#83 - Applying Sport Science: Lessons learnt from the Olympics and the NBA with Dr David Martin

Dr Glenn McConell chats with Dr David Martin. David has a remarkable and varied background starting off as a research scientist at the Australian Institute Sport and then National Sports Science Coordinator at Cycling Australia. He then became Director, Performance Research and Development at the Philadelphia 76ers. He is currently Chief Scientist, Director of Performance at Apeiron Life, San Francisco where he works to improve the healthspan of high net worth individuals. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Australian Catholic University. We talked about all of this with a focus on the importance of belief systems in sports performance, how placebo effects are real, the use of placebos/belief effects in sports etc. A really interesting chat. I learned a lot. Twitter: davidtmartin
0:00. Introduction to podcast and David Martin
3:20. Testing Lance Armstrong and Cadel Evans
8:00. Thermoregulation, Heat susceptibility
9:10. Derek Clayton
10:35. Amy Gillett Foundation
11:40. Physiological attributes vs belief for exercise performance
18:05. Cycling selection camps based on combat selection
23:00. Belief effect
25:20. Placebo effect of altitude training
33:25. Does EPO (Erythropoietin) have its own effects on perf etc?
38:00. Placebo effects on pain and depression etc
42:00. The “I went to Harvard” /credentials etc effect
45:05. Lying to win and Belief vs evidence
47:05. How handle if mismatch between belief and evidence
53:20. Real physiological effects of placebos
1:01:40. How much of perf effect of CHO ingestion is belief effect
1:03:10. Believable vs well informed people in sports team
1:05:40. Importance of belief in the coach
1:09:40. Physiological needs of the specific sport
1:13:40. David and the Philadelphia 76ers
1:19:00. NBA and trust/protection/managing
1:23:53. His ideas and finishing up at the Philadelphia 76ers
1:26:20. Regretted not going fully into academia?
1:28:22. Rather fight 1000 x 1lb chickens or 1 x 1000 lb chicken?
1:30:24. Balancing S&C needs and the coaches needs
1:32:55. Reducing injuries in team sports
1:34:55. Importance of pre-season conditioning
1:35:40. Balance of winning vs how much money can make
1:38:40. Lower body strength in NBA vs track cyclists
1:41:18. Improving healthspans of high net worth individuals
1:53:10. A focus on healthspan rather than lifespan
1:58:55. Evidence base re supplements
2:03:45. Miss the adrenaline of working with athletes?
2:05:12. Outro
Inside Exercise brings to you the who's who of research in exercise metabolism, exercise physiology and exercise’s effects on health. With scientific rigor, these researchers discuss popular exercise topics while providing practical strategies for all.
The interviewer, Emeritus Professor Glenn McConell, has an international research profile following 30 years of Exercise Metabolism research experience while at The University of Melbourne, Ball State University, Monash University, the University of Copenhagen and Victoria University.
He has published over 120 peer reviewed journal articles and recently edited an Exercise Metabolism eBook written by world experts on 17 different topics (link.springer.com/book/10.100....
Connect with Inside Exercise and Glenn McConell at:
Twitter: @Inside_exercise and @GlennMcConell1
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LinkedIn: Glenn McConell / glenn-mcconell-83475460
ResearchGate: Glenn McConell
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Not medical advice

[@eitangelber7008]

I have a great belief in Dr. Martin. Beyond being, smart, knowledgeable, creative, and innovative thinker, he is also an amazing human being!

[@MrHeitoroliveirasant]

I love your work! Congrats! I would be amazing working with you in the field of research!

[@richardfricke6806]

looking forward to watching this one!!

[@marilenachristopoulou9732]

I absolutely love your podcast and I have learned a lot from it. I agree with you that most people don’t need any supplements and I am always very skeptical of them. However I think it is worth mentioning cases where supplements are useful and indeed important for one’s health. For example I can never have normal iron levels without supplementing. I have tried many times and I always end up deficient. I have a very healthy, mostly plant based, diet but in this case it is not enough. Vitamin D is also another supplement necessary for half the year if you live in central or Northern Europe and cannot get enough sunlight exposure. Vitamin B12 is another one that seems to be causing me issues in athletic performance. I would love it if you could have a chat about that particular one. From what I have seen lower levels of B12, within the normal range, cause significant drop in performance and supplementation reverses it completely. If you ever have an expert on such matters I would love to hear their thoughts.