The effects of a land-based warm-up and accompanying passive heat retention on core body temperature, hormones, and subsequent performance in elite surfers.

Surfing is a high participation sport, yet little sport science research exists regarding competitive performance in surfing. Given surfing's inclusion as an Olympic sport from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics onwards, an examination of performance would seem useful. In numerous land-based sports, and in swimming, the importance of a warm-up and muscle heat is well documented.

The influence of light and heavy training weeks on the cortisol and testosterone awakening responses of elite male judokas: is skeletal muscle damage a mediating factor?

In sport, the awakening responses of cortisol (CAR) and testosterone (TAR) have been used as evaluative tools. Research findings are, however, inconsistent and the mechanisms involved are unclear. This study investigated the CAR and TAR in male athletes across light and heavy training weeks, focusing on skeletal muscle damage as a mediating factor.

Heat Attainment and Retention in Surfers with and without a Land-Based Warm-Up and Accompanying Passive Heat Retention.

Surfing is a growing, high-participation recreational and competitive activity. It is relatively unique, being performed on, in, and through water with a range of temperatures. In other sports, warm-up and heat retention have proved useful at augmenting performance and ameliorating injury risk.

Team Behavior and Performance: An Exploration in the Context of Professional Rugby Union.

Purpose: To explore complex system behavior and subsequent team performance in professional rugby union.

Methods: Here, we present 2 studies. In the first, we used global positioning system technology to measure player clustering during stoppages in play in nearly 100 games of professional rugby union to explore team (complex system) behavior and performance.

Hamstring musculotendon mechanics of prospectively injured elite rugby athletes.

The musculotendon mechanics of the hamstrings during high-speed running are thought to relate to injury but have rarely been examined in the context of prospectively occurring injury. This prospective study describes the hamstring musculotendon mechanics of two elite rugby players who sustained hamstring injuries during on-field running. Athletes undertook biomechanical analyses of high-speed running during a Super Rugby pre-season, prior to sustaining hamstring injuries during the subsequent competition season.

Exploring Finger Digit Ratios (2D:4D) in Surgeons, Professional Rugby Players, and Political Journalists to Form a Directional Hypothesis: Could Finger Length Predict Attention and Focus?

In this short report we explore the predictive nature of finger digit ratio (i.e., second/index finger length divided by fourth/ring finger length; 2D:4D) and achievement.

Factors Influencing Team Performance: What Can Support Teams in High-Performance Sport Learn from Other Industries? A Systematic Scoping Review.

Background: The primary aim of our systematic scoping review was to explore the factors influencing team function and performance across various industries and discuss findings in the context of the high-performance sport support team setting. These outcomes may also be used to inform future research into high-performance teamwork in sport.

Methods: A systematic scoping review of literature published in English since 2000 reporting team-based performance outcomes and included a performance metric that was 'team outcome based' was conducted using search of the Academic Search Ultimate, Medline, Business Source Ultimate, APA PsycInfo, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, and Military database (ProQuest) using the terms: 'team', 'function' OR 'dysfunction', 'Perform*' OR 'outcome'.

Testosterone and Dihydrotestosterone Changes in Male and Female Athletes Relative to Training Status.

Purpose: To establish if training volume was associated with androgen baselines and androgen responsiveness to acute exercise.

Methods: During a "high-volume" training phase, 28 cyclists (14 men and 14 women) undertook oxygen-uptake and maximal-work-capacity testing. Two days later, they completed a repeat-sprint protocol, which was repeated 3 weeks later during a "low-volume" phase.

Testosterone and cortisol are more predictive of choice behavior than a social nudge in adult males on a simple gift give-get task.

Reproducibility of social research is ambitious, and evidence supporting this argument is increasing in psychology and social science research. This may be attributed to, in part, the high volume of qualitative research methodology used in social research along with difficulties in the reliability of measurement techniques. Therefore, use of more and better objective measures to complement existing techniques in social research are necessitated.

Is There a Link between Stress and Cognition, and Capacity to Execute Motor Skill?

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the link between stress (measured via salivary cortisol and testosterone), cognition (measured via pupillometry, with greater pupil constriction and reduced pupil constriction latency associated with increased attention and improved information processing), and motor skill capacity (measured via somatosensory processing).

Methods: Twenty-five professional rugby players participated in this study. Saliva samples were collected upon waking, before pupillometry and somatosensory processing testing, and after testing.

Performance Analysis in Rugby Union: a Critical Systematic Review.

Background: Performance analysis in rugby union has become an integral part of the coaching process. Although performance analysis research in rugby and data collection has progressed, the utility of the insights is not well understood. The primary objective of this review is to consider the current state of performance analysis research in professional rugby union and consider the utility of common methods of analysing performance and the applicability of these methods within professional coaching practice.

Altitude exposure as a training & iron overload management strategy post leukemia.

Objectives: To examine iron stores, hemoglobin mass, and performance before, during and after intermittent altitude exposure in a professional male rugby player experiencing iron overload following blood transfusions for treatment for acute myeloid leukemia.

Design: Longitudinal, repeated measures, single case-study.

Methods: The player was followed prior to (control), and during (study), an in-season block of altitude training.

Late swing running mechanics influence hamstring injury susceptibility in elite rugby athletes: A prospective exploratory analysis.

Hamstring injuries are one of the most prevalent injuries in rugby union and many other running-based sports, such as track sprinting and soccer. The majority of these injuries occur during running; however, the relationship between running mechanics and hamstring injury is unclear. Obtaining large samples of prospective injury data to examine this relationship is difficult, and therefore exploratory analysis frameworks may assist in deriving valuable information from studies with small but novel samples.

A retrospective analysis of hamstring injuries in elite rugby athletes: More severe injuries are likely to occur at the distal myofascial junction.

Objectives: To describe the most common hamstring injury scenarios and outcomes in elite rugby union.

Design: Retrospective investigation.

Setting: Hamstring injury data from an elite rugby union team was collected over five seasons and retrospectively analysed.

Sleep and Salivary Testosterone and Cortisol During a Short Preseason Camp: A Study in Professional Rugby Union.

To examine changes in, and relationships between, sleep quality and quantity, salivary testosterone, salivary cortisol, testosterone-to-cortisol ratio (T:C), and self-reported muscle soreness during a residential-based training camp in elite rugby players. Nineteen male rugby players age 26.4 (3.

The Effect of Speed, Power, and Strength Training and a Group Motivational Presentation on Physiological Markers of Athlete Readiness: A Case Study in Professional Rugby.

Objective: To examine the effect of a physical treatment (speed, power, and strength [SPS] training) and psychosocial treatment (group motivational presentation) on salivary testosterone (sal-T), salivary cortisol (sal-C), and sal-T-to-sal-C ratio (T:C) in professional rugby.

Methods: Fourteen male rugby players (age = 25.9 [2.

Effect of Physical and Psychosocial Interventions on Hormone and Performance Outcomes in Professional Rugby Union Players: A Systematic Review.

Strahorn, J, Serpell, BG, McKune, A, and Pumpa, KL. Effect of physical and psychosocial interventions on hormone and performance outcomes in professional rugby union players: a systematic review. J Strength Cond Res 31(11): 3158-3169, 2017-This systematic review investigates the acute effects of physical or psychosocial interventions on testosterone and cortisol responses in elite male rugby union players, and the subsequent association with physical performance areas (e.

Vertical stiffness is not related to anterior cruciate ligament elongation in professional rugby union players.

Background: Novel research surrounding anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is necessary because ACL injury rates have remained unchanged for several decades. An area of ACL risk mitigation which has not been well researched relates to vertical stiffness. The relationship between increased vertical stiffness and increased ground reaction force suggests that vertical stiffness may be related to ACL injury risk.

Validity of a Wearable Accelerometer Device to Measure Average Acceleration Values During High-Speed Running.

Alexander, JP, Hopkinson, TL, Wundersitz, DWT, Serpell, BG, Mara, JK, and Ball, NB. Validity of a wearable accelerometer device to measure average acceleration values during high-speed running. J Strength Cond Res 30(11): 3007-3013, 2016-The aim of this study was to determine the validity of an accelerometer to measure average acceleration values during high-speed running.

Vertical stiffness and muscle strain in professional Australian football.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to establish if vertical stiffness was greater in professional Australian rules footballers who sustained a lower limb skeletal muscle strain compared to those who did not, and to establish if a relationship between age, or training history, and vertical stiffness existed. Thirty-one participants underwent weekly rebound jump testing on a force platform over two seasons. Vertical stiffness was calculated for injured players and the uninjured cohort 1 and 3 weeks prior to sustaining an injury and at the end of preseason.