Applied Sports Science newsletter – July 25, 2017

… Brady’s body coach, holistic fitness Svengali Alex Guerrero, describes the Asia sojourn as their version of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (a reference best understood by those who are Brady’s age and older). The quarterback sampled local delicacies, like Peking duck, and walked some streets in Japan and China without being mobbed. But let’s be clear: “Day off” here is relative to Brady’s standards. On their working vacation, the duo conducted two-hour practices, ate mostly their own prepackaged food (organic, high in protein, no dairy, no sugar) and hawked their health program, in all its trace-minerals-recovery-pajamas-vibrating-foam-roller glory.

That wasn’t by accident. Everything Brady does is calculated, and he and Guerrero have eyes trained on futures both immediate and long-term. They’ve devoted more than a decade to these routines so Brady can simultaneously throw touchdowns, crush souls and prepare for his next career, for when he does retire—he plans to play until age 45 and isn’t ruling out playing at 50—and becomes something of a lifestyle guru. Picture Brady onstage, with Guerrero beside him, the TB12 logo splashed everywhere while they wax philosophical on Eastern medicine and biometrics. Think flowing white robes, headset microphones, neatly trimmed beards. “Something like that,” Brady says, laughing.

… “Just looking back at what my family did for me,” Davies told ESPN FC in a phone interview. “And where I came from, from nothing in Ghana … and my mom allowing me to come play soccer, keeping myself motivated is a little bit easier than usual.”

Ask anybody within the Whitecaps organization and they’ll rave about the teenager’s poise and humility as much as they will about his ability.

Vancouver coach Carl Robinson recalls Davies’ reaction when told that Manchester United was coming to town to scout him ahead of last October’s match against Seattle. The youngster didn’t pester Robinson with follow-up questions, or confess his nervousness. Davies just broke into one of his endearing smiles. And the next day, against grown men some of whom were more than twice his age, the kid tore up the rival Sounders.

Humble Heisman hopeful Saquon Barkley is known for speed, strength and squats (600-pounders), and Penn State’s season rests on the running back’s powerful lower half, but just three years ago his future lacked the same aura of inevitability.

Despite its long history of controversy and scandal, politics and hard-nosed business, the one thing that has always been true about the annual Tour de France is that it’s one of the toughest physical tests in all of sports. This year, the peleton will travel 3,360 kilometers, or about 2,087 miles, over three weeks in temperatures that push 90 degrees Fahrenheit. As the race winds down to its mostly ceremonial cruise through Paris, we wondered what exactly happens to Tour riders’ bodies during their push to the cork-popping.

One year ago, at the debut of the QB Collective camp, a precocious young offensive coordinator from the Washington Redskins came to Westlake High School to teach NFL quarterbacking nuances like drop-back footwork, play-action passing and downfield reads to elite high school players. Sean McVay arrived at the field to see Jared Goff, the No. 1 overall NFL draft pick, throwing routes with his Los Angeles Rams teammates on the school’s turf field.

One year later, McVay returned to the QB Collective camp as the youngest head coach in NFL history. His career trajectory and a franchise’s fate are tied to his ability to pass on the camp counselor conundrum he’d tackled the prior year: How do you take talented young quarterbacks with extensive backgrounds in spread-offense systems and streamline their development? McVay, 30, chuckled at the serendipity of it all. “It’s a small world,” he said.

The small world McVay joked about comes in part because of the basic disconnect between NFL offenses and the spread and tempo schemes that have proliferated in high school and college for the past 15 years.

… As sports become year-round at the youth level and specialization teaching becomes its own industry, Cutcliffe is part of a growing number of coaches speaking out on it.

“In sports, the less sports you play, the less lessons you have,” he said on WFNZ in Charlotte. “We have specialization, and we’re creating kids that are not mentally as healthy or mature, because all they’ve been told is ‘Volleyball is all you’re gonna do.’ It’s a different kind of immaturity.

We’ve all heard of heat stroke, that moment when your hot summer afternoon sweat crosses a line and you find yourself down for the count, seeing spots and fighting a headache.

But beyond heat stroke, we can also get, if you’ll allow me to coin a phrase, “heat foolish.”

A host of research suggests that as it gets hotter, people tend to make worse decisions: Not only do we get more ornery and cranky — we can also make unwise long-term decisions whose effects we’ll feel well after the temperature has dropped.

Background

To ensure an efficient and targeted adaptation with low injury risk during strength exercises, knowledge of the participant specific internal loading conditions is essential. The goal of this study was to calculate the lower limb muscles forces during the strength exercises deadlifts, goodmornings and splits squats by means of musculoskeletal simulation.
Methods

11 participants were assessed performing 10 different variations of split squats by varying the step length as well as the maximal frontal tibia angle, and 13 participants were measured performing deadlift and goodmorning exercises. Using individualised musculoskeletal models, forces of the Quadriceps (four parts), Hamstrings (four parts) and m. gluteus maximus (three parts) were computed.
Results

Deadlifts resulted highest loading for the Quadriceps, especially for the vasti (18–34 N/kg), but not for the rectus femoris (8–10 N/kg), which exhibited its greatest loading during split squats (13–27 N/kg) in the rear limb. Hamstrings were loaded isometrically during goodmornings but dynamically during deadlifts. Fo]r the m. gluteus maximus, the highest loading was observed during split squats in the front limb (up to 25 N/kg), while deadlifts produced increasingly, large loading over large ranges of motion in hip and knee.
Conclusions

Acting muscle forces vary between exercises, execution form and joint angle. For all examined muscles, deadlifts produced considerable loading over large ranges of motion, while split squats seem to be highly dependent upon exercise variation. This study provides key information to design strength-training programs with respect to loading conditions and ranges of motion of lower extremity muscles. [full text

Purpose: Determine the recovery timeline of sleep, subjective jet-lag and fatigue, and team-sport physical performance following east and west long-haul travel.

Methods: Ten, physically-trained males underwent testing at 09:00 (AM) and 17:00 (PM) local time on four consecutive days two weeks prior to outbound travel (BASE), and the first four days following 21 h of outbound (WEST) and return (EAST) air travel across eight time-zones between Australia and Qatar. Data collection included performance (countermovement jump [CMJ], 20-m sprint and Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery level 1 [YYIR1] test) and perceptual (jet-lag, motivation, perceived exertion and physical feeling) measures. In addition, sleep was measured via wrist activity monitors and self-report diaries throughout the aforementioned data collection periods.

Results: Compared to the corresponding day at BASE, the reduction in YYIR1 distance following EAST was significantly different to the increase WEST on day 1 post-travel (p<0.001). On day 2, significantly slower 20-m sprint times were detected in EAST compared to WEST (p=0.03), with large effect sizes also indicating a greater reduction in YYIR1 distance in EAST compared to WEST (d=1.06). Mean sleep onset and offset were significantly later and mean time in bed and sleep duration were significantly reduced across the four days in EAST compared to BASE and WEST (p<0.05). Lastly, mean jet-lag, fatigue and motivation ratings across the four days were significantly worse in EAST compared to BASE and WEST (p<0.05), and WEST compared to BASE (p<0.05). Conclusions: Long-haul transmeridian travel can impede team-sport physical performance. Specifically, travel east has a greater detrimental effect on sleep, subjective jet-lag, fatigue and motivation. Consequently, maximal- and intermittent-sprint performance is also reduced following travel east, particularly within 72 h following arrival.

… A Wisconsin technology company is offering its employees microchip implants that can be used to scan into the building and purchase food at work. Whether or not to get a chip is up to the employee to decide.

Three Square Market, a company that provides technology for break-room or micro markets, has over 50 employees who plan to have the devices implanted. The tiny chip, which uses RFID technology or Radio-Frequency Identification, can be implanted between the thumb and forefinger “within seconds,” according to a statement from the company.

Individual and unorganized sports with a health-related focus, such as recreational running, have grown extensively in the last decade. Consistent with this development, there has been an exponential increase in the availability and use of electronic monitoring devices such as smartphone applications (apps) and sports watches. These electronic devices could provide support and monitoring for unorganized runners, who have no access to professional trainers and coaches. The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the characteristics of event runners who use running-related apps and sports watches. This knowledge is useful from research, design, and marketing perspectives to adequately address unorganized runners’ needs, and to support them in healthy and sustainable running through personalized technology. Data used in this study are drawn from the standardized online Eindhoven Running Survey 2014 (ERS14). In total, 2,172 participants in the Half Marathon Eindhoven 2014 completed the questionnaire (a response rate of 40.0%). Binary logistic regressions were used to analyze the impact of socio-demographic variables, running-related variables, and psychographic characteristics on the use of running-related apps and sports watches. Next, consumer profiles were identified. The results indicate that the use of monitoring devices is affected by socio-demographics as well as sports-related and psychographic variables, and this relationship depends on the type of monitoring device. Therefore, distinctive consumer profiles have been developed to provide a tool for designers and manufacturers of electronic running-related devices to better target (unorganized) runners’ needs through personalized and differentiated approaches. Apps are more likely to be used by younger, less experienced and involved runners. Hence, apps have the potential to target this group of novice, less trained, and unorganized runners. In contrast, sports watches are more likely to be used by a different group of runners, older and more experienced runners with higher involvement. Although apps and sports watches may potentially promote and stimulate sports participation, these electronic devices do require a more differentiated approach to target specific needs of runners. Considerable efforts in terms of personalization and tailoring have to be made to develop the full potential of these electronic devices as drivers for healthy and sustainable sports participation. [full text]

… Apparently, men are more keen on smartwatches than fitness trackers, particularly the Apple Watch. Why? Its not the counting steps or calories, but the notifications. They want to be reminded when to plan for their next meeting and to be notified as soon as a new message or email comes in.

Despite what they might say, it seems that many men also like to be nagged and told what to do. They tend to be fans of inactivity reminders, guided breathing exercises and prompts from posture trackers to stand up straight. Who would have guessed?!

Women, on the other hand, want wearables for other reasons. Non-Millenial women tend to look for fitness tracking functionality. They are interested in keeping tabs on steps, distance, calories and achieving fitness goals.

… Titletown is the Packers’ 35-acre, $130 million development located just west of Lambeau Field, designed with the goal to drive more business in Green Bay aside from the 10 preseason and regular-season home games. And on July 25, the Bellin Health Titletown Sports Medicine and Orthopedics clinic will open right in the heart of the area. The 52,000-square foot clinic is expected to be a go-to not just for the hometown Packers, but also any professional athlete across the country who needs his or her foot operated on.

Not only is Green Bay gaining a world-class facility; it’s also getting a star orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Robert Anderson—who has taken care of the likes of Derek Jeter, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Cam Newton—will be joining his medical-school friend, long-time Packers team doctor Pat McKenzie, in working out of the facility’s new practice and serving as an assistant on the Green Bay medical team. In the sports medicine world, Bellin signing Anderson, 60, is like Denver inking free-agent quarterback Peyton Manning. Nearly every star athlete with a foot or ankle injury in the past 10-plus years has received care from Dr. Bob at his old practice, OrthoCarolina, located in Charlotte.

… [Chad] Wollerton has become a test subject for kinesiologists who are conducting a long-term study on people like him: athletes who develop osteoarthritis at a young age due to the wear and tear caused by an injury. The goal of the project is to help prevent the condition in patients and — in the long term — learn more about the condition itself.

Joseph M. Hart, an athletic trainer and associate professor of kinesiology at UVa, recently wrote about early onset osteoarthritis in the Journal of Athletic Training. In an editorial co-written by kinesiologists Abbey Thomas and Jeffrey Driban, Hart wrote that athletic trainers will play a special role in helping to prevent and treat osteoarthritis, which is affecting patients who are younger than doctors once thought possible.

The data arrived weekly last season at each NFL team’s headquarters. Packed inside was every imaginable measure of a player’s in-game movements: Speed on each play. Yards covered, both horizontally and vertically. Precise location of a receiver or a defensive back on the field.

Generated by RFID (Radio-Frequency IDentification) chips embedded in players’ shoulder pads, the information was powered by the league’s Next-Gen stats program that sports analytics experts consider nothing short of game-altering in terms of how we understand football.

And what did the teams do with the numbers last season — the first year these advanced figures were made available to them?

“Nothing,” Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn said, with a laugh and a shrug.