If I was asked what had been the most popular question directed at me during my first 3 weeks at Bloxham, the above title would be a safe bet. However, with the help of the P.E/Sport department at the school, we have been able to slowly change children's mindset on what Strength and Conditioning at this level comprises of.
The Split Routine Culture
Amongst the challenges we have faced here is the idea that every session should be based on a hypertrophy driven, split routine programme. Although beneficial for increasing the cross sectional area of the muscle fibre, this programme lacks fundamental athleticism. Talking to the pupils that use this (majority of which are 16-18 yrs old rugby players), this routine has been reinforced by the help of various magazines, tv programmes and the internet-I keep find myself telling the pupils that not everything on the internet is true. In many ways they are products of the system; several of them go to gyms in the half terms and summer holidays-gyms which don't allow children to use free weights-the argument for this being that more staff would have to be on the gym floor and more staff would need additional training, especially with regards to training young athletes. This forces children to be placed in the non-supervised fixed machine corner of the gym, where non specific movements that only focus on one muscle group at a time are encouraged Luckily, here at Bloxham they have recently taken away all machine type gym equipment and consequently reinforce the idea of a functional athlete.
The all round athlete
During the Bloxham year various sports are focused on depending on which term you find yourself in. Rugby, Hockey and Cricket take centre stage in the Michaelmas, Lent and Summer term for the boys, while for the girls the split is Hockey, Netball and Tennis. Although we are only 3 weeks into the term, most of the male pupils at the school seem to think that they need to focus on a hypertrophy type programme all year round. Girls, I can happily say, are a lot more professional when it comes to their training needs. However, with the boys in particular, especially 3rd, 4th, and 5th form-they should not be specialising in just getting big. You will naturally get bigger as you get older and getting big for the sake of getting big, especially for rugby, will have long term damage for their athletic development. The all round athlete should be encouraged by all, even up to 18 years old-this is seen by many National Governing Bodies as the time-point where individuals should look to specialise in their chosen sport.
I hope to keep you updated on the challenges + developments that take place over the next year. Please feel free to comment below
