Bio

Hi, I’m Ellyn Turner. I’m the newest member of SBTC and will be taking on the role of Strength Coach for the club. I am currently a year away from graduating as an Exercise Scientist from the University of Queensland.  I specialise in resistance and strength training with a large focus on technique and quality movement to assist my clients and athletes remain strong, injury free and generally move well.

I have a background in competitive Netball and fell in love with resistance training during my competition preparation period at the age of 14. Not many young women get exposed to resistance training at such a young age, but I am grateful for my early exposure within the industry as it planted the seed for my love of strength and conditioning.

I was fortunate enough to begin working in the industry quite early through my studies and have been guided by experienced and knowledgeable coaches over this time. They’ve given me solid foundations where I’ve been able to build my own understanding and adopt my own techniques and coaching style. I have learnt to appreciate the balance of evidence-based research and effective training techniques in the field, and believe that to be a successful trainer/strength and conditioning coach you must understand and be able to critically evaluate and implement both.

I have previously worked as a personal trainer and strength coach and was given the opportunity to adapt these skills to suit children’s classes, for the purposes of encouraging physical activity and introducing them to the fundamentals of strength and resistance training.  Over the past 6 months I have had the chance to work closely with the UQ Sport Academy, where I was exposed to strength and conditioning practices for UQ swimming, rowing and rugby athletes. As fate would have it, it was this opportunity that lead me to working with the SBTC team. I am very excited to be a part of the team and am looking forward to working closely with all the staff and athletes.

Article

Here’s a little insight into my role at the club and where I fit in amongst the other amazing coaches. The role of most of SBTC coaches is to provide instruction on specific aspects of the triathlon events, either the running, swimming or cycling components. It is a multi-disciplinary sport that requires a high level of aerobic fitness and technique. Although the technical aspects of the sport are critical to master, the ability to generate force in a wide range of motions during these technical components is just as important and will contribute to how well triathletes swim, bike, and run. Weak or unstable muscles/joints will generate less power and are predisposed to a greater risk of injury.

My role as Strength Coach is centred on improving both the strength capacity and mobility of the athletes. The term mobility does not simply refer to being able to touch your toes. It is the ability of your joints to travel through their full range of motion, and be strong and stable through that range. Contrary to popular belief, it takes more than basic static stretching methods to accomplish this. General joint mobility is something I will incorporate continuously through my sessions.

The second aspect of my role as Strength Coach is, obviously, the strength component. I take the athletes away from the specific skills and movements of the sport, and aim to provide more generalised strength, power and stability work. If you cannot perform a body weight squat without your knees caving inwards, how do expect to be able to run with good technique and hip/knee/ankle stability? I aim to get the athletes strong and competent in performing basic movement patterns such as the squat, hip hinge, and various upper body push and pulling movements with a large focus on correct technique. It is this that will provide a solid base for more advanced strength work in the longer-term and translate to increased power output during the more technical components of the sport. I hope this provides some background as to why the club encourages these sessions for their athletes. I hope to see more and more faces at the Monday morning sessions.