Connecting Science & Practice

Here you will find tips and advice for coaches and elite athletes, as well as recreational exercisers and beginners. The articles are written by researchers from the Swedish Winter Sports Centre based on current research and established knowledge.

This happens inside your body when the indoor temperature is lowered

In times of energy shortages and electricity savings, we are encouraged to lower the temperature indoors. But what happens to the body when the degrees are lowered and when does it become dangerous? Erika Schagatay is a professor of zoophysiology, the study of how bodies work. She has the answers.

Strength training strategies to improve endurance performance

There is evidence that endurance performance can be improved by the inclusion of strength training methods to an endurance training programme. This is a summary of the scientific findings and also some evidence based recommendations for improving endurance performance via strength training.

Wearing compression garments during exercise and in recovery

Compression garments were originally developed for clinical patients, but have become increasingly popular among athletes. Manufacturers claim that compression garments can improve performance when worn during exercise and enhance recovery when worn after exercise.

Laboratory testing – more than just numbers on a piece of paper

Whether reading scientific articles on sports physiology or newspaper articles about sports, one is faced with information in terms of numbers and results. In the case of goals scored in a hockey match, it is obvious what the numbers mean, but when it comes to test results it is important to know more about the methods behind the results, how the numbers are produced, how precise the results are and, not least, how to interpret them.

Athlete Monitoring in Cross-Country Skiing

During the 2018-2019 season, the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre and the Swedish Ski Federation will be commencing a longitudinal project focusing on athlete monitoring whithin cross-country skiing. The aim is to better understand the complex relationships between training load, daily stress, recovery, illness and other factors that affect performance. The findings will be analysed and presented in a way that can help skiers to train and perform better.

Cross-country skiing and warm-up

Here is a set of evidence-guided recommendations for warm-up before cross-country skiing, written by Kerry McGawley, Director of the Swedish Winter Sports Centre.

The page was updated 9/2/2019