Science for Sport Podcast

342: Moving Beyond Aerobic and Anaerobic Training Labels

October 19th, 2026  |  36 mins 4 secs

aerobic training, anaerobic training, combat sports conditioning, conditioning, elite sport, energy systems, football conditioning, heart rate recovery, high-intensity intermittent sports, high-intensity interval training, individualised conditioning, james de lacey, low-intensity training, muscle oxygenation, near-infrared spectroscopy, nirs, oxygen delivery, oxygen utilisation, repeated sprint ability, repeated sprint performance, richard graves, rugby conditioning, science for sport, science for sport podcast, sports science, sprint interval training, strength and conditioning, sweet science of fighting, training prescription, vo2 max

James de Lacey joins Richard Graves to challenge how aerobic and anaerobic labels shape conditioning in high-intensity intermittent sports. They discuss recovery between repeated efforts, the distinction between oxygen delivery and muscle oxygen use, and how testing can inform more individual training decisions. James also explains where he sees sprint intervals and low-intensity work fitting alongside the demands of sport practice.

341: Preparing Athletes for Pressure and Adversity

October 12th, 2026  |  32 mins 15 secs

adversity in sport, antifragility, athlete burnout, athlete development, athlete wellbeing, coaching, dr nick holton, elite sport, flow state, human flourishing, mental performance, mental skills training, mindfulness, myedge, nick holton, performance psychology, positive psychology, pressure in sport, psychological flexibility, recovery, resilience, richard graves, science for sport, sport psychology, sports psychology, sports science, stress management, sustainable performance, the antifragile academy, visualisation

Can athletes develop through pressure rather than simply bounce back from it? Dr Nick Holton joins Richard Graves to explore antifragility, the role of carefully managed challenges, and the balance between performance, recovery and wellbeing. They discuss practical considerations for coaches and practitioners, alongside the questions researchers still need to answer about measuring and applying antifragility in sport.

340: What Saliva Testing Can Tell Us About Athletes

October 5th, 2026  |  21 mins 14 secs

athlete health, athlete monitoring, biolyz, biomarker testing, cortisol, elite sport, football performance, illness monitoring, individual baselines, injury risk, marlon millard, performance data, recovery monitoring, richard graves, saliva testing, salivary biomarkers, science for sport, sports science, training load

Richard Graves speaks with Biolyz founder Marlon Millard about the use of frequent saliva testing in elite sport. They discuss individual baselines, cortisol, the need to interpret biomarker trends alongside training and wellness data, and the potential and current limits of using those data to anticipate problems.

339: Can a Playing Surface Change How an Athlete Moves?

September 28th, 2026  |  36 mins 57 secs

alan thomson, artificial turf, athlete performance, athletic field safety, biomechanics, elite football, elite sport, fifa world cup, fifa world cup 2026, football science, footwear surface interaction, green bay packers, hybrid grass, hybrid pitch, injury risk, john sorochan, lambeau field, metlife stadium, natural grass, nfl, nfl player safety, pitch technology, player safety, player surface interaction, playing surface research, playing surfaces, sis grass, sis pitches, soccer science, sport science, sports injuries, sports performance, sports science, sports turf, turf science, turfgrass science, university of tennessee, world cup pitches

Professor John Sorochan from the University of Tennessee and Alan Thomson from SIS Pitches join Richard Graves to explore how playing surfaces influence athlete performance and safety. They discuss the interaction between the athlete, footwear and surface, how elite pitches are tested, the differences between natural, artificial and hybrid turf, and the challenge of creating consistent playing conditions across modern multi-use stadiums. Drawing on their work around the 2026 FIFA World Cup and major US sports venues, they also examine the debate around artificial turf, player preference for natural grass and how hybrid technology could shape the future of elite playing surfaces.

337: Structure, Pacing and Recovery in Fight Preparation

September 14th, 2026  |  33 mins 3 secs

athlete preparation, athletic performance, boxing, brazilian jiu-jitsu, colin byrne, combat sport conditioning, combat sports, conditioning, conor mcgregor, elite sport, endurance training, fatigue, fight preparation, heart rate, interval training, mcgregor fast, mma, nate diaz, one-round principle, overtraining, pacing, performance coaching, performance data, power output, recovery, repeat efforts, rowing, shinobi academy, skill acquisition, sports science, strength and conditioning, training load, ufc, wattbike

Performance coach Colin Byrne joins Richard Graves to discuss why many combat athletes train too much without preparing specifically enough. Drawing on seven years working with Conor McGregor, Colin explains the conditioning changes made after the first Nate Diaz fight, the importance of separating skill work from physical preparation and why recovery between intense efforts can decide contests. He also introduces his “one-round principle” and explains what combat sports can learn from cycling’s measurement-led approach.

336: How the NFL’s Best Practitioners Use Performance Data

September 7th, 2026  |  29 mins 38 secs

american football, applied sports science, athlete monitoring, athlete preparation, athlete readiness, catapult, catapult sports, college football, data analytics, elite sport, football performance, gps tracking, high performance sport, injury prevention, injury risk, jamie hepner, load management, ncaa football, nfl, performance analysis, performance data, performance technology, player availability, player tracking, practice load, practitioner decision making, sport science, sports science, sports technology, strength and conditioning, training load, training prescription, vector 8, video analysis, wearable technology

Jamie Hepner joins Richard Graves to explain how NFL and college football teams are moving beyond simply collecting performance data and using it to shape practice, manage player availability and improve preparation. They discuss athlete monitoring, training prescription, injury risk and why context and practitioner judgement ultimately determine whether data leads to better decisions.

333: Why Athletes Keep Breaking Down

August 17th, 2026  |  34 mins 45 secs

adaptive potential, biomechanics, body mechanics, compensation, elite sport, football injuries, force plates, golf biomechanics, hamstring rehabilitation, injury prevention, injury rehabilitation, kinetic chain, motor control, motor patterns, movement data, movement quality, movement screening, physiotherapy, return to play, sports physiotherapy, sports science, strength testing

Dave Emsley joins Richard Graves to discuss how movement quality, biomechanics and the body’s capacity to adapt shape injury rehabilitation and performance. The episode examines why practitioners should look beyond symptoms, scans and isolated strength scores to understand the movement patterns and compensations behind recurring problems.

329: The Five Qualities of Speed Development

July 20th, 2026  |  33 mins 20 secs

1080 sprint, acceleration, agility training, american football, athlete monitoring, athlete recovery, athletic performance, catapult gps, change of direction, coaching psychology, college football, conditioning, curved sprinting, deceleration, elite sport, external load, force velocity profiling, high performance sport, horizontal force, individualised training, injury risk reduction, internal load, matt gebert, max velocity, maximum velocity, multidirectional speed, ncaa football, ole miss football, ole miss rebels, performance coaching, player availability, sleep and performance, speed development, sports performance, sports science, sports technology, sprint training, strength and conditioning, training load, velocity-based training, wellness monitoring, work capacity

Richard Graves is joined by Ole Miss Strength and Conditioning Coach Matt Gebert to explore how speed is developed, assessed and managed within an elite college football programme.

Matt explains how acceleration, maximum velocity, deceleration, change of direction and conditioning are trained across different position groups. He also discusses how Ole Miss uses sports science technology to profile athletes, manage training load and support player availability.

The episode provides a practical look at the relationship between speed, data, recovery and coaching judgement, while highlighting why effective performance programmes must be individualised to the physical and psychological needs of each athlete.

328: Blood Flow Restriction at the World Cup

July 13th, 2026  |  26 mins 25 secs

Premier League, athlete monitoring, athlete readiness, bfr, blood flow restriction, circulatory recovery, dr warren bradley, elite football, elite sport, exercise physiology, football performance, hrv, hytro, injury risk reduction, international rugby, long-haul travel, performance recovery, performance support, physiotherapy, player availability, practitioner education, recovery, recovery science, return to play, science for sport, sleep quality, sports medicine, sports physiology, sports science, sports technology, strength and conditioning, tournament football, travel fatigue, wearable technology, world cup

Richard Graves speaks with Dr Warren Bradley about how blood flow restriction is being used in elite sport, with a particular focus on World Cup football. The episode explores BFR as more than a recovery tool, covering its role in travel, tissue priming, injury mitigation, return-to-play and player availability. Warren also challenges the obsession with overly specific data, arguing that practical, consistent application matters when working across elite squads under tournament pressure.

326: Creatine’s Next Chapter with Steve Jennings

June 29th, 2026  |  31 mins 44 secs

ageing, athlete performance, barcelona 1992, brain function, cognition, concussion, creatine, creatine monohydrate, elite sport, fatigue, functional nutrition, healthspan, high intensity performance, jenerise, maxim sports nutrition, nutrition education, olympic sport, performance nutrition, recovery, richard graves, science for sport, sleep deprivation, sports nutrition, sports science, steve jennings, steven jennings, strength and power, women’s health, youth athletes, youth sport

Richard Graves welcomes back Steve Jennings to continue the story of creatine, from its breakthrough in elite sport at Barcelona 1992 to its potential future in cognition, fatigue, brain function, youth sport, women’s health, ageing and everyday human performance. Steve explains why education and context are essential, particularly for parents, schools and practitioners, and discusses how new ingredient technologies could shape the next generation of creatine products.