Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts

Saturday, November 14, 2020

The Legendary Willie Banks On The Comeback With KAATSU, The Original BFR

For who? Competitive athletes, Olympic athletes, runners, jumpers
For what? Rehabilitation, recovery, functional movement



William "Willie" Banks, III is a 64-year-old former world record holder and 3-time Olympian from Carlsbad, California.

Banks will always be remembered as one of the most charismatic athletes to compete in track and field. He pioneered the hand clapping that takes place during many track and field events (read here). His exuberant personality remains an inspiration to many and was always present in his athletic performances that ranged from NCAA Championships to the World Championships.

He held the triple jump world record for over ten years while qualifying for the 1980, 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games and the 1983 and 1987 IAAF World Championships. He was awarded the Track & Field News and United States Olympic Committee Athlete of the Year in 1985 and won the Jesse Owens Award as the Outstanding Athlete in Track and Field. Over the span of 18 years from 1975 to 1992, he was ranked among the world's best.

But his career as a triple jumper took a heavy toll on his body, particularly his joints. Lifelong injuries to long jumpers and triple jumpers are common due to the increased pressure on their joints during their athletic career. But there is hope and a form of relief.

The USA National Track & Field Hall of Famer and former President of the U.S. Olympians Association dealt with pain for the last three decades. The athlete who leaped as nearly far and high as anyone in human history had to face pain while walking and moving. Banks could not even touch his toes.

Banks began KAATSU during the COVID-19 lockdown period. After many years and all kinds of interventions and physical therapy, he began to feel relief with KAATSU, the original BFR.

He tells of his recovery with KAATSU while enjoying a renewed ability to walk long distances and a life without pain.

Copyright © 2014 - 2020 by KAATSU Global

Sunday, September 22, 2019

KAATSU Selected As Equipment Of Choice By China

For who? athletes, scientists, coaches
For what? Strength, stamina, functional movement, mobility, flexibility, recovery

As KAATSU the original BFR continues to get increasingly popular and mainstream around the world, both in the realms of athletic performance and rehabilitation, one major sports organization - the Chinese Olympics Committee - conducted a long-term comprehensive comparison testing against all the major brands and equipment types in the KAATSU and BFR (Blood Flow Restriction) market space.

The Chinese Olympics Committee obtained, studied, tested, researched and observed use of KAATSU and BFR equipment including the Delfi Personalized Tourniquet System for Blood Flow Restriction, the B STRONG Training System, and other occlusion bands and blood flow restriction equipment sold globally.

The Chinese scientists, exercise physiologists, coaches and physicians took their time and used significant resources to comparatively test and objectively judge the effectiveness and efficiency of multiple types of equipment.

Background

* The Chinese Olympic Committee governs Chinese athletes' participation in the Winter and Summer Olympic Games.
* Beijing will be the first city in the world to host both a Summer Olympics (in 2008) and a Winter Olympics (in 2022).
* At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China was ranked #2 in the overall medal count with 100 medals behind the USA with 112.
* At the 2012 London Olympics, China was ranked #2 in the overall medal count with 91 medals behind the USA with 104.
* At the 2016 Rio Olympics, China was ranked #2 in the overall medal count with 70 medals behind the USA with 121.

Among sports fans and even casual Olympic viewers, Olympic medals are perceived as important in terms of national prestige and a measure of international athletic prowess, a reflection of one's country. All of the major countries that compete for medals in the Olympic competition invest in the training and preparation of their athletes by funding coaches, exercise physiology programs, nutrition plans, facilities, and travel to international competitions.* It is a very serious investment of time, effort and resources.

So with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 Beijing Olympics coming up within the next Olympic quadrennial, the Chinese Olympic Committee is investigating all the latest equipment, sports science, training and rehabilitation modalities, and techniques. One of those areas in which was comprehensively studied and tested was blood flow restriction.

The Chinese Olympics Committee recently decided that KAATSU was the best modality and equipment in its field.

"The decision was not surprising as KAATSU is the original form of blood flow modification. It has been tested the longest and most comprehensively - in hospitals, in clinics, in the field of play and among athletes and people of every age and ability," said Steven Munatones. "So when we received word from the Chinese Olympics Committee of KAATSU's selection as its equipment and modality of choice, we took their decision in stride.

It is also perfect timing as our next-generation products including the KAATSU Master 2.0, KAATSU Cycle 2.0, and KAATSU Wearables are coming on line and gaining global awareness and popularity
."

* The medal count at the 2016 Rio Olympics United States was as follows:
1. USA - 121
2. China - 70
3. Great Britain - 67
4. Russia - 56
5. Germany - 42
5. France - 42
7. Japan - 41
8. Australia - 29
9. Italy - 28
10. Canada - 22
11. South Korea - 21
12. Netherlands - 19
12. Brazil - 19
14. New Zealand - 18
15. Spain - 17
16. Hungary - 15
17. Kenya - 13
18. Jamaica - 11
18. Cuba - 11
20. Croatia 10

Copyright © 2014 - 2019 by KAATSU Global

Sunday, January 13, 2019

How The Japanese Prepare For The Olympics

For who? Baby Boomers, retirees, athletes
For what? Strength, stamina, functional movement, mobility, flexibility, recovery



Courtesy of The Olympics On The Record.

Most sports fans around the world know or have heard about the achievements and unprecedented Olympic record of Usain Bolt, the world's most successful sprint runner.

Most sports fans around the world also do not necessarily assign raw flat-out speed with Japanese runners who do not appear to have the natural body types for speed like their competitors in the Caribbean nations like Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, the United States, Canada and the African and European nations.

But many sports fans also do not know that the Japanese placed a solid second in the men's 4 x 100m relay in the track & field competition during the 2016 Rio Olympics (with Ryota Yamagata, Shota Iizuka, Yoshihide Kiryu and Asuka Cambridge) - a race that people do not equate with Japanese prowess.

"We have observed the most recent methodologies, strategies, technologies and analyses that the Japanese have incorporated into their Olympic preparations - for a number of sports and disciplines," observed Steven Munatones, a frequent visitor to Japan. "Instead of making excuses that they are not as tall, strong or powerful like most of their athletic competitors, it is interesting to see coaches, trainers and athletes accept their DNA as is and then fine tune their preparations through innovation, patience, hard work, incremental improvement (called kaizen), and KAATSU for athletic performance gains and KAATSU Cycle for recovery and rehabilitation."

It will be interesting to see the results of this preparation - supported and encouraged by the Japanese government and its technologically-oriented corporations like Mizuno - at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, as the Japanese have done for their previous Olympic campaigns (see above).

"It will be very interesting because there will be some very visible, head-to-head races at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in various events between smaller, lighter, less powerful Japanese athletes who use KAATSU and their taller, stronger and more powerful foreign competitors from Canada, the United States and European countries who do not use KAATSU - or whose coaches do not accept the incorporation of blood flow moderation modalities into their training, commented Munatones.

"The proof of the benefits will be on the podium at the end of these races."

Copyright © 2014-2019 by KAATSU Global