A Heat-Combatting Sports Drink?

This week in the world of sports science, here’s what happened…

• England’s heat performance strategy at the World Cup
• Do this to improve your split jerk
• Should we be testing backwards sprinting?

England’s heat performance strategy at the World Cup

Some fans may have noticed several England players holding silver sachets during hydration breaks at the FIFA World Cup and wondered what they were. These sachets contain a sports drink called CoreCtrl, which England’s players are using as part of their strategy to help cope with competing in the heat.

CoreCtrl is an electrolyte-based powder mixed with water and designed to support the body’s natural thermoregulation. It also contains L-taurine, an ingredient that some research suggests may improve exercise performance in hot environments by lowering the body’s sweating threshold, increasing sweat rate, and enhancing heat dissipation through sweating.

Interestingly, CoreCtrl was developed by former Olympic triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee. Brownlee has taken a particular interest in heat-management strategies since his brother, Jonathan Brownlee, famously collapsed from heat exhaustion while leading a World Triathlon Series race in 2016.

If you would like to learn more about CoreCtrl and the science behind its development, check out the article linked here. It will be interesting to see whether CoreCtrl becomes a staple of elite sport or proves to be another short-lived performance trend.

Do this to improve your split jerk

Renowned S&C coach and educator Thomas Stringwell recently discussed a very common mistake when performing the split jerk Olympic lift (see post here). Stringwell explains that a common error when “splitting the legs” is allowing the front foot to travel straight forward while the back foot moves straight back, resulting in a narrow, tightrope-like stance that is very difficult to balance.

To correct this, Stringwell suggests drawing or taping a cross on the ground. When performing the split jerk, focus on driving the front foot forward and slightly out to the side, and the back leg back and slightly out to the side. This creates a diagonal base of support, allowing for more optimal weight distribution. If performed correctly, your feet should finish diagonally across the cross, with each foot landing in opposite quadrants, as shown in the image above.

For more information on Olympic weightlifting, check out our blog Olympic Weightlifting and our course Weightlifting for Team Sport Athletes. We were also very fortunate to have Stringwell on our podcast, and his episode, Eccentric Training: Don’t Leave Gains On The Table, is well worth a listen.

Should we be testing backwards sprinting?

Recently on LinkedIn, the Strength Coach Network challenged coaches on why they are not testing backwards sprinting. The post highlighted the growing body of research supporting backward sprinting and the benefits it can have for quadriceps function, knee health, and agility. However, despite the evidence, it is still very rarely tested.

The Strength Coach Network also offered a simple recommendation for implementing backward sprint testing. Their advice was straightforward: get the timing gates out, choose a distance, standardise it, and test it regularly.

Not only could backwards sprinting become a valuable performance metric, but it may also provide key information during return-to-play programmes. If you would like to learn more about backward sprinting, check out our course How to include backwards running into your program to enhance performance.

From us this week:

>> New course: Female Physiology
>> New podcast: Building Nutrition Systems in Elite Sport
>> New infographic: Wingate Anaerobic Test
>> New article: Hydrotherapy

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