Final selection is about 6 weeks away. The 5th and 6th of December, to be precise.
6 weeks is a weird amount of time. Long enough to make a real difference to your strength and your cardio. Short enough to just bundle through and waste it.
And we don't have time to guess. We're over 40, we've got jobs, we've got kids, and a million and one other things to think about. When you wing it, it feels like you're accumulating load in a good way, even with no structure behind it. Then you turn up to camp not quite fit enough, not quite strong enough, and without the sharpness a structured plan gives you.
So here's the one thing for the next 6 weeks. Don't just wing it. Have a bit of direction. This is where a coach earns his money.
Fit isn't the whole story
Fitness plays a big part in being selected. But it's also about durability and recovery.
Can you give the same effort at the end of day two as you did at the start of day one? That takes recovery, and being strong enough to absorb the load that comes with a two-day camp.
That's different to being fit. And it's where most people get the next 6 weeks wrong.
Where masters players go wrong
They panic. They get 3 or 4 weeks out from selection, or the tournament, and it becomes about how much load they can squeeze in.
The secret, realistically, is to get off your feet as much as you can. Your knees don't need extra work. Your legs do. So get the cardio in off your feet, and keep your body fit and strong.
Don't ignore the niggle either. Better still, get strong enough that the niggle never turns up. At 25, you get away with it. At 45, you don't.
There's no point cramming it all into the 3 weeks before tip-off. The time is now.
What an online coach actually does for you
Biased, obviously. But this is what it should look like.
Take the date and work backwards. Work with a coach who figures out what you need. Not just for the sporting goal, but where you're at with your fitness, your diet, and everything else already going on in your day-to-day life.
Strength first. You need it to be durable. At our age, ankles, calves, knees and hips are the joints that need protecting.
Cardio off feet. Short bursts on the rower, the ski and the bike. The sprinting happens on court, in games.
Check-ins. The most vital part. If your calf's grumbling or sore, I need to know, so I can change that week's sessions. Not a fortnight later, after you've played through it. Your on-court output should reflect your off-court work, and that only happens if we're talking.
A video for every exercise in the app, so there's no guessing. 6am in a hotel gym, lunch break, wherever. It doesn't matter.
And someone to tell you to back off. That's what I'm here for. Somebody needs to tell you to do less, and also to do more when you need to do more.
The final stretch
Here's how to finish your preparation. Nothing new. No new shoes, no secret supplements, no changes to your diet. You've done the hard work.
In the last week, take a deload. Cut the volume down, keep a bit of speed in, and sprint where you can. Sleep like it's your job and eat properly, carbs included. Everybody avoids carbs. You shouldn't.
If it feels like you're losing fitness, you aren't. You're just restless. Trust the taper and turn up ready.
Timeout over
6 weeks isn't long, but it's plenty if it's planned.
Want to make a start? There's a free off-feet conditioning plan you can download from the website. 3 sessions a week, no extra load on the knees, and it finishes the week before selection.
Want the full thing? I've got some spaces. All we need is a conversation to figure out your goals, your hurdles, and how we get past them. I can help you, I'm here for you.
Not a basketball player? Swap selection for anything else in your fitness or sporting life. Same rules. It's what I do every single day.
DM me HUDDLE on Instagram and let's talk.
