"Don’t worry about thresholds or numbers. Nature doesn’t either."

What do you currently see as the biggest enduring "sports" myth?

What do you currently see as the biggest enduring “sports” myth?

There are many myths, and I’m not sure which one I’d call the biggest. Maybe I’ll mention two or three—based on age groups.

First

It’s neither possible nor, in my opinion, ethically acceptable to determine whether a child has talent for a specific sport based on one-time tests or simple measurements, and then recommend what sport they should pursue. Not only is it such a multifactorial issue that accurate prediction simply doesn’t exist, but this approach harms not only the child, but also those around them.

Second

Genetics. I know that today there are options to test everything from children to elite athletes, supposedly revealing their genetic profile and predisposition for endurance or speed sports. I’m sorry, but my professional opinion is that this is complete nonsense and a way to take money from trusting people. It cannot and does not work based on the current state of scientific knowledge. If it took us 40 years to understand lactate (and I’m still not sure we fully understand it), then we’re at least 50 years away from being able to validly use genetics to predict athletic performance.

Third

Trainability of aerobic capacity – VO2 max. We still encounter the belief that VO2 max is largely innate. Of course, genetic predispositions play a role, but with proper training, VO2 max can be increased in practically anyone capable of training. Naturally, this doesn’t apply to the ill, but that’s a different story. And this brings us back to points one and two. There’s no such thing as a “non-responder” to training—it’s just training that’s conducted in a way that doesn’t induce change. Just look at the foundation of training theory – the General Adaptation Syndrome. It explains everything that might initially seem to make no sense or appear ineffective.

Let’s quote an anonymous statement:

“The most important source of energy are carbohydrates, which play a decisive role during intense efforts…”

What can we say to that?

It took around 40 years to debunk the lactate myth—that lactic acid causes muscle pain. So, with carbohydrates, we probably have another 30 years before proper understanding takes hold. The truth is, opinions shift and evolve a bit every year. The problem is also that there are two militant camps—“carb-heavy” and “low-carb”—and they don’t listen to each other. Yet we now know that the ability to flexibly use both fuel sources dynamically at low and high intensities—so-called metabolic flexibility—is a key factor for success, especially in endurance sports.

To make things even more complicated, some quickly realized the commercial potential of the term “metabolic flexibility” and now claim to assess it using a 10-minute VO2 max test. But that’s fundamentally impossible. If you want to properly assess metabolic flexibility, including preparation, the test can’t be done in under two hours.

The full text is published at behejsrdcem.com.