Bailey Health & Fitness

A - “I don’t need to lift weights for my sport as it's non-contact”

B (coach) - “Depends whether you want to get better at it or not”

The weight room is not reserved for just rugby players and the odd American Footballer.

Regardless of what sport you play, getting stronger will make you better at it.

Strength is the foundation of performance

This doesn’t mean you should get into a “Tuesday is arms and back routine”

It means you need a bespoke strength programme tailored to you and your sport

Give me a shout if you want to know more

Einstein??? Never heard of him. Apparently he was clever.

This quote makes sense though when you think about it from a gym training point of view.

It's January. You start off all guns blazing, buy new trainers, get up early to get down the gym 3 times a week but after a few sessions things stagnate, and gym attendance drops alongside enthusiasm.

It’s a well-trodden path.

The root cause for this is often two things – boredom and lack of perceived progress.

This comes from doing the same workout over and over again. The same weights lifted for the same number of reps, same resistant level on the cardio machines and so on. Mentally you will become stale and physically your body will quickly adapt to what you are asking it to do.

BUT you never have to do the same workout twice.

Think of all the variables you could be changing – weight lifted, reps performed, sets performed, equipment used, rest taken, indoors, outdoors, group training, one on one training, rowing, swimming, climbing, jumping etc etc.

Life/Sport is unpredictable, so your body needs to get used to it.

Now I am not saying you should change things up just for the sake of it. Your chosen sport and fitness goals will dictate broadly what you are doing in each session.

However, variety done smartly can keep you committed both mentally and physically which will mean you enjoy your sessions a whole lot more and through clever programming you will see incremental progress every week.

Drop me a note of you want to know more

The new year is upon us!! You no longer HAVE to eat sprouts.

Like millions of people, you've signed up for a gym membership/marathon/triathlon/beach holiday as an incentive to get fit.

I am all for this.

However in these circumstances most people need a little or a lot of guidance to smash their goals.

You can get generic fitness programmes from most websites these days but they won't take into account your age/fitness level/injuries/family life/work pressures/school commute hell.

So you could follow your off the shelf plan and just about scrape over the line.

Or you could follow a programme that is bespoke to you and takes into account every little detail that makes you you??

Chances are you won't scrape over the line, you'll smash right through it.

If you are setting goals for 2020 that you want to smash then you need to have a smart, sustainable and bespoke exercise and nutrition programme.

I have a couple of spaces left for either face to face or online fitness coaching so give me a shout if you would like me to give you some guidance.

The new year is nigh, you've signed up for a marathon/triathlon/beach holiday as an incentive to get fit.

You can get generic fitness programs from most magazines these days but they won't take into account your age/fitness level/injuries/family life/work pressures/annoying boss.

So you do your marathon/triathlon/beach holiday by following the plan and just about scrape over the line.

But what if your program was bespoke to you and takes into account every little detail that makes you you??

Chances are you won't scrape over the line, you'll smash right through it.

If you are setting goals for 2022 that you want to smash then you need to have a smart, sustainable and bespoke exercise and nutrition program from day 2 (allowing one day for NYE hangover)

Give me a shout if you would like me to give you some guidance

Want to be a better runner? Get stronger!

Now I'm not talking about packing on big slabs of muscle as this will slow you down but the right kind of strength training will make you a faster runner whether you are a 5k ju**ie, a marathon maniac or just a Park Run enthusiast.

For example, when my brother stars to train for his annual ultra marathon we always set out a strength program that will compliment rather than hinder his running.

Strength training is not something typically thought of as necessary for runners, but it is essential if you want to reach your potential.

This goes for any sport. Just ask Mo Farah and Tiger Woods. You can only hit so many golf balls or run 5ks.

To hit YOUR peak, you have to hit the gym.

However, every sport requires a slightly different method so getting an off the shelf gym package will not get you optimal results. Where there is consistency across sports is the fact that you don’t have to spend hours in the gym, just keeping it smart and efficient will do the job.

Smart + efficient = sustainable.

Under proper supervision gym training can enhance your performance in any sport whatever your situation. Let me know if you fancy giving it a go.

Ever feel sluggish when you play on the weekend??

There could be a number of reasons why but here are the top 5:

1 You haven't had enough good quality sleep during the week then you binge sleep late into Saturday morning

2 You have overdone it in the gym and exhausted yourself

3 Nutrition has been poor during the week and you carb load the night & morning before (Carb loading needs to be done right and only really useful for exercise over 90mins)

4 Your warm up is either too little or too much

5 The most obvious one!!! Your sport specific fitness isn’t up to scratch

I have always believed that the fitter and healthier you feel on game/event day, the better you will perform and the more you will enjoy it.

Free time is at a precious and you only get one chance to perform per week, so make sure you get it right.