Canadian journal of sport sciences = Journal canadien des sciences du sport最新文献

Spectator behavior in competition is analyzed in terms of spectators' response (positive or negative), or lack of response in reaction to a player's action, or which is independent of a player's action, in a home or away game. This study investigated the perceived contribution of these variables to extreme psychological arousal states (crisis, noncrisis). Forty-eight elite ball-game players responded to a questionnaire asking them to estimate the occurrence probability of the Bayesian combinations among these variables under crisis and noncrisis conditions. An RM-ANOVA procedure revealed that under the crisis condition a negative response, an unsuccessful action, and a home game were rated as more probable, whereas under the noncrisis condition the reverse would be true. The athlete's psychological state was more strongly related to spectator response than to game location or athlete's action. Results are discussed theoretically in reference to the crisis construct.

To examine the reliability and validity of cardiovascular fitness tests, 10 untrained controls and 18 adults with mental handicaps (experimental group) completed five trials on each of four exercise protocols. VO2 max results (M +/- SD) averaged across trials were as follows: Maximal treadmill test, 27.2 +/- 6.2 for the experimental group (E) and 45.5 +/- 8.1 for the control group (C); Maximal shuttle run test, 19.7 +/- 3.4 (E) and 42.1 +/- 6.2 (C); Submax step test, 33.0 +/- 7.6 (E) and 44.5 +/- 7.6 (C); and Submax cycle ergometer test, 36.4 +/- 13.1 (E) and 42.0 +/- 7.1 (C). The four modes had similar VO2 max values across trials with intraclass correlations ranging from r = .90 to .97. To examine validity, the predictive tests were compared with the treadmill VO2 max test. Both the step and shuttle run tests correlated significantly with the treadmill test. The duration of the shuttle run test was unrelated to the exercise intensity. The stepping test is recommended over both the maximum shuttle run test and the submaximum cycling test when measuring the aerobic fitness of adults with mental handicaps.

The original Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) offers a safe preliminary screening of candidates for exercise testing and prescription, but it screens out what seems an excessive proportion of apparently healthy older adults. To reduce unnecessary exclusions, an expert committee established by Fitness Canada has now revised the questionnaire wording. The present study compares responses to the original and the revised PAR-Q questionnaire in 399 men and women attending 40 accredited fitness testing centres across Canada. The number of subjects screened out by the revised test decreased significantly (p < .05), from 68 to 48 of the 399 subjects. The change reflects in part the inclusion of individuals who had made an erroneous positive response to the original question regarding high blood pressure. There is no simple gold standard to provide an objective evaluation of the sensitivity and specificity of either questionnaire format, but the revised wording has apparently had the intended effect of reducing positive responses, particularly to the question regarding an elevation of blood pressure.

For the past 15 years the University of Ottawa has conducted on-site fitness assessments of over 5,000 federal public servants. The testing sessions and accompanying counselling session are conducted within a framework of health promotion to encourage managers to adopt a healthy lifestyle. The data collected on this population are quite unique since the managers represent a cross-section from across Canada, and it is an important source of information regarding associations among fitness, lifestyle, and health characteristics. The assessment includes a lifestyle and stress questionnaire, a 12-hour fasting lipid profile, determination of resting and exercise heart rate and blood pressure, body composition, upper body strength and muscular endurance, flexibility, pulmonary function, and aerobic power (Canadian Aerobic Fitness Test). Results are presented in a computerized format and interpreted during the course of a debriefing session; an exercise prescription is also provided. The sessions foster awareness, influence attitudes, and identify health behaviour alternatives. Not only can testing be used as a diagnostic and intervention procedure but it also serves as an excellent education and motivational tool that could be integrated in a routine medical examination.

The purpose of this symposium was to review the physical, metabolic, psychological, and physiological manifestations of the ageing process. A great deal of research has been carried out in the past 10 years with elderly subjects. Investigations are currently expanding to use invasive methodologies previously applied to healthy young subjects. A most comprehensive account of exercise and the elderly is given by Stamford (1988), with insight into the physical capabilities of some 10% of the Canadian population. Ageing affects the total body and its metabolism including hemodynamics, enzyme activities, strength, muscle contraction, and incidence of disease. Equally important, ageing affects the Canadian economy, geographic demographics of retirees, and ethical consideration of the prolongation of life without quality. The symposium papers analyze the ageing process in humans and animal species from biochemical (Kaldor), physiological (Paterson), mechanical (Vandervoort), and psychological (Brown) viewpoints.

The purpose of this study was to develop minimum physical fitness standards based on common task criteria for personnel younger than 35 years of age in the Canadian Armed Forces. A random sample of 66 men and 144 women performed the Exercise Prescription (EXPRES) test and five physically demanding tasks that simulated common military tasks. Common cutting scores were selected as the point at which 75% of the total weighted sample passed each task. Since there were significant differences between the sexes in task performance and technique execution, the groups were analyzed separately. Results indicated a range in variance of 14 to 48% between military task performance and physical fitness test score, thus suggesting that fitness measures are a poor predictor of task performance. Because of the low variance observed the passing group of each task was treated as a representative sample of subjects whose fitness profiles were indicative of those able to meet task criteria. The 5th percentile fitness scores of the passing group were proposed as the minimum fitness standard. These conditions resulted in fitness standards that were physically more demanding for women than for men.

This study compared the Police Officer's Physical Abilities Test (POPAT) with selected field and laboratory tests of physical fitness. Ninety-eight volunteer police officers (73 men, 25 women) completed all aspects of the testing. Fifty-five (55)% of the total group passed the POPAT by bettering the 4 min 15 sec "cut" point. Only 16% of the women and 68% of the men passed the overall test. Laboratory tests revealed a rather unfit sample of subjects (mean VO2 max = 42.6 ml.kg.min-1; % body fat = 22.9). Stepwise multiple regression indicated that 55% of the variance on the run component of the test was accounted for by maximal aerobic power and anaerobic capacity. The fight component of POPAT did not correlate highly with standard field tests of strength. Pass/fail aspects of the test were not clearly delineated by selected lab and field tests. It was concluded that POPAT, being a valid, task-specific, job related test, consists of motor abilities and technique as much as generalized fitness parameters.

This review focuses on the age related declines in muscle mass and strength, including a discussion of the potential for improvement of neuromuscular function following exercise training programmes. In the literature, limb muscles have been compared between groups of men and women throughout the adult age range, showing that decreases in voluntary strength do not become apparent until after the age of about 60. Rate of decline then amounts to 10 to 15% per decade, stemming from age related decreases in the amount of excitable muscle tissue. However, high-resistance exercise training programmes are effective in improving both muscle size and voluntary strength, even in very old and frail men and women. These improvements may yield significant gains in the performance of sports and the activities of daily living, such as walking ability. Maintenance exercise programmes must also be advocated to avoid rapid detraining effects seen in elderly people who become sedentary.

Ageing is characterized by a loss of functional capacity. A linear loss from age 30 to 65 years has been described for various measures. After age 65 years, evidence also suggests an accelerated decline in some measures, particularly those of muscle size and function. Nevertheless, up to 85 years, the rate of decline of VO2max across ages appears to remain rather constant. As well, the central cardiovascular capacity, despite some suggested age effects, would appear to be adequate to support the smaller muscle mass. Thus, despite the losses in absolute exercise capacity with age, the ability to sustain a relatively high intensity of aerobic exercise appears preserved. It has also been shown that cardiorespiratory training of older men and women is effective in increasing VO2max and results in the usual changes during submaximal exercise. These benefits of cardiorespiratory training are substantial in that the increases observed compensate for the losses with ageing described over the period of a decade or more.