sports science – Seite 2

exercise physiology sports science performance

The value of performance diagnostcs in orienteering

Endurance testing has a long tradition in the Swiss Orienteering Federation. It has become an important tool in monitoring effectiveness of training and in assessing endurance performance. The vast majority of athletes and coaches indicate that sport science is meaningful and endurance testing is of high informative value for them. Endurance testing is regularly done in the lab, but also field tests are carried out each year. They particularly empower and support athletes in their specific preparation for important competitions. Also in the future new competition formats can be prepared and training may be monitored by a new format of specific tests. In various endurance sports physiological demands may be similar.

elite sports performance exercise physiology sports science

Performance diagnostics in endurance sports – anaeroboc threshold, VO2max, aerobic capacity – where do we go?

Exercise testing in athletes and patients is an important and valuable diagnostic tool in the hand of the physician and sport scientist. A close collaboration between sport scientist and sport physician creates a win-win-win-situation for athletes and patients and professionals equally. According to the demands of the sport an incremental lactate threshold test (determination of the anaerobic threshold), testing of VO2max and performance at VO2max, and a testing of aerobic capacity (performance at competitional level) are the tests of choice. All tests need to be valid, reliable and sport specific. Sport specificity in testing is for practical purposes the most important.

elite sports recovery sports science

Sleep – A Game Changer in the Athletic World?

The restorative qualities of sleep are fundamentally the basis of the individual athlete’s ability to recover and perform, and to optimally be able to challenge and control the effects of exercise regimes in high performance sport. Research consistently shows that a large percentage of the population fails to obtain the recommended 7–9 hours of sleep per night [17]. Moreover, recent years’ research has found that athletes have a high prevalence of poor sleep quality [6]. Given its implications on the recovery process, sleep affects the quality of the athlete’s training and outcome of competitions.

elite sports recovery sports science

Recovery strategies for football players

Recovery from intense efforts and matches demands special consideration, and recent years have seen the development of multiple new modalities which promise faster and better recovery. The world of professional football has taken notice, especially due to the repetition of matches and reduction of number of days in between for the best teams playing in the Champions League. Abd-Elbasset Abaïdia presented at the #SportSuisse2018 conference for Grégory Dupont, who was on duty with the World Cup winner French National team.

exercise physiology hypoxia training sports science

Hypoventilation Training: a systematic review

Background: High altitude training seems beneficial for many athletes. However, training in altitude is always associated with travel and high expenses. Thus, methods have been developed to achieve similar effects as with high altitude training. One method is voluntary hypoventilation training (VHT). Although commonly used in training, the effectiveness of this method has not been analysed sufficiently. Methods: Intervention studies of voluntary hypoventilation training were identified from searches in PubMed, SciVerse Science Direct, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EBSCOhost and Google Scholar.

exercise physiology sports science performance

Laboratory versus outdoor testing: Lactate endurance diagnostics and training management

Recording the endurance lactate concentration has for some 40 years now been considered the most sensitive parameter for identifying and differentiating the aerobic capacity in muscle metabolism. Lactate behavior or the lactate-running-speed ratio is influenced under lab conditions both by the shock absorption of the specific treadmill type, the treadmill angle of inclination, and outdoors by the ground conditions. What is decisive for both indoor and outdoor measurements is the integrative lactate behavior.

sports medicine preparticipation sports science monitoring supplements

Fluctuations in the results of ferritin analysis between six different medical laboratories

Introduction: Iron is an important factor of the energy balance and correlates with serum ferritin. For competitive athletes, ferritin measurements are regularly performed at certified medical laboratories. However, as a laboratory change happened, we questioned the validity of ferritin levels, since unusually high values were measured. The aim of this study is to compare the ferritin values of blood samples in six different laboratories and to evaluate the diagnosis of iron deficiency. Methods: Blood samples from 63 patients with suspected iron deficiency were sent to six laboratories for ferritin measurements.

elite sports performance sports medicine preparticipation sports science

Vitamin D levels and predictors in Swiss elite athletes – recommandation for supplementation

Background: Vitamin D concentrations corresponding to 75 nmol/L of 25(OH)D or more have been related to maintained muscle function, growth and regeneration, to optimal bone health and immunology in athletes. The objective of this study was to investigate prevalence and predictors of insufficient 25(OH)D concentrations in athletes and to come up with recommendations for our Swiss athletes. Methods: 603 competitive Swiss athletes were assessed during their annual pre-participation examination. A standardized questionnaire was used to gather information about potential predictors for 25(OH)D concentrations.

elite sports sports medicine preparticipation sports science monitoring

Iron deficiency in athletes – new guidelines for diagnosis and treatment

Background: Iron deficiency (ID), worldwide a common affection is associated with reduced performance, fatigue and increased risk for infections. Athletes are a risk-population due to a higher prevalence of restrictive diets or exercise-induced inflammation. Particularly in athletes, the diagnosis of ID based on unspecific symptomes or routine laboratory diagnostics with ferritin is not always reliable. The goal of this study was therefore to discover if a new diagnostic approach adding zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP) or soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) in the routine assessment of ID in athletes is helpful or even necessary.

sports science

The climbing protocol of the Swiss Alpine Club – an approximation of biological correlates?

Introduction: Sport climbing is becoming more and more popular however, protocols for analyzing technique do rarely exist. One common tool in Switzerland is the standard climbing protocol of SAC, which is oriented at the standard movement of climbing allowing to rate individual technique. In this study interaction of blood lactate concentration and its interaction with technique scores were analyzed. Methods: 12 sportclimbers of good leisure sport level with regular climbing activity performed 3 previously unknown routes with difficulties of 6–, 6, 6+ (UIAA Scale) in a climbing hall.