When he's not managing the DDMC office in Thrapston, David Holding is a world-beating wheelchair athlete. As he prepares to leave for the Paralympics in Athens, David looks back over the long months of traning that won him his place on the plane.

My road to Athens

As an athlete who has competed at the last three Paralympic games,
I was pleased to receive my letter to tell me I have officially been selected
for the Great Britain Athletics Team to go to the XII Paralympic Games in
Athens in September. The events I have been selected for are the wheelchair 100m and 200m.
It has not been plain sailing along the way, mind you, and I've had my fair share of the downs and ups of an athlete.
In 2001, I developed tennis elbow in my left arm that put me out of training for a couple of months, but since then I have able to train and complete injury free.
I have in the past competed in long distance races, such as the London
Marathon, as well competing at international level in the sprints. This year, I am focused 100 per cent on the main goal: to win a medal in the 100m at these Paralympics. My chances of a medal are greater in the 100m rather that the 200m because my strength is over the first 50m.
My 2004 training was geared to peak around April/May time, as the selection date was end of May, with the time for 100m I had to achieve set at 14.60s. I also needed to get used to a new racing chair.
I was able to go to Cyprus, to train with the potential athletics squad for
selection in April, before the start of my races back in Great Britain. This training camp is also going to be the acclimatisation camp for the final GB athletics team prior to moving on to Athens in September as it has similar temperatures to those I will have to compete in during the Games.
We had the support of sports science personnel to monitor what is happening to the body during training in the hot temperatures and physiotherapists were on hand, too. The track was good, the hotel was wheelchair friendly and I enjoyed the whole experience for the 12 days.
As soon as I arrived back from Cyprus I had before me three races for
the next three weekends. I was racing in my first event at Stoke Mandiville in the Nationals. I came second place in the 100m to David Weir, my fellow Great Britain Athlete. The following weekend I competed in Glasgow at the Scottish Nationals and recorded a win in a good time of 14.36s, only 8 hundredths of a second off my personal best. This was a qualifying time for Athens.
The following weekend was the Disability Sport England event at Birmingham. I came second in the final, but managed to achieve another qualifying time in the semi-final, with 14.59s.
After a busy month of racing during May, I was glad to hear that I had been selected for Athens, but I now needed to think how to improve on my performances during May, and also do some fine tuning with my new racing chair, such as improving my start technique.
I had a big international race coming up at the end of June, the Swiss national in Thalwill. This event attracts athletes from all around the world, including the Australians. I knew my major competitors would be there and I would have chance to race against them before the Games in September.
The competion started early on the Saturday morning, with the 100m first on the competion list to start at 9am, which meant getting up at 5.30am. But it was a good day for me as I managed to achieve first place in the race. This was a good result for me, and has made me feel back on course ready to race in Athens, and a chance of a medal position.
There is another race I can do during August in Switzerland, to keep me in race mode, and a few races in Britain, so there is still quite a lot or work to do before Athens, but I'm looking forward to the experience.

Exercise at home

Home exercise is often the preferred option for disabled people – it may be that the local gym isn't accessible, or you don't feel comfortable training with sweat-pumping,
super-fit creatures.
But if you do decide on the homeexercise route, you will still need an exercise programs. The two main categories are endurance exercise and strength training and there are machines specifically for disabled people in both categories.
There are three things to consider in setting up a workout routine. The first is
training frequency, or how often you will train. The second is training duration, or
how long each session will last. The last variable to adjust is training intensity,
or how much physical effort is required.
Each of these items differs significantly between endurance and strength training.
Then choose the machine that will suit the type of exercise program. For endurance or aerobic exercise, machines such as the Thera range from Medica (pictured right), and the Vitaglide from RMT Fitness are ideal, while for strength training programs equipment such as Free Weights, the Uppertone, the Versatrainer, the Integra Range by Powersport, and the Equaliser are all machines suited to wheelchair users and semi-ambulatory people.
Exercise professionals have developed the following guideline for endurance training:
Frequency: Three to five sessions per week. This general recommendation is
primarily based on leg exercise. Fewer endurance training sessions may be
needed, especially if you are a wheelchair user. It is probably best to start
endurance training with two to three sessions a week.
Duration: 20 to 60 minutes of continuous activity. Initial endurance workouts
might last 15-20 minutes. If you are unable to comfortably complete that much
exercise, you can divide the workout into separate bouts. For example you could
exercise for five minutes, rest five minutes, another five minutes of exercise,
and so on. The key to endurance exercise is continuous exercise for at least 20 to
30 minutes, so it is important to increase the length of the exercise before increasing
the resistance setting.
Intensity: Intensity refers to how hard you are working, usually related to the resistance setting on your equipment and how fast you are moving the handles. The exercise intensity is probably the most important variable in the exercise equation, but is very often the factor incorrectly applied. During endurance training, energy is supplied to the exercising muscles through aerobic metabolism, which uses oxygen as the primary energy fuel. We obtain this oxygen through inhaled air that is absorbed
through the lungs and then passed into the blood stream and distributed through
the body by the pumping actions of the heart. As exercise intensity increases, we
need to supply the exercising muscles with more oxygen so we take deeper
and faster breaths and our heart rate increases. We can, therefore, measure the
intensity of the exercise by measuring the heart rate or the breathing pace, or
how hard the exercise seems to us.
A way of measuring exercise intensity is a simple test referred to as the Talking Test. You should be able to carry on a conversation during your endurance training workouts. If you are breathless, or can't talk, you're working too hard!
First lower the resistance level, then slow down your pace. If you experience
dizziness or light-headedness you may be overexerting yourself and should
stop.
Exercise professionals have developed the following guideline for strength
training:
Frequency: Two to three sessions per week. You need to take at least one day
off between strength training sessions to allow your muscles to recover.
Duration: One to three sets of 8 to 12 repetitions. Each bout is called a set and
each cycle of movement is one repetition.
For strength training we use fewer repetitions than endurance training, but with more resistance. It is generally recommended to exercise with eight to 12 repetitions per set for strength benefits.
Intensity: “Near Maximal Effort”. The exercise intensity used in strength training
is the resistance level setting. You should initially adjust the resistance setting
to allow you to complete the eight to 12 repetitions comfortably. Gradually
increase the resistance but still within the ability to complete at least eight repetitions.
Remember to check with your doctor before embarking on any new exercise