Publications by authors named "Lenny Wiersma"

Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic had implications for athletes' mental well-being. This mixed-methods study examined the influence of self-compassion on athletes' coping during the pandemic through the mediator of cognitive appraisal. The prospective design involved 90 athletes completing two online surveys 1 week apart measuring self-compassion, cognitive appraisal, and coping strategies.

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Laboratory-induced subjective mental fatigue (MF) has been shown to decrease sport-related performance (23, 38), yet there is a lack of research identifying tasks in real-world sport environments that induce MF (37). Since the identification of real-world tasks that induce MF may inform activities undertaken in the daily training and competition environments, the purpose of the current study was to compare changes in MF following a task designed to replicate the observation of game film to changes in MF following completion of a laboratory-based task (e.g.

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Biofeedback (BF) training has been utilized with performers for years. Previous literature highlights the effectiveness of multi-week intervention protocols, but there is a lack of evidence for abbreviated interventions using portable devices and the performer's preference of these devices. Therefore, we investigated the effects of a brief BF intervention on mental workload, mood, arousal, and movement time and BF device preference.

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This exploratory study aimed to assess obesity, physical activity, and nutrition among Pacific Islander youth and young adults in Southern California. A total of 129 Tongan, Samoan, and Marshallese participated in the study, including relatively similar proportions of males and females and age groups. We calculated Body Mass Index (BMI), dietary intake by a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and 7-day physical activity levels with accelerometers.

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Salatto, RW, Arevalo, JA, Brown, LE, Wiersma, LD, and Coburn, JW. Caffeine's effects on an upper-body resistance exercise workout. J Strength Cond Res 34(6): 1643-1648, 2020-The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of caffeine on an upper-body resistance exercise workout.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of the Peds QL4.0 instrument to assess quality of life (QL) in children with Prader Willi Syndrome (PWS). This study also sought to compare differences in parent and child report as well as between children with PWS and without PWS.

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Ultraendurance open water swimming presents unique physiological challenges. This case study aimed to describe cardiovascular and perceptual responses during a successful solo channel swim. Investigators followed a female swimmer's Catalina Channel (32.

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Laboratory-based studies indicate mild dehydration adversely affects mood. Although ultra-endurance events often result in mild to moderate dehydration, little research has evaluated whether the relationship between hydration status and mood state also exists in these arduous events. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate how hydration status affected mood state and perceptual measures during a 161 km ultra-endurance cycling event.

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Background: Compared to other children, those with disability have additional challenges to being physically active. Prader-Willi Syndrome is a genetic form of childhood obesity that is characterized by hypotonia, growth hormone deficiency, behavioral, and cognitive disability. In children, the low prevalence of this syndrome (1 in 10,000 to 15,000 live births) makes group-based physical activity interventions difficult.

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Background: Community-based participatory research (CBPR) holds the promise of improving the planning, conduct, and long-term translation of research findings into community settings.

Objectives: This 2-year, exploratory study applied CBPR structures and processes to the identification of individual, cultural and community factors associated with obesity among Pacific Islander (PI) youth in Southern California.

Methods: We describe the CBPR principles and strategies used by a community-university partnership to develop, implement, and report on the findings from assessments of obesity, physical activity, and nutritional intake among PI youth.

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Wrestlers abruptly lose body mass before competition; however, the effects of "weight cutting" are poorly understood because of conflicting evidence. This study aimed to determine the effects of self-selected mass loss on precompetition mood, grip strength, and lower body power in collegiate wrestlers. Sixteen male collegiate wrestlers (age = 20 ± 2 years, height = 177.

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Competitive swimming requires multiple bouts of high-intensity exercise, leading to elevated blood lactate. Active exercise recovery has been shown to lower lactate faster than passive resting recovery but may not always be practical. An alternative treatment, electrical muscle stimulation, may have benefits similar to active recovery in lowering blood lactate but to date is unstudied.

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The purpose of the study was to investigate the measurement properties of questionnaires associated with the Youth Physical Activity Promotion (YPAP) model. Data were collected from 296 children in Grades 5-8 using several existing questionnaires corresponding to YPAP model components, a physical activity questionnaire, and 6 consecutive days of pedometer data. Internal validity of the questionnaires was tested using confirmatory factor analyses, and external validity was investigated via correlations with physical activity and body composition.

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Objective: To develop and evaluate the validity and reliability of a multidimensional balance scale-the Fullerton Advanced Balance (FAB) scale-suitable for use with functionally independent older adults.

Design: Psychometric evaluation of the scale's content and convergent validity, test-retest and intra- and interrater reliability, and internal rater consistency.

Setting: Urban community.

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The vast majority of youth sport programs in the United States relies primarily on parent volunteers to serve as coaches. Unfortunately, most of these volunteer coaches have not received formal training to prepare them adequately for the role of youth sport coach. To exacerbate the issue, according to the popular media, parents and other adults can commit belligerent and even violent acts around, and often resulting from, poorly managed youth sport events.

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