As many of you will know by now, we don't just work with day to day clients looking to get lean and in the best shape of their lives. We have a large list of amateur and professional athletes all working hard to perform at their very best in their respective sports.
Having played rugby up until last year, I know only too well the demands of the physical game. Injuries are common place but players at the amateur and professional level still struggle with niggles season on season whilst noticing a gradual drop in performance. A strutured off season Strength and Conditioning programme is what many athletes leave out of their preparation. Matt Clark decided that this year was going to be different for him so he booked in to do his off season training with us at M10.
Matt is a srum half so a high level of scale weight gain was not essential for him, but an increase in lean muscle mass was. He needed to work on his acceleration, speed, power and overall strength.
Matt sums up his off season training in his testimonial below.
Far from being a disco gym goer (you know the type, those guys that come into the gym and pump hell out of their guns for 30 minutes, just for the Saturday night out in a tight t-shirt!), I knew I wasn’t getting enough out of my 4-5 gym sessions a week to provide any real benefit to playing rugby. The other main problem was that I suffered from regular injuries to my legs, whether it was my quads, hamstrings or calves, you name it, I’ve probably torn or pulled it!
Having known Mark from his playing days at Newark RUFC, along with several positive recommendations from friends and family who have attended M10, I came down to discuss with him what could be done to resolve the annoying muscle injuries and also get advice on other areas of my training – little did I know what that could turn into!!
The consultation session was initially carried out by Mark, it was eye-opening to say the very least. I’ve always been a fit and active person and felt fairly strong for my size, however the flexibility, strength and balance testing that my new trainer Steve put me through soon made me realise I was far from being in top condition. We quickly established that while I had decent core strength, my hamstrings, glutes and lower back were extremely weak – hence all my injuries. This was highlighted by a shameful effort of just 15 seconds hold on the horizontal back extension.
Right from the start we set in place a plan, which for me was a 3 month off-season programme that focused on strengthening up those key areas which have contributed to my injury woes, and also building on my upper body strength and size. It was at this point where I began to realise that coming to work at M10 did not just involve a couple of 1 hour training sessions a week with Steve, the service provided is far more than that. Every detail is covered from customised training programmes and weekly body fat measurements to personalised diet plans.
My first measurements showed that I had a body fat percentage of 14.4% and much to my surprise, I was put straight into the 14-day fat loss programme which is aimed at stripping body fat. I was initially surprised when Steve told me that I would benefit from going on this programme as I wasn’t exactly overweight and one of my goals was to gain weight. However they explained that the mistake most people make when attempting to bulk up is that they go crazy on the amount of carbs in their diet and in turn actually increase their body fat and gain weight that slows them down. What I needed was to increase lean muscle mass and to do this, I effectively had to go backwards before going forwards. It was a very tough couple of weeks as I went from eating 3 big meals a day, all containing a lot of carbs, to eating 5 meals a day of protein, veg and oils. 10 days in and I was all but ready to give in and dive into a peanut butter sandwich but my first measurement results gave me more than enough motivation to keep going. Steve encouraged me to eat every 3 hours, so if you like eating, it is a great diet to follow! I’m still continuing on a lower carb style diet which enables me to stay lean but has not affected my energy levels for my sport in anyway.
On the training side of things, it has been 3 months of education. At the beginning I found most of my weights dropped in terms of what I had been lifting over previous months, however, this was down to Steve focusing on the quality of my lifts by introducing the correct technique and tempo into every rep. The initial 4 weeks went right back to basics but enabled us to address all of my imbalances which was crucial for moving forward with the rest of my 3 month plan. With a weak lower back, glutes, hamstrings and quads, there was no squatting or dead lifting. In fact much to my embarrassment I was started with bodyweight split squats, 45 degree back extensions and seated good mornings with a bloody broom stick. 3 months down the line I’ve moved onto squatting 120kg for 5 reps, dead lifting 135kg for 5 reps and I can finally hold a horizontal back extension for more than 2 minutes. Not bad improvements! My upper body strength has more than surpassed where I originally was but now the strength is over the full range of the movement, which is going to be a great asset for my rugby.
Rugby season is just getting underway and I’m feeling in great shape. Working with M10, and Steve in particular, has been a great way to prepare for the season. There is still room for further improvement and we have already put a plan in place to ensure my strength and conditioning continues to progress throughout the season. I now feel well equipped with the right information to really push on from here and my motivation to do so has never been higher. A massive thanks go to Steve and Mark for the past 3 months. The knowledge that everyone has at M10 is endless and can really help towards you achieving your individual goals. If nothing else, remember that there are a lot worse things you can invest your money in than yourself!
Matt Clark's Stats
14.5% to 9% body fat – Total loss 5.5% body fat
13.5 lbs lean muscle mass gain
