Irish International Swimmer: Conor Ferguson

Continuing with the theme of guest athletes. All my readers, you are in for a treat. We have a talented young athlete from Ireland. .

Conor Ferguson, European Youth Olympic Competitor and Youth Commonwealth Medallist Swimmer. He swims for Ireland at Youth level and has big ambitions for the future.

Here is his story,

Take it away Conor:


My journey so far..
I started off my journey in Templemore swimming club at the age of 8 and at the age of 11 I moved to Larne swimming club to be coached by Peter Hill. I became an Irish champion at the age of 12 and by the age of 13 I took my first U16 ulster record and three British titles. I broke my first Irish junior record (18&U) and Ulster senior record at the age of 14 in the 100m and 200m backstroke at the Canadian age group championships and set the 5th fasted time in world for my age in history. From this point I realised what I wanted to achieve in this sport and that is to become an Olympic gold medallist.

At the age of 15 I competed for Ireland at the European Youth Olympic games in Tbilisi, Georgia and came 2nd in the 100m and 200m backstroke, I then travelled to Singapore to represent Ireland at the 5th Fina World junior Championships (18&U) where I came 11th, 12th and 13th in the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke, after this competition I travelled straight to New Zealand to train for 3 days before I competed in Samoa at the Youth Commonwealth Games where I came 1st in the 100m backstroke, 2nd in the 200m backstroke, 2nd in the 50m backstroke and 3rd in the 4x50IM mixed relay. This year I have represented Ireland at a senior level in the Luxembourg euro meet where I picked up 3 junior gold medals, a bronze senior medal in the 100m backstroke and and silver senior medal in the 200m backstroke. I then competed at the Swim Ulster Dave McCullagh meet and I qualified for European junior Championships in July and European Senior Championships in May where I will represent Ireland. I missed my Olympic A standard by 0.29 of a second in the 100m backstroke but I still have many competitions  that I can try to achieve this standard. During this meet I broke 6 records: 2 which are Irish senior records in the 100m and 200m backstroke.

Training

Currently I am training 24 hours a week: 18 hours in the pool and 6 hours in the gym. A typical training session in the pool would consist of a warm up, some HVO sprints (anaerobic work to get heart rate raised for main sets), 2 main sets : one specific for 200m backstroke followed by a cool down and one specific for 100m backstroke also followed by a cool down, then we would work on technique so I would work on specific Backstroke drills. After this is completed we would do a swim down. A typical session like this would be around 5500m and takes 2 hours. It is also Important to be at every session 15minutes before it starts to complete any rehab to prevent injury occurring. I do my gym sessions at Crossfit Castrum in Belfast and my strength and conditioning coach is called Steve McQuillan who is an ex swimmer who has represent Ireland. We would work on being explosive as we are trying to develop power on my start and turns in the pool. Popular exercise would be weighted Muscle ups, Weighted pull ups, cleans, snatches, squats etc.

Diet
I wake up at 5:00am on weekdays and would have scrambled eggs, 2 slices of toast and a small bowl of cereal for my breakfast. I then would train from 6 to 8 and afterwards have porridge with a banana and an apple. At 11am we have break in school where I would eat 2 chocolate muffins and some toast from the canteen. At 12:30pm I have my lunch which would consist of a sandwich( chicken, bacon and mayonnaise) an orange, a packet of crisps, a biscuit, a breakfast bar and a yogurt. After school, 3:30pm, I would have another sandwich (tuna and sweetcorn) and then go train again. When I get home from Training I would have my dinner which usually consist of pasta, meat and vegetables. Before I would go to be I would always have a glass of milk. During the Day I would carry my water bottle around school with me because it is crucial that I stay hydrated during the day. I would monitor this by how frequent I go to the toilet.


More links to my current success and aspirations below;

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/swimming/conor-ferguson-is-out-to-rule-the-world-of-swimming-34123303.html


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/swimming/35745377

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/swimming/34610100

Thank you Conor for this interesting insight into your training, diet and current winnings.

Best of luck and I hope you qualify for the 2016 Olympics, if not 2020 is a guaranteed spot for you!!

Andrew Richardson, Founder of Strength is Never a Weakness Blog

I have a BSc (Hons) in Applied Sport Science and a Merit in my MSc in Sport and Exercise Science and I passed my PGCE at Teesside University. 

Now I will be commencing my PhD into "Investigating Sedentary Lifestyles of the Tees Valley" this October 2019. 

I am employed by Teesside University Sport and WellBeing Department as a PT/Fitness Instructor.  

My long term goal is to become a Sport Science and/or Sport and Exercise Lecturer. I am also keen to contribute to academia via continued research in a quest for new knowledge.

My most recent publications: 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X19300216

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1752928X19301076 

My passion is for Sport Science which has led to additional interests incorporating Sports Psychology, Body Dysmorphia, AAS, Doping and Strength and Conditioning. 

Within these respective fields, I have a passion for Strength Training, Fitness Testing, Periodisation and Tapering. 

I write for numerous websites across the UK and Ireland including my own blog Strength is Never a Weakness. 

I had my own business for providing training plans for teams and athletes. 

I was one of the Irish National Coaches for Powerlifting, and have attained two 3rd places at the first World University Championships, 

in Belarus in July 2016.Feel free to email me or call me as I am always looking for the next challenge. 

Contact details below; 

Facebook: Andrew Richardson (search for)

Facebook Page: @StrengthisNeveraWeakness

Twitter: @arichie17 

Instagram: @arichiepowerlifting

Snapchat: @andypowerlifter 

Email: a.s.richardson@tees.ac.uk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-richardson-b0039278 

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew_Richardson7 

Being the Tortoise not Being the Hare: The Coach V Athlete Mental Battle

This is a personal entry which will relate to many coaches whom are competitive athletes, some even athletes amongst the same team they compete/coach with. This is my personal opinion how a coach/athlete should operate. This may be different to your own opinion, feel free to start a discussion in the comments below (or on Facebook).

I was competing at the Irish National Championships (2016) this weekend (February 29th). Before this meet (about 6 weeks prior) I was hitting some nice PB's and feeling very strong all the prep work going well. Unfortunately due to me participating in a fellow students sports science project I got injured. This was a grade 2 injury hamstring tear from 20m max effort sprints

For hamstring rehab see link: http://strengthtrainingforyou.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/hamstring-heaven.html

IrishPF

Really silly thing is, I shouldn't of been doing sprints as I have an insane pelvic tilt due to the amount of squatting I have been doing. Its in the past so I moved on, I did all the rehab and 4 weeks post injury it looked like it was nearly 100%. On the day of the comp I did a very easy opener of 230kg (squat) but when I performed full leg extension my hamstring didn't feel "strong". So I made a tough call I pulled out of Irish Nationals which meant I wouldn't be going to IPF Worlds in Texas as an athlete.

Gutted was an understatement.

If I continued to lift the hamstring may of stayed the same and not gotten worse, who knows. By pulling out this allows to for a full recovery and come back stronger than ever before.

What this article will now go into the mental battle I had of doing the "coach" route and not being an idiot and do the "athlete" route.

Tom Landry

This will be explained with the use of Elitefts very own Clint Darden

Clint Darden

Video I am referring to is linked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQVEDJKYlls

Please watch the video and let it play in the background while you read the rest of the article.


Coach Route (Tortoise):

The sensible route. Long term approach for success wont do unnecessary risks. If my athlete had a suspect injury I would tell them to not compete, being a coach I have to lead b y example. Be a good role model to those whom are under my wing. I cant be seen to be doing silly things that jeopardise my health. I know this time next year I will be well over 700kg total, yes I didn't set out to what I wanted to achieve (700kg and competing at IPF Worlds) but, I am young and I have much to develop as a coach/athlete.

As Clint said the coach would tell you to take the 5 pound PR not the 50 pound PR. Why? So you can keep getting 5 pound PR's after every cycle. Long term plan accumulates many 5 pound PR's, one year (52 weeks) you do 4 training cycles in a year (each 13 weeks) you are going to get many PR's and aiming to improve by 5 pounds every time.

If I was to try and improve by 50 pounds every time I will eventually crash and burn. Or make smaller PR's and be disheartened that he/she isn't making the 50 pound PR.

Coaches set realistic targets so athletes can make them based upon their own abilities.

Athlete Route (Hare):

All in or not. Risk it all for the 15 minutes of fame. Yes its the most appealing and feeds into everyone's ego. It looks glamourous if you succeed but if you fail it has the most dire consequences. I will only risk it knowing I have nothing to lose (as I am sure most people would), but some people, have that trait where when the odds are against them they don't care. They will put their head down and risk it all to be the best.

As a coach they can be the best and worst athletes to work with. These athletes usually want to progress the quickest regardless of how hard the programme really is (or how realistic the programme is). These athletes like driving Ferraris yes they will get their first but they will be more likely to burn out (fatigue) or crash (get injured).

If they manage to make the trip (training cycle) with no injuries I doubt they would of worked on any weaknesses just focused on the sporting demands. So by doing that they have left themselves more open to injury.

But as a coach we have to speak for the athlete and tell them what is best for them. They may not agree but we as coaches have the athletes best intentions in the front of our minds. We want to see an improved performance but not at the detriment to their health.

The Coach and the Athlete in me was in a constant battle leading up to that comp. I am glad I am a better coach than I am an athlete as I made the right call. Didn't feel like the right one at the time but I know now it was.

The silver lining is I am going to Texas not as an athlete but as Assistant S&C Coach to the Irish National Powerlifting Team. When I was 18/19 in a PE class as part of an individual exercise we where asked what two things do you want to achieve in your sporting career/job career. I remember writing down

1. Compete at a World Championships for my sport
2. Coach my National Team at an International Event.

Considering I am only 21, I have already achieved both of these (not in the same year) but I am doing alright hahaah. Put things in perspective is competing as an athlete going to get me a job or is coaching mu National Team. The latter most definitely.

Thanks for Reading;

Andrew Richardson, Founder of Strength is Never a Weakness Blog

I have a BSc (Hons) in Applied Sport Science and a Merit in my MSc in Sport and Exercise Science and I passed my PGCE at Teesside University. 

Now I will be commencing my PhD into "Investigating Sedentary Lifestyles of the Tees Valley" this October 2019. 

I am employed by Teesside University Sport and WellBeing Department as a PT/Fitness Instructor.  

My long term goal is to become a Sport Science and/or Sport and Exercise Lecturer. I am also keen to contribute to academia via continued research in a quest for new knowledge.

My most recent publications: 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X19300216

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1752928X19301076 

My passion is for Sport Science which has led to additional interests incorporating Sports Psychology, Body Dysmorphia, AAS, Doping and Strength and Conditioning. 

Within these respective fields, I have a passion for Strength Training, Fitness Testing, Periodisation and Tapering. 

I write for numerous websites across the UK and Ireland including my own blog Strength is Never a Weakness. 

I had my own business for providing training plans for teams and athletes. 

I was one of the Irish National Coaches for Powerlifting, and have attained two 3rd places at the first World University Championships, 

in Belarus in July 2016.Feel free to email me or call me as I am always looking for the next challenge. 

Contact details below; 

Facebook: Andrew Richardson (search for)

Facebook Page: @StrengthisNeveraWeakness

Twitter: @arichie17 

Instagram: @arichiepowerlifting

Snapchat: @andypowerlifter 

Email: a.s.richardson@tees.ac.uk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-richardson-b0039278 

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew_Richardson7 

The Training of a former University and Under 23 Irish International Rower: Discussed by Jonanthon (JP) Mitchell

I’d first like the thank Andrew for letting me share on his blog, he has been asking me for a long time and despite my initial scepticism that his readers would find what I have to share interesting or useful he has ground me down. I once had aspirations to row at the Olympics and the information I’m going to share is focused on the training I was doing at the time to achieve that goal. The reasons for why I stopped and what I currently do for training can be left for another time and place. I will run through a typical training cycle and try and insert some science to explain why things were like that and the training goal behind it.

JP at the front of the pair

My training ran in 4 week cycles, weeks 1-3 ran progressively harder by increasing the volume then the 4th week worked as a deload. In our deload week we would cover 160km of pure rowing with additional distance being added on the bike or running. A typical 3 week work block would have run as 180km, 195km and 210km. At the start of the season these would have been slightly lower and in the depths of winter slightly more. The idea was each micro 4 week cycle would be slightly higher volume than the one before. We also followed a weights program which ran opposed to the rowing, so our heaviest weights week was the deload week for rowing and the deload weights week matched out heaviest volume.

To establish a strong base or fitness and allow continued improvement in rowing technique we spend between 70-80% of our training at what is called UT2 (oxygen utilisation zone 2, or simply put a level you can train at for 2 hours and even more simply you could hold a conversation while at this level). This allows great communication between coach and athlete and also amongst crews so movements can be brought together into one seamless rowing machine. This intensity of work was split between boat work on the water and the Concept 2 Indoor Rower (universal measurement of rowing output) which allowed blood lactate level testing to ensure we were actually working at the right level and to measure improvement. In general we would do a 12-18km row either on the water or indoors first thing at 8am. Depending on the day of the week we would do a second session around 11am with anything from 12-24km.

JP stroking the pair

If you imagine fitness as a giant equilateral triangle, the base is created by UT2 level, the wider the base, the higher potential top level performance. In general we had 3 days a week were we went above this level, into UT1 (oxygen utilisation zone 1 or a level you can only maintain for 1 hour) or AT (anaerobic threshold, also know as pain, lots of pain). In these sessions it was generally repeats of 20min or 30min pieces and the intensity was regulated by our rate (the number of strokes taken a minute). These were designed to push the body and minds ability to tolerate lactic acid (the burn). As the year went on we would move the rates higher so in September pieces would be done at 18-20 SPM (strokes per minute) and by summer that would be 36+SPM. Regarding our weight training we would do this 3-4 times a week on the days of lowest rowing intensity and it would be the last session of the day, focusing on the major lifts, power cleans, squats, deadlift, bench pull with accessory work in bench press, general shoulder prehab and hip focused exercises. I competed as a lightweight for most of my career so the focus was not on gaining size but making the most of the size I had.

It is hard to concisely summarise a 12 month training program but this was followed 6-7 days a week with 2-3 sessions a day depending on the intensity and volume. While every nation has their own training program most follow this basic structure. Rowing is a power endurance sport, from a scientific point of view the goal for international competition is to produce the highest average wattage over a 2km distance. Rowing has East Germany to thank for it’s morally ambiguous research methods which have shaped how club and elite level athletes train create this basic training structure. They proved in dominant fashion how high volume, low intensity based training could form superior athletes to other methods of the time.

JP second in from the far right

Thanks JP for writing this. Those who are interested in what JP is doing now, he has set up his own Crossfit Gym in Ballymena Northern Ireland. Link to the facility is below;

JP's contact details;
Website www.crossfitballymena.com

FB www.facebook.com/crossfitballymena

Isntagram @crossfit_ballymena

Twitter @CFBallymena

Snapchat JP Mitchell91

Andrew Richardson, Founder of Strength is Never a Weakness Blog

I have a BSc (Hons) in Applied Sport Science and a Merit in my MSc in Sport and Exercise Science and I passed my PGCE at Teesside University. 

Now I will be commencing my PhD into "Investigating Sedentary Lifestyles of the Tees Valley" this October 2019. 

I am employed by Teesside University Sport and WellBeing Department as a PT/Fitness Instructor.  

My long term goal is to become a Sport Science and/or Sport and Exercise Lecturer. I am also keen to contribute to academia via continued research in a quest for new knowledge.

My most recent publications: 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X19300216

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1752928X19301076 

My passion is for Sport Science which has led to additional interests incorporating Sports Psychology, Body Dysmorphia, AAS, Doping and Strength and Conditioning. 

Within these respective fields, I have a passion for Strength Training, Fitness Testing, Periodisation and Tapering. 

I write for numerous websites across the UK and Ireland including my own blog Strength is Never a Weakness. 

I had my own business for providing training plans for teams and athletes. 

I was one of the Irish National Coaches for Powerlifting, and have attained two 3rd places at the first World University Championships, 

in Belarus in July 2016.Feel free to email me or call me as I am always looking for the next challenge. 

Contact details below; 

Facebook: Andrew Richardson (search for)

Facebook Page: @StrengthisNeveraWeakness

Twitter: @arichie17 

Instagram: @arichiepowerlifting

Snapchat: @andypowerlifter 

Email: a.s.richardson@tees.ac.uk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-richardson-b0039278 

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew_Richardson7