St Mary's Strength and Conditioning Students Published in Academic Journals

Six students from the Strength and Conditioning Science (S&C) programmes at St Mary’s University, Twickenham have seen research published in peer-reviewed journals, over the past two years. The research undertaken by the students, including both undergraduates, and taught and research postgraduates, has seen them published in Biology of Sport, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research andJournal of Sports Science, amongst others. The research covered a range of topics in S&C, including the value of wearing weightlifting shoes when performing a back squat, loading and progression for power and strength training and the mechanical similarity between weightlifting and jumping. In addition, both undergraduate and postgraduate students continue to contribute to peer reviewed professional practice journals like Professional Strength and Conditioning and Strength and Conditioning Journal. Recent years have seen articles on a diverse range of subjects, from succeeding as a female strength and conditioning coach to the scissor method of rope climbing. Programme Director for BSc Strength and Conditioning Science Richard Blagrove said, “It is highly unusual for a student studying at undergraduate level to publish their research project in a peer-reviewed journal, so these are truly fantastic achievements. These publications demonstrate the high standard of student research on the programmes and should certainly enhance the career prospects for these students.” Programme Director for the MSc Strength and Conditioning Dr Dan Cleather added, “It’s a truly outstanding achievement for any student to publish work within a peer reviewed journal, and thus to have so many students achieving this feat is unbelievable. As a programme one of our key messages is the importance of using appropriate evidence to guide best practice. To see so many students disseminating high quality evidence and providing influential commentary on professional practice is immensely gratifying. ” The S&C programmes at St Mary’s are internationally recognised as being leaders in the discipline. The programmes have further cemented this position with the announcement today of the appointment of Dan Baker, Dan John and Steve Magness as adjunct lecturers, giving students access to some of the finest minds in the field. The facilities at St Mary’s include a 5000 square foot Performance Education Centre, a world class strength and conditioning laboratory. The University also regularly welcomes elite athletes to train and undergo testing in its facilities, including international teams, premier league footballers and Olympians. To find out more about S&C at St Mary’s please click here.