Omega Wave Laboratory

Article Reprint Courtesy Prospect Magazine

Omega Wave Technology- What is it? And Why is it Beneficial for all Athletes?

Brad McNamara, Strength & Conditioning Coach, Athletes Nation

The major goal for all athletes is to continually improve their physical condition. In order to do so, a coach or trainer must have a planned program that increases the amount of intensity and physical exertion over time. By assessing the functional state of the systems that define the athlete's physical ability to train, which basically means looking inside the body to see whether or not it is capable to train a certain way, a coach can proactively manage the effects of the training process. This means that a coach or trainer now has the ability to simply monitor the athlete's functional state, activate some physical processes which might not be activated otherwise, as well as slow unwanted processes down.

Muscle activity can affect the body in a variety of ways but most athletes don't take the time to really listen to what their body is saying. This is where the importance of the Omega Wave Sport System comes into effect; it allows a coach or trainer to evaluate the different energy systems. The Omega Wave evaluates cardiac activity, energy metabolism, the central nervous system, the gas exchange/cardio pulmonary system, detoxification system and the hormonal system.

This technology allows for an athlete's current physical state and the effects of training to be monitored as well as assessing the athlete's overall level of preparation. Omega Wave Technology offers the following benefits:

• Monitoring is non-invasive - avoids any traumatizing effects on athletes
• Monitoring is non-stressful - allows for daily, or even more frequent, assessments.
• Monitoring is fast- minimizes the time taken away from actual training.
• The system can be portable - allows for assessments to be made either before a workout, after a workout or at an event.
• Assessments and findings are instantaneous - allows for a coach or trainer to use assessments to adjust scheduled training based on the athlete's actual physical state.

The Omega Wave Sport System uses eight different methods for producing findings. These eight evaluations look at the systems that ultimately influence athletic performance in a positive or negative way. They report on the functioning of the athlete's cardiovascular system (the heart- arteries, veins and capillaries), and the other biological systems in the athlete's body that influence the athlete's readiness to perform or deal with the after effects of performance. Two of the evaluation tests that are used with the Omega Wave are Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and Omega Potential. The Heart Rate evaluations reports on the regulatory mechanisms that influence the way the athlete's heart is working and uses information from a three lead Electrocardiogram (ECG). This method evaluates the athlete's functional reserves, their ability to adapt to stress, and their readiness to perform and execute physical activities at different volumes and intensities.

There are three major processes the HRV assessment determines. It determines the activity of the sympathetic system (responsible for mobilizing the body's energy and resources during times of stress and arousal), the parasympathetic system (concerned with the conservation of the body's energy and resources during relaxed states) and the central nervous system (CNS). Also, it determines the tension index and the standard deviation of the irregular breathing waves (breathing influence). The athlete's HRV result values are then compared against the norms which have been established through the testing of thousands of world class athletes.

The Omega Potential evaluation provides information on the functioning of the central nervous system (CNS,the brain and spinal cord), and the regulatory mechanisms that control the gas exchange and cardiopulmonary system (having to do with both the heart and lungs). It presents information on the functioning of the detoxification system as well as the hypothalamus-hypophysis-adrenal system (the hormonal system). There are two different ways that readings in the Omega Wave are displayed through this evaluation. The first is a "Resting Potential" graph which represents the state of the CNS at rest and an "After Load" graph which represents the regulatory mechanisms that control the processes inside the body after a small amount of physical activity. With this evaluation, two reports that describe the functional state of the athlete's homeostatic systems. In the first report, a number value for the athlete's "Omega Potential" is provided along with the norm range and secondly, values are reported for the athlete's readings at varying times after the "LOAD" of physical exertion.

Overall, the idea of the Omega Wave Technology System is to improve an athlete's performance on a continuous and consistent basis. In order to train to compete, an athlete's heart must be capable of supporting the desired level of intensity. Although the heart itself might be prepared for the training aspect, some of the other energy systems may not be. By monitoring the energy systems on a daily basis, the coach or trainer will know what type of training is appropriate for the athlete on any given day. This keeps us away from the mentality that the harder an athlete trains the better their results will be. This is not saying an athlete shouldn't train hard; instead they need to train properly to get the best results. The coach can learn to use the quality of work which is best suited for each individual athlete that will allow for the most improvement over time. It is beneficial for athletes or coaches at any age who want to monitor performance and get the most out of what they are putting into their training.