Balance is delighted to announce that we now have a Computrainer. Bring your bike down to Balance hook it up to the trainer and ride up the Alpe d’Huez!

The Ford Ironman World Championships in Hawaii provided fantastic results for CompuTrainer pro riders. For the second year in a row 8 of computrainer trained athletes made it into the top 10 (5 women and 3 men). Even more exciting was the fact that 3 of those ladies made it into the Top 4 – Mirinda Carfrae (2nd), Leanda Cave (3rd) and Rachel Joyce (4th).
Pete Jacobs from Austaralia is quoted to say:

“On the Computrainer, Your legs don’t get a break. It’s not like doing four hours on the road. You are not getting a break and you are doing constant wattage and when I feel good I pop the wattage up and when I feel lousy I just cruise but I’m still getting really good cadence and muscle memory. Much more than on the road. ”

Take your indoor bike training to a new level with the CompuTrainer – a state-of-the-art indoor bicycle training technology that improves cycling performance while keeping the indoor rider challenged and happy. The CompuTrainer is the leading electronic bicycle ergometer for maximum performance improvement, testing, and enjoyable indoor training.

Benefits of the CompuTrainer:

Increases your cycling power by 20 to 30% and your speed by 2 to 4 MPH. Whatever your starting point, you’ll improve significantly.

It sets the industry standard for accuracy (± 2.5%), power (1500 watts), quality, and service lifetime (10+ years).
Exclusive performance features like SpinScan™ electronic pedal stroke analysis and Adjustable Aerodynamic Drag Factor are unique to CompuTrainer.

Call Balance on 020 7627 2308 to inquire about using the Computrainer.

MOVE is the brainchild of some of London’s most dynamic movers and shakers in the field of Natural Movement.  MOVE is a two hour mixed movement session, born from the desire have a regular Natural Movement group in the heart of the city.

MOVE will not only push you physically but mentally as the highly fertile minds of the coaches continue to find ever more immaginative ways to MOVE,  with the emphasis on play and having fun it is open to all ages (16+) and abilities. The MOVE team are all exceptionally gifted and experienced athletes and coaches in the field of Natural Movement check out some of their backgrounds:

DARRYL EDWARDS: http://www.TheFitnessExplorer.com/
ROLLO MAHON: http://www.corenergy.co.uk/
CEDRIC HENAUX: http://runningengineer.com/runningengineer-testimonial-iron-man-cedric-henaux/
NAEEM AKRAM: http://runningengineer.com/
JONATHAN LEWIS: Strength & Conditioning Director at Balance Performance Physiotherapy

MOVE meets at Balance Performance Physiotherapy on the first Sunday of every month at 10am, next session is on Sunday 3rd of July. You can pre-pay by following the link below or pay £25 cash on the day. 

http://runningengineer.com/services/natural-movement-community-london/

Or add yourself to the event on facebook or request an invite from Naeem at naeem@runningengineer.com:  http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=191267770913787

Introducing the WarMachine for the ultimate in “3D bodyweight training.”

Jonathan Lewis, Cj Swaby and Ricardo Abreu will be sharing their expert knowledge and experience of how to get the most from this exciting piece of kit.

They will go through basics of press, pull, legs, trunk and combined, compound movements  before “pulling the pin” and meeting the challenge of rotational control.

There will be plenty of tuition and group work using the WarMachines so there will be plenty of time to practice and ask questions to learn how strength, endurance, and power are delivered with balance, control and flow.

 Cost is £35.

For those that decide they can’t do without CrossCore’s Pulley Suspension System in their lives £35 will be discounted from the cost of your WarMachine.

 But we’re not selling time shares! You don’t have to buy one! Just as use of the WarMachine is increasing at Balance Performance gym  you will start finding War machines across London and UK so if you want to get the maximum from them this workshop is unmissable. 

Call 02076272308 to book a spot or call Jonathan with your questions on 07960 861 267.

Look forward to seeing you there,

Regards

Jonathan.

 www.crosscore-USA.com

http://bit.ly/ijyJKr

Just want to make you all aware of a very exciting course coming up at Balance Performance Physiotherapy and presented by CJS Fitness on Sunday the 13th of March 10am – 5pm.

The course will be presented by Naeem Akram the “Running Engineer”, click on the link below to read more and book online.

There is an exceptionally good early bird special offer of £75.00 if booked before the 26th February, there is a further 10% off that price available to the Balance network by entering the discount code 2011BALANCEPOSE when booking, places are obviously limited so move quickly to guarantee your place.

After that date the price rises to £129, the 10% discount code offer will still apply.

http://poserunningworkshop.eventbrite.com/

See you there

There is so much going on at the moment at Balance Performance that i could be blogging daily, the reality is that its so busy the blogging activities are at a low!

Stewart Laing is one of the UKs most respected Sports Physiologists, has worked with some of the worlds elite athletes but is able to find the most relevant tests to suit you and your goals. From hydration tests to help you optimise injury recovery to the full battery of tests to assess aerobic capabilities, body fat percentage/lean mass composition. call Balance on 02076272308.

The strength and conditioning team is very strong. Kettlebell coaches, (Svetlana, Cj Swaby) with the most experience and highest skills, knowledge gained from the worlds best teachers. Movement specialists Julien Diaz, Jason Progl delivering the Lissom technique to individuals and small groups, learn how to move with poise, control and fluidity. Strength and conditioning coach Darren Brown guiding personal training clients through bodyweight drills, olympic and power lifts.

Balance Performance has two of Londons best sports masseurs in Trevor Speller (also an osteopathic student) and Kellie Roberts (who London Irish players also benefit from). they provide deep and effective soft tissue work, Trevor also uses active isolated stretching techniques.

Martina Kehoe is teaching 2 classes each week to empower clients to care for themselves using Trigger Point Performance self massage tools to work on muscular adhesions, scar tissue and trigger points – to see the performance/recovery tools click this link http://bit.ly/fbbYKr to find out more about the classes (FREE for existing clients) call 02076272308.

As always there is an ever present depth of expertise in sports injury treatment and back pain rehabilitation.

To break up the text here’s a video to show you a piece of equipment that encapsulates alot of what goes on at our London performance centre and what we promote across Europe. Flow and control, strength and power in movement for everyone, accessible to all:

CrossCore Pulley suspension system – the WarMachine.

Balance is growing in its impact in providing people with products that are effective in strength, fitness, recovery, prevention, sports injury treatment and back pain treatment, consumables like sports tape, kinesio tape (our brand is KT Tape). Our gurantee is that we will never sell you anything that we dont believe is effective, if you are not sure if a product is right for you contact us to be absolutely confident in your purchases.

A few examples of the versatility in bodyweight training that the Pulley suspension system of the WarMachine offers personal trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, bootcamp providers and anyone else who likes to take their physical training outdoors. Free flowing, fluid strength, conditioning, speed, power and endurance.

interested in future education workshops in pulley suspension training across Europe? go to http://www.warmachine-europe.com

want to buy and your from UK/Ireland? you can go direct to the product page: War Machine http://bit.ly/ijyJKr

Outside of Europe and want to know where you can find the WarMachine near you? go to http://www.crosscore-usa.com

Balance Performance is once again extremely proud that Steve Cotter, world class teacher of kettlebells, athletic movement and all aspects of strength, conditioning, movement and wellbeing, will be teaching a 3 hour Masterclass at our London facility.

Friday, October 8th, 6pm – 9.15pm
Balance Performance
113 Gauden Road
London SW4 6LE

call 020-7627-2308 to book a spot: £65

Content of the Masterclass is split between the use of the Animal Moves for bodyweight strength and conditioning followed by 90 minutes of kettlebell technique work. For those who do not know Steve Cotter, he is a teacher who not only has an indepth understanding of the subjects he teaches but as an athlete also he is incredible. Poise, touch, balance, power, strength and grace in movement are very obvious.

Animal Movements:

The original Martial Arts originators observed the animals in nature for inspiration in how they would develop such force and ferocity to defend their habits. Certain animals in particular were revered for their fighting prowess. Out of these studies were develop Animal movements, which recreated the power, grace and agility of the natural kingdom. In this course, full contact champion Steve Cotter shares some of the secrets of Animal Movements to teach you how to use your whole body in a powerful, graceful and integrated manner. Not only are these tremendously challenging, but also unique and a lot of fun.

Kettlebell swing, jerk, snatch and variations:

For those new to kettlebell training, we start from the ground up essentials. For those who have been training for years, you have the benefit of Steve’s experience and the constant improvements and refinements he makes in his own training through his study with the Russian and Ukranian World Champions Lifters. If you think you know how to do these lifts, you will still learn some new tweaks and modification to take your current level to the next level. If this is your first taste of KB training, you will learn the essential movements to get you started on a safe and effective fitness program.

Call soon as previously these Masterclasses have sold out rapidly – because of this i have held off sending text messages to my own personal network to give others a fare go at getting on theMasterclass before it sells out.

Hope to see you there.

Balance Performance #Running Clinic info: http://bit.ly/cp1Oe5 our expertise goes beyond high quality rehab and the Alter-G, we do PBs too!

We have long catered for runners – from novice marathoners to elite and professional runners – but we have refocussed some of our existing services and changed the structure some to better cater for a runners requirements. Early feedback is very positive.

We hope London’s runners, triathletes and recreational marathoners will see that Balance is a place to get expert advice on getting personal bests not just high quality rehabilitation.

Click here for the Running Clinic page

Jonathan Lewis and Balance have had a long working relationship with Steve Cotter, one of the worlds best teachers of strength and conditioning, health and fitness concepts, an incredible athlete and an internationally recognised authority on kettlebells. We are therefore very proud to have made our ties even stronger and will now be the UKs exclusive distributor of Steve Cotter products.

Watch this space and the Balance shop as we will soon carry more DVD titles and other information products from Steve and the IKFF.

BBC Science Reporter Victoria Gill’s article is linked to below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8483401.stm

It describes research that came to the obvious conclusion that if you give a human the chance to take the path of least resistance they will take it, even if the consequences are a down turn in long term efficiency. Well thats my interpretation, but to be true to the article here is the opening paragraph:

Wearing cushioned running shoes may have changed the way in which many of us run, new research suggests.

Using slow-motion footage, scientists have discovered that experienced barefoot runners land very differently from runners who wear shoes.

The researchers showed that runners who have trained barefoot tend to strike the ground with their forefoot or mid-foot, rather than their heel.

At Balance we often talk about taking a long term perspective and discourage our clients from looking for the short term quick fix  (whether to be pain free without concern for recurrence, getting fit, getting strong, losing weight, making money etc) but as with all aspects of life its a lot more complicated when you think it through. So once you have read this article dont throw your trainers in the bin and hit Battersea Park for a barefoot 10k using the pose running technique – at least not straight away. There are several more possibilities avaialable to you.

Have a read and if you’d like to share your opinion or ask ours  get in contact with one of the team Paula (author of Running Repairs ), Mick Habgood (podiatrist and running orthotic specialist), Raph (an experienced physio in international athletics and many a “minimal shoe” runner), Frances (triathlon specialist and G-trainer expert) or Sian (currently researching MBT footwear at clinics across London). You can also contact Jonathan (the blog writer) who will happily discuss evolution, sociology, the weakening of human kind and how to prevent it! Send an email by clicking this highlighted link: Contact Page

Mick and Paula will be adding their comments here soon.