Effects of Psyching-Up on Sprint Performance

Hammoudi-Nassib, S, Nassib, S, Chtara, M, Briki, W, Chaouachi, A, Tod, D, and Chamari, K. Effects of psyching-up on sprint performance. J Strength Cond Res 31(8): 2066–2074, 2017—The present research aimed at examining whether the psyching up (PU) strategies improve performance in 30-m sprinting. Sixteen male sprinters (age, 20.6 ± 1.3 years; body mass, 77.5 ± 7.1 kg; height, 180.8 ± 5.6 cm) participated in this study. Before each experimental session, the Hooper index was used to monitor the subject’s feeling for the quality of sleep of the previous night, perceived quantity of stress, delayed onset muscle soreness, and fatigue. After completing general and specific warm-up, participants had to rate their degree of self-confidence. Then, they were asked to follow 1 of these 4 conditions: Imagery (experimental PU condition), Preparatory arousal (experimental PU condition), Attention placebo (control condition), and Distraction (control condition) during the final 30 seconds of the rest period right before performing a 30-m sprint. Participants separately and randomly performed all conditions. Results showed that although the imagery and preparatory arousal strategies contributed to increase the performance in the short-distance sprints (from 0 to 10 m), the imagery strategy contributed to increase the performance in the 30-m sprints. These findings support the general view that the PU strategies could improve athletic performance.Scopu

Kinematic analysis of postural control in gymnasts vs. athletes practicing different sports

Purpose The aim of this study was to examine the postural control difference between gymnasts and other athletes practicing different sports. Methods Twenty-eight elite-level male athletes (7 gymnasts, 7 volleyball players, 7 windsurfers, and 7 monofin swimmers) participated in this study. Two-dimensional kinematic analysis of mediolateral and anteroposterior sway velocity of the center of mass (COM) on single plane balance board in bipedal and unipedal conditions, and on hard and foam surfaces was performed using two cameras (Sony, DCR-PC108E, 50 Hz). Data were digitized using the video-based data analysis system SkillSpector. Results Findings showed significant between groups differences regardless of the postural stance i.e., unipedal or bipedal (d = 1.76–6.82, p < 0.01). In this regards, windsurfers presented the best postural performance in terms of sway velocity of the COM followed by gymnasts, volleyball players, and monofin swimmers. Furthermore, regardless of the postural stance, significant differences between surfaces (d = 0.61–1.03, p < 0.05) were established. In this context, COM’s sway velocity was higher for hard compared with foam surfaces for all disciplines (d = 0.75–0.66, p < 0.05) except monofin swimmers who presented higher COM’s sway velocity in foam compared to hard surfaces. Further, in the anteroposterior stance, windsurfers and gymnasts showed significantly lower floor contacts number compared with the other groups (d = 1.76–2.39, p < 0.01). However, volleyball players and monofin swimmers showed comparable postural performance in the mediolateral plane. Conclusions The windsurfers presented the best postural control followed by gymnasts, volleyball players, and monofin swimmers irrespective of the surface’s nature (i.e., hard or foam) and postural stance (i.e., bipedal or unipedal). Therefore, it is recommended to incorporate windsurfing practice to promote postural control of gymnastic athletes.Scopu

The relative contributions of ACE genotypes on personality traits in Tunisian athletes

BACKGROUND: The present study attempted to test whether the ACE genotypes can be associated with particular personality traits that can be potentially used as predictors of athletic performance. Eighty seven track and field athletes (47 males, 40 females; aged 20.55±2.22) competing at an international level, voluntarily participated in this study. The athletes were prospectively classified into two groups according to their genetic polymorphism to physical efforts: endurance group (allele I, N.=48) and power group (allele D, N.=39). This genetic predisposition has been granted with athletes’ specialty. METHODS: Personality trait was assessed before competition and the ACE gene polymorphism was examined by polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The results revealed strong relationships between score performances and psychological constructs. Using allele I (related to the endurance), calmness explained 31% of the variance, and when sociability was added to the equation, 43% of the variance of score performance was further explained. On the other hand, nervousness explained 23% of the variance using allele D (related to the power), and when aggressiveness was added to the equation, 34% of the variance of score performance was then explained. CONCLUSIONS: The current study is the first to interpret the relationship between the ACE gene and personality traits and has provided evidence that the distance runners and power athletes exhibited different personality profiles associated with their ACE I/D polymorphism predisposition.Scopu