The Biochemical Basis of Sports Performance

by Ronald J. Maughan, Michael Gleeson

Some understanding of the biochemistry of exercise is fundamental to any study of the factors that contribute to sports performance. It is the physical, chemical and biochemical properties of cells and tissues that determine the physiological responses to exercise, and yet the teaching of
exercise biochemistry is poorly developed compared with its focus on thermodynamics, chemical structures and metabolic pathways. Many students find the subject difficult, when it should not be so. The aim of this book is to introduce the student of sports science or exercise physiology to the
biochemical processes that underpin exercise performance and the adaptations that occur with training. The focus is on skeletal muscle metabolism and the provision of energy for working muscles. We have tried in this book to introduce the principles of exercise biochemistry in a context that is
immediately relevant to the student of sports science. This has meant abandoning the traditional approach of working through the main classes of biomolecules and the major metabolic pathways. Instead, we have tackled the subject by considering the biochemical processes involved in energy provision
for different sports events and the way in which limitations in the energy supply can cause fatigue and thus limit performance. Recovery from exercise is important for athletes who train and compete with only a limited rest period, and the biochemical processes that fuel the different activities
that contribute to sport are the focus of this book, together with the changes that occur with training and the role of diet in providing the necessary fuels. Sporting talent is a rare gift inherited by the elite athlete from his or her parents, and a brief description of the basis of heredity is
included.

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 2004

Reviews

[Sebastien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introductory resource on exercise bioenergetics/biochemistry; however, it is by no means a "bible," or close to it, for the said field, but more of a "primer" to introduce the integration of how biochemistry, chemistry, etc can be useful in addition to exercise physiology. A few things I did not like: first, sometimes the information is too dumbed-down, and lacks details to possible questions arising from reading the chapters; second, I am not fond of resources that do not numerate references to give direction from where the information written/graphed is based on, and instead group it as suggested further reading, which is what this textbook does; finally, sometimes I found the material to be slightly "all over the place" possibly due to, I think, the chapters' organization (by athletic event instead of specific subjects)