Vaguely Accurate - Science

ECR #20 – Weight Cutting in Combat Sports: Dehydration & Rehydration & Repeat Performance in Elite Athletes Cutting weight for an upcoming fight is standard practice for elite combat sport athletes. Those who compete in competitions such as the UFC have been known to drop up to 5% body weight before a fight! There has been research to suggest that dehydration impacts aerobic & anaerobic performance however there has been little research done investigating the effect of rehydration upon repeat performance. Today we meet Oliver Barley, a PhD candidate at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in the fields of exercise physiology and neuromuscular physiology. Oliver is currently investigating the impact of cutting weight through dehydration & then rehydration upon repeat performance in elite combat sport athletes. We discuss topics such as martial arts, the nocebo effect & statistics in health based research. We hope to follow up with Oliver next year to find out how he is progressing. If you enjoyed t