The Influence of Overbuilt Versus Game-Permitted American Football Facemasks on Peripheral Visuomotor Ability in NCAA Division I Football Athletes

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 2: Issue 1, Article 9, 2021. Heavier facemask reinforcement has been shown to impair reaction time. While overbuilt facemasks are illegal for gameplay at all levels of competition, empirical rationale for this has not be realized and it is unknown if overbuilt facemasks are worse for peripheral vision than permitted ones. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of wearing an overbuilt facemask versus game permitted facemasks on peripheral visuomotor ability in collegiate football players. Male NCAA Division I football players (n=18) completed a 60-second peripheral visuomotor test on a Dynavision D2 visuomotor board under the following conditions: 1) Baseline (No helmet), 2) Helmet + Light reinforced facemask, 3) Helmet + Medium reinforced facemask, 4) Helmet + Heavy reinforced facemask, 5) Helmet + Overbuilt facemask. Overall peripheral reaction time (PRT) and PRT separated by rings and quadrants were analyzed. Points of application: 1) Regardless of facemask reinforcement, wearing protective headgear impairs peripheral reaction time (PRT) compared to baseline with no helmet. Addition of an overbuilt facemask significantly impairs PRT compared to NCAA permitted facemasks. 2) An overbuilt facemask exhibits the most visuomotor decrement in far peripheral visual fields. 3) Decreases in visuomotor ability while wearing an overbuilt facemask are most pronounced in lower regions of visual field

THE EFFECT OF AN ORAL REHYDRATION SOLUTION ON SUBSEQUENT ANAEROBIC EXERCISE PERFORMANCE AND PERCEPTUAL MEASURES

BACKGROUND: Dehydration is known to negatively influence exercise performance. Research has demonstrated that oral rehydration solutions (ORS) containing carbohydrates and electrolytes enhance exercise performance. It is unknown if ORS containing only electrolytes can improve subsequent anaerobic exercise performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if rehydration with an electrolyte beverage improves anaerobic exercise performance. METHODS: Four females (age = 23 ± 4; body mass = 65.5 ± 10.9) participated in this randomized, counterbalanced, crossover study. For both trials, participants arrived at the lab following a twelve-hour fluid restriction. Their first-morning urine was collected, and urine specific gravity (USG) and urine color were assessed (USG = 1.024 ± 0.005; Urine Color = 5 ± 1). Participants cycled on a cycle ergometer for 45 minutes, keeping their heart rate between 75-85% of their estimated heart rate max. No fluid was provided during this exercise. Participant’s body mass was collected immediately following this bout of exercise. Participants were then provided with either an electrolyte beverage (EB) (LMT Inc.) or placebo (PL) (Mio Inc.) to replace fluid losses from exercise. Participants then reported several perceptual measures and completed three 15-second Wingates on a cycle ergometer. RESULTS: Desire for fluid was higher following the consumption of the EB compared to the PL and the difference was approaching statistical significance (p = 0.08). Participants reported an improved taste in their mouth following ingestion of EB compared to PL (p = 0.006). Anaerobic capacity (p = 0.135), mean watts (p = 0.999), and peak watts (p = 0.422) were not different between trials. CONCLUSION: Although the desire to drink more fluid and perceived taste was improved following the consumption of the EB, performance was not impacted. An EB does not appear to be an effective strategy to improve exercise performance but may be useful to drive the desire to drink fluid

Effects of Respite Music on Repeated Upper-body Resistance Exercise Performance

International Journal of Exercise Science 15(7): 79-87, 2022. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of self-selected respite music on upper-body resistance exercise performance. In a crossover, counterbalanced study design, resistance-trained males (n = 10) participated in two bench press trials each with a different condition: 1) No music (NM), 2) Listening to respite music (RM; i.e. during rest periods). Following a warm-up, participants completed 3 sets × repetitions to failure (RTF) at 75% of 1-RM separated by 2 minutes of rest. During the 2-minute rest, participants either listened to NM or RM until the next subsequent set. A linear position transducer was used to measure mean barbell velocity during the first 3 repetitions and averaged for analysis. Rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and motivation were obtained after each set. Results indicate that mean velocity was higher during set 2 (p = 0.009; d = 1.34) and set 3 (p = 0.048; d = 0.95) while listening to RM versus NM. Furthermore, motivation was significantly higher following set 2 (p = 0.005; d = 1.15) and set 3 (p \u3c 0.001; d = 1.79) while listening to RM compared to NM. No changes in RTF or RPE were noted between conditions (p \u3e 0.05). These findings indicate listening to music during recovery may enhance subsequent explosive resistance performance and suggest that listening to music in between bouts of maximal effort could be an effective tool for optimizing performance during competition or training