To Brandon Green, Mike, Kai, Nate Dogg, Chris Chardon and the others: You can see Bompa’s periodization plan for Ben Johnson at page 211 of “Theory and Methodology of Training”, 3rd edition; you probably would like to see also Bompa’s strength training program for Ben Johnson at page 145 of “Periodization Training for Sports”. Charlie Francis could let us know to what extent these programs had been followed.
Hope this helps.
Best,
Carlo Buzzichelli
does it really matter to what extent he followed them? Although it depends on your motivation, i doubt it.
Although I don’t buy the whole motivational way of thinking (wanting to run 10 flat, is not going to get you there), it would be interesting to know how coach Francis tailored the programs by Bompa to suit his athletes’ needs day by day. Furthermore any adjunction by coach Francis is always worth reading.
Best,
Carlo Buzzichelli
I love Charlie Francis articles; I especially love when he deals with the behind-the-scenes track and field issues. When can we expect some more from Charlie Francis? How about some dirt on Maurice Greene and Ato Boldon’s recent Ephedrine bust?
We just got a new article from Charlie about the history of drugs in sports. Pretty interesting and sometimes shocking info. It’ll run in a few weeks.
i was watching a little bit of the celeb sports edition of who wants to be a millionaire, and i saw carl lewis on there, and i got pissed. He made me really angry, just thought i would let you know that.
Yeah, everything about Carl Lewis gets on my nerves. In my eyes, he was as clean as Maurice and Ato is; u know, as clean as one can be without being tested in the past 4+ years (Not sure if this is correct, but I heard Maurice did not get tested once in the past 4 years?). At least those boys and Ben were/are not afraid to face reality; they don’t cry and whine about being beaten, blaming their loss on the other guys drug use.
Only Boldon tested positive for ephedrine, that was in April and his explanation is quite sound.
I know all you guys think that no-one can run under 10 flat or even close without drugs, in reality that is possible.
Best,
Carlo Buzzichelli
Carlo, i highly doubt that Charlie francis would agree w/ you.
Ato’s explanation is quite sound, eh? Kinda reminds me about Poliquin noting that at one point in time, when Clen became popular, all of a sudden a shit-load of Olympic athletes became officially asthmatic… The point is that in this case, a top sprinter knew that he could get away with something, so he did it to gain an upper hand against the competition; so yeah, you’re right, he had an explanation for his actions that is indeed quite sound.
Chris - can’t wait for that article =)
You guys were on the topic of being close to 10 without drugs. I believe its possible to be close, probably 10.2 or 10.1, but i just don’t think its humanly possible to go below 10 without drugs. In my country, theres this guy who runs 10.37, and from all the clues i picked up, hes not juiced.
Hi guys,
I know that coach Francis doesn’t agree with me. As I personally worked with a guy and got a 9.97" drug-free I don’t need him to agree with me to believe what I wrote. In fact, people that think that every fast sprinter is on drugs, make new names’ (like mine) life very hard. Furthermore I have been in Austin, lived with two of Dan Pfaff’s athletes (Pfaff is the coach of Bailey, Surin, Thompson, etc.) and I can tell you there were no drugs around.
One more thing: coach McFarlane and his wife are Bailey’s nutritionists, my friend Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale is the nutritionist of Thompson, I can tell you they are not giving these guys any drug.
For what concern Ato, I don’t really think is ephedrine giving him an edge, do you? Anyway, I would say that IAAF take ephedrine or stimulants in general ridiculously light.
Best, Carlo Buzzichelli
Carlo, have you ever tried ephedrine? I think most T-Men will agree that ephedrine is a potent performance enhancer, whether you’re trying to set a new PR in the gym or on the track on race-day. Actually, you doubting ephedrine effectiveness makes me question your claim of working with a 9.97 “drug-free” athlete 
Robert,
I know how effective ephedrine is. When I write that IAAF takes stimulants too lightly, that’s exactly what I mean. In fact I posted in track and field boards the scientific explanation of ephedrine effects, because everybody was thinking of it as a “cold remedy”. Believe me, I know what I am talking about. Furthermore in Italy the line between drugs and supplements is clear, unlike the US. So it’s easier to find “natural” athletes based in your country using ephedrine and pro-hormones than in mine, where ephedrine needs a prescription and pro-hormones are outlaw. Said this, I think that IF some real top sprinters use drugs, it’s not ephedrine. If you would get nearly one hundred thousand dollars just for showing up at a race, do you think you would mess up with ephedrine? That would be a cheap choice, what do you think?
Best,
Carlo Buzzichelli
So if ATO gets paid just for showing up, then that money obviously comes from the meet promoter. So if ATO got paid for an appearance, can the IAAF mandate that the promoter is to withold that appearance fee on the basis that he got caught with a semi-legal substance? I agree with you 100% if that is the case.