This week in the world of sports science, here’s what happened…
- Karsten Warholm’s bizarre hexagonal bar exercise
- Keto gummies: Are they worth the hype?
- Shohei Ohtani suffers a nasty UCL injury
Karsten Warholm’s bizarre hexagonal bar exercise
This past week the World Athletics Championships took place in Budapest. Karsten Warholm was yet again one of the star performers. The Norwegian 400 m hurdler claimed his third World Championship gold medal. Considering Warholm’s recent success, a bizarre training video has resurfaced again.
In fact, the training methods of the reigning Olympic champion and World record holder have long been a subject of debate. In the video, Warholm sets up a loaded hexagonal bar inside a Smith Machine. He then performs a very uncommon ballistic exercise with the hexagonal bar. When previously asked about this bizarre exercise, his coach replied, “We are not competing in weightlifting, we are competing in running”.
So, what is the verdict on this exercise? The hexagonal bar can add more safety to specific exercises such as the deadlift, farmer’s walk, shrugs, etc. Therefore, it is best to stick to safe and effective hexagonal bar exercises and avoid Warholm’s hexagonal bar exercise!
Keto gummies: Are they worth the hype?
The Keto diet is a popular diet that involves the consumption of high-fat foods. The concept of the Keto diet is that your body enters ketosis whereby ketones (fatty acids) are used for energy rather than glucose obtained from carbohydrates. Followers of the Keto diet believe being in ketosis aids in fat loss.
Keto gummies are a food supplement loaded with exogenous ketones that help keep the body in ketosis. The proposed benefits of Keto gummies are increased weight loss and improved athletic performance. However, a recent article with dietician Beth Czerwony has shown the research on the benefits of Keto gummies and their potential to keep the body in ketosis is inconclusive.
In fact, according to Czerwony, there may be potential side effects associated with Keto gummies such as nausea, vomiting, and low blood sugar. Until more conclusive scientific evidence, the benefits of Keto gummies are questionable.
Shohei Ohtani suffers a nasty UCL injury
Lost Angeles Angels Baseball star Shohei Ohtani has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ulnar collateral ligament tear (UCL). The recent awareness of ACL injuries and prevention strategies has been very positive. However, UCL injury awareness is still quite poor.
A UCL injury is a tear in a ligament located on the inside of the elbow. UCL injuries are generally caused by repetitive overarm throwing actions that place stress on the ligament. Surgery may be needed to heal the injury and it can take many months to recover from.
There are potential symptoms associated with the onset of UCL injuries that should not be ignored.
- A “pop” noise from the elbow
- Pain on the inside of the elbow after throwing or overarm activity practice
- Pain during a throwing action prior to the release of the ball
- Numbness of tingling of the pinkie and ring finger
We wish Ohtani a full and speedy recovery!
From us this week:
>> New course: S&C for Goalkeepers
>> New podcast: How To Use Gym-Based Training To Rocket Your Speed
>> New infographic: Short vs. Long Muscle Length Training To Maximise Hypertrophy?
>> New article: Skinfold Calipers
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I hope you enjoyed this week’s roundup of the hottest sports science news, and as always, we’ll be back next week with more to keep you at the forefront of the industry.
