Much of what we do as coaches do not have a numeric
research. Most of the coaches’
practice is empirical, meaning that we depend on how accurate the coach
reflects and how clearly the coach thinks.
It all depends on coaches’ education to see and to think, which in other
terms means we depend on coaches’ experience.
I have heard more noise about research than research
in itself. Numeric research is coming to
us but who does research is not too familiar with the practice of the sport. Let’s take the case of swimming; we have
spoken about swimming like an airplane
14 janv. 2013
It is refreshing to know
that numerical research is behind 15 years and not further behind.
Emphasis on technique
started when coaches and athletes decreased training from 30k a day that the
elite swimmer used to do, to 15 a day.
We cut it in half the time training per day; but athletes needed to be
smarter, better educated and clever to stick with the technique program. I will emphasize technique using the
principle of the airplane. Do we have
anything faster and better in the earth for moving than the airplane?
Drag
Figure 6 Movement through water is resisted by the water immediately in
front and around the hydrofoil. This water resistance is called drag. Drag force always acts in the direction of flow. Due to its shape the
water speed above the hydrofoil is greater than below. The pressure above the
hydrofoil is less than below, resulting in a net upward force called lift. By definition, lift acts perpendicular to drag. The nature of the lift
force is similar to that experienced by an aircraft wing.
Interestingly, 15 years back, Glenn Mills spoke of swimming with the
“body,” instead of swimming with the arms and hands. This is huge difference. See the explanation of Counsilman (coach and
researcher with numbers). The nature of the lift force is similar to
that experienced by an aircraft wing. As Counsilman (56) explained: "A
wing provides aerodynamic lift through the camber (curvature) of its surfaces.
Because the upper surface is more highly cambered than the lower surface, the
air moving over the top surface is forced to move more quickly. This results in
a lower pressure on the upper surface as compared with the lower surface and
results in aerodynamic lift (Bernoulli's Principle)". (p. 61) Thus the
pressure differential results in a lift force directed at right angles to the
line of motion of the propelling surface (see Figure 6 and 7).
It is clear to me that the plane is the entire body and by changing the
shape, (technique and position) of the body we can get the effect of the lift
force. By using the lungs as buoys to
keep the weight in front of the subject (swimming downhill), the lift force IS WHAT MAKES THE SUBJECT
MOVE FORWARD, it is just like the plane.
Where are the hands in this equation?
The hands are used to keep the weight in front as a support to keep the
body moving forward. This is what is
called swimming with the core.
Unfortunately, the direction of research took a different turn: Subsequently,
numerous papers were published (57-63) to support the notion that the total
propelling force acting on the hands is composed of both a lift and drag
component.
They did not notice that the core was the part of the body doing the lift force.
Researchers saw just the hands because they did not how swim! That is problem with research done by
somebody not familiar with swimming or the sport they research.
In the web I have seen videos of the research done at
Johns Hopkins:
They “discovered” the
same things said by Glenn Mills in the video above; but the research done at
Johns Hopkins is making a lot of noise because it is a numerical research. The only “researcher” that counts for this
research is Counsilman. This kind of
behavior was mentioned by the Nobel Prize winner of Medicine (2013):
Nobel prize winner accuses scientific
journals of 'tyranny'
A winner of the Nobel prize said he is boycotting top scientific
journals as they create enormous pressure for young researchers who feel they
need to get published in one of just three journals
Randy Schekman was awarded
the Nobel prize in physiology and medicine Photo: Reuters
By Claire Carter
8:12AM GMT 10 Dec 2013
A Nobel prize winner is
boycotting academic journals because he believes they are distorting the
scientific process and encouraging researchers to cut corners.
Randy Schekman, a US
biologist, said top scientific journals represent a “tyranny” as they create an
artificial pressure on young scientists who feel they have to be published by
one of the three main journals - Nature, Cell and Science.
Schekman, who has been
awarded the Nobel prize in physiology and medicine, said journals were
encouraging researchers to pursue fashionable science and topics that would
attract attention.
He also said some
researchers were being enticed to write what editors of the journals want
because of the high price some institutions will pay writers as a bonus. The
Chinese Academy of Sciences can pay researchers a bonus for publishing in some
journals, which can reach £18,000.
Schekman, who will receive
the award in Stockholm today, said he would no longer be sending articles to
Nature, Cell and Science journals.
We have the same problem for tapering research. The meaning of tapering has changed over the
course of the years; it is more like a better preparation to improve
performance:
Here’s
the Salazar piece. His runners, Mo Farah and Galen Rupp, finished 1-2 in the
Olympic 10,000 in London. Several days before the race, one of their training
partners, Dathan Ritzenhein (who finished 13th in the hotly contested 10,000)
told me that Mo and Galen had done some mind-boggling speed sessions. After the
race, in the mixed zone, Salazar said that Galen had run an 11-second 100-meter
the previous day. The previous day!!??
So
Salazar seems to be using small amounts of serious speed in the days before big
races. Magness is using hard surfaces. He theorizes that running on slow, soft
surfaces (like grass) will tune your legs to feel slow and heavy. Many runners
I know (like me) taper on soft surfaces in the belief that it will rid them of
all their aches and pains. Magness seems to be saying: Don't worry about the little
aches and pains. Get your legs (and brain) ready to run fast on race day.
You'll have recovery time post-race.
So
that's what I'm doing before the RW Half. Taking short runs, on the road.
Finishing them with hard strides, on the road. This isn't a perfect experiment,
because I'm not in great shape and not expecting a fast time in the Half.
But
it's something I've never done before, so it's experimental in that regard. And
it's fun to change things up a little vs my usual boring slow taper on grass and
trails.
A
good taper is absolutely crucial. It's the most important part of a training
program. Why do we train long and hard if not to race well? Finding our best
taper is job one for us distance runners.
Tapering
has always been about running less. Magness and Salazar are taking another
look, and introducing new elements. That's forward
thinking.
It is not that tapering has changed and that there is
no tapering as people put it. We have learned a little more about tapering.
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