Since 2006 the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has annually surveyed health and fitness professionals to get their views on exercise trends and fads. There is traditionally some tension between evidence-based innovations and media-driven trends, and so I’ve followed this large international survey with some interest. The list of what’s hot and (by omission) […]
I set up this 10th man blog with the hope that it might appeal to exercise professionals. So, when I contemplate what to write next, I obviously start thinking about exercise professionals which usually takes me off on another tangent – the thing is I’m not really certain what defines an exercise professional! So I […]
[ Sit down and prepare yourself for a little heresy. Just for a moment, can you take what you know, think and believe and leave it in this tray. Don’t worry it’s safe there and you’ll be able to pick it up on your way out. Our topic is size (muscle size) and it’s relationship […]
Although my academic interest in sports injuries goes back a long way I only really started thinking about return-to-play (RTP) practices after attending my club’s 125th anniversary. There I trailed one of my old teammates into a function; he was only a couple of years older than me but much bigger and stronger, and way […]
In all of the exercise professions, our work is largely based on a theoretical framework that I’ve always known simply as ‘The Principles of Exercise’ (POE). The POE offer us a logical and convenient means of explaining how and why we develop fitness and suggest a rationale for planning and structuring exercise and training programmes. […]
I’ve recently been involved with some research work around concussion in rugby union and the ‘Ryan Crotty’ story has kept surfacing during discussions, with different views coming from different groups of people. For international readers, or those not enamoured of rugby, Ryan Crotty is a 29-year-old veteran player for the All Blacks, the NZ national […]
Goals are for losers?? A few months back I read Scott Adams ‘How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big’ – what a great read! If the name is unfamiliar, Adams is the creator of the office- humour cartoon Dilbert, so you have to expect that he thinks in different ways. One statement, […]
Dealing with training fatigue Regardless of work setting, an exercise professional primarily focuses on stimulating physical or physiological adaptations through the cunning manipulation of exercise stressors.Achieving positive adaptations involves the somewhat vague challenge of trying to balance the complex interaction between work and recovery. Central to that task is fatigue – we are seeking to […]
I’ve recently been reading research papers on fatigue and workload and I’ve been intrigued by how much (or how little) we really understand about this crucial aspect of exercise, training and human performance. When I contemplate this work, I realise that I harbour ongoing concerns about how we approach some aspects of training and preparation. […]
Blurring lines For over 25 years I had the privilege of teaching two college courses; one on exercise prescription for fitness and health, and the other on strength and conditioning that focused on athletic populations. New research emerged, ideas and attitudes changed, and the content and style of those two courses changed substantially over my […]