This research overview looks at a paper in this month’s Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research that sparked my interest from the title. I found myself wondering what the premise of the research was and why it was chosen by the researchers. The idea was for Inacio et al to gain a greater understanding of the effects of changes in bodyfat on certain performance characteristics and this was achieved by adding an external upper body load in the form of a weighted vest. Another aim of the research was to look at any gender differences in simulated fat mass increase and performance decrement.

It was hypothesized that there would be a significant drop in vertical jump, 40 yard sprint, 20 yard sprint and 20 yard shuttle test performances (it is interesting to see the effect that the NFL combine testing is having on research, or is it the other way round?) when an external load of 2% body weight was added, a significant and progressive drop in performance would be seen when loads of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10% body weight was added and that female participants would show greater decreases than men in all loading conditions. The reasoning for the final hypothesis was that as a result of greater percentage bodyfat amongst women and effectively increasing that through external loading would lead to a greater fat mass to lean mass ratio than compared to men who would start with a lower bodyfat percentage.

There were 46 participants (21 men and 25 women) in the study that made up one experimental group, all were considered untrained, normally active and none participated in an organised sport or physical activity. Each participant completed vertical jump, 40 yard sprint (20 yard sprint measured at the same time) and 20 yard shuttle tests in random order at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10% external loads that were achieved with weighted vests. Testing took place over 4 sessions interspersed by at least 48 hours for each participant with the first session being body composition testing (DEXA) and baseline (0%) measures. Subsequent sessions were each focused on one physical test and loading order was randomised to minimise the impact of fatigue.

Given the nature of the study with gender, the 6 test conditions and the 4 tests compared, the results took some interpreting. Significant drops were seen in vertical jump scores with the only gender difference being between a significant drop between the 8-10% scores females that wasn’t seen amongst the males. Women also had a significantly greater drop compared to men for every loading condition compared to baseline except at the 6% condition. A similar trend was seen during the twenty yard shuttle test with women showing a greater performance decrement than men in all but the 4% condition.

During the 20 yard sprint a significant drop was seen between 2-6% in women but not men and between 6-8% in men but not women, a progressive drop was seen through all 5 conditions in both genders. In the 40 yard test, performance decrements began at 2% for both men and women but women were significantly more affected by the external load and as a result experienced greater drops in performance at 4,6,8 and 10%.

The results demonstrate the negative effects that higher fat mass can have on performance in anaerobic events. Putting this in a little bit of perspective helps, a 2% increase in mass for a 70kg person is 1.4kg. It would be interesting in future studies, as mentioned by the authors, to look at more athletic populations to if similar performance decrements exist.

Inacio, M., Dipietro, L., Visek, A.J. & Miller, T.A. (2011) Influence of upper body external loading on anaerobic exercise performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 25(4) pp. 896-902/

It’s sometimes nice to take a step back as a strength and conditioning coach and just watch some sport and appreciate it purely as a fan. I was at Aintree for the grand national and it was an awesome spectacle. I know the death of 2 horses has prompted a big response in the press (I wasn’t aware of this until Sunday) but putting that to one side, a somewhat flippant move I admit, the excitement and atmosphere at the course were superb and the intensity of the racing when viewed live is incredible. But that wasn’t the only big sporting occasion to be watched over the weekend and I decided to fill my boots.

There were 2 tense quarter finals in the Heineken cup involving English clubs, the second grand prix of the season, the masters golf and I also managed to squeeze in watching most of a local colts rugby semi final. Instead of being impressed by the physical aspects and characteristics of the contests, it was the more general sporting concepts I was taken by. The drama of the masters and the contrast between the euphoria of Charl Schwartzel and the unravelling of Rory McIlroy, the commitment  of the Leinster and Northampton teams and the driving masterclass of Sebastian Vettel over the whole weekend. The stand out moment was at the local rugby game though.

For one of the teams, if they lost the game that would be the end of the season and their last game together as a squad. One of the substitutes mentioned wanting to win because he didn’t want that game to be his last with the team. It wasn’t getting to the final to win the competition that was at the front of his mind, it was staying together with his mates. That was the motivation and I thought it was great to hear because that’s what being part of a team is about. If that environment exists and that’s a driver for everyone, then you can’t go too far wrong, the bad days won’t seem too bad and the good days you have together will be truly memorable.

Last week was a great learning experience. I spent time during the races observing the logistics of competition and the athletes I coach as well as the races themselves. It was also enjoyable, nothing quite beats a blue sky day in the mountains, couple that exciting sport and catching up with friends and colleagues and it doesn’t get much better (having my skis with me would have topped it off).

I thought I’d give a bit of an insight here into a ski racer’s competition day. It actually starts the day before with a captain’s meeting where details of the next day’s race are distributed amongst the coaches, this will include race times, start details, weather reports and officials. Due to weather the downhill race while I was there was cancelled and the slalom part of the super combined event (slalom and super g combined) brought forward a day. This presents a number of challenges. Those arranging their travel to arrive the day before the scheduled super combined missed it, different skis need to be prepped (the majority of the athletes will prepare their own skis, 2 pairs to be used on race day) and altered recovery time from training.

On race day it was up at 6am ish (8′oclock race start) for breakfast, last minute prep and packing and down to the hill for around 7am. Skis and kit were unloaded from the van and taken over to the finish area. Then it was ski boots on and take kit and race skis to the top of the hill. Prior to race there was time for a couple of warm up runs, these don’t take place on the race course as it was been meticulously prepared the night before. The weather was warm and the snow soft so it was salted the previous night to try and firm it up. Also before the start the athletes were given a window of time to inspect the course, this involved sideslipping down the side of the course to view gate layout and snow conditions. There is no standard ski race course layout, it is at the discretion of the person setting the course at each race and so the inspection is vital.

Once inspected it was back to the top of the hill to race. Start orders are dependent upon FIS points, the better the points the earlier you start the first run. As the racing goes on the more skiers who ski the course, the more it deteriorates and the warmer it gets the more the consistency of the snow changes. This means that the condition of the course the athlete skis can be radically different from what they have inspected, the next time they see it is when they’re trying to ski it as fast as possible. This is just one of the things that makes the sport so challenging, the mental preparation and adaptability is massively important.

From a strength and conditioning point of view, timings and logistics of warm up and preparation are difficult. The early start, cold temperatures, being in ski boots and importance of inspection provide challenges. Working closely with the psychologist is very important to make sure that any physical preparation fits in seamlessly with the mental routine which is most definitely a game changer.