Neither Beetroot Juice Supplementation nor Increased Carbohydrate Oxidation Enhance Economy of Prolonged Exercise in Elite Race Walkers.

Given the importance of exercise economy to endurance performance, we implemented two strategies purported to reduce the oxygen cost of exercise within a 4 week training camp in 21 elite male race walkers. Fourteen athletes undertook a crossover investigation with beetroot juice (BRJ) or placebo (PLA) [2 d preload, 2 h pre-exercise + 35 min during exercise] during a 26 km race walking at speeds simulating competitive events. Separately, 19 athletes undertook a parallel group investigation of a multi-pronged strategy (MAX; n = 9) involving chronic (2 w high carbohydrate [CHO] diet + gut training) and acute (CHO loading + 90 g/h CHO during exercise) strategies to promote endogenous and exogenous CHO availability, compared with strategies reflecting lower ranges of current guidelines (CON; n = 10). There were no differences between BRJ and PLA trials for rates of CHO (p = 0.203) or fat (p = 0.818) oxidation or oxygen consumption (p = 0.090). Compared with CON, MAX was associated with higher rates of CHO oxidation during exercise, with increased exogenous CHO use (CON; peak = ~0.45 g/min; MAX: peak = ~1.45 g/min, p < 0.001). High rates of exogenous CHO use were achieved prior to gut training, without further improvement, suggesting that elite athletes already optimise intestinal CHO absorption via habitual practices. No differences in exercise economy were detected despite small differences in substrate use. Future studies should investigate the impact of these strategies on sub-elite athletes' economy as well as the performance effects in elite groups.

Nutrition in team sports.

Team sports are based on intermittent high-intensity activity patterns, but the exact characteristics vary between and within codes, and from one game to the next. Despite the challenge of predicting exact game demands, performance in team sports is often dependent on nutritional factors. Chronic issues include achieving ideal levels of muscle mass and body fat, and supporting the nutrient needs of the training program. Acute issues, both for training and in games, include strategies that allow the player to be well fuelled and hydrated over the duration of exercise. Each player should develop a plan of consuming fluid and carbohydrate according to the needs of their activity patterns, within the breaks that are provided in their sport. In seasonal fixtures, competition varies from a weekly game in some codes to 2-3 games over a weekend road trip in others, and a tournament fixture usually involves 1-3 days between matches. Recovery between events is a major priority, involving rehydration, refuelling and repair/adaptation activities. Some sports supplements may be of value to the team athlete. Sports drinks, gels and liquid meals may be valuable in allowing nutritional goals to be met, while caffeine, creatine and buffering agents may directly enhance performance.

Caffeine, carbohydrate, and cooling use during prolonged simulated tennis.

PURPOSE: To determine the effects of prolonged simulated tennis on performance and the ergogenic potential of caffeine, carbohydrates, and cooling. METHODS: Twelve highly trained male tennis players (age 18.3 +/- 3.0 y, height 178.8 +/- 8.5 cm, body mass 73.95 +/- 12.30 kg, mean +/- SD) performed 4 simulated matches (2 h 40 min) against a ball machine on an indoor hard court. The counterbalanced experimental trials involved caffeine supplementation (3 mg/kg), carbohydrate supplementation (6% solution), precooling and intermittent cooling, and placebo control. Physiological markers (core temperature, heart rate, blood lactate, and blood glucose), subjective responses (ratings of perceived exertion and thermal sensation), stroke velocity and accuracy, serve kinematics, and tennis-specific perceptual skill quantified the efficacy of interventions. RESULTS: Significant effects of time (P < .01) reflected increased physiological demand, reduced serve velocity and ground-stroke velocity and accuracy, and a slowing of the serve racket-arm acceleration phase. Caffeine increased serve velocity (165 +/- 15 km/h) in the final set of the match (P = .014) compared with placebo (159 +/- 15 km/h, P = .008) and carbohydrate (158 +/- 13 km/h, P = .001) conditions. Carbohydrate and cooling conditions afforded physiological advantage (increased blood glucose, P < .01, and reduced preexercise thermal sensation, P < .01) but did not affect performance relative to the placebo condition. CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged simulated tennis induced significant decrements in tennis skills. Caffeine supplementation partly attenuated the effects of fatigue and increased serve velocity. In contrast, carbohydrate and cooling strategies had little ergogenic effect on tennis performance.

Plasma rich in growth factors to treat an articular cartilage avulsion: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: The application of an autologous plasma rich in growth factors is beneficial in restoring connective tissues, as shown by clinical evidence in oral surgery and more recently in arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and two cases of ruptured Achilles tendon in professional athletes. This is attributed to the slow delivery of growth factors from harvested platelets that have been activated by endogenous thrombin promoted by the addition of calcium chloride. PURPOSE: This case report describes a new application of this therapy in the arthroscopic treatment of a large, nontraumatic avulsion of articular cartilage in the knee of an adolescent soccer player. METHODS: After arthroscopic reattachment of the large (>2 cm) loose chondral body in its crater in the medial femoral condyle, autologous plasma rich in growth factors was injected into the area between the crater and the fixed fragment. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Despite the extremely poor prognosis of the case, complete articular cartilage healing was considerably accelerated, and the functional outcome was excellent, allowing a rapid resumption of symptom-free athletic activity. This technique opens new perspectives for human tissue regeneration.

Acute creatine supplementation and performance during a field test simulating match play in elite female soccer players.

This study investigated the effects of acute creatine (Cr) supplementation on the performance of elite female soccer players undertaking an exercise protocol simulating match play. On two occasions, 7 days apart, 12 players performed 5 x 11-min exercise testing blocks interspersed with 1 min of rest. Each block consisted of 11 all-out 20-m running sprints, 2 agility runs, and 1 precision ball-kicking drill, separated by recovery 20-m walks,jogs, and runs. After the initial testing session, subjects were assigned to either a CREATINE (5 g of Cr, 4 times per day for 6 days) or a PLACEBO group (same dosage of a glucose polymer) using a double-blind research design. Body mass (BM) increased (61.7 +/- 8.9 to 62.5 < or = 8.9 kg, p < .01) in the CREATINE group; however, no change was observed in the PLACEBO group (63.4 < or = 2.9 kg to 63.7 +/- 2.5 kg). No overall change in 20-m sprint times and agility run times were observed, although the CREATINE group achieved faster post-supplementation times in sprints 11, 13, 14, 16, 21, 23, 25, 32, and 39 (p <.05), and agility runs 3, 5, and 8 (p < .05). The accuracy of shooting was unaffected in both groups. In conclusion, acute Cr supplementation improved performance of some repeated sprint and agility tasks simulating soccer match play, despite an increase in BM.