Dr. Gerard McMahon

Nicolas Jackson is sent off 🟥

The longer I work in human performance, the more I think workload only makes sense when discussed in context. This paper argues that workload alone is not the issue. The key point is that “the acute:chronic workload ratio is a greater predictor of injury than either acute or chronic workload in isolation.” In other words, injury risk was better explained by the relationship between what the athlete was doing now and what they had been prepared for over time. In this paper, the ratio meant: • 1.0 = this week matched the athlete’s recent training base • Above 1.0 = this week was higher than that base • Below 1.0 = this week was lower than that base So if an athlete averaged 10,000 m per week over four weeks, then did 12,000 m, the ratio was 1.2. If that same athlete suddenly did 20,000 m, the ratio was 2.0. That is the kind of spike this paper was concerned with. To me, that is the practical takeaway. Chronic workload is not automatically the problem. The bigger concern is poor programming or poor progression that creates a spike the athlete was not prepared to tolerate. Readiness is not just feeling fresh. Real readiness means building enough meaningful work over time so the athlete is prepared when the real demand shows up.

Here is an example. The gastrocnemius medial head gets its ⬆️ activation at moderate plantar flexion. Just look at the difference btwn the fascicle force at that joint angle/ fascicle length vs peak fsscicle force. 235% lower at max activation!

The scale of this engineering is terrifying. 🤯 This is a soviet giant telescope, Kalyazin RT-64, originally designed to support robotic missions to Venus and Mars and prepare for possible manned expeditions. Despite looking like an abandoned relic near the city of Kalyazin, it remains fully operational for communication in deep space.

🫠 The last time Liverpool spent less time walking in a match than their opponent was vs. Brentford on October 25...

It's very important that internally the muscle-tendon complex is uncoupled from limb movement in locomotion. They don't 🏄‍♂️ F-V curves because the body does its best to operate almost isometrically as much as possible for force generation & energetic efficiency.