   “What do I need to start weightlifting?”

   The Excelsior ADC weightlifting club opens next Monday, 3rd November in Willand, Cullompton, Devon.

   This week I shall be posting a series of blogs that will help people understand weightlifting, and how it applies to their sport.

   10 Comments | Read More | weightlifting

3. Willand Rovers FC in F.A. Cup run

   23rd October 2014 10:25 am

   Good luck to the Willand Rovers against Gosport Borough F.C.

   My local village club is doing really well in the F.A. Cup this year, having made it through to the 4th qualifying round. They host Gosport at Silver Street this Saturday.

   Physiotherapist Sarah has been helping the club for the last 18 months, screening and treating the players when injured. They are a great bunch, and remarkably polite for footballers.

   0 Comments | Read More | basketball, confucius quote

4. What is Concurrent Training?

   16th October 2014 9:44 am

   “Should I do weights and cardio in the same session?”

   Traditionally training has been divided into Resistance Training and Aerobic Training.

   0 Comments | Read More |

5. Bones heal, chicks dig scars

   13th October 2014 2:55 pm

   The author of this quote- Evil Knievel, died 7 years ago at the age of 69. Famous for his successful and unsuccessful motorbike stunts, he entertained many of us in the 1970s.

   I remember setting up ramps and jumping over model cars to be like him with friends.

   The full quote is

   1 Comment | Read More | motivation

6. Beware of the Mom Taper

   6th October 2014 3:03 pm

   “Jodie can’t make training tonight because she is exhausted and worried about her homework deadlines”

   A phone call, text or email late in the day from the Mum, and your plans for the night’s training session are scuppered. This is extremely frustrating as a coach. It happened to me 3 times last week alone.

   4 Comments | Read More | LTAD, overtraining, running

7. Coaching the Millennials

   2:51 pm

   Generation Y Me?

   Sometimes known as Generation Y, this group of people are the ones coming into the workplace since the Millennium.

   A bit different from the Generation X “slackers”, the Millennials have been hot housed, nurtured and been led to believe that they can achieve anything.

   4 Comments | Read More | Coaching, LTAD

8. Do you follow the latest training fad?

   10:09 am

   ““When you start to coach, you coach the system you played, but you begin almost to immediately discard what doesn’’t fit you or your material, and you look for what does…. All of us are takers, but if a person can’t add something to what he takes from others, he should get out.””

   Vince Lombardi in “Run to Daylight“.

   0 Comments | Read More |

9. Periodised agility?

   9:07 am

   The balance between specificity and overload is a crucial one. Your agility can’t just be Organised Despair, nor can it be just playing games.
   One way of overloading the balance/ control system is to practice transferring from stable to unstable surfaces. I am not a believer in circus tricks: standing on swiss balls has very little transfer to real sport.

   1 Comment | Read More | agility

10. Strength training for young people

    22nd September 2014 8:56 am

    “You never see an oak tree with huge branches and a tiny trunk”

    Kathryn “Wiggs” Catto on a last week’s level 1 coaching strength and conditioning for sport course.

    This was her way of describing to young teenage boys the necessity of developing strength in a safe and progressive manner.

    2 Comments | Read More | LTAD, strength training