Energy System Development & Conditioning
How to build the engine your sport demands. Our articles and podcasts on conditioning, energy systems, repeat-sprint ability and getting genuinely fit for the way your sport is played.
Articles
Beep Test Training Program: How to Raise Your Score in 8 Weeks
How to improve your beep test score: turn technique, running drills, pacing and level repeats, with videos and a free 8-week beep test training program built from your current score.
When Nike invented jogging: The history of the running shoe
Jogging for fitness is a relatively new invention. Powered by Nike in the 1970's it wasn't initially about selling shoes, until it was...
How to Run Faster: Tips for Injury Free Effortless Running
Today's modern running shoe makes it possible for anyone to just throw on a pair, pound the pavement and call themselves an athlete.
Running Program for Transitioning to Barefoot Shoes (Minimalist/Zero Drop)
We strongly believe that for the majority of people making a transition to spending some, or most of your time in a minimalist or barefoot shoe can have a profound effect on injury risk, performance and general postural health.
The Conditioning Continuum: Is it possible to get 400m fit without running further than 50m?
In the middle of last year, I managed to take 10 seconds off my 400m time without running a single effort further than 50 meters.null
Maintaining fitness over the summer holidays
Train in the morning, eat healthily and reset your focus on crushing your goals
A Coaches Guide to Keeping Your Team Fit Over Christmas
How can coaches keep their squads' fitness up over the summer break?
An Athletes guide to Tapering for Peak Performance
What is the best method for staying fit and strong while still allowing some rest and regeneration to occur?
Does Cardio Kill Your Gains?
So the age-old myth; Does cardio kill your progress in the gym? And if so, how?
Game Fit - The Best Training Method to Improve Fitness During the Preseason
Sport specific fitness is something that's very unique and hard to replicate away from actually playing sport, but there are ways to optimise your fitness during the off season.
High Intensity Interval Training for Athletes: Repeat Sprints for Sport Specific Fitness
Most athletes get enough running-based conditioning in a typical week as a result of playing and training but in the holidays when that playing and training goes away, it's really important that athletes keep a baseline.
How to Maximise Tournament Performance
Maximising tournament performance is vital for success and enjoyment at all levels of sport. The key is having a scientific, but also practical strategy that helps you maximise your potential without going overboard.
Sports Specific Fitness: You're probably doing it wrong!
Fitness is a pretty interesting word. There are actually as many types of fitness as there are tasks.
The Fat Burning Zone Myth and 11 Other Ways High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Improves Fitness
We all know intervals make us fitter, but how exactly? nullHere are eleven of the benefits that high intensity interval training (HIIT) has for our fitness, wellbeing and general health.
The World's Best Spin Bike HIIT Workout: How To do 8:12 Intervals
For teams sport athletes, long steady-state continuous exercise doesn't offer a huge amount of benefit when it comes to sporting specific fitness. The best thing to do is 8 and 12's on a spin bike.
What is a Trigger Point/Knot and How do They Work?
We've done a really good job explaining why you need to release trigger points and the benefits of foam rolling, but what even is a trigger point?
What is Fatigue? Causes of Fatigue
What even is fatigue? Before establishing what causes fatigue, we should first determine what fatigue is.
From the podcast
#178 - The Business Of High Performance Facilities With Athletes Authority's Karl Goodman: Part 1
Karl Goodman is the founder of Athletes Authority. Karl started Athletes Authority in early 2016, before partnering with Lachlan Wilmot in 2017 to help build the Athletes Authority vision. In part one of this chat, Karl and Durham discuss the costs of starting a business, how to price yourself, weathering COVID-19, taking on debt, and developing innovative business models.
#171 - Luke McIlroy On Measuring Performance & Understanding Training Zones
Luke is the Director and founder of METS Performance Consulting which provides elite level fitness testing, and coaching and consulting services for endurance athletes. Durham and Luke chat about the fundamentals of training zones and how to use them to optimise performance. They also dive into the benefits of high intensity interval training for team sport athletes and how and why Luke started METS Performance Consulting.
#170 - Erin Todd On Podiatry, Starting Medical Clinics & AFLW - Part 1
Erin Todd, among being an experienced owner and director of medical clinics and a podiatrist, is a former WNBL player, a player in the AFLW for the Greater Western Sydney Giants and the Player Development Manager for Cricket NSW. Erin and Durham talk about misconceptions in podiatry, Ez's experience starting, managing and selling medical clinics, studying for her MBA, and her experience in the AFLW.
#170 - Erin Todd On Podiatry, Starting Medical Clinics & AFLW - Part 2
Erin Todd, among being an experienced owner and director of medical clinics and a podiatrist, is a former WNBL player, a player in the AFLW for the Greater Western Sydney Giants and the Player Development Manager for Cricket NSW. In part two of this episode, Erin and Durham talk about Erin's experience in the AFLW, and the exciting future for women in sport.
#166 - How to train & coach in a lockdown
After a little hiatus, we're back with a few changes! Core Advantage's head coach Pat Wilson joins Durham to chat about what's been happening, how to coach during a lockdown, and what you should be doing to get the most out of your lockdown training.
#165 - A man who says what he thinks: Angus Bradley
Join us for a great conversation with emerging coach and world class Instagram provocateur Angus Bradley, a man who says what he thinks and knows how to write a headline with a hook. In this chat we talk about why he dropped out of journalism school, what it was like to be in a band and most importantly go deep on a couple of areas we disagree on. As a bonus we uncover why he has such a beef with Squat University.
#153 - The Injury Epidemic is Coming: The Art of the Reload
With lockdowns in different parts of the world slowly begin to ease, how do we most effectively return to competition?
#149 - Performance Testing Hacks
Testing is an essential part of tracking and monitoring athlete performance over time. In this episode we share some of our favourite hacks for improving your performance on testing day. Links to our holiday resources:
#138 - Do Sprinters need to be “fit”?
Following on from EP.137 in this episode we cover all things energy system interplay, conditioning training for track athletes and different methods for developing your energy systems for the sport or event you compete in.
#136 - Pat Wilson - The art of coaching
Coach Pat Wilson joins us to talk about the art and skill of coaching, transitioning from athlete to coach and why he thinks a team of coaches would beat a team of athletes in a 4x100m relay
#131 - We Updated the App! - Fatlek and Tempo timers
Version 1.2.0 of the Core Advantage interval timer app is now available for free on iOS and Android. In today’s episode Durham and Jacob talk about the new features, how most people get Fartlek training wrong, and the value of tempo training for tendon health.
#106 - How Important is Work Rate for Football?
With the AFL and NRL finals in full swing, there are more stats than ever floating around, and stats surrounding work rate and effort are particularly interesting. But how important is work rate for a football team, or does it just mean you are spending a lot of energy chasing your opponent on defence? Today Durham and Jacob discuss the pros and cons of a high work rate and how to best train in order to make sure your fitness is ready when pre-season starts.
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