The Sports Revolution: The New Science of Athletic Performance

“Peak is a masterpiece of nutritional science from one of the world’s leading authorities on athletic health and performance. It’s a fantastic resource that provides a road map to reaching true wellness.” —Dr. Rocco Monto

Dr. Marc Bubbs, ND, CISSN, CSCS, is the Director of Nutrition for the Canadian men’s national basketball team, a speaker, and a former strength and conditioning coach. He is also the host of the Dr. Bubbs Performance Podcast, connecting listeners with world experts in nutrition, training,  functional health, and mental performance. He practices in Toronto, Canada, and London, England, helping athletes and clients struggling with obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome improve their health.

The following is an excerpt from Peak by Marc Bubbs. It has been adapted for the web.

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Listen to the following excerpt from the audiobook of Peak.

Roger Federer was bent over in pain. It was 2013, and he was struggling with chronic back injuries, failing to reach a major tournament final for the first time in 15 years. It was the start of a decline for the greatest tennis player of all time. In 2016 he saw another setback. As Federer began to rediscover his game and gain some momentum, he was sidelined by a knee injury that required surgery.

The questions started ruminating around the tennis world. Will Federer even win another major? Is Federer finished? After more than a decade of total domination in tennis and winning major championships at an unprecedented rate, it looked as though time had caught up to Federer. It looked like the competition had also caught up to him; tennis isn’t kind to athletes over 30. Then something surprising happened: In 2017, at the age of 35, Federer turned back the clock.

It seemed as if he had found the fountain of youth.

He won the Australian Open major championship, his first major since five years earlier. Did he catch lightning in a bottle? Then he had another major win in 2017 at Wimbledon, in totally dominating fashion. He defended his title to win the Australian Open again in 2018, which reaffirmed him at the top of tennis. How was this possible at the age of 36, when contemporaries of his vintage were in the booth calling the action and not on the court?

Rumors emerged that Roger Federer had discovered a secret weapon to preserve his stamina, accelerate his recovery, sharpen his quickness, and keep his mind agile. Rumors were this secret weapon was so impactful in the years building up to his reemergence that Federer refused to talk about it. But what was it? In the end, we found out: The secret was Federer’s relentless focus on sleep.

Peak takes you behind the scenes and introduces experts who influence the games’ top performers. What will you uncover? A heavy emphasis on the fundamentals (not the fads), the importance of consistency (not extreme effort), and the value of patience (not rapid transformation). It might not seem sexy at first, but the mind-blowing feats of athleticism and record-breaking performances you see on TV highlight reels are rooted in this approach.

Peak will connect you with the “best of the best” experts in sports and show you how they achieve world-class success. Regardless if you’re trying to improve your physique, propel endurance performance, or improve team sports and athlete success, Peak will lay out the blueprint for how elite sport scientists, performance nutritionists, and coaches unlock athlete potential.

No longer can we look at sports and nutrition apart. No longer can we think that stress and mindset are separate from performance. Sleep matters. The food you eat during halftime matters. It all matters.

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