Performance Digest September 2017 - Science for Sport

Issue 12

September 2017

The Science of Coaching

  1. A stressed coach: Does it impact delivery?

Strength & Conditioning

  1. Strength and hypertrophy gains: which loads are best?
  2. Hip thrusts, pap and improvements in sprint performance
  3. Concentric vs. Eccentric actions for muscle hypertrophy: which is better?

Technology & Monitoring

  1. Can HRV also be used to monitor neuromuscular fatigue?
  2. A maximal resisted sprint load test: a better way to individualise sled sprinting?
  3. Is whole body vibration capable of potentiating performance?

Fatigue & Recovery

  1. Compression garments for reducing muscle soreness and improving creatine kinase clearance?
  2. Can the vertical jump be used to accurately monitor daily fatigue and readiness?
  3. GPS speed zones: are we really measuring what we think we are?

Youth Development

  1. Plyometric training for improving agility: the older the better?
  2. Is physical activity essential for a healthy brain?
  3. Combined strength and plyometric training: gaining the edge

Nutrition

  1. Protein + antioxidants: is it better than protein alone?
  2. Fish oil for reducing muscle damage, soreness and creatine kinase
  3. Phenylalanine for fat oxidation: the good, the bad, and the ugly
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August 2017

Issue 11

August 2017

The Science of Coaching

  1. Characteristics of coaches during training and match-play

Strength & Conditioning

  1. Asymmetry between limbs: does it really matter?
  2. Heavy sled pushes: another tool in the toolbox for improving sprint speed?
  3. Concurrent training: does resistance training affect endurance development?

Technology & Monitoring

  1. Can we accurately estimate how many repetitions we have left in the tank?
  2. Wearable resistance training: is wearing the weight better than lifting it?
  3. Nicotine and performance: a friend or foe?

Fatigue & Recovery

  1. Cluster vs. Traditional sets for performance maintenance
  2. Ice-baths vs. Body fat: who should stay in the longest?
  3. Recovery modalities in elite vs. Amateur sport: what are the differences?

Youth Development

  1. Plyometric training for overweight children: a good or bad idea?
  2. Using age residual scores to remove the age bias dilemma
  3. Eccentric training: do children respond differently to adults?

Nutrition

  1. The importance of a sports dietician: are they worth their money?
  2. “Calories in, calories out” and macronutrient intake: the hope, hype, and science of calories
  3. Ketone salts: good for weight-loss but not performance?
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July 2017

Issue 10

July 2017

Strength & Conditioning

  1. Resisted sled sprinting increases subsequent sprint speed?
  2. Accentuated eccentric loading: good for strength and power development?
  3. Which weightlifting exercises are best for developing force absorption—continued

Technology & Monitoring

  1. Measuring speed: does gate height affect the results?
  2. Velocity based training: is it any good for predicting 1RM?
  3. Can we accurately measure hamstring strength using a video camera?

Fatigue & Recovery

  1. Ice slushy before and during exercise: better than water?
  2. A shower before bed: a great way to improve sleep?
  3. Do tattoos affect performance?

Youths

  1. Which sports are best for improving vigilance?
  2. Maturation selection bias: does the quickest always win?
  3. Bone development: is basketball more effective than soccer?

Nutrition

  1. Carbohydrate periodization in elite endurance athletes
  2. Protein intakes: how much is enough?
  3. Dietary fat and cardiovascular disease: an update

Football (Soccer)

  1. The acute:chronic workload ratio in relation to injury risk in professional soccer

Rugby

  1. What determines scrum success?

Cricket

  1. Hamstring injury risk factors in professional cricket

Australian Rules Football

  1. Running intensities: have we been underestimating them all along?

American Football

  1. Are linemen more susceptible to stress, illness, and injury?
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June 2017

Issue 9

June 2017

Strength & Conditioning

  1. Resisted sled sprinting: which load is best for power output?
  2. Exercise and chronic pain: does exercising through pain reduce it?
  3. Developing an athlete’s ability to absorb force: which weightlifting exercises are best?

Technology & Monitoring

  1. Monitoring training-loads: which variables matter?
  2. GPS technology: have we been measuring the wrong things?
  3. Fitbit activity monitors: all show and no go?

Fatigue & Recovery

  1. Ice baths vs. Cryotherapy: which is better for reducing blood flow and tissue temperature?
  2. Does elite sport affect sleep quality?
  3. Compression garments: do they affect the cardiovascular and nervous systems?

Youths

  1. Predicting the maturity offset: are the new equations better?
  2. The impact of the relative age effect on the international stage
  3. Youth sport: are your chances better if you’re older and bigger?

Nutrition

  1. Branched-chain amino acids: are they useful for muscle protein synthesis?
  2. Food groups and risk of all-cause mortality: are some worse than others?
  3. Caffeine and bicarbonate for speed endurance

Football (Soccer)

  1. Are we training them enough to tolerate match demands?

Rugby

  1. Training and monitoring in elite rugby

Cricket

  1. Workload recommendations for fast bowlers: are we slowing them down?

Australian Rules Football

  1. Can predictive modelling be used to accuracy predict injuries?

American Football

  1. Are there long-term effects of sports-related concussion?
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May 2017

Issue 8

May 2017

Strength & Conditioning

  1. Is frequency the key training variable for gaining muscle?
  2. Knees past the toes during the squat: is it bad for your back?
  3. Interval training: increasing vs. Decreasing distances

Technology & Monitoring

  1. The ballistic push-up: the one-hit wonder for evaluating strength and power?
  2. Cooling during exercise: a great tool for improving performance in the heat?
  3. Do traditional ACL screening methods actually assess the athletes ACL injury risk during their sport?

Fatigue & Recovery

  1. Alcohol after exercise: does it hurt your recovery?
  2. Are compression garments just for comfort and style, or do they also help recovery?
  3. Measuring recovery: are we on the brink of a new horizon?

Youths

  1. Injury and concussion prevention: how effective is exercise for youths?
  2. Physical fitness and academic performance in youths: is there a link?
  3. Resistance training in youth: laying the foundation for injury prevention and physical literacy

Nutrition

  1. Does habitual caffeine consumption actually influence the performance benefits of acute caffeine supplementation
  2. DXA scans for fat loss: does muscle glycogen and creatine skew the results?
  3. Alternate-day fasting: a fat loss biohack, or just another fad?

Football (Soccer)

  1. Groin problems in male soccer players are more common than previously reported

Rugby

  1. Technical determinants of tackle and ruck performance in international rugby union

Cricket

  1. Physical and technical demands of cricket players during training and match-play

Australian Rules Football

  1. A new test for agility and the importance of reactive strength

American Football

  1. Muscle-specific vibration: can it improve jump performance?
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April 2017

Issue 7

April 2017

Strength & Conditioning

  1. The optimal load for maximal power production during upper-body resistance exercises: a meta-analysis
  2. Variable resistance training promotes greater strength and power adaptations than traditional resistance training in elite youth rugby league players
  3. Effects of different strength training frequencies during reduced training period on strength and muscle cross-sectional area

Technology & Monitoring

  1. Predicting the maximum dynamic strength in bench press: the high precision of the bar velocity approach
  2. Concurrent validity of wearable activity trackers under free-living conditions
  3. The reliability and validity of a four-minute running time-trial in assessing vo2max and performance

Fatigue & Recovery

  1. The effects of cold water immersion and active recovery on inflammation and cell stress responses in human skeletal muscle after resistance exercise
  2. Acute effects of lateral thigh foam rolling on arterial tissue perfusion determined by spectral Doppler and power Doppler ultrasound
  3. Acute effects of deep tissue foam rolling and dynamic stretching on muscular strength, power, and flexibility in division 1 linemen

Youths

  1. Specialization patterns across various youth sports and relationship to injury risk
  2. Effects of a six-week hip thrust vs. Front squat resistance training program on performance in adolescent males: a randomized controlled trial
  3. Validity of daily and weekly self-reported training load measures in adolescent athletes

Nutrition

  1. Effect of pre-exercise carbohydrate diets with high vs low glycemic index on exercise performance: a meta-analysis
  2. Beetroot juice supplementation improves high-intensity intermittent type exercise performance in trained soccer players
  3. Dietary protein and bone health: a systematic review and meta-analysis from the national osteoporosis foundation

Football (Soccer)

  1. Effects of long haul transmeridian travel on player preparedness: case study of a national team at the 2014 FIFA world cup

Rugby

  1. Resistance training priming activity improves upper-body power output in rugby players: implications for game day performance

Cricket

  1. Effect of ball weight on speed, accuracy, and mechanics in cricket fast bowling

Australian Rules Football

  1. The association between fundamental athletic movements and physical fitness in elite junior Australian footballers

American Football

  1. Epidemiological patterns of initial and subsequent injuries in collegiate football athletes
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