When the weights get heavy I get disciplined!

Performance Sports Training

We got back into the swing of things yesterday, watching a couple of athletes train. The diversity in athletes that James trains was obvious, having watched an American football athlete followed by a GB blind footballer.

The politics of elite sport is obvious however it is nice when more concentration is applied to the training sessions athletes take part in. The quote above came from one athlete we were coaching, who lacked focus in his strength training warm up.

Although many athletes would like to build on their strength straight away, it is apparent that this method may potentially cause an athlete to break and once this occurs there is no going back.

It is occasionally better to break down an athlete’s weight lifting technique in order to build them back up again. Sometimes this can be done quickly but in some instances it may take longer. However watching from a neutral point of view you can see that taking this time will only benefit the athlete.

James’s philosophy of taking notes and not breaking an athlete even for short-term gain is admirable. It is very important to follow a weightlifting routine, especially when not being trained by a coach and being left to your own devices in between sessions. Moving too quickly or not following a routine may do more damage.

Individual strength coaching 

I have also seen first hand that sometimes doing the best for an athlete doesn’t always come before your own personal power. Although a position comes with power if an athlete is succeeding outside that power, it is sometimes better to leave them to it.

Not every athlete responds to the same programme in the same positive way. Each athlete requires personal treatment especially at the highest level. However this comes with experience, something I am learning each week with Excelsior.

The Christmas break was a much needed one. The snow was very enjoyable although it disrupted many people’s lives and had the SWT day cancelled. However coming from Jersey it was nice to see some real snow and find that you can actually survive when there is more than half an inch!

I hope everyone had a brilliant start to 2011 and I look forward to working with everyone involved with Excelsior this year. Please leave a comment Matt

Strength Training for Sports Programme