The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between exercise intensity and immune function. Ten healthy young males underwent a constant work rate exercise of three levels, 90%, 80% and 70% ventilatory threshold (VT) work rate, for 20 min on a bicycle ergometer. These work rates were calculated ...

INTRODUCTION: In professional rugby, different positional roles may require different levels of aerobic fitness. Forward and backline players from a team of elite rugby players were tested to evaluate the differences between the two groups. METHODS: 28 male players, 15 backs and 13 forwards, underwent maximal treadmill cardiopulmonary exercise testing ...

Sport scientists have devoted relatively little attention to soccer penalty kicks, despite their decisive role in important competitions such as the World Cup. Two possible kicker strategies have been described: ignoring the goalkeeper action (open loop) or trying to react to the goalkeeper action (closed loop). We used a paradigm ...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics of badminton in order to determine the energy requirements, temporal structure, and movements in the game that indicate performance level. To use the findings to plan training with greater precision. METHODS: Eleven badminton players (mean (SD) age 21.8 (3.26) years) with international experience from four ...

OBJECTIVES: We examined the echocardiographic characteristics of highly trained American football players. BACKGROUND: Intense physical training is associated with morphologic and physiologic cardiac changes often referred to as the "athlete's heart." Echocardiographic features peculiar to elite football players have not been described. METHODS: We studied cardiac morphology and function as ...

In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, we investigated the effect of 8 weeks of supplementation with bovine colostrum (Intact) on body composition and exercise performance (5 x 10-m sprint, vertical jump, shuttle-run test, and suicide test). Seventeen female and 18 male elite field hockey players, including players from the Dutch ...

PURPOSE: This study represents the first time that anaerobic power performance was examined during an actual intercollegiate American football game. In addition, biochemical and endocrine responses also were examined to assess the physiological stress imposed by this competitive contest. METHODS: Twenty-one members of a NCAA Division III football team were ...

To determine the movement patterns and physiological demands of top-class soccer assistant referees, we performed computerized time-motion analysis and measured heart rate and blood lactate concentration in 15 assistant referees during 22 competitive matches in the top Danish league. To relate match performance to the physical capability of the assistant ...

For individuals with a spinal cord injury or dysfunction (SCI/D), opportunities to exercise are limited and are usually not highly motivating experiences. Exercise programs or extracurricular activities may help increase or maintain the cardiovascular fitness level of individuals with SCI/D. The GAME(Wheels) system, an interface between a portable roller system ...

Thirty regular video lottery terminal (VLT) players were randomly assigned to 90 min of VLT play or a control activity (viewing a movie) to examine the impact of VLT play on alcohol use. Ratings of dysphoric mood were taken at baseline, midactivity, and postactivity. Alcoholic and nonalcoholic control beverages were ...

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to describe the physiological characteristics of members of the Singapore national water polo team. METHODS: EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: a descriptive study on the physiological characteristics of members of a winning water polo team. SETTING: the study was conducted at the Sports Medicine and Research ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether time of day significantly affects salivary cortisol and IgA levels before and after submaximal swimming. METHODS: Fourteen male competitive swimmers (mean (SD) age 18 (3.2) years) volunteered to participate in the study. In a fully randomised, cross over design, each subject performed 5 x 400 m ...

INTRODUCTION: General practice in many team sports is to have the athletes who do not start in a game sit on a bench while waiting to play. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a warm-up followed by bench rest on the stiffness of the lumbar ...

Although hundreds of studies have found a positive relationship between self-efficacy and performance, several studies have found a negative relationship when the analysis is done across time (repeated measures) rather than across individuals. W. T. Powers (1991) predicted this negative relationship based on perceptual control theory. Here, 2 studies are ...

BACKGROUND: In professional soccer, a significant amount of training time is used to improve players' aerobic capacity. However, it is not known whether soccer specific training fulfils the criterion of effective endurance training to improve maximal oxygen uptake, namely an exercise intensity of 90-95% of maximal heart rate in periods ...

The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the different turn phases of 200 m butterfly during competition in a 50 m pool, (2) to determine if wall contact times are related to swim speed and (3) to compare the turn variables of a European Champion with other swimmers. ...

The incidence of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) and salivary immunoglobulin A concentrations [IgA(s)] of nine individuals were examined during 12 weeks of moderate exercise training, and compared to ten sedentary controls. Changes in maximal oxygen uptake were assessed at initial, mid-point and final evaluations (T1-3), while changes in [IgA(s)] ...

This study investigated the effects of acute creatine (Cr) supplementation on the performance of elite female soccer players undertaking an exercise protocol simulating match play. On two occasions, 7 days apart, 12 players performed 5 x 11-min exercise testing blocks interspersed with 1 min of rest. Each block consisted of ...

In this study, patients who played tennis after undergoing a total knee arthroplasty were analyzed in terms of their functional abilities and degree of satisfaction. The patients were recruited by means of a questionnaire that was sent to players from lists supplied by the United States Tennis Association. The study ...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of power and flexibility training on countermovement and drop jump techniques. METHOD: All jumps were executed with the goal of attaining maximum height and no restrictions were placed on the magnitude of countermovement or ground contact time. Subjects underwent ...

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of an 8-week training program with heavy- vs. light-load jump squats on various physical performance measures and electromyography (EMG). Twenty-six athletic men with varying levels of resistance training experience performed sessions of jump squats with either 30% (JS30, n = ...

Performance data for 261 NCAA Division 1A collegiate football players were analyzed to determine if player position, body weight, body fat, and training time were correlated with changes in performance in the following events: power clean (PC), bench press (BP), squat (SQ), vertical jump (VJ), 40-yd dash (40yd), and 20-yd ...

Mood, as measured by the profile of mood states questionnaire (POMS), salivary cortisol (F) and testosterone (T) levels, and performance were examined in 17 male soccer players 4 times during a season. Soccer players provided three saliva samples when getting up (resting values, 8 a.m.), before breakfast (11.30 a.m.), and ...

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect on gastric emptying of intermittent exercise at varying intensities such as occurs during a soccer match. METHODS: We compared the emptying rate of a carbohydrate-electrolyte (CE) drink during two 15-min periods of a competitive 5-a-side indoor soccer match separated by 10 min and during two ...

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of oral creatine supplementation on high intensity, intermittent exercise performance in competitive squash players. Nine squash players (mean +/- SEM VO2max = 61.9 +/- 2.1 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1); body mass = 73 +/- 3 kg) performed an on-court ...

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to study the effects of aerobic training on performance during soccer match and soccer specific tests. METHODS: Nineteen male elite junior soccer players, age 18.1 +/- 0.8 yr, randomly assigned to the training group (N = 9) and the control group (N ...

Little is known about the physiological demands placed on officials during sporting activities. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the movement activities of referees during English Premiership rugby football union matches, and to determine the frequency and duration of these activities. Nine referees who were ranked in the ...

BACKGROUND: There is still much uncertainty and debate surrounding the physiological requirements of competitive soccer. The coaching emphasis on skill development, deficiencies in fitness training, conservative training methods lead to difficulty in the scientific study of soccer. METHODS: The physiological profiles of 22 young soccer players (mean age = 8.0+/-0.3 ...

BACKGROUND: Local ischemia and mechanical trauma to hollow abdominal organs are quoted as a cause of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding during and after long distance running. There are no data on athletes from rugby and other contact sports where mechanical trauma of the abdomen is frequent. METHODS: Occult bleeding in the ...

The purpose of the present study was to develop a hydration strategy for use by female English field hockey players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. An additional aim was to initiate the process of acclimation. Fifteen elite players, mean age (+/-SEM) 24.1 +/- 1.19 years, height 1.67 +/- ...

BACKGROUND: In adult population, stretch-shortening cycle exercise (plyometric exercise) is often used to improve leg muscle power and vertical jump performance. In children, limited information regarding this type of exercise is available. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of plyometric training and maintenance training on physical ...

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the physiological profile of handball players compared to sprinters, endurance trained and untrained subjects. METHODS: Forty-six subjects aged between 19 and 28 years took part in this study: 10 were national handball players (NHB); 7 were international handball players (IHB), 11 ...

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that venous blood lactate concentrations ([La-]) would vary from the beginning of brief exercise. Maximal vertical jumping was used as a model of brief intense exercise. Eleven healthy male volleyball players, aged [mean (SE)] 18.5 (0.7) years, performed three exercise ...

BACKGROUND: Although the plyometric training has proved its efficiency, it remains generally unknown whether a limited amount of plyometric training could improve movements in subjects who already demonstrate high level of performance. METHODS: Three different training regimens were performed in order to study effects of plyometric training on elite junior ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a Western Australian mouthguard promotion campaign, launched at the start of the 1997/98 junior rugby union and junior basketball seasons, aimed at increasing mouthguard usage at competition and training. METHOD: A quasi-experimental field design was used to assess the impact of the mouthguard campaign on behavioural change. ...

PURPOSE: The aim of this investigation was to examine physiological demands of single match play in tennis. METHODS: 20 players performed 10 matches of 50 min. Respiratory gas exchange measures (RGEM) and heart rates (HR) were measured using two portable systems. Lactate concentration was determined after each game. The average ...

This study was designed to examine the relationship between seasonal changes in training and competition load, and changes in leukocyte subsets, stress hormones, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in response to a standardised bout of endurance exercise. In addition, changes in mood states were monitored. Ten male, international Nordic skiers, age 20-29, ...

The aim of this study was to compare match analysis (using video recordings) and the physiological load (heart rate measured every 5 s, blood lactate measured after the warm-up, first half and second half) of six 11-year-old soccer players during official games of eleven-a-side on a regular-sized pitch (100 x ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the presence or absence of an acute phase response after training for court and field sports. PARTICIPANTS: All members of the Australian women's soccer team (n = 18) and all members of the Australian Institute of Sport netball team (n = 14). METHODS: Twelve acute phase reactants ...

This study examined patterns of physiological activity in elite pistol shooters and compared them with novice shooters. Heart rate and electrodermal activity were recorded for three 150-s epochs. Participants performed part of the Standard Pistol Shooting Protocol, firing five rounds at a target 25 m distant within the first 150 ...

GAME(Wheels) is an interface between a portable roller system and a computer that enables a wheelchair user to play commercially available computer video games. The subject controls the game play with the propulsion of their wheelchair's wheels on the rollers. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether using ...

BACKGROUND: Although it is widely recommended that golfers warm up before play or practice to enhance their physical performance and reduce their injury risk, it is not known to what extent they actually undertake such warm up procedures. OBJECTIVE: To collect information about the proportion of golfers who actively warm ...

During the past decade, the physical and mental stress in professional tennis has been constantly increasing. The overall intensity in tennis ranges between 60 and 70% of maximum oxygen uptake and the energy requirements are mainly provided by aerobic energy metabolism. Therefore, particularly with respect to the duration of the ...

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the recovery duration in intermittent training drills on metabolism and coordination in sport games. Ten nationally ranked male tennis players (age 25.3+/-3.7 years, height 1.83+/-0.8 m, body mass 77.8+/-7.7 kg; mean +/- sx) participated in a passing-shot drill (baseline ...

This review focuses on Gaelic football and scientific reports of the characteristics of its players and the demands of the game. Anthropometric characteristics vary according to positional role, but top players display high muscularity and good all-round fitness at the peak of the competitive season. Match analysis indicates that exercise ...

Thirty randomly selected game bird feeders were sampled at 25-33-day intervals from November 1996 to March 1997 to quantitate ochratoxin A concentrations in supplemental feed. Monthly mean ochratoxin A concentration of grain in feeders was 8.3 +/- 0.8 ppb (n = 167). Ochratoxin A concentrations from individual feeders ranged from ...

PURPOSE: Exercise and training are known to elicit changes in mucosal humoral immunity, but whether these alterations have any impact on competitive performance remains unclear. This investigation examined relationships between salivary immunoglobulin (Ig) concentration, the incidence of respiratory tract illness (RTI), and competitive performance in elite swimmers. METHODS: Forty-one members ...

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study as to describe the work-rate profile and cardiovascular stress of Italian high level soccer referees (n = 18). METHODS. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: The referees were examined during official games of the 1992-1993 first division Italian championship (serie A). PARTICIPANTS: subjects were all experienced top level ...

Throwing velocity is a necessary requirement for success in baseball. All position players, including pitchers, may increase their defensive performance if their throwing velocity is improved. A review of the literature suggests that throwing velocity can be increased by resistance training and/or biomechanical improvement of the throwing motion. This paper ...

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of repeated bouts of brief, intermittent, maximal effort exercise on the concentration of secretory IgA (S-IgA) and incidence of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in females. Twenty-six non-smoking, active, adult females participated in this study. The exercise intervention consisted of ...