TRAINING

On 2^nd October 2004, 6 members of the British bobsleigh team travelled to Calgary, Canada for 4 weeks extensive training before the start of the season. We were to stay at the Canada Olympic Park for the duration of the trip, where we were to be accommodated and feed. We also had the use of the gym, ice push start facility and the Bobsleigh track itself.

The ice push start facility is the best in the world and we were to be using it twice a week. We would also have 5 days on the actual bobsleigh track doing 2 runs each. The rest of the training would involve weights sessions and sprint and tempo sessions on the foothills running track.

The idea of the 4 weeks training camp in Canada was to get everybody ready for the start of the season. To gets us faster and stronger and to bond as a Team. With the use of the ice house facility we could start putting the four man Team through its paces.

The first two weeks into the trip were fantastic walking around it t-shirts and shorts. Then it decided to drop 4 inches of snow in three hours, now this was real Bobsleigh weather and a culture shock for the two new lads on the Team.
The nights we were sliding at the top of the track the wind was absolutely bitter and you felt it right to the bottom of your bones. It was good to get in the back of the sled and even better news Lee drove the sled down the track faster than last seasons World Champion.

The ice house training sessions turned out to be the most valuable training aid over the last 4 weeks as far as I was concerned. We began working as a four man Team which was probably our weakness going into the start of the season. However over the training sessions the crew got better and better. We began pushing hard and the loading was getting quicker and quicker with every session.

The weights sessions were good as we were all training as a Team and pushing each other to achieve our goals. Everybody improved on their Power cleans and squatting.
Plyometrics were tough straight after squatting, those lead legs just didn't want to go anywhere.

The end of the Training trip finally came on the 28^th October when we had to fly home. The trip was a success as far as I was concerned. I feel fitter and stronger after the training camp, hopefully it will all pay off as the start to the season draws nearer.