Posts by stevemagness
Part 5- Putting theory into Practice
Africans vs. Western Runners: Part 5: Putting theory into practice. Over the last four blog’s I’ve tried to point out some of the differences between high level African runners and American runners. Let’s briefly look back at some of the lessons that we’ve learned. Basic Speed- Basic speed is good for Africans, but not out…
Read MorePart 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…
Read MoreLet it snow….or not
In Houston, it snows about once every 4-5 years. Snow that actually sticks to the ground is an even rarer occurance. For this reason, as a kid, snow is an exciting wonderful thing. Now, living in Virginia, I’ve come quickly to hate the snow/ice. It’s not so much the snow that gets you, it’s the…
Read MoreBack to the Cold…
After spending almost 2 weeks in warm Tallahassee, I’m back in the freezing conditions of northern Virginia. Unforunately, that means no more shirts off running for a while. On the drive back, it was kind of disheartening to see the temperature drop as we headed north. We split up the trip with a stop at…
Read MoreFlorida- where it’s nice and warm.
I’ve now been in Tallahassee, Florida for a week now. After getting over the general tiredness/soreness from travelling so much, we’ve been able to get in some good training. The weather here is great. It’s been around 70 degrees and sunny every single day. You couldn’t ask for better training conditions, especially in the heart…
Read MoreOff To Florida
With only a couple days in Virginia, here are a the two biggest things I’ve noticed so far. -It’s really cold here.-There are tons of places to run in Northern Virginia. The first is obviously a negative, but the second observation helps make up for it. Coming from a city with limited running routes, it…
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