Damiano Formenti

THE EFFECT OF CHRONOTYPE ON PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES DURING AEROBIC SELF-PACED EXERCISES.

It was hypothesized that an individuals chronotype might influence the response to physical activity at a given time of day. This study aimed to analyze the psychophysiological responses during a walking task at different times of day in individuals with different chronotypes. 46 students (M age = 24.8yr., SD = 7.2) filled in the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire to determine chronotypes. Heart rate, walking time, and the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured during two self-paced walking sessions: one in the morning (08:30) and one in the afternoon (15:30). A multivariate analysis of variance found a significant interaction between chronotype and time of day. The post hoc analysis showed a significant difference for RPE in the morning session, with evening types reporing a higher RPE compared with the morning types. The chronotype and the time of day when a physical task is undertaken can influence the RPE response, although it might not influence physiological or performance parameters. This has to be taken into account, because it can affect test reliability as well as possibly have a negative influence on the affective responses to a given task.

Exercise Intensity and Pacing Strategy of Cross-country Skiers during a 10 km Skating Simulated Race

The aim of this study was to observe the cardiovascular demands by monitoring the heart rate (HR) and the pacing strategy by evaluating the speed during a simulated cross-country skiing race. Eleven skiers (16.45 ± 1.67 yrs; 21.32 ± 2.03 kg m–2; 72.35 ± 4.69 mL min–1 kg–1) competed in a 10km event divided into four laps. The HR profile was classified into four intensity zones. The skiers spent 66.84 ± 23.64% and 31.82 ± 23.77% of the total time above 90% and at 80 – 90% of the HRmax respectively, whereas the lower zones were negligible. During the event, a progressive increase in intensity was observed: HRmean raised by 2.42% in the last versus the first lap (p < 0.001). The skiers decreased their speed in the second (p = 0.017) and the third laps (p < 0.001) compared to with the first lap. In the fourth lap the skiers increased the speed slightly but without statistical difference. The speed maintained by the skiers resulted in the adoption of a reverse J-shaped pacing strategy.

Agility profile in sub-elite under-11 soccer players: is SAQ training adequate to improve sprint, change of direction speed and reactive agility performance?

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of speed, agility and quickness (SAQ) training on acceleration (5 and 20 m), change of direction speed (CODS) and reactive agility in preadolescent soccer players. Thirty-five participants (age = 10.57 ± 0.26, body mass = 36.78 ± 5.34 kg, body height = 1.42 ± 0.05 m), randomly assigned to experimental (EG, n = 20) and control groups (CG, n = 15), completed a 12-week training intervention, 2 day/week. A significant interaction was found in 5-m sprint (P < 0.05, part η2 = 0.117) and reactive agility (P < 0.01, part η2 = 0.248) between EG and CG. In both groups, 20-m sprint time improved significantly (P < 0.05, effect size = 0.3–0.4) while performance on CODS remained unchanged after 12 weeks. These findings indicated that SAQ training could positively affect cognitive skills and initial sprint acceleration through the middle childhood, offering useful guidance to soccer coaches.

Acute effects of kinesio taping on a 6 s maximal cycling sprint performance

ABSTRACT Based on the hypothesis that tactile stimulation affects muscle activation levels, we theorized that taping vastus medialis and vastus lateralis muscles would improve a 6 s sprint cycling performance. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine whether the use of kinesio taping (KT) was helpful in increasing maximal-intensity cycling exercise. Sixteen active healthy subjects were enrolled in a randomized placebo, repeated measures design. All subjects were tested on a cycle ergometer under three conditions: without taping, taping along anterior thigh muscles and sham taping across the same muscle groups. Results showed a significant increase in peak power output and total work after the application compared to the condition with no tape applied (p < 0.05). No significant difference was found between the two modes of application. Our findings indicated that the tactile stimulation of KT applied longitudinally provided positive effects during a sprint cycling performance in healthy and active subjects.

The Use of Infrared Thermography in the Study of Sport and Exercise Physiology

Infrared thermography (IRT) is considered an upcoming, promising methodology in the field of exercise physiology. Skin temperature distribution derives from muscular activity, skin blood flow as well as perspiration patterns in specific body parts. This chapter aims to provide a general overview on the literature about the study of the skin temperature response to exercise assessed by means of IRT and its relationship with other thermoregulatory variables, exercise characteristics and performance factors.

Effects of knee extension with different speeds of movement on muscle and cerebral oxygenation

Background One of the mechanisms responsible for enhancing muscular hypertrophy is the high metabolic stress associated with a reduced muscular oxygenation occurring during exercise, which can be achieved by reducing the speed of movement. Studies have tested that lowered muscle oxygenation artificially induced by an inflatable cuff, could provoke changes in prefrontal cortex oxygenation, hence, to central fatigue. It was hypothesized that (1) exercising with a slow speed of movement would result in greater increase in cerebral and greater decrease in muscle oxygenation compared with exercises of faster speed and (2) the amount of oxygenation increase in the ipsilateral prefrontal cortex would be lower than the contralateral one. Methods An ISS Imagent frequency domain near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) system was used to quantify oxygenation changes in the vastus lateralis muscle and prefrontal cortex (contra- and ipsilateral) during unilateral resistance exercises with different speeds of movement to voluntary fatigue. After one maximal repetition (1RM) test, eight subjects performed three sets of unilateral knee extensions (∼50% of 1RM), separated by 2 min rest periods, following the pace of 1 s, 3 s and 5 s for both concentric and eccentric phases, in a random order, during separate sessions. The amount of change for NIRS parameters for muscle (ΔHb: deoxyhemoglobin, ΔHbO: oxyhemoglobin, ΔHbT: total hemoglobin, ΔStO2: oxygen saturation) were quantified and compared between conditions and sets by two-way ANOVA RM. Differences in NIRS parameters between contra- and ipsilateral (lobe) prefrontal cortex and conditions were tested. Results Exercising with slow speed of movement was associated to larger muscle deoxygenation than normal speed of movement, as revealed by significant interaction (set × condition) for ΔHb (p = 0.01), and by significant main effects of condition for ΔHbO (p = 0.007) and ΔStO2 (p = 0.016). With regards to the prefrontal cortex, contralateral lobe showed larger oxygenation increase than the ipsilateral one for ΔHb, ΔHbO, ΔHbT, ΔStO2 in each set (main effect of lobe: p < 0.05). Main effects of condition were significant only in set1 for all the parameters, and significant interaction lobe × condition was found only for ΔHb in set1 (p < 0.05). Discussion These findings provided evidence that speed of movement influences the amount of muscle oxygenation. Since the lack of oxygen in muscle is associated to increased metabolic stress, manipulating the speed of movement may be useful in planning resistance-training programs. Moreover, consistent oxygenation increases in both right and left prefrontal lobes were found, suggesting a complementary interaction between the ipsi- and contralateral prefrontal cortex, which also seems related to fatigue.

Bilateral asymmetry of skin temperature is not related to bilateral asymmetry of crank torque during an incremental cycling exercise to exhaustion

Although moderate relationships (|r| ∼ 0.5) were reported between skin temperature and performance-related variables (e.g., kinetic), it remains unclear whether skin temperature asymmetry reflects muscle force imbalance in cycling. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess whether a relationship exists between kinetic and thermal asymmetry during a fatiguing exercise. Ten elite cyclists were enrolled and tested on a maximal incremental cycling test. Peak crank torques of both legs were obtained at the initial and final workload. Likewise, bilateral skin temperatures were recorded before and after exercise. Asymmetric indexes were also calculated for kinetic (AIK) and skin temperature (AIT) outcomes. The bilateral peak crank torques showed a larger difference at the final compared to the initial workload (p < 0.05) of the incremental exercise. Conversely, the bilateral skin temperature did not show any differences at both initial and final workload (p > 0.05). Additionally, trivial relationships were reported between AIK and AIT (−0.3 < r < 0.2) at the initial and final workload. The obtained results showed that changes in bilateral kinetic values did not reflect concurrent changes in bilateral skin temperatures. This finding emphasizes the difficulty of associating the asymmetry of skin temperature with those of muscle effort in elite cyclists. Lastly, our study also provided further insights on thermal skin responses during exhaustive cycling exercise in very highly-trained athletes.

Infrared Thermography: A Possible Role in Psychophysiology of Sport?

Infrared thermography (IRT) is an upcoming, promising methodology in the field of psychophysiology. Mental and emotional components of behavior play an important role in the determination of human performance in sporting competition scenario. Driven by sympathetic nerves activity, affective and emotional states derive from muscular activity, skin blood flow and perspiration patterns in specific body parts. The goal of this chapter is to introduce assessment of emotional states and computational psychophysiology through thermal infrared imaging in sport and exercise.

Facial asymmetry in the resting state reflects anxiety status on young males

ABSTRACT Facial asymmetry is considered a marker of psychological, emotional and physiological distress, while anxiety is a behavioural, psychological and physiological response to a threat to well-being. Since individuals respond to anxiety with specific patterns (e.g., muscular tension), it is reasonable to hypothesize that anxiety could contribute to facial tension and therefore facial asymmetry. Instead, since facial asymmetry is perceived as “unpleasant” from peers, its presence may be a hindrance to social adaptation contributing to generate anxiety. In this study, we investigated whether resting facial asymmetry and anxiety are associated in young population. Full frontal facial photographs of 56 Caucasian males were taken in resting state to obtain indices of asymmetry in six facial landmarks. Anxiety status was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y). Analysis of the face showed that asymmetry and laterality of specific facial landmarks were associated with anxiety. State anxiety was associated with eyebrow and lateral angle of the eye, while trait anxiety was associated with eyebrow and lateral angle of the mouth. Moreover, as compared with contralateral landmarks, the left landmarks were lifted/expanded in subjects with elevated trait/state anxiety, whereas the right landmarks were lifted/expanded in subjects with low-trait/state anxiety.

Effects of a task-specific warm-up on a single-sprint cycling performance

SISMES VI NATIONAL CONGRESS Naples, 26–28 September 2014 The Marcello Faina Lecture Fitness and health effects of recreational football for untrained individuals across the life span