Chris Lowe

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 … Read more

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. … Read more

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, … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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? … Read more