tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/sports-science-4407/articlesSports science – The Conversation2024-01-24T00:16:27Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2215912024-01-24T00:16:27Z2024-01-24T00:16:27ZSome Australian Open matches run extremely late. How would that impact player sleep and recovery?<p>For many Australians, January is synonymous with late nights spent watching the Australian Open tennis tournament. These night matches are a great spectacle, and many players consider the prime time slot on centre court as a privilege and reward for their hard work.</p>
<p>An early highlight of this year’s tournament was the men’s third seed Daniil Medvedev playing out <a href="https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/daniil-medvedev-emil-ruusuvuori-australian-open-339-am">a five-set thriller</a> against unseeded Emil Ruusuvuori, with the match finishing at nearly 4am. Less than 48 hours later, Medvedev followed this up <a href="https://ausopen.com/articles/news/medvedev-eases-past-auger-aliassime-sets-borges-clash">by winning his next round match</a>. </p>
<p>In Medvedev’s <a href="https://apnews.com/article/medvedev-late-australian-open-tennis-708e79d5b03b1d8f042e4b23f183cc88">post-match interview</a>, he discussed recovery and preparation strategies after the previous late-night finish. This included ice baths, medical treatment and physio work before finally going to bed at around 7am, managing to get five hours of sleep.</p>
<p>Similarly, the first round match for women’s number two seed, Aryna Sabalenka, didn’t start <a href="https://womensagenda.com.au/life/sport/defending-womens-champion-plays-just-before-midnight-at-australian-open-raising-scheduling-questions/">until almost midnight</a>.</p>
<p>As sleep scientists, we know limited and disrupted sleep opportunities can impact the body. So what do these late nights and lack of sleep mean for players’ recovery and performance?</p>
<h2>Why a lack of sleep is bad for your muscles</h2>
<p>The function of sleep is still not well understood, despite us spending close to a third of our life asleep. While we do know that sleeping less than six hours a night is linked to the increased risk of several <a href="https://doi.org/10.2337/dc09-1124">chronic diseases</a>, there is still much to investigate.</p>
<p>Several recent studies we’ve worked on have demonstrated the importance of sleep for optimal muscle function. For example, one night of <a href="https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.14660">sleep deprivation</a> (pulling an “all-nighter”) or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1113/JP278828">repeated nights of short sleep</a> actually impair the muscles’ ability to make new proteins, which is essential for repair and recovery.</p>
<p>Furthermore, other recent research suggests that a period of sleep loss (five nights, with four hours of sleep each night) can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2020.101110">reduce mitochondrial function</a> within your muscles. Mitochondria are known as the “powerhouses of the cell” and are responsible for producing the energy needed to exercise – and win a tennis match.</p>
<p>Therefore, the lack of sleep tennis players experience after such late-night finishes may well impact their recovery and subsequent performance.</p>
<h2>Sleep loss directly affects athletic performance</h2>
<p>It is well accepted that sleep loss negatively impacts cognitive function and decision making. While the data is not definitive, there are also several studies that show sleep loss <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2018.01.012">impacts athletic performance</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000003000">A recent study</a> in healthy young women accustomed to resistance exercise found that when they performed their weights session after several nights of restricted sleep, the quality and volume of their performance was reduced. The effort it took to complete the session increased, too.</p>
<p>Losing sleep is also detrimental to anaerobic power and skill execution – both of which are critical for Australian Open hopefuls. One study <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.07.002">found a decline in tennis serving accuracy</a> with only five hours of sleep, while another found a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07420520802551568">decline in maximal power output</a>. </p>
<h2>Exercise can help you sleep – but it depends</h2>
<p>It is a widely held belief <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/exercising-for-better-sleep">that exercise improves sleep</a>. However, falling asleep shortly after completing an adrenaline-fuelled, high-intensity tennis match is not always easy.</p>
<p>Indeed, a recent study investigated the impact of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsad099">high-intensity exercise on sleep quality</a>. When the high-intensity exercise was performed in the early afternoon, deep sleep was improved. But when participants exercised shortly before bed, their sleep quality diminished.</p>
<p>However, this effect also depended on whether the person was a morning lark or evening owl (scientists call this a chronotype). The sleep quality of evening types was unaffected by exercise in the evening.</p>
<p>When it comes to tennis stars, a late-night finish can also affect their circadian rhythm. By the time Medvedev or Sabalenka would have got to bed, their natural, tightly regulated internal clock would have been readying them to wake up. Such a misalignment between the body’s circadian rhythm and the body’s drive for sleep tend to result in disrupted, insufficient sleep. </p>
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<h2>Can players prepare to handle late-night matches?</h2>
<p>Some players have <a href="https://apnews.com/article/australian-open-late-matches-explainer-509cb3dab84762ae346a1c7fc7b3dfe4">voiced their concerns</a> regarding <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-03/australian-open-extended-late-night-finishes-thing-of-past/102927520">late-night matches</a>. But other players suggest it’s just <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/it-s-the-nature-of-the-beast-why-the-australian-open-can-t-avoid-late-nights-20240115-p5excn.html">part of the game</a>. So what can a player do to prepare for the sleep disruption?</p>
<p>Professional athletes have a number of strategies available. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17134650">napping has myriad benefits</a> for both cognitive function and physical performance.</p>
<p>A popular supplement, caffeine, has consistently been shown to improve physical performance and alertness. While endurance exercise has shown the largest performance benefits from caffeine, small to moderate improvements have been shown in muscle strength, sprinting, jumping and throwing performance.</p>
<p>However, caffeine can be detrimental to subsequent sleep. While athletes preparing for late matches might have an evening caffeine hit, the average Australian should avoid drinking coffee after 3pm.</p>
<p>Increasing sleep duration in the week leading up to late-night matches can also help. Studies have shown that sleep extension <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.08.035">increases tennis serving</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.1132">basketball free throw</a> accuracy almost 10%. Increasing sleep duration could really be the difference between hitting a winner or an unforced error. </p>
<p>It remains to be seen if athletes like Medvedev and Sabalenka will overcome their disrupted sleep and prevail at this year’s Australian Open. But there’s certainly an advantage to having a good night’s shut eye.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221591/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Saner receives funding from the Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Olivia Knowles does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Night matches at the Australian Open are a great spectacle, but sleep disruption is likely to wreak havoc even on professional athletes.Nicholas Saner, Post-doctoral researcher in sleep science, Victoria UniversityOlivia Knowles, High Performance Manager, Hawthorn FC, and Researcher, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2165892023-11-01T17:04:03Z2023-11-01T17:04:03ZThe best techniques for being a cricket fast bowler, according to science<p>Twenty years ago, Shoaib Akhtar became the <a href="https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/shoaib-akhtar-at-100-mph-126897">first person recorded to bowl at 100mph (161km per hour)</a> during the 2003 One-Day International Men’s World Cup match for Pakistan against England. There was an expectation afterwards that this feat would become a regular occurrence.</p>
<p>As humans have continued to run faster, throw further and jump higher, it was believed that this milestone would be a stepping stone consigned to history similar to Roger Bannister <a href="https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/hall-of-fame/first-sub-four-minute-mile">breaking the four-minute mile</a>. It was thought it might also act as a catalyst for serious worldwide improvement in fast bowling.</p>
<p>However, despite continuing improvement in the athletic ability of fast bowlers, the magical three-figure barrier has only been surpassed since by Brett Lee and Shaun Tait – and not for over ten years.</p>
<p>Has cricket fast bowling’s top speed stalled? During the current <a href="https://www.cricketworldcup.com/">2023 One-Day International Men’s World Cup</a> being hosted in India, only a handful of bowlers have produced speeds over 90mph (145km per hour), with the fastest being around 95mph (153 km per hour).</p>
<p>The performance of cricket fast bowlers almost entirely depends on two factors. The first is the amount of momentum developed in the run-up and maintained before the front foot contacting the floor. The second is the technique employed to generate and transfer momentum within the body <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_action#/media/File:Bowling_action.png">during the bowling phase</a> between the front foot contacting the floor and the release of the ball from the bowler’s hand. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jab/29/1/article-p78.xml">Previous research</a> has highlighted that the fastest elite male bowlers generate more momentum in their run-up, adopting a movement strategy that aims to maintain and transfer this momentum into the throw instead of generating additional momentum from their muscles.</p>
<h2>Testing the limits</h2>
<p>To investigate the limits of fast bowling performance, a <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0021929023003354">world-leading predictive musculoskeletal computer simulation model</a> of ten elite male fast bowlers (essentially a virtual clone of each bowler) was developed. It then optimised their technique to maximise the release speed of the ball. </p>
<p>Significantly, none of these bowlers were predicted by the computer model to break the 100mph barrier.</p>
<p>To understand why the top speed has stalled, it is important to consider how all the factors influencing human movement patterns affect the technique of fast bowlers. </p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00007256-200333040-00001">The behaviour of all our movement patterns</a> is shaped by three types of constraint. The first is organismic: these are constraints on the individual, such as their size, strength and range of motion. The second factor shaping movement patterns is the environment the individual interacts with, including the atmosphere, temperature, equipment and surfaces. The third shaping factor is the task, which involves constraints such as the goal of the activity, the rules and the intensity. </p>
<p>Our previous experiences of the movement – what we have seen, what we have been told and our previous performance of the movement – also affect individual technique in fast bowling.</p>
<p>The innate physiology of the fast bowler, an organismic constraint, provides the only potential area for development in fast bowling. The other constraints, such as environment and task, which often lead to scientific and technological development associated with improvements in other sports, are extremely limited in fast bowling. This is due to the lack of equipment and the simplicity of the activity.</p>
<p>The physiological aspect often considered to be associated with improvements in fast bowling performance is an increase in muscular strength, power and endurance. However, there’s a unique cricket bowling “task” constraint which requires bowlers to maintain a straight arm during the bowling phase. This significantly reduces the time available to complete the throwing movement. </p>
<h2>Explosive activation</h2>
<p>Elite males <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2018.1522700">complete the bowling phase in approximately 100 milliseconds</a>. This is similar to the time required to explosively activate a single muscle. This limits the ability of bowlers to develop additional momentum using their muscles in the bowling phase and neutralises the effect of strength increases on ball speed. </p>
<p>This explains why maximising momentum generated during the run-up is preferred over generating muscular momentum during the bowling phase. It also explains why fast bowling top speeds have not increased despite recent advances in fast bowlers’ athletic abilities.</p>
<p>Interestingly, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2018.1522700">research on women fast bowlers</a> has highlighted that bowlers who generate less momentum during the run-up and therefore have more time available to generate additional muscular momentum, adopt a movement pattern <a href="https://journals.assaf.org.za/index.php/sajsm/article/view/15080">more akin to throwing</a>. In this approach, the momentum generated in the run-up is added to via the use of large rotational torso muscles within the bowling phase. </p>
<p>Improvements to the performance of the large rotational torso muscles in men and women could possibly improve the generation of muscular momentum. But this approach is considered a sub-optimal technique by the research that’s been carried out on fast bowling.</p>
<p>A potential mechanism to increase the time available to develop more momentum from muscles would be to increase the range of motion that joints move through during the bowling phase. </p>
<h2>Joint ‘hypermobility’</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2023.2200520">Recent research has highlighted</a> that, on average, elite fast bowlers with an increased range of motion in the hip and shoulder had greater ball release speeds. It was also suggested that the bowlers’ techniques were probably influenced by their range of motion during their early learning years. </p>
<p>In addition, elbow hyperextension – where the joint travels beyond a straight position – <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2015.1137340">has been shown to increase the speed of ball release</a> by up to 5% during the bowling phase. A common misconception, however, is that taller bowlers will bowl faster due to the benefit associated with increased limb length.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, as limbs get longer, they get more difficult to rotate. As muscular strength does not scale equally with limb length this becomes a disadvantage. Thus, an optimal height for fast bowlers probably exists, though we don’t know what it is.</p>
<p>Organismic factors linked with increased ball speed such as body shape, size and hypermobility are largely genetic. Since human evolution is extremely slow, advances in ball release speed are likely to follow at a similar pace. </p>
<p>The 100mph barrier, therefore, should be viewed more as a mountain that requires a once-every-generation bowler to scale rather than a dam in a river. The potential of this peak to grow is limited by the constraints of the task and by our innate physiology.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216589/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Felton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Why the speed of fast bowling in cricket seems to have stalled.Paul Felton, Senior Lecturer in Biomechanics in the School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2133832023-09-13T08:46:11Z2023-09-13T08:46:11ZConcussion: what it is and how sports science is making rugby safer<p><em>Two decades ago there were only two criteria used to diagnose concussion. Jon Patricios, a sport and exercise medicine physician and co-lead author of the latest international consensus statement on concussion in sport, discusses the science of head injuries and some of the protocols adopted by World Rugby to make the game safer.</em></p>
<h2>What is concussion?</h2>
<p>Concussion is a traumatic brain injury that occurs as a result of a force that’s transmitted to the brain. It manifests as a functional change in the way the brain operates. Most are transient and resolve completely if recognised and managed appropriately. </p>
<p>Usually, we don’t see structural changes in the brain in the case of a concussion. In other words the brain scans look normal. And so what we have available to us, what I call the visible wound, is the changes in brain function. </p>
<p>That’s what we as medical professionals treating concussion look for, what we assess and what we manage. </p>
<h2>What are the obvious signs of concussion?</h2>
<p>Things like loss of consciousness, or a seizure, clear disorientation, or inability to walk or poor coordination. </p>
<p>When I started working with professional rugby players in 1995 as a rugby team doctor there were only two criteria which classified you as concussed. One was a loss of consciousness, and the other was amnesia (memory loss). We now have over 20 criteria that we look for including irritability, nausea, inability to concentrate, poor balance, emotional changes and heart rate. </p>
<p>The one thing medical science still doesn’t have for concussion is what we call biomarkers – like a blood test, or a saliva test, or an appropriate brain scan. Once developed, these would be able to tell you if there’s a concussion, how bad it is and whether it’s resolving. Research in these fields is increasing exponentially and I think we will see these commercially available in the next five years.</p>
<h2>What are the less obvious signs?</h2>
<p>Much of the time the signs are subtle. Things like changes in movement. There may be symptoms which you rely on the patient reporting. We break those symptoms and signs down into what we call domains, which means we look at various aspects of brain and body function.</p>
<p>Those include physical symptoms, like headaches and nausea. They also may include changes in balance, emotional changes, anxiety, concentration – those sorts of things. </p>
<p>They often include <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/cognitive-change">cognitive changes</a> like an inability to concentrate. Also what we call autonomic functions like heart rate, which might not be regulated properly, and blood pressure changes. </p>
<p>If one doesn’t take the athlete through a systematic approach one might miss some of the changes. </p>
<p>The other important thing is to “know the athlete” – understand what they are like before and injury. Evaluating the player before the season starts so you have a better understanding of how that player normally operates.</p>
<h2>A player is knocked out cold on the field. What are the next steps?</h2>
<p>The first thing is to treat it as you would any serious injury. And that’s to make sure the player is still <a href="https://www.physoc.org/explore-physiology/what-is-physiology/">functioning physiologically</a>: the airways are open, they are breathing and their circulation is adequate. That’s the “ABC” of emergency medicine.</p>
<p>The second thing is to see if there are any serious injuries. For example, if the player has a neck injury. So you protect the airway and you protect the neck.</p>
<p>The next important aspect is to remove the player from further danger. You get them off the field where you can better assess them and monitor recovery, in an ordered, controlled, quieter medical space. </p>
<p>From there, you will work through your systematic evaluation, and assess which areas are most likely to have been affected. </p>
<p>You will repeat that evaluation within an hour or two and then within another day to see how they are improving (or not).</p>
<h2>Often long rest periods are prescribed. Why?</h2>
<p>As with every injury, there’s a spectrum of concussions and probably every one is slightly different. </p>
<p>You might have had a more severe injury, a high impact, with a player who is highly symptomatic, and has a number of domains that manifest. Not just their physical symptoms, but their concentration, their emotions and their balance.</p>
<p>Long periods of rest might not necessarily be appropriate. So what we’ll talk about is longer periods of relative rest, where you don’t cocoon them but allow them to continue with activities of daily living and then purposefully incorporate exercise within 72 hours. We actually expose them to exercise gradually but early, but at a lower intensity. It has been shown to actually speed recovery if you introduce gradual exercise in an appropriate way, early in the recovery stage.</p>
<h2>Do the rules make the game safer now? Is it safe enough?</h2>
<p>The rules <a href="https://www.world.rugby/the-game/player-welfare">have changed</a> to improve identification of concussions and player safety.</p>
<p>In most collision sports, a player is obliged to go through a specific process before being allowed to return to the field. And these processes in the professional game have to be documented, and submitted before that player is allowed back. </p>
<p>The laws have been driven by the science behind concussion, which is encouraging. </p>
<p>Is it safe enough? Well, in collision sports you can never take concussions out of the game. Because as long as there’s a potential to be involved in a tackle or to be hit by a fist there’s the risk of injury. But safety awareness is higher than it’s ever been, and our protocols are evidence-based and more robust.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213383/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jon Patricios is a Board member of the Concussion in Sport group and medical advisor to SA Rugby, World Rugby, UEFA and the NFL (all unremunerated)</span></em></p>Rugby players risk serious injury due to the game’s sheer physicality. Sports scientists have worked with international rugby bodies to improve safety.Jon Patricios, Professor of Health Sciences, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2112902023-09-05T17:03:25Z2023-09-05T17:03:25ZRugby World Cup: why hamstring injuries are so prevalent in the sport<p>With the men’s <a href="https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/2023/">Rugby World Cup</a> in France almost upon us, the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/66433689">risk of injury</a> during the summer warm-up games has been a serious concern for coaches and players.</p>
<p>While injuries are a feature of any contact sport, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37495222/">our new research</a> shows that the imbalance in size between the quadriceps and hamstrings muscle groups is greater in rugby players than those of active people who don’t play the sport, which increases the risk of injuries, even in training.</p>
<p>Soft tissue injuries, particularly hamstring injuries, have already ruled several players out of the World Cup, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/may/18/ben-curry-world-cup-campaign-with-england-dashed-by-hamstring-injury-rugby-union-sale-saracens">raising questions</a> about why such incidents are so common. </p>
<p>The lower leg is the most susceptible part of the body to injuries during a rugby match. And hamstring strains are the most common, contributing to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34637371/">15% of all injuries</a> in rugby union. </p>
<p>In the previous Rugby World Cup in 2019, hamstring injuries were the second most common match injury after concussion and accounted for <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36818969/">nearly 50%</a> of all missed training or playing days. They have been reported as the <a href="https://www.englandrugby.com/dxdam/96/960006d9-269d-4250-a15f-d9e62f8bfe70/PRISP_1718.pdf">most common injury</a> during rugby training too. </p>
<h2>Anatomy of the hamstring muscles</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://teachmeanatomy.info/lower-limb/muscles/thigh/hamstrings/">hamstrings</a> consist of three muscles running along the back of the thigh, from the hip down to just below the knee. Pushing these muscles beyond their limits through stretching or overloading can lead to painful injuries, with the muscles potentially tearing. </p>
<p>Hamstring strains are particularly prevalent in activities involving running, jumping, sudden stops and starts. The risk of injury increases with age and people with a history of hamstring injuries are at higher risk of experiencing repeat occurrences. </p>
<p>Fatigue and muscle weakness also increase the chances of injury, while inflexible or shorter hamstring muscles struggle to bear the force required for certain movements. Muscles often work in pairs and some experts believe that an <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22763118/">imbalance</a> between the quadriceps muscles at the front of the thigh and the hamstring muscles at the back could also contribute to the problem.</p>
<p>To tackle this growing concern, we examined the behaviour and structure of these muscles in rugby union players and compared them with people who were active and exercised, but didn’t play rugby.</p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37495222/">We discovered</a> that the hamstring muscles of rugby players showed greater stiffness compared to the other group. This is not surprising as muscle stiffness is associated with explosive movements such as sprinting, jumping and contact actions, which are all common in rugby training and match play.</p>
<p>Muscle volume is related to the muscles’ ability to exert force. So, as expected, our MRI analysis showed that the quadriceps muscles at the front of the thigh were significantly larger in rugby players relative to body size. </p>
<p>But what was surprising were the findings that there was no discernible difference in the relative size or volume of the hamstring muscles between the two groups. This contradicts <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20453429/">previous research</a> which suggested that the relative size of hamstring muscles tends to be larger in strength and power sport athletes, such as rugby, compared to endurance sport athletes and non-athletes. </p>
<p>But our research points to an interesting discrepancy – rugby players displayed an imbalance in size between their quadriceps and hamstring muscles. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1696902331386806578"}"></div></p>
<p>Our findings suggest that rugby players could face a higher risk of experiencing hamstring muscle strains, with both increased stiffness of the hamstring muscles and the imbalance between the size of the muscles at the front and back of the thigh playing a role. </p>
<p>Even among amateur rugby players, the process of preparing for and participating in rugby could potentially lead to less flexible hamstring muscles and larger quadriceps muscles relative to the hamstrings. This, in turn, might emphasise the need to focus on developing the size (and therefore, by design, the strength) of the hamstring muscles, which could address the imbalance. </p>
<h2>Is there a solution?</h2>
<p>A strategy to prevent hamstring injuries should work on reducing the factors that make the risk higher. For instance, it’s important to keep an eye on older athletes and those with previous hamstring injuries, and manage fatigue appropriately. </p>
<p>Encouraging athletes to have a comprehensive warm-up routine is also crucial. When muscles warm, they become more elastic, which might help them handle strain better and potentially prevent tearing. </p>
<p>While we are not entirely sure if stretching before an activity can really lower the injury risk, adding controlled, dynamic stretches to the warm-up might be beneficial, especially if they match the movements used during the sport.</p>
<p>A modern approach involves including exercises in players’ training routines that strengthen. But such exercises should not merely aim to increase muscle size, strength and power. Instead, they should focus on improving flexibility, enhancing the stability of core muscles and strengthening the hamstrings while they are being lengthened. </p>
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<p>An example of this is the <a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a27030999/nordic-hamstring-curls-injury-prevention/">Nordic hamstring exercise</a>, which involves kneeling on a pad (for knee comfort) and lowering your torso slowly towards the floor with control. This exercise has been suggested to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30808663/">cut the rate</a> of hamstring injuries in half among athletes in team sports. </p>
<p>However, some experts have <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34520846/">raised doubts</a> about how effective these exercises really are, and not many teams seem to be adopting these measures. This might be due to the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25995308/">delayed soreness</a> that can come with these exercises.</p>
<p>So, how to reduce hamstring injuries in sports such as rugby remains unclear. And alleviating this problem during the upcoming Rugby World Cup will be difficult – the fatigue from the increased intensity of matches in a concentrated period of time means that managing risk will be problematic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211290/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gokhan Yagiz received funding from the Republic of Türkiye, Ministry of National Education. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Owen receives funding from Bangor University and World Rugby. </span></em></p>New research shows that rugby players’ hamstrings are stiffer than active people who don’t play rugby.Gokhan Yagiz, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Kinesiology, East Carolina UniversityJulian Owen, Lecturer in Sport & Exercise Physiology, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1888232022-09-16T01:46:39Z2022-09-16T01:46:39ZThis finals season, a brief ‘priming’ workout could boost performance on the sports field and beyond<p>As humans, it is in our nature to want to do better, find that edge and succeed. This couldn’t be truer than in sport, where winning and losing are often separated by <a href="https://7news.com.au/sport/olympics/australian-hurdler-liz-clay-misses-100m-final-at-tokyo-olympics-by-just-08-seconds-c-3567965">tenths of a second</a>, a successful <a href="https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/afl-finals-live-brisbane-aim-to-banish-finals-demons-in-elimination-blockbuster-against-richmond-c-8085824">score attempt in the dying stages of a game</a>, or a split-second decision. </p>
<p>So, there is always a need for effective and legal strategies to boost performance. “Priming” is a tool <a href="https://www.scienceforsport.com/gym-based-primer-sessions-1-2-days-before-a-game-do-they-work/">attracting more and more interest</a> from athletes, coaches and scientists. </p>
<p>The good news is it is not just for elite athletes. </p>
<h2>Not just a warm-up</h2>
<p>Priming, also called “morning exercise”, “pre-activation” or “pre-competition training”, has attracted renewed interest among scientists in recent years. Many sporting teams are already on the ball, with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1440244019307170?via%3Dihub">more than half of coaches using priming</a> to help their athletes gain a performance advantage. </p>
<p>Typically, a relatively brief and non-tiring bout of exercise is performed the day before or on the morning of a competition – somewhere between <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-019-01136-3">one and 48 hours beforehand</a>. This stimulus to the muscles results in “<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33135577/">delayed potentiation</a>”. That is, the muscles can perform better after several hours of rest than they would have without the priming exercise. </p>
<p>In contrast, a warm-up takes place much closer to competition. What’s interesting is the benefits of priming are much longer-lasting than those typical of warm-up activation strategies. This is perplexing because we know that increases in <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-015-0376-x">muscle temperature, metabolism and the nervous system potentiation</a> with warm-ups return to baseline levels within minutes. </p>
<p>Warm-ups remain important but priming sessions could provide an additional edge. Sports scientists have reported improvements in running, jumping, throwing and weightlifting ability by as much as <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/11/6/article-p763.xml">4%</a>. This might not seem like a lot, but it’s crucial when the difference between winning and losing can be measured in fractions of a percentage point. The physiological mechanisms that cause the priming effect are not yet well understood, but neuromuscular and hormonal changes have been <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/11/6/article-p763.xml">suggested</a>.</p>
<p>And it may not be only muscles that benefit. Researchers have long known priming exercise can improve weightlifting performance <a href="https://paulogentil.com/pdf/Precompetition%20training%20sessions%20enhance%20competitive%20performance%20in%20high%20anxiety.pdf">in anxious athletes</a>. More recent research reinforces the idea priming activities can help <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/14/7/article-p918.xml">athletes’ psychological state and stress levels</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1360226377539141632"}"></div></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-the-spate-of-super-fast-sprints-at-the-tokyo-olympics-technology-plays-a-role-but-the-real-answer-is-training-165737">What's behind the spate of super-fast sprints at the Tokyo Olympics? Technology plays a role, but the real answer is training</a>
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<h2>Finding time to play, train and prime</h2>
<p>Very few of us are elite, full-time athletes. Finding time to train and compete, even at a community or sub-elite level, is hard – let alone making extra time for additional priming sessions. But priming exercises can be done with minimal equipment in minimal time. </p>
<p>Basic exercises such as squats and bench presses with relatively heavy weights (around 85% of your maximum capacity) <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-019-01136-3">for just a few repetitions</a> are enough to boost performance later that day. </p>
<p>Don’t have a rack of weights lying around? That’s OK. Explosive body-weight activities such as a few short <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26658460/">sprints</a> or <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28291764/">jumping</a> still have the potential to boost athletic performance. Stronger people <a href="https://www.thieme-connect.de/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/a-1898-4888">seem to respond better to priming</a>, likely because they <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2022/01000/Influence_of_Strength_Level_on_Performance.6.aspx">recover more quickly</a> from exercise.</p>
<p>Ideally, pick an activity that uses the same muscle groups you will use during your sport, and do the priming exercise <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31203499/">six to 33 hours before your event</a>, as this seems to offer the most benefit and practicality. And remember, more is not better. You may be able to incorporate your priming session into your existing training regime.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="man does squat exercise in gym" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483944/original/file-20220912-14-k9qpi9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A priming workout doesn’t have to be as strenuous as normal training.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.pexels.com/photos/4164465/pexels-photo-4164465.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&w=1260&h=750&dpr=2">Pexels/Ivan Samkov</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<h2>I don’t play sport – what’s in it for me?</h2>
<p>Priming doesn’t just apply to sport; it may help in the gym and with learning new skills. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1440244013001035">2014 study</a> showed bench-press and squat performance was greater in the afternoon if they were used as priming exercises that same morning. </p>
<p>And ten to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise may <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6920172/">improve reaction time, memory and attention</a>. Moderately intense cycling has been shown to help musicians <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.825322/full">learn the piano</a>. However, these changes appear more immediate and short-lived than those that relate to athletic performance, taking effect and lasting minutes rather than hours.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cant-get-your-teen-off-the-couch-high-intensity-interval-training-might-help-185033">Can't get your teen off the couch? High-intensity interval training might help</a>
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<h2>What we still don’t know</h2>
<p>There are still questions to be addressed when it comes to priming. </p>
<p>Could priming be useful in sports like rugby, football and basketball? These sports require multiple high-intensity efforts, coupled with dynamic decision-making to score and beat an opponent.</p>
<p>More research is also needed to work out what’s happening in the body and what exercises should be done when for the most effective priming. As researchers, we’re exploring the effect of different priming routines on muscular strength and power, as well as repeat sprint performance and reaction time in strength athletes and football players. </p>
<p>In particular, weightlifting protocols that provide strong stimulation, but minimise fatigue, seem promising. We expect the findings will be useful for coaches and athletes who want to improve athletic performance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188823/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Latella receives funding from the National Strength and Conditioning Foundation</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Krissy Kendall receives funding from National Strength and Conditioning Foundation </span></em></p>The muscle benefits of a brief ‘priming’ workout seem to last longer than a last-minute warm up.Christopher Latella, Lecturer, Master of Exercise Science (Strength and Conditioning), Edith Cowan UniversityKrissy Kendall, Lecturer of Exercise and Sports Science, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1893172022-09-02T16:32:44Z2022-09-02T16:32:44ZHow the Premier League’s wealth funded a revolution in training technology<p>The English Premier League (EPL) celebrates its <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/61922723">30th season</a> this year, and much has changed since the league’s inception in 1992. For many long-time fans, the period may well be defined by the influx of money into the sport, with <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/annual-review-of-football-finance.html">player wages</a> ballooning, <a href="https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/british-transfer-record-broken-fees-signings">transfer records</a> toppling, and <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a1e3ef0a-cedf-487a-9b66-7474332ca835">broadcasting deals</a> reaching into the billions of pounds.</p>
<p>Some of this wealth has been used to impose major technological enhancements on the league, including the <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/season-review/the-football/1747764?articleId=1747764">video assistant referee</a> (VAR), <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/news/60519">goalline technology</a>, and <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/news/60519">vanishing spray</a> applied to the playing surface by the referee to indicate where set plays should be taken from. Meanwhile, increasingly advanced player tracking systems have given commentators and pundits access to team performance metrics in ever more granular <a href="https://talksport.com/football/1170827/erik-ten-hag-man-united-brentford-premier-league-training-session/">detail</a>.</p>
<p>These changes have <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.192026">improved the accuracy</a> of refereeing decisions and the quality of pundits’ player analysis. But it’s less obvious how training technology and sports science is being used behind the scenes, in and around club training grounds, to improve the quality of the product itself: the football on the pitch.</p>
<p>Having worked in elite football myself, I’ve seen how clubs have used their new riches to produce more athletic players and more entertaining teams. Before you scoff that football’s not all it once was, it’s worth considering how these changes, funded by lucrative TV and sponsorship deals, have made the EPL such an <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1536504216628849">internationally cherished</a> sporting spectacle.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Launched in 1992, the Premier League promised to be ‘a whole new ball game’.</span></figcaption>
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<p>It’s often argued that the EPL is the most <a href="https://global.espn.com/football/english-premier-league/story/4688754/premier-leagues-top-stars-face-exhausting-start-to-2022-23-season">physically demanding</a> league in world football, and that the athleticism demanded of players has increased over time. Top teams that take part in European competition now play up to 60 games per season, about ten more than they did 20 years ago. Training time has increased too, so that overall the modern player completes <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26746908/">2.5 times as much</a> “work” as elite players did 15-20 years ago. </p>
<p>To meet the demands of the modern game, players at the highest level have had to relentlessly train their <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/24748668.2020.1746555">physical attributes</a>. That training is augmented by advances in technology, with elite teams now having access to a myriad of <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/FullText/2018/06000/The_Current_Use_of_GPS,_Its_Potential,_and.9.aspx">player tracking</a>, <a href="https://research.tees.ac.uk/en/publications/fitness-testing-in-soccer-revisited-developing-a-contemporary-tes">monitoring</a> and <a href="https://research.tees.ac.uk/en/publications/fitness-testing-in-soccer-revisited-developing-a-contemporary-tes">testing</a> technologies that barely existed in 1992.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/premier-league-training-gps-vests-statsports-coronavirus-lockdown-a9485676.html">GPS technology</a> is now used routinely, with players’ match and training activity recorded and analysed each day to ensure that they work at an appropriate level, to promote the beneficial effects of training, and to track excessive fatigue and injury risk. In the 1990s and 2000s, coaches simply couldn’t monitor their players in this way. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Most Premier League teams now use GPS vests.</span></figcaption>
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<p>It’s not just the first team that benefits. The tracking process now starts in club academies, when players are in their teenage years, so that clubs have extensive information on each promising player as they progress through the <a href="https://research.tees.ac.uk/en/publications/mind-the-gap-a-comparison-of-the-weekly-training-loads-of-english">ranks</a>.</p>
<h2>Bespoke programmes</h2>
<p>Many clubs also use bespoke online platforms to analyse other aspects of player health. These systems can track fatigue and muscle soreness, players’ sleep, their nutritional status, and their psychological wellbeing. <a href="https://www.kitmanlabs.com/modern-analytics-for-football-associations/">Trends are monitored closely</a>, often using machine learning techniques. </p>
<p>Training technologies that players could only previously access in the lab are now embedded in EPL club training grounds. That means that coaches and performance experts can individualise training for each player, optimising their schedule so that they make the most of their physical attributes while avoiding injury. </p>
<p>This relies on highly trained staff. Since 1992, the volume of football-specific scientific research has <a href="https://europepmc.org/article/MED/23978109">increased exponentially</a>, removing some of the intuition and guesswork previously used by coaches. Clubs have invested heavily in their staffing infrastructure, with more science, medical and fitness staff employed to optimise everything from travel arrangements to sleep schedules.</p>
<h2>A more beautiful game</h2>
<p>As a result of this innovation, the intensity of the work that players complete in matches has increased. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25009969/">One study</a> compared the match activity of EPL players in the 2006-07 season against the 2012-13 season. While the total distance covered by players had only increased by a modest 2%, the study found a large increase in high-intensity actions. </p>
<p>Specifically, in just six years the amount of high-speed running (the distance that players run at a speed over 19.8 km/h during a game) had increased by 30% and “sprints” (distance covered at a speed over 25.2 km/h) had increased by 35%. The number of sprints players performed had increased by 85%, suggesting that the game has become far more explosive. This trend has likely continued over subsequent seasons.</p>
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<img alt="A premier league footballer sprinting" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481793/original/file-20220830-24-t37olj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481793/original/file-20220830-24-t37olj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481793/original/file-20220830-24-t37olj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481793/original/file-20220830-24-t37olj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481793/original/file-20220830-24-t37olj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481793/original/file-20220830-24-t37olj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481793/original/file-20220830-24-t37olj.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Explosive sprints have become a hallmark of the modern game.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kharkiv-ukraine-october-22-2018-gabriel-1222778107">Oleksandr Osipov/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Notably, the top speed of elite players was found to be 2% faster, which explains the increase in <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/8/2/article-p148.xml">high-intensity actions</a>. And it’s not just sheer athleticism that has improved. The technical performance of EPL players has too, with the number of successful passes having improved by 7% in the period between 2006 and 2013.</p>
<p>It’s perhaps little wonder that the EPL continues to attract many of the world’s best players, coaches and managers. High wages will also play a part, but access to world-class facilities, informed by cutting-edge research, will entice those with a desire to reach the pinnacle of their game.</p>
<p>The effects of modern training technology may have been most profound for England’s homegrown talent. Since 2012, all 28 of England’s national teams have trained at <a href="https://www.thefa.com/about-football-association/st-georges-park">St George’s Park,</a> a state-of-the-art facility that makes use of all the innovations introduced at club level. The recent progress of the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62370131">women’s</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/51198762">men’s</a> national teams must, in part, be ascribed to their access to these facilities.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The facilities at St. George’s Park are among the best in the world.</span></figcaption>
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<p>With the EPL’s revenue forecast to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a1e3ef0a-cedf-487a-9b66-7474332ca835">increase further</a>, we can only speculate where the league and football in general will go in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/sms.13681">30 years’ time</a>. What’s certain is that, for all the complaining about player wages and transfer fees, some of this money will be used to make clubs more competitive, and to further enhance the spectacle that is the English Premier League.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189317/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Taylor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Player wages and transfer fees make the headlines, but the wealth generated by the Premier League has also been spent behind the scenes.Jonathan Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise, Teesside UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1860882022-06-30T14:25:25Z2022-06-30T14:25:25ZWinning the Tour de France requires subtle physics, young muscles and an obscene amount of calories – 3 essential reads<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471684/original/file-20220629-15-kvfn1y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C52%2C2992%2C2053&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Last year's Tour de France winner was Tadej Pogacar, in the yellow jersey here – his second consecutive Tour title.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/tadej-pogacar-followed-by-jonas-vingegaard-during-the-climb-news-photo/1234302769?adppopup=true">SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.letour.fr/en/">2022 Tour de France is here</a>. Starting in Copenhagen on July 1, the tour <a href="https://www.letour.fr/en/overall-route">covers almost 2,100 miles (3,380 kilometers)</a> over 24 days of riding through Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and France. The tour is a feat of human athleticism, but to really understand how incredible it is to complete the race – much less win it – requires thinking about a unique blend of physics, biology and physiology. Mix those up just right and you get a Tour de France champion.</p>
<p>Over the years, The Conversation has published a series of stories covering the science of the Tour de France and elite athletics. Below are excerpts from three of those stories to help you better appreciate this spectacular race.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471687/original/file-20220629-22-3rg1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A wood engraving of two people riding old-school big wheel bikes." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471687/original/file-20220629-22-3rg1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471687/original/file-20220629-22-3rg1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471687/original/file-20220629-22-3rg1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471687/original/file-20220629-22-3rg1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471687/original/file-20220629-22-3rg1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471687/original/file-20220629-22-3rg1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471687/original/file-20220629-22-3rg1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Bicycles have changed a lot since they were first invented in the early 1800s, but the principles of keeping the bike below the rider’s center of gravity remain the same.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_American_Velocipede.jpg#/media/File:The_American_Velocipede.jpg">Theodore R. Davis / Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
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<h2>1. The biomechanics of riding a bike</h2>
<p>Riding a bike is an easy thing to do once you learn, but the physics of how bikes and riders work together is surprisingly complicated. As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7XdBQfAAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Stephen Cain, a mechanical engineer</a> at West Virginia University, explains, “A big part of balancing a bicycle has to do with controlling the center of mass of the rider-bicycle system.” Basically, you have to keep the center of mass above the wheels – otherwise you tip over. </p>
<p>“Bicycle riders can use two main balancing strategies: steering and body movement relative to the bike,” says Cain. Steering keeps the bike underneath you while body movements subtly shift your center of gravity. Cain and his colleagues ran a study to understand the difference between how novice and professional cyclists balance a bike, and as he says in his article, they found that “both novice and expert riders exhibit similar balance performance at slow speeds. But at higher speeds, expert riders achieve superior balance performance by employing smaller but more effective body movements and less steering.” </p>
<p>This fine-scale control is why the racers in the Tour de France barely look like they are steering at all. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-mysterious-biomechanics-of-riding-and-balancing-a-bicycle-55093">The mysterious biomechanics of riding – and balancing – a bicycle</a>
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<h2>2. How many calories do Tour riders burn?</h2>
<p>Think back to the last time you did some hard exercise and how hungry you were that evening. Now imagine how hungry you would be if you needed to ride your bike over 100 miles (165 km) and climb nearly 10,000 feet (about 3,050 meters) of elevation in less than five hours. This is what racers will have to do during Stage 12 of this year’s race as they traverse mountain passes through the French Alps. As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=eHzYy_EAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Eric Goff, a sports physicist</a> at the University of Lynchburg explains, the cyclists are going to need a lot of fuel to pull this off. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471689/original/file-20220629-26-6ezm1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A pile of hamburgers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471689/original/file-20220629-26-6ezm1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471689/original/file-20220629-26-6ezm1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471689/original/file-20220629-26-6ezm1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471689/original/file-20220629-26-6ezm1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471689/original/file-20220629-26-6ezm1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471689/original/file-20220629-26-6ezm1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471689/original/file-20220629-26-6ezm1g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Riders will burn around 120,000 calories over the course of the race, roughly equivalent to 210 Big Mac hamburgers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/set-of-tasty-and-delicious-burgers-royalty-free-image/1318786684">Arbi Lena / iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
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<p>“To make a bicycle move, a Tour de France rider transfers energy from his muscles, through the bicycle and to the wheels that push back on the ground,” says Goff. Professional cyclists are in another league when it comes to producing power with their legs, but they are still limited by basic human biology. “Muscles, like any machine, can’t convert 100% of food energy directly into energy output,” explains Goff. “Muscles can be anywhere between 2% efficient when used for activities like swimming and 40% efficient in the heart.”</p>
<p>With mountains to climb and glory to claim, riders need to fuel their muscles with food. In his story, Goff calculates that over the course of the Tour de France, racers will burn an astonishing 120,000 calories – the equivalent of about 210 Big Macs.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tour-de-france-how-many-calories-will-the-winner-burn-163043">Tour de France: How many calories will the winner burn?</a>
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<h2>3. Biology explains why professional athletes are young</h2>
<p>When you watch the Tour de France, soccer’s World Cup or the Olympics, it’s common to see a young teenage phenom, but it’s rare for anyone over the age of 40 to be competing.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Professional cyclists are some of the fittest people on the planet, able to race up hills after biking for a hundred miles.</span></figcaption>
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<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4-73LroAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Roger Fielding, an aging and exercise researcher</a> at Tufts University, writes that “old and young people build muscle in the same way.” But there is a biological reason no 50-year-old has ever won the Tour de France: “As you age, many of the biological processes that turn exercise into muscle become less effective.”</p>
<p>Muscles grow thanks to a number of complicated cellular pathways that are activated during exercise. When this network of receptors and signaling chemicals gets triggered, the body responds by increasing muscle size – and even makes some small tweaks to what genes are active. But as Fielding explains, in older people “the signal telling muscles to grow is much weaker for a given amount of exercise. These changes begin to occur when a person reaches around 50 years old and become more pronounced as time goes on.” </p>
<p>Many people can and do get into the best shape of their lives when they are in their 50s or 60s. But the fact that it is harder to get fit as you age is a major reason why it’s so important for older people to exercise – and why you won’t see any retirees leading the peloton in the Tour de France. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/50-year-old-muscles-just-cant-grow-big-like-they-used-to-the-biology-of-how-muscles-change-with-age-172941">50-year-old muscles just can’t grow big like they used to – the biology of how muscles change with age</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186088/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Three scientists explain the biology and physics of what goes into one of the world’s most grueling races, the Tour de France.Daniel Merino, Associate Breaking News Editor and Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly PodcastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1860972022-06-30T12:23:47Z2022-06-30T12:23:47ZTour de France: How many calories will the winner burn?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471704/original/file-20220629-22-qb8z5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4132%2C3229&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Tour de France is one of the most physically taxing sporting feats imaginable.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/team-uae-emirates-tadej-pogacar-of-slovenia-wearing-the-news-photo/1233993203?adppopup=true">Phillippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407956/original/file-20210623-21-1kl10a5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407956/original/file-20210623-21-1kl10a5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407956/original/file-20210623-21-1kl10a5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407956/original/file-20210623-21-1kl10a5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407956/original/file-20210623-21-1kl10a5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407956/original/file-20210623-21-1kl10a5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407956/original/file-20210623-21-1kl10a5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">CC-BY-ND.</span>
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<p>Imagine you begin pedaling from the <a href="https://www.letour.fr/en/stage-12">start of Stage 12</a> of <a href="https://www.letour.fr/en">this year’s Tour de France</a>. Your very first task would be to bike approximately 20.6 miles (33.2 km) up to the peak of <a href="https://www.cyclinglocations.com/col-du-galibier-alps/">Col du Galibier</a> in the French Alps while gaining around 4,281 feet (1,305 m) of elevation. But this is only the first of three big climbs in your day. Next you face the peak of <a href="https://climbfinder.com/en/climbs/col-de-la-croix-de-fer">Col de la Croix de Fer</a> and then end the 102.6-mile (165.1-km) stage by taking on the famous <a href="https://climbfinder.com/en/climbs/alpe-d-huez">Alpe d'Huez</a> climb with its 21 serpentine turns. </p>
<p>On the fittest day of my life, I might not even be able to finish Stage 12 – much less do it in anything remotely close to the five hours or so the winner will take to finish the ride. And Stage 12 is just one of 21 stages that must be completed in the 24 days of the tour.</p>
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<iframe id="noa-web-audio-player" style="border: none" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=x84olp&id=https://theconversation.com/tour-de-france-how-many-calories-will-the-winner-burn-186097&bgColor=F5F5F5&color=D8352A&playColor=D8352A" width="100%" height="110px"></iframe>
<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=eHzYy_EAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">I am a sports physicist</a>, and I’ve <a href="http://johnericgoff.blogspot.com/">modeled the Tour de France</a> for nearly two decades using terrain data – like what I described for Stage 12 – and the laws of physics. But I still cannot fathom the physical capabilities needed to complete the world’s most famous bike race. Only an elite few humans are capable of completing a Tour de France stage in a time that’s measured in hours instead of days. The reason they’re able to do what the rest of us can only dream of is that these athletes can produce enormous amounts of power. Power is the rate at which cyclists burn energy and the energy they burn comes from the food they eat. And over the course of the Tour de France, the winning cyclist will burn the equivalent of roughly 210 Big Macs.</p>
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<h2>Cycling is a game of watts</h2>
<p>To make a bicycle move, a Tour de France rider transfers energy from his muscles, through the bicycle and to the wheels that push back on the ground. The faster a rider can put out energy, the greater the power. This rate of energy transfer is often measured in watts. Tour de France cyclists are capable of generating enormous amounts of power for incredibly long periods of time compared to most people.</p>
<p>For about 20 minutes, a fit recreational cyclist can consistently put out <a href="https://www.roadbikerider.com/average-wattage-cycling/">250 watts to 300 watts</a>. Tour de France cyclists can produce <a href="https://www.bicycling.com/racing/a20041587/cool-things-we-learned-from-tour-de-france-strava-files/">over 400 watts for the same time period</a>. These pros are even capable of <a href="https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/539/how-much-better-are-pro-cyclists">hitting 1,000 watts</a> for short bursts of time on a steep uphill – <a href="https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6l981y">roughly enough power</a> to run a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(power)">microwave oven</a>.</p>
<p>But not all of the energy a Tour de France cyclist puts into his bike gets turned into forward motion. Cyclists battle air resistance and frictional losses between their wheels and the road. They get help from gravity on downhills but they have to fight gravity while climbing. </p>
<p>I incorporate all of the physics associated with cyclist power output as well as the effects of gravity, air resistance and friction <a href="http://johnericgoff.blogspot.com/">into my model</a>. Using all that, I estimate that a typical Tour de France winner needs to put out an average of about 325 watts over the roughly 80 hours of the race. Recall that most recreational cyclists would be happy if they could produce 300 watts for just 20 minutes!</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407960/original/file-20210623-21-fn773v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A pile of hamburgers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407960/original/file-20210623-21-fn773v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407960/original/file-20210623-21-fn773v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407960/original/file-20210623-21-fn773v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407960/original/file-20210623-21-fn773v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407960/original/file-20210623-21-fn773v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407960/original/file-20210623-21-fn773v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407960/original/file-20210623-21-fn773v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Racers in the Tour de France need to eat three to four times as many calories as a person does normally.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/close-up-of-stack-against-black-background-royalty-free-image/1208752640?adppopup=true">Pietro Agliata/EyeEm via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Turning food into miles</h2>
<p>So where do these cyclists get all this energy from? Food, of course! </p>
<p>But your muscles, like any machine, can’t convert 100% of food energy directly into energy output – muscles can be anywhere between <a href="https://www.pearson.ch/HigherEducation/Pearson/EAN/9780139228162/Mechanics-Heat-and-the-Human-Body">2% efficient when used for activities like swimming and 40% efficient in the heart</a>. In my model, I use an average efficiency of 20%. Knowing this efficiency as well as the energy output needed to win the Tour de France, I can then estimate how much food the winning cyclist needs.</p>
<p>Top Tour de France cyclists who complete all 21 stages burn about 120,000 calories during the race – or an average of nearly 6,000 calories per stage. On some of the more difficult mountain stages – like this year’s Stage 12 – racers will burn close to 8,000 calories. To make up for these huge energy losses, riders eat delectable treats such as <a href="https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/tour-de-france/this-is-what-you-have-to-eat-to-compete-in-the-tour-de-france-182775">jam rolls, energy bars and mouthwatering “jels” so they don’t waste energy chewing</a>. </p>
<p>Tadej Pogačar won both the 2021 and 2020 Tour de France and <a href="https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/tadej-pogacar">weighs only 146 pounds</a> (66 kilograms). Tour de France cyclists don’t have much fat to burn for energy. They have to keep putting food energy into their bodies so they can put out energy at what seems like a superhuman rate. So this year, while watching a stage of the Tour de France, note how many times the cyclists eat – now you know the reason for all that snacking.</p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of a story originally published on June 24, 2021.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186097/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Eric Goff does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Riders in the 2022 Tour de France will ride more than 2,100 miles (3,400 km) over the 21 flat and mountainous stages of the race. And they will burn an incredible amount of energy while doing so.John Eric Goff, Professor of Physics, University of LynchburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1808902022-04-12T20:01:28Z2022-04-12T20:01:28ZHas the monitoring of professional athletes’ intimate information gone too far?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457596/original/file-20220412-17-cmehf3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C56%2C4179%2C2441&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past decade, the top end of sport has become saturated in data. Some of this is visible — such as match statistics, maximum speeds and distances covered — but a tremendous amount is invisible. </p>
<p>Athletes are continuously being tracked. Details on their precise location, physiology, well-being, sleep, and more are recorded round the clock through an array of <a href="https://science.org.au/datainsport">body-worn and observational technologies</a>. </p>
<p>This information, most of which is personal and sensitive, is processed by a complex and opaque transnational system of commercial entities, including cloud providers, device manufacturers, analytics developers and athlete management systems. </p>
<p>Given the sheer scale and number of entities involved, few people know where this information goes. It’s rare for sports scientists and support staff to be able to account for it, and rarer still for sports governing bodies and athletes themselves.</p>
<p>The justification from technology vendors and sports clubs is that all this information is collected to improve performance and reduce injury risk to athletes. </p>
<p>But a number of people in the sports sector have started asking questions: is the data collection actually delivering athletes benefits? What are the costs? And what are the implications beyond the sector?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457220/original/file-20220410-41099-kjw8l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457220/original/file-20220410-41099-kjw8l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457220/original/file-20220410-41099-kjw8l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457220/original/file-20220410-41099-kjw8l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457220/original/file-20220410-41099-kjw8l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457220/original/file-20220410-41099-kjw8l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457220/original/file-20220410-41099-kjw8l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457220/original/file-20220410-41099-kjw8l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Professional athletes have their information collected around the clock.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Armelle Skatulski/UWA Minderoo Tech and Policy Lab.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Assessing the state of play</h2>
<p>To answer these questions, the Australian Academy of Science convened an <a href="https://science.org.au/datainsport">expert working group</a> over the past 18 months. The group, which we co-chaired, comprised a dozen experts from a range of fields including sports science, sports medicine, sports governance, artificial intelligence, law, policy, and social science. </p>
<p>The project drew on experience from a number of the working group’s members, who have worked for the past three decades in basketball, cricket, netball, rugby league, rugby union, football (soccer) and Australian rules football. We also interviewed 25 sports practitioners with experience working on professional sport codes in Australia, the United States and Europe.</p>
<p>Our findings, published today in a <a href="https://www.science.org.au/datainsport">discussion paper</a>, reveal the degree of personal and sensitive information collected from professional athletes is excessive, and often unjustified. </p>
<p>Our scientific review of the types of data being collected, and their use in professional sport, showed that much more information is collected than is demonstrably beneficial to athletes.</p>
<p>What’s more, how the information is being collected and used falls short of requirements laid out in Australian law. Excessive data collection that is neither demonstrably beneficial, nor lawful, has costs — not just for athletes, but for everyone who works in sport. </p>
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<h2>The great unpredictable drama of sport</h2>
<p>Currently in professional sport, the approach to athlete data is “collect everything you can” and “save it in case it’s useful”. This is the sort of environment susceptible to snake oil salesmen peddling the promise of artificial intelligence and machine learning. </p>
<p>But as our expert group warns, there’s a crucial limit to any promise that if we can just gather enough data, we can leverage it to predict injury and performance. </p>
<p>We found what we <em>can</em> collect on athletes is almost always a second-order proxy of what we actually <em>need</em> in order to understand causal mechanisms of performance and injury. </p>
<p>Say we want to predict the risk of soft-tissue injury. Metrics routinely collected in professional sport such as total running time, distance covered, and repeat sprint efforts can be used to calculate macro measures of muscle work. Some sports might also make relative assessments of muscular strength deficits and asymmetries.</p>
<p>Ultimately, these are all low-resolution data inputs about athlete movement, attempting to reflect how hard the muscles are working. But this is a long way from describing the multi-scale complexity of human function. No amount of machine learning can bridge this gap. </p>
<h2>Turning around unaccountable monitoring</h2>
<p>Where do athletes figure in how sporting leagues and clubs handle the often intimately revealing information about them? </p>
<p>Current practices in professional sport are out of step with <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021C00452">Australian legal requirements</a>. Two major disconnects stand out. First, the category of “performance data” widely used in sport is not a legally recognised concept. </p>
<p>Rather, in law, the vast majority of what’s collected is actually health information, and requires much more robust protection and active athlete engagement.</p>
<p>Second, under <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2021C00452">Australian law</a>, sporting organisations are limited to holding information that is “reasonably necessary” to their functions or activities. Australia’s leading privacy regulator has <a href="https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/australian-privacy-principles-guidelines/chapter-3-app-3-collection-of-solicited-personal-information">confirmed</a> information “being entered in a database in case it might be needed in the future”, or being collected as part of “normal business practice”, simply <a href="https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/australian-privacy-principles-guidelines/chapter-b-key-concepts">does not satisfy</a> this test. </p>
<p>Professional sport is a workplace. Few of us would be comfortable in a workplace where, rather than being judged on the outcome of our efforts, our every tiny movement was being unnecessarily observed and judged.</p>
<h2>Remembering what works</h2>
<p>Athletes risk having their livelihoods affected by data and systems that do not adequately reflect them, and that they can’t contest. </p>
<p>At the same time, increasingly invasive data collection risks replacing expert specialists — such as exercise physiologists, biomechanists and sports psychologists – with data analysts who lack domain expertise in the complexities of human function, especially in the small and highly specific populations who compete at the pinnacle of sport. </p>
<p>Our paper calls for a conversation about legal and ethical guardrails, and improvements in literacy and governance needed to ensure athletes have their rights protected and promoted. This is both in their own interest and in the public interest. </p>
<h2>Change is coming</h2>
<p>In a tangible sense, we are pleased that key players in the sector have been inspired by our work to tackle the challenge.</p>
<p>Player associations like the Rugby League Players Association are working with researchers to establish scientifically rigorous studies in specific areas to validate whether players’ intimate information can be linked to health outcomes. This is happening at a small scale before being considered for a wider rollout.</p>
<p>The Australian Institute of Sport, and associated state and territory entities, have initiated the award-winning <a href="https://www.ais.gov.au/fphi">Female Performance & Health Initiative</a>. This has already led to restrained practices around <a href="https://player.vimeo.com/video/573552207?h=7fc352cd34">menstrual tracking</a> and other information collected on female athletes. </p>
<p>More broadly, the high performance system is implementing a long-term project, in partnership with the University of Western Australia, to establish a leading approach to athlete-centred data stewardship.</p>
<p>Just as Australia punches above its weight in the sporting arena, it has a historic opportunity to set forward-looking norms and standards around how it approaches athlete information. Let’s get ahead of the game.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/wearable-tech-at-the-olympics-how-athletes-are-using-it-to-train-to-win-163860">Wearable tech at the Olympics: How athletes are using it to train to win</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180890/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Powles is Chief Investigator on a grant to improve data governance and ethics in high performance sport, funded by the Australian Institute of Sport and National Institute Network. She is also Director of the UWA Minderoo Tech & Policy Lab, which receives unrestricted gift funding from Australian charitable organisation, Minderoo Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Toby Walsh receives funding from the Australian Research Council as an ARC Laureate Fellow. </span></em></p>The collection of athlete data in professional sport has outpaced legal requirements and scientifically-proven benefit to athletes.Julia Powles, Associate Professor of Law and Technology; Director, Minderoo Tech & Policy Lab, UWA Law School, The University of Western AustraliaToby Walsh, Professor of AI at UNSW, Research Group Leader, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1790822022-03-22T12:16:35Z2022-03-22T12:16:35ZThe ‘hot hand’ is a real basketball phenomenon – but only some players have the ability to go on these basket-making streaks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453118/original/file-20220318-19-gfjkk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=233%2C0%2C5748%2C3161&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kevin Durant is one of the NBA players who shows the ability to go on hot streaks.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/KnicksNetsBasketball/e57ce0bc5e624b1ea17f1892fd47d63b/photo?Query=kevin%20durant&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=now-14d&totalCount=59&currentItemNo=2">AP Photo/Seth Wenig</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>March Madness is here, and basketball fans are making predictions: Who will be the <a href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2021-03-01/11-greatest-march-madness-cinderella-stories">Cinderella story of the college tournament</a>? Which teams will make a run to the Final Four? And of course, which player is going to get “hot” and carry their team to a championship?</p>
<p>To say a player is “hot” or has “hot hands” means the player is on a streak of making many consecutive shots. A question that has dogged researchers, coaches and fans for years is whether players on these streaks can defy random chance, or if hot hands are just an illusion and fit within statistical norms.</p>
<p>We are two researchers who study <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=mVj8o7gAAAAJ&hl=en">information sciences</a> and <a href="https://kelley.iu.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/profile.html?id=WINSTON">operations and decision technologies</a>. In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261890">our recent study</a>, we examined whether players can indeed get hot in actual live-game situations. Our analysis showed that some players do get consistently “hot” during games and make more shots than expected following two shots made consecutively. However, when we looked at all players together, we found that usually when a player makes more shots than normal after making consecutive shots, they are likely to revert toward the shooting average by missing the next one. Hot hands do exist, but they are rare.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">When players get hot, they are a force to be reckoned with on a basketball court.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>The science of going on a streak</h2>
<p>Fans have always believed in the ability of players to go on a hot streak – as reflected in video games like <a href="https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2013/11/25/why-on-fire-lives-on-20-years-after-nba-jam">NBA Jam where the virtual ball would catch fire</a> if a player made multiple shots in a row. But academics have been skeptical of the idea ever since a 1985 study concluded that what people perceive as hot hands is nothing more than the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0285(85)90010-6">human brain’s tendency to misunderstand chance and averages.</a></p>
<p>This changed in 2017 when a seminal paper showed that the original study – and the later ones based on it – <a href="https://theconversation.com/momentum-isnt-magic-vindicating-the-hot-hand-with-the-mathematics-of-streaks-74786">suffered from small but significant selection bias</a> that threw off the statistical calculations. Basically, the way the team chose which shots to look at when searching for streaks or a hot hand threw the math itself off. When researchers accounted for this bias, the hot hand turned out to be real. </p>
<p>The vast majority of studies on hot streaks in basketball have focused on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0285(85)90010-6">either free throws</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2021.103771">three-point contests</a> or <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2450479">controlled field experiments</a>. We wanted to test the theory in actual competitive games and used data from the 2013-14 and 2014-15 NBA seasons. But in actual game situations, shots are not identical. To control for this, we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261890">developed a model that predicts how often a shot will go in</a> based on a number of different factors. These included who the shooter was, the distance from the basket, the type of shot, the distance from the closest defender, who the closest defender was, whether the shot was assisted and other considerations. It is only thanks to the modern, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nfl-joins-the-data-revolution-in-sports-64717">data-driven era of sports</a> that we could even do such an analysis.</p>
<p>Using this model, we were able to simulate any shot by flipping a figurative coin that represents the probability any particular shot will go in. We could then quantify the hot hand effect by comparing the real world field goal percentage of a player after they were on a streak with the expected percentage obtained through simulating the same shots in our model.</p>
<p>For example, imagine that in the real world a player made 55% of shots after making the two shots before. But our model only predicted he would hit 46% of shots after making the two shots before. If this difference between the model prediction and the real world is statistically significant over time, then it is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261890">good evidence that the player can get hot and go on streaks</a>.</p>
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<h2>Who has the hot hand?</h2>
<p>Our analysis looked at 153 players who took at least 1,000 shots during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 NBA seasons. We examined shots taken after two, three and four consecutively made shots.</p>
<p>When looking at the shots from all the qualified players, we found that if a person made the two shots prior, their chance of making the next shot was 1.9% percentage lower than the model predicted – their make rate would regress to the mean. </p>
<p>However, when we looked at players individually, the hot hand emerged for a sizable set of players. Specifically, there were 30 players who exhibited a statistically significant higher field goal percentage on a shot following two makes compared to their expected field goal percentage. Of the players who demonstrated the ability to go on hot streaks, the average hot hand effect led to a 2.71% increase in the chance of making a third shot in a row.</p>
<p>For streaks of three and four consecutively made shots, the hot hand effect was even higher – 4.42% on average and 5.81% on average, respectively.</p>
<h2>Why do some people get hot?</h2>
<p>It’s important to note that having a hot hand does not mean any player can suddenly make baskets from anywhere on the court. For example, Tim Duncan, Roy Hibbert and Marcin Gortat all showed the ability to go on hot streaks, but these are all centers who do not typically take shots far from the basket. Their hot hands increased their shooting percentages of close-range shots. This led us to the hypothesis that part of the hot hand effect may come from what is called the <a href="https://joshkaufman.net/explore-exploit/">explore and exploit approach</a>, which refers to a short period of exploring different approaches to solving a problem followed by a period of exploiting the best approach found. For basketball, this would look like a player finding a mismatch during a game – perhaps a shorter player defending them than normal – and exploiting it by taking more of a certain type of shot. Research has also suggested that the explore and exploit approach is connected to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25477-8">streaks of success in artistic and scientific careers</a>. </p>
<p>While this hypothesis is plausible, it may not be the only factor accounting for hot streaks. Could short-term neuroplasticity – the ability of a player’s brain to quickly adapt to conditions in a game – be a cause? What about focus and mental preparation? Whatever the reason, our study provides strong evidence that supports the existence of hot hands. For coaches and players in the NBA or in this year’s NCAA March Madness, it might be a good strategy to follow the old cliche: “Go with the hot hand.”</p>
<p>[<em>The Conversation’s science, health and technology editors pick their favorite stories.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=science&source=inline-science-favorite">Weekly on Wednesdays</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179082/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A study shows that a select group of NBA players really do go on hot streaks by making more shots in a row than statistics suggest they should.Konstantinos Pelechrinis, Associate Professor of Computing and Information, University of PittsburghWayne Winston, Professor of Decision and Information Systems, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1765462022-02-15T18:48:39Z2022-02-15T18:48:39ZI helped introduce silver medallist Jaclyn Narracott to the fearsome 130kph skeleton event. Here’s how it’s done<p>Australian Jaclyn Narracott admits it took a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-13/jaclyn-narracott-winter-olympics-medal-destination/100826556">significant change of mindset</a> to help her claim silver at the Beijing Winter Olympics in the women’s skeleton – the bobsled event in which competitors hurl themselves down a curving track at speeds of 130 kilometres per hour, with mere centimetres between their chin and the ice.</p>
<p>I was part of the coaching team that introduced her to this event more than a decade ago, in March 2011 at Lake Placid, New York, the venue for the 1980 Winter Olympics. I was the sport scientist and program manager of the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia’s Skeleton Program, along with my colleagues from the Australian Bobsleigh Skeleton Association (now <a href="https://www.bobsleighskeleton.org.au">Bobsleigh Skeleton Australia</a>). </p>
<p>These days, Jacklyn splits her training time between sunny Queensland, at the Queensland Academy of Sport, and training with her partner in the UK during the off-season. On-ice training happens either during the northern summer in an “ice push house” – an indoor facility that lets athletes practise the start component of the event – or during the northern winter at one of just 15 tracks worldwide.</p>
<p>So what does it take to produce a medal-winning performance? And, perhaps more intriguingly, how does someone even begin to learn this fearsome sport?</p>
<h2>What is skeleton?</h2>
<p>Skeleton racers ride along a banked, ice-covered track, lying face-down on a single-piece sled with no suspension, no steering and no brakes. It’s a bumpier ride than it looks – ice isn’t smooth when you’re travelling faster than a car on a freeway!</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-high-speed-physics-of-how-bobsled-luge-and-skeleton-send-humans-hurtling-faster-than-a-car-on-the-highway-175985">The high-speed physics of how bobsled, luge and skeleton send humans hurtling faster than a car on the highway</a>
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<p>Unlike the related events of bobsleigh, in which athletes sit inside a sled with steering cables attached to the front runners, and luge, in which competitors lie on their backs and use their legs to activate steering paddles, a skeleton sled is steered mainly by applying pressure via the knee or shoulder, or by subtly shifting the head or body position.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Beginners’ guide to skeleton.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>How do you win?</h2>
<p>Olympic skeleton athletes make four runs down the track, which is typically 1.2km long and features about 20 corners, with the fastest cumulative time taking the gold. </p>
<p>The overall speed depends on three things: the momentum generated during the short running start; the kinetic energy supplied by gravity as athletes descend along the course and by centrifugal force as they round the corners; and how effectively competitors can conserve energy by taking the most efficient line through the corners.</p>
<p>In general, athletes prefer to steer using their knee, shoulder or both. Steering left, for example, would involve pressing the right shoulder or left knee down onto the sled, or both at once for a sharper turn. This flexes and twists the sled, affecting the direction of the runners.</p>
<p>When approaching a corner, both the entry point (either early or late into the corner) and the direction of the sled affect how the centrifugal force of the corner will act on the slider. The athletes seek to anticipate the centrifugal force in the corner, to stick to a natural flowing line so as to carry more speed through the corner exit. Dragging a toe along the ice, while very effective for changing direction, can cost a lot of speed, so generally racers avoid this move where possible. </p>
<p>In straight sections of track, where there is no centrifugal force, steering the sled in the usual way doesn’t work, but a subtle tilt of the head can create an “air dam” that slightly changes the sled’s direction. But you don’t want to break the sled into a power slide skid, as you will lose a lot of momentum.</p>
<p>Finding an aerodynamic position is relatively straightforward: arms and hands by the competitor’s sides or tucked slightly under the top of the thighs; legs together and toes slightly pointed to remain off the ice. The head and chin are not tucked down, but instead held in a neutral position to maintain a clear view down the track. </p>
<p>As athletes develop, they become comfortable in this sliding position despite the alarming proximity of face and ice.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Skeleton competitor at Beijing 2022" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446442/original/file-20220215-21-5d5btm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446442/original/file-20220215-21-5d5btm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446442/original/file-20220215-21-5d5btm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446442/original/file-20220215-21-5d5btm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446442/original/file-20220215-21-5d5btm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446442/original/file-20220215-21-5d5btm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446442/original/file-20220215-21-5d5btm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">There’s no time to enjoy the view.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pavel Golovkin/AP</span></span>
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<h2>Ok, but how do you learn?</h2>
<p>An athlete’s approach to skeleton depends on what we sports scientists call their “fear/risk profile”. This is an <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.682059/full">analytical tool</a> that can help any athlete who may need to deal with significant fear or risk in their chosen event. It can boost confidence by allowing athletes to describe and contextualise their previous experiences of a track, with reference to particular weather or ice conditions.</p>
<p>When first learning this discipline, all skeleton sliders will begin from a lower position in the track, and only navigate the final six or so corners. This reduces both the speed and complexity of the run. At Lake Placid a decade ago, Jaclyn began her first ever run from corner 10 and completed four runs that day, before moving up to corner 7 the next day. </p>
<p>This might sound like a very small amount of practice for such a complex sport, but the on-ice vibrations and the g-forces involved are very fatiguing. After training, some athletes can show symptoms <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2018.00772">similar to impact trauma</a> without having suffered any actual impact. </p>
<p>Their coach will then ask them to describe their entrance and exit from each corner, when and where they steered, and what steering technique they used. Using visual and video feedback, the athlete and their coach reviews their performance, thus building their risk profile and improving their speed. </p>
<p>As the athlete improves, they move further up the track to include more corners and greater speeds, until eventually they have mastered the entire course. But an experienced slider like Jaclyn will tackle a new course from the top straight away, as they have the necessary skills and confidence.</p>
<p>To cement their performance and learning, athletes take detailed track notes which they use to perform “mind runs”, either purely by mentally picturing the descent, or while lying on their sled and rehearsing the moves in the correct sequence. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-slippery-science-of-olympic-curling-we-still-dont-know-how-it-works-176463">The slippery science of Olympic curling: we still don't know how it works</a>
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<h2>And finally, how do you stop?</h2>
<p>As mentioned above, a skeleton bobsled has no brakes. Bobsled courses generally have a long uphill ramp beyond the finish line, and competitors can also drag their spiked shoes along the ice or aim to rub off speed by steering into the walls of the track. After crossing the finish timing eye, the finishing straight or “outrun” of a track is usually about 100m long. </p>
<p>Stopping comes with its own risk of injury – athletes have fallen off their sleds, usually bruising nothing more than their ego, but occasionally something may be tweaked or broken. But compared with the challenge of successfully navigating a succession of corners at speeds faster than a car on a freeway, stopping is the relatively easy part.</p>
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<img alt="Skeleton competitor at the end of a run" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446441/original/file-20220215-15-1ofnsc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446441/original/file-20220215-15-1ofnsc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446441/original/file-20220215-15-1ofnsc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446441/original/file-20220215-15-1ofnsc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446441/original/file-20220215-15-1ofnsc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446441/original/file-20220215-15-1ofnsc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446441/original/file-20220215-15-1ofnsc5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Job done.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pavel Golovkin/AP</span></span>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dale Chapman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What does it take to deliver a medal-winning performance in skeleton, which involves racing down a banked track faster than a car on a freeway, with your face mere centimetres from the ice?Dale Chapman, Senior Lecturer, Applied Sports Science, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1765442022-02-10T02:40:11Z2022-02-10T02:40:11ZHow do Olympic freestyle skiers produce their amazing tricks? A biomechanics expert explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445303/original/file-20220209-17-ia0056.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C4992%2C3622&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yosuke Hayasaka/AP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There have been some incredible acrobatics on display in Beijing, with Australia’s Jakara Anthony <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-07/smale-jakara-anthony/100809298">scoring gold</a> in the women’s moguls this week. </p>
<p>How do these athletes pull off such incredible feats of manoeuvrability, and land them (mostly)? </p>
<h2>The mechanics of freestyle acrobatics</h2>
<p>Freestyle skiers and snowboarders have to produce as much lift-off force as they can before they leave the ground, as it’s impossible to generate lift once airborne. </p>
<p>They do this by optimising their take-off speed before the ramp and extending their knees and hips when they jump. They can also initiate rotation just before take-off, by leaning forwards, backwards, or even slightly sideways.</p>
<p>You’ll have some sense of how this works if you’ve ever tried a somersault or backflip on on a trampoline. But the goal for professional skiers is to control the rotation with acute precision. </p>
<p>The more they lean, the greater the rotational force and the faster their spin will become. This rotational momentum, created just before lift-off, is all the athlete has to execute their aerial trick.</p>
<p>Many trampolines have nets to protect jumpers from the consequences of this going awry. But out on the snow, and with the world watching, there’s little room for error. Perfect posture is very important. </p>
<p>Once they’re in the air, they can start to tune their body to complete the desired manoeuvre. This often involves changing their posture mid-flight, such as by tucking their limbs in tight to increase the rate of spin, as needed for a somersault. </p>
<p>Part of athletes’ training is learning exactly what sort of posture causes what sort of rotation in the air – and how they need to tuck, extend or position their limbs to optimise the rotation. Add skis and poles or a snowboard to the picture, and this exercise becomes much more complex. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-snowboarding-became-a-marquee-event-at-the-winter-olympics-but-lost-some-of-its-cool-factor-in-the-process-175053">How snowboarding became a marquee event at the Winter Olympics – but lost some of its cool factor in the process</a>
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<h2>Twisting and turning</h2>
<p>It doesn’t stop there though. Sometimes a somersault will also incorporate twisting – rotation along the long axis of the body. This is where things get even more challenging. </p>
<p>Remember how athletes can’t really create external force in the air? How do they change their rotation if they can’t push or pull against something solid? </p>
<p>Well, this process also begins just as they’re leaving the ground. They will try to set up a second rotation axis before they take-off, leaning slightly to the right or left, or pushing off harder with one foot than the other, to initiate the twist. </p>
<p>If they’re already in mid-air, they may strategically manipulate their arms and hips to change somersault rotation into twisting, or vice versa. </p>
<p>You may have seen an athlete moving their arms and hips in an asymmetrical fashion at the top of their run. That’s not them practising their latest dance move – they’re rehearsing the movements required to change rotation after take-off. </p>
<p>Cats can rotate their torsos incredibly well while in the air. That’s how they land on their feet!</p>
<h2>The final step</h2>
<p>Now the most important bit: landing safely.</p>
<p>While a freestyle athlete is upside down, in the midst of their trick, they need to simultaneously look for a spot on the ground to plant their feet. You may have noticed them grab their skis or snowboard while looking at the landing. </p>
<p>To slow their twisting, they can spread our their arms. Similarly, to slow down a somersault they’ll spread out their arms and legs to slow the rotation. This is called increasing the moment of inertia.</p>
<p>Once they’re in an extended posture, instinct and gravity do the rest, bringing them safely (mostly) back to earth. Their knees and hips work as natural shock absorbers to help slow their fall. Touch down!</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/your-guide-to-the-best-figure-skating-at-the-beijing-winter-olympics-through-the-eyes-of-a-dancer-176229">Your guide to the best figure skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics – through the eyes of a dancer</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176544/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Netto receives funding from industry and government to support his work. He is affiliated with Exercise and Sports Science Australia as a member of their research committee. </span></em></p>Executing the perfect manoeuvre on the slopes requires foresight, technical skill and being able to think on the go.Kevin Netto, Associate Professor, Curtin School of Allied Health and Curtin enAble Institute, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1730322021-12-09T12:42:36Z2021-12-09T12:42:36ZWhy taking penalties under pressure can be so tough<p>The penalty shootout in international football is arguably one of the most highly visible and high pressured sporting situations in the world. </p>
<p>Euro 2020, which took place in the summer of 2021 due to the pandemic, was watched by a total audience of <a href="https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/euro-2020-tv-audience-ratings-viewership-social-media-figures/">over 5 billion people</a>. Each match attracted an average of 100 million viewers, with more than 320 million people tuning in to watch the final, which saw Italy win against England in a penalty shootout. </p>
<p>In their autobiographies <a href="https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/michael-owen-off-the-record-michael-owen?variant=32716520783950">Michael Owen</a> and <a href="https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/david-beckham-my-side-david-beckham?variant=32552786591822">David Beckham</a> (who used to play for England) have described not being able to think normally or breathe properly in the minutes before taking a penalty at a high-level international tournament.</p>
<p>These thoughts and feelings typically represent anxiety of the mind – such as worry – and anxiety of the body, which can show itself as faster and shorter breaths, a higher heart rate and muscle tension. The extent to which these symptoms affect performance depends on how a player perceives the situation and whether they feel in control or under threat.</p>
<p>Researchers have shown that when faced with high pressure in a penalty shootout, footballers <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640410600624020">often perform sub-optimally</a>. And psychological factors were found to be more important than skill and fatigue for the success of penalty kicks.</p>
<p>In sport psychology, we think there are two main reasons why athletes may “choke under pressure”.</p>
<p>First, as pressure increases, the athlete becomes sensitive to threat and distracted, which causes attention <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02699939208409696">to turn to internal feelings</a> – for example, worry about missing – and external factors, such as <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Attention-towards-the-goalkeeper-and-distraction-in-Furley-No%C3%ABl/c26ccef1c1d5852e18f8c4c5f5a80528b05f36a1?p2df">over focusing on the goalkeeper</a>. </p>
<p>In contrast, <a href="https://doi.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.46.3.610">self-focus models</a> argue that high pressure causes an athlete to consciously focus on the processes or mechanics of the skill. And sometimes that means that the automatic nature of a well drilled skill is lost.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/winning-a-penalty-shootout-takes-mental-toughness-luckily-that-can-be-taught-24553">Winning a penalty shootout takes mental toughness: luckily, that can be taught</a>
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<p>Many of us who have played sport to a high level can sympathise with the phenomenon of <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jcsp/4/3/article-p221.xml">“choking” or sub-optimal performance</a>. As a former international hockey goalkeeper I wanted to find out more about the impact of pressure on a football player’s performance when taking penalties - and how exactly it affected them.</p>
<h2>Recreating pressure of penalty taking</h2>
<p>For my <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2021.1957344?src=">research</a> with under-18 professional academy footballers, my main aim was to simulate several conditions that can stimulate stress and the emotions <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10413200.2011.619000">reported</a> by professional players when taking a penalty kick in a quarter final UEFA European Championship shootout. That included the solitude of the walk, crowd noise and worry about the goalkeeper’s performance, for example.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/england-players-suffer-from-stereotype-they-cant-win-penalty-shootouts-research-suggests-163504">England players suffer from stereotype they can't win penalty shootouts, research suggests</a>
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<p>Players took penalty kicks to four small targets in the goal (bottom, top, right and left) under low and high-pressure conditions.</p>
<p>For the low-pressure scenario, players were instructed to take penalties to targets of their choice and repeat this process from the penalty spot. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Young footballer strikes a penalty kick" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435647/original/file-20211203-21-1role7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435647/original/file-20211203-21-1role7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435647/original/file-20211203-21-1role7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435647/original/file-20211203-21-1role7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435647/original/file-20211203-21-1role7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435647/original/file-20211203-21-1role7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/435647/original/file-20211203-21-1role7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Footballers often experience anxiety and stressful thoughts before taking a penalty (image is for illustrative purposes only)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-beautiful-footballers-train-football-353411210">BRG photography / Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>But to recreate a high pressure situation, players were told they would start the test on the halfway line and return to halfway after each penalty shot. They also had to take penalty shots to enforced targets with no shot choice. And, to make it even more potentially stressful, they had to take their last two penalty shots with the goalkeeper knowing where they would aim the ball. All of that would take place while listening to crowd noise from previous televised penalty shootouts.</p>
<p>In addition to that, they thought they would be in direct competition with other players, and the coach would evaluate their performance using video after they had finished all of their penalties.</p>
<h2>Shot accuracy deteriorated under stress</h2>
<p>Under the simulated high pressure situation, the players’ level of anxiety, perceived pressure and respiration rate were much higher. They felt less confident in their ability to score, and indeed their shot accuracy became much more inconsistent.</p>
<p>I found that the players’ focus shifted from being focused on their target under low-pressure to being distracted and overthinking under high-pressure. Some of them were distracted by worrying thoughts such as concerns about not scoring and not wanting to be the worst in the team.</p>
<p>They also reported symptoms of increased tension, such as sweating, butterflies in the stomach and increased breathing. As one player said: “I felt my heart rate was getting higher and I was breathing quite quickly and anxiety was coming in”. </p>
<p>Additionally, when the goalkeeper knew shot placement in advance, it caused some players to lose their focus on the target even more. Instead they became self-focused – thinking about their technique or how much power they would generate on the ball using their technique.</p>
<p>Although the stress created in my study may not compare to that experienced by professional footballers in a major tournament, it caused similar effects.</p>
<p>Penalty takers in my study experienced a range of different thoughts and feelings, and physical responses, during the walk from the halfway line and before they struck the ball. To help them to cope with the pressure of the situation, a psychological profile of what a player is thinking and feeling, along with a personalised strategy, could be a useful tool. And to maximise the chance of scoring from a penalty, it is extremely important that players practice under similar physical and psychological conditions to a high-pressure tournament. Anything that alleviates the fear of penalty taking at a major competition can only be of benefit to players, and to football itself.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173032/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Ellis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>High pressure during penalties can cause a whole range of problems before striking the ball, both psychological and physical.Louise Ellis, Senior Lecturer in the Division of Sport, Exercise, and Public Health, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1651712021-07-28T04:24:23Z2021-07-28T04:24:23ZWhat Olympic gymnasts can teach us about improving our balance<p>The acrobatic handsprings, somersaults and twists performed by world-class gymnasts at the Tokyo Olympics are among the most complex skills humans can perform.</p>
<p>But at their heart is an instinctive process that can help teach us mere mortals how to stay safe from falls as we move much less spectacularly around our own environment.</p>
<p>To complete acrobatic manoeuvres, gymnasts need energy. In most cases, this energy comes from the jump performed at the start of the element, often after a run-up to gain momentum.</p>
<p>But the power in the jump has less to do with the power output of the gymnast’s muscles, and more to do with the power generated by the springy floor, or by the springboard in the case of a vault, as well as the elasticity of the gymnast’s own tendons. </p>
<p>To optimise the power of the spring from the floor or springboard, the gymnasts have to perfectly set the stiffness of their own spring — the spring of their legs — to get the most power. You can see this process in slow motion in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrbzL2PG8Uo">this video</a>.</p>
<p>When walking or running on a hard surface such as concrete, our joints flex and extend a lot in each jump as our muscles control the joints — compare the video below to the one linked above. But on a springy trampoline we don’t flex our joints much, instead keeping our legs straighter and using less muscle work. That’s why we can jump for much longer without tiring on a trampoline.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cxu9DmdytJg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">When jumping on a hard surface, we flex the joints considerably so our ‘leg spring’ is less stiff than on a sprung surface.</span></figcaption>
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<p>To perfectly “tune” their leg spring to make the most of the springy surface, gymnasts pre-activate their muscles before hitting the floor to begin their jump, using dozens of muscles to adopt a very specific joint configuration that delivers the perfect leg stiffness.</p>
<p>Then, when hitting the ground immediately before takeoff, a variety of reflexes can be triggered that can influence muscle force and alter leg spring stiffness. The gymnast has to compensate for these in advance because the contact time with the ground is too short to make any reactive adjustments during takeoff.</p>
<p>Getting this right takes countless hours of practice, over many years.</p>
<p>What happens when the gymnast then moves to the beam, which is much less springy? They have to adapt their muscle activation to generate a different amount of leg stiffness. They have to be able to tailor their jumping technique with exquisite accuracy to cope with different surfaces.</p>
<p>It sounds technical, but we all do it to a certain extent. We walk, run and jump on surfaces with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9029193/">vastly different stiffnesses</a>, from concrete to carpet, to grass or sand. Failing to adjust our own leg spring stiffness can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22200391/">increase the energy cost of moving</a>, leading to fatigue, and potentially increase our risk of falling. This can be life-threatening – falls leading to hip fractures in older people massively <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19421703/">increase the risk of death</a> in following months and years.</p>
<p>Both in early childhood, when we’re first learning to move, and in older age, when <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31292471/">walking costs more energy</a> and the risk of falling is greater, it’s hugely valuable to practise walking across a range of different surfaces. You can do it by taking walks along forest tracks (especially if rocks and concrete paths intermingle with dirt or grass) or sandy beaches (walking in shallow moving water is also a nice way to stay cool in summer while honing your balance). Your local park might also have equipment designed to practise balancing. </p>
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<img alt="Two hikers on mountain trail" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hiking on rough terrain is a great way to keep your legs working at their best.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Toomas Tartes/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<h2>Do the twist</h2>
<p>Gymnasts need to know how to complete a variety of somersaults and twists. For this they need lots of rotational energy, most of which comes from the initial run-up and jump. Once airborne, you can’t grab more energy!</p>
<p>So gymnasts have to launch off the floor, springboard or beam with the perfect amount of rotation to execute their acrobatic manoeuvre. This requires tremendous precision — “sticking” the landing requires completing the planned number of rotations in perfect time for their feet to hit the floor and avoid toppling over.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-olympic-athletes-stack-up-against-invertebrates-not-very-well-164488">How do Olympic athletes stack up against invertebrates? Not very well</a>
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<p>Amazingly, elite gymnasts can also transition in mid-air between different types of tumbling, perhaps moving from a straight somersault to an angled twist. But how do they do this, if they can’t take on more energy halfway? </p>
<p>They do it by rotating their arms to change their direction of rotation. This can be seen clearly in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2qWgL19sJc">this slow-motion video</a>. </p>
<p>We all do the same thing, especially if we’re trying not to fall over. Newton’s third law says every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So by rotating our arms in the opposite direction to the way we’re falling, we can attempt to push our body back upright. Notice how a gymnast on a beam uses their arms to make sure they don’t fall off.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Angelina Melnikova during a beam routine" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Russian gymnast Angelina Melnikova, demonstrating the importance of arms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ashley Landis/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is another tip we can all learn from elite gymnasts. Using your arms is an important part of maintaining balance, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31803048/">particularly during exercise</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-do-our-bodies-balance-themselves-64737">Explainer: how do our bodies balance themselves?</a>
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<p>You can practise balancing every day by standing on one leg to do daily tasks, walking along lines in the concrete or on balance beams in the play area at your local park, or even by standing up to put on pants and socks rather than sitting on the bed or a chair. </p>
<p>Children and adults alike can also play sports or exercise in the playground — we’re never too old to play, and play is the best way to learn any physical skill.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165171/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Blazevich does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Gymnasts need to carefully calibrate their leg muscles to gain optimum spring from the floor, springboard or beam. And their arms are crucial for balance and creating the right amount of rotation.Anthony Blazevich, Professor of Biomechanics, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1648822021-07-22T10:30:55Z2021-07-22T10:30:55ZTokyo Olympics: what are the limits of human performance? Podcast<p>Are there limits to how much faster, higher or stronger an athlete can get? In this episode of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/the-conversation-weekly-98901">The Conversation Weekly</a> podcast, we talk to researchers in biomechanics, sports technology and psychology, to find out. And we hear about what happened at the troubled 1920 Antwerp Olympics, held in the wake of the first world war and the Spanish flu pandemic. </p>
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<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-561" class="tc-infographic" height="100" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/561/4fbbd099d631750693d02bac632430b71b37cd5f/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>There’s something incredible about watching an athlete break a world record. They peak at exactly the right moment to go faster or further than anyone else ever has in their sport. But how long will records keep tumbling for? How will we know when we’ve reached the peak of what the human body can do? </p>
<p>We asked Anthony Blazevich, professor of biomechanics at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia. While he admits there are physical limits to how fast a cyclist or a sprinter can go, he says we’re not there yet: “I think we’re decades away from the very greatest athletes that we will ever see on Earth.” He explains why, as well as how a person’s genes influence their athletic performance. </p>
<p>Technological innovation is likely to play a role in breaking records too, particularly when it comes to running. The advent of <a href="https://theconversation.com/super-shoes-explaining-athletics-new-technological-arms-race-156265">super shoes</a>, pioneered by Nike, has seen world records broken across long-distance running events since 2017. Jonathan Taylor, a former professional runner and now a lecturer in sport and exercise at Teesside University in the UK, says: “On the roads, half-marathon and marathon world records have all been broken since 2017.” Taylor explains the science behind the super shoes and the regulations surrounding them, and what other tech could help improve running times even further. </p>
<p>But someone could have the perfect sprinter’s body, the perfect training schedule, and the latest super shoe, but if their head isn’t in the right place on the big day, none of that other stuff matters. </p>
<p>Nicole Forrester, a former Canadian Olympic high jumper, and now an assistant professor in the school of media at Ryerson University in Toronto, explains <a href="https://d.lib.msu.edu/etd/429">her research</a> into why psychology – and confidence in particular – is key for an athlete to go from being good, to being great. “At the elite level, it’s impossible for an athlete to be a gold medallist in whatever discipline, without having without confidence,” she tells us. </p>
<p>A little note, we are not focusing on drugs in this episode, but you can read more analysis about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/doping-3213">role of doping in sports here</a>. </p>
<p>In our second story (33 minutes), we <a href="https://theconversation.com/sardines-for-breakfast-hypothermia-rescues-the-story-of-the-cash-strapped-post-pandemic-1920-olympics-162246">revisit the 1920 Antwerp Olympics</a> held just after a fourth wave of the deadly Spanish flu pandemic. The first world war caused the cancellation of the 1916 games, scheduled to take place in Berlin. But soon after the armistice, the aristocratic members of the International Olympic Committee, including its founder, the French baron Pierre de Coubertin, were determined to push ahead with the 1920 games. </p>
<p>They chose Belgium, a country hit hard by the war, as host. Keith Rathbone, a senior lecturer in modern European history and sports history at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, tells us what happened – and the parallels he sees with the Tokyo Olympics. </p>
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<p>And Thabo Leshilo, politics editor at The Conversation in Johannesburg, recommends some analysis on the recent unrest in South Africa following the imprisonment of former president, Jacob Zuma (43m45). </p>
<p>This episode of The Conversation Weekly was produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. You can find us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TC_Audio">@TC_Audio</a>, on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/?hl=en">theconversationdotcom</a>. or via email on podcast@theconversation.com. You can also sign up to <a href="https://theconversation.com/newsletter?utm_campaign=PodcastTCWeekly&utm_content=newsletter&utm_source=podcast">The Conversation’s free daily email here</a>.</p>
<p>News clips in this episode are from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol9fiOAditk">World Athletics</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY3Rj6iiSQM">CBS News</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoxFkJlVZlA">INEOS 1:59 Challenge</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05B2T3ot204">BBC News</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42or2Atfyzo">DW News</a>. </p>
<p><em>You can listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our <a href="https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/60087127b9687759d637bade">RSS feed</a>, or find out how else to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-listen-to-the-conversations-podcasts-154131">listen here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164882/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Plus, the troubled 1920 Antwerp Olympics and the parallels they have for Tokyo. Listen to The Conversation Weekly.Gemma Ware, Head of AudioDaniel Merino, Associate Breaking News Editor and Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly PodcastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1518692020-12-26T06:53:27Z2020-12-26T06:53:27ZFootball: ‘The wall’ can make it harder to save free kicks – new research<p>In football, free kicks occur when the referee believes a rule has been broken. If central enough and within 30 metres from the goal, the attacking team typically attempts a direct shot on goal. However, the goalkeeper routinely places a “wall” of defensive players in between the ball and the goal to complicate the kicker’s task of shooting <a href="https://www.optasports.com/insight-for-fans/opta-s-event-definitions/#:%7E:text=A%20shot%20on%20target%20is%20defined%20as%20any%20goal%20attempt%20that%3A&text=Goes%20into%20the%20net%20regardless%20of%20intent.&text=Shots%20directly%20hitting%20the%20frame,counted%20as%20shots%20on%20target.">on target</a>. </p>
<p>While this strategy is often effective, the wall frequently obstructs the goalkeeper’s initial view of the moving ball. Although <a href="https://www.thesportsman.com/articles/free-kick-walls-are-footballs-most-ridiculous-feature">the negative effects</a> of this obstruction have been <a href="https://nos.nl/artikel/2237287-veel-goals-uit-dode-spelmomenten-dat-is-zeker-geen-toeval.html">assumed by experts</a>, they had not been scientifically quantified until recently.</p>
<p>To do so, our team created a goalkeeping simulator using virtual reality. Both eyes see the world from slightly different perspectives, which gives us our 3D vision. Virtual reality creates the sense of seeing a 3D world by presenting distinct images to both eyes using a head-mounted display. </p>
<p>The exact images of the virtual scene presented to both eyes depend on the continuously measured position and direction of the person’s head, which are imported into a software model of the virtual world and the objects within it, which we can also see on a separate screen. This model includes virtual hands, the positions of which are updated continuously based on the measured position of additional sensors attached to the actual hands. </p>
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<p>A virtual football is moved along a trajectory that accounts for gravity and the aerodynamic effects of air friction and spin. When making contact with other objects (hands, goal, ground), the ball rebounds. This simulator can also be used to show the goalkeeper a realistically moving avatar of the kicker based on recordings of actual free kicks (as our team did previously for <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-319-24560-7_26">cricket</a>).</p>
<h2>Key effects of the wall</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0243287">our study</a> it was clear that obstructing the initial view of the ball affects the goalkeeper. When the ball comes into view later, moving initially behind the wall, goalkeepers start moving later, leaving less time for them to get in between ball and goal. </p>
<p>Without a wall the goalkeeper can get their hands closer to the ball, resulting in more saves than with a wall. We found that the wall was more beneficial for faster free kicks, and for free kicks that require movement of the goalkeeper’s whole body.</p>
<p>The effects were very consistent and are likely to be more substantial in the real world where free kicks warrant larger movements of the goalkeeper and where a wall also partially hides the kicker (although a kicker was not shown in this version of our simulator). However, we would certainly not suggest goalkeepers never use a wall again. </p>
<p>Our results suggest that any decision not to place a wall during a free kick is most relevant for fast kicks from <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/for-free-kicks-25-yards-out-walls-are-more-trouble-than-they-are-worth-2qwt932q5">central positions</a> that leave the goalkeeper little time. The negative effects will be more apparent when facing expert free kick takers, who consistently shoot free kicks around or over the wall and on target.</p>
<h2>Exploiting the defensive wall</h2>
<p>Capitalising on our findings requires a data-driven approach. Goalkeepers and trainers would need to weigh the odds that the kicker shoots into the wall against the improved performance from the goalkeeper being able to see the entire ball flight. The first may be estimated from historic figures for each free kick taker; the latter requires tests on the field or tests using a virtual reality simulator.</p>
<p>A factor we didn’t address is how the wall may act as a reference for the kicker’s aim. <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jmO6CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT98&lpg=PT98&dq=aiming+free+kick+over+head+wall+-FIFA&source=bl&ots=aJU8UHFVW1&sig=ACfU3U1G1oOX0D5YO4KGVUut31xpySx0CQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiK4p3xy5TnAhXNVBUIHUVUBPQ4ChDoATADegQICRAB#v=onepage&q=aiming%20free%20kick%20over%20head%20wall%20-FIFA&f=false">Expert kickers</a> have been reported to aim their shots over a specific player’s head. Without a wall this reference point would not be there, which could negatively affect their kick. On the other hand, the absence of a wall allows for harder and lower shots, which <a href="https://myprivacy.dpgmedia.nl/consent?siteKey=PUBX2BuuZfEPJ6vF&callbackUrl=https%3a%2f%2fwww.volkskrant.nl%2fprivacy-wall%2faccept%3fredirectUri%3d%252fnieuws-achtergrond%252fde-ultieme-kick-van-de-vrije-trap%257eb4899da9%252f">some argue</a> would make free kicks even harder to stop.</p>
<p>Our research confirms that a goalkeeper’s ability to stop a free kick is hindered by visual obstruction caused by the defensive wall of players - a disadvantage that teams have been exploiting in free kick scenarios over the years. Attacking teams, for instance, commonly <a href="https://nos.nl/artikel/2237287-veel-goals-uit-dode-spelmomenten-dat-is-zeker-geen-toeval.html">place additional players in the wall</a>. Under the <a href="https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/uefaorg/Refereeing/02/60/67/07/2606707_DOWNLOAD.pdf">current rules</a>, these players must stand at least a metre from any player in the defending wall to avoid physical interference. However, even at a metre distance these additional players can still interfere with play by <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/9692853/liverpool-wall-premier-league-rule-norwich/">obstructing the goalkeeper’s view</a>. The common use of this strategy shows teams understand the potential benefits of obstructing the goalkeeper’s view.</p>
<p>Free kicks are and will remain a game of cat and mouse between goalkeeper and kicker. Our findings suggest goalkeepers should improve their view of the ball while attacking teams should seek to maximise the goalkeeper’s visual obstruction of the ball. Combined with historic information about opponents’ decisions and movements, our findings help guide the search for more effective free kick strategies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151869/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joost C. Dessing received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme FP7-CIG under grant agreement n° 334202. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cathy Craig is a co-founder of INCISIV Ltd. She receives funding from Innovate UK. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Theofilos Valkanidis receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklowdowska-Curie grant agreement n° 754507.</span></em></p>While a line of defensive players complicates a free kicker’s task to shoot on target, new research suggests it could also impede the goalie.Joost C. Dessing, Lecturer, Queen's University BelfastCathy Craig, Professor, Ulster UniversityTheofilos Valkanidis, Early Stage Researcher, Queen's University BelfastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1491732020-11-20T00:18:00Z2020-11-20T00:18:00ZLet it happen or make it happen? There’s more than one way to get in the zone<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369212/original/file-20201113-21-suy8bf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C6818%2C4562&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We often hear about people being “in the zone” when they have excelled, be it at sport, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0305735619899137">playing music</a>, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321180403_Being_in_the_zone_Flow_state_and_the_underlying_neural_dynamics_in_video_game_playing">video gaming</a>, or <a href="https://runningmagazine.ca/sections/training/running-finding-flow/">going for a run</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1984-15068-001">For decades</a>, researchers have tried to find out <a href="https://oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.001.0001/acrefore-9780190236557-e-156">what the zone is</a> and how to enter it. And the assumption has been that there is <em>one</em> zone that we can experience. </p>
<p>Our research with athletes, however, suggests there may be two types of zone. </p>
<p>One is a “flow state”, where athletes describe effortlessly “letting it happen”. The other is a “clutch state”, where athletes report “making it happen” by purposefully and powerfully stepping up in a key moment.</p>
<p>Here’s how to decide which zone you need to be in — and how to get there.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369196/original/file-20201112-17-1ui4rxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C0%2C997%2C667&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman swims laps in a pool" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369196/original/file-20201112-17-1ui4rxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C0%2C997%2C667&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369196/original/file-20201112-17-1ui4rxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369196/original/file-20201112-17-1ui4rxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369196/original/file-20201112-17-1ui4rxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369196/original/file-20201112-17-1ui4rxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369196/original/file-20201112-17-1ui4rxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369196/original/file-20201112-17-1ui4rxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Research with athletes suggests there may be two zones.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>Flow vs clutch states</h2>
<p>Much <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10413200.2014.885915?casa_token=ETWHLba41CQAAAAA%3AK8i3x18gDhmClMYx3yUX7sQl0SE9PDFkj4aG-DSI-AAG9RjhKLuljC0WTDnLloVIOHFIF2JbmKC7Iw">research</a> or media reporting about the zone is often based on interviews with athletes which take place some months or years after their performances have happened. </p>
<p>This means our understanding has been based on old, and likely faded, memories. As a result, people remember their experiences as one zone. </p>
<p>For our research, we <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283564015_Psychological_States_underlying_Excellent_Performance_in_Professional_Golfers_Letting_it_Happen_vs_Making_it_Happen">interviewed</a> athletes within days or hours of exceptional performances, allowing them to describe their experiences in much more detail. </p>
<p>We heard frequently of different ways of being “in the zone”, sometimes employed during different parts of a challenge. As a polar explorer told us, “They’re definitely two different states.” </p>
<p>A marathon runner told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It was like two different races.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369203/original/file-20201113-15-mzsni1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman runs in the park." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369203/original/file-20201113-15-mzsni1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369203/original/file-20201113-15-mzsni1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369203/original/file-20201113-15-mzsni1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369203/original/file-20201113-15-mzsni1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369203/original/file-20201113-15-mzsni1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369203/original/file-20201113-15-mzsni1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369203/original/file-20201113-15-mzsni1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">In the flow state, your performance effortlessly clicks into place as if you are on autopilot.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>The <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=KTQXAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=csikszentmihalyi+flow&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi6o-iv5_TsAhWc6nMBHccoA3MQ6AEwAXoECAQQAg#v=onepage&q=csikszentmihalyi%20flow&f=false">flow state</a> is where you become completely absorbed in what you are doing, you perform the task effortlessly — as if you are on autopilot — and it feels like everything harmoniously clicks into place. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1750984X.2020.1771747">clutch</a> state was described as “making it happen”, where athletes purposefully step up their effort and concentration during important moments in a performance. </p>
<p>This state describes <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1750984X.2020.1771747">clutch performance</a> — a common term among fans and media in sport — such as Michael Jordan’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shot">famous buzzer-beater</a> in the 1989 playoffs (from from about the 2:00 mark in the video below). </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-psychology-of-the-clutch-athlete-85956">The psychology of the clutch athlete</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Which zone should you aim for?</h2>
<p>We would all love to be in the zone more often. Now that the research is telling us there are actually two types of zone, a first step is to recognise which zone you’re aiming for. </p>
<p>Clutch performances occur in certain situations under pressure, when there is an important outcome on the line. Think meeting deadlines, running to catch the last bus home, or being at the end of a race with a personal best on the line. </p>
<p>Flow occurs in situations where there’s novelty, exploration, and experimentation. This might be playing a golf course for the first time, running a new route, or sitting down with a blank page and brainstorming ideas. There’s no pressure or expectation — you’re free to explore.</p>
<p>Both zones can happen in the same event too. For example, runners can be in flow during the start or middle of a race, and then realise they have a chance of breaking their personal best or a chance to win, and flip into a clutch performance at the end — like when Shura Kitata won in a sprint finish <a href="https://runningmagazine.ca/sections/runs-races/shura-kitata-wins-london-marathon-in-sprint-finish-kipchoge-8th/#:%7E:text=Ethiopia's%20Shura%20Kitata%2C%20who%20finished,of%202%3A05%3A41">in the men’s 2020 London Marathon</a> (from about the 2:05 timestamp in the video below).</p>
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<h2>How can you get in each zone?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318903752_The_effects_of_open_vs_specific_goals_on_flow_and_clutch_states_in_a_cognitive_task">Research</a> suggests the type of goals we set plays an important role in getting into each zone. </p>
<p>Clutch performances occur when we realise there is an important outcome at stake, we understand what is required, and we step up our effort. You’ve probably done this before — like pulling an all-nighter to get your assignment finished, staying late at work to meet an important deadline, or pushing hard to record a personal best. </p>
<p>The key to these clutch performances is having <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318903752_The_effects_of_open_vs_specific_goals_on_flow_and_clutch_states_in_a_cognitive_task">a specific goal in mind</a>, and understanding clearly what you need to do to meet the challenge (for example, “if I can run this last kilometre in under five minutes I can break my personal best”). </p>
<p>Once this challenge is set, it’s quite natural for us to increase our effort and intensity in order to achieve the goal. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369486/original/file-20201116-19-usxdzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369486/original/file-20201116-19-usxdzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/369486/original/file-20201116-19-usxdzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369486/original/file-20201116-19-usxdzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369486/original/file-20201116-19-usxdzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369486/original/file-20201116-19-usxdzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369486/original/file-20201116-19-usxdzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/369486/original/file-20201116-19-usxdzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Megan Rapinoe of the USA football team in action during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final match between USA and Netherlands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To get into flow, however, we need to think a bit differently. We need to create situations where we can <em>explore</em> — where we’re <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318903752_The_effects_of_open_vs_specific_goals_on_flow_and_clutch_states_in_a_cognitive_task">free from expectation and pressure</a>. </p>
<p>An important part of this is setting open goals such as to “see how well I can do,” “see how many under par I can get”, or “see how fast I can run the next five kilometres”. </p>
<p>These open-ended, non-specific goals help avoid pressure and expectation, letting you gradually build your confidence, and increasing your chances of getting into flow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149173/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christian Swann is a Subject Matter Expert for Movember, and is a member of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Exercise and Sports Science Australia, and the Australasian Society for Physical Activity.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Goddard’s research is funded by the Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship.
</span></em></p>Our research with athletes suggests there may be two zones: an effortless ‘flow state’ and a more purposeful ‘clutch state’. Here’s how to decide which zone you need to be in — and how to get there.Christian Swann, Associate Professor in Psychology, Southern Cross UniversityScott Goddard, PhD candidate, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1422802020-07-10T04:05:47Z2020-07-10T04:05:47ZHowzat! We can all learn from elite batsmen, and not just about cricket<p>While many people may enjoy a game of backyard cricket, only a few go on to become elite professional batsmen in Australia.</p>
<p>Cricket batting is example of what human skills can achieve. The fastest bowling delivery speeds can <a href="https://sportsshow.net/fastest-bowlers-in-the-history-of-cricket/">exceed 150km/h</a>. That leaves a batsman with less than half a second to react.</p>
<p>And to complicate the challenge even further, the environment and pitch they play on can change the trajectory of the delivery every time.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-crowd-noise-matter-139662">Why does crowd noise matter?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>To find out what gives elite cricketers the edge we interviewed eight expert high-performance international or state-level coaches, who themselves were batsmen at those levels.</p>
<p>We asked them a series of questions to capture the skills they saw as underpinning batting expertise. The results were published recently in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0234802" title="Defining cricket batting expertise from the perspective of elite coaches">PLOS ONE</a>.</p>
<p>While the sample was small, there are not many people who were both elite-level players and coaches, so the research provides a unique understanding of the skills needed to become an expert in their field.</p>
<h2>Learn to adapt and know your limits</h2>
<p>A key finding of our study is that cricket batting can be viewed, at least in the minds of expert batsmen, as a battle for a sense of control of the game.</p>
<p>To gain this sense of control, batsmen must possess the skills to assess all the key environmental conditions, such as the opposition bowler’s plan, the pace of the ball off the pitch, and whether the situation of the game requires scoring or surviving.</p>
<p>An expert batsman’s ability to read these conditions and then adapt their strategy and technique was grounded in an understanding of their own game. One said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You have to be adaptable to change the momentum of the innings – whether that is by batting through an hour or whether it is counter-attacking during a period.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But it’s not just about knowledge of their own strengths, it’s also about their limitations. As another said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>So if you get on a tough wicket … you’ve got to have the decision-making and planning and discipline to say, right now I can’t do that today, or, I can’t do that for the first hour or two; until the balls a bit older, or the wicket’s a bit flatter, or the ball is a bit closer to me.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Being able to accurately assess the opposition’s plan and the pitch conditions, and adapt accordingly, is no easy feat, and it doesn’t always go to plan.</p>
<p>A batsman’s worst enemy, as any sportsperson knows, can sometimes be themselves. The high-stakes, high-pressure situation within a game can create anxiety, clouding the ability to read the conditions, and have a negative impact on decision-making. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>So as cricketers we miss them all the time (a perceived scoring shot), and you have to just reset and refocus.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Routines and reflection</h2>
<p>How expert batsmen continually assess the state of the game and keep their emotions in check comes down to what they do between deliveries. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>A very important part of batting is … what you think about, and how you let the previous (ball) go, and then prepare (yourself) to be ready for the next one.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Expert batsmen highlighted these periods in between deliveries as crucial. They engaged in a process of reflection to update their knowledge of the key environmental conditions, such as the pitch or the way the opposition bowled.</p>
<p>A brief switch-off period between deliveries was also highlighted as crucial to help overcome mental and physical fatigue during performances that can stretch for hours or across days.</p>
<p>To help with that process, expert players develop routines.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Everybody has a routine. When I talk to people, particularly good players, their routines aren’t that dissimilar. There is a physical aspect to it, at the end of each ball they have a break so they might walk down the pitch and pat down imaginary things, or they might walk out towards square leg, just take a few steps away and walk back in again.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Now you know what’s happening next time you see a batsman walk about the pitch between play.</p>
<h2>We can all learn from elite players</h2>
<p>Traditionally in sport, expertise has been thought of as the attainment of near-flawless technical abilities. But at the professional level that’s what all players from both sides are hoping to achieve.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/video-explainer-how-cricket-captains-make-good-decisions-88384">Video explainer: How cricket captains make good decisions</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For those players to have the edge, our research shows technical ability is only part of the game. The ability to be flexible, learn and adapt to each environment is seen as critical, including the ability to learn from any mistakes.</p>
<p>Taking that time to reflect on what just happened is crucial. And what happens between each delivery can sometimes be just as important as how they play the delivery itself.</p>
<p>Incorporating these ideas within any coaching practices, be it sport or something else, could greatly benefit the development of any expertise.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142280/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Connor was formerly a PhD scholar with Cricket Australia. </span></em></p>It’s what batsmen do on the pitch in between a bowler’s delivery that helps make them an expert in the game. They also need routines.Jonathan Connor, Lecturer, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1201352019-09-27T08:10:57Z2019-09-27T08:10:57ZWorld Athletics Championships: study busts myth of the hurdler’s start<p>Runners in the 2019 World <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/athletics-3374">Athletics</a> Championships in Qatar will know that, when winning depends on a difference of a few thousandths of a second, getting a good start is crucial. Intuition suggests the way athletes start a race should depend on the event. Hurdlers, for example, need to clear their first barrier after only seven or eight steps, while sprinters are faced with a clear track all the way to the finish line.</p>
<p>In fact, it’s a common belief that hurdlers “pop up” out of the blocks. That is, they adopt an upright posture more quickly because they need to clear that first hurdle, compared to sprinters’ continued forward lean for acceleration. <a href="http://ucoach.com/assets/uploads/files/Hurdling_For_Young_Athletes_2011.pdf">Coaching texts</a> have kept the idea of this apparent difference alive. But, until now, no one had directly compared exactly how hurdlers and sprinters start. Our <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2019.00023/full">newly published study</a> suggests that, in reality, the two types of athlete start their races in quite a similar way. So there is lots to learn from each other about how they could improve their performance.</p>
<p>Our study, conducted at the most recent World Indoor Championships in Birmingham 2018, for the first time analysed in depth the sprint start techniques of the very best male athletes in the world. It gives an impression of how top athletes perform when gold medals are on the line. The project was led by our colleague <a href="https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=78NK8vIAAAAJ&hl=en">Dr Athanassios Bissas</a> and backed by the <a href="https://www.iaaf.org/news/press-release/biomechanics-research-world-indoor-championsh">International Association of Athletics Federations</a>.</p>
<p>Coaches and scientists like to break down the sprinting action into different phases to help with their analyses. The sprint start is often divided into the initial push with both feet on the blocks, followed by the phase in which only the front foot remains pushing on the blocks. Then each step the athlete takes is composed of a flight phase and a ground contact phase. </p>
<p>Each of these phases can be analysed in minute detail to try to shave those vital fractions of a second from the final race time. Using four high-speed cameras around the arena, we created a detailed computer model of each of our male athletes. These were then combined to create overall models of performance separately for sprinters and hurdlers, for comparison.</p>
<p>Athletes can choose how close to the starting line to place their starting blocks. They typically want to be as close to the line as possible without being too hunched up in a way that would negatively affect their start. Our study shows that hurdlers set their blocks up nearer to the line than sprinters, probably because they are aware of the need to reach the first hurdle in only seven steps without having to overstretch.</p>
<p>By the time the athletes have left the blocks, the hurdlers have pushed themselves slightly further forwards and upwards than the sprinters. But overall, their body positions are remarkably similar.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293248/original/file-20190919-22450-bruh40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293248/original/file-20190919-22450-bruh40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293248/original/file-20190919-22450-bruh40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=200&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293248/original/file-20190919-22450-bruh40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=200&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293248/original/file-20190919-22450-bruh40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=200&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293248/original/file-20190919-22450-bruh40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293248/original/file-20190919-22450-bruh40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293248/original/file-20190919-22450-bruh40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sprinter’s (black stick figure) and hurdler’s (grey stick figure) body positions in the set position and when each foot comes off the starting block.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bezodis et al. 2019</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At first foot contact with the track, upper bodies of hurdlers are in a more upright position than that of the sprinters, but their lower body positions are all similar. By the time the athletes have left the ground, both their upper and lower body positions match more closely across the groups. This pattern of differences repeats for the first three steps that we measured.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293249/original/file-20190919-22433-sx0cl1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293249/original/file-20190919-22433-sx0cl1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293249/original/file-20190919-22433-sx0cl1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293249/original/file-20190919-22433-sx0cl1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293249/original/file-20190919-22433-sx0cl1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293249/original/file-20190919-22433-sx0cl1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293249/original/file-20190919-22433-sx0cl1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293249/original/file-20190919-22433-sx0cl1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sprinter’s (black stick figure) and hurdler’s (grey stick figure) body positions at touchdown and take-off of the first step after the blocks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bezodis et al. 2019</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The difference in upper body positions when the athletes’ feet hit the track is probably what creates the impression that there are large differences between sprinters and hurdlers. It’s what makes the hurdlers look like they are indeed “popping up”. But the hurdlers’ techniques looks much like that of the sprinters by the end of the first ground contact.</p>
<p>Extensive <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21364480">previous</a> research <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-019-01138-1">on sprinters</a> has shown how effective they are at projecting themselves forwards rather than upwards from the blocks. The similarities that we have found suggest that hurdlers are almost as effective at this forward propulsion, despite the imposing physical barriers in front of them.</p>
<h2>Implications for training</h2>
<p>We think our study has two major implications. First, it could be a lot easier for athletes to transfer from sprinting to hurdling than currently thought. There is little in our work to suggest that sprinters would struggle with performing an effective approach to the first hurdle. Giving hurdles a try might allow some sprinters to discover an event that they are more suited to.</p>
<p>Second, hurdlers can learn much about effective acceleration from sprinters. They should be encouraged to explore the range of their capabilities with and without hurdles. Coaches should focus on the similarities between the two events, rather than the perceived differences. This would offer more opportunities for coaches and athletes to improve.</p>
<p>There are many questions that remain unanswered, especially relating to hurdling technique, which has received much less scientific attention than <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-find-your-best-running-style-60398">that of sprinters</a>. For one thing, female hurdlers have to clear lower barriers so may not respond in the same way. Additionally, studies investigating how athletes change their technique as they progress from novice to national level to world class would be incredibly valuable to our understanding.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120135/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Bezodis has previously received funding from Welsh Athletics and Sport Wales. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Josh Walker and Matthew Wood do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Coaches have long thought hurdlers and sprinters start their races differently – our research suggests they need to adjust their thinking.Ian Bezodis, Senior Lecturer in Sports Biomechanics, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityJosh Walker, PhD Candidate in Sports Biomechanics, Leeds Beckett UniversityMatthew Wood, Lecturer in Performance Sport, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1189182019-06-18T19:57:03Z2019-06-18T19:57:03ZSport is full of conspiracy theories – Chris Froome’s horrific cycling crash is just the latest example<p>The <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/48612884">recent crash</a> of four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome put his attempt for a record-equalling 5th title on hold. (The 2019 <a href="https://www.letour.fr/en/">Tour de France</a> starts on July 6.) </p>
<p>But the spectacular, career-limiting smash also fuelled conspiracy theories surrounding the events leading up to and following the incident. </p>
<p>Conspiracy theories in sport are remarkably common. They help sports fans make sense of significant, unusual, and large-scale events. However, where those conspiracy theories have no basis in fact, they can lead to serious reputational harm to their subjects.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1140288601487478784"}"></div></p>
<p>Froome hit a wall at speed during reconnaissance at a <a href="https://www.letour.fr/en/">Tour de France</a> lead-up race, the <a href="https://www.criterium-du-dauphine.fr/en/">Critérium du Dauphiné</a>. </p>
<p>Team Ineos (formerly Team Sky) manager, Sir Dave Brailsford, told reporters Froome took his hands off the handlebars momentarily to blow his nose, and a gust of wind caused him to lose control.</p>
<p>It was a costly mistake that resulted in horrific, life-threatening injuries, including a <a href="https://www.teamineos.com/article/froome-ruled-out-of-tour-de-france">fractured femur, elbow, ribs, and neck</a>, and the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2019/06/14/chris-froome-lost-four-pints-blood-criterium-du-dauphine-crash/">loss of nearly two litres of blood</a>.</p>
<p>This all happened before the day’s stage, so there was limited video or photographic evidence of the crash or injuries. </p>
<p>Almost immediately, <a href="https://twitter.com/MCaseum/status/1136974196607782913">alternative narratives</a> appeared, claiming to explain what really <a href="https://twitter.com/EwonSprokler/status/1140288601487478784">happened</a> and why. Even after images showed <a href="https://twitter.com/chrisfroome/status/1139902071216496640">Froome lying in his hospital bed</a>, the <a href="https://twitter.com/ffflow/status/1139903588661153793">narratives changed</a>.</p>
<p>Froome may take some comfort in not being alone as a target of conspiracy theories in sport. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-conspiracy-theories-arent-harmless-fun-43923">Why conspiracy theories aren’t harmless fun</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Sporting conspiracies are incredibly common</h2>
<p>You might have heard some of these conspiracy theories. There’s the poisoning of the New Zealand All Blacks the night before the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/04/all-blacks-were-poisoned-before-1995-rugby-cup---mandela-bodygua/">1995 Rugby World Cup final</a>, Michael Jordan’s retirement from basketball to serve a <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/131997-mjs-1st-retirement-was-it-a-secret-suspension">secret suspension for gambling</a>, Muhammad Ali’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/may/22/muhammad-ali-phantom-punch-sonny-liston-1965">phantom punch</a>, and a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/sports/comments/113g3t/what_is_your_favorite_sports_conspiracy_theory/">host of other favourites</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1136974196607782913"}"></div></p>
<p>Cycling itself is no stranger to conspiracies theories either. There are claims that Laurent Fignon lost the <a href="https://www.velonews.com/2019/05/news/vn-archives-1984-giro-to-moser_494129">1984 Giro D'Italia to Italian Francesco Moser</a> because of a conspiracy by race organisers. Fignon argued that Moser had help from <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/the-two-gentlemen-of-verona-moser-vs-fignon-at-the-1984-giro-ditalia/">local race television</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] while the helicopter was pushing Moser along, it was pushing me back.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>More recently, <a href="http://www.fabiancancellara.com/en/">Fabian Cancellara</a> was accused of propelling himself to victories using a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nd13ARuvVE">hidden motor inside his bicycle</a>. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynLMfzLTc8M">Spinning wheels</a>, and even <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy6SCE9sMw8">Froome’s famous accelerations</a> have been questioned by fans.</p>
<p>In response, cycling’s governing body <a href="https://www.uci.org/news/2018/the-uci-presents-a-robust-action-plan-to-combat-technological-fraud-185708">updated its rules</a> and <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/132-motorised-doping-checks-at-tour-down-under-fdj-celebrate-20th-anniversary-news-shorts/">carried out thousands of bicycle checks</a>. </p>
<p>Despite suggestions of a widespread technological conspiracy by riders and teams, little evidence has surfaced (<a href="https://www.uci.org/news/2016/the-uci-announces-disciplinary-commission-decision-in-the-case-of-femke-van-den-driessche-176133">a single cyclocross rider was sanctioned</a>).</p>
<p>The conspiracy theory behind Froome’s sudden, dramatic and largely undocumented crash is unsurprising. </p>
<p>Being the richest cycling team, Sky/Ineos is no stranger to <a href="https://cyclingtips.com/2016/09/team-sky-tue-controversy-why-one-medical-expert-has-real-concerns/">controversies</a>. With <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/39122401">mystery packages</a> and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cycling/team-sky-sir-bradley-wiggins-medical-records-lost-dropbox-a7652936.html">missing medical files</a>, these previous narratives serve as a background for scepticism and distrust in the team and its performances, and are key ingredients in conspiracy theories.</p>
<h2>What are conspiracy theories?</h2>
<p>Here’s a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/acp.1583">useful definition</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Conspiracy theories are lay beliefs that attribute the ultimate cause of an event, or the concealment of an event from public knowledge, to a secret, unlawful, and malevolent plot by multiple actors working together. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Common attributes of conspiracy theories are their negative and distrustful representation of other people and groups. In addition, conspiracy theories <a href="http://www.janwillemvanprooijen.com/conspiracytheoriesbook">require</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Patterns:</strong> connections between actions, objects, and people are non-random – the incidents that caused the event did not occur through coincidence. Sceptics of Froome’s case say he was not simply blown from his bicycle into a wall at speed, but rather argue that evidence related to his <a href="https://twitter.com/MCaseum/status/1139306703554588674">speed</a> and the <a href="https://twitter.com/MCaseum/status/1139348136118444032">number of accounts he was following on Twitter</a> are a nod and wink to the Illuminati and Freemasons.</li>
</ul>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1139348136118444032"}"></div></p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Agency:</strong> the event was planned by intelligent actors. In this example, conspiracy theorists allege that Froome and Ineos <a href="https://twitter.com/EwonSprokler/status/1140163895707021312">orchestrated the crash</a>.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Coalitions</strong>: it involved multiple actors. In the recent case, <a href="https://twitter.com/MCaseum/status/1139311032281812992">Team Ineos</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MCaseum/status/1139326013618425856">other cyclists</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MCaseum/status/1139128625637314561">photographers</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/MCaseum/status/1139304630083567619">doctors</a> have all been accused by conspiracy theorists of involvement in Froome’s crash.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Hostility</strong>: the coalition was pursuing evil and/or selfish goals. For example, it has been suggested on Twitter that Froome crashed to <a href="https://twitter.com/maximus_hoggus/status/1139942582451130368">avoid a doping test</a>.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Continued Secrecy</strong>: it must be unproven, and not yet exposed by evidence. This is key for it to be a conspiracy theory, as opposed to just a conspiracy. In Froome’s case, conspiracy theory exponents have cited the <a href="https://twitter.com/MCaseum/status/1138931304219779073">lack of video or photographic evidence </a>. </p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/conspiracy-theories-fuel-prejudice-towards-minority-groups-113508">Conspiracy theories fuel prejudice towards minority groups</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Ordinary people believe conspiracy theories</h2>
<p>One study of Americans shows <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ajps.12084">more than half of them</a> endorse at least one conspiracy theory, <a href="https://theconversation.com/conspiracy-theories-fuel-prejudice-towards-minority-groups-113508">perhaps more</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0963721417718261">Researchers suggest</a> people are drawn to conspiracy theories because they satisfy three needs, or motives:</p>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>Epistemic</strong>: understanding one’s environment and making sense of the world. Impactful events, such as the multiple Tour de France champion crashing out, are not satisfied by mundane explanations, such as “Froome lost control of his bike while blowing his nose”. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Existential</strong>: being safe and in control of one’s environment. Disempowered fans, such as those who already distrust Team Ineos, regain some personal control by rejecting the official narratives and developing their own. </p></li>
<li><p><strong>Social</strong>: maintaining a positive image of the self and the social group.
Believing and sharing these beliefs may satisfy a desire to belong to and maintain a positive image of the self and other like-minded fans. </p></li>
</ol>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-short-history-of-vaccine-objection-vaccine-cults-and-conspiracy-theories-78842">A short history of vaccine objection, vaccine cults and conspiracy theories</a>
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<p>Conspiracies theories <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-conspiracy-theories-arent-harmless-fun-43923">aren’t just harmless fun</a> endorsed by the tinfoil hat brigade. The consequences of some conspiracies (such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/one-nations-malcolm-roberts-is-in-denial-about-the-facts-of-climate-change-63581">climate change</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-short-history-of-vaccine-objection-vaccine-cults-and-conspiracy-theories-78842">vaccination</a>) may seem obvious compared to sporting ones; however, there is still a dark side to sporting conspiracies.</p>
<p>While a healthy scepticism of powerful teams or authorities may be warranted at times, it is important to recognise that conspiracy theories can <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-014-9287-z">erode trust</a> between the fans, the sport, and those who govern the sport.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118918/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mathew Marques does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Conspiracy theories help sports fans make sense of unexpected events – like when a whole rugby team becomes sick before a world cup final, or the retirement of Michael Jordan from basketball.Mathew Marques, Lecturer in Social Psychology, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1139302019-03-28T13:53:41Z2019-03-28T13:53:41ZHow sports science in Africa can be taught and thought about differently<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265281/original/file-20190322-36264-2pjycb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sports science needs to race towards a different approach.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">kentoh/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the four years since the decolonisation debate took <a href="http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2221-40702018000200001">centre stage</a> at South African universities, much of the focus has been on what decolonisation might look like in the humanities.</p>
<p>But science subjects, too, need to be taught differently at African universities in the 21st century. This is true of my discipline, sport science. The content of the sports science curriculum needs to change. So does the focus of sports science departments. Increasingly, such departments at public universities rely on <a href="https://journals.assaf.org.za/sajsm/article/view/365">private funding</a> to operate. This means they are driven by corporate and donors’ interests, doing less for the public good and not necessarily producing social and political critical thinkers.</p>
<p>Both the curriculum and the structure of sports science departments needs to be overhauled. This is necessary, because nothing in the ideological content of sport science curricula has changed over the past 25 years. </p>
<p>In fact, it can be argued that the sport science curriculum, driven more and more by semi-private institutions at public spaces of higher learning, is more committed to a neo-liberal capitalist project today than what it was 25 years ago. </p>
<h2>The field’s history</h2>
<p>The history of modern day century sports science, as an academic discipline, dates back to the early 20th century when the medical fraternity and physicians became interested in athletic contests. One such doctor, R. Tait McKenzie, published one of the field’s <a href="https://archive.org/details/exerciseineducat01mcke/page/n4">earliest scholarly texts</a>, <em>Exercise and Education in Medicine</em>. </p>
<p>This book reflected and enforced the cultural hold that the western (Hellenistic) presentation of the human body exerted in the emerging field of sport science. The Greek body – white, muscular, masculine and middle class –dominated as an ideal type. This dominance continues today. What wasn’t discussed was that ancient Greece was a slave-owning society that exploited inequalities based on race, gender and class. </p>
<p>As scholars like Ina Zweiniger-Bargielowska have <a href="http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280520.001.0001/acprof-9780199280520">highlighted</a>, physical culture around the turn of the 20th century existed against the backdrop of competing conceptions of masculinity and a wider debate about the fitness of the British “race”. The scientifically trained sport body, sculpted by the sport scientist, became modern society’s idea of the perfect body. </p>
<p>The untrained body – that is, not trained by a sport scientist – is often presented as the “other” type. These “untrained” bodies are often developed in community sports in local communities without the high costs that accompany sport science interventions. These forms of exercise are looked down on and sports science students are taught that these matter less. Ordinary people in these communities are made to believe that their exercise regimes, and ultimately their physical bodies, are not valid and are unimportant.</p>
<p>There have also been few strides in addressing gender discrimination in sports science. White male bodies are the focus. Students are not taught about alternatives or given space to criticise traditional approaches.</p>
<p>The field of sports science, then, has neglected the development of a thorough, critical analysis of how gender, race and class inequalities play out in sports science and exercise.</p>
<h2>Commodifying knowledge</h2>
<p>But altering what we teach is just one part of the challenge for South African sports scientists. </p>
<p>As higher education has become <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17430437.2014.849449">more commodified</a>, so have public universities’ sports sciences departments.</p>
<p>As sport scientists, we no longer focus primarily on generating and dispensing intellectual knowledge about sport to local communities. Instead, we accumulate knowledge primarily for performance appraisals in accredited publications for distribution in academic circles. This means it’s shared with fewer people. </p>
<p>In this way, sports science’s intellectual property has been captured by what scholar Lesley le Grange <a href="http://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/101900">refers to</a> as the knowledge economy in the ascendancy of the neo-liberal university.</p>
<h2>What does all this mean, in practise?</h2>
<p>Simply put, if sport science wants to be relevant to ordinary people, the curriculum needs to be taught and thought about differently. There must be a commitment to a decolonised way of doing things. This means teaching students about different bodies, about different fitness regimes and approaches, drawing from indigenous knowledge systems about what builds a strong body.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113930/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Francois Cleophas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Greek body - white, muscular, masculine and middle class - dominated as an ideal type. This dominance continues today.Francois Cleophas, Senior Lecturer in Sport History, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1074132018-12-13T12:48:44Z2018-12-13T12:48:44ZWhy football’s festive fixture congestion is so bad for injuries<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250436/original/file-20181213-178576-1cyfi2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tottenham's Kieran Trippier has been struggling with a persistent groin problem.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For many football fans, the festive football schedule is a highlight of the Christmas break. But for many clubs, the cold conditions and congestion around fixtures can lead to an increase in injuries. In fact, earlier in the year Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2018/01/03/football/pep-guardiola-english-premier-league-fixture-scheduling-killing-players/index.html">said the festive period in English football</a> was “killing” the players. </p>
<p>English football is unique in that it has a high number of fixtures, particularly during the festive period when European teams get a mid-season break. In fact, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30442720">recent research</a> has confirmed that elite football teams that do not have a winter break (England) lose on average 303 more player days per season to injuries than those teams that do (mainland Europe).</p>
<p>These findings may also contribute to explaining the spike in training injuries seen during the month of December in the latest injury audit of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30408703">English professional football</a>. And it’s well known that leagues in <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/11560051/premier-league-and-efl-clubs-suffer-more-severe-injuries-due-to-lack-of-winter-break-study-finds">Northern Europe that play during cold winters</a> are at a higher risk of injury than teams in Southern Europe. </p>
<h2>Increased injury risk</h2>
<p>Of course, some fans might claim that modern football players are simply not made of the same tough stuff as their historic counterparts. But <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30408703">recent research</a> published by the Musculoskeletal Health Research Group at Leeds Beckett University appears to suggest that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29071112">injuries in semi-professional and professional football</a> may actually be on the rise in Britain and Ireland. </p>
<p>These findings are contrary to what might have been expected given that sports science and medicine – which aims to reduce injury risk and improve performance – has never been so prominent at football clubs. Indeed, Alex Ferguson once described sports science as the greatest change in the game <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/mar/23/ryan-giggs-sports-science-samuel-etoo">during his time as manager</a>.</p>
<p>There are two main risk factors for musculoskeletal injury in athletes: previous injury and sudden increases in training or competition loads. Managers ultimately have the final say on training practices and the number of games a player takes part in. And as a result, management style has an impact on the amount of games a player is exposed to and their risk of injury and subsequent re-injury. </p>
<p>The size of a manager’s playing squad will inevitably influence their decision on who takes part and how soon after injury a player returns. And this could mean that smaller playing squads in lower leagues are at heightened risk of injury. </p>
<h2>Types of footballing injury</h2>
<p>Muscle strains in the thigh region are the most common injuries in professional football. They occur more often in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30408703">matches than training</a> and usually during <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29071112">high speed running</a>. These trends further suggest that fatigue associated with consecutive matches and not enough rest between them plays more of a role than the physicality of the game. </p>
<p>Further evidence in support of this theory <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/47/12/732">comes from research</a> which demonstrates a reduction in ligament injuries but not muscle injuries in professional football. It seems that exercise programs designed to improve strength and balance have had a positive impact on ligament injuries but that exposure to training and match demands – or, more specifically, sudden changes in the amount of training or matches – is the primary factor associated with muscle injury. </p>
<p>It’s worth pointing out, however, that injury can be caused by both genetic and environmental issues and these interpretations are purely suggestions based on the trends observed.</p>
<h2>Tackling the issue</h2>
<p>In the absence of a mid-season or winter break, these findings stress the importance of player management by football clubs and medical teams. </p>
<p>To reduce the risk of injury, clubs should consider reducing or altering the intensive nature of training during periods of fixture congestion – something that has been <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/50/5/273">shown to be effective in professional rugby</a>. This may be supplemented by increased squad rotation. </p>
<p>So for football fans who are unhappy with their teams points haul this festive period, it might be worth checking to see how many of the players were injured. If the answer is quite a few, the reason may be a lack of player availability rather than underperformance – and ultimately, that buck still stops with the manager.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107413/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Elite football teams that do not have a winter break lose on average 303 more player-days per season to injuries than those teams that do.Peter Francis, Director of the Musculoskeletal Science Research Group, Leeds Beckett UniversityAshley Jones, Senior Lecturer in the School of Clinical and Applied Sciences, Leeds Beckett UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1065392018-11-19T19:02:05Z2018-11-19T19:02:05ZYour riding position can give you an advantage in a road cycling sprint<p>Many professional road cycling events are hundreds of kilometres long, but the final placings are often decided by what happens in the last few seconds of any race stage.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2018-0560">New research</a> shows that a rider can gain up to an extra 5kph advantage in those final sprint seconds, and it all depends on how they position themselves on their bicycle.</p>
<p>That can be enough to make the difference between winning or losing a race.</p>
<h2>Race to the finish</h2>
<p>If you’ve ever watched a professional road cycling event, either live or on television, you know they can go on for several days or even weeks.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/3d-concrete-printing-could-free-the-world-from-boring-buildings-106520">3D concrete printing could free the world from boring buildings</a>
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<p>But more than half of the stages during the Santos Tour Down Under and the Tour de France, as well as some of the recent World Championships, were won in either a head-to-head, small group, or mass sprint finish.</p>
<p>The average speed during professional road cycling sprints is 63.9kph (53.7-69.1kph) sustained for between 9 and 17 seconds for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0035-1554697">men</a>, and 53.8kph (41.6-64kph) for 10-30 seconds for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2017-0757">women</a>.</p>
<p>During the sprint, men produce peak power outputs between 13.9 and 20.0 Watts per kilogram (989-1,443 Watts), and women 10.8-16.2 Watts per kilogram (716-1,088 Watts).</p>
<p>But peak power output is not the only important factor to win the sprint, with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23038704">tactics</a> playing a significant role.</p>
<p>Our new research, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2018-0560">published this month in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance</a>, shows that adopting a forward standing position during a sprint could give riders a speed boost of up to 5kph.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245432/original/file-20181113-194491-opqwqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245432/original/file-20181113-194491-opqwqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245432/original/file-20181113-194491-opqwqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=236&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245432/original/file-20181113-194491-opqwqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=236&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245432/original/file-20181113-194491-opqwqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=236&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245432/original/file-20181113-194491-opqwqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=297&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245432/original/file-20181113-194491-opqwqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=297&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245432/original/file-20181113-194491-opqwqp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=297&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The three tested sprinting positions from left to right: seated, standing, and forward standing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<h2>The drag on a cyclist</h2>
<p>Cycling speed is affected by several factors, including power output, aerodynamic drag (CdA), road characteristics, and environmental variables. </p>
<p>During the sprint, roughly 95% of the total resistive forces working against the rider is caused by aerodynamic resistance. Therefore, it is important to reduce aerodynamic drag in road cycling, particularly during the sprint which is the fastest activity on the bicycle (with the exclusion of some downhill riding during a race).</p>
<p>Given that the outcomes of road cycling sprints are often decided by very small margins – in one race stage down to <a href="https://www.eurosport.com/cycling/tour-de-france/2017/tour-de-france-2017-stage-7-analysis-boasson-hagen-denied-win-by-just-0.0003-seconds_sto6245740/story.shtml">just 0.0003 seconds</a> – the aerodynamics are meaningful to overall sprint performances.</p>
<p>Studies on flow dynamics in cycling have shown that <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1754337114549876">lowering the head and torso</a> significantly reduces wind resistance. </p>
<p>That is why several cyclists have, over the past few years, begun to adopt a forward standing cycling sprint position. </p>
<p>This novel sprint position has already shown to be successful at the highest level of professional cycling, in events such as the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España and in Australia’s biggest road cycling race, the Santos Tour Down Under (see video, below). </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Santos Tour Down Under 2016 stage 6 victory in the forward standing position.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Body position to the test</h2>
<p>To better understand why this forward standing position may give riders an advantage, we compared it with the more traditional seated and standing sprint positions. </p>
<p>During the study, participants rode 250 metres in two directions at 25kph, 32kph and 40kph and in each of the three positions, resulting in a total of 18 efforts per participant.</p>
<p>During these efforts we measured cycling velocity, power output, road gradient, wind velocity and direction, temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. </p>
<p>We then used these variables, together with the weight of the cyclist and bicycle, and constants for rolling resistance and the efficiency of the drive system, in a mathematical model to calculate the aerodynamic drag.</p>
<p>This model has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1249/01.mss.0000193560.34022.04">previously</a> been shown to give valid measurements compared with a wind tunnel.</p>
<h2>The results are in</h2>
<p>We found the forward standing cycling sprint position resulted in a 23-26% reduction in aerodynamic drag compared with a seated and standing position, respectively. </p>
<p>This decrease in drag could potentially result in an important increase in cycling sprint velocity of 3.9-4.9kph.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/skill-vs-luck-who-really-deserves-the-rewards-from-success-99766">Skill vs luck: who really deserves the rewards from success?</a>
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<p>Throughout the average duration of a typical road cycling sprint (about 14 seconds) this would result in a gain of 15-19 metres, which is why it could mean the difference between winning and losing a race. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">How ECU is helping the world’s best cyclists improving their sprint performance.</span></figcaption>
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<p>While this novel position was more aerodynamic, it is plausible that changes in body position may influence a rider’s movement kinetics, and therefore increasing or decreasing power output. This is currently under investigation in this PhD project.</p>
<p>But cyclists who want to improve their sprint performance might want to start practising the forward standing position. It takes time to learn how to sprint in that position but you could gain those aerodynamic benefits, and potentially win more races.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106539/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Franciscus Johannes Merkes receives funding from Orica-GreenEDGE and ECU (scholarship). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Abbiss has received funding from from New Global Cycling Services and Cycling Australia for research outlined in this article. </span></em></p>Most long distance road cycling events are won or lost in the final sprint of any race stage. Here’s one tip that could give you an extra 5kph advantage.Paul Franciscus Johannes Merkes, PhD candidate, Edith Cowan UniversityChris Abbiss, Associate professor, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1016932018-09-19T08:31:17Z2018-09-19T08:31:17ZFC Barcelona: how our new research helped unlock the ‘Barca way’<p>FC Barcelona are one of the most <a href="https://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/card/honours-football">successful domestic football</a> teams of all time. <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/the-philosophy-at-bar231as-academy-that-has-led-to-european-glory-2291414.html">Some believe</a> that one of the key ingredients of their success, across all levels of the club, is the unique philosophy and training methods employed by the array of coaches – from academy level up. </p>
<p>Now, for the first time, <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/publishahead/Quantification_of_a_Professional_Football_Team_s.95167.aspx">our new research</a> may provide some insight into the training methodology and, potentially, the secrets of the club’s success. These “secrets” could be closely associated with the theories put forward by coach <a href="https://fcb-escola.fcbarcelona.com/news/2015-2016/joan-vila-no-club-in-the-world-has-a-model-like-ours-at-fc-barcelona">Paco Seirul·lo</a> and how they link with cutting edge sports science.</p>
<p>The research was undertaken by three staff members of FC Barcelona’s Sports Performance Department, Andres Martin-Garcia, Antonio Gomez Diaz and Francesc Cos Morera. I was invited to be a consultant, alongside David Casamichana from the <a href="https://www.uneatlantico.es/en">Universidad Europea del Atlántico</a>. </p>
<p>Together, we used state of the art tracking technology throughout the 2015-16 season to monitor physical exertion of players during training and matches. The methodology across each training day was detailed meticulously to illustrate how the players were prepared for upcoming games and to potentially capture information into why this method seems to work so well. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/publishahead/Quantification_of_a_Professional_Football_Team_s.95167.aspx">discoveries were eye opening</a> and highlighted why players are always physically, technically and tactically ready for each game and also how they maintain this throughout a long season.</p>
<h2>Training that mimics match play</h2>
<p>Three or four days before a match, the “Barca model” requires the players to physically exert themselves to their highest intensity of the week through a combination of gym and field based sessions (the latter made up of small-sided games and positional training drills using various pitch dimensions). </p>
<p>This means that all training sessions included drills that had a combined focus (physical, technical and tactical). From an anecdotal perspective, some clubs still include a lot of running-based physical preparation, but Barca specifically focused on physical-tactical drills that mimic key elements of match play and simulate certain game situations.</p>
<h2>Staying fresh</h2>
<p>As the Barca model combines all aspects of training, the time for these sessions was over ten minutes less than <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/24733938.2017.1282163">those reported by other elite clubs</a> (small but this time accumulates across the season). This allows the players to stay fresh. One or two days before a game, the model primarily focuses on technical and tactical preparation using control and passing sequences, a positional game with a low number of players per team, and tactical exercises such as set pieces. </p>
<p>Training load metrics – such as the high-intensity distance a player covers in training and the number of accelerations – were decreased as the match approached due to a special <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapering">tapering strategy</a> (reducing exercise in the days just before an important competition). This indicated that coaches were easing off physically but honing the tactical and technical readiness of the players to ensure they were fit and super sharp for the big game. </p>
<h2>Being ‘game fit’</h2>
<p>Another key difference our research revealed was how Barca worked players who don’t feature heavily in matches to keep them game fit. In the Barca model, players are expected to come into training in the days after a match. For instance, these sessions involved splitting the squad into two training groups. The first group included players who had completed more than 60 minutes of the match and this group conducted low-impact activity combined with regeneration exercises to aid recovery.</p>
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</figure>
<p>Players that had completed less than 60 minutes of the match and needed to “top up” their physical and tactical sharpness took part in a technical/tactical circuit (conditioning exercises that are completed one after another) followed by an intense positional drill and a small-sided game. This additional training provided the appropriate stimulus to maintain the physical capacity of players and is an important tool used by the coaches to ensure players with limited game time are ready physically, technically and tactically when selected. </p>
<p>It would seem that the Barca model seeks to vary the physical/tactical load placed on players throughout a typical week and across the season to enable performance to peak and remain high for all players –including those not getting game time. </p>
<p>So what is the “Barca way”? It would seem it’s not all <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiki-taka">tiki-taka</a> and one-touch passing drills but a unique philosophy, blended with excellent coaching and cutting edge sports science. It involves a more complex understanding of what makes players tick.</p>
<p>Tactics are key, as is rest and recovery. Many elite clubs will of course be doing their own versions of this. But our research provides a unique insight into what makes one of Europe’s greatest football clubs what it is.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101693/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article was based on the research paper written by Andrés Martín García, Dr Antonio Gómez Díaz, Dr Paul Bradley, Dr Francesc Cos Morera and Dr David Casamichana. Dr García (first author) is a sports scientist at FC Barcelona and presented the paper at the 4th Annual Football Analytics and Performance Summit in Prague in September 2018. Dr Gómez Díaz is also a sports scientist at FC Barcelona. Dr Cos Morera is the Sports Performance Director of FC Barcelona Innovation Hub and Dr Casamichana is an academic at Universidad Europea del Atlántico.</span></em></p>It’s not all about tiki-taka football. Our new research revealed how a unique philosophy, excellent coaching and cutting edge sports science help FC Barcelona get the best from its players.Paul Bradley, Reader in Sports Performance, Liverpool John Moores UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1025132018-08-31T15:48:43Z2018-08-31T15:48:43ZCan Usain Bolt really make it as a footballer?<p>What to do when you’ve won it all?</p>
<p>After the 2017 World Championships and a truly stellar career, Usain St Leo Bolt bowed out of the sport he dominated for so long. Fame, fortune, and a personality to match, it’s hard to imagine Bolt was short of offers on hanging up his golden-laced spikes.</p>
<p>So, what do retired Olympic sprinters do: coach, commentate, agency work, celebrity TV appearances, or just rest on their laurels? Bolt had different ideas, openly expressing his desire to play professional soccer: “Maybe a club will see something and decide to give me a chance”, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-norway-bolt/sprinter-bolt-trains-at-norwegian-club-stromsgodset-idUKKCN1IV1DQ">he said</a>.</p>
<p>As an avid Manchester United fan, his most recent public appearance came as he captained the Rest of the World in the 2018 <a href="http://www.espn.co.uk/football/england/story/3522273/usain-bolt-nets-penalty-at-old-trafford-in-soccer-aid-charity-match">Soccer Aid</a> at Old Trafford. Prior to this, he trained with South African outfit Mamelodi Sundowns FC, Norway’s Stromsgodset, and even German giants <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BVB/videos/435825260197068/">Borussia Dortmund</a>. </p>
<p>In recent weeks, Bolt has earned an “indefinite training period” with Australian side Central Coast Mariners, and on August 31 he <a href="https://twitter.com/CCMariners/status/1035485893929271296">made his debut</a> as a “trialist” in a pre-season friendly against amateur side Central Coast Football. </p>
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<p>Notwithstanding Bolt’s profile, such sporting career transitions raise a series of questions for scientists like me with an interest in expertise research, and elite performance. How do individuals achieve such expertise? Is it possible to transfer between sports? And are some sports easier to transfer to than others?</p>
<h2>What is ‘expertise’?</h2>
<p>Expertise can be defined as the ability of an person to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166411508614624">consistently demonstrate superior levels of proficiency</a> within a particular domain over an extended period of time. This is highlighted perfectly by Bolt, who won gold in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay at three successive Olympics.</p>
<p>Historically, theorists studying expertise have fallen into <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1996-98355-001">two schools of thought</a> that parallel the “nature versus nurture” debate. Some, such as the 19th-century scientist Francis Galton, argued that eminence in science, music, art, and other fields reflects an <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1996-98355-001">innate or natural ability</a>.</p>
<p>But practice is uniformly regarded as the single variable that has the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224827585_The_Role_of_Deliberate_Practice_in_the_Acquisition_of_Expert_Performance">greatest influence on skill acquisition</a>. And this lead to the alternative viewpoint that it takes a minimum of 10,000 hours or ten years of “deliberate practice” to achieve domain-specific expertise.</p>
<p>Typically, researchers today are of the view that while the sheer amount of practice is important, other factors, such as genetics, ability and motivation are <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1999-11726-001">also likely to be critical</a>. To this end, though Bolt may be blessed with certain hereditary capabilities such as height and a greater proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibres, he has also invested the necessary training hours in order to reach the top of his sport. </p>
<h2>Soccer expertise</h2>
<p>So how easy is it to become a footballer? Soccer expertise is multi-faceted in nature, compromising of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294217815_Talent_identification_in_soccer">physiological, emotional, technical, and cognitive factors</a>. By looking at how much footballers have practiced in the past, sports scientists have attempted to shed light on how they developed those skills.</p>
<p>In their study of elite English soccer players, one group of researchers concluded that <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255653625_DELIBERATE_PRACTICE_AND_EXPERT_PERFORMANCE_DEFINING_THE_PATH_TO_EXCELLENCE">early specialisation</a> is an important precursor to expertise. Specifically, players would engage in deliberate practice of their primary sport – in this case, football – from a young age (around five years). These activities are <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Science-and-Soccer-Developing-Elite-Performers/Williams/p/book/9780415672115">highly structured and often coach-led</a>, with the specific purpose of improving performance.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2012.701762?src=recsys&journalCode=rjsp20">early engagement</a> pathway is an alternative approach, which involves meaningful amounts of unstructured soccer-playing during childhood (six to 12 years of age), rather than coach-led practice and competition (“deliberate practice”).</p>
<p>Anecdotal evidence exists of Bolt playing street <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/jun/17/usain-bolt-this-much-i-know">cricket and soccer</a> when growing up, which seems to fit more with the early engagement pathway. That said, without a detailed account of his practice history it is impossible to know how his sporting childhood may have shaped his soccer potential.</p>
<h2>Transfer between sports</h2>
<p>In light of his athletic commitments, it is difficult to see how Bolt has accumulated the required practice hours, in either soccer play or deliberate practice, to successfully transition to the professional game.</p>
<p>This brings us onto the question as to whether the skills developed from his years of experience in sprinting, could transfer to soccer. We know that successful career transitions are possible and one example is the former track cyclist Victoria Pendleton: after retiring from the velodrome at age 31 with Olympic and world titles, she made her competitive debut in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-racing/34122804">horse racing</a> three years later.</p>
<p>How successful the transfer can be depends on the level of <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/buy/1926-02960-001">identical or similar elements</a> that exist between the two performance domains. Sports scientists have classified these elements into <a href="https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?q=Shifting+training+requirements+during+athlete+development&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart">four categories</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Physical conditioning: general physiological changes shared between similar modes of activity.</p></li>
<li><p>Movement: the anatomical and biomechanical similarities between tasks.</p></li>
<li><p>Perceptual: the environmental information used to make performance related decisions.</p></li>
<li><p>Conceptual: similarities in the strategies, rules and guidelines governing behaviour during competition.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>With the exception of certain aspects of physical conditioning such as reaction speed, and perhaps movements such as acceleration, it is evident that track sprinting and soccer share very little in common.</p>
<p>In contrast, it could be argued that many more similarities exist between sprint cycling and horse racing (pacing strategies, for instance), hence Pendelton’s successful transition.</p>
<p>Although only a very brief overview of expertise and the issue of transfer, the odds are stacked against Bolt, not least because he is 32 and soccer players typically reach their peak <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28254123">a few years earlier</a>.</p>
<p>That said, transfer from one sport to another is a complex process and all sorts of physical, social or functional variables can influence the <a href="https://rapunselshair.pbworks.com/f/barnett_2002.pdf">rate and degree of transfer</a>. </p>
<p>Be it fate, genetics, or sheer persistence, sometimes, everything just works out. A prime example comes from this year’s Tour de France. While most racers had devoted their lives to cycling – overall winner Geraint Thomas began aged ten – fourth place Primož Roglič was a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/07/19/a-former-ski-jumper-who-only-took-up-cycling-in-2012-won-stage-17-of-the-tour-de-france/">former junior world ski jumping champion</a>. His achievement was even more astonishing given he only took up cycling in 2012, already in his 20s.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102513/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Edward Hope does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sports science suggests not.Edward Hope, Lecturer, School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences, University of EssexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.