Objective: To assess the effects of wearing a protective mouthguard during exercise on ventilation and oxygen consumption. Design and Setting: All participants performed a graded maximal exercise test on a cycle ergometer to determine peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak). Each participant also performed 6 submaximal exercise tests while wearing one of two facemasks (nasal or non-nasal breathing) and one of three mouthguard conditions (no mouthguard, boil and bite, custom-fit). Steady-state VO2, rate of perceived exertion (RPE), and other ventilatory values were measured at 60% and 80% of VO2max during each submaximal exercise test. All 6 submaximal exercise tests were completed within a 2-week period using a randomized 6x6 balanced Latin square design. Subjects: Twenty-four subjects (age = 20.41 ± 1.99) who were members of the Brigham Young University lacrosse team participated in this study. Measurements: Data were analyzed using a random coefficients growth curve. The full models for all variables included fixed effects for mask, work level, mouthguard, time, and all interactions of the above. Full models were also assumed to have random subject coefficients for the intercepts and slopes relative to time. Results: For VO2 there was a significant effect for facemask type (p<.0001, F = 24.30, df = 1680), mouthguard (p = .0177, F = 4.04, df = 1680), and work (p<.0001, F = 5428.16, df = 1680). For VO2 there was also a significant interaction for mask*work (p = .0280, F = 4.84, df = 1680). For RPE there was a significant effect for facemask type (p = .0005, F = 12.28, df = 1657) and for work (p<.0001, F = 4040.53, df = 1657). For RPE there were also significant interactions for mask*mouthguard (p<.0001, F = 11.82, df = 1657) and for mask*work (p<.0001, F = 18.88, df = 1657). For VE there were significant interactions for mask (p< 0.0001, F = 16.49, df = 1680), mouthguard (p < 0.0001, F = 19.98, df = 1680), and work (p < 0.0001, F = 9122.33, df = 1680). For VE there were also significant interactions for mask*mouthguard (p < 0.002, F = 6.25, df = 1680), and mask*work (p < 0.0001, F = 17.77, df = 1680). Conclusions: Although statistical significance was found for a number of effects, we speculate that the very small differences in the physiological responses to wearing a mouthguard are of little practical significance and would not effect performance. Wearing a mouthguard during exercise does not alter physiological responses and complaints of reduced ventilation are probably psychological.

The Fitnessgram is a battery of fitness tests designed for children and adolescents. These tests include aerobic capacity, body composition, muscle strength and endurance, and flexibility. Students are not compared to each other, rather to health fitness standards, specific to age and gender, which indicate good health. The purpose of this study was to identify student perceptions of the Fitnessgram fitness test. This study used surveys (N=82), and follow-up focus-group interviews (N=16) to identify student perceptions of the Fitnessgram fitness test. Results using the constant comparative method revealed three major categories: (1) students' perceptions of the purpose of fitness testing, (2) motivation, and (3) test administration. Findings indicated that students clearly understood the purpose of fitness testing, female students were success oriented while the males expressed an attitude of learned helplessness in the category of motivation, and that students preferred the PACER over the mile run, enjoyed partner-based stations, but did not care for the body-fat assessment.

Athletes of American football need the ability to stop, start, and reach top speed in an efficient manner. Football players on the defensive side of the ball require the skill of stopping a backward run and accelerating to a forward run. This action is termed the break. Football players receive year-round training in an effort to improve performance. Yet, many times, these athletes may not focus specifically on the muscular systems that are unique to the position they play. The law of specificity states that the more specific the training is for the action required, the more beneficial the outcome. This study utilized seventeen defensive players of a Division IA football team and compared the effect of two training programs on acceleration during the break. The first program was a standard conditioning program (SCP) for football players. The second program was the SCP combined with three ballistic-plyometric drills (BPD) designed to improve the acceleration of the break. The groups were pre tested and divided into either the SCP or the BPD using a matched pair ABBA procedure by position, from fastest to slowest. After six-weeks of training, the BPD group made a 24.9% (p<0.05) improvement in acceleration from 11.14 ± 0.43 m•sec2 to 13.78 ± 0.44 m•sec2. While the SCP group pre tested at 11.9 ± 0.41 m•sec2 and post tested at 12.42 ± 0.34 m•sec2 for a 6.3% change that was not statistically significant. We conclude that the addition of three specific ballistic-plyometric drills to a SCP will improve acceleration out of a break in American football players.

The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of sixteen balance tests in individuals with Down syndrome (DS). The following tests were performed on 21 participants with DS, aged 5-31 years of age; standing test on firm and soft surfaces with the eyes opened and closed, a balance subset of the Bruininks-Oseretsky test, full turn, timed-up-and-go test, forward reach, and sit-to-stand. Each participant completed all 16 assessments twice on one day and then again on a subsequent day for a total of four trials. Seven tests had reliability coefficients greater than 0.55; one-leg stand on floor (0.76), on balance beam with eyes opened (0.62) and eyes closed (0.69), heel-to-toe walk on balance beam (0.63), straight line walk on floor (0.57), and CGS on firm (0.63) and soft (0.86) surfaces with eyes opened. We recommend these seven tests for use in clinical and non clinical settings.

The purpose of this study was to first examine the role of coaches, peers, and significant others in the development of relatedness as it applies to the motivation of adult Master swimmers, and second to develop recommendations for coaches. The participants in this study were 87 Masters swimmers from the Wasatch Front region of Utah in the counties of Davis, Weber, Utah, Wasatch, Salt Lake, and Summit. Participants in this study were registered members of United States Masters Swimming(USMS) and were spread across eleven age-group classifications in five-year increments and ranging in age from 18 to 74. There were 43 adult males and 44 adult females that participated in completing an open-ended response questionnaire. The results of this study show that relatedness, fostered by coaches, peers and significant others, plays a key role in getting and keeping adult Masters swimmer in the water to train and compete.

For years track and field athletes have worn spiked shoes to enhance performance. This study was conducted to determine the effect of track spikes on hip, knee, and ankle peak joint moments (PJM) in collegiate and elite athletes while running. To measure differences in joint moments, ten intercollegiate and post graduate male distance runners from Brigham Young University ran at a four-minute-mile pace (6.7 m/s) across a force plate synched with infrared cameras tracking body positioning in each shoe condition. Repeated measures ANOVA (p < 0.05) revealed no significant peak joint differences between running shoes and track spikes. The minimum hip and peak knee PJM approached significance (F = 3.221, P = 0.116 and F = 2.875, P = 0.134 respectively). The high variability of joint moments between trials made it difficult to detect differences between conditions. The variability may be explained by any number of factors including: biomechanical differences in running form, running at high speeds, type of subjects, and potentially other factors.

In the sport of track and field, runners excel at their events due not only to physiological characteristics but aspects in their form. Characteristics in form help runners achieve the goal in completing their event in the least amount of time possible. For sprinters, this is done by having a shorter swing phase and ground time along with greater power and a longer stride length. Distance runners accomplish the goal of quicker speeds by balancing it with running economy by spending greater time on the ground with shorter stride lengths compared to those in shorter distance running events. Middle distance runners must find a balance between power and running economy for greater success in the 800 meter and 1600 meter runs. If these characteristics are true for runners while competing in their event, would they also be seen at speeds slower and faster than what they compete at? Purpose: This study was conducted to determine if sprinters, middle distance runners, and distance runners running at the same speeds would exhibit different characteristics in their form which aid them in their events. Methods: Thirty female Division I collegiate runners participated in this study. Runners were separated into categories based on the events they were currently training in: 10 sprinters, 10 middle distance runners, and 10 distance runners. All participants were asked to run for twenty two steps at 3.17 m/s (8:27 min/mile), 3.58 m/s (7:30 min/mile), 4.11 m/s (6.31 min/mile), 4.87 m/s (5:30 min/mile), and 5.95 m/s (4:30 min/mile) pace. Motion analysis was captured at each speed recording knee angles, ground time, center of mass separation, and stride length at 240 Hz. Data was then processed using ANOVA and a Tukey post hoc analysis. Results: Significant differences (p < .05) occurred between distance runners and the groups of middle distance runners and sprinters in knee range, ground time, center of mass separation, and stride length while running at the same speed for all of the five speeds. All groups displayed similar liner slopes as speeds increased with no interactions occurring between groups. As the speed increased, all three groups decreased in knee range measurements and ground time measurements. Increases in speed displayed and increase in center of mass separation and stride length among all three groups. Conclusion: While running at the same speeds, runners exhibit specific characteristics in their form that benefit them in their event. These are even seen in speeds that are faster or slower that what the athletes are used to training at or competing at. In addition, middle distance runners display aspects of form that are between distance runners and sprinters in all variables. By understanding these differences, coaches and athletes can analyze current performance and make needed adjustments.

This study was conducted to determine if physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) at baseline influence the likelihood of gaining bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip and lumbar spine over 6 years. Another aim was to ascertain the effect of several potential confounding factors. In a prospective study of 244 women (baseline age range 35-45 years), physical activity volume (PAv) and intensity (PAi) were measured using accelerometers at baseline. CRF indexed by VO2max was estimated using a graded, maximal treadmill test at baseline. BMD was measured using DEXA. Risk ratios were used to show the likelihood of BMD gains (> 75th percentile) between different levels of PAv, PAi, or CRF at baseline. Mean hip BMD change was -0.015 + 0.045 g/cm2. Women with high PAv were 2.50 times (95% CI: 1.19-5.24), and women with moderate PAv were 2.20 times (95% CI: 1.08-4.45), more likely to experience significant hip BMD gains than women with low PAv. Adjusting for potential confounders had little effect on the results. Baseline PAi and CRF were not related to changes in hip BMD. None of the relationships between PAv, PAi, and CRF, and changes in spine BMD, was statistically significant. Middle-aged women with moderate or high levels of PAv are more likely to experience significant gains in hip BMD over time compared to those with low levels of PAv.

Latter-day Saint (LDS) families with two parents and two children between the ages of 6-16 were recruited to participate in a weekly nutrition Family Home Evening (FHE) study and randomized into either a control group or an intervention group. Each family had to complete a nutrition screener prior to and after completing 6 weekly FHE lessons in the family's home environment. Online nutritional instruction was given to the intervention group for their FHE lessons, while the control group studied typical religious topics. Data taken from the nutrition screener were collapsed into a healthy or unhealthy diet score by averaging scores for questions relating to healthy or unhealthy food practices respectively. The question responses were based on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 being less than once per week to 6 being 2+ times per day relative to specific type of food consumption. In the healthy diet profile intervention group (n = 64), parents started at 2.6 or just greater than once a week and increased to 3.0 or as much as 3 times a week. The children increased from 2.3 or slightly more than once a week to 2.7 or nearly 2-3 times per week. The overall effect was significant for parents and children (p < .001). These results suggest the intervention group increased eating healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grain from just greater than once per week to as much as 3 times per week, a 50% increase, in response to the nutritional FHE lessons. The parents started and ended with higher scores than the children, however, the overall increase in scores was similar. In the unhealthy diet profile (n = 33), no significant change was observed between the control and intervention groups. Results of this study suggest that FHE may be an effective tool for improving nutritional behavior in LDS families. Family-based interventions using religious organizations seem to be a promising channel for implementing healthy behavior change.

Introduction. Exercise and head-out water immersion (HOI) have consistently reported an increase in central blood volume associated with the cephalad shift in blood volume. This causes an increase in left ventricular end diastolic volume and greater stroke volume during exercise compared to exercise in air at similar metabolic costs. In contrast, the metabolic response, specifically, blood lactate accumulation during exercise combined with HOI has yielded varying results depending on the mode of exercise. At present it appears that during exercise at similar metabolic costs, cycle ergometry exercise augments plasma lactate over treadmill running while HOI reduces the plasma lactate response to cycle ergometry exercise. The interaction between treadmill running and HOI appears less certain. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that running on a treadmill on land would result in a lesser accumulation of lactate than during HOI treadmill running. Methods. Eleven subjects' lactate thresholds were determined while running at a 0% grade at increasing speeds on a treadmill on land or during HOI on an underwater treadmill in a randomized cross-over design. Exercise tests were separated by a minimum of 3 days. Lactate concentrations were expressed in mM• kg-1 H2O after correcting for plasma solid concentration. During exercise changes in plasma volume were calculated from changes in hematocrit and hemoglobin. Lactate threshold was estimated from a log-log plot of lactate concentration (mM• kg-1 H2O) as a function of relative oxygen consumption (ml O2•min-1•kg-1 BW). Results. The energy cost and heart rate response to running at speeds between 5.5 and 7.5 mph was similar for land and HOI. During treadmill running on land, plasma volume decreased by 6.4 ± 4.0% at a speed of 7.5 mph. The decrease in plasma volume was significantly greater during HOI and averaged 18.7 ± 1.7% (p <0.05) at 7.5 mph. Plasma lactate was higher at any given treadmill speed ≥ 5.5 mph during HOI compared to land (p <0.05). Lactate threshold during HOI running (21.8 ± 1.6 mM• kg-1 H2O) was lower (p <0.05) than during running on the land treadmill (27.0 ± 1.6 mM• kg-1 H2O). Discussion. HOI running resulted in a consistent shift to the left (rise in plasma lactate occurred at a lower ) in the lactate threshold and elevated plasma lactate concentration at speeds between 5.5-7.5 mph despite similar metabolic and HR responses to the exercise.