Archive for February 2009
Part 4: African’s vs. Western Runners: Muscle recruitment’s role:
African’s vs. Western Runners: Part 4:Muscle recruitment’s role: Okay, so I lied slightly. Before trying to tie things up nicely and show how some of the previously mentioned findings can apply to your training, I want to mention one other topic. That is muscle recruitment. We have already looked at the finishing kick in terms…
Read MorePart 3: Why can African’s close faster than their Western counterparts?
Part 3: Why can African’s close faster than their Western counterparts? It is astonishing to see a runner like Bekele close the last 400m in 53 during a fast 10k. It’s generally recognized that most Americans can not close that fast off of even slower paces. Off of comparable paces based on their PR’s, American’s…
Read MorePart 2: Should our athletes move up?
Part 2: Should we move our athletes up? Renato Canova has pointed out that there are basically three kinds of runners for each event. You have the specialist who responds to specific training for that event best. You have the fast event runner, who comes at the event from a speed perspective. And you have…
Read MoreAfrican’s vs. Westerners Part 1:Fun with Statistics
African’s vs. Western Runners: Why do they dominate and what can we learn: Part 1- Fun with Statistics Part 2- Should our Athlete’s move up in distance? Part 3- Why can African’s close faster than their Western counterparts? Part 4- Muscle Recruitment’s role Part 5- Putting Theory into Practice Part 6- Kick Development Powerpoint presentation-…
Read MoreCommon Misconceptions in Running
Common Misconceptions in Running. 1. Stretching improves performance Reality- Nope, it impairs it. Numerous studies have shown that it decreases performance from sprints to endurance. How? Well that would take a whole post but it’s mostly through neruomuscular factors, such as decreased muscle recruitment, and decreased stiffness of the system, resulting in less elastic energy…
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