Research Topic
Sports Science
100 articles
Your 1RM Tells You How Strong You Are. Rate of Force Development Tells You How Explosive You Actually Are.
Rate of force development (RFD) — the speed at which an athlete builds force — is the performance variable that separates equally strong athletes in explosive sports. Maximal strength and RFD are trainable qualities that require different protocols.
5 min read · 2026-10-27
You're Probably Underrecovering — And Training More Isn't Going to Fix It
Stalled performance is almost always a recovery problem misdiagnosed as a training problem. Here's the physiology of supercompensation and what actually drives adaptation.
4 min read · 2026-10-27
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
Cyclists Who Train at the Wrong Intensity Are Burning the Wrong Fuel. The Number That Exposes the Problem Is a Simple Ratio Between the CO₂ You Exhale and the O₂ You Inhale — and Most Athletes Have Never Measured It.
The respiratory exchange ratio (RER) reveals what fuel your body is burning at any exercise intensity. Learn how RQ and fat max testing work, what RER 0.70–1.00 means for training zones, and how to estimate your crossover point in the field.
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
The Adaptogen That Blunts Cortisol Without Dulling Performance: Rhodiola Rosea Explained
Rhodiola rosea reduces perceived effort and cortisol without sedation. Learn what the clinical data actually shows and how to apply it for training and recovery.
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
Pre-Sleep Nutrition: Glycine, Theanine and Overnight Recovery
Three nutritional compounds with controlled trial evidence for improved sleep quality in athletes: glycine (3g), L-theanine (200mg), and tart cherry concentrate (30ml twice daily). The mechanisms are distinct and complementary.
5 min read · 2026-10-20
Pregnancy Nutrition for Active Women: What Prenatal Advice Misses
Prenatal vitamins cover folate and iron. They don't cover the full picture of what an active pregnant woman needs — and the gaps in choline, DHA, and iodine have documented consequences for foetal neurodevelopment.
5 min read · 2026-10-20
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
Block Periodisation After 40: Modifying the Model for Masters Athletes
Masters athletes (40+) show measurably slower neuromuscular recovery, blunted anabolic hormone response, and increased connective tissue vulnerability. Standard 4-week accumulation blocks routinely exceed recovery capacity. Modified block periodisation with shorter mesocycles and higher deload frequency addresses these constraints.
5 min read · 2026-10-13
Phosphatidic Acid and mTOR: Hypertrophy Signalling Without Stretch
Phosphatidic acid activates mTORC1 through a lipid signalling pathway independent of mechanical load. Here is what the current evidence says for hypertrophy athletes.
5 min read · 2026-10-13
Phosphatidylserine and Cortisol: Blunting the Post-Training Stress Response
Discover how phosphatidylserine (PS) blunts the cortisol spike after intense training, protecting muscle and accelerating recovery. Evidence reviewed.
5 min read · 2026-10-13
Polarised vs Pyramidal Training: How Elites Distribute Intensity
Stephen Seiler's research transformed how we think about training intensity. Polarised, pyramidal, and threshold — the data on which distribution produces the fastest adaptations.
5 min read · 2026-10-13
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
Postpartum Return to Training: The Nutrition Science Most Athletes Ignore
Returning to sport after childbirth demands more than rest. Breastfeeding adds 500 kcal/day of demand, relaxin persists for months, and iron deficits compound. Here is the evidence.
5 min read · 2026-10-13
Power-to-Weight Ratio (W/kg): Why It Beats Raw Watts on Climbs
On gradients above 4%, power-to-weight ratio (W/kg) determines climbing performance — not absolute wattage. Optimising W/kg requires body composition changes that preserve power while reducing fat mass. Aggressive weight loss below a critical threshold risks power loss, RED-S, and performance decline.
5 min read · 2026-10-13
NMN and NR for NAD+: Does It Improve Athletic Performance?
NAD+ precursors NMN and NR are trending in sports science. Here's what the actual research says about aerobic capacity, mitochondrial function and recovery.
5 min read · 2026-10-06
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA) for Muscle Recovery: Dose and Evidence
Omega-3 fatty acids — specifically EPA and DHA — directly potentiate mTORC1-driven muscle protein synthesis independent of leucine intake. Most athlete nutrition protocols ignore this pathway entirely.
5 min read · 2026-10-06
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
Post-Activation Potentiation (PAP/PAPE): The Heavy Squat Before Sprinting
Post-activation potentiation (PAP) and post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) use a heavy conditioning exercise to prime the nervous system for explosive performance. Learn the mechanism, optimal rest window, and athlete selection criteria.
5 min read · 2026-10-06
Perimenopause and Resistance Training: Why Cardio and Calorie Cuts Backfire
Oestrogen withdrawal accelerates muscle loss 3–5%/year and shifts fat to visceral distribution. Resistance training reverses both. Here's the evidence and protocol.
5 min read · 2026-10-06
Melatonin for Jet Lag: The Timing Protocol That Actually Works
Melatonin timing is everything. A 1mg dose taken at the right circadian phase outperforms 10mg at the wrong time. For travelling athletes and shift workers, the difference is measurable in performance.
4 min read · 2026-09-29
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
Natural Muscle Gain Rate: How Much You Can Build Per Year
Lyle McDonald's rate model shows year 1 allows up to 1.1kg/month of lean mass; year 3+ drops to 0.2kg/month. Understanding the diminishing returns curve changes everything about training expectations.
5 min read · 2026-09-29
Most Marathon Runners Carry Either Too Many Gels or Too Few. The Calculation That Fixes This Takes About 90 Seconds.
Marathon energy gel count depends on finish time, not distance. A 4-hour marathoner needs 8–10 gels at 60g/hr. A 3-hour runner needs 6–7. The calculation is duration × carb rate ÷ gel carb content — and most runners skip it.
5 min read · 2026-09-22
Marathon Age Grading: How WMA Compares a 3:15 at 55 to 2:45 at 28
Age-graded performance factors let masters athletes compare times across age groups using World Masters Athletics tables. Here's the science behind age-adjusted marathon prediction.
5 min read · 2026-09-22
Iron Deficiency in Runners: Check This Before Blaming Overtraining
Iron deficiency without anaemia is missed by standard blood panels and accounts for a significant proportion of unexplained endurance fatigue. Here's what the research says and what to measure.
5 min read · 2026-09-15
Karvonen Formula: Why Heart Rate Reserve Beats %Max for Zone 2
Most training apps use %HRmax for zones. The Karvonen HRR method tracks VO₂ reserve more accurately. Here's the difference — and why it matters for your aerobic base.
5 min read · 2026-09-15
Fat Adaptation Is Real — But the Research on Keto and Endurance Performance Is Not What You've Been Told
Ketogenic diets produce genuine physiological adaptations in fat oxidation capacity. Whether those adaptations translate to improved endurance performance depends on which part of the effort curve you're measuring.
5 min read · 2026-09-15
L-Citrulline Malate for Cycling: The Nitric Oxide Evidence
Why L-citrulline outperforms L-arginine for nitric oxide production in cyclists — the eNOS pathway, urea cycle bypass, and 8g dosing protocol backed by Pérez-Guisado 2010.
5 min read · 2026-09-15
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
HMB Supplementation: The Specific Use Case for Muscle Protection
HMB supplements are marketed as muscle builders for everyone. The evidence says something quite different — and far more specific. Here is what the research actually shows.
5 min read · 2026-09-08
Most Athletes Are Measuring HRV. Most Athletes Are Measuring It Wrong. The Errors That Make Your Morning HRV Score Meaningless — and the Protocol That Makes It Actionable.
Heart rate variability (HRV) is the most accessible objective marker of recovery readiness. Learn the correct RMSSD measurement protocol, how to establish your baseline, what confounders destroy validity, and how HRV-guided training outperforms fixed programming.
5 min read · 2026-09-08
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
Intra-Workout Carbohydrate Dose: The 75-Minute Threshold
Intraworkout carbohydrate has minimal benefit under 60–75 minutes. Above that threshold, the dose-response becomes dramatic. Here's the evidence and the protocol.
5 min read · 2026-09-08
IPF GL Points: The Formula That Replaced the Wilks Score
The IPF replaced the Wilks score in 2019 with the GL coefficient. Discover why bodyweight extremes broke Wilks and how the new formula changes how we compare powerlifting strength.
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
Glycogen Depletion and the Bonk: The Carbohydrate Maths That Prevents It
The bonk — sudden catastrophic fatigue in endurance sport — is driven by hypoglycaemia and glycogen depletion triggering the central governor's protective shutdown. Exogenous carbohydrate from gels prevents it by maintaining plasma glucose and sparing muscle glycogen.
5 min read · 2026-09-01
Grip Strength as a Longevity Biomarker: The 140,000-Person Evidence
Grip strength is a stronger predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality than systolic blood pressure. Here is the science and what it means for athlete longevity.
5 min read · 2026-09-01
Elite Endurance Athletes Have a Measurably Different Gut. Here's What's in It — and Why It Matters.
Elite marathon runners carry significantly higher concentrations of Veillonella atypica — a bacterium that converts exercise-produced lactate into propionate, an additional fuel source. The gut microbiome is now a measurable performance variable.
5 min read · 2026-09-01
The Most Underused Component of Endurance Race Preparation Is Not a Training Session. It Is Practising Your Nutrition Protocol in Training — and Most Athletes Never Do It.
GI distress causes 30–50% of DNFs in ultramarathon events and is the most common non-musculoskeletal reason for performance decline in long-course triathlon. The gut is trainable — and training it requires deliberate practice with race-day nutrition protocols during training.
5 min read · 2026-09-01
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
Exogenous Ketones: What the Evidence Actually Shows for Athletic Performance
Ketone esters and salts are marketed as a fourth fuel source for athletes. The evidence is mixed, nuanced, and training-status dependent. Here is what Cox, Holdsworth and Dearlove actually found.
5 min read · 2026-08-25
Your Natural Muscle Ceiling Is Not Where You Think It Is — The Science of Genetic Potential
Every lifter eventually hits a progress plateau and wonders if they've reached their genetic ceiling. FFMI gives you an objective reference point — and most athletes are nowhere near it.
5 min read · 2026-08-25
First Energy Gel Timing: When to Take It in an Endurance Race
The optimal window for a first race gel is 20–30 minutes in — not at the gun, not when hunger signals arrive. Hunger is a lagging indicator of glycogen depletion, and by the time you feel it, your pace has already started to decline.
5 min read · 2026-08-25
Flywheel (Isoinertial) Training: Eccentric Overload Beyond 1RM
Flywheel devices match eccentric resistance to concentric force output — automatically delivering supramaximal eccentric loads that barbells cannot replicate. Here's the science.
5 min read · 2026-08-25
Foam Rolling Before a Run Does Not Improve Performance. But the Runners Who Skip It Pay a Different Price — and the Science Explains Both Sides of That Trade-Off.
Foam rolling produces measurable acute ROM improvements without strength loss — but the mechanism is neurological, not structural. Learn what the evidence shows about foam rolling for runners: when it helps, when it doesn't, and the optimal protocol.
5 min read · 2026-08-25
Genetic Potential and Trainability: What the HERITAGE Study Found
The HERITAGE Family Study trained 481 subjects identically for 20 weeks. VO2max gains ranged from 0% to 100%. The reason is gene-environment interaction — and it changes how we think about genetic potential.
5 min read · 2026-08-25
Glucose-Fructose Gels: Breaking the 60g Carb Absorption Ceiling
SGLT1 saturates at 60g/hr of glucose regardless of intake. Adding fructose engages GLUT5 — a separate transporter — allowing total carbohydrate absorption to reach 90g/hr. Only gels formulated with a 2:1 glucose:fructose ratio achieve this.
5 min read · 2026-08-18
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
Nordic Hamstring Curl: The Eccentric Exercise That Cuts Injury Risk 51%
The Nordic hamstring curl reduces hamstring strain injury by 51%. Here is the eccentric overload science and how to integrate it into any strength programme.
5 min read · 2026-08-18
Energy Gels vs Real Food in Ultra-Endurance Events: The Physiology Is Identical. The Practical Differences Are Not.
A banana and a 25g carbohydrate gel produce the same glucose response — the transporter physiology is identical. But real food in ultra-endurance events solves problems gels create: palate fatigue, appetite suppression, and psychological satiety at hour 8+.
5 min read · 2026-08-18
Taking an Energy Gel Without Water Isn't Just Uncomfortable — It Physiologically Delays the Carbohydrate Reaching Your Muscles. Here Is Exactly Why.
Energy gels are hypertonic solutions (600–900 mOsm/L) compared to plasma (290 mOsm/L). Without water, a gel creates an osmotic gradient that draws fluid into the intestinal lumen — slowing absorption, causing bloating, and triggering the nausea that ends races.
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
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
Dark Chocolate Flavanols and Cycling Performance: The Evidence
Cocoa flavanols and (-)-epicatechin boost endothelial nitric oxide production, improving oxygen delivery during cycling. Here's what the research actually shows.
5 min read · 2026-08-11
Muscle Memory and Myonuclei: The Cellular Mechanism of Retraining
Muscle fibres that have previously hypertrophied retain extra myonuclei even after atrophy from detraining. These persistent nuclei — the cellular basis of muscle memory — allow trained athletes to regain lost mass significantly faster than untrained individuals building from zero.
5 min read · 2026-08-11
DHA in Pregnancy: Why 200mg Is the Floor for Foetal Brain Development
Helland 2003 found +4 IQ points from maternal DHA supplementation. The foetal brain accumulates 30g of DHA in Q3. Most prenatal supplements are underdosed. Here's the evidence.
5 min read · 2026-08-11
The Dietary Inflammatory Index: Is Your Diet Fuelling Recovery or Systemic Inflammation?
The Dietary Inflammatory Index scores your diet on a -9 to +8 scale. Athletes with high-DII diets show elevated hs-CRP, impaired recovery, and blunted adaptation. Here is how to fix it.
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
Curcumin Bioavailability and DOMS: Why Delivery Form Decides Everything
Standard curcumin has under 1% bioavailability. Learn which delivery forms actually work for NF-κB suppression, DOMS reduction, and collagen support in athletes.
5 min read · 2026-08-04
Long Ride Fuelling: The Gel Protocol That Prevents the Bonk
A 75kg cyclist burning 750 kcal/hr on a 4-hour ride needs 180g exogenous carbohydrate to avoid glycogen depletion — that is 7–8 gels at 25g each. Most cyclists carry two or three. The deficit produces the bonk.
5 min read · 2026-08-04
Compound Interest in Athletic Development: Why 1% Gains Beat Overhauls
The mathematics of compound growth applies to training adaptation the same way it applies to financial returns. A 1% daily improvement compounds to 37× improvement over a year. The athletes who understand this build differently — and retain their gains longer.
5 min read · 2026-07-28
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
Conjugate Periodisation (Westside): Training Two Qualities at Once
Classical periodisation trains one quality at a time. Westside conjugate trains max force and explosive speed simultaneously. Here's the science and the weekly structure.
5 min read · 2026-07-28
Chronotype and Optimal Training Time: 6am vs 6pm Hormonal Profiles
Chronotype determines when your hormonal, neuromuscular, and cardiovascular systems peak. Learn how diurnal variation affects strength output, VO2max, and injury risk — and how to align your training schedule with your biological performance window.
5 min read · 2026-07-21
Adults Have Brown Fat. Cold Exposure Activates It. Here Is What That Actually Does to Body Composition.
Brown adipose tissue in adults burns energy through UCP1 uncoupling. Here is what cold exposure actually does to body composition and metabolic rate in athletes.
5 min read · 2026-07-21
Cold Water Immersion Recovers You Faster. It Also Blunts Hypertrophy. Here's When Each Outcome Matters.
Cold water immersion reduces DOMS and accelerates perceived recovery — but suppresses myofibrillar protein synthesis for up to 48 hours post-immersion. The decision to use CWI is a context-dependent trade-off, not a universal recovery tool.
5 min read · 2026-07-21
Cold Weather Exercise Physiology: How Winter Works Against You
Cold weather exercise reduces muscle power output at 2.5% per degree Celsius, increases breathing cost 10-15%, and triggers cold-induced diuresis. Understanding the physiology prevents both underperformance and danger.
5 min read · 2026-07-21
Collagen DIAAS Is Zero: Why Athletes Should Still Take It
Collagen contains no leucine and cannot stimulate muscle MPS. Yet it significantly boosts tendon collagen synthesis via a separate pathway. Here's the science behind the dual-supplement strategy.
5 min read · 2026-07-21
Collagen for Joint Health: Dosing, Timing and the Evidence Base
Collagen supplements are often dismissed as wellness marketing. But the specific protocol with evidence — gelatin + vitamin C, taken 60 minutes before exercise — is mechanistically distinct from general collagen powder use.
4 min read · 2026-07-21
Your Pre-Workout Caffeine Isn't Working — And the Reason Is More Interesting Than Tolerance
Caffeine tolerance reduces the ergogenic effect dramatically in habitual users — but the mechanism isn't what most athletes think. The dose, timing window, and cycling strategy determine whether it works at all.
5 min read · 2026-07-14
Carb Cycling: Training-Day vs Rest-Day Nutrition for Athletes
Carbohydrate cycling — varying carbohydrate intake based on daily training demand — optimises muscle glycogen on high-output days while improving fat oxidation on low-output days. The mechanism is GLUT4 translocation and post-exercise insulin sensitivity.
5 min read · 2026-07-14
Carbohydrate Loading Is Not Just 'Eating More Pasta'. The Protocol That Actually Maximises Race-Day Glycogen.
Muscle glycogen capacity is approximately 400–600g in trained athletes — but most reach race day at 60–70% of that ceiling. The modified carbohydrate loading protocol from Bergström 1967 onwards can push glycogen stores to true ceiling in 36–48 hours.
5 min read · 2026-07-14
Central Fatigue: How Tryptophan and Serotonin Stop You, Not Your Legs
Eric Newsholme's central fatigue hypothesis links endurance performance to brain serotonin synthesis. Here's the mechanism and what it means for your nutrition strategy.
5 min read · 2026-07-14
CGM for Athletes: What Postprandial Glucose Actually Tells You
Elite athletes are using CGM devices to reveal wildly different glucose responses to the same foods. The science of postprandial glucose variability and what it means for fuelling.
5 min read · 2026-07-14
Bone Density in Masters Athletes: Which Sports Protect and Which Do Not
Bone mineral density in masters athletes depends on exercise modality, not just training volume. Endurance athletes — particularly cyclists and swimmers — can have BMD comparable to sedentary individuals despite high training loads. Here is the mechanism and the fix.
5 min read · 2026-07-07
The Forgotten Mineral That Lowers SHBG and Raises Free Testosterone
Boron reduces SHBG, increases free testosterone, and potentiates vitamin D activation. Learn the evidence, food sources, and optimal supplementation protocol.
5 min read · 2026-07-07
Caffeinated Energy Gels Work Best in the Second Half of a Race — But Most Athletes Use Them Earliest. The Adenosine Science Behind Why Timing Is Everything.
Caffeine's ergogenic effect in endurance racing is most powerful when adenosine accumulation peaks — the second half of long events. Front-loading caffeinated gels wastes the effect and risks exceeding 400mg total dose across a race.
5 min read · 2026-07-07
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
Caffeine and Strength: The Neural Priming Effect Beyond Alertness
Caffeine raises motor cortex excitability and calcium sensitivity to deliver a 2–6% acute strength boost. Discover the neural mechanism and optimal dosing strategy.
5 min read · 2026-07-07
BDNF and Exercise: The Neurogenesis Mechanism, Specified
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) — the molecular mediator of exercise-induced neurogenesis — rises acutely with aerobic exercise and produces lasting structural changes in the hippocampus. The dose-response relationship and intensity threshold are now well characterised.
5 min read · 2026-06-30
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
Building Muscle at 20% of Your 1RM: The Physiology Behind Blood Flow Restriction Training.
Blood flow restriction (BFR) training produces equivalent hypertrophic stimulus to heavy resistance training at 20–40% of 1RM loads. The mechanism — cell swelling, metabolic stress, and mTORC1 activation — explains why every elite rehabilitation programme now includes it.
5 min read · 2026-06-30
Body Composition Measurement Accuracy: DEXA vs BIA vs Calipers
Every body composition measurement method carries systematic error. For athletes — where hydration, muscle density, and bone mineral density deviate from population norms — the error is larger than manufacturers state. Knowing the bias of your tool changes how you interpret the number.
5 min read · 2026-06-30
Why Body Fat Percentage Is a More Useful Health Marker Than BMI — and How to Measure It Without Expensive Equipment
BMI misclassifies approximately 30% of adults with metabolically unhealthy body composition. Body fat percentage, measured correctly, tells a more accurate story — and you don't need a clinic to get it.
5 min read · 2026-06-30
Alcohol and Women Athletes: Why the Same Drink Means 30% Higher BAC
Female athletes reach 30–40% higher BAC from identical alcohol intake due to gastric ADH differences, lower total body water, and hormonal enzyme interactions. Here's the evidence.
5 min read · 2026-06-23
Altitude Masks and VO₂max: What They Actually Train Is Your Breathing
Elevation training masks do not lower blood oxygen saturation or simulate altitude. But they do train inspiratory muscles — and that IS a real ergogenic. Here's the science.
5 min read · 2026-06-23
Android vs Gynoid Fat: Why Where You Store Fat Matters More Than How Much You Have
Two athletes with identical body fat percentages can have dramatically different cardiometabolic risk profiles. The difference lies in fat distribution: android (abdominal) vs gynoid (hip-thigh).
5 min read · 2026-06-23
Ashwagandha (KSM-66) and Cortisol: The RCT Evidence in Athletes
KSM-66 ashwagandha is one of very few adaptogens with proper randomised controlled trial data in athletes. Here is what the cortisol, strength and VO2max research actually shows.
5 min read · 2026-06-23
ACTN3 Genotype and Muscle Fibre Type: Sport Genomics' Strongest Finding
The ACTN3 R577X polymorphism is the most studied sports genomics variant — affecting Type IIx muscle fibre expression and influencing sprint vs endurance phenotype. Learn what the evidence shows about fibre type genetics, testing limitations, and training modifiability.
5 min read · 2026-06-16
Adaptive Thermogenesis: Why Your Caloric Deficit Stops Working at 8 Weeks
The body's metabolic response to sustained caloric restriction reduces total daily energy expenditure by 15–25% beyond what weight loss alone predicts. This isn't a calculation error — it's a documented physiological mechanism that defeats most long-term cut phases.
5 min read · 2026-06-16
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
Alcohol Has 7 Calories Per Gram. That's Not Even the Worst Part for Body Composition.
Alcohol's caloric density is the entry point. The bigger issue for athletes is how ethanol disrupts substrate oxidation, fat storage, and recovery — effects that persist well beyond the BAC returning to zero.
5 min read · 2026-06-16
Alcohol and Athletic Performance: What a Few Drinks Do to Recovery
Most athletes know alcohol isn't ideal for recovery. Few understand the specific mechanisms — or how little it takes to measurably impair the adaptations from a hard training session.
5 min read · 2026-06-16
Creatine Supplementation: The Complete Evidence Review
Creatine monohydrate is the most studied supplement in sports science. This is the full evidence base: loading protocols, the 20–30% vegetarian deficit, brain phosphocreatine, sarcopenia in over-55s, female-specific dosing, and why every "improved" formulation has failed head-to-head.
16 min read · 2026-04-06