Does growth hormone affect muscle and tendon growth?
Growth hormone is often claimed to play an important role in muscle and tendon growth. However, this suggestion is based on animal work. Is this also true in humans?
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Can insufficient sleep increase the chance of developing a common cold?
Poor sleep is associated with susceptibility to acute infectious illness. In addition, sleep deprivation has been shown to negatively affect immune system functioning. Does this mean that you have a higher chance of getting sick when getting insufficient sleep?
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Can excessive training impair metabolic health?
Exercise training can improve exercise performance, mitochondrial function, and blood sugar control. However, it’s well known by athletes that too much training (overtraining) can hinder performance. Can excessive exercise volume also have a detrimental impact on metabolic health?
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Muscle mass gains seem to differ quite a lot between individuals. How variable are muscle mass gains?
This study assessed muscle growth in the biceps for 585 participants (342 women, 243 men) during 12 weeks of resistance training. Subjects trained only one arm, so the other arm could serve as a control. Bicep muscle cross-sectional area was measured with MRI in both arms.
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Can ‘live high, train low’ improve performance in elite athletes?
At high altitude, there is relatively less oxygen. To compensate for the low oxygen levels, living at altitude results in adaptations that improve oxygen delivery and utilization. Such adaptations could theoretically be beneficial for endurance performance.
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Can you sprint faster by simply expecting it?
The placebo effect is the phenomenon that expecting a physiological effect can cause the expected effect. For example, when patients in pain are told they get pain killers, their pain decreases even when the pills are fake.
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