Nick Grantham - The Strength and Conditioning Bible: How to Train Like an Athlete

Bloomsbury Sport

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This electronic edition published in 2015 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

First published 2015

Nick Grantham, 2015

Illustrations Mark Silver

Exercise images Grant Pritchard and filler images Getty.

Nick Grantham has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

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CONTENTS

To my wife Kate and our children Erin and Joe.

To my mum, dad and brothers.

To all of my mentors, colleagues and friends in the profession and to all the athletes and coaches, both past and present, that Ive worked with over the last 18 years, thank you. You have all helped me form my views and beliefs and become the coach I am today.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This is a great opportunity for me to thank a number of people who have been instrumental in the completion of this book. First, I have to thank everyone at Bloomsbury for giving me this opportunity and taking a chance on a first-time writer.

To Kirsty Schaper, Sarah Cole and Jenni Davis, who helped me take this book from its initial conception to the final print.

Also to Newcastle University for providing the venue for the photo shoot and the models Jane Jones, Beth Johnsen, Jordan Wallace and Richard Eaton.

Along with those directly involved in the completion of this book, I would also like to thank the coaches, athletes, scientists and educators who Ive worked with during the last 18 years and who have influenced me throughout my career. This book is really written by you.

Nick Grantham

FOREWORD

This is not a book written by an Internet expert. This is a book written by a real coach who trains real people.

I first worked with Nick in 2003 at the English Institute of Sport and Ive continued to track his progress for more than a decade. I know that this book condenses, refines and delivers the knowledge and experience of one of the UKs leading hands-on strength and conditioning coaches.

Nicks track record speaks for itself. Hes spent almost 20 years working behind the scenes in high-performance sport, coaching athletes from 35 different sports, including five Paralympic sports. Hes trained athletes to compete in four Olympic Games, two Commonwealth Games, and numerous World and European championships. More recently, hes turned his attention to professional golf and football. No one knows better than Nick that training is about results, and this book will help you get them.

High-performance athletes and teams seek out Nick to take them to new heights, and Nick is an expert you should listen to not because he works with high-profile athletes and teams, but because alongside his coaching commitments with high-performance athletes, he has managed to work with real people in the real world. What many people dont know is that, throughout his career, Nick has always continued to work with normal people on an everyday basis, bringing to the general public his unique combination of fundamental principles and innovative ideas, allowing everyone to train like an athlete.

Each chapter of this book will have been researched, applied and observed in the real world so that the training guidelines that Nick shares with you can be applied to beginners and advanced trainees alike. Although the information in this book is normally only shared with high-performance athletes and coaches, Nick has managed, in his own inimitable style, to make the complex seem simple and the difficult achievable, providing you with an easy-to-understand and logical training system. His book will help any competitive or recreational athlete, as well as those who simply want to unlock their athletic potential.

This book will teach you the fundamentals of training without the need for hype!

Welcome to Nicks world where everyone can train like an athlete.

Adam Beard MSc, ASCC

Director of High Performance - Cleveland Browns

Head of Physical Performance - Welsh Rugby Union - 2009-2015

Head of Fitness - 2013 British & Irish Lions Tour

UKSCA Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year 2013

PREFACE

What can you do to improve your current fitness levels? How can you make sure you dont pull a hamstring playing football? Whats the most effective training method to improve your 10km time? What do you need to do to make sure you can keep up with your grandchildren?

Sure, you can train harder, spend more hours at the gym, pound the streets for hours on end in an attempt to eke out some extra improvements in your performance. But wouldnt you rather train a bit smarter, rather than harder?

Ask yourself two important questions

1. Do you want to improve your fitness training so that you are in the best shape of your life and you have the confidence that your body can do what you want it to?

2. If I told you that there are some simple strategies that can help you optimise your training and performance, would you use them?

What were your answers?

If you answered yes to both questions, read on, because in this book Im going to explain how a well-designed integrated performance conditioning (IPC) programme can help you achieve your personal fitness goals. Im going to show you how to train like an athlete. The good news is that you dont need to quit your job and turn pro! Simply read this book to discover how the pros do it.

If you answered no to either of the questions, then you can stop reading now and go and do something else, safe in the knowledge that your fitness goals will always remain just out of reach!