Sport-General

“The ability to create sporting performance”.

It is generally believed that there are many aspects of sporting performance that can be explained by science and that many sporting performances can be pre planned.

I consider that there are so many unpredictable and random aspects in many sporting performances that the ability to adapt and perform in such chaotic environments is one that can justifiably be called artistic.

The experiences of the athlete, coaches, mentors and detailed study of a particular sport will reveal many of the situations that can be encountered during any given event. Many situations can be thought about in advance and answers sought. The ‘what if’ questions can be asked and often answered. This leaves a minority of chaotic situations in which we then rely on either luck or creative ability to maintain a performance. The odds on the luck option are often not good, leaving the althlete’s intuitive abilities to determine the outcome.

Many sports require the performer to execute skills that they have not practiced exactly. Think of a surfer on a breaking wave, this is the first and last time this particular wave will ever hit the shore, it is unique. There will never be another quite like it, yet a world class surfer can make it look like he has been there many times before.

A tennis player receiving and returning a 120mph serve often has the ability to perform incredibly well, even though this particular serve from his opponent has never been seen before. A footballer makes an excellent pass on a wet, muddy and rutted pitch to another player, from a position marked by a defender, in circumstances that they have not encountered before. How is this all done in such an apparently chaotic environment?

Athletes, in common with the general population, draw heavily on previous experiences, even though many of the situations that occur in life have not been previously encountered. As humans we can be incredibly precise with many of our skills. Those skills that are practised, and the athlete’s intuition and experience, often combine to provide a seamless high-level performance. This ability to improvise in any given situation is often called instinct.

With so many modern sports being relatively unnatural, how can instinct be part of the explanation? Have we evolved in such a short time to be able to play so many modern sports to such high levels?

As an athlete performs they are constantly making decisions, adjusting movements and often remedying any bad situations to maintain a credible performance. A F1 driver is constantly adjusting the power applied to the rear wheels to not only go fast, but to stay on the track. The car skids at times, the driver reacts by adjusting the power and or the steering, this is done with extreme precision and skill, not only is the result of the event at stake but also often the driver’s life.

The answer to some of these questions lie in the fact that most sporting decisions are taken with an estimation of what the outcome will be, based on previous experience. This experience is not necessarily specific to the sport. It is only by practice that athletes may become better at estimating and therefore needing fewer corrections during the performance.

Many technical performances require constant remedying and adjustments to any given situation. The best performances often have fewer corrections and more of a positive drive toward a goal or finish line both technically and physically. Exact and repeatable outcomes of many techniques in sport are very rare. As the athlete develops their ability to predict the outcome of a particular course of action, their performance improves markedly. When things are happening too fast for reactions to follow it is this prediction process that takes control.

Many unforeseen situations in sport may not be negative, but a positive opportunity to excel above one’s competitor. Many competitors at an event will experience the unexpected and after the event ask, “if only I had done?” It is those competitors that do make the best of any given situation that will prevail

What can be done to optimise performance in any given situation?

Plan all that can be planned thoroughly. Have intense periods of concentration and mental rehearsal prior to performing. (Many athletes then find it better to relax this mental focus just prior to performing in order to allow the performance to be more spontaneous).

Have basic technical models of what is required for the sport, so there is something to aim for. Although it may not always be possible to perform these technical models exactly, it is still better to have a target during some practice sessions.

Have alternative plans for all foreseeable situations. Prioritize these plans in order of the most likely occurrences. Mentally rehearse these alternatives. This way the plan will be ready to be used and the varied situations will be more familiar. It may be helpful to estimate options in terms of a percentage.

Make a clear distinction of what can and cannot be planned. Planning what cannot be planned is a major mistake and often leads to uncertainty and confusion in the athlete’s mind and eventual performance.

Many sporting events are course/track specific and require the athlete to be very familiar with the sporting arena. Consideration should be given and can include training and competition on the terrain to be encountered, taking into account race pacing and the specific technical and physical demands of the course. Other issues could also include climate and altitude training and acclimatisation considerations.

Also, consider specific equipment requirements and possible modifications to design. For major competitions it would be advisable to spend a large amount of time training at the venue or similar venue and simulating competition conditions. This could drastically reduce or erase completely any home advantage of the competition.

When any given situation is too chaotic and unpredictable to plan for, accept this and put trust in the athlete’s artistic, creative and instinctive abilities. When these situations have been experienced both in competition and training and when the outcome has been successful, mentally revise what occurred. It may be of help in the future as it is a major learning opportunity.

As well as formal skill training for a particular sport, also incorporate informal play into the training sessions. The situations and stimulus during play can often be more varied and unpredictable, they often provide more of a learning experience than formal, regimented and repetitive training. It can be a great way to discover and develop new and varied techniques. It also provides a more varied and stimulating training regime.

Adjust and vary the mental pressure on the athlete to perform at any given time. Removing the pressure to always produce high level performances will often lead to more technical experimentation and possible improvements. With constant pressure to perform during every competition and training session the athlete will often revert to what they already know will work and less of a progressive learning experience will take place. Nothing has ever been learnt without mistakes being made along the way. Allow mistakes at times; they are part of learning and help to define, move and possibly extend new boundaries.

Trust the athlete’s artistic, creative and instinctive ability because they are real. They are some of the most valued and respected human abilities we have. Allow for individual technical differences in athletes, something needs to be different in order to win!

Assessing performance is a vital part of learning. Have a complete debrief after both training and competition. Planned situations can be judged on the basis of what actually happened during the performance and comparing it to the plan. This requires both the athlete and coach to know exactly what the plan is. This assessment needs to be done if the plan needs to be repeated at a later date. Anything that happens out side of the plan can often be viewed as a mistake, but during chaotic and unpredictable situations, the outcome can be assessed, by asking did the athlete make the best decisions in the particular circumstances? Also, ask was the original plan realistic and achievable?

The blending of experience, creative and instinctive abilities to produce high level performances must be the art within sport.

© By Jim Jayes coach of European, World and World Cup Champions and Olympic Medalist. He now resides in Llangollen UK, with his wife Sally, where he continues to coach and they run their activity business and outdoor shop White Water Active and Eddylines .

Compression Garments are mainly promoted as a tool to enhance recovery. But what can they do for you during competition?

After consultation with staff at the Australian Institute of Sport, we concluded that compression garments could help with performance by:

• Helping to keep the athlete warm
• Decreasing muscle vibration
• Maybe increasing blood flow (vascular return)

In short, compression tops or tights are unlikely to harm performance unless they make you too hot.

Personally, I’ve competed while wearing compression tops many times - I’ve used the slightly thicker Skins Snow top when it’s been cold as well as a regular long sleve top when it’s been warmer and thought both were great.

PS - Just found a great site for compression gear called Compress Yourself . They offer free worldwide delivery, recommendations for many brands and help with selection.

The off-season of the training year is obviously the bit between the end of the biggest competition of the year and the start of training for the next season.

Probably to make it sound more purposeful, the father of a lot of recent training theory, Tudor Bompa (his main book is Periodization: Theory and Methodology of Training ) called it the Transition Phase .

Bompa’s idea is that this distinct phase of an athlete’s year should set him or her up for a better year to come by providing rest, alternative activities and mental refreshment.

Often, this part of the year is easily seen as a time to have fun and not do your sport… the off season.

Frankly, what athletes do on their time off at the end of the year is never really associated with their performance in the next season. But, it should be as the transition phase has some key ingredients that get the body and mind refreshed:

1. Low training volume – reduced load on the body helps remove any niggling injuries and gives the athlete time to reflect on their underlying motivations to compete. Plan for a month-long transition, before commencing pre-season training.

2. Some exercise – having done so much training for the rest of the year it becomes part of the athlete’s lifestyle to be active, so I’d include some moderate exercise which is not what you’d normally do. Depending on the sport, examples could be rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, swimming, pool running or surfing. As fitness is easier to maintain than develop, a little exercise during the break may be enough to maintain most of the fitness built over the last year and make for an easier start to the new season. Aim for 3-4 sessions a week of 30-60 min at an effort level of 5 to 7 out of 10.

3. Virtually no participation in the main sport – this is a chance for overstressed joints and muscles to rebuild and the mind to have break from thinking about technique, strategy and constant training. For the athlete that has had to manage an injury during the season, the transition phase is a great time to address muscle imbalances and weaknesses. This pre habilitation (as distinct from rehabilitation) can strengthen the muscles and joints for better training during the season.

Following on from previous blogs about Taking Your Own Pillow and Sleep and Athletic Performance I wanted to continue on the ‘yawn’ theme and write about aiding sleep when nerves might be keeping you up at night.

I often had nights during events from club races to World Championships where I couldn’t get to sleep for ages. One night at a worlds my mind was so active I can’t remember getting to sleep at all. However, I still got by the next day of the event because I just lay there and rested.

Wanting not to have my sleep during big events sabotaged by an overactive mind I found a few alternatives. Sleeping-pills you say? Yes, of course - you can get suitable ones on prescription from your Doctor - but it’s probably better to try mend the source of the problem first. Here are the basics:

• Have the room cooler rather than warm, but avoid strong air conditioning.
• Don’t try to sleep without being at all tired.
• Try an audio relaxation product like our own Sleeping Better for Sport .
• Ensure your bed is clean and comfortable. Lie on a spare duvet/doona if the mattress is too hard.
• As light is one of the key indicators to the body as to when to sleep, ensure the room is nice and dark. Eye-mask and ear plugs may assist with reducing stimulus.

You may have heard of Melatonin, a natural substance in the body which functions in regulating daily rhythms. When taken as a supplement it’s meant to help with sleep timing, but I’ve not found much benefit compared to the other strategies listed here.

If you do go down the sleeping-pill path, I’d suggest breaking them in half to cut the dose, allowing you to get to sleep but not have any affect on your next day’s performance.

Good night!

There’s a lot of people suffering colds or flu here in the (now) cold southern hemisphere. In Australia, authorities reckon the swine flu has become unstoppable, with the worst yet to come. The H1N1 virus is worse than a common cold, but is also, of course, over hyped . However, the challenge remains for athletes to decide when to re-start exercise and training after an illness.

A good starting point is to do a self-check on where your symptoms lie. If your cold symptoms are relatively mild and from the neck up, you can probably go for it. If your symptoms extend below the neck and include chest discomfort or deep cough, general aches and pains, and fever, hit the bed instead of the treadmill.

When you do feel well enough to do something and it’s cold outside, begin with some light indoor exercise, such as a walk or light run on a treadmill at the gym, sipping regularly from your water bottle (a sports drink can help protect your immune system ). You don’t want the cold air outside to dry and irritate your throat. Nor do you want to do heavy exercise that will deplete your immune system.

Scientists have boldly and deliberately infected people with rhinovirus (which causes the common cold) to test the effect of moderate and maximal exercise on the severity and duration of the illness. This study reported that moderate exercise training during a rhinovirus-caused upper respiratory illness (URI)… does not alter the severity and duration of the illness.

And this study concluded that physiological responses to pulmonary function testing… and maximal exercise do not appear to be altered by an URI.

So if you get a common cold, take a day or two off to start with. Then re-start training slowly and gradually build up a little each day, deciding how much to do depending on how you feel each day. A good objective measure of your health can be obtained by checking your resting heart rate each morning. If it’s 10 bpm above normal, your body is really buggered and you need a day off. If it’s 5 bpm up, it may be ok and you should review your other symptoms to decide whether to train or not.

Training with a cold will make the training feel harder, so continue to limit the duration and intensity until back to full health.

However, if you have the flu and symptoms are more serious - like heavy chest discomfort, achy muscles, chills, fatigue, etc. - you need to be even more sedate with your return to exercise. Make sure you get plenty of sleep, your nutrition is good and your resting heart rate is barely elevated above normal before re-starting moderate or heavy exercise.

This post is based on an interesting article and the comments it attracted in International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching published 2009*.

Basically, a couple of investigators from Finland (Yuri Hanin and Muza Hanina) wrote an article called Optimization of Performance in Top-Level Athletes: An Action-Focused Coping Approach. Then, a number of other University-types from around the world each wrote short articles commenting on and critiquing the authors’ ideas (in fact, they mostly criticized it).

The Finish guys proposed that it’s best for elite athletes to learn the intricacies of performing the skills of their sport. That is, to increase their self-awareness of how each part of their body moves when they play their sport. Such knowledge could be gained from, for example, in depth video analysis.

On the surface, this sounds reasonable.

However, the other guys disagreed for a couple of reasons. Mainly, because athletes can know too much about their movements.

It is important that coaches are mindful that increasing an athlete’s awareness in practice and in competition is a double-edged sword; the athlete who becomes more inclined under pressure to intervene with conscious control becomes more likely to suffer from deautomatized movements. That is, they try to control every little action.

Top-level athletes ordinarily perform with very little awareness of their movements, but can become increasingly aware of their movements when anxious to perform well.

The most effective approach may therefore be to discourage or limit the build up of movement knowledge during practice so that athletes are less able to consciously control every little movement.

This will help to prevent the breakdown of skill under pressure (ie, ‘choking’) due to self-focused attention.

Athletes should direct attention to the movement outcome rather than internal movement components, allowing the body to more naturally self-organize, and place fewer demands on attention, which leaves the athlete free to attend to important task-relevant information.

In short, fine tuning a movement pattern to address a mismatch between what feels right and what is right is a common challenge for elite athletes and their coaches. However, it makes little sense for athletes to consciously control the exact position of each body segment during practice. Instead, focus on the goal of the movement.

Every sport, skill and athlete are different - so what do you think? Does the above apply to you?

For more on Skill Acquisition, see posts under Sports Psychology

*International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching (Vol. 4, No.1, 2009)

Compression pants, socks and tops are increasingly being worn by professional athletes. Here’s our review of the what, why and which of compression garments.

Scientific studies with athletes have shown that compression garments may:

• Reduce blood lactate concentration during maximal exercise bouts and enhance lactate removal and subsequent exercise performance
• Enhance warm-up via increased skin temperature
• Reduce muscle oscillation upon ground contact (especially valuable in sprinting and jumping sports)
• Increase torque generated about joints and reduce risk of injury
• Reduce effects of delayed onset muscle soreness in the days following strenuous exercise
• Increase feelings of positive leg sensations both during and following strenuous exercise.

While a couple of studies have reported no benefit to wearing compression garments, no studies have reported negative effects on performance or perceptions of pain.

Compression Garments Have Been Squeezing People for Ages

Medical compression stockings have been used in the treatment of poor venous blood flow for more than 50 years. These stockings are usually worn over the leg and foot and create a controlled, gradient compressive force on the leg. The compressive force is greatest at the ankle and diminishes over the length of the stocking to a minimum at the top.

Therefore, compression works by squeezing de-oxygenated blood back up towards the heart a bit quicker than normal and limit fluid pooling in the limbs.

The compressive effects of these garments are used to improve recovery in hospitals by promoting venous blood flow, decreasing blood pooling and preventing thrombosis in post-operative patients.

When you have to sit still, such as on a long haul flight, the lower legs and ankles swell with fluid as the body is without the natural movement and ‘muscle pump’ which helps circulate fluid back to the heart. Compression garments can also help the traveling athlete to reduce blood pooling in the legs when seated for long periods.

Which Compression Brand to Buy?

Compression suits are relatively new and there are a variety of brands out there offering various quality products. To be effective, you need a garment that provides the right amount of graduated pressure to promote venous return.

Not all sports compression products are alike – they differ in the technology in the cut and design of the suit as well as the type of material (usually a mix of nylon and lycra). Good brands have a detailed sizing chart on the back of the box to help you get the correct fit.

You should expect that the suit will gradually stretch and may cease to provide enough compression within 3-4 months of regular use. It’s suggested you machine wash them in cold water inside a mesh wash bag, so they don’t get tangled and stretched around the agitator or other clothes.

Currently, the 2XU brand offers a high quality product. (I have no affiliation with them at all!). They have an exclusive circular knit which enhances the durability of the garments’ compression properties. This is pretty important given that sports wear tends to get treated badly. 2XU suits do cost a bit more, but the fabric technology should make sure they are effective for longer.

I’ve been training with a pair of 2XU’s elite compression tights for the past few weeks. When you first put them on you can really notice that the lower down in the suit, the more compression there is.

As far as use goes, they feel especially useful during dynamic, explosive and eccentric exercise – as in sprinting, changing direction quickly, downhill and cross-country running. I think the tights would also make a lot of sense for multi-sport endurance events where you run, cycle, kayak etc, all day.

When to use Compression Garments

The key times to wear compression garments, in order of effectiveness, include:

• During long-haul flights in economy and long drives
• During training and competition (but not in hot conditions)
• Immediately after training (even sleeping in them)

Naturally, if you haven’t been exercising or traveling, the compression isn’t likely to do much for you!

Should you wear them while competing? It depends on your sport and your preference – try first in training and see.

With respect to travel, the scientist at the Australian Institute of Sport recommend going with a medical grade compression sock. These offer greater compression than a regular compression suit and stretch from the ankle to just below the knee. If you have a pair of compression tights as well, this means they will still be clean and ready for the first training session when you hit the ground again. Also, the long tights can be a little too constrictive behind the knee when seated for long.

I got a pair of Venosan socks and have worn them on a couple of long-haul flights (8-13 hours) in economy class to test them out (what dedication!). (To be really scientific I probably should have worn them on one leg and not the other, but I think that would have gotten annoying!). Anyway, subjectively my ankles showed almost no signs of swelling – normally they look far bigger after sitting for so long. The socks felt tight – I could definitely always feel them there – but as long as the fabric was smooth with no creases they were comfortable.

Note that if you’re flying in business or first class (lucky you!) you’ve got the opportunity to lie down and have more space to move around in your seat, so venous pooling of blood is less of a problem compared with cattle class.

The Skins brand is also popular and they have done a great job with marketing and penetration of their large range of products. A recent study in the Australian Medical Journal found that wearing Skins improves circulation in-flight while decreasing leg pain and increasing energy and alertness.

Which Suit – Pants, Tops or Shorts?

If you’re in a predominantly upper-body sport, get a top; lower-body athletes, get the pants. The pants make most sense for athletes who want to use them for traveling. Otherwise, get both!

While a few companies have also produced a compression short, these don’t make a lot of sense for enhancing venous return as the shorts only compress the upper part of the legs, rather than where it might be needed most, down at the calves. Same for the tank top. However, these items may assist warm-up and reduce muscle soreness.

Remember, compression garments are another tool for the serious athlete. If you train every day and are more or less on top of core training principles like specificity, sports nutrition and recovery then you’ll probably benefit from investing in a compression garment. Get the major things right first, then consider minor add-ons like compression.

Ever since the heroic fable had the slow but steady tortoise beat the hare, the idea that good pacing is critical to athletic performance has been appreciated.

A key objective in most endurance sports is to ensure that energy output is spread as best as possible during a race and is maximal at the end so that you finish as fast as possible.

Best pace strategy involves the perceptive process of proportioning energy use such that you are never working at too high a level, so as to tire quickly, or at too low a level so as to not reach your potential.

It is often difficult for an endurance athlete to judge accurately the pace at which he or she should work to spend the available energy in such a way that the body’s resources are almost exhausted as he or she crosses the finish line.

The inexperienced athlete may overextend him or herself too early or hold back too much. Going to hard too early and depleting energy reserves or failure to push the body to its limit will result if the individual’s perceptions of how hard they can race are consistently inaccurate.

The decision to increase or reduce effort during competitive endurance exercise has a lot to do with athletes’ pacing ability. Therefore, pacing is a function of athletes’ psychophysical perceptions of their ability to maintain a level of effort for an extended period of time.

Elite Athletes’ Race Pacing Strategy

Research has indicated that elite endurance athletes appear to set a race pace which closely approximates the level of exercise at which lactate begins to accumulate in the blood.  This pace is set from the athletes’ perceptions of their physiological state as they exercise and possibly also from visual or auditory cues from the immediate environment.

Apparently, elite athletes attend to various discrete physiological symptoms as well as general body feelings, both local and central in origin and then develop an overall subjective feeling of fatigue.

Experience with exercising at different paces is probably the best way to enhance your understanding of what cues you need to pay attention to accurately perceive your level of exertion and achieve an effective race pace.

Research on Pacing Strategy

Relatively evenly paced time trials in Olympic cycling and ice skating competition where the starting half lasts 51% of final time have been found to produce the fastest times.

In Olympic distance running competitions, the pacing graph shows the athletes tend to start relatively slower and accelerate during the final stages of more prolonged events (e.g., 1500 - 10,000 m), even though the starting half is also around 51% of the final time.

In running, a reduction in effort would be expected to lead to a large deceleration because of large drag forces associated with overland ambulation (ie, running!).

Conversely, the relatively small frictional losses to the road in cycling would cause only a moderate slow down if power output were reduced.

The cyclist may be better off expending relatively more energy accelerating and then ‘coast’ to the finish while the runner may do best by maintaining a manageable oxygen debt before sprinting to the finish.

Therefore, the inherent physical nature of cycling versus running - not to mention race tactics and drafting - may partly dictate the best pacing strategy at a physiological level.  Nonetheless, there remains a conscious decision by the runners to start slower and finish quickly.  Consequently, the basis on which a runner makes the decision to change pace during a race is important to ensure that the pacing strategy is optimal.

Although the athletes’ thoughts in these international level races are unknown, it’s believed that athletes generally learn optimal pacing strategies in training to minimize muscle lactate accumulation or at least the disturbance of pH associated with muscle lactate accumulation.

With extensive practice athletes probably learn to sense low levels of muscle pH (from lactic acid build up) and adjust their pace so that they ideally reach critically low values of pH near the end of a race.  This agrees with the point made earlier that elite endurance athletes appear to set a race pace which closely approximates the level of exercise at which lactate begins to accumulate in the plasma

Race Strategy

In a study considering pacing and thought styles, Silva and Appelbaum (1989) studied contestants in a U.S. Olympic marathon trial via a questionnaire asking about cognitive strategy use during the race.  It was found that a characteristic mental strategy of elite marathon runners in the early part of a race was to ‘mark’ other runners to use them as an indication of pace.

Also, runners finishing 51st or beyond in the marathon tended to adopt a dissociative mental strategy early in the race and maintained this strategy over the majority of the course. On the other hand, top 50 finishers used association (tuning into bodily signals) more regularly over the whole marathon.

The authors suggested that the lack of attention by lower placed finishers to energy expenditure level would cause ineffective pacing.  No physiological data were available to support this conclusion, however and no indication of subjects’ relative performance was given (e.g., personal best times).

In support of Silva and Appelbaum’s (1989) study, Schomer (1987) concluded that an associative mental strategy is better than a dissociative focus for pacing in training since the athlete is constantly tuned-in to his or her current level of exertion.  Indeed, terms such as ‘effort sense’ and ‘rating of perceived exertion’ imply thoughts about what is occurring within the body during heavy exercise.  Thus, it’s most likely that race pacing is optimal under associative thinking and perception.

In a recent review of research to date, Abbiss and Laursen (2008) concluded that during very short duration events (<30 sec) athletes will benfit from an explosive ‘all-out’ pacing strategy. During middle-distance events (1.5-2 mins) athletes tend to adopt a ‘positive’ pacing strategy, whereby after peak speed is reached, the athlete progressively slows.

However, during more prolonged events (>2 mins) it seems that athletes tend to adopt a more ‘even’ or varied pacing strategy based on the environment or hills. During ultra-endurance events (>4 hrs) evidence also suggests that athletes progressively reduce speed as fatigue builds. During such events, nutrition strategies become even more important.

edit: Also worth a read is Ross Tucker’s excellent series of blogs based on his PhD research on pacing and fatigue . Tucker studied under running science legend Tim Noakes .

Here are some notes from a recent talk I went to at the Australian Institute of Sport (pictured) by Dr Jo Vaile who did her PhD thesis on recovery techniques for athletes.

Athletes need good recovery for top performance - the sooner you recover, the sooner you can train well again.

When an Athlete’s Recovery is Most Important:

• Long sessions
• Training twice a day
• Perform weight training
• Competing regularly
• Athletes with high injury rate
• High levels of fatigue/damage

Popular Recovery Techniques

• Sleep - probably the most significant and important thing
• Stretching
• Active recovery [light exercise]
• Hydrotherapy
• Periodized training program
• Compression [eg, compression socks and clothes]
• Psychological means - music, movies, etc.

Stretching

• Primary purpose is to relax the muscle
• Best achieved by short, static stretches of 6-10 sec
• May increase range of motion
• May decrease risk of injury

Active Recovery (warm-down)

• Active recovery enhances the removal of lactate as the result of increased blood flow
• Aids the recovery of force from eccentric damage and reduces subsequent muscle soreness
• Beneficial for post-exercise heat dissipation
• Beneficial effect on subsequent performance

Contrast Water Therapy

The application of alternating hot and cold water to the whole body can help recovery by increasing blood flow, stimulating the central nervous system, decreasing swelling, decreasing stiffness, increasing range of motion, decreasing muscle soreness and increasing the removal of metabolites.

Research suggests that an equal ratio of time in hot and cold water immersion in a bath/spa or shower is ideal. For example, 2 mins in cold, 2 mins in hot water, repeated 3 times.

Always finish with cold water to reduce body temperature and inflammation. This ‘ices’ the whole body which is great for recovery.

Cold Water Immersion and Ice Baths

Cold treatment is the most commonly used strategy for the treatment of soft tissue injuries.

Cold water immersion or an ice bath may be an effective treatment to decrease skin, muscle and core temperatures, decrease metabolism, reduce inflammation, enhance blood flow, decrease pain and reduce muscle spasm.

A very effective temperature is about 15 degrees, for 2-5 mins. But you can get good results using just cold tap water, staying in there a lot longer, eg 5-15 mins.

Recent Research Results

Performance on a static squat (strength test) was improved by hot spas, cold water immersion and contrast therapy.

Performance in a squat jump (power test) was improved by cold water immersion and contrast therapy but not by a hot spa. There was reduced swelling in the legs with the cold/contrast treatments compared with the hot treatment.

Performance in a time trial on successive days (over a 5 day study) was reduced with passive recovery and hot water immersion and maintained with cold/contrast therapy.

Compression Garments

Compression garments have been found to decrease muscle soreness, reduce swelling, decrease lactate levels, increase blood flow and increase venous return.

Since they are easy to use, they should be used often!

The most effective garment is the full-length tights and they work like a kind of pump, pushing blood up the legs and back to the heart.

Jo recommended the 2XU brand of compression garment because the fabric is slightly thicker, they have a higher-quality weave of fabric that retains compression better and they are involved in ongoing research.

For travel and flying, Jo recommended medical grade compression socks (eg, Venosan) from Pharmacies, but they are expensive. The socks can reduce or eliminate swelling in the legs and feet and allow the athlete to get back into full training quicker.

Jo recommended wearing compression garmnets the longer the better - eg, between two training sessions in a day, or even sleep in them (subject to comfort).

Preferably, wash them in a laundry bag, in a cold wash, to help retain the compression effects.

Timing of Recovery Interventions

Jo recommended that recovery strategies be carried out in the following order (where available):

1. Warm-down and stretching
2. Nutrition (eg, sports drink)
3. Hydrotherapy
4. Compression garments
5. Nutrition (meal)
6. Massage

When I was in high school I knew I wanted to go to University but didn’t know what I wanted to study. Then a teacher told me I could study sport and I thought you beauty! – I love sport!

I did a 3-year undergraduate degree in Sports Science/Coaching and learnt about anatomy, physiology, skill acquisition, biomechanics, psychology, physical conditioning and everything else to do with preparing athletes to compete.

At the time I played a bit of Aussie Rules Football and went Sailing and started to apply what I learnt at Uni to my sports.

I followed on with a 1-year Honours degree – a focus of which was a 6 month study on the physiology of Sailing. Again, I kept applying what I was learning, using myself as a guinea pig. In particular, I discovered I probably wasn’t big or talented enough to be a pro footballer so focused on Sailing.

With a change in Uni’s, I continued in academia, doing a 3-year PhD in Human Movement. My thesis was about the physiology and psychology of runners. I read even more about what it takes to become an elite athlete, their psychological characteristics and training programs.

It occurred to me that to do really well in sport ‘all’ I had to do was to apply what I learnt to my own training and preparation.

I qualified for the World titles in 1994 and finished 26th at my first go. After finishing University I turned to Sailing full-time in an attempt for selection for the 1996 Olympics.

With more time to train and more coaching input I jumped to 5th at the next Worlds. That breakthrough was massive – I had a new standard for myself and there was no way back. The next year I qualified for the Olympics. My studies had gotten me there.

My point is that being an athlete is a job and part of that is learning how to go about it professionally (not in the financial sense). Of course, many athletes follow their interests and do in fact study sport at University. You don’t have to follow that path, but you do need to take on the responsibility of knowing how to be a great athlete.

You should know how today’s training will help you achieve your goals for the year; you should know how each drill or exercise will help you make steps towards that goal; you should have an idea of how each mouthful of food will affect how you perform at your next training session. And you should know whether the butterflies you feel in your stomach before you compete mean you’re nervous or you’re ready.

You might be lucky and have a coach that knows everything and takes total charge of your training - You just turn up, do what he or she says, then go home.

That’s ok, but you won’t excel. You’ll just be part of the team, at best.

Being an elite athlete is a 24/7 job – one that can be very enjoyable… and tiring. You’ll get the best out of yourself and do your job more efficiently if you really know what you’re doing.

Here are just a few ideas and resources that can help you become the complete athlete:

• Study Sports Science at University – on campus or remotely.
• Read these books:

o Physiology: Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance

o Strength: Strength Training Anatomy , Starting Strength (2nd edition)

o Nutrition: Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook, Third Edition , Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes

o Training plans: Periodization Training For Sports Periodization Training For Sports o Running: Lore of Running , The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer

o Sports Psychology: In Pursuit of Excellence , Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience , Applied Sport Psychology: Personal Growth to Peak Performance

• Do specific Google searches for your sport and the terms training, strength training, training programs, skills, drills, technique, tactics, strategy, workouts, exercises, tips, rules.
• Do a coaching course for your sport.
• Ask your coach something about the contents of each training session.

Of course, your practical experience will increase during every training session and competition - take the opportunity to make notes about your own statistics, results, strategies, tactics and techniques. Combine what you learn about yourself with what you learn about how other athletes have done it.