This week, we address the question of how long it takes to build muscle once you start a new training programme. Considering that many individuals have started new training block this week with the reopening of gyms, how quickly gain you expect to see results? What does the time course look like? Firstly, many athletes
It’s the study we’ve all been waiting for. Can we drink beer every day for lunch and dinner whilst maximising gains? Well, as it turns out, there’s been a study… Molina-Hidalgo et al (2020) conducted a 10-week study to assess the impact of daily alcohol consumption on 83 healthy individuals (non-athletes) participating in HIIT training.
It’s pretty evident that multi-day running events are increasing in popularity. With this heightened physiological and psychological demand, there’s a need to identify the runners ‘fatigue factors’ and therefore programme strategies to overcome them in order to successfully complete these challenges. The fatigue factors attributed to a decline in performance are; dehydration, hyperthermia, carbohydrate depletion,
It’s been incredibly well established that consuming carbohydrates are fundamental for maximising performance at medium to higher intensities. Whilst we think of daily carbohydrate intakes first, we also need to consider carbohydrate ingestion during exercise, specifically long(er) duration based endurance work. There’s also been a plethora of research establishing how many grams of carbohydrates you
Today, we look at a novel way to stay cool, even when it’s hot. It’s very evident that athletes experience heightened physiological and psychological strain when training or competing in the heat. This increased strain on the body often results in poorer performances on the field, track or road. Menthol is a compound that imparts
The modern day professional rugby player is approximately 25% bigger than the amateur player back in 1955 – this increase in size is undoubtedly a result of becoming more jacked… The question is, when will the rate of gain stop? Is there an upper limit as to how much muscle rugby players can build? If
There’s been a long standing debate as to whether daily caffeine use increases tolerance and therefore making caffeine supplementation prior to competition less effective. To date, the research has been somewhat inconsistent…some research says that daily caffeine supplementation doesn’t increase tolerance, where some research say it does. But most athletes won’t rely on caffeine supplementation
The long-drawn argument of plant based protein sources being less anabolic than animal protein sources has taken an interesting turn… Until now, short term studies have suggested that animal sources of protein elicit a greater anabolic and muscle building response when compared to its plant based alternative – typically whey vs soy protein. This is
Your ability to maintain both physical and mental capacity during competition is undoubtedly very important to your overall success. When fatigue kicks in, your reaction time and decision making declines and your skillset becomes clumsy (you know what I mean). In sports that require you to operate at high intensities whilst staying mentally sharp, this
It’s been very well established that carbohydrates drive exercise performance. The quantity of carbs needed is dependents on the duration x intensity of exercise, whilst factoring your bodyweight. i.e. bigger people have a greater capacity to store carbs. We know that the total AMOUNT of carbs is important, but what about the TYPE of carbs?
We know from previous #D2EW that supplementation with creatine and sodium bicarbonate (SB) alone improve anaerobic performances. However, what happens when you stack these two supplements together and examine how it impacts high intensity performances in taekwondo athletes? Sports that consist of high intensity bouts will cause the athlete to experience a burning sensation in the muscle;
You feel beat up, you’re tied, you’re sore and you’ve lost the spring in your step…and you have to perform at your best in the next 24-28 hours. What do you do? Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage (EIMD) is characterized by symptoms that present both immediately and for up to 14 days after the initial exercise stress
It’s been well established that both chronic (long term) and acute (short term) sleep deprivation can negatively impact numerous areas of physiological and psychological performance and health. When it comes to physiological dysfunction of sleep deprivation, we think of the muscle. Of which, poor sleep quality and quantity can lead an athlete’s ability to build
Well, wouldn’t this be the dream… Endurance athletes have the pursuit of improving power-weight ratio to make them faster, fatigue less and become more efficient. This can be done by either being lighter, improving power output, or both. It’s been well establish that a calorie deficit is needed to drop body fat. Generally speaking, calorie
It’s been known for some time that there’s a clear and robust link between nutrition status and immune function. With regards to COVID-19, one of the biggest challenges is focused on reducing inflammation. To help reduce the severity of illness, a recent review paper published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine can
