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Reflections from a Gymnastics assistant coaching course
1st June 2023
A guest post from Kath Maguire. Kath is the parent of one of our club’s gymnasts. She asked about doing some volunteering a couple of months ago and whether there was a course she could do. Here are her reflections from the day. “I’ve been thinking about volunteering for a while now but as it’s […]
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Warm down for weight training – hindu squats and hindu press ups

Have a look at this video of Tom Kurz (in his 60s) doing a Warm Down after his weights session.

Notice the lack of a foam roller, or therabands or any other gimic that hides the fact that the athlete is weak. Notice how he says that 200 squats is about right to help prevent knee pain.

I am constantly being requested to send the programme that the athlete I am training is doing to the National Governing Body.  They want to see an excel spreadsheet with pretty colours and terms like “speed strength” or “PCr workouts” on them.

The fact that the athlete struggles to do 5 press ups, or is unable to  get down and up off the floor for 30 seconds in sets of 4, seems to be irrelevant. As long as they have a “programme” then that is ok.

The more athletes I see, and especially the junior ones, the more reductionist in my approach I become. I cringe when I see the words periodised and programme now – it implies a top down,  straight out of a text book approach- is that Coaching?

Why are they being given barbell power cleans before they can do 100 squats?

Simple things, done well is my motto at present. The Hindu squats and Hindu press ups demonstrated by Kurz are a great example of this.

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Client Testimonials

David Ardley- triathlete
I had the pleasure (I think !) of working with James for a year or so focused on getting my Triathlon times down. Its amazing what was achieved in the space of an hour before work. What stood out for me is the constant variation of exercises and his ability to set the difficulties levels just right. His sense of humour and competitive spirit always helped when my energy levels were not quite there. I can attribute his structured training to my eventual success competing in the World Triathlon championships (age group) in Hamburg.
 
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