| How did you feel about your victory |
| Over the moon with the win - I was absolutely bricking it being in the final race against Sam. I set myself 3 objectives for this year - 1) to win an open event, 2) to beat Sam and 3) to win our UKXTA team titles back. So this win was 2 out of the 3 ticked off! Personally I didn't think I had it in me for the win (I always doubt my own abilities). Firstly I didn't think I was capable of going that fast on the course and secondly I didn't think I would beat the likes of Sam, Ben, Chris etc who are clearly on top of their game at the moment. Also I was a little ovetrained and was carrying a few niggles which fortunately didn't bother me too much during the race. Interestingly my race was very steady and controlled this year and at no point did I really gas out, this was partly in thanks to Nik who was shouting advise/instructions at me throughout the entire race (even more so once Sam pulled up as I had no one to push against in order to beat Chris). |
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| The weeks before must have had some intense training sessions – can you tell us about them |
Yes lots of intense training - I am an addict. I generally start training for an event around 6-8 weeks prior to race day. For Luton I had a good head start as I was in pretty good shape coming off of Hampshire, Calso and then the WGC Time Trials. I pretty much train 3 times a day (short sessions) except Saturday where I only train once and Sunday when I rest. The training is very very varied as you need to train all aspects to be good at training. So 3 times a week I hit the gym for some HST weight training. The I do 3 hard cardio sessions a week which usually involve one discipline for approx the race time. i.e. I might do a hard run for 20 mins, or a 5.6k row in 20 mins (something like that). Twice a week I cycle too and from work, 2 or 3 times a week I hit the karate club for training and then as if that wasn't enough I then do 3-4 dedicated X-training/interval sessions.
For the X-training/interval sessions I have developed a 6 week plan which seems to work really well for me. The 1st and 4th week I break the race course into 3 chunks (start, middle and end). Then I simply work each section 3 times over at race pace only having 1 mins rest in between. For weeks 2 and 5 I break the course into chunks of 3 events overlapping. So I do the first 3 events, then have 30 seconds rest, then knock off the first event and do 2nd 3rd and 4th events, 30 seconds rest, then knock off the first two events and do the next 3, 30 seconds rest etc.etc.etc until you get right through to the last event. For weeks 3 and 6 I simply break the course into two halves. Then I do the first half flat out, have 45 secs rest, then repeat but only doing 75% of the reps/distance, 30 seconds rest, then repeat with 50% reps/distance, 15 secs rest, then the final time at 25% reps/distance (this really helps with the speed). This would be one session, then on another day I would do the same session with the second half of the course. By mixing up these different training techniques I am constantly changing my training to keep the motivation and never do the same workout twice.
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| Your training partners of Nick and Nelson must play some influence – does your gym support any of you ? With you absolute dedication to training |
| Yes Nik, Nelson, Amber, Mikki and Karren are all great to train with. We try and meet up on a Saturday and split into two groups for a training session (this allows for a few people to watch the children whilst others train and means we don't have to hog too much equipment. All of us push each other on and everyone has there own strengths and weaknesses. We are very competitive in training and I think it is competing with each other that has helped me improve so much. Me and Nik are so stubborn when training together and would rather "break something" then let the other person be better at something. We are very evenly paced in training which makes for some wicked sessions. Gym support - well we don't really get much support. We pay our fees and use the facilities. That's kind of where it ends. The staff know about the comps we do and always wish us well and ask how we did afterwards, but that's about as far as any support goes. That being said, I do not really push for support from them as I kind of get the feeling that it would just fall of deaf ears plus I am the sort of person who just likes to get on with things discretely and independently. |
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| How did you feel about the calso press up ? |
| No problems with it - it works for me. I always train flat press-ups so the Calso seems easier on the day as its slightly declined which is a naturally stronger position for the pecs. The Calso press ups seems easier the judge and is a step in the right direction. |
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| What’s next? |
| As mentioned above its ToughGuy, I might be tempted with another crack at the WGC course to see if I can get anywhere near Chris's time. I think I am good for around 14 mins but doubt I can get anywhere near his World Record. |
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| Do you think there have been marked improvements in the sport |
| I've only been around for 2.5 years so its hard for me to say. Previously I have said that I find it frustrating to see various organisations pulling in different directions instead of all pulling together. I think the WGC website is doing a great job and I believe most X-trainers use it as the hub of information these days. WGC is working hard to get the sport recognised in many different avenues which is good. The organisation at events and the referring seems to be improving to me - it is clear these days that anyone who isn't training support strict is in for a surprise on the day. This makes the competing very fair though. |
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| Are there any Personal Trainers or Gym Instructors at your gym who are fit enough to compete |
| No way. There is one exception - Ian, a great guy who does use X-training with a lot of his clients. He once organised an event down the DL and competed himself. I think with his dedication to training he could be really good at X-training. We often try and lure him into one of our sessions but he never bites. Some of the other PT's are very good at specific things, for example one is a awesome runner with numerous national accolades to his name. Other PT's are great at spinning classes, or boxing sessions etc, but I doubt they could put everything together and do really well at a multi event like a X-training race. |
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| How do you see the Industry’s reaction to X Training |
| I don't see a reaction from the industry. As much as I would love to see X-training grow - if I am brutally honest I just don't see this happening and I don't know why. Perhaps it is because the industry side is purely concerned with making money and running the business. I find it bizarre how gyms seem to latch onto every new fitness fad as it comes along, i.e palates, yoga, power plates, core training, various abdominal devices, stability balls etc.etc. (the list goes on) yet they have never embraced X-training. |
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| Who do you admire most in the sport |
| I have to say Nik. He was the one who got me into the sport and competition in the first place. He is a phenomenal competitor both in the gym and on the race courses. I may have piped him in a few recent events, but I never fancy my chances against beating him as he always has that winning mentality/drive and always performs to the max at every event. Other than Nik I would say I admire all the usual guys, Cassius, Kirk, Andy, Will etc. When I first started competing at Calso 3 years ago I remember looking at these sort of competitors in awe and thinking that I could never be anywhere near that level. It now seems completely bizarre to me that other people now see me like I looked upon those guys. To think that I am ranked No.2 and have featured in the final race twice (Hampshire and Luton). I find it hard to believe really. I couldn't have dreamt of reaching this level when I first started. |
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| Being a family man – is it hard to train with a baby |
| Very good question. I have changed my training a lot since the birth of Joshua 6 months ago. I tend to cram as many sessions in as early as possible or at lunchtimes. This way I still get to finish work on-time and spend some quality time with the boy before he goes to bed. Likewise I have cut out a lot of weekend training in order to spend more time with the little guy and to help the wife out as much as possible. I would like to sit hear telling you all that my training has suffered seriously due to lack of sleep etc, but I can't. Since Joshua was born I have had a 2nd and two 1st places - so clearly something is going right. Perhaps cutting back training has done me some good, perhaps having him at events spurs me on even further, further my body has adjusted to minimal sleep - who knows? One thing is for sure, I have realised that there are more important things in life than training and competing........ |
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| Was this your best victory? |
| I would have to say yes. Calso was my first individual open win - but the field was weak and then there was the issue with the bikes which took the shine off of the win somewhat. At Luton it was a shame that Same pulled up as I think it would have been a great race. But the victory is still the best because the time was significantly better than last years time and I beat some top guys. The other victory which I really treasure was mine and Nik's team title in 2006. This was my first taste of victory and it felt good. We lost the titles in 2007, but watch out in 08 (we want them back!). |
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| You smashed last years record – beating Kirk’s time by almost a minute – what's next? |
| I have just taken a complete week off of training after Luton. This is completely unheard of for me. However we had our first family holiday booked with Joshua and as mentioned previously I was overtrained and carrying some niggles. So I enjoyed resting up for a whole week. I am also feeling a bit burnt out with X-training. I have pretty much trained solidly since Calso '06 jumping from one 6-8 week comp prep to another. After 2 and half years this has started to take its toll. Not only that the next couple of events (Ironman and Dale) are way up North and its just too far to drive with the baby. I don't really want to leave him at home as the weekend is my time to spend with him, and 4 hours in a car for a 20 min race, then 4 hours back just isn't feasible with a 6 month baby. So I am going to have a lay off and change my training slightly in the build up for ToughGuy. After ToughGuy I plan to knuckle down hard for the WGC Final and the UKXTA event. Its a difficult decision for me to pull out of the next couple as I have had a great run in the GP this year with 2 wins so far. I would love to keep the momentum going and Amber, Nelson and Mikki are doing there best to talk me into Ironman. I would love to give this a crack as I have never done the Ironman course before. |
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| The new breed of X Trainer is emerging and The Army , Royal Marines and Prison Service are playing quite influential roles – would you like to see more from these fields compete? |
| Definitely yes. You only need to look at the impact the Marines (Les, Danny, Chris etc) have had on the sport so far. These are some of the fittest guys out there and its great to see them transitioning into X-training. Lets see more from the forces. |
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| What would you say to Sport England about X Training being a unique sport |
| I think it is hard for Sport England and kind of understand their reluctance to acknowledge X-training as a sport. The reason I say this is because there are so many sports and England have been taking backwards steps for many years. Looks at our performances in the Olympics, football, cricket, boxing etc.etc. Its only recently that things have started turning around in swimming and cycling due to the amount of money and support from Sport England. I guess that SE have objectives and need to focus on investing wisely to show national level improvements in Sports already recognised by the IOC. For this reason I doubt they have much time for looking into new sports coming along. I guess we should invite some of their top brass to an event and maybe set-up an event competing against known athletes from other sports just to try and demonstrate what X-training is all about. |
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