Conditioning Research

.....it improves their running economy. In fact old school weight training is better than "explosive training". Effects of Strength Training on Running Economy The objective of this study was to compare the effect of different strength training protocols added to endurance training on running economy (RE). Sixteen well-trained runners (27.4 ± 4.4 years; 62.7 ± 4.3 kg; 166.1 ± 5.0 cm), were randomized into two groups: explosive strength training (EST) (n = 9) and heavy weight strength training (HWT) (n = 7) group. They performed the following tests before and after 4 weeks of training: 1) incremental treadmill test to exhaustion to determine of peak oxygen uptake and the velocity corresponding to 3.5 mM of blood lactate concentration; 2) submaximal constant-intensity test to determine RE; 3) maximal countermovement jump test and; 4) one repetition maximal strength test in leg press. After the training period, there was an improvement in RE only in the HWT group (HWT = 47.3 ± 6...

Rob is still experimenting with functional drills for his skiers.... Training eccentric movement in the gym without specialized equipment is tricky. We attempt it today in the second part of this session - the eccentric kettlebell drop + box jump at end. Grap one kettlebell in both hands, farmer carry style, and slowly descend down into a squat on a 5 second count. Go all the way down until the kb's touch the ground, then stand up and repeat. Do this 10 times. At the end, drop the kb's and jump onto a 20" box, then jump off. That's 1 round.

Vern Gambetta has been putting some excellent stuff on his blog in the last few days! Check out Basics and Functional Path Manifesto

I've raised this idea before but I've been thinking about it a bit more. Do no harm! Training should enhance your life and your performance rather than exhaust or injure you. Sure, train hard. But do not go mad and hurt yourself. I have been there myself. Pushed and pushed and ultimately injured myself creating issues that are still problems for my training. When it comes down to it, most of you reading this are not elite athletes. We are normal guys with jobs and family and other commitments. Whatever we do should not be detracting from our lives. We need simple appropriate routines that will deliver health and improved performance within the context of the rest of our lives. Anyway, I've read a few things recently that have put some pieces together around this stuff: Rannoch made some great points : So many of us weekend warriors kid ourselves as we thumb through the latest routines in the glossy fitness mags (they're no slouches, they've cottoned on, the...

I love these Mountain athlete videos: I think I want to move to the states and train with these guys!

Or so this new study says..... It is interesting to look at the background: Ketogenic diets are an effective healthy way of losing weight since they promote a non-atherogenic lipid profile, lower blood pressure and decrease resistance to insulin with an improvement in blood levels of glucose and insulin. you don't hear that very often in the mainstream! The whole article is currently available as a pdf Here is the abstract: Spanish Ketogenic Mediterranean diet: a healthy cardiovascular diet for weight loss Background Ketogenic diets are an effective healthy way of losing weight since they promote a non-atherogenic lipid profile, lower blood pressure and decrease resistance to insulin with an improvement in blood levels of glucose and insulin. On the other hand, Mediterranean diet is well known to be one of the healthiest diets, being the basic ingredients of such diet the olive oil, red wine and vegetables. In Spain the fish is an important component of such diet. The objective of ...

Well done to all the participants in this years OMM . BBC gives the details o f the event and the appalling weather leading to it being cancelled for the first time in 41 years. There is more here and here too but this video gives an idea of what the conditions were like!