Science
The research the BLOCKS assistant answers from: 1,170 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.
1,170 entries
AMonitoring the athlete training response: subjective self-reported measures trump commonly used objective measuresSaw 2016B+Monitoring Training Load to Understand Fatigue in AthletesHalson 2014CAcute:Chronic Workload Ratio (ACWR)Originally proposed, now without supporting evidence for injury managementImpellizzeri 2020BWearable device validation for sleep and night-time HR/HRVSix devices vs polysomnography/ECG in 53 healthy adults: sleep/wake agreement 86-89%, sleep-stage agreement only 50-65% (κ 0.20-0.52)Miller 2022BDaily HRV trends and their coefficient of variation: athletes with lower fitness or higher perceived fatigue show larger lnRMSSD reductions under high training loadFlatt 2017BTraining Prescription Guided by Heart-Rate Variability in Cycling17 well-trained cyclists, 8 weeks: the HRV-guided group improved peak power (+5.1%), power at VT2 (+13.9%) and 40-min TT (+7.3%) while the traditional group did not, but the between-group difference…Javaloyes 2019B+Training adaptation and heart rate variability in elite endurance athletes: opening the door to effective monitoringPlews 2013AIOC consensus statement: dietary supplements and the high-performance athleteMaughan 2018C+Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA/DHA) and skeletal muscleMechanistic review (Tachtsis 2018); performance and dosing evidence not carried hereTachtsis 2019BExogenous ketone bodies and endurance performancePhysiology review (Evans 2017) + the overreaching RCT (Poffé 2019)Evans 2019B+Vitamin D and the Athlete: Current Perspectives and New Challenges (Owens, Allison & Close 2018)Owens 2018ASodium bicarbonate and exercise performanceISSN position stand (Grgic et al. 2021)Hadzic 2020ADietary nitrate / beetroot and endurance performanceJones 2014 review + McMahon 2016 meta-analysisJones 2016ACreatine monohydrate — ISSN position stand: safety and efficacy in exercise, sport and medicineKreider 2022Aβ-Alanine supplementation to improve exercise capacity and performance: a systematic review and meta-analysisSaunders 2017ACaffeine — umbrella review of 21 meta-analyses (Grgic 2020) plus the ISSN position stand (Guest 2021)Grgic 2021BProtein Ingestion to Stimulate Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis Requires Greater Relative Protein Intakes in Healthy Older Versus Younger MenThe per-meal dose for older muscleMoore 2015B+An investigation into the relationship between age and physiological function in highly active older adults (LEGACY study)Pollock 2015C+Declining performance of master athletes: silhouettes of the trajectory of healthy human ageing?Lazarus & Harridge 2017BReduced resting skeletal muscle protein synthesis is rescued by resistance exercise and protein ingestion following short-term energy deficitAreta 2014B+Overtraining syndrome (OTS) and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S): Shared Pathways, Symptoms and ComplexitiesStellingwerff 2021BLow energy availability is difficult to assess but outcomes have large impact on bone injury rates in elite distance athletesHeikura 2018B+Luteinizing Hormone Pulsatility Is Disrupted at a Threshold of Energy Availability in Regularly Menstruating WomenThe 30 kcal/kg LBM/day experimentLoucks 2007A2023 International Olympic Committee's (IOC) consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs)Mountjoy 2023B+Iron considerations for the athlete: a narrative reviewIron deficiency in ~15-35% of female and ~5-11% of male athlete cohorts; exercise-induced hepcidin is a key driver, with sex hormones, diet, training and altitude all shaping iron statusSim 2019AThe Effects of Oral Contraceptives on Exercise Performance in Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisElliott-Sale 2020C+Myths and Methodologies: Reducing scientific design ambiguity in studies comparing sexes and/or menstrual cycle phasesSims & Heather 2018AMethodological Considerations for Studies in Sport and Exercise Science with Women as Participants: A Working Guide for Standards of Practice for Research on WomenElliott-Sale 2021AThe Effects of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Exercise Performance in Eumenorrheic Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisMcNulty 2020C+A Narrative Review of the High-Carbohydrate Fueling Revolution (≥100 g/h) in the Professional PelotonPerformance benefit unproven in the trials that existWilson PB 2025A-The effect of post-exercise heat exposure (passive heat acclimation) on endurance exercise performance: a systematic review and meta-analysisSolomon & Laye 2025B13C-glucose-fructose labeling reveals comparable exogenous CHO oxidation during exercise when consuming 120 g/h in fluid, gel, jelly chew, or coingestionHearris 2022B+Effects of 120 vs. 60 and 90 g/h Carbohydrate Intake during a Trail Marathon on Neuromuscular Function and High-Intensity Run Capacity RecoveryUrdampilleta / Viribay 2020B+Effects of 120 g/h of Carbohydrates Intake during a Mountain Marathon on Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage in Elite RunnersViribay 2020ACompatibility of Concurrent Aerobic and Strength Training for Skeletal Muscle Size and Function: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisSchumann 2022B+Training Considerations for Optimising Endurance Development: An Alternate Concurrent Training PerspectiveDoma 2019B+Implications of Impaired Endurance Performance following Single Bouts of Resistance Training: An Alternate Concurrent Training PerspectiveDoma 2017BThe effect of repetitive exercise on tensile changes in the infraspinatus muscle evaluated with ultrasound elastographyIn 10 healthy subjects, infraspinatus strain went 0.5 (baseline) → 0.7 immediately after a standardized exercise bout → 0.6 at day 1 → 0.4 at day 2: stiffness took up to 48 h to return within 10% of…Coale AT 2025BMechanical loading and fatigue-induced changes in triceps surae muscle-tendon unit: sex-specific responses and recovery dynamicsAfter standing calf raises to exhaustion in 22 active adults, peak torque fell and MTU passive stiffness rose immediately, then stiffness decreased by 24 h while contractility had only partly…Salatkaitė-Urbonė S 2026BDiurnal variations in the expression of core-clock genes correlate with resting muscle properties and predict fluctuations in exercise performance across the dayIn 21 healthy adults, exercise performance peaked in the late afternoon (15-18 h), resting muscle tone (MyotonPRO) varied across the day, and HIGHER tone went with BETTER performance; core-clock gene…Basti A 2021