ION Strength and Conditioning

It’s been a great 6 week preseason working with the Cardiff Schools U16s, helping prepare the players for the 2026/27 Dewar Shield competition 🏉

Over the six weeks, the focus has been on developing the physical qualities that will support them throughout the season, building strength, power and athleticism, while continuing to develop good movement and lifting competency.

We finished the block with some testing, and it was great to see the progress across the group in their Countermovement Jumps, Back Squats and Bench Press, a real reflection of the consistency and effort they’ve put in.

Most importantly, we’ve tried to give the players a strong physical foundation they can continue to build on throughout the season and beyond.

Brilliant effort from the boys throughout the six weeks. Now time to put it into practice when the Dewar Shield gets underway and do the city proud! Best of luck boys 💪🏉

Term Time Youth Classes are Back! 💪

Our Youth Development Programme returns on Sunday 6th September for an 8-week term-time block, running up to the October half term.

Ages 7–10 | Sundays at 3pm
Ages 11–14 | Sundays at 4pm

Fundamentals Stage Ages 7–10
Our younger group focuses on developing basic movement skills through games and engaging activities. We work on confidence, coordination, balance and general athletic movement, while creating a positive and enjoyable experience of training alongside other children.

Learn to Train Stage Ages 11–14
Our older group introduces more structured coaching around movement quality, strength, coordination, speed and fundamental sport skills. There’s still plenty of enjoyment and variety, with more focus on technique, confidence and learning how to train properly.

Spaces are limited for both groups.

📧 To sign up, email [email protected]

Our 6 Week September Reset Challenge kicks off next week! 💪

After the summer, it can be easy for routines to slip a little, so the aim of this challenge is simple: give you some focus, get the basics back in place and build some momentum again.

There’s nothing extreme or complicated about the approach.

We’ll start and finish the six weeks with an InBody body composition test, that will give members objective markers around lean muscle mass and body fat, rather than judging progress purely by bodyweight or the number on the scales.

Between those tests, the focus is on consistently ticking off a small number of daily habits around training, movement, nutrition, hydration and recovery.

Stick with those habits and the goal goes beyond body composition. We want you to notice the difference in your energy, focus, general wellbeing and how you feel day to day.

Six weeks. Simple habits. Consistent effort. A great opportunity to reset and head into the final part of the year with some momentum.

- Pre & Post 6 Weeks Body Composition Tests
- Habit Tracker & Accountability Book

Email [email protected] to sign up. Body composition testing, end of the week, weekend and early next week.

Excited to get started with our Athletic Development sessions for the talented 13–15 year old rugby players from the 1902 Academy in Cardiff, aligned with Cardiff Schools Rugby.

This season our ION Youth Coaching Team will be working with close to 100 young players across Cardiff, delivering high quality Athletic Development sessions focused on building the physical and movement foundations needed for long term development.

The aim is to put them in the strongest possible position to progress into the Cardiff Rugby and Welsh Rugby pathways.

Our programme outline will be shared with all parents, giving them a clear understanding of what we’ll be delivering throughout the season and, importantly, the rationale behind our approach.

LEGENDS

Our busiest class of the day! 💪

31 of our ION Legends (Over 60s) in today with Coaches Sarah Clark PT , & el

As always, fantastic energy in the room, with everyone working hard and prioritising their physical and mental wellbeing, followed, of course, by a well earned The Bee Hive Cafe coffee and a great social afterwards ☕️

Over the past 6 years it’s become a brilliant community and one of our favourite sessions of the week.

📍 ION Llanishen
🗓 Monday–Friday
⏰ 11am–12pm

No membership required.

If you’re interested in joining this great bunch of people, email [email protected] to find out more.

Last week of our FREE Summer Youth Sessions ☀️

We’re into the final week of our summer programme at ION, with our last youth sessions taking place this week:

⚽ Monday 2pm – Games-Based Fundamentals | Ages 7–10
🏋️ Tuesday 2pm – Strength & Conditioning | Ages 11–14
🧠 Thursday 2pm – Additional Learning Needs Strength Training | Ages 15+
🏋️‍♀️ Friday 2pm – Girls Only Intro to Strength Training | Ages 12–16

All sessions are completely FREE and suitable for all abilities and experience levels.

A huge thank you again to our community partners for supporting the programme and helping us provide free physical activity opportunities for young people throughout the summer.

Book via the link in our bio.

INTRO TO ION60 STRENGTH CLASS

We’re back again this Monday at 6:30pm.

If you’ve been thinking about giving our ION60 Strength sessions a go but aren’t sure where to start, this class is for you.

We’ll take you through the key lifts and movement patterns we use in class, help you get comfortable with the equipment, and answer any questions along the way. It’s a relaxed, supportive session designed to build your confidence before joining our regular classes.

✔ Learn the foundations of strength training
✔ Get confident using barbells and weights
✔ Small group coaching
✔ No previous experience needed

If you’ve been waiting for the right time to get started, this is it.

To book your place, email [email protected]

📍 ION Strength & Conditioning

A great review from one of our members 👏

We pride ourselves on our coaching and programming, so it’s great to hear that this is making a difference to people’s training and confidence.

Every class is designed to be purposeful, well coached and achievable, whatever your starting point.

Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review! 💪

Cardiff Schools U16s | Dewar Shield Preseason 🏉

Week 5 of preseason and the lads are continuing to put the work in, developing their physical qualities alongside their on field rugby sessions.

Developing speed, strength and power is fundamental to maximising performance on the pitch, helping players become faster, stronger, more resilient and more explosive.

It’s been brilliant to see the boys moving some good weight with excellent technique and quality ranges of motion. That’s exactly how young athletes should train, movement quality first, load second. Build great movement patterns, then progressively add the load.

What a great foundation these young players are building!

The future is bright 💪 🏉