понедельник, 26 мая 2014 г.

The Neuromuscular Component To Speed Work

 

  • By Caitlin Chock
  •  
Starts and sprints can help muscles fire quicker, which ultimately leads to faster distance running. Photo: www.shutterstock.com
Did you know that becoming a faster runner involves working your nervous system?
If you want to get faster, there’s more to it than just trying to run faster. Without your synapses and nerves being conditioned to fire at a quicker rate, you’ll never be able to employ those stronger, more powerful muscles. Your legs need to be told to turn over by the brain.
Developing your neuromuscular reaction time involves working on your reactivity. This kind of work is done with drills, footwork ladders and foot-firing exercises. The premise is to condition your feet to snap off the group faster so you’re spending less time on the ground. That translates to faster times.
In tandem with speed intervals, reactivity drills will prove their worth rather quickly.
“Typical time-course for moving the needle on speed can be as little as a few weeks, where noted changes in stride length can be seen,” said Lance Walker, the director of performance at Michael Johnson Performance labs. “Stride frequency and overall running performances can take longer to show major change, but micro-level improvements should be noted within the first month of an effective speed program.”

Precision First

Walker said he’d prefer that people not do any of these drills over doing them wrong because the latter reinforces bad habits. Aim for precision over quantity.
For runners drawn to the sport because of their gawky nature, drills and footwork may leave them feeling out of their element.
“At first it felt very awkward to do these types of drills and intervals, but I was determined to practice and learn the skill,” said Morgan Gonzales, who lives and trains in Mammoth, Calif. She avoided frustration by adjusting her perspective. “So often in distance running we focus on getting fitter, but I thought it was fun to switch my mindset to learning a new skill set.”
Between last season and this season, Gonzales lowered her 1500m PR from 4:47 to 4:38. Remarkably, she did so in her opening race of the year.

Taxing The Nervous System

It’s important to realize how taxing this work is on the body. Don’t balk at the fewer repetitions or distances; in order for this to work, the key is not to overload the central and peripheral nervous systems.
Similarly, it’s crucial to do this work in a rather fresh state. Don’t just tack some strides and agility drills at the end of your tempo drills; you need to think in the reverse. On your day dedicated to true speed work, your prime focus is on running as fast as possible with a nearly full recovery. Same goes for when you do your reactivity drills — aim for precision and take as much time to recover as you need. If you need to add extra miles, do it after all of this work has taken place.

Footwork Drills

“One of our favorites is box tappings,” Walker said. “This drill was probably stolen from some of our soccer athletes, who were actually doing the drill for footwork quickness on, or around, the ball.”
Box Taps: Standing 6-12 inches behind a box or riser (4-6 inches high), bend slightly forward (10-15 degrees at the ankle), and alternate tapping the box with the balls of your feet. Work on proper positioning (center-of-mass over box, dorsiflexion of ankle, long spine angle, and reciprocating arms) before trying to increase frequency. “Use this in buildups of 10-40 seconds, resting five times as long as the set to ensure you are working for speed and not endurance,” Walker said. Perform twice a week. Check your progress by counting taps every third week.
Ladder drills: Move through the ladder by firing both feet into each rung, doing two sets. Then move to single-leg drills by passing through while firing only your left foot, keeping the right foot outside the ladder. Repeat with right foot firing. Once you’ve mastered this, start adding accelerations coming out of the ladder.
Starts And Sprints: “I practiced my reaction time and race starts with repeats as short as 50 meters; this taught my muscles and my brain to fire and react more quickly, as opposed to just running faster,” Gonzales said. Repeats below 50 meters work too, as Walker is a fan of fly-in 20’s.

Program Implementation

Tell a distance runner to reduce their interval lengths and you may get a balking response. However, if you want to run faster for your 5Ks and beyond, you have to start thinking of working from the bottom up. Increasing speed makes your eventual race paces feel relatively easier and will allow you to dig into that second gear to accelerate at the end.
Walker prescribes a “tier-conjugated” system. “This incorporates elements of speed, power, strength, stamina, and corrective training all in a weekly plan,” he said.
This system places your speed and power-focused workout in the beginning, “when the central and peripheral nervous system is freshest and most recovered,” Walker added. The next days are recovery, strength training and endurance/tempo work. The mini-cycle would then repeat with your next speed-focused workout.
Walker advises runners just starting or who require longer recovery between workouts to extend their training week to 10-days.
“The key is to keep the body ‘stimulated’ every 72-hours with some form of speed training stimulus,” he said.
You still need to do those 200s, 400s, and even shorter sprints to get faster, but in order to truly reap the rewards of speed work and increased power you need to train the nervous system to keep pace.
****
About The Author:
Caitlin Chock set the then national high school 5K record of 15:52.88 in 2004. Now a freelance writer and artist she writes about all things running and designs her own line of running shirts. You can read more, see her running comics, and her shirts at her website.

Read more at http://running.competitor.com/2014/05/training/the-neuromuscular-component-to-speed-work_69720#iZXAWgbMbqUWx4Vu.99

The Loosening Deadlift - Tommy Kono

 





Photo No. 1: Lifter stands upright with legs straight and heels together. Bar is held with the aid of straps -- no tension in the arms -- and the whole body is relaxed.

Photo No. 2: The head begins to tilt forward and the shoulders slump with bar hanging at arms' length.

Photo No. 3: The chin is tucked into the chest -- this helps to curve the upper back. The shoulders slump even more at this point, stretching the muscles in the back.


Photo No. 4: The barbell is lowered by transferring the curve of the upper back to the middle of the back. You should begin to feel the "stretching" effect moving down the back.

Photo No. 5: The back should be a smooth curve from the hips to the base of the neck. Efforts at this point should be made to "stretch" the middle of the back as you continue to bend down.

Photo No. 6: The transfer of the curve is now complete with the "stretch" being felt in the lower back and hamstrings. The arms should still be "dangling" and no effort to contract the back muscles should be made. You will also feel a stretching of the latissimus muscles.




http://www.tommykono.com/


The "Loosening" Deadlift
by Tommy Kono (1974)


Anyone who has trained hard on the Olympic lifts and overtaxed his lower back by performing numerous heavy pulling movements in one training session, or who has had several heavy training days in a row on the pulls, has experienced either a stiff back or overworked lumbar muscles to the point where they cannot relax or tighten them completely.

Your back can become "stiff as a board" with the lumbar muscles hard to the touch ("all knotted up"), or the muscles so fatigued that it is like a spring that has been overstretched.

In either case you have lost the explosive contractile quality of the muscles in the lower back.

I recall in the early '60's a lifter who made the U.S. team for the Pan American Games and trained three times a day, five to six days a week! When we were in Sao Paulo, Brazil for the Games he felt like he was losing his condition because he was training only two times a day. He was following one of the European systems and all this training left his muscles hard as rock; especially his lower back and shoulders. He was exceptionally strong but he could have lifted better had he spent more time working for elasticity of the muscles, and certainly, not so often in a day.

With the advent of the 2-lift competition many lifters have gone to the extreme in their training program by putting too many pulling movements in their routine, consequently overtraining their back muscles.

The Olympic-style lifters must have muscles that can contract strongly and violently and this quality cannot come about by overtaxing the muscles isometrically continuously.

When exercises such as the Good Morning, Hyperextensions, Cleans, Snatches, a variety of High Pulls and even the Olympic-Style Deadlift are concentrated on, or combined in one session, it is very easy to overtrain the lumbar muscles, causing them to become hard and tight, taking extra rest days to recuperate. All the aforementioned exercises are good exercises to develop pulling power but it is important that you are able to arrive at a happy combination of sets, reps, and poundages to work the muscles just enough to improve.

Imagine the muscles of your back as quality metal. If it is like cast iron then it is stiff and unbending and rather than bend under stress it would break. On the other hand, if the muscle is like a steel spring, well-tempered, there is dynamic life and "lift" to it and it has the quality to take punishment.

There are two ways to avoid "over-contracting" the lumbar muscles:

1.) Have a balanced training program which gives your back muscles enough exercise yet not so much as to overtrain them. Sufficient recuperation time should lapse between training sessions for the back.

2.) Include loosening-up exercises which "stretch" the lumbar muscles instead of contracting them.

The scheduling of a training program is more difficult since it is an individual thing; however, everyone can add a loosening exercise to retain the elastic quality to the lumbar muscles after having taxed them.

The exercise I am about to describe not only stretches the back muscles but serves also as a tonic to your regular training routine, for though this is not what you would call a "negative" movement, it certainly isn't a muscle contracting exercise as we know it. HEAVY WEIGHTS ARE AVOIDED FOR THIS EXERCISE; WHEN PERFORMED PROPERLY IT REQUIRES A VERY LIGHT BARBELL FOR MAXIMUM BENEFIT.

Again, as in the Olympic-Style Deadlift, I recommend that you perform this exercise with straps so you can concentrate your effort in performing the exercise correctly. THE WEIGHT ON THE BAR IS NOT IMPORTANT, in fact, it is better with extremely light weight and emphasis on the "stretch" of the back muscles.


Description of the Loosening Deadlift

Start Position: Stand perfectly erect with the barbell hanging at arms' length as in the finish of the normal deadlift.

Downward Movement: Start the downward movement by lowering your chin so it comes to rest on your sternum (chest" and at the same time slump your shoulders forward. The bowing of the back should begin in the upper back area.

Once the bow is started in the upper back the barbell is lowered so the bowing of the spine travels to the mid-back. And so on until you've lowered the barbell to the floor and the bow of the back is in the lower lumbar region. (Study accompanying series of photos critically.)

At all times efforts should be made to keep your legs straight so the "pull" can be felt in the buttocks and then in the hamstrings of your legs. Of course, the pull will also be felt in the upper back, then transfer into the middle back and then to the lower back.

A word of caution here when you are including this exercise in your training for the first time: Use an extremely light weight to begin and don't make any effort to stand on a block or a bench to get more stretch. Perform the movement SLOWLY AND SMOOTHLY and breathe out as you lower the barbell.

Upward Movement: This is just the reverse of the downward movement with the idea that the hump of bow of the back begins in the lower back and transfers up through the mid-back until you are again standing straight upright at the conclusion of the exercise. Inhale as you stand erect.

Repetitions: Since this exercise is not an exercise to develop strength but rather to promote recuperation of the back muscles and develop suppleness of the spine, you should perform between 8 to 12 repetitions.

Sets: Even a single set of 12 reps performed after you've finished your Olympic-Style Deadlift works wonders but you can perform an additional set or two without any harm if the weight you are using is light and it is done with the idea of bringing back elastic quality to the stiff and "pumped" muscles.

West Germany's great superheavyweight Rudolf Mang keeps his back muscles in shape during the off season with this exercise. In fact, many times this is the only exercise he performs when he is pressed for time. He gets a real good workout with 220 lbs. even though his record clean is near 500.

A person capable of cleaning 300 lbs. can use 135 lbs. for exercise purposes. As you get accustomed to the exercise, rather than go heavier in the poundage, you should attempt to stand on a box or bench and perform this exercise over a greater range to get a longer stretch.

Former weightlifting champion and phyique titlist and now a prominent chiropractor in Hawaii, William McDonough, recommends this exercise not only for those who practice the Olympic lifts but to everyone in general. It develops suppleness in the spine and hamstrings and promotes overall tone to the lumbar muscles when practiced as described in this article.

Зопиклон (Zopiclone): инструкция, применение и формула

 

  
Зопиклон

Русское название

Зопиклон

Латинское название вещества Зопиклон

Zopiclonum (род. Zopicloni)

Химическое название

6-(5-Хлор-2-пиридинил)-6,7-дигидро-7-оксо-5H-пирроло[3,4-b]пиразин-5-иловый эфир 4-метил-1-пиперазинкарбоновой кислоты

Брутто-формула

C17H17ClN6O3

Фармакологическая группа вещества Зопиклон

Снотворные средства

Нозологическая классификация (МКБ-10)

F07.2 Постконтузионный синдром
F51.0 Бессонница неорганической этиологии
G47.0 Нарушения засыпания и поддержания сна [бессонница]

Код CAS

43200-80-2

Характеристика вещества Зопиклон

Снотворное средство небензодиазепиновой структуры (производное циклопирролона).

Фармакология

Фармакологическое действие - снотворное, седативное.
Является агонистом бензодиазепиновых рецепторов. Взаимодействует с центральными рецепторами (подтипы омега1 и омега2бензодиазепиновых рецепторов) макромолекулярного ГАМК-бензодиазепин-хлорионофорного комплекса и не взаимодействует с периферическими бензодиазепиновыми рецепторами. Повышает чувствительность ГАМК-рецепторов к медиатору (ГАМК), что обусловливает повышение частоты открытия в цитоплазматической мембране нейронов каналов для входящих токов ионов хлора. В результате происходит усиление тормозного влияния ГАМК и торможение межнейронной передачи в различных отделах ЦНС.
Быстро всасывается из ЖКТ. Cmax достигается через 1–1,5 ч. Связывание с белками плазмы крови — около 45%. Легко проходит через гистогематические барьеры, включая ГЭБ, и распределяется по органам и тканям, в т.ч. головного мозга. Проходит через плацентарный барьер, проникает в грудное молоко (в грудном молоке содержится в 2 раза меньших концентрациях, чем в плазме крови). Метаболизируется в печени с образованием N-оксида, обладающего незначительной фармакологической активностью, и 2-х неактивных метаболитов. T1/2 — 3,5–6 ч, при выраженной недостаточности функции печени увеличивается до 11 ч. Выводится преимущественно почками в виде метаболитов (80%), а также через кишечник (16%). Имеются сведения о выведении небольших количеств слюнными железами. Повторные приемы не сопровождаются кумуляцией зопиклона и его метаболитов.
Укорачивает период засыпания, уменьшает количество ночных пробуждений, улучшает качество сна, не изменяет фазовую структуру сна. Эффективен при ситуационной бессоннице, связанной с психоэмоциональным напряжением, изменением привычного ритма жизни (например, при госпитализации), десинхронозом, в т.ч. при смене часовых поясов, посменном режиме работы. Сон наступает в течение 20–30 мин после приема и продолжается 6–8 ч.
У пациентов с ночными проявлениями бронхиальной астмы в сочетании с препаратами метилксантинового ряда (теофиллин) урежает приступы астмы в ранние предутренние часы, уменьшает их интенсивность и продолжительность.

Применение вещества Зопиклон

Нарушения сна (трудность засыпания, частые ночные и/или ранние утренние пробуждения), в т.ч. ситуационная, кратковременная, хроническая бессонница; вторичные нарушения сна при психических расстройствах.

Противопоказания

Гиперчувствительность, выраженная дыхательная недостаточность, беременность (особенно I и III триместр), кормление грудью, возраст до 18 лет.

Ограничения к применению

Апноэ во время сна, миастения, выраженная печеночная недостаточность.

Применение при беременности и кормлении грудью

Противопоказано при беременности (особенно в I и III триместре). При применении зопиклона женщиной в III триместре беременности у новорожденного возможны нарушения со стороны нервной системы, возникновение синдрома отмены. В случае, если женщина по назначению врача принимала зопиклон непосредственно до начала схваток и родов, необходимо постоянное медицинское наблюдение за новорожденным. На время лечения следует прекратить грудное вскармливание (зопиклон проникает в грудное молоко).

Побочные действия вещества Зопиклон

Со стороны нервной системы и органов чувств: сонливость, вялость, утомляемость, головная боль, головокружение, раздражительность, спутанность сознания (чаще у пожилых), подавленное настроение, мышечная слабость, нарушение координации движений, диплопия, ухудшение памяти, парадоксальные реакции (усиление бессонницы, ночные кошмары, нервозность, возбуждение, агрессивность, приступы гнева, галлюцинации).
Прочие: горький или металлический привкус во рту, сухость во рту, тошнота, рвота, кожные аллергические реакции, изменение либидо, антероградная амнезия.
Возможны привыкание, лекарственная зависимость, синдром отмены, в т.ч. рикошетная бессонница (см. «Меры предосторожности»).

Взаимодействие

При совместном применении зопиклона с другими средствами, угнетающими ЦНС (в т.ч. нейролептики, другие снотворные средства, противоэпилептические ЛС, некоторые антигистаминные ЛС, алкоголь) возможно взаимное усиление эффектов.
Зопиклон уменьшает концентрацию тримипрамина в плазме.

Передозировка

Симптомы: угнетение ЦНС различной степени выраженности (от сонливости до потери сознания).
Лечение: промывание желудка, прием активированного угля; при необходимости — симптоматическая терапия. В качестве специфического антидота используют антагонист бензодиазепиновых рецепторов флумазенил (в условиях стационара). Гемодиализ неэффективен.

Способ применения и дозы

Внутрь. Доза и продолжительность лечения определяется врачом строго индивидуально. Средняя доза составляет 7,5 мг однократно, на ночь, максимальная доза — 15 мг. Пациентам старше 65 лет, больным с заболеваниями печени или хронической дыхательной недостаточностью рекомендуется половинная доза (3,75 мг). Курс лечения: от нескольких дней до 4 нед.

Меры предосторожности вещества Зопиклон

В связи с возможностью развития лекарственной зависимости применение в течение длительного срока может быть назначено врачом в исключительных случаях. В случае, если бессонница не исчезает в течение 4 нед, следует проинформировать лечащего врача. Вероятность возникновения привыкания, физической или психологической зависимости возрастает при нарушении предписанной дозировки или продолжительности лечения более 4 нед.
Отмену следует проводить постепенно, т.к. при резком прекращении лечения возможны возобновление бессонницы, частые пробуждения, головная и мышечная боль, беспокойство, возбуждение, рассеянность, раздражительность.
Парадоксальные реакции чаще наблюдаются у пациентов пожилого возраста. При возникновении парадоксальных реакций зопиклон следует отменить.
На следующий день после приема зопиклона следует избегать вождения автомобиля и занятий потенциально опасными видами деятельности, требующими повышенного внимания и быстрой реакции. В период лечения зопиклоном следует воздержаться от употребления алкогольных напитков или лекарств, содержащих алкоголь.

 Взаимодействия с другими действующими веществами

Усиливает (взаимно) угнетение ЦНС.
Усиливает (взаимно) угнетение ЦНС.
Усиливает (взаимно) угнетение ЦНС.
Усиливает (взаимно) угнетение ЦНС.
Усиливает (взаимно) угнетение ЦНС.
Усиливает (взаимно) угнетение ЦНС.
Флумазенил при сочетанном применении блокирует действие зопиклона на бензодиазепиновые рецеп­торы. Не выявлено фармакокинетическое взаимодействие между флумазенилом и зопиклоном.
Усиливает (взаимно) угнетение ЦНС.
Усиливает (взаимно) угнетение ЦНС; сочетанное применение исключается.




Торговые названия препаратов с действующим веществом  
Торговое название Значение Индекса Вышковского ®
Зопиклон0,0402
Зопиклон 7,5-СЛ0,0245
Имован®0,2598
Пиклодорм®0,0141
Релаксон0,0944
Сомнол®0,1315
Торсон0,0082

воскресенье, 25 мая 2014 г.

Three Foam Rolling Techniques For Runners


Prevent injuries by doing these three moves after every run.
When is the most common time for athletes to start foam rolling? Typically once they start feeling pain.
“Because of the slow onset of symptoms, many ignore the condition until the symptoms become chronic and permanent injury occurs,” says Matt Fontaine, D.C., of Positively Chiropractic in Annandale, Va. Instead of waiting until you have to rehab, get ahead of the game with these three moves, which can help erase the miles off your legs by improving flexibility and keeping your muscles happy.

Illustration: Oliver Baker

1. Thoracic Spine Extension

Why it’s important: Think about your position at a computer—head forward, shoulders rounded, slouched posture. “Because we spend so much of our day in these postures, over time our tissues and joints actually become permanently deformed,” Fontaine says. Frequent swimming and riding in the aerobars can also decrease spine mobility, but you can correct your posture and improve back flexibility by foam rolling this area.
How to roll: Spend two minutes rolling up and down the spine with hands behind your head.

Illustration: Oliver Baker

2. Outer Hip And Iliotibial (IT) Band Roll

Why it’s important: The outer muscles of the hip keep your pelvis level when standing, walking, running and even cycling. Because they are always working, they can get tight and short over time, Fontaine says, which can cause weakness, poor stability and alignment, and often lead to patellofemoral pain syndrome (aka “runner’s knee”), or ITB syndrome.
How to roll: Lie on your side and place the roller under your thigh. For stability, cross your other foot over and put it on the floor. Spend a minute rolling the outer hip above the boney bump on the outside of your hip joint and another minute along the IT band. When you find a tight, painful spot, stop there—keep your body aligned over the roller and flex and extend your knee. This helps restore gliding between your IT band and the quadriceps.

Illustration: Oliver Baker

3. Quad Release

Why it’s important: Most of us have tight quads and hip flexors to begin with, but after running and cycling for miles, they get even tighter. “Tightness of your hip flexors and quads can cause your gluteal muscles to get weaker, and that results in increased risk of low back pain, not to mention decreased power,” Fontaine says. “Most cases of runner’s knee are due largely in part to short and tight quads.”
How to roll: Lie on your stomach with the roller under your thighs. Roll back and forth from hip to mid-thigh for about a minute. As an alternative exercise, you can use a stretching strap or rope to stretch your quad while you roll. Putting the quad under tension allows the roller to work deeper, getting a better release of the muscle.
This piece first appeared on triathlete.com.

 

суббота, 24 мая 2014 г.

Coffin Nail Battle Ropes & Kettlebells Workout Plan

 

Coffin Nail Kettlebell & Battle Rope Workout Plan by Aaron Guyett
Aaron Guyett, owner of Innovative-Results and Marine Corps Sergeant knows what it takes to build true endurance, strength, power, and mental toughness. He has combined his extensive experience training clients and soldiers with the amazing performance possibilities provided by Kettlebells and Battle Ropes to create this hardcore unconventional training workout plan that will take your physical and mental capabilities to their limits! Get ready for real strength, power, and endurance!
Purpose/Focus:Strength, Power, Endurance
Difficulty:Moderate
Length:4 Weeks
Equipment:Kettlebells, Battle Ropes
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