Sprinting: 10 Research Articles for Effective Sprint Training [Part 16]

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Paul Hoffman has read and researched several research papers on sprinting and performance articles, so you don’t have to.  If any of these articles interest you, feel free to research the case studies and methodology and come up with your own conclusions.

1. Acute effects of caffeine-containing energy drinks on physical performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis.  D. Souza. European Journal of Nutrition. Oct. 2016

Energy drink ingestion improved performance in muscle strength and endurance, endurance exercise tests, jumping and sport-specific actions. However, the improvement in performance was associated with taurine dosage.

2. Dietary nitrate supplementation improves sprint and high-intensity intermittent running performance. Christopher Thompson. ScienceDirect. Dec. 2016

Dietary NO3 supplementation enhances maximal sprint and high-intensity intermittent running performance in competitive team sport players. Our findings suggest that NO3 supplementation has the potential to improve performance in single-sprint or multiple-sprint (team) sports.

3. The Biomechanical Effects of Uphill Training on Acceleration on Under 17 Yr Male and Female Athletes.  Mrs. Kusum Lata & Prof. Rakesh Dubey.  Haramaya University. Ethiopia. 2016.  

The results of these studies demonstrated positive correlation.

4. Declining performance of Master athletes: Silhouettes of the trajectory of healthy human ageing? Norman R. Lazarus. Journal of Physiology. Nov. 2016

Analysis of world record performances by master athletes suggests an essentially linear decline with age until around the eighth decade after which performance decline accelerates. Because these records are obtained from highly trained individuals they can be viewed as being reflective of the diminution of integrative physiological prowess that occurs solely as a result of ageing, unaffected by the confounding effects of inactivity. It can also be argued that these performance profiles mirror and provide an insight into the trajectory of the physiology of the human ageing process. Here we propose a set point theory which hypothesizes that a given threshold of physical activity is needed to age optimally and to maximise the “health-span”. Exercise above this threshold stimulates adaptations towards maximising athletic performance, but is unlikely to have further beneficial effects on health. Exercising at levels below this threshold set point, will result in ageing being contaminated by the unpredictable and pathological effects of inactivity. Thus above the set point the decades-long, controlled diminution in physical capability, demonstrated at one end of the spectrum in the documented declines in athletic performance, should not be seen as a disease process. The ageing process is separate from, and independent of, exercise-mediated processes that maintain or adapt physiological function. Whether an understanding of these mechanisms will also help uncover mechanisms underpinning the ageing process itself is open to question. However, any model which does not take into account the effects of activity will not adequately describe the inherent ageing process.

5. The Effects Of A Heavy Resistance Warm-Up On Sprint Speed: A Post Activation Potentiation Study.  Brent Springall.  Journal of Physical Education Research. May 2016.

This study failed to demonstrate a meaningful PAP effect on sprinting performance when using a bilateral BS or unilateral BL as the PAP conditioning activity modalities. We suggest that the current study should be replicated with participants with greater relative strength and performing the PAP conditioning activity modalities at a greater intensity (85-90% of 1-RM). Finally, future PAP related studies should give attention to the issue of specificity as it relates to the PAP conditioning activity modality and the targeted sport activity

6. Explosive movement in the older men: analysis and comparative study of vertical jump.  Karine Monteil.  Aging:Clinical and Experimental Research. Nov. 2016

This study showed a lower joint power when performing vertical jump. This smaller power resulted from both a lower moment and angular velocity produced at each joint.

7. Effects of a High Protein and Omega-3-Enriched Diet with or Without Creatine Supplementation on Markers of Soreness and Inflammation During 5 Consecutive Days of High Volume Resistance Exercise in Females. Sara Hayward. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2016.

This study demonstrates that, regardless of protein, omega-3 fatty acid and/or creatine supplementation, 5 days of consecutive resistance training does not alter perceived muscle soreness, training volume, and/or markers of inflammation in novice resistance-trained females.

8. Muscle Injuries in Sports: A New Evidence-Informed and Expert Consensus-Based Classification with Clinical Application. Xavier Valle. Sports Medicine. Nov. 2016.

The purpose of this article was to describe a classification system for muscle injuries with easy clinical application, adequate grouping of injuries with similar functional impairment, and potential prognostic value. This evidence-informed and expert consensus-based classification system for muscle injuries is based on a four-letter initialism system: MLG-R, respectively referring to the mechanism of injury (M), location of injury (L), grading of severity (G), and number of muscle re-injuries (R). The goal of the classification is to enhance communication between healthcare and sports-related professionals and facilitate rehabilitation and return-to-play decision making.

9. Are Olympic athletes free from cardiovascular diseases? Systematic investigation in 2352 participants from Athens 2004 to Sochi 2014. Antonio Pelliccia, British Journal of Sports Medicine. Dec. 2016.

This study revealed an unexpected prevalence of CV abnormalities among Olympic athletes, including a small, but not negligible proportion of pathological conditions at risk. This observation suggests that Olympic athletes, despite the absence of symptoms or astonishing performances, are not immune from CV disorders and might be exposed to unforeseen high-risk during sport activity.

10. “Saving Science”, by Daniel Sarewitz. A very important article on the topic of scientific research in general.