{"id":14663,"date":"2022-04-14T16:20:55","date_gmt":"2022-04-14T20:20:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mashelite.com\/?p=14663"},"modified":"2023-07-16T16:16:32","modified_gmt":"2023-07-16T20:16:32","slug":"flywheel-training-is-a-gamechanger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mashelite.com\/flywheel-training-is-a-gamechanger\/","title":{"rendered":"Flywheel Training is a Gamechanger"},"content":{"rendered":"
In the strength world, a new machine or new training protocol comes out almost weekly. As coaches we get so used to gimmicks that sometimes it\u2019s hard to see when something is actually of value. I am going to start out by saying the Kratos Flywheel has been nothing short of amazing. I have documented increased vertical leaps, personal records in the squat, and direct correlations to personal records in the snatch and clean & jerk. These benefits are related to improvements in joint elasticity, strengthened tendons, and Type II muscle hypertrophy. I have no doubts that the Kratos Flywheel would improve sprint times, change of direction capability, road jumps, and of course vertical leaps. Petr\u00e9, H., et al., 2018 showed statistically significant increases in the areas of hypertrophy, absolute strength, power production, horizontal movement, and vertical movement. For all you science nerds like me, the effect sizes were for hypertrophy, CSA 0.59; volume\/mass 0.59; maximum strength 1.33; power 1.19; horizontal 1.01 and vertical movement 0.85.<\/p>\n
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What does this mean in layman\u2019s terms? Simply put, you are going to get more jacked, stronger, more powerful, faster, and improve your hops. The best part is that it only takes 4\u20136-week bouts to get these improvements. Therefore, you can spend the last half of training preparing for individual sport. For my team, we can spend time focusing on snatch and clean & jerk. Lately, we have discovered or improved three elements of our program that have all yielded improved results: velocity-based training, athlete data collection, and the latest being our flywheel. I know most of you coaches aren\u2019t going to apply this, and you are going to say that you don\u2019t need this. It makes me sad for your athletes, but at the end of the day, I love winning. Therefore, by all means, keep doing what you\u2019re doing, but you have been told. One thing that no one can ever say about me is that I try to keep our training a secret. I learned from one of my mentors and friends, Louie Simmons, that the only way to effect change is to pass on knowledge. That\u2019s what I am trying to do. By the way, I have received zero compensation for this article. I am simply trying to help all of you.<\/p>\n
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We ordered our Kratos Flywheel from Kabuki at the middle of last year. I have been using it ever since with my top athletes and the data is undeniable in that it clearly works well. There are some exciting upgrades coming that include velocity and force readouts, and they will be available for existing units in case you want one now. In this article, I am going to briefly explain the concept, go over the benefits, and I will give you a quick way of implementation.<\/p>\n
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What is Flywheel Training?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Flywheel training started back in 1913 by some Swedish researchers, and then again in 1994 some Swedish exercise physiology scholars researched the idea of using flywheels, since they produce resistance independent of gravity, for Astronauts in space to prevent muscle atrophy. Flywheels produce a type of isoinertial resistance meaning a continuous resistance throughout the range of motion regardless of joint angle. This type of resistance causes an eccentric overload and increase in the velocity of the eccentric contraction, which is a beautiful thing for athletic performance that we will explain in just a bit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In normal resistance training, the external load is created by gravity acting on the mass of the object being lifted. Therefore, the resistance experienced at each joint is dependent upon the horizontal distance perpendicular to gravity from the specific joint in question the line of action of the external load. That means the total load experienced at each joint changes throughout the range of motion because the horizontal distance to the line of action changes. For example, when you are at the parallel position of a back squat, the horizontal distance from the hip to the line of action perpendicular to gravity of the barbell is at a maximum distance. Therefore, the hip is experiencing a maximum resistance. However, when you stand up, that distance is shortened each inch\/centimeter on the way up making the resistance less and less.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A flywheel uses inertia to form the resistance. Newton\u2019s first law is considered the law of inertia. Put simple, inertia is the property of an object to resist change. If an object is at rest, it will stay at rest until acted upon by an outside force. If an object is in motion, it will stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. With a flywheel, we are actually talking about rotational inertia, and the resistance required to alter the direction of a spinning wheel aka angular momentum. Angular momentum is equal to angular velocity (how fast the object is spinning) multiplied by the moment of inertia. The moment of inertia will help understand how we alter the resistance of a flywheel. Let\u2019s look!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Moment of Inertia = centre of mass x distance from the axis\u00b2 or I = \u03a3 mi<\/sub>ri<\/sub>2<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Therefore, if you want to increase the resistance of the flywheel, you can add a heavier wheel or wheels, or you can add a wheel that has a greater circumference. There is one more key that most overlook, and that is producing a greater concentric contraction for as long as possible creating maximal angular velocity of the flywheel. This action will cause the greatest potential angular momentum that will have to be overcome during the end range of motion. This action will also create a greater amount of stored energy that will have to be overcome during the eccentric contraction.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Alright let\u2019s put this simply!<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n We know that our muscles are capable of creating a greater force during the eccentric contraction. Our goal here is to overload the eccentric contraction. To do that, we can find creative ways to increase force during the concentric contraction. For example, on a squat we could use our arms to stand up at a greater velocity than we could have with just our legs. That will create a greater angular momentum during the eccentric contraction to be overcome. We won\u2019t use our arms to resist the eccentric load, since our muscles are already able to hand eccentric forces more easily. So why is it important to create an eccentric overload? Let\u2019s get into the benefits of the flywheel.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What are the benefits of Flywheel Training?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n This is where it gets good. I looked at two meta-analysis that compiled 46 different studies that met their compliance standards. Here are some of the benefits that you can expect:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Did I get your attention? I should have because now I can add the data from our athletes confirming increased jump heights, improved elasticity, and increased power production. Before I get into our results, let\u2019s look a bit more at the findings of these studies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some of the benefits that triggered my desire to purchase one were Type II fiber Hypertrophy, tendon stiffness, power production, and improved athletic performance. These are all the qualities needed to become an elite weightlifter, and really these are the qualities required to become a great athlete. I can get my athletes stronger with conventional resistance training, but we found that elasticity actually defines the potential of a weightlifter. This is where I am going to focus the rest of this article, but I plan to do a series on the flywheel. I hope to dive deeper into each benefit, the \u2018why\u2019 behind the benefit, and most important to all of you is the \u2018how\u2019.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The quality that I believe is behind the majority of benefits is the eccentric overload which creates a stiffer tendon and improved elasticity. A stiffer tendon is a tendon with greater potential for producing energy. This is defined as strain energy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n SE=1\/2K\u0394x\u00b2 <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n where SE = strain energy, k = stiffness or spring constant of material, and \u0394x = change in length or deformation of the object from its undeformed position.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dr. Keith Baar has taught all of us the importance of tendon strength. I found that the flywheel speeds up the process of creating that stiffness. Let me briefly explain the form and function of the tendon. The most important property of a tendon when it comes to performance or potential injury is that tendons are viscoelastic in makeup. That means, one side is fairly stiff and unyielding, which is the side that attaches to bone. However, the side of the tendon that attaches to muscle is a bit more forgiving. Otherwise, if a tendon is too stiff on the muscle side, the muscle becomes subject to a possible tear. This is where it\u2019s important to understand the balance.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A stiffer tendon will have more potential to create strain energy, which translates into higher jumps and faster sprint times. For example, when an athlete with thick and tight tendons strikes the ground with his or her feet, that strain energy within their Achilles tendon, patellar tendons, and other related tendons is expressed against the ground propelling the athlete horizontally through space. So how do we develop thicker and stronger tendons?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It is well established that strength training increases the blood flow and collagen synthesis, and long-term effects lead to tendon hypertrophy and greater potential for strain energy. At the cellular level, studies have shown that fibroblasts (tendon cells) respond with a more superior adaptation when a dynamic load is applied versus isometric. The result of mechanical tension in the form of strain (tissue deformation) led to increased collagen expression and increased matrix stiffness. Of course, this tendon stiffness has to be balanced with a strong muscle able to hold an isometric contraction, or otherwise an athlete will be at risk of muscular ruptures. The moral of the story is a balanced approach to one\u2019s training regimen.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Elasticity Improved<\/strong>–<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I have written about post activation potentiation for a lot of years. I have used it on myself when I was an athlete with lots of success, and I have used it with a number of athletes with success. It most commonly defined as a phenomenon by which the force exerted by a muscle is increased due to its previous contraction. Post-activation potentiation is a theory that states that the contractile history of a muscle influences the subsequent mechanical performance of muscle contractions. In layman\u2019s terms the theory states that a muscular contraction that is somewhat similar to the movement or movements performed after the particular contraction will positively affect the performance of those subsequent contractions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Post-Activation Potentiation isn\u2019t 100% understood, but there are two major theories and one other maybe. Here are the three:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The phosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chains (MLC) making actin and myosin more sensitive to calcium seems to make a lot of sense from my experience, and I will explain why. Like most of the research will agree, PAP seems to work best with people that contain a high amount of fast twitch fibers. Myosin in general is the determining factor between fast twitch and slow twitch fibers. MLC determine the velocity of the contraction along with the biggest determining factor ATPase an enzyme that breaks down ATP and begins the cross-bridge cycle. Calcium sensitivity is key for the binding of myosin to actin during the cross-bridge cycle leading to the power stroke aka muscular contraction. The more efficient this process becomes leads to more efficient and powerful contractions. However, there are mixed reviews on this theory, which makes sense based on which individuals are taking part in the research.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Figure 2 Myosin Molecule<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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