The image of professional athletes being massaged is common. Many will have massage done daily in a bid to aid recovery and boost performance. So why has it become a key component of sporting life? Professional athletes utilise many methods in an attempt to gain performance boosts and help them make the most of training. This makes it difficult to measure which aspect is giving them improvements- training, nutrition, massage, hydration, sleep to name a few. These things contribute to percentage gains. The theory behind massage makes it a perfect fit for sports performance and for improving freedom of movement...
This year’s Wimbledon final was fought out between two players, both of whom have a former superstar player as their coach. It seems obvious to think any individual who has reached the pinnacle of their sport, like Lendl, must understand it to great depth. This may well be true in certain cases. But there are clear examples that contradict this. I will use Tennis and Football as two examples to make a case for why “super-coaches” can both succeed and fail. The premier leagues most successful clubs mostly have managers who were average players, think Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger,...
The British Olympic cycling team and Team Sky’s cycling team have demonstrated phenomenal success over the last decade. Dave Brailsford is heralded as the man who orchestrated this performance. His concept of marginal gains is one that it is tempting to apply to all sports. But can it work everywhere? The doctrine of marginal gains states that in any area of a given sport – no matter how small or apparently insignificant – you should look to make all possible improvements. Take cycling: the rider, the bike, the nutrition, the planning, the recovery, the training, the statistical analysis, the list...
