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28 November 2012

Cuckfield Personal Training



Small Group Personal Training is coming to Cuckfield


How would you like to improve fitness, strength, flexibility and power and have fun while doing it?

London based Personal Trainer Lyndon Littlefair is now setting up Personal Training in Cuckfield. He is starting with some Small Group Personal Training sessions in the newly formed Cuckfield Sports Performance Centre at the Cuckfield Golf Centre. The classes will be using medicine balls as the main component to your workouts. We will be integrating bodyweight exercises and whole body movement patterns to achieve a complete body workout.

If you want a whole body workout integrating every muscle in the body to kick-start your metabolism and burn more bodyfat even when sitting down, then this workout could be for you!

This is what others say about me:

“I completely trust Lyndon to guide me towards my health and fitness goals”
Lisa Snowdon: DJ, Model, TV Presenter


“Lyndon is a true pro. He was recommended to me by my sister who labeled him as London’s finest body sculptor. She is correct – my sessions with Lyndon really got me in shape for my wedding and honeymoon.”
Louise Goldin: Fashion Designer


“I can feel that the medicine ball is making all my body work, I feel the pain but see the results!” Maria

“It was the perfect balance for what I was looking for in a training session” Kristhine


When:
From 10th January 2013 the sessions will take place every Thursday at 9:15am and 1:15pm*
*Other session times will be added as demanded.

There will also be opportunities to train with Lyndon on a one to one basis. Contact Lyndon directly to ask about details.

Where:
Cuckfield Sports Performance Centre, Cuckfield Golf Centre, Staplefield Road, Cuckfield (Next door to Golf Fit)

Cost:
£15 per session*
*Minimum of 5 sessions
There is a maximum of 6 people per session, so advanced booking is essential.

Contact Lyndon Littlefair to book your first session.


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1 November 2012

Pre Event Anxiety

Picture this. You are standing at the start line about to start the race that you have been training for months for. All of those early mornings getting up and running by yourself. Not doing anything else because you are training. Giving up all of those invitations from friends. And here you are, at the start line. Your heart feels as if it is about to explode. It is beating faster than at any time before. You are sweating like you are in a tropical jungle in the middle of the day. Yes you are suffering from pre-event anxiety.


So that’s great. You know what it is, but just how do you embrace it to make the most of your run, or swim or that meeting with the boss.

Well, first the good news. The fact that you are nervous means that you are actually thinking about what you are about to do. Not thinking about the event means that you are definitely not going to perform very well. But thinking about the event, planning it out in your mind and having an aroused state of being means that your body is preparing mentally for what it is about to do.

Now what is actually happening to my body? You have a nervous system in your body called the Autonomous Nervous System. As the name suggests this is a very automatic system that you have little control over. If you divide it in two you have the Sympathetic Nervous System and the Parasympathetic Nervous System. The sympathetic nervous system is the ‘fight or flight’ system. That is, if a lion is about to attack you the sympathetic system releases enough adrenaline for you to either fight the lion (if you are a masai warrior) or run like hell. That means that your core body temperature will increase, therefore sweating will increase. Your heart rate will go up and you body will become ‘wired’ to either fight or run. I’d generally recommend the second option.


This is sounding familiar isn’t it? Much like when you are standing at that start line.

The parasympathetic nervous system, by the way is the opposite. It is the one that calms things down, slows the heart rate, reduces core body temperature, slows breathing down and brings the body into a much more calm state.

Now wouldn’t that be good if you could tap into that system before the race to help calm those nerves. Well the good news is that you can.

One such technique a lot of sports psychologists recommend is having a pre event strategy and sticking to it. This can come down to how you pack your bag before heading to the event. Or what you do as a warm up before getting to the start line. Part of this warm up is to prepare the mind for what is to follow as well as the body.

A famous Australian cricketer, Greg Chappell, used to always put his left pad on before his right. Superstitious I know, but that was just his pre match routine.

There are also drills you can do with your mind. For example, when you get to the start line always tell yourself that you have done all of the training that you could do and whatever the result, you have prepared yourself fully.

Try some visualisation. Picture in your mind, the perfect race, the perfect game. Focus on the outcome and work towards exactly how you are going to achieve it. Always picture yourself achieving the end goal and keep the mind focussed on this at all time.

Also try some deep, slow, controlled breathing. Respiration is one body function control by the autonomous nervous system and by focusing on it we can help to reverse the process and tap into the parasympathetic nervous system. In other words calm it down and start to focus on what needs to be done.


Another big thing is not to see these nerves as a bad thing. At most races I still compete in I struggle to get my resting heart rate below 100bpm at the start line. By the way, my resting heart rate is normally 54bpm. Learn to accept it, control it and use it in your favour.

So next time you are standing at the start line with your heart rate racing, sweating profusely and shaking like a leaf, try a few of the above strategies and use this heightened state of awareness to your advantage. Pre event anxiety should be seen as a positive thing and use it to maximise your performance.

Good luck for your next big event. If you need any further help then I can be contacted here.

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