Carl Jennings
Managing Director
"Training hard is important, but not as important as training smart"
After getting married in 1989 and starting a family, Carl's priorities had to change. He formed a business in 1990 and worked for 5 years developing a successful sports nutritional company.The Company produced one of the worlds first Creatine Supplements, Creatabolin C10, which was used and endorsed by many world leading athletes of the day. The business profile enabled Carl to enhance his already extensive knowledge of Strength & Conditioning through exposure with many world class coaches and athletes in various sports.
In 1996 Carl made a career change. A chance meeting with Matthew Elliott, who at the time was the Head Coach of the Bradford Bulls Rugby League Team, convinced Carl that he should join him at Bradford as his Head Strength & Conditioning Coach. Although new to Rugby League, Carl used his unique knowledge and expertise, gained from his own personal experience as an athlete, as well as the knowledge gained from working closely to many of the worlds leading athletes and coaches to re define physical preparation for the sport of rugby league. He helped to build the Bradford Bulls into a Championship team, winning 2 Super league Titles as well as a Challenge Cup victory, over a five year period.
At the end of 2001 he was recruited by the Canberra Raiders Rugby League team, in the Australian National Rugby League Competition. The only English Head Strength & Conditioning coach currently working in the NRL, During his 5 years at the Canberra Raiders he helped them to 4 final series appearances.Carl has worked for the past 5 years at the Penrith Panthers NRL, placing second in 2010.
One of the greatest honors of his coaching life was being contracted as the Head Strength and Conditioning coach for the Great Britain Rugby League team, during the Tri Nations Tournaments against New Zealand, & Australia, in 2004, 2005, 2006.
Carl Jennings has recently been appointed Head Strength & Conditioning coach at the Canterbury Crusaders Rugby super 15s team, and sees this appointment as the most important of his career so far.
Carl Jennings has recently been appointed Head Strength & Conditioning coach at the Crusaders Rugby Super 15s team, on of the worlds leading Rugby franchises.
Previous to this recent appointment Carl has worked for 15 years as a Head Strength & Conditioning Coach within Rugby League at the Highest level, NRL Australia, Super League, and Internationals with Great Britain.
With a pre coaching background as national champion, and international athlete, few people can boast such a prestigious sporting history, as a practitioner, and mentor to many.
Our mission statement is to enable all athletes, in all sports, to become as good as they can be.
Born into a working class family in Kingston upon Hull, in the north of England in 1964, Carl's earliest memory is watching his dad Frank, performing dumbbell exercises in the kitchen of their home, and since that time his life has been immersed in sport.
Carl's father Frank is an extraordinary man, a competitive bodybuilder in the 1950s, and 60s, Frank has trained hard in the gym all his life, and he age of 75 still trains as hard as anyone, enjoys life, looks great, and is an inspiration to all that know him. Frank mentored and coached Carl as a young athlete , helping him become a champion power lifting, and Olympic lifting champion, and eventually to his ultimate personal sporting highlight which was becoming the British Shot Putt Champion in 1987. Carl's greatest honor as an athlete was competing for Great Britain.
A Brief History
Carl Jennings Strength & Conditioning Coach
Crusaders Rugby Super 15s
Head Strength & Conditioning Coach, (2011 - present)
Achievements
Previous coaching appointments
Perith Panthers NRL
Head Strength & Conditioning Coach, (2006 - 2011)
Achievements
2nd Place 2010
Finalist 2010
Canberra Raiders NRL (Australia)
Head Strength & Conditioning Coach (2002-2006)
Achievements
Finalist 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
Bradford Bulls Rugby League UK
Head Strength & Conditioning Coach (1996-2001)
Achievements
Champions 1997, 2001,
Minor Premiers 1999, 2001.
Runners Up 1999,
Challenge Cup winners 2000,
Runners Up 1997, 2001
Great Britain Rugby League
Head Strength & Conditioning Coach (2004-2006).
Achievements
Great Britain (13 Tests, 3 Tri-Nations Tournaments) Runners Up 2004
Achievements As an athlete:
British Shot Putt Champion 1987
Great Britain International Athlete 1986-1989
North of England U23 Power Lifting & Olympic lifting Champion at the age of 18
My Core Principals
"There is no point training for the sake of training, it has to have purpose.
The sole purpose of any Strength & Conditioning program is to improve Sport Specific Athletic abilities, which leads to improved performance".
Carl Jennings 2006
Correct Training
After choosing the correct Exercises, Drills, & Routines for your chosen sport, you need to ensure that they are performed correctly, using good 'Technique', 'Form', 'Tempo' Pace , & Intensity.
As all Performance is derived from complex combinations of muscular contractions, the way in which the muscle is stretched and contracted under load and duress, during drills, routines, and exercises is essential for correct sport specific development.
Body Armour
Ensure the correct drill & exercise selection to develop a strong balanced physique to minimize the possibility of injury, ensuring longevity in your chosen sport. This is your body Armour.
Body Weapons
An elite Strength & Conditioning program should deliver to the athlete excellent functional Strength, Speed, and Power, Endurance, as well as Physical & Mental toughness. These are your weapons.
Progressive Adaptation
The human body is amazing it has the ability to adapt to physical stresses placed upon it during training, changing in time its Muscular, & Energy system, and Nervous system, depending on the type of activity & training the Athlete does. Therefore it is essential to implement the correct Exercise & Drill selection to ensure the Athlete enhances the correct abilities for their chosen sport.
Energy Management
You often find coaches that employ training programs which have a "Using Philosophy" believing that more is better. This is a grave mistake when trying to develop elite Athleticism. Yes it is important to practice hard, but not at the expense of losing quality, & Form, in the exercises & Drills used. These Training practices can often lead to the problem of Over-training fatigue and even the possibility of training induced Injury.
My philosophy is a Building Philosophy I believe in planning Progressive Sport Specific Adaptation, utilizing Correct Training, Correct Recovery Methods, & a Correct Nutritional Plan.
Sport Specifics
It is essential to understand the Physical & Energy System requirements of your chosen sport. Implement training structures, programming, drills, routines, & exercises that enhance required Sport Specific abilities. Sport Specific excellence is developed through the enhancement of the required Energy Systems, Muscular Systems, & Nervous System through training adaptation.
Periodisation
Periodisation structures variety within the conditioning program, by using different combinations of Exercises, Drills, Routines, Intensities, Volumes, planned into different phases of the year. Examples of these phases can be Post Season, Off Season Pre Season, and In Season. The goal of Periodisation is to ensure that an athlete’s Energy System, Muscular System, & Nervous System is being stimulated sufficiently for improvement, without the danger of over-training.
Technique
Performing the exercises using a full range of movement in a controlled manner is the key to developing strong supple muscles.
Tempo
Tempo can relate to two aspects of training, the pace in which the muscle moves through the stretch,Pause, and Contraction phases, or the total pace of a Drill, Routine or workout.
Pace
Pace relates to how quickly the Athlete works through a given amount of Sets, Reps, & Recovery periods within the Routine.
