Down at The Edge we have an exclusive strength and conditioning facility open to our gryphons who compete in performance sports. Working alongside dedicated strength and conditioning coaches all our athletes are constantly pushing to achieve great things in their chosen sports.
Members of our sports teams are now putting forward a gryphon of the month, an individual who is excelling in their sport.
Last month we caught up with American Footballer Felix Titherley before he set off on his German adventure.
Who do you play for and when do you play?
I have signed with the Rostock Griffins in the GFL 2 (German Football League) for the 2018 season. There are 16 games in the season, which starts in April and lasts until September with a 3 week break for the European Championships in July.
What is your training schedule?
There will be at least three on-field training sessions per week, with a number of training camps in the pre-season. On top of the on-field sessions, there will be daily skills and S&C sessions throughout the season including one recovery-based session and one ‘priming’ session to prepare for game day.
What Strength and Conditioning (S&C) training do you do?
Currently I have no skills training, so have more strength and conditioning sessions than usual. The goals now are to increase my conditioning and robustness. I’m also aiming to convert all of the high-volume strength work I’ve done into top-end strength.
What is your favourite exercise?
Weighted seated box jumps. They are low impact, but I feel like they help me to develop a lot of power and ensure that I hit triple-extension.
What is your least favourite exercise?
Anything snatch related. I struggle to get the required range of motion for it. Instead I utilise clean pulls for a similar force production.
How do you feel S&C has helped you develop as an athlete?
S&C has helped me to put on size, to develop speed and power, and given me confidence that I will be able to perform on the field and deal with the high-impact nature of American Football. When I am on the field I feel confident in my abilities to physically compete against other athletes. A key factor in this is the ‘priming’ sessions that I do before each game. These sessions prepare my body to move explosively on the field, which helps me focus on the game.
As a Strength and Conditioning Coach at the University of Leeds I have been training Felix for the last 18 months.
Felix is the sort of athlete that you want to walk through the door. He is a 24/7 athlete, doing everything he can in and out of the gym to achieve his goals. Since he has come to us Felix has got a lot stronger and more powerful and importantly he feels that he is physically more competent on the field.
Below is a video of Felix achieving a 1 rep max Back Squat. This was a 15kg personal best from the last time that Felix tested his 1RM in 2017. With this being the 3rd to last session that Felix did in Leeds it was a fantastic way to end his training here, again showing that hard work pays off.
