A&H

Getting Ready for 21/22

I've always gone out fast in the first two laps, aiming for sub 1:30, before then dropping off the pace a little. That way if I start to run out of steam I've got distance in the bank, appreciate that won't work for everyone though. I certainly couldn't contemplate running a stead 1:50 per lap though, that just leaves nowhere to go if the legs start to get heavy.
If you can do two sub-1:30 laps and still pass, then there's not much chance of your legs getting heavy doing 1:50 laps 😂
 
The Referee Store
No mention of any blood pressure tests relating to any of the fitness tests lined up by the Spartan
@Russell Jones would this be a factor in the September FA clean-up fitness test?
My BP is OK, but just saying that nobody has mentioned out about BP testing
 
Agreed. But its in my capabilities because ive trained for it (even though only for a short time atm because my baseline fitness was decent enough of course). But its a strategy that's developed after doing the run 5 times so I know what works for me and what's achievable. I'm trying to get my head around training properly for this year as I'm going for level 4 but did my 7-6 & 6-5 during a pandemic. I've done 0 competitive games since early November 2020, just a few friendly cup matches for a Sunday League in April. I got my games and observations in early thankfully so I passed the 6-5 but I did no county cup games or county league matches due to there being none available. Apart from academy u18 games, I'm yet to referee at the standard I played at and I'm going for level 4 so it's a bigger step up than usual but I enjoy a challenge. Just trying to take training up a notch to have one real go at level 4.
You're in pretty much the same boat as me
I've done a few games since 2020 but injury curtailed the relaxation of restrictions
Like you, I hardly got the expected 6-to-5 experience. No County Cups and all my Step 7 appointments were postponed or cancelled or I was injured. So very little NAR experience and so on. I did a Sunday League Cup Final Middle, otherwise the only challenging game of the year was a pre-season friendly!
Either, I take a year at L5 to hopefully get appointments that bridge this gap, or it's kinda like a 'double-jump' to go 5-to-4
I've also got problems with fitness test dates and no guarantee I'll pass the thing either. I'm 200m short ATM and when I did the test last year, I thought the sprints were no gimme, especially with depleted legs. I did 7.3s but I felt it was on the limit
 
You're in pretty much the same boat as me
I've done a few games since 2020 but injury curtailed the relaxation of restrictions
Like you, I hardly got the expected 6-to-5 experience. No County Cups and all my Step 7 appointments were postponed or cancelled or I was injured. So very little NAR experience and so on. I did a Sunday League Cup Final Middle, otherwise the only challenging game of the year was a pre-season friendly!

Tsk. :rolleyes:

They're practically giving em away these days ... :wtf: :p
 
No mention of any blood pressure tests relating to any of the fitness tests lined up by the Spartan
@Russell Jones would this be a factor in the September FA clean-up fitness test?
My BP is OK, but just saying that nobody has mentioned out about BP testing

No, it is just an FA requirement for the tests that they organise for L4 and above. They are extremely strict with it, I've seen referees be turned away because t was taken a few hours too early, or they were slightly outside of the min / max requirement (140/90 from memory).

There's one legendary story where a referee went to get it done on the morning of his test at his local NHS drop in centre. His reading was too high so the nurse gave him a few minutes to calm down and take it again, but he took it upon himself to write a fake value on the card and authenticate it using the NHS stamp on the desk before legging it. Unfortunately for him the nurse had clocked the details written on the card, so she turned up at the local track and pointed him out to the test invigilator. Charged and faced a lengthy suspension ...!

I believe the requirement was brought in after a referee collapsed and sadly died at a fitness test. Whenever I've told GPs or nurses what it was for they have all said that a blood pressure test is highly unlikely to show the sort of condition that would cause that kind of collapse, but I guess it is just the FA covering themselves.
 
If you can do two sub-1:30 laps and still pass, then there's not much chance of your legs getting heavy doing 1:50 laps 😂

It happened once as my knee flared up with two laps to go. I really had to slow down to a hobbling jog, but still got there in time, no chance that would have happened had I done even paced laps.
 
It happened once as my knee flared up with two laps to go. I really had to slow down to a hobbling jog, but still got there in time, no chance that would have happened had I done even paced laps.
It was those fast laps that caused it to flare up ;);)
 
Had to get some new kits to fit around my ample frame.

ordered from some random sports shop, no embroidery but much cheaper than A&H or the RA Store, and delivery took 3 days instead of several weeks.
 
First friendly tonight. Step 6 side v step 7 (I think anyway). Good to blow the cobwebs off and see some good quality football.
 

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First friendly tonight. Step 6 side v step 7 (I think anyway). Good to blow the cobwebs off and see some good quality football.
Intresting stats. your hr average and max is way higher than mine, as is your max speed. But then my overall distance would always be higher than 7.5
Maybe a lot boils down to which watch we're wearing
 
Intresting stats. your hr average and max is way higher than mine, as is your max speed. But then my overall distance would always be higher than 7.5
Maybe a lot boils down to which watch we're wearing
Heart rate is way lower than mine. I can top 190 hr max. Max speed about the same. Usually cover around 8-9km so on par ish with Ben.
 
It was a higher level game than I've done before and it was on 4g. Alot of possession play which made it easier from a physical perspective. The last 20 were tougher as the step 6 team brought on some quick trialists and were rapid on the break. Wonder how it will compare with a game on grass?

On another note surely the calorie figure is nonsense
 
Had to get some new kits to fit around my ample frame.

ordered from some random sports shop, no embroidery but much cheaper than A&H or the RA Store, and delivery took 3 days instead of several weeks.
I ordered a new long sleeve shirt off Kitlocker at the start of April as it was cheaper and delivery was quicker than anywhere else I could find... I ordered the same size as my other shirts (small), so I was extremely worried when I found that it was almost skin tight on me! Fortunately it just seems to have been made fractionally smaller than my others, rather than it being due to excessive added poundage over lockdown 😅 (definitely a reminder that I could do with losing a bit before the season starts though...)
 
It was a higher level game than I've done before and it was on 4g. Alot of possession play which made it easier from a physical perspective. The last 20 were tougher as the step 6 team brought on some quick trialists and were rapid on the break. Wonder how it will compare with a game on grass?

On another note surely the calorie figure is nonsense
I don't think it is.
I have found when I have done classes at the gym it would say estimated calorie burn and found it to be very close so assume its fairly accurate.
 
I ordered a new long sleeve shirt off Kitlocker at the start of April as it was cheaper and delivery was quicker than anywhere else I could find... I ordered the same size as my other shirts (small), so I was extremely worried when I found that it was almost skin tight on me! Fortunately it just seems to have been made fractionally smaller than my others, rather than it being due to excessive added poundage over lockdown 😅 (definitely a reminder that I could do with losing a bit before the season starts though...)

I discovered halloumi fries and Kinder Bueno over lockdown. Thats where the 5kg came from!
 
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