Ruth Wilson:

Hi Faye, Welcome to the GetSET Women blog. I was fascinated by your description of your work - it truly is a science at competetive levels. I enjoyed looking up the words that were new to me!

Do you ever work with car-dependent, desk bound, not in the first flush of youth women??? What would be your main advice to someone with good intentions to be fitter but a hectic schedule...

Faye Downey:

Hi Helen
Sorry for the delay, I was actually in transit to Saudi Arabia. I'm sat in the 90 degree heat out here and really amused that Emmerdale is on the TV!

There are plenty of things that the every day lady can do! In fact just before I flew out here I gave a talk to the Fulham WI (www.fulhamwi.org.uk), hoping to inspire a few of the ladies to reignite their passion for sport. People think that becoming inactive is just part of the ageing process, when actually it's really important to stay active. One of the researchers I met was looking at weightlifting exercises in the elderly. Looking at what happened to their bone mineral density, health and self esteem. Needless to say there were really positive outcomes for those that went to the gym. The researcher even suggested the older ladies and gents were getting a bit fruity after livening up their hormones post weight training!

So for those that read this blog over the next few days, the first challenge that I will give you is to learn to lunge. Please google "lunge exercises". There are hundreds of demos, but its the perfect way to strengthen your lower body for improving BMD, toning, and starting that feel good factor. Try doing 3 x 8 of them twice a week and see what happens!

Well off to melt in Saudi and get ready for training tomorrow. I'll be updating some information about my background and experiences so please keep reading:-)

Faye

Pollyanna:

Hi Faye,
I have to say, you have my DREAM job!!!! Everything you describe sounds so interesting and your experiences so vast and exciting!
Is the industry you work in competitive? Are there generally more men or women that get into the industry? Have you ever experienced any gender bias?
Also, what sport have you found most interesting to work with? I am a tennis player... have you worked with any tennis teams? I used to play in America and there was always money available for physiologists/physiotherapists/conditioning, however, i'm not sure its the same in the UK... have you experienced this?
So many questions! sorry!
Thanks

Faye Downey:

Hi Polyanna
Thanks for your comment. I always wanted to do something that I love so that it wouldn't feel like work, so I never considered anything other than working in sport. However, the same feeling must go for a lot of people and it is really competitive. There were 300 people on my Sports Science degree at Loughborough, 25 on my MSc and I think only a handful now work in elite sport.

A lot of my work comes under the "Strength and Conditioning" banner, which is predominately a male industry. In fact I only know of less than 5 females working in this area in the U.K. The fitness industry sits separately, in which there are many excellent female trainers.

As well as the fitness side of strength and conditioning such as the aerobic and anaerobic conditioning to play for 90 mins of football, 80 mins of rugby, netball, hockey etc., we learn how to improve STRENGTH and POWER. Typically this is done through OLYMPIC WEIGHT LIFTING (see www.uksca.org.uk for more info on the industry). I guess the concepts of strength, power and weightlifting have cultural undertones of masculinity. I would say for that reason more men have been interested in the area. Working with elite athletes by its very nature makes the industry a small one. It is for these reasons, more than any discrimination or gender bias that I believe women are under represented.

I am very aware of a few clubs both in rugby and football that do not want women working at the club. I've also experienced this situation in golf. It is frustrating, and I often think about how those guys would feel if it was their daughter that was told have years of study (and study debt), experience and working incredibly hard that they are not allowed to work where they want to on the basis of being female? My attitude to this is that I have been a woman all my life, it is nothing new for me, just novel for them in their working environment. They are the ones that need to adjust not me!

However this is definitely the minority of situations. I find the athletes, players, coaches and managers very respectful. I'd also say that I find as many females attitudes in sport as disappointing as those described above. I've encountered a number of women whom blame the male environment for not getting opportunities they feel they deserve. It's such an excuse and they are a barrier to their own success. It's essential to have the right qualifications, experience (voluntary or otherwise), and attitude before expecting to be given the dream!

As you eluded to from your experience in America, there are many roles that come under the "sports science" discipline. A team or athlete will usual have the following support staff:
- Strength & conditioning coach
- Physiologist
-Physiotherapist
-Sports Physician
- Sports Psychologist
- Nutritionist (Clinical or sports)
- Performance analyst and or Bio mechanist

Sports such as tennis, cycling, golf, formula one and super bikes will have their engineers to look at performance enhancing technology. In fact UK SPORT (www.uksport.gov.uk) have a well funded research and design department to look at such technology. Loughborough University also has a Sports Technology department in the engineering school and externally for research and support of companies such as Nike and Callaway. In fact engineering, materials and design has a huge performance role for our sports. Another example would be in the design of compression garments to aid in the recovery process.

Throughout the week I will write a synopsis on all of the disciplines so that readers whom may never have considered working in sport may find their skills from science and engineering transferable.

I have worked in tennis with a young GB player called Oliver Golding. I watched his guest coaching sessions with Boris Becker and Greg Rusedski. It's equally important that in such a physically demanding sport players take care of their fitness, strength, power and of course the nutrition, psychology and technology that is required. Personally, I'm pretty rubbish at tennis so will leave it to people like Oliver!

Finally, my favourite sport????? Tough let me think about it and get back to you!

Faye

Alexia:

Hi Faye what you do is so amazing, o have so many questions for you but could you let me know which have been the most challenging athletes to work with? Who are your favourite?

Tracey:

Hi Faye,

I need some advice and your expert opion would be welcome.

Two years ago I ws an overweight when not working a bit of a couch potatoe!

Then i bought a bicycle just to ride around the park and offset the office lifestyle etc. One ride has lead to another and now I go out on the road for up to two hours three times a week.

I will join a club at some time in the futre for now i ride on my own, which I quite enjoy,(time to think etc) or with a couple of friends. I need to improve my hill climbing strength / speed. Can you help in what lower and mauyeb upperbody exercises areas I should do to help.

Thanks

Tracey.

Faye Downey:

So Alexia and Polyanna

Favourite sport? To play hockey and squash. To watch rugby, tennis and gymnastics. To train, I think athletics and rugby.

Athletics is such a pure form of physical performance. The way their competitive season is planned means that you can periodise training ti include a number of training blocks. Here you can work on strength and power without worrying about competing. It means that athletes have the time to train to their maximal physical potential. This is really interesting to work in and tests your skills as a coach in terms of planning training to allow an athlete to peak at the right time. For more information on this look into the concepts of PERIODISATION.

I love working in rugby for exactly the opposite reason. You have a number of players to work with and have to juggle the VOLUME LOAD of their week in terms of RECOVERY from the game at the weekend, improving STRENGTH, POWER, SPEED, AEROBIC and ANAEROBIC CAPACITIES without trying to compromise each other. Fitting this around their technical work on the pitch without ACCUMULATING FATIGUE that will negatively affect the week in week out competition.

Faye

Faye Downey:

Hi Tracey

Thanks for your interest and I am really glad that you have got back into your fitness. It sounds like you are after some specific help so please e-mail me of fdowney@oracle-elite.com and I can help you further.

Good luck with your training:-)

Faye Downey:

So, one of the disciplines of SPORTS SCIENCE is PHYSIOLOGY.

This can be anything from lab based power assessments using the WINGATE tests, treadmill tests monitoring VO2 max, rRUNNING ECONOMY, CRITICAL VELOCITY and LACTATE THRESHOLDS. It can be used to determine individual training zones, particularly in endurance running. It's something that runners like Paula Radcliffe have relied upon to monitor and evaluate training as well as planning race strategies.

Triathletes can used this type of monitoring too. That is in addition to work on the SRM to monitor POWER OUTPUTS in their cycling.

Other monitoring strategies include measuring urine osmolality to look at hydration status. This is something that all sports people look at in various ways as dehydration can have a huge effect on performance, particularly in skill based sports such as football.

Footballers have also used physiology (and nutrition) to monitor their sweat levels. Not only their sweating rate in a game and training but also the type of sweat e.g. the salt concentration. This allows individualisation of hydration strategies.

Other specialised fields in physiology include acclimatisation or acclimation specialists. They look into strategies into optimising changes in our environment to improve performance adaptations in the body. This can vary from altitude strategies that endurance runners may use. Equally they can look at problem solving in performances in harsh environments such as the Beijing Olympic Games. Two extreme cases that I have seen are for in preparation for Josh Lewsey's attempt to climb Everest and Ben Saunders and Alastair Humphries' South Pole expeditions.

For those more interested in Sports and Exercises physiology have a look at the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (http://www.bases.org.uk/)

More about other disciplines tomorrow!

Faye

Mathew Vance:

Hi Faye, I'm looking to develop a fitness, regime that is sustainable and compatible with my working life. Is there such a thing as a flexible regime that you flex up/down dependant upon the time and resources available to you that week? With a view to gradually increasing the intensity as time and motivation allows. I am sure this is something a lot of busy working people would be interested in, unable to stick to a static regime.
Thanks in advance.
Mathew

Lucy Jones:

Hi Faye I've just finished GCSE's and won't stay on unless I have to. I want to do personal training and/or beauty studies. I want to work with people in the community. Should I go to my local college and get a personal training certificate first or should I ask to train in a in a local gym or health centre. My parents aren't used to this sort of work.

Samantha Alsbury:

Hi Faye,

Great blog post.

Women often seem less likely than men to go it alone and set up their own company. Did you find it intimidating getting started, was it something you thought about for a long time or something you were always keen to do?

Faye Downey:

Hi Mathew

Yes its definitely possible to devise that and it is sensible to do so. All athletes have different amounts of stress to cope with such as competition. They create a structure called peridoisation, which accounts for accumulative stress, essentially busy or harder periods when they get tired. If you can periodise your day, week and year around work and busy periods this would be ideal. Essentially training longer, harder or more intensely when you can and backing off under periods of stress.

For flexibility give yourself a "menu" of options that you can choose from depending on your motivation and time available on the day. This will help keen things fresh and flexible but with consistency.

Faye

Faye Downey:

Lucy

Definitely get your qualifications now. You could perhaps work at weekend and get some experience some way but you will need those qualifications. A gym will look to see what you have before they employ you. If you want to work for yourself you will need them for insurance purposes. If you don't do them now at some point you will only have to go back and do them.

Good luck

Faye

Faye Downey:

Hi Samantha

Thanks for your comments. Actually it was pretty much accidental. I really wanted to leave where I had been working and had to give 3 months notice. I just thought that I would look for another job. However I kept getting asked to do small projects and found that I have enough work to survive.

I then got in touch with Business Link and was guided through how to write a business plan and market my company. I actually got really excited rather than intimidated and relished the challenge.

Of course you get nervous and concerned about the income, but once you accept this and get used to being self employed, the worries start to go away. As long as you work hard at the plan and review your performance I think you can create a really great structure to work within.

Now I have worked for myself I'd nerve want to work for someone else again, I'm a great boss:-)

Faye