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Performance Insider

Every Tuesday and Thursday, you'll get a study review to improve your knowledge, programming and coaching in less than 5 minutes

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🛷🏃🏻‍♂️ Unresisted vs Resisted Sprint Training

Read time: 3 minutes. Resisted vs. Unresisted Sprint Training: What Works Best? Sprinting is crucial in rugby, impacting speed, acceleration, and momentum in contact situations. Resisted Sprint Training (RST) and Unresisted Sprint Training (UST) are both used in speed development. But which is more effective? This study compared UST vs. RST (50% body mass) in youth rugby players over a 4-week period. Is unresisted or heavy sled resisted sprint training best for improving sprint performance...

Read time: 3 minutes. How Sprint Volume Impacts Performance and Fatigue: Key Takeaways for Coaches Repeated sprint training (RST) is a key method for improving speed, aerobic fitness, and intermittent running performance in team sports. However, the optimal session volume for balancing performance improvements and fatigue is not well understood. This study investigates how different sprint volumes (distance × reps per session) impact physiological, neuromuscular, perceptual, and performance...

Read time: 3 minutes. Tomorrow, I am releasing CMJ Foundations, a new short course that breaks down the countermovement jump phases in 25 minutes. I'll email you a link tomorrow for you to check it out. If you are using force plates then this is a no-brainer. and oh yea, its only going to cost $1. Does Foam Rolling Improve Hamstring Contractility and Flexibility Post-Training? Foam rolling is a staple in recovery routines for athletes, strength coaches, and therapists. It’s marketed as a tool...

Read time: 3 minutes. Feedback Improves Landing Mechanics & May Reduce ACL Risk ACL injuries are a major concern in female athletes, occurring at 2 to 8 times the rate of their male counterparts. A significant contributor? Poor landing mechanics, including high vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) and excessive knee valgus. This study explores whether augmented feedback (real-time visual and verbal cues) can improve landing mechanics and whether these improvements transfer to game-specific...

Read time: 3 minutes. Training to Failure vs. Not to Failure: How It Affects Recovery in Resistance Training A long-standing debate in strength training is whether training to failure is necessary for optimal gains. Moreover, does training for failure come at the expense of recovery? Understanding recovery dynamics is crucial for strength coaches who design programs with frequent training sessions or competitions. This study examines how different resistance training protocols (to failure vs....

Read time: 3 minutes. Can Psyching-Up Boost Your Strength? A Review of the Research Psyching-up is a mental preparation technique aimed at enhancing performance. Psyching-up strategies refer to self-directed cognitive techniques that are conducted immediately before or during the execution of a skill to enhance performance Athletes and coaches have long believed in its power, but does it work? This systematic review evaluates the effectiveness of different psyching-up strategies on maximal...

Read time: 3 minutes. Re-Warm-Up Strategies for Non-Starters in Basketball: What Works Best? Basketball games demand high-intensity efforts—sprinting, jumping, and quick directional changes. While starters get right into action after their warm-up, non-starters can sit for extended periods before being subbed in. This downtime can lead to decreased muscle temperature and impaired performance. This study examined how different re-warm-up (R-WU) strategies help non-starters maintain peak...

Read time: 3 minutes. Bridging Science and Practice for Hamstring Injury Prevention Hamstring strain injuries (HSI) are the most common injury in elite football and have increased despite advances in sports science. Injuries negatively impact team performance and finances. This study provides a holistic, evidence-informed strategy for hamstring injury prevention in elite football. The applications can be applied to all athletes. How can elite football teams effectively implement...

Breathing for Your Better Health - WSJ

Read time: 3 minutes. The Connection Between Sports Performance and Breathing Rate Breathing is often overlooked in sports performance, yet it has significant physiological and psychological effects. This review explores the impact of slow (VSB) vs. fast breathing (VFB) on athletic performance. It attempts to merge physiological and psychological aspects of breathing, which are typically studied separately. Can slow or fast breathing strategies enhance physiological efficiency, mental...

Read time: 3 minutes. Asymmetry in Sprinting: The Myth of Perfection and the Reality of Performance (Case of Usain Bolt) Pursuing symmetry has been a cornerstone of sports science, particularly in sprinting, where even small biomechanical inefficiencies are thought to impact performance. The traditional belief is that asymmetries—differences in strength, coordination, or mechanics between limbs—lead to inefficiencies, increased injury risk, and slower sprint times. Many coaches and...