All about the META
The META team
We have compiled the best team in the business to meet your needs. Find out about the team and how we build better humans.
James McCallum
Bike & Strength Coach
With over 30 years of experience in cycling James has seen it all. Firstly as an athlete with multiple British and Scottish Championships across multi disciples on road, Cyclocross and track cycling, plus 3 years on the Scottish Cycling board as Athlete Rep.
Top that off with 4 Commonwealth games Representations and a Commonwealth games Bronze medal in 2006.
James is still an avid competitor and believes in practicing what he preaches, previously holding the NC500 record and recently awarded Performance coach of 2022 by Scottish Cycling.
Not only that but he also the current British Masters Gravel Champion.
Since retiring from international racing after Glasgow 2014 his pathway lead to Performance coaching and Director Sportive duties with The Cycling Academy, Israeli Cycling federation, One Procycling & WNT - Ceratizit .
British Cycling Qualified as well as a Level 4 Strength & Conditioning coach, James dedicates his passion and knowledge to help build better humans.
Finlay McAndrew
Tri and Run Coach
Finlay has been racing triathlon for over 10 years and has specialised in Ironman distance racing. His racing career includes 12 Ironman finishes and over 40 half Ironman distance finishes.
His best time is 8hrs42mins at Ironman Barcelona in 2019 and is proud to have run a 2.53 Ironman marathon (Mallorca 2022). He has finished as high as 11th Overall at Ironman UK, while winning his AG (25-29) back to back years (2016/17) and qualified for Kona four times.
He has a BSc (Hons) in Applied Sports Science from Edinburgh University and has been helping athletes achieve their goals since 2018.
Finlay has a passion for helping anyone achieve their goals. He specialises in endurance coaching for triathlon and running but the sport scientist in him means he’s interested in all facets of performance.
Adam Claybourne Sports Therapy Personal Training Strength Coach
With over a decade of experience in the sport and fitness world, Adam has now teamed up with the META squad to add a new dynamic to our services.
Having graduated in sports science and psychology and trained as a sports massage therapist, clients can expect the best of both worlds.
Being able to provide both strength and conditioning sessions plus the ability to aid in recovery through massage therapy, there's no need to go elsewhere
Ellen McDermott. Performance Nutrition
With an Advance Diploma in Performance Nutrition and 10 years of international racing under my belt I've seen life from both sides of the table. I specialise in performance nutrition for endurance athletes; cyclists, triathletes, mountainbikers, runners etc. As a former Irish National champ, I've podiumed inraces all over Ireland, the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands.
I offer a fuller personalised approach to nutrition, based around your performance goals and target races or events. If your goal is to simply complete the 3 hour club spin at the weekend or squeeze out that extra 2% for your target race; i'll get you there using the most up to date research in the world of performance nutrition.
Website: https://www.mcdnutrition.com/
Mary McClung Mental Fitness
I excel in getting the very best out of people, and I love doing it. I created Mental Fitness to help people get the best out of themselves and really live to their full potential.
For me, it all started with my own athletics career. I was a high performing athlete, representing Scotland and Great Britain. But even for all that undeniable success, I knew that I never fulfilled my potential and that my own mind was preventing me from being as good as I really could be. If only I could unlock that extra part that differentiates good from great… But how.
That’s when I started to study not just the physical body as I had for part of my Degree in Health and Physical Education but also how to harness our minds and emotions too. I went on to achieve a Masters Degree in Performance Psychology from the University of Edinburgh and am also a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, Executive Coach and mentor and certified counsellor. I have also studied NLP and Hypnotherapy to the highest level to work with both the conscious and the often overlooked but extremely powerful subconscious mind.
Understanding how the mind works and how we can use it to best effect has always been my mission since my athletic days. I worked for 17 years in Sport Scotland where I worked daily with Olympians, World, European and Commonwealth Champions, and I still enjoy working with elite athletes today.
Unless it is on the dance floor, you won’t see me winning any medals myself these days! However, I do still love that winning feeling. I have been recruited for the last 3 Commonwealth Games and was beyond proud to manage the Scottish Squash Team to their first medal winning games in 25 years.
Today, I enjoy working across all sectors and helping individuals, teams and organisations from all walks of life with their Mental Fitness. So they can understand themselves better and gain control of their ‘issues’ allowing them to live happier, healthier and more productive lives.
Kenny Watt Physiotherapist
Kenny Watt BSc (Hons) MCSP
Kenny is an experienced musculo-skeletal physiotherapist with degrees in Physiotherapy and Sports Therapy.
Having spent four years in professional football as a Sports Therapist Kenny returned to University to gain his physiotherapy degree. This was followed by two years in the NHS then 9 years in private practice in Edinburgh City Centre.
Kenny has attended 4 World University Games as a Team GB physio; 2009, 2013, 2015, and as Deputy Head Physio in 2017. He has recently been appointed Team GB Head Physiotherapist for 2021 in China. During these games, his lead sports roles have included Tennis, Judo, Rugby 7's, Taekwondo and Shooting.
In 2014 he was Lead Physiotherapist for Athletics at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and in 2018 was part of Team Scotland for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games with responsibilities for Beach Volleyball, Basketball, Weightlifting and Powerlifting. He will again be part of Team Scotland at this year's games in Birmingham (2022) with responsibility for Scottish Rugby 7's.
Since 2009 Kenny has been the Lead Physiotherapist for Scottish Volleyball and sits on the Scottish Beach Volleyball Performance Management Group. He has attended numerous Small Nations European Championship qualifiers and finals with the senior men's program and supported the beach volleyball programs in their preparation for Commonwealth Games.
Kenny has presented at a number of national sports medicine conferences and has been invited to speak on a number of webinars around such topics as Achilles Tendonopathy and Athlete Recovery Methods.
He currently serves on the Executive Board of the International Federation of Sports Physical Therapists, where he co-chairs the Education Committee.
How we work
WORK TOWARDS YOUR TARGETS
We tailor training so that it is specific to achieving your goals. These goals can be performance based or to simply just get stronger and fitter.
DatA DRIVEN TRAINING
Data used in the right way can help structure training plans and workouts in the most effective ways. We use a variety of equipment and tools to gather relevant information about performance.
Keep in touch
Feedback between a coach and athlete, both ways, is essential. We use Training Peaks to monitor your training data but also to provide feedback and to hear how you’re feeling.
The Cave
Our training facility, based in Linlithgow, has been kept a secret until now. It’s a unique space, offering a training haven for What’s Your META? Athletes.
Strength and Conditioning
We have all the equipment necessary to cater for any athletes strength and conditioning needs.
The Cave has a squat rack, Olympic bars, dumbbells, sand bags, ropes, med balls and other equipment that is essential to help build better humans.
Sprint and Endurance Training
We specialise in bike and triathlon training but the Cave has various other pieces of equipment for sprint and endurance training.
A ski erg, rowing machine, Wattbike and smart trainers (which are connected to Zwift) allow us to cater for any athlete’s racing or event goals.
Massage
The Cave also doubles up as a treatment room and is used for massage treatments.
Specialist Equipment
Some athletes take on challenges which push the body beyond what is achievable without more specific training, such as altitude training equipment. This breadth of equipment helps athletes train for the most extreme events around.