Athletic Lab

With an increase in popularity of our Olympic Weightlifting (OWL) classes, we have made changes in our schedule to accommodate the demand. We will be updating our schedule in the upcoming weeks. Please take note of the following changes to our Performance Fitness/CF classes and Olympic Weightlifting classes:

Olympic Weightlifting:

• An additional OWL class will be offered on Saturdays at 12:30pm starting September 15th.
• OWL will return to 7pm on Thursdays starting September 20th.
• All members with a CF / Performance Fitness membership can attend OWL sessions at no additional fee as long as they have instructor approval.
• The cost for an OWL only membership will increase slightly to $99.95 / month.
• You no longer have to be a member of the USAW Athletic Lab Olympic Weightlifting club to participate in this class but people who are members will have reserved spots as they are attempting to compete for the club.

CF / Performance Fitness:

• Thursday, September 20th, the 7pm class will be dropped in place of an Olympic Weightlifting class.
• October 1st, 6am, 11am, and 7pm classes will be capped at 16 per class.
• Pending instructor approval, CF / Performance Fitness members can now attend any OWL sessions at no additional fee.

Open Gym:

• We have added open gym time slots at 8-9am M-F and 12-1pm M-F; Sun at 12:30pm. As before, members must ‘test-in’ to be able to take advantage of the open gym slots.

If you have RSVP’d for October 1st classes and beyond, please note that you will have to re-sign up for those classes with the adjusted times. 

We’re happy to announce some pricing changes at Athletic Lab that we feel will reward those ‘putting in the work’ to get better. We have always been the best value (benefit / cost) in the Triangle for sport performance training and as our competitors have increased their costs we’re actually offering an opportunity to lower the costs of our members.

We’ve set up a tiered pricing schedule that will allow those members who commit to longer terms to actually SAVE money. We haven’t increased our prices in 3 years despite upgrades to the facility, equipment, and coaching staff and we feel that this will allow us to reward our most committed members while allowing us to continue to invest in having the most educated staff and uncompromising facility in the area. These changes apply for any NEW (or non-current) member. Any existing member as of Sept 9, 2012 will be grandfathered in to their existing membership pricing unless they would like to take advantage of the savings that a longer term commitment provides. Our new membership options for the CF / Performance Fitness Class are as follows:

Unlimited Attendance:

• $139.95 per month with 12 month commitment
• $149.95 per month with 6 month commitment
• $159.95 per month with 3 month commitment
• $169.95 per month with no longer term commitment

2x / Week Attendance:
Unlimited Attendance:

• $111.95 per month with 12 month commitment
• $119.95 per month with 6 month commitment
• $127.95 per month with 3 month commitment
• $135.95 per month with no longer term commitment

If you have any questions, or would like to convert to a cost-saving longer term commitment, please contact one of our staff.

[This post is written by John Grace, CSCS - Athletic Development Coach at Athletic Lab]

Inflammation is the body’s automatic response to start repairing what’s damaged. If we did not have the inflammatory process, our body would have a hard time repairing itself.  When there is swelling, deoxiginated blood and waste product are being pooled. These waste products have to be cleared from the area.  In my last post, I discussed how the lymphatic system plays a major role in removing waste and deoxiginated blood. 

As soon as inflammation occurs, it can be very uncomfortable due to pressure build up that is generally associated with strength training. When this happens, many people revert to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen. Although, this may take away the pain, it does not get to the root of the problem; congestion and build up. This poses the sixty-four thousand dollar question:

Will taking anti-inflammatory drugs decongest the area? 

No, anti-inflammatory drugs may take away pain, but it also prevents the body’s natural signal to solve the problem.  One of the most efficient ways for waste to leave is through the lymphatic system. Also, as muscle activation (i.e. walking, jogging, weighted exercise, etc.) increases, the efficiency of the lymphatic system to rid deoxiginated blood from the area increases.  When you take NSAIDs, you are just masking the problem.  There is still waste buildup that has not been cleared out of the area.  When this pressure from the waste builds up, the inflammatory response repeats itself… Congestion begets congestion. 

There are many people, if for sitting for long periods of time, will experience ankle swelling or swelling of the feet. This is mainly because muscle activation has severely dropped off. Do people immediately pop an ibuprofen to reduce swelling? No, you get up and walk around! Muscle activation is extremely important to help the inflammation process and to speed up recovery.

Just remember one thing: There can be inflammation without healing, but there cannot be healing without inflammation.

[This post is written by Drake Webster, CSCS - Athletic Development Coach at Athletic Lab]

Are you training harder than ever but getting slower and weaker? Maybe it’s time you looked at a very important concept when it comes to training. This concept is overtraining and could potentially be a serious problem when it comes to performance and your adaptation to training. If you do not let the body adapt to the training stimulus, then the training is not aiding in performance but actually hindering it.

Overtraining is caused by too great of a training load without enough recovery and can be influenced by other training and non-training stressors (Fry, Morton, and Keast 32-65).Overtraining can be achieved through unplanned training programs, insufficient rest between exercise, or too much of a training stimulus for a detrained individual. If you run a tight program and the training is in order, it is important to be aware of the non-training stressors that might also push you in to a state of overtraining:

• Stress
• Insufficient or poor quality sleep (varies between athletes)
• Poor diet
• Dehydration

Knowing what overtraining is and how it happens can be very important to a coach, but it is even more important to know how to identify it. When overtraining occurs, the athlete most likely won’t know it and they won’t have a sign around their neck to display overtraining either. Understanding the signs of overtraining is vital:

• Ventilatory and cardiac efficiency
• Suppression of the immune system
• Indicators of muscle damage
• Depressed muscle glycogen reserves
• A depressed psychological profile
• Poor performance in sport specific tests (Fry, Morton, and Keast 32-65)

As coaches we need to be aware of outside non-training stressors and also be aware of the signs of overtraining so we can step in and not let the silent killer of high athletic performance affect our athletes.

Reference
Fry, RW, AR Morton, and D Keast. “Overtraining in athletes. An update..” Sports Medicine(Auckland,N.Z.). 12.1 (1991): 32-65. Print.

To celebrate Labor Day, we will be open on an abbreviated schedule. Please note the following changes to our schedule:

• 9:00am CF / Performance Fitness
• 3:45pm Scholastic
• 5:00pm CF / Performance Fitness
• 5:00pm Scholastic Select
• 6:00pm CF / Performance Fitness
• 6:30pm CF Endurance

[This post is written by John Grace, CSCS - Athletic Development Coach at Athletic Lab]

“RICE” (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation) has been a common theme among many practitioners, coaches, athletes, parents, etc., to start the rehabilitation process when an injury occurs.  Your body has its own mechanisms to repair injuries. For the majority of the time, we should rely on our body to repair itself.  Some governing bodies still use this mnemonic to treat injuries to this day. This acronym is not totally false, but it’s not entirely true, either. 

Our body has two systems that are closely related to recovery: the circulatory system and the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is primarily responsible in healing the body.  The lymphatic system constitutes a one-way transport system that operates in conjunction with the circulatory system. Its primary function is to transport excess interstitial fluid, from the interstitial space, back to the blood circulation, via the thoracic duct.(1) Think of this as a one way road to the city dump. One thing that aids in ridding waste through the lymphatic system is muscle contraction due to the compression of the muscles. A muscle contraction can be as little as walking or jogging. If the area is immobilized, it can be as simple as wiggling the fingers or toes. Muscle contractions act as a plunger which pulls the waste out of the muscle.

When we hear rest, we normally think of posting up on the couch, immobilizing the affected area.  With some injuries such as broken bones, severe sprains, etc. we have to immobilize the area because it can’t be moved without excruciating pain. But, with other less severe injuries, we tend to rest them too long. This could potentially increase the amount of time it takes for the injury to heal. Muscle activation is the key to remove waste and deoxygenated blood which is causing inflammation.  Without muscle activation or contraction, the lymphatic system is not as efficient in ridding the area of deoxiginated blood and waste. Rest doesn’t really make sense in this case. Don’t try to flex a broken bone, duh. But, do come up with a way to vacate the swelling from the inflammatory cycle.

Ice and cold water immersion has been highly refuted by most studies.  Topical icing and even ice baths (which are used by many athletes on a professional level for recovery) actually shut off signals between muscles and nerves, which can prolong the recovery time. “When ice is applied to a body part for a prolonged period, nearby lymphatic vessels begin to dramatically increase their permeability (lymphatic vessels are ‘dead-end’ tubes which ordinarily help carry excess tissue fluids back into the cardiovascular system). As lymphatic permeability is enhanced, large amounts of fluid begin to pour from the lymphatics ‘in the wrong direction’ (into the injured area), increasing the amount of local swelling and pressure and potentially contributing to greater pain.” (2) Many people are under the assumption that more ice is better, but it actually has the opposite effect. Generally, people spend extended periods of time (~20-30 minutes) icing one area. Within this time frame it is possible that some negative effects, such as frostbite and nerve damage can occur. There is a time and place for ice, but it easily can be used in the wrong context.

Compression and elevation are still good things. To go along with the idea of the muscles forcing the waste into the lymphatic tubes due to contraction, compression can help do the same. Compress the area tightly (without cutting off circulation) with elastic bandages, clothing, etc. Compression should be applied very shortly after an injury has occurred. Elevation can be applied in this case as well. Elevation above the heart can help decrease buildup of waste and deoxiginated blood to the affected area.

“RICE” does not do our injuries justice any more. Remember to compress and stay as mobile as possible, while keeping the injured area safe from re-injury.

References:

K. N. Margaris and R. A. Black. Modelling the lymphatic system: challenges and opportunities. Journal of The Royal Society Interface. (2012). doi:10.1098. rsif.2011.0751. Published Online

Meeusen R, Lievens P.  The use of Cryotherapy in Sports Injuries,’ Sports Medicine, (1986) 3.6. 398-414. Print.

[This post is written by John Grace, CSCS - Athletic Development Coach at Athletic Lab]

Repeat sprint ability (RSA) is a unique quality that very few athletes possess.  RSA is running max-effort sprints, multiple times, with inadequate rest. RSA is predominately needed for court and field sports.  Typically, these short sprints last from 4-10 seconds with a recovery time of 10-30 seconds (2).  Just to give you an idea of how short of rest period this is: as a general training guideline purely for speed work, allow 1 minute rest per 10m sprinted.  In 5 seconds an elite athlete has the ability to run 40-50 meters. Approximately four to five minutes would be an appropriate rest time for this sprint distance; 30 seconds is nowhere near what an athlete would need to fully recover from a maximal sprint effort.

It is important to include some training to improve single-sprint performance (e.g. ‘traditional’ sprint training and strength/power training); and some high-intensity (80-90% maximal oxygen consumption) interval training to best improve the ability to recover between sprints (1).  Keep sprint days to roughly ≤300m total.  With this guideline, there are many different ways you can set up RSA training days.  For example:

• 5x6x10m with 10 seconds rest between reps and 2-3 minutes in between sets (total 300m).
• 2x5x25m with 30 seconds rest between reps and 4-5 minutes in between sets (total 250m).

Your aerobic and anaerobic systems both play a part in RSA. The best way to attack this is from both fronts. Learn how to run fast, and then run fast repeatedly.  It is of little value to try to improve RSA when your reps aren’t quality (fast) reps.  If you’re not running fast… you’re running slow, and there’s no use in running SLOW repeatedly.

References:

Bishop D, Girard O, Mendez-Villanueva A. “Repeated-sprint ability - Part II: Recommendations for Training”. Sports Medicine. (2011). 41.9. 741-56.

Morin, Jean-Benoît; Dupuy, Jérémy; Samozino, Pierre. “Performance and Fatigue During Repeated Sprints: What is the Appropriate Sprint Dose?” Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. (2011) 25.7. 1918-1924.

[This post is written by Drake Webster, CSCS - Athletic Development Coach at Athletic Lab]

Post activation potentiation (PAP) is the bodies potentiating response to a near maximal activity prior to a different movement. The effect is a higher rate of force output and this response can last from 2 to 12 minutes. Several mechanisms can cause this effect. The first reason is the amount of motor recruitment in fast twitch muscle fibers is greatly increased. The second reason is increased myosin light chain phosphorylation. This means that myosin has a higher rapid rate of binding to actin, which in turn means faster muscle contraction.

Now, if you are a speed-power athlete then you could see how PAP can help. Faster muscle contraction for a 100 meter dash could be the difference between winning and losing. A higher amount of fast twitch muscle recruitment could mean a new personal record for the clean and jerk. So what can you do to take advantage of this phenomenon?

There are multiple ways to achieve this, near maximal quarter squats prior to a power activity, resisted sprints before un-resisted sprints, or heavy dead lifts prior to Olympic lifting. The key is to make sure fatigue doesn’t cause the performance to be hindered. A recovery period should be implemented prior to the competition lasting longer than 2-3 minutes but shorter than 12 minutes.

PAP is also better used for athletes that are highly trained and can handle what is effectively a training stimulus prior to a competition. An untrained individual won’t elicit the same response and may be too fatigued from the potentiating exercise to compete at a high level. PAP may be a mouthful and also a new technique for many, but is very beneficial for speed-power athletes.  When it comes to elite level performance, athletes are looking for every advantage they can have.  Keep PAP in mind when trying to get every bit of potential out of your athletes.

Reference
Rixon, KP, HS Lamont , and MG Bemben. “Influence of type of muscle contraction, gender, and lifting experience on postactivation potentiation performance..” Journal of strength and conditioning research / National Strength & Conditioning Association. 21.2 (2007): 500-505. Print.

[This is a guest blog by one of our Athletic Interns, Jesse Wang, an Exercise Science student from the University of Oregon]

Power production is an essential skill for any explosive athlete. Increased power will improve sprinting, jumping, and tackling among other activities. Power is a combination of speed and strength. Strength is the ability to apply force and speed refers to the velocity of the movement. Research indicates that the power outputs (watts per kilogram of bodyweight) of Olympic weightlifting movements are significantly higher than powerlifting movements.

The Olympic lifts can be broken down into the first and second pull. The first pull starts off the ground to what is known as the power position. The power position is when the lifter is upright and tall, with the knees bent by 10-20 degrees. The second pull starts from the power position to when the lifter is fully extended at the ankle, knee and hip.

The snatch is the Olympic weightlifting movement where the lifter starts with a wider grip and catches the weight in an overhead squat. An 82.5kg weightlifter had a power output of 2173 watts in the first pull and had a power output 3634 watts in the second pull of the snatch (1).

The clean is the Olympic weightlifting movement where the lifter starts with their hands shoulder width apart, and receives the bar in a front squat position. The 82.5kg weightlifter had a power output of 2123 watts in the first pull and a power output of 3475 watts in the second pull of the clean (1).

In a separate study, the power output of a 100kg male was recorded. The recorded power output of the bench press was 300 watts. The power output of the back squat and deadlift were at 1100 watts. The power output of the bench press is only 8.3% of the snatch second pull and the power output of the squat and deadlift is only 30.3% of the snatch second pull (2).

Coaches may argue that the learning curve of the Olympic weightlifting movements is too high. The ability to teach the Olympic lifts varies from coach to coach [Editor’s Note: Every Athletic Lab coach is recognized by USA Weightlifting as a certified club coach]. According to the data, it looks like it is worth the time to teach the Olympic lifts for optimal power development.

Elite level Olympic weightlifters are capable of snatching over 300 pounds and can clean and jerk over 400 pounds. It is impossible to perform Olympic weightlifting movements at a slow speed. In the powerlifts such as the bench, squat, and deadlift it is not uncommon to see slower maximum lifts. When performed correctly, the Olympic lifts will translate into higher power outputs on the field.

References:
1) USA Weightlifting Club Coach Manual. USA Weightlifting. Colorado Springs, CO (2010). Print.

2) Garhammer, John. “Power Output of Olympic Weightlifters”. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 12.1 (1980). Print.

Our Fall training schedule goes into affect within the next week. The only appreciable changes to the schedule are for the Scholastic Sport Performance Classes. Please note the following changes:

• We will have themed Scholastic training sessions at 3:45 and 6pm Monday through Friday; and 11am on Saturdays starting August 27th. Please see our schedule to determine which time slots are associated with which training theme.
• Varsity Scholastic Select training sessions will start the 20th of this month and will take place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5pm.
• Junior Varsity Scholastic Select training sessions will start the 21st of this month and will take place on Tuesday and Thursday at 5pm