A message for all athletes If I can win medals, why can't you?

My name is Sylvester Stein. One day, at the age of 51, I took up running.

“You’ve left it a bit late!” I can remember people saying. “All those years of missed training. It will be impossible for you to catch up now.”

Well, that was 33 years ago and I am now 84. I became a British and European champion sprinter, the World Champion Veteran runner for the 200m and winner of two gold medals using the training techniques I would like to share with you below.

I would like to explain how I raised my performance to extraordinary heights -- and how you can do the same in just four steps.

Your first vital step – have an open mind!

Your first step is to understand that winning gold medals today is down to the quality of an athlete’s physical and mental preparation, not the quantity of training. (I’ll deal with that common misunderstanding below.)

The reason for my success in the events I entered was due to the effectiveness of the up-to-the-minute advice I received -- advice that I still benefit from today. But I had to search it out. This ‘insider intelligence’ is not sitting in every library or book store for everyone to browse through.

Modern training methods are the province of specialist sports research institutions at universities and colleges as far afield as Canada, California, Moscow and Norway. And although their findings are indispensable to any competitive athlete, they just don’t get published in the regular media.

So you can’t blame regular athletes, of whatever age, for overlooking or ignoring information that’s not readily available.

But! It must be said that many of the people I was competing against had fixed ideas about their training. Once I was ‘up to speed’ as it were, I noticed that not only were they wasting many hours on unnecessary exercise routines, but were completely out of touch with current techniques. That’s what held them back.

You name it – strength, power and speed workouts, injury prevention, endurance training, nutrition, fitness, even warming up – they happily clung to their old-fashioned methods.

Unfortunately most of these methods have been completely superseded due to modern research into how the body performs during competition.

I found that, by learning and keeping up with the latest training techniques, I was able to beat the contestants I came up against in those all-important events.

Your second step – drop those
repetitive training routines!

So how can a person learn about these new workouts, exercises and other stuff and, more importantly, how can you get hold of the information now?

I was motivated to start my search because, as I travelled the world to compete in international-class events, I saw it wasn’t just runners who were stuck in the past. I found the same backward attitude in every kind of sport and event: swimming, football, cycling, rugby, rowing, basketball, long jump, you name it.

So, in 1990, I decided to see if anyone else would be interested in learning these new techniques. As a publisher my task was made much easier because I was ‘in the business’. I knew people who would be able to get the material.

So, with some friends and colleagues, I launched the Peak Performance newsletter. Our mission was to inform interested athletes and sports people of the latest sports research findings -- and we were all pleased so many well-known trainers and international athletes subscribed. (You should see our subscriber list. Some of the coaches insist they invented these methods themselves!)

Now we are due to celebrate our 15th birthday, I would like to ask you a simple question:

Why haven’t these proven techniques reached the average athlete?

All around me I see athletes stuck on long, repetitive workouts and routines which are, frankly, never likely to lift performance significantly. For whatever reason, these people have fallen way behind.

They need the kind of information we publish in Peak Performance but, probably through no fault of their own, they just haven’t understood its importance or seen it around. I’d like to explain why this is.

Why the Peak Performance newsletter
has a restricted circulation

Here is some background to the Peak Performance newsletter, which goes some way to explaining why you don’t see it where you would normally expect to find it.

Up until a few years ago, Peak Performance had a small and select circulation. It was read by an elite group of athletes, physios and coaches who, it must be said, probably wanted to keep the information for themselves. Clearly, ‘spreading the word’ about the latest breakthroughs to all and sundry would put them at a disadvantage.

You can understand their point of view! If you had access to advanced training information you probably wouldn’t want to give it away.

So the average athlete didn’t know about Peak Performance. As it’s not available in newsagents, sports shops, gyms, fitness centres or any other such place, how could they find out about it?

Furthermore, our policy has been never to send out free sample copies. We have always stood by this policy -- it would be unfair to our regular readers to give away the competitive advantage they were paying a subscription for.

But that doesn’t help people like you who would like to try it out.

Your third step – lift your training
to current ‘best practice’ standards

The youngest athlete, right up to veteran competitors such as myself, can all benefit from the regular, fast-acting combination of inspiration and instruction delivered by Peak Performance.

Peak Performance’s potent mix of sports training research and guidance can be applied to every kind of activity, sport or event.

‘Sports training research’ may sound a dry and academic topic, but that would be to completely misunderstand the kind of effect it can have on your performance. Sports research is a live and fascinating subject that should be of interest to all of us. Here’s why:

Top athletes break records ultimately because of research into how an athlete’s body behaves during competition. Until relatively recently, it wasn’t completely understood how important this is. So many athletes merely increased the amount of training they undertook. This is great for endurance – but does little for performance.

For example: swimming length upon length will not enable you to increase your pace and finish your race more quickly. All it conditions you for is to swim length upon length at a similar speed. The same goes for running and cycling, etc. Astonishingly, you still see this kind of training everywhere you look.

Sports science is a vital and well-funded sector of athletics. Millions of dollars pour in every year. In any other research area - medicine for example - the end user would pay heavily for the privilege of participating in the outcome.

The Peak Performance newsletter, however, charges very little for its vigorously effective treatment. Nor do our reports take long to digest. Our newsletter is a slim 12-page, high-quality plan of action.

Unlike a glossy magazine, there’s no verbiage to fill the pages between the advertising. Indeed, there’s no advertising to be found anywhere in our newsletter.

Each issue contains nothing but hard science-based training tips and guidance, proven in live, professionally monitored tests on athletes.

Your fourth step – send for the
Peak Performance starter pack at a very special price

At this stage, you are probably asking: “How much will all this cost me?”

Well, the answer is: “A pittance!”

This will seem surprising as, unlike the sports research establishments we report on, we enjoy no commercial sponsorships or Government grants. So the only way we can produce our newsletter is to ask our readers to pay a subscription.

The support from our dedicated subscribers pays for the work undertaken by our expert publishing team. And although there is usually no way we can afford to send out copies at below cost, here are details of an extraordinary deal I have arranged:

To celebrate our 15th birthday I am very pleased to say we have come up with a one-off ‘birthday offer’ that we think you’ll find irresistible.

(This special offer has come about, I might add, only because I have convinced our publishing team we should do something special and spread the message during our anniversary year.)

15th Birthday issue, free with your trial subscription

Unless you read this very special issue of Peak Performance, you are unlikely to know just how things have changed over the past 15 years. Here is a summary:

Craig Sharp - the so-called 'father of sport science' - describes how the explosion of interest in sport science has caused exponential growth in university departments and the impact this has had on performance.

Bruce Tulloh looks at trends in distance running and why we may be witnessing the beginnings of a turnaround.

Andrew Hamilton looks at why today’s nutritionists are more interested in long term nutrients that alter the body's chemistry in various ways, rather than focusing on a particular type of nutrition for a particular event.

You’ll receive the special birthday issue free in the online subscribers area when you take out a trial subscription. An annual subscription to Peak Performance normally costs $119.98. But, as I suspect some athletes may think $119.98 is too much of a commitment to undertake in one go, we have come up with a solution that will overcome any concerns you may have about price:

You’ll receive the special birthday issue free in the online subscribers area when you take out a trial subscription for just $9.99.

If you live in Europe, that’s around €7.66, or in the UK, £5.35p sterling.

As long as you have a credit or debit card, you can take advantage of this offer. Simply make the small payment of $9.99 now, and receive your trial copies with a wonderful selection of special reports and other goodies available to download immediately. All you risk is a moment of your time to complete the attached form and, of course, $9.99.

That way, you have the opportunity to test our exercise and training programs without breaking the bank or making a major commitment.

Immediate access to the world's
greatest performance breakthroughs

Click on the link below to get started right away. You’ll be given immediate access to our online members area, which includes the four latest issues of the newsletter, plus four special issues and a selection of valuable reports (all included under the terms of this special offer). You'll also be sent the latest issue of Peak Performance as it is published, delivered to your door*.

Whether you are an athlete, coach, competitive sports person or in any way interested in fitness, this information has been proven to lead to improved strength, stamina, recovery times and protection from illness.

If Peak Performance does not meet every one of our claims, simply write and cancel your trial. All the material you have received is yours to keep, including the reports.

Here's what you'll get:

1. The next 2 issues of the Peak Performance newsletter mailed straight to your door* - value $16

2. Our special 15th Birthday Issue - value $8

3. Online - the last 4 back issues available to read immediately– value $32

4. Four Peak Performance Special Issues - Football, Food and Drink, Sports Injury and Aging and Performance – value $32

5. Free report: Designing a sports specific fitness program – value $10

That’s a total value of $98, on trial for just $9.99.

Remember - you don't have to continue your subscription and you can cancel at any time. If you decide to continue after your 60-day trial period your subscription will be charged at the special 6-monthly rate of $59.99 (approx GB£32).

*Delivery of print copies available in the US, Canada and European Union only. Everyone else can download their copies from the online backup area.

	Coaching & Training advice provided by Brian Mackenzie.
	Brian is: the Sports Coach Web Master an Endurance Athlete (5k to 50k) for 35 years a UK Athletics Track & Field Coach (UKA 4) for 20 years a UK Athletics Coach Tutor the Editor of the "Brian Mackenzie's Successful Coaching" Newsletter