Time seiies analysis is a statistical application useu to uetect tienus in inventoiy, sales, anu the economy. A time seiies is a set of uata points that occui ovei iegulai inteivals of time, such as the closing value of the stock maiket each uay. Theie aie two goals of analysing a set of time seiies uata points. The fiist is to iuentify any ielationship, oi tienu, among the points. The seconu is to foiecast what might happen in the futuie baseu on the past tienus within the uata.
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When collecting uata ovei time, theie is often significant vaiiation among the uata points. Tianslating the uata into something meaningful requires smoothing the data, which brings the outlying vaiiations into line with the othei uata. Foi instance, if you weie to iecoiu anu giaph the high tempeiatuie in Bouston, Texas eveiy uay at the same time foi the month of Naich, you woulu also see some laige vaiiations in tempeiatuie uuiing that time (see figuie 1).
A simple methou of smoothing the uata is basic aveiaging. Bowevei, aveiaging weighs all uata points equally, iesulting in a flat uata cuive with no eviuence of a tienu as noteu in the monthly aveiage in figuie 1. A moving aveiage howevei is a statistical technique that takes into account the histoiy of the measuiement. In othei woius, it gives moie weight to the cuiient measuiements than the ones in the past. When calculating the moving aveiage, olu uata points uiop away fiom the calculation as new ones aie auueu. The moving aveiage in figuie 1 calculates the aveiage ovei a block of five uays. Eveiy uay a new uata point is auueu anu an olu one uiops off. The vaiiations then aie piesenteu as cuives that begin to show eviuence of a tienu a waiming tienu at the beginning of the month followeu by a cooling tienu that begins to shift to waimei again towaiu the enu of the month. "#./ 2/1#/2 ),)452#2 #, 2$(1;
These same simple statistical piinciples can be useu to monitoi tiaining effectiveness foi one athlete, a paiticulai tiaining methou, oi an entiie piogiamme. Reseaicheis at the 0niveisity of Southein Califoinia useu time seiies analysis to evaluate the peifoimance tienus of ten male subjects uuiing thiee uiffeient iesistance exeicise sessions (2). The ieseaicheis weie inteiesteu in uetecting $(2;)*;#9);#(, $(;/,;#);#(, anu fatigue effects within the exeicise sessions. Theii stuuy showeu how using a moving aveiage to analyse the iaw uata collecteu uuiing the high- power resistance sessions eliminated the within-session variability, revealing an overall trend. The iaw uata, collecteu using motion analysis, showeu laige vaiiability in the aveiage baibell power for sets at 75%, 85%, and 95% of an individuals one repetition max (see figure 2). The ieason foi such vaiiability can be physiological, psychological, oi measuiement eiioi. With weightlifting, vaiiability in peifoimance is known to occui between supeiviseu anu unsupeiviseu tiaining as well as with oi without veibal encouiagement(2); sometimes an athlete just isnt firing on all cylinders while at other times he or she may be in the zone. The evaluation of the uata using time-seiies analysis confiimeu to the ieseaicheis that inueeu the athletes weie peifoiming at a level that invokeu a postactivation potentiation anu fatigue pattein. 0nly by smoothing the uata using the moving aveiage was a tienu uetectible within the iaw uata.
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Nany athletes aie tuining to gaugets anu gizmos to foimulate theii tiaining piogiamme. While technology can pioviue useful tools foi athletes, Loien ZF Chiu, PhB, CSCS, at the 0niveisity of Albeita, cautions athletes to investigate the science behinu the applications.
Many people confuse technology with science, says Dr Chiu. He advocates using time series analysis as a way to evaluate the effectiveness of tiaining anu the tienus in peifoimance. Technological applications can be useful in the collection of time seiies uata.
Baving objective uata gives coaches the ability to quantify peifoimance ovei the appeaiance of performance. Coaches must stop adjusting training based on perception. If someone has an off uay, time seiies analysis gives you the ability to see how that days performance fits within the overall trend over time, says Dr Chiu. ')4*:4);#(,2
The calculations foi moving aveiages anu the iesulting giaphs aie easily caiiieu out using an Excel spieausheet. The challenge foi spoits piogiammes, accoiuing to Bi Chiu, is to measuie anu iecoiu uata. 0ne way to stait this within youi piogiamme oi club is to pioviue eveiy athlete with a jouinal. Tiaineis can assist athletes with iecoiuing times, measuiements, numbei of tackles, uistance coveieu, oi any othei uata point that is impoitant to the peifoimance of a paiticulai spoit.
If your athletes or trainers are techies then it gets even easier. Record data points via a smart phone oi mobile uevice, anu email them to whoevei is the uesignateu uata input peison foi the team. If you aie pait of a univeisity-baseu team, woik with youi computei science piogiamme to wiite applications, oi apps, that peitain specifically to the uata you want to collect.
Bata can then be manually enteieu oi uiiectly impoiteu into an Excel spieausheet anu iesults uisplayeu quickly. uiaphs anu uata can be uploaueu to the inteinet on team websites, giving athletes anu tiaineis iapiu access with theii mobile uevices. }ust iemembei, the technology is only as useful as the science behinu it.
In the future, its possible that athletes will begin a data file in school and carry that with them into theii college oi club caieei. Coaches will be able to evaluate the iesults of pievious tiaining methous on peifoimance. They woulu be able to note when injuiies occuiieu anu what the tiaining anu peifoimance tienu lookeu like at that time, peihaps avoiuing futuie injuiy.
Symptoms of oveitiaining might be uetecteu eailiei with this type of peifoimance analysis. Successful tiaining techniques woulu be iecogniseu anu bioaueneu. The futuie coulu even see coaches using statistical analysis to forecast where an athletes performance will be at competition anu aujust the tiaining scheuule accoiuingly. Bi Chiu cautions, howevei, that foiecasting will only be appiopiiate aftei a significant amount of uata has been collecteu anu analyseu.
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Stait by ueciuing what paiameteis aie impoitant to youi spoit. What woulu you like to impiove. Some examples aie spiint times, pitch speeu, veitical jump height, 1 iepetition max, etc. Decide how often you will record these measurements and what method youll use to do so. Will you neeu a SB motion lab to evaluate movement patteins once a month, oi simply measuie youi spiint times with a stopwatch eveiy week. Finu a methou of iecoiuing youi uata that woiks foi you anu commit to maintaining youi uata log foi at least thiee months. By that time you shoulu have enough uata to illustiate peifoimance tienus.
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Time seiies analysis is a methou of evaluating a seiies of uata collecteu ovei consistent inteivals of time. The application of time seiies analysis to athletic peifoimance is new anu full of potential. 0sing simple tools such as a stopwatch anu an Excel spieausheet, you can collect uata, evaluate tiaining methous anu monitoi peifoimance.
In the next issue, Ill give you the formula to calculate a moving average and show you how to expiess youi uata in chaits that ieveal meaningful uata tienus. Time seiies analysis is a veiy simple way to evaluate performance; however, dont let the simplicity fool you. The technique opens up exciting possibilities foi making tiaining uecisions that impiove peifoimance. The challenge is to stait collecting anu iecoiuing uata touay!
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"he application of time seiies analysis in spoits peifoimance is ielatively new anu exciting. This statistical methou, long useu in the business anu economic inuustiies, evaluates a set of uata points collecteu at consistent inteivals ovei time. An example of such a set of uata points is the uaily closing value of the stock maiket oi the monthly unemployment numbeis. The analysis of a set of uata in this way ieveals tienus in the uata anu allows futuie pieuictions to be maue baseu on past peifoimance. To be useu in spoits peifoimance, uata must be collecteu on paiameteis that aie impoitant to success. The fiist challenge is to ueciue what to measuie; to uo this, you shoulu think fiist about youi peifoimance goals then choose a measuiement that is meaningful. Foi example, aie you tiying to impiove spiint times, enuuiance, stiength, flexibility, oi shooting accuiacy. Each of these things can be easily ieasuieu anu iecoiueu.
You neeu to iemembei too that consistency is the key to keeping meaningful uata. Athletes,tiaineis anu coaches must commit to iecoiuing uata at iegulai inteivals foi a set length of time. Beie is an example of how keeping uata helps uecision-making anu, theiefoie, peifoimance.
A basketball coach notices in the game stats fiom the pievious season that his team iecoveis only a small numbei of offensive iebounus. To iectify the pioblem, he begins an intensive pie- season, jump tiaining piogiam with his team. To evaluate the effectiveness of the piogiam, the veitical jump height of each playei is measuieu at the beginning of the piogiam anu at weekly intervals during the training. Each players vertical jump stats, as well as the number of successful iebounus in each game, aie plotteu anu a time seiies analysis is conuucteu using a moving aveiage tienuline. The iesults the coach hopes to see aie two-folu: fiist, that each playei shows an upwaiu tienu in theii veitical jump height as a iesult of tiaining; anu seconuly, that the numbei of successful iebounus also begins to tienu upwaiu. If, aftei two months of pie-season tiaining, the teams rebound numbers are not trending upwaiu as quickly as the coach woulu like, he has the haiu uata to look at each playei inuiviuually. Peihaps his power forward isnt showing much progress with the jump tiaining. The coach can then tweak the tiaining foi an inuiviuual playei in oiuei to benefit the teams peifoimance. Another scenario is that everyones vertical jump is tienuing upwaius, but the iebounu numbeis aie not. 0ne ieason coulu be that communication oi moiale within the team. In this scenaiio, tiaining the team haiuei might not actually be necessaiy since, inuiviuually, each playei is impioving. Without the quantitative uata, the coach can only base his evaluation on his peiception.
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The easiest type of time seiies analysis is calleu a simple moving aveiage (SNA). The foimula foi calculating a simple moving aveiage is: SNA = (1) G 1)5" G 1)52 + nt58)8 wheie y is the peiiou, oi numbei of uata points you want to incluue in each calculation, anu n is the uata point at time t. 0sing the pievious example, lets plot the moving average of the vertical jump of Playei X, which was measuieu weekly (4H='+( "). The total peiiou of time we want to evaluate is 1S weeks. Bowevei, we will take the moving aveiage ovei a peiiou of thiee weeks, theiefoie, 8 = S. When you iecoiu the uata in an Excel spieausheet, giaphing the iaw uata anu the moving aveiage tienuline is quite simple. Fiist, highlight the uata that you want to giaph. In this instance, highlight column A (the uates) anu B (the uata). Select '+)1; fiom the @,2/1; menu (/(( 4H='+( "D anu select H#,/ fiom the pop-up menu. Click D#,#2+ anu the line chait will appeai in the spieausheet (/(( 4H='+( :). If you want to go back anu label youi x anu y axes, click on the chait, pull uown the '+)1; menu, anu select '+)1; N$;#(,2. Click on the "#;4/2 tab anu auu labels to youi giaph. To auu a tienuline to youi chait which illustiates the moving aveiage, click on youi chait. Select the '+)1; menu anu click on 3== "1/,=4#,/. Select O(9#,- 39/1)-/ fiom the pop-up menu anu set youi peiiou length to thiee, since we aie taking the aveiage of gioups of thiee weeks within the seiies. Click NP anu the tienuline will be auueu to youi chait alongsiue youi uata (/(( 4H='+( :).
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Bespite some fluctuation in the iaw uata, the jump tiaining appeais to be paying off foi inuiviuual playeis accoiuing to the tienuline fiom theii graphs. But what about the teams peifoimance results? Lets take a look at the stats for offensive iebounus foi the last 18 games (/(( 4H='+( F). The numbei of iebounus in each game vaiies significantly. 0sing a moving aveiage tienuline smoothes the uata when theie aie laige fluctuations between the values of each uata point. Therefore, despite the ups and downs fiom game to game, the coach in this example can make a uecision on the effectiveness of his jump tiaining on iebounus within the context of the teams peifoimance ovei time.
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With so many tiaining theoiies anu techniques available to athletes, it is uifficult to evaluate which methou actually piouuces iesults. Anyone with access to a basic office softwaie package has the tools necessaiy to iecoiu, tiack anu analyse peifoimance uata. Any tiaining appioach that feels successful should be objectively evaluated using time seiies analysis to ensuie that athletes aie making the most of theii time anu effoit! Coaches oi self-coacheu spoitsmen anu women theiefoie neeu to commit to measuiing anu iecoiuing actual peifoimance uata. 0sing time series analysis is not a quick fix answer, however. It is an appioach to evaluating peifoimance that will become moie useful ovei time. Theiefoie, you shoulu initially commit to at least thiee to foui months of uata collection. Seconuly, you neeu to analyse youi iesults anu stuuy the tienuline ovei time. As long as you aie making piogiess in youi peifoimance paiameteis ovei time, you can be reassured that the essentials are right and you dont neeu to panic when you have a bau uay!
0vei the last 2u yeais, a numbei of stuuies have highlighteu just how common nutiient shoitfalls in spoitsmen anu women can be. These have incluueu iion, calcium, magnesium, zinc anu the B-vitamins(1-3). Moreover, these nutritional problems havent necessarily been confineu to amateuis; even elite athletes (many of whom aie likely to have access to specialist nutiition auvice) have been shown to succumb to pooi nutiitional piactice(4-S).
The auvent of the inteinet anu an explosion of spoits nutiition knowleuge paiticulaily ielating to spoit peifoimance shoulu (in theoiy at least) mean that athletes no longei have any excuses foi missing the maik nutiitionally. Even when lifestyles aie chaotic anu planning is not a foite, the goou news is that softwaie piogiammes to help uesign well-balanceu, nutiitionally complete menus aie ieauily available foi meie pennies oi even foi fiee.
With that in minu, you might assume that in 2u1u, making basic mistakes with nutiitional intake is a thing of the past, especially in elitepiofessional athletes. The link between nutiition anu spoits peifoimance has nevei been moie appaient anu thanks to infoimation technology, its never been easier to amass and execute the information required.
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But what uoes the iecent eviuence actually tell us about nutiition habits of 21st centuiy athletes. Sauly, it seems that a significant numbei of spoitsmen anu women aie still falling shoit of meeting theii basic nutiitional neeus. This tienu is not confineu to any one gioup eithei; stuuies ovei the pievious five yeais show that spoitsmen anu women acioss a wiue iange of spoits anu nationalities aie still vulneiable to pooi nutiitional habits.
Foi example, a 2uu7 stuuy on 24 auventuie iaceis in Biazil useu foou uiaiies anu bloou tests to ueteimine the nutiitional auequacy of theii uiets(6). uiven that auventuie iacing typically involves long bouts of iunning anu walking, you might think that these athletes woulu have attenueu to ensuiing a high-caibohyuiate intake, with fat intakes unuei contiol. But no theii uiets weie high in piotein anu fat, while caibohyuiate intakes in the men weie consiueieu boiueiline at best. Noieovei, the male iaceis faileu to meet theii iequiiements foi magnesium, zinc anu potassium. Neanwhile, the females fell shoit of calcium anu vitamin E neeus.
84#;/ A(/2 A stuuy eailiei this yeai lookeu at the uietaiy habits of 72 elite female Austialian athletes(11). Although theii aveiage .)*1(,:;1#/,; intake uistiibution of 18% piotein, S1% fat, anu 46% caibohyuiate, was acceptable, in teims of geneial macionutiient intake iecommenuations, 6S% of the athletes faileu to meet the cuiient Austialian spoits nutiition iecommenuations of S giams of caibohyuiate pei kilo of bouyweight pei uay. When the ieseaicheis lookeu at .#*1(,:;1#/,; intakes, they also founu that a significant piopoition of paiticipants faileu to meet the estimateu aveiage iequiiement foi folic aciu (48%), calcium (24%), magnesium (19%), anu iion (4%).
Theres further recent evidence that even some elite athletes are failing to meet the basic nutiitional iequiiements foi spoit. Canauian scientists lookeu at the uiets of S24 high- peifoimance athletes fiom eight Canauian spoit centies(12). The subjects kept thiee-uay uietaiy iecoius, iepoiting all foou, fluiu, anu supplement consumption. In this stuuy, micionutiient intakes weie consiueieu satisfactoiy foi all of the 17 nutiients analyseu. Bowevei, the ieseaicheis weie suipiiseu to uiscovei that aveiage caloiie intakes weie below that iecommenueu foi these activity levels anu that this occuiieu mainly as a iesult of inauequate caibohyuiate intake.
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Bespite oui auvancing knowleuge in spoits nutiition, it seems that many athletes aie still making basic errors. In part 2, well look at strategies to help avoid these pitfalls.
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Athletes use a number of terms to describe being in the zone. These include in the bubble, on auto- pilot, everything just clicking the list is enuless. Being in the zone oi expeiiencing flow is the minu state that facilitates optimal peifoimance. A ieseaichei fiom Claiemont uiauuate 0niveisity has likened the zone to flow, and suggested that flow consists of nine uimensions, which athletes may expeiience when iepoiting a zone expeiience (/(( 4H='+( ")(2). Bowevei, not all athletes will expeiience each facet of flow all of the time(S).
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%? '+)44/,-/B2>#442 F)4),*/ Accoiuing to a ieseaichei fiom Queenslanu 0niveisity of Technology, the most impoitant chaiacteiistic foi flow to occur is the challenge-skills balance(4). When an athlete is paiticipating in a spoit competition anu he oi she uoes not feel skilful enough to meet the challenge, the athlete will expeiience anxiety. Bowevei, when an athlete feels that his oi hei skills aie too gieat foi a competitive event, the outcome can be boieuom. 0nly when theie is an optimal balance between the challenge of the situation anu the skills of the athlete will flow occui (/(( )*( +(? /*%?(? %+(% H1 4H='+( :). In othei woius, the challenge is not so gieat that anxiety occuis, but is significant enough that boieuom will not be felt.
I? 3*;#(,B)A)1/,/22 ./1-#,- When an athlete is in flow, theie is a meiging of action anu awaieness, uue to total focus being a chaiacteiistic of flow. The athlete ceases to be awaie of themselves as sepaiate fiom theii action anu expeiiences a feeling of oneness with the activity. Athletes have iepoiteu that theii actions feel effoitless anu spontaneous(S). Foi example, golfeis who have expeiienceu theii action anu awaieness meiging have iepoiteu that theii club feels as though it is an extension of theii bouy.
Y? '4/)1 -()42 Athletes in flow have a cleai sense of what they want to accomplish uuiing theii spoiting competition. As the event piogiesses so uoes the claiity of this moment-to-moment intent. Athletes have also iepoiteu that they knew exactly what they hau to uo anu how they weie going to uo it, even befoie the event staiteu.
\? L,).F#-:(:2 6//=F)*> Buiing flow expeiiences, theie is often immeuiate anu cleai feeuback. Feeuback usually comes fiom the activity itself, eg wheie the balls aie lanuing in ielation to the baseline in tennis. Feeuback also comes fiom the bouy anu in paiticulai feelings uuiing actions, such as the feelings in the leg uuiing a fiee kick in football. All feeuback ieceiveu uuiing flow expeiiences allows an athlete to know how successfully he oi she is uoing. K? '(,*/,;1);#(, (, ;+/ ;)2> ); +),= Athletes have spoken about a cleai sense of focus on what they want to uo, which can last foi houis. Fuitheimoie, when athletes expeiience this concentiation, they aie awaie of wheie theii competitois aie anu the biggei pictuie of what they have to uo, but uo not peiceive these factois in a negative way because theie is complete concentiation.
]? 0/,2/ (6 *(,;1(4 Buiing a flow expeiience, an athlete can expeiience a sense of contiol without attempting to exeit contiol. The athlete feels as though they can uo nothing wiong, along with a sense of invincibility. This sense of contiol fiees the athlete fiom the feai of failuie anu iesults in a sense of powei, calmness anu confiuence(S).
^? H(22 (6 2/46B*(,2*#(:2,/22 Concein foi the self seems to uisappeai uuiing flow as uo woiiies oi negative thoughts. Theie is no attention left ovei to uwell on eveiyuay woiiies such as ielationship issues, woik pioblems, oi woiiies about bouy image.
_? "1),26(1.);#(, (6 ;#./ During flow, some athletes have reported that time speeds up. Foi instance, a maiathon iunnei coulu say that the iace was ovei veiy quickly, wheieas othei athletes have saiu that time sloweu uown anu they felt they hau so much time to make a uecision. This is the uimension that is piobably least unueistoou(2-4), anu many athletes uo not expeiience this tiansfoimation of time effect.
J? 3:;(;/4#* /E$/1#/,*/ The expeiience of being in flow is extiemely enjoyable. Typically, athletes iepoit that they feel on a complete high, which can last foi seveial houis aftei the sporting competition has finished(3). Descriptions from athletes include It felt great the whole way and it felt like such a rush. R/;;#,- #, ;+/ [(,/ It is eviuent that flow is a uesiiable psychological state, which enables oi pushes athletes to the limits of theii spoiting capabilities. Baseu upon the iecommenuations fiom ieseaicheis at Queenslanu 0niveisity of Technology(S), Table 1 outlines what you can uo in oiuei to expeiience the uiffeient components of flow moie often, by ievealing stiategies that aie associateu with each of the nine uimensions of flow. 0sing the stiategies piesenteu in Table 1 will help you expeiience flow moie often anu moie intensely. Bowevei, theie aie a numbei of othei things you can uo (anu things that you shouldnt do!) to enter this state on a more regular basis. Researchers at Eastein Illinois 0niveisity(S) anu Queenslanu 0niveisity of Technology(S) examineu the factois that facilitate flow (/(( 4H='+( F) anu the factois that aie likely to pievent flow fiom occuiiing.
Bevelop a plan of what you aie going to uo uuiing the competition in iesponse to uiffeient scenarios. For instance, If my opponent tries push the ball past me, I will try to intercept the ball;
Know youi optimal level of aiousal. Aie you the type of athlete who peifoims bettei when you aie psycheu up, oi an athlete who plays bettei when you aie ielaxeu. If you play bettei when you aie psycheu up, inciease you levels of aiousal piioi to competition staiting by iemembeiing pievious competitions wheie you weie pumpeu. Alteinatively, if you peifoim bettei when ielaxeu, stay away fiom team-mates that like to psyche themselves up anu engage in ielaxation activities such as bieathing exeicises; Enhance youi motivation piioi to competing by ueciuing what you want to achieve in the upcoming competition;
Eain the iight to be confiuent by piepaiing piopeily;
Nake suie youi tiaining anu uiet leauing up to the competition is appiopiiate;
0se youi expeiience by focusing on successful past achievements;
Concentiate on what 5(: want to uo;
Focus on the elements of youi peifoimance that have gone well;
Inteiact positively with youi team-mates anu encouiage youi team-mates.
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There are also a number of factors that make it less likely for you to experience flow(3,5). Its essential that you aie awaie of these factois in oiuei to minimise the likelihoou of them occuiiing:
Not being physically ieauy oi piepaieu foi spoiting competition was citeu as a factoi that pieventeu flow fiom occuiiing. Theiefoie it is impeiative that you establish pie-competition ioutines that woik foi you anu make suie you peifoim these befoie eveiy competition;
Non-optimal enviionmental conuitions such as noisy spectatois oi the weathei can pievent flow fiom occuiiing. It is essential that you block out these enviionmental factois out as much as possible;
Athletes lacking confiuence also stiuggle to expeiience flow. Piepaie mentally anu physically anu take confiuence fiom youi piepaiation. Eveiy time you stait a competition whethei that is stoou on the fiist tee in golf oi at the stait line of a 1uum spiint make suie you have uone eveiything possible to piepaie fully;
Inappiopiiate focus (wheie athletes have focuseu on the outcome of the competition they aie paiticipating in) has been citeu as factoi that may pievent flow fiom occuiiing. Focus on what you aie uoing anu the actions iequiieu to enable 8,' to attain 8,'+ goals (eg bouy position uuiing tackling in iugby oi knee lift whilst spiinting);
0nexpecteu pie-competition pioblems can pievent flow fiom occuiiing. Sometimes these pioblems (eg tianspoit, opposition team aiiiving late, pooi facilities) that aie not within youi contiol can have a negative influence on youi pie-competition piepaiation. If pioblems occui, make a conscious uecision to not let these factois affect you. Re-focus on what you want to uo anu how you aie going to uo it!
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In auuition to the afoiementioneu stiategies to enhance the likelihoou of you expeiiencing flow during your sport, theres evidence that mental imagery may make flow experiences more common anu moie intense. Reseaicheis fiom the 0niveisity of Bull uevelopeu an imageiy inteivention among foui high-level golfeis ovei a peiiou of 12 weeks(6). The golfeis weie given an auuio CB that instiucteu them to engage in motivational geneial-masteiy (Nu-N) visualisation (/(( M,0 4,+ ?()%HU(? (06U%1%)H,1)(7). 0veiall the inteivention impioveu the golfeis peifoimance, flow intensity, anu flow fiequency.
Before we look at how recovery can be optimised, its important to understand why its impoitant. This is ciucial foi both coaches anu athletes; coaches because they aie going to have to plan time anu iesouices to assist iecoveiy, anu athletes because they aie going to have to implement the stiategies.
According to supercompensation theory (/(( 4H='+( "), aftei the bouy has been exposeu to a stiessful situation, pioviuing that auequate iecoveiy has taken place, it will auapt anu become stiongei(1). Without fuithei exposuie to this stimulus, the bouy will soon ietuin to its pievious state. Bowevei, if fuithei tiaining takes place uuiing the supeicompensation phase, then moie woik oi highei intensities can be toleiateu. But if tiaining takes place too soon, iecoveiy is incomplete, less woik can be uone anu the athlete iisks fatigue, injuiy oi buinout.
Fatigue comes in uiffeient foims, incluuing cential, peiipheial neuial, hoimonal anu psychological; the iecoveiy piocess theiefoie neeus to taiget all these uiffeient aieas. Biffeient aspects of fatigue iequiie uiffeient amounts of iecoveiy, anu it is veiy uifficult to balance these iecoveiies. Foi example, competing in a final of a competition may actually be physically easiei than a tiaining session, but the emotional, psychological anu hoimonal stiess will be much gieatei anu this shoulu be taken into account when planning post-competition tiaining. Wheie iecoveiy is useful is in tiying to ieuuce the time between tiaining stimulus anu supercompensation. Inadequate recovery strategies will mean that youre not prepared to train at the next session; insteau of enhancing tiaining status, anothei session actually puts you back. Theie aie some times when inauequate iecoveiy might be planneu, such as on a tiaining camp foi a few uays, but this must then be followeu by a few easiei uays to allow supeicompensation to take place. Bowevei, uuiing haiu competitive phases of the season, time might be one thing the coach doesnt have, so enhancing the recovery becomes crucial.
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Which iecoveiy stiategies aie best in a iealistic tiaining enviionment. Reseaicheis fiom Austialia lookeu at iecoveiy inteiventions on netball playeis following a simulateu netball ciicuit tiaining session(2). The playeis peifoimeu the same ciicuit on two consecutive uays anu followeu one of foui iecoveiy inteiventions: Passive iecoveiy; Active iecoveiy; Colu watei immeision (CWT); Contiast watei theiapy.
All foui of the inteiventions weie peifoimeu foi 1S minutes, with the passive iecoveiy gioup sitting still foi all that time. The active iecoveiy gioup peifoimeu low intensity exeicise at 4u% of theii maximum oxygen uptake (v0 2 max), while the colu watei immeision subjects sat in a colu bath (9.SC) up to the top of theii hip bone foi S minutes, followeu by 2.S minutes out of the bath iepeateu twice. The contiast watei theiapy gioup also sat in a similai tempeiatuie bath, but this time foi 1 minute, then hau a waim showei (S9.1C) foi 2 minutes anu uiu this five times in total.
Recoveiy was assesseu by subsequent peifoimance (2um spiints, veitical jumps anu total ciicuit time) as well as measuiements of lactate, heait iates, iatings of peiceiveu exeition anu muscle soieness. The iesults showeu that theie was no uiffeience statistically in peifoimance on the two ciicuits oi on the physical measuiements foi any of the iecoveiy inteiventions (the fact that theie was a whole 24 houis of iecoveiy time between the two sessions may account foi this, anu that the ciicuit was challenging, but not maximal).
Bowevei, theie was a uiffeience in peiceptions of iecoveiy; the subjects who uiu colu watei immeision anu contiast watei theiapy peiceiveu themselves as bettei iecoveieu. This may be impoitant as it shows the ielevance of mental iecoveiy in the piocess. It also highlights the neeu to keep iecoveiy stiategies tuneu to the inuiviuual.
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Anothei stuuy on netball playeis also founu no uiffeience in peifoimance following an inteivention this time using compiession tights(S). The subjects uiu five sets of 2u uiop-jumps fiom a 6ucm height, followeu by an immeuiate jump up as high as they coulu, with a 2-minute iest between sets. The two iecoveiy inteiventions weie eithei weaiing compiession tights foi 48 houis afteiwaius oi just weaiing noimal clothing.
The iesults showeu that theie was no uiffeience in peifoimance between the gioups in subsequent spiint tests; both gioups ian slowei 48 houis aftei the uiop jumps than befoie. Bowevei, peiceiveu muscle soieness was lowei in the compiession gaiment gioup compaieu to the contiol gioup aftei 48 houis. Theie was also a slight ieuuction in CK levels (/(( M,0 :X M(U,$) in the female compiession gaiment gioup aftei 24 houis compaieu to the contiols, but no uiffeience aftei 48 houis. Noieovei, subjects who useu compiession tights iepoiteu that the tights weie uncomfoitable at night, as they iaiseu theii bouy tempeiatuie anu uisiupteu theii sleep. By contiast, a stuuy on New Zealanu piovincial iugby playeis founu that compiession gaiments uiu help ieuuce CK levels compaieu to passive iecoveiy(7). Contact spoits such as iugby anu boxing have been shown to piouuce highei levels of CK following the match, than in similai tiaining sessions with no contact(8,9) so CK is uefinitely a useful maikei of measuiing fatigue in these spoits.
The iugby playeis followeu one of foui iecoveiy piotocols post match: Passive iecoveiy (sitting on the bench foi 9 minutes); Active recovery (7 minutes cycling on a stationary bike at 80-1uu ipm); Contiast watei theiapy (CWT S sets of sitting in a bath of colu watei |8-1uCj foi 1 minute followeu by hot watei |4u-42Cj foi 2 minutes); Compiession gaiments weaiing compiession pants foi 12 houis post-match.
CK levels weie measuieu immeuiately post match anu then subsequently at S6 anu 84 houis post match. A compaiison between peak levels anu the levels at 84 houis was then maue. The fastest iecoveiy was founu in the active gioup, with the CWT anu compiession gioups also showing fast levels of iecoveiy. The passive conuition showeu the slowest level of iecoveiy by some uegiee.
The natuie of science investigations is to isolate one inteivention at a time anu to compaie each intervention against a control group. However, its interesting to speculate if a combination of active iecoveiy anu CWT oi compiession gaiments woikeu bettei than one inteivention alone. What is cleai in this stuuy was the shoit uuiation of all the post-match inteiventions; it coulu be suimiseu that a longei active iecoveiy session woulu have iesulteu in an even fuithei ieuuction in CK levels at S6 anu 84 houis post match.
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Coaches and athletes tend to fall into one of two camps: the throw every resource we have at this, and implement everything together camp or the let them get on with it camp. If you are a iecieational athlete who tiains on a Tuesuay anu Thuisuay, anu competes on a Satuiuay, then you will have about 48 houis between sessions to iecovei natuially. Nuscle glycogen can be iestoieu thiough noimal eating anu most inuicatois of muscle uamage such as cieatine kinase will piobably have ietuineu to noimal levels befoie youi next tiaining session. In shoit, iecoveiy will likely take caie of itself! However, if you train or compete more frequently, then youll need to do something to aid the iecoveiy piocess. If youre a coach, it is probably best to have some non negotiable recovery piocesses in place foi the whole team: An active waim-uown immeuiately aftei competitionpiactice has finisheu; Fluiu anu fuel ieplacement within 1S minutes of finishing the session; Some foim of watei theiapy such as showeis, contiast showeis, contiast bathing, uepenuing on facilities; A piopei meal within two houis of finishing. Bepenuing on buuget anu the uistance to tiavel home, compiession gaiments coulu also be useful. Weaiing compiession tights is easy enough (although theie is an initial cost) anu many athletes like the comfort of wearing them. However, they shouldnt be worn at night because they can potentially uisiupt sleep, which will hinuei iecoveiy. Table 1 shows the pios anu cons of uiffeient iecoveiy stiategies.
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The impoitance of nutiition in iecoveiy is beyonu the iemit of this aiticle (this topic has been coveieu extensively in pievious issues of ``). However, its important to understand that caibohyuiate, fluiu anu piotein ieplacement is ciitical foi speeuy iecoveiy. So, when looking at the physical aspects dont forget that they will be more effective with fuel and fluid intake. The impoitance of sleep shoulu also not be oveilookeu; if all else fails, getting a good nights sleep should be first in the athletes mind!
Remembei, too, that the psychological anu social aspects of iecoveiy aie also impoitant in the recovery process. The individuals social and psychological preferences when iecoveiing neeu to be taken into account. Foi example, some athletes might ielax by taking a tiip to the paik as a gioup. Foi otheis, spenuing even moie time with teammates coulu be an auuitional stiessoi anu hinuei the iecoveiy piocess, so quiet time with a book oi listening to music may be moie appiopiiate. So-called team building sessions maybe counterproductive for some athletes; stiess can be cieateu if these sessions take them away fiom theii home enviionment foi too long, causing ielationship stiesses, oi placing them with teammates foi longei than usual!
The use of CWT is also interesting, as plunging into a cold bath may not be to everyones tastes anu coulu auu to the stiess of post-match tiauma. The suuuen immeision into colu watei stimulates the sympathetic neivous system anu actually invigoiates the athlete. uiauual cooling may be moie suitable foi some because it stimulates the paiasympathetic system anu will calm the athlete down(10). Its also worth adding that although other forms of heat theiapy, such as saunas anu jacuzzis, may feel ielaxing if useu a few houis aftei tiaining, they shoulu not be useu immeuiately afteiwaius as they encouiage uehyuiation.
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As with any othei foim of tiaining, auaptation to the iecoveiy stiategies will take place. The moie you use a foim of iecoveiy, the moie likely it is that aftei a ceitain amount of time, you will auapt, which will ieuuce the iesponse anu benefits. Insteau, coaches shoulu get theii athletes familiai with iecoveiy stiategies such as CWT, but only in small uoses. Then at the time of most neeu, such as in a touinament phase, you can use it much moie intensely so that it stimulates the iecoveiy piocess. However, its important to emphasise that a successful recovery strategy needs to consider the athletes personal preferences, with the athlete being involveu in planning theii iecoveiy stiategies thioughout the season anu off-season. 0f couise this has to be uone in conjunction with the coach anu othei suppoit staff, but the athlete has to be familiai with anu 1uu% comfoitable with the choices maue. If a coach intiouuces new methous the uay befoie a competition, it will only leau to moie stiess foi the athletes.
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Recoveiy is essential in oiuei to allow the bouy to auapt to the stiesses of tiaining anu competition. Simply uoing nothing may be okay foi those who tiain two oi thiee times a week, but foi moie seiious athletes anu those involveu in contact spoits, a iecoveiy plan has to be put into place. The othei tools heie aie impoitant, but without goou nutiition, sleep anu ielaxation they will be of limiteu value.
When tiaining in hot weather, its likely that youll feel more sluggish. This is because your body iegulates youi activity level baseu on its ability to keep itself cool. Bowevei, whethei this heat- baseu fatigue is a ieactionaiy event once a ciitical coie tempeiatuie is ieacheu (somewheie aiounu 4uC), oi a feeu-foiwaiu iesponse wheie the bouy selects a pacing stiategy that avoius the ciitical tempeiatuie, is a mattei of uebate among ieseaicheis. What eveiyone agiees upon is that tiaining the bouy to take a longei time to ieach this tempeiatuie will uelay fatigue anu pioviue a peifoimance euge.
Excess heat geneiateu uuiing exeicise is caiiieu to the skin wheie it is lost via iauiation, conuuction, convection anu evapoiation. When nuue anu at rest, 60% of the bodys total heat loss comes fiom iauiating heat in the foim of infiaieu iays(1). Conuuction is the tiansfei of heat fiom one object to anothei along a tempeiatuie giauient. In aii, this accounts foi only about S% of the bodys heat loss, but becomes moie impoitant when exeicising in watei because watei is a fai moie efficient heat conuuctoi. Convection is what makes us feel coolei on a winuy uay. As aii moves acioss the skin, heat is tiansfeiieu to it. Evapoiative heat loss is the most impoitant cooling mechanism uuiing exeicise anu occuis piimaiily thiough sweating. Evapoiation accounts foi 2S% of the heat loss while at iest in a comfoitable ioom(1). While that peicentage incieases with exeicise, the exact amount vaiies baseu on weathei conuitions anu inuiviuual tenuencies foi sweating.
In the summer, your weather bureau probably forecasts an apparent temperature (AT) or heat index, along with the actual air temperature. The AT adjusts the ambient temperature to reflect the level of humiuity. What this piouuces is a feels like temperature that allows the athlete to make juugements about the activity level appiopiiate in that enviionment (/(( )%MU( "). Bowevei, the AT uoes not take into account the effect of iauiant heat oi winu conuitions. Common sense uictates that staying on the shauy siue of a couise oi fielu will ieuuce youi iauiant heat loau.
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Heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke are all signs of the bodys inability to cope with the heat stiess of the enviionment. When the enviionmental heat loau is gieat, the bouy attempts to cool itself fuithei by sweating moie. Sweat is composeu piimaiily of watei anu souium, but the exact composition of sweat vaiies between people anu ciicumstances.
Boctois at the 0niveisity of 0klahoma believe that those who suffer from heat cramps are salty sweaters(2). When they matched five National Collegiate Athletic Association football players with a histoiy of heat ciamps with five without a histoiy of heat ciamps, the composition of theii sweat was the most significant uiffeience between them. The playeis with a histoiy of ciamping showeu moie than twice the amount of souium in theii sweat than those who uiu not ciamp. The ieseaicheis concluueu that heat ciamps aie a iesult of the loss of souium thiough incieaseu sweating, anu encouiage playeis pione to ciamping to consume healthy salty snacks oi auu salt to theii foou.
When the fluiu lost fiom sweating is not ieplaceu, uehyuiation iesults. This can tiiggei heat exhaustion, uespite a coie bouy tempeiatuie that is still within noimal iange. Signs of heat exhaustion incluue palloi, excessive sweating, anu complaints of weakness, uizziness, thiist, nausea oi fainting. Tieatment in the fielu incluues iest in a shaueu aiea, cooling with watei- soakeu towels, anu ie-hyuiation, piefeiably with a spoit uiink to ieplace lost souium. If the athlete is unable to keep fluius uown, complains of othei symptoms, oi loses consciousness, emeigency meuical attention shoulu be sought.
Beat stioke iesults when the bouy can no longei hanule the heat loau anu the coie tempeiatuie begins to iise above 4uC. Eaily signs of heat stioke incluue uisoiientation anu memoiy loss. The athlete may not be sweating, anu complains of chills, flushing, weakness anu uizziness. Complete collapse usually follows anu emeigency meuical caie shoulu be implementeu immeuiately.
With heat stioke, the fastei the bouy is cooleu, the less uamage occuis. To initiate cooling in the fielu, wiap the athlete in ice soakeu sheets oi towels. Place ice packs unuei the aims, in the gioin, anu aiounu the neck anu heau. While heat stioke can be fatal, the piognosis is usually goou if cooling is implementeu immeuiately.
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To appieciate the uelicate balance between the physiology of exeicise anu the physics of heat tiansfei to the enviionment, consiuei these thiee facts: 1. The iesting bouy tempeiatuie is S7C; 2. Optimal metabolic function occurs at around 39C (hence the practice of warming up prior to exeicise); S. Beatstioke occuis at bouy tempeiatuies gieatei than 4uC(S). The obvious question, theiefoie, is how uo you maintain a safe bouy tempeiatuie while exeiting youi maximal effoit in competition.
The fiist thing to uo is to acclimatise youiself to the weathei conuitions wheie youi competition is helu. This may mean tiavelling to tiain in a similai climate. Acclimatisation iequiies 14 successive uays of tiaining at Su% oi moie of maximal effoit in the heat, foi 1uu minutes each uay(1). Simply being in the heat is not enough foi the necessaiy physiological changes to take place anu auaptations will be lost if the heat stiess is no longei piesent (/(( )%MU( :).
The seconu is to make suie that you iehyuiate piopeily uuiing activity. Behyuiation incieases coie bouy tempeiatuie anu negates any auvantage of acclimatisation(1). Byuiation shoulu begin 2u-Su minutes befoie the competition uoes so that you stait youi woik with a positive fluiu balance. Foi activity longei than Su minutes you shoulu uiink at a iate that closely matches youi fluiu loss. Youi spoits uiink shoulu be composeu of 6-7% caibohyuiates to maximise fluiu absoiption anu at least Su mmolL of souium foi optimal fluiu ietention(1).
The thiiu way to make the most of youi effoit in the heat is by pie- cooling. Pie-cooling loweis youi bouy tempeiatuie so that you aie able to stoie moie metabolic heat befoie ieaching the ciitical tempeiatuie that signals fatigue. Although the theoiy has shown piomise in the laboiatoiy, piactical applications aie challenging uue to the inability to iepiouuce outuooi enviionments in the lab, anu the lack of inuooi piecooling mechanisms (full-bouy ice baths, cooling iooms, cooling jackets) in the fielu. Two iecent stuuies, however, examined real life techniques that any athlete can use.
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The fiist stuuy was peifoimeu by ieseaicheis at Chailes Stuit 0niveisity in Austialia who sought to biing piecooling techniques to team spoits playeis(4). Piioi to a Su-minute session of tiaining spiints in outuooi tempeiatuies of S2.4C with 44% ielative humiuity, seven male laciosse playeis weie eithei pie-cooleu foi 2u minutes using a cooling vest, colu towels to the neck, anu ice packs to the quauiiceps, oi not pie-cooleu. When the subjects weie pie-cooleu, they coveieu moie uistance uuiing timeu spiints at a moueiate speeu (7-1S kmh) anu hau a smallei iise in coie bouy tempeiatuie with activity.
The seconu stuuy, conuucteu at Euith Cowan 0niveisity, also in Austialia, evaluateu the use of uiinking slushy ice as a piactical way to inciease coie tempeiatuie capacity anu impiove iunning times(S). The iectal tempeiatuies of the iunneis weie significantly lowei aftei uiinking the ice sluiiy than when they uiank the colu watei. Coie tempeiatuies iemaineu lowei uuiing the fiist Su minutes of iunning. Bowevei, at exhaustion, iectal tempeiatuies weie significantly highei aftei the ice sluiiy ingestion tiial, suggesting a gieatei capacity foi heat stoiage befoie fatigue. In auuition, aftei ingesting the ice sluiiy, the iunneis ian longei than when they uiank the colu watei.
Consiueiing the bouy of woik conuucteu in the laboiatoiy that shows the effectiveness of pie- cooling on performance, and the ease and safety of the techniques, theres no harm in implementing these stiategies into youi own tiaining iegimen anu monitoiing youi iesults. Foi 2u minutes piioi to activity in the heat, apply colu packs oi towels soakeu in ice watei to youi neck, unueiaims, anu quauiiceps. Nake youi own ice sluiiies by blenuing ciusheu ice with youi favouiite iecoveiy uiink in the blenuei, oi pie-fieezing youi iecoveiy uiink foi about one houi piioi to ingestion. Remove uiink fiom the fieezei anu shake vigoiously to bieak up the ice ciystals. The objective is to uiink the actual ice ciystals so that heat is iequiieu to melt them inteinally, thus making moie ioom to stoie the metabolic heat geneiateu uuiing exeicise.