Archivo de January 2011

The preparation of Olympic swimmers

By Iñigo Mujika , el 24 de January de 2011

With Luis Villanueva, Erika Villaécija and Mireia Belmonte. (Photo: Roberto Miguez – ErreMedia)

Olympic swimmers Erika Villaécija and Mireia Belmonte, along with the Technical Director of the Spanish Swimming Federation, Luis Villanueva, and myself as USP Araba Sport Clinic physiologist participated on January 19th in a round table entitled “How does an Olympic swimmer train?”. The event was also atended by the Mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Patxi Lazcoz, and the President of the Spanish Swimming Federation, Fernando Carpena.

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Power Balance bracelets: a hoax of global dimension

By Iñigo Mujika , el 9 de January de 2011

Power Balance bracelet. Photo by Nitus, via Wikimedia Commons.

When entering the Power Balance website, one can find links to 36 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and Central America and South America. This provides an idea of the global dimension of the hoax we are dealing with.

“Power Balance holograms are designed to work with your body’s natural energy field”, states the website when one enters. When clicking on “How it Works”, the same concept is repeated a little more extensively: Power Balance is Performance Technology designed to work with your body’s natural energy field. Founded by athletes, Power Balance is a favorite among elite athletes for whom balance, strength and flexibility are important. Power Balance is based on the idea of optimizing the body’s natural energy flow, similar to concepts behind many Eastern philosophies. The hologram in Power Balance is designed to resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body.”

I have no other choice but to admit that my academic education is insufficient to be able to interpret what appears to be nothing but a bunch of nonsense.

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