gymnastics, running, stretching

Yogaaaah! Yes, I’m entering deep water here, not much I know about yoga. I’m always in two or three minds about yoga and its possible benefits for athletes. OK, some of the stretching and healing disciplines are shared between the two activities, but can yoga build powerful muscles for sprinters, or on the other hand great extra aerobic capacity for stayers, measurable in dozens of cubic meters? No, you can’t do without the mileage on the road, standing on your head won’t do it. Yes, I’m full of doubt. Agin it, to speak my mind. What’s more we lose some class runners to yoga - my own wife, Sarah, once British 10,000m gold medallist, found yoga was less of an intrusion on her life – running fifty or sixty miles a week plus the stretching and exercise needed if you’re a serious runner took up too much of the time she wished to devote to her drawing and sculpting. Therefore she deserted to yoga, and I have to admit remains captivated by it. I’m not going to advise you bloggy guys to try it, but if you have kids, well maybe it’s a good idea for them. Here’s what a pal of mine, Natascha Lloyd, told me of her voyage of exploration with her three-year-old:

Abbie has been to two yoga classes now and yesterday showed me how she could balance on one leg with one foot placed on her knee and her arms out stretched (is this called the ‘tree position’?). She was very pleased with herself and so was I since I have never been able to manage that pose without falling over! The yoga class is run by the community nursery at the end of our road called The Round Chapel Nursery. I wanted Abbie to start these classes partly so that she started to learn about having to listen and follow instructions sometimes and partly to give her some physical confidence and increased co-ordination, which has been slow to develop for her. The class is about half an hour long and takes the form of a story that the children help act out. The story seems to be a journey and involves climbing, cycling, hiding etc allowing for all sorts of bending and stretching! There is a really popular childrens yoga called Tattybumpkin that has marketed itself in a big way along these lines – we went to it once but the class was too busy for Abbie. If you wanted to speak to the woman who organizes this, and all the other lovely activities at the Round Chapel, she is called Sue Levey and the phone number is 020 8533 7714.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, if you’re interested in following this up for your kids, just google up Tattybumpkin. Some other time we’ll investigate other body training systems. But now – sprinting. There’s excellent advice by John Shepherd, a class sprinter and jumper himself in a recent article in the Southern Counies Veterans Athletic Club. Good for other explosive athletes too, jumpers and throwers of all kinds, while those in almost many different sports - football, rugby, hockey especially - could also well afford to mug up his stuff to improve their short distance dash. You can read it all in his article in The Southerner, the publication of the Club, edited by Rosemary Champion in a very friendly and open manner. If you wish to compete in their region, which is the South of England, first email southern.veterans@ntlworld.com. Or go to Shepherd’s website www.johnshepherdfitness.co.uk/ The regime he puts forward is very formidable, I fear, but how can you expect to aim for the best if you don’t put everything of yurself into it. Don’t take refuge in yoga! And sprinters, always remember – Don’t smoke on the back straight.