Using the Functional Movement Screen to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Training

The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of the FMS for evaluating changes in an individual’s movement following two training conditions.Lire la suite

Effects of different post-match recovery interventions on subsequent athlete hormonal state and game performance.

Progressing and excelling in sport is partly about the athlete effectively processing feedback, whether it is internal feedback that an athlete receives from sensory perception, external feedback as they watch video or technical information that is provided verbally. We often assume that once feedback is delivered then the change can be made. It sounds simple, however this is not the caseLire la suite

Recent Advances in the Rehabilitation of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries

With almost 200,000 Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries occurring annually in the United States and nearly half of them requiring reconstructive surgery, years of research have been conducted on this common orthopaedic surgery. Following the surgical procedure, the need for a scientifically based rehabilitation program and a well-designed return to sport plan are essential. This article provides the reader with a review of the recent advancements and treatment goals for a successful rehabilitation following ACL surgery.Lire la suite

Volume, intensity, and timing of muscle power potentiation are variable

Post-activation potentiation (PAP) is the enhancement in muscle force production that occurs following a conditioning activity involving submaximal or maximal muscular contractions. For example, a coach may prescribe a set of heavy back squats done at 90% of an athlete’s maximum followed by explosive jumps with the intent of eliciting greater force production in the jumps than would have been seen otherwise. While PAP has been well documented in controlled laboratory settings, supporting scientific evidence in real-world situations such as the weight room or field of play is more tenuous. Many experts argue that the underlying reason for this lack of evidence is due to the sensitivity of PAP to the loading parameters of the conditioning activity such as its timing, intensity and volume.Lire la suite

Positive Organizational Psychology in Sport: An Ethnography of Organizational Functioning in a National Sport Organization.

This is one of the first analyses that I have seen examining the functioning of an NSO from a psychological perspective. Even though the research was completed in Great Britain, I certainly think that the findings are relevant and applicable to any Canadian NSO or PSO as well as their ISTs.Lire la suite

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Consensus Statement on Periodic Health Evaluation of Elite Athletes, March 2009

There has long been debate about which aspects of the athlete “medical” should be included in the health assessment of the athlete, Recently, a group was convened by the IOC Medical Commission to critically evaluate the elements of history, physical examination and tests/ investigations that should be done in the setting of the elite athlete. The resulting Consensus Statement reflects the current international standard by which we should be both screening and monitoring our elite athletes.Lire la suite

Do foot orthoses change lower limb muscle activity in flat-arched feet towards a pattern observed in normal-arched feet?

Authors: Murley, G.S, Landorf, K.B., and Menz, H.B (2010).

Clinical Biomechanics, 25, 728-736.

Commentary by Allan Wrigley

The use of foot orthotics in Canadian sport seems to be on...Lire la suite

Agonist-Antagonist Paired Set Resistance Training: A Brief Review

This article is a review of the literature on the use of Agonist- Antagonist Pairing in resistance training. Agonist-antagonist pairing is the pairing of opposite muscle groups (e.g. elbow flexors/elbow extensors) or biomechanically dissimilar exercises (e.g. power cleans/incline bench press or bench press/pull-up) for the purpose of improving maximal strength and muscle power.Lire la suite

Low-Load High Volume Resistance Exercise Stimulates Muscle Protein Synthesis More Than High-Load Low Volume Resistance Training in Young Men

Muscle hypertrophy (increase in fiber size) is an important outcome of resistance training. Typical guidelines for developing muscle hypertrophy include repetitions in the range of 5-12 and loads in the range of 70-85% of 1 Repetition Maximum (RM). This type of loading mechanically stresses the muscle fiber and recruits the entire motor unit pool.Lire la suite