Cutting Edge Sports Training for Performance

Cutting Edge Sports Training for Extreme Performance. By: Dr. William Wong, ND, PhD.

re in the States we like to think of ourselves as being on the cutting cutting ege, leaers in all eneavors an ahea of the game in ngs. !his attitue may be true in in some things but it is efinitely not true in S"orts #eicine. !y"ically $mericas ivory towers rts me an e%ercise "hysiology are &' to (' years behin Scaninavia an )astern )uro"e in their theory an a""lication. e%am"l e%am"lee the to" te%tbo te%tbooks oks in e%ercis e%ercisee "hysio "hysiolog logy y on the evelo"me evelo"ment nt of streng strength th an "ower "ower are from Scanin Scaninavi avi siologists. *omania+s former national weightlifting coach was scoffe scoffe at by $merican $merican acaemics when he escribe the traini hniues he an the -ommunist -ommunist Block in general utilie utilie to buil their gol gol meal "owerhouse "owerhouse teams. !hey i not scoff g. /n trying the techniues techniues out, mostly in attem"ts attem"ts to iscreit iscreit the )astern Blocks methos, methos, low an behol it turne out t y worke0 !he *omanian coach now heas u" the 1S /lym"ic Weightlifting Weightlifting !eam0 st of the "owerful 2ron -urtain com"etitors were relatively small an "oor countries. How coul these nations with their sm e "ools ho"e to com"ete against the "owerhouses of genetic variety such as the 1S with it+s huge racial mi% an the Sov ion with it+s hunres of nationalities. nationalities. !hese large nations nations coul custom fit fit a genetic ty"e ty"e to a s"ort. s"ort. !he smaller countries countries h work with what they ha. What mi% of things i the likes of *omania an )ast 3ermany o to "rouce athletes of such su"er  lity4 !he answers were threefol: !rue !rue strength training, "lyometric "ower training, Systemic enymes. at o we mean by true strength training4 Strength is the ability ability to a""ly force. #ost of what "asses for strength training in in t st toay is sim"ly moifie boybuiling an as *ussian strength coach Pavel !satsouline says boybuiling is the worst thi t ever ha""ene to weight training. Boybuiling works with moerate resistance resistance with moerate numbers of re"etitions, in v ict movement with the aim of "roucing muscular hy"ertro"hy. hy"ertro"hy. Hy"ertro"hy is efine as an increase in the sie of an e%isti ucture. Boybuilers use techniues that balloon out sie sie with out "roucing significant gains gains in strength or "roucing stren stren t is aa"table to s"orts s"orts "erformance. 2+ll e%"lain how that works works in a bit. e strength training uses very heavy weights, few re"etitions an they o something unthinkable in boybuiling 5 they cheat. er wors they use their whole boy to hel" "erform the lift. !his is not the reci"e for safety in commercial gym settings settings wh rries about in6ury in6ury liability liability run ominant ominant over "erformance "erformance "hysiology. "hysiology. Neither Neither is it the reci"e for a boy builer+s builer+s kissa autiful bice"s. But whole boy involvement involvement is the reci"e reci"e for functional strength. Skill movement in s"ort, ance or any activ olves the whole boy never one 6oint at a time. !raining only one 6oint solo without synergistic synergistic involvement of the rest of t y "rouces strength that has little transference transference to real movement uring "erformance. "erformance. When involving the whole boy stren stren am"lifie into into "ower 7strength over time8. Pro"er strength training oes not "rouce a lot of hy"ertro"hy 7bloating8. 2nstea uces a change in muscle known as hy"er"lasia where a muscle bunle s"lits an becomes two or more overla""ing mus nles. nles. !he result is not the bloate, bloate, soft, easily lost sie of the boybuiler boybuiler but "lywoo strong ense muscles muscles with lasti able strength. re again we have one of the ifferences between )uro"ean s"orts science an the 9anks "hysiologists here on+t belie "er"lasia ha""ens in humans, in )uro"e hy"er"lasia been a given for &' "lus years an they+ve a6uste their training metho oringly with great success. tice the ifference in sie sie between boybuilers an /lym"ic weight lifters. lifters. !he smallest /lym"ic lifter lifter is consierably stron stron un for "oun than the bigges biggestt boybui boybuile lerr es"it es"itee the sie iffer ifference ence is. $lso $lso accori accoring ng to stuie stuiess one at two se"ar  se"ar  m"ics, m"ics, the weight weight lifters lifters are the secon most fle%ib fle%ible le an balance balance  athlet athletes es there there 7the 7the gymnas gymnasts ts are the first. first. Watc ybuiler ybuiler move 5 fle%ibilit fle%ibility y an balance are efinitely efinitely not strong "oints of their training training an being8. being8. ;eel the ifference ifference in t scle. Show muscle feels feels oughy to har sueee, like the muscles on a ystro"hic ystro"hic chil. Now sueee the arm of an /lym

er or "ower lifter. Soli steel covere by flesh. Show or "erformance4 Posing or movement4 ;or which shall you train4 siological law of training s"ecificity emans that one has to conition the muscles against the loas that the s"ort will ema m them. Boybuiling is a non contact s"ort. Strength training get you reay to "erform, to e%cel an to strive. %t the -ommunists ha to evelo" an avances way of turning the strength their techniues evelo"e into "ower. !raini wly teaches you to move slowly. While slow "erformance is initially neee to learn the "ro"er "erformance of a skill, "racti st be s"ee u" after learning to insure "ro"er "erformance. #ost s"orts eman e%"losive movements against resistance. ! istance can come either from gravity 7as in gymnastics8, a meium 7such as water in swimming8, or an o""onent 7as estling8. )%"losive movements against the weights can be one safely if "ro"er training in its bio mechanics is one before ha his is efinitely one not to try at home boys an girls, unless you+ve got the su"ervision of an e%ercise "hysiologist 7N/ sonal trainer8 knowlegeable in the safety of such techniues8. )%"losiveness against weights only "artially buils the ability uce "ower. !o fill this nee of s"ort, the )astern Block e%ercise science folks evelo"e Plyometric training. Here in t tes some folks have fancie u" some as"ects of "lyometric training with giant rubber balls an fancy eui"ment. 9ou on+t ne  of those. ts first answer the basic uestion as to what "lyometric e%ercise is. Plyometrics are e%ercises that involve an e%"losi vement of the e%tremities that "ro"el the entire boy. !he win5u"s to these movements are usually full boy an the full bo rns how to coo"erate in "roucing great s"ee an e%"losiveness that transfers irectly to a s"ort skill. /ne e%am"le ometric work you may have seen involves athletes ig ag 6um"ing over knee high benches sie to sie. !he most comm ometric e%ercise involves 6um"ing u" onto a bench some &' to &= inches high with both feet. !hen the athlete 6um"s o ain absorbing the ownwar energy on the return then uncoiling it to 6um" u" once again. !he Soviets traine all of their athle Plyometrics from the archers to the fencers to the shooters to the wrestlers. !he balance, "recession, anaerobic conitioni  "ower evelo"e by this work was useful they foun, for all athletes in all s"orts. y"ical ay for a -ommunist block athlete woul go something like this: •

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Stretching, not the slow static mamby5"amby "assive stretching we av ocate here but an active stretching that actually ha sie effect of "roucing strength. Progressive *esistance !raining. Strength Work at the afore mentione low re"s an high weights. Plyometric )%ercises Skills !raining. Practice in the actual s"ort. $itional aerobic or anaerobic conitioning as neee by the s"ort.

at is anaerobic conitioning4 )veryone can more or less escribe aerobic e%ercise as working out the heart, lungs to evel urance. !his escri"tion woul be correct, an we+ll a one thing in aerobic e%ercise o%ygen is the "rimary fuel the boy us maintain it+s work loa. 9ou literally burn o%ygen. $naerobic e%ercise on the other han oes not involve long steay bout rk but short an su"er intense rouns of e%ercise. 2n this ty"e of work o%ygen is either not available to the muscles ue to t ensity of muscular contractions which cut off bloo su""ly or, the work bout over loas the boy beyon it+s ability to eli gen to all of the working "arts. 2n this ty"e of work the cells burn glycogen or bloo sugar as their "rimary fuel instea gen. m"ic ;reestyle wrestling is the best e%am"le of an anaerobic s"ort. ;reestyle wrestlers are the best conitione athletes in all rt both aerobically an anaerobically, as the emans of their skill are so great. -onitioning for anaerobic ability involves n less re"etition of e%ercise rills involving one burst of energy after another. $thletes win u" breathless, nauseous, iy a  number of "recious energy "roucing centers of the cells known as mitochonria 6ust buil an buil. !his increases both t res of "otential energy as well as the actual furnaces to burn that energy in the cells. !he result longer, stronger more controll  able bursts of skill "erformance.

e thir secret was not a training metho but a "hysiological realiation as to three rawbacks of intense training. 2nflammati cro in6ury an immune system e"ression. !hese are the main limiting factors on s"orts "erformance. l athletic training "rouces inflammation. #uscles, tenons, ligaments, bursa, "eriosteum all react to har training by swelli  becoming "ainful. !he more of this accrues the less intense the athlete will "artici"ate in the training. #icro in6uries ha"" ery ay in skill an conitioning e%ercise. !hese tiny in6uries are not enough to sieline an athlete but they accumulate a ner than not become a macro in6ury emaning rest. /ver an above the la"se in training, both micro an macro in6ur  uce scar tissue 7fibrosis8 which limits the range of motion in the limb an creates the "otential for further in6ury. e one as"ect unrecognie until the >'+s was that intense training scheules lowere the boies immunity. )very ay of h ining is followe by two to three ays of immune su""ression. When an athlete tags too many ays of training together with euate rest then the immune system in goes into stee" ecline to the "oint where in some athletes, such as marathoners, it ies together. !here is now even a "rofessional 6ournal for immunology issues an s"orts meicine. What armament i the 2r  rtain countries use to combat these three ealy foes to "erformance4 rough the ?'+s an into the >'+s they trie to use -ortico Sterois, against the inflammation. !hese rugs ha nasty sie effe h as water weight gain, eath of bursa 7the tissues that lubricate the articulation of muscle to bone8, weakening the teno reme moo swings none of which are conucive to high level athletic "erformance0 !he issues of fibrosis an immune syst ression they ha no answers for. !hen came the late >'+s an everything change. the constant search for substances to im"rove "erformance the )ast 3ermans took notice of a "re"aration that was gaining fa  the other sie of 3ermany. is "rouct was use by "hysicians to naturally reuc e inflammation, eat away at fibrosis, an moulate immune function. 7@8.  "onents were alreay a""rove for use in bo%ing to reuce brain swelling ue to "ractice or matches. 7&8. When the "ro s teste it sur"asse all e%"ectations as an inflammation controller. What+s more it ke"t micro in6uries from becoming ma uries an ate away at the limiting fibrosis of oler in6uries. 7(8. When an athlete was in6ure, use of the "rouct cause t lete to heal faster than was ever seen before. e of cortico sterois coul be ro""e. #oreover the to%ic non steroial anti5inflammatory rugs 7NS$2D+s8 such as as"iri  "rofen an the rest coul also be ro""e saving the athletes from facing the great killer of young s"ortsmen 5 kiney failu e combination of ehyration an NS$2D use is the single largest cause for athletic eaths. During one New 9our #arathon late @AA'+s an 2bu"rofen manufacturer gave out sam"les of their "rouct before the race. ;our runners ie at that marath m kiney failure0 at was this "rouct whose use was classifie as a state secret in most of )astern )uro"e 5 Systemic )nymes. !hey were buyi hrough from com"anies in the west an secreting the su""lement across their borers. e 2nternational /lym"ic -ommittee banne cortico steroi use in @A=. #ost of the )astern Block countries i not even bli ir athletes were alreay off the anti5inflammatory rugs an "erforming harer, healing faster, staying healthier an maintaini ir ranges of motion all through the use of safe an research "roven systemic enymes. ere will be some who+ll scoff an say that all of the )astern Blocks s"orts greatness came through the use of anabolic steroi ot so0 /ur athletes use the same o"e so why were the -ommunist kis that much better4 7!he one "lace where Soviet a st 3erman rug science i e%cel was in covering u" rug use8. !he /lym"ic athletes themselves calle the /lym"ics in $tla  Human 3rowth Hormone 3ames. e 2/- seems im"otent to sto" rug use because s"ectators come to see recors shattere. Without rugs such s"orts as cycli

e skating an track an fiel woul be boring events where this years times an istances woul be no better that the last ga  those not much better than they were in the C>? an C> games0 !he result woul be a ro" off in viewers an a ro" off nsorshi". !he bribing scanal concerning the 1tah winter /lym"ics has one more than anything else to show that m"ics are no longer about the glory of amateur s"ort it+s all about the glory of money for the "romoters, the hosts an t tential winners. 2n this vein the 2/- has nothing to learn from the WW; about the link between money, "romotion a formance the 2/- wrote the book0 ou are into e%treme "erformance, overoing an "ushing the envelo"e of human "erformance then take hee of what they in the Berlin wall. !he -omraes got it right0 Now (' years later we nee to catch on. Nuff sai. ferences: #uller5He"burn W.: $nwenung von )nymen in er S"ortsmeiin. ;orum . Prakt. $rtes @ 7@A   Bronstein E.8, = Baumuller #. !hera"y of $nkle Eoint Distortions with Hyrolytic )nymes 5 *esults from a ouble blin clinical trial. .H. Hermans, W.