Blog

Welcome to the Excelsior blog. It is a mix of current research and thoughts on Athlete and Coach Development, Strength and Conditioning and personal reflections.

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Thanks for taking the time to read it.

James Marshall

1. Do we need sleep?

   21st January 2014 2:41 pm

   There is still no real explanation of why we need sleep.

   As you arrive at work on Monday morning tired, are you thinking I didn’t get enough sleep this weekend?

   0 Comments | Read More | spatial

2. Sleep deprivation

   2:36 pm

   Does one bad night’s sleep affect performance?

   If you are worried about poor performance after having a bad night’s sleep, that is normal behaviour. The good news is that losing one night’s sleep is unlikely to affect you physically.

   Instead it affects your mood and your motivation to train.

   1 Comment | Read More | sleep

3. Sleep Deprivation and Insulin Sensitivity

   2:30 pm

   Average sleep levels have dropped

   Average sleep in the USA has dropped from 9 hours a night to less than 7 hours per night over the last 100 years: so much for having more leisure time!

   This could have an impact on health in the long term as recent research has shown that short term sleep deprivation leads to an inability to regulate insulin as well as people who have a good night’s sleep.

   0 Comments | Read More | Transfromational Coaching

4. Sleep- How much should I be getting?

   2:12 pm

   In almost every training book, manual or Coaching handout, sleep is covered as a topic very briefly: “the athlete should get 7-9 hours sleep a night” is about the norm, then the author moves on.

   3 Comments | Read More | spatial

5. Should I take Creatine? – A summary of recent research

   11:50 am

   Creatine supplementation for athletes.

   Creatine supplementation became popular with athletes following the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, when gold medal winners Linford Christie and Sally Gunnell revealed that creatine was a factor in their success.

   3 Comments | Read More | sports nutrition

6. The best sports nutrition supplement is…

   11:13 am

   “How can we make more money from impressionable teenage boys?”

   Is a question equipment manufacturers in the 1950s asked. Today, sports supplement companies make a fortune by selling products that promise short cuts and quick gains to young males with low self- esteem.

   4 Comments | Read More | hydration, sports nutrition

7. Making athletes robust

   9:47 am

   ro·bust