It is not a Mystery

Resistance Conditioning and Heart Monitoring

The body of the horse, as with the human body, is basically an adaptation machine that wants to maintain a state of homeostasis or "return to what feels normal".  Anything that disrupts this feeling stimulates a response to try to return to "normal".   When cold is felt, the body starts to shiver to warm up.  Being thirsty prompts drinking.  If the body feels hunger, we eat.  When overheated, the body perspires to increase evaporation to lower skin temperature.  The basic physiological makeup for both the human and the horse is for the body to adapt to changes in the immediate environment. 

If conditioning to race a horse at top speed for the entire race is normal, then a horse’s body will “naturally” want to adapt to that “all out, all the time” level. 

Preparing the equine athlete for consistent top level performances suggests that you include some specific training tools and techniques.  Don’t change your program, just add more tools.

A purpose of this paper is to help us better recognize and understand more exercise science and apply these tools to our workouts. 

The benefit list of resistance training and heart rate monitoring is very long and we are just scratching the surface.  The goal is to achieve maximum speed for the duration of the race.

One of the keys to training for high speed stamina is to better understand muscles and how they work.  

Type I muscle fibers are also called slow twitch fibers (ST), aerobic, or red muscle fibers.  They are red because their capillary system is comparatively large accommodating all the blood flow it can get.  These muscles are aerobic and oxygen serves as a primary fuel source.  They are slow twitch muscle fibers and used primarily later not sooner. These fibers are rugged and not so easily injured.  They can handle extreme amounts of work and do not fatigue easily. Since they require blood oxygen (aerobic) as fuel, they are the ones most used in endurance type of sports, as in human athletic activities: middle distance running, soccer, cycling and cross country.

Type IIA fibers are fast twitch (FT) white muscle fibers (anaerobic). These fibers have much less blood flow in them and have a more limited tolerance to fatigue.  They can handle only moderate amounts of all-out-work. They require glycogen, which is derived from carbohydrates, as fuel.  They are involved in athletic activities like basketball, baseball, soccer and football.

Type IIB fibers are also fast twitch (FT-B) white muscle fibers but these fibers have a very low tolerance to fatigue and need a long period of recovery after use. They are extremely powerful and explosive fibers.  Human sport comparisons like power lifting, the pitch of a baseball, javelin throwing, shot putting or the beginning of a sprint are examples.  In other words, anything that needs a short burst of explosive energy.   Because of this, type IIB fiber’s fuel is ATP/CP (Adenosine Tri-Phosphate and Creatine Phosphate…now there’s a library full of “stuff”.).

Type IIC fibers (FT-C) are "freak type" fibers. They are formed when satellite cells chemically bind with the Type IIB fibers. This event is called hypertrophy.  Body building is a prime example.

Satellite cells are cells that abound in muscle tissue but have no contractile ability until they are developed and assigned. Maybe we could call them “swing cells”.  Science is still unclear about more details, but knows that their function will add structural support to the muscle.

Two Powers – Fire Power and Staying Power

Racing horses, per breeds and pedigree, are born with 70% to 90% fast twitch muscle fibers.  The principal function of fast twitch muscle fibers is strength carried out in speed.  The horse is blessed with this instant fire-power to flee from predators.   Fortunately the horse also has muscle fibers for stamina called slow twitch fibers and, like humans, swing fibers that are yet to be directed regardless of the muscle cell ratio at birth.  The most successful racehorses may be born with a very high percentage of fast twitch cells, making for speed, and who have been conditioned to produce high mitochondria density in those cells.  Therefore their speed may carry for longer periods with less fatigue.

Recent research indicates that the nervous system has the ability to change fiber types over time, based on the type of the imposed stimulus. If the stimulus imposed is of an endurance nature, then the nervous system will adapt fiber types to become Type I slow twitch fibers.  

Heart rate monitoring gives the trainer the ability to choose which specific muscle fibers to stimulate.  It is essential to know each horse’s maximum heart rate.  A safe and reliable method of determining maximum heart rate utilizes an interval testing format, a resistance cart and a heart rate monitor.   

Benefit Points of HRM:

(Potter, 2005)

The Slow Twitch (ST, or aerobic) fiber types are predominantly trained at heart rates around 150 to 175 beats per minute, or 50% to 65% of maximum heart rate. The Fast Twitch (FT, FT-B, FT-C, all are anaerobic) fibers that are predominantly impacted at heart rates of over 200 beats per minute, or 80% to 100% of maximum heart rate.

Lactic acid is a bi-product of fast twitch muscle cell contraction. It is formed when there is not enough oxygen present in the muscle cell to completely burn muscle glycogen, so some of the fuel is burned by enzymes.  As lactic acid piles up, the muscle cells gradually cease to operate properly and eventually fight to stop the function.

Mitochondria can take that lactic acid and burn it to completion through the use of oxygen.  Resistance conditioning helps to safely build the anaerobic, fast twitch, muscle fibers acquired at heart rates 200 beats per minute.

If fast twitch muscle cells are exposed to extended bouts of high intensity, lactic acid-producing exercise, their mitochondria population and their staying power will dramatically increase.  In other words, create a higher tolerance to muscle fatigue soreness caused by a lactic acid build up.

Without a resistance training cart and a few basic intervals, or a high-speed treadmill, there is no known method of achieving 90 to 95% of maximum heart rate safely, conveniently and consistently. 

Resistance exercises will change the Fast Twitch (anaerobic) type IIB fibers into high explosive type IIC fibers after we reach heart rates over 200 beats per minute.  A side value is that we are increasing the horse’s tolerance and ability to better manage lactic acid.

An effective method for this change in fiber types is done through applying varying degrees of resistance training in the programs while monitoring the horses working heart rate.  Resistance may be accomplished by up-hill training, pulling a truck tire(s) on a rope, or the affordable, practical tool of choice, the Pro-Trainer. 

Here are more benefits of the Pro Trainer:

• There will be less wear and tear on the horses all the while producing more work value.  Working at a lower speed while conditioning at a higher heart rate or workload.
  
  
• The injury potential while training horses will be reduced.  Valuable aerobic and anaerobic conditioning levels can be produced by applying different degrees of pressure at slower speeds and therefore less impact.
  
  
• Resistance (strength) training creates a physiological foundation for more endurance.
  
  
• Resistance training is undertaken to develop power or the ability of the muscles to apply force at the proper rate.
  
  
• The physiological gains from progressive resistance work include:  Increases in capillarization in the muscle fibers and increases the availability of fuel to the muscles.  Increases in cell mitochondria and increased inter-cellular fiber density; stronger bones and connective tissue.  Other bio-motor benefits also include increases in flexibility and greater coordination of the entire organism.  (Zatsiorsky, 1995)
  
  
• Resistance training in addition to increasing muscular strength and hypertrophy may also aid in the prevention of skeletal injuries.  Resistance training promotes and/or increases the strength of ligaments, tendons, tendon to bone and ligament to bone junction strength and joint cartilage and the connective tissue sheaths within muscle.  Studies involving human and animal models also demonstrate resistance training may increase bone mineral content.  The incidence of various overuse injuries such as, in human terms, swimmer’s shoulder and tennis elbow, may be reduced by the performance of sport and/or motion specific increased resistance training activities.  (Fleck/Falkel, 1986)
  
  
• You may increase the productive racing life of your horses.

YOUR PROFIT is our Bottom Line.  Racehorse Conditioning Systems knows our systems work and will produce positive results. “Money isn’t everything, but it rates right up there with oxygen”.

Get started now!  For a 10 horse stable, a typical 3 year lease for one ProTrainer and 3 Polar set-ups would be about $250 per month.