Welcome to my weekly summary of the latest research from the world of sports science!
These three studies challenge assumptions about recovery, training, and supplementation. Here, we explore how mushroom extracts like cordyceps and reishi may support endurance and recovery, that cold- and hot-water immersion may work more through belief than biology, and why well-trained women can safely keep training through pregnancy—read on.
Mushroom Supplements May Support Endurance, Recovery, and Resilience in Athletes
This meta-analysis combined data from 8 studies involving 288 athletes to test whether mushroom-based supplements offer real performance or recovery benefits. Around 3 g/day of cordyceps significantly improved endurance performance, ventilatory threshold, and VO₂ peak, showing enhanced aerobic capacity with consistency across studies. Reishi supplementation at ~75 mg/day, meanwhile, reduced blood urea nitrogen and blood lactate, indicating it plays a role in improving recovery, oxygen-carrying capacity, and antioxidant defense.
My thoughts: Mushrooms are a hot topic in the health sciences right now, and this review explains why. The research on athletes is growing fast—and it’s looking surprisingly promising. Improvements in aerobic capacity, recovery markers, and immune resilience could make these extracts valuable tools for endurance athletes… assuming quality and dosage are standardized. I’ll be watching this area closely.
Your Recovery Might Be More Mental Than Physical
This study looked at recovery in national-level soccer players using cold-water immersion, hot-water immersion, or a placebo after sessions. Following a 90-minute simulated match recovery was tracked for 45 hours and long-term effects evaluated after 15-weeks. All groups showed similar declines in performance immediately after the match and at the later follow up. In other words, for these trained soccer players, belief may play a bigger role than biology as cold and hot immersion didn’t speed up recovery or enhance long-term adaptations.
My thoughts: This is a well-designed, real-world test of recovery tools we see everywhere in sport. Makes you think—how much of what we feel is recovery might just be belief? And how would this differ in endurance athletes or overreaching sports like marathons?
High-Intensity Training Can Be Safe During Pregnancy
This study tracked 132 women who did CrossFit training during their pregnancies and compared them to 88 matched controls. There were no differences in miscarriage rates, birth weights, preterm births, or delivery complications between groups. The findings suggest that, in well-trained individuals, continuing CrossFit training into the third trimester may be safe—though the study was small and can’t offer clinical recommendations.
My thoughts: My wife did CrossFit right up to giving birth—and this research backs up that it’s safe, at least in healthy pregnancies. While it’s not formal medical advice, it’s empowering data for active moms-to-be!
That’s all for this week! If you learned something new and are curious to know more, head over to the Blonyx Blog or my growing list of weekly research summaries where I help you further improve your athletic performance by keeping you up to date on the latest findings from the world of sports science.
– Train hard!
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