When people are asked what sports are at high risk for concussions, the first answers are typically American football, boxing, or even slap fighting. Rarely is mountain biking mentioned, but it is about time the sport takes concussions seriously. In gravity mountain biking disciplines like downhill, athletes are speeding down uneven terrain at over 70 kmh. There’s a reason we wear a helmet.
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Throughout April we looked at team at preparing athletes for contact. Our team of contributors put together 2 new podcasts and 5 new articles on the topic from 8 contributors. Find links to both our new and archived resources on contact below.
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When it comes to contact sport, body armor is a hot topic. This makes sense: armor protects you. But there is a problem as well: in the world of physical preparation armor is shorthand for size. In the real world that is hardly the case. The best combat armor is not the biggest. There is a reason modern soldiers don’t go onto the battlefield dressed as a medieval knight. To be effective armor has to be strong. It needs to allow movement. It needs to protect the most vulnerable parts. It needs to connect to the body. Size is the least concern in most cases.
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Snow sports run the gamut from acrobatic jumping and high speed downhill, to long distance endurance. Tschana Schiller has supported them all in more than a decade with US Ski and Snowboard. Athletes face unique demands on the snow, and she looks to find the best ways to support them off the snow. She joins us on this week’s episode to talk about the demands of snow sports, with a deeper look at cross-country skiing and supporting athletes remotely through velocity-based training. Read more
Most sports you work against gravity. In others, you work with gravity. In downhill mountain biking, gravity helps take you from the top of the hill to the bottom. Gravity can still abuse riders, but the best turn the tables and use it to their advantage. Chris Kilmurray joins us on this week’s podcast to discuss the sport, what drives performance, and training methods. Read more
