Managing Pain in Endurance Sports
Endurance athletes need to persevere through pain in training and competition. According to Kent University’s Samuele Marcora “our mind is what dictates our physical limits”. Exhaustion is not caused by muscle failure, but by the conscious decision to disengage from an endurance task. According to Marcora’s psychobiological model of endurance performance, perception of effort –…
Periodization: Planned Peaks and Targeted Training
Periodization is a systematic approach to training that involves varying training variables, like volume and intensity, over time. The objective of this planning is for the athlete to reach his or her peak at a specific, pre-determined time, while optimizing recovery to avoid overtraining and injury. Periodization is based on Hans Selye’s theory of biological…
Moisture-Wicking Athletic Apparel: A Matter of Style or Performance?
Moisture-wicking clothes act to keep athletes cool and dry. Because exercising in the heat can have a severe impact on physical fatigue, companies promote their moisture-wicking products as the difference-maker in these conditions. However, there has yet to be an independent, peer-reviewed study that conclusively demonstrates that performance apparel improves our thermoregulation and performance. How…
Getting to the Core of Athlete Performance
Core strength and stability training is performed by most if not all competitive athletes these days. In fact it is one of the few training forms that is effective for all sport disciplines. The core is central to all athletic movement, whether it is generated from the area or passes through it. It is the…
Don’t Get Tied Up In Knots – Try Rope Training
Perfecting a good workout routine that balances aerobic, anaerobic and strength training is a great goal for all around fitness. However, sometimes your body settles into a rhythm and fewer gains are seen. Changing up your routine and incorporating different styles of workout are a great way to stimulate your systems. Unconventional workouts add a…
Lift like a Girl – Weightlifting for Women
With the ever increasing popularity of Crossfit, obstacle course racing (Spartan, Warrior Dash and mud runs) and a few great marketing campaigns – check out #liftlikeagirl and This Girl Can – women are heading to their local gym and hitting the weight room more than ever before. Weightlifting is one of the best ways to…
Minimizing Jet Lag, Maximizing Performance
Athletes are travelling more than ever, flying across the world for competition and training. Even competing in the same country can require travelling through multiple time zones. At a time when athletes want to be in peak form, jet lag can interfere with mood and performance. Understanding of the body’s natural clock, however, can help…
The Greater Incidence of ACL Injuries in Females: Risk Factors and Prevention
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the ligaments inside the knee joint. Connecting the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shinbone), it limits the forward translation of the tibia to prevent it from sliding too far forward, and contributes to the rotational stability of the knee. ACL sprains and tears are one of…
How Can You Adapt Your Exercise Plans to Your Travel?
Be it for business or for pleasure, travelling often shakes up your normal schedule. Meals, sleep, and fitness routines change to accommodate meetings or activities. Travel doesn’t need to set you back from your fitness goals, though. There are several strategies you can use while on the road to help you stay in shape without…
HIITing the Gym: The Science of High Intensity Interval Training
Key Points: For sedentary populations, HIIT is the most time efficient – not necessarily the best – training type to increase aerobic and anaerobic capacity Elite athletes can include HIIT training to improve their lactate response and improve performance even after hitting a VO2max plateau There remain many questions about how HIIT works, best practices,…