Track athletes' malpractices?

[Guest guest]

Dear Ken and other list members:

I am working in a facility with a few strength coaches that have vary different

training methods. I see sled pulling with heavy restistance being utilized as

well as vertimax training very regularly with all athletes. 90% of these

atheletes are between the ages of 11-20 yrs of age and have less than 6 months

of any basic weight training experience. I guess my question is if any track

coaches or coaches working with track athletes age group would use those tools

and if so how. My gut is telling me that it is way to advanced and specific for

that population and that the resistance used with those tools is detrimental,

any thoughts would be great. It is hard to give more specifics as this is just

what I am viewing on a daily basis and getting desturbed by what I see as a lack

of training knowledge and application.

Doug Fairbanks

Boston, MA

Supertraining

From: CoachJ1@...

Date: Sat, 17 Jul 2010 03:15:47 -0400

Subject: Re: Re: Race, limb length, centre of gravity, and

athletic p...

Hi Nick!

In a message dated 7/17/2010 2:54:45 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

nick.tatalias@... writes:

The article was quite brief for those of us less familiar with how long

leg

short body higher centre of gravity would be an advantage in running or how

long bodies, low centre of gravity and shorter legs are good for swimming?

They may well be, but I would like an explanation or to be directed to some

reading on the mechanics of this detail

I very much agree with your assessment. Those with these theories need to

demonstrate what things are different mechanically in athlete's who appear

to have the kind biological structure which they believe is optimal for

high speed running. Unless I see some change in mechanics, I can't put much

stock in any theory that attempts to link sprinting ability to race specific

body composition.

Tracking mechanics changes will give us a much more accurate picture of

those who translate the skill of sprinting either by unique biological

structure or artificial enhancement (prosthetics).

For example, when Bundle and Weyand offered the conclusion that

Pistorius does have a competitive advantage via his Cheetah blades, it was

because they observed a dramatic change in mechanics. As Bundle noted, most of

the 15-30 percent speed advantage enjoyed by Pistorius is explained by how

quickly the lightweight blades allow him to reposition his limbs.

" Even in comparison to those male sprinters with the most extreme

adaptations for speed in recorded human history, " said Bundle, " Pistorius

has

limb repositioning times that are literally off the chart. Usain Bolt is

considered somewhat freakish because he outruns his opponents by 2-4

percent. At top speed, Pistorius repositions his limbs 15 percent more

rapidly than six of the most recent world record holders in the 100 meter dash,

including Usain Bolt. "

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