By Phil Harlow

A kick up the backside when they don't really deserve one is a great tonic Martin Clawson Strength & conditioning coach

"We like seeing the players get off the rowing machine with their heads spinning and their stomachs about to come up through their mouths. It's old school but it toughens them up..."

Welcome to the world of Martin Clawson, strength and conditioning coach for the Bradford Bulls.

His objective would appear to be simple: Get the players in peak physical condition for the rigours of Super League.

But he admits the job is not as straightforward as it seems on the surface.

"It's lucky I've got an understanding family, because it really is an all-consuming job," said Clawson, who spent 10 years working down the coal mines at Kellingley Colliery before joining the Bulls as a masseur.

"I'll be sat watching the sport on TV and I'm permanently thinking about what's going on and how it might be useful to me at Bradford.

"The other day I was watching some mixed martial arts and watching really closely at how they lock and grapple to see if any of that can be applied to the tackle situation in a game of rugby league," said Clawson.

"You can't afford to be high and mighty, thinking you know it all. I'm always learning."

Since replacing Carl Jennings as the club's strength and conditioning coach in 2001, Clawson has borrowed ideas and techniques from sports such as ju-jitsu, wrestling, boxing, rowing and swimming in a bid to keep his players at the cutting edge.

Former Bulls star Lesley Vainikolo dons the boxing gloves in training

"I've described myself as 'the world's saddest man' in the past and it probably still fits," he joked.

"I'm not exactly a conversationalist, given that I spend a lot of my spare time sat at home watching wrestling videos and swimming DVDs when I should be having a chat with the wife!

"To be honest, I think most coaches are the same. If you're not 100% committed as a member of the coaching staff at a Super League club, you'll get found out."

Clawson, the son of former Great Britain forward Terry, keeps a close eye on the players.

"We have a heart-rate system that the players have strapped on whilst they are training and we can watch the data live on the computer," he said.

"It tells us at a glance whether someone's pushing themselves to the limit, training too hard or not training hard enough.

"We have certain exertion rates and energy levels that we want the players to hit during the week."

The days of thrashing the players and then doing it all over again the next day are long gone Martin Clawson

However, it's not always about flogging players until they drop.

"The days of thrashing the players and then doing it all over again the next day are long gone," he said. "You wouldn't have any fit players if you did that all the time."

For Clawson, variety is very much the spice of life when it comes to pushing the players and improving their strength and all-round fitness.

"I've never claimed to be the best conditioner, but I do try to mix things up and make it interesting for the players," he said.

"I'd hate to think that a player went home thinking 'God, that was boring' or 'why are we doing this for the 1000th time?'.

"You have to keep it innovative or the players switch off."

Clawson also says it is important to tailor training to meet each player's specific requirements.

"We still like the forwards and backs to train pretty similarly, because they're all expected to hit hard and carry the ball hard," he said.

Clawson rates Deacon as one of the most powerful players at the club

"But then I might get scrum-half Paul Deacon or the wingers to come in and do some training with bungee cords.

"I wouldn't do that with a prop like Joe Vagana. As a 21st prop, his challenge is to carry and then get himself back off the floor and back in the line as soon as we can, so we'll work on areas like that."

Clawson, who picked out Deacon as probably the best pound-for-pound trainer at the club, also has his own approach to sport psychology.

"It is my job to sulk with them sometimes even though they are going well, but a good kick up the backside when they don't really deserve one is a great tonic," he said.

"It's all part of being a little bit unpredictable. I have to be a mixture of good and bad cop.

"Sometimes the coach has to deliver bad news and then part of my job would be to help pick the players up. You've got to be able to boost the morale and keep a smile on your face."