Sprinting: 10 Research Articles for Effective Sprint Training [Part 23]

Click here for all the previous Sprint Reviews 

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.

Click on the link to the original reference, where applicable

1. Carbohydrate Mouth Rinse Improves Relative Mean Power During Multiple Sprint Performance
Garet W. Simpson. Central Washington Univ. 2018. International Journal of Exercise Science.

Most team sport situations provide multiple opportunities for access to beverages, but gastrointestinal distress associated with fluid intake may reduce desire for significant beverage consumption. Under such circumstances, a small but practical ergogenic advantage may be exhibited if the fluid rinsed in the mouth contains carbohydrates.

2. Do We Need a Cool-Down After Exercise? A Narrative Review of the Psychophysiological Effects and the Effects on Performance, Injuries and the Long-Term Adaptive Response
Bas Van Hooren.Sports Medicine 2018.

Based on the empirical evidence currently available, active cool-downs are largely ineffective for improving most psychophysiological markers of post-exercise recovery, but may nevertheless offer some benefits compared with a passive cool-down.

[JIMSON’S NOTE: For most athletes, the walk to the locker room showers is THE cool-down. I like to do 1 lap around the track cool-down, on grass, and barefoot, for proprioception reasons. Unless there is snow, broken glass, or dangerous insects!]

3. Excelling at youth level in competitive track and field athletics is not a prerequisite for later success.
Philip E. Kearney. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2018.

Examined a broad sample of athletes and revealed weak to moderate correlations between performances at different age grades until at least Under 17-Under 20.

4. Body Image in Long Distance Runners.  
Meghan Hull Saint John Fisher College, The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research.2018.

There is a conflict between what it means to want an ideal runner’s body, and the value of it for competing in the sport, versus the reality of the American societal ideal.

[JIMSON’S NOTE: This is a serious topic, especially eating disorders, that needs to be addressed more.]

5. Muscle morphology and performance in master athletes: A systematic review and meta-analyses.
James Mckendry.  Aging Research Reviews. 2018.

Despite advancing age, this review suggests that chronic exercise training preserves physical function, muscular strength and body fat levels similar to that of young, healthy individuals in an exercise mode-specific manner. 

6. Wrist-Worn Wearables for Monitoring Heart Rate and Energy Expenditure While Sitting or Performing Light-to-Vigorous Physical Activity: Validation Study
Peter Düking, MSc.  JMIR Publications. 2020.

Compared four well known watches. 

[JIMSON’S NOTE: Our weekly Recovery & Regeneration Zoom group had Renata Szado speak on this topic. Look for the video on SpeedEndurance soon!]

7. The addition of B-Hydroxy B-Methylbutyrate (HMB) to creatine monohydrate supplementation does not improve anthropometric and performance maintenance across a collegiate rugby season.
Gerald T. Mangine. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition  (2020) 

Interesting supplement information.

8. All About Creatine.
The Muscle PhD website. https://themusclephd.com/all-about-creatine/

Well researched web article.

[JIMSON’S NOTE: I presented the topic of Supplements for Recovery Presentation in our weekly Recovery & Regeneration Zoom group. I’m not against Creatine as a supplement… I’m just not a fan of it]

9. THE POTENTIATION EFFECTS OF A PLYOMETRIC-BASED WARM-UP EXERCISE ON SUBSEQUENT SPRINT PERFORMANCE IN COLLEGIATE TRACK ATHLETES
A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science In Kinesiology By Kalin A. Tomlinson 2020 .

Concluded that,  it appears, at least within the limits of this study, that an additional plyometric-based activity following a sprinters’ warm-up routine fails to elicit a potentiating response in subsequent sprint performance. 

10. Time-of-Day Effects on Short-Duration Maximal Exercise Performance.
Gerardo Gabriel Mirizio.  Scientific Reports. 2020.

This review shows that, under neutral climate conditions, short duration maximal exercise performance is affected by the time of day, peaking between 16:00 and 20:00h. However, a similar performance may be achieved in the morning hours if exercise is conducted after:

1. short exposures to moderately warm and humid environments;
2. active warm-up protocols;
3. intermittent fasting conditions;
4. warming-up while listening to music;
5. prolonged periods of training at a specific time of day.

This suggests that time-of-day dependent fluctuations in short-duration maximal exercise performance are controlled not only by body temperature, hormone levels, motivation or mood states but also by a versatile circadian system within skeletal muscle.

[JIMSON’S NOTE: This explains why all sprint finals should be at night, as well as to accommodate TV Prime Time viewers.]