In relation to my article on college in the mountains and how to prepare for the mountain's environment change, I fell upon a possible solution.
Many of you are aware, I'm one of those couch barbarians who likes to watch fighting, that is professional human fighting, and my favourite is mixed martial arts. In anticipation for last weekends fight, UFC 80, I watched the UFC countdown. The countdown is a show that sets up the main fights for the weekend's fight card with back and forth jawing between fighters. Then they show how the guys are training for the upcoming fights.
I saw two really interesting things in this show that I think are applicable to our Ultimate training. The first one I'm keeping a secret for now, but the second one is in relation to BJ's training versus Joe Stevenson's training. Joe is training in Big Bear, California, because it provides high altitude training with little distraction. The theory behind high altitude training is the decrease in oxygen supply causes your body to adapt and become more efficient using oxygen in the energy making process. Joe is the equivalent of Colorado in Ultimate.
Pictured Above: Your chance to be a bubble boy.BJ Penn lives and trains in Hawaii, and therefore, can't do high altitude training (like the majority of us). His solution is the high altitude sleep tent (Men's health article). For anywhere from $900 up you can sleep in a high altitude environment and get many of the high altitude benefits.
It's expensive, but at least it's an option for those of you who have lots of money. Maybe the contending college teams should fly to one less tournament and each buy a tent. It's something to think about.
As for changing the flight of the disc due to different air pressure (as some have commented on), I'd consider using these indoor bubble spaces with some industrial fans. Another solution not many of us can afford.
PJ
4 comments:
Those bubbles (tennis, soccer, whatever) are at a higher pressure, in order to support the bubble... so if you're trying to see what the effects of disc flight at a lower pressure would be, that wouldn't work. Unless you're talking about comparing the flight at sea level to 'bubble pressure', and extrapolating from there what the effects of even lower pressure would be.
I guess I should have explained more of my thought on this. My idea was to play in the high pressure indoor (with wind) and then go to the outdoors to feel how the air changes your disc flight.
Thanks for pointing that out.
PJ
In Rocky 4, Rocky trained in the middle of nowhere with no distractions from that wet blanket, Adrian.
He trained at high altitude by climbing mountains and lifting wagons full of logs.
He used to train by slowmotion homoeroticism with Carl Weathers.
I'm tired of typing so in conclusion blah blah Drago, he bleeds, blah blah machine, drugs, too much science is bad for sports.
things you can do to adjust to different flight of disc without climbing a mountain:
1. get to colorado a day early or five and practice.
2. practice with different discs to learn to adjust. no disc will perfectly imitate a discraft at 3000 ft, so the best you can do is to use several different molds to learn to adjust quickly to whatever comes your way. Try innova goalti discs (closer to altitude conditions since they fly straighter no matter how much curve you put on them---can't simulate the higher speed and the lack of carry, though). But also play with other disc: 140g, ddc discs, guts discs, fast backs, play a round of disc golf with golf discs. Try gluing a piece of lead in the middle under your discraft---makes the flight more similar to altitude.
3. get to colorado a day early or five and practice.
Flo.
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