SSA Blog: Covid-19 - How we have become like elite athletes

The current health pandemic has focused many minds on protecting themselves, their families, their neighbours and for those serving in government, their country. At an individual level, everyone has been called  to play their part. The advice issued here in the UK, as with much of the world centres around social distancing in order to “flatten the curve”. It is hoped this will reduce the speed of viral spread so our health system is able to protect those most vulnerable. 

As a result, sport and other events where people congregate have understandably been cancelled or postponed. This included the annual congress of one of SSA’s clients - The European College of Sport Science. Announcing the postponement, President Dr Erich Muller urged all members and attendees to “stay safe and help their local communities”.  

And sports science does indeed have a part to play. Largely, within professional sport, practitioners are applying their understanding and insight in order to ensure athletes remain fit, healthy and ready to perform. These skill sets, however, can be of benefit to everyone.

For a number of years, researchers believed that intense exercise temporarily decreased immunity and provided an  “open window” for infections. Examining the scientific markers associated with immune function following exercise would seem to support the logic of this position. However, Prof. Neil Walsh in his 2018 paper, Recommendations to Maintain Immune Health in Athletes, highlighted a number of studies demonstrating elite athletes suffered less upper respiratory tract infections than sub-elite counterparts.

Could the reason for these immunological differences between ability levels be due to superior genetics? Are the ultra-elite just more resistant to illness due to innate physiological function? Although some evidence exists to support this idea, according to Walsh & Oliver (2016), a much simpler explanation resides in the lifestyle and performance behaviour of international athletes. They highlight key factors such as better hygiene, infection avoidance, diet, sleep and stress management as areas within which elite athletes have developed improved habits and systems to maintain their health compared to others.

Many people dream of being an elite performer. They want to emulate their heroes and eulogise their skills, abilities and victories. But being able to attain such heights requires not just training but combining a series of performance behaviours that manifest themselves in the moments we, as fans, revere.

As Covid-19 affects all our lives and we are being asked to curtail our behaviour. As sports fans, perhaps we can once again look to our sporting heroes for inspiration. At the elite end of sport, athletes have been practising the following recommendations as part of their performance behaviours for years. It has helped them to maintain health and fitness ensuring they can continue to train and perform despite the continual physical and mental challenge, which has been shown to reduce immune function.

The current recommendations athletes receive are as follows:

1.   Try to avoid sick people (social distancing)

2.   Ensure good hand hygiene (wash your hands)

3.   Avoid self-inoculation (don’t touch your face)

4.   Do not train with below the neck symptoms (feelings of fever or fatigue)

5.   Monitor and manage all forms of stress (physical and mental)

6.   Carefully manage increments in training

7.   Replace overly long training sessions with more frequent spike sessions

8.   Plan recovery

9.   Aim for at least 7 hours of sleep each night

10.   Eat a well-balanced diet

Covid-19 presents a challenge to everyone in society. For some, it has put Olympic dreams and title-winning seasons on hold. For others, it means self-isolation and a test of our social responsibility. One way we can all play our part is to emulate our sporting heroes by introducing elite performance behaviours into our lives. Whether you still dream of making it to the big leagues or just remember when you did, now is your chance to incorporate these recommendations into your life and become a sporting superstar in your own home.

Stay safe everyone

Sport Science Agency uses its insight and expertise to tell performance stories and unlocks their value for brands, broadcasters and rights holders. If you want to know more about what we can do for you, drop us a note via info@sportscienceagency.com and we can arrange to go for a healthy vitamin packed drink.