Energy drinks or coffee: the same promises, different effects?
In the collective imagination, coffee and energy drinks serve the same purpose: staying awake, concentrating, stimulating attention, and enhancing physical performance. Yet, from a scientific point of view, they are not equivalent products. Their composition differs, as does their regulatory framework, as well as their effects on the body and the brain. I therefore suggest […]
Resistance Training and Adolescence: Safety, Growth, and Health Effects
For decades, resistance training in adolescents raised skepticism and concern. Negative effects on growth, injuries to growth plates, and an increased risk of musculoskeletal trauma were frequently cited. Today, however, the scientific literature allows us to approach the issue with far greater nuance and clarity. The data accumulated over the past twenty years converge toward […]
Insulin Spikes and the “Glycemic Roller Coaster”: What the Data Actually Show
Insulin is one of the hormones most discussed in the fitness world (just ahead of cortisol). Its critical importance in carbohydrate management is often emphasized, and it is rare to see it mentioned without an association with weight management. At regular intervals, the idea that insulin “spikes” lead to weight gain resurfaces—more specifically, the idea […]
Inside HYROX®: Quantifying Systemic Load, Peripheral Fatigue, and the Cost of Transitions
Hybrid or multimodal competitions, such as HYROX®, combine running segments with standardized functional exercise stations. The rapid succession of these sequences requires a strong ability to manage quick transitions between efforts of different types1. What is a HYROX® competition? A HYROX® race includes 8 distinct stations interspersed with running. Table 1 summarizes the sequence, including the various distances and […]
Cortisol, a Misunderstood Hormone
Cortisol is often presented as “the stress hormone,” which isn’t wrong, but it remains a largely incomplete label. In reality, cortisol is more the hormone of change or adaptation than that of stress. Without cortisol, it would be difficult to properly maintain blood glucose between meals, modulate inflammation, or even adapt to physical exertion or […]
Semaglutides and co.
Semaglutides (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, etc.) are part of a new generation of medications that have changed how we approach two very common and often related diseases: type 2 diabetes and obesity. Initially, these treatments were designed to help control blood sugar. But within a few years, a clinical observation shifted their status: in many patients, […]
Beyond Type I vs Type II: A Continuum Model of Skeletal Muscle Plasticity
“Type I” (slow, oxidative) versus “Type II” (fast, glycolytic) labels simplify a richer reality: mammalian—and thus human—muscles display a continuum of phenotypes or expression profiles, with hybrid fibers and transitions induced by training, innervation, and environment. This plasticity challenges the idea of “fixed” profiles and underscores that adaptations depend mainly on recruitment, effort, effective volume […]
Stop the Hype: What Actually Drives Progress in Training
The fitness world runs on trends. You’re promised the ultimate transformation with the latest “in” concept: a new reel, the gym’s miracle method, a flashy influencer, or a coach flown in from some faraway land where “everything’s better.” And yet, we often fall for it without analyzing what this “novelty” really is. Every time someone […]
Rethinking Body Composition in Athletes: From % Body Fat to FMI, FFMI and Energy Availability
Essential distinction: body fat percentage vs fat mass People often confuse “body fat percentage” (% body fat) with “fat mass.” Body fat percentage is a ratio: fat mass divided by total body weight. It therefore depends on both the amount of fat and total mass (lean + water + bone). Two people of the same […]
Crunches Won’t Melt Belly Fat: The Real Plan That Does…
“50 sit-ups a day for 30 days” challenges, the quest for a “flat stomach,” 100% crunch routines… The idea that you can “burn belly fat” by working your abs remains very popular. Some already know: you don’t lose fat locally. Yet many people devote a large portion of their training to abs, hoping to dislodge […]