Alex Hutchinson: Brain Training to Boost Performance, Plus: Concurrent Training and Static Stretching – What’s the Bottom Line?

Alex Hutchinson is a writer, physicist and athlete who is a wealth of information on everything in the exercise science world. Alex’s popular blog Sweat Science is featured on runnersworld.com/sweat-science, and on it he highlights the best research going on involving running, endurance sport, athletic performance, nutrition and more. His book: Which Comes First Cardio or Weights  is another fabulous source of research-backed truths on the science of exercise.
On this show we cover three major topics including:
Brain training

• Brain Training Boost Endurance
• The concepts of brain training and combining cognitive and physical tasks,
• What are the results?
• How does this differ from and relate to the Central Governor Theory,
• Mental training athletes were “training themselves to tolerate a harder perceived effort, so when the cognitive task was removed, the effort felt easier.”
• When should you avoid the cognitive and just focus on the physical?
• Practical applications and takeaways from this approach? is it worth it?
• Brain Plasticity in Skill vs. Endurance Sports,
• What is brain plasticity?
• Why do skill athletes show greater motor cortex plasticity?
• Always learning vs. mastering a sport so you go on “autopilot” – pros and cons.
• Personal examples from Alex and Tawnee,
• Brain Training in Your Training Program:
  – Thoughts on how we can tie together our brain and training (mind body connection) — i.e. listening to our bodies as the best way to decide how to workout – intensity, duration, etc.
  – Mention of Run by Matt Fitzgerald,
• More on brain training,
• Mental imagery.

Concurrent training

• Setting the record straight: Does strength training hinder endurance adaptations? Is it generally good or bad for runners or triathletes – and does the type/intensity of strength training depend?
• What does the research say on order of strength vs endurance if you are to do them as back-to-back workouts? Again, does the type of workout for each matter?
• Lunge matrix example.

Stretching pre-workout

• The research on static stretching before a workout? Ya or nay?
• No research to show that stretching reduces injury risk, and in fact it can have negative consequences on RPE, etc.
• Alex’s standup desk mentioned.

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