Not sure if I’m a fan of Benno. Although world renowned, his research results seem to depend on who is funding his research. ie. Adidas, MBT shoe. etc.
Truly brilliant man. His new research is promising. Last time I heard him speak he wasn’t very open to questions. At that point he was unable/ unwilling to provide any practical applications for his work…
Hopefully he will be more open to discussion in a small group setting.
Can you elaborate on the focus on muscle and tendon elasticity/ stiffness. How would this be focussed on in training? I know Plyo’s would increase stiffness and massage can reduce tone… Since this is a periodization thread, how would this work in a vertical integration model?
You do know he is a university professor…? 
That’s the interesting thing about working at a university – all the work I do is “practical”, so nobody in the Kinesiology department wants anything to do with me.
I do know that some of his recent articles have claimed that expensive shoes don’t work as advertised and orthotics only provide cushioning. In those cases, perhaps it is more useful to review his data, as opposed to his interpretation of the data. However, I’m more interested in his data/results on muscle-tendon tuning. His interpretation of the data may be open to interpretation.
There needs to be a distinction between stiffness from training volume and stiffness as a voluntary means of creating propulsion or an elastic response. I do believe you can bring down muscle tone in a manner that can enhance the latter. In that regard, there is a sweet-spot for muscle tone (too high is bad and too low is bad). In any case, increasing the positive aspects of stiffness must be done gradually over a long period of time in your training program.
Charlie and I discussed this concept of enhancing lower leg stiffness in a positive, progressive manner. We reviewed some of Dr. Nigg’s data on muscle tuning and Charlie had some profound ideas on how this could be done within a training program. I would like to reserve that information for the CFTS certification program, as well as consolidate some ideas after speaking with Dr. Nigg.
Reading this reminded me of Charlie’s comment on NBA players and the amount of plyometric work they (should) do.
Doh! Good point. I don’t know what I was thinking.
Too bad “practical” things aren’t valued more. Its their loss, I guess!
I think I see where you and Charlie were going with this… (at least in a vague kind of way) Very exciting concept! It would great if you could apply some “practical” applications to Dr. Nigg’s research.
At the conference I attended Dr. Nigg presented his ideas on vibrational tuning; specifically how it would influence running injuries. He believed that changing running surfaces, shoes or orthotics would do little to change the frequency.
I am REALLY interested to find out how you plan to implement these ideas! 
My guess would be that within a research study, you would have a number of limitations:
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Short study window. I would think that you would have to study this over months to years to see the full effect of changing surfaces and modalities - periodized for maximum effect.
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Quality of athlete in the study. I would expect that lower level athletes (or regular people) would exhibit less profound effects than elite athletes. I would also be interested to see the differences between developing youth athletes and mature athletes. I would expect that if you used this methodology properly during the developmental years of an athlete, you would have long lasting, profound results that would be hard-wired into the athlete.
So, I can’t see how he could replicate the precise effects of muscle tuning through training.
Helluva topic to discuss though…!!!
While I agree with the points you make, I wouldn’t confuse dropping means, during competition, that compete with the CNS reserves needed for sprinting during competition. CNS demands from sprint training are much higher in comp phase than GPP or SPP. Some of these exercises may be good and very much needed, you just can’t afford to do them during comp phase because higher and higher sprinting intensity is absorbing so much more of the CNS reserve than in earlier phases. Doesn’t necessarliy mean you can/should do without them during GPP or even SPP.
We’re not saying drop them absolutely. However, are there some exercises that are kept in the mix for, say, reasons of insecurity, rather than having a proper place in the training program? It is a discussion that needs to be addressed.
I liken some training programs to the way airlines overbook seats in flights.
The other issue is in relation to mature, elite sprinters versus developing non-elites.
It is not a “black-and-white” discussion. There are many shades of grey.
From my research, heavy isometric training is regarded the best for developing the tendons/increasing stiffness. It’s also the fastest way to CNS drainage too (30-60sec holds).
Muscle can’t compete with tendon elasticity.
And not a spiral in sight. 
This is a great topic… My question is, if the quality of sprints is what is most important in the training program (which I completely agree with), and the aim is to get as many quality repetitions as possible for the largest adaptation towards actually getting faster, then what is the opinion on using stuff like caffeine before training? If it helps with faster times during training itself, then that will provide a positive adaptation will it not?
Obviously recovery in between workouts has to be taken into account, but if that is in place…
Obviously not directed towards the caffeine intolerant which can cause fatigue, resulting in decreased athletic ability.
Sprinting and Elastic Strength.
Good article.
Original Link: http://maximum-maximorum.com/2010/07/29/sprinting-and-the-muscle-tendon-complex-mtc/
…The Muscle-Tendon Complex
The work of Professor Mcneil Alexander and other researchers has elucidated the intricate and fascinating subject of locomotion. In particular, mammalian locomotion both biped (two limbs) and quad riped (four limbs) respectively. In order for mammals to run, gallop or sprint quickly and efficiently, a number of physiological, and bio mechanical processes must work optimally AND in unison. To move at great speed, it seems that the legs of mammals act as springs. They perform a series of bounces where gravitational energy is stored in a “retainer” on contact with the ground and released during the lengthening or push off phase. Human runners/sprinters are no different from other mammals. During locomotion, kinetic energy is transferred to potential energy. At lower speeds of running or when walking, the transfer is between kinetic and gravitational potential energy.
So where is potential energy stored?.
Well the answer lies in the tendons of the limbs and aponeurosis or myofascial; tissue made of collagen and elastin that binds muscle together like glue. What is fascinating is how muscle interacts with tendons during mammalian and human locomotion. It has been held traditionally, that muscles lengthen or work eccentrically during the impact phase of running, and shorten or work concentrically during the propulsive or push off phase. On the contrary, new research seems to be almost heretic in its new findings. Muscle doesn’t contract eccentrically or concentrically on contact with the ground. If that is the case, then the final analysis leads to muscle working isometrically! This is in direct opposition to the commonly held belief that muscles need to be elastic during ground contact. Elasticity is needed yes, and both muscle and tendon are capable of storing energy in their elastic components , but tendons are far more efficient than muscle in this respect. The muscle-tendon complex relies on tendons acting as elastic entities and muscle acting as stiff components…
Not sure if this is the thread for talking about caffeine, it’s been discussed quite a bit on the forum elsewhere, but…
From what I’ve read, caffeine helps performance if used intermittently, but not if used all the time. I know one of Canada’s top sp[rinters in 96’ used to take 400mg or caffeine before a race (with L-Tyrosine and I think something else…all perfectly legal). I would let my athletes use caffeine before competitions, but with a few of them it made them too nervous and as a result they lost their appetite and wouldn’t eat before their races, and they would run tight, not relaxed.
OK yeah sorry if I changed the thread topic, I was just thinking about it after reading NumberTwo’s original post on doing what is necessary in order to run fast in training itself.
Because it’s a diuretic, it can block mineral absorption and of course, affect sleeping patterns. I am sure other members of the forum can be more scientific on this, but as a general strategy I would go with Herb here.
Caffeine’s diuretic effects are mild at most (and more than offset if the caffeine is taken in a beverage) and only relevant if
a. the caffeine is not used regularly
b. the athlete does something silly like, oh I don’t know, not drink something with it
so far as blocking mineral absorption, how is this relevant around a single workout?
Certainly, too much stimulation can be as bad as too little (U shaped arousal curve). But that’s something to test in training anyhow.
Lyle, one of my professors alluded to the duiresis effect of caffeine the other day. She lectures to the med school and used to be a clinical dietician. She doesn’t believe in the mantra of the usual dietician. She said she laughs when people tell her you can’t count coffee or tea toward your daily fluid intake goals due to diuresis. She was like what the hell do you think tea or coffee are 99% water. I doubt the diuresisis very much at all. I would be leery of using it all the time, but when one really needs a kick in the pants, I see nothing wrong with caffeine. As far as your comments Number Two, they are well heeded and well respected.