Periodisation – Dr Nicky Keay

Health and Performance during Lifespan: latest research

16 November 2017

LifeSeasonDay

Your lifespan depends on genetic and key lifestyle choices

Lifespan is dependent on a range of genetic factors combined with lifestyle choices. For example a recent study reported that an increase in one body mass index unit reduced lifespan by 7 months, whilst 1 year of education increased lifespan by 11 months. Physical activity was shown to be a particularly important lifestyle factor through its action on preventing age-related telomere shortening and thus reducing of cellular ageing by 9 years. Nevertheless, even though males and females have essentially identical genomes, genetic expression differs. This results in different disease susceptibilities and evolutionary selection pressures. More studies involving female participants are required!

Circadian clock

Much evidence is emerging about the importance of paying respect to our internal biological clocks when considering the timing of lifestyle factors such as eating, activity and sleep. For example intermittent fasting, especially during the night, and time restricted eating during the day enables metabolic flexibility. In other words, eating within a daylight time window will support favourable metabolism and body composition. No midnight snacks!

For athletes, even more care needs be given to timing of nutrition to support athletic performance. In the short term there is evidence that rapid refuelling after training with a combination of carbohydrate and protein favours a positive balance of bone turnover that supports bone health and prevents injury in the longer term. Periodised nutrition over a training season, integrated with exercise and recovery, is important in order to benefit from training adaptations and optimise athletic performance.

Protein intake in athletes and non athletes

Recovering from injury can be a frustrating time and some athletes may be tempted to reduce food intake to compensate for reduced training. However, recommendations are to maintain and even increase protein consumption to prevent a loss of lean mass and disruption of metabolic signalling. In the case of combined lifestyle interventions, such as nutrition and exercise aimed at reducing body weight, these should be directed at improving body composition. Adequate protein intake alongside exercise will maintain lean mass in order to minimise the risk of sarcopenia and associated bone loss which can occur during hypocaloric regimes. Good protein intake is important for bone health to support bone mineral density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis and fracture.

Adolescent Athlete

In the young athlete, integrated periodisation of training, nutrition and recovery is of particular importance, not only to support health and performance, but as an injury prevention strategy. Sufficient sleep and nutrition to match training demands are key.

Differences between circadian phenotype and performance in athletes

For everyone, whether athlete or reluctant exerciser, balancing and timing key lifestyle choices of exercise, nutrition and sleep are key for optimising health and performance. However there are individual differences when it comes to the best time for athletes to perform, according to circadian phenotype/chronotype. In other words personal biological clocks which run on biological time. An individual’s performance can vary by as much as 26% depending on the time of day relative to one’s entrained waking time.

Later in Life

Ageing can be can be confused with loss of fitness and ability to perform activities of daily living. Although a degree of loss of fitness does occur with increasing age, this can be prevented to a certain degree and certainly delayed with physical activity. Exercise attenuates sarcopenia, which supports bone mineral density with the added benefit of improved proprioception, helping to reduce risk of falls and potential fracture; not to mention the psychological benefits of exercise.

For more discussion on Health Hormones and Human Performance come to British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine Spring Conference

BAsem2018_SpringConf_BJSM

References

Genome-wide meta-analysis associates HLA-DQA1/DRB1 and LPA and lifestyle factors with human longevity Nature Communications 2017

Physical activity and telomere length in U.S. men and women: An NHANES investigation Preventive Medicine 2017

The landscape of sex-differential transcriptome and its consequent selection in human adults BMC Biology 2017

Temporal considerations in Endocrine/Metabolic interactions Part 1 British Journal of Sport and Exercise Medicine, October 2017

Flipping the Metabolic Switch: Understanding and Applying the Health Benefits of Fasting Obesity 2017

Temporal considerations in Endocrine/Metabolic interactions Part 2 British Journal of Sport and Exercise Medicine, October 2017

Time-restricted eating may yield moderate weight loss in obesity Endocrine Today 2017

The Effect of Postexercise Carbohydrate and Protein Ingestion on Bone Metabolism Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine 2017

Periodized Nutrition for Athletes Sports Medicine 2017

Internal Biological Clocks and Sport Performance British Journal of Sport and Exercise Medicine, October 2017

Nutritional support for injuries requiring reduced activity Sports in Science Exchange 2017

Balance fat and muscle to keep bones healthy, study suggests NTU October 2017

Dietary Protein Intake above the Current RDA and Bone Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Journal of the American College of Nutrition 2017

Too little sleep and an unhealthy diet could increase the risk of sustaining a new injury in adolescent elite athletes Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports

Sleep for health and sports performance British Journal of Sport and Exercise Medicine, 2017

The impact of circadian phenotype and time since awakening on diurnal performance in athletes Current Biology

Successful Ageing British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Focus on physical activity can help avoid unnecessary social care BMJ October 2017

Biochemical Pathways of Sarcopenia and Their Modulation by Physical Exercise: A Narrative Review Frontiers in Medicine 2017

Lifestyle Choices

18 October 2017

Lifestyle factors of exercise, nutrition and sleep are vital for optimising health. In the illustration shown, ideally we should be in the green zone representing a balance between these lifestyle factors. Slipping into the peripheral red zone represents an imbalance: either too much or too little of any of these three elements. In particular exercise is of paramount importance being the most effective way of producing beneficial, multi-system effects mediated via the Endocrine system to optimise health and playing an important role in chronic disease prevention. However, it is not just a matter of what, but when: timing is crucial in integrating lifestyle factors with internal biological clocks. Beyond these guiding principles, personal preference and choice is emerging as being just as important as the lifestyle factor itself.

In a fascinating study, 58 participants were given either a prescribed exercise session, or a choice of exercise. Afterwards the participants were presented with a choice of foods, which they believed was simply as way of thank you for taking part in the exercise study. Post exercise, in those given no choice exercise, higher energy intake of food was consumed with larger proportion of “unhealthy” food compared to choice exercise group. The choice exercise group reported greater value and enjoyment of the exercise session. Thus autonomous choice of exercise not only provides positive reinforcement of exercising, but subsequent food choice is improved.

This concept of facilitating self determination, particularly when it comes to exercise was explored at the the recent annual British Association of Sport and Exercise conference. “Practicalities of intervention design, adherence and motivation” was presented by Dr Carly McKay from Bath University, who described how empowering people to make choices is far more likely to mean they will adhere to those lifestyle options that will optimise health.

What about the optimal timing of exercise which might improve motivation and performance? Well this depends on the context and what you are trying to achieve. In the case of training for competition and competition itself, optimal performance tends to be early evening, providing the most favourable hormonal milieu. Although in theory the morning diurnal release of cortisol might help with exercise, the downside is that this may interfere with blood glucose regulation. Furthermore, focusing on just one hormone in the Endocrine system, rather than the integrated function of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis could be misleading. Although due respect should be paid to internal biological clocks, to prevent circadian misalignment between internal pacemakers and external factors; equally becoming too obsessive about sticking to a rigid schedule would psychologically take away that essential element of choice. Practicality is a very important consideration and a degree of flexibility when planning the timing of exercise. For example, my choice of cardiovascualar exercise is swimming, which I fit in according to work commitments and when public lane swimming is available. Fortunately whilst at the BASEM conference in Bath, these practical conditions were met during the lunch break to take advantage of the 50m pool at Bath University. Pragmatic, not dogmatic when it comes to timing of exercise.

Timing of nutrition post exhaustive exercise is an important factor in supporting bone health. Immediate, rather than delayed refuelling with carbohydrate and protein is more advantageous in the balance of bone turnover markers; favouring formation over resorption. In the longer term, prolonged low energy availability as in the situation of relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) has a potentially irreversible adverse effect on bone health. In terms of the timing of meals, not eating too close to going to sleep, ideally 2 hours before melatonin release, is best for metabolic health.

Backing up the lifestyle choices of exercise and nutrition is sleep. Timing, duration and quality of sleep is essential for many aspects of health such as hormonal release of growth hormone, functional immunity and cognitive function. Certainly it is well recognised that shift workers, with circadian misalignment: disturbed sleep patterns relative to intrinsic biological clocks, are more at risk of developing cardio-metabolic disease.

In summary, a prescriptive approach to lifestyle factors could be counter productive. Discussing options and encouraging individuals to make their own informed and personal choices is far more likely to enable that person to take responsibility for their health and adhere to changes in lifestyle that are beneficial for their health. Having worked in hospital based NHS diabetic clinics for many years, I appreciate that supporting reluctant exercisers is not always an easy task. Equally it can be difficult to distinguish between the effects of ageing and loss of fitness. However, this does not mean that this supportive and inclusive approach should be abandoned. Rather, encouraging people to participate in decision making that they feel leads to options that are realistic and beneficial, is the approach most likely to work, especially in the long term.

“If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.”
— Hippocrates

For more discussion on Health Hormones and Human Performance come to British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine Spring Conference

BAsem2018_SpringConf_BJSM

References

Presentations

One road to Rome: Exercise Dr N. Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Endocrine system: balance and interplay in response to exercise training Dr N. Keay 2017

Temporal considerations in Endocrine/Metabolic interactions Part 1 Dr N. Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Temporal considerations in Endocrine/Metabolic interactions Part 2 Dr N. Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Internal Biological Clocks and Sport Performance Dr N. Keay, British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Providing Choice in Exercise Influences Food Intake at the Subsequent Meal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise October 2017

BASEM/FSEM Annual Conference 2017, Assembly Rooms, Bath

Addiction to Exercise – what distinguishes a healthy level of commitment from exercise addiction? Dr N. Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

The Effect of Postexercise Carbohydrate and Protein Ingestion on Bone Metabolism Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine October 2017

Optimal Health: For All Athletes! Part 4 – Mechanisms Dr N. Keay, British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Sleep for health and sports performance Dr N. Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Focus on physical activity can help avoid unnecessary social care British Medical Journal October 2017

Internal Biological Clocks and Sport Performance

5 October 2017

A Nobel Prize was awarded this week to researchers who uncovered the molecular mechanisms controlling circadian rhythm: our internal biological clock.

PastedGraphic-2 — Circadian Hormone Release

These mechanisms rely on negative feedback loops found in many biological systems where periodicity of gene expression is key, such as the Endocrine system. Internal biological clocks allow for anticipation of the requirements from body systems at different times of the day and the ability to adapt to changes in external lifestyle factors. What is the clinical significance of biochronometers?

The importance of integration of lifestyle factors, such as timing of eating, activity and sleep with our internal biological clocks is revealed in situations of circadian misalignment that lead to suboptimal health and disease states in the longer term.

Consideration of our biochronometers is especially important for athletes in order to synchronise periodised training, nutrition and recovery and thus optimise health and sports performance.

Athletic Performance Performance in a cycle time trial was found to be better in the evening, rather than the morning, proposed to be due to a more favourable endogenous hormonal and metabolic internal milieu. Certainly there were some disgruntled swimmers at an international event, when the usual pattern of morning heats and evenings finals was switched, to accommodate television viewing spectators.

Female athletes: menstrual cycle/training season Women have an extra layer of endogenous biological periodicity in the form of the menstrual cycle controlled by temporal changes of hormone release in the hypothamalmus-pituitary-ovarian Endocrine axis. Changes in external factors of training load, nutrition and recovery are detected by the neuroendocrine gatekeeper, the hypothalamus, which produces an appropriate change in frequency and amplitude of GnRH (gonadotrophin releasing hormone), which in turn impacts the pulsatility of LH (lutenising hormone) release from the pituitary and hence the phases of the menstrual cycle, in particular ovulation. Even short term reduction of energy availability in eumenorrhoeic female athletes can inhibit LH pulsatility frequency and release of other hormones such as IGF1. Disrupted release of sex steroids and IGF1 has a negative effect on bone turnover: increased resorption and decreased formation. Active females have been found more susceptible to reduction in energy availability impacting bone metabolism than their male counterparts.

Another consequence of the phasic nature of the menstrual cycle relating to external factors such as exercise, is that injury risk could be linked to changes in the expression of receptors for for sex steroids oestrogen and progesterone in skeletal muscle. Certainly during pregnancy and the post partum period, relaxin hormone increases the laxity of soft tissues, such as ligaments, and hence maintenance stretching, rather than seeking to increase flexibility, is recommended to prevent injury, .

In order to produce desired temporal adaptive changes in response to exercise training, signalling pathways mediated by reactive oxidative species and inflammatory markers are stimulated in the short term, with supportive Endocrine interactions in the longer term. However, an over-response can impair adaptive changes and impact other biological systems such as the immune system. This maladaptive response could occur as a result of non-integrated periodisation of training, nutrition and recovery in athletes and, in the case of female athletes, oral contraceptive pill use has been implicated, as this effectively imposes a medical menopause, preventing the phasic release of endogenous hormones.

Considering a longer time scale, such as a training season, female athletes were found to have a more significant fall ferritin during than male athletes. Low normal iron does not necessarily correlate to iron deficiency anaemia, but low levels in athletes can impact bone health. Supplementation with vitamin C to improve absorption may help, although iron overload can have deleterious effects. As training intensity increases as the season progresses, six monthly haematological reviews for female athletes were recommended in this study.

Changes in set point feedback Feedback control of the Endocrine system, for example the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis is dynamic: both anticipatory and adaptive, depending on internal and external inputs. However, presentation of a prolonged stimulus can result in maladaptation in the longer term. For example, disruption of signalling pathways leading to hyperinsulinaemia results in insulin resistance, which represents the underlying pathophysiological mechanism of obesity and the metabolic syndrome. In other words a situation of tachyphylaxis, where prolonged, repeated stimulus over time results in insensitivity to the original stimulus. This also applies to the nature of exercise training over a training season and diets that exclude a major food type: temporal variety is key.

Lifespan (prematurity, ageing) Changes during the lifespan represent an important biochronometer. Premature and small-for-dates babies are at risk of long term metabolic and Endocrine dysfunction, potentially due to intrauterine reprogramming of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. At the other end of the biological time scale, with advancing age, DNA methylation and changes in epigenetic expression occur. It has been suggested that this age related methylation drift could be delayed with calorie restriction. Melatonin, a key player in intrinsic biological time keeping has been proposed to attenuate bone resorption by reducing relative oxidative stress. This would potentially explain why shift workers with disrupted sleep patterns are reported to be at risk not only of metabolic dysfunction, but also impaired bone health. Disrupted sleep patterns are a concern for athletes, especially those whose training and competition schedule involve frequent international travel across time zones.

In summary, respecting your internal biological clocks and integrating your lifestyle and your training, nutrition and recovery with these intrinsic pacemakers in mind will optimise health and performance.

For further discussion BASEM annual conference 22/3/18: Health, Hormones and Human Performance

Presentations

References

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2017

Circadian clock control of endocrine factors Nat. Rev. Endocrinol

Temporal considerations in Endocrine/Metabolic interactions Part 1 Dr N. Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Temporal considerations in Endocrine/Metabolic interactions Part 2 Dr N. Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Athletic Fatigue: Part 2 Dr N. Keay 2017

Effect of Time of Day on Performance, Hormonal and Metabolic Response during a 1000-M Cycling Time Trial Plos One 2017

Optimal Health: For All Athletes! Part 4 – Mechanisms Dr N. Keay, British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Effects of reduced energy availability on bone metabolism in women and men Bone 2017

Expression of sex steroid hormone receptors in human skeletal muscle during the menstrual cycle Acta Physiol (Oxf). 2017

Endocrine system: balance and interplay in response to exercise training

Kynurenic acid is reduced in females and oral contraceptive users: Implications for depression Science Direct 2017

Oxidative Stress in Female Athletes Using Combined Oral Contraceptives Sports Medicine

Iron monitoring of male and female rugby sevens players over an international season J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2017

Thyroid Allostasis–Adaptive Responses of Thyrotropic Feedback Control to Conditions of Strain, Stress, and Developmental Programming Frontiers in Endocrinology 2017

Stress- and allostasis-induced brain plasticity Annu Rev Med

Optimising Health and Athletic Performance Dr N. Keay 2017

Long-term metabolic risk among children born premature or small for gestational age Nature Reviews Endocrinology 2017

Caloric restriction delays age-related methylation drift Nature Communications 2017

Melatonin at pharmacological concentrations suppresses osteoclastogenesis via the attenuation of intracellular ROS Osteoporosis International 2017

Sleep for health and sports performance Dr N. Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Athletic Fatigue: Part 2

3 September 2017

A degree of athletic fatigue following a training session, as described in part 1, is required to set in motion mechanisms to drive beneficial adaptations to exercise. At what point does this process of functional over-reaching tip into non-functional over-reaching denoted by failure to improve sports performance? Or further still along the spectrum and time scale, the chronic situation of overtraining and decrease in performance? Is this a matter of time scale, or degree, or both?

: Integrated Periodisation of Training Load, Nutrition and Recovery keeps an individual on the green plateau, avoiding descent into the red zone, due to an excess or deficiency

Determining the tipping point between these fatigue situations is important for health and performance. A first step is always to exclude underlying organic disease states, be these of Endocrine, systemic inflammatory or infective aetiologies. Thereafter the crucial step is to assess whether the periodisation of training, nutrition and recovery are integrated over a training block and in the longer term over a training season.

What about the application of Endocrine markers to monitor training load? Although the recent studies described below are more applicable to research scenarios, they give some interesting insights into the interactive networks effects of the Endocrine system and the multifactorial nature of fatigue amongst individual athletes.

In the short term, during a 2 day rowing competition, increases in wakening salivary cortisol were noted followed by return towards baseline in subsequent 2 day recovery. Despite individual variability with salivary cortisol measurement, this does at least offer a noninvasive way to adjust training loads around competition time for elite athletes.

Over an 11 day stimulated training camp and recovery during the sport specific preparatory phase of the training season, blood metabolic and Endocrine markers were measured. In the case of an endurance based training camp in cyclists, a significant increase in urea (due to protein breakdown associated with high energy demand training) and decrease in insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) from baseline were noted. Whereas for the strength-based athletes for ball sports, an increase in creatine kinase (CK) was seen, as a result of muscle damage. This study demonstrates how different markers of fatigue are specific to sport discipline and mode of training. Large inter-individual variability existed between the degree of change in markers and degree of fatigue.

In the longer term, for the case of overtraining syndrome potential Endocrine markers have been reviewed. Whilst basal levels of most measured hormones remained stable, a blunted submaximal exercise response of growth hormone (GH), prolactin and ACTH could be indicative of developing overtraining syndrome. Whilst this review is interesting, dynamic testing is not a practical approach and these findings are not specific to over training. Rather this blunted dynamic exercise response would indicate relative suppression of the neuroendocrine hypothalamic-pituitary axis which could potentially involve other stressors such as inadequate sleep or poor nutrition. Although basal levels may lie “within the normal range”, if both pituitary derived stimulating hormone and end endocrine gland hormone concentrations fall in the lower end of the normal ranges (eg low end of range TSH and T4) this is consistent with mild hypothalamic suppression observed over the range of training and fatigue conditions (functional/non-functional and overtraining) and/or Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (RED-S).

Although the studies above are of research interest, non invasive monitoring, specific to an athlete is more practical for monitoring the effects of training. Several useful easily measurable metrics can give clues: resting heart rate, heart rate variability, power output. Tools on Strava and Training Peaks provide practical insights in monitoring training effectiveness via these metrics. A range of mobile apps makes it ever easier to augment a personal training log to include these training metrics, along with feel, sleep and nutrition. Such a log provides feedback on health and fitness for the individual athlete, in order to personalise training plans. Certainly adding the results from any standard basal blood tests will also help add to the picture, along the lines of building a longitudinal personal biological passport. After all, “normal ranges” are based on the general population, of which top level athletes may represent a subgroup. The more personalised the metics recorded over a long time scale, the more sensitive and useful the process to guide improvement in sport performance.

Context is key when considering athletic fatigue: temporal considerations and individual variation. Certainly the interactive network effects of the Endocrine system are important in determining the degree of adaptation to exercise and therefore sports performance. However the Endocrine system acts in conjunction with many other systems (metabolic, immune and inflammatory), in determining the effectiveness of training in improving sports performance. So it is not surprising that one metric or marker in isolation is not predictive of fatigue status in individual athletes.

For more discussion on Health, Hormones and Human Performance come to the British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine annual conference

Presentations

References

Athletic Fatigue: Part 1

Endocrine system: balance and interplay in response to exercise training

Temporal considerations in Endocrine/Metabolic interactions Part 1

Fatigue, sport performance and hormones..more on the endocrine system Dr N Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Sport Performance and RED-S, insights from recent Annual Sport and Exercise Medicine and Innovations in Sport and Exercise Nutrition Conferences Dr N Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Capturing effort and recovery: reactive and recuperative cortisol responses to competition in well-trained rowers British Journal of Sports Medicine

Blood-Borne Markers of Fatigue in Competitive Athletes – Results from Simulated Training Camps Plos One

Hormonal aspects of overtraining syndrome: a systematic review BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 2017

Clusters of Athletes – A follow on from RED-S blog series to put forward impact of RED-S on athlete underperformance Dr N Keay, British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Strava Fitness and Freshness Science4Performance 2017

From population based norms to personalised medicine: Health, Fitness, Sports Performance Dr N Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Sports Endocrinology – what does it have to do with performance? Dr N Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Athletic Fatigue: Part 1

1 September 2017

Interpreting athletic fatigue is not easy. Consideration has to be given to context and time scale. What are the markers and metrics that can help identify where an athlete lies in the optimal balance between training, recovery and nutrition which support beneficial adaptations to exercise whilst avoiding the pitfalls of fatigue and maladaptation? This blog will discuss the mechanisms of athletic fatigue in the short term.

Screen Shot 2017-08-30 at 09.17.58 — Proposed causes of fatigue dependent on duration and intensity of training session

In the short term, during an endurance training session or race, the temporal sequence of athletic fatigue depends on duration and intensity. It is proposed that below lactate threshold (LT1), a central mechanism governs: increasing central motor drive is required to maintain skeletal muscular power output until neuromuscular fatigue cannot be overcome. From lactate threshold (LT1) to lactate turn point (LT2), a combination of central and peripheral factors (such as glycogen depletion) are thought to underpin fatigue. During high intensity efforts, above LT2 (which correspond to efforts at critical power), accumulation of peripheral metabolites and inability to restore homeostasis predominate in causing fatigue and ultimately inability to continue, leading to “task failure”. Of course there is a continuum and interaction of the mechanisms determining this power-duration relationship. As glycogen stores deplete this impacts muscle contractility by impairing release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum in skeletal muscle. Accumulation of metabolites could stimulate inhibitory afferent feedback to central motor drive for muscle contraction, combined with decrease in blood glucose impacting central nervous system (CNS) function.

Even if you are a keen athlete, it may not be possible to perform a lactate tolerance or VO2 max test under lab conditions. However a range of metrics, such as heart rate and power output, can be readily collected using personalised monitoring devices and then analysed. These metrics are related to physiological markers. For example heart rate and power output are surrogate markers of plasma lactate concentration and thus can be used to determine training zones.

A training session needs to provoke a degree of training stress, reflected by some short term fatigue, to set in motion adaptations to exercise. At a cellular level this includes oxidative stress and exerkines released by exercising tissues, backed up by Endocrine responses that continue to take effect after completing training during recovery and sleep. Repeated bouts of exercise training, followed by adequate recovery, result in a stepwise increase in fitness. Adequate periodised nutrition to match variations in demand from training also need to be factored in to prevent the Endocrine system dysfunction seen in Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (RED-S), which impairs Endocrine response to training and sports performance. Integrated periodisation of training/recovery/nutrition is essential to support beneficial multi-system adaptations to exercise on a day to day time scale, over successive training blocks and encompassing the whole training and competition season. Psychological aspects cannot be underestimated. At what point does motivation become obsession?

In Part 2 the causes of athletic fatigue over a longer time scale will be discussed, from training blocks to encompassing whole season.

For more discussion on Health, Hormones and Human Performance come to the British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine annual conference

Presentations

References

Endocrine system: balance and interplay in response to exercise training

Power–duration relationship: Physiology, fatigue, and the limits of human performance European Journal of Sport Science 2016

Strava Ride Statistics Science4Performance 2017

Sleep for health and sports performance Dr N Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports (RED-S) Practical Considerations for Endurance Athletes

Sports Endocrinology – what does it have to do with performance? Dr N Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Optimal Health: For All Athletes! Part 4 – Mechanisms Dr N Keay, British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Addiction to Exercise – what distinguishes a healthy level of commitment from exercise addiction? Dr N Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Temporal considerations in Endocrine/Metabolic interactions Part 2

2 August 2017

LifeSeasonDay

As discussed in the first part of this blog series, the Endocrine system displays temporal variation in release of hormones. Amplitude and frequency of hormonal secretion display a variety of time-related patterns. Integrating external lifestyle factors with this internal, intrinsic temporal dimension is crucial for supporting metabolic and Endocrine health and sport performance.

Circadian misalignment and sedentary lifestyle has been implicated in the increased incidence of metabolic syndrome driven by insulin resistance and associated metabolic inflexibility and decrease in fat oxidation. However, a recent study of overweight individuals, found that increases in fat oxidation from lifestyle intervention, corresponded to different clinical outcomes. Both those who maintained weight loss and those who regained weight displayed increased fat oxidation compared to baseline. How could this be? Increased fat oxidation is only part of the equation in overall fat balance. What adaptations in the metabolic and Endocrine networks were occurring during rest periods? In the case of those that maintained weight loss, increased fat oxidation was reflected in biochemical and physiological adaptations to enable this process. Whereas for those that regained weight in the long term, increased fat oxidation was enabled by increased availability of lipids, indicating increased fat synthesis over degradation.

Clearly there is individual variation in long-term Endocrine and metabolic responses to external factors. Focusing on optimising a single aspect of metabolism in the short term, will not necessarily produce the expected, or desired clinical outcome over a sustained period of time. As previously discussed the single most effective lifestyle change that induces synchronised, beneficial sustained Endocrine and metabolic adaptations is exercise.

It will come as no surprise that focusing on maximising use of a single substrate in metabolism, without integration into a seasonal training plan and consideration of impacts on internal control networks, has not produced the desired outcome of improved performance amongst athletes. Theoretically, increasing fat oxidation will benefit endurance athletes by sparing glycogen use for high intensity efforts. Nutritional ketosis can be endogenous (carbohydrate restricted intake) or exogenous (ingestion of ketone esters and carbohydrate). Low carbohydrate/high fat diets have been shown in numerous studies to increase fat oxidation, however, this was at the expense of effective glucose metabolism required during high intensity efforts. Potentially there could be adverse effects of low carbohydrate intake on gut microbiota and immunity.

This effect was observed even in a study on a short timescale using a blinded, placebo-controlled exogenous ketogenic intervention during a bicycle test, where glycogen was available as a substrate. The proposed mechanism is that although ketogenic diets promote fat oxidation, this down-regulates glucose use, as a respiratory substrate. In addition, fat oxidation carries a higher oxygen demand for a lower yield of ATP, compared to glucose as a substrate in oxidative phosphorylation.

Metabolic flexibility the ability to use a range of substrates according to requirement, is key for health and sport performance. For example, during high intensity phases of an endurance race, carbohydrate will need to be taken on board, so rehearsing what types/timing of such nutrition works best for an individual athlete in some training sessions is important. Equally, some low intensity training sessions with low carbohydrate intake could encourage metabolic flexibility. However, in a recent study “training low” or periodised carbohydrate intake failed to confer a performance advantage. I would suggest that the four week study time frame, which was not integrated into the overall training season plan, is not conclusive as to whether favourable long term Endocrine and metabolic adaptations would occur. A review highlighted seasonal variations in male and female athletes in terms of energy requirements for different training loads and body composition required for phases of training blocks and cycles over a full training season.

Essentially an integrated periodisation of training, nutrition and recovery over a full training season will optimise the desired Endocrine and metabolic adaptations for improved sport-specific performance. The emphasis will vary over the lifespan of the individual. The intricately synchronised sequential Endocrine control of the female menstrual cycle is particularly sensitive to external perturbations of nutrition, exercise and recovery. Unfortunately the majority of research studies focus on male subjects.

In all scenarios, the same fundamental temporal mechanisms are in play. The body seeks to maintain homeostasis: status quo of the internal milieu is the rule. Any external lifestyle factors provoke short term internal responses, which are regulated by longer term Endocrine network responses to result in metabolic and physiological adaptations.

For further discussion on Health, Hormones and Human Performance, come to the BASEM annual conference

References

Temporal considerations in Endocrine/Metabolic interactions Part 1 Dr N. Keay

Sports Endocrinology – what does it have to do with performance? Dr N.Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Sedentary behaviour is a key determinant of metabolic inflexibility Journal of Physiology 2017

Influence of maximal fat oxidation on long-term weight loss maintenance in humans Journal of Applied Physiology 2017

One road to Rome: Metabolic Syndrome, Athletes, Exercise Dr N.Keay 2017

Metabolic and Endocrine System NetworksDr N. Keay 2017

Nutritional ketone salts increase fat oxidation but impair high-intensity exercise performance in healthy adult males Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism 2017

Endocrine system: balance and interplay in response to exercise training Dr N. Keay 2017

No Superior Adaptations to Carbohydrate Periodization in Elite Endurance Athletes Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 2017

Total Energy Expenditure, Energy Intake, and Body Composition in Endurance Athletes Across the Training Season: A Systematic Review Sports Medicine – Open 2017

Successful Ageing Dr N. Keay, British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Optimal Health: For All Athletes! Part 4 – Mechanisms Dr N. Keay, British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Temporal considerations in Endocrine/Metabolic interactions Part 1

1 August 2017

It is not a simple question of what, but when we eat, sleep and exercise.

The Endocrine system displays temporal variation in release of hormones. Integrating external lifestyle factors with this internal, intrinsic temporal dimension is crucial for supporting metabolic and Endocrine health.

Amplitude and frequency of hormonal secretion display a variety of temporal patterns:

Diurnal variation, synchronised with external light/dark. Orchestrated by a specific area of the hypothalamus, the neuroendocrine gatekeeper.
Circadian rhythm, roughly 24-25 hours which can vary with season according to duration of release of melatonin from the pineal gland.
Infradian rhythms longer than a day, for example lunar month seen in patterns of hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis hormone release during the menstrual cycle.
Further changes in these temporal release and feedback patterns occur over a longer timescale during the lifespan.

Hormones influence gene expression and hence protein synthesis over varying timescales outlined above. The control system for hormone release is based on interactive feedback loops. The hypothalamus is the neuroendocrine gatekeeper, which integrates external inputs and internal feedback. The net result is to maintain intrinsic biological clocks, whilst orchestrating adaptations to internal perturbations stimulated by external factors such as sleep pattern, nutrition and exercise.

Circadian alignment refers to consistent temporal patterns of sleep, nutrition and physical activity. Circadian misalignment affects sleep-architecture and subsequently disturbs the interaction of metabolic and Endocrine health. This includes gut-peptides, glucose-insulin interaction, substrate oxidation, leptin & ghrelin concentrations and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal/gonadal-axes. The main stimuli for growth hormone release are sleep and exercise. Growth hormone is essential for supporting favourable body composition. These integrated patterns of environmental factors may have a more pronounced effect on those with a genetic predisposition or during crucial stages of lifespan. For example curtailed sleep during puberty can impact epigenetic factors such as telomere length and thus may predispose to metabolic disruption in later life. Regarding activity levels, there are strong relationships between time spent looking at screens and markers, such as insulin resistance, for risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus in children aged 9 to 10 years.

In addition to adverse metabolic effects set in motion by circadian misalignment, bone turnover has also shown to be impacted. Circadian disruption in young men resulted in uncoupling of bone turnover, with decreased formation and unchanged bone resorption as shown by monitoring bone markers. In other words a net negative effect on bone health, which was most pronounced in younger adult males compared with their older counterparts. These examples underline the importance of taking into account changes in endogenous temporal patterns during the lifespan and hence differing responses to external lifestyle changes.

For male and female athletes, integrated periodised training, nutrition and recovery has to be carefully planned over training seasons to support optimal adaptations in Endocrine and metabolic networks to improve performance. Training plans that do not balance these all these elements can result in underperformance, potentially relative energy deficiency in sport and consequences for health in both short and long term.

Part 2 will consider the longer term consequences and interactions of these temporal patterns of lifestyle factors, including seasonal training patterns in male and female athletes, on the intrinsic biochronometry controlling the Endocrine and metabolic networks during lifespan.

For further discussion on Health, Hormones and Human Performance, come to the BASEM annual conference

References

Sports Endocrinology – what does it have to do with performance? Dr N.Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

One road to Rome: Metabolic Syndrome, Athletes, Exercise Dr N. Keay

Metabolic and Endocrine System Networks Dr N. Keay

Endocrine system: balance and interplay in response to exercise training Dr N.Keay

Sleep for health and sports performance Dr N.Keay, British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017

Factors Impacting Bone Development Dr N. Keay

Sleep, circadian rhythm and body weight: parallel developments Proc Nutr Soc

Sleep Duration and Telomere Length in Children Journal of Paediatrics 2017

Screen time is associated with adiposity and insulin resistance in children Archives of Disease in Childhood

Circadian disruption may lead to bone loss in healthy men Endocrine today 2017

Successful Ageing Dr N. Keay, British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Clusters of Athletes – A follow on from RED-S blog series to put forward impact of RED-S on athlete underperformance Dr N. Keay, British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Optimal Health: For All Athletes! Part 4 – Mechanisms Dr N. Keay, British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Addiction to Exercise

17 May 2017

ExerciseAddiction

Health is not just the absence of illness, but rather the optimisation of all components of health: physical, mental and social. Exercise has numerous benefits on all these aspects. However, a recent article in the British Medical Journal described how exercise addiction can have detrimental physical, mental and social effects.

Dedication and determination are valuable qualities required to be successful in life, including achieving sporting prowess. Yet, there is a fine line between dedication and addiction.

To improve sports performance, cumulative training load has to be increased in a quantified fashion, to produce an overload and hence the desired physiological and Endocrine adaptive responses. Integrated periodisation of training, recovery and nutrition is required to ensure effective adaptation. Sufficient energy availability and quality of nutrition are essential to support health and desired adaptations. On the graph above the solid blue line represents a situation of energy balance, where the demands of increased training load are matched by a corresponding rise in energy availability. This can be challenging in sports where low body weight confers a performance or aesthetic advantage, where the risk of developing relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) has implications for Endocrine dysfunction, impacting all aspects of health and sports performance.

Among those participating in high volumes of exercise, what distinguishes a healthy level of commitment from exercise addiction? Physical factors alone are insufficient: all those engaging in high levels of training can experience overuse injuries and disruption in Endocrine, metabolic and immune systems. Equally, in all these exercising individuals, overtraining can result in underperformance.

Psychological factors are the key distinguishing features between the motivated athlete and the exercise addict. In exercise addiction unhealthy motivators and emotional connection to exercise can be identified as risk factors. In exercise addiction the motivation to exercise is driven by the obsession to comply with an exercise schedule, above all else. This can result in negative effects and conflict in social interactions, as well as negative emotional manifestations, such as anxiety and irritability if unable to exercise, including the perceived necessity to exercise even if fatigued or injured.

Two categories of exercise addiction have been described. Primary exercise addiction is the compulsion to follow an excessive training schedule. Without balancing energy intake, the physical consequence may be a relative energy deficiency, as indicated on the graph by the dashed blue line. In secondary exercise addiction, the situation is compounded by a desire specifically to control body weight. These individuals consciously limit energy intake, almost inevitably developing the full clinical syndrome described in RED-S, dragging them down to the position indicated by the dotted blue line on the chart. These situations of exercise addiction can lead to varying risk categories of RED-S.

As described at the start of this blog, there is a blurred boundary between the dedicated athlete and the exercise addict. In practice there is most likely a cross over. For example, an athlete may start with healthy motivators and positive emotional connection to exercise, which can become a primary addiction to adhere rigidly to a training schedule, rather than putting the emphasis on the outcome of such training. In the case of an athlete where low body weight is an advantage, it is easy to appreciate how this could become a secondary exercise addiction, where the motivation for exercising becomes more driven by the desire to control weight, rather than performance.

In order to support those with exercise addiction, discussion needs to focus on adopting a more flexible approach to exercise, by recognising that exercise addiction has detrimental effects on all aspects of current and long term health. Furthermore, in the case of athletes, a multi-disciplinary approach is desirable to help the individual refocus on the primary objective of training: to improve performance. In all situations, discussion should explore modifications to exercise and nutrition, in order to prevent the negative effects of RED-S on health and performance.

Exercise has numerous health benefits and is usually viewed as positive behaviour. However, the outcome of exercise is related to the amount of training, appropriate nutrition and motivation for exercising.

For further discussion on Endocrine and Metabolic aspects of SEM come to the BASEM annual conference 22/3/18: Health, Hormones and Human Performance

References

Addiction to Exercise British Medical Journal 2017

Clusters of Athletes British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Sport performance and relative energy deficiency in sport British Journal of Sport Medicine 2017

Balance of recovery and adaptation for sports performance British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Optimal Health for all athletes Part 4 Mechanisms of RED-S British Journal of Sport Medicine 2017

Sports Endocrinology – what does it have to do with performance? British Journal of Sport Medicine 2017

Inflammation: Why and How Much? British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Fatigue, Sport Performance and Hormones…

2 May 2017

How do you feel on Monday morning, when the alarm wakes you at 7am with a day of work ahead after the weekend? A bit tired, slightly lethargic, sluggish, maybe a little bit down, perhaps a few regrets about somewhat too much alcohol/food over weekend, frustrated that the exercise training schedule didn’t go according to plan? sleep

There are many causes of fatigue and sport underperformance: Endocrine, immunological, infective, metabolic, haematological, nutritional, digestive, neoplastic….. The adrenal gland in the Endocrine system in particular has come in for some bad press recently.

Adrenal woes

Undoubtedly the adrenal glands have a case to answer. Situated above the kidneys these Endocrine glands produce glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, androgens from the adrenal cortex and from the adrenal medulla adrenaline. Glucocorticoids (e.g. cortisol) have a metabolic function to maintain energy homeostasis and an immune function to suppress inflammation. Mineralocorticoids (e.g. aldosterone) maintain electrolyte and water balance. As mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids are similar biological steroid molecules, there is some degree of overlap in their actions.

Addison’s disease and Cushing’s disease are serious medical conditions, corresponding respectively to under or over production by the adrenal glands of steroid hormones. Someone presenting in Addisonian crisis is a medical emergency requiring resuscitation with intravenous hydrocortisone and fluids. Conversely those with Cushing’s can present with hypertension and elevated blood glucose. Yet, apart from in the extremes of these disease states, cortisol metrics do not correlate with clinical symptoms. This is one reason why it is unwise and potentially dangerous to stimulate cortisol production based on clinical symptoms. Inappropriate exogenous steroid intake can suppress normal endogenous production and reduce the ability to respond normally to “stress” situations, such as infection. This is why the prescription of steroids, for example to reduce inflammation in autoimmune disease, is always given in a course of reducing dose and a steroid alert card has to be carried. Athletes should also be aware that exogenous steroid intake is a doping offence.

However, what is the “normal” concentration for cortisol? Well, for a start, it depends what time of day a sample is taken, as cortisol is produced in a circadian rhythm, with highest values in the morning on waking and lowest levels about 2/3am. Nor is this temporal periodicity of production the only variable, there are considerations such as tissue responsiveness and metabolism (break down) of the hormone. On top of these variables there are other inputs to the feedback control mechanism, which can in turn influence these variables. In other words, focusing on the steroid hormone production of the adrenal gland in isolation, could overlook underlying hypothamalmic-pituitary-adrenal (H-P-A) axis dysfunction and indeed wider issues.

Much maligned thyroid

That is not end of the possible causes of fatigue and sport underperformance: the H-P-A axis is just one of many interrelated, interacting Endocrine systems. There are many neuroendocrine inputs to the hypothalamus, the gate keeper of the control of the Endocrine system. Furthermore there are network interaction effects between the various Endocrine control feedback loops. For example cortisol towards the top end of “normal” range can impede the conversion at the tissue level of thyroxine (T4) to the more active triiodothyronine (T3) by enzymes which require selenium to function. Rather T4 can be converted to reverse T3 which is biologically inactive, but blocks the receptors for T3 and thus impair its action. This in turn can interfere with the feedback loop controlling thyroid function (hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis). The physiological ratio of T4 to T3 is 14:1, which is why supplementation with desiccated thyroid is not advisable with ratio of 4:1. There are other processes which can crucially interfere with this peripheral conversion of T4 to T3, such as inflammation and gut dysbiosis, which can occur as result of strenuous exercise training. So what might appear to be a primary thyroid dysfunction can have an apparently unrelated underlying cause. Indeed amongst highly trained athletes thyroid function can show an unusual pattern, with both thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and T4 at low end of the “normal “range, thought to be due to resetting of the hypothalamic-pituitary control signalling system. This highlights that the “normal” range for many hormones comprises subsets of the population and in the case of TSH, the “normal” range is not age adjusted, despite TSH increasing with age. As described by Dr Boelaert at recent conferences, there is certainly no medical justification for reports of some athletes in the USA being given thyroxine with TSH>2 (when the normal range is 0.5-5mU/l). Although thyroxine is not on the banned list for athletes, it could have potentially serious implications for health due to its impact on the Endocrine system as a whole.

Endocrine system interactions

SportsEndocrinologyWordCloud

Symptoms of fatigue are common to many clinical conditions, not just dysfunction in an Endocrine control axis in isolation, nor even the network interactive effects of the Endocrine system in isolation. For example, the impact of nutrition relative to training load produces a spectrum of clinical pictures and Endocrine disturbances seen in Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) in terms of health and sport performance.

Underlying mechanisms of Endocrine dysfunction

There may be predisposing factors in developing any clinical syndrome, the usual suspects being inflammation: whether infective, dysbioses, autoimmune; nutritional status linked with endocrine status; training load with inadequate periodised recovery to name a few….

For further discussion on Endocrine and Metabolic aspects of SEM come to the BASEM annual conference 22/3/18: Health, Hormones and Human Performance

References

From population based norms to personalised medicine: Health, Fitness, Sports Performance British Journal of Sport Medicine 2017

Sports Endocrinology – what does it have to do with performance? British Journal of Sport Medicine 2017

Advanced Medicine Conference, Royal College of Physicians, London 13-16 February 2017, Endocrine session: Dr Kristien Boelaert, Dr Helen Simpson, Professor Rebecca Reynolds

Subclinical hypothydroidism in athletes. Lecture by Dr Kristeien Boelaert, British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine Spring Conference 2014. The Fatigued Athlete

Sport Performance and RED-S, insights from recent Annual Sport and Exercise Medicine and Innovations in Sport and Exercise Nutrition Conferences British Journal of Sport Medicine 2017

Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport CPD module British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Sleep for health and sports performance British Journal of Sport Medicine 2017

Inflammation: why and how much? British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Clusters of athletes British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Enhancing Sport Performance: Part 1 British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Balance of recovery and adaptation for sports performance British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 2017

Annual Sport and Exercise Medicine Conference, London 8/3/17 Gut Dysbiosis, Dr Ese Stacey

Adrenal fatigue does not exist: a systematic review BMC Endocrine Disorders. 2016; 16(1): 48.

A Controversy Continues: Combination Treatment for Hypothyroidism Endocrine News, Endocrine Society April 2017

Clusters of Athletes

2 April 2017

At some time, most athletes experience periods of underperformance. What are the potential causes and contributing factors?

classification

Effective training improves sports performance through a process of adaptation that occurs, at both the cellular and system levels, during the recovery phase. Training overload must be balanced with sufficient subsequent recovery. A long-term improvement in form is expected, following a temporary dip in performance, due to short-term fatigue.

However, when an athlete experiences a stagnation of performance, what are the potential underlying causes? How should these be addressed to prevent an acute situation developing into a more chronic spiral of decreasing performance?

Depending on clinical presentation, the first step is to exclude medical conditions. Potential infective causes include Epstein Barr virus (particularly in young athletes), Lyme disease and Weil’s disease. Systemic inflammatory conditions should be considered. Endocrine and metabolic causes include pituitary, gonadal, adrenal, thyroid dysfunction, blood sugar control, and malabsorption.

If medical conditions are excluded, attention should turn to the athlete’s energy balance in the context of adherence to the current training plan. Potential causes of underperformance, the inability to improve in training and competition, are illustrated in the diagram above.

Athletes in the upper right quadrant fail to live up to performance expectations, in spite of maintaining a good energy balance while adhering to the prescribed training plan. However, they may represent non-functional overreaching, where overload is not balanced with sufficient recovery. In other words, the periodisation of training and recovery is not optimised. The balance between chronic training load (fitness) and acute training load (fatigue) provides a useful metric for assessing form. Heart rate variability (HRV) can be another potentially useful measure in detecting aerobic, endurance fatigue. If the training plan is not producing the expected improvements, then this plan needs revising. Don’t forget that sleep is essential to facilitate endocrine driven adaptations to exercise training.

Athletes in the lower right quadrant are of more concern. Inadequate energy balance, especially during periods of increased training load or intentional weight loss, can be a cause of underperformance, despite the athlete being able to adhere to the training plan. This would correspond to being at risk of developing relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) on the amber warning in the risk stratification laid out by the International Olympic Committee.

Both of these groups are able to adhere to a training plan, but suboptimal training and recovery periodisation and/or insufficient energy intake can produce a situation of underperformance. Intervention is required to prevent them moving into the clusters on the left, representing a more chronic underperformance scenarios that are therefore more difficult to rectify.

Athletes in the upper left quadrant exhibit overtraining syndrome: a prolonged maladaptation process accompanied by a decrease in performance (not merely stagnation) and inability to adhere to training plan. The metric of decreased HRV and inability of heart rate to accelerate in response to exercise have been suggested as markers of overtraining.

Those athletes in the lower left quadrant fall into the RED-S category, where multiple interacting Endocrine networks are impacted by an energy deficient state. RED-S not only impairs sports performance, but impacts both current and future health. For example low endogenous levels of sex steroids and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) disrupt formation of bone microarchitecture and bone mineralisation, resulting in increased risk of recurrent stress fracture in addition to potentially irreversible bone loss in the longer term. In cases of recurrent injury and underperformance amongst athletes it is imperative to exclude Endocrine dysfunction and then consider whether RED-S is the fundamental cause.

There are many potential causes of underperformance in athletes. Once medical conditions have been excluded, the main aim should be to prevent acute situations becoming chronic and therefore more difficult to resolve.

For further discussion on Endocrine and Metabolic aspects of SEM come to the BASEM annual conference 22/3/18: Health, Hormones and Human Performance

References

Sport Endocrinology Dr N. Keay, British Journal of Sport Medicine 2017

Sport Performance and RED-S, insights from recent Annual Sport and Exercise Medicine and Innovations in Sport and Exercise Nutrition Conferences Dr N.Keay, British Journal of Sport Medicine 2017

Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport CPD module for British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine

Optimal Health: For All Athletes! Part 4 – Mechanisms, Dr N. Keay, British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine

Balance of recovery and adaptation for sports performance Dr N. Keay, British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine

Sleep for health and sports performance Dr N. Keay, British Journal of Sport Medicine

Optimal health: including female athletes! Part 1 Bones Dr N.Keay, British Journal of Sport Medicine

Inflammation: why and how much? Dr N. Keay, British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine

Fatigue, Sport Performance and Hormones… Dr N.Keay, British Journal of Sport Medicine

Part 3: Training Stress Balance—So What? Joe Friel

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Science for Sport

Relative Energy Deficiency in sport (REDs) Lecture by Professor Jorum Sundgot-Borgen, IOC working group on female athlete triad and IOC working group on body composition, health and performance. BAEM Spring Conference 2015.

Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of the Overtraining Syndrome: Joint Consensus Statement of the European College of Sport Science and the American College of
Sports Medicine. Joint Consensus Statement. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 2012