An Argument for Oxygen Supplementation in Athletes

Oxygen Supplementation in Athletes a radical, new and old, thought?

live_o2_logo
Live o2, Oxygen Supplementation in Athletes

The great thing about life is perspective.  You can use the information intended for one purpose, but with a different perspective you can look from a different angle, you can see an entirely new conclusion.  My hope is to walk you down the road to see that we have missed one of the most basic building blocks of performance in sport, oxygen.

The question I have always wanted to answer is how Native Americans were able to go on physically demanding hunts, maintain a slendor, muscular build without motor learning research performed during practice sessions or treadmills for endurance work or completed Olympic lifts in their weight room. So how could it be that they were able to accomplish such feats of  endurance and strength without all the training?

My first hypothesis is oxygen and our current lack there of, in our current lives.

Here are my thoughts that lead me to this conclusion.

  1. Otto Warburg, a mid 20th century cell biologist in Germany, cellular respiration is simple truth: cells that cannot breathe, cannot, and will not ever, work properly. Anything that skips the first and obvious neglects the
    metabolism of life.
  2. Current Atmospheric levels:  Compared to prehistoric times, the level of oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere has declined by over a third and in polluted cities the decline may be more than 50%. This change in the makeup of the air we breathe has potentially serious implications for our health and performance, according to Roddy Newman and his book, The Oxygen Crisis.
  3. Manfred von Ardenne, developed in the late 1960s by Professor von Ardenne, (a student of Dr. Otto Warburg), Oxygen Multistep Therapy combines oxygen therapy, elements that facilitate intracellular oxygen turnover, and physical exercise adapted to individual performance levels.
  4. Dr. Mark Sircus states, “long and hard is the search for substances that athletes can use to increase sports performance. There are more than several substances that are natural, legal, non-toxic and safe that athletes can use, but like everywhere else in the world of medicine most still prefer dangerous pharmaceuticals to natural medicinals even with the risk of being discovered and banned from competition.”  and, “extra oxygen increases muscles’ energy production improving athletic output ability; intensity and duration.  The secret to Olympic success is higher concentrations of oxygen delivery to the cells.. ” For entire post, click here
  5. Oxygen has been proven to be a natural, ethical & legal way to stimulate biologically effective levels of growth hormones, especially the ones ethic-challenged athletes use illegally, like EPO, erythropoietin AND HGH, Human Growth Hormone?

I realize that additional details may be needed to connect these dots into a more detailed, comprehensive study, suffice to say that increasing your oxygen intake would benefit athletes, both in the short and long run.

 

 

 

The McCarthy Project EWOT Sessions

Exercise With Oxygen Training Sessions For Elite Performance in Life and Sport

live_o2_logoOver the years, The McCarthy Project has developed gestalt theory of elite performance and oxygen is a major component of that philosophy. Each session is 30 minutes in length: a 5-10 warm-up on a treadmill, or a bike trainer (you can use your own bike. if desired) followed by a 15 minute training session and a 5 minute cool down.

Session Rates:
Individual Sessions $50.00
Elite Package (16 sessions) $500.00
Gestalt Package (Unlimited sessions for 4 months) $1000.00

Location:
23568 Birch Road
Rogers, MN 55374

Each session package includes a 60 minute consultation to review your current fitness level and your goals. All sessions are by appointment only.

For more information on how we may be able to take your training to the next level, contact Stephen McCarthy at 612-741-0982 or cs(at)themccarthyproject.com.

Oxygen Training with LiveO2 Systems
LiveO2 Adaptive Contrast System

Some EWOT Training benefits include:
1. Increased oxygen saturation for the purpose of delayed onset of muscle soreness
2. Development of auto-immune system
3. Super charge current nutrition strategies with the increased oxygen levels
4. Amplify body’s natural hormones for an increase in muscle mass

 

 

Live O2: Leading Edge Oxygen Training for Elite Performance

Exercise With Oxygen Training: A part of the The McCarthy Project’s Gestalt Theory of Elite Performance

Over the years, The McCarthy Project has seen or worked with hyperbaric tents and systems, altitude training, elevation masks, and virtual reality trainers for the simple purpose of gaining an edge for athletes. After live_o2_logomany years of searching, The McCarthy Project believes that adding oxygen and oxygen training (i.e. exercise with oxygen training or EWOT) could be one of those Rosetta stones for athletes. It amazes the mind that you could move all around the idea of oxygen by taking oxygen away, sleeping low, training high and then the opposite (sleeping high, training low) to sleeping in a tent, but the idea of adding oxygen during a 15 minute workout could or would be the answer, but if you take the time to understand the science behind oxygen training, you will uncover that their are major benefits for working with oxygen and the Live O2 system.

Benefits Include:
1. Increased oxygen saturation for the purpose of delayed onset of muscle soreness
2. Development of auto-immune system
3. Super charge current nutrition strategies with the increased oxygen levels
4. Amplify body’s natural hormones for an increase in muscle mass

Oxygen Training with LiveO2 Systems
LiveO2 Adaptive Contrast System

For EWOT/Live O2 training sessions at our location,  visit here. Or how you would be able to take your training to the next level by purchasing a system, contact Stephen McCarthy at 612-741-0982 or cs(at)themccarthyproject.com.

Additional Information:

” LiveO2 Adaptive Contrast lets you switch between oxygen-reduced and oxygen-rich air during exercise. This creates a “magic moment” of super-oxygenation for the brain, liver and kidneys,” Live O2

Secondly,  The following quote is from a post on the subject of Dara Torres, US Olympic swimmer.  For entire post, visit here

“Dara Torres started to see some unexpected effects beyond endurance and strength.  She gained a lot of muscle — fast. The scale showed about 12 pounds of muscle gain from Jan thru March.  Don’t get me wrong – Dara is the totally awesome athlete – but how could she add that much muscle that fast at 45? The new muscle mass made her look much stronger than the Time Magazine cover.  Her shoulders were at least 2 inches broader this year – and her already awesome legs were wicked ripped. Why?”

Dr. Palacios compares his experience with LiveOperformance to his 15 years of experience with medical hyperbaric treatment.

Tom Brady: Coca-Cola “Poison for Kids”

By Christina Sarich, Infowars.com

101915bradycokeNew England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady called Coca-Cola “poison for kids.”

“You probably go out and drink Coca-Cola and think, ‘Oh yeah, that’s no problem,’” he said on the Dennis & Callahan Morning Show. “Why, because they pay lots of money for advertisements that think that you should drink Coca-Cola for a living?”

“No, I totally disagree with that and when people do that, I think that’s quackery, and just the fact that they can sell that to kids? That’s poison for kids.”

Regular coke does contains high-fructose corn syrup, which has been linked to a variety of health problems including high blood pressure and obesity.

Also he noted frosted flakes…

But Brady didn’t just attack coke: he also questioned whether Frosted Flakes is “actually a food.”

“You keep eating those things and you keep wondering why we do have just incredible rates of disease in our country,” the quarterback said.

Like Coca-Cola, Frosted Flakes also contains high-fructose corn syrup.

“Another reason to avoid fructose is that its most common form, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), is derived from genetically modified corn,” Sarich pointed out. “That means it was developed in a lab, not grown and milled before it ended up in your table.”

For complete article, visit here

Dryland Swim Team Workouts Outside of the Weight Room

As Seen on Stack.com: By Stephen McCarthy, The McCarthy Project

mccarthy_prepsOne the biggest challenges in dryland workouts for swimmers is the combination of facilities, the sheer number of athletes and the amount of time to complete the workouts. Weight rooms are impossible for 30-40 athletes to get in a good workout in 40-45 minutes or less. Secondly, more times than not, you are on the pool deck or in a hallway outside of the pool anyways. One solution is metabolic running. This type of training allows for a great number of athletes to workout at the same time without any equipment. More importantly, we observed a 10-15% improvement in our times in the pool after 4 weeks of implementing the metabolic swim team workouts.

Not only does metabolic running develop a swimmers overall conditioning, it will develop swimmer’s overall athletic ability. The metabolic training will challenge their overall speed of movements, coordination, as well as, their conditioning. The workouts are as follows; a set of 10 exercises with a 10-15 sec rest period between each exercise. Repeat 10 times and then allow a 3 min rest.

The program is only limited by the coach’s creativity. Program the sets longer (3-5 min-500 free lengths) or shorter (20-30 sec, 50 free lengths) based on your team needs. You can make them as hard and as easy as you see fit. You can add complex movements or simply, skip for 50 meters.

Here are a couple sets we have used with our swimmers:

  1. Set 1: 10 pushups, Sprint , Carioca , Jog, Streamline jumps, Jog, Power Skips, Shuffle, Backpedal, and 5 sit-ups
  2. Rest 3 minutes
  3. Set 2: Jog 10 sec, 5 pushups, Backpedal, Sprint, Zigzag Run, High Knees Backwards, Carioca, Shuffle, Sprint
  4. Rest 3 minutes and repeat for 1-2 additional sets

By the end of this 20-25 minute workout, they will be pushed to their limits. Add a 15-20 cool down flexibility program and you will see performance gains in the pool almost immediately.

Dryland Swim Team Workouts Outside of the Weight Room

One the biggest challenges in dryland workouts for swimmers is the combination of facilities, the sheer number of athletes and the amount of time to complete the workouts. Weight rooms are impossible for 30-40 athletes to get in a good workout in 40-45 minutes or less. Secondly, more times than not, you are on the pool deck or in a hallway outside of the pool anyways. One solution is metabolic running. This type of training allows for a great number of athletes to workout at the same time without any equipment. More importantly, we observed a 10-15% improvement in our times in the pool after 4 weeks of implementing the metabolic swim team workouts.

Not only does metabolic running develop a swimmers overall conditioning, it will develop swimmer’s overall athletic ability. The metabolic training will challenge their overall speed of movements, coordination, as well as, their conditioning. The workouts are as follows; a set of 10 exercises with a 10-15 sec rest period between each exercise. Repeat 10 times and then allow a 3 min rest.

The program is only limited by the coach’s creativity. Program the sets longer (3-5 min-500 free lengths) or shorter (20-30 sec, 50 free lengths) based on your team needs. You can make them as hard and as easy as you see fit. You can add complex movements or simply, skip for 50 meters.

Here are a couple sets we have used with our swimmers:

  1. Set 1: 10 pushups, Sprint , Carioca , Jog, Streamline jumps, Jog, Power Skips, Shuffle, Backpedal, and 5 sit-ups
  2. Rest 3 minutes
  3. Set 2: Jog 10 sec, 5 pushups, Backpedal, Sprint, Zigzag Run, High Knees Backwards, Carioca, Shuffle, Sprint
  4. Rest 3 minutes and repeat for 1-2 additional sets

By the end of this 20-25 minute workout, they will be pushed to their limits. Add a 15-20 cool down flexibility program and you will see performance gains in the pool almost immediately.

Braden Holloway of NCSU on Realistic Expectations

braden_holloway
Braden Holloway of North Caroline State University

Braden joined Stephen McCarthy to talk about realistic expectations in sport and life.  So many times young athletes miss the joy of competition by focusing on going to a this or that college.  While Braden is at North Carolina State University, he stresses that not every swimmer is going to compete in the ACC or at a major college level.  If they do not, athletes should not view themselves as failure. Each athlete has a place in college sport if they desire and they should embrace it to enjoy the sport and life.

For the complete interview, visit here.

Bio Information on Braden Holloway:
2013 ACC Coach of the Year, a five-time All-America selection as a student-athlete and 2001 graduate of NC State, enters his third season as head coach of the Wolfpack swimming and diving program. He was named to the position on June 29, 2011, by Director of Athletics Deborah A. Yow. Full Bio

North Carolina Swim Coach Rich DeSelm

North Carolina Swim Coach DeSelm on Maintaining the Joy of the Sport

North Carolina Swim Coach DeSelm
North Carolina Swim Coach DeSelm

Coach DeSelm joined Stephen McCarthy to talk about raising up the next generation of young athletes and more specifically the next generation of swimmers.

For over 35 years, Coach DeSelm has either participated or coached swimmers.   Coach mentioned that winning and losing does not bring joy to sport.  While he feels the winning and losing do play a part, it is not the most important part. He maintains that the joy of the activity or participating in sports and becoming your best is the key to long-term success in life and sport.

Tune in Friday, September 25, 2013 at 9am CST to listen to the show.

About Coach Rich DeSelm:

Coming off his most successful season to date, Rich DeSelm is now in his sixth year as the head swimming coach at the University of North Carolina after serving for one year as the chief assistant and head coach designate under former mentor Frank Comfort.

The program has made great strides under DeSelm’s tutelage in the past five years.  DeSelm had been a highly successful head coach at Davidson College and a long-time assistant at perennial Top 10 program Florida before he assumed the full-time head coaching duties at Carolina on July 1, 2007.

Frank Bradley: Florida State University Swim Coach

Frank Bradley, Head Coach of Florida State University Swim Team, Shares Thoughts on Individualized Training

Florida State University Head Swim and Dive Coach Frank Bradley
Florida State University Head Swim and Dive Coach Frank Bradley

Stephen McCarthy of The McCarthy Project will sit down with Florida State University  Swim Coach Frank Bradley to talk about “old school vs new school” training systems and his thoughts on individualized training for swimmers.

Coach Bradley will share his story on growing up in Florida as a swimmer through his time as a athlete on the swim team at Florida State University to ultimately returning to his alma-mater as the head swim coach.

Over the years, he has had tremendous success focusing his philosophy on the concept of individualized training and athlete development.  He will be sharing his perspective on how he develops the complete person, student and athlete.

Tune in Sept 23rd at 9:00am CST to hear the complete interview.

About Frank Bradley:

Florida State Director of Athletics Randy Spetman announced the hiring of Frank Bradley as the head coach for men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs at FSU.  Bradley, who swam for the Seminoles from 1994-1997, has been the associate head coach at Auburn for the past three seasons and previously served as head coach at Indian River Community College and as an assistant at South Carolina.

Coach Kelly Kremer of Minnesota Swimming

Kelly Kremer, Head Coach for the University of Minnesota Swimming and Diving team, Talks About Developing Young Swimmers in Life and Sport

Kelly Kremer of Minnesota Swimming
Kelly Kremer of Minnesota Swimming

Coach Kelly Kremer of the University of Minnesota Swimming and Diving team will be joining Stephen McCarthy of The McCarthy Project to discuss his views on developing young swimmers from age-group to the Olympics.  The show will be airing Wednesday, August 28th at 9:00am CST.  Tune in to listen to the complete show.

Coach will be covering his path from a club swimmer in Mandan, ND to NAIA champion Drury University to his current position as the Head Coach for the University of Minnesota Swimming and Diving team.

He will be discussing how he develops team chemistry with 75 swimmers from all over the world and how they can maintain their individuality while being a part of the team.  Secondly, he will be commenting on the role of parents, athletes and coaches in creating a elite level swimmer.

To connect with Coach Kremer, you can visit the Gopher Sports website.

 

2013 Triathlon Wetsuit Reviews By Brand

2013 Triathlon Wetsuit Reviews By Brand: Orca, Blue Seventy, 2XU, and TYR

2013 Triathlon Wetsuit Reviews By Brand Orca, Blue Seventy, 2XU, and TYR
2013 Triathlon Wetsuit Reviews By Brand Orca, Blue Seventy, 2XU, and TYR

Stephen McCarthy and Kris Swarthout broke down the major brands and broadcast our 2013 Triathlon wetsuit  reviews.

We talked about things like fitting the extreme body types, different technology and marketing hype.

This is two hours of talking triathlon wetsuits and will be a great resource for the expert and the beginner related to the 2013 triathlon wetsuits.

For the complete show, visit here.

Wetsuit sizing information

Triathlon Wetsuits: Questions to Ask

Brands included in the show.

1. Orca wetsuits

2. Blue Seventy wetsuits

3.  2xu wetsuits and apparel

4.  TYR wetsuits and swimming apparel

5.  Custom triathlon suits

 

Speed Training for Swimming: Cal Dietz of XLathlete

Speed Training for Swimming.. What?

Cal Dietz on Speed Training for Swimming
Cal Dietz on Speed Training for Swimming

Cal Dietz, author of Triphasic Training and XLAthlete, developed out the concept and methods of speed training for swimming he uses with the University of Minnesota.

Swimmers need to train for speed, but it is not called as such. To them at least.

Check out the complete interview with one of the thought leaders in the strength training world. Cal comes on the show around 65 minute mark.

Altitude Training: Athlete’s Perspective

Shannon Coates Talks Altitude Tents

shannon coates
Shannon Coates

Shannon Coates, an accomplished triathlete, joined The McCarthy Project to talk about her thoughts on using an altitude tent and training at altitude. She has been using here altitude tent for 4 weeks and will be back to give us an update in a couple weeks.

Click here for the complete show.

Shannon Coates Bio:

•Member of Timex Multisport Team •2x Ironman World Championship Qualifier •4th Place Age Group at 2010 Ironman World Championship •Podium placed at every Ironman 2009-present •Ironman Florida 2009 Age Group champion • Florida State University cross country and track teams 2004-2009 •B.S. degree from Florida State University in Biology. Visit Shannon.

Organic Nutrition and Rock Tape

Today on the Show we covered organic nutrition during a race and the value of Rock Tape

Erin Demarines of Tri3Bar talked about organic nutrition for vegan

Organic Nutrition Expert Erin Demarines of Tri3Bar
Organic Nutrition Expert Erin Demarines of Tri3Bar

and vegetarians and how she developed the original non-gmo, gluten-free energy bar.  She started from humble beginnings in Brentwood, CA to create a bar that has great taste and top notch nutrition.

For more information on Erin, click here

In the second hour, Jill Magee of Rock Tape discussed the value of kinesio taping or therapeutic taping.  She

Jill Magee of Rock Tape
Jill Magee of Rock Tape

mentioned the foundational information of taping your body for performance.

For more information on Jill, click here.

To listen to the complete show, click here

Sponsors:

XLAthlete.com: The online strength and speed development source for athletes, trainers, and coaches.

Five Star Basketball: The premier basketball skill development camp in the nation.

Sea Devils State Champions in Long Course

Head Coaches Michelle Mix and Terri Moser

Congrats to all the swimmers who made it happen. You are the best and now you have the results that confirm what you always knew in your heart.  Here is a link to more information on  individual results.

See you in a couple weeks.

Stephen

Congrats to Sea Devils Swimming


The results from the last two weeks have been nothing short of amazing. Last week alone they had 48 new champ times. All from one weekend. That is amazingly good! So congrats to the all the athletes who accomplished their goals.

Good luck at State!!

St Michael Swim and Diving Defeat Monticello

Congrats to the St Michael Swim Team for defeating the Monticello.

Over the last 3 years the Monti team has consistently trounced the team from St Michael. So this years win was extra special. We look forward to more great results from them later this year.

Keep up the good work.

Stephen McCarthy

P.S. Wondering why St Michael Swim Team is so important to us? They are a strength training client for The McCarthy Project. Keep up the hard work.

Finis Aqua Pulse Heart Rate Monitor

Hey, everyone.

I just came across a new product. A Finis Aqua Pulse heart rate monitor. One of the questions we get all the finis aqua pulse heart rate monitortime is .. Can our heart rate monitor work in the water. And for the most part the answer is no and it will void the warranty if you do. So the Finis Aqua Pulse is very timely and very cool. It looks like the May-June 2009 time frame for availability. The retail price is $139.99.

Stephen McCarthy

Attacking Life and Sport Since 2001