GSK HPL and the Brownlee Brothers take their first steps on the road to Rio
Posted
22/07/2015
Featuring
Brownlee Brothers
World Champion triathletes
This June, the GSK Human Performance Lab welcomed Jonathan and Alistair Brownlee, the day after their London ITU Triathlon. Olympic champion Alistair claimed his second win of the World Triathlon Series after blowing away the field in London; however brother Jonny was unfortunately left further back due to suffering from a tyre puncture. Mixed emotions from the day before did not stop both brothers entering the lab in high spirits for what was their fourth day of testing at the facility.
The Brownlees are nearly three quarters of the way through the 2015 World Triathlon Series. There are only four events left to complete, with the grand final in Chicago on the 20th September. Jonny and Alistair have both won two races each, out of a total of six so far, but the most important date in both their minds is not Chicago. That title belongs to 5th August 2015 marking one year to go until the 2016 Rio Olympics. With this huge milestone just around the corner, this assessment day was set up to prepare the boys as they take their first steps on the road to Rio.
On the day, the main focus was a series of heat tolerance tests in the GSK Human Performance Lab’s environmental chamber, arguably the most important bit of kit Team GB athletes have at their disposal to give them the best chance of victory in Rio. The chamber replicates temperature and humidity conditions - in this instance, Rio - to understand the Brownlee’s individual responses to heat exposure.
By simulating conditions in Rio, it’s possible to see how the boys respond, using that data to develop bespoke nutrition strategies with the aim of improving their performance
Measuring their responses in core temperature and their physiological response to these conditions will help Ali and Jonny prepare better to perform in what could be a very challenging climate.
A range of assessments carried out on the day gathered information on their individual sweat rates, sodium, potassium and electrolyte losses during exercise and changes in blood plasma volume.Part of the acclimation work the HPL has been doing with Alistair and Jonathan has been using the data above to develop a range of bespoke drinks. These drinks will be used in training and races in the lead up to Rio, helping to replenish nutrients the boys have lost but also to guard against any gut discomfort.
As Matt Furber, Senior Scientist at the GSK Human Performance Lab explains; “It’s common for athletes when exercising in the heat to suffer from some form of gastro-intestinal or stomach cramping because of the additional environmental stress. By understanding the individual’s response to exercise in acclimation sessions we run at the GSK HPL, we’re able to advise the athlete on a nutrition strategy and develop special formulation drinks to help prevent suffering from any gut discomfort when racing in the heat. Being brothers does not mean you have the same response in physiology and performance. This means it is important to take each athlete as an individual so the testing done was designed to develop a bespoke strategy specific to each of the brother’s individual needs. Measuring their responses in core temperature and their physiological response to these conditions will help Ali and Jonny prepare better to perform in what could be a very challenging climate."
Watch the Brownlee brothers start their preparation for Rio 2016 in the GSK HPL.
It was clear from the boys' body language that they enjoy visiting the GSK HPL, learning more about themselves to give them a greater chance of replicating their London 2012 performances. Alistair Brownlee said, “Coming to a place like the GSK Human Performance Lab is about getting the finer details right. When it comes to the Olympic Games you want to prepare in the best way possible for the event, covering all eventualities. One of those eventualities is that it could be very hot and humid so that’s what we’ve been working on here - preparing for Rio conditions where hydration and nutrition strategies will be absolutely key to our performance. The formulation drinks the GSK HPL scientists have produced cover all eventualities, so hopefully this will give me an edge over the other athletes”.
Jonathan Brownlee also made it very clear where the majority of his training is focussed. “Rio is now only 14 months away, which is incredible because 2012 doesn’t feel that long ago. It’s getting very, very exciting because there’s the possibility of getting selected for Rio at the test event in August, then it’ll come round very quick after that”.
Read about the scientific research with other elite athletes being undertaken at the GSK HPL in the Sporting Elite section of the site.
