Biathlon is an endurance sport and I burn through a lot of energy, so the first step is simply making sure I eat enough calories. I work with a sports dietician to identify the right balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
The next step is making sure I get enough micronutrients – these are vitamins and minerals like calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B12, iron, magnesium, etc. Deficiencies in any of these micronutrients can lead to health problems and reduce my athletic performance. Plants have tons of micronutrients and different colored plants often have different types of micronutrients, so my rule of thumb is to include a variety of colorful fruits, vegetables, and other plants in my diet.
Cole Bassett has been the best player on every soccer team he’s played on since he was four.
In 2020, at 19 years old, he became that player for the Colorado Rapids.
The young midfielder led the Rapids in goals (tied with Jonathan Lewis) and assists during last year’s abbreviated season. And now he is one of the most important players to the club’s success as the 2021 season arrives as the key cog in Colorado’s midfield attack.
Yet, despite all that production at such a young age, Rapids head coach Robin Fraser said Bassett’s immense potential can be difficult to see at first glance. Only after watching him every day does it become clear just how good he can become.
Patrick Marleau became emotional Monday morning as he thanked the individuals that have helped him throughout his historic career as he was about to become the NHL’s all-time leader in regular season games played.
“I always get choked up and emotional when it comes to people reaching out and talking to people about how long it’s been, how far I’ve come or how many games I’ve played,” Marleau said. “You don’t get this far without help and support. I’m very grateful for all that.”
The Alabama star had one of the greatest college football seasons of all time, but lacks the tools of the other top quarterback prospects in this class. Which matters more?
It’s the greatest performance hack of them all, and all it costs is a third of your time on this planet, give or take an hour or two. I’m talking about sleep, which over the past few years has become even more of an obsession among athletes and other strivers. Forget Thomas Edison and his four hours a night: the mark of a great athlete these days is “high sleepability,” which is the skill of falling asleep quickly and easily whenever the opportunity arises, even if you’re not sleep deprived.
With that noble goal in mind, I bring you a new review paper, published in this month’s issue of Sports Medicine, on the links between sleep and sports injuries, a topic I’ve written about a couple of times previously. The overall conclusion, on the basis of 12 prospective studies, is that—oh wait… apparently there’s “insufficient evidence” to draw a link between poor sleep and injuries in most of the populations studied. This non-finding is a bit surprising, and is worth digging into a little more deeply because of what it tells us about the dangers of getting too enthusiastic about seemingly obvious performance aids.
In its 21st year, the Rice Business Plan Competition hosted 54 student-founded startups from all over the world — its largest batch of companies to date — and doled out over $1.4 million in cash and investment prizes at the week-long virtual competition.
RBPC, which is put on by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, took place Tuesday, April 6, to Friday, April 9 this year. Just like 2020, RBPC was virtually held. The competition announced the 54 participating startups last month, and coordinated the annual elevator pitches, a semi-finals round, wildcard round and live final pitches. The contestants also received virtual networking and mentoring.
Every movement in the human body—from lifting our arms to our beating hearts—is regulated in some way by signals from our brains. Until recently, scientists often tracked and understood that brain-body communication only after the fact, sort of like listening to a voicemail as opposed to being on a call.
But researchers at Northeastern have developed a new type of nanosensor that allows scientists to image communication between the brain and the body in real time. They now can listen in on the call.
OrthoSpineNews, PR Newswire, Chris J. Stewart from
Marathon runners hoping to stay injury-free now have further cause to avoid sharp spikes in their weekly mileage, according to a study conducted by sports medicine physicians and experts at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City. That rule holds for novice runners as well as the most dedicated marathoners who have a high base level of training and multiple marathons under their soles, the researchers found.
“Runners, coaches and sports medicine experts have long been aware of the risks of increasing mileage too quickly. Historically, runners have used the ’10 percent rule,’ which says you shouldn’t increase weekly running mileage more than 10 percent compared to the previous week. However, this rule doesn’t work during marathon training, when long runs reach 18 to 20 miles and there are alternating weeks of longer and shorter runs,” said Brett G. Toresdahl, MD, a sports medicine physician and the Research Director for the Primary Sports Medicine Service at HSS, who led the new study.
… “I think we are in a unique moment where people are recognizing, more than ever, how important sports is to their leisure time and identity, and they are aware of sports teams as job producers,” said Hudak, who serves as deputy director of Brookings’ Center for Effective Public Management. “The focus on the service industry in general is a real benefit for the sports world, generally, but (specifically) for earmarking purposes moving forward.”
Sports had never been much more than a drop in the earmarking bucket. Including the Tiger Stadium preservation money, a Sportico search-term review of Congressional earmarks between 2008 and 2010—comprising the final three fiscal years before the moratorium—found less than $30 million directed to sports, athletic or recreational projects. In terms of dollar value, the biggest sports-related earmark during that span was a $7.4 million appropriation to the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games, which was hosted in Boise, Idaho. (Another $4.5 million was appropriated for U.S. border security infrastructure related to the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.)
The odd thing about progress is that it’s not always permanent. The phrase “one step forward, two steps back” exists for a reason. Gains often come just ahead of regression. Bad habits can undo even the best of intentions, retreating to the comfort of old ways.
With that in mind, MLS begins the 2021 season facing a test. After last year’s leap with young players across the competition earning significant playing time, a return to a more conventional schedule could mean something of a backslide.
It would be easy to presume that MLS has simply turned a corner when it comes to this issue. It was nearly three years ago, after all, that Don Garber stated explicitly that MLS wanted to be “selling league.” After several high-profile defections from MLS academies with clubs receiving nothing as compensation, the pressure to get a return from developmental investment forced a change in mentality.
Lurking amid the well-earned good feelings from the Union’s tie in Columbus on Sunday night was a sign of potential trouble on the horizon.
You might have noticed that Union manager Jim Curtin made just one substitution. He was fortunate that he didn’t have to make more, and he heaped credit on the fitness staff for having Jamiro Monteiro and other stalwarts ready to play every minute again.
But Curtin knew the truth, and he didn’t hide from it. While he carried a full bench on paper, the Union’s high-ceiling, homegrown rookie crop isn’t ready for the big time yet.
When it comes to analysing football data, you’ll frequently read of metrics built around attacking actions – shots, dribbles, passes, for example – or out of possession defensive actions, such as pressures, tackles and interceptions. But what about carrying the ball?
Carries represent a not-insignificant portion of a player’s on-ball time, often the first action a player makes after receiving possession, but, on balance, they remain an under-scrutinised part of the game.
… the heated emotions aroused by the Super League’s formation should be familiar to sports fans of all stripes, from long-suffering Marlins season ticket holders to those willing to defend the Arizona Coyotes hockey team year after year: Sports make us miserable.
Professional sports leagues provide a venue for broad cross-sections of the public to coalesce around a common identity, which isn’t inherently bad. It’s just that these days, the prevailing sentiment of so many sports teams and their undying fans is one of overwhelming collective anguish.
So why do millions of sports fans subject themselves to the torment of supporting teams that perpetually fail? And are there any ways to detach from the cycle of crushing disappointment while still observing our cherished loyalties?
