ISSN : 1598-2939
This study analysed the influence of a 4 week combined weight bearing circuit exercise program in the body composition, physical fitness, and blood profile of an perimenopausal women (aged from 40 ~ 60, N = 29). Significant improvements were found in blood related parameters, fat-related parameters in body compositions and physical fitness parameters (P<0.01). As skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and lean % Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) considered as a standard for muscle mass in this study are used because each standard showed significant differences (P<0.01) and each standard significantly correlated with SMM, weight, time to exhaustion, fat-related parameters such as fa t% DXA, lean % DXA and free fatty acid in pre and post exercise. Blood-related parameters (creatinine, glucose, HDL-cholesterol, and total protein) significantly correlated with changes in each corresponding blood-related parameter after exercise (P=0.000). Exercise contributed to improving muscle mass-related parameters used as biomarkers in this study, which improved the positive changes of healthy indices are indispensable factors for evaluating the effects of exercise. These changes contribute to a virtuous cycle, which accelerates the capacity to perform exercise. It suggests that the weight-bearing circuit exercise can improve the quality of life of perimenopausal women.
The cost of attending professional sporting events has been increasing steadily but the median household income has been relatively stagnant over the last three decades. While sport fans have increasingly spent more of their income on experiencing professional sport games, little information is available on a relationship between the costs of attending professional sporting events and sport consumers’ ability to pay and how this relationship has changed over time. Similar to housing affordability, this study proposed the concept of sport affordability, measured with a ratio between per capita income and the income needed to attend a sporting event and examined the degree of changes in the sport affordability index over time. The study results showed that the sport affordability index has become polarized among major league baseball teams. For 21 teams, the study showed that their sport affordability indexes have been deteriorating steadily over time but the trend was different for the other eight franchises. Policy and management implications related to equitable accessibility to sport and recreation events and marketing strategies are discussed.
The purpose was to examine improvements of performance and different physiological parameters in ten trained male cross-country mountain bikers after a supra-maximal interval training (SMIT) program of 8 sessions. Each session comprised 60 to 90 repeated 1-minute bouts consisting of a 20-s effort at 115% of maximal aerobic power (MAP), followed by 40-s recovery at 50% of MAP. Performance time to complete the virtual time-trial performance test was reduced significantly by -4.2%. Pulmonary sub-maximal oxygen consumption and deoxyhemoglobin in vastus lateralis decreased significantly by ‑4.7% and -21.9% respectively during the MAP test. Our findings suggest that SMIT program might improve performance and cycling efficiency in XC mountain bikers.
It has been suggested that highly motivated and passionate referees are more inclined to pursue higher league levels and, thereby, invest more hours in performance preparations and more general soccer activity. However, limited knowledge is available about practice and mental preparation among elite soccer referees. Our study aim was to investigate referees’ practice and involvement in unmediated soccer activity. We further sought to examine possible preparation differences between elite and sub-elite referees. Comparing elite with sub-elite referees practice may reveal underlying performance principles that may form a basis for trainings methods facilitating referee performance. The following hypotheses were tested: a) elite referees will report higher frequency of physical and mental training compared with sub-elite referees and b) elite referees will report higher involvement in unmediated relevant soccer activity compared with sub-elite referees. Among the 98 top-class referees in Norway, 83 (84.7% response rate, 73 men and ten women, aged 20–46 years) completed a survey about their training volume and content, mental training and involvement in unmediated soccer activity. Reported training volume and content are consistent with referees’ physical demands. Elite referees report significantly greater use of mental training compared with sub-elite referees, while there were no group differences on physical training volume and content or unmediated soccer activity. The results confirm only one of the hypotheses and support the assumption that mental training requires more motivation than physical training even though the latter has quantifiable results that are more regularly measured.
This study aimed to examine the degree to which service quality attributes can predict spectators’ revisit intention and word-of-mouth (WOM). A total of 551 spectators from a Formula One Chinese Grand Prix venue were selected to participate in a survey by using the convenience sampling method. Multiple regression analyses showed that service quality has a significant influence on behavioral intentions. Specifically, five of six service quality attributes (i.e., convenience, facilities, price, game experience, and promotion), had a significant effect on revisit intention, whereas four of six service quality attributes (i.e., convenience, facilities, game experience, and staff) had a significant effect on WOM. This study could suggest sport event marketers to consider functional services including price, location, and designation of the stadium or service place in order to attract more sport audiences.
