Search results for "athletes"

The Influence of Collective Behavior on Pacing in Endurance Competitions

2015

A number of theoretical models have been proposed in recent years to explain pacing strategies observed in individual competitive endurance events. These have typically related to the internal regulatory processes that inform the making of decisions relating to muscular work rate. Despite a substantial body of research which has investigated the influence of collective group dynamics on individual behaviors in various animal species, this issue has not been comprehensively studied in individual athletic events. This is somewhat surprising given that athletes often directly compete in close proximity to one another, and that collective behavior has also been observed in other human environme…

Patterns of rapid weight loss in elite wrestlers

The aim of this study was to examine the methodology used for RWL and to compare different methods and source of influence practiced by various wrestling styles. The obtained results suggest that 67% of athletes had previously lost weight to compete. The wrestling coach represents the most influential person in terms of RWL strategies. The most frequently used methods were increased exercise, gradual dieting, training in heated room and sauna, for all competitors. The education of wrestling coaches is necessary in order to control and decrease the negative impact of RWL.

Goal-setting strategy and psychological differences in marathon runners compared by gender

2019

Prior to a marathon race, we conducted a cross sectional study with 122 male and 18 female recreational runners at the Expo. Demographic information, running experience, competition level, training details, goal and finishing times, and PODIUM questionnaire on psychological state variables were collected. Motivation, training volume, experience, and relative performance were comparable between male and female marathon runners. However, men were more ambitious and perceived higher self-confidence and fitness, although overestimated their goals ( M dif = -10.4, SD = 16.7] minutes, p < .001). Women perceived higher social support, reported higher anxiety levels, were more accurate in their est…

Childhood football play and practice in relation to self-regulation and national team selection; a study of Norwegian elite youth players.

2018

Childhood sport participation is argued to be important to understand differences in self-regulation and performance level in adolescence. This study sought to investigate if football-specific activities in childhood (6–12 years of age) is related to self-regulatory skills and national under 14- and 15-team selection in Norwegian elite youth football. Data of practice histories and self-regulatory skills of 515 youth football players selected at Norwegian regional level were collected and further analysed using multilevel analyses. The results revealed that high self-regulated players were more likely to be selected for national initiatives, and increased their involvement in peer-led footb…

The eSports conundrum: is the sports sciences community ready to face them? A perspective

2020

The reality of eSports is something much more complex than individual users playing video games. There are several characteristics that eSports have in common with traditional sports: from the spirit of competition to the structural composition of the teams, including the increase in performance with training and practice, up to the injuries and physical and psychological stress of the athlete. The number of scientific papers interested in this reality is still relatively low, although in recent years there has been a significant increase in this regard. Probably the lack of knowledge of the world of eSports by inexperts can represent an initial obstacle in the approach to this environment.…

Market research of an articular analysis instrument: a practical case

2019

El proceso de lanzamiento de nuevos productos debe estar basa- do en datos del mercado que permitan realizar una estrategia de entrada y comunicación que permita minimizar al máximo la incertidumbre. El ob- jetivo del trabajo fue realizar una investigación de mercados para establecer una estrategia de ventas y comunicación adecuada para un instrumento de análisis del tobillo. Para ello se administró un cuestionario a 138 depor- tistas y 130 fisioterapeutas. Los resultados sugieren realizar una estrategia de comunicación centrada en un modelo push y una estrategia de ventas concentrada, sin necesidad de segmentación por disponibilidad de pago por el producto o edad. Por lo que podemos conclu…

Effects of self-myofascial release: A systematic review.

2015

Summary Background Self-myofascial release (SMFR) is a type of myofascial release performed by the individual themselves rather than by a clinician, typically using a tool. Objectives To review the literature regarding studies exploring acute and chronic clinical effects of SMFR. Methods PubMed and Google Scholar databases were searched during February 2015 for studies containing words related to the topic of SMFR. Results Acutely, SMFR seems to increase flexibility and reduce muscle soreness but does not impede athletic performance. It may lead to improved arterial function, improved vascular endothelial function, and increased parasympathetic nervous system activity acutely, which could b…

973 Knee control and jump-landing technique in young basketball and floorball players

2016

Background Poor knee alignment is associated with increased loading of the joints, ligaments and tendons, and may increase the risk of injury. The study purpose was to compare differences in knee kinematics between basketball and floorball players during a vertical drop jump (VDJ) task. We wanted to investigate whether basketball players, whose sport includes frequent jump-landings, exhibited better knee control compared with floorball players, whose sport involves less jumping. Methods Players (aged 12–21 years) were recruited from six basketball and floorball clubs of the Tampere City district, Finland. Complete data was obtained from 173 basketball and 141 floorball players. Peak knee va…

2019

Athletic performance in competitive sports relies heavily on the ability to cope effectively with stressful situations. In contrast, some athletes report that their thoughts revolve around the future or past and not around the actual demands during competitions. In those specific stressful situations, the lack of focus like an unintended fixation on repetitive cognitions can have fatal consequences with regard to the performance. Especially when competitors are close in their athletic capabilities, differences in effectively coping with stress and mental stability may decide about winning and losing. One established factor of performing effectively under pressure is the individual tendency …

A Reciprocal Effects Model of the Temporal Ordering of Coping and Defenses

2016

This study aimed to examine how coping and defenses are related over time, using a two-wave cross-lagged panel design. Coping and defenses were assessed before and after a sport competition in a sample of 296 competitive athletes. Partial least squares path modeling results showed that (a) pre-competitive mature defenses predicted increases in the use of task-oriented coping during competition; (b) pre-competitive immature defenses predicted an increase in the use of disengagement-oriented coping during competition; and (c) pre-competitive task-oriented coping predicted an increase in the use of immature defenses during competition. Overall, our findings suggest that defenses predict the us…