Bigger, stronger and faster is Titans goal for 2013

The iSelect Gold Coast Titans have used science and technology to take pre-season training to another level at Titans headquarters today. Under the guidance of new strength and conditioning coach Dan Ferris the team began the first of many regular training sessions in the club’s altitude chamber. Altitude training involves exercising in oxygen-reduced air for the purpose of improved athletic performance.

Ferris said, “When we’re at sea level the oxygen in the air is at 21%, so what we do is extract oxygen out of the chamber which makes the exercise harder by about 20 – 30%.

“What we can do is push our boys a lot harder to increase the amount of oxygen flow through their body, so we instantly increase their fitness over a period of time.”

The Titans were one of the first in Australia to have utilised an onsite altitude chamber.

“To have it inside our training facility when we can use it all the time is a great positive step. “We use it for our rehab players too, because they can’t go on the field all the time we want to make sure that they still stay in shape so when they do return to play they’re as close to match fit as possible.”

Ferris has stepped up to the top role of strength and conditioning coach from his assistant coach position last year and has worked closely with head coach John Cartwright and the coaching staff in the off-season to see where improvements can be made.

“We were only two wins out of the top eight going last season, so we’re looking to improve in a number of small areas,” said Ferris.

Those areas include the way the strength and conditioning program is implemented through new facilities and techniques.

“We’ve revamped our gym, got a new strength training program and on the field we’re going to do a little longer distance just to make sure we can compete with the other teams.”

The Titans will also be focusing on the players’ nutrition program with education being emphasized by dietician Kel Hogan.

“It’s more about education from our point of view, a lot of the guys live at home by themselves and they might not know what to cook, or what’s right and what's not,” Ferris said.

“Kel’s there to make sure they eat the right thing but to also educate them so they can make their own decisions, she’ll be a big bonus for us.”

“We just want to improve on everything, we want to make them bigger, stronger and faster in every area.”