Training Rory Hamilton-Brown at the Oval

After re-signing for his boyhood club Surrey on Christmas Eve last year, Rory Hamilton-Brown is eagerly anticipating the challenge of leading Surrey as the county cricket club’s youngest ever Captain. Rory will also be the youngest current captain on the county circuit when the Championships get underway next month. Yet before Rory takes on the mantle of leading out one of the country’s most prestigious cricket sides, I had three months to physically prepare him for his first season in charge and get him prepared for what is bound to be a physically gruelling season. When I designed Rory’s programme, it was my job to establish which key ingredients were required to have the maximum impact on his performance on the pitch.

These ingredients included:

• Which type of exercise was best suited for his body type.
• Which intensity of exercise was most relevant to his game.
• Establishing any existing hormonal imbalances causing fat storage.
• Establishing which mix of proteins, carbohydrates and fats was best suited for his body type and physical requirements on the pitch.

As a right-handed all-rounder, I concluded that power and muscular endurance were the two fitness components which would benefit Rory’s game the most. I went about designing an exercise and nutrition plan to make these gains as quickly as possible. Here’s how I did it…

I began by completing a Structural Balance Assessment in the gym. This is a strength assessment which highlights which muscles and movements are strong and which ones are weak. The assessment also shows any muscular imbalances and asymmetries from old injuries. This is crucial for an athlete’s development as their different builds will result in muscular variances which must be fine tuned in line with the individual’s requirements. I then based Rory’s exercise programme on the results of his unique Structural Balance Assessment.

The next stage was to establish where he stored his body fat and link the areas of fat storage to Hormonal Imbalance using a BioSignature Assessment. These results allowed me to create a personalised nutrition and supplement plan based on his personal hormonal profile.

With all the information acquired, I went about designing an exercise, nutrition and supplement programme specifically designed to get Rory leaner, fitter and more powerful for the upcoming season.

The exercise programme was split into two main sections; Functional Fat Loss and Strength/Power. Both sections of the programme would run simultaneously – one day would be Functional Fat Loss; the next day would be strength and so on. We call this type of programme ‘non-linear’. I often use this type of programme when dealing with top athletes and Rory was no exception to this.

The Functional Fat loss section was designed to progressively get Rory fitter and leaner using functional circuits filled with cricket-related exercises. We used medicine balls, swiss balls, dumbbells, body weight, kickboxing and bands to make up the circuits. This was where Rory did the really hard work. The intensity I chose for the Functional Fat Loss section was perfect for what we wanted to get out of it. Rory dropped body fat, maintained muscle mass and increased his muscular endurance. You simply cannot achieve this type of result by focussing all of your energies on aerobic exercise such as running or cycling. I had to find a way of getting Rory fitter without losing strength and power, Functional Fat Loss circuits was the answer.

The strength part of the programme was completely different. I focussed on guiding Rory towards lower reps and heavier weights in view of getting him stronger and more powerful on the pitch. As the weeks went on we dropped the reps and increased the weights. The strength part of the programme started with twelve to fifteen reps where we focussed on ironing out some of the muscular imbalances discovered within the Structural Balance Assessment. By the end of the programme we were lifting heavy barbells with fewer than four reps for maximum strength and power gains.

During the initial Structural Balance Assessment in Session 1, I picked up on some minor strength imbalances within his shoulders and hips. This was undoubtedly a lingering weakness from the shoulder injury he had suffered before the England U-19 winter tour of Malaysia back in 2006. So before we started lifting heavy weights I corrected these imbalances using muscular balance techniques – these then proved highly effective as his strength and power immediately shot up with the results evident for all to see.

The reason this programme was successful was because I acquired all of the necessary information needed to cater for Rory’s sporting demands. The Bio Signature and Structural Balance Assessments allowed me to cut straight to the chase and make instant headway. Rory will now go into an historic campaign for Surrey in peak condition, fully geared up for the challenges that a physically commanding summer of cricket will bring.

“Rory is a great athlete and I look forward to working with him for many years to come!”.

Coming soon: Rory’s testimonial.

Related content:

1. Sport Specific Programmes
2. Functional Fat Loss Training
3. Working with Professional Athletes
4. Injury Free