by Dan Williams | Apr 5, 2011 | Blogs, CrossFit, Exercise, Improving Athletic Performance
Fatigue is a bad thing. Or it is when you’re trying to maximise performance. Fatigue is the recoverable reduction in the maximum force generating capacity regardless of the type of work being done. Basically, getting tired so you can’t keep going. So how...
by Dan Williams | Apr 4, 2011 | Blogs, Chronic Conditions, Exercise, Health, Psychology
The female athlete triad is a trifecta of conditions commonly seen in the female athlete. The triad consists of: Disordered eating Premature osteoporosis Ammenorrhea (cessation of menstrual cycle for > three months) The condition is common in female athletes who...
by Dan Williams | Apr 3, 2011 | Blogs, Chronic Conditions, Health, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
More time is spent in bed than in any other place. The importance of good posture in bed is evident. We spend the majority of our time every day doing very specific tasks, in very specific positions. Regardless of how minor the cumulative forces from the tasks may be,...
by Dan Williams | Apr 2, 2011 | Biomechanics, Blogs, Chronic Conditions, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
In part one of this blog series, I discussed the prevalence of muscular injuries in general. In this, we discuss the specific need for further examination of the hamstrings – and why this muscle group is so predisposed to injury. Askling et al (2002) stated that...
by Dan Williams | Apr 1, 2011 | Blogs, Exercise, Improving Athletic Performance
Bouncing at the bottom of a rep gives you more power. But why? It’s due to something called a ‘eccentric-concentric movement pattern’. To understand this, you need a basic knowledge of neuromuscular biomechanics. A concentric contraction occurs when...
by Dan Williams | Mar 29, 2011 | Blogs, Exercise, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation, Psychology
The worst part of injury often isn’t the pain but the ongoing psychological withdrawal from exercise. Luckily, there is a way to minimise the strength losses caused by a single limb injury. A large percentage of the strength in a limb isn’t caused by...
by Dan Williams | Mar 28, 2011 | Blogs, Exercise, Health, Older Persons
Ok, big disclaimer on this one. BE CAREFUL AND COMPLETE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Fall prevention in the elderly is a big one. Falls = inability to exercise = falls. Viscous cycle. A fall occurs when the centre of gravity moves outside the base of support. The way to increase...
by Dan Williams | Mar 27, 2011 | Blogs, Exercise, Improving Athletic Performance, Programming
By using a basic knowledge of neuromuscular biomechanics, we can discover the speed and weight needed to maximise power output. Power is a good thing. It’s what allows us to lift something heavy, hit something hard, throw something far, run/row/cycle/swim fast...
by Dan Williams | Mar 24, 2011 | Blogs, Health, Nutrition, Psychology
Food with the word ‘diet’ on the packet has been shown to encourage greater consumption. This isn’t because the foods have a higher level of energy, in fact, it’s the lower caloric contents of the foods that makes people eat more. Because they perceive the foods as...
by Dan Williams | Mar 21, 2011 | Blogs, Chronic Conditions, Exercise, Health, Nutrition
Examining the differences between the lifestyles of modern humans and early hunter gatherers reveals some surprising results. A direct comparison of physical activity levels by Cordain et al. (1997) indicates that the variables in lifestyle lead to an average energy...
