How to Treat Tennis Elbow Without Surgery
Tennis elbow can be a pain in the butt, or actually the arm, and prevent you from playing tennis. Fortunately we have some treatment options for you that don’t require surgery. In last week’s episode you could take a look inside a professional training session with Swiss National Junior Tennis Champion Alexander Ritschard. Ok, so...
Aerobic ATP Production and Energy System Efficiency
Aerobic ATP production is important for on-court tennis performance and hence understanding how the body converts foods into energy aerobically makes sense if you want to perform well. Did you know that the aerobic energy system only converts approximately 34% of the potential energy from foods into biologically usable energy? Following I will explain how...
Glycolysis Explained: How Glucose Breakdown Provides Energy
Glycolysis, the “splitting of glucose”, is the breakdown of glucose or glycogen in order to provide ATP, which occurs in the liver and in the sarcoplasm of muscle cells. Glycolysis is the energy system that predominantly provides energy for higher-intensity activities lasting 15-90 seconds and it provides a net gain of 2-3 ATP. Glycolysis Explained: Splitting of...
Why High Protein Diets Can Impair Your Performance
High protein diets are very popular among athletes for various reasons yet they can contribute to a decrease in performance. Weather it is losing body weight or gaining muscle mass, many athletes go on a high protein diet for different reasons yet they often times neglect to adjust their drinking behavior accordingly. What they don’t...
How to Pick High Protein Quality Foods
Consuming protein is essential when you want to gain muscle mass or aid the muscle recovery process after tough matches or practice session yet protein quality varies. Sure, protein supplements can be helpful yet you can also get high quality protein from your diet if you make the right food choices. On the other hand...
What is Fat?
Fat belongs to the group of nutrients called lipids and they are available in three forms. Fat is the preferred fuel source during aerobic activities. What Is Fat? Fat belongs to the group of nutrients called lipids and they are available in three forms but only one yields energy, triglycerides! Stored body fat is an...
What is Glycogen?
What is glycogen? It is the storage form of glucose and it’s being stored in the liver and in muscle cells and can be broken down quickly to provide energy! What is Glycogen? The storage form of glucose in the body is glycogen, which is a complex carbohydrate (polysaccharide) stored in animal tissue, and glycogen...
What is Glucose?
Glucose, also known as blood sugar, is a monosaccharide that can be found in foods and the body uses it for energy. It provides almost all the energy in the human brain and it is the body’s preferential source of energy during exercise but it cannot be eaten directly. The body takes carbohydrates, breaks them down,...
Introducing Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the body’s preferred source of energy during a tennis match. They play different roles depending on their form. Carbohydrates are the ideal form of energy during anaerobic metabolism (short duration/high intensity activities; e.g. 100m sprint). At the molecular level a carbohydrate atom consists of: 6 carbon (C) molecules 12 hydrogen (H) molecules 6...
