Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Introduction to Biology series 34 videos
CourseraGreat variety of online courses running for 4-6 weeks and more. I recently did the Exercise Physiology course (review here) which was very in depth.
There are more ways to learn than going to University.
There are many ways to learn, and paying £30,000 to sit in a lecture hall with 200 other students 6 hours a week, for 90 weeks total may be a bit too much to swallow.
“The performance of elite athletes is likely to defy the types of easy explanations sought by scientific reductionism.” (1)
The weak chink in my coaching armour (or the weakest link amongst many) is my exercise physiology knowledge. Having studied Italian at school instead of biology, I avoided Exercise Physiology subjects when doing my MSc.
My coaching has been mainly with team sport or combat athletes and I have never felt the need to know more than the basics of physiology.
However, when this course came up on Coursera, I took the opportunity to rectify this and see if I could help my current crop of athletes that include cyclists, modern pentathletes, marathoners and 1500m runners.
Course outline
Mark Hargreaves of Melbourne University set up the course with the aim that at the end of the course I would be able to:
•describe the sequence of events in muscle contraction, the characteristics of skeletal muscle fibre types, their recruitment during exercise and relevance to athletic performance, the sites of energy use during muscle contraction and the specific muscle adaptations to different types of exercise.
• summarise the energy systems utilized during exercise of varying intensity and duration and understand the factors that influence carbohydrate and fat metabolism during exercise.
• describe the cardiorespiratory responses to exercise that facilitate oxygen delivery to, and consumption by, contracting skeletal muscle during exercise and summarise the physiological determinants of maximal oxygen uptake.
• understand the mechanisms of heat loss during exercise and their physiological implications, the effect of heat stress on physiological and metabolic responses to exercise and effective countermeasures, the effects of fluid loss on physiological function and the benefits of fluid replacement during exercise.
• describe the central and peripheral factors that mediate fatigue during exercise of varying intensity and duration and the physiological determinants of sprinting and endurance performance.
• appreciate the potential role of genetic factors in mediating exercise performance and responses to exercise training.
There was a good mix of video lectures and journal articles to read. A pdf study guide also summarised the week’s learning with a very handy glossary. The 6 week course was punctuated by fortnightly quizzes, which counted towards the final mark.
A written assignment based on a case study of a collapsed Iron Man triathlete just before the finish line was peer reviewed. This has caused some consternation from other students as the marking has appeared a bit random.
I got 18/20 on this section (I was tempted to write that he probably collapsed from boredom having listened to his fellow triathletes talk about their training…).
The final exam was 25 multiple choice questions, some of which were quite tough.
Key lessons
The relationship between exercise duration and intensity is responsible for what energy substrates are used. An increase in ambient temperature also has an impact, with more carbohydrate being used.
Repeated sessions in the heat leads to Carbohydrate depletion. However, the major cause of fatigue in the heat is the rise of core body temperature above 38C. This impedes blood flow and together with a fall in blood pressure, impedes the ability of the cv system to function as effectively.
Delaying or limiting the rise in core temperature can therefore improve performance in the heat: acclimatisation, pre-cooling and fluid ingestion being the three main ways.
The relationship between local and central fatigue was covered in some depth. Referring to Tim Noakes’ Central Governor Theory, I understood it more now than I did 15 years ago when I first saw him present on it.
Fatigue could be “mind over muscle” with the mind protecting the body from damaging itself. However, experience, emotions and motivation can all influence this relationship.
A couple of definitions also helped me clarify my thoughts:
“Fatigue is a reduction in force and poer generating capacity”.
“Fatigue is an inability to maintain the required or expected force or power output.” (Task failure).
The diaphragm appears to be a clever piece of human kit. As a major part of our respiratory system, it works hard during maximal exercise (up to 15% of VO2 is used by it. When it fatigues a reflex signal occurs to the working muscles which limits motor activation.
The sporting champion will come from a genetic pool of elite athletes. But, they need to work hard and maximise opportunities given to them in order to prevail.
Summary and thoughts
The course went into some detail about the cellular actions and I am doubtful as to whether knowing that GLUT4 is a glucose transport protein will help me or my athletes.
The cellular physiology was hard work for me, and I doubt if I will remember the details in a month’s time.
I am struggling to think of one change to my coaching practice that I will make as a result of this course.
I gained lots of information, but little wisdom. The knowledge may impact on what I do in the future. It may have helped me understand the theory underpinning my exisitng practice. I return to the opening quote: being a coach means there is more to performance than what happens in the cells.
Saying that, the quality of the information, the design of the course and how it was structured mean that it did what it said on the tin. I will be able to use a lot of this information on the coaching courses I deliver.
Thanks to Professor Hargreaves and his team for setting it up.
I was speaking to a couple of young athletes last week on how they were faring, and how they adjust to learning new skills. Both gave examples of when they were returning from a layoff, or trying to practice a new skill but then being put into competition with other players. The dilemma is trying get better for the long term, but not wanting to lose in the short term.
The secret is to channel that competitive urge into the skill itself, or to do drills that put that skill into practice without being destructive to the overall process.
I try and get the competitive spirit going in every session – but for the athlete to compete with themselves. In groups it is difficult, because you want everyone to get better and to set their own standards- not just being the best of that small group. That is harder for the best people- just think of being the number 1 downhill skier in Great Britain- where does that leave you in World Rankings?
Other athletes I train do not want to try anything new or that is out of their comfort zone because they don’t want to come 2nd- I don’t think they will make it to the big leagues in the long term.
The weak chink in my coaching armour (or the weakest link amongst many) is my exercise physiology knowledge. Having studied Italian at school instead of biology, I avoided Exercise Physiology subjects when doing my MSc.
A written assignment based on a case study of a collapsed Iron Man triathlete just before the finish line was peer reviewed. This has caused some consternation from other students as the marking has appeared a bit random.
The course went into some detail about the cellular actions and I am doubtful as to whether knowing that GLUT4 is a glucose transport protein will help me or my athletes.
I was speaking to a couple of young athletes last week on how they were faring, and how they adjust to learning new skills. Both gave examples of when they were returning from a layoff, or trying to practice a new skill but then being put into competition with other players. The dilemma is trying get better for the long term, but not wanting to lose in the short term.