138 research outputs found
Effects of caffeine consumption combined with listening to music during warm-up on taekwondo physical performance, perceived exertion and psychological aspects
No full textThe effects of caffeine (CAF) and music have been well documented when used separately, but their combined effects are not yet studied. Thus, the present study assessed the acute effects of combining a low dose of CAF with listening to music during warm-up on taekwondo physical performance, perceived exertion (RPE), and psychological responses during taekwondo-specific tasks in male elite athletes. In a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study design, male taekwondo athletes (n = 16; age: 18.25 +/- 0.75 years) performed the taekwondo-specific agility test (TSAT), 10 s frequency speed of kick test (FSKT-10s) and the multiple version of FSKT (FSKT-mult) under the following conditions: 1) CAF without music (CAF+NoM), 2) placebo (PL) without music (PL+NoM), 3) CAF with music (CAF+M), 4) PL with music (PL+M), 5) no supplement with music (NoS+M) and no supplement without music (control). RPE, feeling scale (FS), felt arousal scale (FAS) and physical enjoyment (PACES) were determined after each test. Findings showed the CAF+M condition induced better performances than other conditions for TSAT, FSKT-10s, FSKT-mult, RPE, FAS and FS and PACES post FSKT-10s (all p<0.05). Moreover, CAF+M resulted in better responses than other conditions for PACES post TSAT (p<0.05) with the exception of CAF+NoM. Likewise, CAF+M condition induced better physical enjoyment than PL+NoM, NoS+M and PL+M conditions post FSKT-mult (p<0.05). Combining low dose of CAF with music during warm-up was an effective strategy that induced greater effects than their isolated use during taekwondo specific tasks
Acute effects of plyometric-based conditioning activity and warm-up music stimuli on physical performance and affective state in male taekwondo athletes
No full textIntroduction: This study assesses the acute effects of combining a plyometric-based conditioning activity (CA) with different musical stimuli during warm-up on taekwondo (TKD) performance and related psychological aspects. Methods: In a randomized cross-over study design, 16 male TKD athletes (age: 19.94 ± 1.12 years) performed the TKD-specific agility test (TSAT), frequency speed of kick test (FSKT-10s) and its multiple version (FSKT-mult) under 7 experimental and one control condition. For the experimental conditions, participants experienced varying combinations of music selection process [self-selected (SSM) vs. pre-selected (PSM)], and music tempo [fast (F) vs. slow (S)], within preferred (PG) and non-preferred (NPG) music genre; all in the presence of a plyometric based-CA. Athletes were instructed to rate their perceived exertion (RPE) after each test and their felt arousal (FAS), feeling scale (FS), and motivation after testing completion. Results: Findings showed that combining a plyometric-based CA with SSMPG at both fast and slow tempo improved TSAT, FSK-10s, FSKT-mult, FAS, motivation, and RPE post-TSAT greater than the other conditions (all p < 0.05). Additionally, FSSMPG combined with CA improved FS, and RPE after both FSKT-10s and FSKT-mult better than the other conditions (all p < 0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, listening to fast self-selected music from a preferred genre in combination with a plyometric-based CA during warm-up setups an individualized warm-up strategy and serves to improve the subsequent specific performances and the related psychological aspects in TKD athletes
The effects of pre-task music on exercise performance and associated psycho-physiological responses: a systematic review with multilevel meta-analysis of controlled studies
No full textThis systematic review summarized the studies that examined the pre-task music effects on performance aspects and quantitatively analyzed their outcomes. A systematic search for controlled studies investigating the acute effects of pre-task music on physical performance, cognitive aspects and associated psycho-physiological responses was performed through Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases up to 17 May 2023, with thirty studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Data was analyzed using the robust multilevel meta-analysis model of standardized mean difference "SMD" with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) and prediction intervals (PI) were reported. Pre-task music induced improvements of completion time (SMD = -0.24; 95% CI = -0.46 to -0.01; PI = -0.82 to 0.35; p = 0.04), relative mean power (RMP) (SMD = 0.38; 95% CI = 0.16 to 0.60; PI = -0.36 to 1.12; p = 0.003) and fatigue (SMD = -0.20; 95% CI = -0.32 to -0.09; PI = -0.36 to -0.05; p = 0.01), moderate effects on relative peak power (RPP) (SMD = 0.53; 95% CI = 0.21 to 0.85; PI = -0.42 to 1.48; p = 0.005), and high effect on feeling scale (FS) (SMD = 2.42; 95% CI = 0.52 to 4.31; PI = -11.43 to 16.26; p = 0.03). Greater benefits were recorded in jumping performance in males than females (p = 0.01), and for active than trained subjects for completion time (p = 0.02), RPP (p = 0.02) and RMP (p = 0.03). Larger benefits were obtained for FS post-warming up than after testing (p = 0.04). Self-selected music induced greater effects than pseudo- and pre-selected for performance decrement index (p = 0.05) and FS (p = 0.02). It could be concluded that pre-task music improved psychological responses and fatigue-related symptoms associated with exercise performance enhancement
Combined effects of low-dose caffeine and warm-up music enhance male athletes' performance in simulated Taekwondo combat: a double-blind, randomized crossover trial
No full textRationale How caffeine (CAF) intake and warm-up music combination affect male taekwondo athletes' performance during simulated combat is yet unstudied. Objective This study examined the potential synergistic effects of low dose of CAF and warm-up music on subsequent taekwondo combat outcomes. Methods In a double-blinded, randomized, crossover study, 16 male taekwondo athletes performed simulated combats under six conditions: (a) control, (b) CAF without music (CAF + NM), (c) placebo without music (PL + NM), (d) CAF with music (CAF + M), (e) PL with music (PL + M), and (f) no supplement with music (NS + M). After warming-up, athletes rated their felt arousal (FAS). Perceived exertion (RPE), feeling scale (FS), FAS, and physical enjoyment (PACES) were determined after combat while mean (HRmean) and peak (HRpeak) heart rate were determined for each bout. Each combat was analyzed to determine time-motion aspects and technical-tactical skills. Results CAF + M shortened skip and pause times than CAF and music in single-use (p < 0.05), while extend attack time than other conditions (p < 0.001). Additionally, CAF + M increased attacks and defensive actions above that of single treatment conditions (all p < 0.05). Moreover, CAF + M improved FS and FAS post-combat than the other conditions (p < 0.001) and PACES compared to NS + M, PL + NM and PL + M conditions (p < 0.05). Similarly, CAF + M reduced HRmean and HRpeak than the other conditions (p < 0.05). Conclusion Combining low dose of CAF and warm-up music could be an effective strategy to enhance taekwondo combat performance in male athletes
Beneficial Physiological and Metabolic Effects with Acute Intake of New Zealand Blackcurrant Extract during 4 h of Indoor Cycling in a Male Ironman Athlete: A Case Study
No full textNew Zealand blackcurrant (NZBC) is known to alter exercise-induced physiological and metabolic responses with chronic (i.e., 7 days) dosing. We examined the effects of acute intake of New Zealand blackcurrant (NZBC) extract on 4 h indoor cycling-induced physiological and metabolic responses in a male amateur Ironman athlete (age: 49 years; BMI: 24.3 kg·m−2; V˙O2max: 58.6 mL·kg−1·min−1; maximal aerobic power: 400 W; history: 14 Ironman events in 16 years) three weeks before competition. Indirect calorimetry was used and heart rate was recorded at 30 min intervals during 4 h indoor (~22.4 °C, relative humidity: ~55%) constant power (165 W) cycling on a Trek Bontrager connected to a Kickr smart trainer. Blood lactate and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were taken at 60 min intervals. Study was a single-blind placebo-controlled study with capsules (4 × 105 mg anthocyanins) taken 2 h before starting the 4 h of cycling. Water was allowed ad libitum with personalised consumption of gels [a total of eight with three with caffeine (100 mg)], two bananas and 8 × electrolyte capsules (each 250 mg sodium and 125 mg potassium) at personalised time-points. With NZBC extract (CurraNZ), during 4 h of cycling (mean of 8 measurements), minute ventilation was 8% lower than placebo. In addition, there was no difference for oxygen uptake, with carbon dioxide production found to be 4% lower with NZBC extract. With the NZBC extract, the ventilatory equivalents were lower for oxygen and carbon dioxide by 5.5% and 3.7%; heart rate was lower by 10 beats·min−1; lactate was 40% different with lower lactate at 2, 3 and 4 h; RPE was lower at 2, 3 and 4 h; and carbohydrate oxidation was 11% lower. With NZBC extract, there was a trend for fat oxidation to be higher by 13% (p = 0.096), with the respiratory exchange ratio being lower by 0.02 units. Acute intake of New Zealand blackcurrant extract (420 mg anthocyanins) provided beneficial physiological and metabolic responses during 4 h of indoor constant power cycling in a male amateur Ironman athlete 3 weeks before a competition. Future work is required to address whether acute and chronic dosing strategies with New Zealand blackcurrant provide a nutritional ergogenic effect for Ironman athletes to enhance swimming, cycling and running performance
On some variational problems in geometry
No full textIn this thesis we consider several variational problems in geometry that have a connection to the spectrum of the Laplacian acting on functions. In the first part, we study a quantity called the analytic systole, which was defined in recent joint work of the author with Werner Ballmann and Sugata Mondal. The motivation to study the analytic systole is its connection to small eigenvalues on Riemannian surfaces of finite topological type.We prove several qualitative and quantitative bounds for the analytic systole. The next few chapters deal with extremal metrics for Laplace eigenalues. Extremal metrics somewhat resemble the notion of critical points for the non-smooth functionals given by the eigenvalues of the Laplacian up to normalization. We study these functionals either on the space of all metrics with normalized volume or on a fixed conformal class. More precisely, we are interested in questions related to existence and regularity of extremal metrics. Firstly, we give an existence result for maximizers for the first eigenvalue on non-orientable surface relying on two spectral gap assumptions that prevent degenerations of a carefully chosen maximizing sequence in the moduli space. A similar spectral gap assumption occurs in a recent result of Petrides dealing with the orientable case. Slightly more general than actually required, these spectral gap assumptions ask, whether it is possible to strictly increase the first eigenvalue normalized by area by attaching a handle or a cross cap to a given closed Riemannian surface. We establish this under some extra assumptions. Unfortunately, our assumptions are too restrictive to establish the existence of maximizers at this point. However, there are some examples to which our techniques apply. In particular, we obtain the existence of a maximizing metric for the first eigenvalue on the surface of genus three Next, we consider extremal metrics for eigenvalues in a conformal class. Exploiting a connection of extremal metrics and n-harmonic maps we give an existence result for extremal metrics in perturbed conformal classes on products. In a similar way the connection to n-harmonic maps is used to prove a regularity result for extremal metrics. Finally, we exhibit a natural class of metrics with an integral scalar curvature bound in which one can maximize the first eigenvalue. More abstractly, we prove a regularity result for the Yamabe equation under an integral scalar curvature bound, provided the first eigenvalue is sufficiently large. In the last part, motivated by recent results on sharp eigenvalue bounds for the first eigenvalue on closed surfaces, we study the geometry of embedded, minimal surfaces of unbounded genus in ambient three-manifolds. Our main result here states that the systole of such a sequence tends to zero if the ambient manifold has positive Ricci curvature
THE EFFECTS OF OXYGEN NANOBUBBLE CONSUMPTION ON REPEATED WINGATE SPRINT PERFORMANCE
No full textCamryn Cowan, Megan Barnes, Rebecca Rogers, Christopher Ballmann, FACSM. Samford University, Birmingham, AL.
Oxygen nanobubbles (ONB) have been implicated in enhancement of oxygen delivery to a variety of tissues. Recently, ONBs have become commercially available and are marketed for recreational use prior to exercise in efforts to improve performance. Since phosphocreatine resynthesis is largely limited by oxidative ATP production, ONBs may serve as a means to improve oxygen delivery and recovery during anaerobic exercise. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the effects of ONB ingestion on repeated sprint performance. Physically active females participated in two counterbalanced repeated sprint trials each with a different condition: 1) Placebo, 2) ONB solution. For each trial, participants consumed their respective treatment 10 minutes before exercise. Following a warm-up, participants completed 3 × 15 second Wingate anaerobic tests (WAnT) separated by 2 minutes of active recovery. Blood [La-] was measured pre- and post-exercise. HR and RPE were measured following each WAnT. Findings showed no differences between treatments for anaerobic capacity (p=0.395), fatigue index (p=0.785), HR (0.331), or RPE (p=0.171). While blood [La-] increased from pre- to post-exercise (p\u3c 0.001), no differences between conditions existed (p=0.270). These findings suggest ONBs may not be a viable ergogenic aid for anaerobic exercise
THE EFFECTS OF PREFERRED AND NON-PREFERRED TASTE ON REPEATED SPRINT ABILITY
No full textDavis Henry, Anna Lawrence Pemberton, Rebecca Rogers, Christopher Ballmann, FACSM. Samford University, Birmingham, AL.
Various tastes including sweet, bitter, and sour have been shown to differentially influence responses to exercise. Furthermore, ingestion of bitter and sweet solutions has been shown to acutely enhance exercise performance. However, taste is highly individualized, and it is unclear if taste preference influences performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of preferred and non-preferred taste on repeated sprint ability. Physically active females participated in two counterbalanced repeated sprint trials each with a different condition: 1) Non-preferred taste, 2) Preferred taste. Participants self-reported taste preferences, ingested the tastes, and completed 2 x 15 second Wingate Tests while anaerobic capacity, heart rate (HR), rate of perceived exertion (RPE), motivation, and exercise enjoyment were measured. No differences existed between taste conditions for anaerobic capacity (p= 0.271) or HR (p= 0.081). RPE was significantly lower with preferred versus non-preferred taste (p= 0.046). Exercise enjoyment (p=0.022) and motivation (p=0.045) were higher with preferred taste. These findings suggest that preferred drink taste may not enhance performance but improves psychological responses which may have implications for improving exercise training and adherence
Lifelong quercetin enrichment and cardioprotection in Mdx/Utrn+/− mice
No full textDuchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is associated with progressive cardiac pathology, however, the SIRT1/PGC1-α activator quercetin may cardioprotect dystrophic hearts. We tested the extent to which long term 0.2% dietary quercetin enrichment attenuates dystrophic cardiopathology in Mdx/Utrn+/- mice. At 2 months, Mdx/Utrn+/- mice were fed quercetin enriched (Mdx/Utrn+/--Q) or control diet (Mdx/Utrn+/-) for 8 months. Control C57BL/10 (C57) animals were fed a control diet for 10 months. Cardiac function was quantified by MRI at 2 and 10 months. Spontaneous physical activity was quantified during the last week of treatment. At 10 months hearts were excised for histological and biochemical analysis. Quercetin feeding improved various physiologic indices of cardiac function in diseased animals. Mdx/Utrn+/--Q also engaged in more high intensity physical activity than controls. Histological analyses of heart tissues revealed higher expression and co-localization of utrophin and α-sarcoglycan. Lower abundance of fibronectin, cardiac damage (Hematoxylin Eosin-Y), and MMP9 were observed in quercetin fed versus control Mdx/Utrn+/- mice. Quercetin evoked higher protein abundance of PGC-1α, cytochrome-c, ETC complexes I-V, citrate synthase, SOD2, and GPX compared to control-fed Mdx/Utrn+/-. Quercetin decreased abundance of inflammatory markers including NFκB, TGF-β1, and F4/80 compared to Mdx/Utrn+/-, however, P-NFκB, P-IKBα, IKBα, CD64 and COX2 were similar between groups. Dietary quercetin enrichment improves cardiac function in aged Mdx/Utrn+/- mice, increases mitochondrial protein content, and dystrophin glycoprotein complex formation. Histological analyses indicate a marked attenuation in pathological cardiac remodeling and indicate that long term quercetin consumption benefits the dystrophic heart.This is a manuscript of an article published as Ballmann, Christopher, Thomas S. Denney, Ronald J. Beyers, Tiffany Quindry, Matthew Romero, Rajesh Amin, Joshua T. Selsby, and John C. Quindry. "Lifelong quercetin enrichment and cardioprotection in Mdx/Utrn+/− mice." American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology 312, no. 1 (2017): H128-H140. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00552.2016. Posted with permission.</p
Acute effects of caffeine supplementation on taekwondo performance:the influence of competition level and sex
No full textThe purpose of this study was to assess the effects of acute caffeine supplementation on physical performance and perceived exertion during taekwondo-specific tasks in male and female athletes with varying expertise. In a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study design, 52 young athletes from elite (n = 32; 16 males and 16 females) and sub-elite competitive level (n = 20; 10 males and 10 females) participated. Athletes performed taekwondo-specific tasks including the taekwondo-specific agility test (TSAT), 10 s frequency speed of kick test (FSKT-10 s) and multi-bout FSKT (FSKT-multi) under the following conditions: (1) Caffeine (CAF; 3 mg kg−1), placebo (PLA), and no supplement control (CON). Session rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE) was determined after the tests. Findings show that regardless of condition, males performed better than females (p < 0.05) and elite athletes had superior performance compared to their sub-elite counterparts (p < 0.05). For the TSAT (p < 0.001), FSKT-10s (p < 0.001), and FSKT-multi (p < 0.001), CAF enhanced performance in elite female athletes compared to sub-elite females. Likewise, CAF ingestion resulted in superior performance in elite males compared to sub-elite males for FSKT-10s (p = 0.003) and FSKT-multi (p < 0.01). The ergogenic potential of CAF during taekwondo-specific tasks appears to be related to a competitive level, with greater benefits in elite than sub-elite athletes
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