Ch 7 news said Chris Minson, who is the Professor of Human Physiology at the University of Oregon in America, was teaching the boys how to hold their breath longer under water. Sandy Roberts wondered how it was going to improve our football.
Heat specialist joins Tiger campBy Jaimee Damon
afl.com.au
Wed 28 Nov, 2012Richmond has been joined on its pre-season camp in Cairns by Chris Minson, who is the Professor of Human Physiology at the University of Oregon in America.
Professor Minson, a specialist in heat training for athletes, has been hired by the Club as a consultant on the trip, while the players train in Cairns’ hot, humid weather.
He addressed the players on the first night of the camp, explaining the performance benefits of heat training and the type of results that training in such conditions can achieve.
“A number of games they’ll be playing will be in the heat, and there are clear benefits of heat acclimation on performance in the heat. And so, since they’re going to be playing in those kind of conditions, getting some training in those conditions is ideal for them,” Professor Minson told ‘Roar Vision’.
“Absolutely, it will help them in the season. I know a lot of the season is in winter, where it’s cooler, but there will be the early part of the season, end of the season there’ll be hot games, and if you develop heat acclimation, you can maintain it throughout the season by doing some very specific training.
“And, our research has shown some real benefits from heat acclimation even in cooler weather performance . . . that’s one of the unique aspects we’re trying to bring to the camp.”
Professor Minson is convinced heat acclimation far better suits Richmond’s needs, rather than the high-altitude training, which has become part of the training regime at several league clubs in recent years.
“The use of high-altitude is really popular right now . . . but the results are very mixed,” he said.
“Some people respond to it very well and some people do not.
“Because you guys don’t ever play in high altitude, the focus here is more on heat.
“If they were going to high altitude, you’d want to have a component of that. But, in consultation with the team, the heat acclimation seems to be a more profound and longer-lasting benefit.”
Professor Minson has quickly become an Australian Football convert, after looking at some videos of AFL matches.
“It’s fantastic. It’s a very fast-moving game. American games are very stop-start, and then you watch a bunch of commercials. This is just much more exciting ,” he said. "But I’m also very impressed with the players and the fitness level they’re able to obtain.
“Richmond is doing everything right from what I can tell. “From the coaches, the fitness group, the players, it’s just a one-unit team, working really, really well together.
“It’s extremely impressive to see.”
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