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 acquire skill in strength and conditioning

   28th February 2014 1:08 pm

   “Skill learning isn’t just skill learning, it’s preparation” 

   John Brierley in his skill acquisition lecture on our level 3 coaching strength and conditioning for sport course.

   Ever see the 5 sets of 5 programme for squats, power cleans and bench press? Dull as dishwater!

   8 Comments | Read More | Coaching, coaching courses, cpd

2. How to get fit for handball pt 2

   27th February 2014 1:58 pm

   When planning the ideal training schedule of a Handball team, I would probably include 2 or 3 team technical/tactical sessions, a couple of gym based strength sessions and a court based agility or speed session.

   0 Comments | Read More | handball

3. The ultimate guide to warm ups

   22nd February 2014 9:20 am

   Why do you Warm up?

   To prepare your body and mind for the activity to follow.

   If you have a “routine” that you follow day in day out, it bcomes just that…routine.  Your mind switches off, your body has adapted too well, and any benefits are lost.

   49 Comments | Read More | warm ups

4. Getting teenagers to take control of their sport preparation

   20th February 2014 10:15 am

   “I don’t have a warm up routine”

   was the quote of the day from a 16 year old experienced competitor on our Athlete Support Day on Monday.

   Another young athlete I work with was a bundle of nerves before a recent competition. I am trying hard to get these young people to establish a warm up routine that is regular, specific and gives them confidence.

   1 Comment | Read More | archery, athletic development, confucius quote

5. Movement Patterns

   10th February 2014 9:50 am

   Adapted or adaptable athletes?

   I had the chance over the last few days to look at different people of various ages and sporting backgrounds trying to learn new exericses.

   0 Comments | Read More |

6. Multi planar movements

   6th February 2014 2:10 pm

   Get off that machine

   As beginners we are often taught to isolate movements down to their simplest form.

   In gyms this is done as single joint resistance training exercises or stretches.

   0 Comments | Read More | athletic development, flexibility

7. In pursuit of excellence: level 3 strength and conditioning course

   3rd February 2014 5:05 pm

   “Perfection is unobtainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence”

   Vince Lombardi 

   This was the underlying theme of the first weekend of the Level 3 strength and conditioning course .

   8 Comments | Read More | strength and conditioning qualifications

8. Juking the stats 3- recovery

   31st January 2014 3:10 pm

   Not all that can be measured is important, and not all that is important can be measured.

   I keep mentioning this, but it must be borne in mind when we consider what we are doing.

   Recovery is an example of this. Everyone recognises the fact that if we train we must recover in order for adaptation to take place.

   0 Comments | Read More | jim rohn quote

9. Getting started in strength and conditioning

   10:27 am

   “There is more to circuit training than just getting tired”

   was something I kept explaining to coaches on the recent level 1 coaching strength and conditioning for sport course. 

   0 Comments | Read More | strength and conditioning course, strength and conditioning qualifications

10. Winning with your B game.

    21st January 2014 2:51 pm

    Can you win with your B game?

    If everything goes well in your training, you get a good night’s sleep, you arrive on time, you warm up well, you feel good and you win. Well done. But how often does this happen.

    More important is winning with your B game.

    1 Comment | Read More | ampk