Motivos de participação dos estudantes universitários em atividades físico-desportivas

El objetivo del presente artículo es contribuir al análisis de los motivos de participación de los estudiantes universitarios en la práctica físico-deportiva. También se pretende establecer diferencias por género y conocer dónde practican deporte los universitarios alicantinos. Para ello, se llevó a cabo una investigación no experimental descriptiva en la que participaron 400 alumnos seleccionados por muestreo no probabilístico por cuotas entre todas las facultades de la Universidad de Alicante, a los que se les aplicó el cuestionario MIAFD (Pavón, 2004). Los resultados indican que la mayoría de la población universitaria practicaba actividades físico-deportivas (58.7%). Los motivos más habituales fueron: para estar en forma (85.9%), para liberar energía (80.8%) y para mejorar la salud (78.3%). En cambio, el principal motivo para no practicar actividad física era la falta de tiempo debido a los estudios. Los hombres afirman en mayor medida que las mujeres practicar actividades físico-deportivas para competir y superarse.The purpose of this paper is to identify the university students’ motives to participate in physical and sports activities. It also aims to determine gender differences and to know where they practice these activities. A non-experimental descriptive study was conducted for this purpose. Four hundred students were selected using a non-probability sampling by quota procedure among all the colleges of the University of Alicante, to whom the MIAFD questionnaire (Pavón, 2004) was administered. Results indicate that most of the university population practiced physical and sport activities (58.7%). The most common reasons for participating in sports were: for fitness (85.9%), to release energy (80.8%) and to improve health (78.3%). On the other hand, the lack of time was the main reason for not practicing physical and sports activities. Competition and self-improvement are motives more frequently adduced by male students than female participants.O objetivo do presente artigo é detectar os motivos dos estudantes universitários em atividades físico-desportivas. Também se pretende estabelecer diferenças por gênero e conhecer onde pratican o desporto os estudantes universitários. Para isso, se levou a cabo uma investigação não experimental descritiva. A amostra utilizada foi de 400 alunos que foram selecionados a través de uma amostragem não probabilística por quotas entre todas as faculdades da Universidade de Alicante e aos quais foi aplicado o questionário MIAFD (Pavón, 2004). Os resultados indicam que a maoria da população universitária praticava atividades físico-desportivas (58.7%). Os motivos mais comuns foram: para estar em forma (85.9%), para a liberação de energia (80.8%) e para melhorar a saúde. No entanto, a principal motivação para não praticar desporto foi a falta de tempo por causa dos estudos. Os homens afirmam que praticam atividades físico-desportivas para competir e para se superar mais frequentemente que as mulheres

Handgrip strength and hand dimensions in high-level inter-university judoists

Background and Study Aim: Handgrip strength plays a major role in many sports. In Judo, a single grasp allows the judoka to attack, defend and counter-attack through different movements in a span of four to six directions. Some general and hand-specific anthropometric measurements have been positively related to handgrip strength. Therefore, the aim of this study was the influence of general and hand anthropometric parameters in handgrip strength and sport achievement. Material and Methods: Fifty four judokas aged 19-25 years participants of the Inter-University Championship of Spain 2009 took part in this study. Body height and body mass were measured and body mass index was calculated as general anthropometric parameters. Three groups of hand specific parameters were measured: finger spans, finger lengths and hand perimeters. The handgrip strength was measured by digital dynamometer in both hands. Results: The general and some hand-specific (finger lengths, hand perimeters) measurements were significantly different among the weight groups (p<0.05) and positively correlated with handgrip strength for the whole group. However, only a few measurements – IFL,MFL,P4,P5 – were positively correlated among weight groups. Poor correlations were found between hand-specific variables – TL,IFL,MFL,P4 – and sport achievement. Only P3 was highly correlated with sport achievement and together with FS1 explained 44.4% of its variance. Conclusions: The results indicate that the handgrip strength is mostly dependent on the basic (body height) and hand-specific (IFL, MFL, and P4) anthropometric parameters in judokas. Sport achievement was related to hand perimeter (P3), but its variability was weakly explained and thus hand-specific measurements may not be good predictors for judo performance

Effects of different backpack loads in acceleration transmission during recreational distance walking

It is well established nowadays the benefits that physical activity can have on the health of individuals. Walking is considered a fundamental method of movement and using a backpack is a common and economical manner of carrying load weight. Nevertheless, the shock wave produced by the impact forces when carrying a backpack can have detrimental effects on health status. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate differences in the accelerations placed on males and females whilst carrying different loads when walking. Twenty nine sports science students (16 males and 13 females) participated in the study under 3 different conditions: no weight, 10% and 20% body weight (BW) added in a backpack. Accelerometers were attached to the right shank and the centre of the forehead. Results showed that males have lower accelerations than females both in the head (2.62 ± 0.43G compared to 2.83 + 0.47G) and shank (1.37 ± 0.14G compared to 1.52 ± 0.15G; p0.05). The body acts as a natural shock absorber, reducing the amount of force that transmits through the body between the foot (impact point) and head. Anthropometric and body mass distribution differences between males and females may result in women receiving greater impact acceleration compared to men when the same load is carried

Effect of custom-made and prefabricated foot orthoses on kinematic parameters during an intense prolonged run.

Foot orthoses are one of the most used strategies by healthy runners in injury prevention and performance improvement. However, their effect on running kinematics throughout an intense prolonged run in this population is unknown. Moreover, there is some controversy regarding the use of custom-made versus prefabricated foot orthoses. This study analysed the effect of different foot orthoses (custom-made, prefabricated and a control condition) on spatio-temporal and angular (knee flexion and foot eversion) kinematic parameters and their behaviour during an intense prolonged run. Twenty-four recreational runners performed three similar tests that consisted of running 20 min on a treadmill at 80% of their maximal aerobic speed, each one with a different foot orthosis condition. Contact and flight time, and stride length and stride rate were measured every 5 min by an optical measurement photoelectric cell system. Knee flexion and foot eversion kinematic parameters were measured by two high-speed cameras. No significant differences were found between the different foot orthoses in any of the time points studied and between the interaction of foot orthosis and behaviour over time, in any of the variables studied (P > 0.05). The use of custom-made and prefabricated foot orthoses during an intense prolonged run does not produce changes in spatio-temporal and kinematic parameters in healthy runners. These results suggest that a healthy runner maintains its ideal movement pattern throughout a 20 minute prolonged run, regardless the type of foot orthosis used

Influence of Scapular Position on the Core Musculature Activation in the Prone Plank Exercise

Prone plank is a widely used exercise in core stability training. Research has shown that pelvic tilt plays an important role on the electromyographic (EMG) activation of core musculature. However, the influence of scapular position on EMG activation is currently unknown. Therefore, this study evaluated the influence of scapular position on the core muscles during a prone plank. Surface EMG of the rectus abdominis (RA), external oblique (EO), internal oblique (IO), and erector spinae (ES) was collected in 15 participants (10 men and 5 women). Four variations of the prone plank were evaluated: scapular abduction with anterior (ABANT) and posterior (ABRET) pelvic tilt; and scapular adduction with anterior (ADANT), and posterior (ADRET) pelvic tilt. Individual muscle EMG and overall EMG for each plank exercise was analyzed. Joint positions were controlled with a 2D kinematic analysis. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were also registered. The ADRET resulted in higher overall EMG activity compared with ABANT (p = 0.04) and ADANT (p = 0.04). Moreover, ADRET resulted in greater EMG activity compared with ADANT, ABANT, and ABRET for EO (p = 0.000; p = 0.000; p = 0.035), IO (p = 0.000; p = 0.000; p = 0.005), and ES (p = 0.019; p = 0.001; p = 0.014). Regarding RA, ADRET was significantly higher compared with ADANT (p = 0.002) and ABANT (p = 0.005). Finally, ADRET provoked a higher RPE compared with ABANT (p = 0.000), ABRET (p = 0.001), and ADANT (p = 0.015). These findings demonstrate the influence of the scapular and pelvic position on the EMG response of the core muscle groups analyzed in this study, and highlight the greater contribution of these muscles to the postural stabilizing demands during posterior pelvic tilt positions, particularly when the scapulae are in adduction