Few ideas in sports nutrition have been as influential, or perhaps as widely misunderstood, as the so-called "window of opportunity". During the 1990s the message appeared simple and compelling: consume carbohydrate immediately after exercise, ingest protein within 30 minutes, and avoid missing the critical recovery window. Over time these ideas became embedded in sports practice. Athletes built routines around them and many still worry that delaying a recovery drink by an ho

If you have spent any time in elite sport, you will have met the athlete whose decline does not fit a neat narrative. Training looks appropriate on paper, their fuelling is “good enough”, and yet something unravels: performance stagnates, sleep becomes fragmented, mood darkens, minor infections become frequent, and the body starts to feel older than it should. In those moments, the language of sport tends to become diagnostic and disciplinary: overtraining, burnout, relative

Most people in sport agree on the basics: athletes improve by training, and “training load” matters. Increase load (sensibly) and you adapt. Increase it too fast, too far, or for too long, and fatigue rises, illness risk creeps in, and performance stalls or drops. Entire monitoring systems, dashboards, and coaching conversations are built around that logic. But there’s a problem hiding in plain sight: we often talk about “load” as if it means training and only training. In re

Inflammation has long been portrayed as something inherently bad; a process that needs to be fought or suppressed. In popular media, it’s associated with pain, chronic disease, and poor health. Yet, within the body, inflammation is also an essential initial component of the immune response. Inflammation is a tightly regulated system that evolved to protect us from infection and promote healing. The problem is not inflammation itself, but when this finely tuned biological mech

Iron deficiency is a prevalent issue among athletes, which can significantly affect training consistency and performance if left...

One year ago, a very good friend and respected colleague passed away, way too young. Kevin Tipton was loved by many and had a great impact on the field of sports nutrition, especially in the field of protein metabolism. To commemorate the life and the scientific achievements of Kevin, I will make sure a blog goes out every year that highlights some of his research. This time I have picked a popular question that gets asked very often: Do I need to take protein with my carbohy

Should we heat our muscles after exercise to stimulate muscle growth? In a recent blog (see blog post) we discussed some of the research...

You have probably seen footage of well-built athletes such as Usain Bolt, Anthony Joshua, or Cristiano Ronaldo that have immersed (parts...

Sleep is generally accepted as a focal part of the recovery process for athletes and believed to be important to performance. Many athletes track their sleep and aim to get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night (1). How much we actually need, is not known, and may be highly individual. There is another reason why sleep may be important: anecdotally athletes who don’t sleep well, seem to get ill more often. However, few studies have investigated the effects of sleep qua

This questions has been around for many years and even made it to the movie Rocky. No studies were available to confirm or dismiss this...

Ice slush, or slurry, is a very low temperature (0-1 °C) drink made with blended ice and liquids. Although popular as ‘slushies’ and...

Making weight is a global term for the targeted reduction of body mass, which is purported to enhance performance in aesthetic,...

In a previous blog we covered briefly what fish oil is and what omega 3 fatty acids are. We also looked at some health claims. Here we...

Fish oil is a dietary source of omega-3 fatty acids which have been linked to various health effects. Omega-3 fatty acids play a role in...

On January 9, 2022, Dr Kevin Tipton passed away. I have written a tribute (click here) to describe my stories and memories of many years...

This post describes the effects of creatine on performance. It is simply a summary of current scientific understanding.

A recent paper (1) studied how a progressively increasing training program affected various measures of health and performance. It...

Muscle cramping during exercise is a common problem among athletes that involves sudden, involuntary and painful muscle contraction during or after exercise. The occurrence of cramps is quite unpredictable, and the causes are not well understood, though there are two hypotheses. Types and prevalence of muscle cramps Many athletes have experienced muscle cramping during or after exercise, at some point in their sporting career. It is difficult to assess how many athletes suffe

Many people living with type 1 diabetes live an active lifestyle, and there are numerous examples of individuals achieving incredible...

Background Cannabis is a herbaceous plant that is perhaps best known for its role as a recreational drug. There is however growing...