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Alex Woods Date Added: 20th August
Gym: Edinburgh University  
Competing Level: Silver Fastest Challenge Time (mm:ss):
Region: Edinburgh Country: Scotland
Year Of Birth: 1983
   

Alex Woods

Alex Woods, James King and Catherine Garner from Edinburgh University are literally turning X Training on it's head. Three friends from one gym in Edinburgh University are making such an impact on the X Training scene that they must be doing something right in their training! It may well just be with their sports science background their training methods enhance their natural ability in the sport - but is without question - the Director of Sporting Excellence for Edinburgh University should take a look at these three amazing gymathletes and say well done - your dedication and training is incredibly inspiring and Edinburgh University is very proud of you. WGC certainly does.

  How did you feel when you knew you won?
Relieved to be honest, even though Steve Mead kept telling me I was home and dry I was nervous watching the last race because I new Andy was capable of beating my time.   
"In the lead up to an event go through planned training phases of heavy lifting, power endurance exercises, endurance training and finally course related workouts".
  How do you unwind?
My girlfriend would say I don’t. I’m in a lucky position that I absolutely love my job as a golf conditioning coach so hardly ever get stressed unless a player is injured at a key time. I get to play a fair bit of golf with some fantastic golfer’s as well; I find that relaxing….except when the guys pretend to get injured…that’s not relaxing…or funny.
  Does your specialist training help in preparations for events?
Absolutely, it’s my job to ensure pro golfers are physically and mentally peaking at key times in their seasons. A X-Training event follows similar principles; of course there is some trial and error involved as everyone reacts differently to certain training stimuli and people also develop over time which makes it more difficult to peak at the right time so training plans constantly need tweaking. In the lead up to an event I go through planned training phases of heavy lifting, power endurance exercises, endurance training and finally course related workouts. I know how long to stay in each phase before my improvements begin to plateau and subsequently that I should move into the next training phase. I plan everything and constantly re-assess each section as I go along. If something is not going to benefit my eventual race as a whole it’s not included.
 
  Your first victory; what’s next?
The UKXTA event in October: I’m desperate to do better in the individual event this year as I feel I really let myself down last year. It’d be nice to defend the team title there as well, but James and I are in no doubt we will need to be quicker than last year. We don’t have the surprise factor anymore so I’ll wait and see what happens on the day, I’ll just stick to my race plan and if people beat us, fair play
  Would the university guys ever do X Training or is it just too hard for them?
Definitely, I reckon if it was marketed at them correctly they’d jump at the chance, especially the guys in the sports teams. 
The Gym Ironman 2008
 Pure grit !
 
"  I plan everything and constantly re-assess each section as I go along. If something is not going to benefit my eventual race as a whole it’s not included"
  Where do you see the connection between sport science and X Training?
The areas of Sport Science are exercise physiology, sport psychology, sports biomechanics (efficient and effective movement), skill acquisition and nutrition. These disciplines can not only identify why people would be successful at X-Training but highlight deficiencies to show where improvements could and should be made.  
  What other sports do you do?
At the moment the only other sport I play regularly is golf. I wish I still had the time I had as a student when I competed in Lacrosse and Athletics as well.
  If there was a beach you could travel to where would it be?
Whitehaven Beach, which is in the Whitsundays in Australia.
 "I’m in a lucky position that I absolutely love my job as a golf conditioning coach so hardly ever get stressed"
  Music?
All types of music except for trance or hard house. 
  Films?
The Big Lebowski is my favourite film. I really like a film called Ong Bak and the Godfather trilogy also.
  TV?
My favourite TV shows are: The Sopranos; Deadood; Sharpe and Whose Line is it Anyway.
  "Edinburgh has a few really good gym athletes at the moment. We always push each other hard in training"
  When did you start to excel at sport? 
I wouldn’t say I’ve ever excelled at sport. I’ve been competent at the sports which I have applied myself to though.
  Who would you like to race in the sporting WORLD?
Roman Sebrle, it would be an honour to have my ass well and truly kicked by him. If any X-Trainer needs an idol this is your man. He’s a legendary decathlete who Wall Street Journal discovered, through some Maths guy’s equations, was the Worlds Greatest Current Sports Star.In the X-Training world I hope I get to race Andy Lett soon; our times are always pretty close, we just never get paired together. 
  Edinburgh has a real class act in X Training - why is that? 
Edinburgh has a few really good gym athletes at the moment. We always push each other hard in training, Finlay and James always annihilate me on any squat or bike set which makes me work harder than I normally would on exercises I’m not good at. Catherine used to always push everyone hard as well, it’s a shame she’s moving away to Paris, I’ve known her for 5 years now and will miss the enthusiasm for hard work and arguments she used to bring to our training sessions.

 
 Catherine Garner