Balancing Psychological Load: New Perspectives on Recovery

Current views on recovery Recent research by Nash and Sproule (2018) asked coaches for their views on recovery in training. While recovery was widely understood as crucially important, results revealed that few coaches think about psychological and cognitive recovery with the same depth and importance as the physical aspects of recovery. One reason for the…

Endurance and External Focus

Endurance athletes use a number of strategies to distract themselves and manage their performance. For example, athletes can manipulate their attention, focusing either internally (e.g. on the running movement, internal body signals) or externally (e.g. on the environment, music). Research reported in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Physiology measured running economy to confirm the…

Athlete Perspective: The Value of Mentorship

SIRC’s Athlete Perspective series provides insight and recommendations on key issues from an athlete’s perspective. The collection of blogs and SIRCuit articles profiles Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes and taps into their lived experience. Success isn’t accomplished alone. It takes a balance of hard work, open mindedness, and most importantly, mentorship. As long ago as…

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…