Science
The research the BLOCKS assistant answers from: 1,148 studies and 82 guides, each graded for how strong the evidence is and who it was measured on, with a link to the original paper.
1,148 entries
BIn a 106 km mountain ultra, runners slowed at every gradient until 70-90% of the race and sped up in the final 10%, while heart rate fell and perceived exertion roseAnd faster finishers stopped less, not slowed lessKerhervé 2015B+Nutrition for ultramarathon running (trail, track, road)Review: daily carbohydrate up to 12 g/kg, ~90 g/h multiple-transportable carbohydrate for ≥3 h efforts (tolerability in ultra competition questionable), LCHF not supported for performance, drink to…Costa 2019BA 166 km mountain ultra cut maximal knee-extensor and plantar-flexor force by about 35-39%, through both central (voluntary activation) and peripheral (excitation-contraction coupling) failureAnd force was back to baseline within 16 days, mostly within 9Millet 2011BTrekking poles make steep uphill walking only slightly cheaper (about 2-3% lower vertical cost at 25-35° slopes) but feel substantially easier (RPE 14.4-18.5% lower)The authors advocate poles on steep climbsGiovanelli 2019B+Downhill running causes exercise-induced muscle damage that can cut performance; the least-accustomed suffer most, and prior exposure to downhill running is the best-supported preventive strategyCompression and footwear remain unconfirmedBontemps 2020BAt the Ironman World Championship, the athletes who did better relative to their goal times held FASTER relative speeds on downhill bike and run segments and kept their HR steadier between the climb and the descentPoorly self-regulated downhills, not surges, marked the low performersJohnson 2015BIn 20 draft-legal World Cup races, the winner exited the swim in the first pack in 90% of men's and 70% of women's racesBut final placing correlated most with the run (r 0.86 men / 0.85 women), then the bike (0.67), then the swim (0.49 / 0.39)Landers 2008BDrafting continuously behind a lead cyclist, versus alternating the lead every 500 m, cut bike VO2 (49.9 vs 59.8 mL/min/kg), HR (155 vs 173 bpm) and lactate (3.5 vs 6.3 mmol/L) and produced a faster 5 km run (17.87 vs 17.15 km/h) in 10 national-level triathletesHausswirth 2001BCycling cadence (60, 80 or 100 rpm for 20 min) made no difference to a subsequent 3 km run in 9 well-trained triathletesThe run was 7-9% slower after any cycling than in isolation (626-638 s vs 583 s)Bernard 2003A-Systematic review of 39 studies: most found running performance worse after cycling than in a control run, but the physiological and biomechanical explanations conflict, and whether changing cycling cadence or intensity helps the run is unclearBini 2022B+Open-water swimming in cold and warm water: little evidence underpins water-temperature limits, acclimatised swimmers cannot judge their own thermal state, and cardiac eventsNot only thermal responses — appear to be the primary cause of death; the review gives event-organisation guidelinesTipton & Bradford 2014BIn 18 national-level age-group swimmers (13.5 y), a USRPT set (2 × 10 × 25 m at 100 m pace) gave higher swim velocity with lower lactate, glucose, HR and RPE than a 5 × 50 m HIIT setBut also lower distance per stroke and stroke indexPapadimitriou 2023B+Systematic review of 35 observational studies (n=507 backstrokers, Tier 3-4): 50, 100 and 200 m backstroke have distinct profilesLower post-race lactate in the 50, event-specific stroke-rate ranges, anthropometric differences and different pacing shapes — with normative reference valuesGonzález-Ravé 2025B+Systematic review of 27 studies: adding strength training to swimming improved performance more than swim-only, but in-water resisted, swim-like dryland and non-specific dryland methods all gave similar gains (~2-2.5%)No method is clearly bestFone & van den Tillaar 2022B+Systematic review of 9 studies: highly trained swimmers set intensity distribution by eventSprinters polarized/threshold, middle-distance threshold/pyramidal, long-distance pyramidal — within wave-like mesocycle periodizationGonzález-Ravé 2021BSimulated sprint XC skiing (16 national-level junior men): VO2peak and high-speed ability were the main determinants; VO2peak mattered more as the heats progressed to the final, and strength/power tests did not correlateTalsnes 2024BWorld-class female skiers beat national-class women on VO2peak (~10% DIA, ~7% DP) and 3-min test distance (6-7%), not on efficiencyAnd they trained ~120 h more over May-OctoberSandbakk 2016BTwelve weeks of twice-weekly heavy strength training on top of high-volume endurance training raised 1RM (pull-down +19%, half squat +12%), improved double-poling performance more than control, and raised skate-rollerski VO2max 7% in elite skiersNo interference, little thigh hypertrophyLosnegard 2011C+The world's most successful female XC skier trained 937 ± 25 h/yr in her five best years, 92% of endurance time at low intensity, after a 12-year non-linear build-upVery high volume, easy-dominated, with HIT rising toward the competition periodSolli 2017C+Elite skiers double-pole faster with higher peak pole force and rate of force development, driven by a stretch-shortening cycle in the upper bodyPre-activation before pole plant and a reflex-mediated burst 30–120 ms after it, especially in the tricepsLindinger 2009CTwelve lightweight rowers describe living with RED-S: calorie restriction to make weight brought disrupted sleep, poorer performance and recovery, menstrual dysfunction, injury and lasting psychosocial harmWeight-making culture needs prevention, not reactionGillbanks 2022BRowing injuries in one female NCAA Division I team: 52% of rowers injured over 5 years, 38% of them at the lower back, 23% ribs, 16% hip–groinAnd the literature is too heterogeneous to rank sites with confidenceTreloar 2022BRib stress fractures occur in 8.1–16.4% of elite rowers (2% university, 1% junior elite), 86% in ribs four to eightCase series tie them to amenorrhoea, low bone density or poor technique combined with volume increases; volume alone may matter less than those factorsMcDonnell 2011B+A previous episode of low back pain is the one risk factor significantly associated with rowing LBP (OR 2.65)Training volume, age, sex, BMI, level and years rowing were not, in a meta-analysis of 10 studies (2,082 rowers)Ze 2025A-Concurrent Endurance and Strength Training Not to Failure Optimizes Performance GainsIn trained rowers, moderate-volume lifting not to failure beat higher-volume to-failure lifting for upper-body strength, power and 20-min row powerIzquierdo-Gabarren 2010B+Strength testing and training of rowersBrief maximal-strength tests are reliable and track 2000-m ergometer time (r −0.54 to −0.68); strength training helped time trials in practice but not to statistical significance, and the best…Lawton 2011BYoung world-class rowers did 95% of rowing below 2 mmol/L lactate across a 37-week seasonA strongly low-intensity-dominated distribution that polarised further in the competition periodGuellich 2009AIPC classification position standClassification exists to minimise the impact of eligible impairment on competition outcome, so trained athletes are not moved up a class (selective, not performance, classification)Tweedy & Vanlandewijck 2011BAutonomic cardiovascular control in 52 Paralympic athletes with SCINeurological level plus autonomic completeness (sympathetic skin response), not the motor/sensory ASIA grade, identifies who has abnormal blood-pressure controlWest 2014C+Physiology of wheelchair racing with a spinal cord injuryCapacity is reduced across metabolic, cardiorespiratory, neuromuscular and thermoregulatory systems, but aerobic/anaerobic power does not map onto racing performance as cleanly as in able-bodied sportBhambhani 2002B+Cooling athletes with a spinal cord injurySweating and vasomotor control are lost below the lesion, impairment scales with lesion level, and site-specific cooling (ice vests) is what has been shown to workGriggs 2015AMental health in elite athletes (IOC consensus 2019): symptoms and disorders are common, impair performance, raise injury risk and delay recoveryAnd sit outside the coach's scope: recognise, support, referReardon 2019ASelf-talk works: across 32 studies (62 effect sizes) a moderate ES of 0.48, larger for fine-motor and novel tasks and when athletes are trained in itWith imagery and stress-management as companion skillsHatzigeorgiadis 2011AGoal-setting in sport: across 36 studies it improves performance by 0.34 SDModerate, absolute, and combined short- plus long-term goals work best; "harder is always better" does not carry over from industryKyllo & Landers 1995ABehaviour-change techniques for activity: across 122 interventions, self-monitoring plus at least one other control-theory technique (goals, feedback, review) was the effective core (d 0.42 vs 0.26)Michie 2009A-Self-determination theory & exercise: across 66 studies, autonomous motivation (identified + intrinsic) consistently predicts exerciseIdentified regulation for starting, intrinsic motivation for keeping it upTeixeira 2012B+Continuing to run/jump under a pain-monitoring model during Achilles tendinopathy rehab did NOT compromise recoveryComplete rest is unnecessarySilbernagel 2007BA single bout of heavy isometric contractions cut patellar-tendon pain from 7.0 to 0.17 out of 10 for at least 45 minutes in 6 volleyball playersA result whose size did not replicate in a pre-registered crossover of 21 patients, where relief was under 1/10 and no better than isotonic workRio 2015A-Heavy Slow Resistance matched eccentric training for Achilles tendinopathy at 12 and 52 weeksWith better session compliance (92% vs 78%) and a trend to higher satisfaction at 12 weeksBeyer 2015BHeavy-load eccentric calf training returned all 15 recreational athletes with chronic Achilles tendinosis to full running in 12 weeks, while 15 conventionally treated comparison patients all went to surgeryThe founding loading protocolAlfredson 1998