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Oxilofrine (also known as methylsynephrine, hydroxyephrine, oxyephrine, and 4-HMP) is a stimulant drug[1] is an amphetamine chemically related to ephedrine and to synephrine. The stimulant was probably being used as a masking agent to cover up steroids or whatever.

No.  Oxilofrine is not a masking agent.  Entropy is right, this is a really soft positive test and it's a product of an overzealous testing protocol.  Oxilofrine exists only because supplement companies keep switching to new stimulants after that repeatedly get banned (ephedrine, synephrine, etc.)  Yohan was popped for taking Jacked 3d.  C'mon, people on the forum probably take that stuff....    That's not to say he's not on a lot more out of competition.... BUT the positive tests returned by the testers are very often complete BS. 

Everybody takes steroids in sprinting just as in biking (like Tour de France). It's just a matter of how well you mask it and if you're caught or not. What's so "shocking" about this?

That's not a fair comparison.  Doping is in cycling but not in male sprinting.   You simply can't compete without blood doping; the same isn't true in sprinting.  Drugs help some sprinters but a lot of athletes who were on drugs will admit that they were skeptical about whether or not they actually helped them perform.  A lot of athletes take them because they look for any edge they can get; but then again a lot of athletes wear funny bracelets and magnetized necklaces looking for a boost as well.  While testing isn't near perfect; drug testing today is WAY more strict than 25 years ago.   If drugs were required in sprinting then the records 1988 and prior would be better than the records 1998-present (I'm allowing a ten year period for implementation of changes)...   

However the sprint records 1988 and prior in the 1,2,4,8 are [ 9.92, 19.72A, 43.28, 141,1 ].   Since 1998 men have ran [ 9.58, 19.19 43.18, 140.9 ].   Improvement across the board.  The same statistics for women show [ 10.49, 21.34, 47.60, 153.2 ] and [ 10.64, 21.69, 48.89, 155.1 ].    Clearly they have gotten worse since the advent of drug testing.   Thus, you can't make the argument that faster tracks, better shoes, more technology, etc have improved male times in spite of drug testing because the women have all those advantages too.   The simple fact is that drugs are required in womens sprinting.  That's not to say that any particular female is on drugs, but just that if one has access to androgens she will have a clear advantage over another and the other will be required to use drugs to compete.

I understand fans like Raptor are disillusioned with the idea of a clean athlete... But you have to understand that athletes use anything they can get their hands on whether it helps or not.  The bottom line is your favorite cyclist is surely doping.  You favorite male sprinter and basketball player probably are too.... but they don't have to! 

I for one hate USADA more than anything.  They show up at your door at any hour of the day and treat you like an animal.  The are run by a bunch of doctors who really don't understand athletics and have this really condescending attitude but probably all got on adderall to get through medical school; and they punish our athletes more than most national testing programs.  Since most tested athletes are not stupid enough now to take useful known drugs if they are tested USADA has instead decided to expand the list of banned substances to pretty much everything you can imagine so they can get more positive tests.  They need positive tests to argue for more money (ie. they need to make the argument that drugs are a problem) so they end of ruining careers of our athletes who took sampled some drink at GNC.

I don't really understand the point of testing your own athletes.   I get that the NBA might conduct drug tests.  They do this to make sure it's fair between the teams.  But the Miami Heat don't need to drug test extra.  Why put their team at a disadvantage?  Similarily let WADA do the testing at the Olympics or if they can afford it let them do out-of-competition testing if they want.  But why should we spend money to bring athletes on our team down?

Thanks for ruining the world championships.  Not what track and field needed.  More money to the testers, less to the sport.   They are no better than cops with speed traps.

Do you still do your vertical jumping and sprinting?  How is jumping performance with the added bodyweight?   I'd be most afraid of the jumping/running injuries as weight creeps up.

Hi

the month of fasting is approaching and would like to know can i still do my track training session's, which would be 6:30 to 8:00 pm and the time to break fast would be at 9:25. Same with gym work, which i do at 10:30am to 12:30pm. As in morning to evening i am not as busy as compared to after sunset it gets hectic.

pc

Have you ran a meet yet?  The only bad thing (training-wise) about Islamic fasting is the prohibition on water.   Ideally you can make a compromise with god and drink water but fast an extra hour without food or something.... If so you can train pretty close to peak performance and might even improve body composition.   If not then the one thing you really have to cut back on is training outdoors in the heat of the day.    This is downright dangerous without water and you just shouldn't try.    It seems your plan makes sense because you can do a lower intensity gym session in the morning and time your outdoor track workout so you can drink soon after.... Maybe move your track workout back a bit so you can drink right after.   

also, the goal is of course for everyone to squat the 405, and more, its simply getting there in a manner that will give you the most gains towards your goals in the process.  Nice snappy reps can get heavy, youll find that guys who train this way will either make or miss it FAST.  That kind of rep should be the mass of the TRAINING reps.  Its fine to go grind a few and see where you are, that shouldnt make up the bulk of your workload though, especially for an athlete. 

many of the higher level countries in weightlifting dont allow squats past a certain percentage of the clean.  They found they simply lose carryover as the speed dies down after that and the lift is less useful.  A snatch and clean are slower movements than a vertical is, so if those guys are losing carryover at SLOWER movements from grinding reps, speed and power athletes should take note.

Totally agree that grinding reps are essentially useless for their training effect.  The question then what is the best way for the athlete to train?  The original post by Raptor suggested to use bar speed to gauge improvement.   You have provided some really salient evidence into why some athletes really need to train explosively throughout the squat (because that's literally how they jump) but how do you favor doing it?

My issues with Raptors strategy was that it's really hard to gauge improvements in bar speed.  Clearly if you have a tendo unit you can do a better job at this.... But given both possibilities which do you think would be the better training style:

1) For some weight (285 for LBSS in Raptors example) stay at the weight and try to improve bar speed each training session.  Attempt to go from 285 in X m/s to X-k m/s which is surely an improvement.

2) Decide that bar speed is binary.  Either it's snappy and fast or it's not acceptable, if possible measure it and decide.  Choose a weight where you can squat with acceptable bar speed.  Use progressive overload to gradually increase the weight WITH the condition that a non-snappy rep is a failure.   

Obviously I favor #2 because I find that speed varies more day to day and improvement in bar speed is really hard to judge with the set-up most people have.  I also think that progressive overload is sort of the one advantage weight training has that jump-training doesn't have and cutting it out means that if the athlete practices jumping (essentially trying to move faster each session "bar speed") then the athlete is just working on bar speed with 0lbs and bar speed with X pounds and the advantage of weight training is kind of lost.  However, it could be that the difference in 0lbs and 285lbs is such that the stimulus is different enough so that 285lb bar speed can improve despite a "maxed out" speed in jumping which will then provide carryover to the jump...  Which would you favor with and without the tools to accurately measure bar speed?

Guys like yourself will get more out of squatting explosively than naturally fast and explosive types.  There is a lot going on, but to put it simply you have to teach your nervous system to be fast and powerful under high stress/high loads and not shut down, its not as reactive or "natural" as some of the springy type athletes who have different genetic set ups. 

You can tell pretty easy who is which type of athlete by the speed of the run up they come in with.  Guys that get more out of squatting more explosively will be the ones that tend to "ease"  into the counter movement.  This stands for the standing vert as well.  You can find different opinions on why this is,  a solid theory is that one type of athlete is relying more on muscular contribution, while the other is more tendon/springy in nature.  The guy getting more out of his tendons is not going to get the same turn over from squatting explosively as the guy not as gifted in that area will.  It is extremely valuable to the second type of athlete.

This is really interesting. 

Does this mean that if you come into the counter movement fast that there is no benefit to squatting?   I haven't always measured my vertical but I could always jump at least 36 inches while squatting 205 or 405...  If anything I've found only that squatting directly helps my vertical jump from a low pause... something which isn't very good anyway.   Because I have never seen a direct correlation with myself or any of the sprinters I have worked with...  I've always figured the carryover was indirect general strength.  The only guys I have seen jump much higher after squatting are usually somewhat poor athletes to begin with; and there are so many variables (fat loss,etc) for beginners.   Personally I feel squatting helps the sprints moreso just because the ability to handle fatigue during multiple rep squat sets carries over well to sprinting.


How much evidence is there that there are guys who use less tendon by nature?  I've just always assumed that guys who "ease" into the counter movement that you describe are just guys who are not yet coordinated at jumping correctly.  Give them practice and everyone will jump with similar optimal mechanics.   I mean you don't have sprinters who muscle up the track or long jumpers who approach the board slowly!  There is some difference in jumpers as far as how much slowing is done during the penultimate step.... but they are all storing a lot of energy.   I can't imagine someone really training the jumps and sticking with mechanics that don't look springy.  Even poor jumping decathletes don't appear to be jumping without building up a lot of energy.   

Perhaps being involved in basketball gives you a unique ability to study these kind of athletes in the two footed jumps.  I guess basketball has so much more to it than jumping that you will have high level players who aren't capable of jumping in an explosive manner?  And these athletes can make more gains by getting stronger than they can changing their mechanics to store more energy?  Never thought about it like that.

Also, if  LBSS can get more out of squatting because he is a more "deliberate" jumper, then would you argue that he will also be a better vertical jumper and dunker (where you need to be deliberate and controlled to coordinate the movement) then someone who jumps with more speed?   
 

Well yeah but it could also mean that in that harder position the low abs might not be able to hold you from collapsing backwards, for example. Or by elevating the heel you alter the recruitment and participation factors of different muscles.

And then it could be what you say, who knows?

Eh... The point is that if he had greater ankle mobility he could do pistols with ease.   If you lack ankle mobility your center of gravity will be behind your foot.... If you have incredibly strong abs or stabilizer muscles could you do pistols in this position... Possibly.  But it will be 100x harder.  Fact is that all good "pistolers" have the ankle mobility or proportions such that their center of gravity is balanced throughout the pistol.  Sure being strong will make up for fluctuation but to get good at a movement it's best to have optimal movement patterns rather than muscle through something much harder.

^ To add to the interesting debate yall are sharing...  I agree for the most part with Avishek regarding inhibition except for I don't see the horribleness of the low-bar squat.  One thing extremely confusing though.... LBBS and LBSS... I can't tell if people are talking the damn squat or working out with you...

Agree that inhibition regarding the 40yd is not likely to make a huge difference.  I bet if we had video of you and Avishek racing over 40yds and him running 4.7 and you 5.1 the main advantage I would see him having is simply being a much more coordinated more dynamic athlete.  I haven't seen his sprints but his triple jumps and hitch kicks show he knows how to "be more explosive".  Now some of this might be due to a relative or specific strength advantage and his more mobile hip flexors might get him an inch longer stride, but over 40yds the main thing is his ability to make power from power.   If you raced to 60 this contrast would probably be more stark.  As you keep doing single leg and double leg bounding you will get better. 

As far as the low bar squat.  I prefer high bar squat 100X for athletes... but it's because the low bar squat is much more often done in a really shitty way, not because the spot on the back matters!  That's a big distinction.  Squatting just isn't that specific.  If your getting stronger and bigger legs, glutes etc... That's what matters.  Your squat  looks like it makes your legs stronger....  If your squat has leaves you with a weakness this can be tested and addressed.   You jumping angle on your squat and VJ are really similar but I'm not even sure if that matters.   I got my high-bar squat to 405 with form similar to KF but a more rounded back at the bottom because of my shitty ankle dorsiflexion.  I got my vertical to 37 shortly after that with a dip which was only about an 1/4 to 1/8 of a squat and looked nothing like that angles I take in the squat.   Squatting helped get my basic strength up but really the vertical was about one explosive dynamic movement which mostly got better from a few months of practice, some weighted and banded jumps, and a background of sprinting.  They don't need to look the same.   

Is your sprint test a 30m or 60m sprint?  A 30m is hardly worth for unless your uncoordinated IMO... but it would make sense to concentrate if it was a 60m, would love to see how your training methods would work there.