This concept, which has been coined by the media
[1], is used by the British Cycling Team [2]. The idea is to look at every aspect of ones training regime and make minutiae changes to edge success.
This blog post is in two parts. The first part looks at the role of Technology and the second on unexpected marginal gains.
Technology in sport is becoming a major and increasingly vital factor, particularly where 100th’s
of a second are separating top 3 spots. In some sports,
like Formula 1, it is getting to the point where rules are introduced
to try and make the action more exciting for the viewer[3]. Rather that allowing teams a free hand on car development.
It
does looks like NASA control centre and probably the origins of this
technology/idea did indeed come from the space race. One of the reasons
to do this analyse is
to monitor the life signs of the car and predicting required
maintenance prior to it potential failing. In industry this is known as a
“full life cycle model”[4].
This style of monitoring is being applied with the players Irish rugby team instead of wires they use a GPS pack.
Ireland rugby captain Jamie Heaslip says his team has have been wearing GPS packs since 2009. “By harnessing this data [it] can protect players from injury and of course to help them train to win”. If we can have a picture of a player's health and what's normal for them, we can measure when they are most run-down, or vulnerable to injury, and adjust training or games tactics to prevent this from happening [5].
This
because like the car a game/race takes its toll on players, so by
taking this data and running though a computer we are able to
essentially
predict when a player/car is likely to get injured/break.
This
potential gain for this style of technology can be classed as marginal.
But the risk of loosing your top player through a training injury can
spell disaster.
It
is not just general monitoring where technology is making a difference
ArcheryGB , with the help of Quintec[6], use high speed cameras for
in-depth shooting analysis.
One particular area they have been working on is the execution of a
shot.
So
the idea for this is that when the archer shoots an arrow you would
want the hand to come straight back after loosing, ensuring a clean shot . Now
with physiological pressure of the shot and maybe holding the shot too
long it can cause a forward/erratic loose.
By
using the “blobs” they can identify with high speed cameras and some
specialist software if the hand is dropping or going forward.
This
is incredibly detailed and because it is so accurate the team can
monitor the effect on the archer at different distances, target and
blank boss. From this you
can deduce the effect and adjust the training regime accordingly.
All
this technology is great but do club coaches get left behind? Can club
coaches apply these technological gains? Well yes I think so. The rise
in digital cameras,
smart phones and specialist apps like Coach eye mean that we can use
tech more readily to analyse an athlete.
Granted it is not as accurate as the work completed by Quintec, but it can be useful.
The
videos can then be hosted on websites like Youtube, which the archer
and coach alike can view. Then they can view their own progress or you
as a coach can use this
to advise them, that is a lot of potential. Not bad when you consider
this can all be done from a phone
So
the use and application of technology can help support and train
athletes in various ways. What of the other aspects of marginal gains?
