Wednesday, February 01, 2006

a clarification, or something like.

it seems that my comment regarding jogging has got some people upset enought to e-mail me.......
i want to clarify something. the gospels are my opinion. we all have them. 150 years ago people died here so that we would have the right to say these things publicly and share in the process of discourse as a result. if we all co-operate in this process we can move forwards and get off the right-or-wrong horse that gets people into conflict.
frankly, i don`t know absolutely whether jogging is wrong for all people, but, it is my opinion that the process of jogging produces nothing more than the urge to jog more.........and if you want that then by all means jog........but as a preparation for other activities it absolutely sucks. the athletes that i play soccer with that jog can`t compete in a sport that is made up of short bursts of anaerobic activity. there are a few basic reasons why this is so.
1. jogging produces a musculature that is made up of slow-twitch muscle fibres that are conducive to medium to long term low-intensity activity......like more jogging.
2. jogging produces a lung and heart system that is ideal for more jogging because of the way it stores and releases oxygen and delivers it to the muscles. hence the term aerobic conditioning.
3.jogging produces a mindset that matches the medium to long duration low intensity physical movements that are good for....jogging.

there is a belief in sports conditioning that jogging, or aerobic conditioning provides a base for good athletic performance. it`s just wrong.
soccer players build up thier (my) endurance by engaging in activities that enable them to prepare for short, intense, anaerobic exertion over a period of the game (90 minutes). it is a fact that you can run a 100 yards while holding your breath. this is an indication that the 100 dash is anaerobic, that is no added oxygen uptake is necessary.
the ideal activity for building up endurance for soccer is to play more soccer. not to run for miles around a track. running for miles around a track is what joggers do.........see a pattern here?
the origin of this aerobic dogma came in the form of athletic consultants that professional sports team coaches began to hire in the 1970s in the hope that they could provide an edge for thier athletes.
the metrics that the consultants applied to the athletes was a vo2 device which guaged the ability for an athlete to take in oxygen. basically, the athlete would run on a tread mill with a tube in thier mouth that measured lung capacity under load.
guess what? they discovered that football players, hockey players, soccer players and basketball players all had less capacity for oxygen uptake that track athletes.
so they umped to this conclusion; inrease in vo2 maximum must equal better athletic performance.
no factual basis for this leap to conclusion.........
so all athletes in training now need to have an aerobic base for thier anaerobic sport.
illogical.
builds the wrong type of physiology and psychology for brief and intense physical activity.
to get good at anaerobic sport you must do more of the sport and do plyometric exercises.
www.tools4change.ca/workout.mpg
is a good basic plyometric workout as conditioning for soccer, hockey, basketball, etc.
run, don`t jog...........unless that`s all you intend to do.
and if you have criticisms don`t e-mail me, post them here. that`s what this is for.

1 comment:

Dr.Alistair said...

what point is there to thinking if the body doesn`t move?
that is the trap of intellectualism. inaction.
we need to move and get oxygen to the brain. we are an animal having a spiritual experience.
run until you drop and then smile..........