This week, we explore the compensatory effects in total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) in relation to the amount of exercise performed. In other words, if you burn 1,000kcal through daily training, do you actually burn 1,000kcal more within that day? You would expect so, however humans are highly adaptive. Perhaps this stems back to certain
This week, we examine whether intermittent fasting is superior for both fat loss and health when compared to a typical calorie restricted diet. It’s hypothesized that fasting imparts health related benefits such as improved cardiovascular health and insulin sensitivity. These health benefits are suggested to be independent of weight loss and a calorie restricted diet
This week, we explore the link between diet and mental well-being. From an athlete’s perspective, performing with excellence is mostly biased towards having the correct body composition, meeting fuelling demands and accelerating recovery. Although these are fundamental to success, we can’t maximise athletic performance without health and well-being acting as the foundation. Although the link
This week, we’re continuing our theme of ‘ultra-fast recovery’ and exploring the impact of fruit supplementation on indices of muscle damage. During periods of strenuous training and competition, the muscle is placed under a high degree of strain, especially when loaded eccentrically. As a result, exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) occurs. This results in delayed onset
This week, we explore the ‘4R’ framework to enhance post-exercise recovery in the hours and days following hard training and competition.Your recovery strategies increase in importance as the proximity to the next session decreases and the physiological stress increases. For timely recovery to occur there’s a strong relationship between nutrition and the restoration of physical
This week, we examine a delicious recovery tool for the athlete’s toolbox: Cereal! Following depleting exercise, there’s an opportunity to accelerate glycogen replenishment when high amounts of carbohydrate are provided. Taking advantage of this first phase of glycogen replenishment increases in importance when an athletes next session is within close proximity – same day or
There’s a strong belief amongst combat sport athletes that having a higher body mass than their opponent provides a competitive advantage, and therefore increases their likeliness to win. There’s emerging evidence that this theory may hold true in non-striking, grappling based sports such as judo when done safely (Reale et al, 2016), but is less apparent
This week we explore the physiological differences between amateur and elite Ironman athletes and how it’s recommended they eat to best prepare for race day. A 2018 paper by Maunder et al named ‘Different Horses on the Same Courses’ has highlighted the following key considerations: 1) Top Ironman triathletes finish the ultra-endurance race in ~8hrs. The amount
This week, we explore how daily carbohydrate manipulation can enhance endurance training adaptations in trained cyclists. More specifically, can cyclists increase their FTP (functional threshold power) by eating the same amount of daily carbohydrate, but timing intake differently? The concept of ‘train low’ has been around for a little while: The depletion in muscle glycogen during exercise
This week, we examine the key factors that predict fat loss success. It’s evident that all individuals can lose body fat through following a calorie restricted diet. Successful weight loss is defined as intentionally losing 10% of body mass and maintaining it for one year. However, more than 80% of successful individuals experience weight gain after 1
This week, we examine the impact of collagen supplementation on an athletes ability to generate force and power. Rate of force development (RFD) is highly correlated with sporting performances that require maximal power and speed. So, if your sport involves sprinting, jumping, lifting explosively and throwing, this should be an area of interest. There’s many components to
This week, we explore how athletes can best preserve muscle mass and strength whilst attempting to drop body fat. As many athletes will be aware, large energy deficits come with an array of physiological, psychological and emotional compromises. Therefore, the magnitude of the energy deficit dictates KPI outcomes. From a muscle centric view, a recent analysis by
Last week, we explored how an elite footballer can best prepare for match day. Today, we investigate how they can accelerate recovery and reduce the time needed to return to baseline…and therefore be better prepared for their next match (Collins et al, 2021). From a nutrition perspective, one of the primary objectives is to rapidly replenish carbohydrate
Today, we explore how to fuel the elite football player to maximise physical output and skillset (Collins et al, 2021). A 90 minute football match consists of a wide range of modalities; from walking to sprinting, to changing direction, striking the ball and jumping.It’s been reported that players don’t significantly cover more ground than previous, but
Today, we explore why intermittent fasting is potentially sub-optimal for muscle growth, remodelling and recovery. Intermittent fasting (IF) comes in many shapes and forms. Whether that’s your classic 16:8 fast, 24h or 36h fast. Either way, the dietary approach causes you to restrict your meals to smaller eating windows within a day. For many, IF allows individuals
