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The Independent
31-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
‘Don't try this at home' - the brutal NFL strength and conditioning protocol that some boxers can also benefit from
The French contrast method is not for everyone; it is even too intense for some professional athletes. But those with the capacity to handle it can reap the rewards. This strength and conditioning protocol, comprising four exercises performed back to back, is used by Perform 365 chief executive and coach Dan Lawrence to develop enviable levels of strength and power in some of the elite athletes he works with. One of these athletes is Conor Benn, who incorporated the method into his preparations to take on Chris Eubank Jr. 'Conor has a very high training age, meaning he has lots of strength and conditioning experience, so he is able to do something like this, which is incredibly advanced,' Lawrence explains. 'There are not many fighters I would be putting through this, but Conor is at a level where he adapts really well to it.' Here is how to use this protocol, and why – for the crème de la crème of the sporting world – it could hold the key to improved performance. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dan Lawrence - Perform365 (@danlawrence365) Conor Benn's French contrast method protocol: Perform four rounds of the sequence below, with 20 to 30 seconds of rest between exercises and three to five minutes of rest between rounds Quarter squats from blocks x3 (180kg, in Benn's case) Unloaded countermovement jump x3 (this is a max-height vertical jump) Barbell jump squat x3 (with a load that feels 'relatively heavy but can still be moved explosively'– roughly 30 per cent of your one-rep max squat, in this case Band-assisted over speed jump x3 (a vertical jump while holding a band attached to an anchor point above you to help propel you upward) The French contrast method comprises four exercises performed back to back. These exercises are all biomechanically similar, with fairly uniform joint angles and muscle recruitment throughout. However, they occupy different portions of the force-velocity curve – a graph demonstrating the inverse relationship between force and velocity, with the body forced to slow down when lifting heavier loads, and able to move faster when lifting lighter ones. The first exercise is a heavily loaded compound movement such as a squat. This targets developments in maximum strength, or the maximum weight a person can lift, with the goal of recruiting as many motor units as possible. Up next is an unloaded jump, with more of a focus on improving speed. This will have a slower and longer ground contact time, Lawrence says. This is followed by a loaded explosive exercise to work on speed-strength, which is the ability to create a lot of force, fast. And finally, there is an assisted explosive exercise, in this case a jump assisted by a resistance band, for overspeed work. This involves working at a velocity that is greater than normal to again promote speed and power development. Benefits of the French contrast method The French contrast method was created by sports scientist and track and field coach Gilles Cometti, and more recently developed by strength coach Cal Dietz, to 'exploit various areas of the force-velocity curve in order to bring out an acute physiological response,' according to an article by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. 'The method aims to increase post-activation performance enhancement through a combination of traditional resistance training and plyometrics exercises leading to greater rate of force development, movement velocity and power production.' In layman's terms: you can generate more speed and power during the later, lighter lifts after tackling the earlier, heavier loads. It is almost like picking up a bag you expected to be heavy, only to find it is empty and flies off the ground. A 2024 study published in the Journal of Musculoskeletal and Neuronal Interactions found that football players who used the French contrast method for six weeks saw improved performance in their vertical jump, 30m sprint and dynamic balance – the ability to maintain balance while moving or changing direction, which is of particular importance in a sporting context. Further formal scientific research into the method is limited, and the mechanisms behind its efficacy are still largely uncertain. However, as with many training principles, the proof is in the pudding, with many strength and conditioning coaches implementing it to great effect with their athletes. Who should use the French contrast method? The French Contrast method is not for everyone, Lawrence stresses. As Matchroom Boxing 's head of performance, he says there are even professional fighters he would avoid assigning it to. He says: 'If you give someone with a low training age this method, which was popularised around NFL athletes – high-octane, explosive athletes – they will just crumble and break down,' he explains. He concludes: 'The demand on the neuromuscular system is incredibly high, which is why the athlete must have a high training age to reap the rewards from this kind of system, from a physiological point of view. A base level of foundational strength and a good number of years of weight training experience would be advised before attempting such an advanced method.'
Wall Street Journal
27-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
‘Ballistic' Review: Building a Competitive Edge
Today's professional basketball players are capable of athletic feats that would have been unthinkable a few decades ago. Think Stephen Curry's extraordinary shooting range or Nikola Jokić's sheer mastery of the game. But there's one way in which NBA players are regressing compared to their predecessors: They're getting injured more often. In the recently completed NBA regular season, the number of games players lost to injury or illness was the highest since at least 2005 (excluding one Covid-19-ravaged season), according to basketball injury tracker Jeff Stotts. The reasons are varied, but one is that professional basketball (as well as other pro sports) focuses less on preventing injuries than on treating them. In this way, U.S. sports mirrors much of the American healthcare system, which remains painfully reactive. Marcus Elliott, a California-based physician, has spent decades trying to get injury prevention incorporated into the playbook of elite athletics. Henry Abbott tells Dr. Elliott's captivating story in 'Ballistic: The New Science of Injury-Free Athletic Performance.' Dr. Elliott grew up in a rural area of Northern California and had a free-range childhood, with lots of time for camping, fishing and horseback riding. While in high school he hyperextended his knee playing football, which left him laid up for 4½ months in a full-length cast. Reading a medical journal devoted to sports and exercise spurred him to want to understand injury prevention, only to discover upon arriving at college that the subject wasn't taught. He nonetheless found a like-minded professor, who nurtured his interest in prevention, and later enrolled at Harvard Medical School, though he chafed at its rigidity. The New England Patriots, and later the Seattle Mariners, eventually hired Dr. Elliott to focus on injury prevention. But neither organization was a great fit for him, owing to hidebound attitudes among the players, trainers and broader management. His experience with the Mariners was particularly sour. When he told one of the team's oft-injured pitchers that bench-press workouts could aggravate his shoulder and elbow, the player responded (with the strength coach standing next to him), 'I don't like people who try to figure things out.' Dr. Elliott left the team convinced that 'baseball is definitely the dumbest sport.'
Medscape
07-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Fast Five Quiz: Caffeine Fact vs Fiction
From interactions with antidepressants and athletic performance to its controversial classification in psychiatric manuals, caffeine continues to surprise even seasoned clinicians and health professionals. This quiz is designed to test your knowledge on the latest research around caffeine's role in mental health, physical performance, sleep, and neurodegenerative disease. See how well you can separate caffeine fact from fiction with this quick quiz. Medscape © 2025 WebMD, LLC Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape. Cite this: Yasmine S. Ali. Fast Five Quiz: Caffeine Fact vs Fiction - Medscape - May 02, 2025.
