By Flt Lt Ben Trapnell

A damp morning saw an enthusiastic group of RAF Athletes muster at DCAE Cosford for the second in the 2009/2010 seasons Coaching Weekends. They once again benefited from the coaching prowess of Paul Wilson, who provided a programme resplendent with new and interesting ways to torture ourselves in the pursuit of athletic excellence!

The day started off with Paul’s signature PAIN warmup, consisting of a variety of loosening exercises and gentle running, followed by a short but sharp circuit and then a lengthy period of stretching. We then moved outside to take advantage of the track and field facilities at Cosford and split into 2 separate groups. One group worked with Paul to develop their javelin throwing ability and the other group tackled a track session. Everyone gained a lot although the greatest sympathy must go to Oz Ellis who struggled round having not yet recovered from his 2nd place in an International 4 day event in Cyprus the month before. Star of the show was Sasha Sheard who impressed with her rapid improvement in the Javelin having never thrown it in earnest before the weekend!

Following lunch it was back to the gym to tackle an intensive circuit session under the unrelenting eye of Paul. This session took its toll with a starting line up of 8 athletes being whittled down to just 2 at the end of the session: Sasha and Jordan Nicholson. Tony Higbee, Travis Culverwell and newcomer to the team Andy Harle avoided the circuit by tackling a monster session of 24 x 60m reps on the indoor straight as an alternative to Paul’s beasting.

The next stop was the weights room, with everyone joining in to tackle a variety of exercises designed to improve their strength. Each exercise was performed 4 times in each set, of which there were 6. The final part of the day involved a knackering series of activities: zombies (walking 5 meters with a weights plate held out in front of you while twisting side to side), a lengthy bicep workout (performing bicep curls many times at a very slow pace over different ranges of movement), a boxing session and finally a rollout competition using a weights bar, which left everyone thoroughly exhausted!

Tired but satisfied, everyone headed off to tackle either the motorways or a local restaurant for much needed sustenance after the days activities. The next weekend is planned for the 6th and 7th of February at DCAE Cosford leading into the first match of the Season at the Sheffield Indoor Arena on the 17th of February. If you are interested in either, please send a Query to either the Men’s Team Manager (irrespective of whether you are male or female) or the Coaching Secretary.