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Sports Scientist
Studies human performance — from biomechanics to nutrition — to help athletes reach their peak.
Did you know?
In a 2009 study, men who drank beetroot juice for six days lasted about 16% longer in very hard exercise before exhaustion than on a placebo drink.
How subjects help
- Biology: Measure heart rate and oxygen use to see how fit an athlete really is.
- Physics: Film a sprinter's start and study the forces to find a faster way off the blocks.
- Chemistry: Test sweat to see how much salt and water an athlete loses when training in the heat.
- Mathematics: Analyse training data to spot whether an athlete is getting faster or overtraining.
A famous name
A. V. Hill: Nobel-winning physiologist who introduced the idea of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) in 1922.
Try it yourself: Take your pulse like a nurse
- Put two fingers (not your thumb) on the inside of your wrist, below your thumb, until you feel a beat.
- Count the beats for 15 seconds, then multiply by 4. That is your resting heart rate per minute.
- If you can, do 20 star jumps, then count again straight away.
- Check every minute until it is back to where it started. How long did it take?
Nurses, doctors and paramedics take a pulse all day: it is one of the quickest ways to tell how a body is coping.
Also try: Train one skill for five days.
Known for it in
USA, Australia, UK, Germany, Japan