Why Would You Want To Train Like An Athlete Anyway?
By
Nick Grantham
Ken Gray – Racking his bike before he embarks on his first Ironman at the age of 65!
Well, I’ll tell you why – RESULTS. Anyone that has been to one of my workshops or been a regular on this site will know who Ken is. He usully crops up at the end of my workshops to illustrate why everyone should train like an athlete. Ditch the stepper, get off the thigh master and forget about wasting your time on a vibration platform, Ken is a living example of what we are all capable of achieving with a little hard work.
Well, just in case you have been living under a rock, I’ll give you a quick update. Ken came to me just over a year ago, shortly after the had a brain tumour removed. We started him off on a progressive training programme and at some point the goal of completing an Ironman was set. This was a HUUUUGE challenge.
Ken completed his first Sprint Triathlon in May and then a couple of weeks ago he took on the big one – Challenge Roth in Germany – An Ironman. He completed the course in 13 hours 13 minutes – 5th in his age group! Not bad for someone who was under the knife less than 2 years ago undergoing brain surgery.
I’ve recently delivered a series of workshops to personal trainers and gym instructors up and down the country, showing them the benefits of an athletic approach to training and I’ve seen a few of the PT’s squirming in their seats as I’ve explained why a lot of what takes place in regular gyms up and down the country is a ‘crock’.
The first question I like to ask the trainers and clients is…HOW MUCH PROGRESS HAVE YOU (OR YOUR CLIENT) MADE IN THE PAST 3 MONTHS?
Professional athletes monitor their performance in the minutest detail as their livelihood revolves around the progress that they make. For us mere mortals the stakes aren’t as high as that. But that’s not a reason for not wanting and expecting to make progress. I’m sure your boss wouldn’t be very happy if you’d been working on a project for the last 6 months and it still looked the same as it did when you started.
Ken had goal – A BLOODY HUGE GOAL – do you think he would have been happy if he hadn’t made any progress when he was training with me?
Anyway, I’ve had some great feedback from the workshops (even from the guys that were squirming in their seats at the start of the session!) and I’ve figured that rather than just getting the message out to a small number of fitness professional and enthusiasts I would put it together in a format that could reach a wider audience.
I’ve put together a great package that delivers everything you would get if you attended one of my live workshops, plus a whole heap of additional resources. With this resource you can tap into the training methods that I use to get my clients into great shape, even when they rock up and tell you they want to complete an Ironman!
· 60 Minute Video – Explaining how athletes train, demonstrating exercises and teaching you sound principles you can take to the gym
· Power Point Slides
· MP3 Interview of Nick being grilled by Sports Nutritionist and competitive athlete Gavin Allinson
· More than 40 fully illustrated and annotated exercise descriptions.
· Training Plan 1 – Designed for inexperienced gym users or those returning after a lengthy lay off.
· Training Plan 2 – Designed for experienced gym users who know and understand many exercises.
· Training Plan 3 – For HARD CORE ATHLETES- You’ll probably need to work up to this one.
· 5 HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) CHALLENGES designed to ensure your sessions leave you burning calories for the rest of the day
· 15 HIIT sessions to develop your energy systems and help you to develop a lean and athletic physique.
· Buyers only blog – Once you’ve purchased this package, you’ll get access to a members only area where you can ask me any questions you have.
2 Comments
July 30th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Ken Gray
You are an absolute legend well done that is TRULY inspirational.
I’ll send this onto my mum and step dad 61 and 58 they did a sprint triathlon last year and have got the bug.
Big up to you Nick as well.
Gav
July 31st, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Gav, he is a constant source of motivtion in the gym – no-one is allowed to bitch and moan about training – I just tell them to check Ken out (usually busting out chins and barbell rolls for fun!). 65 years old and still challenging himself. Aristotle says “we are what we repeatedly do”. Sit on your arse all day and you will get out of shape fast. Do some sensible training on a regular basis and you will have a fit and fun life.
I was just reading about Merlene Ottey in the paper today – still competing at the age of 50 and hoping to be at the 2012 games (more than 30 years after she ran her first international race) – superb.
Everyone can train like an athlete!