Louise M. Burke (Photo: Australian Institute of Sport)

As you all know, one of the keys to elite sports performance is proper nutrition. Without it, there is no way to achieve the desired body mass and composition, and no way to support the demands of training and competition. Adequate nutrition, on the other hand, ensures that an athlete’s energy requierements are satisfied, it promotes training adaptations and it contributes to short-, medium- and long-term recovery.

That is why I have asked my friend Prof. Louise M. Burke to be our next guest in the section “Interviews with the elite”.

Back in 1995, the exact same day I was to submit what was supposed to be the world’s very first research paper on acute creatine supplementation in elite athletes, my then fellow Ph.D. student and now Professor Damien Freyssenet told me to have a look at an abstract just published in the May Supplemental issue to Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. That abstract reported on the effects (or lack thereof) of acute creatine supplementation in a group of elite Australian swimmers. The supplementation protocol, the chosen performance tests and some of the physiological measurements were identical to ours. It was written by Louise M. Burke and colleagues at the Australian Institute of Sport. Their full paper was later published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition, whereas ours was published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

A couple of years later, in 1997, I decided to spend my summer months working and learning at the Sport Science Institute of South Africa. Surprisingly, that’s where I first met the first author of the above mentioned study on creatine supplementation, Louise Burke, as well as her now husband Prof. John Hawley. We got along really well from the outset, and we have been close friends ever since, working together in Australia back in 2000 and also in 2003-2004. Louise and I have written five papers together, and I take pride that her son Jack is a great mate of mine.

For those of you who know anything about sports nutrition, Louise needs no introduction. She is the one, as you can see here. You now have the opportunity to interview her and find out what it takes to be one of the world’s top sport nutritionist and to help shape some of the world’s best athletes.

You can ask your questions to Louise through the comment section of this post before the 19th of May.

Unfortunately, there are still some who do not seem to understand that that game is over, that it is not possible to continue to play with the credibility of sport, athletes and those of us who try in a clean and honest way to help them give the best of themselves in training and competition.

It hurts me to be in the need to inform you that one of the riders hired by the Euskaltel Euskadi team this season is one of these characters who don’t understand what we are talking about. While he had the dignity to admit that the decision to dope was exclusively his own the damage inflicted on those of us who are part of this team (riders, technical and support staff, sponsors, etc.) is irreparable.

Press release from the team.

I am happy to announce the publication of a new book, “Recovery for Performance in Sport”, that I have edited alongside my colleague and good friend Christophe Hausswirth, Senior Physiologist at the French Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance (INSEP) since 1995.

The book contains 17 chapters written by more than 30 international experts and provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date scientific and practical information about recovery in sport. In addition, readers can find case studies describing recovery strategies that have been used successfully by world-class sport scientists, coaches and athletes. These case studies complement nicely the scientific information contained in the book and bring such information to the context of real life training and competition situations.

You can find additional information on Recovery for Performance in Sport here.

The sun, making its way through the clouds (Photo: Inigo Mujika)

I guess many of you are as tired as I am of hearing about doping in sport, but it is the reality that we live these days and we cannot put our heads under the ground and pretend such issue does not exist. Here is part of an interview I did recently for a German publication. With this interview, and especially with my work, I hope to make my contribution towards a new time for cycling and sport in general.

Have we come to a new era of cycling with Armstrong’s confession and the Operación Puerto trial?

I think that the new era of cycling has been unfolding for several years now, based on the internal reflection of all stakeholders in the sport and the recognition that the ways of functioning had become obsolete and major structural changes were necessary. These two cases, with all their media coverage, could be considered as the vestiges of the old cycling. Cycling has already entered another phase and such change does not have or should not have a way back.

Doping does not exist in cycling anymore?

It is difficult to say this emphatically, just as such a statement cannot be made regarding any other sport. The control system is demanding and strict in this sport, even more so than in any other sport, and this makes it relatively difficult that cases of systematic doping occur, such as those that could have happened in the past, as we are now seeing. We cannot dismiss, as cannot be excluded in any other sport, that isolated cases can continue happening, but I doubt that doping may be an endemic disease of the sport itself in the future.

Is it possible to reach the top in cycling without doping nowadays?

Of course it is, provided that everyone plays the game by the same rules. As it always happened in the world of sport, the best, the most talented, those who work harder reach and will continue to reach the top in cycling.

Are there ways to improve the performance of a rider in a healthy manner?

There are very few secrets in the world of modern high-performance sport. Performance improvements arise from a systematic application of proven scientific principles in the areas of training, nutrition, proactive recovery techniques, sports psychology and other sciences associated with sport, such as biomechanics, physical therapy, sports medicine, etc. The use of these techniques in a systematic way, but also with creativity and a spirit of innovation allow the athlete to give the best of himself in training and competition.

What type of training are you implementing at Euskaltel Euskadi? What is the philosophy?

The philosophy is the one that I have just mentioned: basing the work on proven scientific principles, but without leaving creativity aside. The best coaches are artists in their field, they are the ones who know how to best combine all the knowledge, methods and means at their disposal to achieve the best results. It is clear that every coach has his own philosophy of work and his own personal baggage, but from my point of view the good coach should not just follow their “formula”, but should be flexible and adapt the work according to the information that they should be constantly gathering, both objective and subjective. The athlete is a complex biological system, and training must adapt to this complexity, responding to the risks and opportunities that may emerge throughout the preparation process.

Will we see outstanding performances in the future or should we get used to be less demanding of cyclists?

The world of elite sport is based on exceptional performances. That’s where records and great sporting feats come from. I don’t see why we should not continue to witness great performances, magnificent entertainment provided by the cyclists during racing. What is or is not exceptional may simply be a subjective assessment by the observer. Crossing the finish line a few tenths of a second ahead of 200 professional cyclists with an incredible talent and trained to win is, from my point of view, an exceptional performance, regardless of the race and whatever the finish times may be.

Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. doi: 10.1111/sms.12047

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of resistance training cessation on strength performance through a meta-analysis. Seven databases were searched from which 103 of 284 potential studies met inclusion criteria. Training status, sex, age, and the duration of training cessation were used as moderators. Standardized mean difference (SMD) in muscular performance was calculated and weighted by the inverse of variance to calculate an overall effect and its 95% confidence interval (CI). Results indicated a detrimental effect of resistance training cessation on all components of muscular performance: [submaximal strength; SMD (95% CI) = -0.62 (-0.80 to -0.45), P <  0.01], [maximal force; SMD (95% CI) = -0.46 (-0.54 to -0.37), P < 0.01], [maximal power; SMD (95% CI) = -0.20 (-0.28 to -0.13), P < 0.01]. A dose-response relationship between the amplitude of SMD and the duration of training cessation was identified. The effect of resistance training cessation was found to be larger in older people (> 65 years old). The effect was also larger in inactive people for maximal force and maximal power when compared with recreational athletes. Resistance training cessation decreases all components of muscular strength. The magnitude of the effect differs according to training status, age or the duration of training cessation.

Read full article

With the AUS wheelchair basketball team, 2004.

October 2002. I receive an e-mail from David Martin, Senior Physiologist at the Australian Institute of Sport: “We are advertising a two-year Senior Physiologist position at the AIS. Would you be remotely interested?”

My answer: “I could be interested. Please, tell me more about it.”

That night I went to see a film (looking at the dates, it could have been Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist”, Cédric Klapisch’s “L’Auberge Espagnole” or Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s “Le Fils”), and when I got home I had a message from David in my answering machine, telling me about the position, the Department of Physiology, the colleagues I would be working with, the projects leading up to the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, etc. I was being offered a dream job in the world’s best “medal factory”, the opportunity to work side by side with some of the world’s best sport scientists and athletes in preparation for the Olympic Games, and I was going to get paid for it. Who could have resisted?

On December 30, 2002 I left the Basque Country for Australia for two years. I arrived in Canberra in the morning of January 1st, 2003. I dropped my bags at the residencies of the AIS and headed to Canberra Civic Center. It was hot and deserted, and I was severly jet lagged. With not much else to do, I went to see Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation” at Electric Shadows, the cinema that would become my second home for the following two years. When I was heading back to the AIS after the film, I remember thinking “What am I doing here?”. It was the first and only moment of doubt. I went to the office in the department of physiology the very next day, and I immediately realized I had made the right decision.

The next 24 months were pure fun: I was the physiologist in charge of servicing football, water polo and tennis, but had the opportunity to collaborate with my colleagues in charge of swimming, athletics, cycling, basketball, triathlon, rowing, etc. And who were my colleagues? Allan Hahn, David Pyne, David Martin, Tony Rice, Hamilton Lee, Shona Halson, Sally Clark, Louise Burke, Greg Cox… A real dream team, the best among the best! The Ph.D. students working in the department included now successfull and well known sport physiologists Philo Saunders, Gary Slater, Marc Quod, Megan Anderson, Tammie Ebert, Scott Gardner, Grant Duthie, Eric Drinkwater…

I worked hard, like everyone else in the SSSM (Sports Science Sports Medicine) building, but it was great fun. We designed testing and research protocols for water polo, tennis, rowing, cycling and other sports; introduced the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test in various team sports; designed cooling garments and recovery strategies for the expected heat of Athens 2004; attended training camps all over Australia; tested elite rowers during the Australian National Championships in Tasmania, tennis players in hard and clay court tournaments, swimmers, triathletes, football, basketball and volleyball players, etc. To add to the fun, I was involved as a voluteer in many of the studies we carried out; I became team selector for Triathlon Australia alongside Jackie Gallagher (now Fairwheather) and Bill Davoren for World Championships 2003 and Athens 2004; I was a physiologist for the Australian Paralympic team in Athens 2004, attending camps with athletics, swimming, cycling and wheelchair basketball in Australia and Europe, and servicing the teams in the paralympic village. What an experience that was! Last but certainly not least, during my two-year stay in Australia, I realized that I was born to surf!

I flew out of Canberra to return home on December 24, 2004 (using all the charm I was capable of to convince Qantas airport staff to allow me to check in 76 kg of luggage and a surfboard all the way to Bilbao for free… I succeeded!). I deeply cherish the time I spent working at the AIS, and I am fortunate to have continued my friendship and collaboration with many of the people I have mentioned in the lines above.

Swamps of Louisiana (Photo: Iñigo Mujika)

Chapter 27 of my book Endurance Training – Science and Practice is dedicated to “Unhealthy air and water environments: effects on endurance training and competition”. The chapter was written by my friend and colleague Randy Wilber, Senior Sport Physiologist at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, where the air quality is usually really good.

Randy’s chapter provides the most recent information on the challenges that the endurance athlete faces when training and competing in an air-polluted environment, but the importance of breathing clean air for health has been known for a very long time. Here are several extracts from Hitchcock & Hitchcock’ 1860 book Elementary Anatomy and Physiology for Colleges, Academies and Other Schools.

“470.—4. Pure Air is Essential to Healthy Lungs—Life Depends on Breathing Pure Air.—All mechanical and chemical impurities of the air inhaled induce and aggravate disease. Indeed, the most important hygienic rule for the lungs is to breathe pure air. Mechanical impurities, such as dust and vapors, are eminently injurious, but not so much so as the chemical impurity, carbonic acid, which comes from the exhalations of men and animals, and the burning of all combustible substances. And it is safe to say, that the greater the care we take to ventilate our rooms, and in every way to breathe pure air, the longer shall we live and with the least amount of pain and disease. Breathing impure air is one of the greatest natural evils to which civilized society is subject, and destroys more lives than almost any other.”

“471.—5. We need Pure Air by Night as well as by day.—Hence we see that the lungs need pure air all the time, by night as well as by day—in the sitting-room, the eating-room, and the bed-chamber, the school-house, the meeting-house, rail-car, and steamboat, if we would do our utmost to ward off disease and death.”

“473.—7. Pure Air is often a Medicine.— In most diseases the breathing of pure air is important for restoration to perfect health, since there are often some impurities in the blood or system which are removed mainly by pure air. So that the rule of supplying pure and warm air to the sick room should be rigidly observed.”

I think it is time to get out and exercise in a natural environment to get some clean air into our bodies!

By the lighthouse of Santa Cruz, California (Photo: Iñigo Mujika)

I return to cycling. I return to Euskaltel Euskadi after my brief stay in the team back in 2005. I am really excited about this new professional challenge, and I hope that everyone (cyclists, staff and fans) will enjoy with the “orange” riders in the World Tour races in the years to come.

Here is an interview I have done for the team.

You were in the Euskaltel Euskadi team in 2005. It has been seven years already. What has changed for Iñigo Mujika?

First of all, I am seven years older! But during these years I have not been procrastinating, but working hard at Athletic Club Bilbao, USP Araba Sport Clinic, Spanish Swimming Federation, University of the Basque Country, Finis Terrae University in Chile, coaching elite triathletes, I have published three books, contributed to the creation and development of a scientific journal of sports physiology and training… All the work I have done during this seven-year period has given me new knowledge and ample experience, but besides that, I haven’t changed much: my passion for sports physiology and training, and my desire to try and help athletes perform to the best of their ability are still as strong as they were then.

What is it that brought you back to the team?

I love cycling, it’s a wonderful sport, and working in the sport again is attractive to me. Besides that, I thought the team’s project is particularly good and solid, and I think being part of such a project is an excellent opportunity. I know these are hard times for cycling, but I see hope for the future of the sport. There is sunshine after the storm, and I see a “new cycling” ahead, full of opportunities, especially for the teams that do things with commom sense and seriousness. Ours should be a pioneer among those teams, and I believe that the steps that have been taken so far go in that sense. In elite sports the basic things must be done extraordinarily well, without losing sight of the direction and the goal; that increases markedly the chances of attaining your goals. Team work will be absolutely necessary to succeed in such a path: cyclist, manager, sponsor, trainer, doctor, physiologist, mechanic, physiotherapist, biomechanist, masseur, cook… we all must work in the same direction, each and everyone must look for excellence in their duties, perform better than the opponents and learn faster than they do. This team’s philosophy can be an advantage or a limitation: we will have to work better that the rest to make sure it does not become a limitation.

Have you had other opportunities to get back to professional cycling during this time?

Yes, I had a couple of opportunities, but I was fully involved in the above mentioned jobs and unlike now, I did not feel it was the right time to take on that path. Nevertheless, I have not been completely away from the cycling world: as a matter of fact, these past years I have worked with triathletes and cyclists, at both elite and more modest performance levels, male and female.

In what will your contribution be special?

The team has undertaken a new time and a new path, and this requires evaluating, developing and maybe renovating the ways to prepare for and take on racing. We believe that in the above mentioned “new cycling” training based on sport sciences will be very important. It is happening in other sports and I don’t see why cycling should be any different. I believe that training, recovery, nutrition and psychology are the bases of sports performance. Other areas can also contribute, of course, but only if these basic areas are approached adequately. Sports physiology, training, recovery and nutrition are my areas of expertise, and we will try to do everything well in these areas. Besides that, I will bring to the team the knowledge and opinions I may have on other aspects that may be beneficial for the cyclists’ performance, to the extent that they may be helpful.

Are you particularly proud of any of your research studies (because it has taken very long to carry out, because the results have been particularly beneficial…)?

It is not easy for me to answer this question. It has been 20 years since since I entered the world of sports physiology (it was in October 1992 that I went to the French city of Saint-Étienne to carry out my Ph.D. studies), and most of the studies I have done ever since, if not all, have had a direct relationship with sports performance. This would be from my point of view the main reason to be proud. The studies on mathematical modeling of the relationships between training and performance, on tapering and detraining, on nutrition, hydration and use of supplements, on the physiological demands of competition, on youth athlete development, etc.; all or most have that special characteristic, a direct relationship with athletes’ performances. Besides that, I am really satisfied with the three books that I have published in the past three years (on tapering and peaking, swimming and endurance training, respectively), and also with the book on recovery that will be published next year.

Have you followed road cycling during these years?

Yes, of course. It is obvious that I paid more attention to football when I workd at Athletic Club Bilbao, these past four years to swimming, and along these two sports to triathlon, because I have been coaching several Basque elite triathletes for eleven years. But because I am a cycling fan I have tried to follow the sport, although it has been as a spectator, just like any other fan would: reading the news about cycling and watching the races on television. Besides that, I have continued to read the published research on cycling, because it is inherently interesting, and also because it can be useful for other sports. Therefore, I think I will bring totally up-to-date knowledge to the team.

What are your favourite cycling races?

I would say that Paris-Roubaix is the most spectacular race. From a professional point of view, the three-week grand tours, because they require preparation, recovery, nutrition, hydration, team work, strategy, mental toughness, etc. For personal reasons, the Tour of the Basque Country without a doubt!

You are an expert in endurance sports. Which is, in your opinion, the hardest sport?

This is a question that I am often asked, but I have never been able to provide a precise answer. Every sport is hard in its own way: in some cases, training is the hardest part, and competition may be a bit “easier”, like swimming; in other sports training is very hard, one must also suffer a lot in competition, but in most of them competition is a one-day event: triathlon, marathon running, rowing, cross-country skiing are examples of such sports. Road cycling is in a class of its own: one must suffer in training and racing, sometimes for a day, some other times for a week, and sometimes for three weeks! However, a well-prepared athlete can also enjoy the suffering, particularly when the outcomes are satisfying.

The Thames, August 5th 2012. (Photo: Inigo Mujika)

Fourteen months ago I posted an entry entitled From superfit to superfat, based on my September 2011 editorial for the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. I have now written the editorial for the upcoming December 2012 issue of the Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform., in which I deal with the issue of the age of Olympic athletes.

Here are the first few lines of my editorial:

“It has been a few months now since the curtain dropped on the London 2012 Olympic Games, and the performances of the more than 10,000 athletes who chased their athletic dreams during those summer days have already become a part of Olympic history. A general perception among the spectators and viewers of the Olympic events is that one has to be a young adult and fittest among the fit to compete at the Olympics. Whereas the idea of being extremely fit and skillful may of course be correct, the perception about athletes’ age lends itself to discussion. It seems there is a wide range of ages for athletes qualifying and competing at the Olympic Games. As a matter of fact, whereas the mean age of the London 2012 participating athletes was 26 years, there were nearly 200 athletes competing in their 40s, several athletes competing in their 50s, a couple of athletes who were 65 years old, and even one athlete, the oldest of the Games, who took part at the age of 71.”

You can read the full editorial here.

Reference

Mujika, I. Too young to vote, old enough to be an Olympic Champion. Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform. 7 (4): 307, 2012.