Goals are for losers?? A few months back I read Scott Adams ‘How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big’ – what a great read! If the name is unfamiliar, Adams is the creator of the office- humour cartoon Dilbert, so you have to expect that he thinks in different ways. One statement, […]
Dealing with training fatigue Regardless of work setting, an exercise professional primarily focuses on stimulating physical or physiological adaptations through the cunning manipulation of exercise stressors.Achieving positive adaptations involves the somewhat vague challenge of trying to balance the complex interaction between work and recovery. Central to that task is fatigue – we are seeking to […]
I’ve recently been reading research papers on fatigue and workload and I’ve been intrigued by how much (or how little) we really understand about this crucial aspect of exercise, training and human performance. When I contemplate this work, I realise that I harbour ongoing concerns about how we approach some aspects of training and preparation. […]
Blurring lines For over 25 years I had the privilege of teaching two college courses; one on exercise prescription for fitness and health, and the other on strength and conditioning that focused on athletic populations. New research emerged, ideas and attitudes changed, and the content and style of those two courses changed substantially over my […]
I’m a bit of a research magpie. I pick up shiny looking articles and store them away – just in case! My nest was getting a little crowded, so I spent most of last week tidying up my inbox. There was a bit of rubbish in there, but a few things I did consider interesting […]
I came across this term at a conference recently – a term I hadn’t encountered before. Sure, I recognised its meaning and valued the concept, but I hadn’t thought about it in exactly those terms. Whatever your work is as an exercise professional, relationships are a crucial part of practice whether you deliberately notice of them or […]
Risks & management “…it’s just over 2 years now and I’m still feeling the effects of it. Lot[s] of headaches, [a] lot of fatigue – really sensitive to bright light. [My] memory is just absolutely shot to pieces…”Retired professional rugby international RETIRED RUGBY PLAYER Interview with P Handcock, 2011 The risks associated with concussion I’m […]
“I need my brain. It’s where I keep all my best stuff.” Jenny Lawson, (Furiously Happy, 2015, p.88) Concussion has been thrust squarely into the public spotlight due to the media’s obsession with a suggested link between concussion and premature neurodegenerative conditions and a compromised quality of life. These days, sports concussions and head injuries […]
So much information!!! Could I have been that arrogant, that stupid? Turns out yes I could – in spades! In fairness, I’d been raised on a steady educational dietwhere knowledge was king; knowledge was power. It never occurred to me that it could be any other way. Certainly, none of my teachers or lecturers had […]
I recently downloaded a PDF ‘Osteoporosis and You’ from the Osteoporosis New Zealand website. Fifteen pages of content, with barely half a page of non-specific exercise information, yet they somehow managed 2 and a half pages of dietary guidance for optimal bone health! I shouldn’t be surprised, but……of course, I still am! Disappointed, disheartened! I’m not […]