.. So now Toronto’s pitchers are back to the pause and the uncertainty. Only this time they can’t fall too far behind. That’s why several Blue Jays starters threw multiple innings against the club’s hitters during workouts Saturday and Sunday in Washington, while nearly every one of the team’s relievers took the mound at some point, working to make the most of an unexpected and unwanted four-day break from competition only a week into the season.
“It’s a challenge. But I think we’re doing the best we can, for sure,” said Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker. “These guys have done a great job keeping themselves ready. And we’re very hopeful it’ll carry over. Obviously, it’s a disadvantage when you take four days off. Nobody’s going to lie about that. We’d rather be playing major-league games. But it’s the hand we were dealt. And that clubhouse has remained steadfast. And they’re doing a great job staying focused right now.”
Philadelphia Union midfielder Brenden Aaronson has played so well in his brief MLS career that he’s now fodder for the European soccer rumor mill.
Just 19 years old, he has started in five matches for the Union so far this year, with a goal and two assists.
“I think it’s just been staying confident on the field and just doing what I know I can do best,” Aaronson said. “And just having that thought process in every game, doing what I can for the team.”
… “It’s tough when you’re in quarantine, you’ve got a bunch of time just to draw up crazy plays,” Kingsbury said. “We’re going to try to minimize that and just let DeAndre be the great player he is. We’re going to have different things, different ways to get him the football, obviously.
“We like the progress of this offense, the direction it took late last year. We feel like we found our identity and (Hopkins) just going to be an added weapon that just makes us that much better moving forward.”
Hopkins has spent his time during the offseason getting to know his new teammates, including Murray, the 22-year-old who was the No. 1 overall pick in 2019 and had an encouraging first season — earning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. The receiver said he’s learned that Murray is a fierce competitor despite his soft-spoken personality.
This was the toughest decision of my life. I live for football. But now that I’ve made the decision, I am totally at peace. I know I’ve done the right thing.
International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance from
Purpose: To provide details on the nature and symptomatic profile of training maladaptation in competitive resistance-based athletes to examine whether there are symptoms that may be used as prognostic indicators of overtraining. Identifying prognostic tools to assess for training maladaptation is essential for avoiding severe overtraining conditions.
Methods: A Web-based survey was distributed to a cross-sectional convenience sample of competitive athletes involved in sports with a significant resistance-training component. The 46-item anonymous survey was distributed via industry experts and social media from July to August 2019.
Results: The final sample included 605 responses (completion rate: 84%). About 71% of the respondents indicated that they had previously experienced an unexplained decrease in performance. Among those, the majority reported a performance decrement lasting 1 wk to 1 mo (43.8%). General feelings of fatigue were the most frequent self-reported symptom of maladaptation. Acute training maladaptation, lasting <1 mo, was also accompanied by symptoms of musculoskeletal aches and pain. In the majority of cases (92.5%), training maladaptation was accompanied by additional nontraining stressors. A greater proportion of the respondents with more severe maladaptation (>4 mo) were training to muscle failure.
Conclusion: The results from this study support the multifactorial nature of training maladaptation. The multidimensional nature of fatigue and individual variability in symptomatic responses precludes definitive prognostic symptoms or differential diagnostic factors of functional/nonfunctional overreaching or the overtraining syndrome in resistance exercise.
In the first installment of this two-part conversation with human performance writer Alex Hutchinson, he compared and contrasted the effects of heat and altitude training, shared suggestions for a minimum effective dose protocol, and explored whether or not coaches should have their athletes taper before competition. For this second part, we switch gears to ask Alex about how Coach Bob Larsen used heat training, hybrid protocols and more to prepare Meb Keflezighi to win an Olympic silver medal.
Scientists have uncovered the secret behind the unpleasant stench of body odor, The Guardian reports. The culprit is an enzyme called C-T lyase, found in the bacterium Staphylococcus hominis, which dwells in human armpits. These bacteria feed on odorless chemicals released in sweat, which the enzyme then converts into thioalcohols—a pungent compound responsible for the offending smell. After identifying the gene in S. hominis that codes for C-T lyase, the researchers inserted it into a different species of bacteria—one that usually plays no part in body smells. That bacteria suddenly began to produce body odor, confirming the enzyme as the guilty party, the researchers write this week in Scientific Reports. Knowing the precise enzyme responsible for body odor opens up possibilities for targeted, longer lasting deodorants and antiperspirants, the team says.
Training Peaks, Coach Blog, Rebecca Johansson from
You are nearing the end of a marathon. Your GPS watch hits 42.2 km and you expectantly look for the finish line, only to realize that it is still another 500 meters down the road. Is the racecourse too long or is your GPS watch not accurate? While completing my Ph.D. at the University of Cape Town, I completed a study testing the accuracy of GPS watches in measuring distance.
The study took place at the Two Oceans Marathon, a 56 km road race held in Cape Town, South Africa. The distance, as measured by GPS watches worn by 225 participants, was compared to the IAAF-measured race distance. There were eight categories of watches including: Garmin Fenix® Series, Garmin Forerunner XT® series, Garmin Forerunner® series, Activity watches, Suunto®, TomTom®, Polar®, and Cell Phones. Here’s what we found:
Hilly sections, turns, and tree cover may negatively impact GPS accuracy
Almost half (45%) of Americans have tried fitness tracking applications.
The development of such apps is a reasonable step since the market will continue to grow in the future. If you are wondering how to create a workout app, you have come to the right place. In this article we are going to overview the process to create a fitness app.
Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy from
Background
In this clinical commentary, we highlight issues related to conceptual foundations and methods used in the training load-injury research. We focus on sources of degrees of freedom that can favor questionable research practices such as p-hacking and HARKing (Hypothesizing After the Results are Known), which can undermine the trustworthiness of research findings. Clinical Question
Is the methodological rigour of studies in the training load-injury field sufficient to inform training-related decisions in clinical practice? Key Findings
The absence of a clear conceptual framework, causal structure, and reliable methods can promote questionable research practices, selective reporting and confirmation bias. The fact that well accepted training principles (e.g. overload progression) are in line with some study findings may simply be a consequence of confirmation bias, resulting from cherry picking and emphasizing results that align with popular beliefs. Identifying evidence-based practical applications, grounded in high-quality research is not currently possible. The strongest recommendation we can make for the clinician is grounded in common sense “do not train too much too soon” – not because it has been confirmed by studies, but because it reflects accepted generic training principles. Clinical Application
The training load-injury research field has fundamental conceptual and methodological weaknesses. Therefore, making decisions about planning and modifying training programs for injury reduction in clinical practice, based on available studies, is premature. Clinicians should continue to rely on best practice, experience and well-known training principles, and consider the potential influence of contextual factors when planning and monitoring training loads
… After an extensive search, the authors found 15 studies that met the established criteria, including both systematic reviews (considered level 1 evidence) and randomised and non-randomised controlled studies (levels 2 and 3 evidence, respectively). The systematic reviews – which pooled evidence from different studies – showed contradictory results, as while some supported eccentric exercises or programs that included balance, stabilization and flexibility exercises, other reviews concluded that there is not enough evidence to support these strategies. The same was true for level 2 studies (the randomised controlled studies), with 3 studies supporting eccentric exercises and 2 not. In contrast, all of the smaller studies supported the benefits of different injury prevention strategies. Not only was there controversy regarding the efficacy of interventions to reduce injuries, but also a large number of the studies included were shown to be at high risk of bias. In fact, the two systematic reviews that were considered to be ‘low risk of bias’ concluded that no single exercise (including some common ones such as eccentrics, balance exercises, and hamstring eccentrics in particular) has sufficient evidence to support its effectiveness, while most studies supporting the benefits of different exercises were at ‘high risk of bias’.
Given these results, Ricard Pruna comments that “given the lack of scientific evidence for all methods, this reaffirms that the best strategy is an individualized protocol for all players. This protocol will vary depending on the player, the time of the season, what type of injuries the player has suffered in the past, etc. This protocol will also vary over time depending on the variables affecting the player”.
Bloomberg, Business, By Brandon Kochkodin and Janet Lorin from
There are no good options for the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The NCAA’s decision on whether to go ahead with fall seasons for every sport except football is expected as soon as Tuesday. If the organization opts to sponsor competition in soccer, cross country and field hockey, among others, critics will say it’s jeopardizing the health of scholar-athletes as a resurgent coronavirus outbreak rages. But if the NCAA cancels the seasons, it risks angering the five biggest football conferences, four of which have already announced plans to go ahead with modified schedules starting next month.
The NCAA has little sway over football, but it can hardly risk alienating the so-called Power Five conferences because that’s where the big money is, especially in basketball, which accounts for most NCAA revenue.
The introduction of five substitutes has been criticised but could it present an opportunity? In conversation with various top coaches, Adam Bate explores the potential when pursuing a pressing game…