Tag Archive: motivation

1. A Movement Manifesto

   15th July 2021 11:53 am Leave a Comment

   A personal movement manifesto for all

   Humans have evolved through adaptation to moving in their environments. My goal is to help people learn to enjoy movement and make it part of their physical and mental selves.

   

   Physical activity is often reduced to a number: “10,000 steps”, “walk a mile a day,” or ’100 reps’. By focussing on the number you eliminate joy, discovery and variety. That is a quick way to put people off.

   Here is my Movement Manifesto that will hopefully encourage people of all ages to take part in and explore movement.

   3 Mantras:

   · Move well, move often.

   · Variety is the spice of exercise.

   · Monotony ages you, novelty invigorates you.

   Locomotion: moving!

   Rhythmical, continuous movements such as cycling, walking, running, swimming, skipping rope and rowing are essential for heart health and overall well being. They form the foundation of aerobic (with oxygen) fitness and the continuous, cyclical, rhythmical action is also good for mental health and stress relief.

   Other activities such as gardening, climbing and dancing are useful too but are more intermittent by their nature.

   

   Talking of nature, doing these activities outdoors, in natural environments has proven health benefits compared to doing the same exercises indoors. Walking in parks, fields, woods and hills is different from walking on a treadmill watching t.v.

   Resistance Training: Overcoming Gravity

   We need resistance training to improve our bone and muscle strength. Gravity is continuously working upon us and our posture suffers. We also need strength to perform activities of daily living such as shopping, laundry and picking up children.

   Resistance training includes bodyweight exercises (jumping, climbing, hanging) and the use of external resistance (dumbbells, sand disks, medicine balls, Indian clubs, barbells and kettlebells).

   The use of chairs and benches to perform sitting and lying down exercises is not recommended. unless you are injured. because they restrict movement. Train your whole body: from fingernails to toenails.

   The heavier the load, the less variety you can incorporate into your training. A balance of simple exercises with heavier loads and expansive exercises with lighter loads is good.

   Move like a child

   Children learn to move by rolling and crawling. They love to hang from things and explore the environment. Every day is a learning day and they are delighted with every new skill.

   Moving like a child will help connect your mind and body: you will be playful in attitude and purposeful when you learn new skills. Getting up and down and moving around the ground helps you coordinate and link all the parts of your body. This strengthens and stretches joints, muscles and fascia (the connective tissue under your skin) that upright activities are less able to do.

   Learning new things breaks up your routine and habits. This stimulates the mind and body and forces them to adapt and become more adaptable. Learning is also fun. Try one new exercise or variation every week or work on a new skill until you are competent and then try another.

   Change the speed

   Move fast, move slow, change your speed. The simpler the exercise, the easier (and safer) it is to move fast or to add some resistance. Sprinting needs to be done fast! Squats are a simple exercise that can be loaded through resistance or volume.

   Forward rolls, the downward dog stretch and jumping over obstacles require different speeds but are all finite in the amount you can do.

   • Have some slow movements that require control and balance and stretch you.
   • Have some fast movements that require a greater effort and then rest.
   • No one mode of movement is the answer to everything.

   We all have our preferences and it is great to do more of what we like. Including a little bit of everything else will help you maintain a healthy, balanced enjoyment of movement throughout your life.

   If you are a runner, lift some weights and try yoga.

   If you are a weight lifter, go for a long walk or a swim.

   If you are a tennis player, try climbing (you have to use both arms) or learn to do a handstand.

   Summary

   We are all different and so following a single plan is unlikely to succeed. Our modern environments are, for the most part, safe and ordered and we easily adjust. Our movement needs to change to create change within our bodies and minds.

   • Move
   • Overcome
   • Learn
   • Change
   • Enjoy

   If you wish to learn more then come to one of my movement workshops or email me.

2. Lessons learned from Lockdown PE

   3rd March 2021 10:18 am Leave a Comment

   After filming 72 PE videos over the last year, here are some thoughts.

   To paraphrase Admiral Ackbar in ‘Return of the Jedi’: “It’s a wrap”!

   Our final PE video was filmed and edited last week: #72. We initially started by planning only nine when I first contacted Willand Primary School 50 weeks ago. None of us knew how traumatic and disruptive the next year would be.

   For our last video I recruited some friends and colleagues from around the world. Each of whom coaches with a different style and manner but they all share a consistent message: we want to help the children get better.

   Three lessons learned

   1. Planning is essential: we decided to do 10-minute chunks around the 3 themes of movement, physical fitness and skills. This gave the framework from which we could expand. The teachers and pupils could then use those chunks as stand-alone sessions or as part of a bigger lesson.
   2. Technology helps: a better camera, tripod, microphone and editing software meant that the videos in Lockdown 3 looked and sounded better than those first 9. Having captions and links broke up the boring sound of my voice. We could not have done this 10 years ago (on our budget).
   3. It’s hard work overcoming the counting paradigm: We avoided giving simple tasks that are easy to count and record. We seemed to be alone in this endeavour as the curriculum and other NGB videos were obsessed with ‘getting a score’. Schools liked sharing one-minute, simplistic tasks such as catching a pair of socks as many times as possible in a minute and writing it down. This counted as a ‘PE lesson.’ UGH!

   Our lessons were about exploration and discovery and implicit learning: things that require patience, diligence and good teaching!

   Unfortunately, having been a home schooling parent this year, education seems to be very mechanistic in all areas. My son had to read a poem and do a comprehension quiz: he got 10/10 but had no idea what the poem was about. He read the questions first and then searched the poem for the answers.

   This same, limited, approach is endemic within PE. Teachers want numbers and so reduce the learning and task difficulty accordingly: plank for 5 minutes anyone?

   You can see the improvement in our loyal video subjects over the last year: the tasks and lessons inspired them to practise on their own, even if they were shy on camera. That has been the best thing for me.

   Transforming PE for your pupils

   As a result of this experience, and my collaboration with Andy Stone, I have organised a teachers’ CPD workshop called Post Pandemic PE: creating the resilient student.

   You can learn how we developed our practical and systematic approach and adapt it for your school.

   Thanks for reading and watching. Stay safe, stay healthy.

3. How to live on 24 hours a day

   7th June 2019 11:34 am Leave a Comment

   Time is precious, how do you budget it?

   We all have 24 hours a day; it is one thing that unites us as humans. How we spend them differs vastly. Two Arnolds (Schwarzenegger and Bennett) have recently influenced my thoughts on how to spend my time. Here are some ideas on making the most of your time.

   

   I shall use quotes from the following:

   • Arnold Bennett’s excellent little book ‘How to live on 24 hours a day.’
   • Cal Newport’s ‘Deep Work’ which offers very constructive advice about maximising your time.
   • Arnold Schwarzenegger’s motivational video (see below) about achieving your goals.

   What do you want to do?

   Before you start trying to be more productive, you need to know what it is that you want to do with an extra hour a day.

   

   • Look at more kittens on skateboard videos?
   • Practice your drawing?
   • Learn a new language?
   • Get fit?
   • Research your family tree?
   • Read a book a month?

   Far be it for me to judge what your interests are, but if you don’t know what you want to try and achieve with an extra hour, you will lack the incentive to make changes.

   “I’ll live the focused life, because it’s the best kind there is.” Winifred Gallagher

   Waking up every morning with a purpose will make a difference.

   • Step 1: Think about what it is you would like to do if you were given an extra hour a day.

   Or maybe for work related tasks, ‘Think about what you would like to do if you ONLY had one hour in the day.’

   ‘Busyness as Proxy for Productivity: In the absence of clear indicators of what it means to be productive and valuable in their jobs, any knowledge workers turn back toward an industrial indicator of productivity: doing lots of stuff in a visible manner.’ Cal Newport.

   Eliminate the unnecessary

   Once you know what you want to try and do, then you can free up some time.

   

   ‘Eliminate meetings, emails, social media, or put them in boxes. Have a digital sabbatical or a digital sabbath.’ Cal Newport.

   20 years ago no one checked work emails at home; now a day off means only checking your emails twice. This means that valuable head space is taken up by thinking about work, rather than what you want to do.

    ‘If a man makes two-thirds of his existence subservient to one-third, for which he admittedly has no absolutely feverish zest, how can he hope to live fully and completely? He cannot.’ Arnold Bennett.

   Bennett allocates 8 hours a day for work and 50 minutes each side of that for travel.  Even if you hate your job, he suggests it shouldn’t ruin the rest of your time.

   It is easy for me to say as someone who is self-employed, but I have always resisted the urge to have meetings and send emails. I joke that those in the public sector often say ‘I’ve had a busy day with meetings and emails.’

   Whereas I say ‘I got nothing done because I had to go to meetings and reply to emails.’

   If you are employed by an organisation that likes to have meetings to discuss the next meeting, then good luck. Otherwise, think about how you can say ‘No’ to things that won’t immediately impact on your work.

   Newport recommends the digital Sabbath- taking one day off a week from electronic communication (including skateboarding kittens). For more important pieces of work: books, revision, articles or projects, then take a digital sabbatical for several weeks.

   This will be extremely hard for those people who insist on sharing every meal they eat or every dog walk they take on Instagram. Hence the need for that burning desire in step 1.

   Step 2: Eliminate the unnecessary from your work life and social life.

   How much time is left?

   It is worth watching this video featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger’s quote ‘Sleep faster’ on how to allocate time in your day. Arnold Bennett in 1908 came to a similar conclusion; 6 hours a sleep is enough, and the rest is just habit.

   If you have 10 hours for work and travel, 6 hours for sleep, that leaves 8 hours for you. Take away two for household chores, ablutions and meal times and that leaves 6 hours for what you want to do. 

   Those of you with newborn infants, or caring for the Aged Relative will have additional responsibilities. This will eat into those 6 hours considerably.

   When I had two children under 4, my brain was a fog and I learnt to exercise in 15 minute chunks as and when I could. I read Graphic Novels instead of books because I was so tired all the time. Relentless was the word constantly coming to mind.

   Step 3: Work out how much time is left.

   You will find an hour at least.  If you can’t find the hour, sleep faster. Ninety minutes is a good amount of time, any more than that and you are likely to lose focus.

   Newport talks a lot about having ninety minute focus periods throughout the day, with no more than four periods (6 hours) total. It is very hard to do high quality work all the time.

   When are you at your best?

   Are you up when the lark is on its wing and the snail is on its thorn? Do you enjoy the peace and quiet once the rest of the family has gone to bed?

   

   When I started being strict with my 6 hours of sleep a night, I realised I had a choice: stay up later, or get up earlier. When I looked at what I achieve in the day before 0700 compared to what I achieve after 2100, the choice was clear. Get up earlier.

   I get a head start on the day before the family awakens and descends down the stairs placing their various demands. You may prefer having your time at the end of the day. What is important is that you find the fit that works for you.

   Then plan your hobby/ task at your best time of day.  You want to start easily and build up. This is very important.

   ‘A failure at the commencement may easily kill outright the newborn impulse towards a complete vitality, and therefore every precaution should be observed to avoid it. The impulse must not be over-taxed. Let the pace of the first lap be even absurdly slow, but let it be as regular as possible.’ Arnold Bennett.

   If you are trying to learn to play the piano, then Chopsticks rather than Chopin may be the best place to start. Gain some satisfaction in making time for yourself, and achieving step one.

   If you compare yourself to a more accomplished / experienced practitioner, you are likely to quit. If you say ‘I could never write a short story as good as Margaret Atwood, so I won’t try,’ how will you ever improve?

   The ridiculous comparison is an easy way to avoid failing at a task (I see it in athletes all the time).

   ‘I will not agree that, in this business at any rate, a glorious failure is better than a petty success. A glorious failure leads to nothing; a petty success may lead to a success that is not petty.’ Arnold Bennett.

   Step 4: Start simply and gradually, build on small successes.

   Enjoy the Journey

   ‘Life is a destination, not a journey‘ was my motto when I was competing. I was so focused on the outcomes, results and selection for squads and teams that I spent little time enjoying the moments.

   That is the only thing I would change if I had the chance to repeat the experiences.

   Once you have the inclination, the time and the purpose for your new task, set yourself up to enjoy the process. It may mean having a separate room, converting your garage to a gym or creating a ritual to transition from life to hobby.

   

   ‘The proper wise, balancing of one’s whole life may depend upon the feasibility of a cup of tea at an unusual hour.’ Arnold Bennett.

   I ease my way into the day with a cup of freshly brewed coffee, thanks to my automated coffee machine.  Once that is drunk, I can then start creating or doing, rather than consuming.

   You may like to celebrate completing minor tasks with something rewarding. I would suggest matching the reward to the task, or at least not contradicting it. There is no point celebrating losing a kg of weight by eating a chocolate orange.

   Step 5: Enjoy the journey, celebrate minor successes and learn from the failures.

   Remember that you will stumble and fall, that is normal.

   ‘The path to Mecca is extremely hard and stony, and the worst of is that you never quite get there after all.’ Arnold Bennett.

   Good luck with finding out what excites you -that is the hardest part. The rest is just logistics.

   Further reading:

   How to change habits part 1

   Recommended reading list for teachers and coaches

4. Butter your own toast

   22nd May 2016 8:32 am Leave a Comment

   Self reliant athletes

   

   Have to put the bread in the toaster too

   I saw this quote somewhere recently, it was aimed at young people, but it applies to us all. It is a variation on the “give a man a fish he eats for a day, teach a man how to fish, he eats for a lifetime” quote.

   I can show someone how to butter their toast, I may even do it 2-3 times, they then have to start buttering it themselves. If they are good, they may then start trying different types of butter, or bread, or even making toasted sandwiches.

   Some people turn up every week, cap in hand and an expectant look:  “please butter my toast again”, without progressing.

   The article this was mentioned in, said that you can’t go through life expecting people to butter your toast for you all the time. You ask people for help in showing you how, but it is then up to you to do something with it.

   This is especially prevalent in gyms and many sports squads, where people turn up, are in the room, but aren’t engaging with their own bodies. They are paying money out and hoping that through some power of osmosis they will get better.

   Other people can definitely help you- that is why they are experts – either through knowledge or previous experience, but you have to butter your own toast.

   The athlete is the person who plays the sport or competes in the arena. They are the one who has to make decisions in the heat of the battle. In order to become self reliant athletes, they need to accept responsibility for their own actions.

   Only by looking inside yourself and becoming responsible for your own learning will you actually get better.

5. How to Train Before Breakfast: The Great Gama

   6th February 2016 8:44 am 5 Comments

   I always like it when I meet a young athlete and they tell me they do a few press-ups and sit-ups in the morning before breakfast or at night. It shows me that in the words of Muhammad Ali “they have the will, I just train the skill“.

   One famous wrestler, the Great Gama, took this to a very high level.

   He got up at 0300 every day and did 4,000 deep knee bends (Hindu squats to Excelsior regulars) of which 700 of them were jumping squats.

   In the afternoon he did 2,000 one arm and two arm press-ups, followed by a 4-mile run, then 3 or 4 hours of wrestling.

   It is funny how young males want to do “cleans“ at the first opportunity, rather than develop a great foundation of conditioning first.

   Somehow just working hard is often forgotten.

   We don’t expect our athletes to be as fit as the Great Gama but we do expect them to be able to squat well. The squat matrix is a good place to start:

   How to train like the Great Gama

   My new schedule is less punishing than this, but it has helped cure my insomnia (thanks to Sleepyhead clinic).

   • 0515 Wake up. Drink black coffee, eat a banana, read/study.
   • 0600-0610 Rise and shine mobility work.

   • 0610-0700 Training session, usually weightlifting, otherwise structural integrity work + gymnastics.
   • 0700-0710 Ablutions
   • 0710 onwards: get family up, breakfast and school walk.

   This requires a sensible bedtime, and no indulging the night before, which is another good habit to get into.

   One young female athlete who is on a Netball “pathway” said to me “But if I train before breakfast, I will have to shower“! Those athletes who do get into a morning routine seem to want “it” more than those who are ferried around by their parents to every last organised practice.

   Try doing 10 minutes of exercise before breakfast every day this week, you will be on your way to being the next Great Gama!

6. Goal setting for sport: 4 secrets to success

   14th September 2015 3:48 pm Leave a Comment

   How to get better at sport

   Goal setting can be a very effective exercise , or it can be a time wasting procedure. Here are 4 secrets that will help you achieve your goals.

   Lots of the athletes I work with have done a goal setting for sport exercise with their various coaches in the summer. This can quickly become consigned to the dustbin of history once the first three matches of the season have been played.

   “Plans are the beginning of action. But competitive advantage is gained only by effective execution.” Sun Tzu

   Secret 1: Hold yourself accountable and put a review time for each goal you set into your diary.

   Other recreational athletes stumble from one week to another hoping for things to change, but never taking time to plan how. Getting sucked into the “back to school” vortex usually impedes any progress on anything apart from survival.

   “Quality does not just happen. People who believe so, are people who trust in miracles to make their way through life.  Quality excellence is an outcome of preparation and relentless practice. It is surely a given then, that there is time set aside routinely for this.” Frank Dick

   Secret 2: Set time aside for 5 minutes each week to plan on how you are going to reach your goal.

   Rather than wait until the New Year, I try and get our athletes to think about how to get better now. One unfortunate truth I share with athletes is that to get better at anything takes hard work.

   “Mastery often involves working and working and showing little improvement, perhaps with a few moments of flow pulling you along, then making a little progress, and then working and working on that new, slightly higher plateau again.”  Daniel Pink: Drive

   This can be daunting at first, but setting small achievable goals and working on them until they are finished is the way forward. There is something immensely satisfying about finishing a task, no matter how small.

   “When a task is once begun,

   Never leave it until it’s done.

   If the labour’s great or small,

   Do it well, or not at all.”

   Archie Moore (light heavyweight champion of the world).

   Secret 3: Small achievable goals are the foundation of bigger ones; start and finish small goals each week.

   Unfortunately this thing called life has a habit of throwing unexpected obstacles in our path. Very few people live in an ivory tower of just being able to do their sport with no outside responsibilities.  The rest of us have to juggle work, studying, travel, family, and financial responsibilities.

   “Something’s bound to happen to you in a tough fight, cut eye, broken nose, or broken hand or something like that. So you could make excuses out of anything, you know, but you got to keep on going if you’re a champ or a contender. This is what makes champs, I think the guys that keep fighting when they have things going against them.”

   Jake LaMotta (Middleweight champion of the world)

   Secret 4: Persevere, persevere, persevere. If you really want to get better, then you will have to learn how to keep going.

   Read our 3 part series on how to make effective changes 

7. How can I increase intrinsic motivation?

   28th November 2014 9:41 am Leave a Comment

   Get the vibe right and intrinsic motivation will follow

   I was training 3 athletes in the gym a couple of weeks ago, they were doing one of my usual warm ups, no music, no shouting, no distractions.

   The three were focussed and busy.  Another coach walked in, and said

   “I wish I was training now, rather than earlier, there is a good Vibe.”

   The three athletes were all teenage boys, and were good examples of how young people can train.

   What is a Vibe? Is it something we can create, or something we can enhance.? If you are training where there is a good Vibe, then you will probably find that time passes quickly, and you get better results and satisfaction from your training activity.

   

   Running in the country

   When on holiday recently I was going for a morning run on a footpath from the campsite, through some woods along a coastal path. The path was uneven, with tree roots, steps and other obstacles.

   I had to pay attention to every step that I was taking. The air was clear and fresh, the sun was sparkling on the sea, and I didn’t know what was around the corner. I was fully engaged in the run and was not thinking of anything else.

   Compare that to walking into a commercial gym, stepping onto a treadmill and plugging in headphones and watching breakfast television, whilst trying not to listen to dance music or adverts in the gym itself.

   The gym is telling you that the run is something to be endured, and that watching tv is a more beneficial activity.

   Which run is more likely to create a “Vibe”? 

   Here are some tips on creating a Vibe in your training sessions:

   Having a purpose helps motivation

   It is next to impossible to get a good training session under way if you have no plan. For me, it always starts with the warm up, if this is done correctly then the session will follow well. Avoid giving yourself or the athletes an opportunity to ease into it. Have a purpose for the session and then make sure the warm up is related to it.

   As a coach, if your programme involves sitting on a foam roller, then moving to a stationary bike, followed by some generic resistance machines and you let them wear headphones, expect your athletes to be bored, demotivated and unengaged.

   Have an environment with no distractions

   Easier said than done, but if there is a group of you, it is better to train in an empty facility with limited equipment, than a super duper facility surrounded by numpties.

   Better to run outside, away from traffic, than on a busy road. Again, we are victims of circumstance and environment, but try and do what you can. That might mean going to the gym at quieter times, or earlier in the morning.  Music can be part of it, but should be background, rather than overwhelming.

   Get good training partners

   

   Having training partners helps when it gets hard

   You can train alone, or with other people. If you do train with others, then make sure they are there to work and improve too.

   I train groups of athletes from different sports, but they work well together because they are all dedicated to improving.

   Competitive banter is part of it, but avoid mickey taking. They can afford to make mistakes in the gym, because that helps them learn. The competition is partly with each other, but mostly for themselves.

   Positive feedback

   Finish on a good note- well done, good job, and then some points to take forward for the next session. You can pat yourself on the back, and then think how that has helped you become a better athlete.

   I had never thought about creating a “Vibe” until someone else pointed it out to me, but it is something I try and focus on now.  I hope you can get the Vibe soon too.

   Further reading:

   • How to set meaningful goals for your training
   • How to plan your training sessions

8. Bones heal, chicks dig scars

   13th October 2014 2:55 pm 1 Comment

   

   Owning this lunch box was cool

   The author of this quote- Evil Knievel, died 11 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

   “Bones heal, chicks dig scars, pain is temporary, glory is forever.”

   This was paraphrased in The Simpsons episode Bart the Daredevil when Captain Lance Murdoch tells Bart:

   “Bones heal, chicks dig scars, and America has the best Doctor to Daredevil ratio in the world.”

   Knievel really lived life on the edge, my son Jack seems to be following in his footsteps!

   How to start training to be a stuntman

9. 11 questions every aspiring athlete should ask themselves

   29th May 2014 8:16 am 6 Comments

   “If you ask me how I want to be remembered, it is as a winner.

   You know what a winner is? A winner is somebody who has given his best effort, who has tried the hardest they possibly can, who has utilized every ounce of energy and strength within them to accomplish something.

   It doesn’t mean that they accomplished it or failed, it means that they’ve given it their best. That’s a winner.” 

   Walter Payton NFL Running Back

   In the current climate of “because I’m worth it” generation of young athletes who expect a lot, but maybe don’t realise the work involved here are 11 questions every athlete should ask themselves.

   1. Do you have a goal or a wish? Lots of athletes have idle day dreams, but taking the time to write down your goals and set up a plan is crucial.
   2. Do you have self -discipline? That is the discipline to make every training session, to do the little things well, consistently. The discipline to follow a plan even if you are tired or busy.
   3. Do you get quality sleep? Sleep is the foundation from which you can recover. It is also an indicator that there is balance in your life: too much stress, poor diet, or poor lifestyle can all impact on sleep quality.
   4. Do you fuel yourself properly? After sleep, this is an easy way of distinguishing between those who are serious about performance and the also-rans. The 3 step approach to fuelling properly will ensure consistency.
   5. Do you have the 4 cornerstones of training in place? It is easy to do what we are comfortable with, or what seems most urgent. However, you need to have all 4 cornerstones in place to be most effective.
   6. Are you mindful: of others, of your body, of your strengths and weaknesses? Mindfulness allows you to focus on one area at a time. It will help boost your immune system and reduce blood pressure. Being mindful in training means you are less likely to get injured and more likely to improve.
   7.  Do you train to gain an edge? It is often easy to get the big things in place, but the little things accumulate over time and soon add up. If you are doing them daily, then you will be gaining an edge over your opponents who are resting.
   8. Do your sessions have purpose? Or are they organised despair? There is a big difference between doing “stuff” that gets you tired and training with a purpose so that you get better.
   9. Are you getting stronger? Strength in some form underpins all athletic movement: posture, stability, power, balance and pure strength all require a strength training plan of some form.
   10. Do you challenge your technique? “Skill is technique under pressure” so do you seek to improve and develop your technique in different circumstances and environments? It is easy to be good when training at your own club: very different in the maelstrom of away fixtures under pressure.
   11. Have you given it your all? This may be hard to quantify, and you can only give the best that you are capable of at that time.  If you look in the mirror at the end of the day and say “I had a little bit left” then how will you be able to cope when that choice is taken away from you? Sometimes you have to empty your tank and train beyond your reserves.

   Walter Payton is an NFL legend, who knows if you are going to be as good as him? But , as an aspiring athlete, if you answer Yes to all of these questions, then you are well on the way to making the most of your ability.

   (Pictured are Dan James, Jenny McGeever and Tom Baylis: 3 of our current athletes who answer these questions).

   Further reading

   What is Athletic Development?

10. Old words still relevant.

    22nd October 2013 8:37 am Leave a Comment

    As The Stoic philosopher Epictetus mused some 19 centuries ago:

    “So you want to conquer in the Olympic Games, my friend. But first mark the conditions and the consequences, and then set to work.

    You will have to put yourself under discipline: to eat by rule, to avoid cakes and sweetmeats; to take exercise at the appointed hour whether you like it or not, in cold and heat; to abstain from cold drinks and from wine at your will; in a word, to give yourself over to the trainer as to a physician.

    Then in the conflict itself you are likely enough to dislocate your wrist or twist your ankle, to swallow a great deal of dust or to be severely thrashed and, after all these things, to be defeated.”

    Epicteus had it right.

    Some of the young athletes I have worked with, or who are trying to get selected into teams, seem to have a different viewpoint on life.

    It goes:

    • I will only do the bare minimum to achieve what I need to and rely on my parents to barrack Coaches into selecting me.
    • I will only work when under supervision.
    • I will miss training to go to a free lunch or to go on holiday.
    • I will piss and moan if I fail to get selected for something… and then I will quit. I will eat junk food, abstain from breakfast and demand supplements.
    • Never, ever, under any circumstances is anything my fault-instead it is the Coach or the other players’ fault.

    Often they are the most talented ones too and are “anointed and appointed” (as Vern Gambetta would say) at a young age.

    I have learnt to remove these athletes from my training environments at the earliest opportunity.

    The Athletes from all sports who are part of the Excelsior Athletic Development Centre are learning what it takes to succeed. They have started their Quest for Ultra Performance