How MNEP Uses Strength, Movement and BFR to Build Pitch-Ready Players

At Martin Nugent Elite Performance (MNEP), the goal isn’t to survive off-season, it’s to build from it. Based in the North East of England, MNEP works with everyone from Premier League footballers to Paralympic gold medallists. And every summer, their off-season performance camp becomes a magnet for athletes looking to return sharper, stronger and more resilient.

We visited their camp on day two of week two; an extensive day designed to build aerobic capacity on the pitch and strength in the gym. This wasn’t a typical slog, everything from prep to plyometrics, was targeted and transferable and Performance BFR was built-in to support strength gains without unnecessary fatigue.

Building from the base up 

“We don’t warm up, we prepare,” says Joe Johnson, Strength and Conditioning coach at MNEP. That prep starts from the moment players walk through the door. Each session opens with low-level mobility and activation work such as bike flushes, clamshells, reverse Nordics, and side planks. These are chosen to address common tightness and improve joint positioning. BFR is introduced here through the use of Hytro BFR wearables, not just for recovery, but to boost mobility and neural activation without adding load.

Joe shares, “Players can come in stiff from the day before, or with old niggles. Hytro BFR helps improve range of motion and gets them firing early, which sets the tone for everything that follows.”

Strength that translates 

The strength work is carefully structured around performance. A key principle? Strength is the base for everything - power, speed, deceleration - and off-season may be the only time an athlete has the space and capacity to truly build it. “During the season, strength is the first thing to drop off,” Joe explains. “You’re always chasing recovery or peaking for games. But in the off-season, you’ve got a window to address weaknesses and build robustness that lasts.”

Each session includes performance testing using a Dynamic Strength Index (DSI) to guide programming. From there, players move through a blend of mid-thigh pulls, Spanish squats, soleus bridges and banded hip thrusts, supported by Hytro BFR.

By pairing big lifts like barbell back squats with explosive med ball slams, and eccentric hamstring slides with BFR Training protocols, MNEP coaches are able to target speed, strength and injury resilience, all within one session. 
 

Why BFR? Efficiency without compromise 

Performance BFR plays a crucial role at MNEP, not just in recovery, but across the full strength spectrum.

“Day two isn’t the biggest strength day of the week, but it still has to deliver,” says Joe. “We want to load the players without burying them in fatigue. That’s where Hytro BFR comes in. It lets us deload external weights while still chasing strength gains.”

By strapping into Hytro BFR Performance Shorts, players can reduce loading on sensitive joints while still hitting high levels of muscular recruitment. That’s vital when players are managing fatigue across a full week of intense sessions.

Hytro simplifies delivery in large group settings by removing the need for constant coach involvement. Players can self-manage the strapping process, which makes it much easier to run sessions efficiently, especially when there are only one or two coaches overseeing a full squad. “With Hytro, the players can manage it themselves. They know the settings, they stay strapped in and it frees us up to focus on coaching,” added Joe.

Preparing for performance, not just pre-season 

The off-season camp at MNEP isn’t about grinding players down, it’s about preparing them for the specific demands of the season ahead so that means more than just conditioning. “Football’s an intermittent sport. It’s not about 5Ks on concrete,” says Joe. “It’s about accelerations, decelerations, direction changes. Everything we do, on the pitch or in the gym, has to reflect that.”

From assessing how players absorb force to how they push off it, every session is built around movement quality, strength application and fatigue management. BFR is part of that toolkit as a performance multiplier.

Athletes who thrive do the work early 

The players who stand out are the ones who use the off-season to own their performance, who go outside of their team setting, to use this time to build ahead of a busy pre-season. “In-season, it’s hard to get bespoke coaching. Everyone’s in a team setup. Off-season is the one time where you can say, ‘I need to fix this,’ and get after it.”

The off-season offers a rare opportunity for athletes to work on individual weaknesses by following a tailored programme for personalised development. Whether it’s speed mechanics, eccentric hamstring strength, or building a base of robustness, MNEP’s programme allows players to individualise their development and use innovative tools like Hytro BFR to amplify their progress.

“At the end of the day, this is about getting players ready to perform. Strength, movement, recovery, they all feed into that,” says Joe. “And with Hytro, we can get more out of each session, without pushing too far.”

By blending intention, innovation and simplicity, MNEP are showing what it looks like when off-season prep is done right. Ready to own your off-season, or working with an athlete looking to get the most from their programme without overworking?

Shop Hytro BFR wearables or visit our team page to explore support for squads and coaching staff.