Steve Backley's Blog

Get rid of the Christmas excess - in just one month.

For those who tried this last year, you’ll know that it is the perfect way to kick start your year. I’ve found it’s the most simple, effective and satisfying way to sharpen up.

With the ‘extra’ maybe pushing against the inside of your jeans, or simply using the new year to start something fresh, why not get yourself back on track with a quick hit, detox and shrink all in one go? There’s lots of advice on this all over the Internet trying to sell you products and quick fix solutions. Well, here’s one that works and it’s absolutely free…

If you are anything like me and like to live your life by rules, then this will work really well for you.

I believe that rules become habits and habits dictate how we all live our lives.

I challenge you to take on this straight-forward plan, see quick results and, in turn, create some new habits that you might just choose to enjoy for a lifetime.

All I’m suggesting in this short blog is to introduce 5 key rules for just 30 days and I promise you, you will be pleased with the outcome.

1. RULE 1 - Cut the carbohydrates - this is the most important rule and will feel tough for a few days but is crucial to the plan. In simple terms, I’m asking you to replace your cereals or toast for breakfast with an omelette or oily fish. Remove bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, cake and biscuits and other high carb foods from your diet. Enjoy full English breakfasts, chicken salads and other protein rich plates. The fewer carbs you eat in these 30 days, the more effective this will be. Remember, remove carb-rich drinks too! There are lots of low-carb recipes on the Internet if you are short of ideas.

2. RULE 2 - Don’t eat after 6pm - once you see food purely as an energy source, you’ll appreciate that food late on in the day is not really offering you much, remove it as a rule. (happy to shift this time depending on lifestyle)

3. RULE 3 - Drink lots! of water - This is important to tie in with the first rule. Keep the fluids going in regularly.

4. RULE 4 - Exercise gently and regularly - don’t go for the intense stuff while you are doing this short spell of low carb as you may feel lethargic. Despite your body telling you it’s not interested, push through it and remind yourself that you are creating a new metabolism for yourself.

5. RULE 5 - Choose to enjoy it - I know this might seem like unusual advice, but I believe it’s important to your on-going success. If you decide to see this as a positive lifestyle choice and that you are taking control of your future, then surely it’s something to smile and be happy about. If you choose to focus on what your previous habit is telling you to do, you are likely to begrudge the whole thing; your choice, be strong! Weigh and measure yourself at the start of the month to remind yourself of the impact you are having and celebrate with a small reward - Low carb style!

Let me know if you are prepared to take on the 5 rule plan and keep me updated on your progress.

After much anticipation, Friday evening saw the opening ceremony set the scene for the

sporting extravaganza that is the Olympic Games. Danny Boyle’s creative

brilliance captured the imagination of the world whilst carefully leading us on

a journey through British history.  Sat in row 4, a short throw (for me)

from the action, it was hard to know where to look to take it all in. Simply

put, it was brilliant and, of course, just a prelude to the real drama of the

greatest show on earth - and the sport.

Day 1 saw a mixed bag of fortune

with the British cycling team ‘off the pace’ in the men’s road race - are we

allowed to suggest that this is down to a Tour de France hangover? Mark Cavandish

dismissed the suggestion with contempt.  Whatever the reason, it’s now over to

Bradley Wiggins to shine. Perhaps the action in the veladrome will start the

(possibly prematurely labelled) Gold-rush?

There is so much action in the

first week of sport at the Olympic Games. Early on, Italy sit behind China on

the medal tables, interesting that they are the only nation to offer over

£100,000 per gold medal achieved - an unparalleled incentive to its

champions.  Could that be the reason they beat the much fancied Americans in

the archery? Surely not! It’s the Olympics! Interestingly, TeamGB is the only

team in the top 10 from Beijing who do not offer any incentive at

all.

One thing is for sure, London has already charmed and wowed us all

in these early stages. The stadia across the capital look fantastic while the

sport has been unpredictable and brilliant. Champions have already fallen, new

ones have been made and the uncertainty that Olympic sport offers continues to

allow us all to wallow in the fortune and passion of others’ dreams

unfolding.

Finally the Olympics is here and we are already being reminded

of the fragile nature of competitive sport and the tiny margins between winning

and losing. This is what makes the Olympics so great and such a compelling

global spectacle.

Bring on the athletics!

Steve Backley is part of

the BBC5live team at the London Olympic Games

THE PENALTY SHOOT-OUT: AN ATHLETE’S GUIDE TO SUCCESS…

Was anyone else as amazed as I was to hear Steven Gerrard in his post-match interview suggesting that Italy ‘got lucky’ in the shoot-out in the Quarter Finals of Euro2012?

Once again the penalty shoot-out has exposed an Achilles heel for the England players. Many different reasons have been offered for this weakness, ranging from bad ‘luck’ to an inherent lack of belief, to poor execution and tactics. In my opinion the truth is that, with the implementation of a series of relatively simple steps, the team could significantly improve the likelihood of success in this element of the game.

It’s fair to say that England generally put up a reasonable fight in ‘open play’ and we saw them at their best recently when really fired up and fighting out of a corner against Sweden. Last night’s Italy match also saw some moments of brilliance which gave us all the optimism that we could pull off a win. And therein lies a key point: Comfort in ‘open play’. This is what our footballing superstars do day in, day out in their club roles and subsequently in normal play at a tournament. In a sporting sense, this is an ‘open skill’ and, as such, has no pre-agreed structure. To put it another way, it is down to the individual players to read, and then react to, the circumstances as they try to ‘outwit’ the opposition. By spending the majority of their time in this role, it makes sense that the majority of players are comfortable in such a scenario. And this is why there is a problem.

You see, in my opinion, when an outwitting player is put in the opposite situation (as in a ‘closed skill’) they are not comfortable and are likely to have less confidence and ultimately execute with less conviction. A closed skill is one that has a beginning, middle and an end, all of which are initiated by the individual. In the case of a penalty shoot-out, the team player must stand alone and experience a tense calmness, a rather different pressure to the norm for these open skill experts.

A great sport that mixes both these types of skill is tennis. There is the closed skill of a serve followed by open play. Some tennis players are masters of both and thrive as a result. Problems inevitably arise when a player has perfected one and not the other.

Because of the very nature of the sports, athletes and golfers are experts at executing closed skills effectively and here is where a solution could lie for England football players, should they choose to see it. Usually, though, football tends to look for solutions from within. My advice is simple: Consult those people who know, people who live and thrive in the environment that you do not. There are simple and effective ways to aid development of this type of skill and become more comfortable and competent under pressure.

We can then banish absurd statements such as ‘it’s all down to luck’ and ‘we are now not in control of this’ and ‘penalty shoot outs are a lottery’.

Some of the traits needed to execute in this environment are outlined in ‘The Champion In All of Us: 12 Rules For Success’. It is a book offering an insight into the mind and traits of an Olympian that apply to us all in everyday life. To order a signed copy, visit the books page on my website now.

Have Clarity and purpose

More easily than any other, this is probably the rule that translates into all walks of life.

For sports people it is relatively simple. Being told what, where, when and how to do your job and then staying focused towards it is essential. There is a growing and constant reminder of how well things are going as you progress on the journey towards judgement day.

In life, however, the end goal might not be so clearly defined. There might be more choices and outcomes are less obvious. Success is sometimes hard to recognise in the absence of a finishing line to cross or a goal to hit. This is why I believe that it is so important to design it ourselves.

In the book, chapter 5 is all about building clarity and having purpose towards an end goal. Coach shares with the four (now developing) prodigies that being very clear and retaining this clarity is essential when it comes to being efficient with our efforts and also being able to stay motivated along the way.

As Coach also share, having a vision is key.

The following is an extract from the book where Could’ve, Would’ve Should’ve all listen to Did who shares his vision of where he wants to go with exactly the kind of clarity needed in any field…

Could’ve, as was often the case, decided to challenge Did. “Do you think you’ve got what it takes, Did?” he asked. After a long pause Did replied, “ … I don’t know. I come here day in, day out and see three other guys more talented than me, but somehow, after every session, I feel more driven towards my dream.”

“What’s that then?” Could’ve asked in a nonplussed tone.

“To be the best I can possibly be is the simple answer. I would love to compete at the Olympic Games. I can see myself standing over my blocks, looking down the track, and sometimes I even allow myself to picture standing on the winner’s rostrum. I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to get there. You see, when I was a kid I was different to most. I would watch the Games on the TV and dream it was me. I would imagine what it would feel like to have that kind of experience.

“When I see myself standing on an Olympic rostrum, I begin to wonder how great that might feel; it sends a tingle of excitement down my spine when I allow myself to create that image in my mind.”

Extract from ‘The Champion In All Of Us’ - available on Amazon and at high street book retailers. Alternatively order your signed copy right here ORDER NOW! www.stevebackley.com/the-champion-in-...

Rule 4: Champions have PRIDE – a Personal Responsibility In Delivering Excellence

In this chapter Coach teaches his four athletes the importance of taking responsibility - he encourages them to make their own decisions and to follow their own beliefs.

Coach’s style is not autocratic or dictatorial; he carefully steers his young talent and arms them with the skills to cope for themselves.

The culture he encourages in the group he has put together is one that has no blame. Making error, as Coach would say, is the way we grow. Coach would suggest that there is no such thing as failure; the only failure is giving up.

The message is strong. It teaches us the importance of learning and adapting to what we have experienced.

This is an extract from the book where Coach is making one of his speeches. He has gathered his small group and is laying down this rule, the 4th of the 12 rules for success:

“Champions decide to be accountable for each aspect within their control. There is never blame for mistakes, just a way of learning from an experience. You will see that the worst thing to do is to make no decision, and that learning from error is part of being a Champion. Every time a Champion makes a decision they have a chance to learn something new, regardless of the outcome.

“Champions take responsibility for their performance and understand consequence.”

‘Coach’ from ‘The Champion In All Of Us’

So this chapter is all about accountability. As coach would say…”If it’s going to be, it’s up to me”

It’s difficult to know when is right to start formal weight training. Here’s my general thoughts…

In my opinion, it’s never too early to start light resistance training but must initially only be in the form of body weight exercises.

The next step is to tidy up technique on all of these exercises before introducing any external resistance - which is typically from approximately 16ish +/- yrs. Before this the essentials which need to be acquired are:

1. Correct posture when squatting

2. Correct posture with simple standing and lunge movements

3. Good press up technique - especially thoracic spine positions

4. Good pull up technique and execution

5. Most important - good abdominal strength and competence in pelvic/ lumbar positions in all abdominal and lower back work.

6. Simulated bar technique with a broom handle (pulls, squats, cleans, overhead press, complex lunges and presses)

Once all the above are assured and of high competence, further (light) resistance can be added.

There are some simple first steps which are safe, using dumbells with maximum variety. As I say 16+ yrs before this starts to get heavy is normally recommended.

Slow and steady progression is also key and to ensure that technical competence is ahead of strength levels. It’s also worth looking at some supporting exercises with hurdles and medicine balls.

You can find more of this kind of thing on another website of mine www.pactraining.co.uk (I’m currently building an app for all this to be more accessible on the move)

The one factor I think is really important is that, it’s really hard to teach javelin technique to strong people. They tend to have ‘prefered’ movements, which they like to use, to utilise an ineffective creation of force.

I say this to ensure you embark on strength training while ensuring there is the correct balance with javelin technical proficiency.

This all done the right way round will ensure long term development - go down the strength route too early and quick, but unsustainable, gains tend to be made. Instead work on speed and range of movement - these are the two things that you have when you are young and can be compromised when you start to do weights.