Just reread CrossFit Journal on Metabolic Conditioning...

[Daniel Dean]

^^^^Someone has been reading Lyle McD's Oly series.

[Steve Shafley]

Sorry Dan, if you go back in this thead I've made that comment way before Lyle put down his neverending story.

Soviet sport science is a worthwhile resource, but you have to apply it on a sport to sport basis. For example: Verkhoshansky outlined a program for a 100m sprinter, but it was completely different than the programs the current crop of top 100m sprinters do. There are some underlying reasons for this, including some interesting cultural ones, but how do you reconcile the difference when you hadn't produced a competitive 100m runner in 2+ decades?

Andrew's decathalon bias is evident in his opinion about Soviet sports science. The broad range of competitive events makes some of the Eastern Block methods more attractive and logical.

[Jason Ashman]

Steve,

I was speaking in general terms of training; most of what we use today that forms the backbone of our athletic training methods are derived or evolved from Soviet Bloc methods. As you're aware and have mentioned, how it moves from there into sport-specific work varies dramatically by a ton of different factors. I'd expect the lack of Soviet track stars had a lot to do with apathy towards track events in general; I can't recall the Soviet program ever seeming to be interested in track, although they always took an interest in field events. Perhaps the reasons are because the training simply didn't apply well enough to make champions, but its equally possible that there was simply never enough people interested in it over there to put the effort into it.

As for recently, you could make a very good argument that the reason behind lack of Russian success in the last 2+ decades is the same reason for the rapid decline of Russian hockey players, field athletes, and gymnasts- There's no longer Soviet system to pump cash into development, and Russia has spent the better part of the last 2+ decades in disarray as far as sport development is concerned. The rise of Chinese sport in the past decade is testimony to what a dedicated effort by a centralized government (Is China still considered "communist"?) can do.

Its only in the last few years that Russian sport has began to recover, and you're seeing the results, like Ekaterine Blesinka, who won the 100m Hurdles in the youth Olympics. The Russian 4X100m men just won a gold (the Ukranians roided-out) at the U23 Euro championships, and shot-putter Yevgeniya Smirnova just won bronze at the world junior championships. The development is coming, its just nowhere near where it once was.

One must also consider the continuing success of the former Soviet satellites, who, without the internal turmoil that faced Russia, have continued to do well, even if the get caught doping more frequently than most.

[Andrew Wilson]

John, we have a new prospect for the CrossFit Triple Crown

[Jon Pechette]

Originally Posted by Andrew Wilson

John, we have a new prospect for the CrossFit Triple Crown

Wow.

And apparently TJ Murphy has really gotten sucked into the whole crossfit thing: http://running.competitor.com/2011/0...ulture_34473/3

If you blend a decathlete, a gymnast and a triathlete together, you get an elite Crossfitter.

Um...wat?

[Andrew Wilson]

Originally Posted by Jon Pechette

Wow.

And apparently TJ Murphy has really gotten sucked into the whole crossfit thing: http://running.competitor.com/2011/0...ulture_34473/3

Um...wat?

baaaaahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

[Andrew Wilson]

World Class.




Because restricting oxygen you don't use in the 1 second it takes to snatch 40 kilos, perhaps makes, snatching 145 kilos with oxygen you don't use, more manageable.

[Cormac O'Brien]

Is that really what that gas mask malarky is about?
Or are you joking?

[Andrew Wilson]

Originally Posted by Cormac O'Brien

Is that really what that gas mask malarky is about?
Or are you joking?

hahaha yeah. They haven't realized o2 isn't used in the snatch and cj. Its like using a gas mask in an underwater swim. hahaha

[Andrew Roden]

Originally Posted by Andrew Wilson

World Class.




Because restricting oxygen you don't use in the 1 second it takes to snatch 40 kilos, perhaps makes, snatching 145 kilos with oxygen you don't use, more manageable.

Gasmask is for when you don't want anyone to know you can only snatch 40kilos..