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1. Sport Africa: Testosterone - a running issue:
Some African athletes face a battle to be allowed to compete. But how fair is it - and how might their presence shape future competitions?
Watch on the BBC
'Athletics needs a third category' - Wambui
Kenya's 800m Olympic medallist Margaret Wambui says World Athletics should introduce a new category for athletes like her, who have different sexual development, or DSD.
Watch on the BBC.
2. Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 2 Review:
What You Need To Know
Weighs 8.6 oz. (245 g) for US M10.5 / 7 oz. (198 g) for a US W6.5
The best iteration of Lighstrike Pro midsole yet (stack height: 39 mm heel/30.5 mm toe)
Carbon fiber energyRODS for propulsion
Excellent grip from Continental Rubber outsole
Available now for $220
The bones are their money (and that was the night that the skeletons came to life)
MEAGHAN: The Adidas Adios Adizero Pro 2 (what a freakin’ mouthful) is the latest iteration of adidas’ super fast marathon shoe. I never tried the original but I do know it sold out in like 15 minutes – real Vaporfly vibes. It also broke a bunch of records over the last year. Will V2 live up to the OG hype?
THOMAS: When the super shoe war started, adidas fumbled out of the gate. The adizero Sub 2 was a flop. Various midsole combinations were concocted and failed. Finally, in 2020 adidas released the adizero Adios Pro with a full Lightstrike Pro midsole and carbon fiber rods. The athletes wearing the shoe started breaking world records and a new contender in the super shoe game was making waves. With a solid hit on their hands, adidas got busy refining the shoe. The question is, did they make it better? Is it time to say adios to the first model?
More...from Belive in the Run.
3. Transgender women in the female category of sport: is the male performance advantage removed by testosterone suppression?:
AbstractSex dimorphism starts during early embryogenesis and is further manifested in response to hormones during puberty.As this leads to physical divergence that is measurably different between sexes, males enjoy physical performance advantages over femaleswithin competitive sport.While this advantageis the underlying basis of the segregation into male and female sporting categories, thesesex-based categories do not account for transgender persons who experience incongruence between their biological sex and their experienced gender identity. Accordingly, the International Olympic Committee determined criteria by which atransgender woman may be eligible to compete in the female category, requiring total serum testosterone levels to be suppressed below 10 nmol/L for at least 12 months prior to and during competition. Whether this regulation removes the male performance advantage has not been collectively scrutinized. Here, we aim to review how differences in biological characteristics between biological males and females affect sporting performance and assess whether evidence exists to support the assumption that testosterone suppression in transgender women removes the male performance advantage.In this review,we report that the performance gap between males and females amounts to 10-50% depending on sport. The performance gap is more pronounced in sporting activities relying on muscle mass and strength, particularly inthe upper body. Longitudinal studies examiningthe effects of testosterone suppression on muscle mass and strength in transgender women consistently show very modest changes, where the loss of lean body mass, muscle area and strength typically amounts to approximately 5% after 1 year of treatment. Thus, current evidence shows that the biological advantage enjoyed by transgender women is only minimally reduced when testosterone is suppressed. Sports organizations may therefore be compelled to reassess current policiesregardingparticipationof transgender womenin the female category of sport.
More...from Emma N.Hilton and Tommy R.Lundberg.
4. Four Upper Body Exercises All Endurance Athletes Should be Doing:
While endurance athletes primarily focus on leg strength, upper body exercises are surprisingly beneficial to performance. Find out why — and which ones you should be doing.
If you’re a runner or cyclist, it’s likely that most of your attention in the gym goes to making your legs more powerful and resilient. While this is important — after all, your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves are the big engines that propel your body in training and racing — developing a stronger upper body will make you even more physically capable.
Though it might not feel like it, the structures in your upper body are playing an important part in generating and transferring power into motion and helping you resist the forces that come into play from the ground, wind, and other factors. Let’s explore why and then introduce four exercises that can form the staple of your resistance work above the waist.
More...from Training Peaks.
5. Male Cyclist Rachel McKinnon Sets World Best Record in Women’s Sports"
Male Cyclist Rachel McKinnon Sets World Best Record in Women’s Sports Continue reading Male Cyclist Rachel McKinnon Sets World Best Record in Women’s Sports | Women Are Human. Read more at: https://www.womenarehuman.com/male-cyclist-rachel-mckinnon-sets-world-best-record-in-womens-sports/
More...from Women Are Human.
6. Different types of sports drink and when to use them:
There are a wealth of sports drinks on the market nowadays and we've outlined the key differences between hypotonic, isotonic and hypertonic drinks (including 'hydrogels'), as well as why the Precision Hydration drinks and Precision Fuel drink mix are all hypotonic.
Hypotonic, isotonic or hypertonic drinks - The key differences
The term 'isotonic' describes a solution that is of a similar ‘thickness’ or concentration (tonicity) as another solution. In this case it refers to a drink being of similar concentration to human blood (which has an osmolarity of ~280 to 300 mOsm/l)
This matters in the world of sports drinks because whether a drink is hypotonic (lower concentration that blood), isotonic (about the same concentration) or hypertonic (higher concentration) affects how much energy (carbohydrate) it can deliver and how quickly you can absorb it into your blood-stream to replace the fluid you're losing in your sweat.
More...from Precision Hydration.
7. Why heptathlete competed at U.S. Olympic Trials while 18 weeks pregnant:
The most remarkable performance from the final weekend of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials didn’t demolish a world record or send a teenager to Tokyo.
In fact, it came from a competitor who quickly fell hopelessly behind in her event.
Lindsay Flach competed in the heptathlon 18 weeks pregnant and showing off a growing baby bump. Though she finished a distant last among the 15 women who made it through all seven events of the heptathlon, her participation this past weekend was a victory in itself.
The 2020 season was supposed to be Flach’s farewell to the heptathlon, the sport that evolved into her obsession over the past decade. She intended to chase an elusive spot on the U.S. Olympic team one final time before marrying her longtime boyfriend and starting a family together.
More...from Yahoo.
8. The problem with hydration challenges? They’re based on a myth:
Have you encountered the #HydrationChallenge? It’s a social-media campaign that encourages you to drink 2.5 litres of water a day and post about it, and thousands of people are participating. There’s just one problem: It’s based on a myth.
"This idea emerged decades ago as a misinterpretation of some guidelines from the federal government of the U.S.," said Tim Caulfield, Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy. The 1945 document said that, "a suitable allowance of water for adults is 2.5 litres daily," but there was another part to that: "Most of this quantity is in prepared foods."
"Most of the foods we eat contain some water. Soup has more than steak, but there’s still some water there," said Gerry Kasten, a lecturer in dietetics at the University of British Columbia. Moreover, the idea that only pure H2O will hydrate us is not accurate. Though caffeine and alcohol do have a diuretic effect, "caffeinated beverages and alcoholic beverages can be calculated in the amounts we drink," he said. "They stimulate urination but they do contribute to overall hydration. There’s lots of evidence for that."
More...from the Globe and Mail.
9. Fitness: Cool down as you heat up before game day:
Athletes training for an event held in a hot environment may choose to acclimatize in the preceding weeks, but it’s important to know how to stay as cool as possible.
Every time I see a runner sweating it out midday during a heat wave, I wonder why they chose to do so at the hottest time of the day. Combining an already tough workout with high heat and/or humidity isn’t a recipe for success. Not only does performance suffer and motivation lag, the chances of experiencing heatstroke or heat exhaustion significantly increase as the temperature soars.
For some athletes, however, the decision to do a workout in the middle of a scorching hot day is a calculated one. Working out in the heat makes you better at working out in the heat, which is why athletes training for a competitive event held in a hot environment may choose to acclimatize in the preceding weeks. Yet even the best preparation and a high level of fitness don’t make you immune to heat-related illnesses, so it’s important to know how to stay as cool as possible.
More...from the MOntreal Gazette.
10. Defending Tour de France champ is a 22-year-old Slovenian whose freakish physiology and metabolism mean he can recover 3 times as fast as his rivals:
What, exactly, makes him so good?
I asked his coach, Iñigo San Millán, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He's an expert in physiology and metabolism. He's also the director of performance for Pogacar's UAE-Team Emirates.
He's tested Pogacar extensively and has helped him improve through specific training protocols.
"The main element is his mitochondrial function, which allows him to improve lactate clearance capacity as well as use both fat and glucose very well," San Millán told me on Friday.
More...from Business Insider.
11. 6 Best Groin and Adductor Stretches and Exercises:
Groin and Adductor stretches to improve your inner thigh flexibility and relieve tight adductor muscles.
Groin and adductor stretches are important for the flexibility and range of motion of the adductor muscles. Good groin and adductor flexibility allows for unrestricted, pain free movement of the inner thigh and upper leg.
Sports that Benefit from Groin and Adductor Stretches
Sports that benefit from the groin and adductor stretches below include team sports like soccer, basketball, netball, lacrosse, rugby, football, gridiron and hockey. Plus, any sport that involves a lot of running or walking, such as, track, cross country hiking, backpacking, mountaineering, orienteering and race walking.
Sports that require rapid change of direction like tennis, squash, badminton and martial arts also benefit from regular groin and adductor stretching.
More...from Stretch Coach.
12. How Weight Training May Help With Weight Control:
People who regularly do muscle-strengthening exercises are about 20 to 30 percent less likely to become obese over time than people who do not.
Lifting weights a few times a week might help us stave off obesity, according to an interesting new study of resistance exercise and body fat. It shows that people who regularly complete muscle-strengthening exercises of any kind are about 20 to 30 percent less likely to become obese over time than people who do not, whether they also work out aerobically or not.
The findings indicate that weight training could be more consequential for weight control than many of us might expect, and a little lifting now may keep us lighter, later.
More...from the New York Times.
13. Why do we sweat? Hot facts on perspiring:
Sweating is your body's natural cooling system, and if it's not working properly, it could be a sign of a serious health issue.
It’s the season for sweat. Temperatures are so high across the country you can work up a sweat just getting the mail. Sweating — also known as perspiring — just from standing outdoors for any length of time can be sticky and gross, and while we blame sweat for everything from body odour to armpit stains, it is an important part of our physiology.
Why we sweat
The process of sweating is the body’s natural cooling system. When your body heats up through exercise, outside temperature, certain foods, stress or fever, your brain responds by pumping liquid through two to four million little holes called eccrine glands. This liquid is 99 per cent water and one per cent salt and fat. When that sweat evaporates off the surface of your skin, your body cools down.
More...from Healthing.ca.
14. Exercising on Sunny Days:
To figure out how your body will respond in hot conditions, consider your "physiological equivalent temperature"
We all know that air temperature isn’t the whole story. In the winter, heading out without considering the wind is a recipe for pain; in the summer, it’s the humidity that gets you. For a long time, I didn’t appreciate how much of a difference direct sunlight also makes. A few years ago, researchers in Japan showed that the equivalent of a clear sunny day cuts time to exhaustion in half compared to an overcast day, even with temperature and humidity held constant. In fact, full sunlight heats up your body about as much as speeding up by 30 seconds per mile.
That’s one reason why race directors and exercise physiologists don’t just look at a thermometer (or even the Heat Index, which factors in humidity but not solar radiation or wind) to guess how runners are going to fare on hot days. Instead, the scale of choice is the "wet-bulb globe temperature," or WBGT, which combines measurements from three types of thermometer: an ordinary dry bulb to measure air temperature, a wet bulb that incorporates the effects of humidity and wind, and a globe thermometer that measures solar radiation. WBGT is simply a weighted average of the three measurements, based 70 percent on the wet-bulb reading, 20 percent on the globe, and 10 percent on the dry-bulb.
More...from Sweat Science on Outside Online.
15. Fitbits Detect Lasting Changes After Covid-19:
Some people recovering from a coronavirus infection had an elevated heart rate for months, according to a new study.
tests were in short supply, some scientists wondered whether a new approach to disease surveillance might be on Americans’ wrists.
One in five Americans uses a Fitbit, Apple Watch or other wearable fitness tracker. And over the past year, several studies have suggested that the devices — which can continually collect data on heart rates, body temperature, physical activity and more — could help detect early signs of Covid-19 symptoms.
More...from the New York Times.
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