Knowledge Nuggets

Weight cutting or rapid weight loss is a widespread practice in sports that have weight requirements, such as combat sports and rowing. A recent study done on Judokas finds that significant muscle damage was induced by rapid weight loss.  

Wildfire smoke contributes to poor air quality, which can negatively impact the health of outdoor sports participants. In the event of a wildfire, it is important to limit outdoor physical activity. Some best practices include rescheduling activities to a later date or, where possible, moving activities indoors.

Biking is a convenient and healthy way to travel, however, it can pose a risk of injury. Proper safety strategies can prevent bike-related accidents. Some bike safety strategies include wearing a helmet that fits properly, regularly checking your bike’s breaks and following the rules of the road.

University or college can be a stressful time. Trying to balance academics, a social life, physical and mental health can be challenging. Students often find themselves having to sacrifice one thing for another, which can negatively impact their health. This blog will illustrate why physical activity is important for the mental health of post-secondary students,...

Have you ever been on a run and suddenly started experiencing pain in the side of your abdomen? Many people refer to this as a side stich, but the proper name is exercise-related transient abdominal pain (ETAP). To help decrease the chances of ETAP, don’t eat a large meal an hour before your run, avoid...

Para sport has grown substantially in the past decades with increases in athlete participation as well as training intensities and sport performance (Patricios & Webborn, 2021; Fagher et coll., 2016). Yet, there is still limited research to help inform practice, especially concerning sport physiology and health in Para athletes (Gee et coll., 2021). This blog...

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection has worked with the Coaching Association of Canada to offer the Commit to Kids program. This program includes tailored resources for sport organizations, coaches, officials, parents and volunteers to promote awareness about boundaries and best practices for keeping sport safe and fun for kids.

How do we know a female athlete’s energy availability is in a good place? Until recently, menstrual cycle patterns were touted as one of the main indicators of energy availability status in female athletes. So, what has changed? Menstrual cycle patterns remain an important element in understanding energy availability status, with missed menstrual cycles ringing...

Exertional heat illness (EHI) is heat illness experienced during physical activity. It first presents as symptoms that only a participant will be able to detect, like headache or nausea. It takes the organs and the skin a longer amount of time to reset after a heat episode so it is especially important that if EHI...

While Canadians are used to severe winter weather, 9 of the 10 warmest years on record in Canada have occurred in the last 25 years. This has real world implications for outdoor sport events. For example, even the best triathletes in the world struggled with the extreme heat in Edmonton in July of last year,...