A career in strengths sports - Dr Paul Winwood

Dr Paul Winwood is a senior academic staff member and a leading researcher in the field of strength-based sports, with a particular focus on tapering strategies used by athletes in the lead-up to competition. He has 40 peer reviewed publications and has built a strong collaborative network with researchers from New Zealand and across the globe. His research spans the key strength sports; Strongman, Powerlifting, Weightlifting, CrossFit, and the Highland Games, where he and his colleagues have explored the tapering practices used by athletes at various levels.

In addition to his academic work, Paul brings over 20 years of personal experience in strength training. He is also an active competitive powerlifter, specialising in the bench press. His dual perspective as both a researcher and athlete enable him to bridge the gap between science and practice, providing meaningful insights for practitioners and athletes.

In 2022, Paul was the winner of the annual Toi Ohomai ‘Sustained Excellence in Research’ award.

Recent journal articles include:

Posthumus, L., Driller, M., Winwood, P., & Gill, N. (2024). The development of a resting metabolic rate prediction equation for professional male rugby union players. Nutrients, 16 (2), 271. 

Winwood, P.W., Keogh, J.W.L., Travis, K.S., Grieve, I., & Pritchard, H.J. (2024). The training and tapering practices of highland games heavy event athletes. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 38 (3), e116–e124. 

Winwood, P.W., McAdams, L.E., Mitchell, C.J., Cronin, J.B., & Clissold, T.L. (2024). Osteogenic quantification, autoregulation and reliability of the modified push up drop exercise in premenopausal women. Health & Fitness Journal of Canada, 17 (4), 16-32. 

Winwood, P.W., Keogh, J.W.L., Travis, K.S., & Pritchard, H.J. (2023). The tapering practices of competitive weightlifters. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 37 (4), 829-839.