Applied Sports Science newsletter – July 19, 2019

… “Because it is so rare, it’s kind of hard to ignore,” Purce said in a phone interview with All For XI. “I do think it’s something that you notice. I walked to the bench and one of my teammates said, ‘Look at that black girl magic out there.’”

In 2018, Adrianna Franch was named Goalkeeper of the Year, Imani Dorsey the 2018 Rookie of the Year, and Lynn Williams was a finalist for MVP. With more black players succeeding professionally in a white-dominated sport, it’s a good time to check in on the state of diversity and opportunity for black players in America’s top level of pro women’s soccer. All For XI reached out to black NWSL players to discuss their careers from youth soccer to the NWSL and how race impacts black soccer players’ careers. Many black players say there’s more work necessary for the makeup of the league to reflect the makeup of America.

… “The success that I had over there I don’t really think I expected or anybody else expected,” said Rettke, who spent a few days in Madison and helped out at the UW team camp before heading back to Anaheim today. “I knew I was going to play my game and whatever happened would happen. I proved a lot to myself, as well as other people. The first couple weeks I gained a pretty big role on the team and I learned a lot about myself as a player and a leader.

“It’s been a lot all at once, but it hasn’t been overwhelming. For the most part I’m in the moment when I’m with USA. But sometimes I’ll just sit there and it’s like, wow, this is my life, this is what I’m doing. This is the best competition in the world and I get to play with them and against them and be a part of this team. I’ve thought about that more than once. It’s been an incredible opportunity and I’m having so much fun.”

Rettke’s ascension in the volleyball world has been remarkable. She didn’t really start playing volleyball until high school in Riverside, Illinois, and arrived at UW with loads of potential but a likely redshirt prospect as a freshman.

The competitive season in team sports is often divided into 3 phases with very different objectives: the pre-season (lasting 4-6 weeks), the competitive season (9-10 months) and the off-season or holiday period (4-6 weeks). While we know a lot about how players should work during the first two parts of the season, we have not put as much effort into studying the effect rest has on a player’s performance. There could be a high risk of compromising a player’s optimal future performance if their workload during this period is not appropriately planned out.

A 2016 review of the physiological effects that the off-season has on football players published in Sports Medicine1 journal warns of the dangers of total rest or a substantial reduction in training during this period. The authors examined 12 studies that had to meet 3 conditions: they must have analysed adult football players (over 18 years of age), the specific times when the physiological and performance evaluations were performed, and its effects have to be calculated appropriately. T

Objectives: To investigate player responses 48 h post single (SM) and multi-match (MM) weeks on two subjective and three objective outcome measures to infer recovery status. Methods: From 42 professional players over 2 seasons, outcome measures relevant to recovery status were collected 48 h following matches, as well as during pre-season training weeks as a comparative baseline. These included (1) 5-item subjective wellness questionnaire, (2) total quality recovery (TQR) scale, (3) hip adduction squeeze test, ankle knee to wall (KTW) test, and active knee extension (AKE) flexibility test. These outcome measures 48 h post-match were compared for SM (n = 79) and MM (n = 86) weeks where players completed >75 min of match time in only one (SM) or if both matches were played and had <96 h recovery (MM). Internal match load was collected from each match based on session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) multiplied by match duration. Results: Subjective wellness (specifically fatigue, sleep and soreness), TQR and hip adduction squeeze test were all significantly reduced following match 1 at 48 h post for both SM and MM (p < 0.05), and further reduced following match 2 in MM (p < 0.05). No other outcome measures to infer recovery showed significant differences (p > 0.05) within or between-conditions. Conclusions: Subjective wellness, TQR and hip adduction strength showed reduction 48 h post match for players competing in multiple matches with <96 h recovery. Therefore, these outcome measures may be of use to practitioners to assess readiness to compete during congested competition schedules.

… The Loechers just are two of the hundreds of thousands of people who’ve purchased a connected fitness equipment in recent years. The category is quickly growing, with a variety of devices offering at-home workout solutions where users stare at screens for guided instructions instead of an in-person fitness trainer. It was creepy at first, Brittany admits. “But everyone is constantly on their phone and society is moving that way anyway,” that ultimately the convenience outweighed her initial qualms.

“This is the future of fitness,” Nikolas says. “I can work out when I want, I don’t have to deal with driving to the gym, I can keep track of my fitness goals, and still have time to spend with my family.”

After spending over $10,000 on their connected fitness machines, now, the couple is preparing to literally invest in connected fitness. When news about Peloton’s IPO filing broke, Nikolas immediately jumped at the opportunity, vowing to do whatever it takes to add it to his portfolio. “We called our stock broker and said we are getting that stock!” Brittany says. “I believe in this company, the product, and this future.”

Collegiate cross-country training is often conducted and prescribed in a group setting. This may result in the application of an inappropriate training stimulus to athletes due to potentially different physiological responses to the same training prescription. The aim of this investigation was to quantify the training intensity distribution (TID) of a collegiate cross-country team and the associated physiological adaptions. Sixteen subjects, 8 male subjects and 8 female subjects, performed a graded exercise test before and after observational period to determine peak oxygen consumption (V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak), the speed (S@), heart rate (HR@), and oxygen consumption (V[Combining Dot Above]O2@) associated with 2 and 4 mmol·L of blood lactate. Training intensity distribution was quantified by assessing time spent in 3 intensity zones calculated as zone 1 (low intensity, HR values HR@2 and HR@4). No statistical differences were observed between male subjects and female subjects for percent of training time spent in zones 1, 2, and 3. No significant interactions were observed between sex and time for performance variables. Male subjects and female subjects improved V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak, S@4, and V[Combining Dot Above]O2@4 with male subjects also increasing V[Combining Dot Above]O2@2. No significant differences were observed between male subjects and female subjects when comparing percent changes for variables. Examining individual data showed that 2 female subjects experienced performance decrements and trained proportionally more in zones 2 and 3 compared with the overall group. The TID and performance decrements of the 2 highlighted subjects suggest that conducting training in a group setting may potentially be detrimental for some collegiate runners.

Thin, soft electronic systems that stick onto skin are beginning to transform health care. Millions of early versions1 of sensors, computers and transmitters woven into flexible films, patches, bandages or tattoos are being deployed in dozens of trials in neurology applications alone2; and their numbers growing rapidly. Within a decade, many people will wear such sensors all the time. The data they collect will be fed into machine-learning algorithms to monitor vital signs, spot abnormalities and track treatments.

Medical problems will be revealed earlier. Doctors will monitor their patients’ recovery remotely while the patient is at home, and intervene if their condition deteriorates. Epidemic spikes will be flagged quickly, allowing authorities to mobilize resources, identify vulnerable populations and monitor the safety and efficacy of drugs issued. All of this will make health care more predictive, safe and efficient.

Where are we now? The first generation of biointegrated sensors can track biophysical signals, such as cardiac rhythms, breathing, temperature and motion3. More advanced systems are emerging that can track certain biomarkers (such as glucose) as well as actions such as swallowing and speech.

… Hobbs made it his mission to do something about upgrading Rutgers’ athletics facilities. Even though university President Robert Barchi had unveiled a master plan that called for a multi-phase upgrade of the athletics facilities, Hobbs knew he had to raise the money to pay for the projects at a school that hadn’t built a new facility for its athletics program in nearly two decades.

“What I remember is going home after that first facilities tour and really being in a state of shock,’’ Hobbs said. “Frankly I was a little nervous thinking, ‘This is a big project.’ On one hand it was clear what we had to do, but on the other it was daunting. There was a feasibility study out there before we got here that said the most we could probably raise was $25 million. We knew that was not going to pay for all the things we needed to do. So we just kept pushing.’’

In this report, the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment presents a review of the health effects, benefits and risks arising from the use of ionising radiation in dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans in non-medical practices, specifically in sports performance assessments, in the UK. The report considers the radiation protection aspects including the potential justification and the need for optimisation of the practice.

70M Americans have a gut disorder—twice the number of those living with diabetes—and nearly 75% of people deal with digestive symptoms on a regular basis. Those living with certain digestive health conditions are more likely to suffer from other chronic conditions, including comorbid mental health diagnoses. While employers increasingly offer programs for other chronic conditions, digestive health remains a taboo topic with few covered solutions for those suffering from complex inflammatory conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis, among others.

That’s where Vivante comes in—and why we’re incredibly excited by the company’s potential to radically improve the patient experience while removing costs from the healthcare system. Vivante’s science-driven, comprehensive, and personalized solution, GIThrive, is comprised of:

Microbiome testing and real-time remote gut health monitoring via a connected non-invasive sensor that measures digestive activity through a simple breath test

24/7, on-demand gut-side assistance from a coordinated care team of health coaches, dietitians, pharmacists, and nurses

Personalized nutrition based on a user’s preferences, care team recommendations, and data-driven feedback over time

… Ketones are “supplementary fuel for the muscles,” said Jean-Jacques Menuet, the doctor for a rival team, Arkea-Samsic.

Jumbo won four of the first 11 stages on this year’s Tour de France. Mike Teunissen won the opening stage before Jumbo romped to victory in the team time trial the next day. Dylan Groenewegen won stage 6 in a sprint and Wout Van Aert took stage 10 on Monday.

On the Tour’s rest day on Tuesday, Ineos team principal Dave Brailsford described Jumbo as “the most improved team over the past three years.” Brailsford, who has masterminded six Tour de France wins, said Jumbo had an “open-minded and expansive approach.”

… What we’ve all come to learn is that every body works differently in regards to fueling and race day nutrition, but the one thing that all endurance athletes NEED is GOOD QUALITY food the 75% of time they’re not training.

What does all of that mean? Let’s go back to what happens during a workout and then focus on the nutrition outside of our workouts for the maximum gains.

Smartphone apps and wearable devices for tracking physical activity and other health behaviors have become popular in recent years and provide a largely untapped source of data about health behaviors in the free-living environment. The data are large in scale, collected at low cost in the “wild”, and often recorded in an automatic fashion, providing a powerful complement to traditional surveillance studies and controlled trials. These data are helping to reveal, for example, new insights about environmental and social influences on physical activity. The observational nature of the datasets and collection via commercial devices and apps pose challenges, however, including the potential for measurement, population, and/or selection bias, as well as missing data. In this article, we review insights gleaned from these datasets and propose best practices for addressing the limitations of large-scale data from apps and wearables. Our goal is to enable researchers to effectively harness the data from smartphone apps and wearable devices to better understand what drives physical activity and other health behaviors.

… The basic premise of producing an age curve is simple enough: define a measure of performance level for a given position; examine how that performance level has historically varied with age; generate a distribution of performance level against age; finally, use this to project how a player’s performance level is likely to progress over the course of their career.

Our Age Curve 2.0 approach goes a step further and takes into account how individual metrics vary with age. For example, a player’s dribbling ability starts to decay at a much earlier age to their passing ability. Transferlab’s advanced metrics are ideal for this approach as the contribution (xG value) of an individual action provides a more reliable measure of quality than standard (count) metrics. For example, two players may make the same number of passes but if one is creating goalscoring opportunities and the other is playing sideways and backwards there is a clear difference in the impact they are having on the match.

… Distinguishing between “data-driven” and “AI-driven” isn’t just semantics. Each term reflects different assets, the former focusing on data and the latter processing ability. Data holds the insights that can enable better decisions; processing is the way to extract those insights and take actions. Humans and AI are both processors, with very different abilities. To understand how best to leverage each its helpful to review our own biological evolution and how decision-making has evolved in industry. … Our intuitions are far from ideal decision making instruments. Our brains are inflicted with many cognitive biases that impair our judgement in predictable ways. This is the result of hundreds of thousands of years of evolution where, as early hunter-gatherers, we developed a system of reasoning that relies on simple heuristics — shortcuts or rules-of-thumb that circumvent the high cost of processing a lot of information. This enabled quick, almost unconscious decisions to get us out of potentially perilous situations. However, ‘quick and almost unconscious’ didn’t always mean optimal or even accurate.