Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 1 Contents

Introduction - Secrets of Elite Sports Performance 3

1. Are Elite Athletes Born or Made? 4

2. The Common Denominator for Elite Sporting Success 6

3. Key Qualities that Dictate Elite Sports Performance 8

4. Physical Qualities 9

5. How to Get Lightning Fast in a Hurry 10

6. 7 Techniques to Instantly Increase Your Bench Press 14

7. 5 Critical Mistakes in Physical Training 19

8. Technical Skills and Traits 25

9. Tactical Skills 27

10. Psychological Traits and Mental Skills 31

11. Nutrition Hydration & Supplementation 35

12. Recovery Regeneration and Relaxation 42

13. 2 Ways to Immediately Eliminate Pain and Injury 45

14. Personality Traits for Sporting Success 48

15. The Power of the Pack and Your Environment 50

16. How Badly Do You Want To Be a Professional Athlete? 51

About the Author 52

In Joe We Trust Performance Enhancing Products 53

In Joe We Elite Athlete Success Stories 54

2 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 Introduction

The aim of this e-book is to provide you with an overview of the key factors contributing to elite sports performance. Throughout the e-book you will be able to identify your own personal areas of weakness and strategies to overcome those limitations. If you’re unaware of your weaknesses and naive as to what is required in order to become elite how do you expect to reach your full potential as an athlete? Knowledge is power! Read on, to see how you can utilise the secrets of elite performance to achieve sporting success.

See you at the top!

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 3 Chapter 1 Are Elite Athletes Born or Made?

Do your genetics determine your ability to become an elite athlete or can you be physically transformed into an elite sporting superstar with hard work and proper training? My friend Dan Baker premiership winning strength and conditioning coach from the Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Team has been quoted as saying that:

‘You can’t make strawberry jam from pig shit.’

Meaning, if you don’t have the ‘right parents and genetics’ you will never be an elite athlete.

Trying to turn PIG SHIT into Strawberry Jam is a difficult task with poor quality ingredients!

But through hard work, great training and the right coaching, you can put the odds in your favour! Yes, genetics do play a role, but there are a lot of athletes with amazing genetics, that never reach their full potential due to a poor work ethic and other psychological weaknesses.

Alternatively, some athletes with amazing work ethics may not succeed because they lack a certain physical characteristic (determined by genetics) that is paramount to the success in their chosen sport, such as height in basketball.

4 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 If you want to be a professional basketball player, but you’re only 4’8, it may be challenging to become an elite basketball player, but there are always exceptions to the rule.

The tallest, Yao Ming 7’6 (229cm), and the shortest in the NBA, Earl Boykins 5’5 (165cm)

By following the principles for sporting success outlined in this e-book, you’ll be on your way to achieving your full sporting potential.

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 5 Chapter 2 The Common Denominator for Elite Sporting Success

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, he cites scientific research that shows all elite performers in multiple vocations have all shared one common denominator for their success. They have all had at least 10 years and 10,000 hours of practice in their chosen professions.

To have world class skills and performance it takes years and years of practice. Elite athletes aren’t looking for short cuts or missing training sessions. They’re certainly not training, only 2 days per week. Their training, skills and abilities are constantly improving. As an athlete, you need to ask yourself the following questions,

‘Am I 100% committed and devoted to my sport? Am I willing to put in the training time necessary to become elite?’ As you need to work at a higher level and provide exceptional effort in order to be great.

Pursue greatness. Commit. Ten thousand hours!

For those that are mathematically challenged this equates to approx 3 hours of training or competition per day for 10 years.

6 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 The Nick Riewoldt Story

I can vividly recall a TV interview between AFL Superstar, Nick Riewoldt and a TV journalist. The journalist asked: ‘Nick, what’s the most important thing you learned as a junior footballer’?

Nick responded by saying that when he was 15 years old, he had the following conversation with this coach:

Junior Coach: ‘Nick do you think you’re going to get drafted and play Elite AFL’?

Nick: ‘Yes, I think so’.

Junior Coach: ‘Nick you currently train twice per week, is that correct’?

Nick: ‘Yes, that’s right’.

Junior Coach: ‘So how do you expect to make it to the elite level when you train twice per week and Elite AFL players train twice per day 6 days per week’?

Interestingly enough, from this day forward Nick started training nearly every day and doing extra training to guarantee he would achieve his dream. This included flexibility sessions to stay injury free, strength training sessions to get faster and stronger and extra conditioning work to increase his fitness. One coach, one word, one dream and the appropriate actions!

AFL Superstar Nick Riewoldt

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 7 Chapter 3 Key Qualities that Dictate Elite Sports Performance

The following table illustrates the 4 key qualities that will determine your success as an athlete. These qualities will be discussed in depth in the next few chapters.

Qualities Examples Can it be trained and improved? Physical Qualities Strength, speed, power, Yes endurance, flexibility Technical Qualities Sport specific skills, Yes tackling, kicking, marking Tactical Qualities Strategies, style of play, Yes decision making. Psychological and Mental Work Ethic, Pain Yes Qualities Tolerance, Confidence

The physical training forms the basis from which all the other qualities can be developed.

8 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 Chapter 4 Physical Qualities

The number 1 determinant of Elite Sports Performance is the athletes’ physical traits and athletic qualities. The physical traits include the athletes, strength, speed, power, flexibility and endurance. An athlete with superior physical qualities will be at an advantage during physical activities such as sports. If an athlete has highly developed leg speed they may be first to the ball or quicker to react. If an athlete is physically stronger this would be an obvious advantage in sports that rely heavily on strength such as rugby league.

Cowboy Jonathan Thurstens has superior speed

Big Tommy Hawkins showing superior explosive leg power

An athlete that has greater leg power can jump higher, which would provide an advantage to sports where leg power is a contributing factor to sporting success.

An athlete with better endurance may be able to sustain their performance longer which would provide an advantage to the athlete over their competitors, especially towards the end of the competition.

These physical qualities are largely determined by genetic makeup, but can be significantly improved and enhanced with specific and individualised physical training. The stronger the physical foundations, the greater the potential for developing the technical, tactical and psychological attributes.

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 9 Chapter 5 How to get lightning FAST in a Hurry!

Speed kills; you can’t hit what you can’t catch - Sun Tzu, ‘The Art of War’

Seriously, think about all the great athletes out there, they all have one thing in common; they are brutally fast and lightning quick!

I’m sure you’ve watched AFL Star Gary Ablett Jr or Rugby League Player Benji Marshall rapidly turn a game on its ear... due to their break neck speed and lighting acceleration!

Gary Ablett Jr Benji Marshall

From my consultations with Elite Coaches, selectors and recruiters, junior athletes MUST be QUICK or they WONT MAKE IT!

10 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 To ensure you’ve got the best chance to MAKE IT and DO NOT get overlooked, I’m going to outline:

3 Key Ways You Can Instantly Increase Your Speed

1. Increase Relative Body Strength or Reducing Body fat.

Basically get stronger in comparison to your body weight. An example of this would be if your chin up and push up numbers are increasing then your strength, relative to your body weight is increasing which means you should get faster. If an athlete is carrying high levels of body fat, appropriate nutritional interventions to reduce body fat would result in relative strength and speed increases.

Martial Arts World Champion Matt Parks Back Squats with Chains have helped QRL increasing his relative body strength with leading Try Scorer Nat Barnes take his Speed Pronated Chin-Ups to another Level!

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 11 2. Improve Running Technique and Biomechanics - by utilising positive shin angles and body lean for acceleration, arm drive initiating movement from the shoulder joint (eye socket to hip pocket) with no change in elbow/forearm angle.

Wall Runs help teach you the correct biomechanics; positive shin angles and proper body lean for acceleration

Usain Bolt Demonstrating Perfect Arm Drive - initiating movement from the shoulder with no change in elbow forearm angle

12 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 3. Increase Flexibility in lower body and upper body musculature. Will allow greater range of movement around a joint and reduce risk of injury due to optimal length. Commonly tight muscles that restrict and or inhibit sprinting speed and athletic development include tight hip flexors, quads and glutes. Tight pecs and lats can restrict correct arm drive biomechanics.

Rugby League Speedster Nat Barnes stretching his Hip Flexors out before his training session

For more information on How to Develop Lightning Speed and Blistering Agility Check out The Speed, Agility, Quickness and Reaction Training for Athletes DVD

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 13 Chapter 6 7 Techniques to Instantly Increase Your Bench Press

By far the most commonly asked question I receive is, ‘How Can I Improve my Bench Press.’ I’m going to outline 7 of the best ways I’ve found to break through plateaus on the bench press.

1. Utilising the Max Effort and Dynamic Effort Method. The Max Effort

Method is best defined by utilising weights that are approximately 85-100% of your 1 Rep Max. Often athletes stick within a typical rep range of 8-12 reps which may be a good for a beginner but won’t do much for an athlete that’s been training for a few years. The Max Effort Method allows you to lift heavy to optimise your neural and muscular system to become more efficient and more co-ordinated when performing the lift. The Dynamic Effort Method is a fancy name for Speed Training. It involves using a weight that is approx 40-60% of 1RM with the emphasis on generating Speed and Acceleration throughout the movement. To perform the Dynamic Effort Method the athlete can perform a bench press with chains or bands or implement Plyometric Exercises involving a medicine ball or moving the athletes’ body weight.

Joe D Spotting Bench Press with Chains

14 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 2. Increase Overhead Pressing Strength and you will often increase your bench press. This is due to improving strength ratios between vertical pushing and horizontal pushing. My experience and that of Broncos Strength and Conditioning Dan Baker suggests athletes should be able to lift approximately 66% of Bench Press 1RM for Overhead Pressing Movements. This ensures optimal strength ratios and balance around the shoulder girdle which is conducive to sports performance and injury prevention.

World Champ Karate All Styles Matt Parks works on Overhead Pressing Strength with a Log Press

3. Rotate Exercises every 4-6 weeks. It’s quite common for athletes to constantly perform the same exercise for weeks on end without change. This is a sure fire recipe to guarantee you plateau. A great way to ensure this doesn’t occur is to rotate exercises every 4-6 training sessions. The variety and ability to stimulate the muscle from various angles with help increase your bench press and ensure you do not plateau.

Nat Barnes Performing Incline Barbell Bench Press

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 15 4. Work Your Back Muscles, you’d be surprised how large and strong world champion bench pressers back muscles are. A large back increase surface area on the bench and provides stability when bench pressing. Training your back muscles provides structural muscle balance between your chest and back which is vital for injury prevention and performance enhancement. If the chest muscles become too strong or dominant, neurological inhibition may occur to protect the shoulder joint which will reduce the amount of weight lifted in the bench press.

5. Work Your Weak Points In The Lift. When you’re bench pressing, get a friend to video your technique to see where you fail in the lift. Do you fail immediately off your chest at your midpoint or at lockout? This information will provide you with the necessary information to know what area to focus on during your training. Athletes with a weak lockout may have weak triceps so rack lockouts would help alleviate this weakness.

6. Vary the rep range. When straight sets (e.g. 3 x 12) have lost their effectiveness it can indicate that it’s time to change the rep range. I favour the Use of Wave Loading and Cluster Sets to increase an athletes’ strength.

Wave Loading looks like this:

7,5,3 / 7,5,3

1st Wave 2nd Wave 7 Reps at 80%1RM 7 Reps at 82.5%1RM 5 Reps at 85% 1RM 5 Reps at 87.5% 1RM 3 Reps at 90% 1RM 3 Reps at 92.5% 1RM

The benefit of wave loading is that is allows you to use progressively more weight on each wave or set due to increased neural activation. Wave loading allows you to accelerate your strength development, increase work capacity and increase your explosiveness.

Cluster Sets Look Like this:

A) 3 x (3/3) 15 sec B) 3 (2/2/2) 20 sec

16 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 Cluster sets involve using a weight and lifting it for the desired number of reps then having a brief intra-set rest period, this helps to replace energy substrates and allows you to use a heavier weight for sets of 3 at 85-92.5% 1RM rather than 80-85%1RM if you were to do traditional set of 6 straight reps. It allows you to work at a higher percentage of your 1RM which will result in increased strength gains and neural efficiency.

Using the example outlined above A) the Athlete would perform 3 reps then rest 15 secs then perform another 3 reps. And then perform another 2 sets in this manner after a 2-5 min rest period. Likewise in example B) the athlete would perform 2 reps rest for 20 seconds, perform another 2 reps rest for 20 seconds and then perform another 2 reps before completing another 2 sets in this manner after 2 -5 minute rest period between sets.

7. Advanced Training Tools & Modalities. Use chains, bands, weight releasers

The use of chains attached to the end of the barbells allows the athlete to overload the lift at the lockout forcing the athlete to accelerate all the way through the entire lift in comparison to straight weight which forces the athlete to decelerate the bar towards the end of the lift.

Chains: Accommodating Resistance

The use of bands attached the end of a barbell accelerates the eccentric component of the lift and forces the athlete to accelerate through the concentric portion of the lift which results in higher power outputs and teaches the athlete to accelerate through the sticking point of the lift which is overloaded at the top of the lift due to Chains: Accommodating Resistance the stretch on the bands.

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 17 Weight releasers allow the athlete to lower a Supramaximal load which is released at the bottom of the lift.

• Training in this manner increases eccentric, isometric and concentric strength due to reduced neural inhibition.

• Will increase your capacity to control external force

• Helps you psychologically to get used to lifting heavy weights

• De-sensitise Golgi tendon organs

• Increases functional muscle mass

Weight Releasers: Supramaximal eccentric training

Implementing these methods has allowed me to increase the athletes’ bench press and break through sticking points and plateaus as well.

18 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 Chapter 7 5 Critical Mistakes in Physical Training

It has been my experience that athletes rarely receive proper physical training. I’ve compiled a list of the most common mistakes that occur in the physical training process. An awareness of these mistakes will ensure you aren’t inadvertently decreasing your performance or contributing to injury:

1. The Athletes’ Physical Abilities Are NOT Assessed.

This means the athlete’s physical abilities have not been tested. If there is no testing or assessment process, how does the coach or athlete know what their weaknesses are or even if the training is actually improving their performance?

Nat Barnes Demonstrating Perfect Neural Flexibility

For more information on Physical Assessment and Performance testing check out the In Joe We Trust Store Page and view the Physical Assessment and Performance Testing for Athletes DVD

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 19 2. The Athletes Training is NOT Individualised

If all athletes are doing the same training, this is a sign that the training process is flawed. No athlete is identical, in terms of strengths, weaknesses, skill level, body shape, age or ability. If the training is not individualised how can the athlete expect to reach their potential if their weakness is not trained? By having a thorough assessment the coach can devise an individualised training program for the athlete. If an athlete has great endurance, but leg speed is a weakness and the coach has the athlete performing endurance training, the athlete that already has great endurance will not improve their leg speed. Therefore, the athlete will never reach their full athletic potential due to poor coaching and a lack of individualisation in the training process.

These 2 men would require vastly different nutrition and training programs!

20 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 3. The Athletes’ Training is Not Specific to the Actual Sport

This poses some major problems. The athletes’ physical qualities improve but their sports performance does not due to a lack of transference!

At junior sporting levels a few well meaning coaches attempt to enhance the physical abilities of their athletes with running, resistance training, cross training and yoga. But the majority of this training is unstructured and not specific or relevant to the sport because the coach does not have a clear understanding of the physiological demands and requirements of the sport.

For example, many junior team sport coaches have their players run long distances in order to ‘get fit’. The junior coaches are unaware that running long distances, increases the number of over-use injuries, decreases speed, decreases power, decreases flexibility and does not develop transferable fitness onto the sporting field.

Which body is best for health and performance?

If you require explosive power why do you train like a marathon runner?

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 21 4. Too Much Emphasis on Skill Training

Historically, junior coaches of team sports over emphasise skill training whilst neglecting to develop the athletes’ physical qualities. Often coaches continue to repeat drills and skills with poor execution. In the misguided belief that skill development is simply a matter of practice and that practice makes perfect. When in fact PERFECT PRACTICE makes PERFECT!

Many coaches do not realise that performing poorly executed skills time and time again does not actually improve the skills of the athlete and actually serves to make it more difficult to correct the skills at a later date due to poorly developed motor patterns and motor programs.

The team sport coach needs to address the underlying problem which is usually a physical weakness that can be corrected with the appropriate physical conditioning.

This isn’t exactly perfect practice or perfect skill execution

22 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 5. No Concept of Long Term Athlete Development Strategies. So what exactly is Long Term Athlete Development? (LTAD)

LTAD is the theory that the physical qualities of the athlete should be developed according to the long term goal of the athlete and in conjunction with the growth and development of the athlete. A number of scientists have concluded that there are critical periods in a young athletes’ life cycle, when the effects of training can be maximised. This has led to the belief that young people should be exposed to specific types of training during periods of rapid growth and that the types of training should change with the patterns of growth. This is achieved through optimal training, competition and recovery throughout an athlete’s career.

10 Signs of No Long Term Athlete Development

1. LTAD principles are not covered in depth in junior coaching education courses.

2. Under-training and over competing of junior athletes.

3. Training at junior levels is focused on winning.

4. Adult training and competition programs are superimposed on junior athletes.

5. Chronological age is used instead of training age.

6. Early specialisation; junior athletes play 1 sport instead of multiple sports.

7. No systematic process for developing athletes.

8. No distinguishable training philosophy.

9. No goals or specific outcomes from the physical training.

10. Too much emphasis on winning rather than development outcomes.

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 23 The problems and consequences of No Long Term Athlete Development

• General motor skills are not learned, resulting in technical skill deficiencies.

• Irreparable damage is done and athletes’ never reach their full potential.

• Injuries occur due to inappropriate training and competition loads.

• Early developers burn out.

• Late developers drop out.

• Mediocre athletes and competitions are the result.

For more information on Long Term Athlete Development go to the In Joe We Trust Store and check out the Periodisation and Planning Strategies for Long Term Athlete Development.

24 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 Chapter 8 Technical Skills and Traits

The technical skills of the chosen sport are critical to an athletes’ success. The athlete may be physically superior in all aspects but if their sports skills are compromised they will never reach their full potential or make it at the elite level.

So what are the Technical Skills Anyway?

Technical skills include the fundamental sporting skills that are unique to each sport. The technical skills for football include; movement patterns and technical elements including kicking, passing, throwing, catching, marking and tackling. The more biomechanically perfect the technique, the more efficient the athlete will be. For example, less energy is expended when an athlete has good running economy or technique.

Marking skills Tackling skills Side-stepping skills

Passing skills Shooting skills Kicking skills

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 25 If the athlete has developed their physical qualities of strength, stability, flexibility the technical skills of a sport usually become easier. Conversely, if the athlete has major limitations in their physical development they will often have technical skill deficiencies.

How can the athlete perform sport specific skills such as kicking, side stepping, sprinting or jumping if they can’t balance on leg due to insufficient strength, balance or flexibility? THEY CAN’T!

Try side-stepping, decelerating and evading an= opponent if you can’t even balance on one leg!

To quote Kelvin Giles and Vern Gambetta; “The athletes must have the physical qualities stability, flexibility, strength and body awareness to perform the technical skills like kicking, sprinting, jumping, hopping or side stepping and they must be developed in that order.” Yet most coaches try to develop the technical sporting skills without having the physical abilities to do so.

26 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 Chapter 9 Tactical Skills

To be successful the athlete must have the physical attributes and the ability to perform the technical skills of the sport. The final piece of the puzzle is actually putting all those qualities into competition.

So what are the Tactical Skills Exactly?

Tactical skills are primarily concerned with game play, match play or style of play. Some common tactical and set plays may be implemented for attack, defence, counter attack, athlete rotations, substitutions and interchanges.

Set Plays and Positional Set Ups for Different Sports Include:

AFL

Position Set Plays

Mid Field Ruck Contests, Boundary throw ins, Tags

Defence Kick Ins, Full ground press, zone defence, man on man

Attack Pagans paddock, Possession Football

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 27 Basketball

Position Set Plays

Attack

Defence Zone defence, Man on man defence

Interchange Rotations, Substitutions, Time Outs

28 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 SOCCER

Position Set Plays

Attack Corner kicks, Penalty Kicks

Defence Goalie Kick Ins, Free Kicks

Interchange Rotations, Substitutions

RUGBY LEAGUE

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 29 Position Set Plays

Attack Set plays form a scrum, set plays during tackle count

Defence Set plays for the 5th tackle-kicking game, grubbers, the bomb, kick behind defence

Interchange Rotations, Substitutions

How Does The Athletes’ Physical Qualities Affect the Competition Tactics and Strategy?

The athletes’ physical qualities will affect their skill performance and their skill performance and physical qualities will determine the competition tactics, match strategy and style of play the coach, team or athlete employs. Using AFL for example, it may be very difficult to implement a flooded backline (a tactic where all team members and players in the defensive team push back into their defence or inside their 50m mark, to assist the defenders when the opposition has possession) if the team or players have not developed the sufficient physical qualities and specific fitness to be able to carry out a game plan.

30 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 Chapter 10 Psychological Traits and Mental Skills

Now that all the physical, technical, tactical and skill based qualities have been explored, the final factor determining Elite Sport Performance is the athletes psychology. In the realm of elite athletes, the physical, tactical and technical skills are usually similar. The defining quality for success therefore, is said to be the athletes’ psychology. The mind is a very powerful tool, yet specific mental training is almost universally neglected! Your psychology is paramount to elite performance so why don’t you train it?

The traits that make up the athletes psychological qualities include discipline, courage, perseverance and confidence.

• How do you handle pressure? (Coping skills)

• Do you make mistakes at the critical times? (Focus)

• What is your work ethic like? (Motivation)

• How is your ability to tolerate pain? (Pain Management)

• How do you respond to a loss or a set back? (Self Belief)

• How is your compliance to the rehab program following injury? (Discipline)

The answer to these questions will be determined by your psychology.

The good news is that like all the physical qualities above the athletes psychological skills are highly trainable!

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 31 Classification of Psychological Skills

Foundation Volition, Self Awareness, Self-Esteem, Self Confidence

Performance Optimal Physical Arousal, Optimal Mental Arousal, Optimal Attn

Facilitative Interpersonal Skills, Lifestyle Management

The key psychological skills, like muscles can be developed through consistent training. Psychological skills training utilises techniques and strategies to enhance mental skills that facilitate performance to allow athletes to overcome emotional or mental barriers.

Sport Psychology and mental skills training can help you:

• Overcome Anxiety • Build Confidence • Enhance Relaxation • Improve Visualisation • Develop Better Concentration Skills • Enhance Motivation • Enhance ability to perform under pressure • Quicken Injury Recovery Time • Decrease the Chance of Injury Occurrence • Build Confidence • Prevent Burnout

32 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 For athletes that are interested, I strongly recommend you read Carol Dwecks’ book called Mindset. In the book she discusses two different athletic mindsets.

Athletes with a Fixed Mindset believe that their talents and abilities are set and cannot be improved. They believe they have a certain amount of talent and that’s it. Athletes that exhibit this mindset may become too concerned with looking talented that they never reach their potential.

Athletes with a Growth Mindset perceive their talents and abilities as things that can be developed through effort, practice, and coaching.

The Mindset Rules:

Rules Fixed Mindset: Growth Mindset:

Rule 1: Look talented at all costs. Learn, learn, learn!

Rule 2: Don’t work too hard or practice too Work with passion and dedicatio much. - effort is the key.

Rule 3: When faced with setbacks, run away Embrace your mistakes and confront your or conceal your deficiencies. deficiencies.

With the Mindset Rules outlined above, it is clear to see why athletes with a growth mindset thrive while those with a fixed mindset never reach their potential. The key to becoming an elite athlete is a willingness to learn, work hard and to acknowledge your weaknesses in order to become the best you can be!

Athletes with a Fixed Mindset believe they won’t be able to master a certain task, drill or exercise, while those with a Growth Mindset realize they may not succeed at first, but through sheer will and determination keep trying to learn and find a way to make themselves better.

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 33 Classification of Psychological Skills

Category Fixed Mindset Traits Growth Mindset Traits

Intellectual Intelligence is fixed Intelligence can be Development Beliefs developed

Innate Desires Want to look smart/successful Want to continue to learn

Challenges Avoid Challenges Embrace Challenges

Obstacles Give Up Easily Persist in the face of setbacks

Effort See effort as fruitless See effort as pathway to mastery

Criticism Ignore useful negative Feedback Learn from criticism

Success of others Fell threatened by success of others Find lessons and inspiration in success of others

Result Plateau early and achieve less than Reach ever higher levels0 of their full potential achievement

34 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 Chapter 11 Nutrition Hydration & Supplementation

It goes without saying that what you put in your mouth will affect your performance! I tell the athletes I work with that you need to visualise your body as a high performance race car. This is a supreme machine that requires the highest quality fuel to reach elite levels of performance.

Using the high performance vehicle as an analogy for your body and the food you put into your body as the rocket fuel for success. How do you think you’re body will perform if you use junk food for fuel? How do you expect your body to perform super human feats of athleticism and sporting dominance if you fuel it with rubbish? ... Not very well!

You are what you eat and you will perform accordingly. Nutrition, hydration and supplementation are crucial to your success as an athlete. Yet, despite this fact most athletes’ diets are woeful to say the least. This is not your fault, with the commercialisation of food, marketing claims, government intervention and hype around food choices, the truth has become distorted. Put it this way, your nutrition can affect everything from your ability to build muscle, burn fat, recover from training, games and injuries, as well as your concentration, coordination and energy levels.

Through trial and error, I have found the following nutritional tip to be the foundation to my athletes’ dietary success. What is the secret I hear you ask? If it swims, flies, runs, or you can shoot it, kill it or grow it, you can eat it.

Perfect Elite Athlete Food that Swims, Flies, Runs and Grows!

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 35 7 Super Foods You Must Eat for Ultimate Health and Performance!

The following is my list of Top 7 Super Foods. They are classified as Super foods due to their phenomenal health and performance benefits as well as amazing ability to prevent disease!

Proteins

Wild Salmon

Benefits:

• Boosts your metabolism, to help reduce body fat. • Prevents degenerative eye diseases • Controls inflammation • Reduces the risk of coronary artery disease • Controls hypertension • Prevents cancer

Grass-Fed Beef

Benefits:

• Prevent Coronary Artery Disease • Prevent Diabetes • Prevent Arthritis • Prevent Hypertension • Prevent Cancer • Contain Higher Levels of Omega 3 Fatty acids • Contain Higher Levels of Creatine • Contain Less Saturated Fat than Corn Fed Beef • Higher Amounts of Conjugated Linoleic Acid which helps reduce risk of cancer

36 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 FRUITS

Blueberries

Benefits:

• Contains massive amounts of anti-oxidants • Prevents cardiovascular disease • Prevents degenerative eye diseases • Prevents cancer

VEGETABLES

Spinach

Benefits:

• Decreases Risk of Degenerative Eye Disease

• Decreases Risk of many types of cancer

• Lowers homocysteine levels

• Contains alpha lipoic acid which helps modulate insulin

• Contains High Concentration of Omega-3 fatty acids

• Contains potent antioxidants like glutathione and Co Enzyme Q10

• Inverse relationship between the amount of spinach consumed and risk of developing every type of cancer

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 37 Avocado

Benefits:

• Lowers bad cholesterol

• Enhances prostate health

• Improves eye and skin health

• Contain Monounsaturated fat shown to reduce risk of cancer and diabetes.

Broccoli

Benefits:

• Contributes to bone health

• Prevents birth defects

• Helps Block Oestrogen

• Prevents degenerative eye diseases

• Prevents the development of tumours

• Enhances immune system function

38 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 fats

Walnuts

Benefits:

• Inverse relationship between walnut consumption and all deaths

• Reduce Heart Attacks

• Help Keep Blood Vessels Smooth

• High Anti-Oxidant Levels

• High in Omega-3 fatty acids

• High in plant sterols, that reduce cholesterol

• High Amounts of Magnesium and Copper

Drinks/Liquids

Green Tea

Benefits:

• Prevents cancer through anti carcinogenic mechanisms of catechins

• Decreases risk of coronary artery disease by lowering fibrinogen, which is a substance in the body that can cause clots and strokes

• Helps people lose weight by stimulating metabolism

• Improves mood and enhances relaxation by stimulating the release of GABA which calms down the brain.

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 39 To reap the benefits of these super foods make sure to include them as a staple of your diet and be sure to purchase these miracle foods when you go shopping.

Fluid Intake and Hydration

Fluid intake and hydration in athletes is often overlooked. A 1.5% drop in hydration can lead to a 10% decrease in maximal strength. Dehydration can reduce mental function which decreases our motor control, decision making and concentration. The best fluids to consume during training sessions or games are a combination of filtered water and electrolyte replacement drinks mixed with a protein and carbohydrate source.

Taking the right supplements at the correct time can lead to steroid like performance enhancing effects. Increased muscles mass, testosterone, strength, recovery, work capacity, focus, relaxation, decreased body soreness and inflammation are just a few of the benefits supplements can provide you. Obviously knowing what supplements to take, which brands to use, how much to take and when to take the supplements are of the upmost importance.

For more in depth individualised and specific information on Nutrition, Hydration and Supplementation go to the In Joe We Trust online store and check out the Nutritional Strategies for Elite Sports Performance Manual.

In the world of Elite Sport, whoever recovers the fastest does the best! Simply put, the quicker you recover from training or a game, the more you can train and the better you will get! Without a doubt the most common mistake I see with the athletes I consult with, is over-training or under-recovery, which ultimately leads to illness, injury and poor performance. It’s a double edged sword, in that athletes need to train hard to improve their physical qualities, but also need to recover sufficiently from the training so they can reach new levels of performance. If most coaches and athletes neglect recovery and do not understand how it works or how it can benefit them, it is a definite area that you as an athlete can exploit to get the advantage over your competition.

Contrast Showers are more fun when you’ve got a training partner, it also helps to conserve water and protect our environment.

Specific Recovery and Regeneration Techniques include:

1. Massage 2. Stretching 3. Contrast Therapies (Hot and Cold Showers)

4. Cryotherapy 5. Sleep 6. Nutrition

7. Hydration If athletes cannot adapt to and cope with the physical and mental demands of training they will quickly become exhausted. Recovery will be one of the keys to your ongoing success. Recovery and restoration methods serve many beneficial purposes. They enhance the amount of progress made between each training session. Recovery methods assist with the recovery of muscles, energy stores, as well as the adrenal, hormonal and neurological systems. Recovery methods also help reduce swelling, pain and the risk of injuries.

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 43 How do I know when I’ve recovered? You should improve every session!

As hard training athletes we need to regularly assess “recovery” to ensure that we’re resting enough or properly adjusting our training or eating enough food to support our hard efforts in the gym or on the playing field. This allows us to see exactly how much work we have performed and we are tolerating the work loads. This information allows us to modify our training based upon our individual response to training. Acting upon this knowledge ultimately ensures we stay healthy, fresh, injury free and successful!

Figure 1: The priniciple of recovery

Questionnaires, Training loads and Performance Tests are some of the methods you can use to monitor your recovery. For more detailed information on everything you need to know about recovery, such as how to individualise the recovery method to match the source of fatigue, how to periodise each method of recovery to ensure optimal adaptation and the precise to methods to monitor recovery visit the In Joe We Trust store and check out the Recovery and Regeneration Manual.

Staying healthy and injury free is vital to your success as an athlete. There have been countless numbers of talented athletes that have had their careers curtailed due to injury. If you want to succeed at the elite level you must stay healthy and injury free.

INJURIES SHOULD NEVER OCCUR!

If you’re injured, you cannot train or play to the best of your ability and you’re out of the eyes of the scouts, you miss out on competition payments or sponsorship opportunities and you’re making your physiotherapist rich-so it makes sense to know how injuries occur and what you can do to prevent them.

Key strategies you should implement to stay injury and pain free:

Massage Therapy - decreases muscle tone and tension which prevents Injury. Quality therapists are hard to hard and can be expensive. The athletes I coach use foam rollers to assist with decreasing muscle tone.

Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 | 45 Static Stretching - elongates muscle and improves tissue length. Both play a pivotal role by optimising joint space keeping you pain and injury free! To see the precise stretches to perform and how to do them correctly check out the Yoga for Athletes DVD.

46 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 A very smart therapist that has been working with elite athletes for well over 50 years gave me some great advice. He had a theory that for every hour of training you do, you should try to stretch for the equivalent amount of time. You train for 4 hours per week, stretch for at least 4 hours per week. If you do this, you will stay healthy and injury free.

Whilst consulting with an elite AFL Footballer, I told him about the 1:1 theory and suggested we put it to the test. The elite AFL Footballer undertook an hour of stretching for every hour of training he did. To this day he has not sustained any preventable soft tissue injuries for the last 4 years when every single one of his team mates has been injured.

What do I do to keep my athletes healthy and injury free?

1. I know the athletes injury history.

2. I have the athletes perform a highly Specific Warm Up that prepares the athletes for their sport.

3. I do not use Non Specific Training Methods (like long slow distance runs).

4. I ensure the athletes implement Recovery Processes.

5. I’m aware of the athletes’ total workload including their school sport, club sport, rep sport and extra-curricular activities.

Follow the guidelines above and they will help you stay healthy and injury free forever! For more information check out the Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Strategies Manual.

The development of the following personality traits will serve you well as an athlete. When you’ve been coaching for as long as I have, you begin to see distinguishing character traits that separate the extraordinary athletes from the ordinary. The following is a list of character traits that I have seen all successful athletes exude.

Work Ethic: Successful athletes LOVE HARD and CHALLENGING TRAINING as they know it is the only way to guarantee success. Through my experience, an athlete without a strong work ethic will never reach their full potential or STAY at THE TOP.

Discipline: Will be best exhibited by your self control, restraint and doing the things that other people refuse to do. Training, nutrition, supplementation and recovery are all aspects that must be performed with strict adherence to ensure constant improvement.

Perseverance: The ability to overcome obstacles and setbacks is a necessary requirement for any athlete. Without perseverance you will undoubtedly quit before you get there. One thing is certain; every athlete will suffer a setback at some point in time. How you handle that will determine how far you go in sport and life.

Focus: Athletes with a single minded focus are strong willed, determined and not easily distracted. Less committed athletes will fall by the wayside. Sustained focus for extended periods of time holds the key to your long term success as an athlete.

48 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 Honesty: Is best summed up by the famous quote: ‘You may fool those and receive pats on the back as you pass, but your final reward will be heart ache and tears if you cheat the man in the glass.’ This means that you can fool other people, by your inaction or lack thereof, but you cannot fool yourself! At the end of the day when all is said and done, you and you alone will be responsible for the outcomes in your life.

Integrity: Do what you say you’re going to do. Make a promise with yourself and do it! There is no room for justification or rationalisation of any sort! Your word and your character go hand in hand. Never make promises or statements you do not intend to keep; especially with yourself.

Confidence: You’ll notice that all great athletes have a strong inner belief and confidence. How do you get confidence? Is confidence something you’re born with or something you develop? Athletes under my guidance develop confidence by knowing they are THE BEST Prepared athletes in the competition. They have the BEST training programs, BEST equipment, BEST training environment, Superior coaching and a deep belief they WORK the hardest. This mindset gives them an unfair advantage and makes them impossible to beat!

Consistency: Doing all of the above day in, day out without fail. It takes years of blood, sweat, tears, wins and losses in order to succeed.

1. The real determining factor to your potential success or failure is the people that surround you. Associate with the wrong people and you’ll never reach your goals. Associate with the right people and you’ll not only get to where you want to be, you’ll most likely get there faster.

2. Who do you surround yourself with? Are you challenged and made to exceed yourself, even when it’s painful? Or are you surrounded by FANS that make you feel good whether you = deserve it or not? Some athletes gravitate towards groups of FANS, but this does you a disservice as the FANS don’t hold you accountable for your actions.

3. Have you ever noticed how great athletes, special, powerful and famous people seem to surface in groups? This is a theme that reverberates throughout history in many different arenas. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael. Dominant sporting teams have great players that come together like Brisbane Lions and Chicago Bulls Sporting Teams that won 3 consecutive titles.

4. The power of the pack is phenomenal; animals have known this instinctually and have hunted in packs for years. By working together they grow stronger and survive. The same could be said for athletes training in groups.

5. In a competitive group environment, like minded individuals come together, feed off each others’ energy and push each other to greater levels of greatness. The synergistic effect allows the athletes to reach greater levels of performance than if they were training by themselves.

50 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 Chapter 16 How Badly Do You Want to Be a Professional Athlete?

If you’ve got this far through the e-book, you’re obviously serious about becoming an elite athlete! Now you’d have a greater understanding of exactly what is required if you are to make it. One of the critical components to your success is high quality and precise physical training. Unfortunately, knowledgeable coaches and great training programs are HARD to find. That is why I developed the ELITE ATHLETE DISTANCE COACHING PROGRAM to enable serious committed athletes to be able to access expert coaching from any location in the world. Visit the In Joe We Trust Store to see if you qualify for the program.

I’ll leave you with two analogies for success:

I. Success leaves clues, simply put, a smart person will find out and look at what successful people are doing then duplicate it to replicate their results.

II. Standing on the shoulders of giants is an analogy for using the knowledge, experience and expertise of someone that has achieved what you aspire to achieve so you can fast track your success by learning by someone that has achieved what you aspire to achieve.

Like dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants we can see and achieve more because giants RAISE us up and by their stature add to ours!

Joey Hayes has earned a reputation as one of Australia’s leading, innovative and most successful strength and conditioning specialists. This reputation has been established by the phenomenal results of Professional Sporting Teams, Elite Sporting Institutes and Organizations and Elite athletes utilising his Training Programs, methodologies and philosophies.

Athletes have proclaimed Joey to be their secret weapon, and a catalyst behind their results and success. His training programs have resulted in world records, world championship medallions, commonwealth games medals, grand final premiership glory, junior athletes procured by professional sporting teams and numerous athletes achieving life-time personal bests!

Joey has trained over 250 State, National and International athletes in a multitude of sports most notably, AFL, Rugby League, Swimming and Martial Arts. He has produced 10 DVDs and authored 6 manuals on Elite Sports Performance.

He owns and operates a highly renowned Private High Performance Athletic Training Facility known as THE PIT. The number one place for athletes to train; exclusively dedicated to Elite Athletic Performance Enhancement.

Joey has achieved the highest level of academic qualifications and expertise for a Strength and Conditioning Specialist. He has completed a Masters Degree in Exercise Science (Strength and Conditioning) from Edith Cowan University and a Bachelor of Business (Sports Management) from Griffith University.

52 | Secrets of Elite Sports Performance © Joey Hayes 2010 He is recognised as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) with qualifications in Olympic Weightlifting and speed development as a Track and Field Sprint Coach.

Joey’s unique blend of in-the-trenches-knowledge, coupled with superior academic qualifications ensure astonishing results in record time, and have affirmed his status as one of Australia’s most successful and highly sought after strength and conditioning specialists.

In Joe We Trust Performance Enhancing Products Available

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Dayne Beams, AFL Collingwood Football Club Premiership Player 2010

“Since I was a youngster I always dreamed of playing AFL footy at the highest level. To play at the elite level, I knew I’d have to get Bigger Faster & Stronger! That is when I sought the guidance and expertise and wisdom of Joey Hayes. I’d seen and heard about the amazing results he’d produced with previous AFL footballers, so I gave him a call. This would have been one of the smartest things I’ve ever done! I was blown away by the results! Within 3 weeks he increased my vertical jump by 29cm, my speed, agility and explosive power went through the roof! To say he has mastered the art of strength and conditioning and fine tuning football performance would be an understatement! If you are fair dinkum about having a crack at playing top level sport I’d highly recommend seeking the services/training with Joey Hayes at THE PIT. The only regret I had was not training with him sooner! Do yourself a favour get into his program - You won’t regret it!”

Kurt Tippett, Adelaide Crows AFL Superstar

I trained in “THE PIT” with Joey for 2 years. In this time he helped me become BIGGER FASTER and STRONGER! Joey’s workouts and intense approach to training is like no other. Training hard in “THE PIT” has helped me achieve my goal of getting drafted to an AFL club. I would recommend Joey to anyone who is looking to get the edge over his or her opponent!”

Sam Gilbert, St. Kilda Grand Final Player 2010

“When I missed out on the QLD State under 18 AFL team I was shattered. I thought I had lost my chance at playing professional AFL and my career was slipping away. That was, until I sought the services of Joey Hayes. I heard Joey Hayes was the best at getting athletes into the best shape of their lives, both physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally! I was sceptical at first, but my initial fears were unfounded. After my first session in THE PIT I knew this was the right and only choice! And THE PIT would be my new best friend! Joeys’ professionalism, enthusiasm, meticulous preparation and individual programming ensured I would be the fastest, strongest and mentally toughest athlete on the footy field. If you want to reach your potential and be the best athlete you can possibly be, then you need to train with Joey!”

How to Structure a Training Session Strongman Training for Athletes

Secret Warm Up Methods for Athletes Speed, Agility, Quickness & Reaction Training

Tay Zimmer, World Record Holder World Championship Medallist

Joey is the MAN! What he has helped me achieve personally, both in and out of the pool has been nothing short of astonishing! Within 3 months training in THE PIT I got remarkably Stronger and Leaner! My start and kicks were the most Explosive they had been, my skinfolds were down and my hypoxics improved dramatically. My new found strength, ultimately helped me become the Australian Backstroke Champion and Commonwealth Record Holder! My continued improvements in the gym transferred to the pool where it culminated in Personal Best times at the 2006 FINA World Championships where I was part of the team that broke the World Record for the Medley Relay. Joey not only helped me realize my potential, but helped achieve consistency and balance in all aspects of my life. I’d recommend Joey to all athletes going for Gold! Train Hard or Go Home!

Nat Barnes, South Sydney Rabbitohs

Never have I met someone with such commitment to what they do. Joey takes strength and conditioning to new levels, treating each athlete as an individual and tailoring their programs to meet their specific needs. Not only does Joey make athletes bigger, faster, stronger, he also places high importance on and helps athletes become the best they can be mentally, encouraging positive thoughts and an upright way of life. Joey is always looking at new ways to improve himself as a coach, which keeps him on top of the latest strength and conditioning techniques and a leader in his field. Joey played a pivotal role in helping me take my game to the next level, and is a trusted friend whose support and advice I seek on a continual basis.

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Griffin McMaster, Brisbane Roar Soccer Player 2009

Training with Joey Hayes outside of Brisbane Roar training gave me a tremendous edge over my opponents. Joey rehabilitated a nagging groin and shoulder injury that had plagued me for the previous 2 years within 3 weeks! My reaction time, hand speed, lateral speed and movement between goals improved significantly. The results on Joey’s programs were far superior to any other program I have undertaken at the professional level. “THE PIT Gymnasium” is a breeding ground for sporting success. The PIT boasts some of the best training equipment in the world; combined with some of the most educated and knowledgeable coaches who walk the walk and talk the talk. Joey’s results for physically and mentally preparing athletes to succeed at the elite level speaks for itself! Joey goes above and beyond what is expected to ensure his athletes succeed! Overall I hugely recommend the services of Joey Hayes to all athletes that want to achieve sporting greatness!

Bryce Retzlaff, Brisbane Lions AFL Club Player 2011

“Prior to training with Joey in THE PIT I never knew what was required in order to achieve my dream of being drafted to a professional AFL club. Seeking the knowledge of Joey Hayes ensured I became The Biggest, Fastest and Strongest and mentally toughest athlete I could be. Through Joey’s intense training program, nutrition and supplementation plan I was putting on a minimum of a kilogram of lean muscle every week! Joey’s enthusiastic approach to coaching makes him a leader in his field and gave me the competitive advantage needed to succeed with my personal goals and aspirations. Joey recognizes the athletes’ individual needs and tailors his programs around these specific requirements. If you’re serious about reaching your full potential and playing a professional sport, I’d highly recommend the professional coaching services of Joey Hayes. It is the best decision I ever made and I would not be in the position I am in now without Joeys training. His conversion rate for athletes who reach their dreams and achieve their goals speaks for itself.”

Recovery Secrets for Elite Performance Injury Prevention & Rehabilitation Strategies

Nutrional Strategies for Ultimate Performance Planning Strategies for Long Term Development

Even more In Joe We Trust Professional Athlete Testimonials

Broc McCauley, Brisbane Lions AFL Player 2011

“Every time I step onto the football field I know I have a competitive edge over my opponents as I know they haven’t had the opportunity to be trained by one of the most Elite Strength and Conditioning Specialists in Australia. I have had the privilege of being trained and educated by Joey for the past 3 years which has given me the opportunity to reach my fullest athletic potential. Joey’s customised programs, elite strength and conditioning techniques and his vast wealth of knowledge gave me the ability to take my game to the next level. Joey has the unique ability to take any athlete to the next level, if you have the desire to succeed and won’t settle for second best, contact Joey to see if you have what it takes to be an Athlete of the PIT!”

Marc Lock, Gold Coast Suns Captain 2010

“The elite coaching and superior training I received from Joey Hayes in THE PIT ensured I was physically and mentally prepared for the rigours of performing at the elite level. The work ethic, self-belief and leadership qualities Joey instilled in me have allowed me to lead from the front and have contributed significantly to my on field success! If you’re an athlete and you’re serious about achieving your dreams, you need to train with Joey Hayes.”

“I began training with Joey 12 months ago, and in that time I have seen significant changes in both my physical and mental being. Training in “THE PIT” and Joeys programs has enabled me to gain the strength and size I needed in order to perform at the highest level. This ultimately helped me achieve my goal of getting drafted. Therefore I’d highly recommend Joey to any aspiring athlete.”

Kael Becerra, South American 100m and 200m Sprint Champion

Being an Elite Athlete in South America-it is challenging to find world class, experienced coaches with a proven track record of success and it’s extremely frustrating when you can’t access the information required to take your performance to the next level! I met Joey whilst he was consulting in South America and immediately knew he could take my performance to the next level! The challenge was to be able to work together whilst residing in different countries. Enter Joeys Elite Distance Coaching Program. Since undertaking the program in 2010 I have seen significant improvements in my life as a person and on the track as a professional athlete. With Joeys understanding of all training variables he was able to guide, prescribe and oversee my training which allowed me to stay injury free and ultimately run faster! I would definitely recommend Joeys Elite Distance Coaching Program for any athlete that is serious about taking their training to the next level! The best part is you can undertake the program from anywhere around the world!!

Joey Hayes Knowledge, skills and experience is unrivalled. His results speak for themselves. Training in THE PIT with Joey allowed me to be physically superior to my competitors and ensured I was the best prepared! Joeys peaking methods and elite nutritional and supplementation ensured I would dominate my competition. Whilst training in THE PIT in preparation for my fights I got significantly stronger, powerful and more explosive. His odd, unusual and unique conditioning methods put me ahead of the pack and guaranteed I would be strong until the bell! Joey Hayes is an expert you want in your side of the ring.

Matthew Lodge, Carlton AFL Club Scholarship Holder

Joey’s perspective on what BEING THE BEST means and how to BE THE BEST, influenced my on-field and off-field motivation to exceed personal expectations, to push past the boundaries of pain til I knew that when I faced any opponent on a football field, I was physically superior to them. But it’s not just being bigger and stronger than anyone else; Joey’s emphasis on flexibility, power and agility sets him apart from the other conditioning coaches. His goal is to make you the complete footballer/athlete, no matter what it takes. Give Joey a call, bust your guts to get involved in his training programs and learn to call THE PIT your second home. If you want to achieve the ultimate success, then you’re doing yourself every favour in the world by being an athlete of Joey Hayes.