Posts by stevemagness
Everything you need to know about Doping Scandal in Track and Field
It’s been quite an interesting few days for the IAAF I imagine. Track and field has finally joined the ranks of cycling in terms of perceived doping and corruption issues. In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, let me catch you up on the past few days. ·German TV station drops bombshell…
Read MoreTracking collegiate runners- sleep, stress, soreness, recovery and performance
I have a reputation, perhaps deservingly so, a scientific coach. The irony is that while I use principles and blend knowledge and science into my coaching practices, it’s not like we’re sitting here measuring VO2max, or even caring about it honestly. As a person, I love crunching the numbers and the data that comes with…
Read MoreYour Brain on Altitude- How altitude can cause or prevent depression?
Altitude has this great mystique and allure in the world of distance running. The mystique has grown over the years. It started when we saw the impact altitude had on performance at the Mexico City Olympics. But it really took off when the East African onslaught of records occured, where we saw the impact training…
Read MoreUnderstanding the Mechanics of Fatigue
When we think of fatigue, we generally think of burning muscles, lactic acid building up, and several other descriptors that have rightly or wrongly entered the lingo of endurance athletes and coaches over the years. In essence though, fatigue is all about slowing down, or preventing that from happening. From a coaching standpoint we often…
Read MoreWhy every person matters- Motivation Contagion
As a coach, I tend towards obsessing over the workout details and my first love has always been the physiology behind those details. The workout planning and details are what initially drew my to coaching. However, in a team environment, these details matter little unless everyone buys in and stays motivated to pursue the end…
Read MoreResearch Review- ACSM 2014
Every year I try to make it a point to go through all of the ACSM abstracts to see if anything stands out. If you can’t actually get to the conference, it’s a great way to at least get a glimpse of the latest research people are doing well before it ever comes out in…
Read MoreCoaching Conversations- Interview with coach Adam Didyk
I’m starting a new segment on the blog that I’m really excited about. I’ll be having conversations with some of the top young coaches, exercise scientist, and generally smart people in our sport. One of the things I’ve loved about expanding my coaching/science network is the talks I’ve had with some smart people. Whether it’s…
Read MoreInformation gathering-BS Detection and Big Words Syndrome
When I first got interested in learning more about coaching and the science behind it, one of my mentors, Tom Tellez, told me about the process of learning. When you are new to a particular topic, everything seems intriguing and complex. You don’t have a built in filter, as you don’t know what is right,…
Read MoreNew Gadget- RunScribe allows for inexpensive biomechanics tracking on the go
As a self-proclaimed science nerd, I enjoy the data junkie side of our sport. We can track and measure more parameters now then we ever have been able to. While this satisfies the science nerd and research junkie side of me, I’m always left with asking the question of so what? What actionable change do…
Read MoreWhat’s your bias?
What’s your bias? There’s an interesting phenomenon that occurs when we start discussing what is important to a particular outcome, which is very much a result of our innate psychological need to value our knowledge and our selves. As someone who has his hat in many different areas of sports performance and who recently has…
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