Archive

Record numbers of people are playing netball in the UK,  the super league is thriving and the English team’s win at April’s Commonwealth Games brought unpresidented media coverage. Around 1.4million women and girls currently play regularly and high five, Nets and mixed netball are all gaining popularity, introducing men to the game. If you have […]

Five years ago I turned up at a nutrition conference with hands died purple from blackberry picking. When asked what I had been doing, I innocently said making jam, not realising the commotion this would cause. For many people jam = refined sugar and anything with a large proportion of refined sugar is seen as BAD. But I […]

What are Nootropics Nootropics are smart drugs, supplements or foods that are taken to enhance memory, cognition or intelligence, increase concentration, attention or motivation and to relieve anxiety or stress, with the aim of improving academic performance and results. Although at the simplest level they include herbs, spices, phytochemicals like caffeine and energy drinks, the drugs that being […]

What can we learn from Sports Science ? Mark McClusky’s new book, Faster, Higher, Stronger, which was published at the end of last year, is the best book I have come across at answering the question “what we can learn from sports science?”. A really good review of the latest research and technology, written in […]

Remember these ? The Fig Roll….   Fig Rolls are not a new idea, thought to have been invented by the early Egyptians, they have been mass produced and sold as a biscuit since 1891. Initially sold in America as Fig Newtons, they now come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are sold all over […]

We spend about a third of our lives asleep but until recently we have known virtually nothing about why we do. For decades sleep disturbance has been known to effect academic and athletic performance as well as health but how has not been clear. Jeff Iliff’s concise 12minute Ted talk describes how his groups research is coming closer […]

In the UK we love the new and my children couldn’t wait to try out the new green bottled Coke Life. But…. Why has Coca-Cola brought out Coke-Life? Coca-Cola’s press release says “The launch of Coca-Cola Life is the latest in a series of initiatives from Coke to promote well-being and address obesity in the […]

Is it possible to boost academic and tactical performance with what you eat?    As we all focus on appearance and look for the next miracle diet to make us thin and toned, the food manufacturers are looking to make as much money out of our obsessions as possible. We all seem to have forgotten that brain development […]

Ergogenic Aids As competition gets tighter and the stakes higher, athletes, coaches and sports scientists are spending more and more time looking for legal ways to improve performance and hasten recovery. Things that are taken or done to improve performance are known as Ergogenic Aids and can act to improve performance by directly influencing physiological […]

Michael Hutchinson’s book ‘Faster‘ is genius and definitely worth reading if you are involved in or interested in sport in any way. Michael Hutchinson is a British pro rider who has focused his career on the domestic time trial circuit. Naturally talented and blessed with giant lungs, he found it relatively easy to get involved […]