While I've only been in the field of strength and conditioning for just about seven years now (considering my "start" as my first internship in December 2019) it occurred to me that I fit into a very small and unique cohort of strength coaches: those who have coached in both the United States of America and have also coached in the United Kingdom. As the field grows domestically so too does it grow internationally; American (and British, for that matter) educated strength coaches are shipping out all over the world to coach, whether in newly wealthy countries attempting to grow their national sporting identity (UAE, Saudi Arabia), countries... continue reading

I've been doing a lot of hikes in the countryside of the East Midlands; this one is from Loughborough to Old John, which is the tower pictured in the thumbnail. Also on posted on the channel are hikes I did along the River Soar and in Glacier National Park in Montana. A nice side project and fun athletic challenge. 

So, you want to be a strength and conditioning coach, eh? Well, once you've managed to make it through pretty much everyone (rightly so) telling you this is a terrible idea, the CSCS exam will rear it's ugly, arbitrary, meaningless head. If you're like me and you love coaching because of the actual coaching reps and not because of the clerical work and study associated with the job, this may seem like a monumental... continue reading

Most likely my last GoPro rugby refereeing footage from Loughborough, this time between Loughborough Uni and Nottingham Uni. Solid play from both teams on a big occasion ("varsity day" at Loughborough Uni where non BUCS athletes play BUCS athletes from another university). 

Every strength coach should be familiar with the strength speed curve; essentially, the idea is that maximal strength expression comes at the expense of maximal velocity expression and vice versa. Strength and speed are inversely related; it's a fairly simple idea. In a similar way, one idea that I have (anecdotally) experienced in my own career as well as discussed... continue reading

My first Super Series refereeing experience. Tons of fun and a really high level of play. Great job to both teams; reffing these players gave me a lot of highlights to post. 

I still recall with vivid clarity sitting on the edge of the exam room table in the orthopedic surgeon's office near Red Bank, NJ. I didn't even want to go although my boss at the time went through his connections to get me the appointment and made sure I went, even telling me to leave work early to get there. My knee felt a little funny after a weekend of rugby although I didn't think it was anything to think much of. Time for a shock... continue reading

A really class video from my first ever weightlifting meet in Britain. I hit my 95kg opener and missed the two subsequent 98kg snatches, followed by two clean and jerk misses at 125kg and a sensational feeling hit at 126kg for a one kilogram personal best. This was just a fun meet since I was already qualified for BUCS so I'm honestly pretty happy with the results. Hosted at Central Staffs CrossFit in Stafford, England, with video by Phil Ward (From the Platform). The video can be found here. 

A thought recently occurred to me after finishing up my own training one morning - one way to visualize exercise selection and variation is on the axis of how meaningful any part of training is while also considering how necessary any part of training is. To illustrate the idea further, by "any part of training" I mean any selected exercise, volume, ways in which to modify exercises, or really any variable that can be altered in a program. Furthermore, to give a few... continue reading

POV footage of beach touch with Monmouth Rugby Football Club (mens and womens teams) at Asbury Park in NJ. I always love playing with these folks whenever I visit Jersey. 

Every strength coach has heard the same advice in a different format at some point: use your own time to experiment with ways of training that are new to you so that later on you have that experience to draw upon when working with your athletes (or clients, patients, etc.). It's a fairly logical statement and, in my experience, sound advice. Strength coaches need both a volume of experience to back up their coaching as well as a... continue reading

Enjoy some point of view style rugby refereeing highlights from my recent drive out to Bozeman, MT, for Montana State University's rugby sevens national qualifying tournament.