European journal of sport science最新文献

Sport science practitioners utilise findings from peer reviewed research to inform practice. Fewer studies are conducted with high performance athletes, however, than those involving recreationally active participants. Noting that research findings from recreational athletes may not be generalisable to the elite, there is a need to engage the latter cohort in research with better potential to influence health and performance. This study identified methods used to engage and recruit highly trained, elite and world class athletes as research participants. A document analysis was conducted using a purposive sample of peer-reviewed sport science literature. All articles published in 2022 from 18 highly ranked sport science journals were screened for inclusion. Studies investigating athletes ranked as highly trained/national level or above were included. All details related to participant recruitment were extracted from included articles, with the content being coded and thematically analysed using an interpretivist approach. A total of 439 studies from the 2356 screened were included in the analysis. Five primary themes of recruitment strategies were identified, beneath an overarching strategy of purposeful, convenience sampling. Recruitment themes related to the use of a gatekeeper, the research environment providing convenient access to athletes, promoting the study electronically, utilising professional networks and recruiting at training or competition. Engaging athletes through a gatekeeper is a prominent strategy to involve elite athletes in research. It is suggested that researchers work collaboratively with team or organisation personnel to promote recruitment, creating co-designed approaches that address issues most relevant to athletes and staff.

Several theoretical frameworks have been used to understand exercise adherence. Basic psychological needs (BPN), grounded on self-determination theory, have received large attention for this purpose. More recently, the hedonic theory and the assumptions related to the exercise characteristics (e.g., intensity) that can bolster positive affective responses have been revitalized. This study aimed to explore the associations between the agreement of current exercise intensity and the one individually preferred, BPN satisfaction/frustration, enjoyment, the intention to continue exercise, and exercise frequency. Additionally, an exploration of the direct and indirect effects while testing sex as a moderator was performed. A sample of 369 exercisers (M_age = 43.6, standard deviation = 12.96; 214 females) enrolled in 26 health clubs participated in this study voluntarily. Data were received in a first-approach descriptive and correlational analyses. Next, a moderated mediation was performed using model 15 (PROCESS v.4.2). As a result, agreement in preference for exercise intensity was positively associated with enjoyment (r = 0.35), intention (r = 0.43), and all needs satisfaction (ranging from r = 0.12 to r = 0.45) and negatively associated with all needs frustration (ranging from r = −0.15 to r = −0.31). In the moderated mediation analysis, the same pattern of results emerged in direct effects. Indirect effects were significant for autonomy in the enjoyment and frequency models. Findings suggest that promoting an individually adjusted training intensity may foster BPN satisfaction. It appears to be present an independent (of needs) and positive association with exercise enjoyment and intention to continue exercising.

Ultrarunning is gaining in popularity but no information is available on the physiological and psychological responses during backyard ultrarunning events. The aim of this study was to determine changes in cognitive function, markers of physiological resilience, and running performance during a backyard-running event. Twelve male ultrarunners (38 ± 8 years old, BMI: 23.5 ± 1.6 kg/m², and VO_2max: 60.8 ± 4.7 mL/min/kg) were monitored before, during, and after the event. Cognitive performance was determined using a cognitive test battery before, during, and after the event. During the event, the rating of perceived exertion (RPE), blood lactate concentration, and heart rate (HR) were assessed. Physical performance was investigated using the total number of completed laps and running speed per lap. Athletes completed 34 ± 17 laps equaling 227.8 ± 113.9 km with average speeds starting at 9.0 km/h and slowing down to 7.5 km/h at the end of the event. Physiological resilience (estimated using HR/speed) varied between athletes, with significantly lower values in the more proficient backyard runners at the end of the event (p < 0.05). HR and lactate levels remained constant, whereas a progressive increase in RPE was noticed (p ≤ 0.001). A significantly worsened reaction time was observed for several cognitive tasks after the event compared to baseline measures (p ≤ 0.05). These observations show that physiological resilience differs depending on the level of endurance performance of the athletes. Furthermore, the backyard ultrarunning event negatively impacted psychomotor speed. Therefore, the results suggest that implementing strategies that enhance physiological resilience and/or psychomotor speed could potentially have a positive effect on performance in ultraendurance activities.

Women's football has grown in popularity, competitiveness and professionalism, increasing the demands placed on players and their injury risk. This study aimed to identify differences in the match workload and international travel between injured and non-injured professional women's footballers. The study was conducted as an observational, retrospective, case-control study over two football seasons (2021/2022 and 2022/2023) in four top-tier European women's football leagues. Fifty-eight professional women football players (81 injuries) formed the injury group and were matched with 81 elite women football players (162 non-injuries), from the same league, to form the control group. For each injury, cumulative match workload (minutes played, appearances, days between matches, rest) and international travel (distances, time, time zones crossed) were calculated over a 28-day period preceding the injury, for both the injured players and matched controls. The injured group had a higher number of instances of less than 5 days between matches compared to the controls (p = 0.03, effect size = 0.3, small). The anterior cruciate ligament injury group made more appearances (p = 0.09, effect size = 0.8, moderate), had more instances of less than 5 days between matches (p = 0.09, effect size = 0.8, moderate) and had less rest time (p = 0.12, effect size = 0.8, moderate) than the control group. No meaningful differences were observed between the hamstring injury group and the control group. These findings underscore the importance of careful consideration when developing match fixture schedules in elite women's football, particularly concerning the number of matches scheduled in a short period. Strategies to increase rest and recovery are recommended to safeguard players against injuries.

This study examines the associations between force and velocity characteristics of forward skating and off-ice speed, agility, and power of highly trained teenage ice hockey players. Players attending the Quebec ice hockey federation's off-season evaluation camp were invited to participate in this study. Final sample consists of 107 highly trained teenage ice hockey players (Males: n = 38; 13.83 ± 0.38 years; Females: n = 69: 14.75 ± 0.90 years). Individual force–velocity profiles (F–V) were determined during a 44 m skating sprint. Off-ice speed, agility, and power were measured using 30 m sprint, 5-10-5 agility, and standing long jump. Associations between F–V mechanical capabilities and off-ice indicators were analyzed with correlational analyses and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). Results of pooled data indicate that the three off-ice measures had moderate associations with F₀ and V₀ and large associations with P_max. Associations with Rf_max, D_rf, and S_fv were moderate to small. F₀ had stronger associations with off-ice performance in female players while V₀ was more important with male players. MANCOVA identified 5-10-5 times as the better predictor for F₀ while 30 m sprints times better predicted V_0. To maximize physical attributes of skating ability, practitioners are encouraged to focus on a general physical preparation for highly trained teenage players. Prioritizing types of exercises that use change of direction or acceleration and linear speed should have distinct effects on F₀ and V₀ on the ice.

One marker of expertise in sport is athletes' ability to anticipate future events. In the 4 × 100 m relay, these anticipation skills are an essential asset for initiating their run at the right time. However, no study has focused on describing the underlying perceptual-motor processes involved. Virtual reality provides powerful tools to describe and understand these processes, overcoming the drastic constraints encountered in the real world. Nineteen athletes from the French national teams were immersed in a digital replica of the Stade de France and confronted with digital twins of potential partners based on motion capture. Their task was to initiate their run exactly when their virtual partner passed over a go-mark placed on the ground. The timing of different body motor events and visual behavior were measured and analyzed. Results showed that the execution of this highly constrained task is the result of a significant reduction in the variability of motor events preceding the start. These findings reveal the implementation of a perceptual-motor dialog until the initiation of the run. This study is a first step toward understanding the mechanisms underlying anticipation skills in the 4 × 100 m relay; it constitutes a preliminary step to the deployment of VR training protocols.

It is known that microtrauma exists in the thigh muscles after long-distance running such as the half-marathon. Moreover, training characteristics of long-distance runners may influence the specificity of the distribution of muscle fiber types in the thigh and affect muscle responses to lipid metabolism. However, the specific changes in microtrauma and intramuscular lipid in thigh muscles after a half-marathon are unknown. A cohort of 20 healthy recreational marathon runners was recruited to complete a half-marathon. MRI T2 mapping and 6-echo q-Dixon sequences were employed at baseline (P1), 2–3 h after running (P2), and 1 day after running (P3). Inflammatory markers (the T2 values) and intramuscular fat fraction (the proton density fat fraction, PDFF) were measured in thigh muscles to detect microtrauma and intramuscular lipid changes, respectively. One-way analysis of variance showed significant time effects for T2 values and PDFF. Post hoc analysis of the 14 datasets collected at three time points revealed significantly higher T2 values in all thigh muscles after running (all p < 0.05). Significant differences in T2 values persisted for all thigh muscles at P3 compared to P1 (all p < 0.05). The PDFF of the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis was significantly decreased at P2 compared to P1 (p < 0.05). No significant differences in PDFF were observed for the thigh muscles at P3 compared to P1. The manifestations of inflammation edema and intramuscular lipid investigated through MRI may offer valuable insights for recreational marathon runners regarding the lower limb movement characteristics during half-marathon running.

We examined the sensitivity and time-course of recovery of neuromuscular and perceptual player monitoring measures to U-18 English Premier League academy football match play. Eighteen players performed maximal posterior chain, hip adductor and abductor isometric strength tests, countermovement jumps (CMJ) and provided self-report wellbeing scores around eight competitive league home games: 1 day before (MD-1), pre-match (MD-PRE), post-match (MD-POST) and two (MD+2) and three (MD+3) days post-match. A permutational multivariate analysis of variance and post hoc univariate analyses of variance were used to examine match-induced responses to monitoring variables. Between MD-1 and MD-POST, we observed small to moderate reductions to the adductor and abductor peak force and maximal impulse and IPCS peak force; small reductions to CMJ jump height (JH) (flight time), eccentric peak force and eccentric deceleration rate of force development and moderate to large reductions to perceived fatigue, muscle soreness and mood. No match-induced changes were observed for CMJ flight time: contraction time or eccentric duration. Posterior chain, abductor, CMJ and self-report measures normalised by MD+3 but adductor peak force remained compromised at MD+3 (ES = small). Posterior chain, adductor and abductor peak isometric force and maximal impulse; CMJ JH, eccentric peak force and eccentric deceleration rate of force development and perceived fatigue, muscle soreness and mood are sensitive to match-induced fatigue. Since adductor peak force remained compromised at MD+3, it is apparent that players might not achieve complete neuromuscular recovery within 3 days of match play, and that the adductor muscle group might be particularly vulnerable to match-induced fatigue.

Montmorency cherry (MC) can improve endurance performance, but optimal pre-exercise timing of supplementation and influence of training status on efficacy are unknown. We investigated the effect of MC concentrate ingestion between 30- and 150-min pre-exercise in trained and recreational cyclists on 15-km time trial (TT) performance and exercise economy. Twenty participants (10 recreationally active, RA; 10 trained, T) completed 10 min of steady-state exercise (SSE) at 40%Δ (SSE) and a TT on four separate occasions following an unsupplemented (US), 30-, 90- or 150-min pre-exercise Montmorency cherry concentrate (MCC) supplementation conditions (MCC^30/90/150min). Venous and capillary blood samples were taken at regular intervals pre- and post-SSE and TT. MCC significantly improved TT performance, but not exercise economy. The greatest improvement in performance occurred following MCC^90min compared to US (US 1603.1 ± 248 s vs. MCC^90min 1554.8 ± 226.7 s, 2.83% performance improvement). Performance was significantly enhanced for trained (US 1496.6 ± 173.1 s vs. MCC^90min 1466.8 ± 157.6 s) but not recreationally active participants. Capillary [lactate] and heart rate were significantly greater during the TT for the 90-min dose timing (p < 0.05). In the MCC^30min and MCC^90min conditions, plasma ferulic (US 8.71 ± 3.22 nmol. L⁻¹ vs. MCC^30min 15.80 ± 8.69 nmol. L⁻¹, MCC^90min 12.65 ± 4.84 nmol. L⁻¹) and vanillic acid (US 25.14 ± 10.91 nmol.L⁻¹ vs. MCC^30min 153.07 ± 85.91 nmol. L⁻¹, MCC^90min 164.58 ± 59.06 nmol. L⁻¹) were significantly higher pre-exercise than in US and MCC^150min conditions (p < 0.05). There was no significant change in muscle oxygenation status or plasma nitrite/nitrate concentration. MCC supplementation enhanced endurance exercise performance optimally when consumed ∼90 min pre-exercise producing maximal plasma phenolic metabolites during exercise. The ergogenic effect was greater for trained participants.

Endurance athletes fail to meet carbohydrate (CHO) guidelines for competition, which may be due to limited knowledge. However, the relationship between knowledge and practice in this population is unknown. To investigate this, we assessed the dietary intake in 50 athletes (37 females) who completed endurance events ≥2.5 h in duration and compared CHO intake against the carbohydrates for endurance athletes in competition questionnaire validated nutrition knowledge questionnaire, with specific questions related to CHO loading, pre-competition meal and during-competition intake. CHO-loading guidelines (10–12 g · kg⁻¹ · day⁻¹) were met in practice by n = 5 (10%), but there was no relationship between identified requirements (range 0–12 g · kg⁻¹ · day⁻¹) and actual intake (r_s = 0.133, p = 0.358), with the n = 18 (36%) who correctly identified requirements, ingesting 6.1 ± 1.9 g · kg⁻¹ · day⁻¹. CHO intake for pre-competition meal guidelines (1–4 g · kg⁻¹) was met in practice by n = 40 (80%), but there was no relationship between identified requirements (range 0 to >4 g · kg⁻¹) and actual intake (r_s = 0.101, p = 0.487), with n = 19 (38%) who correctly identified guidelines requirements, ingesting 1.4 ± 0.6 g · kg⁻¹. CHO intake during-competition guidelines (60–90 g · h⁻¹) was met in practice by n = 18 (36%), but there was no relationship between the amounts of CHO required (range 30 to >90 g/h) and actual intake (r_s = 0.028, p = 0.849), with n = 32 (64%) who correctly identified guidelines requirements, ingesting 56 ± 20 g · h⁻¹. Results show no relationship between the knowledge of CHO recommendations and practice, suggesting that theoretical knowledge does not guarantee the achievement of best practice and other important factors may ultimately determine practice.