Cutting Edge

Read the latest blogs from our high-performance experts.  

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Ready to run: Training programme

A programme aimed to get your body 'Ready to run' and prevent injury.


Female Athlete Performance Group

About the Female Athlete Performance Group


Fact sheet: RED-S

What is RED-S, what are the causes and how can it be avoided?


Female athlete fact sheet: Talk Track Manage

Maximise health and performance by talking, tracking and managing your menstrual cycle


Keeping fit at home: Home workouts

6 week progressive circuits programme that you can do in the comfort of your living room.


Healthy at home: No bake banana bar

A healthy and quick to make snack bar


Healthy at home: Broccoli, courgette and cheese fritter

Quick, tasty and easy to make with a bit of aioli zing


Healthy at home: Spinach sweet potato and lentil dahl

Ingredients Cumin seeds (whole or ground), 5g or 1tspGarlic (raw), 3g or ½tspGinger (fresh, chopped), 5g or 1tspLentils, red split (dried, raw), 250gOlive oil, 1tbspOnions, red (chopped), 150gRed


Healthy at home: Cod and prawn fishcakes

Combine white fish and shellfish and eat with salad


Healthy at home: Smoothie bowl

All you need is yogurt, fruit, nuts and seeds ... and a bowl!


Eggy Fruit Bread

An easy snack for after training


Healthy at home: Tuna, chickpea, new potato & avocado salad

The tuna and chickpeas make this dish a good source of protein, with healthy fats from the avocado.


Chicken pilaf

Swap the chicken for tofu to make a veggie pilaf


Thai salmon noodles Serves 4

Adapted from BBC Good Food


Healthy at home: Summer quinoa and chickpea salad

A lovely cool lunch option for a warm day


Healthy at home: Summer berry oats

Layers of goodness in a cool, refreshing snack


Healthy at home: Chicken skewers

So many flavours on one skewer ... delicious!


Healthy At Home: Instant fro yo

Serves 4   Ingredients 250g frozen fruit of your choice250g 0% fat Greek yogurt1 tbsp honey.    MethodBlend the frozen fruit, yogurt and honey in a food processor for 20 seconds, until it comes


Healthy at home: Vegetable & chickpea tagine

A delicious vegetarian dish with mint yogurt


Healthy at home: Beef and bean chili

Try this lean energy booster with your choice of carbohydrate.


Healthy at home: Thai coconut chicken

A delicious light dinner that works with roast or pan-fried chicken


Healthy at home: Red pepper, tomato & cannellini bean soup

The second tasty instalment of our Healthy At Home recipe series


Healthy at home: Beetroot, Chickpea & Coconut Curry

Brighten up your COVID-19 quarantine with this first of a new series of recipes


Recipe for success: Keeping up your vitamin D intake in winter

Vitamin D may reduce the incidence of the common cold and plays an important role in the immune system. The production of vitamin D in our bodies is stimulated when our skin is directly exposed to sunlight. Here's a few recipes that will help keep vitamin D levels up during the winter months.


The eggs factor

Nutrition facts Eggs provide a natural source of protein alongside several micronutrients, making them a great choice for athletes. They are also a good source of vitamin D with one medium egg providing


Mental health in sport: why it’s always better to talk

Mental wellbeing and positive mental culture in sport are key to supporting the journey of an athlete.


Create balance: build your meals the right way

Each of your meals should have a balance of nutrients, and variety is key


Homage to porridge

Besides being packed with nutrients, porridge is hugely versatile.


#MoreThanMedals: It’s okay not to be okay

In Performance Lifestyle we see an ability to talk about our mental health and wellbeing as a strength.


All in a day's work: physiotherapy at a major Games

A day in the life of a physiotherapist at a major Games


Recipe for success: Simple oat cookies

Add some oaty goodness to your day with these simple oat cookies


Recipe for success: Roast veg and chickpea combo

Chickpeas provide a great source of dietary fibre. Give this recipe a try for a simple and delicious way to add chickpeas into your diet


Performance analysis at the National Curling Academy

As a curler delivers a stone, their performance can be captured and synchronised from face on, side on, behind and above.


Why do we need sleep and how do we get enough?

Whatever level of physical activity or sport you are participating in, sleep has a crucial role in your performance.


Recipe for success: Lemon rolls

Cashews are a great source of iron and zinc, which play a key role in health and immunity. With winter in full swing, use this recipe to add cashews into your day.


Mindful eating at Christmas

PACE yourself this Christmas with these mindful eating strategies


Staying healthy in winter

We often feel ‘under the weather’ at this time of year. Winter brings an increased risk of infection so it’s important to make sure you have the best possible defence system going into the colder months.


The importance of a good warm-up

Have you ever injured yourself because you didn't warm up properly?


All in a day's work: rowing camp physiology

This is my description of a typical day on a rowing camp from the point of view of a physiologist.


Training at altitude and the Hbmass test

Hbmass results are critical for coaching and support staff to evaluate an athlete's individual response to training at altitude


Mindfulness in performance sport

Athletes, like any human being, feel anxiety in extreme situations when our minds start creating unrealistic scenarios of perhaps winning or losing.


Vitamin D: The sunshine vitamin

Vitamin D is known as the ‘sunshine vitamin’ - and for good reason. The production of vitamin D in the human body is stimulated when our skin is directly exposed to sunlight or more specifically, UVB rays....


Physiology testing for endurance runners

Physiology testing assesses the progression of endurance athletes and provides benchmarks on their fitness that can influence performance


Recovery: Performance Lifestyle

Lifestyle management has an impact on recovery by pulling together this advice and developing a lifestyle that is conducive to performance


Recovery: Massage

There is a long history of using massage to aid recovery in high performance sport


Recovery: Psychology

Why is psychological recovery important? Psychological recovery focuses on the restoration of well-being and positive (or neutral) mood state


Recovery: Flexibility and stretching

Flexibility requirements are individual to each sport with certain sports requiring a greater level of flexibility than others for optimum performance.


Recipe for success: Banana Bread

For a healthy treat, why not cook up a batch of this amazing banana bread


Recipe for success: Build Your Own Stir Fry

This recipe gives you lots of options for creating a dish that you love while making sure you know what you're eating! You can make double or triple quantities of this and box it up for lunch or dinner the following day


Recipe for success: Quick Couscous Salad

This quick and tasty couscous salad recipe is an easy and balanced option to prepare when there is no access to a hob


Recipe for success: Pesto Pasta

This pesto dish is great as it is, or you can try swapping the chicken for fish, tofu or whatever protein you choose


Recipe for success: Potato and Leek Soup

This potato and leek soup recipe will keep you full and warm all through the winter time


Recipe for success: Baked Spanish Omelette

We love this recipe for baked Spanish omelette and it's really simple to do. Give it a try


Recipe for success: Apricot Balls

You can make double quantities of this if you have a large food processor and to boost the protein content, why not include 2 tablespoons of skimmed milk powder?


Recipe for success: Basic Smoothie

Once you've found your favourite flavour, why not add an additional source of carbohydrate for a simple pre-training smoothie or a protein source for post-training recovery smoothie


Recipe for success: Pea and Feta Fritters

For a taste sensation, why not combine 3-4 of these pea and feta fritters with a roasted sweet potato, a garden salad and some tomato chutney


Recipe for success: Homemade Beans

Our homemade beans are delicious on their own, as an addition to eggs on toast or as a side dish with dinner


Recipe for success: Choc Fruit and Nut Balls

These delicious treats are well worth 10 minutes of your time...  plus, 2-3 choc balls and a glass of milk make a well balanced recovery snack


Recipe for success: Fibre Trail Mix

Trail mix is a handy snack to eat on the go. Mix and match nuts, seeds and fruit to find your favourite


What's in your sandwich?

The humble sandwich is one of the most versatile portable foods around. Whether you choose a roll, wrap, pitta, bagel, or baguette, sandwiches make the perfect handy snack or small meal.


From threat to challenge...

Athletes need to understand this crucial difference in mindset, and parents can help


How parents can help athletes transition from school to higher education

When your son or daughter is moving to College/University either in Scotland or to another country (e.g. the USA) it can be an exciting but daunting time for everyone. There are a few things that you can do to help promote an effective transition.


Believing you can perform

In sport, self-efficacy can be viewed as an athlete’s ability to achieve their goals or successfully perform a vault in gymnastics.


The difference between success and winning

Success and the lure of winning are the main motivating factors that help drive your child to work hard, especially during the winter and busy competition periods. Success and winning are not necessarily the same thing.


Date published: 27 June 2023
Date updated: 12 July 2023

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