Weekly Round-up

Enjoy a weekly round-up of all peer reviewed articles.  Not all the articles are accessible, but most of the abstracts are adequate for understanding.  Enjoy!

1. Stroke phases responses around maximal lactate steady state in front crawl by Pelarigo et al.
2. Anthropometric characteristics and nutritional profile of young amateur swimmers Martinez et al. Study done in Spain and may not apply to US young swimmers
3. Strength and power predictors of swimming starts in international sprint swimmers West et al.
4. Swimming in ice cold water Knechtle et al. 
5. Impact of endurance and ultraendurance exercise on DNA damage Wagner et al.

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Stat Sunday: 200 IM Comparison

First off, it was great to see some WR's go down without the high-tech suits!  Hopefully this will remove the mental block, allowing athlete's to realize they can go faster than they went with the high-tech suits.  I've done a WR analysis: Men's 200 IM and I still feel the 200 IM LCM WR is the most impressive.  This analysis will take a short look between Phelps and Lochte.

Lochte: 24.89 53.48 1:26.51 1:54.00
                      28.59  33.03   27.49

Phelps: 24.83  53.67 1:26.80 1:54.16
                       28.84 33.13   27.36

It is easy to look at the race and say Lochte had a better butterfly and breast leg, leading him to victory.  However, what was better and faster?  My analysis showed a nearly identical race, with Lochte having a slightly better start and first 25, but Phelps building better into the finish.  Lochte and Phelps taking the same number of strokes in the butterfly. Off the first wall was Lochte's largest advantage, spending 1.5 seconds longer underwater which allowed him to keep his stroke number equal to Phelps, but use a faster stroke rate. The breast was quite similar, but once again Lochte had a slightly higher stroke rate, helping him slightly extend his lead. On the last 50, Lochte once again gained room off the wall and was out splitting Phelps at the 25, but Lochte's higher stroke rate or longer duration under water potentially lead to him velocity to slow and finish with a long extension.

This is nitpicking differneces, but the Lochte's superior walls and stroke rate allowed him to hold off Phelps', but if Lochte can't rest on this win, Phelps' and Bowman and great strategist who will be ready to duel again next year, luckily Lochte is oblivious to most of society and will be able to stick to his strategy.  Can't wait for the next race.

GJohn

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Friday Interview: Mark Young

Please introduce yourself to the readers. Include how you got started in the profession, education, credentials, experience, etc.

Hi John, thinking of me to do this interview.  

Basically, I got started in the fitness industry in the year between my undergrad and when I went back to grad school.  Like many, I started training people in a commercial gym and eventually opened my own company and it pretty much just took off from there.

Academically, I have a degree in kinesiology and I've done graduate research in biomechanics and exercise physiology.  In fact, I'm super stoked that my grad thesis work just recently got published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology!

Professionally, I've been a strength coach (or trainer..or whatever) for the last 11 years and my work has been featured on StrengthCoach.com, T-Nation.com, Muscle&Fitness.com, and various other places.  I also provide services to one of my province's only government funded bariatric medical programs for the evidence based treatment of obesity.

In short, I'm pretty busy which is why it took so blood long to get this interview back to you.  :)

How much do you time do you spend on corrective exercises compared to strength?  Does this vary between anaerobic vs. aerobic athletes?

Admittedly, my primary focus is with people who are generally geared towards strength, fat loss, and just looking smokin' so I don't work with many athletes.  That said, I feel the principle is the same.  I prescribe corrective exercises for mobility and stability based on need and not based on an arbitrary time requirement.  Generally speaking, when I first start working with someone they'll do more corrective work (because they need it) and the longer I've worked with them they'll do less (because they don't need it).  If an assessment indicates a sudden need to address an issue, the amount of mobility/stability work goes back up in proportion to strength work.

Basically, you don't stop tuning a guitar and start playing before all the strings are tuned just because you only allocated certain amount of time for tuning right?  Your guitar would sound like crap.  You get it tuned appropriately as needed regardless of the time it takes and then it'll sound incredible (unless you suck at playing guitar like I do).

Again, this may be more difficult to implement in a team setting, but this is the main reason why I don't personally do large group training.  I feel that while this may be more profitable, it does not afford the individualization required to maximize mobility, stability, and strength in a client.  

I know you're big on evidence based research, how do you learn new information (blogs, books, expert discussions, etc.)? What would you suggest to general coaches?

I think that one of the big issues in the fitness world is that we often spend more time getting information from the same places that our clients do and that the information we're getting is largely based on the opinion of some internet expert.  And you know what they say about opinions...

From my perspective, randomized controlled trials and high quality meta-analyses are the gold standard for evidence and this is where I think that most coaches and trainers should be shopping for information.  Granted some might find this "boring", but this is the only true way to determine whether what you're doing (or planning to do) has stood up to very controlled scientific testing or is just an educated guess.  So these are first for me and I read more of this stuff than anything else.

Beyond that, I do read books and blogs as well as reviewing many fitness products that my colleagues send me.  However, the number of blogs in my feed reader are fewer than 15 and most of them are other evidence based folks as well.  And when I do read something of interest in a blog, I look to research to determine if this is valid and worth trying with my own clients.  If so, I'll try it to see if it pans out in the real world.  If not, I don't try it until research (or at least the theory behind the method) demonstrates that I should.  

In terms of expert discussions, I think it all comes down to how we determine who is an expert.  I am fortunate in that I can talk directly to many experts in the fitness industry and I find these discussions very valuable.  This is particularly because I am able to question them about where certain ideas came from which gives me more ability to look them up for myself afterward.

Ultimately, I think you can see that I'm very cautious when adopting fitness information into my practice and I feel that most coaches could benefit from this as well.  I don't know how many times I've seen conferences where people are allegedly dropping "knowledge bombs" that I can later find so scientific support for.  For me personally, I read books, blogs, and I talk to experts, but in the end I feel responsible to assure that the information I've providing to clients is valid and not just opinion.  

I use research as my first level filter (think of a filter in a tap) to screen out all of the big chunks of crap and then use real world experience to determine what actually works in the real world (think Brita filter).

What tips do you recommend for athlete's looking to lose weight?

I think the biggest concern here is whether the athlete NEEDS to lose weight for performance or WANTS to lose weight for aesthetics.  If the goal is to lose weight to look good and it can have a negative impact on performance (by reducing calories, dropping recovery, and decreasing fuel for performance) I'd advise against it.

If they NEED to lose weight, the secret is not really a secret at all.  Decrease calories such that the amount coming in is less than what it going out.  I don't believe there is any magic here.  The trick with athletes is to do this very moderately so that weight loss is slow, calories are only reduced minimally, and that protein requirements for muscle and carb requirements for performance are met.  Rapid weight loss for athletes is stupid (unless cutting weight for a specific event - but that may also be stupid as this should have been avoided anyway).  

What is the biggest difference between athletic and general nutrition?

To me, I think there are THREE big differences.  Calorie needs are higher so athletes need to eat more.  Athletes also have a higher protein need than non-athletes (with the high side being 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight).  And finally, I think that most endurance type athletes can get away with (and probably need) more carbohydrates.  Of course, this isn't a license to stuff themselves with junk and candy.  But if anyone can get away with it, it is probably them.  

What projects are you working on now or we should anticipate in the future?

I am currently working on an updated version of my product How to Read Fitness Research (www.readfitnessresearch.com) which will include even more material than it already does so I'm pretty stoked about that.  I'm also, of course, updating my site with tons of content at www.markyoungtrainingsystems.com.

Is it true you can out eat Michael Phelps?

After an intense full body workout I could probably actually eat Michael himself...gold medals and all.  :)


Thanks Mark

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Tape Addicts!!!

Many age group, national and collegiate coaches ask me about shoulder injuries.  The most common question, isn't about muscle strength, length or timing, but taping and how tape can be utilized to return the athlete to the pool.  I commonly use tape, but tape should be an adjunct to rehabilitation, not a solution.  I’ve discussed shoulder taping for swimmers, but I did not discuss one important aspect, addiction.

Tape Addict going on 5 years...

Tape can help to a certain point, but is commonly used as a security blanket and crutch when specific muscles need improved strength, length and timing to reach full recovery.  In the long run, taping is a short, not long term solution and if used improperly can perpetuate injuries and muscular imbalances.  

GJohn

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Shoulder Stretch: The Cross Body

Age group swimmers seldomly need increases in shoulder range of motion. Increasing an athletes shoulder range of motion will allow increases their force output, but will put them at risk for more injuries.  Therefore, the increases in range of motion needs to have proper stabilization. I find it interesting that our society idolizes athletes and associates professional athletes as healthy bodies, but in reality these athletes have numerous musculoskeletal injuries (they typically have healthy lungs and hearts, but this can be achieved with a more balanced approach). There is a fine line between elite performance and injury.  This is suggested in  Miniaci 2002 which found 79% of asymptomatic professional pitchers had abnormal labrums (another baseball reference, guess I excited for fantasy the fantasy baseball playoffs). This statistic indicates having an abnormal labrum allows larger ranges of motion and higher force production.  


Every coach is performance driven and prescribes the typical cross arm and arm behind the head stretch. The goal of the cross arm stretch is to stretch the triceps, but the long head of the triceps starts at the shoulder blade and during the cross arm stretch swimmer's shoulder blades move preventing a stretch from occurring. Swimmers have sloppy, excessively mobile shoulder blade and when they perform this stretch their shoulder blade moves and a stretch is rarely felt.  Therefore, the shoulder blade must be stationary and stabilized to feel a stretch, however does a swimmer need to stretch this muscle if their shoulder blade moves excessively?  Does your swimmer need this increased motion, or do they need stabilization?  Or would foam or tennis ball rolling solve the problem? Are these stretches increasing and perpetuating shoulder injury risk?


Here is the video of a proper cross arm stretch, but does your swimmer need this stretch or do they need stabilization? As coaches you must be able to make this decision. 

GJohn

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Stroke Count

Swimmers perform approximately 16 times the daily volume of overhead motions compared to a

baseball pitchers. If little league baseball pitchers have a pitch count, should age group swimmers have a stroke count?

Here is the pitch limit for little league pitchers:

• 17-18: 105 pitches per day 
• 13-16: 95 pitches per day 
• 11-12: 85 pitches per day 
• 9-10: 75 pitches per day 
• 7-8: 50 pitches per day 

Many age group swimmers take up to 50 strokes per 50 long course meters, but no there is no discussion about a stroke count in swimming. Swimming and baseball are different, the velocity per baseball pitch is higher than the average swimming stroke and deceleration (follow through) is much higher in baseball. A quantity of 16 times may neutralize or eclipse the higher force requirements. Do you think stroke counts would decrease swimming shoulder injuries? If so, how would this be implemented? Would stroke counts greatly impede swimming times and success?

By Dr. G. John Mullen received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science of Health from Purdue University where he swam collegiately. He is the owner of COR, Strength Coach Consultant, Creator of the Swimmer's Shoulder System, and chief editor of the Swimming Science Research Review.

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Weekly Round-up

Small volume of posts since I've been in Clovis for a swim meet, enjoy the two good reads.

1. Mark Sission discusses the long pondered question, what is the best time of day to exercise?
2. Recovery and Training by Patrick Ward.

GJohn

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Trouble Shooting Series: Lumbar Spine

Part three of the trouble shooting series by Allan Phillips see part 1, Troubleshooting Series: Cervical Spine and part II, Trouble Shooting Series: Thoracic Spine.

Perhaps no area of the body has been more controversial in both the medical and strength and conditioning worlds than the lumbar spine, or more generally, the low back.  Much like the neck, the low back offers equal opportunity affliction, with painful implications for both elite athletes and sedentary folks. Many swimmers bring non-swimming related back pathologies to the pool.  While coaches can't treat these conditions, they can affect both performance and health with informed programming choices

For swimmers, lumbar spinal health and performance is foremost a matter of timing and control.  Most swimmers have adequate strength in absolute terms.  The absolute strength demands of swimming in a nearly zero-gravity environment are quite modest.   What swimmers often lack are the mechanisms to allow the expression of that strength in the pool.  The lumbar spine literally has no place to hide when the thoracic spine, hips, and pelvis don't do their jobs.   We must never neglect the timing of the core musculature in coordination with adjacent body segments.

The lumbar spine is designed for approximately 10-12 degrees of safe rotation.  In contrast, some individual T-spine joints have that much alone.  Not only is the lumbar spine at risk for damage if we exceed this range, adding range of motion to the low back without a corresponding level of control will come at the expense of hip and T-spine mobility.

Potholes -
-Lower cross posture - Tight/overactive low back muscles and hip flexors in conjunction with weak/inhibited abdominals and glutes.  Swimmers who live with this posture both in the water and on land aren’t able to access the full capabilities of their low back muscles.  In the water, this condition most commonly manifests itself in freestyle: Freestyle flaw: back archers, butterfly flaw: sway back.  

-Limited pelvic control – A limited range of motion not and/or chronic anterior tilt (common with Master’s swimmers)  not only affects the undulation of the short axis strokes and underwater dolphin kicking, it will also impede hip rotation (possibly leading to hula hopping).  Swimmers who aren’t afflicted with a postural limitation may still lack the pelvic tilting skill. If  the swimmer doesn’t have major underlying restrictions, most will pick up the skill quickly once taught.     

-Left to right imbalance - A swimmer who brings unevenness to the pool invites hula hooping, or at best, must inefficiently devote physical and mental resources to prevent hula hooping.  In a sport where progress is measured by fractions of a second, we can’t afford to miss simple posture cues like this one.  Sometimes we’ll work around the posture and sometimes we’ll actively correct it, but know that a one-size-fits-all approach to stroke instruction and dryland conditioning will not produce optimal results for these swimmers.

-Quad driven kicking - Swimmers are often rewarded for quadricep driven kick patterns in the long axis strokes particularly in sprinting and in intense kick sets.  “Butt kicking” can also be tied to a core imbalance, freestyle flaw: butt kickers.  Given the risk of developing hip imbalances such as tight hip flexors and weak glutes through the anterior dominance of the flutter kick (regardless of whether the kick is effective or ineffective), our dryland preparation should complement these tendencies with a proper focus on the posterior chain.

-Breathing dysfunction - If breathing mechanics are poor, the stability muscles may assume the role of the breathing muscles.  In a faulty breathing pattern (sometimes referred to as paradoxical breathing) the swimmer breathes with chest and low back such that each breath becomes a mini-back extension.  Although this pattern is very subtle, with the number of breaths we take both in and out of the pool, faulty breathing patterns often creep into the stroke through some of the faults discussed above (sway back, arched back).  The stress only increases at higher intensities, particularly in the semi-hypoxic environment in which swimmers live.

Landmines –

Many landmines in the low back arise independently of swimming.  However, know that movement patterns become unpredictable even in the presence of low-grade discomfort.  These are typically issues for referral to the medical side, but we all know that highly motivated achievers (which would describe most swimmers) are more than willing to tolerate discomfort rather than seek help.  

Nevertheless, when swimming is the main provocateur of low back issues, don’t forget to look elsewhere for the root cause, such as the thoracic spine and hips.  Create a line of communication with the medical staff beyond “Yes or No” decisions in returning to training.  Getting both the medical staff and the coaching staff on the same page in understanding the swimmers individual stroke tendencies can help accelerate recuperation and prevent injuries.   

-Disc damage - Disc prolapses, herniations, etc. are common throughout society.  The disc can press on lumbar nerves or on the posterior longitudinal ligament which is a highly innervated structure.  
-Nerve damage - Potentially from disc damage, or nerve entrapment from tight muscles.  These symptoms commonly radiate or are described as tingling.
-Stenosis: More typical in the Master’s athlete, but can be perpetuated by tight hip flexors and can cause nerve damage or entrapment.
-Pain - Know that not all damage elicits pain and not all pain results from damage. Pain does not equal injury.
-Fractures - If these occur, there are usually other problems at work such as poor nutrition, but know that inappropriate mechanical stress can break bones under intense repeated use. Many swimmers have low bone mineral density, especially Master’s female swimmers are at risk.  

Assessment   

-Breathing – Friend of the blog Patrick Ward and Carson Boddicker teamed to create this tutorial on how coaches can assess breathing in their athletes.  Watch and you’ll note other problem areas beside the lower back that are implicated by faulty breathing.  Even if you don’t feel comfortable putting your hands on swimmers, you can still gather valuable information by visual observation alone.

-Posture – Learn to identify lower crossed posture. 



Your corrections both in and out of the water will be far more effective if you can identify the lumbar dysfunction as part of a global pattern rather than simply as a tight back.
See also, postural syndrome. 

-Flexion/extension - As with the thoracic spine, we can check how the lumbar spine functions as part of global movement patterns while standing.  In flexion (forward bending), we look for a slight posterior weight shift with the hips.  In extension, we look for the hips to move slightly forward.   

-Thomas Test – Thigh should drop below parallel to the ground.  Thomas test is also a good exercise for the hip flexors.  If someone fails the Thomas test and has difficulty with the flexion pattern, you are probably looking at a full body postural issue.    

-Pelvic tilting – Can the swimmer actually tilt the pelvis?  We’re not concerned with wide ranges of motion initially.  What counts is whether the swimmer can anterior tilt and posterior tilt on command.  If not, then we need to figure out if the limitation is skill-based or whether there a physical restriction prevents the movement.



- Supine Hip Flexion - With the swimmer lying on their back have them place their hand behind their back and lift their leg until the pressure on their hand changes.  Once the pressure changes, hip flexion stopped and lumbopelvic motion began. This assess inadequate hip flexion active range of motion.

-Push up, planks, marching in plank position – The push up and plank positions requires control of the spine with simultaneous control from the shoulder blades and mobility from the shoulder joint.  Each has different levels of sensitivity for certain nuances, but each is effective to identify the swimmers particularly at risk.

Correction - As with the thoracic spine, there is a vast array of quality exercises for the lumbar spine.  What is more important is your system to assess each swimmer and then determine the appropriateness of each exercise for that swimmer based upon their individual needs.

-Breathing – Train the rib cage to relax and for the breath to come from the diaphragm.  Isolated breathing practice might challenge the attention levels of younger swimmers, but you can integrate breathing training during all exercises.  Breathing is a gauge of whether the swimmer is actually in control of the exercise and isn’t just surviving the move.   

-Soft tissue work – For left vs. right asymmetries, the key areas to hit are the psoas (softball works great) and the quadratus lumborum (also easily addressed with softballs/lacrosse balls/tennis balls).

-Paging the Glute Guy...Glutes protect the lumbar spine and are king of the posterior chain.  Glute training is imperative to get tight back muscles to “calm down” and puts the abs in a better position to function effectively.

-Abs! - 
Tad Sayce offers an informed perspective on training the abdominals and why some traditional approaches can be detrimental to lumbar spine health and performance, NROL - abs for swimmers. 

-Planks – May be the best bang-for-your buck exercise to train the lumbar spine.  Be a stickler for quality form...level pelvis, engaged lats, firm glutes, neutral head/neck, and proper breathing mechanics.  You can make a simple plank very challenging with attention to detail.  

-Carries - Two of the best lower spinal exercises are also the simplest: Waiter's walks and farmer's carries.  Pick up something heavy, walk, put it down!

Summary

Above all, optimal lumbar function is a matter of control.  Screen and assess your swimmers to determine who has physical deficits in this area.  As with any aspect of training, our goal is to optimize our ability to deliver what swimmers need when they need it.  However, virtually every swimmer can improve their lumbar spine with a stronger posterior chain and properly functioning thoracic spine.  Understanding the patterns of lumbar spine behavior and its relation to nearby body segments is an important step toward technical refinement in the water and effective dryland programming.   

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Strength Training – 1500m Olympic Youth Champion

This is a guest post from friend of Swimming Science Andrew Sortwell, Friday Interview: Andrew Sortwell. Andrew is a world-renowned coach and creator of the International Society of Swim Coaches, a free certification to enhance knowledge and discussion in the sport of swimming.

In 1500m freestyle, high energy demands are met by increased oxygen consumption as well as augmented anaerobic metabolism. Performance in this event is limited by the capacity of the following systems; circulatory, respiratory, and by muscle function. Strength training by endurance swimmers has not been popular among coaches for many years. Strength training has been usually considered a waste of time for endurance swimmers and not a real priority.

Since improvements in both endurance and strength are desirable for optimum performance, strength training was extensively used by Christopher Ashwood as part of his Dry Land Training. Christopher Ashwood was regarded as the next Ian Thorpe and was predicted to be faster than Grant Hackett at the 1500m freestyle. At the age of 14 years – 15 years he was swimming faster than Grant Hackett at the equivalent age in the 1500m freestyle.  Christopher  went on to win; Gold at the Youth Olympics for the 1500m freestyle and also Australian National Age Champion for 1500m freestyle, 400 IM and 200m Butterfly, 3rd at the World Cup in 1500m. This article is a brief summary about the strength and conditioning training framework that assisted the rise of Christopher Ashwood from the age of 11 - 15 years of age.

The intent of his specific strength training framework was not to specifically enhance maximal strength, but to enhance the force generated by the slow motor fibres.  This helps minimise the chance of injury, improves resistance to fatigue and improves strength endurance.  Christopher commenced basic strength training at the age 11, once a week performing specific calisthenic movements and high repetition weights sets. This early intervention of muscular endurance at an early age improves the ability to resist fatigue and can allow the swimmer to hold a set pace as well as technique (stroke length),  for longer or too increase speed over a given distance. For the record, by the age of 14, Christopher was able to perform 15 wide grip chin ups.

As Christopher matured physically, the objective of his strength training changed to; enhance his ability to work as long as possible at a given intensity involving the slow motor fibres, improve the maximum sustainable force exerted, increase recruitment of motor units and the optimal usage of this stored energy.   His strength/power training and endurance resistance training was not performed concurrently otherwise adaptations would be poor to conflicting demands. The training by Christopher was sequential;  strength, power and endurance program. During the strength training cycle there were specific priorities as can be seen in table 1.0. ( strength,  strength – power, power, endurance, extreme endurance.  Extreme endurance involved performing sets which lasted up to seven minutes.

weeks	6 weeks	6 weeks	6 weeks	3 weeks	2 weeks	1 week	2 week
Competition
Strength	xxxxxxx	xxxx
Strength - Power	xx	xxxxxx	xxxxxxx
Power				xx
Endurance			xx	xxxxxxx	xxxxx
Extreme Endurance					xxxxx
Recovery Circuit							xxxxxx

Table 1.0 Strength Training Cycle
He only performed the same exercises for period of two weeks. Within the 2 weeks his goal was to achieve personal best lifts on those exercises. That same set of exercises would be revisited later in the training cycle and his goal would be to beat his personal best again. In the table below is a sample of training day for Christopher. 

Wednesday and Saturday (off Season)

	Warm up sets	Reps	Rest Periods	Working Sets	Reps	Concentric Phase Time (seconds)	Eccentric Phase Time (seconds)	Rest Periods (minutes)
Exercises
Cross trainer Machine	10 minutes	-		-	-	-	-
Stretch	10 minutes	-		-	-	-	-	2-3
Squat Jumps	3	6	1-2	2	6	1	2	2-3
Leg Curls	2	6	1-2	2	6	1	2	2-3
Incline Bench Press	3	6	1-2	2	6	1	2	2-3
Chin Ups (wide Grip)	2 Perform on chin up machine	8	1-2	2	6	2	2	2-3
Lat Pulls Downs	2	6	1-2	2	6	1	2	2-3
Upright Rows	2	6	1-2	2	6	1	2	2-3
Triceps Dips	2	8	1-2	2	6	1	2	2-3
Push-ups with ball	2	8	1-2	2	8	2	2	2-3
Dumbbell Rotator Cuff  Exercise Standing	2	15	1	3	15	3	3	1-2
External Rotator Cuff Exercise With Band	1	15	1	3	15	3	3	1-2
Single Arm Throw Medicine Ball	1	10	1	3	15	1	0	1
Bicycle (abs)	1	10	2	4	20	1	2	2

Table 2.0
Christopher performed two dry land training sessions twice a week, each session lasting one hour.  Strength and performance gains in the gym were phenomenal. At the age 15 he had a superior level of strength, power, muscular endurance and swimming performance.

By Andrew  Sortwell MExSc, GrdDip Sprt Nut, BHMS (ED), Grd Cert RE

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