In the dynamic world of professional ice hockey, the morning skate stands as a testament to the sport’s evolution. With about 80 years of history, this once-pragmatic session has transformed into a coach-driven, multi-faceted practice shaping the pre-game preparations of players. Yet, with changing coaching philosophies and a more nuanced understanding of player needs, theContinue reading “The Ice Hockey Morning Skate: Performance Enhancement or Superstition?”
Author Archives: Viktor Engman
Exercise Supplementation Unveiled: Creatine – History, Science, and Application
The second article in our exercise supplementation series will cover creatine. With its usage dating back to the mid-1800s,1 creatine is one of the most widely used and well-studied supplements on the market. Hereon, we will discuss its efficacy on sporting performance, and how one may use creatine in a practical setting. What is creatine?Continue reading “Exercise Supplementation Unveiled: Creatine – History, Science, and Application”
Exercise Supplementation Unveiled: Caffeine – Genetics and Non-Responders
In the previous article, the history and utility of caffeine in different sporting contexts were described. This text will go more in-depth into the mechanisms of how caffeine can improve performance and discuss individual differences in gene variants that affect caffeine metabolism. Mechanism of action Caffeine is an adenosine receptor antagonist, meaning that it preventsContinue reading “Exercise Supplementation Unveiled: Caffeine – Genetics and Non-Responders”
Exercise Supplementation Unveiled: Caffeine – History, Science, and Application
Promises of increased training effects, faster recovery, and improved performance – the jungle of nutritional supplements can be difficult to navigate. Whether a supplement “works” is not a binary assessment and is highly dependent on the context. Attempting to provide some clarity, this article will be the first of a multi-article series to discuss theContinue reading “Exercise Supplementation Unveiled: Caffeine – History, Science, and Application”
HIDIT: A Novel HIIT Protocol that Gets You Closer to Your Peak Performance
Interval training is an integral part of most serious athletes’ training regimes, but it can also be useful for those with less time to train to maintain fitness and performance. Intervals can be designed in a plethora of ways, some of which we have previously written about. This article will discuss an interesting interval trainingContinue reading “HIDIT: A Novel HIIT Protocol that Gets You Closer to Your Peak Performance”
How Do Top 5 Giro d’Italia Finishers Train?
The 2023 Giro d’Italia has come to an end. After over 85 hours of racing covering almost 3500 kilometres, Primož Roglič emerged victorious by a margin of 14 seconds over the runner up, Geraint Thomas.1,2 We have previously covered the physiological demands and energy expenditure of riding a Grand Tour. Instead, this piece will lookContinue reading “How Do Top 5 Giro d’Italia Finishers Train?”
The Physiology of Formula 1 Drivers: Fitness and Performance
Formula 1 – the pinnacle of motorsport, where success is determined by the combination of man and machine. There is little question about the importance of driving the fastest car, and like in other sports, the raw talent and ability to make the right decision at the right time are critical. Anyone that follows theContinue reading “The Physiology of Formula 1 Drivers: Fitness and Performance”
Exercise Prescription Methods – The Talk Test
When prescribing endurance training the two main variables that can be manipulated are duration and intensity. Whilst the former only requires a stopwatch, prescribing the ‘correct’ intensity can be a tricky task and ideally requires regular lab testing to determine the exercise intensity domains. Since most people do not have access to such equipment, variablesContinue reading “Exercise Prescription Methods – The Talk Test”
Optimising Sleep For Athletes
Sleep has been suggested to be the best recovery tool available to increase adaptations from training and improve performance in competition.1 Healthy adults are recommended to get between 7-9 hours of sleep per night. In contrast, aspiring athletes seem to benefit from up to 9-10 hours of sleep to reach their full potential.1 Despite theContinue reading “Optimising Sleep For Athletes”
Energy Expenditure During Giro d’Italia
A few weeks back, we published an article outlining the physiological demands of riding a grand tour; in conjunction with the start of the Giro d’Italia, this article will explore the energy expenditure and consumption during a grand tour, and also how it relates to performance over such an extreme endurance event. In the 2014Continue reading “Energy Expenditure During Giro d’Italia”
THE PACE 