Our Perspective on Human Performance
The 2016 road-racing and event season is well under way, and some great spectacles have already passed with extremely exciting and closely contested monument pro-races Strade Bianchi, Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Nice, Milan-San Remo, Tirrenho-Adriatico and Tour of the Basque, while Amstel Gold and Leige-Bastogne-Liege imminently under way. Winter preparation of strength and endurance should now be starting […]
Chronological vs Physiological time None of us are getting younger??…….This could be more commonly regarded as a false statement now. Even as chronological time ticks by, huge advances in the practice of exercise physiology and application of strength and endurance interventions are now ‘demonstrably’ able to reverse diseased or declining physiological states; obesity, type II diabetes, […]
Why take protein? Protein is required for anabolic activity; repair and replacement of damaged proteins (caused by oxidative stress of high energy turnover and mechanical disruption) after intense resistance or endurance based exercise. Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS) and muscle protein degradation are opposing processes present during and after exercise that acutely fatigues muscles to the […]
Recovery and Adaptation In the previous post I discussed the interaction effect which occurs between strength and endurance training, and how strength gains are restricted at the molecular level in the muscle due to intense aerobic exercise. Optimal strategies exist to maximise strength gains, practically with appropriately scheduled training and nutritionally with ‘windows of opportunity’ […]
Concurrent Strength and Endurance Training (S&E) As a continuation from my last post about improving strength to increase sustainable power through resistance exercise with weights… this post delves into more of the actual training practicalities involved. Performing strength and endurance training promotes a greater volume of Type IIA, more fatigue resistant, high force muscle […]
To be brutally honest…strength training, resistance work, gym sessions call them what you like, are crucial to any cyclists future performance. Laying the foundations of muscular structure in the winter when endurance volume is low (Intensity can and should be maintained to a certain extent) is well known (with plenty of evidence) to benefit cyclists at […]
Hotter than ever… July 2016 was officially the hottest month for the entire world, on record… ever! This may not have come as a surprise to anyone racing around parts of Northern and Southern Europe. However I can only comment on my personal experience. As mentioned in my previous post, I participated in the GF […]
The last few weeks have been pretty hectic what with the excellent Elite performance show at Excel and exposure to an established electrolyte product which I am currently testing during the unusual, albeit welcome mini-heatwave we are experiencing here in the south-east. As my client base is predominantly pure-play cyclists I will also be using it during my […]
All my posts are an original perspective on current sports science and exercise physiology topics. I tend to cringe at the term ‘hack’ or ‘pseudo’ as this brings about connotations of ‘fake’ which no scientist wants to be associated with. Although some individuals do succumb to the delusional yet real pressure to perform and publish results […]
During my recent visit to Cape Town, my disappointment for not racing the full version of the Cape Argus (road closures due to severely destructive mountain fires) was more than balanced by the hour long chat I was fortunate to hold with Prof. Timothy Noakes at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA). Prof. Noakes is […]
During my fascinating meeting with Prof. Noakes, I still had time to discuss his stance on one of his more recent publications, the re-invigoration of the Central Govenor Model or Hypothesis (CGM) which I wanted to share as a conclusion to my time spent at the SSISA. The theory exposes A.V. Hills 1923 traditional ‘peripheral fatigue model’ of […]
It has been an interesting and busy 2015 so far, too busy even to write up the mountain of new information I have taken on board during a few recent professional experiences and work sessions, until now. I hope I will be able to translate them to those around me who are interested enough in contemporary sports science and are […]
