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Early sports specialization may not be the golden ticket

sports specialization

”Only 37.4% of teens in U.S. participate in more than one sport.” Says Bruce Y. Lee, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health (1). However, this might not be the smartest solution if the child dreams of becoming a professional athlete. Statistically speaking, early sports specialization has proven to be an unsuccessful way of reaching the elite level of sports. While there are a number of incredible athletes that show prowess in a single sport very early on, how does this translate into future athletic success?  Continue reading “Early sports specialization may not be the golden ticket”

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Suggested changes in sports culture to prevent head injuries and concussions

concussions in sports

Concussions have plagued North American football and NHL for decades now and as the sports have kept their physical nature, the amount of head injuries are not showing signs of decreasing. This has caused concern between athletes, teams, fans and even sponsors as well (1). With an estimated 1.6-3.8 million sports-related concussions annually in the United States alone (2), the amount of concussions in sports has put pressure on professional and youth leagues to overcome the issue and make the game safer. Continue reading “Suggested changes in sports culture to prevent head injuries and concussions”

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Birth month is a big factor in athletic performance

athletic performance

Becoming a professional athlete requires years of practice and determination. The old saying of ”no pain-no gain” certainly applies when talking about reaching your peak performance. However, there are also other factors in play which have a clear indication of future success as an athlete. One of which is to be born at the right time of the year.  Continue reading “Birth month is a big factor in athletic performance”

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The Revolution of technology in professional sports

Today’s professional sports is a multi-billion dollar business and it is at a level in which physical differences are incredibly narrow. This is also the reason why athletes and professional teams are looking into new fields like sports psychology and sports science to get that ever so important competitive edge. The demand for sport-specific data has definitely gotten professional teams of multiple different sports on their toes. This data can provide helpful information and enhance in-game performance.

Continue reading “The Revolution of technology in professional sports”

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10 Reasons why you need more sleep

We all need sleep and rest.

Whether you are an office worker or an athlete there is still a need to balance your everyday life into staying in motion and staying still. It’s like breathing – in and out, action and reaction, yin and yang.

In order to get training results, the body needs to adapt to the stress caused by the exercise. To properly recover both physically and psychologically the body needs sleep and rest. During that time the muscles start to repair and strengthen themselves while replenishing energy stores, or muscle glycogen (1). If the body does not get the recovery it needs the muscles will not be able to regenerate or restore the muscle glycogen.  Continue reading “10 Reasons why you need more sleep”

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To carb or not to carb?

Carbohydrates

The media is littered with different diets and methods to stay in shape for beach season which in itself should not be seen as a bad thing. I think it is a smart idea to think about what you have on your plate as long as your choices are not unfounded. (Just remember, if someone is trying to convince you of something revolutionary, they are probably just trying to sell their product or service.)

Continue reading “To carb or not to carb?”

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Nutritional guidelines – Do we need them?

Nutritioinal Guidelines

Upon scrolling through the internet and searching for health and nutrition gurus’ you will eventually see people challenging these existing advices. Yes, their own lifestyle change it might have worked for them individually and they might even have a few happy customers, but does it have the same believability than that of a long-term scientific research? Sometimes the reason why these findings become public is that it challenges the existing norm. And obviously, they sell.  Continue reading “Nutritional guidelines – Do we need them?”

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The effect of compression socks on balance skills – randomized controlled trial

Using compression materials to enhance physical performance is rapidly becoming the hottest topic in today’s sports and exercise, which is why sportswear companies are starting to create modified versions of compression garments that are being used for medicinal purposes. In addition to improved injury prevention (Bernhardt & Anderson 2005; Cameron et al. 2008), decreased amount of lactate in the bloodstream (Kraemer et al. 1998: Bringard et al. 2006; Sperlich et al. 2013) and enhanced performance in high-intensity exercises, studies have suggested that compression garments may improve the kinesthetic sense (McNair et al. 1996; Birmingham et al. 1998; Kraemer et al. 1998; McNair & Heine 1999; Birmingham et al. 2000; Bringard et al. 2006; Cameron et al. 2008; Pearce et al. 2009; Michael et al. 2014). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of compression socks on motor learning, specifically balance and agility after an 8-week training program.  Continue reading “The effect of compression socks on balance skills – randomized controlled trial”