Altitude training.

[iwantmeseats]

Just heard on SEN that Steve Baker claimed that he felt like he had played a game last week, obviously he didnt.
Err, wasnt that oxygen portable basically an idea for Roo to rehab asap? Now we are shoving the entire list in there for hours a time to "prepare for finals"??? Huh?

Dosent one have to watch training loads to ensure you make top 4 first?

Sounds like a massive stuff up to me. I have always thought loading of training or however you want to term it is bordering on BS. However, who am I to claim so?

I only hope a week is long enough to recover from this farscical altitude balony and we can get back to what has worked perfectly well for the past few years! pfft.

[SainterK]

Just heard on SEN that Steve Baker claimed that he felt like he had played a game last week, obviously he didnt.
Err, wasnt that oxygen portable basically an idea for Roo to rehab asap? Now we are shoving the entire list in there for hours a time to "prepare for finals"??? Huh?

Dosent one have to watch training loads to ensure you make top 4 first?

Sounds like a massive stuff up to me. I have always thought loading of training or however you want to term it is bordering on BS. However, who am I to claim so?

I only hope a week is long enough to recover from this farscical altitude balony and we can get back to what has worked perfectly well for the past few years! pfft.

They also mentioned that a player didn't play because they were so tired...was that Jones?

Strange happenings, you think they would try it out and see how they pull up, before deciding to do two sessions in one week

[Beej]

They mentioned it on TFS last night and also said that following the loss to Essendon they decided not to use it this week.

It's been a while since I've seen us so flat in a first quarter as we were against Essendon.

Completely amateurish from a side in contention for a premiership.

Sort it out St Kilda.

[iwantmeseats]

I just dont understand why you would f*** with a winning formula. If it aint broke......dont...fix....it, may I say....FFS!

Would want to put in a absolute blinder Sunday!

[iwantmeseats]

Just heard on SEN that Steve Baker claimed that he felt like he had played a game last week, obviously he didnt.
Err, wasnt that oxygen portable basically an idea for Roo to rehab asap? Now we are shoving the entire list in there for hours a time to "prepare for finals"??? Huh?

Dosent one have to watch training loads to ensure you make top 4 first?

Sounds like a massive stuff up to me. I have always thought loading of training or however you want to term it is bordering on BS. However, who am I to claim so?

I only hope a week is long enough to recover from this farscical altitude balony and we can get back to what has worked perfectly well for the past few years! pfft.

They also mentioned that a player didn't play because they were so tired...was that Jones?

Strange happenings, you think they would try it out and see how they pull up, before deciding to do two sessions in one week

Jones? Dunno, I didnt hear that bit ! Gets worse the more I pay attention to it instead of blowing it off in my mind as a whole bunch of BS...altitude shenanigans that is.

[stinger]

I just dont understand why you would f*** with a winning formula. If it aint broke......dont...fix....it, may I say....FFS!

Would want to put in a absolute blinder Sunday!

of course you may.....i would even encourage such language in these circumstances......flowered up big time i would think....

[markp]

It was Robbo and the Ox, and they said that the altitude training we did during the week before the bombers game left players totally spent (and they think it was a big stuff-up, but I think only time will tell that)... they also said a player was left out of the team (I assumed CJ) because he was 'exhausted', and that Baker took part and said his legs were like lead and he felt like he'd played a game in the days after.

But surely it makes much more sense that the players have suddenly given up, have lost confidence, are weak gutless squibs and dont have the desire to win anymore.... I might boo them onto the ground this week.

[Beej]

I just dont understand why you would f*** with a winning formula. If it aint broke......dont...fix....it, may I say....FFS!

We need to continue to seek an advantage so I don't blame them in finding new tricks.

But surely they must understand the effect something like that has on the body before implementing it mid-season.

Who knows, maybe we should give the club the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this was all by design and we took a risk last week knowing that, while we may be tired against Essendon, a heavy week of altitude training will hold us in good stead come finals.

[iwantmeseats]

I just dont understand why you would f*** with a winning formula. If it aint broke......dont...fix....it, may I say....FFS!

We need to continue to seek an advantage so I don't blame them in finding new tricks.

But surely they must understand the effect something like that has on the body before implementing it mid-season.

Who knows, maybe we should give the club the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this was all by design and we took a risk last week knowing that, while we may be tired against Essendon, a heavy week of altitude training will hold us in good stead come finals.

Hey? Lose 3 games of 22 last year and go within a nut hair of the GF, and we need to experiment with training to "find new tricks" ?

A week of altitude training 4 weeks before the finals will give us some sort of advantage in the finals?

I must be getting old!

[saintlee]

The use of altitude training has been around for a long time, I'm not sure what the overall success rate of using it is, but surely we wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't effective.

Anyway, sounds like something that should be done during the pre-season, not during the season proper.

[Moods]

I can't believe that if this WAS the case that more research hadn't gone into the short term after effects of such training. I'm incredulous.

[markp]

I just dont understand why you would f*** with a winning formula. If it aint broke......dont...fix....it, may I say....FFS!

We need to continue to seek an advantage so I don't blame them in finding new tricks.

But surely they must understand the effect something like that has on the body before implementing it mid-season.

Who knows, maybe we should give the club the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this was all by design and we took a risk last week knowing that, while we may be tired against Essendon, a heavy week of altitude training will hold us in good stead come finals.

Hey? Lose 3 games of 22 last year and go within a nut hair of the GF, and we need to experiment with training to "find new tricks" ?

A week of altitude training 4 weeks before the finals will give us some sort of advantage in the finals?

I must be getting old!

Who knows, it might have been the difference in the last 5 minutes last year... and could be this year.

We're not run by fools and spivs anymore.

[saintsRrising]

The use of altitude training has been around for a long time, I'm not sure what the overall success rate of using it is, but surely we wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't effective.
.

Normally for altitude training you go and live and train somewhere at altitude for a longish period of time.

Popping in and out of an altitude hut would be quite different.

[ralphsmith]

This is interesting. Very bloody interesting.

Altitude training is certainly no bs from what i've learnt?

We're sending our players into some kind of chrysalis.

If this works they may emerge in an incredibly powerful state. When they step out of the chamber and start sucking in the oxygen rich air, your muscles are flooded with more oxygen, more endurance and ability to perform at a level higher than your opponents.

I've always known for us to win a flag something radical has to happen. Radical and potentially bat-s*** insane.

Interesting.

[iwantmeseats]

The use of altitude training has been around for a long time, I'm not sure what the overall success rate of using it is, but surely we wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't effective.

Anyway, sounds like something that should be done during the pre-season, not during the season proper.

I say hang doing it at all, bar maybe a roo type of situation. I mean there is no conceivable reason to go experimenting. What was wrong with what we were doing last year?

Collingwood have been doing it pre season for the last few years. AND Im here to tell ya if they win the flag this year, it wont have absolutely anything to do with the fact they went to florida pre season and everything to do with the fact they are playing great footy at the right time.

Damn, too many nerdy poindexters involved in footy these days who think that because they studied dome fanciful airy fairy bulls*** at "uni" they can mess with WORKING formula;s that have stood the test of time for 150 years.

Yeah yeah I hear you say, but other teams improve and we must find ways to improve and combat this. Pffft! Look at whats NOT working or what could work BETTER, not what is humming along nicely. I.E - training like we did last year, the year before that....and repeat.

[SydneySainter]

Our form woes go deeper than training loads. From my understanding, a lot of teams enter a heavy training phase before the finals. Blight swore it won his Crows the 97 and 98 premierships. Of course, I'm sure it's a factor, particularly as to why we looked flat as tack after the first fifteen minutes, but there are other factors in dire need of addressing and Lyon knows it.

As to why they would do such a thing. You never know unless you give it a go.

[Banger724]

I just dont understand why you would f*** with a winning formula. If it aint broke......dont...fix....it, may I say....FFS!

We need to continue to seek an advantage so I don't blame them in finding new tricks.

But surely they must understand the effect something like that has on the body before implementing it mid-season.

Who knows, maybe we should give the club the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this was all by design and we took a risk last week knowing that, while we may be tired against Essendon, a heavy week of altitude training will hold us in good stead come finals.

Hey? Lose 3 games of 22 last year and go within a nut hair of the GF, and we need to experiment with training to "find new tricks" ?

A week of altitude training 4 weeks before the finals will give us some sort of advantage in the finals?

I must be getting old!

Not wanting to bring up old skeletons but that hairnut in the GF was not being able to run out the last quarter (I know it should've been sewn up by then if we'd kicked straight), but I'm willing to give the benefit of doubt to the club's medical staff that they take a risk in Rnd 18 of H&A to get any sort of advantage in September, even if its only 3-5% improvement on fitness, to get us over the line in a close game when it counts.

[ralphsmith]

But who does altitude training leading up to finals?

I haven't heard of this before.

[Beej]

I just dont understand why you would f*** with a winning formula. If it aint broke......dont...fix....it, may I say....FFS!

We need to continue to seek an advantage so I don't blame them in finding new tricks.

But surely they must understand the effect something like that has on the body before implementing it mid-season.

Who knows, maybe we should give the club the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this was all by design and we took a risk last week knowing that, while we may be tired against Essendon, a heavy week of altitude training will hold us in good stead come finals.

Hey? Lose 3 games of 22 last year and go within a nut hair of the GF, and we need to experiment with training to "find new tricks" ?

A week of altitude training 4 weeks before the finals will give us some sort of advantage in the finals?

I must be getting old!

Teams have been "loading up" at this stage of the season for years now. There is proven science behind it. Although it fatigues the players now it is designed to increase the fitness base which will be beneficial further down the track. We loaded up last year before finals which may or may not have had something to do with the losses against North and Essendon last year.

The day we become stagnant as a club and no longer seek an advantage is the day we concede we are no longer looking to stay ahead of the opposition.

No matter how good we were last season, we needed to improve, on and off the park.

[iwantmeseats]

I just dont understand why you would f*** with a winning formula. If it aint broke......dont...fix....it, may I say....FFS!

We need to continue to seek an advantage so I don't blame them in finding new tricks.

But surely they must understand the effect something like that has on the body before implementing it mid-season.

Who knows, maybe we should give the club the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this was all by design and we took a risk last week knowing that, while we may be tired against Essendon, a heavy week of altitude training will hold us in good stead come finals.

Hey? Lose 3 games of 22 last year and go within a nut hair of the GF, and we need to experiment with training to "find new tricks" ?

A week of altitude training 4 weeks before the finals will give us some sort of advantage in the finals?

I must be getting old!

Not wanting to bring up old skeletons but that hairnut in the GF was not being able to run out the last quarter (I know it should've been sewn up by then if we'd kicked straight), but I'm willing to give the benefit of doubt to the club's medical staff that they take a risk in Rnd 18 of H&A to get any sort of advantage in September, even if its only 3-5% improvement on fitness, to get us over the line in a close game when it counts.

Your half right. It was innacurate kicking that lost us that game. Nothing else.

Now obviously Im not qualified in the black magic of altitude training some poindexter dreamt up. BUT Ill stake lefty that one week of a couple of altitude sessions will not make ANY difference 2 months later in a GF!! I mean come on, is this amateur hour? Its laughable !!!!!!!!

[saintlee]

The use of altitude training has been around for a long time, I'm not sure what the overall success rate of using it is, but surely we wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't effective.

Anyway, sounds like something that should be done during the pre-season, not during the season proper.

I say hang doing it at all, bar maybe a roo type of situation. I mean there is no conceivable reason to go experimenting. What was wrong with what we were doing last year?

Collingwood have been doing it pre season for the last few years. AND Im here to tell ya if they win the flag this year, it wont have absolutely anything to do with the fact they went to florida pre season and everything to do with the fact they are playing great footy at the right time.

Damn, too many nerdy poindexters involved in footy these days who think that because they studied dome fanciful airy fairy bulls*** at "uni" they can mess with WORKING formula;s that have stood the test of time for 150 years.

Yeah yeah I hear you say, but other teams improve and we must find ways to improve and combat this. Pffft! Look at whats NOT working or what could work BETTER, not what is humming along nicely. I.E - training like we did last year, the year before that....and repeat.

You're entitled to your opinion, but very, very few professional sporting clubs would share this one.

Professional teams will always look for an advantage, and this won't be the last time the Saints try something to help them go the extra mile.

[iwantmeseats]

"going the extra mile" and all that stuff....well thats great...but how about making sure get the double chance first!!??

I mean seriously, one before the other, crawl before you work. I tell you, if we miss top 4 this year, there are going to be some questions asked !!

[Beej]

"going the extra mile" and all that stuff....well thats great...but how about making sure get the double chance first!!??

I mean seriously, one before the other, crawl before you work. I tell you, if we miss top 4 this year, there are going to be some questions asked !!

I'm with you there mate.

If we don't finish top four the only thing the added fitness will help the boys with is in the ability to down a few extra pints on their footy trip.

It's a massive risk, but let's hope it was a calculated one.

[CURLY]

Have you actually thought that one week of altitude training is worth 3-4 weeks of heavy loading? Theres no pounding legs into the turf and risking injury and its over in a week.

Id look at this way Us Know Nothings or StKildas Fitness Staff?

[missgez]

There has been a marked improvement in injuries since Dave Misson took over so if they ARE doing this because he thinks it is a good idea then it is good enough for me.