Five Star Fitness 24 hour Gym in Thomastown
Well Chris Guccione has left to the US after spending 3 months rehabilitating his achilles and then getting fit to play. I enjoyed the experience and look forward to seeing Chris play again. Chris lives in the Northern Suburbs and used the 24/7 facility in Thomastown (Five Star Fitness) owned by Tony Mercuri. Amazing place and one of the first if not the first 24/7 gym around. Costs $3, 30 to train there and there is a massive amount of gear and also a separate ladies only gum. I use it heaps and Chris also did lots of sessions there since December. Here is a pic of me with Chris….Geez I thought I was 5 11 but have to confess to 5 10….Oh well.
Here is a link to the website.
Tennis and overtraining. Maybe just more the problem?
My background was track and field and I was lucky to train in Europe and listen to many of the gurus that underpinned periodization. Tschiene, Bondarchuk and so on.
Trained sprinters then and moved into the AFL from 1987 to 2007. Volleyball, netball and many other sports.
So I have tested and seen first hand how people train, how much and how intensely. And the results. Things change of course every year and sometimes athletes push barriers. Clubs do more in training etc. But always there remains a breaking point.
But even in my days with Franz Stampfl who sometimes did huge loads, I can always remember him “getting out of gaol” by giving an athlete 5 days totally off before a competition of importance. 5 days. HA….
We all are privy to stories of swimmers who missed their taper and peaked whilst on holidays after a competition.
I have never known a sport where athletes train so much as tennis in Australia. They just seemed obsessed. It is actually quite odd. The courts are like rock and they just cannot wait to get on court and hit. Yet when I test tennis players they are not particularly outstanding. Often random kids turn up and test better. Maybe it is a TID factor but I think it is the monotonous slow training.
Kids who are super fit aerobically and are a bit slow but can play often do really well as young players. Who cares. Nice for them but what happens when the hormones kick in. Whoosh one needs power and speed and repeat speed. Yes and of course an adequate aerobic base.
Netball players who train and play 5 days a week at high intensity look more toned and in fact are often fitter. They nearly always test heaps faster at every age group and every level. It is weird. Tennis players just are catabolic half the time. It seems to me that lack of planning and continuous monotmous loads are a real problem.The weeks roll on and on and the loads ( yawn) are high and the training is full of junk and core and slow things and volume and hitting when the body is just rooted.
Thus we generally have slow players who train at sub maximal speeds and then have to click up a gear in top notch comp.
What does the rest of the world do? Seems there are some smart ones but also lots of broken down bodies and minds in this sport. Forget the Russian formula. Won’t work here. Simple. So the more professional we get the more the sport is running out of control.
I can understand the need for more clay courts also given what I see.
We respect things like the beeper test too much in tennis in OZ when maybe we need to look at a more specific ability. Can they play, can they move and have they had a comprehensive mulitaleteral development.
The data to me suggests overtraining. Most coaches in OZ are what I call “slow-coaches”.That is an opinion at this stage but we have a massive tennis industry and there has been a massive amount of hitting in the last ten years, and coaches making players do suicides on court and then calling that speed and movement.
Parents see this and are happy given in their ignorance often they equate this to a formula for success.
Again let me assess this one again in a few years. The AIS seems to be getting good people in and there seems to be a core group of people in Tennis Australia that are on top of this. And there is a push with TID and seems some good kids and good fitness guys starting to move in. Hope it changes a culture of “slow-coaches”.
Josh and Chris…..Sports Scientists? Visit to mygene…..
Paid a visit to mygene in South Yarra today. Josh Ross and Chris Guccione came along also and had a look at the operations and in fact provided a sample for analysis which will be interesting. All totally private information for the athlete and coach but certainly genetic testing for sport is a new frontier and I will be able provide people with their product and of course back up advice on training and developmental needs.
Bit worried about the white coats but maybe they have found their new career for after sport!
Dannielle Hulett is my niece and is their scientist and I am very proud of her achievements.
Anyway will chat further on this area. Thought the pics were ok for the moment!
The tall one is Chris Guccione and er the shorter one is Josh Ross……The bloke below…er me
loris bertolacci 