Static-dynamic Method in Girevoy Sport

This title will attract attention of anybody, no doubt. Recently an article was posted on the Rybinsk Forum of Girevoy Sport by one of its members, Alexey. In case someone wants to read the original post, here is the link: http://girevoirybinsk.borda.ru/?1-1-0-00000178-000-0-0-1224153845 It is the article on the method of training applied to GS that the authors coined “static-dynamic”. Why it is called this way will be clear from the text. There are no details about the authors or where it was originally published. However, it is real, good quality sports research, and I cannot miss the opportunity to convey it to the enthusiasts of girevoy sport. Below follows the text of the article.

The reason to write this article were publications on statodynamic training in athletics, published in the journal”Legkaya Atletika”, No. 3-6 in 2003. The results of action of the static-dynamic method on the physical state of runners, throwers and jumpers were published. The works were performed by Victor Seluyanov [remember “The Heart is not a Machine” post that was based on his book?] We implemented Seluyanov’s methods in athletes and gireviks of Youth Sports School No.3 in Tambov, and we were convinced by the results and thus created modified method of static-dynamic training which allows achieving even stronger training effect in all athletes, and gireviks in particular.

First of all, what is the idea behind the “classic” static-dynamic training (SDT for the sake of space)? An introduction is necessary. It was established that work capacity in aerobic-anaerobic regime (as in girevoy sport) is closely related to the composition of the muscle. The more oxidative fibers an athlete has, the higher is the anaerobic threshold. It happens because during the contraction of oxidative fibers there is no lactic acid production. This leads to less acidosis (therefore fatigue) of the muscle compared to glycolytic fibers.

When training is planned correctly it is possible to increase the number of oxidative fibers in those muscles that perform prolonged work medium intensity, such as the anterior surface of the femur, muscles of hands and forearms, long muscles of the back, triceps in gireviks. The increase of oxidative fibers is tightly related to the strength training methods. During traditional strength training types of muscle fibers are recruited, slow (oxidative) and fast. However, only the latter are stimulated enough to cause training effect. As this is a dynamic process – the muscle periodically contracts and relaxes during the exercise – oxidative fibers receive adequate blood flow and the accumulation of hydrogen ions does not occur. However, without acidosis there is no training effect in these fibers. Therefore it is necessary to impair blood circulation in slow fibers during exercise, by keeping them tense and avoiding relaxation. In other words, in order to facilitate the process of forming new muscle fibers one has to impair blood flow through the muscle and make it acidotic. This will have more pronounced training effect and as the result better strength gains. This is the main premise behind the static-dynamic training method (SDT) developed by Seluyanov and his co-workers. The exercise should be performed slowly and without full straightening in the joints, not letting the muscle relax and keeping the capillaries compressed. The loads are moderate, so that fatigue occurs in about 40 seconds. The range of movement in the joints is reduced and is somewhere in the middle of maximal. If you look at the trainee from the side, it looks if the training part of the body performs “swinging” up and down, spending 1 – 1.5 seconds in concentric (shortening while generating force) and 2 – 3 seconds in eccentric phase. During each set the muscle works o.5 – 1.2 minutes. Therefore, SDT is the combination of two working regimes: dynamic and isometric, but without relaxation phase. The advantage of this method is that the central nervous system is not taxed as much as in isometric training alone.

Having described “classic” SDT we will now introduce modifications that have been implemented in the training process of gireviks in our Children’s Sports School No.3 and which considerably increased the efficiency of the initial method.

The essence of our modifications has been as follows. IN the 1st variant the capillaries in the muscles remained compressed between sets, and during rest the muscles were either stretched or wrapped with elastic bandages. In the 2nd variant during rest the muscles performed light work: movements without load or “punching” or “kicking” movements of forearms, upper and lower legs. These methods will be called accordingly SDT1 and SDT2. The following experiment was conducted in our institution, the Children’s’ Sports School No.3 of Tambov City in 2003-2004. The subjects were divided into 4 groups of 10: 1 – control, 2 – classic SDT method, 3 – SDT1 and 4 – SDT2. The qualifications of the participants were rank 2 and lower. The age of the subjects was 14 to 16 years and their body weight in the range between 60 and 80 kg. All were males. The experiment lasted for 6 months, at the end of which the subjects participated in regional competition (bells 24 kg) the results of which was used to gauge the efficacy of training methods.

Girevoy Sport demands serious qualities of its participants. The main load is placed on the muscles of the anterior upper legs, back, triceps, muscles of hands and forearms. Moreover, these muscles have to work not only in dynamic but also in isometric regime. This fact is what determined the choice of exercises to test SDT methods.

In the 1st group – control – training was conducted in usual fashion, and every third day the session included isometric work, i.e.holding weights in certain position for 6–12 seconds with 5 seconds rest (3-4 sets). In the 2nd, 3rd and 4th groups training regime was similar, but instead of isometric exercises work was performed with the same loads but according to the modifications of SDT methods, also in 3-4 sets.

Therefore, the 1st group performed the following exercises: static barbell half squat, static good morning with straight legs, overhead static holds of two 16kg bells overheads (arms parallel, elbows bent at 90 degrees), static wrist curls with barbell. In the other groups the structure of exercises was the same, but with modifications appropriate for the SDT methods.

After six months and participation of regional competition each group was evaluated. The following formula was used: S = N – n, where N – number of repetitions in competition and n – number of repetitions required for completion of 2nd rank. Therefore S is the excess of achieved repetitions over required for 2nd rank. Average values were calculated for each group as follows below:

1st group – 12.1
2nd group – 18.3
3rd group – 27.7
4th group – 27.9

The results demonstrate that SDT1 and SDT2 are the most efficient methods.

We have also successfully tried using these methods together with dynamic exercises by either stretching the muscles or performing bouncing movements during rest periods. For example, well known “frog jumps” were performed in the following manner. After the set of high jumps from low squat the trainee had a “rest” which consisted of performing bouncing squats with very low amplitude – not moving the pelvis up by much – for a minute. Doing frog jumps this way resulted in better physical indicators required for moving the trainees to more advanced training classes.

In conclusion we would like to mention that we have not come across the description of SDT methods used in our work in sports literature. We conclude therefore that the use of this methodology in the training process of gireviks has been demonstrated here for the first time. The end of article.

Here it is. In my opinion this article is brilliant. The hypothesis is proposed, appropriate training methods are tested and compared and conclusions are made. The results are also quite remarkable: the difference in results is not 10-20% as we often see in this kind of work. It is remarkable without exhaggeration. It is low tech and outcome targeted, measuring sports results and not some chemical intermediates, such as testosterone or lactic acid levels in blood and drawing long reaching conclusions. Any personal trainer can make research like this. At the very least it is interesting and worthwhile to try.