Elite Training Research Articles

Vitamin D status and determinants of deficiency in non-supplemented athletes during the winter months in Tunisia.

Recent reports suggest that hypovitaminosis D in athletes is as common as in the general population. This study was devised to examine vitamin D status and determinants of deficiency in athletes living in a sunny country (Tunisia). One hundred and fifty national elite athletes, training outdoors (n = 83) or indoors (n = 67), were enrolled from January to February 2012. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D was measured by radioimmunoassay. Concentrations were between 50 and 75 nmol · l-1 in 21.3% of participants, between 25 and 50 nmol · l-1 in 55.3% of participants and <25 nmol · l-1 in 14.7% of participants. The concentrations were significantly lower in indoor athletes than outdoor athletes (36.2±19.0 nmol · l-1 vs. 49.1±19.2 nmol · l-1; p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, vitamin D deficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D <50 nmol · l-1) was associated with indoor sports [multi-adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval), 5.03 (1.64-15.4); p = 0.005], female gender [3.72 (1.44-9.65); p = 0.007] and age < 18 years [2.40 (1.01-5.85); p = 0.05]. Athletes living in sun-rich environments are exposed to a high risk of vitamin D inadequacy. Given the importance of vitamin D in health and athletic ability, targeting sufficient levels of plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D in athletes is well justified.

La formation des élites en tant que problématique d'ordre socioéconomique dans le développement local

Le secteur automobile est un des secteurs industriels décidés par le plan émergence Marocain très prometteur pour les investisseurs, aussi il offre une possibilité de développement très intéressante vis-à-vis des stratégies de croissance des entreprises visant l’internationale.Renault et d’autres équipementiers automobiles ont choisi de s’installer au Maroc pour exercer leurs métiers et activités de production, cependant ces firmes auront besoin des élites locales qualifiées pour accompagner leurs développements sur le plan national.Pour répondre à cette problématique à dimension socioéconomique. Le présent essai vient pour mettre en évidence, les dimensions culturelles Marocaines qui peuvent influencer la formation des futures élites Marocaines et cadre locales en la matière de l’automobile. Il est à noter que toute entreprise délocalisée visant le développement et l’innovation de ces activités dans les pays d’accueil devra prendre en compte ces dimensions dans sa stratégie et ces plans de formation dédiés à la bonne gouvernance de la montée en compétence de ces élites.

The Education Movement of the royal family of the Empire of Great Han and Myeongshin Girls’ School

The purpose of this study is to examine various aspects of the civilization policy and education movement of King Gojong, who tried to protect independence through the modernization of the Empire of Great Han (1897~1910) and to trace the establishment process and spirit of Myeongshin girls’ school, which was established and supported by the royal family. This study will give readers an opportunity to reconsider their perspective of King Gojong, which has been distorted by Japan, and to grasp a better idea of how the royal family supported the national salvation movement through education. King Gojong demonstrated his will for enlightenment by often signing protective trading treaties with powers of the West despite violent opposition by the conservatives in the cabinet against his opening policy after 1880, and by emphasizing that education is the basis for the preservation of state through his “national salvation movement through education.” Gojong sought to establish a modern educational system, thus positively promoting the project of educational modernization and the educational project through missionaries. Myeongshin girls school was a royal women’s school established by Wunheon Hwang-gwibi, the wife of the king, in order to educate and train elite persons to restore the sovereignty of the state. Even though it was established based on the Japanese noble women’s school as a model, the school actively and continuously participated in the protest movement against Japan with an outstanding sense of sovereignty and patriotism against the colonization of Korea. This school was different in its characteristics compared to the Japanese noble women’s school in that it was established with the objective of training and nurturing wise mothers and good wives who could learn and accept the modern education of the West. Myeongshin girls school was in fact a private school established by the sponsoring and support of Soonheon Hwang-gwibi, the wife of King Gojong. More specifically, it was the monarchy’s best education agency for training elite women operating with the financial support of the royal court.

Analysis of International Competition and Training in Men's Field Hockey by Global Positioning System and Inertial Sensor Technology

This study assessed the relative demands of elite field hockey training and competition to determine whether familiar exercise prescription strategies provide an appropriate training stimulus. Sixteen elite male field hockey players (age, 25 ± 4 years; body mass, 70.9 ± 6.6 kg; and maximal oxygen consumption, 61.0 ± 2.1 ml·kg·min [mean ± SD]) participated in the study. Seventy-five elite level competition and 37 training analyses from 8 games and 4 training sessions were obtained. Training duration was longer than competition and covered a greater total distance (109 ± 2.5 vs. 74 ± 0.3 minutes and 7318 ± 221 vs. 5868 ± 75 m; p < 0.001 in both). The distance covered sprinting and running at high intensity was not different between training and competition (114 ± 6 vs. 116 ± 9 m when sprinting and 457 ± 6 vs. 448 ± 7 m for high-intensity running). More high-intensity accelerations were performed during training than in competition (37 ± 3 vs. 20 ± 2). Despite having lower predicted aerobic capacity and covering less distance in competition than in some previous studies, these data support the suggestion that it is high-intensity activity that differentiates international level competition and further suggests that international players can replicate the intensity of competition during small-sided games.

FES-rowing in tetraplegia: a preliminary report.

A training intervention study using functional electrical stimulation-rowing (FES-R) in a group of eight individuals with tetraplegia. To assess the feasibility of a structured progressive FES-R training programme in people with tetraplegia, and to explore the number and type of FES-training sessions required to enable continuous FES-R for 30 min. A fully integrated sports centre, elite rowing training centre and university sport science department. Eight participants with chronic complete and incomplete tetraplegia (C4 to C7, American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale A, B and C) who had not previously used any form of FES-assisted exercise, participated in the study. Participants completed a progressive FES-assisted training programme building to three continuous 30-min FES-R sessions per week at 60-80% of their predetermined peak power output. Thereafter, rowing performance was monitored for 12 months. number and type of FES-training sessions required before achieving 30-min continuous FES-R, and FES-R average power output (POav) pre and post 12 months training. Participant feedback of perceived benefits was also documented. All participants were able to continuously FES-row for 30 min after completing 13±7 FES-R training sessions. Each individual POav during 30 min FES-R increased over 12 months FES-training. FES-R was found safe and well tolerated in this group of individuals with tetraplegia. Individuals with tetraplegia are able to engage in a progressive programme of FES-R training. Future research examining FES-R training as an adjunctive therapy in people with tetraplegia is warranted.

Convergent validity of a novel method for quantifying rowing training loads

Elite rowers complete rowing-specific and non-specific training, incorporating continuous and interval-like efforts spanning the intensity spectrum. However, established training load measures are unsuitable for use in some modes and intensities. Consequently, a new measure known as the T2minute method was created. The method quantifies load as the time spent in a range of training zones (time-in-zone), multiplied by intensity- and mode-specific weighting factors that scale the relative stress of different intensities and modes to the demands of on-water rowing. The purpose of this study was to examine the convergent validity of the T2minute method with Banister’s training impulse (TRIMP), Lucia’s TRIMP and Session-RPE when quantifying elite rowing training. Fourteen elite rowers (12 males, 2 females) were monitored during four weeks of routine training. Unadjusted T2minute loads (using coaches’ estimates of time-in-zone) demonstrated moderate-to-strong correlations with Banister’s TRIMP, Lucia’s TRIMP and Session-RPE (rho: 0.58, 0.55 and 0.42, respectively). Adjusting T2minute loads by using actual time-in-zone data resulted in stronger correlations between the T2minute method and Banister’s TRIMP and Lucia’s TRIMP (rho: 0.85 and 0.81, respectively). The T2minute method is an appropriate in-field measure of elite rowing training loads, particularly when actual time-in-zone values are used to quantify load.

Athlete burnout and motivational dynamics: a multiple case follow-up study among elite BMX riders

Isoard-Gautheur, S., & Guillet-Descas, E. (2014). Athlete Burnout and Motivational Dynamics: A Multiple Case Follow-Up Study among Elite BMX Riders. J. Hum. Sport Exerc., 9(1), pp.31-42. Aim of the study: The objective of the current study was to identify the motivational dynamics and the changes in the levels of burnout experienced among elite BMX riders during a competitive season. Methods: Data were collected each week during 32 weeks, among three BMX riders from an elite training structure. Paired sample t-tests were used to compare the means of each training phase two by two for each rider. Cohen’s d effect sizes were calculated to determine if changes noted between phases were meaningful for the data. Findings: The results of the current study reinforced the hypothesis that burnout is (a) a process that develops over time (Dale & Weinberg, 1990), (b) a multidimensional syndrome (Raedeke & Smith, 2001) and (c) a process with inter-individual differences (Dale & Weinberg, 1990). Key words: EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION, INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, REDUCED SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT, SPORT DEVALUATION.

Demise of the fittest: are we destroying our biggest talents?

Let us call her Liza. Liza is a very talented volleyball player. Last year, 15 years old, she entered high school at a ‘Toppidrettsgymnas’, one of 19 schools in Norway which combine an elite training programme with a 3-year senior high school programme. She soon became the starting setter for the school team, the local club's under 17 team, their under 19 team, their second division women's team, as well as for the under 17 and under 19 junior national teams. Her training volume was doubled when school started in August. A few weeks later, her elbows started to hurt. She did adjust her training, but played as many as 35 volleyball matches before she was diagnosed with bilateral ‘tennis elbow’ in December and finally had to throw in the towel. Unfortunately, Liza's story is not unique. I could have shared the story of Jonas, Anna, Yuichiro, Hendrik, Karim and many more. Many gifted young athletes’ careers have been halted or even ruined by overuse injuries or other health problems caused by what seems like an inappropriate training and competition programme. Using patellofemoral pain as his case, Dye1 described the relationship between loading conditions and tissue injury (figure 1). The model depicts how load/loading conditions may exceed the safe load acceptance capacity of the tissue, and describes a zone of load acceptance, the ‘zone of homeostasis’. By increasing impact load and volume beyond this, in the ‘zone of supraphysiological overload’, there is gradual adaptation of tissue properties to the increased load. However, if even greater load and/or volume are applied, structural damage will occur. Figure 1 Relationship between structural adaptation and load as modified from Dye's model for patellofemoral pain (2005).1 Load volume can be characterised as training volume (frequency, duration, intensity), match frequency, etc. Impact load can be characterised as …

Russian Roulette by A. Horowitz

Horowitz, Anthony. Russian Roulette. London, UK: Walker Books, 2013. Print.Anthony Horowitz is well known to discerning television audiences for his authorship of the WWII period drama, Foyle’s War. To adolescent readers he is known for the Diamond Brothers series, the Power of Five series and the better-known Alex Rider series. Alex Rider is an English teenager who is drafted by MI6 and becomes a secret agent. He goes to exotic places and routinely saves the free world. The bad guys in these stories are Scorpia, a ruthless international organization with an elite training school where they teach operatives to be expert killers. Very early in the Alex Rider series we meet one of their assassins, Yassen Gregorovich, who is Alex’s nemesis and is eventually ordered to kill him. Russian Roulette is a departure from the nine earlier Alex Rider books in that this is Yassen Gregorvich’s biography. To emphasize the Russian-ness or “otherness” of this book in the series, all of the chapter headings are written in Cyrillic script first.Horowitz is every bit as detailed and historically and technically accurate in the development of this character’s back story as he is with the Alex Rider stories and Foyle’s War. For example:The mechanic knew nothing about helicopters. Even I could have told him that a Bell helicopter doesn’t have a joystick. It has a cyclic control which transmits instructions to the rotor blades. And it’s not in front of you. It’s to one side. Zelin had lied about the malfunction, just as he had lied about the usual mechanic, Borodin, being sick.The story is sometimes poignant, often exciting, and frequently death-defying. The reader does come to care about Yassen Gregorovich, but not too much. Series readers have, after all, known him as the antagonist for nine books. Because Russian Roulette is a prequel, it gives Horowitz the opportunity to answer some of the unanswered questions from the other books in the series. For example, what, exactly, was the relationship between Gregorovich and Alex’s parents and uncle? This is a “must read” for anyone who has enjoyed the Alex Rider series. Highly recommended for junior high and high school libraries and public libraries everywhere. Highly recommended: 4 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines. Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

THE PREVALENCE OF PATELLAR TENDINOPATHY IN ELITE ACADEMY RUGBY; A CLINICAL AND IMAGING STUDY WITH 12 MONTH FOLLOW UP

BackgroundPatellar tendinopathy (PT) is a challenging condition with variable outcomes. Injuries that are traditionally associated with training volume such as tendinopathies are less frequently reported in rugby but are likely...

Sportomics: Building a new concept in metabolic studies and exercise science

For more than a decade, we have used alternative approaches to understand metabolic responses to physical stress. In addition to classic laboratory studies (cell and animal models), we have used elite athletes and sports to examine metabolic stress. Our central question involves the ability of the body to protect the central nervous system from high and toxic ammonemia during acute and chronic exercise. Information about this problem can aid in understanding important signaling pathways, which may yield better ways to protect people who suffer from diseases that lead to hyperammonemia, such as liver failure, or to hypermetabolic states, such as cancer or thermal injury. We proposed a Sportomics approach to mimic the real challenges and conditions that are faced during sports training and competition. Sportomics is non-hypothesis-driven research on an individual’s metabolite changes during sports and exercise. It is similar to metabolomics and other “-omics” approaches, but Sportomics focuses on sports as a metabolic challenge. Our study is holistic and top-down; we treat the data systematically and have generated a large computer-searchable database. We also propose that in-field metabolic analyses are important for understanding, supporting and training elite athletes. In this review, we discuss Sportomics history, problems, benefits and results. We included different weather conditions, such as temperature, wind and humidity, and diverse metabolic responses due to uneven sleep and eating behaviors near the time of the experiment. We are currently generating databases as well as data-mining principles and procedures to improve metabolomics and proteomics studies as well as adding genomics and transcriptomics studies to the Sportomics approach. We believe that this approach can fill a methodological gap between systems biology and translational medicine similar as a bench to the field approach.

The Iraqi Ba‘th Party Preparatory School and the ‘Cultural’ Courses of the Branches

Political indoctrination of the Ba’th party cadre in Iraq was critical for the durability of the regime for 35 years. The party preparatory school was the vehicle for the ideological training of the party elite, while special courses, provided by the party branches, focused on the ‘cultural’ education of the party's lower echelons to prepare them for becoming active members. Using the Ba’th's own archives, the article examines how the party's school, the branches’ cultural courses, and the Ba’th cultural activities, combined to create an ideologically educated cadre which paved the way for the party's domination of Iraq's culture and ideology.

Literaturbasierte Belastungsanalyse unterschiedlicher Kniebeugevarianten unter Berücksichtigung möglicher Überlastungsschäden und Anpassungseffekte

In the science and practice of strength training it is sometimes suggested that the deep squat entails an increased injury risk of the lumbar spine and the knee joint. Avoiding deep flexion is believed to minimize the magnitude of knee joint forces. Because within the first 50° of knee flexion calculated retropatellar compressive stress is lower, execution of quarter or half squats is recommended when overuse injuries and degenerative changes of the patella-tendon-complex exist. This recommendation is based on calculation of knee joint forces that occured during the execution of half- and deep-back squats. These values cannot be extrapolated to quarter squats because the following were not taken into account a) the influence of reversal of motion with minor retropatellar contact-zone and lower or missing tendofemoral supportsurface and b) the different weights that can be tolerated with the particular squat. This misconception is particularly important when making recommendations for elite training: Due to the advantageous positions of the lever arms at the knee- and hip joints, quarter (and half) squats necessitate higher weights to induce effective training stimuli of the hip and leg extensors compared with deep squats. Accordingly this results in increased knee joint forces and requires a greater degree of torso stabilization to counteract impairing discal shear forces. These relationships were ignored in recent publications so far that have discussed spinal- and knee-joint forces at different squatting depths. Provided that the movement pattern is learned correctly under supervision of a qualified trainer and weights are gradually increased, the deep squat presents an effective training exercise for protection against injuries, particular in junior athlete development. Contrary to commonly voiced concerns, deep squats do not entail increased risks of injury of the passive tissues.

Shambaugh, China's Communist Party: Atrophy and Adaptation; Pieke, The Good Communist: Elite Training and State Building in Today's China; Yongnian, The Chinese Communist Party as Organizational Emperor: Culture, Reproduction, and Transformation

Shambaugh, China's Communist Party: Atrophy and Adaptation; Pieke, The Good Communist: Elite Training and State Building in Today's China; Yongnian, The Chinese Communist Party as Organizational Emperor: Culture, Reproduction, and Transformation

Constitutional violence: legitimacy, democracy and human rights

If constitutional legitimacy is based on violence, what does this mean for democracy? Almost every state in the world has a written constitution and, for the great majority, the constitution is the law that controls the organs of the state. But is a constitution the best device to rule a country? Western political systems tend to be 'constitutional democracies', dividing the system into a domain of politics, where the people rule, and a domain of law, set aside for a trained elite. Legal, political and constitutional practices demonstrate that constitutionalism and democracy seem to be irreconcilable. Antoni Abat i Ninet strives to resolve these apparently exclusive public and legal sovereignties, using their various avatars across the globe as case studies. He challenges the American constitutional experience that has dominated western constitutional thought as a quasi-religious doctrine. And he argues that human rights and democracy must strive to deactivate the 'invisible' but very real violence embedded in our seemingly sacrosanct constitutions.

Ventilatory muscle strength, diaphragm thickness and pulmonary function in world-class powerlifters

Resistance training activates the ventilatory muscles providing a stimulus similar to ventilatory muscle training. We examined the effects of elite powerlifting training upon ventilatory muscle strength, pulmonary function and diaphragm thickness in world-class powerlifters (POWER) and a control group (CON) with no history of endurance or resistance training, matched for age, height and body mass. Body composition was assessed using single-frequency bioelectrical impedance. Maximal static volitional inspiratory (P(I,max)) and expiratory (P(E,max)) mouth pressures, diaphragm thickness (T(di)) derived from ultrasound measurements and pulmonary function from maximal flow volume loops were measured. There were no differences in physical characteristics or pulmonary function between groups. P(I,max) (22 %, P < 0.05, effect size d = 1.13), P(E,max) (16 %, P = 0.07, effect size d = 0.86) and T(di) (27 %, P < 0.01, effect size d = 1.59) were greater in POWER than CON. Correlations were observed between both T(di) and P(I,max) (r = 0.518, P < 0.05), T(di) and P(E,max) (r = 0.671, P < 0.01) and T(di) and body mass (r = 0.502, P < 0.05). We conclude that manoeuvres performed by world-class powerlifters improve ventilatory muscle strength and increases diaphragm size. Whole-body resistance training may be an appropriate training mode to attenuate the effects of ventilatory muscle weakness experienced with ageing and some disease states.

Epidemiología lesional del balonmano de elite: estudio retrospectivo en equipos profesional y formativo de un mismo club

ObjectiveTo evaluate the injury incidence and pattern of injuries in elite handball by different ages. MethodA retrospective, cross sectional study, was conducted over 5seasons (2007-2012), analyzing a total of 496players, 29teams (from different categories separated by age and performance level) of the same club in southern Europe. The same medical team has assessed the injuries and exposure time by teams. Epidemiological criteria according to UEFA and consensus OSICS-10 diagnostic coding were followed. ResultsA total of 57injuries were recorded during 117,723hours of total exposure. There was a mean team injury incidence of 4.9injuries/1000hours of total exposure. For the SeniorA (Professional Senior) it was was 4.3 (SD1.8), SeniorB (Amateur 18-28years) 3.4 (SD1.6), Youth (U-18year) 5.6 (SD1.4), CadeteA (U-16year) 5.5 (SD2.5), CadeteB (U-15year) 5.7 (SD3.2) and Infantil (U-14year) 4.9 (SD1.9). There were no statistically significant differences between categories, although seniors teams had more hours of exposure compared to other teams (P<.001)The most frequently affected sites were ankle (18.1%), knee (15.3%), thigh (12.9%) and lumbar region (10.6%). The most common type of injury to all teams was the sprain (27.3%) and non-traumatic muscle injury (20.5%). Muscle injuries were more common at SeniorA (Professional) level, but in lower level teams it was the sprain, although there is no significant differences between them.Conclusion The pattern and incidence of injury in elite handball is uniform between teams from different categories at the same club; with a few differences between each other that you should take this into account to optimize a preventions programs in each category of elite handball training.

MODEL PARAMETERS OF TECHNICAL AND TACTICAL ACTIONS IN THE COMPETITIVE ACTIVITIES OF VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS

Annotation. The application of modeling of technical and tactical actions as one of the leading components of the control system of competitive activities of highly skilled volleyball players. It is show that the proposed modeling techniques can generate the optimum orientation of the training process with the use of specialized tools at different stages of the annual cycle of training. In a study based on official statistics volleyball tournament World League in 2012 years. It is recommended to be oriented on the followings model indexes of actions of command and sportsmen: general amount of the collected glasses (170 - 190); amount of glasses, collected in an attack (139 - 157); amount of glasses, collected at blocking (12 - 24); amount of glasses, collected from a serve (9 - 17); the middle index of efficiency is protective actions (at the reception of ball from a serve -58,29%). It is shown that the performance of technical and tactical actions can be used as a model in the management of the process of training and competitive volleyball elite athletes.

Frank N. Pieke, The Good Communist: Elite Training and State Building in Today's China

Frank N. Pieke, The Good Communist: Elite Training and State Building in Today's China

Pieke, Frank N. The good communist: elite training and state building in today's China. ix, 229 pp., maps, illus., bibliogr. Cambridge: Univ. Press, 2010. £55.00 (cloth)

Pieke, Frank N. The good communist: elite training and state building in today's China. ix, 229 pp., maps, illus., bibliogr. Cambridge: Univ. Press, 2010. £55.00 (cloth)