The Coaching

Your aim is your own. However big or small, once we agree to work together your aim becomes our aim and we are not people who take failure lightly. We will do everything in our power to ensure we win. From  UKSF selection to sport specific goals and everything in between, your pathway will be built on you, your ability and our intended outcome. Together we will make a deal to be great and as a team we will be successful.

We will not guess.. We will conduct 1 week of testing with metric analysis and personal consultation on objective measurements. This begins on the first day of the programme and is known as TEST WEEK.  Test Week is repeated every 4-5 weeks to reflect and adjust training to suit your new current ability. What Test Week consists of depends on your equipment and aim. How often you test will depend on what you need.

With your metrics taken during Test Week, you are initially provided with a 4 weeks bespoke training block with 3-6 sessions a week prescribed, depending on your need. The blocks of training may vary as you adapt, or your aim dictates. Accurate prescription is vital, as each stimulus prescribed is always aimed towards achieving your goal. We train like a Tactical Athlete and we will be ready for anything thrown at us.

Your complete nutritional needs will be taken care of by expert and former, Tactical Athlete, RAPTCI, Airborne and Commando trained Dr Ash Cox; who is a new addition to the OPC coaching team. He will provide full nutritional support and consultancy.

 Initially we will agree to a 15 week programme. Highly likely to be split into blocks of  5 weeks (1 week test, 4 weeks training) and repeated x3 (Block 1, Block 2, Block 3).  This will be shortened and lengthened to suit you. Your programme will always develop and adapt as you develop and adapt or your circumstances change. It's common that aims last longer than 20 weeks and therefore near the end of the first programme we will have the conversation to go again.  This means you will not get into a never ending subscription and we only continue as long as we are getting the best out of each other.

 Exercises are prescribed with your current ability, current climate, current equipment list and intended aim in mind. Unlike any other programme on the market,  each session your individual and exact weight, reps, sets, tempo and rest are prescribed for each exercise. This ensures you never under or over train. You have the ability to reflect for,  in and on action with the team throughout. We will be on hand to constantly adjust training.

If your aim requires an improvement in aerobic capacity, then you will also be provided with the exact time, distance and speed to do so.  This is worked out to the exact meter and the exact second, using any training modality (e.g. run, row, cycle, erg). How fast or far, depends on you, your ability and your aim.

For Tactical Athletes, you will also be given a personalised loaded march programme, built in. The exact time, distance, speed and weight will all be prescribed to ensure you never have to guess. Accumulative stress and fatigue are monitored throughout.

On top of enhancing your physical performance, we will work on thinking and decision making whilst under stress and fatigue. The more energy you have, the less fatigued you are and the more ability you have to think and make decisions; a non-negotiable for Commanders and Tactical Athletes of all levels. When you tire, you not only slow down, but you lose focus; we will continually work on this focus whilst tired to not only improve how quick and often  you can move, but how clear you can think. 

Direct access to Coach Mike via a closed mobile app for support and exercise instructional videos. You can track progress, message and upload pictures and metrics on there.  Each block is sent securely and can be accessed offline, anywhere in the world.

Information shared between coach and athlete is strictly confidential.  You will need to sign a GDPR to allow me to use your information to build your programme.  I need to know you personally along with your current ability to help you evolve.

After every block we reflect, analyse and adapt.  You are given access to monthly objective analysis to show trends and percentile increase/decrease on performance.This provides rationale to our shared aim. We will be ruthless in reflection.