Does Canada’s “Top Secret” research undermine the Olympic spirit?

Of the $117 million spent by Canada’s “Own the Podium” initiative over the past five years, $7.5 million has been allocated to a research program called “Top Secret.” This program aims to produce exclusive technologies that will help Canadian athletes win medals at the 2010. For the most part, it’s the kind of thing you’d …

Antioxidant vitamins, exercise and muscle damage: another nail in the coffin?

Back in May, there was a flurry of excitement about a study suggesting that antioxidants might block some of the beneficial effects of exercise (heightened insulin sensitivity, to be specific). A new study in this month’s issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise now offers additional evidence for another proposed downside of antioxidant …

Fixing tennis elbow with a “rubber bar” [updated with pics]

[updated to include pictures of how to do the exercise] The annual meeting of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine is taking place right now in Colorado. Among the research being presented is a new approach to “tennis elbow,” which apparently affects three percent of the population. The study took 21 patients and gave …

Tired brains, sprint supplements, and tunes that make you faster

The July-August issue of Canadian Running is on newsstands now, which means the latest “Science of Running” column is available online. Topics covered: why mental fatigue can slow you down as much as physical fatigue; how a supplement called beta-alanine can boost your sprint finish even at the end of a long race; how running …