I have decided to start reporting on some of the scientific literature available in exercise science, hopefully in a way that doesn't require you to decipher it too much. To get you started, I have a couple of related articles to report on. If there are any specific topics you would like recent information on, feel free to use the Contact Us page to send an email.
Article 1
A team of researchers in Brazil have discovered that along with the liver, heart, brain and limb muscles, the muscles that help you breath can help clear lactate from your blood after intense exercise.1 Chiappa and associates found that participants' blood lactate was approximately 16% lower after 9 minutes of recovery when a load (resistance) was applied to their chest to make breathing harder. They concluded that the lung muscles are very good at metabolising lactate during below-maximal exercise.
For BMXers, this provides more evidence that we need to do a gradual warm-down after each race, as this keeps our breathing rate up and our slow-twitch fibres working to remove the lactate from our legs more quickly.
Article 2
Want the most power down the first straight? You need to warm up. Research of different preparations on sprint performance of elite, young rugby players in NSW has revealed warming up as the best method compared to stretching, no preparation and stretching + warm-up.2 The results showed that 40m sprint times (approx. 5-6 seconds) were best after a warm-up alone, although warm-up + stretching together showed positive results and stretching alone was better than no preparation.
Before you race, don't just sit around. Get those legs moving gently, increasing your work rate as the race approaches. I suggest making sure you take it easy in the last couple of minutes before a race though.
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Stewart, M., Adams, R., Alonso, A., Van Koesveld, B., & Campbell, S. (2007). Warm-up or stretch as preparation for sprint performance? Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 10, 403-410.
Note: Chiappa et al., to be published in print January 2008. Article retrieved online ahead of print, Mon 17 Dec, 2007.
