The Vorsprung training programme is not a sports workshop. It is not just for club or elite sportspeople, nor for people with active life-styles. It is a project for anyone: any age; either gender; any ethnicity; any ability; with any ailment (physical or cerebral); and whether you are interested in sports or not.
However, The Vorsprung Project can benefit: elite or club sports people (involved in any sport); people engaged in daily household chores; people with anger management problems; Dyslexia; Dyspraxia; Autism; learning difficulties; time management problems; and poor balance.
The various workshops: some involving physical ('sport' like) exercises; some involving participant experiments; and some cerebral training exercises are all designed to engage the brain in a way that people rarely engage their brains. Whether your main activity is running, cycling, swimming, academic, daily work or home tasks, these workshops will improve your physical activities; your mental application; your balance; your time management; re-adjusting your perception; rationalize attainable goals; and improve your brain signals.
The project was devised over thirty-five years ago, as Vranek (a national sprinter and club rugby player turned international coach) sort to lead a group of athletes through daily training sessions in the most holistic, injury preventative, scientific-based programmes.
As a coach, his primary 'hero' was Peter Coe. Father, Engineer and Coach to Seb Coe. Peter Coe's approach was like no others. He stripped-back to basics and re-built the training programme. With no knowledge of coaching and consequently, no knowledge of the inane club training methods handed-down from generation-to-generation without question. Peter Coe went to physiology, not club training programmes, to understand what would make a good training programme.
He did what few had done for decades. He sort to find out, through science, what the body was capable of doing and what was needed to improve it.
This approach, even in the 21st Century, still seems alien to most sports clubs and leisure gyms in the UK. They, still, pound-out the same old homogenized training programmes; see the same limitations in their athletes; and suffer the same injuries and failed expectations. Whilst pursuing these archaic methods, these clubs and leisure gyms still wonder why certain independent coaches and progressive-thinking countries have the majority of the success at elite and club (feeder and grass-roots) levels.
In the early days, the Vorsprung training group consisted mainly of north London-based athletes. But, as the reputation grew, through the success of the athletes, the health of the athletes and the progress of the athletes, the group also welcomed professional Boxers, international Judo Fighters, national Swimmers, minor-league Footballers, club Rugby players, club Tennis players, office workers, and enthused leisure runners looking to lead a healthier life with a programme that didn't break their bodies.
During this time, there was one talented young 400 metres runner who benefitted from the Vorsprung training methods. Arriving regularly to Thursday training sessions at eight o'clock, he would stumble-out a sentence of apologies. "Are you sorry for being an hour late today," asked Vranek "or for being two days late for Tuesday's session?" The severity of this young boys Dyslexia was becoming a concern for his college. Yet, within one year of working with Vranek's methods he not only had become one of the top 400 metres runners for his age-group in the UK, but, had changed his life around.
Arriving for meetings, classes, training sessions and races on time; bringing correct footwear to each session; speaking the sentences in the correct order as he was hearing them in his head (until then was unable to speak in anything other than a jumbled mess); and improved balance and time-keeping.
In 2004 the Vranek family left London after fifteen years for a smallholding in west Wales. Spending the first ten of those years bringing-up their son, working intermittently. Until one day, with the excitement of a new century buzzing around, Vranek brought back the Vorsprung training sessions and condensed it into a four day camp.
With the whole family working as volunteers, the camps were run on a minimal budget to try to make them affordable to those children whose families are on a very low-income. Offering children living inner-city lives an experience of rural life and to learn and train in a setting, they may never have the opportunity to normally do.
At The Vorsprung Training Camp, people are treated as part of the family and are seen as people first, not athletes. Children are not 'trained' as little adults, with adult training programmes simply performed to a lesser degree, but, have modelled programmes specifically for children to take into account their growth, physical and mental development and puberty.
All the information and activities have been supported by various physiologists, sports psychologists and consultant orthopaedic surgeons from around the world. Some of whom have offered advice through personal contact.
In the two annual workshops (spring and autumn), work is, primarily, with children (over the age of thirteen) empowering them with correct information based on physiology, physics and biology. Dispelling myths perpetuated by club coaches across most sports in the UK.
One of the aims of The Vorsprung Project is to empower children, who are active in sports, with proper and safe information about their bodies and how they can lead a healthier and longer life by understanding the science behind how the body works and how one can take control of the brain to make it work more efficiently for them and their bodies.
The four days are packed-full of active workshops; academic workshops; practical training; as well as, encouraging social /leisure time. All participants are expected to join-in and cooperate with every aspect of their time at the camp, working together with all ages, abilities and gender as one group, learning to cook inexpensive, healthy and simply prepared meals, that, will benefit their health and an active lifestyle and much more.
The Vorsprung method does not employ traditional high-repetitions, fast-circuit exercises. Instead, the emphasis is more on Pilates-based exercises; 'Slow and Steady' execution of circuit exercises to build a safer, stronger foundation; and more emphasis on recovery.
'Quality Not Quantity'.
Too often coaches demand far too much out of their charges. Insisting on an 'extra ten', or 'another rep'... Adding pointless and damaging appendages to already demanding and tiring sessions. Resulting in the best performances being left on the training field: People coming out of session exhausted and broken, rather than exhilarated and vibrant.
Changing to a safer, less-often, shorter duration, more intense warm-up and exercise routine (which are the principles of the Vorsprung training methods) will aid the ability to play sports and improve performances, as well as, have a healthy body for longer. Also, lessening the social impact on the National Health Services.
'Less is More'.
The workshops help people to be patient and trust the science, that, backs-up these methods and cites examples from around the world that prove, that, the Vorsprung method makes for a more successful sporting life and healthier body.
If you are interested in putting knowledge into the improvement of your brain function (and in-so-doing improve your body's ability to function better) we welcome hearing from you and are open to adding camps at other times of the year to suit.
