Good morning. We’re research heavy today - a hamstring biomechanics breakdown shows why exposure matters more than strength alone, Elon Sports Performance talks speed reserve, and research confirms aerobic training builds capillaries without hypertrophy. Let's get into it...
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🦵 Hamstring Injuries: It's About Exposure, Not Just Strength
Fred Duncan shared a breakdown of hamstring strain biomechanics: 70-80% are non-contact injuries occurring during high-speed running, primarily in late swing phase when the biceps femoris long head is maximally lengthened.
Key insight: shorter fascicles = higher injury risk. At high speeds, hamstrings face levels of force, stretch, and timing that don't exist anywhere else in training. Progressive sprint exposure builds the capacity to tolerate those forces. Strength matters, but speed exposure is non-negotiable. Read More
⚡️ Speed Reserve Ignores Half the Equation
Elon Sports Performance called out the flaw in speed reserve thinking: it's only half the equation. True RSA (repeated sprint ability) = alactic outputs + recovery ability.
An athlete who sustains efforts but is slower will outperform a faster athlete with poor recovery over the course of a game. The issue? Speed reserve focuses only on alactic output while ignoring energy system development. In team sports where bouts between sprints don't allow full recovery, aerobic capacity becomes critical in as little as 3 reps. Extensive tempo is the best option for building aerobic development at low cost.. Read More
🫀 Aerobic Training Builds Capillaries Without Hypertrophy
Chris Beardsley shared a study where untrained males performed 1-hour of high-intensity kicking (knee extensions, 3x/week for 6 weeks).
Result: capillary-to-fiber ratio increased significantly, but hypertrophy did not occur. This shows capillarization isn't solely driven by muscle fiber size increases. The finding suggests that aerobic-type training produces vascular adaptations independent of muscle growth—useful for athletes prioritizing endurance and work capacity without adding mass. Read More
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