Olympic glory was realized this year for the Academy of Fitness’ own Ben Newton.
Ben, 24, was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 London Paralympics in the wheelchair Rugby, in which the Australians clinched the Gold medal! The Australians defeated Canada in the final in what Ben described as a once in a lifetime experience.
“It was just absolutely surreal. The whole experience, from the opening ceremony, to being presented with a Gold Medal was just unbelievable! It just went so quick, it didn’t really sink in until I got home”.
Ben began studying his Certificate III in Fitness with the Academy of Fitness a little over 12 months ago, and will commence his Certificate IV early in the New Year. Ben managed to juggle his study commitments between his busy training schedule in the lead up to London 2012 which involved up to 6 sessions a week.
“Preparation is just so important, and it obviously paid off. In the 7 months leading up to the games we just kept building. We were doing around 2 resistance and 4 conditioning sessions a week. Early on it was about general conditioning, then around 6 weeks out we tapered as we had a tournament in Canada which gave the team an idea about how sharp we were looking. Then when we got back it was all about power. Lots of medicine ball work and unilateral arm work”.
Ben has really enjoyed the exercise programming component of the Certificate III, and says that he has been able to apply basic exercise science principles to his own training to help improve not just his physical development, but his performances on the court.
“Learning about the body has helped me to understand how to structure not just a weights or court session, but how to periodize several months of training in order to peak physically at the right time”.
“You know, when you are competing against other professional athletes the difference can be miniscule. But if you’re in the right state of mind you are the one with the advantage. I would like to help other people, not just athletes, realize their true potential”.
Ben is looking forward to taking a well earned rest, before preparing for various Oceania tournaments in 2013, and the World champs in 2014.