Fit Dad Collective

23/02/2021

It doesn't matter which good business book, self development book or even training book you read. The same message always creeps up.

DO SIMPLE THINGS CONSISTENTLY WELL

Easy right? Or is it?

Why is it that so many of us struggle to remain consistent with training?

Do we know what the “simple” things are?

In the gym simple things are often referred to as fundamental movements.

These are:

Jump & Land
Squat
Lunge/ Step
Hinge
Push
Pull
Brace
Rotate

It is my belief that having a lack of ability within these movements could lead to an overall lack of consistency. By setting your focus to master these movements you can give yourself a very clear direction of what to achieve in the gym. These movements can all be progressed via loading or by complexity which will continue to give you something to work towards.

Don't mistake simple for being easy. Nothing will beat these movements when executed consistently well over time.

20/02/2021

18/02/2021

Being “athletic” can be defined as someone who is physically strong, fit and active.

Being athletic doesn't mean you have to give up everything and invest in a gruelling training schedule, you don't even have to be in your “peak” years. You can start at any time or any ability level.

But where should your start point be?

You should start by building a solid foundation. A solid foundation encompases:

Building a high quality of movement- this underpins any progressive training program. It helps us to reduce the risk of injuries which in turn allows us to keep training consistently.

Building tissue capacity- this ensures that when we increase training loads later down the line our body has the ability to handle it. This again reduces risk of injuries and keeps us training consistently.

Building aerobic capacity- this is important as it aids in our ability to perform work and to recover quicker from high intensity efforts.

If you're a dad who is returning to training after a break away, spending 4-6 weeks building your foundation would be advisable. If you're a dad starting out on their athletic journey then take as long as you need to work on these areas. The time investment is well worth the rewards later down the line.

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13/02/2021

Struggling to keep up with your kids?

As well as enhancing sporting performance, engaging in strength and conditioning training can help you to cope with the rigors of dad life.

The main aims of strength & conditioning are to improve your physical abilities to perform better in sport and life. This is achieved by placing a big emphasis on MOVEMENT QUALITY. Quality movement will help reduce risk of picking up injuries. Not being injured keeps you doing what you love more often!!!

Whether your goal is to move pain free, increase strength, increase muscle mass, decrease fat or just feel better, following a well structured progressive S&C program will not only help ensure you reach your goals but have the skills to MAINTAIN a fit, active and athletic life.

11/02/2021

If your not taking note you should be!!!

In this talk, Dr Seiler explains in words and pictures how modern exercise physiology laboratories reveal the body’s remarkable capacity for adaptation. He ...

09/02/2021

Putting it all together!!!

Here is an example of how the exercises shown in the previous posts can be sequenced to help prepare you for the demands of 5 a side.

To progress this you could look to:
-Increase the number of sets performed
-Increase the number of reps performed
-Decrease rest time taken between exercises
-Add load if movements have been mastered

06/02/2021

It's time to CHANGE (direction that is)

5 a side games require us to be able to make a high number of direction changes throughout the game. This could be changing direction front to back or side to side. Either way you're going to want to prep your hip stabilisers and groins properly.

While training to improve your deceleration ability will have positive carryover to changing direction, it's important to focus on the HIPS and GROINS as well. Strengthening your groins and hip stabilisers has the added benefit of helping to reduce the risk of picking up injuries from ball striking in the game.

2 exercises that you can utilise in your training to help strengthen these areas are the adductor plank & single leg squats. Both of these movements can be challenging and can be scaled back to ensure they are being performed effectively.

04/02/2021

Upgrading your BRAKES

Deceleration is an important aspect of football that can often be overlooked.

Unlike when we produce force (like in acceleration) when decelerating muscles predominantly work eccentrically which basically means they absorb and disperse force.

This is something we need to consider when preparing our body for 5 a side as these actions can be highly fatiguing.

But how do we prepare our muscles to deal with the stresses of deceleration?

-Learn to land properly
-Slow the speed of the down phase down

Here are 2 exercises you could implement to help improve this quality.

02/02/2021

Prepare to ACCEL!!!

To cope with the demands of the high number of accelerations in 5 a side we need to address how we can improve the strength and capacity of some of the KEY muscles involved in the acceleration phase of sprinting.

By improving the strength and capacity of these muscles we can increase our tolerance to the stress they are placed under, this can help to decrease the fatigue caused by multiple accelerations in a game. This in turn should mean we can complete more of these actions at the same intensity throughout the game.

Some of the KEY areas we should be looking to improve on are the:

Core Strength
Hammy’s
Calf Muscles

Here are some exercises you can include in your program right NOW to help develop these areas.

28/01/2021

Are you the guy who is tweaking muscles or taking days to recover post games?

While 5 a side football is a popular activity for dads that can have many positive benefits on your physical and mental health it is also a game that has a high potential for injury risk due to the nature of demands required.

Let’s look at the demands of the game:
High number of accelerations
High number of decelerations
High number of direction changes
High number of ball touches/ strikes
All repeated frequently

These actions are all very intense on the body and if due to the current PANDEMIC you have not played for a while, you may want to use this time to prepare the body to play again or you run the risk of an injury upon your return. This is the last thing you want after being lockdown for so long!!!

Keep your eyes peeled for the rest of the 5 a side series to help make the most of your game time.

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26/01/2021

Low Intensity Aerobic Work

The 3rd low cost training means to help you through the early days is low intensity aerobic training. This could take the form of long walks, slow and steady runs or exercise bikes if you have one at home.
As well as many positive benefits to our cardiovascular system low intensity aerobic work over the long term can help increase blood flow to the working muscle and also increase the mitochondrial density within the muscles which helps with energy production.

While HIIT training has been popularised in recent years as a time efficient method to achieve the same kind of adaptations it also is a lot more stressful on the body and can be highly fatiguing.

As mentioned in the previous posts, we are looking to avoid anything that drives us into the ground during this period of time, for this reason we should be looking to opt for lower intensity aerobic training.

If you're looking to start this training modality generally speaking it should be performed for 30-60 mins at