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. 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

2. 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 |

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. Do we need sleep?

   2:41 pm

   There is still no real explanation of why we need sleep.

   As you arrive at work on Monday morning tired, are you thinking I didn’t get enough sleep this weekend?

   0 Comments | Read More | spatial

9. Sleep deprivation

   2:36 pm

   Does one bad night’s sleep affect performance?

   If you are worried about poor performance after having a bad night’s sleep, that is normal behaviour. The good news is that losing one night’s sleep is unlikely to affect you physically.

   Instead it affects your mood and your motivation to train.

   1 Comment | Read More | sleep

10. Sleep Deprivation and Insulin Sensitivity

    2:30 pm

    Average sleep levels have dropped

    Average sleep in the USA has dropped from 9 hours a night to less than 7 hours per night over the last 100 years: so much for having more leisure time!

    This could have an impact on health in the long term as recent research has shown that short term sleep deprivation leads to an inability to regulate insulin as well as people who have a good night’s sleep.

    0 Comments | Read More | Transfromational Coaching