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Coaching is a Science Experiment

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During the past two years, I have been experimenting with a few ideas, concepts, and thought patterns to assist the athletes and becoming a better coach. Some of them seem to work, whilst others haven't, and some I am unsure of. The three mains ideas, I been working on have been 1. In gym with undulating periodisation style, changing set and rep pattern every two weeks 2. Developing cues to assist athletes, one such is for throwers to think of their body and positioning as a corkscrew. 3. Adapting my philosophy as a sprints coach and introducing Mike Hurst Concurrent Program My thoughts on the success or otherwise on the above. Undulating Periodisation  Most of the squad, struggled with finding applicable weights suitable for the rep scheme in the first week. This meant they really only had fifty percent of a training block that product results. Towards the commencement of the early competition we moved this to three week blocks. It seemed to work, but unsure...
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Mental Competing Rehearsal

Do you do it? 90% of performance is physical, 10% is mental… but the 10% controls the 90% - Brian Risk Learning and practicing the skills necessary are not that hard, and if done frequently enough not that time consuming. This quick post is how I set up the processes to develop the skills necessary to improve mental rehearsal. Breathing correctly is the base of any mental imagery you perform.  It has the ability to help relaxation, centre yourself, and control the outcome of an event. Brief outline of the approach that I follow; Breathing Lie on the floor in a quiet room, better if it is carpet and dark, If need be place a small pillow under your head and knees Lightly place hand on Chest and Stomach, Breathe, concentrating on the stomach raising, that is the diaphragm and not the chest, Breathe slowly.  Inhale, hold, and exhale, Inhale through your nose Exhale through your mouth Introduce the concept of slow breathing and start w...
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Recently I was speaking with an athlete about the trouble they have sleeping in a foreign environment, i.e. not their own bed, and trying to come up with solutions and ideas to help. Mike Robertson wrote a good blog post on basic for good sleep and can be found here The basics are Develop a Routine   Optimise the Sleeping Environment Improve Sleep whilst Travelling Advanced Techniques The athlete has a reasonable sleeping routine, and generally sleeps well in their own bed, so what to do. Reminds me of a former training partner who use to take their pillow to every competition that required travel. Being comfortable and relaxed is highly important. What suggestions did we come up with? Learn Relaxation techniques, the more relaxed you are the more likely your sleep will be of good quality Listen to music Learn meditation Ear Plugs and Eye Mask
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Foam Rolling

I wrote this as a self-education piece in 2009, when I was learning about foam rolling.  I am definitely doing things differently now, but a lot of this has remained the same.  Foam Rolling is now used by everyone. As with things in the fitness industry, there are fads and things considered old.  This isn't an article on a fad, it is an article on a tool that a coach could have in their toolbox.  As with most things fads tend not to be new, they tend to come back after a period on the outer. Prior to commencing describing a method of self myofascial release do this simple test.  Standing, do a simple toe touch and note how far you can go and where you feel the tension.  Now grab a tennis ball and put your foot on it and roll the foot along the 10 times.  Swap feet.  Do the toe touch test again, what happened? Foam Rolling has become the next thing in fitness training, articles came out in completely in favour currently some practitioner...
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Priorities

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Life is made up of eight broad categories. Everyone will agree, some categories are more important than others, but all elements are needed in life. What are your most important categories? Personally I think there are three core , or essentials, categories to everyone. These are; Notice how I left out education, financial, and career.  They are not the most important thing in life, you may deem them to be and that is your right. JACK OF ALL TRADES, MASTER OF NONE That leaves five elements that need to be prioritised, you cannot priortise all of them.  Only one can be priority.  Others have to be less important. My last year of University I bought my first house and having to fend for myself, started a new relationship, trained 5 days a week for up to 3 hours a day, studied one subject a semester, and worked full time. I had to prioritise my life.  For me it ...
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Intensive Tempo

I previously wrote a post on Extensive Tempo, found here , so this post will concentrate on intensive tempo What is Intensive Tempo Tempo runs are intervals directed at building work capacity.  Intensive tempo runs are typically run at faster velocities with relatively short recovery periods.  Intensive tempo are anaerobic threshold training, conditioning the body to adapt to accumulation of lactic acid. Intensive tempo is common in the preparation of 400 and 800m. The tables below give an indication of the different definitions on intensive tempo USATF Rep Distance > 80 metres Total Distance 800 – 2000 metres Intensity 80 – 90 % Jim Hiserman Rep Distance 150 – 600 metres Total Distance 800 – 2800 metres Intensity 80 – 89% of 300m Time Trial UKA Rep Distance 150 – 600 metres Total Dista...
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