2009 LETS ATTACK IT!

Good morning!

Its been a while since my last post, but it was a busy month getting my knee sorted out (hopefully) with a full ACL reconstruction & cartilage repair in mid December. I was lucky to save the cartilage as 2/3rds of it was torn off and it was 50/50 wheather to just take it all out or try to repair it!

My surgon likened it to
"TRYING TO STICH WET SPAGETTI TOGETHER!" Nice.


Big thanks to him & his team though up at Windsor, he is the Top Knee guy & they were responsible for Michael Owens ACL after it went at the championships for all to see. He was back playing in 7 months.

Anyway, enough of whats gone on in this last month, lets look to the future, what is up for 2009???

MY GOALS:

0 - 3 MONTHS
*ACL Gym activities & SWIMMING at 6-12 weeks.
*ACL LIGHT JOGGING at 3 months
**SSA is known to the people who need it & given an opportunity to help aspiring Youth Sportspeople!
**SSA releases its 1st Youth Peformance DVD: Animal Acceleration to help a greater number of coaches/teachers/youth sportspeople!

3 - 6 MONTHS
*ACL Work on FITNESS LEVEL.
*ACL Non-contact Sports Training/RUNNING at 6 months.
**SSA continues to invest in performance research, going anywhere in the world to get the best & bring it to YOU.
**SSA directly/regularly helps over 100+ youth athletes.
**SSA is the known YOUTH CONDITIONING SPECIALISTS in the SOUTH OF ENGLAND.
**SSA releases its 2nd Youth Peformance DVD.

6 - 12 MONTHS
*ACL 9 months FULL Sprinting & other sports.
*ACL 10-12 months FULL RETURN TO POLEVAULT??
**SSA Youth conditioning Revolution has a strong, large, dedicated following, helping and supporting each other and pushing up the Youth Performance standards in the UK and Overseas.

Whoops! Now I've done it now, once there down in black & white, goals become a bit more real.

More obtainable.

You know what you want.

YOU CAN NOW MAKE STEPS TOWARDS YOUR GOAL

But more than anything else.... Be Happy.

Your success will come,

I will be FANATICALLLY dedicated to helping you reach your performance goals what ever you decide they are!

JUST POST THEM HERE,
DO IT TODAY.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE?
HOW CAN YOU ACHIEVE THEM!

I look forward to finding what your GOING to achieve in 2009...

Yours in Sport & Speed,

Adam Walker BSc PGCE CSCS
THE SPEED FREAK

STRONG MIND, STRONG BODY.

Afternoon all,

Early start to the day, up and out by 6.30am, going early training? Early coaching? Nope, up to Windsor and the Princess Margret Hospital for an MRI on my lovely (slightly mis-shaped) knee.

An improtant day, well the results in a few days are more important!
Just another "Fun" outing since my freak accident on August 9th. The local newspaper ran an update on my knee this week (must be a slow week for news) and I thought I'd pass on the story and keep you guys updated. Here's a few bits...

Walker fights back from the brink

Dislocated kneecap, torn knee ligaments, season over. Adam Walker's athletics future was looking pretty bleak as he lay in agony on the pole vault runway at Eton.
Foremost in Walker's mind is trying to return his knee to full working order. A full 15 weeks after it happened, he is coming to terms with just how badly the joint is and is finding it as much a mental battle as it is physical.

"I have been having two to three hours a day rehab and now the injured leg is as strong as the other one. My quads are stronger than they were before the accident.

The injury has left Walker's knee severely weakened, and its vulnerability was highlighted last week when he slipped slightly on a wet floor and damaged his anterior cruciate ligament - the front ligament in the knee.

"I'm so gutted," he says. "I have been really careful but it looks like I have now overstretched or partially torn the ACL. It has put me back about three weeks to a month and my limp is back.

"You can't fix it quickly which is frustrating and there's no chance of me having an indoor season now. I'd be more upbeat if I thought I could be jumping by the time of the outdoor season. It's 15 weeks since I did it now. For 11 weeks it was improving so quickly, getting better day by day. But the thought has popped into my head: 'What if I don't get better?'"

Walker is keen to avoid the fate of one of his friends, who suffered a career-ending injury at the same venue eight years ago and still limps.

But he can at least see a silver lining.
"I didn't land on my head so I am happy about that but they thought I had broken my leg, that my tibia had snapped. I was happy to see there was no blood."

It was an unhappy end to what had been Walker's best season, setting a new personal best of 4.65m in Dublin and also becoming the Sussex senior champion. He intends to return to the Irish capital, believing the size of the competition and the crowds helped him reach that PB.

"I would find it a lot easier to retire after five metres," he admits.

"To clear that is a question of technique and belief. I cleared 4.65 in Dublin and thought, 'Brilliant, I must have scraped it'. But my coach said I did it easily, so I had a pop at 4.75 and in three attempts I got lots of height but came down on the bar."


Anyway guys, as I lay inside the MRI tunnel this morning (a cross between a building site and standing next to a music speaker experience) I thought, this is rubbish & wondered why I didn't feel worse? Sure I have bad days & I'm angry about the knee, but mentally I'm positive, working round the problem and focusing on getting it better. Slowly the body is getting the idea and catching up! Have to mention helping "mini-me" sportspeople is a massive help aswell! Hopefully YOU can avoid some of the injuries that I have had and learn from my mistakes. The mind is the most powerful Sports Performance tool...

"BECOME STRONG IN MIND & THE BODY WILL FOLLOW"

Adam Walker
THE SPEED FREAK

PS: IF YOU WANNA CHECK OUT THE FULL STORY ALONG WITH SAD PHOTO'S OF ME! HERE IS THE LINK BELOW (copu & paste it into your browser).
http://www.thisissussex.co.uk/crawley/sport/Walker-fights-brink/article-503354-detail/article.html
LET ME KNOW HOW YOUR DOING IN YOUR SPORTS AND ABOUT ANY INJURY WORRIES??

YOUNGER & FASTER WILKO!

Morning all!

With the Autumn Rugby Union Internationals fully underway, you can't go a weekend without viewing some quality rugby and Speed to match!

One who tends to stand out is The younger faster version of Jonny Wilkinson... DAN CIPRIANI !

Wilkinson's injuries are the cost of too much contact. But Cipriani is still young, developing, bigger, stronger and FASTER than Wilkinson already! A RUGBY SPEED FREAK!

This is not luck though. Like SPORT SPEED ACADEMY, Dan Cipriani identified weaknesses and did something about it!
When Dan joined Wasps he commented:

“Wasps have a gym culture so I quickly got big and strong — but I was convinced I needed to work on my speed. So I started working with Margot Wells — she’s the wife of former Olympic gold medal sprinter Allan — and I pay her out of my own pocket!"

Cipriani who comes from Croydon the same stomping ground that produced a TRUE SPEED FREAK in Paul Sackey. Cipriani gained a Rugby scholorsip from Whitgift school and hasn't looked back.

In his time there I was lucky enough to be at the school and taught him in disciplines such as Water Polo and Basketball. Sadly no Rugby speed work back then! Anyway, it was Paul Sackey who started to pay Margot £400 a month to help his speed six years ago. Sackey is always quick to credit Wells for her part in turning him into an international rugby player. As a young lad joining Wasps, Dan started his regular Speed sessions with Margot off his own back and has also paid tribute to the help she has given him.

So what does she do??

She only gets 45 minutes, twice a week, to make a difference to these blokes. She needs discipline and hasn't got time for them to turn up and muck about! She maintains she fuels their talent in a step-by-step manner. The first thing she did was to teach him how to run properly, immediately making Dan run faster. She then looked at his body to find out where are all the weaknesses? Then she starts to fix them.

SIMPLE.

Personally physical mistakes and weaknesses jump out to me too and I can appriciate and understand exactly how and why she does what she does. You need a structured system to follow and then you can reap the rewards when you take your skills onto the pitch! I only get 60 minutes once a week at my Academy at still get results!

Still with all this (as I have found in Polevault) you cannot avoid the "Freak" injuries and Cipriani suffered a fractured dislocated ankle injury in May. OUCH! Wilkinson dislocated his knee like me in September, and this is with us all being in good condition for our sport. Mmust be the season for it!

Expected to be out untill the new year, Dan has burst back in time for the Autumn internationals! His speed coach reckons he is faster than before he got injured, so it is looking good for England. Margot currently looks after 28 rugby players and says that she is unable to take anybody else on board. In the past (as all good speed coaches should!) she has also worked with swimmers, fencers and coached a variety of team sports.

SPORT SPEED IS ESSENTIAL & I LOVE IT!

I'll leave you with some great words that we apply daily at SPORT SPEED ACADEMY...

“You can’t tackle what you can’t catch.” Margot Wells

GET FAST. WIN MORE.

Adam Walker BSc PGCE CSCS YCS
www.SportSpeedAcademy.com
www.TheSpeedFreak.blogspot.com

THE SPEED FREAK

PS: Check out this Key Exercise to eliminate a massive weakness on the SPEED FREAK Channel... AdamWalkerPro on YouTube, Subscribe for free now!

WEMBLEY FOOTBALL SPEED!

Morning all,

Did you watch the big FOOTBALL game at Wembley last night?? It was quality and some of the SPEED on show was impressive, I could watch it all day!

If your wondering what game I'm talking about, Man U Vs Arsednal?? Liverpool Vs Chelsea??
Nope...

San Diego Chargers Vs New Orliens Saints!

Thats right a NFL regular season game of American Football was played at Wembley to a sell out crowd and millions of viewers watched around the world. I watched. and in particular one player...

LT! This guy off the San Diego team was not the biggest (5 foot 6!), but actually the smallest. His one defining SKILL was his Superhuman SPORTSPEED!

You know what it reminded me of.
Seeing my SSA junior athletes that I coach the Academy. When these little guys go up against other juniors in their sports or we have a new kid come along to try a session, it makes them look so QUICK and EFFICIENT with their movements.

I LOVE IT.

In this sporting arena it wasn't just that LT was soo fast, but that everytime he had a one on one situation he was FASTER than the other highly conditioned athlete he was up against!

If you are aspiring to these levels in whatever sport you chose, imagine the damage you could do with these speed skills. Put them onto a Football pitch, A rugby pitch, a basketball, netball or badminton court! The potential is endless and so is your potential!

DONT JUST WATCH THIS SPEED, GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND DO SOMETHING SMART TO REACH YOUR POTENTIAL.

I'm inspired.

Where's the next american football try-outs!?

Guess I better get my knee sorted first! (3 weeks till I can run on it, still)

GET FAST. WIN MORE.

Adam Walker
www.Sportspeedacademy.com
www.AdamWalkerPro.com
THE SPEED FREAK

SPEEDY INJURY! SPEEDY RECOVERY??

Morning all,

Its been a rough few days recently, knee has been having a tough time since dislocating my patella 8 weeks ago at the UK Athletics Challenge final @ Eton.
The “FREAK” accident seemed to be getting better as fast as it happened! If you didn’t hear, I’ll give you a quick recap from what the papers reported:

ADAM Walker admits his season is over after dislocating his knee in testing conditions at the UK Challenge Final in Eton.The Crawley Athletic Club pole vaulter suffered the freak accident when going for his second attempt at 4.46m in the Thames Valley Athletics Stadium.
Walker, the Sussex senior champion, had only been a late call-up to the event after another athlete dropped out, but still managed to finish fourth and pocketed £100 prize money.
But the 28-year-old was left with mixed emotions as he was taken to hospital following the accident and will not be able to compete for the rest of the season.
I am so happy with my best result of fourth in the UK, but it cost me a knee and is still swelling," said Walker.
"I'm angry that the organisers made us vault in the dangerous conditions and didn't move it indoors or call it off.
"Last time I vaulted there about eight years ago, another competition was called off after a friend of mine had a career ending injury in dangerous conditions. He never vaulted again and still limps now."

Walker's injury compounded a miserable weekend for him which began on Friday night when his ankle swelled because of an insect bite picked up at a midweek meeting in Woking.
Having been told he had an infection, he was prescribed antibiotics to reduce the swelling and made it to Eton only to find the rain had left standing water on the pole vault run-up.
The competitors were told the event would not be moved indoors and Walker had to make the best of the conditions, clearing 4.16m and 4.31m to put him in fifth place.
With conditions worsening, Walker went for 4.46m but on his second attempt at the new height, it all went wrong.

"I came flying in, puddles splashing, struggling to grip the pole, my take-off foot was too close, and although it didn't feel right I tried to vault," he said.
"But my foot slipped from under me, I tried to grip the pole but my top hand slipped off the pole and I ended up crumpled in the box, screaming and gripping my knee.
"It's a bit of a blur. The pain was excruciating, as my patella (knee-cap) was ripped off and leg had been hyper-extended. I thought I was going to see bone sticking through so I was initially relieved."

Walker's condition has improved in the last few days and an x-ray has shown no tears to any of the major ligaments or tendons and no floating bone fragments.
He is now recuperating in San Francisco although his target of clearing five metres (IRISH RECORD) now looks a long way off.Horrible to read that again! Anyway, as I mentioned my recovery was initially so rapid, I’d had the best season of my career and a lifetime best height to boot. Even though I’d had my left kneecap ripped off (ouch!) I was in good spirits and Soo motivated to crack on and get it sorted, I attacked the rehab with force!
The PAIN involved was a shock to me, but with my Good friend and long term physio John Allen reassuring me I had to do it and the pain was necessary I didn’t look back. The physio’s I have always used are Matthews & Allen, one is the Head physio for the Wimbledon tennis Championships every year and the other is in charge of the majority of the UK Athletics teams at major championships (I had to wait for him to get back from Beijing to help me out!.

My strength gains were so quick it was really motivating how quick I was recovering. People would be shocked when they saw my progress and I told them I was only off crutches a week ago! Obviously I’m all about speed so I was loving it. However, flexibility has not been so good in my knee ( and the fact it still doesn’t look too hot!) and it stiffens up reducing the ROM (Range Of Movement) quickly if I neglect it.

So, here we are today 8 weeks later and I’m still sitting here writing this with an ice pack on my knee! Since the incident my knee has been able to fry an egg on it, its so hot and inflamed, with a bad weekend where it swelled up so I could not do any rehab except ice it constantly for two days and eat Anit-Inflamatories like smarties!

I’d over done it a tad, it’s a fine line between doing as much as possible to help it and over doing it and ruining your work!
OVER-TRAINING, you put just too much demand on your body and don’t respect the principle of rest and recovery, and you’r body will make you rest either through INJURY or SWELLING up to the size of a coconut knee and put you out of the game!

Hey my SPEED FREAKS, You have been warned! Take it from someone who knows and is still confined to running in the swimming pool!

Whats the worst injury you’ve had or known a friend experience?? Let me know, I hope you haven’t experience much… Unfortunately I doubt that!??

What’s yours??

Yours in Sport & Speed,

Adam Walker BSc PGCE CSCS

PS: Imagine 3 hours taken out of every day for 8 weeks (and counting) for REHAB, Strengthening, flexibility and Hydro sessions in the pool! FUN.

Put in the work PRE-HAB before an injury occurs, any problems, help needed gimme a shout.THE SPEED FREAK

SPEEDY RHYME!

Evening All!

Just a quick one, before the day is up.

Over here in the UK it is National Poetry day and being a wannabe poet I thought it 'd be rude to let it pass without a mention...

"PARENT'S WHO SUPPORT AND BELIEVE,

HELP THEIR CHILDREN TO EXCELL AND ACHIEVE"

Adam Walker 2008

Get Support,
Get Fast, Win More.

Night,

THE SPEED FREAK

http://www.sportspeedacademy.com/

ATTACK IT!

Morning Guys!

Started a new job yesterday, did not think there was a job that would fit in with my Sports Speed Development work. More importantly I did not think there was a job I would love like my Sport Speed Academy, then good things came to me, I knew what I could do, what wold fit with my "Fun" work and started yesterday.

ATTACK IT!

The main thing if you wan't to do something or achieve something is attack it! There is no point me wondering into this job looking for a little extra cash, turning up and going through the numbers. It would be tough for me and my students, I have attacked it and in one day of lecturing, I LOVE IT! This is not going to be "work" for me as well, how good is that!??


All these years of doing work and now both my jobs I love, ATTACK and enjoy! If you don't love or have any passion for what you do...

Look elsewhere... and attack it with all you got and you'l be suprised with what you get out of it.

Yours in Sport & Speed,

The SpeedFreak.

www.adamwalkerpro.com
www.sportspeedacademy.co.uk