“Science in the Soul” cover.
Richard Dawkins is a passionate rationalist, and so am I. His 2017 book “Science in the Soul” is a great compilation of selected writings, from which I have made my own compilation of selected quotes. It’s a bit long, but I think you will not regret dedicating it a few minutes of your time. Enjoy!
The article.
Some of you may have seen our recent article “An integrated, multifactorial approach to periodization for optimal performance in individual and team sports” , a collaboration between myself and co-authors Shona Halson, Louise Burke, Gloria Balagué and Damian Farrow. The article was published in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance at the end of May, but the project began 40 months ago.
For those of you who are not directly involved in the process of scientific publishing and may wonder how these collaborations work, here is a brief making-of.
Javier and Vitori (Aita and Ama).
My first book was dedicated to my parents with the words above, and so is everything I have accomplished in my life so far. Nothing would have been possible without them. I owe them everything; I love and miss them. My mother left us in December 2013, and I wrote her Ama maitea, beti izango zara gure artean. My father just left us on March 14, 2018, and today I write to him Aita maitea, beti izango zara gure artean.
I am not a writer, but fortunately Richard Ford is, and he recently paid a beautiful tribute to his parents in a wonderful book called “Between them”. Today I am borrowing his words to pay tribute to my own parents, from the bottom of my heart:
Most everything but love goes away.
Death starts a long time ahead of when it arrives. Even in death’s very self there is life that has to be lived out.
Our parent’s lives, even those enfolded in obscurity, offer us our first, strong assurance that human events have consequence. Here we are, after all. The future is unpredictable and hazardous, but our parents’ lives both enact us and help distinguish us. My own belief in lived life’s final transcendance always turns me to thoughts of my parents.
My parents were, after all, not made of words.
…humans comprise much more than anyone can tell about them.
I was fortunate to have parents who loved each other and, out of the crucible of that great, almost unfathomable love, loved me. Love, as always, confers beauties.
Absences seem to surround and intrude upon everything. Though in acknowledging this, I cannot let it be a loss or even be a fact I regret, since that is merely how life is – another enduring truth we must notice.
Sunrise at Everest Base Camp (Photo: Iñigo Mujika).
I know I have neglected my blog these past few months, but there are good reasons for that. This is what I have been up to since my last blogpost of September 30th, 2017:
• Lecturing on altitude training for coaches of the French Swimming Federation in Paris.
• Lecturing at the master’s degree on health and sport sciences at the Universidad Finis Terrae in Santiago de Chile.
• Lecturing on training periodization and strength training at a symposium on triathlon science and practice in Santiago de Chile.
• Lecturing on performance and recovery in the heat at a sport nutrition conference in Rome.
Read and comment A quick update on my recent travelling, lecturing and research
Japanese food (Photo: Iñigo Mujika).
It has been two and a half years since my last post based on the 1860 book “Elementary Anatomy and Physiology for Colleges, Academies and Other Schools”. The topic of that post was sleep, a key to recovery, adaptation and performance for athletes. On this occasion, I am going to highlight some texts written by Hitchcock & Hitchcock about another key aspect for athletes: eating. I am also going to relate the statements made by these authors 157 years ago with some recent research dealing with similar topics.
Read and comment Elementary Anatomy and Physiology (IX). Eating
The Stress of Life
The Stress of Life is a classic book on stress, first published in 1956 by Hans Selye, the pioneer of medicine who formulated the theoretical concept of stress and the General Adaptation Syndrome. I read a revised edition published in 1976 a while ago, and I took some notes that I wanted to share with the readers of my blog.
Swimming Science
Swimming Science released recently an interview in which I talk about taper and training loads for swimmers.
The interview is available here.
Editions in Basque and Spanish
More info about “El afinamiento precompetitivo”
“Lehiaketa Aurreko Zorrozketa”-ri buruz informazio gehiago
Edited by Iñigo Mujika and written by 55 international contributors who are recognized worldwide as leaders in their respective fields, this book covers all the scientific and practical aspects of endurance training and performance
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