Working up a sweat with Great Britain Hockey
Posted by Matt Moran on May 18, 2011
We recently visited Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre in the UK where Great Britain's Men's Hockey team were preparing for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia. The tournament featured seven of the world's top hockey nations and provided a great opportunity for the GB team to test their skills against some formidable opposition, all with an eye on the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Malaysia enjoys high heat and humidity, conditions which are quite alien to the GB squad, so in preparation for the tournament the players were put through their paces in a climate chamber at Bisham Abbey. The Wattbike played a key role in this preparation with players conducting a number of sessions at various heat and humidity levels to test their endurance.
Andy Hudson (pictured right), Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach for England and Great Britain Hockey, has given the Wattbike a great review, telling us that "Wattbike have provided an excellent level of service and support to a British Olympic team currently in preparation for next years’ games in London. Currently as part of my role at The English Institute of Sport, I run the strength & conditioning programme for the GB & England Men’s Hockey programme and as such work with external partners on an on-going basis.
Wattbike were able to provide equipment that could stand up to the rigours of our climate chamber at Bisham Abbey as our players prepared for a tournament in the demanding environment of Malaysia. The bikes are robust and comfortable and provided accurate feedback regarding work rate."
It's always great to hear how we are helping athletes from a range of nations to prepare for the fast approaching Olympic Games. The Great Britain hockey team went on to take the bronze medal at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
Last year, England's Women's Hockey Team used the Wattbikes at Bisham Abbey to prepare for similar conditions in Delhi at the Commonwealth Games. You can see a short video of their training sessions on the BBC website.