Sport Specific Training
Sports specific training. No matter what your sport. I can design strength and fitness programmes tailored specifically towards your achievement goals. Weight training programmes designed to strengthen the upper, lower body and core benefit any type of sport, whether it would be football, rugby, athletics, tennis, rowing, badminton, martial arts, driving, horse riding, and swimming or skiing; the list is endless!
Programmes can be designed to vary the weights, repetitions, sets, rest periods, range of movement and equipment in relation to your specific fitness goals. For example, pure strength gain programmes can be written for a six week period where the number of repetitions and sets vary as time moves on to ensure continued strength gain results. Period specific programmes can be written for a set time frame which could culminate in a competition or sporting event.
If you're interested in competitive powerlifting, I can design specific strength training programmes that prepare you for them. These would be time specific, relating to the date of your competition. We would work on squats, the bench press, dead lifts and various other exercises hitting other muscles and muscle groups that assist with the three main lifts.
I can also help with your diet; to engineer strength gains and show you a few tricks if you need to shed that excess weight to sneak into your weight category! Together I know we can break all your Personal Bests (PBs) and get your totals up in no time! (click here to see competing clients)
Nearly all exercises for powerlifting and Olympic lifting can be used to see dramatic gains in all sports. The exercises will help with explosive power, acceleration, better turning, pivoting, balancing on one leg and improving muscular imbalance, perfect for track and field events, all ball sports and most Olympic sports.
Weight training improves grip and forearm strength; great for racket sports such as tennis and badminton, while also improving motor skills, balance and coordination.
Extensive core work-outs, used to increase balance and stability are the corner stone of any amateur or professional sports person. A strong core means better control with ball sports as it enables you to avoid being pushed off the ball (click here to see AFC Training). It also provides better control for horse riding and driving, allowing you to sit upright. A strong core work-out combined with upper back weight training will help you be a better swimmer and rower.
I can also help you with cardiovascular training, using weights, running, cycling or boxing, to increase your endurance levels for these specific sports.
If skiing is your thing I can train your legs and core and get your cardiovascular fitness up for the coming ski season so you can get the best out of your holiday!
If you are interested in boxing I have equipment that can help you improve your skill level. We can work on jabs, crosses, hooks and uppercuts, as well as knees, kicks and elbows. We can hit the heavy bag or pads to work on increasing the power and speed of your punches and use the speed ball and floor to ceiling ball to work on coordination, speed and movement. Boxing drills form a fun and technical part of your personal training programme where the change of pace and focus is great for developing balance, coordination and fitness. The beauty of this training is that we can work inside or outdoors. (See photo gallery)
Training with AFC Bournemouth
At Fitness First I trained some of the injured first team players of AFC Bournemouth until the end of the 2008-2009 season, assisting them with strength and conditioning. To improve explosive power, acceleration and stability I included power squats and sumo dead-lifts within the workouts. I wanted to engage the adductors, as well as the quads, hamstrings, glutes and lower back, to maximize a potential increase in leg and core strength. I used single leg presses, single leg curls and extensions, to strengthen the legs independently, as this would complement the power squats and would help to promote increased and equal strength when pushing off one leg at speed. I wanted to ensure that the quads and hamstrings were strong to increase acceleration while reducing the risk of injury that could occur through fast pivoting.
Strength training centred around 5 sets of 5, to failure, with the intention of changing the number of reps and sets every 3 weeks, e.g. 6 sets of 4, 8 sets of 3, 10 sets of 2 and single rep max's, to ensure continued development. 6-8 week strength gain programmes could also be written using a weekly decreasing number of reps. Some players wanted to train for size so 3-5 sets of 8-10, to failure, were used. I linked various exercises into super, tri or quad sets, to increase fitness, while maintaining the correct rest periods. Again I would change the number of sets and reps every 3 weeks from 3x8 to 5x5, as a consistent variation in training methods would help to secure an increase in strength and hypertrophy. Core workouts included various abdominal and stability exercises, again to assist with on the ball strength and balance.
Upper body routines used mainly free weights to exercise the chest, back, shoulders, traps and arms in order to correct any left or right side imbalance and to promote strong all over body conditioning. This would assist in repelling strong challenges in order to maintain possession of the ball. For fitness and coordination I held focus pads for the players and taught them various strikes. This not only helped to increase their levels of fitness but it also provided an outlet for aggression and was a useful break from conventional training. (See photo gallery)