Website - www.esc-ni.com

Our website is now nearing completion and we are in the process of adding a few fininshing touches.

We have been working with a number of local clubs from various Sports recently and have received positive results and feedback (so far!). (See Testimonial section on website).

Over the past few months we have been working alongside:

- Aztecs Volleyball.
- NI Volleyball (Junior Girls National Squad).

- Glenavon FC Academy.

- Armagh Rovers FC.

- Loughgall FC.

We hope over the coming months to add to our list of teams and athletes, and the new website should help towards achieving this goal!

GoLift interviews...

We thought we would share some info on our own training, goals, hobbies, nutrition etc. Please add you own list to our comments:

Name: Robbie

Favourite Lift: Snatch when I’m lifting well

Least Favourite Lift: Snatch when I’m not lifting well

Short and Long Term Goals:
Short-term - To improve my strength through the full range of movement and snatch 90kg by Xmas. Snatch 85kg last week so getting close and follow Mobility WOD to make myself do some mobility work each day.
Long-term – Keep lifting; training hard and most importantly enjoy it. Want to lift till I’m about 35 then go do some ultra endurance events.

Hobbies/Activities outside of Training:
Love to eat steak, read the paper, being outdoors, swim in the ocean and spending time with my girlfriend/family/friends. I do like the odd cycle, climbing a few mountains, all watersports and having relaxing Sundays in which I just ‘Potter About.’

How is your Diet: Could always be better but I am not totally strict on what I eat. Follow Robb Wolff thinking with the Paleo Nutrition but I will say again that I am not strict Paleo eater. Keep the meat and fish intake high with 200g of protein per day. Always eat some berries in the morning and fish oil supplementation for anti-inflammatory reasons. Get my fruit and veg in everyday and love my double espresso twice a day to keep me going. I use protein post-workout and that’s it, no magic mix that will make me as stacked as a Bulgarian weightlifter. Keep it basic and get the calories in everyday, which enables me to train hard.

Advice for someone new to lifting: Find a coach, listen to them, be patient, train hard & recover well. I started lifting with no coach and wasn’t able to put my body into the positions it needs to go to be a good lifter. I trained poorly too often and didn’t let my body recover or adapt. I learnt some important lessons through trial and error so don’t make the same mistakes as me.

Name:

Timmy

Favourite Lift - Snatch

Least Favourite Lift - Snatch Balance

Short and Long Term Goals - To achieve short term goals for long term results in everything.

Hobbies/Activities outside of Training - Searching for the best eating spots in the province, cooking, social banter with family and friends, and reading my Bible daily.

How is your Diet - I like the occasional Lemon Meringue once a week although people call me “Health Freak” so I’ll let you be the judge that.

Advice for someone new to lifting - Perseverance - Take your time especially when technique is so important.

Neil

Favourite Lift - I enjoy both lifts equally.

Least Favourite Lift - Same as Robbie, the snatch technically has to be so precise as weight goes up, margin for error decreases. Causing me many frustrating misses.

Short and Long Term Goals - Playing football, work, family life etc have meant until the summer I can only get in max. 2-3 sessions a week. So maintinance is priority until footy season ends - try and keep strength up. Long Term (next couple of years) I would like to compete to have clearer focus to my training and to get the buzz on the platform.

Hobbies/Activities outside of Training - Family time - Married with baby girl, relaxing at home, always keep a check on various blogs/websites eg. calstrength, cataylst, etc. emmanuel church and bible study.

How is your Diet - Think its pretty good, but could be better too. try to be organised and plan ahead to ensure good choices. Bought paleo solution book recently.

Advice for someone new to lifting - Give it a go! Never compromise technique for weight. Set realistic goals - what do you want to get out of it. Be accountable to someone - training partner or coach.

Less is More

A few thoughts on my personal weightlifting experiences and maybe they can relate to you and your sport. In 2010, I have experienced a few injuries, lack of motivation, changing lifestyle patterns, stress and poor weightlifting. I started the year in the Limerick Open where I lifted poorly. Since then I have been hampered with injury. I resumed training and went all guns blazing at it, training 10-12 sessions per week and then finding myself going backwards.

I never managed my training with no deloading weeks and aiming for scores that were unrealistic as I was not fresh enough. I also found lifting by myself didn't help, leading to a major low in motivation.

I reassessed what I was doing, Now I lift 4 days a week with 2-3 big sessions making sure I recover well for the big sessions to keep the CNS as fresh as possible. I lift in different locations and try to train with other lifters as much as I can but work often dictates training alone. I work on mobility and recovery when I'm not in the gym and watch the famous KStar on MobilityWOD to get ideas and keep me at it.

I now have time for a life outside of work and training, get free weekends and feel like I'm lifting better than ever. Perfect.

Paralysis by Analysis?

We recently watched a documentary on BBC 1; is professionalism killing sport? It made us reflect on how we think as coaches…

Professionalism – What is it? How do we define it? Does it contribute to success in sport?

Why do we play Sport?

- For it’s competiveness

- For Enjoyment?

In sports, a professional is someone who receives money for participating. The opposite is amateur, meaning a person who does not receive money. Professional sport is full-time work requiring dedication and commitment. Amateur sport tends to be used as a release to get away from the pressures of life.

Professional sport is a multi-million pound industry with huge sums of money involved and livelihoods at stake; this of course brings added pressure to the athlete or team. Does this restrict the individual when performing knowing the amount of effort and preparation put in behind the scenes to deliver success?

Do you perform best under pressure with your every move being scrutinised or when relaxed and free to express your ability?

Laura Davies (Former world number one golfer) commented on her amazement at how younger players in the game would spend 12-14 hours a day practicing, analysing shots, receiving technical feedback and coaching. Instead of keeping it simple, playing the game instinctively using their natural talent.

Timmy worked as a performance coach in motor sport for six years (picture below, taken in Hungary) travelling to countries including China, Indonesia, Philippines, and most well known F1 tracks. To help a driver prepare for a race there is the Team principle, Engineers, Mechanics, Sponsors, Team Doctor, Physical trainer, Nutritionist, Driver, etc. Everything was driver focused in the run up to a race to ensure every possible detail had been accounted for in order to be the fastest car on the track.

Clive Woodward won the Grand Slam and World Cup with England rugby, with this success attributed to the expertise and depth coaching staff, and the attention to detail in every aspect of the teams preparation. However, the England football team has tried to replicate this model spending millions on a ‘world-class’ coach and support staff and first class facilities, however failed at the recent World Cup. Was the weight of expectation too much? Were the players unable to play with freedom and play to their potential? Has too much emphasis been placed on sports science – trying to gain that extra 1% and forgetting the other 99%? Ulster rugby have recently utilized GPS during training and games to help them monitor players heart rates, distance covered, etc

In a recent interview with Usain Bolt – who says he trains for eleven months of the year for one race lasting less than ten seconds. His outlook is that he has done the work and prepared well. Anyone who watches him race can see the how relaxed and at ease he is before a race and enjoys what he does the same when he was a boy.

We believe there has to be a balance. When coaching teams or athletes there has to be discipline in both coaches and team/athlete. If you have prepared properly and worked hard for the event, you are in the correct mindset to perform to your best – having no doubts and a clear mind, focused on your goal.

Long-Term Athlete Development

Success as an athlete at the Olympic or World level requires many years of training; some suggest 10yrs or 10,000hrs of focused training as a guideline. The primary reason for this is the cumulative effect that training has on our physiology. With consistent, progressive training, the body will constantly adapt to become more efficient as well as having a greater capacity for work. There really are no shortcuts to being a successful athlete and while some athletes reach their peak younger than others do, it is often related to how early they started ‘training’.
ESC-NI exists to provide the athlete with the pathway to success through the provision of strength and conditioning. How can we benefit athlete’s performance?

· Make them Stronger
· Make them more Powerful
· Strengthen the Musculature of the Trunk
· Maintain or Enhance Range of Motion/Flexibility
· Improve Anaerobic/Aerobic Capacity
· Increase Injury prevention
· IMPROVE PERFORMANCE

Each Athlete is assessed individually and specifically on three fronts, Sport/Athlete/Situation Assessments (SAS).

· Sport Assessment – Demands of the Sport – movement patterns, speed of movement and metabolic pathways.
· Athlete Assessment– Commitment, Training History, Physical Ability, Technical Ability.
· Situation Assessment – Facility and Time.

From this, each athlete will be competency tested to assess his or her current abilities and injury status. The tests are specific for each sport, for example volleyball testing could use overhead squat, jump squat, press-up, body-row and back extension hold. The results will provide the coaches with the information to which competency level the athlete will be assigned and begin their training progression. These competency levels can also be used as a standard protocol for selection onto an elite training panel.

Each athlete will have their training planned (periodised) for a period of time, which may be a month or 5 years. The athlete and coaches will have input into the plan and the plan will evolve depending on the progressions of the athlete. The SAS Assessments will be reviewed during the periodised plan on several occasions and the athlete/coaches will receive constant feedback.
The following is an example of a Periodisation Model:

Stage 1 GPP – Basic Strength and Mobility Work/Joint Preparation (Address Weaknesses and improve Work Capacity)
Stage 2 Technique Development – Dependent on time available, athlete’s ability etc.
Stage 3 Strength and Power Development – No substitute for strength.
Stage 4 Specific Strength and Power.
Stage 5 Competition Preparations

Within the UK, many athletes compete too often and don’t train enough. Within Northern Ireland, athletes are not exposed to a high level of competition on a regular basis, which leads to their performances suffering on the international stage. Athletes must have the opportunity to compete in appropriate, quality competition to enable them to achieve their potential. ESC-NI will provide athletes with the necessary components to physically and physiologically compete on the international stage.

“Success is a journey not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome”

Mid Ulster Sports Arena

This facility at Cookstown is always somewhere we look forward to training as it has an excellent range of equipment including two platforms and Werksan bars and discs. Stefan Kerr works there as a Strength and Conditioning Coach with teams/athletes, and does the inductions for those interested in joining and using the facility on a casual basis as we do. Sports Institute Northern Ireland also use it as one of their Performance Development Centres and Ulster Rugby Academy use it regularly for pitch and gym based training. Here's a short video showing some of our training at Cookstown:

Loughgall FC Pre-Season Conditioning Session

We carried out a training session to assess player fitness prior to new-season, it also gave the players a different stimulus having the opportunity to work with qualified S&C coaches.

Warm-up:

Session aims were introduced at the beginning to both motivate and make it relevant to the players and their own goals. Emphasis on anaerobic conditioning/fitness from 5 to 40m with short but sufficient recovery times.

With limited time during a session the warm up provided the opportunity to work on mobility and develop movements patterns of the sport, with the focus on quality not speed. This included development of acceleration, deceleration, side-shuffle and back pedal.

Anaerobic conditioning involved a fitness test. It involved forward movements over a sprinting distance of 30m, backwards movements of 10m and total distance per length of 120m. The constant change of direction, which is a key element in the game, showed as a weakness in most players.

Mixing Conditioning with football skill/games brought the best out of the squad, especially after a tough testing period beforehand. Here is a video below of the some paired sprints at the end of the session...

Collected Training - 9th August 2010

New lifter to Golift is Mr Steven Hyde, an 18 year old monster. He is a 90kg rugby player but is putting in his fair share of lifting session in the off-season. Currently a 92/120 lifter but he has plenty more in the tank, as he his getting stronger at present with each session. Last night he was knackered but still hit 90/110. He was easily throwing up 120 cleans but his back not strong enough in the catch. The importance of squats is emphasised again for all athletes.

Neil had another session heading towards an 80kg snatch before his season kicks in fully. He hit 77kg which is a PB, and had an easy 102kg CJ before he had to head off for a coaching session. He has the strength and technique to hit 80/110 at the moment but his mind takes over on too many occasions. His strength work gives him a lot of confidence, so he'll keep squatting and pulling for next few weeks and the scores will come.

Robbie hit 80/110 with many misses on 85 snatch. With a new PB snatch of 84kg on Saturday, the weights will continue to go up with refining technique and postural control. 115kg CJ was a step too far last night after lifting for over 2 hours, so maybe not be 100% conditioned for big lifting sessions. More work required on strength but good to see the weights continuing to grow for all 3 of us.