Fast Twitch Blog

On Friday I spent the day in Melbourne as part of the Netball Australia & Australian Diamonds forum on what is going to make Australian Netball the most dominant sports code/ team in the world.   As exciting an opportunity this was to be a part of in association with the Adelaide Thunderbirds what was even more exciting was the outcomes which came from the forum. Because the nature of the question the forum included coach’s, physios, sports scientists and strength & conditioning coach’s from all the Australian teams in the ANZ championship and while there was healthy discussion around a number of topics there was an overriding agreement among everyone that the one thing which was going to make the biggest impact was going to be Strength & Conditioning and its relation...

We all want to be successful and achieve the ideals we have in mind. In furthering our understanding of ourselves and journey towards our own vision, be that world champion, state champion or respected by others, we all have certain responsibilities towards achieving this vision. The following extract from Mark Riptoes book “Practical Programming for Strength Training” clearly remonstrates a number of key attributes towards achieving what we want. As simple as these seem, how focused and effectively do we really apply the concept of recovery to ourselves? As you will read assuming we are applying a sufficient workload towards achieving our goals, recovery is a vital part of the improvement process and needs to be taken as seriously as is prescribed below. “The topic of overtraining is u...

We rate it because in South Australia it usually gets little recognition, but this game is based upon athleticism and work rate and its these attributes which we believe in. The image above symbolises the passion these guys play with and its something we believe all sports can take note of. There’s not doubting the skill which exists in playing the game, but what I’m amazed at is you just know these athletes are putting some serious time in the gym to develop their athletic power. Again these attributes will differ among sports and body types so don’t take these words as gospel but equally what I am saying is here’s a sport where your not going to even compete in if you don’t have heart, courage or work ethic to put yourself in the contest. Again and again I am impressed by athletes in ...

A decade ago, when asked whether or not an athlete could improve speed, most would have answered with an emphatic, “no.” Yet, advancements in sports science and biomechanics research and a proper goal-specifi c program can truly make a diff erence. Improvements in running mechanics are vital and most commonly address improving speed. There are three less discussed “secrets,” or steps, to speed development that involves training on the fi eld, in the weight room, and in the kitchen. By training primarily in the acceleration phase, training the posterior chain muscles, and dropping body fat an athlete can make a substantial impact on speed development. The acceleration phase of training should be the primarily focus because most athletes never reach top speed in sports, let alone maintain i...

Q: Coach Defranco, I just spent a few hours looking through your website and didn’t come across anything regarding your thoughts on nfl players and other athletes using crossfit. I know your big into the mental aspect of athletic preparation so I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Thanks for all your invaluable contributions to the industry sir. -Sam A: Sam, I’m going to preface my answer by saying that I have nothing against crossfit for the general fitness population. I know many police officers, fire fighters and weekend warriors who love the quick, challenging workouts associated with crossfit. I will also take Crossfit gyms over “carpet & chrome” health clubs any day of the week!!! But, with that being said, I am not a fan of Crossfit for high school, college or pr...

Welcome to this blog. It is for athletes & people seriously interested in WORK. Because we at Fast Twitch believe in the human pursuit to excell all these post should be aimed towards this end. Read them, ask questions and contribute to the blogs so you can get better and we can assist you. If you require further support or assistance in your training go to www.fasttwitch.com.au or contact the blog administrator. Best in performance. Team Fast Twitch....