Four years into his NFL career, Joe Vellano has been cut, re-signed, cut again, cut the day after his home burned down, signed in the middle of the playoffs, and has taken the field in three conference title games and a Super Bowl. Today, he is like hundreds of other players in across the NFL right now, fighting for one of the final spots on a roster
Martin Buchheit, International Journal of Sports Physiology Performance from
Purpose. To 1) examine the reliability of field-based running-specific measures of neuromuscular function assessed via GPS-embedded accelerometers and 2) examine their responses to three typical conditioned sessions (i.e., Strength, Endurance and Speed) in elite soccer players.
Methods. Before and immediately after each session, vertical jump (CMJ) and adductors squeeze strength (Groin) performances were recorded. Players also performed a 4-min run at 12 km/h followed by 4 ~60-m runs (run =12 s, r =33 s). GPS (15-Hz) and accelerometer (100 Hz) data collected during the four runs + the recovery periods excluding the last recovery period were used to derive vertical stiffness (K), peak loading force (peak force over all the foot-strikes, Fpeak) and propulsion efficiency (i.e., ratio between velocity and force loads, Vl/Fl).
Results. Typical errors were small (CMJ, Groin, K and Vl/Fl) and moderate (Fpeak), with moderate (Fpeak), high (K and Vl/Fl) and very high ICC (CMJ and Groin). After all sessions, there were small decreases in Groin and increases in K, while changes in F were all unclear. In contrast, the CMJ and Vl/Fl ratio responses were session-dependent: small increase in CMJ after Speed and Endurance, but unclear changes after Strength; the Vl/Fl ratio increased largely after Strength, while there was a small and a moderate decrease after the Endurance and Speed, respectively.
Conclusions. Running-specific measures of neuromuscular function assessed in the field via GPS-embedded accelerometers show acceptable levels of reliability. While the three sessions examined may be associated with limited neuromuscular fatigue, changes in neuromuscular performance and propulsion-efficiency are likely session objective-dependent.
Late-stage rehabilitation programs often incorporate ‘sport-specific’ demands, but may not optimally simulate the in-game volume or intensity of such activities as sprinting, cutting, jumping, and lateral movement. Objective
The aim of this review was to characterize, quantify, and compare straight-line running and multi-directional demands during sport competition. Data Sources
A systematic review of PubMed, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases was conducted. Study Eligibility Criteria
Studies that reported time-motion analysis data on straight-line running, accelerations/decelerations, activity changes, jumping, cutting, or lateral movement over the course of an entire competition in a multi-directional sport (soccer, basketball, lacrosse, handball, field hockey, futsal, volleyball) were included. Study Appraisal and Synthesis Methods
Data was organized based on sport, age level, and sex and descriptive statistics of the frequency, intensity, time, and volume of the characteristics of running and multi-directional demands were extracted from each study. Results
Eighty-one studies were included in the review (n = 47 soccer, n = 11 basketball, n = 9 handball, n = 7 field hockey, n = 3 futsal, n = 4 volleyball). Variability of sport demand data was found across sports, sexes, and age levels. Specifically, soccer and field hockey demanded the most volume of running, while basketball required the highest ratio of high-intensity running to sprinting. Athletes change activity between 500 and 3000 times over the course of a competition, or once every 2–4 s. Studies of soccer reported the most frequent cutting (up to 800 per game), while studies of basketball reported the highest frequency of lateral movement (up to 450 per game). Basketball (42–56 per game), handball (up to 90 per game), and volleyball (up to 35 per game) were found to require the most jumping. Limitations
These data may provide an incomplete view of an athlete’s straight-line running load, considering that only competition and not practice data was provided. Conclusions
Considerable variability exists in the demands of straight-line running and multi-directional demands across sports, competition levels, and sexes, indicating the need for sports medicine clinicians to design future rehabilitation programs with improved specificity (including the type of activity and dosage) to these demands.
An elite cyclist—we’ll call him Racer X—arrived at the University of Colorado Sports Medicine and Performance Center laboratory complaining of serious fatigue. Racer X regularly placed inside the top-10 at the beginning of the season. By mid-season, he was struggling to even finish a race. His coach increased his training intensity in an effort to improve his form. Racer X’s training volume ranged from 22 to 28 hours per week.
His coach had heard that restricting carbohydrate intake and slightly increasing fat intake a few days a week might help Racer X with energy consumption. Racer X restricted carbohydrates two to three days a week coinciding with his long rides or high-intensity workouts. Additionally, Racer X wanted to lose five pounds, so he then decreased carbohydrates even further. Surprisingly, he gained three pounds after restricting carbohydrates.
Racer X’s power output decreased. His heart rate did not rise in proportion to his high-intensity workouts; on easier (zone 2) training days, he needed to increase his effort substantially to achieve the prescribed heart rate. Feeling frustrated, Racer X consulted the Performance Center and its director of sports performance Iñigo San Millán.
For nearly two generations, Iowa’s offensive line under Kirk Ferentz has employed the footwork of the Rockettes with the bloody-nosed subtlety of Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots.
The front wall comes off the football in concert and its direction is unambiguous. If a run call is an inside or outside zone, the motion slants in one direction with collective footwork at the forefront. It’s a dance amid destruction.
“What I’ve seen from watching film, playing Iowa, is the unison the offensive line moves in is unmatched,” said Purdue linebacker Danny Ezechukwu. “You’ll be hard pressed to find anybody who works in unison like they do. If they’re going right, they’re all stepping right. If they’re going to the left, they’re all stepping left. So your first steps and your hand placement have to be impeccable or else you’re going to get blown up off the ball.”
“Not to be weird, but it’s kind of sexy,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “That’s the way it’s supposed to look. As a football purist, that’s the way it’s supposed to look.”
I often find myself on the cusp of doing something productive, and then decide not to. Even though I say to myself, in such circumstances, “Hey, you’re procrastinating,” I still witness myself rationalizing putting that productive thing off. It’s a bewildering feeling you may find familiar.
If only I had more willpower, I’d think. Then I wouldn’t experience this embarrassing inability to do what I want to do—whether it’s working out, writing, or planning. But it turns out “willpower” is not a valid psychological construct—there’s no mental resource or mechanism that answers to this term. What is more, thinking that there is such a thing is counter-productive! At least, that’s the conclusion that Carl Erik Fisher, a meditation practitioner and psychotherapist, has come to.
He sketched why he thinks this in an essay he wrote for Nautilus earlier this year, titled “Against Willpower.” He later sat down with us to talk about it. The reactions to the piece, we noted at the time, “ranged from the appreciative to the sorely defensive.” Some welcomed the thought that the argument granted laziness a free pass; others repudiated it. We asked Fisher to make sense of this: How should we think about the virtues of sustained “willpower” and reaching long-term goals, if we’re not going to use that word?
… The truth is that you, and innumerable other athletes looking for inspiration to achieve their lofty goals, have been led to believe that inspiration can be manufactured from the outside. That you can just watch, read, or listen to a great athlete and their drive and determination will somehow be magically transferred into you. Unfortunately, this “synthetic” inspiration simply can’t last long because when the source of the inspiration (i.e. the video, interview, film, or book) is gone, that so-called inspiration fades.
Also, the inspiration that comes external sources is designed to provoke maximum emotions, but provide minimal follow-through. The reality is that inspiration is a necessary, but not sufficient, contributor to pursuing your goals. Yes, inspiration may get you out of bed or off of the sofa, but motivation to succeed without a clear direction, means, or support to take action toward your goals has little value.
This study aimed to determine whether an increase in muscle shear modulus measured 30 min after eccentric exercise (30 min) reflects the magnitude of force deficit measured 48-h post-exercise (48 H). METHODS:
A total of 53 healthy participants were distributed in five groups. Four groups performed either repeated eccentric elbow flexions or knee extensions at either a low or high load. A fifth group performed repeated concentric elbow flexions (control load). RESULTS:
A significant decreased peak torque was found for elbow flexors and knee extensors 48 h after the eccentric exercises (all P values < 0.001). A significant increase in shear modulus was found at 30 min for the elbow flexors for low (+70.5 ± 44.3%, P < 0.001) and high load (+153.9 ± 192.4%, P < 0.001). Similarly, the shear modulus of knee extensors increased for low (+26.7 ± 19.1%, P < 0.001) and high load (+79.4 ± 67.1%, P < 0.001). The relative increase in shear modulus measured at 30 min was significantly correlated to the relative decrease in peak torque measured at 48 H for both elbow flexors (r = -0.80) and knee extensors (r = -0.82). A further analysis suggested that biceps brachii and rectus femoris were more affected by muscle damage than their synergists.
CONCLUSION:
This study shows that an increase in muscle shear modulus measured 30 min after a damaging exercise reflects the decrease in peak torque measured at 48 H. Shear modulus may therefore, provide a useful tool for coaches and clinicians to non-invasively estimate the amount of muscle damage induced by a damaging exercise.
Elite athletes work hard to excel in sports, but they may also get a natural edge from the bacteria that inhabit their digestive tracts. Scientists have now tapped into the microbiome of exceptional runners and rowers, and have identified particular bacteria that may aid athletic performance. The goal is to develop probiotic supplements that may help athletes — and even amateur fitness enthusiasts — recover from a tough workout or more efficiently convert nutrients to energy.
Forget natural ability, science is interested in finding out if the next Michael Jordan could be created through biological enhancement.
Researchers at Harvard University have a gut feeling that the key to next-level performance ability could be found in consuming probiotics that mimic bacteria found in elite athletes’ digestive tracts.
As Jonathan Scheiman, a postdoctoral fellow working with Harvard’s Wyss Institute, tells Inverse, the idea came about after an advisor asked him if he could use genomics to predict the next Michael Jordan.
“My response was, ‘No,’” he says. “But a better question is: could we extract Michael Jordan’s biology to give to other people, to help make the next Michael Jordan, or just improve health.”
… “It would be a pretty fundamental change in the game,’’ Manfred said, “to take away a function that has been performed by our umpiring staff, really with phenomenal accuracy. The fact of the matter is they get them right well over 90% of the time.
“There is a human aspect to that, a work aspect to it, that’s always been an important part of our game.
“I don’t think you can just jump to the conclusion that if you have to technology to do it that’s the right thing for your product.’’
World Economic Forum, LinkedIn, Travis Bradberry from
A recent international study surveyed more than 500 business leaders and asked them what sets great employees apart. The researchers wanted to know why some people are more successful than others at work, and the answers were surprising; leaders chose “personality” as the leading reason.
Notably, 78% of leaders said personality sets great employees apart, more than cultural fit (53%) and even an employee’s skills (39%).
They spend hours a day with the Nebraska football team. They’re given free apparel and have access to tickets. They’re on the sidelines for games.
They must have the best jobs in the world, friends and family tell the Cornhuskers’ student managers.
“I agree. It’s great. But there’s a lot that they don’t see that a lot of people wouldn’t think is that great,” fourth-year manager Mitchell Ruybalid said. “I like to let them think they’re really missing out.”
I’ve covered college sports for 20-plus years and have often dealt with the inner workings of the games, but one area I rarely thought much about was the people at the top: the athletic directors. I knew what ADs generally did and I knew who most of them were, but when it came to who the good ones were and, more specifically, what made them good at their jobs, I didn’t have a lot of answers. So about a year ago, I began a project to get a better handle on what makes a good athletic director and who the best ones are. I decided to conduct two anonymous surveys: one with 15 of my media peers who cover college sports, both on TV and in print. The second was with 10 ADs themselves.
I asked two basic questions of each group: What factors determine how effective these folks are at their jobs? And who are the best three ADs in the business? I did this on a point system, giving three points for a first-place vote; two for a second and one point for a third. Below are the results from both surveys, along with quotes from voters.