This week in the world of sports science, here’s what happened…
- Mladen Jovanović’s warm-up philosophy
- Using AI-sprint analysis technology to improve performance
- The future of endurance training monitoring?
Mladen Jovanović’s warm-up philosophy
Renowned S&C coach and sports scientist Mladen Jovanović recently shared some valuable insights into his warm-up philosophy on LinkedIn. In his post, Jovanović emphasises that many warm-ups are often viewed as mere “fillers” designed to get athletes moving and “warm.” He argues that this approach results in countless missed opportunities for enhancing athletic development, particularly in building movement competency, coordination, and readiness for training.
Jovanović’s warm-up philosophy is structured around four key phases: heat, mobility, activation, and prime. He provides examples of exercises for each phase, along with suggested distances and repetitions for those exercises (see image above).
For aspiring S&C coaches, Jovanović’s post is a must-read. It encourages coaches to make the most of their warm-up routines, promoting athletic movement competency rather than settling for a general pulse raiser.
If you would like to learn more about warm-ups, check out our course Warm-Ups and our podcast episode Take Your Warm-Up To The Next Level With These 3 Essential Games.
Using AI-sprint analysis technology to improve performance
A recent LinkedIn post offered some fascinating insights into how the British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association team is leveraging sprint analysis to improve their “push start” on the ice.
In the post, start coach Michael Muckelt shares how he has incorporated “Forceteck” (AI–sprint analysis technology) to gain deeper insights into his athletes’ sprint performance. He highlights an example where Forceteck analysis revealed that a promising Olympic athlete was achieving impressive sprinting velocities but struggled with his step length. This observation allowed Muckelt to concentrate on enhancing the athlete’s step length, ultimately leading to an increase in overall running speed and a personal best on the push track for the first time in nearly five years!
If you’re keen to explore more about Forceteck and how Muckelt is applying it with his athletes, I highly recommend checking out the post on LinkedIn!
The future of endurance training monitoring?
Last week, the sports science industry witnessed an exciting development when Sevena Capital invested in PointFit (see here), a Hong Kong-based startup developing a skin-worn patch that monitors the body’s chemistry through sweat.
This innovative patch is applied directly to the skin like a plaster. By analysing sweat, it can provide real-time readings of blood lactate levels without the need for the invasive finger-prick tests traditionally used to measure lactate. Monitoring lactate accumulation in the bloodstream is a crucial indicator for endurance training, making PointFit’s concept a potentially game-changing advancement in the field.
With the recent investment from Sevena Capital, PointFit is excited to expand its capabilities over time to monitor additional biomarkers, including electrolytes and sweat rate. Watch this space!
From us this week:
>> New course: Performance Analysis in International Football
>> New podcast: The Future of Weight Room Monitoring with Perch P2
>> New infographic: Hydrotherapy
>> New article: Hydrotherapy
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