1 The Acute Physiological Effects of Strongman Training Colm Woulfe-Felix A thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Master of Sport and Exercise (MSpEX) 2014 Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences Primary Supervisor: Dr Nigel Harris Secondary Supervisor: Dr Justin Keogh Tertiary Supervisor: Matt Wood 2 Contents LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................................... 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................ 4 LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................... 6 ATTESTATION OF AUTHORSHIP ............................................................................................................... 7 CO-AUTHORED WORKS ............................................................................................................................... 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................................. 9 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ....................................................................................................... 10 ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 13 Purpose Statement ....................................................................................................................................... 13 Aim of Thesis .............................................................................................................................................. 13 Study Limitations ........................................................................................................................................ 13 Study Delimitations ..................................................................................................................................... 13 Significance of Thesis ................................................................................................................................. 14 Thesis Outline .............................................................................................................................................. 14 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................................... 14 The physiology of strongman training......................................................................................................... 15 Common Strongman Exercises ................................................................................................................... 15 Acute Physiological Responses ................................................................................................................... 23 Practical applications ................................................................................................................................... 31 CHAPTER 3: STRONGMAN VERSUS STRENGTH/HYPERTROPHY RESISTANCE TRAINING ACUTE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS ......................................................................................................... 36 Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................... 36 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 37 Methods ....................................................................................................................................................... 38 Results ......................................................................................................................................................... 47 DISCUSSION.............................................................................................................................................. 54 Practical applications ................................................................................................................................... 58 CHAPTER 4: GENERAL DISCUSSION AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS ......................................... 59 Preface: ........................................................................................................................................................ 59 Recommendations ....................................................................................................................................... 59 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................ 61 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................................. 69 APPENDIX 1- ETHICS APPROVAL ........................................................................................................ 69 APPENDIX 2: PARTICIPANT INFORMATION SHEET ........................................................................ 70 APPENDIX 3: CONSENT FORM.............................................................................................................. 74 Colm Woulfe MSE- Thesis 3 APPENDIX 4: RPE SCALE ....................................................................................................................... 75 Colm Woulfe MSE- Thesis 4 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Starting position of sled drag with chest pulling harness ……………………………..…16 Figure 2A. Start position of farmers walk ……………………………………………………….…17 Figure 2B. Middle position of farmers walk, walking with the weights …………………………..18 Figure 3A. Start position of the tyre flip ……………………………………………...……….…...19 Figure 3B. Midway through a tyre flip ……………………………………………………………..19 Figure 3C. Point of tyre flip where an athlete can drive the tyre over completing the flip …....…..20 Figure 3D. End position of tyre flip where an athlete has completed flipping the tyre …..…...20 Figure 4A. Start position of the strongman dumbbell clean & press …………………..……….21 Figure 4B. Mid rack position of the strongman dumbbell clean & press ……………..………..22 Figure 4C. End position of the strongman dumbbell clean & press …………………………....22 Figure 5. Schematic timeline of data collection ……………………………………………………39 Figure 6. Position of oxygen cart in relation to participant ………………….…………………….40 Figure 7. Power clean with oxygen cart ……………………………………………...…………….41 Figure 8. Sled drag with oxygen cart………………………………………………………………42 Figure 9.Tyre flip with oxygen cart …………………………………………………………..……43 Figure 10: Median heart rate response for Resting, ST, STrecov, RST, and RSTrecov ……….48 Figure 11: Median caloric expenditure for Resting, ST, STrecov, RST and RSTrecov ……..…49 Figure 12: Median fat expenditure for Resting, ST, STrecov, RST and RSTrecov ……………….50 Figure 13: Median carbohydrate expenditure for Resting, ST, STrecov, RST and RSTrecov ……51 Figure 14: Median testosterone response pre- to post-session for ST and RST protocols ……52 Figure 15: Median lactate response pre- to post-session for ST and RST protocols …..………53 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Acute physiological responses to strongman and gym training ……………..…………25 Table 2. Evidence based practical applications for strongman training …………………………32 Table 3. Descriptive statistics of participants …………………………………………..………....39 Colm Woulfe MSE- Thesis 5 Table 4. Means of acute physiological responses to ST and RST ……………………………….47 Colm Woulfe MSE- Thesis 6 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1- Ethics Approval, Auckland University of Technology Ethics Committee ……….…68 Appendix 2 – Participant Information Sheet ……………………………………………………….69 Appendix 3 – Participant Consent Form …………………………………………………...……....73 Appendix 4- RPE scale for participants ……………………………………………………………74 Colm Woulfe MSE- Thesis 7 ATTESTATION OF AUTHORSHIP “I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person (except where explicitly defined in the acknowledgements), nor material which to a substantial extent has been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma of a university or other institution of higher learning.” Signed: Colm Woulfe Date: 10th November 2014 Colm Woulfe MSE- Thesis 8 CO-AUTHORED WORKS Submitted and accepted: Strength and Conditioning Journal Woulfe, C.J., Harris, N.K., Keogh, J.W.L., and Wood, M. The Physiology of Strongman Training Colm Woulfe 85%, Nigel Harris 5%, Justin Keogh 5%, Matt Wood 5% Submitted: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research Woulfe, C.J., Harris, N.K., Keogh, J.W.L., and Wood, M. Strongman versus Strength/Hypertrophy Resistance Training Acute Physiological Effects Colm Woulfe 85%, Nigel Harris 5%, Justin Keogh 5%, Matt Wood 5% Nigel Harris Justin Keogh Matt Wood Colm Woulfe MSE- Thesis 9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly I would like to thank my primary supervisor, Nigel Harris. Your support has been great throughout my studies and I’ve learnt a lot from you, this thesis would not