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. How to get fit for tennis

   27th June 2012 9:27 am

   On Monday we looked at the demands of tennis, now we look at putting that into practice. With a nation inspired by British hopes at Wimbledon, start getting fit now.

    How can I get fit for tennis?

   Start with flexibility and build from there. Every player needs to have a foundation of mobility and flexibility to build upwards from. This needs to be worked on regularly, not something that is done once a week or when you feel tight.

   1 Comment | Read More | fat metabolism, jack Dempsey, star trek, talent id

2. What are the Demands of Wimbledon Tennis?

   24th June 2012 2:22 pm

   Are you inspired by Wimbledon?

   With Wimbledon starting today, we thought it would be good to to look at the requirements of tennis for all abilities and how aspiring players can improve. Duncan Buckmaster has done the research and here are his thoughts.

   

   1 Comment | Read More | robinson, sleep, Sports Training system, star trek, strength training.

3. Jigsaw Training won’t help you win the US Open

   15th June 2012 10:10 am

   Focus on the picture not the pieces

   Golf fitness training is a boom industry. There are umpteen “golf specific” exercise dvds, books, apps and courses you can attend.

   Taken out of context, the exercises and “tests” could lead to your game actually getting worse.

   I have been discussing this over several months with Golf Coach Stuart Wells. He wants his golfers fit enough to be able to address the ball and strike it well throughout the tournament.

   0 Comments | Read More | rock climbing, sporting, thomas kurz

4. Does Pomegranate Juice Increase Testosterone Levels?

   30th May 2012 1:18 pm

   Increase your testosterone naturally

   Recent reports in newspapers have suggest that you can increase your testosterone levels by dinking pomegranate juice. Here, Duncan looks at whether this is true, or unclear.

   4 Comments | Read More | hydration, sports nutrition

5. Bruce Lee on agility

   28th May 2012 2:24 pm

   Traditional Martial Arts Training = Organised Despair

   According to Bruce Lee in the Tao of Jeet Kune Do, where he talks about traditional martial arts training and refers to it as organised despair. 

   “Instead of facing combat in its suchness, then, most systems of martial art accumulate a fancy mess that distorts and cramps their practitioners and distracts them from the actual reality of combat, which is simple and direct.

   4 Comments | Read More | jack Dempsey, rowing, sporting

6. How to make gains when training

   7th May 2012 8:42 am

   With thanks to Vern Gambetta

   1 Comment | Read More | gran slam tennis, rugby union

7. How can I sprint quicker?

   30th April 2012 1:57 pm

   Speed kills…

   Almost every athlete needs to sprint quickly in their sport, those who do it quicker, beat their opponents.  Putting aside the need for braking and change of direction, pure sprint speed is a useful asset.

   11 Comments | Read More | talent id, warm ups

8. Eating disorders in gymnasts

   4th April 2012 2:20 pm

   Can gymnasts avoid eating disorders?

   Gymnastics is a very powerful sport needing an incredible amount of strength and power in order to perform routines on the floor or on equipment.

   Vault requires a very short amount of energy but the power produced to perform their skills is huge.

   2 Comments | Read More | gymnastics, sports nutrition

9. How do I train to become a Formula 1 driver?

   25th March 2012 2:40 pm

   With the Formula 1 season now under way, I thought it might be good to hear from someone who works in motor sport about their thoughts on training. Oly Perkin works full time with young go karters. I met him when he attended a few of our coaching courses. It is great to see how he applies his coaching.

   1 Comment | Read More | motor sport

10. What you can learn about injury prevention from mowing your lawn.

    19th March 2012 7:55 am

    Training too hard too heavy too soon?

    Two weeks ago I made my first stab at mowing the lawn. After a mild winter, it has grown quite a bit and my Flymo was not up to the task.  It soon overheated.

    I was not partciularly looking forward to having to buy a whole new mower, but those cunning people at Flymo have designed it for people like me.  

    0 Comments | Read More | bad posture, core training, courses, iron