The role of motives (what people want) has become a cornerstone of exercise participation research. The role of gains (what people get from exercise), on the other hand, has been largely overlooked. The aim of this thesis was to examine the nature and role of gains in exercise behaviour. In Chapter 2, people’s personal experiences of exercise were qualitatively explored, particularly with regard to their motives and what they did or did not gain from it. Primarily active participants described a multiplicity of motives and gains that were experiential, and positive past experiences, whereas primarily inactive participants described a narrow range of motives and gains that were instrumental, and negative past experiences. Accounts suggested that gains themselves are motivating and people naturally appreciate them. In Chapter 3, a measure of exercise gains was developed to complement an existing measure of motives. The exercise motives and gains inventory (EMGI) was used to quantitatively assess gains and their relationship with motives. In Chapter 4, the concept of gains was applied to an intervention. The measure developed in study 1 was utilised as a means to reflect on gains. No significant effects of the intervention were found, but autonomous motivation increased significantly in both groups. Suggestions are made for future research and efforts in implementing gains in supporting autonomous motivation. The work presented in this thesis demonstrates that gains can be measured, that gains are distinguished from motives, that people are aware of them, and that gains have the potential to shape exercise experiences and habits. Gains currently have potential uses through being incorporated into existing means of supporting health behaviour change, such as motivational interviewing.

The view that participation in sports in outdoor environments provides unique opportunities for growth and development is supported by the literature (Hattie, Marsh, Neill, & Richards, 1997). However, the list of types of outcomes previously examined are not exhaustive, and scant research has examined why or how particular changes occur (McKenzie, 2000). The present thesis identifies factors specific to outdoor sports that relate to outcomes of participation. Chapter 1 introduces and develops the theoretical framework for the present research. Chapter 2 develops and confirms the structure of informant-rated measures of coping effectiveness outcomes and confirms the structure of modified versions of existing self-report outcome measures. The measures are then utilised to examine the processes and outcomes in relation to participating in high-risk sports. Results revealed that the experience of emotion regulation and agency during participation are unique to high-risk sports (i.e., rock climbing) and provides evidence that the experience of emotion regulation and agency during rock climbing is related to the positive outcomes of participating in outdoor sports (i.e., increased self-esteem, greater sense of emotion regulation). Chapter 3 examines the role of the exercise environment in relation to the processes and outcomes of participation in outdoor sports. The pattern of results was counter to our original hypotheses, and reflects the reality of engaging in sports in outdoor environments. When individuals initially take part in outdoor sports they experience difficulties and adversity that challenges them psychologically. Chapter 4 summarises the main findings, the strengths and limitations of the thesis, and directions for future research. The results from the present thesis suggest that the experience of emotion regulation and agency during participation are mechanisms that are involved in changes in outcomes. The findings in the present thesis also highlight the psychological hardship and challenge that individuals face when initially participating in a sport in outdoor environments. It is through longer-term involvement in outdoor sports that individuals glean benefits from participating.

The thesis contains five chapters (including three empirical chapters), which attempt to further our knowledge of the reciprocal relationship between self-efficacy and performance. The thesis attempts to answer questions related to the possible negative effects that self-efficacy can have on subsequent performance by considering the limitations of previous research (e.g., Bandura & Lock, 2003; Vancouver, Thompson, Tischner, & Putka, 2002; Vancouver, Thompson, & Williams, 2001). Chapter 1 provides a general conceptual overview of the self-confidence and self efficacy literature, the majority of which has typically supported the positive relationship between efficacy beliefs and performance in a range of settings. The chapter then provides a detailed review of how and when self-efficacy may be negatively related to subsequent performance. Finally, the limitations and future directions that are offered form the basis of the ensuing three empirical chapters. Chapter 2 addresses the limitation that previous tests of the reciprocal relationship between self-efficacy and performance tend to be of short duration (i.e., approx. 8-10 trials). This short duration may limit the mastery experiences that are an important source of self- efficacy beliefs. This chapter explores the reciprocal relationship between self- efficacy and performance in a longitudinal golf putting study where participants complete 40 trials of 20 putts each (800 putts in total). The results supported the positive effects of self-efficacy on performance in only one of the four putting sessions, where self-efficacy hid a significant albeit weak positive reciprocal relationship with putting performance. Chapter 3 explores the criticism that mundane tasks (or tasks that remain static throughout testing) generally do not vary or intrude on attentional focus (Bandura & Locke, 2003). Two studies were conducted to examine the reciprocal relationship between self efficacy and performance using a complex task (car racing simulation). Participants were required to learn to race on a difficult computer racing track across trials where performance was assessed in relation to improvement on the preceding lap time (Study 1) and in relation to a baseline time (Study 2). The results supported the positive reciprocal effects of self-efficacy on performance over time (Bandura, 1997). Chapter 4 reports a golf putting study which examined the effects of feedback on the reciprocal relationship between self-efficacy and performance. Previous tests of the reciprocal relationship between self-efficacy and performance tend to ignore previous performances in the measurement of self-efficacy. Consequently, important information regarding previous performances may be ignored. The current test provides a perfom1ance diary where participants have access to all previous performance results, upon which they can base their subsequent self-efficacy beliefs. Again, support was shown for the positive reciprocal effects of self-efficacy on performance (Bandura, 1997). Chapter 5 provides a summary and integrated discussion of these findings. Furthermore, methodological and conceptual limitations, implications, and future research directions for the study of the reciprocal relationship between self-efficacy and performance are discussed. On a further note, the nature of the thesis provides incremental steps across Chapters where fine adjustments are made in research design in order to clarify some conflicting evidence that exists in current research. That being said, the thesis conforms to the regulations set out by the School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences Department at Bangor University, where necessary repetitions are made across Chapters.

Exercising in hot and cold conditions poses one of the greatest challenges to human homeostasis. Popular belief is that cold exposure increases susceptibility to upper respiratory tract infections, however, evidence to support a link between cold exposure, impaired immune function and increased incidence of infection is not well defined. On the other hand, if heat production during exercise is not effectively dissipated, core body temperature can rise to dangerous levels, thereby placing the individual at risk of developing exertional heat-illness (EHI), or the more serious, and potentially fatal, condition of exertional heat stroke (EHS). In addition to exercising in hot and humid environments, a number of risk factors for EHI/EHS have been identified. Other potential risk factors, which are less well supported, include the circulating inflammatory response that follows a muscle-damaging exercise bout. All together, these conditions might potentially affect athletes and military personnel, which are expected to perform arduous physical activity, often in extreme environments. Hypothermia is common in trauma victims and is associated with an increase in mortality. Its causes are still not well understood. We found (Chapter 4) that after mildhypothermia (Body rectal temperature (Tre) 35.17 ± 0.33 °C) vaccine-stimulated IFN-γ production significantly decreased by 44% suggesting temporary immune suppression. Moreover, despite rewarming and feeding, vaccine-stimulated IFN-γ production did not return to control values within 3-hour, suggesting more prolonged immune suppression, specifically, impaired antimicrobial capacity and increased risk of infection. This might partially explain the increased mortality reported after mild-hypothermia. During exercise heat stress (HS) (Chapter 5), ΔTre was significantly greater following EIMD than in CON (0.52 ºC). Therefore, HS was increased during endurance exercise in the heat conducted 30min trial after, and to a much lesser extent, 24h after muscledamaging exercise. These data indicate that EIMD is a likely risk factor for EHI particularly during exercise-heat stress. After a repeated bout of muscle-damaging exercise (EIMD trial 2) (Chapter 6), final Tre during HS was lower (39.25 ± 0.47 ºC) than in EIMD trial 1 (39.59 ± 0.49 ºC), whilst no differences between repeat trials were observed in control trials (CON). Thus, incorporating a muscle-damaging bout into training is a strategy to reduce the risk of EHI in individuals undertaking heavy exercise with an eccentric heat component. Further research is required clarify the role of thermo-genic activity on innate immune markers during cold exposure needs clarification. In addition, future studies would need to examine the supposed contribution of pyrogenic pathways after muscle damage upon exercise heat strain in more depth.

Aim: Physical activity has long been recognised as a means of enhancing and protecting health, but the levels of engagement are far from optimal in Scotland. Previous research has demonstrated that increasing perceived behavioural control alongside the use of action and coping plans can be effective in changing physical activity behaviour. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and acceptability of combined techniques for planning and increasing perceived behavioural control alongside assessing the need for practitioner support for online intervention delivery. This study also set to examine the relationship between the targets that individuals set and how these compare to behavioural outcomes, which previously had not been undertaken. Method: An online intervention designed to increase perceived behavioural control and support the creation of action and coping plan was delivered over two weeks in a 2 x 2 factorial random allocation study. The two factors were practitioner support and the intervention with a fourth group acting as a control. Participants completed a pre and post-test theory of planned behaviour questionnaire and recorded physical activity over 4 weeks using pedometers and self-report diaries. Results: PBC increased across all participants however there was no statistically significant difference between conditions and so this increase could not be attributed to the intervention. A trend of increased walking was observed in the intervention and practitioner support condition. However while the differences were bordering on being clinically significant, they did not reach statistically significant difference. Of those who completed action and coping plans, 73 % achieved self-set targets. Acceptability of the intervention was high with 79% indicating that they would use it again, and recommend it to others. Conclusion: Examining action and coping plans revealed that individuals will set moderate goals in response to an intervention guiding them to do so and incrementally increase towards these. Longer time-frames may be able to reveal a gradual increase of physical activity engagement which can be of benefit to health, over and above the effects of participation in a physical activity study.

Hop tests are useful measures of physical performance and athletic function, and they can also be used to monitor progress, as well as recommend whether a return to sport or normal activity is likely to be beneficial or harmful for those recovering from a sporting injury or surgical intervention. Hop tests can combine and test the different elements that may have been affected due to an injury, for example joint stability, muscle strength and neuromuscular coordination. There is limited literature exploring the factors which influence the performance of hop tests, and provides reference values for each of the individual test during different athletic tasks. A better understanding of these factors would offer a clear vision about what reflect the hop performance in both healthy and anterior cruciate ligament reconstructed (ACLR) participants during common screening tasks. This thesis includes four themed studies. The first study aimed to investigate the reliability of the individual tests which consist of hop tests, two-dimensional (2-D) Frontal-Plane Projection Angle (FPPA), balance tests, force generation tests, and isokinetic strength testing to establish the measurement error of these. The findings of first study revealed that the majority of the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) values for all tests were excellent across all variables during within- and between-day sessions testing, showing these tests to be reliable. However, impulses from 0 - 100, 200, 250, 300 ms had less reliable variables across all isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) results. The second study established the differences between right and left leg performances across all tests and to describe reference values for the limb symmetry index (LSI) for hop tests and isokinetic muscle strength tests for recreationally healthy participants. However, the main reason behind conducting this study was to identify whether one leg’s performance can define the other and to determine the reference values in a heathy population, and further to this investigation, if the limbs were found to be symmetrical across all the tests, then the next study would be carried out using the right leg only. This study has concluded that no differences were found between right and left leg performance during all the tests. In addition, symmetry between limbs existed during both hop and isokinetic muscle strength tests, from which it can be concluded, that one leg’s performance can define the other. The third study examined the relationship between all of the tests (2-D FPPA, balance, force generation, and isokinetic muscle strength tests) and hop performance during single-leg hop for distance and crossover hop tasks in healthy participants. This would then also provide the reference values that are needed for each of the individual tests. The conclusion of this element of the study is that force generation and ankle plantar flexion strength seem to be the most contributing factors to hop performance in a healthy population. The final study aimed to examine the differences between injured and non-injured leg performances across all tests and describe reference values for the LSI for hop tests and isokinetic muscle tests in ACLR participants. Also, to investigate the relationship between all of the tests and hop performance during single-leg hop for distance and crossover hop tasks for the injured and non-injured limbs, and provide the reference values that are needed for each of the individual tests for both limbs. This study has found that dynamic force generation and both quadriceps and hamstring muscle strength seem to be the most contributing factors to hop performances for the injured limb, while the uninjured leg failed to show any association to hop performance and does not perform in a manner which could be regarded as normal. This thesis has expanded that hop tests can be used in a clinic to indicate potential deficits in strength or force generation in lower limbs. Moreover, provided reference values in a physically active population and ACLR participants for hop tests and all the related tests. Also, demonstrated the relationship between all of the tests and hop performance tests in a healthy population and in ACLR participants. Lastly, established the drivers of hop performance are different in the ACLR limb and the non-injured limb compared to those in healthy.

No description available.

Physical activity participation is beneficial to children’s health. In comparison to the general population, children of low socio-economic status (SES) are at increased risk of reduced well-being. Despite many attempts to increase physical activity and well-being there remains a lack of theory-informed interventions that target children of low SES. Within this thesis, five research studies are reported. Each study contributed to current understanding of physical activity and well-being promotion for children of low SES using Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), a theory that is often cited but not comprehensively tested in school-based physical activity interventions. Study 1 presented a systematic review of SDT- based physical activity interventions in the school-setting, concluding that more studies were needed to determine the efficacy of SDT as a behaviour change framework. Future studies were advised to apply validated psychometric instruments alongside methodological guidance. Study 2 validated psychometric instruments assessing SDT constructs of well­being and needs satisfaction with children of low SES. The predictive validity of SDT was statistically confirmed in Study 3, as needs satisfaction predicted children’s physical activity levels and well-being. Study 4 was a longitudinal clustered randomised controlled trial called Sport for LIFE: All Island (SFL:AI). While null effects were reported for SFL:AI on physical activity, well-being and needs satisfaction, researchers were recommended to integrate physical activity within a school environment, train schoolteachers in SDT principles, and model SDT hypotheses when determining the intervention’s effects. The final study provided needs-supportive training to schoolteachers and student volunteers through the Healthy Choices Programme. The children’s physical activity levels and well-being were enhanced through improvements in autonomy-support, needs satisfaction and intrinsic motivation, supporting SDT hypotheses. Practical, methodological and theoretical contributions from all five studies include: evidence-based guidance for training teachers, instructors and coaches to adopt needs-supportive principles; rigorous methods in the design and analyses of school- based programmes; the testing and validation of SDT instruments; and; advancement of SDT application in the prediction and enhancement of children’s physical activity and well-being. In conclusion, this research demonstrated that children’s physical activity levels and well­being can be enhanced by engendering a needs-supportive physical activity context that is conducive to psychological needs satisfaction and intrinsic motivation. To advance health promotion efforts for children of low SES, researchers, practitioners and public health advocates may consider replicating the SDT principles in the design and evaluation of programmes as critically evaluated in this PhD.

The thesis acknowledges the confusion that has arisen out of the various, and often extravagent, claims made to justify the inclusion of physical education in the school curriculum. It is noted that many of these are not concerned with bodily attributes but assert that physical education is instrumental in furthering a whole range of non-physical ends such as social development. The validity of these 'instrumental' claims is questioned and the profession's lack of confidence in presenting a case for the intrinsic value of its own area is identified. It is seen necessary, therefore, to consider whether such an intrinsic justification can be formulated. To this end aspects of existential and phenomenological philosophy are examined through the work of Jean-Paul Sartre and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Their general agreement on man's essential nature as embodied in-the-world issues in a significant role for the embodiment in existence. This is further supported by an analysis of Merleau-Ponty's views on the role of the embodiment in perception. The first major focus of the thesis concludes with an argument for the inclusion of physical education alongside other aspects of education. The second major focus considers the views of Sartre concerning body modes. This examination reveals the dangers inherent in others viewing one's embodiment as an object and would seem to explain the disenchantment felt for the subject by many pupils. Recommendations for the practice of physical education are then made. The thesis concludes with a reconsideration of the aims of physical education and a reassertion of its rightful place in an education of the 'whole man'.

The benefit of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) within the area of cardiology is well established. However, there are potential benefits of IPC that may enhance sports performance, where IPC has been suggested to offer a small but practically significant ergogenic effect to predominantly aerobic fuelled exercise performance. Since De Groot et al. (2011) initial finding that a prior-exercise repeated dose of non-lethal occlusion-reperfusion (IPC) enhanced V̇O2max and maximal power output, speculated to be due to up-regulation of potassium ATP channels and ATP saving, a growing body of evidence has been accumulating regarding the effects of IPC across a range of exercise performances types and modalities (Table 2.1). The purpose of this dissertation was to assess the effect of, and elucidate the mechanisms underpinning, IPC as an exercise performance ergogenic aid. To accomplish this, the impact of the intervention was assessed using key variables including exercise performance, muscle oxygenation, and V̇O2 and muscle kinetics, during specific exercise modalities. Insight into the potential for ergogenic effectiveness was further expanded using a range of participant abilities. In study 1 (Chapter 4) we used recreationally active participants to assess the effectiveness of remote- and local-IPC on a repeated sprint exercise (RSE) protocol, where we found a significant attenuation of fatigue decrement with IPC. In study 2 (Chapter 5) we assessed the impact of IPC on an ecologically valid RSE protocol which reflected the pre-competition warm-up and in-competition movement demands of professional, Olympic level, Rugby 7s; we did not find any impact of IPC on the athlete’s performance or any other variable assessed. In study 3 (Chapter 6) we assessed IPC’s impact on semi-professional athletes during an 80-minute simulated team sport by measuring performance and V̇O2 and muscle kinetics using an ergometer based intermittent sprint protocol (ISE). The findings showed that IPC reduced work done across the 80-minutes, and positively impacted muscle kinetics during the 2nd 40-minutes where there was a faster oxygen extraction. In study 4 (Chapter 7), using recreationally trained participants and the 3-minute all-out test, it was demonstrated that IPC could significantly enhance critical power (CP) by ~3%, which was supported by a trend towards an increased O2 extraction; a simulation model lent further support to the suggestion that IPC could enhance aerobic contribution to exercise performance with a significant impact of IPC on performance as the aerobic contribution to performance was increased. Finally, in study 5 (Chapter 8) IPC’s impact on time-to-exhaustion above CP was assessed using recreationally trained participants, where no performance benefit was established, but we did demonstrate slower muscle kinetics suggesting enhanced mitochondrial efficiency. Collectively, we have demonstrated that IPC can induce acute functional changes in working skeletal muscle and enhance exercise performance. We have shown positive acute effects on the peripheral microvasculature and V̇O2 and muscle kinetics across a range of exercise modalities where O2 extraction was increased and/or up-regulation of mitochondrial processes, along with an attenuation of fatigue decrement in RSE and ISE, and an increase in the aerobic energy contribution to aerobic and anaerobic fuelled exercise. The novel findings in this dissertation highlight important physiological mechanisms that add to the current body of scientific literature regarding IPC as a potential ergogenic aid for sports performance.