Rob Pickels is the Advanced Development Project Manager at PEARL iZUMi, but more importantly, he can out-nerd Trevor as you'll hear in today's deep-dive into some new scientific research in sports physiology. Even though the findings of one of these studies may not appear to directly apply to your weekly training plan, understanding the questions that have been asked by scientists can hopefully give you context into what is known and knowable by science as it relates to human performance. Trevor gives a brief overview of each study and then he and Rob point out key components of each study and translate the scientific jargon.

In case you missed it and enjoy this depth of conversation about research, we did a "Nerd-Lab" episode a while back, Fast Talk 155: Recent Research on Interval Types, Timing Effects on Performance, Health Benefits of Endurance, and Pacing Strategies.

Aerobic vs Anaerobic Contribution in Sprints

First up is "The Aerobic and Anaerobic Contribution During Repeated 30-s Sprints in Elite Cyclists" by researchers Nicki Winfield Almquist, Øyvind Sandbakk, Bent R. Rønnestad, and Dionne Noordhof. Sometimes, because of the way a study is conducted, the findings are not very well applied to real-world training. Trevor points out some of these methods used which a training athlete would never use in their own workouts. It could be argued that science sometimes needs to ask and answer questions for itself that simply show the bounds of human potential.

Mitochondrial Impairment

Next, we try to understand more about mitochondrial impairment in a study titled "Excessive exercise training causes mitochondrial functional impairment and decreases glucose tolerance in healthy volunteers."

Durability in Endurance Athletes

The final review of the day leaves Rob asking for more from scientists and friends of the podcast, Stephen Seiler and Ed Maunder in their Review article, "The Importance of ‘Durability’ in the Physiological Profiling of Endurance Athletes." Rob asks the questions he wants answers to and looks for more valuable information.

Let's make you fast!

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