All you need to do WJ is slip 5 or 6 speed bursts into that 4km, get a great calorie burn going, do it again tomorrow, then give that Christmas pudding a proper hammering! Cheers

Thanks Webber. I've been doing that in a fashion for years when I've actually been running. I count my paces and then I do a burst of a certain number of paces before slowing down to what I call my "natural rhythm" and then speeding up again in bursts. I suppose it's a form of fartlek but I always thought that it would only help with improving times for distance running rather than sprint speeds.

I hope that Dave Misson is given the opportunity to speak at the AGM in February and outlines the nature of the different programmes for different types of players at the club. I'm not suggesting that we haven't had similar programmes in place previously but what we're seeing this year appears more intense and more specialised to each players' needs.

Merry Christmas everyone!

So while we're on the fitness topic what is the best way to exercise to lose fat but not muscle. I heard too much running burns muscle, but then footballers do a lot of running and most of them keep their muscles.. there must be a more efficient way of losing weight other than walking, but how much jogging/sprinting is detrimental to muscle mass?

Just worried I'm going to lose my figure to the silly season!