Optimizing recovery to support multi-evening cycling competition performance

Road criterium and track bicycle racing occur at high speeds, demand repeated high power outputs, last 10–90?min, and offer little chance for recovery after the event. Consecutive evenings of criterium and track racing are respectively known as speed-week or six-day events and take place in evening hours over the course of a week. Given the schedule and timing of these competitions, return to homeostasis can be compromised. No recommendations exist on how to optimize recovery for cyclists participating in these types of repeated evening competitions. Criterium and track cyclists spend considerable time, near and above the individual lactate threshold and therefore mostly utilize carbohydrate as their chief energy substrate. Henceforth, pre – and post-race nutrition and hydration is examined and recommendations are brought forward for carbohydrate, protein, and fluid intake. As evening high-intensity exercise perturbs sleep, strategies to optimize sleep are discussed and recommendations for an optimal sleep environment are given. Active recovery is examined, and the benefits of a short duration low intensity exercise reviewed. Passive recovery methods such as compression garments and cold water immersion are recommended, while evidence for massage, pneumatic compression devices, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation is still lacking. Optimizing recovery strategies will facilitate a return to the resting state following strenuous night competition.     

Reliability and validity of field-based fitness tests in youth soccer players

This study aimed to establish between-day reliability and validity of commonly used field-based fitness tests in youth soccer players of varied age and playing standards, and to discriminate between players without (“unidentified”) or with (“identified”) a direct route to professional football through their existing club pathway. Three-hundred-and-seventy-three Scottish youth soccer players (U11–U17) from three different playing standards (amateur, development, performance) completed a battery of commonly used generic field-based fitness tests (grip dynamometry, standing broad jump, countermovement vertical jump, 505 (505COD) and T-Drill (T-Test) change of direction and 10/20 m sprint tests) on two separate occasions within 7–14?days. The majority of field-based fitness tests selected within this study proved to be reliable measures of physical performance (ICC?=?0.83–0.97; p?p?2 (7)?=?101.646, p?相似文献   

Contextual factors on physical demands in professional women’s soccer: Female Athletes in Motion study

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of contextual factors on relative locomotor and metabolic power distances during professional female soccer matches. Twenty-eight players (forwards, n?=?4; midfielders, n?=?12; defenders, n?=?12) that competed in a 90-min home and away match (regular season only). The generalised estimating equations (GEE) was used to evaluate relative locomotor and metabolic power distances for three contextual factors: location (home vs. away), type of turf (natural vs. artificial), and match outcome (win, loss and draw). No differences were observed for home vs. away matches. Moderate-intensity running (20.0?±?1.0?m?min^?1 and 16.4?±?0.9?m?min^?1), high-intensity running (8.6?±?0.4?m?min^?1 and 7.3?±?0.4?m?min^?1) and high-metabolic power (16.3?±?0.5?m?min^?1 and 14.4?±?0.5?m?min^?1) distances were elevated on artificial turf compared to natural grass, respectively. Relative sprint distance was greater during losses compared with draws (4.3?±?0.4?m?min^?1 and 3.4?±?0.3?m?min^?1). Overall physical demands of professional women’s soccer were not impacted by match location. However, the elevation of moderate and high-intensity demands while playing on artificial turf may have implications on match preparations as well as recovery strategies.     

Concurrent validity of the Woodcock-Johnson tests of cognitive ability with the WISC-R: EMR children

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA) were administered in a counterbalanced order to 30 children referred for a three-year reevaluation. All children were currently placed in an educable mentally retarded (EMR) program. The children ranged in age from 8-0 to 12-5 years, with a mean of 10-6. The correlation coefficient between the WISC-R and WJTCA was observed to be .72. Significant mean differences were found between the WISC-R and WJTCA full scale standard scores. The implications of the findings are discussed relative to the placement of children in classes for the mentally retarded. Explanations for the mean differences between the WJTCA and WISC-R also are explored.     

Sex differences and sex bias on the Boehm test of basic concepts: Do they exist?

Form A of the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (BTBC) was administered to 180 kindergartners—90 boys and 90 girls. Neither their mean scores nor their standard deviations differed significantly, and the distributions of scores for the two groups were virtually identical. Moreover, the application of three internal criteria for bias yielded totally negative results; thus, there was no evidence of either sex differences or sex bias in the data.     

The role of the teacher with substance-abusing adolescents in secondary schools

Before choosing to become involved with students who currently are abusing psychoactive substances, teachers must consider not only the potential consequences and payoffs to them professionally, but also what specifically they can do to help adolescents. This article presents some of the philosophical problems, and suggests potential solutions of how to relate to students who engage in potentially self-destructive, drug-related behavior. There is a need for teachers to become quasi-counselors and consultants, since they are the first line of defense against substance use and abuse.