Search results for "athletes"

Effects of Including Sprints in One Weekly Low-Intensity Training Session During the Transition Period of Elite Cyclists

2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of including 30-s sprints in one weekly low-intensity training (LIT) session during a 3-week transition period in elite cyclists. Sixteen male elite cyclists (maximal oxygen uptake, VO2max: 72 ± 5 ml·kg−1·min−1) reduced their training load by ~60% for 3 weeks from the end of competitive season and performed only LIT or included 30-s sprints (SPR) in one weekly LIT-session. Performance and physiological capacities were evaluated during a prolonged (~2.5 h) test-session, including a strength test, a submaximal blood lactate profile test, an incremental test to exhaustion to determine VO2max, 1 h continuous cycling including four maximal…

Is It Possible to Predict an Athlete’s Behavior? The Use of Polar Coordinates to Identify Key Patterns in Taekwondo

2019

Elite sport psychologists help athletes develop planned competition strategies from a technical-tactical perspective, through the observation and analysis of previous performances. The aim of this study was to analyze the behavioral patterns used to score points in the 2012 London Olympic Games, by using a mixed observational methodology through a polar coordinate analysis. This analysis is a representation made into four quadrants of the relationships found between focal behavior [i.e., giving score points, (SC)] and conditioned behaviors considered as key factors in taekwondo, occurring before and after the focal behavior (i.e., retrospective/prospective behavior as indicated for each qua…

Heart rate responses during the modified six-minute walk test among Special Olympics athletes

2021

Objective: The construct validity of the modified six-minute walk test (m6MWT) was examined by addressing the following questions: 1) do participants attain a steady state plateau in heart rate (HR) within the range of 110-150 beats per minute? 2) at what percentage of their predicted HR maximum were participants during each minute of the test? Material and Methods: Participants were 36 (male=56%) Special Olympics athletes aged 34.4 years (SD = 12.7). Following familiarization, participants completed the m6MWT while wearing a Polar Team 2 heart rate monitor. Results: By the end of the first minute, average heart rate was 120bpm, and a factorial repeated measures ANOVA revealed that steady s…

The role of adolescent athletes' task value patterns in their educational and athletic career aspirations

2018

Abstract The present study examined the stability and change in task value patterns that Finnish student-athletes (n  = 391) show during their first two years in upper secondary sport school and the extent to which these patterns, and changes in them, are associated with students' future educational and athletic career aspirations . By using latent profile analysis , three different and highly stable motivational patterns were identified among adolescents: (1) a dual motivated pattern, characterized by high value placed on both school and sport; (2) a low academically motivated pattern, characterized by a high value placed on sport but a low value on school; and (3) a relatively low sport m…

2021

Doping violates the Spirit of Sport and is thought to contradict the values which underpin this spirit. Values-based education (VBE) has been cited as a key element for creating a clean sport culture across age groups. Culturally relevant VBE requires understanding of the values that motivate athletes from different countries to practice their sport and uphold clean sport values. WADA's new International Standards for Education makes this study both needed and timely. Overall, 1,225 athletes from Germany, Greece, Italy, Russia, and the UK responded to measures assessing their general values, Spirit of Sport values, and their perceived importance of “clean sport”. MaxDiff analysis identified…

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

2014

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,…

Oral sensitivity to oleic acid and food behaviors in athletes

2016

International audience; The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that fat oral-intensity perception may be associated with level of physical activity, food preferences and consumption of fat-rich foods. METHODS: 52 top athletes from different discipline (weightlifting, kayaking, athletics…) of both sexes (27 male, 25 female) underwent anthropometric measurement, assessment of body composition, and completed a 4-day diet record and physical activity diary. In addition, they were screened for oral sensitivity to oleic acid (0.375 mM, 0.75mM, 1.5mM, 3mM, 6mM, 12mM) using triplicate sensory evaluations for each concentration. According to the threshold of fat perception, subjects we…

Effects of personal goal management intervention on positive and negative moods of soccer training center trainees

2008

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a personal goal-based intervention on positive and negative moods among young athletes of a soccer academy. Study participants (n=22) were randomized into either a treatment group with a personal goal management program (Bouffard, Labelle, Dubé, & Lapierre, 1999) or a control group. Participants' mood states were measured every three weeks. Results indicated a significant post-intervention group difference on the positive and negative moods states in favor of the treatment group. A significant within-group difference over time was also found for the treatment group. Methodological and applied suggestions are made to develop means to suppo…

Taking action or thinking about it? : State orientation and rumination are correlated in athletes

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 …

Perceived Coach-Created Motivational Climates as Predictors of Athletes' Goal Reengagement: The Mediational Role of Goal Motives.

2021

Athletes have to face several challenges during the sport season, and one of them could involve dealing with unattainable goals. In these situations, being able to reengage in other goals as a form of goal adjustment and in response to contextual demands is adaptive. According to previous literature, some aspects of the athletes’ social context, such as coach-created motivational climates, could encourage more adaptive responses in athletes, and so it is possible that these climates would also promote athletes’ goal regulation and goal reengagement. The purpose of this study was twofold: to analyze whether athletes’ perception of empowering and disempowering climates were related to their g…