Are you fit enough to play in the Champions League Final?

Bayern vs Chelsea: Only the fittest will prevail.

As the world’s top footballers prepare to meet in the Champions League Final this weekend, we explore what it takes to make it at the highest level.

Advances in Sports Science have revealed the highly energetic demands within the modern game, what we as coaches then do is help you get ready to play and meet those demands.

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Creating the Perfect Workout: Vern Gambetta and Jim Radcliffe

how to plan your perfect workout

“We should warm up with skills not drills” Said Jim Radcliffe in his joint presentation with Vern Gambetta at GAIN. Combined they have been on an 89 year journey and “We can do better” said Vern in trying to create the perfect workout. This was an interesting dual presentation with a lot of back and…

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Monitoring Overtraining: The 4 Hs

monitoring overtraining

You’ve Got To Be In Top Physical Condition. Fatigue Makes Cowards Of Us All.

symptoms of overtrainingVince Lombardi.

But, in order to get in top physical condition, athletes risk doing too much, resting too little and can get fatigued.

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How to Eat a Big Elephant

big elephant“It’s a big elephant: you can’t eat it all at once.”

This sums up trying to get a sports team fit in season: there is so much to do, so little time, so many variables.

“How can I get my team fit?” is a question I tried to answer yesterday on the CPD day with the Level 1 and Level 2 S&C coaches.

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Goal setting for sport: 4 secrets to success

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.

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How to take charge of your fitness training

injury prevention

herschel walker“If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat.”

Herschel Walker 

Training hard is one part of fitness training, but any idiot can get tired (or indeed make you tired)!

I want to give you ideas that will help you get fit for your purpose. 

That may be to run faster, get stronger or jump higher in your sports arena.

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Beware the Volume Trap

volumeHow to improve performance

If you are a beginner exerciser then one of the best ways to improve performance is to increase volume.

If you are training for 20 minutes every day a week, or for 45 minutes twice a week, then increasing to 45 minutes 6 times a week will lead to performance improvements.

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Train the way you play: Jim Radcliffe

“Go hard, Go Fast, Finish it, Go Again”

This sums up Jim Radcliffe’s approach to training teams at Oregon University. His lecture at GAIN V on his training system was a masterclass in how to organise and plan.

This was not some periodisation lecture, instead it showed the different aspects that need training, and how they connect with each other. Radcliffe showed the different roots and branches of what is needed and why.

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DARE to be different: Vern Gambetta lecture

“Dissect, Appraise, Reflect, Examine: Evaluate yourself constantly”

Vern Gambetta giving sound advice to the MSc Strength and Conditioning students at the University of East London last night. 

Vern gave two lectures, the first on planning training and the second on coaching. It was a small group of students, plus myself, course leader Nick Bourne, and some football coaches. 

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