All races will have biases towards different components. For example, a race may have a Cardio Bias and involve a lot of running. A Strength Bias and consists of a lot of heavy lifting. Or a Novelty Bias with the main aim being fun and enjoyment.

I truly believe Fitness Racing to be the ultimate “Lifelong Sport.” Everyone should aspire to include both cardiovascular and resistance training throughout their entire life and fitness racing allows people to do this with a sport that is, in essence, the most adaptable sport in the world: Sport provides goals – goals encourage consistency – consistency leads to success!

The term “energy system” (bioenergetic systems) refers to metabolic processes (chemical processes) that create energy in the body. These energy systems produce energy at different speeds (power) for varying durations (capacity), and therefore, training can be tailored to specifically target each system.

Although we can target specific systems, the three energy systems will develop holistically. For example, when multiple sprints are performed (working within the anaerobic energy systems), aerobic fitness will improve because the aerobic system is working throughout the entire training session to replenish what has been used – do not see it as one system doing all the work, see it as one taking the lead.

Some sports place emphasis on the energy system that provides energy the fastest, such as track and field events like the shot put, while others require all three in varying amounts, such as boxing or football. Sports will often have a bias towards one energy system, like a marathon runner, or that bias may change depending on the sporting situation.

In short, Maximum Aerobic Speed is the slowest speed at which you reach your V02 Max (maximum oxygen uptake). Therefore, it shows us how fast we can move while primarily using the aerobic system.

Note: VO2 max is defined as the maximum volume of oxygen (VO2) that a person can consume per minute during intense, maximal exercise. It is usually expressed in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min).

The MAS test involves performing a 1-Mile (1.6km) best-effort run – it can be performed as a row (or even as a swim, etc). However, due to the fact that the Deadly Dozen is a running-based event, it makes sense to perform the MAS test as a run (my second choice would be a row).

Aerobic power is the ability to work at higher intensities while still primarily using the aerobic system. If an athlete ventures too far past their anaerobic threshold (aka lactate threshold), they won’t recover and will burn out.

Good anaerobic fitness and the ability to tolerate the discomfort of the anaerobic system working hard is also key. Muscular endurance is key to ensure the muscles can keep working after bouts of intense exercise.

The athlete needs good running speed to cover the 400m as quickly as possible and high levels of muscular strength so the weighted Labour stations do not take too much out of them. If an athlete is not as strong, then the weights used during the deadlift, squat, and push press, etc will cause huge fatigue.

When it comes to running, there are certain distances that are particularly horrific, and that is because they are not short enough to be over quickly (there’s plenty of time to suffer), yet they are not long enough to warrant slowing down and pacing yourself.

On the athletics track, the 400m and 800m are exactly that, and when it comes to road running, the ability to run a fast 5km has always been noteworthy to me. Whenever an athlete I worked with had a fast 5km time (relative to their gender, bodyweight, and age, etc), they ALWAYS stood out in both their physical and mental capacities, especially when that individual was also strong in the gym – when someone has good physical strength, and can also smash out a good 5km time, they are not just a Hybrid Athlete, they are an absolute beast!

Alongside realising what I was missing, I realised what style of fitness I really loved. It is what I refer to as “conventional” fitness racing (CFT). Now I can’t knock CrossFit, they are some of the most impressive athletes in the world, and people love the sport. However, I was never into combining Olympic Weightlifting and gymnastic-type movements (handstand walking, etc) into my conditioning style work, it just isn’t for me (simply my preference). I call CrossFit “Specialist” fitness racing, which is the term I also use for sports like Obstacle Course Racing. For me, these races have high technical demands, whereas conventional fitness racing places far more emphasis on core performance qualities like strength, speed, and endurance.

The race involves 12x 400m runs, which we refer to as “Journeys”, and 12x exercise stations, which we refer to as “Labours”. The Labours only use bodyweight (BW), kettlebell (KB), dumbbell (DB) and weight plate (WP) exercises. Therefore, race training is incredibly accessible in any setting, whether in a gym, at home or outdoors. Ultimately, an individual could effectively train for the event with just a pair of kettlebells.

In this article, I’d like to define what strength and conditioning is and take an in-depth look at what a strength and conditioning coach does.

The Definition:

Strength and conditioning, or S&C for short, refers to the physical development of competitive athletes at all levels, including elite-level sport, grassroots players or even hobbyists that want to succeed in sporting or fitness events.

In essence, a strength and conditioning coach prescribes exercises to improve the movement qualities and performance qualities of athletes.

Olympic Weightlifting, or just weightlifting, consists of two lifts. The Snatch, a 1-phase lift, and the Clean & Jerk, a 2-phase lift.

The Olympic lifts require great strength, speed (strength-speed), mobility, balance, and coordination. Therefore, it is easy to see how they have benefits to athletic performance.

However, they are also very technical and require a fair bit of practice to get the basics right, let alone master them. Therefore, the learning curve can often be deemed too steep/long to justify programming them.

Perception is the ability to see, hear or become aware of something through our senses. It's the neurophysiological processes, including memory, by which we become aware of and interpret external stimuli and in turn, do something about it.

My favourite example is a boxer not reacting to a single punch but countless stimuli, such as the opponent's previous shots (what they did during previous rounds), their foot position, shoulder position, line of sight, etc, etc, etc.

This is a tough question to answer as there are so many factors. Therefore, we need to establish what we class as physically demanding.

We need to consider the different components of fitness, such as muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardio-respiratory endurance, and speed. Of course, when it comes to the term "physically demanding", we tend to think of components that apply huge metabolic stress, such as muscular and cardiorespiratory endurance, rather than coordination, balance, and reaction time - is maximal endurance more demanding than maximal strength?

Fast reactions are clearly an integral part of athleticism. However, when it comes to the trainability of reaction time, things are questionable, to say the least.

Ultimately, we need to define exactly what we mean by reaction time and also what physical attributes we are specifically targeting.

Reaction Time is defined as the amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus - we could describe it as "Quickness”. However, it is not just our ability to react to a stimulus. It is also the ability to change the position of the body in accordance with the stimulus. Therefore, qualities such as coordination, balance, and mobility are important factors."

Movement screens are a great way to understand a client's or athlete's movement capabilities and limitations. However, I do think it is key that people understand that a poor result on a specific movement assessment should NOT be seen as a sure sign of injury risk but as indicators of where improvements in overall performance can be made – making a more robust athlete!

I have just published a Youth Strength and Conditioning Book/Paperback Program on Amazon - the book works as both a program with detailed instructions and program cards for each training session and a logbook with log pages to track your progress.

The program is designed to develop the Strength and Conditioning of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 16-years-old.

Although there can be disparity between the physical development and maturity of adolescents between the age range of 12-16, this program has been tried and tested across the different age and ability levels and consistently produces brilliant results – the program has been used with complete novices and world-class youth athletes.

Fitness tests set benchmarks, inform our programming, and allow us to see whether we have improved. Therefore, fitness tests are a necessary part of optimal program design - programming just isn't programming if it doesn't include some form of fitness testing!

Some tests are far more likely to result in clear, measurable changes, such as long-duration endurance tests. However, when it comes to short change of direction (COD) speed tests, for example, what is the Smallest Worthwhile Change?

The term "Plyometrics" was coined by an Olympic long-distance runner from the USA named Fred Wilt. After watching Russian athletes using various jumps in their warm-ups before track and field events, he came up with the term.

Plyometrics is essentially "Jump Training." However, we can also describe upper body exercises that emphasize using the stretch-shortening cycle (stretch reflex) to produce an explosive movement as plyometrics. For example, plyo push-ups.

Yuri Verkoshansky (a Russian sports scientist) is often considered the godfather of plyometrics and is infamous for his "Shock Method" of plyometrics.

First things first, always see a medical professional if you are in pain or worried about a specific injury or ailment (injuries are complex). This article is designed to get you thinking about what measures you can take to reduce the risk of training injuries.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that we will eradicate injuries, especially when aiming for the highest level of performance. However, there is a lot we can do to reduce the risk of injuries drastically.

The Infamous Russian Sports Scientists Vladimir Zatsiorsky classified max strength training (the maximum effort method) as working above 90% of your 1 rep max (1RM) - I personally classify max strength as anything above 85%, but maybe I am not as hardcore as the Russian lifters!

It is well established that lifting maximal loads elicits the greatest strength increases. However, there is, of course, a risk of overtraining and injury when pushing things to the limit regularly.

I know many lifters that work above 85% multiple times a week, every week, and others that incorporate max effort lifts every 3rd week followed by a week-long deload.