A Classification of Fitness Components in Elite Alpine Skiers: A Cluster Analysis.

The current study is an exploratory, secondary data analysis of a selection of physiological and biomechanical fitness components used to assess elite alpine skiers. The present study will provide new knowledge that can be used to aid training prescription and talent identification. A hierarchical cluster analysis was used to identify groups of variables that are crucial for elite alpine skiers and differences based on sex and competition level.

Recommendations for Measurement and Management of an Elite Athlete.

Athletes who merit the title 'elite' are rare and differ both quantitatively and qualitatively from athletes of lower qualifications. Serving and studying elite athletes may demand non-traditional approaches. Research involving elite athletes suffers because of the typical nomothetic requirements for large sample sizes and other statistical assumptions that do not apply to this population.

Modern Techniques and Technologies Applied to Training and Performance Monitoring.

Athlete preparation and performance continue to increase in complexity and costs. Modern coaches are shifting from reliance on personal memory, experience, and opinion to evidence from collected training-load data. Training-load monitoring may hold vital information for developing systems of monitoring that follow the training process with such precision that both performance prediction and day-to-day management of training become adjuncts to preparation and performance.

Stretching the Spines of Gymnasts: A Review.

Gymnastics is noted for involving highly specialized strength, power, agility and flexibility. Flexibility is perhaps the single greatest discriminator of gymnastics from other sports. The extreme ranges of motion achieved by gymnasts require long periods of training, often occupying more than a decade.

Dynamic Compression Enhances Pressure-to-Pain Threshold in Elite Athlete Recovery: Exploratory Study.

Athlete recovery-adaptation is crucial to the progress and performance of highly trained athletes. The purpose of this study was to assess peristaltic pulse dynamic compression (PPDC) in reducing short-term pressure-to-pain threshold (PPT) among Olympic Training Center athletes after morning training. Muscular tenderness and stiffness are common symptoms of fatigue and exercise-induced muscle microtrauma and edema.

Peristaltic pulse dynamic compression of the lower extremity enhances flexibility.

This study investigated the effects of peristaltic pulse dynamic compression (PPDC) on range-of-motion (ROM) changes in forward splits. Serious stretching usually involves discomfort and large time investments. Tissue structural changes and stretch tolerance have heretofore been considered the primary mechanisms of enhanced ROM.

Historical trends in the size of US Olympic female artistic gymnasts.

Unlabelled: The lay press, scientists, and physicians appear to believe that gymnasts are continually getting smaller and that their "smallness" is a health risk.

Purpose: To assess the historical changes in the size and age of the US women's Olympic gymnastics teams from 1956 to 2008.

Methods: The official records from the US Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics of Olympic team members were assessed at 2 levels: individual height, mass, age, and body-mass index (BMI) and the team performance scores and rankings.

A comparison of pairs figure skaters in repeated jumps.

Trends in pairs figure skating have shown that increasingly difficult jumps have become an essential aspect of high-level performance, especially in the latter part of a competitive program. We compared a repeated jump power index in a 60 s repeated jump test to determine the relationship of repeated jump test to competitive rank and to measure 2D hip, knee, and ankle angles and angular velocities at 0, 20, 40, and 60 s. Eighteen National Team Pairs Figure Skaters performed a 60 s repeated jump test on a large switch-mat with timing of flight and ground durations and digital video recording.

Effects of fatigue on kinetic and kinematic variables during a 60-second repeated jumps test.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a maximal repeated-jumps task on force production, muscle activation and kinematics, and to determine if changes in performance were dependent on gender.

Methods: Eleven male and nine female athletes performed continuous countermovement jumps for 60 s on a force platform while muscle activation was assessed using surface electromyography. Performances were videotaped and digitized (60 Hz).

Comparison of commercially available disposable chemical hand and foot warmers.

Objective: Small chemical hand and foot warmers are used by many winter sport athletes and other outdoor enthusiasts. The purpose of this study was to characterize the thermal behaviors of 14 commercially available hand and foot warmers.

Methods: Both types of warmers were instrumented with a fast-responding thermistor.

Effect of vibration on forward split flexibility and pain perception in young male gymnasts.

Unlabelled: Serious stretching in many sports involves discomfort and is often an early ceiling on improvements.

Purpose: To continue investigation of the use of vibration to enhance acute range of motion while assessing the influence of vibration and stretching on pressure-to-pain threshold perception.

Methods: Ten young male gymnasts were assessed for split range of motion.

Muscle activation characteristics of tumbling take-offs.

In the floor exercise, a gymnast may receive a general composition score deduction associated with a lack of diverse tumbling sequences. Diversity in tumbling is defined as the ability to tumble both forward and backward, as well as twist and flip. A coach's ability to direct technical and physical training for these skill varieties is enhanced when thorough descriptions of the skills are available.

Strength Performance Assessment in a Simulated Men's Gymnastics Still Rings Cross.

Athletes in sports such as the gymnastics who perform the still rings cross position are disadvantaged due to a lack of objective and convenient measurement methods. The gymnastics "cross "is a held isometric strength position considered fundamental to all still rings athletes. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if two small force platforms (FPs) placed on supports to simulate a cross position could demonstrate the fidelity necessary to differentiate between athletes who could perform a cross from those who could not.

Flexibility enhancement with vibration: Acute and long-term.

Introduction: The most popular method of stretching is static stretching. Vibration may provide a means of enhancing range of motion beyond that of static stretching alone.

Purpose: This study sought to observe the effects of vibration on static stretching to determine whether vibration-aided static stretching could enhance range of motion acquisition more than static stretching alone in the forward split position.

Stretching for performance enhancement.

Stretching exercises have been considered an essential component of physical training programs for decades. Cross-sectional studies have demonstrated that flexibility measures are related to performance in many sports, suggesting that using stretching to enhance flexibility may indirectly improve performance. However, observations by athletes and coaches have called into question the universal prescription of stretching for the purpose of enhancing sport performance, and this skepticism is being supported by a growing body of empirical data.

Anthropometric and physical abilities profiles: US National Skeleton Team.

The aim of this study was to characterize sprint ability, anthropometry, and lower extremity power in the US National Team Skeleton athletes. Fourteen athletes (male n = 7; mean +/- SD: height 1.794 +/- 0.

Plaudits and pitfalls in studying elite athletes.

The study of elite athletes, because of their rarity, renders statistical power difficult to achieve, control groups difficult or impossible to find, and generalizability difficult to demonstrate. Alternative methods of analysis may be better suited to such study.

Comparison of the Wingate and Bosco anaerobic tests.

The purpose of this study was to compare the Wingate cycling and Bosco repeated jumps anaerobic tests. Eleven men (21.36 +/- 1.

A kinematic comparison of four abdominal training devices and a traditional abdominal crunch.

Abdominal exercises are often performed on roller or rocker mechanisms, which have been aggressively promoted through the television and print media. However, justifications are lacking as to why these devices are superior to traditional abdominal exercises such as crunches. This study sought to describe and compare the range of motion (ROM) of several joints during crunches performed on 4 different abdominal conditioning devices (2 roller and 2 pivot types) and a traditional crunch exercise.