Archive for December, 2005

Osteopath John Williams has been accepted as a provider for Osteopathic treatments by Bupa and will be available for private health insurance work following a referral from your GP. John is also recognised by all major private health insurance companies for both Osteopathic and Physiotherapy treatments.

Atlas can now provide both Osteopathic and Physiotherapy treatments for Bupa insured customers.

Congratulations to Peter Taylor, our Sports Therapist who has been successful in his application to be recognised as a Physiotherapist by the Health Professions Council (HPC) under their grandparenting scheme.

Peter is currently in year 2 of his 3 year Podiatry degree which will add yet more expertise to his ability to treat injuries. Peter wants to specialise in running injuries as he is a keen club runner himself.

This now brings the number of Physiotherapists at Atlas registered with the HPC to 3 in total.

Date 20-12-2005 Well its now week 4 of our training camp and to date we have a hardcore of 16 candidates training for our Lichfield 10k race in September 2006. Training takes place at Tamworth Athletic Club stadium in Tamworth, Staffordshire on Wednesday evenings from 7.30pm till 9pm and again on Sunday mornings from 10.30am till 12 noon. Everyone is made welcome and everyone is so positive and motivated.

The improvement in fitness and ability has been amazing with everyone noticing changes without having to alter their diet. We have collected a number of sporting injuries which i am attending to at the moment, non are serious and come as a result of continuous exercise and will settle down as the conditioning period continues. It is great to see a full turnout even when the rain falls and the group have adopted the “nothing is gonna stop us policy” which is the motto of winners.

Walking has been the base exercise to date and we average at about 5k walking every session at a good stiff pace which is responsible for the sore shins that some are feeling. Walking can be hard on the shins if you are not used to it and correct footwear is important to prevent unwanted minor injuries.

After xmas we begin a different phase of the training which involves interval jogging which is a combination of walk and jog. This i know will be daunting for some as they are scared of the unknown and will probably doubt their ability to cope. I need to develop the trust between trainer and athletes and show them that “every long journey begins with a single step”. We will reduce the distance and alter the workload as we have to reduce the soreness created by walking. Jogging is actually easier on the shins than walking but will be introduced in such a way that our team will all be successful at making the transition.

In 2006 i will announce the individuals who have been successful in making the team, some may need more time to prove to me that they can succeed. It is very important to ensure that we all complete this task as we are raising funds for the Birmingham Childrens Hospital. A visit to meet the children on the wards is planned for January 2006. Xmas will be a challenging time as training facilities an opportunities have been altered and some cannot attend. We will see how they return in the new year as time waits for no man! I have arranged alternative training dates and will be available for the team should they wish to continue training. The next few weeks will bring the introduction of new activities and social interaction for the group which will increase the bonding which has already taken place.

The group are considering keeping a personal journal of their feelings and thoughts and documenting changes which take place in their lives. This may well be published as an insight into the lifechanging journey which is about to take place from obesity to freedom! John Williams