56 - Paralympian Erica Gavel

If you're an endurance athlete of colour and want to take us up on our offer to help you in this sport, please get in touch [https://x3training.com/contact/].  And if you like the show, please support us [https://ei.supercast.tech/]! * 9:15 Erica’s study on the effect of using a menthol mouth rinse on cycling time trial performance in female athletes * One prior study in males suggested efficacy, but there were no studies on females in the literature * Study aimed to simulated women’s road TT (30k) in hot and humid conditions expected in the Tokyo Olympics * Participants rinsed their mouths with 30mL of menthol solution every 5k of the TT * Average decrease in time to completion of the TT was 2.5% * 13:30 the mechanism of action of the mouth rinse is not very well understood, but thought to be related to the perception of effort * 16:15 effects of the mouth rinse on other physiological metrics: * Average mechanical power increased compared with control * With power held constant, RPE was lower than the control * 18:45 earlier study on male cyclists saw a similar magnitude of effect * 21:00 use of progesterone-based IUD contraceptive devices did not appear to blunt the effects of the mouth rinse * 21:30 alcohol-free mouthwash is a good commercial source of menthol * 26:15 the central governor model of performance may explain effects of psychological ergogenic effects of mouth rinses and motivational self-talk among other techniques * 29:30 the role of a positive attitude in sports and life * 31:00 the path from a grad study to adoption at the olympic level of competition * 34:00 thermal regulation for wheelchair rugby * 36:36 para athletes do not sweat below the site of the spinal lesion, making thermal regulation much more difficult * 42:00 there are many opportunities to make a real difference in the paralympic space * 46:45 para athletes are like every other athlete: it’s all about performance within your unique limitations