Posts by stevemagness
Measuring Galvanic Skin Response….say what?
Galvanic Skin Response….say what? If you read letsrun.com and look up anything about me I’ll be branded as some science only nut who relies on too much science and forgets the “old school” way. If you were at my coaching presentation the Distance Summit put on at Queens University, after my “science” presentation you would…
Read MoreCrossfit endurance, Tabata sprints, and why people just don’t get it
Crossfit endurance, Tabata sprints, and why people just don’t get it Not terribly long ago, I stopped dating a girl because she did crossfit. Okay, it wasn’t the only reason, but it was a major factor. I mention this not to show how messed up my dating life/requirements may be, but to show how strongly…
Read MoreAltitude babies, Rats, and Epigenetics
New born rats, altitude, and epigenetics: Over the past few years, the term epigenetics has kind of exploded in the popular science world. I’ve discussed it at length in this blog and how it might have implications with a wide range of topics from obesity to African running dominance to how we adapt to altitude.…
Read MoreA few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to be at the Canadian athletics coaching symposium to speak with Alberto Salazar on a couple of different topics. It was a great experience and I picked up a lot of interesting ideas from other presenters and those in the audience who I chatted afterwards with. While…
Read MoreLessons from outside the running world
This is going to be an interesting attempt at a blog. One that takes seemingly unrelated subjects and ties them into my main focus, running. If you were to flip through any of the myriad of books I’ve read on some pretty random subjects, you’d see the margins littered up and down with notes. If…
Read MoreThe Sole of the Shoe: Looking at inside the midsole
The sole of the shoe: With this whole barefoot/minimalist/running mechanics thing exploding right now, one fo the more productive outcomes in science is the realization that the body is smarter than we give it credit for. All those old biomechanical models that presented the body as rigid mechanical body don’t quite accurately reflect what’s going…
Read MoreTraining to Kick
How to train a kick: In the last post, we took a look at the physiology behind the kick. That’s all well and good but it’s pretty much useless unless we can translate that knowledge into something practical. So let’s give that a go based on theory and practical experience. Here’s my guide to creating…
Read MoreThe Science of the finishing kick
Kicking it into gear. I’ve explored the phenomenon of the kick a little before but with recent research and with the fact worlds has just happened, let’s explore the kick phenomenon a bit more. First, let’s look at what actually happens physiologically, and then what we can do about it. The Physiology of the Kick…
Read MoreFactors affecting distance running performance: A literature review
Free Lit Review on the Science of Running and performance! I’ve decided to make my literature review for grad school available to all because I’m too busy to do anything with it at the moment and it’s better to allow others to get some useful info out of it then sit on my computer. This…
Read MoreEuropean Travels- High Speed race video
While I’ve been doing this little new job I have which includes bouncing around Europe for a while, I’ve kind of neglected this blog a little bit. Before I write anything substantial, I figured I’d fill the gap with some high speed video I took of a couple of professional 800m races that took place…
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