Ventilatory threshold during incremental running can be estimated using EMG shorts

The present study examined whether shorts with textile electromyographic (EMG) electrodes can be used to detect second ventilatory threshold (V(T2)) during incremental treadmill running. Thirteen recreationally active (REC) and eight endurance athletes were measured for EMG, heart rate, blood lactate and respiratory gases during VO(2max) test (3 min ramps, 1 km·h(-1) increments). V(T)(2), onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA) and EMG threshold (EMG(T)) were determined. In athletes, OBLA occurred at 56 ± 6 mL·kg(-1)·min(-1), V(T2) occurred at 59 ± 6 mL·kg(-1)·min(-1), and EMG(T) at 62 ± 6 mL·kg(-1)·min(-1) without significant differences between methods (analysis of variance: ANOVA). In…

Beyond Health and Happiness: An Exploratory Study Into the Relationship Between Craftsmanship and Meaningfulness of Sport

Meaning in movement is an enduring topic in sport social sciences, but few studies have explored how sport is meaningful and for whom. The authors examined the relationships between demographic variables, meaningfulness of sport, and craftsmanship. Athletes (N = 258, 61.6% male, age ≥18) from the United Kingdom completed a demographic questionnaire, the Work and Meaning Inventory modified for sport, and the Craftsmanship Scale. Older age and individual sport significantly correlated with higher craftsmanship. Craftsmanship and religion were two independent predictors of meaningfulness, but emphasized somewhat different meaning dimensions. Meaningfulness in sport seems to be related to how a…

The Association between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Gut Microbiota Composition in Premenopausal Women

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and gut microbiota composition in premenopausal women. The participants consisted of 71 premenopausal Finnish women (aged 19–49 years). Gut microbiota were analyzed using flow cytometry, 16S rRNA gene hybridization and DNA-staining. Maximum oxygen uptake (VO₂ₘₐₓ) was assessed by respiratory gas analyzer and body composition by Bioimpdance. We found that participants with low VO₂ₘₐₓ had lower Bacteroides, but higher Eubacterium rectale-Clostridium coccoides than the high VO₂ₘₐₓ group (p < 0.05 for all). VO₂ₘₐₓ was inversely associated with EreC (r = −0.309, p = 0.01) but not with other bact…

Heterogeneity of muscle activity during sedentary behavior

Replacing sitting by standing has been hypothesized to reduce the health risks of sitting, based on the assumption that muscles are passive during sitting and active during standing. Interventions have been more effective in overweight (OW) than in normal weight (NW) individuals, but subjects’ muscle activities have not been quantified. This study compared quadriceps and hamstring muscle electromyographic (EMG) activity between 57 NW (body mass index (BMI) 22.5 ± 1.5 kg/m2, female n = 36) and 27 OW (BMI 28.4 ± 2.9 kg/m2, female n = 8) subjects during non-fatiguing standing (15 s, EMGstanding) and sitting (30 min). EMG amplitude was normalized to EMG measured during maximal isometric knee ex…

Muscle inactivity is adversely associated with biomarkers in physically active adults.

PURPOSE While the lack of muscular activity is a proposed trigger for metabolic alterations, this association has not been directly measured. We examined the associations between EMG-derived muscle inactivity and activity patterns and cardiometabolic biomarkers in healthy, physically active adults. METHODS Data for this cross-sectional study were pooled from two studies (EMG24 and InPact), resulting in a sample of 150 individuals without known chronic diseases and with high-quality EMG data (female n = 85, male n = 65, age = 38.8 ± 10.6 yr, body mass index = 23.8 ± 3.1 kg·m⁻²). EMG was measured during one to three typical weekdays using EMG shorts, measuring quadriceps and hamstring muscle …

Hobby, career or vocation? Meanings in sports coaching and their implications for recruitment and retention of coaches

Rationale/Purpose: Traditional European sports clubs are facing increasing pressures to professionalise their services, while also encountering difficulties in the recruitment and retention of the coaching workforce. We used the concept of meaningful work to explore why coaching is worthwhile to coaches and how they have responded to the changes in the structural and narrative context of their work. \ud \ud Methodology: Drawing on narrative inquiry, we explored the various meanings and justifications that athletics (track and field) coaches assign to coaching in Finland and England. Twenty-three coaches (8 women, 15 men) aged 22 – 86 participated in narrative interviews that were analysed u…

Beyond Health and Happiness : An Exploratory Study Into the Relationship Between Craftsmanship and Meaningfulness of Sport

Meaning in movement is an enduring topic in sport social sciences, but few studies have explored how sport is meaningful and for whom. The authors examined the relationships between demographic variables, meaningfulness of sport, and craftsmanship. Athletes (N = 258, 61.6% male, age ≥18) from the United Kingdom completed a demographic questionnaire, the Work and Meaning Inventory modified for sport, and the Craftsmanship Scale. Older age and individual sport significantly correlated with higher craftsmanship. Craftsmanship and religion were two independent predictors of meaningfulness, but emphasized somewhat different meaning dimensions. Meaningfulness in sport seems to be related to how a…

Physiological loading during normal daily life and exercise assessed with electromyography

EMG, heart rate, and accelerometer as estimators of energy expenditure in locomotion.

AB Purpose: Precise measures of energy expenditure (EE) during everyday activities are needed. This study assessed the validity of novel shorts measuring EMG and compared this method with HR and accelerometry (ACC) when estimating EE. Methods: Fifty-four volunteers (39.4 +/- 13.9 yr) performed a maximal treadmill test (3-min loads) including walking with different speeds uphill, downhill, and on level ground and one running load. The data were categorized into all, low, and level loads. EE was measured by indirect calorimetry, whereas HR, ACC, and EMG were measured continuously. EMG from quadriceps (Q) and hamstrings (H) was measured using shorts with textile electrodes. Validity of the met…

An existential perspective on meaning, spirituality and authenticity in athletic careers

This research examines athletes’ career paths and reflections of meaning in their sporting practices through an existential psychological lens. Through notions of spirituality and authenticity, we examined how competitive sport practices and bodily movement gain meaning, and often fundamentally shift meaning, in athletes’ lives. Reflective writings with a follow-up from 10 athletes were interpreted through an existential-narrative analysis. The results suggest that while the early years of sport practice are most often characterised as highly enjoyable experiences, for some, the later career development involves existential challenges such as value conflicts, losing a sense of authenticity,…

A nonlinear mixed model approach to predict energy expenditure from heart rate.

Abstract Objective. Heart rate (HR) monitoring provides a convenient and inexpensive way to predict energy expenditure (EE) during physical activity. However, there is a lot of variation among individuals in the EE-HR relationship, which should be taken into account in predictions. The objective is to develop a model that allows the prediction of EE based on HR as accurately as possible and allows an improvement of the prediction using calibration measurements from the target individual. Approach. We propose a nonlinear (logistic) mixed model for EE and HR measurements and an approach to calibrate the model for a new person who does not belong to the dataset used to estimate the model. The …

Me, Myself, and My Thoughts: The Influence of Brooding and Reflective Rumination on Depressive Symptoms in Athletes in the United Kingdom

Individual differences in vulnerability to depression are still underexplored in athletes. We tested the influence of different brooding and reflective rumination profiles (i.e., repetitive thought processes in response to low/depressed mood) on the odds of experiencing clinically relevant depressive symptoms in competitive athletes (N = 286). The Patient Health Questionnaire–9 and the Ruminative Responses Scale–short form were utilized to measure depression and rumination, respectively. Compared to athletes with a low brooding/reflection profile, athletes with a high brooding/reflection profile had significantly higher odds of experiencing clinical levels of depressive symptoms (OR = 13.40…

Continuity and Discontinuity of Sport and Exercise Type During the COVID-19 Pandemic : An Exploratory Study of Effects on Mood

Involvement in sport and exercise not only provides participants with health benefits but can be an important aspect of living a meaningful life. The COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary cessation of public life in March/April/May 2020 came with restrictions, which probably also made it difficult, if not impossible, to participate in certain types of sport or exercise. Following the philosophical position that different types of sport and exercise offer different ways of “relating to the world,” this study explored (dis)continuity in the type of sport and exercise people practiced during the pandemic-related lockdown, and possible effects on mood. Data from a survey of 601 adult exercisers, …

Alustan kovuuden vaikutukset juoksun muuttujiin 30 metrillä

Olli Tikkanen. 2004. Alustan kovuuden vaikutukset juoksun muuttujiin 30 metrillä. Liikuntabiologian laitos. Jyväskylän yliopisto. s. 35 Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää juoksualustan kovuuden vaikutuksia juoksunopeuksiin, juoksun muuttujiin sekä juoksijalta vaadittaviin ominaisuuksiin. Koehenkilöinä tutkimuksessa oli 8 nuorta miesurheilijaa, jotka suorittivat 30 metrin nopeustestit kandella erikovuisella alustalla sekä voimatestit. Nopeustesteissä mitattiin juoksuajat 10, 20 ja 30 metriltä sekä kontakti- ja heilandusajat, joiden perusteella laskettlin myös askelpituudet ja —frekvenssit Kaikilla koehenkilöillä, yhtä lukuun ottamatta, juoksuajat olivat huonompia hiekkatekonurmell…

Muscle Activity and Inactivity Periods during Normal Daily Life

Recent findings suggest that not only the lack of physical activity, but also prolonged times of sedentary behaviour where major locomotor muscles are inactive, significantly increase the risk of chronic diseases. The purpose of this study was to provide details of quadriceps and hamstring muscle inactivity and activity during normal daily life of ordinary people. Eighty-four volunteers (44 females, 40 males, 44.1±17.3 years, 172.3±6.1 cm, 70.1±10.2 kg) were measured during normal daily life using shorts measuring muscle electromyographic (EMG) activity (recording time 11.3±2.0 hours). EMG was normalized to isometric MVC (EMGMVC) during knee flexion and extension, and inactivity threshold o…

Coaches' reflections on the meaning and value of Masters athletics

Masters sport is a growing social movement offering the opportunity to participate in competitive sports in later life. Although many studies have explored Masters athletes' experiences, little is known about how other actors in the sport subcultures construct meaning in Masters sport and whether their stories work to support or hinder participation. Our study explored the cultural narrative resources and life scripts surrounding sport and ageing that coaches draw upon in two European countries, England and Finland, where sport policy has put different emphasis on elite sport and sport for all. We analysed interviews from 23 athletics (track and field) coaches (8 women) to understand how th…

Heterogeneity of muscle activity during sedentary behavior

Replacing sitting by standing has been hypothesized to reduce the health risks of sitting, based on the assumption that muscles are passive during sitting and active during standing. Interventions have been more effective in overweight (OW) than in normal weight (NW) individuals, but subjects’ muscle activities have not been quantified. This study compared quadriceps and hamstring muscle electromyographic (EMG) activity between 57 NW (body mass index (BMI) 22.5 ± 1.5 kg/m2, female n = 36) and 27 OW (BMI 28.4 ± 2.9 kg/m2, female n = 8) subjects during non-fatiguing standing (15 s, EMGstanding) and sitting (30 min). EMG amplitude was normalized to EMG measured during maximal isometric knee e…