Quotes/Thoughts
Podcasts
Articles
Research
The present findings suggest that CODS and RA are 2 different and independent skill domains that define agility. These qualities should be diagnosed by discrete assessments and enhanced by different training methodologies.
Soccer [n = 15 male] and rugby [n = 21; 9 male and 12 female] club-level athletes were individually assessed for horizontal force-velocity and load-velocity profiles using a battery of resisted sprints, sled or robotic resistance respectively. Athletes then performed a 12-session resisted sprint (10x20m) intervention with either a) load that represented maximum power output or b) load that represented a 10% decrease in maximal unresisted sprinting velocity. Both protocols had minor effects on sprinting performance (average of -1.4 to -2.3% split-times respectively), and provided trivial, small and unclear changes in mechanical sprinting parameters.
Both resisted-sprint training protocols were likely to improve performance after a short training intervention in already sprint trained athletes. However, widely varied individualised results indicated that adaptations may be dependent on pre-training force-velocity characteristics
The initial steps of a sprint are important in team sports, such as rugby, where there is an inherent requirement to maximally accelerate over short distances. Current understanding of sprint acceleration technique is primarily based on data from track and field sprinters, although whether this information is transferable to athletes such as rugby players is unclear, due to differing ecological constraints. Sagittal plane video data were collected (240 Hz) and manually digitised to calculate the kinematics of professional rugby forwards (n = 15) and backs (n = 15), and sprinters (n = 18; 100 m personal best range = 9.96-11.33 s) during the first three steps of three maximal sprint accelerations. Using a between-group research design, differences between groups were determined using magnitude-based inferences, and within-group relationships between technique variables and initial sprint acceleration performance were established using correlation. Substantial between-group differences were observed in multiple variables. Only one variable, toe-off distance, differed between groups (d = -0.42 to -2.62) and also demonstrated meaningful relationships with sprint performance within all three groups (r = -0.44 to -0.58), whereby a stance foot position more posterior relative to the centre of mass at toe-off was associated with better sprint performance. While toe-off distance appears to be an important technical feature for sprint acceleration performance in both sprinters and rugby players, caution should be applied to the direct transfer of other kinematic information from sprinters to inform the technical development of acceleration in team sports athletes.
The primary purpose of this study was to determine if a difference existed between peak speed attained when performing a sprint with maximal acceleration versus from a gradual build-up. Additionally, this investigation sought to compare the actual peak speed achieved when instructed to reach 75% and 90% of maximum speed. Field sport athletes (n = 21) performed sprints over 60 m under the experimental conditions, and the peak speed was assessed with a radar gun. The gradual build-up to maximum speed (8.30 ± 0.40 m·s −1 ) produced the greater peak speed (effect size = 0.3, small) than the maximum acceleration run (8.18 ± 0.40 m·s −1 ), and the majority of participants (62%) followed this pattern. For the sub-maximum runs, the actual mean percentage of maximum speed reached was 78 ± 6% for the 75% prescribed run and 89 ± 5% for the 90% prescription. The errors in attaining the prescribed peak speeds were large (~15%) for certain individuals, especially for the 75% trial. Sprint training for maximum speed should be performed with a gradual build-up of speed rather than a maximum acceleration. For sub-maximum interval training, the ability to attain the prescribed target peak speed can be challenging for field sport athletes, and therefore where possible, feedback on peak speeds reached should be provided after each repetition.
Sleep deprivation of 5-days (6.5hrs) vs healthy sleep opportunity
(9.5hrs) in 14-18 y.o’s showed significantly worse symptoms of Post Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing. Verbal memory also decreased. Concluding that sleep deprivation of just 5-days increases concussion like symptoms and that sleep deprivation has adverse effects on emotional and behavioral functioning in teens.
Research shows that people infer the time of their actions and decisions from their consequences. We asked how people know how much time to subtract from consequences in order to infer their actions and decisions. They could either subtract a fixed, default, time from consequences, or learn from experience how much time to subtract in each situation. In two experiments, participants’ actions were followed by a tone, which was presented either immediately or after a delay. In Experiment 1, participants estimated the time of their actions; in Experiment 2, the time of their decisions to act. Both actions and decisions were judged to occur sooner or later as a function of whether consequences were immediate or delayed. Estimations tended to be shifted toward their consequences, but in some cases they were shifted away from them. Most importantly, in all cases participants learned progressively to adjust their estimations with experience.
Post-exercise cold-water immersion (CWI) is used extensively in exercise training as a means to minimise fatigue and expedite recovery between sessions. However, debate exists around its merit in long-term training regimens. While an improvement in recovery following a single session of exercise may improve subsequent training quality and stimulus, reports have emerged suggesting CWI may attenuate long-term adaptations to exercise training. Recent developments in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing the adaptive response to exercise in human skeletal muscle have provided potential mechanistic insight into the effects of CWI on training adaptations. Preliminary evidence suggests that CWI may blunt resistance signalling pathways following a single exercise session, as well as attenuate key long-term resistance training adaptations such as strength and muscle mass. Conversely, CWI may augment endurance signaling pathways and the expression of genes key to mitochondrial biogenesis following a single endurance exercise session, but have little to no effect on the content of proteins key to mitochondrial biogenesis following long-term endurance training. This review explores current evidence regarding the underlying molecular mechanisms by which CWI may alter cellular signaling and the long-term adaptive response to exercise in human skeletal muscle.
The aim of this study was to investigate spatiotemporal and kinematic changes between the initial acceleration, transition and maximum velocity phases of a sprint. Sagittal plane kinematics from five experienced sprinters performing 50-m maximal sprints were collected using six HD-video cameras. Following manual digitising, spatiotemporal and kinematic variables at touchdown and toe-off were calculated. The start and end of the transition phase were identified using the step-to-step changes in centre of mass height and segment angles. Mean step-to-step changes of spatiotemporal and kinematic variables during each phase were calculated. Firstly, the study showed that if sufficient trials are available, step-to-step changes in shank and trunk angles might provide an appropriate measure to detect sprint phases in applied settings. However, given that changes in centre of mass height represent a more holistic measure, this was used to sub-divide the sprints into separate phases. Secondly, during the initial acceleration phase large step-to-step changes in touchdown kinematics were observed compared to the transition phase. At toe-off, step-to-step kinematic changes were consistent across the initial acceleration and transition phases before plateauing during the maximal velocity phase. These results provide coaches and practitioners with valuable insights into key differences between phases in maximal sprinting.
The ability to detect deceptive movement was examined in skilled and novice rugby players. Participants (14 per group) attempted to predict direction change from video of expert and recreational rugby players changing direction with and without deceptive movement. ConWdence associated with judgments was recorded on each trial to seek evidence regarding use of inferential (heuristic-based) and direct-perceptual (invariant-based) judgments. Novices were found to be susceptible to deceptive movement whereas skilled participants were not; however, both skilled and novice participants were more conWdent on trials containing deceptive movement. The data suggest that the skill-level diVerence in sensitivity to advance visual information extends to deceptive information. The implications of this Wnding, and the importance of considering the underlying process of anticipation skill, are discussed.
Random
- Expert movement doesn’t involve a complete lack of awareness
- Motor learning is a problem solving process
- If practice is always successful, it’s probably not helpful
- The shorter you sleep, the short you live – Matthew Walker
- Sleep is the most powerful memory aid – Matthew Walker
- Coaches don’t disagree with strength training, rather disagree with the perceived simplistic causal effects of strength training on performance
- As coaches we are great at making our players stronger and more fit, but not very good at teaching and inducing learning – Mladen Jovanovic
- We are told every error in sport is due to a physical limitation – too weak, too slow, too small – rather in most cases, mistakes are due to tactical, technical, perceptual, and/or psychological limitations
- Time is the ultimate constraint. We are most creative when we are under time constraints
- Skill acquisition/adaptability should be seen as the primary goal of coaching NOT just a component of coaching
- What does - we play at game speed – mean? The speed of the movement isn’t what dictates practicing at game speed – it’s actually attacking the speed of decision-making, the pressure of taking perceptual information and using it as fast as possible NOT just the magnitude of speed or the intensity of a drill – Rich Bartel
- It’s not the strongest nor the most intelligent of species that survives, rather the most adaptable – Charles Darwin
- Technique isn’t absolute
- Big forces in a squat rack don’t equal big forces on the track
- How can we make the basics matter if we cannot agree on a common definition of what the basics are actually are?
- Force production is so specific to a skill that it’s hard to generalize one being weak – Anthony Blazevich
- We are now testing 300 athletes with performance tests and isolated strength and ROM tests. So far, all I can say is the associations between performance and isolated strength is weak. As is asymmetries in performance tests and asymmetries in isolated function. – Goran Markovic
- The body works differently at slow speeds than high sppeds – Kenan Todd
- 20-Years ago, it seemed like every issue was blamed on a “weak TA”; more recently, it is “weak glutes aka your ___ aren’t firing”. This is misguided thinking at best, and dangerous, industry-undermining thinking at worst. – Stu McMillan
Podcasts
- Just Fly Performance – Jake Schuster
- 1% Better Podcast Episode #43
- Joe Rogan Podcast – Michael Pollan
- Saturday2Sunday Podcast – Shawn Myszka
- Saturday2Sunday Podcast – Dr. Fergus Connolly
- Saturday2Sunday Podcast – Ross Cooper
- Saturday2Sunday Podcast – Scott Salwasser
- Saturday2Sunday Podcast – Rich Bartel
- Saturday2Sunday Podcast – Andy Ryland
- Saturday2Sunday Podcast – Rob Gray
- Saturday2Sunday Podcast – Daniel Peterson and Dr. Leonard Zaichkowsky
Articles
- Modification within my NFL movement skill refinement process – 2018: Shawn Myszka
- 8 Ways to Sleep Like A Pro – Ryan Skidmore
- Rethinking Speed Exposure for American Football Players – Cam Josse
- Divergent Thinking: Inside John O’Malley
- IAAF Documents
- The story behind Jermaine Gresham’s Random Acts of Kindness
- How relevant is sports science research for elite athletes? - Craig Pickering
- Improve Creativity by Applying The Principles of Differential Learning – Tim Buszard
- Teacher Influenced Constraints vs Skill/Action Scenario Constraints in PE (Constraints To Learning and Constraints Of Learning)
Research
- Coh, M., Vodicar, J., Žvan, M., Šimenko, J., Stodolka, J., Rauter, S., & Mackala, K. (2018). Are Change-of-Direction Speed and Reactive Agility Independent Skills Even When Using the Same Movement Pattern?. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 32(7), 1929-1936.
The present findings suggest that CODS and RA are 2 different and independent skill domains that define agility. These qualities should be diagnosed by discrete assessments and enhanced by different training methodologies.
- Cross, M. R., Lahti, J., Brown, S. R., Chedati, M., Jimenez-Reyes, P., Samozino, P., ... & Morin, J. B. (2018). Training at maximal power in resisted sprinting: Optimal load determination methodology and pilot results in team sport athletes. PloS one, 13(4), e0195477.
Soccer [n = 15 male] and rugby [n = 21; 9 male and 12 female] club-level athletes were individually assessed for horizontal force-velocity and load-velocity profiles using a battery of resisted sprints, sled or robotic resistance respectively. Athletes then performed a 12-session resisted sprint (10x20m) intervention with either a) load that represented maximum power output or b) load that represented a 10% decrease in maximal unresisted sprinting velocity. Both protocols had minor effects on sprinting performance (average of -1.4 to -2.3% split-times respectively), and provided trivial, small and unclear changes in mechanical sprinting parameters.
Both resisted-sprint training protocols were likely to improve performance after a short training intervention in already sprint trained athletes. However, widely varied individualised results indicated that adaptations may be dependent on pre-training force-velocity characteristics
- Wild, J. J., Bezodis, I. N., North, J. S., & Bezodis, N. E. (2018). Differences in step characteristics and linear kinematics between rugby players and sprinters during initial sprint acceleration. European journal of sport science, 1-11.
The initial steps of a sprint are important in team sports, such as rugby, where there is an inherent requirement to maximally accelerate over short distances. Current understanding of sprint acceleration technique is primarily based on data from track and field sprinters, although whether this information is transferable to athletes such as rugby players is unclear, due to differing ecological constraints. Sagittal plane video data were collected (240 Hz) and manually digitised to calculate the kinematics of professional rugby forwards (n = 15) and backs (n = 15), and sprinters (n = 18; 100 m personal best range = 9.96-11.33 s) during the first three steps of three maximal sprint accelerations. Using a between-group research design, differences between groups were determined using magnitude-based inferences, and within-group relationships between technique variables and initial sprint acceleration performance were established using correlation. Substantial between-group differences were observed in multiple variables. Only one variable, toe-off distance, differed between groups (d = -0.42 to -2.62) and also demonstrated meaningful relationships with sprint performance within all three groups (r = -0.44 to -0.58), whereby a stance foot position more posterior relative to the centre of mass at toe-off was associated with better sprint performance. While toe-off distance appears to be an important technical feature for sprint acceleration performance in both sprinters and rugby players, caution should be applied to the direct transfer of other kinematic information from sprinters to inform the technical development of acceleration in team sports athletes.
- Young, W. B., Duthie, G. M., James, L. P., Talpey, S. W., Benton, D. T., & Kilfoyle, A. (2018). Gradual vs. Maximal Acceleration: Their Influence on the Prescription of Maximal Speed Sprinting in Team Sport Athletes. Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 6(3).
The primary purpose of this study was to determine if a difference existed between peak speed attained when performing a sprint with maximal acceleration versus from a gradual build-up. Additionally, this investigation sought to compare the actual peak speed achieved when instructed to reach 75% and 90% of maximum speed. Field sport athletes (n = 21) performed sprints over 60 m under the experimental conditions, and the peak speed was assessed with a radar gun. The gradual build-up to maximum speed (8.30 ± 0.40 m·s −1 ) produced the greater peak speed (effect size = 0.3, small) than the maximum acceleration run (8.18 ± 0.40 m·s −1 ), and the majority of participants (62%) followed this pattern. For the sub-maximum runs, the actual mean percentage of maximum speed reached was 78 ± 6% for the 75% prescribed run and 89 ± 5% for the 90% prescription. The errors in attaining the prescribed peak speeds were large (~15%) for certain individuals, especially for the 75% trial. Sprint training for maximum speed should be performed with a gradual build-up of speed rather than a maximum acceleration. For sub-maximum interval training, the ability to attain the prescribed target peak speed can be challenging for field sport athletes, and therefore where possible, feedback on peak speeds reached should be provided after each repetition.
- Beebe, et al. Short Sleep and Adolescents’ Performance on a Concussion Assessment Battery: An Experimental Sleep Manipulation Study. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. July 2018 – Volume 28 – Issue 4
Sleep deprivation of 5-days (6.5hrs) vs healthy sleep opportunity
(9.5hrs) in 14-18 y.o’s showed significantly worse symptoms of Post Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing. Verbal memory also decreased. Concluding that sleep deprivation of just 5-days increases concussion like symptoms and that sleep deprivation has adverse effects on emotional and behavioral functioning in teens.
- Matute, H., Cubillas, C. P., & Garaizar, P. (2017). Learning to infer the time of our actions and decisions from their consequences. Consciousness and cognition, 56, 37-49.
Research shows that people infer the time of their actions and decisions from their consequences. We asked how people know how much time to subtract from consequences in order to infer their actions and decisions. They could either subtract a fixed, default, time from consequences, or learn from experience how much time to subtract in each situation. In two experiments, participants’ actions were followed by a tone, which was presented either immediately or after a delay. In Experiment 1, participants estimated the time of their actions; in Experiment 2, the time of their decisions to act. Both actions and decisions were judged to occur sooner or later as a function of whether consequences were immediate or delayed. Estimations tended to be shifted toward their consequences, but in some cases they were shifted away from them. Most importantly, in all cases participants learned progressively to adjust their estimations with experience.
- Broatch, J. R., Petersen, A., & Bishop, D. J. (2018). The Influence of Post-Exercise Cold-Water Immersion on Adaptive Responses to Exercise: A Review of the Literature. Sports Medicine, 1-19.
Post-exercise cold-water immersion (CWI) is used extensively in exercise training as a means to minimise fatigue and expedite recovery between sessions. However, debate exists around its merit in long-term training regimens. While an improvement in recovery following a single session of exercise may improve subsequent training quality and stimulus, reports have emerged suggesting CWI may attenuate long-term adaptations to exercise training. Recent developments in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing the adaptive response to exercise in human skeletal muscle have provided potential mechanistic insight into the effects of CWI on training adaptations. Preliminary evidence suggests that CWI may blunt resistance signalling pathways following a single exercise session, as well as attenuate key long-term resistance training adaptations such as strength and muscle mass. Conversely, CWI may augment endurance signaling pathways and the expression of genes key to mitochondrial biogenesis following a single endurance exercise session, but have little to no effect on the content of proteins key to mitochondrial biogenesis following long-term endurance training. This review explores current evidence regarding the underlying molecular mechanisms by which CWI may alter cellular signaling and the long-term adaptive response to exercise in human skeletal muscle.
- von Lieres und Wilkau, H. C., Irwin, G., Bezodis, N. E., Simpson, S., & Bezodis, I. N. (2018). Phase analysis in maximal sprinting: an investigation of step-to-step technical changes between the initial acceleration, transition and maximal velocity phases. Sports biomechanics, 1-16.
The aim of this study was to investigate spatiotemporal and kinematic changes between the initial acceleration, transition and maximum velocity phases of a sprint. Sagittal plane kinematics from five experienced sprinters performing 50-m maximal sprints were collected using six HD-video cameras. Following manual digitising, spatiotemporal and kinematic variables at touchdown and toe-off were calculated. The start and end of the transition phase were identified using the step-to-step changes in centre of mass height and segment angles. Mean step-to-step changes of spatiotemporal and kinematic variables during each phase were calculated. Firstly, the study showed that if sufficient trials are available, step-to-step changes in shank and trunk angles might provide an appropriate measure to detect sprint phases in applied settings. However, given that changes in centre of mass height represent a more holistic measure, this was used to sub-divide the sprints into separate phases. Secondly, during the initial acceleration phase large step-to-step changes in touchdown kinematics were observed compared to the transition phase. At toe-off, step-to-step kinematic changes were consistent across the initial acceleration and transition phases before plateauing during the maximal velocity phase. These results provide coaches and practitioners with valuable insights into key differences between phases in maximal sprinting.
- Jackson, R. C., Warren, S., & Abernethy, B. (2006). Anticipation skill and susceptibility to deceptive movement.Acta psychologica, 123(3), 355-371.
The ability to detect deceptive movement was examined in skilled and novice rugby players. Participants (14 per group) attempted to predict direction change from video of expert and recreational rugby players changing direction with and without deceptive movement. ConWdence associated with judgments was recorded on each trial to seek evidence regarding use of inferential (heuristic-based) and direct-perceptual (invariant-based) judgments. Novices were found to be susceptible to deceptive movement whereas skilled participants were not; however, both skilled and novice participants were more conWdent on trials containing deceptive movement. The data suggest that the skill-level diVerence in sensitivity to advance visual information extends to deceptive information. The implications of this Wnding, and the importance of considering the underlying process of anticipation skill, are discussed.
Random
- Ken Clark’s Rebuttal to Dr. Michael Yessi’s article on horizontal vs vertical forces during sprinting - https://twitter.com/KenClarkSpeed/status/1023297199151693830
- MMA Dummy Prank – A representation of what happens when COD meets on-field agility
Grappling dummy prank □□ #Grappling #Wrestling #MMAUK #Prank pic.twitter.com/NXrJIyHYqd
— MMA UK □□ (@WeAreMMAUK) November 20, 2017
Books
- The Playmaker’s Advantage – Daniel Peterson & Dr. Leonard Zaichowsky
- Strength is Specific – Chris Beardsley
RSS Feed