THE CLUB COURSE COMPETITION

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The UKXTA invites all Health and Leisure Clubs to partake in the Club course competition. If you would like a free A2 size poster for your gym so that your members can record their times on, please contact us. Postage and packaging does cost us and if you would like to send us a £5 cheque to cover that we would be grateful. Along with the Poster, you will get letters of information on the event for your members that can be put up on your notice boards. 

The idea is to run the event over a period of a month, where members can go through the exercises at a date and time of their convenience. They can do this any number of times as there is also a chance to show the most improved time on the poster. There is no need to change the whereabouts of the exercise apparatus in your gym as it will be the same for all members in having to move from one to the other. However, if you want to do so in order to facilitate the running of the event, we would be grateful to you for that.

There are no prizes to the event, however you might like to offer an incentive in that way yourselves. 

If you are a gym manager / instructor at a club, please email us on jacqui@ukxta.co.uk  if you would like to receive your free poster only if you are serious about running an event. We would ask you to include details of the club and when you would be wanting to run the event. 

UKXTA Members

All UKXTA members can also request a free poster for their clubs as we know you will be working to get the club to run an internal cross training event.

The UKXTA CUP is being run on the 29th July, with the qualifying period being in the months of May and June so it might be a good idea to run it over those months.

PDF of Club Competition Poster - For a better look at the Poster.

The Club Course is a great stepping stone to completing the Cup Course. It has the same exercises in the same order and the only change is that the weights are slightly lighter.

To do the team event, there needs to be two of you and each needs to do 4 of the exercises. All must be done in the correct order, but you can choose which ones each of you prefer to do. Before starting the next exercise your partner must complete their exercise and come to the next exercise station to tag you before you can start.

NOTICE TO ALL GYM USERS

Cross training is a sport that is sweeping across gyms in the UK as members find out more and more of its benefits. Where Tennis, Squash and Golf clubs have their sports, Health club and gym enthusiasts now have theirs – Cross Training and the UKXTA Cup.

Although the poster is just centred on an internal event for your club, the courses, that we invite you to run through, are exactly the same as the ones other gym users are doing all around the country. Clubs are already competing in individual and team events against other clubs.

There are two courses. The one based on the UKXTA Cup event is the Cup course, the other is exactly the same course but with less emphasis on strength and more on C.V and is the Club course. You can either run through it individually or in a team of two. Each course is exacting in its own unique way, whatever level of ability you are, and the winner of the Cup course, might not necessarily be able to win the Club course. Aside from marking up your times on the Poster, you can even have them posted on our website www.ukxta.co.uk . There you will find the World’s top times as well as the UK’s fastest times done in 2005 for different age categories.

If you, like other cross trainers, enjoy the feeling you get from having run through the course – at least the feeling after a few minutes from having just completed it – then you might like to become a member of the association and compete in other cross training competitions around the UK or even try and get into the UKXTA Cup event in July 2006. More details can be found on the Calendar on the above website.

For a real taster of the sport and to see the extremely exciting, 4 lane, knock out style of racing found at the UKXTA Cup, you can even buy a DVD of the 2005 event via the website. You will be amazed at the UK’s top cross trainers and their performances as they run through the course 3-4 times in one day – and in incredible times. Their performances lie at the heart of the secret to cross training and something that is to be discovered by new comers to the sport.

What we have found out is that training for the sport leads to surprising new levels of fitness in everyone – old and young. People, who at first, felt that they were really fit, go on to get even fitter. They also find that this has the surprising knock on benefit of making them even more competitive at the other sports they do. For those who are new to fitness, we have found that the all round measurable work out they get from the courses gives them encouragement all the time as they can see vast improvements in a very short time.

If you would like to have a go, find one of your gym instructors and ask them for help. They might well be happy to help you with a run through of the course and even train you for it.

So enough or the reading! Don’t ask if you feel up to it and don’t question or pass judgement yet. Just have a go at a pace that suits your level of fitness.  Take a short rest and now only ask yourself just one question - how do you feel. Then run through the course again a few days later. You will now begin to notice the difference already

– Welcome to our sport.

The UKXTA Club Cross Training Competition Rules

Age ranges – The Masters category is for people aged 39 and over

Bike  - Competitors can start, but must remain, seated on the bike and cannot get off until they have covered the required distance. They can choose whatever resistance they desire and pedal at whatever rate they choose. Some makes of bike require you to enter a race mode and you should ensure that the model your gym uses for the event remains the same for all competitors and that the faster one pedals, the faster ones time is. It would also be good to use bikes where if one pedals on a higher resistance, like using a higher gear, one can also complete the distance in a faster time.

Lat Pull Downs – Competitors need to ensure that three things are done correctly. Firstly that their arms are fully extended and not bent at the elbow at the top of the range of lat pull down movement. Secondly they must bring the bar down to just below the level of their chin for a full repetition to count and thirdly they must not lean excessively back during the downward phase of the pull down. More than a 10 degree lean will mean the repetition is not counted by your judge. You can stop at any time and take a rest. You are also allowed to use a coach to help have the bar handed to your outstretched arms for your first repetition and after any rest period.

Box Step Ups – Competitors must first pick up their dumbbells from the top of the box and they will need to replace them there after they have completed the exercise. The box step must be between 13 and 14 inches high. To count as a step up both feet must be fully on top of the flat part of the box with no part of the heel hanging over the edge.  The athlete must stand near to vertical, not bent over at the hips, on the top of the box with hips above the ankles and not excessively leaning back. A lean back of more than 10 degrees will mean the repetition will not count.

Sit Ups - To count the hands must hold the ear lobes between thumb and forefinger and both the elbows and the back must touch the ground at the end of the downward phase of the sit up. There is no need for the back of the head to touch the ground. The elbows must touch the knees at the top of the sit up and they must touch the ground at the end of the sit up to be counted as complete and correct. The feet must be held flat to the ground either by the person selected to be your coach or there is the option for feet to be placed under a secure foothold for this exercise. The competitor can stop and rest and continue later on but all sit ups need to be done before being able to continue.

Row – Competitors can start pulling at their rowing machine as soon as they sit down on the seat and their feet are off the ground. They are allowed to have someone tighten their foot straps if they wish. To complete this exercise competitors must have completed the required distance before getting off of the seat. They are allowed to take their feet out of the straps early but cannot take extra strokes with their feet on the floor.

Bench Press – Competitors must ensure that their arms must are straight and fully extended at the top of the bench press and that the bar must actually touch the chest at the end of the downward phase of the bench press. The back must not arch in the middle when lifting the bar up and your bottom must always be in contact with the bench. You can have your feet up on the bench if you wish. You are also allowed to have a Coach hand the bar to you at the outset, and when you need a rest, but only when your arms are in an outstretched position. The position of your hands on the bar is also important. You cannot have them close together such that your hands are positioned closer together than your shoulders. Shoulder width apart and no nearer. You also cannot have your hands on the bar so far apart that such that when the bar is lowered onto your chest your hands are still further apart than your elbows.

Treadmill Run – Competitors must remain on the treadmill until they complete the required distance. They can stop to walk on the way but if you fall off the treadmill, you will only be allowed back on, but you will have to complete the whole distance again. The treadmill can be started on 0% but must be moved to 10% before the competitor can increase the treadmill running speed. Alternatively the treadmill can be started on the 10% incline. Depending on the makes and models the club can decide on a procedure for all to follow.

Shoulder Press -  The shoulder press must be on a steeply inclined bench such that the bar can be lowered down very close to the front of the face. It will not be acceptable if the bench is so vertical that the bar is lowered in a way that produces excessive neck twisting by the athlete in order to avoid facial contact with the bar. The arms must be fully extended at the top of the press and the bar must be lowered to below the nose on the downward phase. The back must be kept against the upright bench at all times. You will have to pick up the bar from the ground yourself and rest it on your lap, or the ground, if you need a rest at any time. Coaches are not allowed to assist in this exercise but can remain behind the competitor to help in cases of emergency. The hands must be placed on the bar no nearer than shoulder width apart and no further apart such that at the end of the down ward phase the arms are further apart than their elbows. The competitor finishes the exercise and the course by placing the bar back down on the ground by their feet.

Teams – Teams must be only two people of the same sex and each person must do four of the eight exercises. It does not matter which 4 they do and in what order. However, the next exercise cannot be started until the last one has been completed and the person completing it has tagged their partner who must be ready waiting at the next exercise station. The team race ends when the last shoulder press repetition has been done and the bar returned to the floor.