Athletes

PURPOSE: The purpose of this investigation was to quantify maximal aerobic power (VO2max) in soccer as a function of performance level, position, age, and time of season. In addition, the authors examined the evolution of VO2max among professional players over a 23-y period.METHODS: 1545 male soccer players (22 ± 4 y, 76 ± 8 kg, 181 ± 6 cm) were tested for VO2max at the Norwegian Olympic Training Center between 1989 and 2012.RESULTS: No differences in VO2max were observed among national-team players, 1st- and 2nd-division players, and juniors. Midfielders had higher VO2max than defenders, forwards, and goalkeepers (P < .05). Players <18 y of age had ~3% higher VO2max than 23- to 26-y-old players (P = .016). The players had 1.6% and 2.1% lower VO2max during off-season than preseason (P = .046) and in season (P = .021), respectively. Relative to body mass, VO2max among the professional players in this study has not improved over time. Professional players tested during 2006-2012 actually had 3.2% lower VO2max than those tested from 2000 to 2006 (P = .001).CONCLUSIONS: This study provides effect-magnitude estimates for the influence of performance level, player position, age, and season time on VO2max in men's elite soccer. The findings from a robust data set indicate that VO2max values ~62-64 mL · kg-1 · min-1 fulfill the demands for aerobic capacity in men's professional soccer and that VO2max is not a clearly distinguishing variable separating players of different standards.

OBJECTIVE: Recently, new body indices, including body adiposity (BAI), a body shape (ABSI), and body roundness (BRI) indices have been developed to estimate adiposity. The aim of this study was to compare percent fat mass (%FM) with novel indices in an elite athlete population.
METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design, %FM in 159 male and 50 female athletes using a four-component model was assessed. The %FM was compared with body mass index (BMI), BAI, ABSI, BRI, and with other %FM field methods (bioimpedance spectroscopy and skinfold prediction equation). These associations were determined using multilinear regression analysis, which resulted in predictive models of %FM in athletes. Cross-validation was performed using the prediction residual error sum of squares (PRESS) statistics method.
RESULTS: Although higher associations than other indices were observed, BRI still presented low coefficients of determination (men: R(2) = 0.36; women: R(2) = 0.25) when comparing with other field methods (R(2) range, 0.33-0.75). Using BAI as the independent variable, the R(2) was 0.07 for men and 0.14 for women. ABSI did not result in a significant association with %FM in women (R(2) = 0.05) while in men a significant association was found (R(2) = 0.22). The BMI model resulted in a R(2) = 0.20 for men and R(2) = 0.22 for women. Waist circumference and the sum of skinfolds were the anthropometric variables with the highest association with adiposity. New alternatives were presented with higher coefficients of determination (PRESS R(2) ranged from 0.47 to 0.71).
CONCLUSIONS: The newly developed body indices are limited in predicting %FM in elite athletes, particularly when compared with other commonly and readily available field methods like bioimpedance analysis or skinfold prediction models.

This review updates and complements the review of energy balance and body composition in the Proceedings of the 2003 IOC Consensus Conference on Sports Nutrition. It argues that the concept of energy availability is more useful than the concept of energy balance for managing the diets of athletes. It then summarizes recent reports of the existence, aetiologies, and clinical consequences of low energy availability in athletes. This is followed by a review of recent research on the failure of appetite to increase ad libitum energy intake in compensation for exercise energy expenditure. The review closes by summarizing the implications of this research for managing the diets of athletes.

Background. Emotional competencies of individuals are evaluated as a form of capital today. Emotional capital has gained prominence in literature in the last decades. In this regard, qualitative and quantitative studies on emotional capital concept have been conducted. Objectives. The purpose of this study is to analyses the effect of emotional capital on job satisfaction and life satisfaction in terms of women basketball players in Turkey. Methods. The research method of this study is descriptive. The statistical population consisted of 135 women basketball players who were reached via using convenience sampling method. Survey was conducted on athletes between 6 th October, 2019 and 30th November, 2019. Emotional Capital Inventory developed by Newman et al. (2015), Job Satisfaction Scale developed by Brayfield and Rothe (1951), shortened by Yoon and Thye (2002), and Life Satisfaction Scale developed by Diener et al. (1985) was used for data collection. SPSS-22 computer program was used in data analysis. The internal consistencies of the questionnaires were obtained by Cronbach's which were 0.81, 0.81 and 0.83, respectively. After exploratory factor analysis conducted on emotional capital inventory, seven factors were found as social awareness, self-management, self-awareness, self-reliance, relationship management, adaptability, and apathy. Results. The analysis of data revealed that self-reliance factor of emotional capital has significant and positive effect on job satisfaction, and self-management and personal awareness factors of emotional capital have significant and positive effects on life satisfaction. Conclusion. Finally, it can be concluded that emotional capital has partial effect on both job satisfaction and life satisfaction of women basketball players in Turkey's Super League.

Background & Study Aim: Muscle strength, namely the capacity for overcoming the external resistance or counteracting it at the expense of muscular effort, plays an unquestionably essential role in judo competitor’s training. The objective of this study has been knowledge about the values of torques, torque gradient and muscle strength deficit released by knee joint extensors and flexors at rest by judo female competitors, taking up specialist strength training. Material & Methods: Two female study groups were selected: judo female competitors (n = 15); aged 22.20 ±1.32 years, body weight 67.47 ±13.58 kg, competitor seniority 11 ±1.60 years; reference sample (n = 15) non-full-time in any sports discipline female students of the University of Physical Education (AWF) in Wrocław, Poland: aged 22.20 ±1.26 years, body weight 64.33 ±8.25 kg. A study of knee joint extensors and flexors torque was performed at rest. The measurement was made at 30 and 70 degrees. The properties of a lever in...

Objective: To correlate CrossFit-related injuries with previous sedentary lifestyle, and to investigate other factors potentially associated with higher rates of injury among practitioners. Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional study involving CrossFit practitioners who received a digital questionnaire inquiring into CrossFit-related injuries, previous sedentary life, training intensity and experience, site of injury and general demographics. Results: This sample included 121 CrossFit practitioners, 34.7% of participants were sedentary prior to starting CrossFit practice, from these, 45.2% reported CrossFit-related injuries, compared to 30.4% from previously active practitioners (p=0.104). The shoulder/elbow (60.5%), lumbar spine (30.3%) and wrist/hand (16.3%) were the most common sites of injury among participants reporting CrossFit-related injuries (35.5%). Participants performing intense weight training were more prone to injuries than those practicing light or moderate weight tr...

Coaches of different profiles influence athletes’ sports motivation differently. The aim of this paper was to investigate the coaches’ contribution to the motivational structure of athletes from team sports. Using the coaches’ self-evaluations of goal orientation and intrinsic motivation and the athletes’ evaluations of their coaches’ leadership styles, the two types of coaches were identified. Discriminant analysis showed the differences in motivational structure between athletes trained by the coaches from either one or the other group. The athletes who were trained by the more athlete-directed, low ego-oriented coaches showed a preferable motivational pattern; they perceived the mastery motivational climate in their teams, were higher on intrinsic motivation, their task goal orientation was high and ego goal orientation was elevated. The athletes trained by the less athlete-directed and high ego-oriented coaches perceived fewer signs of the mastery motivational climate in their t...

Greater insight into sports and work performance of athletes with patellar tendinopathy (PT) will help establish the severity of this common overuse injury. Primary aim of this study is to investigate the impact of PT on sports and work performance. Seventy seven active athletes with PT (50 males; age 28.1 ± 8.2 years; Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment Patella 56.4 ± 12.3) participated in this survey. Sports performance, work ability and work productivity were assessed using the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center overuse injury questionnaire, the single-item Work Ability Index and the Quantity and Quality questionnaire, respectively. Reduced sports performance was reported by 55% of the participants; 16% reported reduced work ability and 36% decreased work productivity, with 23% and 58%, respectively, for physically demanding work. This study shows that the impact of PT on sports and work performance is substantial and stresses the importance of developing preventive measures.

Pathological T-wave inversion (PTWI) is rarely observed on the ECG of healthy athletes, whereas it is common in patients with certain cardiac diseases. All ECG interpretation guidelines for use within athletes state that PTWI (except in leads aVR, III and V1 and in V1-V4 when preceded by domed ST segment in asymptomatic Afro-Caribbean athletes only) cannot be considered a physiological adaptation. The aims of the present study were to prospectively determine the prevalence of cardiac pathology in athletes presenting with PTWI, and to examine the efficacy of cardiac magnetic resonance in the work-up battery of further examinations. Athletes presenting with PTWI (n=155) were investigated with clinical examination, ECG, echocardiography, exercise testing, 24h Holter ECG, and cardiac magnetic resonance. Cardiac disease was established in 44.5% of athletes, with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (81%) the most common pathology. Echocardiography was abnormal in 53.6% of positive cases, and card...

The NFL protests are only one of many celebrity-fueled political controversies during the Trump presidency. Why is there such a proliferation of celebrity activism? More importantly, does it amount to anything? What does our knowledge of celebrity influence tell us about the recent NFL controversy?

The purpose was to examine cigarette smoking, use of snus, alcohol, and performance-enhancing illicit drugs among adolescent elite athletes and controls, and possible gender and sport group differences. First-year students at 16 Norwegian Elite Sport High Schools (n = 677) and two randomly selected high schools (controls, n = 421) were invited to participate. Totally, 602 athletes (89%) and 354 (84%) controls completed the questionnaire. More controls than athletes were smoking, using snus, and drinking alcohol. Competing in team sports was associated with use of snus [odds ratio = 2.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6 to 4.7] and a similar percentage of male and female handball (22.2% vs 18.8%) and soccer players (15.7% vs 15.0%) reported using snus. For controls, not participating in organized sport was a predictor for smoking (odds ratio = 4.9, 95% CI 2.2 to 10.9). Female athletes were more prone to drink alcohol than males (46.3% vs 31.0%, P < 0.001). Only, 1.2% athletes and 2.8% controls reported use of performance-enhancing illicit drugs. In conclusion, use of legal drugs is less common among athletes, but this relationship depends on type of sport and competition level. The association between team sports and use of snus suggests that sport subcultures play a role.

The objective of the present study was to examine how Atheist, Christian, and Muslim elite athletes motivate themselves before competitions. Using a semi-structured format qualitative design, seventeen elite male volleyball players were interviewed. For Muslim athletes, the focus was on "Praying" with the highest frequency, while for Christian athletes the "Visualization" had the highest frequency. For Atheist athletes, "Winning the Game" was the highest frequency. Muslim, Christian, and Atheist athletes had similar motivation focus point as; "Want to Do the Best". When we compared the Muslim and Christian athletes, "Stay Alone" and "Want to Do the Best" were common motivation styles for them. They prefered to stay alone because of some reasons such as; suppress excitement, imagine, and relaxing. There was no similar expression between Muslim and Atheist athletes. "Desire to Win" and "Listen to Music" were common expressions for Christian and Atheist athletes.

-The present study compared brain activity of adolescents with or without burnout during their responses to a computerized version of the Stroop Color and Word Test. The Sport Adaptation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory was administered to 460 Korean high school student athletes. Electroencephalographic data were recorded from frontal, central, parietal, and occipital brain regions while these participants were performing the Stroop Color and Word Test. A 2 (group) × 2 (condition) × 15 (electrodes) three-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that the athletes without burnout exhibited significantly higher accuracy than their counterparts with burnout on the Stroop Color and Word Test. The athletes without burnout also showed higher amplitudes for theta, alpha, and beta power in the frontal areas than the athletes with burnout.

BACKGROUND Keeping to a balanced diet plays a key role in maximizing the body&#39;s efficiency so that sports training becomes more effective. Previous studies have shown that an athletes&#39; diet is often not properly balanced, and can thus negatively affect sporting performance. OBJECTIVES To assess the energy and nutrient intake in young men practicing aerobic sport and compare them with those recommended. MATERIAL AND METHODS Subjects were 25 male athletes, aged 19-25 years, practicing aerobic sports who were students at two Warsaw Universities; The Military University of Technology and University of Physical Education. The average body mass was 80.6 +/- 9.6 kg and average height was 187.0 +/- 7.6 cm, (BMI thus being 23.01 +/- 1.70 kg/m2). Dietary assessment was based on three-day dietary recalls consisting of two weekdays and one day of the weekend. The energy and macro/ micro-nutrient intake were evaluated using the Polish Software &#39;Energia&#39; package and compared to re...

Context : Despite the Psychosocial Strategies and Referral content area, athletic trainers (ATs) generally lack confidence in their ability to use this information.(1) Objective : The current study&#39;s primary purpose was to determine: (a) perceived psychological responses and coping behaviors athletes may present to ATs, (b) psychosocial strategies ATs currently use with their athletes, (c) psychosocial strategies ATs deem important to learn more about, and (d) ATs&#39; current practices in referring athletes to counseling or sport psychology services. Design : Mixed-methods study. Setting : Online survey containing both quantitative and qualitative items. Patients or Other Participants : A total of 215 ATs (86 male, 129 female), representing a response rate of 22.50%. Main Outcome Measure(s) : The Athletic Training and Sport Psychology Questionnaire. Results : Stress/anxiety (4.24 ± 0.82), anger (3.70 ± 0.96), and treatment adherence problems (3.62 ± 0.94) were rated as the prim...

This paper offers a discussion of the rationale for the creation of sports categorization criteria based on sporting genealogy and the gendered body, as proposed by Torres et al. in their article 'Beyond Physiology: Embodied Experience, Embodied Advantage, and the Inclusion of Transgender Athletes in Competitive Sport'. The strength of their 'phenomenological' account lies in its complex account of human experience; but this is also what makes it impractical and difficult to operationalize. Categorization rather requires simplicity and practicability, if it is to be applied to all athletes (and not exceptionally to transgender athletes). This discussion helps us to formulate three general principles for the process of categorization of athletes, relating to fairness, verifiability and practicability.

Nutrition for the athletes is the main thing, so they can keep up with training and stay focus and improve their performance. Athletes should be aware of their daily nutritional needs, so they can maintain nutrients balance that match their efforts and boost the immune system. If the energy requirement doesn't match the effort, the athlete will suffer from a lot of things like:-Losing lean body tissue because the body will use it as fuel.-Loss of strength and endurance.-Dysfunction of the immune system which will lead to a lot of health problems.-Deficiency in vitamins and minerals. Calories requirements differ from a sport to another.

The prevalence of tendinopathies in sports is high. The etiology and pain mechanisms of tendinopathies are not completely understood. Currently, little is known whether, or to which degree, somatosensory changes within the nervous system may contribute to the pain in tendinopathies. We conducted a patient controlled study in which we used the standardized QST protocol developed by the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain. This protocol consists of seven different tests that measures 13 somatosensory parameters and can be seen as the gold standard to measure somatosensory function. Twelve athletes with clinically diagnosed chronic patellar tendinopathy (PT) mean duration 30 months (range 6-120) and 20 controls were included in the study. In two of the 13 QST parameters namely Mechanical Pain Threshold (P &lt; 0.05) and Vibration Disappearance Threshold (P &lt; 0.5) injured athletes were significantly more sensitive for the applied stimuli. None of the athletes had signs of Dyn...

Objective of the study: Despite the opportunities to develop athlete brands, many athletes in less popular sport still struggle with developing their brands. Therefore, the current study aimed to contribute to the existing athlete branding literature and practitioners by providing a better and holistic understanding of athlete branding in less popular sport. Methodology: The current we employed a triadic approach that was involved with three stakeholders: Athlete, fans, and media to explore important factors in athlete branding strategies in less popular sport. Originality/ Relevance: There is less focus on less popular sport and their stakeholders branding. With increasing interest from fans less popular sport and their athletes are gaining more attention than ever. Thus, the study opted to discuss an ignored phenomenon in the context of athlete branding. Main results: The result of the study identified four main themes and eight associated subthemes based on both the interview and...

Con el presente estudio se pretende brindar datos que contribuyan a un estado del arte en cuanto a la frustracion de las necesidades psicologicas de los deportistas adolescentes de la Federacion Deportiva del Azuay en el periodo 2016-2017. Por lo anterior, se plantea la aplicacion de la “Validacion espanola de la escala de frustracion de las necesidades psicologicas (EFNP) en el ejercicio fisico” (Sicilia, Ferriz, y Saenz, 2013), con el objetivo de obtener y caracterizar los niveles de frustracion de la muestra. Se determino que el 6,17% de los deportistas, tienen un nivel de frustracion alto, el 41,41% tiene un nivel de frustracion normal, el 32,60% tiene un nivel de frustracion bajo y el 19,82% tiene un nivel de frustracion muy bajo. Por otro lado, se determino que la necesidad de competencia es la mas afectada de la muestra, y dentro de ella los sentimientos de incapacidad e incompetencia son los mas frustrantes para los adolescentes. En contraparte la necesidad de relacion se po...

Placebo and nocebo effects occur in response to subjective expectations and their subsequent neural actions. Research shows that information shapes expectations that, consequently, influence people&#39;s behaviour. In this study, we examined the effects of a fictive and inert green colour energy drink provided for three groups (n = 20/group) with different information. The first group was led to expect that the drink augments running performance (positive information), the second group was led to expect that the drink may or may not improve performance (partial-positive information), while the third group was told that earlier research could not demonstrate that the drink improves performance (neutral/control). At baseline, the three groups did not differ in their 200-m sprint performance (p &gt; .05). One week later, 20-min immediately after ingesting the drink, all participants again ran 200 m. The positive information group increased its performance by 2.41 s, which was statistic...

Leadership behaviors are an important aspect of athletic training and are needed within all allied health care disciples. A two-phase, exploratory, non-experimental research study using a Delphi technique and a randomly selected sample of athletic trainers (n = 161) was conducted to determine leadership competencies perceived to be important for athletic training practice and education. The Delphi technique (phase one) resulted in the Leadership Development in Athletic Training instrument (LDAT). In the national survey (phase two), respondents used the LDAT to rate the importance of leadership competencies for athletic training practice and for athletic training education. Coefficient alphas ranged from α = 0.83 to 0.97 and provided satisfactory estimates of internal consistency. Concurrent, construct, and convergent validity were established. Forty-nine leadership competencies were rated important for practice and 48 for education (M = 1.5, p ≤ 0.001). Exploratory factor analysis r...

Physicians should possess specific diagnostic and pharmacotherapeutic skills in order to recognize symptoms associated with doping use. It is important to be on the alert in athletes and fitness enthusiasts for physical and psychological changes due to use of anabolic steroids such as acne, stretch marks, gynecomastia, signs of acromegaly, irascibility and lethargy. Stimulants such as amphetamines, ephedrine and cocaine lead to fat loss and increased alertness; their main side effects are cardiac problems, behavioural changes and addiction. In addition to anabolic steroids and stimulants, erythropoietin, growth hormone, diuretics and glucocorticoids are regularly used to improve sport performance. In cycling, a biological passport will be used in an attempt to detect doping use. In future, the Olympic motto &#39;citius, altius, fortius&#39; (faster, higher, stronger) will have ground-breaking consequences for the performance and health of top athletes.

The present Best Practices Guide, is a collection of existing best practices across the EU and beyond, aiming to tackle sexual harassment in sports. The purpose of this publication is to:
- provide best practices in preventing and responding to sexual harassment in sport
- assist sport clubs in establishing and implementing internal policies and procedures tackling sexual harassment and the identification of the various roles individuals (athletes, coaches and other sport professionals) can play in preventing and responding to sexual harassment
- assist policy makers to create policies preventing and combating sexual harassment in sport
- contribute to a knowledge base already available for linking action to eliminate sexual harassment in sport
- serve as an inspiration for the replication of the best practices identified and contribute to the work of researchers, practitioners and policy-makers on the field worldwide
- be able to reach the necessary outcomes, the partners will carry out a desk research, through which they will aim to identify best practices in terms of Design and development process / Categories of Activities implemented / Legal and regulatory compliance / Institutional involvement / Level of Governance involved / Procedures and processes / Target Groups / Results and promote their use.

This study was performed to survey the relationship between coaches&#39; and athletes&#39; competitive anxiety, and their performance. This is a descriptive correlational study performed using a demographic questionnaire, an athletic performance checklist, and sport competition anxiety test designed by Martens consisting of 15 questions. The study population consisted of 540 players and 60 coaches from 60 futsal teams (5 main players, 4 reserves, and 1 coach for each team). All of the players and the coaches were surveyed in a census method and no sampling was done. The data were analyzed by SPSS software, using chi-square, and Pearson correlation coefficient test. The results showed a positive significant relationship between the coaches&#39; anxiety level and sport competition anxiety level in the athletes (p = 0.019, r = 0.56). It also showed that there was a negative significant relationship between the coaches&#39; anxiety level and performance level of the athletes (p = 0.012,...