Research Topic
Coach Education
23 articles
The Relative Age Effect: Why Your Birthday Determines Who Gets Scouted
Children born in January are dramatically over-represented in elite youth sport. This is the Relative Age Effect — and it is systematically discarding late-developing talent.
5 min read · 2026-10-27
The Athlete Who Eats Less to Perform Better Is Often the One Whose Performance Deteriorates Fastest.
RED-S — relative energy deficiency in sport — impairs performance across nine physiological systems simultaneously. The threshold is energy availability below 30 kcal per kilogram of fat-free mass per day, and it occurs in both male and female athletes across all sports.
5 min read · 2026-10-27
The 60-Second Rest Period Is the Most Reflexively Applied Recommendation in Resistance Training. The PCr Resynthesis Data Suggests It's Wrong for Most Goals.
Phosphocreatine (PCr) resynthesis reaches only 75% at 90 seconds post-set — the threshold for full replenishment is 3–5 minutes. Schoenfeld 2016 demonstrated that longer rest periods (3 min) produce significantly greater strength and hypertrophy gains than shorter rest (1 min) at equal volume.
5 min read · 2026-10-27
Heart Rate Lies in the Heat, After Illness, and in Overreaching. RPE Has Known This for 50 Years.
Heart rate is a physiological response to multiple variables — not a direct measure of training intensity. In heat, illness, overreaching, and dehydration, heart rate systematically overstates or understates effort. Session RPE captures what heart rate cannot.
5 min read · 2026-10-27
The 30-Minute Anabolic Window After Training Has Generated More Supplement Sales Than Scientific Evidence. The Meta-Analysis That Should Have Ended the Myth — and Why Total Daily Protein Still Matters More.
Schoenfeld & Aragon's 2013 review and 2017 RCT demonstrated that the 30-minute post-workout protein window is not a meaningful driver of hypertrophy when total daily protein intake is equated. Distribution across 4+ meals and per-meal leucine threshold matter more than peri-workout timing.
5 min read · 2026-10-20
Post-Exercise Hypotension: The 22-Hour Blood Pressure Drop
Post-exercise hypotension (PEH) reduces systolic blood pressure by 5–20 mmHg for up to 22 hours after a single session. The vasodilatory mechanism is well-characterised — producing effects comparable to low-dose antihypertensive medication.
5 min read · 2026-10-13
Overtraining Syndrome vs Functional Overreaching: How to Tell Them Apart
Overtraining syndrome (OTS) and functional overreaching (FOR) produce similar symptoms but require opposite responses. Misclassifying FOR as OTS — and reducing load when more recovery alone is insufficient — delays diagnosis and extends impairment.
5 min read · 2026-10-06
Menstrual Cycle Training: Follicular vs Luteal Phase Programming
Oestrogen and progesterone fluctuations across the menstrual cycle measurably alter strength, aerobic performance, thermoregulation, injury risk, and recovery timelines. Phase-based training periodisation adapts training intensity and volume to hormonal context rather than applying a uniform weekly structure.
5 min read · 2026-09-29
Nasal Breathing and CO₂ Tolerance: The Performance Evidence
The nose filters, humidifies, and — critically — produces nitric oxide that dilates airways and vasculature. Mouth breathing during submaximal exercise bypasses this system entirely, raising the anaerobic threshold earlier than necessary.
5 min read · 2026-09-29
Lightning Risk for Outdoor Athletes: The Evidence-Based Protocol That Could Save Your Life
Lightning kills approximately 2,000 people per year globally. Outdoor athletes are disproportionately represented. The 30-30 rule and NATA protocol explained with the physiology behind survival.
5 min read · 2026-09-15
Hypertrophy Mechanisms: Mechanical Tension vs Metabolic Stress vs Damage
Schoenfeld's 2010 three-mechanism hypertrophy model proposed mechanical tension, metabolic stress, and muscle damage as drivers of muscle growth. A decade of subsequent research has clarified which mechanisms dominate — and which have been overstated.
5 min read · 2026-09-08
Valsalva and Intra-Abdominal Pressure: Bracing for Spinal Stability
Intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) generated by the Valsalva manoeuvre increases spinal compressive load tolerance by up to 40%. Exhaling during the effort phase reduces IAP and undermines spinal stability at peak mechanical load. Understanding when and how to brace correctly is fundamental to safe heavy lifting.
5 min read · 2026-09-08
Iron Absorption: Haem vs Non-Haem and the Role of Hepcidin
Non-haem iron bioavailability is 1–20% depending on absorption promoters and inhibitors. Hepcidin — the master iron regulator — is elevated for 3–6 hours post-exercise, blocking intestinal iron absorption. Knowing this changes supplementation timing completely.
5 min read · 2026-09-08
Heat Acclimatisation: Plasma Volume Expansion and Cool-Weather Carryover
Two weeks of exercise-heat exposure expands plasma volume by 10–12%, lowers core temperature onset threshold for sweating, and reduces heart rate at equivalent workloads. These adaptations improve performance in both hot and temperate conditions.
5 min read · 2026-09-01
Early Specialisation in Youth Sport: The Dropout Evidence
Early sport specialisation before puberty triples overuse injury risk and is linked to higher burnout rates. The research case for delayed specialisation and multisport youth development.
5 min read · 2026-08-18
Textbooks Teach ATP-PCr, Glycolysis, and Oxidative Metabolism as Three Separate Systems. They Are Not. Understanding Why Changes How You Should Design Training Across All Sports.
The three energy systems operate simultaneously at all exercise intensities — the relative contribution shifts rather than switches. Gastin 2001 demonstrated that oxidative metabolism dominates by 75 seconds into maximal exercise — far earlier than most coaches assume. This changes training zone prescription across all sports.
5 min read · 2026-08-18
Exertional Rhabdomyolysis: The Training Day That Destroys Kidneys
Exertional rhabdomyolysis sends thousands of athletes to hospital annually. Understand the triad of risk factors, the cola-urine warning sign, and the CK threshold that demands immediate action.
5 min read · 2026-08-18
CYP1A2 Caffeine Genetics: Why Identical Doses Give Different Results
Caffeine half-life ranges from 1.5 to 9.5 hours in the general population — driven almost entirely by a single genetic variant. Most caffeine protocols are built as if this variability doesn't exist.
5 min read · 2026-08-11
Dietary Nitrate and Beetroot Juice: The Nitric Oxide Performance Evidence
Dietary nitrate from beetroot reduces the oxygen cost of exercise by 3–5% and improves time-to-exhaustion by up to 16–22%. The mechanism is bacterial conversion of nitrate to nitrite to nitric oxide in the oral cavity — which means mouthwash before competition eliminates the entire benefit.
5 min read · 2026-08-11
Concurrent Training Interference: AMPK, mTOR and Session Order
Endurance training activates AMPK, which phosphorylates and inhibits mTORC1 — the primary trigger for muscle protein synthesis and strength adaptation. Wilson's 2012 meta-analysis quantified the interference: strength gains are 35% smaller and lean mass gains are lower when endurance training is added to resistance training within the same session.
5 min read · 2026-07-28
Caffeine Sleep Cut-Off: Why 6 Hours Is Not Enough for Half of People
Caffeine consumed 6 hours before sleep reduces total sleep time by approximately 1 hour — but suppresses slow-wave sleep (the most restorative stage) even in subjects who fall asleep normally. The mechanism and individual variation have direct implications for athlete recovery.
5 min read · 2026-07-07
Beta-Alanine and Carnosine: The Buffer That Delays High-Intensity Failure
Intramuscular acidosis — the accumulation of H⁺ ions during anaerobic glycolysis — is a primary limiter in efforts lasting 1–10 minutes. Beta-alanine supplementation increases muscle carnosine, the principal intracellular buffer. Here is the mechanism and protocol.
5 min read · 2026-06-30
Alcohol Clearance: How Long After Drinking Is It Safe to Train?
The body eliminates alcohol at approximately 0.015% BAC per hour — a fixed enzymatic ceiling that caffeine, water, exercise, and sleep cannot accelerate. Understanding the Widmark elimination model tells an athlete exactly when their physiology is ready to train again.
5 min read · 2026-06-16