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Evidence-based writing on measurement, training, recovery, and the technology behind real results.
The Wingate Anaerobic Test: Peak and Mean Power Repeat at ICC 0.90–0.98, the Fatigue Index Does Not (0.53–0.76), and in 116 Elite Runners It Sorted Sprinters From Marathoners but Predicted No Event
Thirty seconds of all-out pedalling produces three numbers. Two are among the most reliable in the lab, one is noise, and none of them predicted performance within an event in world-class runners. How to run it and what to read.
Sep 25
Exercise in Pregnancy: Across 106 Studies and 273,182 Women, Exercise Alone Cut the Odds of Gestational Diabetes (OR 0.62), Hypertension (0.61) and Pre-eclampsia (0.59), With No Mortality Signal
The folk rules are out of date. The pooled evidence and the guideline built on it say 150 minutes a week of mixed aerobic and resistance exercise is the prescription in pregnancy for women without a contraindication, and here is the list of those.
Sep 25
A Weight Training Template for Sport: Squat Gains Tracked Sprint Gains at r −0.77 Across 15 Studies, Frequency Mattered, and Method, Load and Sets Did Not
Does gym strength show up on the field? A 510-subject meta-analysis says yes, by about 3 percent in sprint time, and tells you which programming variables changed the transfer. Here is the template that follows from it.
Sep 25
Hip Flexor, Glute and Hamstring Stretches: 77 Studies Say Static Holds Work (ES 1.0), Dose Barely Matters, Lifting Matches Them, and Half the Gain Survives Six Weeks Off
The three beginner stretches, graded against three meta-analyses: what static holds change, why volume and intensity did not predict the gain, why full-range lifting did the same job, and what stays when you stop.
Sep 25
Motivating Children to Be Active: Across 115 Studies, Parental Support (r 0.38) Beat Parental Example (r 0.16), and Family Programmes Raised Activity by SMD 0.41
Setting a good example is worth a little. Driving, paying, playing and rewarding is worth about twice as much, and structured family programmes add a small-to-moderate lift. What the two pooled analyses actually show.
Sep 25
Working With 'Difficult' Clients: Motivational Interviewing Alone Added Nothing (SMD −0.01), but Behavioural Goals, Self-Monitoring, Feedback and Autonomy Support Explained the Results at a Year
Compliance is partly a property of programme design. A 48-trial meta-regression names the techniques that held at a year, and a 12-study meta-analysis shows the popular counselling method adds nothing on its own.
Sep 25
Building a Home Gym: Bands Matched Weights (SMD −0.11), Dumbbells Matched Machines (SMD 0.08), and the Real Limit Was Adherence at 67 Percent
Three meta-analyses say the type of resistance does not decide the result at home. What does is whether load can keep rising and whether you show up. Here is what that means for what to buy.
Sep 25
The Spinal Flexion and Extension Clearing Tests: Pain on the Movement Screen Predicted Injury Better Than the Score (RR 1.62 vs 1.58) in 2,154 Soldiers
The clearing tests before the push-up and rotary stability patterns are treated as a formality. In the largest prospective cohort, pain on them outperformed the composite score that two meta-analyses say is too inconsistent to predict injury.
Sep 25
The Sled Push, Walking or Running: It Buys the First Five Metres (SMD −0.87), Fades by Twenty, Leaves Top Speed Untouched - and Has Not Been Shown to Beat Plain Sprinting
Two meta-analyses and the one sled-push-specific trial agree: resisted pushing improves acceleration over 5 to 10 metres, not maximum velocity. Here is the technique, the loads the studies used and the limits of the claim.
Sep 25
Chest Press, Seated Row and Leg Press: Machines Built the Same Strength and Muscle as Free Weights Across 13 Trials and 1,016 People (SMD −0.06) - Only the Test You Get Good at Differs
Two meta-analyses and a trial in trained men say machines and free weights produce the same strength and hypertrophy. The only consistent difference is specificity: you get best at the movement you practise.
Sep 25
The Sit-and-Reach Test: A Moderate Hamstring Screen (r 0.46–0.67), a Poor Back Test (r 0.16–0.35), and Repeatable to Within About 9 Percent
The box test measures hamstrings moderately, the lower back barely, and repeats to within about 9 percent. What a 34-study meta-analysis and a 243-person retest study say the number means.
Sep 25
Agility Circuit Drills, From Back Pedal to Carioca: How to Run Each One, and Why SAQ Circuits Improved Change-of-Direction Speed (SMD −0.71) Across 22 Trials
Ten circuit drills, one technique guide, and two syntheses: a 2026 meta-analysis of speed-agility-quickness training and a network meta-analysis of 36 trials that ranks the methods behind faster cutting.
Sep 18
Assessing Postural Deviations: Smartphone Photogrammetry Is Reliable (Pooled ICC 0.90 for Head Position), and Scoliosis Screening in Adolescents Has No Proven Benefit
A 2025 meta-analysis of 29 photogrammetry studies and the US Preventive Services Task Force scoliosis statement set out what a coach can measure about posture, how well, and where a screen should hand over.
Sep 18
How Many Exercises Per Muscle in a Full-Body Workout: Count the Sets, Choose One Exercise Per Region the Muscle Has, and Do Not Rotate for the Sake of It
A systematic review of eight variation studies and a 12-week trial of 49 lifters answer the exercises-per-muscle question the way the evidence can: by what variation does and does not add.
Sep 18
Good in Practice, Frozen in the Game: Choking Under Pressure Responds to Training, With Pooled Effects of 0.30–0.66 Across 21 Studies and the Largest Gains in Closed Skills
A 2026 meta-analysis of 21 intervention studies and a rugby league pressure-training trial explain why the gap between training and competition opens, and which interventions have closed it.
Sep 18
Mini Trampoline Cardio: Bouncing Reaches 35–71 Percent of Peak Oxygen Uptake Depending on the Move, and 12 Weeks or More Lowered BMI in Overweight Adults
A proof-of-concept oxygen-uptake study and a 2026 meta-analysis of nine trials put numbers on rebounding: how hard it is, how to stand and move on the mat, and what a programme changed.
Sep 18
Sports Supplements, the Short List: Four Ingredients With Good Evidence, 9–15 Percent of Tested Products Contaminated, and What to Check Before You Buy
The IOC consensus names the few supplements with good evidence; a 2026 systematic review of 44 contamination studies says how often a tub contains something the label does not mention.
Sep 18
Weight Training Log Sheets: Self-Monitoring Explained More of the Variation in Behaviour-Change Results Than Any Other Technique, and Here Is What to Write Down
A meta-regression of 122 interventions and 44,747 people, and a meta-analysis of 28 tracker trials, explain why a paper log or an app makes training stick, and what a log needs to contain to drive progression.
Sep 18
A 10-Week Cycling Mesocycle by Weekly Mileage: Build the Volume Mostly Easy, Keep the Hard Days Hard, and Cut Volume 41–60 Percent in the Final Two Weeks
A meta-analysis of 17 intensity-distribution studies and one of 27 taper studies supply the two numbers a 10-week cycling block actually depends on: how to split the weekly kilometres, and how to finish.
Sep 18
Running Programmes for Sport Conditioning: Repeated Sprints of Under 10 Seconds, Three Sets of 6 x 30 m Twice a Week, and Why Adding Volume Did Not Add Results
A 2023 meta-analysis of 541 athletes and a 2026 comparison of straight-line against change-of-direction sprints show how a running programme for field and court sport differs from one for distance running.
Sep 18
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