Latest Aerosure TV Commercial

Latest Aerosure TV commercial for the UK. Nice job.

Aerosure Television Commercial September 2014 from Kieran Gavin on Vimeo.

Aerosure Launches in Australia

Great news, Aerosure has launched in Australia. See the TV advert below:

This is really great news because 1 in 10 Australians has some form of lung disease, and associated breathlessness and dyspnoea is a significant component of reduced quality of life in most lung diseases.

See the full statistics here: Lung Disease Australia

Aerosure can be purchaed in Australia at the outlets or pharmacies below:

Actegy

ChemMart

Amcal

Aerosure Product Development for Breathlessness and Sputum Clearance

Nice job by Kieran Adams, the Product Development Manager at Actegy Ltd describing Aerosure and how it can help with breathlessness (dyspnoea) and respiratory health including sputum and mucus clearance.

Aerosure - How it works.

A nice graphic of how Aerosure works:

Aerosure has launched in the UK!

The new and redesigned Aerosure has launched in the UK!

Watch the TV advert below.

You can buy at any of the retailers below:

UK

Actegy Ltd

Boots

Lloyds Pharmacy

Amazon

Cosyfeet

Active Mobility Centre

Simple Life Mobility

Ireland

McCabes Pharmacy

Norway

http://www.enklereliv.no/aerosure-pustetrener.html

Sir Steve Redgrave endorses Revitive: Circulation Booster.

The UK's most famous and inspirational athlete who is also a diabetic is getting behind Revitive.

Please click here to see Sir Steve Redgraves advert and endorsement for Revitive.

Revitive: Circulation Booster

This post I would like to talk more about the work we have been doing with electrical foot stimulation (Revitive: Circulation Booster)initially in healthy populations, but the work will continue in diseased groups such as those suffering from diabetes. Diabetes is an awful condition in which the sufferer loses control of blood sugar regulation. The disease basically comes in 2 forms, Type I and II.

Type I diabetes is a genetic condition where insulin is not produced so patients experience rises in blood glucose and need to take regular insulin shots to keep things under control. In type II diabetes it is kind of the opposite problem that patients become insulin resistant so they over produce insulin and can experience hyper (high) as well as hypo (low) glycaemia (blood glucose).

Well high or low blood glucose doesn't sound so bad until you realize that high levels of blood glucose combined with poor circulation (low oxygen levels) can damage tissue in the body and low blood glucose can cause dizziness and fainting.

The majority of diabetics are inactive and therefore a common disease progression is tissue damage. Nerve damage (diabetic neuropathy) is all too common and combined with immobility can lead to blood stasis and swelling of the limbs. This blood pooling eventually leads to microvascular injury (damage to the small blood vessels) which doesn't heal and can eventually lead to amputation.

So what can be done to prevent this terrible disease progression? The most important factor in slowing or preventing this spiral is to create increased flow out of the swollen limb, normally a job done by the muscle foot pump during movement, but if movement is compromised then this creates an issue. Compression stockings have been used with limited success, pneumatic compression devices which rhythmically squeeze the tissues and force the blood back toward the heart have also been effective. Both forms of compression have issues though, the stockings can restrict blood flow when not moving, and the pneumatic pump is large and technical and not easily used.

Our preferred idea was to use electrical stimulation to cause muscular contraction, similar to when you point your toes and foot the floor. This involves placing electrodes over the muscle and stimulating with safe amounts of electrical current, causing the muscles to contract. The elicited contractions are not quite the same as voluntary contractions but they are good enough to squeeze the blood out of the lower legs and back to the heart, mimicking the muscle pump. When the muscle relaxes new fresh blood and nutrients flow into the lower legs keeping the environment healthy and helping to prevent swelling.


So electrical stimulation seems to tick all of the boxes for creating the muscle pump and maintaining a healthy flow of blood through the legs. But most forms of electrical stimulation are also difficult to use. Generally stimulation pads are stuck onto the skin over the muscle but getting the right position of the electrodes can be difficult. This is why we were so excited when we discovered Revitive: Circulation Booster as all that was required was the user popped their bare feet on to the device footpads and switched it on. It is really impossible to get this wrong.

If you have diabetes and are concerned about foot health issues (even if their are no physical symptoms yet) then speak to your consultant and try Revitive: Circulation Booster. This sort of thing is always worth doing in advance of problems, especially if you are not leading an active lifestyle. Over the next few post I will cover how we helped to develop Revitive even further, making it the most efficient and powerful circulation booster on the market.

Microfracture Surgery cont.

Nutritionally I also had a strong programme and left no stone unturned. My first thought was calcium and making sure I had the right "stuff" to make new tissue. So my wife cooked beef bone broth for me every day for lunch, it was great for the waistline too.

My primary concern was to reduce the inflammation. I want to talk in later posts about chronic whole body inflammation, but this acute inflammation was my primary concern. So I started taking Arnica and Symphytum as homeopathic rememdies and symphytum cream topically. Now I know this will make many jump up and down, such as Prof. Brian Cox who describes homeopaths as distillation wizards. Well rather than just shout people down I looked to the literature and found some papers that suggest it might not be such a bizarre thing to be doing:

Symphytum Cream

Symphtum Cream 2

Arnica vs Voltarol for wound healing

Arnica gel in osteoarthritis

Arnica and symphytum treatments are not expensive and there appear to be no side effects so my professional opinion as a scientist is to give it a go!

I had also been taking glucosamine and hyaluronic acid chronically since well before my surgery and I would do the same again as there is enough positive evidence to suggest that for some people with certain conditions it could be helpful. Science could really be helpful here by increasing the amount of funding for these treatments and ensuring there is no observer bias such as funding from the biotech industry. This needs careful scrutiny.

More recently I have been focussing my efforts on getting rid of whole body inflammation. I have been reading a lot and a good text that I would recommend is the Gene Smart Diet. I will review this book in the future but I would definitely put it on your reading list. Basically I have been taking long chain omega-3's from fish oils, and omega-6's from borage seed oil. The potential benefits of this are long and varied so I won't include references. Secondly I have been increasing the polyphenol content of my diet including more veggies with the skin on, berries and other high polyphenol intake such as dark chocolate (control intake as high in calories), red wine (control intake because of alcohol) and supplements such as cherryactive. We have done work in our lab on cherryactive and I will cover this in a later post. Again these things are not expensive and will add to your health.

I can't be sure what had an effect and what didn't but I am sure that my refusal to fail helped me find the best possible strategy for recovery from microfracture surgery. An update on my progress, I am now double arm swinging 40Kg and double snatching 32Kg comfortably. This was more than I was doing before the surgery. I won't be jogging till at least January and I intend to investigate barefoot style running when I do. I am in a better place now than before my surgery.

Microfracture Surgery

So I had some long standing cartilage damage to my left knee. I went to the surgeon at the BMI Runneymede and had Xrays and MRI's taken which showed that I had medial cartilage damage from poor liftng technique, a small cyst and a lateral femoral tear that seemed to go down to the bone. The surgeon informed me that he could tidy up the torn cartilage and remove the cyst without any problems, but if the lateral tear did indeed go to the bone that he would like to do some microfracture surgery to repair.

I hadn't heard of microfracture before so I started reading around and although it has been around since the late 80's it is still a work in progress. It was actually developed by Richard Steadman, founder of the Steadman Clinic. The basic idea is that if you can make bone bleed the blood is rich in mesenchymal stem cells that can become a number of tissues. So special tools are inserted into the bone to create a rough, broken surface, deep enough to cause bone bleeding. A super clot or blastema then forms over the damaged bone, the bone heals and also new cartilage grows to cover the operated area.

Although new tissue will be formed in 6 weeks there is a long process of tissue remodelling that is required to cause the tissue to become what is required. Articular cartilage that covers the ends of bone is strong and elastic so it can last and absorb the impact forces it is subjected to. Unfortunately the new cartilage that formed during the early years of this technique was fibrocartilage, a much stiffer and less robust cartilage. It seems the great progress in the last 20 years has not been in surgical technique but in rehabilitation. Actually doing the right things to tell the tissue what it needs to become is the main focus of rehabilitation. Unfortunately the physio dept. at the Nuffield Woking seemed only to want me to be walking again and that was the limit of their care.

So post surgery I was non-weight bearing on the left leg for 6 weeks. Not a pleasant experience but it certainly grew my respect for those who use crutches on a daily basis. I was told by my consultant only to do mobilisation exercises for the 6 weeks. This didn't seem consistent with what I was reading so I decided to take control of my own rehab. For 2 weeks I only did mobilisation to get the full range of motion. After that I bought a cycle exerciser from ebay (an exercise bike is fine but place no resistance through the wheel) and started doing 5 mins of cycling twice per day as well as my mobilisation exercises. I very slowly and carefully and watched how my body responded to gauge what was too much. Any swelling or discomfort I took as my limit, when I could complete that without any symptoms I increased the duration. Eventually I built up to 40 mins of unloaded cycling per day.

Another technique I used was Revitive: Circulation Booster. This is a device I have worked on and I had one so I thought I know it improves circulation so it should speed my recovery. I used this 2x per day for 20 mins each time. Again building up the intensity as I got used to it. I would perform my mobilisation exercises after using Revitive: Circulation Booster as I found that I could get much larger ranges of motion after my leg was warmed up. Within a month I had full range of motion back in my leg. I did suffer from swelling in the leg and Revitive: Circulation Booster quickly removed this.

I also kept using my aerosure: youbreathe training device to keep my lung performance up to speed and this helped a lot especially whilst on crutches.

So 6 weeks came and went and when I went back to the surgeon he was very happy with the condition of my knee, full ROM and no pain or swelling. So he took my crutches away and sent me back to physio. I decided to move physio to a team I had used before, Balance Physiotherapy in Clapham North. I saw a knee specialist Paula Coates and she started me on a programme of knee strengthening and flexibility. I cannot jog till next year but I am back swinging my kettlebells which was the main aim for me. I am getting stronger and fitter by the day and knee feels great, very smooth and little discomfort. One important thing Paula added to my rehab is stretching as the quad had shortened from lack of use, getting the muscle back to normal length has been hugely helpful.

The links to some interesting research are here:

Pulsed ultrasound

Pulsed ultrasound observational study

LIPUS in rats

Microfracture rehab 1

Microfracture rehab 2

In my next entry I will describe my nutritional and supplement strategy.

Tune in!

Hi, I have been very busy for the last 2 years and have been doing many exciting things. Now again I have created the time and space for myself to start blogging about what I have been up to. I have being doing a lot of work in altitude simulation with the England Football Team, London Broncos academy team and we have more work coming up with Wasps academy. I have also been working at King's College Hospital with COPD patients and that has gone very well. I will be updating about all of these projects over the next few weeks. I am glad to be back, thanks for reading.

Marathon man benefits from aerosure!

Olympian Dan Robinson has been using his aerosure vibrated breathing training device and this is what he has found:

Since using aerosure, the improvements in my lung function have been significant and I have found it a really useful and important training aid. As an endurance athlete, I am continually looking for ways to improve my racing and training performance and the aerosure has enabled me to get the maximum benefit from my training sessions. Regular use of aerosure has meant that when I get to the start line I am confident that I have covered all bases in training and will race well. I thoroughly recommend aerosure. All the best, Dan.

We have no doubt that Dan is the first of many elite performers who will benefit from regular aerosure training.

90 degree press-up

I would like to recommend a website of Dr Barry Drust, a senior Sports Scientist at Liverpool John Moores University who is preparing and training to do a 90-degree push-up. As well as giving great training information he is keeping a personal diary of his training:

http://90degreepressup.wordpress.com/

I think this website is very interesting for those interested in devising their own training programmes.

Thanks

Low-cost Portable Altitude Simulator Nearly Here!

Coming soon, from London South Bank University, a low cost portable altitude simulator called Hybreathe. A small device that can be used at rest or during exercise, Hybreathe will bring al the benefits of altitude training to anyone who wants it, and not only the elite and wealthy.

Currently a market research survey is under way and prizes can be won by lucky respondents. Please visit www.hybreathe.com for a chance to win one of several youbreathes (a vibration respiratory training device), one of several Flexi-bar vibration training devices or Code13 t-shirts and hoodies.

To participate click here:

www.hybreathe.com

youbreathe/aerosure for colds and flu

This is a short post to continue my discussion from last time. I was talking about trials getting underway to test the efficacy of youbreathe/aerosure in clearing mucus in clinical patient populations. Well various feedback from users has indicated that once the initial fever during a cold or flu is over, that youbreathe/aerosure can be very helpful in clearing chest congestion.

Try to get a little olbas inhaler or some eucalyptus oil and hold it in front of youbreathe/aerosure as you inhale and you will feel the effects of youbreathe/aerosure pulsing the vapor right down through your full respiratory system. This has the effect of moistening the mucus membranes and reducing respiratory tract inflammation.

I hope youbreathe/aerosure can be useful in so many conditions as breathing is so fundamental to everything we do.

This is a link to the BBC website for cold and flu:

BBC colds and flu

Here is a link to the BUPA cold and flu website:

http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/colds.html

The following are a couple of links for relief from colds and flu:

http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/9-tips-to-treat-colds-and-flu-the-natural-way

http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/ohe/library/cold/relief.htm

Please keep an eye on the download page of the youbreathe website for new user manuals : http://www.youbreathe.com/products.php

Stay healthy

improve respiratory health with youbreathe

In our lab at London South Bank University we are progressing the youbreathe research and the results are getting more and more interesting and exciting. We are currently costing up a study in cystic fibrosis patients. Cystic fibrosis and other respiratory diseases such as COPD, neurological diseases such as motor neuron disease and multiple sclerosis and some forms of cancer can lead to increased mucus production which patients often have trouble clearing. If not cleared this mucus can move into the smaller airways of the respiratory tree and even to the alveoli where it can impair the functional units of respiration, block the airways and lead to secondary problems.

Because of the oscillatory nature of youbreathe and the frequency range it operates we believe it can be of enormous benefit in promoting the clearance of mucus through altering the viscosity of the mucus, breaking the bond between the mucus and the airways and promoting the cilia to do their job and move the mucus up and out of the respiratory system.

There are other devices out there which can perform this function such as Flutter, Acapella and other laboratory equipment. The advantage of Flutter over some of the other devices is that it can be used in the home which allows greater freedom to the patient and reduced cost to the primary care trust. The feedback we have received about the Flutter is that it works but the user adherence is low.

The following is a link to a chest respiratory physiotherapy site which describes all the basic forms of sputum clearance :

Chest Physio

This is where we believe youbreathe has a significant advantage. youbreathe can not only promote mucociliary clearance but can improve respiratory system performance, which can assist those with respiratory problems get active and live as normal a life as possible. This should increase patient adherence lading to long term benefit.

The trials will hopefully be underway soon and I will report on the findings as soon as possible.

Best wishes, stay healthy.

Which Vibration Platform To Choose?

The fitness regime from outer space has landed! Over the last few years the popularity of vibration-training has increasingly grown with the development of machines such as PowerPlate ™ and Vibrogym ™, and with the recent introduction of personal or ’domestic user’ models, the potential for greater training benefits such as strength and power is now being welcomed into our own homes.

From the current commercially available machines a basic vibration platform can cost as little as £100 while the so-called professional editions will set you back as much as £9000. Generally, much of the differences in cost are accountable to the brand name and design. The type of material used and the quality of construction are undoubtedly important factors for machine performance and durability, however aspects such as choice of colour and sleek design are factors that are unlikely to benefit neither your training results nor your bank balance.

When it comes to choosing a vibration platform it is useful to consider the following factors:

 The operational parameters -
Apart from the type and duration of exercise performed, the intensity of vibration-training depends on the frequency of vibration (the number of oscillations per second, measured in Hertz, Hz) and the amplitude of the oscillatory wave (mm, cm). The higher these characteristics are the greater the mechanical vibration stimulus.

The frequency range of vibration platforms differ with each model. Collectively, the operating range of commercially available machines is around 15Hz to 60Hz. It is typical however, that machines only operate within a limited frequency range; some between 15-30Hz, others between 30-50Hz, and the majority at and around 35Hz ±10Hz, and at specific step increments. Commonly, the amplitude of vibration is a factor that can also be user-determined. Platform vibration amplitude ranges from around 0.5mm to 12mm (peak to peak displacement) depending on the specific machine. When buying a machine it is important to ensure it is capable of operating at the desired vibration intensities.

Most research has centred on 25- 40Hz, but the optimal frequencies for specific training are yet to be determined. While positive effects of WBV have been found at and around 30Hz, there has been little investigation into lower frequency vibration and whether these provide any benefit. Research activity from our department (Mileva et al., 2006) showed that a frequency as low at 10Hz for segmental vibration aided performance during resistance exercise. For whole-body vibration training however, to prevent hitting the resonant frequencies of internal body organs it is advisable that frequencies lower than 20Hz are avoided (Mester et al., 1999)

 The platform dimensions -
Vibration platforms come in a range of sizes. Although machine dimensions are important from a convenience perspective, when choosing a machine it is important to check that the platform area is large enough for performing the type of exercise you require. Performing a deep two-leg squat on a 16 by 12inch platform (as for some low-cost machines) is an exercise feat in itself!

 The type of vibration -
Most commercially available machines such as the PowerPlate ™ and Vibrogym ™ deliver vertical vibrations and as such the platform moves up and down. However, machines are available that deliver rotational vibration based on a pivot-system platform. As would be expected, there is some evidence to suggest that muscular responses to rotational vibration and vertical vibration differ (Abercromby et al., 2007) although both types of vibration have been shown to have beneficial effects for training (see for example Cochrane and Stannard, 2005 and Delecluse et al., 2003).

 User operation -
Some machines come with pre-programmed training regimes with limited flexibility for the user to set their own training programme. If personalisation is required then a machine that allows the user to select parameters such as exercise and rest duration, and number of exercise sets (in addition to the intensity of vibration) should be chosen. Some machines have a limited duration of vibration exposure, so if longer bouts of continuous vibration training are required then the machine capabilities again need to be checked. The majority of vibration-training studies to date have involved less then 10-minutes of continuous vibration training, with many using protocols consisting of approximately 5 sets of 60secs with ~1min rest intervals.

 Medical Device Directive certification -
There are a couple of vibration machines on the current market that have Medical CE Approval. To obtain such certification for a device a company needs to provide proof relating to:
-Safety and electrical compliance
-Risk Management and analysis
-Clear clinical Indications and claims
-Clinical proof of these indications
Although this certificate is not direct evidence for validating a machine, it is worth considering in order to know it is of sound operational function.

 The Extras -
There are many extras that come along with the more costly platforms such as virtual trainer software, connections for peripheral equipment, and even platforms with inbuilt games consoles. If features such as these are not a necessity then there is very little sense in paying extra for machines that offer them.

Hopefully this short-guide to vibration platform basics has provided enough information for you to choose your machine. Whatever your needs, there is likely to be a machine out on the market that suits you. Good luck!

Lisa Zaidell is a scientist at London South Bank University (LSBU) studying the effects of vibration on the human body.

We have many scientists at LSBU researching the various effects of vibration-training. Be sure to check back for our latest research and insights! For the unofficial blog of the LSBU staff please visit www.sportssciencelondon.blogspot.com for information on all aspects of Sports Science and nutrition.

Targeted Vibration Training

Introduction

Vibration stimulation is gaining popularity as a neuromuscular training method with the potential to elicit muscular performance adaptations similar to those produced by explosive strength training. Studies on vibration have shown transient increases in muscle power output and chronic strength enhancement and significantly improved gait and body balance in elderly people. In addition, whole body vibration induced positive adaptations in peripheral blood circulation (increased blood volume and speed of blood flow), probably due to decreased blood viscosity and peripheral resistance and arterial vasodilatation. Additionally, vibration has the potential to activate large amounts of musculature during a movement, and appears to inhibit activation of antagonist muscles which would decrease the braking force during a movement. Other studies have shown that vibration may be able to
influence the excitatory state of the peripheral and central structures of the brain, which could facilitate subsequent voluntary movements.

Targeted Vibration Training

Due to the conflicting results and potential side-effects of whole-body vibration, applying the vibration directly to the exercising muscle only has demonstrated performance gains more than 300% greater than conventional training. Therefore, researchers Dr Mileva and Dr Bowtell hypothesised that vibration applied during a single resistance-training session would promote larger acute increases in strength than those induced by an identical session performed in the absence of vibration. It was further hypothesized that vibration stimulus would provoke a greater response when training at lower contraction intensity, where a smaller percentage of muscle fibers would be voluntarily activated. To accomplish this, researchers compared the acute effects of vibration stimulus during and after high- (70% of one-repetition maximum (1RM) and low intensity (35% 1RM) knee extension exercise.

Methods

Nine healthy male adults completed four trials on a knee extension machine (Technogym UK Ltd) either with (Vibrex, Exoscience Ltd) or without superimposed vibration at low (35% 1RM) and high (70% 1RM) contraction intensities.

Results

The main finding of the study was that vibration applied during knee extension exercise improved the mechanical performance of the quadriceps muscles, as manifested by increased dynamic muscle strength and power. Additionally, peak torque was significantly higher during the vibrated than the nonvibrated trials.

The improvement in strength and power after vibration training could be explained by the finding that the median frequency of the quadriceps muscle electrical activity was significantly higher in the vibrated than nonvibrated trials. This suggests that vibration increases muscle fiber conduction velocity and/or increased recruitment of muscle fibers with faster conduction velocities such as fast powerful muscle fibres.

A very novel finding from this study is that superimposing the vibration-like stimulus during low-intensity exercise simulates the response induced by higher-intensity exercise, evidenced by increased electrical activity in the quadriceps muscle.

The increase in contraction force implies that reflex feedback from the muscle receptors in contracting muscle is increased. One might expect such increases in exercising muscle activation level to elevate the oxygen requirement, and vibration tended to increase the rate of muscle deoxygenation during exercise, which is indicative of increased oxygen utilization.

Conclusions

Neural adaptations are the earliest changes that occur in the exercised muscle (first 3–5 wk of a training
program), permitting gains in strength and power without significant increase in muscle cross-sectional area. The acute enhancement of neuromuscular performance following vibration is probably related to an increase in the sensitivity of the stretch reflex. This would result in more rapid activation and training of a larger number of high-threshold motor units. Vibration-induced discharge of the muscle receptors also recruits previously inactive motor units into the contraction, as well as re-recruiting motor units that are already fatigued, and even increasing their firing patterns.

It is also an intriguing possibility that a chronic vibration training program may potentially increase the neuromuscular adaptations arising from light/moderate training. This would be of importance for individuals, such as the elderly, osteoporosis and rehabilitation where people are unable to complete more intense exercise programs.

Breathing vibration - can it make us stronger?

Introduction
Acute vibration stimulation enhances skeletal muscle activity and strength performance (Issurin & Tenenbaum, 1989; Bosco et al., 1999; Mileva et al., 2006). Vibration stimulation has also been applied to the respiratory musculature with demonstrable increases in respiratory activity in rabbits (Jammes et al., 2000), reduced breathlessness at rest in healthy humans (Edo et al., 1998), and reduced breathlessness during exercise in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients (Fujie et al., 2002).
We therefore investigated whether a vibration stimulus applied through air as it passes into the airways elicits increments of maximal breathing performance.

Methods
We recruited 12 healthy subjects (8 female, 4 male; 22-50 years old) from the University and they completed 3 maximal inspirations followed by 10 inspirations against a vibration stimulus (VIB; youbreathe, Exoscience Ltd., London, UK), an inspiratory resistive-load training device (RES) or resting breathing (CON; no load). 3 forced inspirations were repeated and compared to pre-training for maximal breathing power.

Results
Maximal breathing power was significantly greater (15%) after 10 breaths of vibrated resistance (VIB) when compared to PRE (VIB) and POST control (CON) and POST resistive-loading training device (RES). There was no effect of either resistance or control breathing on maximal breathing power.

Discussion
10 breaths of vibration lead to increased maximal breathing power suggesting that applying a vibration stimulus increases the voluntary force generating capacity of the inspiratory muscles, in a similar manner observed when vibration is applied to other skeletal muscles (Mileva et al., 2006).
The mechanisms underlying the changes in maximal breathing power require further study, however mechanisms such as shifts in neuromuscular recruitment via increases in stretch reflex sensitivity may have a role (Cardinale, 2003). This would enhance recruitment of higher-threshold motor units and the activation of previously inactive motor units. Confirmation of the mechanisms involved will require the acquisition of respiratory muscle EMG, transcranial magnetic stimulation and testing of peripheral reflexes.
Thus, vibration leads to an increased maximal breathing power suggesting there is an increase in neural inspiratory drive possibly via upregulation of the respiratory motoneurones.

Fitness for Skiing

It is ski season again and lots of people are doing their best to lose weight and build their fitness ready for the slopes and the après ski. I like everyone else wanted to get in shape for my annual ski trip so this sparked my interest about training for skiing and the resources available on the internet. Actually good resources about fitness for skiing was sparse and terms of quantity and quality. Clearly their are many components to a fitness programme so I will go through what is required including cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance, power and balance. I will also discuss the relative merits of vibration training, and whether there is any point in adding vibration to your programme. The advice I am going to give today is based on the idea of a 8 week programme (this is way too short but I am a realist).

Cardio fitness

Any activity that involved activity for a long duration, say 6 ours per day for 6 days, is going to require cardiovascular fitness. Add to that the fact that most skiing is done at high altitude, meaning that oxygen will be more scarce, which means that having good cardio health and fitness is an absolute necessity for skiing fitness.

Also having high cardio fitness also means that your powers of recovery will be better from each bout of skiing that you do. This means that you will be more ready to ski again after lunch or as you progress through your holiday.

I would suggest a minimum of 3 cardio sessions per week, probably 1 long slow session for up to 1 hour, 1 short fast session of around 20 mins and even 1 interval session lasting about 30-40 mins. Many of the equipment at gyms these days have interval programmes built in. The interval programmes are also good because they relieve the boredom of training indoors.

Other gadgets you can try are altitude simulation equipment, such as hybreathe (a portable altitude simulator) or one of the many altitude tents available.


Muscular Strength

Strength is an absolute must for skiers, especially novices. Most of your time will be spent climbing off your bottom and it takes a hell of a lot of strength to perform basic turns if technique is not yet perfected. Quad strength is absolutely paramount but also core strength and some upper body strength for using your poles.

Strength is the muscles ability to develop force, which in terms of skiing means lifting more than your normal body weight, often on just 1 leg. You will often be travelling at speed meaning that when you perform turns you will be lifting multiples of your body weight, and before you can actually turn you have to work eccentrically to stop your body from collapsing (I will talk a little bit more about this in the section on vibration training).

To develop strength there is no alternative than to lift heavy weights, close to your maximum with low repetitions – 2 sets of 5 reps is probably ideal. You need to train for strength minimum 2 times per week. The exercises I would include squat or dead lift, bench press, bicep curls and some core exercises front and back. You can supplement with other exercises to keep your training interesting. You can also find machines that incorporate vibration training into your strength by using machines with Vibrex, this technology is very new so might not be available to everyone yet.


Muscular Endurance

Once you have increased your strength it is then time to develop your muscular endurance as when you are skiing it will be for maybe 6 hours per day so being fatigue resistant is important. Muscular endurance is the ability to lift a submaximal force many times. You will be performing turns and stopping repeatedly so this could be the most important part of your programme, we have all felt our legs start to burn when we are only half way down a slope!

To develop muscular endurance ideally you need to lift around 50% of you maximum about 15 times, and I personally would do 3 sets of this per session. Keep the exercises the same as your strength training. As a shortcut you can even put the exercises in a circuit and include this as one of your cardio sessions.


Power

To develop power there seems to be good evidence that this is where vibration platforms can be very useful. Please click here for a PDF document showing different power exercises that can be performed on a platform. I would stick to dynamic squats, dynamic wide stance squats, dynamic one leg squats (this will also help with your balance) and jumping on the platform. As mentioned earlier the vibration platform will also help with eccentric strength, which is the strength you need to stop your body from collapsing especially when performing turns at speed.

When training for power you need to reduce the quantity of sessions you do as it is important your muscles are fresh each time you train. I would train 2 times per week on power.

If you don’t have access to vibration training, then you can use conventional exercises, lifting around 30% of your maximum but the key is to explode through the lift, and try to throw the bar away (obviously it would be good to have some help with this as safety is the most important thing. Lift about 7 reps per set and perform 2 sets of each exercise.


Balance

Everybody forgets about balance but this is one of the most important elements of a skiing programme. The key to good balance is having a strong internal focus. If you keep focussing on things outside your body then you will fall easily. Keep your attention inside your body and you will find your balance improving very quickly. A good place to focus is on your breathing, just behind your tummy. This is a good thing to remember when you are skiing also.

Again the vibration platforms are very good for developing balance for example doing one-leg squats and jumps. Also another vibration related product I cam across is called flexi-bar. This is very good for developing balance and it will help your core also.

Flexibility

Another frequently forgotten element of the ski training programme is flexibility. Good flexibility is important for proper efficient muscle action, and also to enable you to fall with less risk of injury.

After every training session stretch each muscle of your body (especially the ones you have been working) and hold each stretch for at least 20 seconds to develop good flexibility. If you are creative this is a good chance to develop your balance and a strong internal focus.

Breathing Muscle Training

One of the more recent innovations is in breathing muscle training. There are now several devices such as powerlung and powerbreathe. For extra benefit I would recommend a vibration breathing device such as powerbreathe as this can increase growth hormone which can enhance strength and recovery, cardio health as well as training the respiratory system.


Programme Plan

If you have lots of time you can phase your training to make sure you develop each component fully, but if you only have 6-8 weeks left I would recommend 2 cardio sessions per week (1 interval) and 2 circuit sessions per week. In the circuit sessions you can increase muscular strength and endurance whilst also training your cardio fitness.

Enjoy your skiing, see you on the slopes!

Respiratory muscle training

Respiratory Vibration Training

We have just had a research paper accepted this week, so everyone is on a bit of a high. The paper basically shows how youbreathe can increase respiratory muscle performance by 15% after just 10 breaths.

Here I have also included another article I have written about respiratory muscle training. Enjoy.

Respiratory Muscle Training

Research into respiratory muscle training has been ongoing since the 1970’s. However, results are conflicting most likely due to the different forms of training such as pressure-threshold training, voluntary hyperventilation and hypercapnic (increased CO2) hyperventilation; and the variety of outcome measures used……. These conflicting results have led to confusion as to whether there is any benefit to exercise performance from respiratory muscle training. There are now many devices on the market all promising to reduce your marathon time or increase your feelings of comfort during exercise such as Powerlung, Powerbreathe and Expand-a-lung. However, with technological advances and our increased scientific understanding, the current consensus of opinion is that respiratory muscle training does indeed help with exercise performance in healthy and clinical populations.

The mechanism of this effect seems to be two-fold :

1. An altered perception of breathing effort and exercise load, meaning that the exercise feels easier, this psychological effect shouldn’t be underestimated in fatiguing exercise!
2. A delayed metaboreflex, meaning that blood is not diverted from the skeletal to the respiratory muscles until higher exercise intesnities, allowing exercise at higher intensities to be maintained for longer (Romer & Dempsey, 2006).

Taken together these effects can be as large as a 4% increase in a 40Km cycling time-trial performance, which is substantial.

It has been demonstrated that acute (within 1 training session) vibration stimulation of exercising skeletal muscle enhances skeletal muscle activity and strength performance after 1 session (Mileva et al., 2006) and chronic training with superimposed vibration has been shown to increase strength up to 300% more than conventional strength training (Issurin et al., 1994). Vibration has also been applied to the respiratory musculature with demonstrable increases in respiratory nerve activity, reduced breathlessness in healthy humans and reduced breathlessness during exercise in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients (COPD; Fujie et al., 2002).

Until recently vibration had never been applied to a training device for the respiratory system, so we developed youbreathe, a hand-held device that applies rapid airway occlusions simulating vibration effects on the respiratory system. Preliminary results show that 10 breaths through youbreathe acutely augment breathing power by around 15%, compared to no augmentation after 10 breaths of breathing against matched resistance. These studies are under peer review currently and further work examining the long term training affect of continued use is under way.

Collaborations are also under way with clinical partners to assess the efficacy of youbreathe in complementing respiratory physiotherapy with youbreathe in cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. We are testing the hypothesis that the percussive effects of youbreathe may facilitate the removal of mucus leading to improved respiratory function in these patients.

In summary, research into respiratory muscle training is now gaining real credibility, but we are still at the dawn of our understanding of vibration training. Many issue remain to be resolved such as the mechanism of action and appropriate vibration prescription for desired effects. The potential benefits of respiratory vibration have not yet been fully explored, however this new intervention offers exciting potential to scientists, athletes and patients alike. For more information on youbreathe please visit http://www.youbreathe.com/.

Click here for a deeper discussion of inspiratory and expiratory muscle training for coaches and athletes.

Click here for a discussion of breathing training in the tour de france.

Also click here for an excellent review of respiratory muscle training in COPD patients.