(0.5 mm, 10 rings) at a distance of 10 m. 1 It requires psychological stability when shooting, attention and concentration, good control of respiration, aiming accuracy, time on shoot, and stability of the gun. 2 – 5 Another important factor in shooting performance is postural balance. 6 Postural
Search Results
Improvements of Shooting Performance in Adolescent Air Rifle Athletes After 6-Week Balance and Respiration Training Programs
Han-Kyu Park, Dong-Woo Kim, and Tae-Ho Kim
Quadrupedal Locomotion–Respiration Entrainment and Metabolic Economy in Cross-Country Skiers
Kevin Boldt, Anthony Killick, and Walter Herzog
A 1:1 locomotion–respiration entrainment is observed in galloping quadrupeds, and is thought to improve running economy. However, this has not been tested directly in animals, as animals cannot voluntarily disrupt this entrainment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate metabolic economy in a human gait involving all four limbs, cross-country skiing, in natural entrainment and forced nonentrainment. Nine elite cross-country skiers roller skied at constant speed using the 2-skate technique. In the first and last conditions, athletes used the natural entrained breathing pattern: inhaling with arm recovery and exhaling with arm propulsion, and in the second condition, the athletes disentrained their breathing pattern. The rate of oxygen uptake (VO2) and metabolic rate (MR) were measured via expired gas analysis. Propulsive forces were measured with instrumented skis and poles. VO2 and MR increased by 4% and 5% respectively when skiers used the disentrained compared with the entrained breathing pattern. There were no differences in ski or pole forces or in timing of the gait cycle between conditions. We conclude that breathing entrainment reduces metabolic cost of cross-country skiing by approximately 4%. Further, this reduction is likely a result of the entrainment rather than alterations in gait mechanics.
Singing and Dancing With Neuromuscular Conditions: A Mixed-Methods Study
Danielle Peers, Lindsay Eales, Kelvin Jones, Aidan Toth, Hernish Acharya, and Janice Richman–Eisenstat
The purpose of this study was to assess the safety and meaningfulness of a 15-week recreational dance and singing program for people with neuromuscular conditions. Within a transformative mixed-methods design, pulmonary function tests, plethysmography through wearable technology (Hexoskin vests), individualized neuromuscular quality-of-life assessments (version 2.0), and semistructured interviews were used. The interviews were analyzed through inductive, semantic thematic analysis. Although the sample sizes were small (six people with neuromuscular conditions), the authors found no evidence of safety concerns. There was evidence of respiratory improvements and reported improvements in swallowing and speech. The most notable quality-of-life changes included improvements related to weakness, swallowing, relationships, and leisure. The participants shared that the program offered meaningful social connection and embodied skills and safe and pleasurable physical exertion. The authors learned that recreational singing and dancing programs could be a safe and deeply meaningful activity for those with neuromuscular conditions that impact respiration.
Assessment of Respiratory Conditions in Athletes
Deidre Leaver-Dunn, James B. Robinson, and Jeff Laubenthal
The Effect of Arm and Body Position on Respiratory Ventilation in High School Athletes: A Pilot Study
Jamie R. Skaggs, Elizabeth R. A. LaGuardia Joiner, Milo Sini, Tishya A.L. Wren, Regina P. Woon, and David L. Skaggs
Context:
A commonly encountered clinical scenario in athletic training is determining what body position is best for pulmonary recovery after strenuous training. Coaches often advise athletes to put their hands behind their heads following rigorous training, but this practice has no scientific support.
Objective:
The purpose of this study is to determine how arm and body position affects ventilation in high school athletes. Our hypothesis is that a position in which the athlete is bent forward with the hands on the knees maximizes ventilation.
Design:
Case series.
Methods:
Seventeen healthy members of a high school track team, 8 females and 9 males with a mean age of 16.3 years (range: 14.6–18.5 years), performed a maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) test using a portable spirometer in three different positions: standing with (1) hands behind the head, (2) arms at the sides, and (3) leaning forward with hands resting on the knees.
Results:
The MVV performed with hands on knees (120.2 ± 5.9 L/min) was significantly higher than the MVV performed with hands at sides (109.3 ± 7.0 L/min; p = .004) and with hands behind head (114.1 ± 5.9 L/min; p = .03). The MVV performed with hands behind head and with arms at side did not differ significantly (p = .20).
Conclusions:
This is the first study examining the best body position to maximize ventilation in athletes. Leaning forward and placing the hands on the knees led to a significantly greater MVV compared with standing with the arms at the side and standing with the hands behind the head.
Examining the Effects of an Interspersed Biofeedback Training Intervention on Physiological Indices
Kendra Nelson Ferguson, Craig Hall, and Alison Divine
applied, biofeedback training can teach an athlete how to voluntarily control anatomic responses, such as respiration rate, heart rate, skin conductance, electromyography, and temperature. The intuitive feedback that biofeedback provides about physiological activity could have a direct impact on an
The Effects of an Associative, Dissociative, Internal, and External Focus of Attention on Running Economy
Mahin Aghdaei, Alireza Farsi, Maryam Khalaji, and Jared Porter
machine 10 min Statistical Analysis Separate repeated-measures analyses of variance were conducted on each dependent variable (average V O ˙ 2 , respiration volume and breathing frequency, heart rate, blood lactate, and Borg RPE). Alpha level was set at p < .05 for all statistical tests. Partial eta
Biofeedback and Shooting Performance: A Test of Disregulation and Systems Theory
Frederick S. Daniels and Daniel M. Landers
This study investigated heart rate (HE) and respiration functioning during rifle shooting to test hypotheses derived from Schwartz's (1979) systems and disregulation theory, and to compare biofeedback with verbal instruction in developing awareness and control of autonomic patterns. Male subjects (N = 8) were pretested to determine HE and respiration patterns affecting performance. They were then divided into two equal groups and given either auditory biofeedback or verbal instruction. The auditory-biofeedback group received continuous pattern feedback through earphones while the verbal instruction group received only presession instruction without feedback. Each group trained for five sessions of 40 shots each. Following training, two 40-shot sessions were conducted. A scaled interview was administered pre- and posttraining to determine awareness/control of autonomic functioning. Compared to the verbal instruction group, the results showed that the biofeedback group significantly improved performance and consistency of the desired pattern and had significantly greater awareness/control of the autonomic pattern. The results supported the systems and disregulation theory as well as the viability of biofeedback for altering imbalances within the systems.
Direction and Relevance of the Focus of Attention in Dart Throwing With and Without Concurrent Visual Feedback
David Sherwood, Keith Lohse, and Alice Healy
Many research studies have shown the advantage of directing the focus of attention (FOA) externally as opposed to internally. However, it is not clear how the availability of concurrent visual feedback might impact attentional processes as the FOA is shifted between internal, external, relevant, and irrelevant sources of attention. The current experiment varied the FOA by asking the participants to judge joint angles (internal-relevant), respiration (internal-irrelevant), dart release angle (external-relevant), and tone loudness (external-irrelevant) at dart release in which task-intrinsic concurrent visual feedback was available or not. Spatial errors and trial-to-trial variability in the outcome were reduced when vision was available. Spatial errors were greater during internal judgments compared with external judgments particularly when vision was not available and when making judgments about task-relevant factors. A focus on irrelevant factors generally did not affect performance compared with relevant factors. These findings suggest that availability of concurrent visual feedback modulates focus of attention effects in motor control.
Energy Cost of Activities in Preschool-Aged Children
Maurice R. Puyau, Anne L. Adolph, Yan Liu, Theresa A. Wilson, Issa F. Zakeri, and Nancy F. Butte
Background:
The absolute energy cost of activities in children increases with age due to greater muscle mass and physical capability associated with growth and developmental maturation; however, there is a paucity of data in preschool-aged children. Study aims were 1) to describe absolute and relative energy cost of common activities of preschool-aged children in terms of VO2, energy expenditure (kilocalories per minute) and child-specific metabolic equivalents (METs) measured by room calorimetry for use in the Youth Compendium of Physical Activity, and 2) to predict METs from age, sex and heart rate (HR).
Methods:
Energy expenditure (EE), oxygen consumption (VO2), HR, and child-METs of 13 structured activities were measured by room respiration calorimetry in 119 healthy children, ages 3 to 5 years.
Results:
EE, VO2, HR, and child-METs are presented for 13 structured activities ranging from sleeping, sedentary, low-, moderate- to high-active. A significant curvilinear relationship was observed between child-METs and HR (r 2 = .85; P = .001).
Conclusion:
Age-specific child METs for 13 structured activities in preschool-aged children will be useful to extend the Youth Compendium of Physical Activity for research purposes and practical applications. HR may serve as an objective measure of MET intensity in preschool-aged children.
