Throughout my 30-year career in in the fields of Sports Rehabilitation and Athletic Performance Training, I have spent thousands of hours in conversation with many good friends and mentors in the Strength and Conditioning profession. In a specific conversation that occurred in 2009 with renowned NFL and Hall of Fame Strength Coach Johnny Parker, he expressed his concern upon reading a newspaper article reporting an 800-pound squat performance by a collegiate football player.

Coach Parker’s concern was the necessity of such a high intensity squat lift as a strength requirement for the game of football and is the risk of such a high intensity squat performance worth the reward? Certainly extremely high intensity loads are necessary in the sports of Powerlifting and Olympic Weightlifting, as the level of athletic achievement during these competitions is based upon the successful weightlifting performance of the heaviest loads possible.

In regard to athletes who are not competitive weightlifters, but are utilizing weightlifting to enhance athleticism, is such a high intensity squat, as the previously mentioned 800-pound performance, necessary for an athlete such as a football, basketball, or baseball player?

Coach Parker and I then reminded each other of an incident that occurred during my years with working him at the old New York Giants stadium. At that time both he and I were also studying with a former Soviet Weightlifter and Soviet Coach, Gregorio Goldstein.

On this particular day, Coach Goldstein was also at Giants Stadium, where a Giant football player, David Megget had just easily squatted 427 pounds at a body weight of 178 pounds. When asking Coach Goldstein how to make Megget stronger he replied, “You don’t have to make him any stronger, you have to make him faster”. This comment had a profound effect on each of us to this day.

In a very recent discussion with another renowned Hall of Fame Strength Coach Al Vermeil, regarding a professional baseball player that I am presently training, I posed the question that I am often asked during the rehabilitation and/or performance training of an athlete, “How much strength is enough?”

How much strength does this professional athlete need to successfully play baseball at a consistent optimum level over a long season? This topic of conversation with these, and other legendary strength and conditioning professionals has enhanced my appreciation of this subject matter.

So the question is raised, how much strength is necessary for optimal athletic performance?

Strength

Strength may be defined as the ability of the neuromuscular system of the body to produce force as placing tension on skeletal muscles stimulates neuromuscular adaptations. Neuromuscular force generation may be either isometric or dynamic in nature, and has characteristics that would include a magnitude, a rate, and a direction. It is this dynamic muscle force generation that results in movement.

Additional factors that will affect force production include the type of muscle contraction, as well as both the rate and degree of muscle activation. The significance of force production can be determined from Newton’s second law of motion:

Force = Mass X Acceleration (F= ma)

Therefore, the ability of an athlete to accelerate (a) one’s body mass (m) or an external object is highly dependent upon the musculature of the body to generate force (F). Additionally, power production is the product of force and velocity and, in the opinion of many researchers and strength coaches, the most important factor in determining athletic success in a majority of various types of sports of participation.

The neuromuscular strength characteristics to be considered for the achievement of optimal athletic performance include (a) maximal strength (MS), (b) explosive strength (ES), and (c) reactive strength (RS) qualities. The correct proportional development of these strength qualities during training is dependent upon the specific power type activity to be performed, i.e. football blocking, wrestling, running, jumping, track and field throwing events, sprinting, etc.…

Athletic performance training programs that enhance MS, ES, and RS qualities will have an eventual transfer to the power activity (athletic) performance via the neuromuscular system of the body. MS training alone will improve neuromuscular force production, however, only through the combination of MS with either or ES and/or RS training, will ideal power type performances be achieved.

Strength and Power In Sports

From the perspective of athletic performance, many researchers and strength and conditioning professionals, are of the opinion that there are two particular variables of high significance to the contribution of optimal athletic performance. These two variables include the peak rate of force development (PRFD) or “explosive strength” and power output. The concept of explosive strength is directly related to the athlete’s ability to accelerate objects including body mass.

Work is the product of force and the distance that the object moves in the direction of the applied force (Work = Force X Distance). Power may be defined as the rate of doing work (P = force X distance/time). Power may also be conveyed as the product of force and speed (P = force X speed).

Power may be evaluated as an average performed throughout an exercise range of motion or as an instantaneous value occurring at a particular moment during the exercise range of motion or during the displacement of an object. Peak power (PP) may be defined as the highest instantaneous power value found over a range of motion while Maximum power (MP) is the highest peak power output an athlete is capable of generating under a specific set of conditions (i.e. type of exercise or skill performed).

The body’s neuromuscular contribution of a movement sequence that results in maximum achievable velocities primarily depends upon power production (i.e. a MS component in association with a velocity component). Additionally, activities that require a display of “agility” i.e. change of direction and acceleration, are also dependent upon high “bursts” of power output.

Although it appears that the influence of power is critical for optimal athletic performance, it may be argued that maximum strength is the basic quality that affects power output. It may also be foreseeable, that MS would have a greater effect in sports of participation where the emphasis for the success of the sport is specifically to overcome maximal load intensities (i.e. Powerlifting, Olympic Lifting) followed by sports and activities requiring a high maximal strength component based on the nature of the sport as well as the position played (i.e. American football, rugby, track and field throwing events, sprinter’s starts, etc.…)

However, it is important for strength and conditioning professionals to acknowledge that maximum strength appears to affect power in a hierarchical manner with a diminishing influence as the external load decreases to a point where other such physical qualities such as the rate of force development may become more important.

Muscle Stiffness and Elastic Strength

Lower extremity muscle stiffness is essential, as well as a prerequisite to ensure an optimal Stretch Shortening Cycle (SSC)/Plyometric type exercise performance. Plyometric (SSC) exercise performance improves RS qualities, as higher stiffness levels of the lower extremities during SSC exercise performance will result in an increase in the amount of stored (potential) and reused (kinetic) energy.

There is a positive relationship between increased levels of leg and joint stiffness (the ability to resist flexion) and improvement in power, force output, rate of force production, and velocity parameters, as well as a very important decrease in amortization/ground contact times (GCT). A minimal GCT is essential for an ideal SSC resulting in optimal jumping, hopping, sprinting, and distance running (running economy) performance.

The stiffness of muscle is variable and is dependent upon the forces exerted. For example, a muscle is compliant when passive, yet stiff when active. Through various methods of training it is possible to maintain and/or enhance optimal levels of lower extremity muscle stiffness. Resistance training utilizing heavy load intensities (increasing MS levels) has been demonstrated to be a very effective way to enhance lower extremity and joint stiffness.

The “Strength Reserve”

During my recent conversation with Coach Vermeil he discussed an important phenomenon that he described as a “strength reserve”. As an athlete participates in a long and grueling season, it is quite common for these athletes to lose their high initial levels of MS qualities that were present at the start of the season.

Appropriate higher weight intensities in conjunction with specific and appropriate levels of exercise volume should be incorporated during the athlete’s off-season and in-season training in an effort to both increase (off-season) and maintain (in-season) athlete MS levels, as well as the benefits (force production) that are associated with high MS levels.

Maintaining this important physical quality will assist to ensure repeated optimal performance over time. Coach Vermeil recommends an increase of maximal strength levels of 5% to 10% annually to establish and progress the athlete’s strength reserve during their playing season and career.

Coach Vermeil also explained how MS qualities are extremely important to the aging athlete. As the athlete ages MS strength levels play a more important role to ensure successful athletic performance. Athletes begin to lose their elastic strength qualities in their late twenties, thus the counter balance to the reduction of this elastic strength physical quality is the continued enhancement of MS values.

The greater the amount of MS “banked” via years of strength training, the greater the athletes ability to maintain the “balance of the scales” so to speak, during the aging process where elastic abilities are lost and MS qualities are gained/stored.

In my discussions with Stan Bailey, a former Olympic Weightlifter who participated in two (2) Olympic games and is a coach at our Performance Center here in New York, he also spoke of the necessity of the development and maintenance of optimal MS levels.

Coach Bailey is also of the opinion that as an athlete has an initial decline in their elastic strength qualities in their late twenties, they will also eventually begin to initially lose MS qualities slightly later in life. It is recognized that an athlete’s MS levels will begin to decline at approximately age 30. Coach Bailey’s opinion, based on his empirical experiences as both an Olympic Weightlifter and coach, is that MS levels are maintained slightly longer, until the age of 32.

The consistent annual development or the “banking” so to speak of enhanced MS qualities over time, along with the associated benefits of MS qualities, will not only enhance an athletes performance during a long and physically demanding season, but perhaps also turn back the hands of time, providing an abbreviated “fountain of youth” so to speak, resulting in the fore mentioned offset of elastic strength loss resulting in a possible enhanced longevity of an athletes career.

The eventual loss of an athlete’s maximal and elastic strength qualities, as well as many other neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, and physiological qualities with age is inevitable. The initiation, timing, enhancement, and maintence of MS qualities may assist to delay this process.

The Relationship Between Strength and Sports Performance

It would make sense to derive that if athlete possesses greater levels of MS and/or power vs. their opponent, with all else being equal, the stronger athlete would have a distinct advantage over their opponent. However, considerations for the necessary MS levels include but are not limited to the following:

Sport of Participation

Requirements of MS levels may differ depending upon the specific sport of participation. The physical requirements of each particular sport will assist to determine the various strength levels that are necessary for the participating athlete. For example, does a fencer need the same MS requirements as a football player?

Position of Sport Participation

As many athletes participate in the same sport of competition, the physical requirements based on their specific position or role of play may differ. Although an offensive lineman and wide receiver both participate in the same sport of American football, is the required proportion of physical qualities necessary for optimal athletic performance the same? Does the wide receiver need the same level of MS level as the offensive lineman?

Competitive Level of Sports Participation

Participation at various (and specific) levels of athletic competition may require advanced levels of MS parameters. An athletes MS requirement may considerably differ when comparing the demands of a professional athlete to that of an amateur athlete. The same may be said of the differences in the competitive “levels” of competition.

For example, NCAA intercollegiate athletics are divided into three (3) divisions (levels) of competition, Division I, Division II and Division III. It could be derived that higher MS levels would be required for successful participation at the higher levels (i.e. Division I athletes vs. Division II athletes vs. Division III athletes) of athletic competition. It has been documented that differences in the displayed MS and power levels do exist when comparing the strength and power characteristics of intercollegiate Division I, II, and III football players.

Standards of Competition

There are levels of strength that are necessary, not for guaranteed success, but as criteria to allow (qualify) an athlete to compete. This is certainly common in Powerlifting and Weightlifting, but is very important in other sports of participation as well. I recall a conversation with an Olympic Track and Field throws coach who stated that in the three previous Olympic games, all medaling shot-putters had bench pressed at least 440 pounds. If this statement is held true, then an athlete would have to enhance their MS in the bench press to at least 440 pounds to compete for a medal, not guarantee them a medal.

The same may be said of various professional sports annual combines. Based upon the participating athletes displayed levels of various strength qualities, they are evaluated against their peers based on a standardized level to predict performance and athletic success. The athletes competing at these combines must meet or surpass specific “physical” standards for consideration as not only a possible draft selection, but what specific level of draft selection by the professional teams of the league.

“Staying Fresh” vs. “Staying Strong”

There are often times during the competitive season where a Head Sport Coach or Strength and Conditioning Professional will make the statement “We need to keep our players fresh”. Frequently this means having the players rest, or perform workouts at low sub-maximal intensity levels as not to “wear the players out” so to speak.

There are certainly times through a long and physically taxing season where such a thought process may be feasible under specific scenarios, however, to adhere to this philosophy for a significant extended period of time may prove costly.

For an athlete to avoid appropriately planned and timed periodic high intensity, low volume training in-season, will contribute to a deconditioning of the athlete and a forfeiture of the MS and power qualities processed at the initiation of the season.

Coach Parker in-season weight programs placed emphasis of not only maintaining MS and power qualities during the season, but also improving these physical qualities as the season progressed. During one of his NFL Super Bowl bound team’s seasons, 35 of his players performed a PR in at least one lift during the same playoff game week.

The in-season program design is beyond the scope of this writing, however, the lesson presented is that (a) there is a distinct difference between “staying fresh” and “staying strong, and (b) in-season MS and power quality enhancement can occur. Maintaining and/or enhancing an athlete’s strength qualities in-season is what will keep the athlete “fresh”.

There are certainly a number of factors to consider during the instrumentation of an in-season training program. A sport such as football may present a more organized structure for training as only one competition is scheduled per week, vs. the multiple competition’s scheduled per week in sports such as baseball, basketball, and hockey.

However, there are strength coaches in these for mentioned sports, such as Coach Vermeil who programed appropriate high intensity exercises not only during the in-season, but prepared his athletes with appropriate intensity and low volume workouts on game day as well.

Maintaining, if not improving MS and power qualities during the in-season may be one of the few advantages that an athletic team may have over their opponent in the present era of advanced athletic performance enhancement training.

Training Time

Discussions with former NFL and Hall of Fame Strength Coach Al Miller and Strength Coach Derek Hansen brought to light the relationship of excessive MS training in regard to the time considerations available for the athlete’s training. In addition to the “risk vs. reward” contemplation during the application of increased high intensities for exercise performance, the time available for training is an additional factor that should not be ignored.

Organizations such as the NCAA place restricted time allotments for the training of an athlete. The athlete’s work capacity or their resistance to excessive fatigue is also a factor of suitable programming (training time).

The question arises if additional training time is spent to increase MS qualities that may not be necessary or excessive, is there enough training time remaining to properly train the other important physical qualities necessary for the athlete to produce optimal and repeated athletic performance?

Training time restrictions, in association with the athlete’s work capacity to performance train efficiently, are definitive considerations in the program design for the enhancement of multiple strength qualities that are necessary for high level athletic performance. Unnecessary emphasis of MS qualities may result in an absence of sufficient training of other important strength qualities.

Strength in Athletic Performance Summary

Maximal Strength is a basic and important characteristic for improving athletic performance. However, MS qualities in association with power type qualities are essential for the achievement of optimal athletic performance. A MS strength reserve is a contributing factor to maintaining athletic performance throughout a long season, as well as enhancing the longevity of an athlete’s career.

During the application of high intensity exercise the “risk vs. reward” must also be considered, as excessive high intensity loads may place the athlete at increased risk of injury. The appropriate and proportionate level of MS necessary for each individual athlete is contingent upon a multitude of factors, and includes the “eye of the coach”, likely the most essential factor in determining the MS level necessary for the athlete. It is the coach’s eye, which is the “talent” that separates the great coaches from the good ones.

Bibliography

1. Fry, AC and Kraemer WJ, Physical performance characteristics of American collegiate football players. Journal of Applied Sports Science Research 5 (3): 126 – 138, 1991

2. Hansen, Derek personal communication

3. Komi, PV, Stretch-shortening cycle. In: Strength and Power in Sport (2nd ed). Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell Science, pp. 184 – 202, 2003

4. Lyttle, AD, Wilson, GJ, and Ostrowski, KJ, Enhancing performance; maximal power versus combined weights and plyometrics training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 10(3): 173 – 179, 1996.

5. Miller, A., personal communication

6. Parker, J., personal communication

7. Stone, MH, “Explosive Exercise” National Strength and Conditioning Association Journal, 15 (4): 7 – 15, 1993

8 Vermeil, A., personal communication

9. Zatsiorsky, VM, and Kraemer, WJ, Science and Practice of Strength Training. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, pp. 33 – 39, 2006.

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Today, I’m happy to have coach Dave Tenney of the Seattle Sounders (MLS) on the site. I first met Dave a couple years back when he asked if I could evaulate some of the players on the team using the Omegawave because the organization was considering purchasing one for Dave to use.

Since then, Dave and I have talked regularly about training and performance and he’s an extremely knowledeable and experienced coach that really gets the big picture. He’s also always on the cutting edge of technology and is in touch with the latest new training tools and solutions out there to help improve the training process.

Dave, I’m sure that as a coach for a professional soccer team in the US that also has ties to some of the biggest soccer clubs in the world you are well connected and hear a ton about some of the newer technologies and coaching tools that are out there and on the horizon, where do you see our field going in the next 5-10 years and what role do you see technology playing in that? Are there any particular systems or tools that you are particularly excited about or think have a lot of potential?

I just came back from Holland, and I think GPS and systems like the Inmotio system are allowing us to measure the mechanical load of team training far better than we ever have before. We have never been able to so accurately measure what we do in the team training environment than we can now.

That is changing.

This will allow us to better comprehend the overload that takes place. If we can measure the metabolic load of accelerations and decelerations, then we can begin to program more precisely. This is going to be a rapidly evolving field, as, within five years, we’ll probably have smart shirts that can measure all of that, but do it faster and more accurately than now.

Dave, it’s been a couple of years now since you first contacted me about my use of heart rate variability, can you tell us a bit about how you first become aware of the technology and what prompted you to get in touch with me in the first place?

We noticed there were some European teams coming though Seattle for pre-season, who used what I would call a scientific approach to training, and were starting to figure out how to use it with the OmeagWave program. After coming by your facility, and seeing the information we were able to get from it, I decided it was an investment in improving how we prepare our athletes.

When I first started using HRV with some of your athletes from the Seattle Sounders, what were your initial thoughts as far as the information it was able to provide you with as a coach?

Beyond using HRV, we were also at the time using the Polar T2 system to monitor training loads. However, I was slowly becoming frustrated, because I didn’t really know what a “high” measurement meant. Did the players perform too much? Why was a certain player high?

My first thought was that this would be giving me a better indicator of why an athlete would be high or low in his HR response. It filled in a big picture to the puzzle. When you begin to understand the metabolic make-up of your athletes, and then get a good picture in how they typically fatigue, then all the other forms of training monitoring – Polar HR, GPS, etc. – takes on a new relevance

Based on the HRV results and feedback that I was able to give you, what impact did it have on how you approached training the athletes that we were testing? How was this approach different than it might have been if you had not been able to use HRV with those guys?

We could individualize our loading structure so much better. We could make earlier interventions with athletes because the residue of fatigue was there to be clearly recognized. There was less of a “put him out there and hope he makes it through”. It also opened up a whole new world of individualization of recovery methods based on the results we were getting.

And, lastly, it helped us really understand what was taking place with a guy. Maybe he didn’t look right, lethargic… This gave us the tools to recognize he was fatigued, and he needed us to back off.

Can you give us any specific examples of big changes in performance or fitness or recovery and such that happened with any particular players that were included in that first test group?

The first test group was given some specific recovery methods. We have it programmed well enough now, where we know what athletes need which type of soft tissue therapy post training based on HRV data. We’ve had our starting center midfielder here, just end the season leading the league in tackles won, and playing over 1,200 more minutes than previous seasons – after having nagging quad injuries that previous two years. I attribute this to how well we managed our system using HRV.

A second example is our right back, who we actually kept on the field and played more than we normally would have because he continued to have very healthy parasympathetic tone. We were deep into our 2010 season, and had multiple games per week, and the coaching staff felt this player needed a rest, because we had no cover for him and couldn’t afford to lose him.

I was adamant that HRV indicated there was little residual fatigue there, and other players who had played less needed a rest far more than he did. This player continued on and played every match the rest of the year.

Obviously the coaching staff and team must have seen some benefits from using HRV since they went out and spent the thousands of dollars it costs to get the Omegawave system, what all went into the decision making process within the organization to go ahead and spend the money and begin using HRV on a team wide basis?

I think there are two elements to this: (1) if top European teams have been using it, then it will have instant credibility with the players and coaches in MLS. So, it was actually my head coach who asked me to look into it after hearing that Bayern Munich and AC Milan had used it. (2) We have such a crammed, busy schedule that the management that can avoid injuries and optimize performance can have a huge jump on the competition.

So, since our head coach was in favor of it, and our first experiments at your place made it seem that it could be a useful tool, our club decided to invest in it.

Can you tell us how you’ve been able to incorporate HRV assessments into the grand scheme of the team’s overall fitness training plan throughout the off-season as well as the in-season? What other sorts of assessments and monitoring do you guys do aside from using HRV?

As I said previously, I use HRV to cross-reference Polar T2 data to refine the way that we look at HR curves as part of our post-training analysis. If a player is “green”, fresh, and healthy from positive HRV scores, then I become less worried about high HR values. In fact, this may be the perfect time to over-load him.

However, I am going to watch my loading on someone who may start a training week overly sympathetic dominant. Beyond that, we also measure power (jump mat) during the year, we will use the FMS. This is what we would do above and beyond the pre-season measurements we may take.

I know that for me personally, using HRV over the last ten years has really pushed me to learn a great deal more about the body and performance in general. Is there anything that really stands out in your mind that using HRV has taught you as a coach that you didn’t know before and probably wouldn’t have learned without the technology?

Yeah, it just opens up a new world to understanding the physiological impact of your games and training sessions. You learn to see and understand residual fatigue. The effect that overall stress has on athletes and their ability to make quality adaptations to training. Normally, this is something that’s been very difficult to do.

In reality, people have put together 8 week programs, and hoped they worked based on such a program with past athletes. This allows us to periodize in a week to week manner so much better.

Obviously you guys are a big team with athletes whose careers depend on their performance, but what advantages do you see HRV offering the average guy who just works out to stay in shape for a recreational sport or even just to stay healthy and fit? Do you think using HRV can help them get better results?

I think in some ways, it’s even more important for these guys. We have a generation of guys who like get in the weight room, or put on some running shoes and “get it on” every day. They don’t feel like they’ve done something until they pushed themselves to the point of exhaustion. A guy like this, without a coach, is due for some serious overuse injuries as he gets into his 30’s. This is where HRV comes in. A motto that I like is: “Always train as hard as you should, not as hard as you can”

That’s a great motto, I might have to steal that one!

Last question…your club has made the playoffs in each of its first three seasons as an MLS team and became the first ever MLS team to repeat as Open Cup Champions so obviously you and the staff there are doing a fantastic job of getting guys ready to play.

From the bottom to the top, what are some of the biggest factors that you think have led the team to being very successful in such a short amount of time? Based on your many years of experience as both a player and as a fitness coach, what do you think are some of the most important components to finding and maintaining success, both as an athlete and as a team?

If I could list how HRV (and our other methods) have helped us, I would say we’ve been able to get an edge by:

1)      Measure residual fatigue on a weekly basis.

2)      Create an individualized recovery protocol for almost every player.

3)      Learn that training less often leaves our team fresher.

4)      Make accurate squat rotation decisions, because we know which players are most likely to bring an optimized performance.

Thanks a lot Dave! I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to everyone on the site. Is there anywhere that people can find out more about you or get more information on any future coaching opportunities like the mentorship weekend that you put together last summer?

Thanks Joel, just keep checking back here on your website, on strengthcoach.com, or find me on Facebook to find out about the Mentorship Weekend (will be in June 2012), or Internship program we have going on.

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Originally developed in the 1960’s as part of the Russian space program, the science of heart rate variability has since found broad application in cardiac medicine, though in the last two decades this technology has spread into the elite levels of strength and conditioning.

Providing a glimpse into an individual’s autonomic nervous system profile, heart rate variability measurements accurately pinpoint an athlete’s location on the fatigue-recovery-supercompensation curve. Such data can provide the missing link in optimizing an athlete’s programming – especially those who require the highest levels of physical preparation.

Stress and the Autonomic Nervous System

The primary way in which the brain communicates with the periphery of the body is by sending messages down the spinal cord and out through the many branches of the nervous system. The branch of the nervous system that most are familiar with is the conscious, voluntary nervous system. This branch is used in performing a squat, kicking a ball, or striking an opponent – an athlete decides to move and it happens.

Behind the scenes, though, lies another branch of the nervous system that regulates a myriad of tasks we’d rather not spend our days worrying about. This branch projects to organs besides skeletal muscle and controls actions such as digestion, salivation, blood pressure, heart rate, and many others. Most of the communication occurring in this branch is unconscious and automatic – it is thus termed the autonomic nervous system and is highly responsive to stress.

The goal of the autonomic nervous system is to maintain homeostasis, and it does so by utilizing its two subsystems – the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.

In the most basic sense, the sympathetic nervous system acts to speed up certain processes within the body. In The Wisdom of the Body, the eminent 20^th century physiologist Walter Canon termed this our “fight-or-flight” response, effectively coining the phrase. The sympathetic system is responsible for raising our heart rate at the onset of a stressor, increasing blood pressure, and dumping glucose into the blood to fuel activity.

In contrast, the parasympathetic nervous system works in opposition, effectively slowing everything back down. The decrease of heart rate and storage of nutrients are two of the many “rest-and-digest” activities mediated by this system.

Homeostasis is then maintained through a physiological seesaw. For the athlete, intense training presents a large stressor to the body, invoking a strong sympathetic response to meet the increased metabolic demands.  Post-workout, as the sympathetic tone subsides, the parasympathetic system becomes facilitated and drives the rest and repair necessary to get things back to normal. Ideally, these two systems remain balanced in their efforts, each ramping up and down as needed.

If a technology existed that could assess this sympathetic/parasympathetic balance, coaches could gain an excellent understanding of an athlete’s physiological state and corresponding location on the fatigue-supercompensation continuum. Information like this could drive effective, evidence-based programming decisions. For example, adjustments in volume could be made on the fly specific to the recovery status of an athlete’s physiology.

Fortunately, this technology does exist and, as mentioned above, it’s called heart rate variability (HRV).

The Science and Measurement of
Heart Rate Variability

There seems to be a misconception by some that the heart, as it beats away in the ribcage, acts like a metronome, adhering to a strict cadence at all times. In reality, the heart beats through a wide spectrum of rhythms throughout the day – these beat-to-beat variations are what the science of heart rate variability is targeting. Given that the cardiovascular system is largely controlled through the actions of the autonomic nervous system, analysis of HRV provides some great insight into these control mechanisms.

For example, when the body is battling a stressor, the variation between beats tends to be lower (i.e., less heart rate variability) and it assumes a more metronome-like quality. This situation is indicative of higher sympathetic nervous system activity – the “fight-or-flight” response is ramped up to handle the homeostatic challenge. Conversely, as the variability of the heart rate increases, the body assumes more of a rest-and-repair status, indicating increased activity of the parasympathetic nervous system.

Specific to athletes, we want strong sympathetic nervous system activity during their training to fuel the highest levels of performance, but we also want them to be able to shut that system off so they can effectively recover for subsequent session.

To use an automobile for comparison, it’s hard to slow down if you can’t take your foot off the gas. Constant activation of the sympathetic nervous system creates an unfavorable shift in the sympathovagal balance, greatly increasing the likelihood of fatigue and overtraining.

Heart rate variability is typically quantified through the use of an electrocardiogram (ECG) and measurements can take between 5 minutes and 24 hours, depending on the goals of the measurement. For athletes, 5-10 minutes seems to provide an accurate picture; for things like circadian variation, longer exposure times are necessary.

The image below provides an example of what the ECG output data might look like.

The peaks in the above wave provide a glimpse into the cardiovascular electrical activity when the ventricles are depolarized – we call this the QRS-complex. The first order of business when assessing HRV is to identify the successive QRS-complexes, so that R-R intervals (drawn above) can be determined. It’s these intervals that provide the information necessary to determine a person’s beat-to-beat variability.

Further mathematical analysis, the description of which exceeds the nature of this review, provides a frequency polygon like the one pictured below.

The most important thing to recognize on the above graph is the LF and the HF, standing for low frequency and high frequency, respectively. These frequency measurements are used to quantify the activity of the two branches of the autonomic nervous system.

Work by Selman et al. (1982) and Eckberg (1997) has shown parasympathetic activity largely accounts for HF, while LF is comprised of output by both the parasympathetic and the sympathetic systems. A ratio between these two measurements, called the LF/HF ration, is often used to assess the fractional distribution between the two systems and is an important marker of sympathovagal balance.

While the application of this technology has been broad across its 50-year history, the following studies highlight its efficacy when applied to monitoring applied training stresses and predicting potential physiological exhaustion.

Weightlifting Performance and HRV

In the 2011 paper entitled Parasympathetic Nervous Activity Mirrors Recovery Status in Weightlifting Performance After Training, Chen et al. set out to determine whether measurements of heart rate variability, and more specifically parasympathetic power, could be used to assess recovery status after weight training.

The study design included a collection of seven male weightlifters (19.3 ± 0.3 years). All had been training for more than 6 years prior to the study and had competed at the national or international level.

To determine the HRV modulation during the recovery period, these men were subjected to a 2-hour training session following a 10-day detraining period – their performance was then reassessed at intervals across the recovery to assess changes. HRV measurements were to be taken before training and 3, 24, 48, and 72 hours into recovery. Along with HRV, blood samples were extracted to measure serum levels of DHEA-S and creatine kinase, both markers of tissue damage and neural repair mechanisms. Lastly, subjective muscular pain scores were recorded on a 10-point scale.

What these researchers found was a high correlation between the measured parasympathetic power and the markers of fatigue, recovery and performance. Note the similarities in the graphs below that highlight back squat performance, hormonal levels, and HF power.

As the performance declined after the initial bout, we see the simultaneous suppression of both DHEA-S and HF power, which slowly return to normal over the 72-hour period. The initial decrease in DHEA-S serum levels is explained by increased consumption to fuel neural repair – this biological response is evident in many stress conditions (Gudemez et al. 2002, Lee et al. 2006).

There is strong biological plausibility for the decreased HF power, as well. As the training load of these subjects increased, the autonomic nervous system shifted to a more sympathetic dominant-state, which signified an increased demand for recovery. In 2004, Iellamo et al. showed a similar shift from parasympathetic-to-sympathetic predominance in rowers as their training volume increased. Studies like these provide strong support towards the accuracy of HRV measurements with respect to fatigue state.

HRV in Middle-Distance Runners

A 1999 prospective cohort study by Pichot et al. assessed HRV in seven national-level French middle-distance runners, aged 24.9 ± 4.8 years, across an intense, four-week training block. The structure of the block was designed to present near-exhaustive training sessions for the first three weeks, and then deload in the fourth week.

Pichot et al. had this to say about their results:

“Our data confirm the impressive autonomic changes that occur with 3 wk of intensive physical training, consisting in a global and progressive decrease in heart rate variability and in a tendency toward a progressively lower parasympathetic and higher sympathetic drives.”

The graphs below illustrate the HF power suppression incurred by these athletes and the shift towards sympathetic dominance through the LF/HF ratio.

These results mimic those shown in a 1998 study by Uusitalo et al., which highlighted an increased resting LF/HF ratio in endurance athletes across a six-to-nine week overtraining protocol – an increase not incurred during a normal six-to-nine week block.

Many claim resting heart rate measurements to be an accurate barometer for assessing recovery, but Pichot and his colleagues make a point to explain just how unreliable resting heart rates can be in determining an athlete’s fatigue status.

Across the three intense training weeks, these runners experienced an average increase in resting heart rate of only 3.74 beats per minute – this worked out to about a 9% change across the seven subjects. Not only is a change like this rather insignificant, it’s impossible to isolate this physiological variation to a single component given its dependence on a multitude of environmental factors.

Now contrast this with the more than 40% variation in heart rate variability across the same time period. Sensitivity like this provides a much greater gauge of an athlete’s overreaching/overtraining status during a training block, especially given HRV’s consistent baseline accuracy (Hohnloser et al. 1992, Huikuri et al. 1990).

HRV and the Immune System

Modeling the relationship between stress and the immune system is one of the landmark discoveries in the field of stress physiology, first noted close to seventy years ago by the Austrian physiologist Hans Selye.

In his lab rats, Selye discovered that thymicolymphatic atrophy, or the breakdown of immune tissues, along with adrenal hypertrophy and peptic ulcers create a triad of symptoms forming some sort of nonspecific response by the body to generic unpleasantness. He would go on to term this the general adaptation syndrome, which we now just refer to as the stress-response. While some of Selye’s theories have since been disproven, the association between increasing levels of stress and immunosuppression remains well supported in the literature.

Though the pathophysiology is complex, the basic idea is that sympathetic nervous system hormones, beta-endorphins, CRH, and, most prominently, glucocorticoids all act to suppress immunity during the stress-response. For example, glucocorticoids can directly cause shrinking of the thymus gland, halt the formation of new lymphocytes, and make circulating lymphocytes less responsive to certain cytokines. They can even cause lymphocyte apoptosis through a variety of mechanisms.

All this leads to a simple fact – the more stress the body incurs, the more likely it is to become infected.

While this should worry just about anyone reading, it’s the elite athlete or coach who should be most concerned. Creating high performance requires the application of substantial stress, which invariably pushes one’s physiology closer and closer towards pathology.  In this regard, HRV provides valuable predictive data that can be useful in implementing prophylactic measures before illness manifests and performance suffers.

In a well-constructed 2011 prospective cohort study, Hellard et al. set out to examine the association between HRV and illness in 18 elite swimmers, each competing on either the national or international level.

The most impressive quality about this study’s design is its duration. The researchers measured HRV in these athletes every Monday for two full years, between 2003 and 2005. That’s over 1508 weeks of total observation across the cohort.

The main results of this study were the following:

1. During the winter, the national-level swimmers were more prone to illness than the international-level swimmers.
2. The weeks prior to the appearance of an upper-respiratory tract and pulmonary infection, and also soft-tissue pathology, were characterized by an increase in parasympathetic activity (more on this below).
3. During the weeks in which a swimmer had an upper-respiratory tract or a pulmonary infection, a shift in the sympathovagal balance toward sympathetic predominance was noted.
4. In the winter, measurements of lower parasympathetic power and higher sympathetic power were predictive of soft-tissue pathology. (Cold temperature was one of many generic stressors Selye used to produce the general adaptation syndrome in his rats.)

While most of the results should come as little surprise, the second item listed concerned me a bit. How, with so much discussion regarding the positive effects of parasympathetic power, was higher HF measurement predictive of illness? The authors of the study provide a brilliant explanation.

The period preceding the clinical expression of the illness could serve as the incubation phase for the pathology, which tends to be about five days for upper-respiratory tract and pulmonary infections. The boost in parasympathetic power is probably involved in the body’s attempt to mount an early immune response to foreign, inflammatory stimuli. Once the pathology has “won” and begins multiplying and scattering its viral and bacterial agents into the bloodstream, the body undergoes the classic immunological stress-response, characterized by an increase in sympathetic activity.

Though more research is required in this area to be sure, the researchers recommend increased medical attention and prophylactic measures be given to those athletes who experience a sudden increase in parasympathetic power followed by a shift towards sympathetic dominance.

Along with these results, Allgorve et al. (2008) showed increased exercise intensity characterized by a sympathovagal shift towards sympathetic dominance to be destructive to salivary immune cells known as immunoglobulins. Clearly, there is a link between training stress and immunological function – HRV provides an effective way to monitor the interplay between the two.

The Bottom Line on Heart Rate Variability

For the sake of brevity, I’ve only picked a handful of studies in support of HRV – there are dozens more showing similar promise towards the realm of strength and conditioning. Aside from its efficacy, heart rate variability is also much easier to measure than other fatigue assays such as serum lactate or hormonal testing. And with BioForce HRV, the technology will finally be affordable for everyone.

In the right hands, programming optimization through the science of heart rate variability can be the determinant in reaching new levels of performance.

BioForce HRV is coming December 13th. Make sure to download the FREE Report on The End of Group Training if you haven’t yet and discover how technology is about to change the game.

Q: “Do I have to have a smartphone in order to use BioForce HRV?”

A: No, aside from working on any phone with the apple iOS or Android OS, BioForce HRV will also work on the ipod touch as well as Android based tablets. It will not, however, work with PCs or laptops at this time. If you do not have an iphone or Android phone, the least expensive option to run the software is an ipod touch and this is what I’ve personally used to run it on and it works very well.

Q: “What is HRV technology and how does it work?”

A: In short, heart rate variability is a powerful technology that measures how much stress the body is under and how well it is recovering by looking at the autonomic nervous system. It is this system that is responsible for coordinating the body’s adaptive responses and by measuring its current state, we can get object look at whether the body is under stress or recovering from it or anywhere in between.

The technology has been around for close to 50 years and was developed by the Russians, but it’s also been widely used in the medical fields and there is a great deal of research validating its use. I’ll be discussing the technology more as I get closer to launching BioForce HRV as well.

“Q: I bought Ultimate MMA Conditioning, does that make me eligible to get access to the pre-sale a day earlier than everyone else?”

A: Yes, any customer that has bought my book, DVD, Polar RS100, Special Strength Training or any other product is considered a customer and as a special thanks, all customers will be given a 24 hour window to pre-order BioForce HRV before anyone else. Anyone who buys one of my products before BioForce HRV will be given this opportunity

Q: What happens after you sell the initial 250 BioForce HRV Systems?

After the first 250 systems that I am making available for pre-sale on the 13th are gone, people will be given the option to buy the system and be put on the waiting list for the next shipment to become available. I anticipate these second phase orders going out sometime in mid to late January. Those who purchase one of the first 250 systems will have their orders shipped out January 1st.

Q: “I’m not a competitive athlete, do I still need to use HRV?”

Anyone that trains hard and values their time should use HRV to monitor and manage their training. The technology helps personalize training in a way that’s simply not possible any other way and this individualization ensures you’ll get the best results possible.

I’ve used HRV for more than ten years to train everyone from world champion fights to housewives to Microsoft executives and everyone in between. Aside from fitness and performance, HRV also provides information that correlates very strongly with overall cardiovascular health and overall wellness, not to mention life expectancy. HRV is a very powerful tool that has broad implications and you do not need to be a world class athlete to get the most out of it. Anyone that wants to get the most out of their hard work and is ready to get more out of their training in less time should be using BioForce HRV.

Q: “What’s the difference between BioForce HRV and the ithlete app?”

The BioForce HRV app is built using the ithlete’s platform, but there are several difference between the two apps, both in terms of how the HRV test is done and also how it is reported. The changes that were made were done so based on my 10 years of experience using the Omegawave.

BioForce HRV was designed with the same function and testing protocol as the Omegawave in mind and it correlates very highly to the same readings the Omegawave provides. BioForce HRV uses a different testing protocol and different thresholds to determine states of overtraining than ithlete, so if ithlete and BioForce HRV were to be used simultaneously, they would likely not always provide the same training recommendations and there would be some disagreement between the two.

Q: “Are you going to show me how to use HRV in my training?”

Absolutely! HRV won’t do you much good if you don’t know how to use it so making sure that it’s simple and easy to use is my first priority. All BioForce HRV Systems will come with “The Ultimate Guide to HRV” training manual that will teach you everything you need to know to get the most out of HRV technology.

The great thing about HRV is that the information is provides is very easy to use when you understand how the body works. I’m going to teach you step by step about the training process and how HRV fits into it. This manual is based on more than 10 years of my work and literally thousands of HRV tests performed on hundreds of athletes. By the time you’re done reading the training manual, all your questions will be answered and you’ll be ready to put the power of HRV to work for you.

Q” “I’m a coach or personal trainer, can I use BioForce HRV with my clients?”

BioForce HRV was designed to be used by one person per app and does not support multi users at this time. The next stage of development, however, will be to let coaches and trainers view the HRV results of all their athletes/clients from a central website. This will give you the power to manage the training programs of a large number of people very practically and easily.

Also, if you are a trainer or coach, I will soon have a reseller option available for you to resell the app to your clients and athletes. All resellers will be required to have purchased the app and used it themselves, however, because this is the only way to learn how HRV works and how it should be used. I strongly recommend anyone interested in becoming a BioForce HRV reseller to get the system for themselves ASAP and begin using it to learn how it works firsthand.

Q “How much will BioForce HRV cost?”

I will be providing all of the details of the cost to order BioForce HRV when we get closer to launch, but I will say that it will be affordable for everyone and very reasonably priced. The system will start at under $200 for the base package. There will be two packages available, one with just the app, hardware and training manual and one that also includes the Polar RS100. If you don’t have a heart rate monitor, you will at least need a wireless transmitter and the system is compatible with most Polar models and others.

BioForce HRV also comes with a lifetime money back guarantee. If you use it and don’t feel like it’s everything I have said it is and it doesn’t help you get more out of your training, you can return it at any time for a full no questions asked 100% money back guarantee. This means you can try BioForce HRV absolutely risk free and experience it for yourself without having to worry about whether or not it is worth the investment.

Q “How can I get my hands on BioForce HRV?”

As long as you’re on my email list, I’ll be giving out all the details of when and where you can get BioForce HRV. If you haven’t yet downloaded and read my FREE Report, make sure to do that now so you can get all the details. Anyone who this report will be sure to get all the details on how to get BioForce HRV when the pre-release becomes available on December 12th for existing customers and December 13th for everyone else.

	Shocking FREE Report Reveals Why CrossFit, Bootcamps, & P90X Are Destroying Your Training & How HRV Technology is about to CHANGE THE GAME…

Today is an incredibly important day…one more than ten years in the making.

Ten years ago, something happened that changed the entire course of my career as a strength coach and it opened my eyes to a whole new way to train.

Now, for the first time, I’m going to reveal exactly what happened and let you in on the story of how I become one of the most sought after coaches out there.

If you’ve read my book, you might already have some idea of this story, but now I’m going to give you all the details and share something even more exciting with you…

A Revolution Is Coming

You don’t want to miss out on this

I’ve put together a special FREE Report to tell you all about my story and why I think the days of the popular Group Training approach are numbered and will soon be coming to an end.

A lot of people may not be happy about this, but I’m going to tell you why this approach was designed to make people money, not produce results and how the power of technology is about to change the game completely.

This is a report literally ten years in the making and there’s very few people in the entire world that have more experience using the technology that I’ll discuss with you in the report.

Whether you’re an athlete, strength coach, trainer, or just workout to stay in shape, this is something you NEED to know about.

If you want to find out how you can get your hands on the same technology developed by the Russians to help optimize your training and finally put an end to the guesswork, download the FREE Report now…

Download the FREE Report NOW

	Shocking FREE Report Reveals Why CrossFit, Bootcamps, & P90X Are Destroying Your Training & How HRV Technology is about to CHANGE THE GAME…

A couple weeks ago, my good friend Joe Dowdell sent me an advanced copy of his new product Peak Diet & Training Summit video course that was filmed from their workshop in NY at Joe’s gym last summer. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it out to the workshop back when it happened, so I was looking forward to digging into the workbook, DVDs and everything that was included in the new product.

Who Is It For?

This is a product recommended and targeted towards personal trainers and strength coaches. Overall, I’d say it’s most well suited towards the personal training side of things, but with so much information in it, strength and conditioning coaches will likely benefit from working through it as well.

Joe Dowdell has been considered one of the top personal trainers the country for many years for good reason. He gets great results with the clients he works with and I think he’s one of the few personal trainers out there that combines a broad knowledge base with a huge amount of real world experience. He’s definitely not another “internet guru” that’s never really trained anyone. He’s a full-time trainer and successful gym owner that’s finally starting to get his training methods and information out there.

What Do You Get?

My first thought when I got the package was, “Holy sh*t, this is  TON of material!” Between the training and diet workbooks, there was close to 600 pages of information. It wasn’t just full of pictures or wasted space either, it was solid text and supporting graphics. All in all, I was very impressed with the sheer volume of training and diet information that Joe and Dr. Mike Rousell had put into the package.

As someone who has obviously put together these types of products before myself, I know how much time it takes to create material like this and I can only imagine how many hours of work went into creating the entire package that’s included in the course.

Aside from the two giant workbooks, there’s also 15 complete DVDs included as well. In other words, there’s more than enough content to go through. Here’s what I liked and you can expect to find each of the two different modules:

Module One: Program Design

Considering how much time Joe has spent learning from just about all of the popular strength and conditioning coaches out there, I was very curious to see what he’d put in the program design module and what his programming would look like.

What I found was a very comprehensive overview of a ton of the major programming principles and topics that trainers and coaches should all understand.

Joe covered a ton of great stuff including:

• Goals & Assessments
• Basic Training Principles
• Periodization
• GPP vs. SPP
• Sequential Method
• Conjugate Method
• Undulation Method
• Concurrent Method
• Block Periodization
• Training Session Structure
• Energy Systems Training
• Recovery & Regeneration
• Types of Strength Qualities
• Programming Volume & Intensity
• Exercise Selection
• Case Studies
• Program Design & Assessment Sheets
• 650 Exercise Database

Overall, I was extremely impressed with the amount of information on program design that was included in this component of the course. Joe did a fantastic job covering all the most important topics on program design and he included some great worksheets for assessments, planning and tracking the entire training process.

I think any trainer out there would benefit from working his or her way through the training design section of the course, there’s so much material it would be next to impossible for someone not to pick up something valuable from it. If you want to see all the details of exactly what’s covered in this portion of the course, CLICK HERE

Module II: Diet Design

The fact that the course covers not just training program design but also diet is part of what I liked most about it. There’s very few products out there that do a good job of covering either subject, let alone ones that do a great job at covering both. Training and nutrition should always go hand in hand for the best results and Dr. Mike Rousell knows his stuff.

He’s contributed to this site before and he’ll be putting together more articles soon as well. I really like his straightforward and practical approach. He keeps things simple and easy to apply, which is important in the real world of nutrition because so many people and even athletes just need the basics that work. I’ve seen too many diet plans that look great on paper, but there’s just no way they’ll fly in the real world because almost nobody will ever follow them.

• 6 Pillars of Nutrition
• Stages of Nutrition
• Supplement Pyramid
• Nutrition for Fat Loss
• Eating for Size & Strength
• Workout Nutrition
• Nutrient Timing
• Modular Meal Plan System
• 37 Recipes
• And more

Summing It Up: Is It Worth It?

The Peak Diet & Training Summit is not an inexpensive course, but overall I’d say it’s a great value for any personal trainer that takes his or her job seriously. When I first met Joe back around 2001 or so at Mel Siff’s house, he had already been through just about every certification course, workshop and internship imaginable. Since then, somehow he’s found the time to go to even more and I truly don’t think there is a trainer out there anywhere else that invests more time, effort and money into his education.

Dr. Mike Rousell is also a PhD so the amount of time he’s put into his education is obvious as well. When you consider how many hundreds and hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars have gone into the education of both these guys or how much money and time you’d have to spend to get the same education yourself, you can’t help but realize that having access to nearly 600 pages and 15 DVDs full of training info from the two of them is a tremendous value at almost any price.

I get emails and questions all the time about what reading material I recommend and what I spent my time studying. To be honest, there’s just not that much out there aside from research and few obscure books that I spend my time on or recommend, but this new course is definitely one I’m adding to my list of recommendations of must read material for any personal trainer.

I’d say it’s the most comprehensive course out there for program and diet design for personal trainers and the cost is less than attending just about any major workshop or seminar and certainly less than it would have cost to fly to NY and attend the live event. There’s not a ton of material I recommend and feel confident putting my name behind, but the Peak Diet & Training Summer is one such product and I think every trainer would benefit from investing in it. Joe just put up an option to break the cost into two payments, which makes it even for most people to pick up the course without breaking the bank.

To me, an eagerness to continue learning and a willingness to invest in education is what separates the best trainers out there from everyone else. Without question, this is what’s made Joe such a highly sought after trainer and I think any trainer that takes the job of training seriously should be constantly looking to further their own education and there are few courses for trainers out there that are packed with as much solid training and diet info.

Plus, if you need CEUs for the NSCA, you’ll get a full 2.0 CEUs for going through the course so that’s a nice bonus. Personally, I let my CSCS and NSCA-CPT lapse many years ago, but for any trainer that needs to renew this is a great way pick up the continuing ed while actually getting high quality material in the process.

The course comes with a money back guarantee so there’s no risk to pick up and see if it’s for you or not. I highly doubt Joe will be getting any returns on the course, but it’s always nice to know that someone stands behind their product with such a strong guarantee.

To get all the details on the course and see how you can pick up a copy for yourself, make sure to >>> Click Here & Check Out The Peak Diet & Training Summit <<<

The value of the physiological effects of living and training at high altitudes has been studied as far back as the mid-1960s, but only in the last few years has it become a popular topic in the realm of combat sports. Several top fighters have been seen on “all-access” shows and in the pages of magazines discussing the relocation of their training camps to high altitudes because of the purported benefits. Even more recently, a range of training equipment has been promoted to “simulate the effects of training at altitude.”

Given the obviously brutal physical and mental demands of training and competing in sports that require both explosiveness and endurance like MMA, BJJ, boxing, and wrestling, it’s no surprise that athletes in these sports are looking for every advantage they can get. The real question, however, is whether or not training at altitude, or using equipment designed to simulate doing so, provides any real performance enhancing benefits for combat athletes.

Moving an entire training camp to a location far outside of an athlete’s hometown and up to high elevations often requires a serious investment of time and money, so it’s important to know whether or not the potential performance enhancement will be worth the associated costs. Before making drastic changes to one’s training curriculum, take a closer look at altitude training for combat sports and examine the potential benefits, as well as the drawbacks, and discuss whether or not altitude training and the related equipment being sold today is all it’s made out to be—or if combat athletes are better off staying home.

Altitude Training 101

The basics of what it is and how it works

The interest and research in altitude training began in the late 1960s after the Olympics held in Mexico City (elevation 7349ft) resulted in markedly decreased performances in endurance events while conversely, many world records were broken in sprint/power events. After more than 40 years of research and experience, it’s now well understood that when the body is chronically exposed to higher altitudes — where the temperatures, humidity, and pressure of oxygen are lower, while sun and ultra violet and radiation are higher—several changes take place:

• Increase in EPO—stimulates red blood cell count for greater oxygen transport
• Improved VO2 max—the maximum amount of O2 that can be delivered
• Increase in capitalization leading to greater oxygen delivery to muscles
• Increased ability to buffer cellular acidity and tolerate anaerobic exercise
• Greater total blood volume

All of these changes are the result of the body’s defenses at work, doing what they can to make sure your vital organs and muscles continue to get the oxygen and other nutrients they need despite being in an environment that’s quite different from sea level. Many adaptations begin to occur as soon as an athlete reaches altitude, but most research shows that it typically takes at least 7-10 days of acclimatization before they start to really kick in and 3-4 weeks before they reach their peaks.

It’s also important to note that during those first 7-10 days, there is actually a drop in all these functions before they subsequently rebound and begin to improve. During this time, immune system function is compromised, as well, and the body becomes more prone to infections and illness

Altitude Training & Performance

Does it improve endurance…or not?

The changes that take place in an athlete’s body while living and training at altitude are generally well understood and agreed upon in scientific literature, however, the effects on performance are much less clear and far more complicated. It is no surprise that the benefits of altitude training have been the subject of a great deal of debate. Over the years, countless studies have been done on altitude training—over varying lengths of time and at different altitudes — with highly mixed and variable results.

Some studies have shown positive changes and improvements in performance, some have shown no difference at all when compared to training at sea level, and some have even shown decreases in performance. Often, the decreases have been attributed to the fact that it’s simply much harder to train at high intensities at altitude given the reduced oxygen, and it’s also well documented that muscle loss often occurs as a result of prolonged exposure as well. It seems that with such lowered training intensities and reduced muscle mass, some athletes were simply unable to maintain their same level of fitness, despite the beneficial changes in aerobic function that took place as a result of being at altitude.

In an attempt to decipher these mixed results, researchers began experimenting with a model that became known as “Live High/Train Low.” Using this approach, athletes would live at higher altitudes, but then return to much lower elevations to train. This, of course, offered the advantages that come with exposure to high altitudes without the reduced training intensity.

Generally, this model has proven to be more effective and has shown greater improvements in performance when compared to both living and training at high altitudes, but descending to lower altitudes to train every day is not always a practical option. Some athletes have attempted to spend either several hours per day or all night in a hypobaric chamber to try and simulate the effects of living at high altitudes while training in their normal environments, but it’s unclear whether this truly simulates living at altitude. Several studies have shown little to no changes in red blood cells, blood volume, and other measures of aerobic fitness.

The Truth About Altitude Training

Individual Results May Vary

When looking at the research alone, it’s difficult to make a clear case for going through the time and effort of moving a training camp to high altitudes, yet many athletes and coaches swear by the benefits of doing so. There’s no doubt that many successful athletes have routinely trained at high altitudes throughout their careers and reported feeling a noticeable improvement in their performance upon their return to sea level. These include several well-known combat athletes who have reported marked improvements in their conditioning after training at altitude.

Given this assertion, the real questions to ask are: Why have some studies showed improvements in performance while others have shown no improvement or even decreases in performance? Even more importantly, what are the implications for combat sports? Fortunately, in recent years, science has finally provided insight into some of these questions.

Perhaps the most clear cut answer is that we now know that there is a great deal of individuality in the body’s response to training at altitude. Some athletes respond well and see measurable improvements in performance, while others see next to none. It appears that the reason stems from genetics.

What science has been able to uncover is that some athletes possess genes that allow them to respond well to exposure to altitude and, therefore, see marked improvements in fitness—and some do not possess these genes. This means that athletes can generally be categorized into “responders” and “non-responders,” which explains, at least in part, why some studies show improvements in performance and some do not, as most test groups will include a mix of both “responders” and “non-responders.” The ratio of these two groups will have a strong influence on the study results as a whole.

Furthermore, it’s clear that aside from the genetic individuality in response, a huge number of variables also affect performance and the subsequent results as well. The exact altitude that’s used for living and/or training, the length of the stay at altitude, the type, amount, and quality of training that’s done, the sport being trained, how long an athlete spends back at sea level before their competition can all make a huge difference in the results.

When all these things are dialed in properly and an athlete has the right genes to respond well to being at altitude, fitness and performance can noticeably improve. When all these factors are not well-suited to the needs of the athlete or sport and/or the athlete doesn’t have the right genes, it’s highly likely that no real benefit will be seen and performance may even decrease as a result. In other words, after all the time, effort and expense of living and/or training at high altitude for several weeks, it’s possible that your fitness may end up worse than before you started.

Altitude Training for Combat Sports

The bottom line – Is it worth it to train at altitude or not?

By now, it should be clear that although altitude training has been promoted by some as the ultimate, end-all, be-all, legal form of performance enhancement, the reality is that it’s highly complex with a great deal of variables and there are no guarantees that it will improve performance. The decision to move a training camp to altitude should not be made lightly, and the only real way to know how you’re going to respond to such training is to try it.

Several products have recently appeared on the market, which have been promoted to simulate training at altitude by restricting airflow. While these may seem like a good alternative, the reality is that none of these devices replicate the environment seen at altitude whatsoever. There’s a world of difference between what is experienced at high altitudes—changes in the pressure of oxygen, temperatures, humidity, ultra-violet exposure—and wearing a mask that makes it harder to breathe. Such devices are certainly no substitute for living/training at altitude—not to mention that the Live High/Train Low model discussed earlier shows that the greatest benefits are seen from living at altitude, not just training there—and there is next to no research to support their use or reason.

For combat athletes, this means that the only way to find out if you’ll respond well to altitude is to try it. But attempting such measures for the first time in the midst of getting ready for a big fight is a risky endeavor. You might get lucky and have your efforts rewarded with improved conditioning, or you may turn out to be a non-responder, train at the wrong altitude, or get sick during the acclimatization period, and see no results or negative results. In other words, there’s a lot that can go wrong, so it’s a good idea to try training at altitude when a big fight and your career aren’t on the line.

Combat athletes also need to consider that at the end of the day, quality of training, coaching, and training partners are always the most important components of success. If moving a camp to altitude means that fewer training partners will be available, certain coaches might not be able to make the trip, or that you might not have access to all the necessary facilities and training equipment, then the sacrifices in the quality of training may far outweigh any potential fitness benefits.

On the other hand, if moving a training camp to altitude means you’ll be more focused in training and get away from your daily routine, stress, and distractions, then these potential benefits should be considered as well. Before deciding to live and/or train at altitude as part of a training camp, each and every combat athlete needs to answer several important questions and consider a wide range of variables, because when it comes to altitude training, just as in fighting, there are no guarantees, and the difference between success and failure most often lies in preparation.

To learn more about how you can improve conditioning without the headache and hassle of living and/or training at altitude, make sure to check out my book Ultimate MMA Conditioning

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