Posts by stevemagness
High Schoolers Racing
A brief break from hearing my take on training and the science around it to note some good performances by the HS guys. Yesterday, the guys ran the Tx Relays 3200. Ryan ended up 2nd just half a second back of NXN champ Craig Lutz in an exciting race. He ran 8:59.14, his first sub 9, closing in…
Read MoreThe key to running fast on race day: Muscle Tension
Getting fit is rarely the problem. It does not take a genius to get an athlete in good physical shape. The problem arises when we need someone to be ready to race at a specific time. We’ve all experienced a race where we completely fell apart from the start of the race and felt completely…
Read MoreHigh School workout: cruise 200’s
Below is a workout video of the High School guys. It’s a simple intermittent workout where the focus is on rhythm. I really like these short intermittent workouts as ways to introduce faster work without going over the edge. It’s also a great wed. or thursday workout before a weekend meet. For most distance kids,…
Read MoreHow hypoxia/altitude works
Below is a paper I wrote for school on a hypothetical training situation. I thought I’d share it because it gives the underlying science of how altitude/hypoxia works. Remember that it’s a hypothetical, so it doesn’t mean that I think intermittent hypoxic training works. Generally, the exposure is way too short for a lot of…
Read MoreLearning how to run.
I thought this was pertinent given the focus on running mechanics and barefoot running. It’s an article I wrote for Running Times online a couple years back. It’s a simple and practical look at how to run properly. Running seems to come naturally, so why should we worry about our technique or form? Ask many…
Read MoreLearning from Other Sports: CC Skiing:
Learning from Other Sports: CC Skiing: If you’ve been watching the Olympics at all, and since you are reading this blog and presumably have an interest in training, I bet the question of “I wonder how they train” has crossed your mind. It certainly has mine. To help scratch this interest, I’m going to start…
Read MoreNon-Specific Lactate work: Why you need it!
I n the last post, I discussed the use of intervals in training and how intervals have been misconstrued to mean “anaerobic” training, no matter what. That is not the case as it obviously depends on the manipulation of the interval workout. The take away message was that you could manipulate at an interval workout…
Read MoreInterval training-Why it’s misunderstood and what you can learn from the Igloi method
One of the biggest fears coaches have is high lactate work or high intensity interval training. If done too much or too early this generally leads to early peaking and a dramatic drop in performance as time passes. At every level of the sport, there is a fear of doing interval work too early. Arthur…
Read MoreHow to go from heel striking/orthotics wearing to forefoot strike/ barefoot running
Should you train barefoot? This concluding post on the barefoot vs. shoe debate will look at some of the practical applications to all the research that we’ve discussed. In part 1, I questioned whether cushioning or pronation even mattered. In part 2, I looked at the new study by Lieberman on barefoot running and footstrike,…
Read MoreLooking at Running Form frame by frame: Vibrams vs. Shoes
Shoe’s vs. Vibrams: I put it to the test. Below you’ll see variations in running form in the same runner, on the same day, at the same pace. Looking at footstrike in Shoes vs. Vibram’s. On the left is me in shoes, and on the right is me in Vibrams. Notice any differences? Conclusions: It’s…
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