Sports Science from a very basic level can be referred to the practice of scientific principles to Sports as a whole. Science in sports is something that has picked up pace over the course of the latter part of the twentieth century and is growing rapidly as we speak, in the twenty-first century. It covers different aspects of an athlete development, which include both on-field and off-field dynamics. The main aspects covered being, Sport Nutrition, Sport bio-mechanics, Sport Physiology, and Sport Psychology. Sports Science is developed such that the aim remains towards helping talented athletes optimize their performance through the application of leading sciences, performance testing and monitoring, and through some applied research and education.
Nutrition:
Nutrition offers to be a basic building block of an athlete. Sports nutrition has come a long way since the early 1900s when its major impacts and its overall importance were realized by scientists. Initially aimed more towards supplementing bodybuilders, the sport nutrition has spread over the years to various sports and specific athlete routines. It has now grown into various businesses to provide consumers – men and women, young and old – with safe, effective ways of supporting healthier, more active lives. All with a more scientific approach now. Sport Nutrition helps athletes to plan their diets, making sure that they get the proper nutrition during preparation, actual games and post-game recovery. Nutritional needs vary with each phase of training, and sport nutrition promotes healthy, responsible eating at all times.
The sportscienceconsultants.com provides athletes with a group of sports consultants, covering various aspects of the field. Nutrition happens to be one such aspect. Their research-led service optimizes the condition and fitness levels of a broad range of sporting individuals and competitive team clients. They provide knowledge and up to date dietary advice on the aspects of nutritional balance, how it works hand in hand with training and exercise and the training schedule. Sports nutrition in today’s world is used to allow athletes to have the nutrition they need, at the right time, in a format that is scientifically proven.
Biomechanics and Physiology:
Sport Biomechanics is the aspect which works with athlete’s physical aspects to perfect technical ability and at the same time preventing injuries. Sport Physiology is another physique related aspect, it works with metrics related to physical attributes for bettering an athlete’s output. The two aspects go hand in hand when it comes to the development and preparing an athlete for the big leagues. One aspect helps to find the physical limitations while the other helps prepare a detailed, athlete-specific plan based on the given limitations.
The Singapore Sports Council’s Sports Science has unites dedicated towards Bio-mechanics and Sport Physiology aimed at the physical development of their athletes. Their Biomechanics Unit is responsible for optimizing athletes’ sports-specific technique to improve performance and prevent injury. Their services include improving faulty techniques which could lead to injuries, analysis of physical skills, and workshops and discussions. The assessment is done mainly through the use of mathematical modeling and computer simulation. Their Sport Physiology Unit is responsible for evaluating the physical and physiological characteristics that contribute to athletic performance, planning, and delivery of their physiology services to athletes and coaches for higher levels of sporting excellence. This is done by reading the acute responses and chronic adaptations of athletic training both in the lab and on the field. Their services include Monitoring of training, Training interventions, and Sports-specific physical and physiological testing.
Psychology:
To get the most out of an athlete’s endeavors there is the need to address all the components that could make an athlete successful. These include both the mental as well as the physical aspects of the athlete. The mental aspect of an athlete’s preparation is the Psychological aspect of Sport. The Singapore Sports Council states that “Sport Psychology plays a critical role in performance enhancement and in developing and maintaining athletes’ wellbeing within the competitive sports environment”. They work to build athletes’ ability to employ a range of psychological strategies to thrive under pressure, such as Competition Preparation - Optimal Performance States, regulation of Cognition, Emotions, and behavior, and development of psychological skills to reach full potential.
Sport Psychology is a deep aspect when it comes to an individual athlete ’s development, there are thus various sub-parts that need to be taken into consideration for it to be implemented well. The SSI in Singapore takes into consideration these three main aspects, Athlete Assessment and Profiling, Emotional Regulation – Biofeedback, and Psychological Recovery and Wellbeing. These cover various aspects, from an in-depth analysis of key psychological attributes to gaining greater awareness of our physiological functions such as brainwaves, muscle tone, breathing rate, skin conductance and heart rate, and their manipulation. The Vienna Test System (VTS) is used for assessment and profiling. The VTS is a leading computerized psychological assessment tool with over 120 cognitive, motor skill, reaction time, and personality tests. For Bio-feedback, they use Thought Technology's Pro Comp biofeedback systems, which provide the optimal tool for understanding stress, relaxation training and teaching emotional regulation. Another such device for psychological knowledge is the Actiwatch, a device used to measure the quality of sleep. It is a rugged, reliable, and unobtrusive actigraphy device that is waterproof and equipped with a light sensor and event marker to record when events of significance occur.
The level of competition is continuously increasing and with is the demand for athlete sustainability. This has led to an expansion of Sports Science as a whole, especially at the professional level. Teams in the Premier League have been at the forefront of it. Everton football club along with Kitman labs have been using various tools and strategies to optimize athlete output, at the same time preventing injuries. Kitman labs sports science company that leverages data to prevent injuries and optimize athletic performance. They do this by capturing relevant athlete data and applying algorithms grounded in scientific research to provide actionable insights that improve player availability and deliver stronger team results. Kitman Labs achieves this through the athlete optimization system, which is comprised of a suite of products: Capture, Athlete and Profiler.
P3 Applied Sports Science is a performance facility that works on similar lines. They utilize advanced sports-science technologies to assess and train professional athletes. P3 uses a data-driven approach to understand athlete movement and development. Their facility acts as a training environment and research laboratory, where they apply scientific methods to different athletes—observing, measuring, experimenting and testing. The use of biomechanical technology allows them to take athletes in their current state and build them into superior versions of their former selves. Their client list includes names from a number of NBA teams, MLS football sides and various action sports.
Such companies are combining the use of sports science and technology to reduce injuries and increase the on-field output. It is no longer enough to have your team performing at a high level, but they must also remain healthy during key stretches of the season, technology is helping enable that. It is something that is a certainty as far as the future for the industry goes and we are already building towards it.
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