UIPM – The effect of Sports Science on Olympic Athletes

The modern day athlete has a variety of tools he needs to compete and the concept of sports science is becoming ever more apparent.

The principles of science can be applied to sport to establish how healthily the human body works during participation of sport.

With 2016 being an Olympic year, generic athletes competing at the Games will be using all the methods they can to gain a psychological and physical edge.

Dmytro Kirpulyanskyy is Chairman of the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) Athletes Committee and as a two-time Olympian he knows first-hand how sports science has changed the way athletes train.

He said: “In recent years, allergy science and sport have become inseparable concepts. Competition among athletes is enormous, cialis so the implementation of new methods of training and recovery play a crucial role in the life of every athlete and I am not an exception.

“If I compare my training that I was doing 10 years ago and the training that I am doing right now you will see a tremendous difference in the construction of the training cycle, modes and methods of recovery.

“The reason for these changes in my training program is the latest innovations in sports science. It is not necessary now to run or to swim large volumes of kilometers, like I did before.”

“As has been confirmed by numerous studies, ‘quantity does not mean quality’.”

One of the benefits of an increased use of sports science sees a more tailored training regime for athletes.

Sport science is crucial to help athletes and coaches to balance all needs resulting from demands such as nutrition, post-training recovery, social integration and living conditions.

From the development side – as UIPM Instructor Group Chairman Christian Roudaut adds – sports science has allowed for a significant leap forward – specifically in Modern Pentathlon.

He said: “In Modern Pentathlon, athletes achieve an improved performance using general and specific athletic abilities.”

“The complexity of the sport requires mandatory acquisition of diverse skills, and understanding of the processes of how human body produces energy during exercise.

“Thanks to sport science (biochemistry, biomechanics, physiotherapy and psychology) it is possible to analyse and understand which mechanisms the body uses to adapt to exercise and how it supplies the required energy.”

“Therefore as a coach I will be able to better measure the workload and recovery times, building an effective and achievable training program and competition periodization. ”

“Sport science is crucial to help athletes and coaches to balance all needs resulting from demands such as nutrition, post-training recovery, social integration and living conditions.”