This week in the world of sports science, here’s what happened…
- Is the ACWR outdated?
- Learning from Olympic gold-winning S&C coaches
- Why the NBA is closely monitoring young players
Is the ACWR outdated?
The Acute: Chronic Workload Ratio (ACWR) measures the amount of workload completed in the previous week against that of the past month. It’s a tool used to monitor and prevent sudden increases in training load that could lead to injuries. However, recently, the ACWR has faced criticism, and some people are advocating for more effective methods to assess training loads and lower the risk of injury.
In a recent post on LinkedIn, S&C coach Zach Emberson highlighted new research that may present a better alternative to the ACWR. This research analysed data from 5,205 runners and an impressive 580,000 training sessions!
The findings revealed that spikes in single-session training loads are particularly significant in identifying injury risk. Specifically, sudden increases in single-session training load —exceeding 10% of the previous 30 days—greatly elevated the chances of overuse injuries. The risk escalated with the size of the jump; for instance, a 10% to 30% increase showed a hazard ratio of 1.64, while more than a 100% increase had a hazard ratio of 2.28.
Since the researchers used running distance as their metric for training load, it will be intriguing to see if similar studies focusing on other training metrics across various sports will yield comparable results. Do you think that monitoring single-session training load compared to the previous 30 days is a more effective method than the ACWR, which assesses training load by examining weekly load in relation to the past month? If you’ve had experience with either or both approaches, we’d love to hear your insights on this discussion!
Learning from Olympic gold-winning S&C coaches
Christian Bosse recently shared an insightful LinkedIn post aimed at aspiring S&C coaches. Drawing on insights provided by multiple Olympic gold-winning S&C coaches, Bosse has compiled essential lessons for those starting their careers. Here are some key phrases from his post that really stood out to me:
- Observation beats certification
- Communication beats complexity
- Mentorship beats motivation
- Group control beats perfect programming
- Experience beats theory
If you’re a young, aspiring S&C coach, I highly recommend checking out Bosse’s post for a deeper dive into these valuable lessons. If you want to learn what a day in the life of an S&C coach entails, our blog A Day in the Life of an S&C Coach is well worth checking out!
Why the NBA is closely monitoring young players
Last month, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that the league is keeping a close eye on young basketball athletes well before players make it to the NBA. Alarmingly, league doctors have reported significant “wear and tear” among young athletes. Factors such as early specialisation, year-round play, and the repeated stress on their developing bodies have become key points of discussion. Silver noted that previous generations of NBA stars typically participated in a variety of sports before they focused solely on basketball.
It will be interesting to see how this situation unfolds and what steps the NBA will take to address this issue. This topic also brings to light the serious drawbacks of early sports specialisation. If you’re curious to delve deeper into the science surrounding early sports specialisation in sports, be sure to check out our informative podcast episode, The Game-Changing Truth Behind Early Specialisation and blogs, Early Specialisation in youth athletes: Pros, cons and considerations and What the kids have to say about early sport specialisation.
From us this week:
>> New course: Fundamental Movements in Youth
>> New podcast: Periodised Nutrition in Practice: Delivering the Plan Away From the Club
>> New infographic: Carbohydrate
>> New article: Hydrotherapy
Access to a growing library of sports science courses
SFS Academy is an all-access membership to premium sports science education.
With SFS Academy, you’ll learn from some of the best coaches around the world as they teach you how to apply the latest research and practice with your athletes.
