Blog
Dr Mike Joyner “Sport Science: Servant or Master?”
“Don’t get distracted by the latest and greatest” Said Dr Mike Joyner at the head of his 2nd seminar at GAIN. His talk covered four key questions we need to ask before implementing a new scientific find in our training, as well as interesting insights that he has found useful. In a discussion the evening…
Read MoreSteve Magness on the Volume Trap
“How many miles should I run”? Is the question that endurance coach Steve Magness gets asked the most when presenting at workshops. His seminar at this year’s GAIN covered volume and other training parameters which apply to many different sports. “There is no difference between 99 miles and 100 miles, but people want to get…
Read MoreSteve Myrland: “Coaching better every day”
“I thought I was a good coach because I had a good job” said Steve Myrland in the opening part of his presentation at GAIN. “By that logic if we put on snowshoes and walk outside it will start snowing”! This very experienced and enlightened coach gave his thoughts on creating meaningful athletic development rather…
Read More7 Sports Science Myths: Dr Michael Joyner (Mayo clinic)
GAIN reflections Dr Mike Joyner is a faculty member of the Mayo clinic specialising in human performance physiology. I met him early on the Wednesday morning when he was attempting to roll around on the floor and get up despite his very long levers. What impressed me was his effort and concentration in attempting a…
Read MoreGAIN 2017: Coaching reflections
I recently spent 5 days in Houston, Texas at Vern Gambetta’s GAIN conference. In this post, and those to follow, I shall attempt to share some of the main ideas and reflections gained whilst there. This should be of interest to fellow coaches and some to parents of athletes too. Opening address and overview by…
Read MoreSummer Reading for Sports Coaches
Book recommendations for sports coaches Summer is here and I have just returned from the GAIN conference in Houston where fellow sports coaches and bibliophiles shared book ideas and recommendations. Here are some of mine from this year, plus a full list of what I have read with a brief summary. Best coaching book I…
Read MoreDoes sleep affect sporting performance?
A recent BBC article highlighted the variations in sporting performance for individuals at different times of the day (1). These differences are down to biological processes which change throughout the day.
Read MoreWhat the academics are keeping from the public
“The average number of readers of a scientific paper is…”
Sir Martin Rees in his book “Before the beginning: our universe and others” discusses science, evidence and why information fails to get through to the public (Answer at the bottom of the page).
Getting to grips with infographics and data visualisation.
After many hours of staring at screens and wrestling with Excel, I have finished my final work on the “Introduction to Infographics and Data Visualization” course.
What started as interest in infographics turned into an understanding of how data should be presented in order to clarify and educate, rather than to obfuscate.
Coaching book reviews
Book Reviews Whenever I work with other coaches and discuss how they develop their own practice, reading books is always high as a favourite. Unfortunately, a lot of them seem to be “sciencey” such as Syed’s bounce, but actually add to misinformation, rather than informing our practice Here are a few that I have read…
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