Akhtarrodgers8775
provide an indication of the functional capacities that should be targeted in fall-prevention interventions. These findings should be used to better understand and target the mechanisms of balance loss and falls in older adults following FFSs.Purpose The goal of the present study was to assess the effects of fatigue on throwing and Upper Quarter Y Balance Test (YBT-UQ) performance in male adolescent handball players. We hypothesized that throwing and YBT-UQ performance will be decreased in response to an upper-body fatigue-protocol. Method All male participants (N = 24, age 14.8 ± 0.7 yrs) were handball players of a regional youth selection team. A radar gun was used for the assessment of throwing velocity. The YBT-UQ was executed assessing medial, inferolateral and superolateral reach directions normalized to the upper limb length together with a composite score. Immediately following a fatigue protocol of different sets of push-ups until failure (i.e., not being able to perform 60% of the initial maximal amount of push-ups), throwing and YBT-UQ performance were assessed again. Results Fatigue resulted in a significant decrease in throwing velocity (-3%, p = 0.022, d = 0.32). Concerning YBT-UQ, the fatigue protocol produced significant decreases for the superolateral reach direction (throwing arm reach -5%, p = 0.017, d = 0.39; non-throwing arm reach -10%, p less then 0.001, d = 0.87) and the composite score (throwing arm reach -2%, p = 0.026, d = 0.31; non-throwing arm reach -4%, p = 0.001, d = 0.52) but not for the medial and the inferolateral reach directions. Conclusions Fatigue was found to be an impairing factor for throwing performance and shoulder mobility and stability. Therefore, a lower level of fatigue and/or a higher tolerance of fatigue is desirable. Strength-endurance and mobility exercises especially for the shoulder girdle may be a valuable addition for the training routine of youth handball players.Investigations of the association of focus of attention and quiet eye duration have shown mixed results. It is possible that when focusing on visuo-motor learning a more sensitive category system of instructions might be useful. The aim of this study was to investigate the interaction of focus of attention and quiet eye duration in darts. In addition to locus-directed foci (external, internal), perception-directed (visual, kinesthetic) foci of attention were considered. Participants were divided into four groups and had to perform a pre- and post-test with a 1-week training intervention in between. Throwing accuracy (TA) and quiet eye duration (QED) were measured using the SMI eye tracking glasses. An analysis of covariance (2x2) showed no significant group differences or interactions for TA. For QED, an analysis of variance (2x2x2) showed quiet eye duration was increased with the intervention but there were significant differences between the tests. A significant interaction of test and perception-directed focus was observed. Visually instructed groups increased QED whereas the kinesthetic group decreased the QED, suggesting perceptual and motor learning may be asynchronous. One possible explanation for the trends might be the common-coding theory of perception and action.The aim was to describe longitudinal trends in peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) among 14- to 19-year-old adolescents in Norway, and to examine effects of sex, body mass index (BMI), and physical activity (PA) level on VO2peak during adolescence. Of 124 invited students from two lower secondary schools in Norway, 116 eighth-grade students (61 boys and 55 girls; 14 years old at baseline) volunteered to participate. The study has a longitudinal design with 6 yearly repeated measures of body height and mass, VO2peak and PA level. check details VO2peak allometrically scaled to body mass raised to the power of 0.67 was measured using a walking or running incremental test on a treadmill, whereas PA level was self-reported. Among 696 possible observations, 555 (79.7%) were valid. Multiple linear regression and linear mixed model analyses were used to examine the associations between age, sex, BMI, PA level and VO2peak. VO2peak showed a non-linear pattern from age 14 to 19, with a distinct increase for boys peaking at age 17, while thehasizing the importance of maintaining a sufficient PA level during adolescence.The purpose of the present study was to analyze micro-pacing strategies in cross-country skiing, and their relation to section and total race times. Eleven competitive female cross-country skiers were tracked during a classic sprint time-trial race using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) unit. A coordinate mapping procedure was applied to the GNSS unit measurements to analyze the instantaneous velocities and split times. The track was divided into nine sections and individual section times were calculated. Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) was used to analyze the relationships between instantaneous velocity and section or total race time. SPM analyses revealed two uphill sections and one flat section where greater instantaneous velocities were related to faster total race times. The first major uphill section on the track demonstrated a more conservative micro-pacing strategy (SPM supra-threshold clusters along the entire uphill, p less then 0.05-0.001) compared to the more aggressive strategy used in the last uphill section (clusters on the first half of the uphill, p less then 0.05-0.001). Faster flat section times were associated with greater instantaneous velocities throughout the section (p less then 0.001), while faster downhill section times were related to greater instantaneous velocities at the top of the downhill (p less then 0.001), and in the downhill turns (p less then 0.001). In conclusion, micro-pacing strategies were related to overall skiing performance and distinct track sections were identified where instantaneous velocities were related to section or total race times. In order to improve skiing performance, athletes could focus on more aggressive pacing early on in the "end spurt", during the transitions from uphill to flat sections, and during the transitions from flat or uphill to downhill sections.