Vol.2/2020/59

 

“SPORTS NUTRITION AND DIET.”

INTRODUCTION:- Physical education is a process of learning, the context being mainly physical. The purpose of this process is to develop specific knowledge, skills, and understanding.A number of factors contribute to success in sport, and diet is a key component. An athlete’s dietary requirements depend on several aspects, including the sport, the athlete’s goals, the environment, and practical issues. The importance of individualized dietary advice has been increasingly recognized, including day-to-day dietary advice and specific advice before, during, and after training and/or competition. Athletes use a range of dietary strategies to improve performance, with maximizing glycogen stores a key strategy for many. Carbohydrate intake during exercise maintains high levels of carbohydrate oxidation, prevents hypoglycemia, and has a positive effect on the central nervous system. Recent research has focused on athletes training with low carbohydrate availability to enhance metabolic adaptations, but whether this leads to an improvement in performance is unclear. The benefits of protein intake throughout the day following exercise are now well recognized. Athletes should aim to maintain adequate levels of hydration, and they should minimize fluid losses during exercise to no more than 2% of their body weight. Supplement use is widespread in athletes, with recent interest in the beneficial effects of nitrate, beta-alanine, and vitamin D on performance. However, an unregulated supplement industry and inadvertent contamination of supplements with banned substances increases the risk of a positive doping result. Although the availability of nutrition information for athletes varies, athletes will benefit from the advice of a registered dietician or nutritionist.

Keywords: nutrition, diet, sport, athlete, supplements, hydration

Nutrition is increasingly recognized as a key component of optimal sporting performance, with both the science and practice of sports nutrition developing rapidly. Sports nutrition is the study and practice of nutrition and diet with regards to improving anyone's athletic performance. ... Sports Nutrition focuses its studies on the type, as well as the quantity of fluids and food taken by an athlete.

 

EXPLAINATION:-Carbohydrates should absolutely be the cornerstone of a player diet. Fruit and vegetables are also a crucial element for a high performance athlete. In the world of athletics, no other macronutrient has received the same level of attention as protein. At the most basic level, nutrition is important for athletes because it provides a source of energy required to perform the activity. The food we eat impacts on our strength, training, performance and recovery. “Athlete” includes individuals competing in a range of sport types, such as strength and power (eg, weight-lifting), team (eg, football), and endurance (eg, marathon running). The use of dietary supplements can enhance performance, provided these are used appropriately.

CAFFEINE- Its a stimulant that is ubiquitously consumed in the diets of most adults, has well-established benefits for athletic performance. The mechanisms underpinning these benefits include adenosine receptor antagonism, increased endorphin release, enhanced neuromuscular function, improved vigilance and alertness, and a reduced perception of exertion during exercise. Endurance performance- Caffeine supplementation is known to improve endurance capacity during time to fatigue exercise tasks. Sodium Bicarbonate &Sodium Citrate- Ingestion of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) is proposed to enhance high-intensity exercise performance as an extracellular (blood) buffer by increasing pH in the extracellular environment, and increasing the gradient between the blood and the active muscle.

Phosphates- Numerous hypotheses have been proposed to support the potential benefits of phosphate supplementation on athletic performance. The proposed mechanisms underpinning these benefits include an enhanced rate of ATP and PCr resynthesis ,improved buffering capacity to support high rates of anaerobic glycolysis ,improvement of myocardial contractility leading to increased cardiac efficiency and an increased erythrocyte 2,3 diphosphoglycerate (2,3 DPG) concentration, leading to a reduced affinity of oxygen with hemoglobin and a greater unloading of oxygen to the peripheral tissues.

Carnitine- Carnitine is a compound predominantly found (95%) within the skeletal muscle, playing several important roles in substrate utilization Increased muscle carnitine stores via supplementation with L-carnitine are postulated to spare glycogen, via increased fat oxidation, at lower exercise intensities, and to promote more efficient carbohydrate oxidation and reduced lactate accumulation at higher intensities, delaying the onset of fatigue during endurance-based activity.

“Feed your body. It’s a machine. To be the best player, you need to train and eat like the best athlete in the world”.

 

NITRATE-NO plays an important role in the modulation of skeletal muscle function, with proposed mechanisms for improved exercise performance including a reduced ATP cost of muscle force production, an increased efficiency of mitochondrial respiration, increased blood flow to the muscle, and a decrease in blood flow to VO2 heterogeneities.

 

METHOD:

Carbohydrate recommendations for well-trained athletes during exercise

Exercise duration	Example	Recommended carbohydrate intake per hour
30–75 minutes	Sprint triathlon (750 m swim, 20 km cycle, 5 km run) Netball (4× 15-minute quarters)	Small amounts or mouth rinsea
1–2 hours	Soccer/football – 2× 45-minute halves	30 ga
2–3 hours	Marathon run (42.2 km run)	60 ga
>2.5 hours	Half ironman triathlon (1.9 km swim, 90 km cycle, 21.1 km run)	90 gb

 

Nutrition Tips For Athletes

* Do not skip meals

* Eat 4-5 meals a day

* Eat breakfast everyday

“Feed your body. It’s a machine. To be the best player, you need to train and eat like the best athlete in the world”.

 

* Eat most of your vegetables and fruit in raw form

* Try and eat all the colors in the crayon box (fruits & vegetables)

* Sufficient protein should be present in all meals (especially breakfast) to prevent extreme insulin fluctuations due to rapid digestion of carbohydrates

* Highly processed foods (such as sugars, oils, and flour) should be avoided in excess. They are not recognized by the body and make them difficult to process.

* Design your diet so that you receive a complete mix of all the nutrients everyday to promote recovery and restoration and to enhance your immune system function.

* Post workout nutrition can drastically reduce the time needed to recover.

* The body is much more efficient in restoring carbohydrates 15 minutes after a strenuous workout. Carbohydrates are the primary fuel during exercise – needs to be restored by the body.

* Post workout drink: 1 gram of protein for every 3 grams of carbohydrate. (.3gm of protein/lb. of lean body weight)

* Drink approximately 64 oz. (8 glasses) of water daily. Bring a water bottle with you everywhere (especially practice).

 

6 Amazing Exercises that Will Improve Athletic Speed

Exercise #1 Medicine Ball Side Throw Progression:

A. Standing side throw– The athlete will face sideways to the wall in an athletic stance with the ball at chest height and elbows out. (stand roughly 10-12 feet away depending on the bounce of the ball)

• Using the backside leg to drive the hips forward and taking a small step toward the wall with the lead leg…
• Explosively drive the ball, keeping the back elbow up so the shoulder doesn’t get injured, into the wall.
  • The focus of the exercise isn’t so much on throwing, it is on understanding being in the best stance to drive the off the back leg like a lateral shuffle.
  • If the athlete is too narrow in stance or standing too tall the power production will be limited.
  • This exercise needs to be done on both sides

B. Forward shuffle side throw– The athlete will back away from the wall roughly 6-8 feet further. The exercise will be performed the same as the standing side throw but the emphasis changes to lateral speed:

• The athlete will shuffle one to two times staying in a good stance and then driving off the back foot and transferring the speed into the throw.
• The athlete must use the back foot to push down and away to generate more speed on the throw.
  • If the athlete does not have a good athletic stance (foundation) they will not generate enough force to gain benefits.

1. . Backward shuffle side throw– Same exercise but now the athlete will shuffle away from the wall. Start the athlete only 6-8 feet from the wall.

“Feed your body. It’s a machine. To be the best player, you need to train and eat like the best athlete in the world”.

• The athlete will shuffle aggressively one to two times away from the wall and plant aggressively to throw the ball.
• This is the most important exercise of all to reinforce the athletic stance and the importance of plant leg angles. If the plant leg of the back leg is too narrow when attempting to stop the throw will be weak.
• The athlete wants to still get forward movement when throwing. I like to do 2-4 sets of 3-5 reps on each side. The exercise has to be intense. The wt of the ball, experience of the athlete, and skill level determines the sets and reps.

Generally speaking, there aren’t (and shouldn’t be) many differences between male and female athletes.

Every athlete needs to improve the foundational qualities of speed, strength and power. They need to be mobile, stable, and certainly in shape. And most importantly, they need to be healthy so they can produce results when it matters most!

But after five years of operation and 3500 female athletes later, we’ve picked up on a few key differences that can help you and your athletes reach their potential.

Female training tip #1: Strive for volume/density, not intensity

This can fall into two different buckets: female athletes and/or youth athletes

After spending most of my career working in college strength and conditioning, I made the switch over into the private sector and soon found myself working with primarily youth female athletes.

When I say primarily, I mean like 80% of our clientele.

What I quickly noticed was that our athletes simply didn’t handle the traditional model of progressive overload as well as my college athletes. Forget percentages, readiness questionnaires and velocity tracking. They couldn’t increase their training load week to week and maintain form, speed and most of all, confidence.

Was another 5-10 lbs worth it on our last set, gambling on them failing and shattering their confidence as they began weight training?

Many times I have seen an athlete crush a set at a particular weight only to not hit a single rep with five additional pounds added on the following set. Instead of pushing more weight each and every set, we have adapted our training cycles to work on increasing volume throughout the set cycle. This form of volume accumulation allows us to still overload the athlete but in a safer manner.

An example of a four-week squat cycle might look like this:

Week 1: 4×5

Week 2: 4×6

Week 3:3×8

Week 4:3×4, 1 open set between 8-10 reps

 

Of course, if the iron is hot, we will strike and increase load with volume, but we have found over the years that by finding a good training weight and asking the athletes to do 1-2 more reps than they did last week versus grabbing a heavier dumbbell goes a long way with long term physical and mental development.

By adding in just a few reps each week, sometimes as little as one to two reps each week, we will increase the overall training load by four to eight reps each month and up to thirty plus reps by the end of the season. This will passively increase their work capacity and help hone other skills such as focus and grit.

Lastly, we have found our female athletes to demonstrate a greater ability to recover between sets much quicker than our male athletes. Since the relative effort is the same, we can’t use the excuse of “Well, male athletes are lifting heavier so they need more time to rest.”

To be quite frank, our male athletes simply need to work harder.

To accommodate our females, most of them will have added sets and reps to accommodate their skill level, especially when we are teaching new movements. A few extra sets of cleans or split squats to drive home the fundamentals beats filler exercises like “abs” any day.

Female training tip #2: Train the posterior chain every day

Unfortunately, there are a few things that female athletes have to deal with that their male counterparts don’t have to worry so much about.

You know–just your typical quadriceps dominance, anterior pelvic tilt, more lax ligaments, and wider Q angles…

Oh, and up to 9x more likely of tearing an ACL.

No big deal right?

All of these characteristics put them at an increased risk for injury when they attempt to absorb force (i.e. landing from a jump, decelerate, or change direction).

Plus, with an overactive “anterior chain”, our posterior chain of the lower back, glutes and hamstrings remain inactive, thus preventing the body from using its’ preferred muscles to decelerate.

 

 

For any type of lower body “knee dominant” training we do, we want to make sure we have an equal amount of “hip dominant” training, keeping a 1:1 if not 1:2 ratio of anterior to posterior exercises. Many of our posterior chain movements follow a higher volume approach to combat all the years of inadequate strength and activation. So, if we were to squat for sets of five, we might be doing RDLs for sets of 8-10.

Female training tip #3: Don’t neglect single leg training

1. most sports, the much of the game is played on one leg. Besides rowing and Olympic weight lifting, many sports require athletes to push, plant, pivot, and perform on one leg at a time. Think about running, going up for a layup, stepping into a baseball swing, or shuffling to play defense.

“Feed your body. It’s a machine. To be the best player, you need to train and eat like the best athlete in the world”.

Throughout the years, we’ve noticed that improving our single leg strength transfers to a better double leg strength ratio—the opposite is not always true. Also by training the single leg, we can better address the abd/adductors, limiting the amount of valgus tracking while increasing the stability of the knee.

At RYPT, we use a variety of linear, lateral and rotational split squats and lunges in the warm-up to prepare for loaded movements later in the program. Like our double leg training, we attend to each variety of movement pattern, hip and knee dominant, as well as pushing and pulling exercises. The variety of exercise selection exposes athletes to moving in a variety of planes and through a number of different motions that also improve their awareness of their body in space. That understanding of how the body moves is helpful when the athlete is faced with a decision or a situation in a game or contest.

On day 1, we focus on progressing our athletes into single-legged RDL variations, focusing on their proprioception and force production. This comes towards the end of the workout after we have already performed our major double leg push for the day, which is usually some sort of squat variation.

On day 2, we focus on an auxiliary single leg push movements with variations of split squats, rear foot elevated split squats, lunges and step-ups.

On day 3, depending on the level of the athlete and season of the year, we will perform either another double or single leg push exercise as a primary strength movement. For most beginner athletes, we start off with the hex bar deadlift and transition into a loaded barbell split squat or lunge as they get close to their competitive season.

Don’t be responsible for another statistic

More than ever, female athletes are playing sports and striving to win a scholarship.

They’re sacrificing quality training time with sports performance coaches like us to play another season of AAU basketball, club soccer and showcase softball.

So we’ve got to do OUR part and educate and empower coaches and parents alike to not only help athletes reach their potential, but also prevent them from LIMITING their potential due to injury. While we cannot prevent all injuries, experience and education have shown us we can certainly have a major hand in preventing many of them due to inadequate strength and body control.If you’re looking for a complete system for training today’s female athlete, we hope you consider the work we’ve done, the programs we’ve developed and the athletes we have helped–3500 and counting. We’re hoping you can add to that number today.

 

Nutrition for Sports Performance

Performance Nutrition: Fuel Like a Champion!

Young athletes have very unique demands – school, sports, and training.

But even in the busy world of a young athlete, there is a way to improve each of those 3 things – by Fueling like a Champion.

 

Let’s instead delve a bit into some specific nutrition tips Young Athletes.

 

 

Carbohydrates

“Feed your body. It’s a machine. To be the best player, you need to train and eat like the best athlete in the world.

Carbohydrates should absolutely be the cornerstone of a player diet. The key, is to focus heavily on quality — “think fiber, not carbs!” There is a huge difference between white bread and whole grain, high fiber bread; a sugar coated cereal and oatmeal; French fries vs. sweet potatoes.

Focus on the quality of the carbohydrates.

For example, definitely eat breakfast, but try a whole grain based cereal with some fresh fruit for the nutrients and fiber. Something like oatmeal instead of Fruit Loops or Cheerios vs. Cocoa Pebbles.

Sandwiches should be made with whole grain bread, rather than their white counterpart. Snacks can be whole grain crackers with peanut butter, fruit or veggie sticks with peanut butter, etc. The list can go on.

The focus of carbohydrates should always be on foods that provide a few grams of fiber per serving (exception is milk and yogurt, which are very healthy and carbohydrate based, but provide little, if any fiber).

Fruit and vegetables are also a crucial element for a high performance athlete. Kids often shy away from them and parents don’t always push them. However, research has suggested it can take as many as one dozen times to determine if a child likes a particular food. The key for a parent is to introduce kids to as many of these nutrient dense, colorful foods as possible! Make it fun.

Here are a few ideas:

• Ants on a log (celery with natural peanut butter and raisins)
• Sailboats (apple slices with toothpicks holding a cheddar cheese “sail”— of course watch your child to ensure they don’t eat the toothpick).
• Homemade trail mix (mixed nuts, dried fruit, and some whole grain cereal)

Keep in mind that dried fruit counts towards the total fruit intake for the day, as does 100% juice (of course this shouldn’t be the mainstay, though, as whole fruit provides more fiber), along with fruit puree.

Protein Needs of Players

In the world of athletics, no other macronutrient has received the same level of attention as protein.

Of course protein plays a role and a very important one at that! One important message is to make sure you always focus on food first – not protein supplements.

High quality protein sources include:

• fish and other seafood
• low or non fat milk or yogurt
• chicken and turkey breast
• lean red meat
• mixed nuts
• eggs
• beans
• natural peanut butter

Chewing the Fat

Fat is another crucial nutrient for athletes. The key, like with the other macronutrients, is to focus on quality. In fact, there have been a handful of scientific studies to even show that one component of omega-3 fats, DHA, is crucial in terms of brain development. Fat also provides a lot of calories (over double that of protein or carbohydrates), which can be important for very active, young athletes who need more calories than most to develop healthy, strong bodies.

Here are a few fats to choose:

• Fish
• Whole eggs
• Olive oil
• Raw mixed nuts
• Natural peanut butter

 

There you have it. Nutrition basics.

Feed your body. It’s a machine. To be the best player, you need to train and eat like the best athlete in the world.

Nutritional needs of an athlete:

Foods like meats, legumes and dairy products are good sources of protein. Fat is important in the athlete's diet as it provides energy, fat-soluble vitamins andessential fatty acids. However, fat should be eaten in moderation. A low-fat diet is a good approach for everyone – athlete and non-athlete alike.

The best diet for an athlete:- Instead of protein supplements, eat high-quality protein, such as lean meats, fish, poultry, nuts, beans, eggs, or milk. Drink up. "Milk is one of the best foods for recovery after an event, because it provides a good balance of protein and carbohydrates," Dubost says.

Good nutrition is important for athletes Carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats provide the fuel needed to maintain energy. Carbohydrates are involved in regulating your blood sugar and glycogen level in your muscles, which is vital for preventing muscle fatigue.

“Feed your body. It’s a machine. To be the best player, you need to train and eat like the best athlete in the world”.

Nutrition so important if you do sports At the most basic level, nutrition is important for athletes because it provides a source of energy required to perform the activity. The food we eat impacts on our strength, training, performance and recovery.

 

What not to eat if you are an athlete?

However, you might be surprised at what foods athletes try not to eat — here's twenty foods they avoid:- Diet soda,Canned soup, Rice cakes, Sugary cereal,White bread,Microwave popcorn,Pasta, Trail mix.

CONCLUSION:- Athletes eat several times per day, with snacks contributing to energy requirements.79 Dietary intake differs across sports, with endurance athletes more likely to achieve energy and carbohydrate requirements compared to athletes in weight-conscious sports.79 A review found daily intakes of carbohydrate were 7.6 g/kg and 5.7 g/kg of BM for male and female endurance athletes, respectively.80

 

• REFERENCES

• 1. Burke LM, Meyer NL, Pearce J. National nutritional programs for the 2012 London Olympic Games: A systematic approach by three different countries. In: van Loon LJC, Meeusen R, editors. Limits of Human Endurance. Vol. 76. Vevey, Switzerland: Nestec Ltd; 2013. pp. 103–120. (Nestle Nutrition Institute Workshop Series).
• 2. Hansen EA, Emanuelsen A, Gertsen RM, Sørensen SSR. Improved marathon performance by in-race nutritional strategy intervention. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2014;24(6):645–655.
• 3. Hottenrott K, Hass E, Kraus M, Neumann G, Steiner M, Knechtle B. A scientific nutrition strategy improves time trial performance by ≈6% when compared with a self-chosen nutrition strategy in trained cyclists: a randomized cross-over study. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2012;37(4):637–645.

 

“Feed your body. It’s a machine. To be the best player, you need to train and eat like the best athlete in the world”.

 

Vol.2/2020/60

Correlational Study on Performance of 1 Mile Run/Walk Test Administered Differently

Author: Savio E. Fernandes, College Director of Physical Education and Sports, M.E.S College of Arts and Commerce, Zuarinagar- Goa

Co-Author: Dr. Gopal Moghe, Director of Physical Education and Sports, Maharashtra Mahavidhyalaya, Nilanga – Maharashtra.

INTRODUCTION

Correlational Study of 1 Mile run/walk test attempts to correlate the performance of 1 Mile Run/walk Test performed on a standard 400 meters track with the performance of 1 Mile Run/walk test on a improvised 100 meters track. 1 Mile Run/walk test is a test which measures the cardio-respiratory fitness, where the subject has to run 1609 meters in the minimum possible time.

Tests

An Instrument which is used to gain information about some performance of an individual or some object is termed as a Test. This instrument can be in different forms such as performance on a physical fitness tests, recorded observations, scientific records, questionnaires. Some examples of the test are Intelligence Test (Questionnaire), 1 Min Sit up test (to measure abdominal Strength and endurance), thermometer (Used to measure body temperature) or a weighing scale (used to measure weight)

The importance of long duration activities and measurement of fitness is considered to very important. So a number of tests have been developed in-order to measure the physical fitness. Some of the tests are Cooper 12 Minute run/walk Test, Harward Step test, 1 Mile Run/walk test and many more lab tests.

Cardio-vascular Endurance

Cardio-vascular endurance in one of the most significant components of general fitness and is measured by testing one’s aerobic capacity.

It may be explained as the ability of the heart and lungs to take in and transport adequate amount of oxygen to the active muscle groups namely the large muscle groups. An ideal example of activities that involve large muscle groups are continuous running, swimming, cycling, long distance brisk walking, aerobics.

Measurement of Cardio-vascular endurance

The best measure of cardio-vascular endurance is VO2 Max, but measuring this requires expensive equipment such as a treadmill, bicycle ergometer and trained personnel thereby making it difficult to measurement of cardio-vascular endurance on a frequent basis.

One of the easiest ways of measuring cardio-vascular endurance is the counting of heart rate during and after testing however care should be taken to minimize the counting errors which may affect the validity of the test. The individuals who undertake the measurement the heart rate should practice several times before administering the test. A number of field and lab tests are available for the measurement of cardio-vascular endurance. Some of them are as follows

• Treadmill
• Bicycle ergometer
• Treadmill run to exhaustion
• Closed circuit method for gas analysis
• Harward step test
• Distance runs – 9 Min. Run/walk test, 12 Min. run/walk test
• Time Runs – 1 Mile, 1.5 Mile run.

Administrative Constraints of Tests and need for the study.

Measurement of any test is not any easy task. It requires careful assessment, trained instructors, concentration and good organization.

Validity, Reliability and Objectivity of the Test of the test which is administered is a prime importance, besides that, administrative feasibility of cost and time are two basic constraints. Ease of administration, whether an assistant is necessary for assessment, whether the administrator of the test and the assistant is qualified to conduct the test, how well the instructions are given to the subjects, whether the instructions given are understood by the subjects are some of the administrative constraints of the tests.

Also some tests cannot be conducted due to lack of facilities available to conduct the test. 1 Mile Run/walk test was developed on a 400 Meters Standard track which is not available in most parts of the country hence the 1 Mile Run/walk test on a 100 meters track has been undertaken by the researcher.

Objectives

• To measure the performance.
• To find out the correlation between the performance of 1 Mile run/walk test conducted on a 400 meters track and on a 100 meters track

Review of Related Literature

Welk, (2010) for measuring cardiovascular fitness, out of the two optional measures of cardio-respiratory fitness of the FITNESSGRAM program, teachers could choose either from 1 Mile Run/walk Test or the PACER (Progressive Aerobic Cardio-Vascular Endurance Run). The 1 Mile run/walk test is a standard time performed test, which is used along with age, gender and BMI to predict aerobic capacity. This test is evaluated using some Health related standard based on estimated aerobic capacity. When properly administered, standardized fitness tests can provide valuable information for individuals, school leaders, government officials, health officials and other policy makers which will help to promote fitness education and facilitate physical activity promotion.

Diaz. Et. Al., (2000) in his study designed to determine the validity and reliability of the 1000 meters walk/run test in adults. Fifty one healthy subjects (31 men, 20 women) participated in four maximal tests, two in laboratory on a treadmill for direct measurement of VO2 max (L1 and L2) and twice in a track for distance run/walk time in 1000 meters (C1 and C2). Values were analyzed by interclass correlation, Pearson Product Moment and ‘t’ test. Results showed that the VO2 max in L1 and L2 were 2.67 and 2.70 L.min-1 (R=0.97) and meanwhile VO2 max estimated from field were 44.2 and 46.2 mL.kg-1.min-1 (R=0.98). Pearson correlation obtained from all subjects between laboratory and field tests was r=0.88, without significant difference (P>00.5) From the data they developed the following equation: VO2 max = 71.66-5.85 (t). where 71.66 and 5.85 are constants and t is the time employed in performing the test, R=-0.86, (p<0.05). The conclusion made is that 1000 meters distance walk/run time test is highly reliable and valid test for estimation of VO2 max in Mexican people. The test is safe, easy and short and can be administered with a minimal amount of equipment.

 

 

METHODOLOGY

In this study the researcher has correlated the performance of students in 1 Mile run/walk test performed on a standard 400 Meters track with the performance of 1 Mile Run/walk test of subjects performed on a 100 Meters Track. 63 Male bachelor degree students of Chandrashekhar Agashe College of Physical Education were selected as sample using the Purposive sampling technique. The subjects were explained the importance of participation in the test. Data of performance of students of 1 Mile Run/walk test on a Standard 400 Meters track was collected followed by collection of data of performance of students of 1 Mile Run/walk test on a 100 Meters track.

 

RESULTS

Table 1

Decriptive Statitics of 1 Mile run/walk test administered differently

Test	N	Minimum	Maximum	Mean	Std. Error	Std. Deviation
One Mile Run/walk 400 meters track	63	6.00	11.59	7.52	.134	1.07
One Mile Run/walk 100 Meters track	63	6.14	12.05	7.59	.126	1.00

 

Table 1 shows the descriptive statistics of Performance of both the 1 Mile Run/walk Tests. The average performance of 1 Mile Run/walk test on a Standard 400 Meters track is 7.52, whereas the average performance of 1 Mile Run/walk test on a 100 Meters Run/walk test is 7.59. both the test have a wide range since the minimum and maximum score are widely spread. The standard deviation in case of 1 Mile run/walk test on a Standard 400 meters track is 1.07 and 1.00 in case of 1 Mile run/walk test on a 100 meters track.

 

Table 2

Correlation between performance of students on 1 mile Run/wak test on a Standard 400 Meters track and on a 100 Meters track.
		1 Mile Run/walk 400 Meters track	1 Mile Run/walk 100 Meters track
1 Mile Run/walk 400 Meters track	Pearson Correlation	1	.933**
	Sig. (2-tailed)		.001
	N	63	63
1 Mile Run/walk 100 Meters track	Pearson Correlation	.933**	1
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.001
	N	63	63
**Significant to 0.01 level (2-tailed)

From the above table 2 it can been that, there is a very strong positive correlation of r=0.933 between performance of students on 1 Mile Run/walk test on a Standard 400 Meters track and on a 100 Meters track, Hence there is a very high positive correlation between the two tests.

 

DISCUSSION

After analysis of the data collected it was found that a high positive correlation of r=0.933 was found between 1 Mile run/walk test on a Standard 400 Meters track with the 1 Mile Run/walk test on a 100 Meters track.

 

CONCLUSION:

From the above study we can conclude that, since both the tests have a high positive correlation of r=0.933, both the tests can be used interchangeably. This test is also suitable for the population under consideration. From the results it can also be said that if the Standard 400 Meters track is available then, the 1 Mile Run/walk test on a standard 400 meters track can be considered for testing, however if the standard track is not available then the modified 1 Mile Run/walk test on a 100 Meters track can be used as an alternative.

 

References

H. Harrison Clarke & David H. Clarke, Application of Measurement to Physical Education (6th Ed). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.; Englewood Cliffs.

Charles A., Bucher & Deborah A., Wuest. (2010). Foundation of Physical Education, Exercise Science and Sport (sixteenth Ed.) New Delhi: Tata Mcgraw Hill Education Private Limited. Pp.178-181

David K., Miller (1997). Measurement by the Physical Educator (4th Ed). New York: The Mcgraw-Hill

Diaz et. Al., “Validity and Reliability of the 1000 Meter Aerobic Test”. Rev Invest Clin.52.1 (Jan-Feb 2000): pp.44-51

Vol.2/2020/61

Abstract

Introduction: Personality is more or less stable and enduring organization of person’s character, temperament, intellect and physique, which determines his unique adjustment to the environment. The most supported and accepted models empirically are the Three-dimensional model of personality (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985) including dimensions of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism; and five factor model of personality (Costa & McCrae, 1992) including dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Objective: The current study aims to elucidate the personality differences between athletes pursuing individual and team sports. Methodology: The sample comprised of 100 athletes (50 individual & 50 team sports) currently studying in National Sports University. NEO-FFI by Costa & McCrae was used for measuring the personality traits. Results & conclusion: The data was analysed using SPSS. The results highlighted significant differences in the personality traits of extraversion and conscientiousness among the two groups. It can be concluded that, there is a difference in the personality traits between athletes pursuing individual and team sports.

 

Keywords: Personality traits, team sports, individual sports, athletes

 

 

Introduction:

Sport psychology researchers have been interested in how athletes’ psychological and characteristics influence performance. From this point, it is clear that psychological characteristics differ between more and less effective athletes and teams. Moreover, the ability to mentally prepare is considered a key component of such differences (Brewer, B.,2009). Examining the relationship between sport and personality traits is another field of research (Tafti, Pakdaman, & Asgari, 2008). Although little evidence exists to support the existence of a specific sports personality, the personality characteristics of the elite athletes are different from those of nonathletes as well as those related to each discipline (Gill, 1986). Cologne 2013 believes that sporting success in any race and discipline is not possible without proper mental state (Kleanthous et al., 2013). Many factors, such as learning problems, educational levels, age, gender, and personality characteristics, are generally effective in determining the success of most exercises. (Galloway, 2010)

Personality is more or less stable and enduring organization of person’s character, temperament, intellect and physique, which determines his unique adjustment to the environment. The most supported and accepted models empirically are the Three-dimensional model of personality (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1985) including dimensions of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism; and five factor model of personality (Costa & McCrae, 1992) including dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.  The first of the big five, Neuroticism, reveals an individuals' emotional stability and their tendency to experience distress and to be able to effectively handle, emotionally, any such stressful situation. Anxiety, depression and worry are often associated with this dimension of personality. The second dimension, Extraversion, deals with an individual’s tendency toward being either extraverted or introverted and, therefore, whether a person is talkative, assertive, sociable, or not. Extraversion and neuroticism are often referred to as the "big two." Third is Openness, or, more specifically, openness to experiences. This is related to an individual's creativity and divergent thinking. It also describes whether or not a person is open to new feelings and ideas, flexible, or willing to use their imagination. The fourth of the big five is Agreeableness. It describes a person's humanity, or, in other words, their emotional support or hostility, caring, and nurturance or a lack there of. Behaviorally, this factor describes a person as being good-natured, courteous, soft-hearted, tolerant, or not. The fifth factor is Conscientiousness, which deals with an individual's will to achieve goals and their dependability. This dimension can also be used to describe a person as careful, responsible and thorough (Singh, G., Manoj, K.; 2012).

Several  studies have assessed the relations between five factor model dimensions and sport activities; these studies highlighted a positive correlation between sport activities, extraversion and conscientiousness and also a negative correlation between sport activities and neuroticism (Rhodes, Couneya, & Bobick, 2001; Conner & Abraham, 2001; Naseri, Pakdaman & Asgari, 2008; Saklofske, Austin, Rohr & Andrews, 2007). Also, the results of studies connected with Three-dimensional model of personality have shown a correlation between sport activities with one or more dimensions of low neuroticism, high extraversion and low psychoticism (Arai & Hisamichi, 1998; Potgieter & Venter, 1995; Davis, Elliott, Dionne, & Mitchell, 1991; Yeung, & Hemsley, 1997). A study compared athletes’ personality characteristics in individual and team sports and results revealed that individual sport athletes scored significantly higher on conscientiousness and autonomy than did team sport athletes. The team sport athletes scored significantly higher on agreeableness and sociotropy than did the individual sport athletes. (Nia,M.E,& Besharat,M.A.(2010). In another study, individual sportsmen have a higher degree of extraversion, openness and conscientious than team sportsmen and no significance difference in agreeableness and neuroticism between individual and team sportsmen (Ilyasi, G, & Salehian, M.H;2011).

Objective:

The current study aims to compare the personality characteristics of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness between athletes pursuing individual and team sports.

Methodology:

The study is a comparative study which aims to see the personality differences between athletes pursuing individual (Badminton, weightlifting, archery, shooting, athletics) and team sports (handball, football, basketball,cricket).  The sample for the study was collected through convenient sampling technique.  The sample comprised of 100 athletes (50 individual & 50 team sports) currently studying in the undergraduate programme at the National Sports University age range between 18 to 23 years. The athletes should have had completed at least 2 years of formal training in their respective sports. Data was collected using the 60-item NEO-FFI personality questionnaire by Costa & Mc Crae(1992) which measure five personality dimensions: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. The responses are marked on a 5-point likert scale. The NEO-FFI was developed as a short form of the NEO-PI and each domain comprising of 12-items each. The reliability of the NEO-FFI had been established by evaluating the Cronbach’s-alpha reliability coefficients. The values of the coefficient are 0.90, 0.78, 0.76, 0.86 and 0.90 for the dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness, respectively. These values are high enough (0.76 and more) to reflect on the reliability of the inventory. NEO-FFI is found to have  both convergent and discriminant validity with  NEO-PI-R domains.

Results

Means and standard deviations related with neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness for individual and team sport athletes are shown in Table-1. For comparing the scores of personality characteristics of neuroticism, extraversion, openness agreeableness, conscientiousness in individual and team sport, independent group t-test was used.

Table 1. Means, standard deviations, and the t-test results for comparing the scores of personality characteristics of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, among athletes pursuing individual and team sport

Personality. Domain	Type of Sport	Mean	S.D	t-value	d.f.	P-value
Neuroticism	Individual Sport	24.24	5.86	1.072	98	.286
	Team Sport	25.34	4.27
Extraversion	Individual Sport	30.02	5.12	3.792	98	.000**
	Team Sport	26.46	4.21
Openness	Individual Sport	25.94	4.37	.984	98	.327
	Team Sport	25.02	4.95
Agreeableness	Individual Sport	27.56	4.70	.506	98	.614
	Team Sport	27.12	3.96
Conscientiousness	Individual Sport	31.52	6.48	3.247	98	.002**
	Team Sport	28.04	3.91

** significant at 0.01 level

The synopses of the t-test results showed that there is significant difference in the scores of athletes of individual and team sport only on the domains of Extraversion and Conscientiousness (p <0.01) with the athletes pursuing individual sports scoring higher mean values than the athletes in team sports.  No significant difference was found between the two groups on the domains of neuroticism, openness and agreeableness of the NEO-FFI.

Figure 1: Figure showing the mean comparison between Individual and Team Sports on Personality Domains

 

Discussion

The results of the current study show that athletes of individual sports have a higher degree of extraversion  and conscientious than athletes of team sports. Extraversion deals with an individual’s tendency toward being either extraverted or introverted and, therefore, whether a person is talkative, assertive, sociable, or not. Garousi (2000) believed that extraversion people love people, prefer large assembled groups and are courageous, strong, active, talkative, with high power and paratelic. According to Eysenck's theory, central nervous system affects extraversions, they are less sensitive to the stimulus, looking for things that are provocative (Devon,S;2000). Similar results were found by study on athletes of sports like judo, weightlifting and climbing are considered individually, but they need power risk, high motion and excitement which are factors of extraversions traits (Ilyasi, G, & Salehian, M.H;2011). Thus, it can be ascertained that athletes of individual games (Badminton, weightlifting, archery, shooting, athletics) take more power risk, seek stimulation from external environment and seek for excitement than the athletes of team games (handball, football, basketball, cricket). However, another study found no significant differences were found in Extraversion, regardless of the type of sport and age (Trninić,V.,  Trninić, M. and Penezić, V;2017).

The results also indicated a significant difference on the scores of Conscientiousness between athletes of individual and the athletes of team games. Similar results were found by  Ilyasi, G, & Salehian, M.H.(2011) where they concluded that individual athletes rely on their own abilities, but team athletes play with a scattered responsibilities of work, which could indicate of the low conscientious trait, since to win or get a result individually is much more difficult and also requires much effort. These findings confirm previous findings (Eysenck et al., 1982) about the possibility of difference between personality characteristics of individual sport athletes and team sport athletes. Nia,M.E,& Besharat, M.A. (2010) also highlighted that achieving competence is possible both in individual and team activities, but its values belong totally to the person when earned by individual endeavours. The state of athletes’ more conscientious in individual sports comparison with team sports can be approximately ascribed to the personal competence achievement process. Another factor of conscientiousness in the 5-factor model is achievement striving. The state of athletes’ more conscientious in individual sports in comparison with team sports can be attributed to their more desire for the achievement. Self-discipline is another factor of conscientiousness. This characteristic which signify the tendency and attention to order and discipline especially in personal matters, affect the individual’s predominant direction in comparison with team and collective tendencies.

 

Conclusion

From the current study it can be concluded that athletes of individual sports have a higher degree of extraversion and conscientious than athletes of team sports which means that individual sports athletes take more power risk, seek stimulation from external environment and seek for excitement, talkative, looking for things that are provocative. They are also high on conscientious trait which makes these athletes rely on their own abilities, more desire for the achievement, self-disciplined, the tendency and attention to order and discipline especially in personal matters. No significant difference was found in other domains of Big Five model namely: openness, agreeableness and neuroticism.

Limitations and Future directions

The current study has certain limitations to it, small sample size being one of them. Considering other variables which may have effect on the results like environmental factors, social influence, achievement motivation, comparison of these traits in different individual sports and different team sports and possible correlation between sports success, would help yield better understanding. The outcomes of this study can be useful in sport psychology as it will enable the in-time recognition of personality characteristics for decision making of counsellors, sport trainers and coaches in relation to sports selection and for investing time in the same game. It will also guide and help plan modules and sessions which will help develop the characteristics essential for a particular sport type.

 

References

1. Arai, Y., & Hisamichi, S. (1998). Self-reported exercise frequency and personality: a population-based study in Japan. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 87, 1371-1375.
2. Brewer, B.W., Sport Psychology, 2009. Handbook of extraversion and neuroticism. Perceptual and Motor Sport Medicine and Science. Willy- Blackwell, UK., Skills, 81: 520-522. 5: 55.
3. Conner, M., & Abraham, C. (2001). Conscientiousness and the theory of planned behavior: toward a more complete model of the antecedents of intentions and behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1547-1561.
4. Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO personality inventory (NEO PI-R) and NEP five-factor inventory (NEO-FFI): professional manual: Psychological Assessment Resources Lutz, FL.
5. Davis, C., Elliott, S., Dionne, M., & Mitchell, I. (1991). The relationship of personality factors and physical activity to body satisfaction in men. Personality and Individual Differences, 12, 689-694.
6. Eysenck, H. J., Nias, D. K., & Cox, D. N. (1982). Sport and personality. Advances in Behaviour Research and Therapy, 4, 1-56
7. Galloway, J. (2010). Cross-Country Running & Racing: Meyer & Meyer Verlag.
8. Garousi, T.(2001). Evaluation of personality. Jame Pazhuh Publication, p:  40-45.
9. Gill, D. (1986). Psychology dynamics of sport. Champaingn: Humann kinetics.
10. Ilyasi, G, & Salehian, M.H,. (2011). Comparison of Personality Traits Between Individual and Team Athletes. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 9 (4): 527-530
11. Kleanthous, S., Savvides, C., Christofides, I., Hadjimitsis, D. G., Themistocleous, K., Achilleos, C.,Douros, I. (2013). Particulate monitoring, modeling, and management: natural sources, long-range transport, and emission control options: a case study of Cyprus. Paper presented at the First International Conference on Remote Sensing and Geoinformation of the Environment (RSCy2013)
12. Naseri, T., Pakdaman, Sh., & Asgari, A. (2008). The role of sport and personality traits in psychological development of students. Journal of Iranian Psychologist, 5, 53-62.
13. Nia, M.E, & Besharat,M.A.(2010).Comparison of athletes’ personality characteristics in individual and team sports.Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 5,808-812.
14. Potgieter, J. R., & Venter, R. E. (1995). Relationship between adherence to exercise and scores on extraversion and neuroticism. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 81, 520-522.
15. Rhodes, R. E., Couneya, K. S., & Bobick, T. M. (2001). Personality and exercise participation across the breast cancer experience. PsychoOncology, 10, 380-388.
16. Saklofske, D.H., Austin, E. J., Rohr, B. A., & Andrews, J.J.W. (2007). Personality, emotional intelligence and exercise. Journal of Health Psychology, 12, 937-948. 
17. Singh, G., Manoj, K. VSRD Tech & Non-Tech J, 2012, Vol. 3 (8).
18. Tafti, N. N., Pakdaman, S., & Asgari, A. (2008). The role of sport and personality traits in psychosocial development of students. Journal of Iranian Psychologist, 5, 53-62.
19.  Yeung, R. R., & Hemsley, D. R. (1997). Personality, exercise and psychological well-being: static relationships in the community. Personality and Individual Differences, 22, 47-53.
20. Devon, S., Character  Theory,  2000. Translated by Y. Karimi, et al., Arasbaran Press Publishing.

Vol.2/2020/62

A STUDY OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES IN TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGES IN JHARKHAND

Dr. Ravi Bhushan, Freelance Researcher, ravi.bhushan32@gmail.com

 

Abstract

Increase in sedentary lifestyles adopted by children and neglect of primary school physical education call foreffective training of teachers in physical education. The purpose of this research was to assess the adequacy of essential facilities and equipment for teachers training in physical education in Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) of Jharkhand (India). Gross et al Model of implementation of an innovation guided the study. Mixed-methods approach and descriptive survey research design were used in the study. The study targeted essential physical education facilities and equipment in selected TTCs in Jharkhand,India. Observation schedule and document analysis were mainly used to collect data to inform on the research question. Descriptive (percentages, means, standard deviations, charts, and graphs) statistics were used to analyse the data. It was found that there were inadequacies in the quality and the quantity of such important influential factors like facilities and equipment in TTCs. Those concerned with curriculum design and development ought to set up a policy on minimum standards of facilities and equipment required for effective training of pre-service teachers in TTCs in India.

 

Keywords:Equipment, Facilities, Physical education, Teacher trainees

 

1. Introduction

 

Despite the recognised health risks associated with physical inactivity, most school going children and Indians, generally are not active enough to achieve health benefits and many report no planned physical activity at all. The US’ Surgeon General's Report and several research studies have provided evidence that most people do not exercise and are consequently at risk for numerous health problems. School physical education has been challenged to produce programmes that will develop positive activity patterns that youths will carry into adulthood and to foster dispositions that value physical activity.

 

 

Today's teachers must overcome serious obstacles if they are to succeed in promoting a physically active lifestyle. While critics blame teachers for low levels of academic achievement, physical educators are cited for not providing students with enough health-related physical activity. In highlighting some conditions and issues that affect physical education in today's schools, Sollerhead describes poor facilities due to lack of support for school physical education programmes.

 

The purpose of this research was to assess the adequacy of essential physical education facilities and equipment for use by teacher trainees in Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) in India with a focus on a sample of TTCs in Jharkhand.

 

1.1. Research Question

 

How adequate are the essential physical education facilities and equipment for use by teacher trainees in teacher training colleges?

 

1.2. Theoretical Framework

 

Gross et al, model was used in this study. The model’s elements specify how to implement a curriculum in educational institutions. An effective implementation of a curriculum like Physical Health and Education in TTCs could be done using the following six elements as posited by Gross et al:

 

1. The clarity of the innovation by the implementers

 

1. The capability of the implementers

 

1. Availability of resources and facilities

 

1. Compatibility of the innovation with the existing organisational arrangements

 

1. Provision of management support

 

1. Teachers and pupils attitudes towards the innovations

 

 

This study assessed how the adequacy of facilities and equipment affect the training of pre-service teachers in TTCs in Rift-Valley, Kenya. The third element by Gross et al on availability of resources and facilities formed the basis of this research.

 

1.3. Definition of Terms

 

Physical Education - Is the study, practice, andappreciation of the art and science of human movement Physical Education (PE) is course in the curricula that utilises the learning in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains in a play or movement exploration setting. In this study, it refers to an instructional programme built around basic motor activities, which help achieve the goal of physical, emotional and mental wellbeing for every pupil, student and student- teachers. It includes education in health, hygiene, first aid, personal safety, and the teaching of manipulative skills. It is an integral part of the schooling process.In schools physical education is usually referred to by the abbreviation PE.

 

Pre-service Teacher – This study has assumed theconventional definition, that of a college student in an education programme with the specific goal of being a certified, practicing teacher in the future. In this case, upon successful completion of a P1 course that takes two years.

 

2. Literature

 

2.1. Physical Education Facilities and Equipment

 

In an up- date on the status of physical education in schools worldwide, a technical report for World Health Organisation (WHO) by Hardman said that resources like financial considerations have had a number of impacts on physical education in not only Europe, but across the globe. The report further says that the failures to refurbish/ reconstruct/ replace/ maintain (out) dated and/or provide new facilities; shortages of equipment; employment of lower salaried unqualified teaching personnel; exit of physical educators to better paid jobs; and reductions in numbers of physical education lessons and time-table allocation has had negative impacts on the state of physical education. A widely reported impact of funding limitations is on the activity area of swimming: the considerable financial investment of gaining access to swimming facilities exposes this area of physical activity to reduced opportunities or even omission from curricula in many countries.

 

In terms of facilities and equipment, Physical education is commonly faced with the challenge of inadequate facilities and poor maintenance of teaching sites. Central and eastern European countries are less endowed with facilities and equipment and there are signs of deteriorating provision. The problem appears to stretch beyond the geographical and economic divides. Whilst there are higher expectations over levels and standards of facilities and equipment in more economically developed countries, there are indicators of inadequacies and shortages in facilities and equipment and low maintenance levels in other European regions. School physical education facilities are reported as widely available for after-school hours’ leisure time and/or community use.

 

For the qualified teaching personnel, the Hardman report says that a common scenario is qualified ‘specialist’ physical education teachers at secondary level and ‘generalist’ teachers at elementary level; some countries do have specialist physical educators in elementary (primary) schools but the variation is wide and there are marked regional differences in some countries, the generalist teacher in primary schools is often inadequately or inappropriately prepared to teach physical education and initial teacher training presents a problem with minimal hours allocated for physical education teacher training and close to two-thirds of countries globally require in-service training (INSET), which means that one third does not; there are substantial variations in frequency (free choice or nothing to every five years) and time allocated (12 hours annually to 100 hours over 5 years) for INSET. A consistent feature on the issue of further professional development of teachers involved in physical education teaching is a need for INSET and a recognition that in some countries, in-service and resource materials has been minimal and has been exacerbated by a marked decline in physical education advisory service numbers. There is very limited use of volunteers in teaching physical education/sport classes. There is a need for induction, mentoring and monitoring for linked extra-curricular and out-of-school participation, the report then concludes.

 

In its update of the status of physical education in schools worldwide, WHO says that in Africa, shortage of facilities and adequately trained personnel are widely reported throughout the continent as are the peripheral value in the curriculum (regarded as non-educational, non-productive use of time, is treated as recreation/play time especially in primary schools) and inadequate monitory inspections in secondary schools (e.g. in Benin, Botswana and Uganda). Generally, priority is accorded to language and mathematics with even meagre allocated physical education/sport resources often diverted to other subjects. In some countries (e.g. Botswana and Malawi) physical education for girls often suffers from optional status with many preferring not to take part, a situation, which is exacerbated by dearth of amenities such as changing rooms. In South Africa, physical education as a school subject no longer exists though it is a focus (physical development and movement) of the learning area “Life Orientation” along with health promotion, social development, personal development and orientation to the world of work foci in grades R-9 as seen in the General Education and Training Band’s assertion.

 

A study by Luke and Sinclair [9] however, revealed that facilities were ranked at the bottom as determinants of children's attitudes toward participation in physical education. The latest developments in Kenya are that “no athletics meet or competition is to be carried out in a grass track, but should at least be a marrum track for it to be licensed”. Yet again, Fernandes and Sturmassert that poor facility provision is a potential barrier for school physical education programmes and facility provision is lower in schools that most need them like urban, high minority, and high enrolment schools.

 

3. Methodology

 

3.1. Research Paradigm

 

Mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) approach was used in this study. The use neutralized bias and convergence of results. This agreed with Creswell, and at the same time brought out clearly the contradictions and fresh perspectives. This in effect produced a final product which highlighted the significant contributions of qualitative and quantitative approaches as Jayaratne asserts that qualitative data will support explicitly the meaning of quantitative research. Seefeldt says that qualitative and quantitative data are turning ideas around by providing fresh insights. In this way the effectiveness of eclecticism in this study was informed on the premise that the weaknesses in each method were augmented by the strengths of the other. All methods entail certain strengths and weaknesses, and so a mix offers resources for more comprehensive and effective inquiry. The closed-ended questions in the tools of research formed good content for quantification, while open-ended that mainly asked for opinions on issues of physical education were presented qualitatively, yet again, the quantitative issues had to be explained qualitatively.

 

The choice of mixed-methods, therefore, was to take the stance that social reality (positivism) does not exist independent of the social actors (post-positivism). Hence, qualitative and quantitative methodologies reinforced each other through their interpretative and explanatory strengths. Studies using mixed-methods have shown that integration of these traditions within the same study can be seen as complementary to each.

 

3.2. Research Design

 

This study utilised a descriptive survey research design. A survey research collects data about variables of subjects as they are found in a social system or society. The central feature of survey is the systematic collection of data in a standardised form from an identifiable population or representative sample.

 

The study targeted TTCs in Rift-Valley – Kenya. Rift-Valley has 5 public TTCs namely: MoiBaringo, Tambach, Mosoriot, Kericho, and Narok.

 

3.3. Research Tools

 

The tools used were observation schedule and document analysis. These were used to check on the physical education equipment and facilities and related items in the selected TTCs. Observation schedule was drawn based on the KICD’s (Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development) physical education curriculum used in TTCs. Document analysis was basically used to capture the administrative information in colleges like the number of lecturers, student enrolment, time-tabling of PHE, amongst others.

 

3.4. Data Collection Procedures

 

Once the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST) under the Ministry of Education (MOE) gave research permit, a reconnaissance trip was done in the pilot college and the research colleges. The data was collected in two phases. Phase one was piloting. The second phase of the research was data collection phase for the purpose of informing on the research question. The researcher carried out systematic observation of aspects of physical education according to the drawn schedule.

 

4. Data Analysis

 

Three elements need to be taken into account in analysis of data. First, reduce the data by condensing the material systematically to make it more manageable. Then, structure the data in terms of themes, patterns and interrelationship, and de-textualise the data by converting extended texts into more manageable forms such as summaries, charts, diagrams and illustrations and using the SPSS computer software to obtain both descriptive and inferential statistics. The above assertions are true of this research study.

 

Data editing was done by checking the completed schedules for errors, omissions and discrepancies soon after administration. This was a key step in this survey to ensure the quality of data. A mix of close-ended and open items in the observation schedule was used in data collection. However, the maximum questions were pre-coded to save time during the data collection, processing and analysis. The collected data were transferred to coding sheets in order to ensure complete accuracy. The few open-ended items used in the survey were converted into categories and then coded after administration. Some of the themes began to emerge in the process of data collection and others from insights garnered through the process of data collection. These themes were explored for the words that were used, the concepts that were discussed, the linguistic aspects emergent, and the non-verbal cues that were noted.

 

The researcher carried out the data cleaning process after completion of the entries to tally the entered data with the coding sheet and or original observation schedule. This cleaning of data was carried out to rid the data of mismatching codes, inconsistencies and improbabilities through computer editing.

 

4.1. Ethical Issues

 

Carrying out observation of physical education facilities and equipment was a sensitive venture that may have revealed inadequacies in the colleges under study and the researcher’s intentions might have been misconstrued for ‘inspection’. The respondents were made fully aware of the nature, objectives, purpose and methods of data collection of the research. They were also guaranteed of confidentiality and anonymity of their responses.

 

4.2. Data Analysis and Interpretation

 

The student teachers were asked if physical education and sports facilities in their colleges are sufficient for their use, and if their colleges had adequate storage rooms for these facilities and equipment. Their responses are given in Table 1. This Table 1 shows that colleges are grossly in need of physical facilities and equipment, alongside storage rooms for the facilities and equipment. The student teachers disagreed (90.7%) to assertions that there are adequate facilities and equipment and only 9.3% said truly the equipment and facilities are adequate in their college. The storage rooms are not enough either as 76.4% disagreed that physical education equipment and facilities’ storage rooms in their colleges were enough, as compared to 23.6% who agreed that these facilities and equipment had adequate storage places.

 

Table 1.Adequacy of PE facilities, Equipment and Stores

It seems from the foregoing that TTCs do not have adequate facilities and equipment. It was then necessary to find out if the facilities/equipment present in TTCs were safe for use and the student teachers’ sentiments are captured in Table 2a.

 

Table 2a.Safety of Playgrounds and Fixed Equipment in Colleges

The majority of the trainees (82.4%) said that the playgrounds in their colleges were safe and to only 17.6% said they were unsafe. Most of the fixed equipment in the colleges are in need of repairs and 45.1% of the respondents said these equipment were unsafe for use. Physical education specialists in colleges are fully aware of the legal issues in physical education and sports, and hence the need to make these facilities and equipment safe for use by the trainees.

 

College lecturers who have been involved in assessing student teachers during teaching practice sessions were asked to review the state of physical education facilities/equipment in the primary schools they have been to assess student teachers. Table 2b gives the lecturers’ responses on the state of physical education facilities/ equipment.

 

The state of physical education facilities and equipment were given as very poor (7.3%), poor (31.7%), fairly adequate (31.7%), not adequate (14.6%), unworthy for use (7.3%) and satisfactory (7.3%). Those who viewed physical education facilities and equipment as not meeting the requirements comprised 92.7% cumulatively (7.3% + 31.7% + 31.7% + 14.6% + 7.3%) . This paints a forbidding picture on the status of physical education facilities in primary schools in this region.

 

Generally, there was a consensus that physical education and sports facilities in colleges were inadequate. However, it was observed that these inadequacies varied from one college to another based on the location of the college. The curriculum areas that were seriously lacking facilities and equipment were observed to be swimming, rugby, soft ball and tug-of-war. In one of the surveyed colleges, a teacher of physical education was observed teaching a lesson on swimming remotely. The teacher had spread a mattress on the ground and told one of the trainees to lie on it so he could demonstrate front crawl in swimming. In yet one of the colleges, the students used a swimming pool in one of the adjacent hotels and they paid for it each time they went there for practical sessions. It was also observed that most colleges have very vast tracks of land which could be developed to provide enough facilities.

 

The interviewed secretary of Rift-Valley’s KTCSA had issue with the government’s registration of private TTCs in the region. The government is accused of not carrying out satisfactory inspection before registration of such colleges. Some of them are accused for having very small fields, no equipment and facilities and some do not have PE specialists, and in fact some are using recent P1 graduates who are yet to be employed by the TSC to handle PHE Course. This compromises the standards by all means.

 

To be able to acquire more facilities and equipment, the interviewed tutors were of the idea that corporate companies operating in the jurisdiction of some TTCs should come out and establish facilities and equipment. Multi-national tea companies, the Kenya Airports Authority, Kerio-Valley Development Authority, and Kenya Tourism Authority among others were mentioned. Some of the interviewed Games Co-ordinators felt that colleges should start PTAs to help in acquisition of physical education equipment and facilities, the same way secondary schools have done.

 

Table 2b.State of Physical Education and Sports Facilities in TP PrimarySchools

 

State	Frequency	Percentage
Very poor	3	7.3
Poor	13	31.7
Fairly adequate	13	31.7
Adequate	6	14.6
Unworthy for use	3	7.3
Good/Okay	3	7.3
Total	41	100

 

The interviewed sports secretary in the zone said that colleges were not able to finance most of the sports activities in the zone because of low payments of college fees by the student- teachers. The interviewed specialists cited the little activity fees (Kshs. 800 per student) charged on students as hampering their operations and purchase of physical education and sports equipment. Most physical educators interviewed said that the costs of quality physical education items are high. Table 3 summarises the costs of sampled equipment and facilities as given by the interviewed physical educators, Games Coordinators and Sports Officer.

Table 3.Costs of Sampled Physical Education and Sports Items

 

Item	Cost (Kshs.)
Rugby team kit	90,000
Tug-of-war rope	20,000
Hockey Stick	6,000
Soccer ball	5,000
Soft ball team kit	20,000

 

Soft ball was still a new sport in the country and Africa as a whole. It had just been introduced to the curriculum and is currently enjoying concession from the USA. This dispensation is seen as one way of popularising the sport in Africa and a team kit cost as little as Kshs. 20,000 as shown in Table 3. Despite these costs, the games coordinators said colleges could not do without them.

 

It was observed that most colleges do not have most team kits. Some of these colleges said they ‘kitted’ teams on a rotational basis, which is buying teams’ uniforms at a time depending on availability resources.

 

In summary therefore, the facilities and equipment for physical education and sports in TTCs and primary schools used for teaching practice by teacher trainees in Rift-Valley Zone, Kenya are insufficient or outright deficient.

 

5. Discussion of Research Finding

 

UNESCO’s International Charter of Physical Education and Sport, Article 5, Sections 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3 talk of planning and provision of adequate facilities and equipment as essential to physical education and sport. An up-date on the status of physical education in schools worldwide commissioned by WHO carried out by Hardman said that resources like financial considerations have had a number of impacts on physical education in not only Europe, but across the globe. The report further says that the failures to refurbish/reconstruct/replace/maintain (out) dated and/or provide new facilities; shortages of equipment; employment of lower salaried unqualified teaching personnel; exit of physical educators to better paid jobs; and reductions in numbers of physical education lessons and time-table allocation has had negative impacts on the state of physical education in schools.

 

In terms of facilities and equipment, the WHO Report says physical education is commonly faced with the challenge of inadequate facilities and poor maintenance of teaching sites. Although, it is observable that most TTCs are well endowed with facilities and equipment and especially fields for various ball sports and athletics field and track events, there are signs of deteriorating maintenance or general non-use. The problem appears to stretch across all the TTCs in the research area. Whilst there are higher expectations over levels and standards of facilities and equipment in TTCs because of their important mandate of training teachers who are expected to impact largely the learners in primary schools in this country, there are indicators of inadequacies and shortages in facilities and equipment and low maintenance levels in all of them.

 

A part from the trainees reporting lack of storage rooms for the facilities available in these colleges, it was observed that indeed, where small stores were available as storage rooms, they were congested and the equipment were left haphazardly and metallic equipment were rusting and several wooden equipment had slivered and scattered all over, in fact locating an item in such stores would take lots of man hours. However, where these facilities are available they are safe for use by the trainees. This is because the teachers of physical education in colleges are specialists and are fully aware of the trends in legal issues in sports here in Kenya and globally.

 

The issue is, as much as physical education contributing to such roles as combating obesity, the teachers and school administrators should remain vigilant for legal issues related to injuries while trainees are out for physical education and sports. A recent study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of the Research Institute of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, found that the number of physical education-related injuries to elementary school pupils in the United States increased by 150% between 1997 and 2007.

 

The primary schools where student teachers did their TP were not better either, the lectures reported even a grimmer situation by saying that physical education equipment and facilities were ranging from very poor to fairly adequate and in some circumstances, the facilities were unworthy for use. This agrees with what ICHPER.SD reported. This could be because of congested academic programmes or general neglect by the teachers who are mainly generalists as the WHO report said. The generalist teachers (teachers without specialised training/education in physical education) in primary schools are often inadequately or inappropriately prepared to teach physical education and initial teacher training presents a problem with minimal hours allocated for physical education teacher training in TTCs. Such a case presents a challenge in the acquisition of equipment and facilities for use in their schools. The good news is that the lack of adequate equipment and facilities has not affected the attitude of teacher trainees towards physical education in TTCs. This agrees with a study by Luke and Sinclair that revealed that facilities were ranked at the bottom as determinants of children's attitudes toward participation in physical education.

 

The latest developments in Kenya are that “no national athletics meet or competition is to be carried out in a grass track, but should at least be a marrum track for it to be licensed by Athletics Kenya”. This new development will make it very difficult for any college to host a national meet in Rift-Valley Zone unless they outsource the facility. The same is true of primary schools and this tends to agree with Fernandes and Sturm that poor facility provision is a potential barrier for school physical education programmes and facility provision is lower in schools that most need them like in urban schools, and high enrolment schools as witnessed in Kenya when Free Primary Education (FPE) was introduced in 2003.

 

Some of the colleges, however, were built with these facilities, but due to disrepair the facilities have been run down. In one of the colleges, a good track for athletics was put up when the college was established through funding by the World Bank, but due neglect in repairs, the underground drainage system has been blocked hindering drainage during the rainy season.

 

It can, therefore, be concluded that the necessary physical education facilities and equipment in colleges and TP primary schools are utterly wanting. This situation needs to be addressed if successful training of pre-service teachers in PE has to be done in TTCs.

REFERENCES

 

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2008).

2008 Physical activity guidelines for Americans. Washington,D.C.: Author.

 

1. Sollerhed, A. C. (1999). The status of physical education in the Swedish School Systempaper, ICHPER.SD 42nd World Congress, ‘Developing strategies of international co-operation in promotion of HPERSD for the new millennium’. Cairo, Egypt 2-8 July.

 

1. Gross,  N.,  Giacquinta,  J.,  &  Bernstein,  M.  (1971).

Implementing organisational innovation: A sociological analysis of planned change. New York: Basic Books Inc.Publishers.

 

1. Hardman, K. (2002b). Council of Europe Committee for the Development of Sport (CDDS), Report on School Physical Education in Europe. MSL-IM 16 (2002) 9. Strasbourg, Council of Europe.
2. Kirui, E. K. J. (2007). The implementation of physical education curriculum in secondary schools: A case of secondary schools in Bomet District. Mphil Thesis: Eldoret - Moi University. Unpublished.

 

1. WHO. (2007). An up-date on the status of physical educationin schools worldwide: Technical Report for WHO. Geneva:World Health Organization.

 

1. Hardman, K. (1998b). Threats to physical education! Threats to sport for all. Paper presented at the I.O.C. VII World Congress “Sport for All”, Barcelona, Spain, 19-22 November 1998.

 

1. O’Sullivan, M. (1990). Physical education teacher education in the U.S. CAHPERD Journal, January/February, 16-19.

 

1. Luke, M. D., & Sinclair, G. D. (1991).Gender differences in adolescents' attitudes toward physical education. Journal ofTeaching Physical Education, 11, 31-46.

 

1. Sandagi, J. (2011). Personal Communication. 12th January.

 

1. Fernandes, M. & Sturm, R. (2010 January). Facility provision in elementary schools: Correlates with physical education, recess and obesity. Retrieved on 28th January, 2011 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.gov/pubmed/19850074#.

 

1. Creswell, J. W. (2003). Mixed-method research: Introductionand application. Handbook of educational policy.San Diego,CA: Academic Press.

 

1. Jayaratne. (1993). Understanding management research: Anintroduction to epistemology. London: Sage Publishers.
2. Seefeldt, V. (Ed.). (1986). Physical activity and well-being. Reston, VA: National Association for Sport and Physical Education.

 

1. Chatterji, M. (2004). Evidence on “what works”: An argument for extended-term mixed method (ETTM) evaluation designs. Educational Researcher, 33(9), 3–13.

 

1. Caracelli, V. J., & Greene, J. C. (1997)."Crafting mixed-method evaluation design." In J. C. Greene and V. J. Caracelli (eds.), Advances in mixed-method evaluation: The challenges and benefits of integrating diverse paradigms.NewDirections for Program Evaluation, No. 74. San Francisco,CA: Jossey-Bass, pp. 19-32.

 

1. Management College of South Africa. (2002). Data analysisstrategies: student version. Pretoria: Author.

 

1. UNESDOC. (1978 Nov.21).UN International charter ofphysical education and sport. New York. UN.Retrieved on 19November, 2010 from http://www.unesco.org/education/information/nfsunesco/pdf/SPORT.

 

1. Nationwide Children’s Hospital. (2009). New national study finds increase in physical education class-related injuries. Science Daily. Retrieved January, 24th 2011 from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/09080308364 0.html.

 

1. ICHPER.SD. (2000). Why schools should care about physical education and physical activity. Physical education for kidsjournal, 25(6), 47-52.

 

Vol.2/2020/63

Comparative study of interest & participation of school children towards the indigenous & competitive sports with special reference to Tripura

Subal Chandra Das¹ & Dr. L. Thambal Singh²

1. Assistant Professor, Dept. of Physical Education, GDC, Kamalpur, Dhalai, Tripura.
2. Assistant Professor, Dept. of Physical Education & Sports Science, Manipur University.

 

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the present study was to determine and compare the interest and participation of school children towards the indigenous & competitive sports of Tripura. For the study 320 students (boys=160 & girls=160) were randomly selected as subjects from the eight (8) government primary schools from all eight (8) district of Tripura. 40 students (boys=20 & girls=20) from each schools. The age of the subjects are ranging from 07– 10 years as per the school admission record. The data has been collected through self-made questionnaire which consist three (3) questions. To find out the interest and participation the descriptive statistical technique was used to identify at 0.5 level of significance. The result showed that the 78% (249) children are interested, 77% (245) children are participating in indigenous sports and 22% (71) children are interested in competitive sports, 23% (72) are participating in competitive sports that mean both interest & participation in the indigenous sports is higher than competitive sports. From the above study following conclusions has been drawn, the majority of the schools children are very much interested and also participating in the indigenous sports in comparison of competitive sports.

 

Key words: Indigenous, Sports, Interest, Participation, Enjoy, School, Children etc. 

 

INTRODUCTION

Participation in sports activities creates physical fitness among the peoples and this physical fitness is the sum total of five motor abilities namely strength, endurance, speed, flexibility and coordination. Sport in India refers to the large variety of games played in India, ranging from tribal games to more mainstream sports such as cricket, badminton and football. India's diversity of culture, people and tribe as well as its colonial legacy is reflected in the wide variety of sporting disciplines in the country. The role of games and sports can never be ignored by anyone as it really the matter of need and importance in everyone’s life in the society and gives lifelong benefits in all aspects of an individual’s life. Playing games has always been an exciting part of growing up for us all. We recollect with happiness our childhood games and gadget free days. Sports are a great way to make friends and be healthy as well. Participation in the games and sports not only improve physical, mental, social, emotional, spiritual health etc. but also play a vital role in financial development, career, globalization, social image and many more which is strongly help for women empowerment globally. Women also can be involved in the sports activities for their personal as well as professional growth. It is good for both boys and girls to build fine physique. It makes people mentally alert, physically active and strong. Good health and peaceful mind are two most important benefits of the sports.

Tripura is a north-eastern state of India and third smallest state in India. The state has eight districts and comprises of only 0.3% of India’s total population. The peoples of this state are very fond of traditional games and sports. The state government also contributes to enhance the indigenous games &sports of Tripura. The Tripuri community has its own traditional sports, which are called Thwngmung in the Kokborok, the Tripuri language. There are many indigenous/traditional games and sports playing in the state. These are the following traditional games and sports which are regularly playing by the schools children are Dari banda, gulla chut, hide and sick, cooking game, save the king, gutti, murble etc. and some of the competitive sports which they like are kho-kho, kabaddi, football, cricket etc.

Here are 4 reasons why we think playing traditional games is good for school children: Does not require expensive gear, Builds life skills, Pass our heritage and Bridge generations

Statement of the problem

The problem of the present study is to compare the interest and participation in the indigenous or competitive sports among the school children of Tripura

 

Objective of the study

1. To check the interest of school children toward the indigenous & competitive sports of Tripura.

2. To check the participation of school children toward the indigenous & competitive sports of Tripura.

 

Delimitation

1. The study is delimited to school children of Tripura.

2. The study is delimited to interest and participation of school children

3. The present study is delimited to 320 school children of Tripura

4. The study is delimited to indigenous & competitive sports of Tripura.

 

Limitation

Since the study is delimited to government primary schools only, the age range of the subject is 07 to 10 year, so in this stage the children are immature to properly understand the competitive sports, so majority of the children are interested in indigenous/traditional games & sports. In other side the government schools is not having sufficient sports facilities especially competitive sports. The traditional/indigenous games & sports are more enjoyable than competitive sports. The school children are continuing to play their games & sports which they were played in home which will not be under the control of the researcher.

Hypothesis of the problem

 

1. It is hypothesized that the interest of the school children towards the indigenous games & sports will be more than the competitive sports of Tripura.
2. It is also hypothesized that the participation of the school children towards the indigenous games & sports will be more than the competitive sports of Tripura.

 

METHODOLOGY

The purpose of the present study was to determine and compare the interest and participation of school children towards the indigenous & competitive sports of Tripura. For the study 320 students (boys=160 & girls=160) were randomly selected as subjects from the eight (8) government primary schools from all eight (8) district of Tripura. 40 students (boys=20 & girls=20) from each schools. The age of the subjects are ranging from 07– 10 years as per the school admission record. The data has been collected through self-made questionnaire which are relevant and serve the purpose of the study. During data collection the researcher first brought all the subjects in to a classroom and explained them about the study and actual purpose of the study and also make them understand the objectives and significant of the study. Distribution and collection of questionnaire is consumed maximum 5-10 minutes and questions are also very easy to understand by the subjects. To find out the interest and participation the descriptive statistical technique was used to identify at 0.5 level of significance.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

       The result showed that the interest and participation of school children in Tripura towards the indigenous sports is higher than the competitive sports, it means the hypothesis by the researcher is accepted.

Table No: 1

Variables	Total responses of indigenous sports out of 320	% of Responses	Total responses of competitive sports out of 320	% of Responses
Interest	249	78	71	22
Participation	245	77	75	23

 

Chart No: 1: Comparison of interest between indigenous & competitive sports

It is cleared from the table-1, that the interest of school children towards the indigenous sports is greater (78% > 22%) than competitive sports.

 

Chart No: 2: Comparison of participation between indigenous & competitive sports

 

It is cleared from the table-2, that the participation of school children towards the indigenous sports is greater (77% > 23%) than competitive sports.

 

In chart 1 & 2: It is cleared that the interest and participation of school children in the indigenous sports is 78% and 77% respectively and were as interest and participation of school children in the competitive sports is 22% and 23% so, that means interest and participation of school children in Tripura in the indigenous sports is higher than interest and participation in the competitive sports. The hypothesis of the researcher is accepted.

 

CONCLUSIONS

From the above study following conclusions has been drawn:  

• The interest of school children towards the indigenous sports is greater (78% > 22%) than competitive sports
• The participation of school children towards the indigenous sports is also greater (77% > 23%) than competitive sports
• So it is clearly evidence that the interest and participation of school children in Tripura in the indigenous sports is higher than interest and participation in the competitive sports. The school children of Tripura are very much interested in and like to participate in indigenous/traditional games and sports in comparison of competitive sports.

 

REFERENCES

Books:

Gan-ChaudhuriJagadis, A Cultural History of Tripura, Tribal Research and Cultural Institute, Govt. of Tripura, 2nd Edition, 2017.

MitraMukesh, Maping of Sports Talent among Tribes of Tripura, Tribal Research                                                  Cultural Institute, Govt. of Tripura, Agartala, 2017.

DevVarman S.B.K, The Tribes of Tripura a Dissertation, Tribal Research and Cultural Institute, Govt. of Tripura, Fourth Edition, 2012.

SutradharJaharlal, Indigenous, Music and Culture of Tripura, Tribal Research and Cultural Institute, Govt. of Tripura, 2014.

Singh Yogendra, Modernization of Indian Tradition. Rawat Publication, 2016.Ssndys EF., History of Tripura (Reprint), Tribal Research and Cultural Institute, Govt. of Tripura

Chanda, Subhasis (24 April 2002). "Sports development in Tripura". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Retrieved 12 July 2012.

Journals:

AgrawalkumarYogesh and DiwankumarAshish (2014), “A comparative study of   competitive behaviour between Tribal & Non-tribal male Archers”, Indian Journal of physical education, sports and applied science Vol.4, No.4, pp. 01 – 03.

Agashe C.D. and KarkareAjoy (2003), “Comparative study between Tribal and non-tribal Sportsperson of Chhattisgarh related to their motor fitness” Tribal health buttetin, vol. 9 (1& 2), pp..46 to 51.

Chelladurai (1994) “Management and impact of cultural diversity in sports organizations” Canadian Journal of Sports Sciences, 16:2.126-133.

 

Websites:

http://www.tripura.org.in/games.htm

https://www.tripuraonline.in/about/sports

Vol.2/2020/64

Can Yogasana Practice alone be Wholesome and Therapeutic?

Sangeeta Chakrabarty, S S Dempo College of Commerce and Economics, Cujira Goa

Ramprasad S. Joshi, BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus Zuarinagar Goa

 

 

 

Abstract

Practice of yoga is spreading and deepening worldwide in recent decades. Urban population is taking up yoga as alternative therapy against lifestyle-induced degenerative diseases. The most common, popular form of yoga known is the practice of hatha yoga, the bodily posture exercise regime (asanas), combined with breath-control (pranayama) and meditation (samadhi).

 

We begin to investigate two questions in this work: One, does the practice of mere hatha yoga give any more therapeutic benefits than other similar regimes of exercise? Two, what are the advantages of practicing yoga under a complete yoga expert instead of amateur self-learning? We conducted a survey of 150+ urban individuals in modern occupations or homemaking. We examined unintentional exercise as a part of their daily home and work routine. We examined intentional exercise regimes: the type of regime; the supervision mode; the duration, frequency, and intensity; and any conscious monitoring of the targeted health indicators for the sought health benefits. We report the results.

 

About 30\% respondents practice yoga. Fewer belong to a yoga group under expert training. Most are practicing for a narrow set of health concerns. Conscious and clinical monitoring of the same was almost absent. Yogasanas are just one of the eight parts of a disciplined lifestyle of which any one alone cannot be completely helpful in the well being of an individual.

 

Introduction

In today’s fast paced, fast food and stressful life conditions many of us are prone to obesity in the belly and waist region due to sedentary lifestyles. A gradual decrease in metabolism results in slow degeneration of various vital organs to which there maybe few or no symptoms at all in the early stages of life (in twenties). Neglecting such minor problems continuously and carrying out the same sedentary routine may lead to a host of degenerative diseases in the long run and this can lead to irreversible conditions like acute cases of diabetes and hypertension.

 

Once a person is diagnosed with any one of these silent killers, they either resort to various strict diet schedule, exercise, weight control, reduced cigarettes, alcohol and salt intake or continue to neglect it completely relying heavily on medications alone. A few of them start yoga as an alternate therapy either on their own by watching online videos or try some nearby classes. Neither all the videos available are meant for such specific patients nor all the so called yoga teachers trained to solve such specific problems!  According to [3], the difference between a yoga teacher, researcher and yoga therapist is not clearly defined until March 2016 in India and in US! There seem to be no universally accepted norms or modalities which confirm to any standardization for such practitioners and these may result in serious complications to patients.

 

Literature Review Yoga is a science of managing and maintaining your health due to mind-body practice, it’s not a therapy for treating specific diseases. Regular practice of yoga provides reflection, change and self-awareness. It can help in managing or controlling life-style induced degenerative diseases like diabetes[6], cardiac disease[5], maintain cardiovascular health[9]; but for all these promised benefits, there is an associated comprehensive life style to be practised along with the yogasanas. A person doing yoga everyday but not following the other requirements like proper and timely sleep, rest, right diet, avoiding smoking or alcohol, etc. may not get significant benefits from yoga. Many people even cannot let go of their mobile phones during yoga practice sessions which obviously compromises the required  concentration and breathing. Yoga practice is a system outlined in the yoga sutras attributed to the ancient sage Patanjali which is summed up in [10]. Sivananda says about what is known as the eight-limbed Yoga (Ashtanga Yoga) that it contains five Sadhanas, namely, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dhyana and Samadhi and three others, namely, ``Yama or self-control by way of chastity, temperance, avoidance of harm (Ahimsa), and other virtues; Niyama or religious observances, charity and so forth, with devotion to the Lord (Isvara-Pranidhana); and Dharana, the fixing of the internal organ on its object as directed in the Yoga-practice''. It is widely believed, like this master, that without a guru teaching and monitoring continuously for adherence and practice of the comprehensive prescriptions and prohibition of proscriptions, effective yoga practice is very difficult if not impossible. If true, it means many things, among which the most important one for this work is the question it raises on plausibility of therapeutic effects of yoga on lifestyle-related health problems. We wonder:

 

We observe that people who fell into ill-health due to a lifestyle that is wholly deviating from what yogic practice prescribes, start practising only hathayoga (yogasanas)  optionally with pranayam and dharana. According to yoga masters this does not constitute yoga in its entirety and it should not be as effective. Then, is it even significantly effective, and how much? If yes, what is the part of yoga that is like other exercise and physiotherapy regimes that are effective without any comprehensive lifestyle advice? If not, then are modern medicine doctors and physiotherapists prescribing some partial, targeted yogasana practice and reporting its postitive effects like [5,6,10] misled by optimistic bias?

 

Motivation

The present work is the first of an intended series conceived of as an investigation of the questions, ``Is Yoga just one variety of an exercise regime or more than that? Does yoga embody or anticipate all other forms and practices of bodily and mental exercises?'' Conscious of the fact that this entails a long term plan and sustained enquiry with a committed set of participants, we set out to introduce the series with a preliminary survey of just what kinds of participants could help us in this endeavour.

 

Apart from the claims and the glamour yoga is enjoying in recent years internationally and domestically in India, we are mainly intrigued by the spread, the popularity, the apparent enthusiasm in spite of lack of standardization and attention to quality assurance. Many urban health fads spread like wildfire and recede like flash floods in arid zones. Laughter clubs is just one such example[1]. Then there is a more sustained wave of zumba training and other dance-as-exercise regimes across urban India, again without standardization. Whether the same participants sustain the activity for a significant duration in their lives, creating the potential to make plausible long term changes in their lives, is not investigated ever in academia, to the best of our knowledge.% The difference between such health and exercise regimes and yoga is ``in the name'': yoga is by its name or definition standardised or idealised in the philosophy of Samkhya Metaphysics and Patanjali's YogaSutras manual.

 

We are inspired by Late Dr. Ravinder Lal Kapur, arguably the only psychiatrist  to  have  taken  a  sabbatical  to  study  the  subjective experiences of yogic practices, under the aegis of the  Indian  Council  of  Medical  Research  (ICMR) [1]. He explored therapeutic effects of yoga for mental well-being by learning yoga himself first, and then trekking to the Himalayas to meet and interview ascetics from different sects of Hinduism, coming across philosophers, intellectuals, artists, visionaries all kinds of explorers, keeping a diary meticulously of his own experiences with yoga and their interviews, for writing a monograph later[7]. Kapur confirms the claim of yoga gurus that the psychological and somatic aspects of yoga are integrated: they cannot be examined or followed in isolation.

 

This integrity claim has large support among researchers. Another medical investigation[8], of yoga therapy for alleviating tiresome and irritating symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, by a registered yoga teacher in the U.S.A., concludes that the best results  ``are achieved if the student understands how to integrate mental concentration with the physical postures and exercises.''

However, this article cites no data or empirical study. Another study[11], based on intensive systematic double-blind trials, concludes that ``Yoga improves functional disability, pain intensity, and depression in adults with chronic lower back pain''. The mention of depression in the conclusions, though not intended in the objectives, is significant. Yoga's benefits in multiple sclerosis patients has been explored in [4], which claims on page 193 that yogic practice reverses the debilitating process of muscle spasticity by ``bringing into consciousness, and under intentional control, what has been dropped from the spotlight, or had never been there at all.'' It argues that this is so because a given strong muscle that can generate a certain amount of pull with its contraction may not make the  person that has that muscle strong unless it can be applied intentionally.

 

Finally, the bold thesis[2, see pp. 135--136] that anticipates this new renaissance about mind-body unision in place of Cartesian Duality gave us the core idea:

 

The proposition that there are two inter-related informational systems, cerebral and somatic, implies in terms of my definition of mind, that there are two kinds of mind in all higher animal species. This is reflected in the concept of a conscious and an unconscious mind, as proposed by Sigmund Freud. It is then the cerebral input from the somatic system which emerges as `unconscious material’ in our dreams, or in the course of psycho-analysis and under hypnosis. But since feed back to the environment from the cerebral system is largely limited to responses effected by bodily movement, the overt cerebral rendering of this covert input from the somatic system is usually no more than symbolic. This is especially so when such somatic, or unconscious, material is actually verbalized through the movements of speech.

 

In summary, we set out to investigate the role or significance of verbalized, symbolic instruction and conscious intention in therapeutic effects of yoga on healing and well-being.

 

Experiments

The present work is only a preliminary investigation, more to identify a method and target groups for more thorough, systematic and deep investigation. We designed a questionnaire (reported in the appendix below) to know, inter alia, the subjects'

[Profile] like gender, weight, height, degenerative illnesses, home and work places and modes;

[Activity Profile] at home and at work, including climbing steps and daily chores;

[Exercise] regime and mode, with or without supervision;

[Monitored Effects] of the exercise regime, if any.

 

Methodology No systematic design of the process of acquiring responses and randomization or factor analysis was made, because this was intended as only a preliminary survey. Circulation among known yoga practitioner groups was the main device used. Overall, about 150 responses were obtained.

 

However the obtained responses indicated the following diversity and unity:

[Gender] almost 50:50

[Weight] median and mean around 67kg, few below 60 kg, few outliers above 80 kg; outliers did not have any significant pull on central statistics

[Height] concentrated around 5.5', within 5'-6'

[Age] was also concentrated within 30-50 years

[Travel Mode] very few travel by public transport

[Well-being] Only one-third reported any degenerative illness and chronic treatment, and there was not too much variation in the chronic illnesses reported

[Domestic and Workplace Activity] was less varying in terms of the amount of unintended exercise

[Intentional Exercise] was reported by about half the respondents, and yoga was among more than half of them (about 30-40\% of the total); most exercise regimes were half to one hour daily; less than a third were actually practising yoga under expert supervision but this constituted almost all yoga practitioners.

[Efficacy] of the exercise regimes was not inferred from the responses, with only a fifth reporting proper monitoring of vital indicators of morbidity or fitness.

Conclusion

From the responses, as well as from the informal discussions to infer data from anecdotal  collection, the following summary conclusion was drawn:

 

Apparently, the active lay members of yoga groups in and around Tiswadi region in Goa are not conscious of the intended effects of yoga and of the importance of that consciousness in order to actually realise those effecgs. In order to investigate further, we need to create that awareness and design a longer, deeper process.

 

References

 

[1] Ajit V. Bhide. Obituary: Ravinder Lal Kapur (1938–2006). Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 48(4):277-78, Oct-Dec 2006.

[2] Stephen Black. The Nature of Living Things: An essay in theoretical biology. WILLIAM HEINE-MANN MEDICAL BOOKS LTD., 1972.

[3] T. Fischer-White and A. G Taylor. Credentialing and policy update for yoga teachers and yoga therapists: implications for yoga research and yoga therapy research. J Yoga Phys Ther, 2(6), 2016.

[4] Loren M. Fishman and Eric L. Small. Yoga and Multiple Sclerosis: A Journey to Health and Healing. Demos Medical Publishing, LLC, New York, 2007.

[5] R. R. Guddeti, G. Dang, M. A. Williams, and V. M. Alla. Role of yoga in cardiac disease and rehabilitation. Journal of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and prevention, 3(39):146–152, 2019.

[6] R. Jayawardena, P. Ranasinghe, T. Chathuranga, P. M. Atapattu, and A. Misra. The benefits of yoga practice compared to physical exercise in the management of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, 5(12):795–805, 2018.

[7] Ravinder Lal Kapur and Malavika Kapur. Another way to live : a psychiatrist among Indian ascetics. Penguin/Viking New Delhi, 2009.

[8] Hari Kaur Khalsa. How yoga, meditation, and a yogic lifestyle can help women meet the challenges of perimenopause and menopause. Sexuality, Reproduction & Menopause, 2(3), September 2004.

[9] K. S. Sharma, N. R. Choudhary, and P. Subramanya. Evidence base of yoga studies on cardiovascular health: A bibliometric analysis. International journal of yoga, 2(12):162, 2019.

[10] S. S. Sivananda. Kundalini Yoga. The Divine Life Trust Society,

http://www.rsl.ukans.edu/pkanagar/divine/ online edition, 1999.

[11] Kimberly Williams, Christiaan Abildso, Lois Steinberg, Edward Doyle, Beverly Epstein, David Smith, Gerry Hobbs, Richard Gross, George Kelley, and Linda Cooper. Evaluation of the effectiveness and efficacy of iyengar yoga therapy on chronic low back pain. Spine (Phila Pa 1976), 34(19):2066–2076, September 2009.

 

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[1]We are not commenting here on the respectable few laughter clubs that sustain their activity and utility; we are commenting on the spread and hype that quickly wanes.

Vol.2/2020/65

Effects of Pranayama Practice on Human Cardiovascular Ability

Sanjib Kumar Dey1

Masters of Physical Education

Department of Physical Education and Sports Science

Visva-Bharati, Vinaya Bhavana, Santiniketan

West Bengal, India

Email- sanjib.nstu77@gmail.com

 

Dr. Pintu Lal Mondal2

Assistant Professor, Gushkara Mahavidyalya

Purba Bardhman, West Bengal

 

Abstract

Yoga is a psycho-somatic-spiritual discipline for achieving union and harmony between our mind, body, and soul and the ultimate union of our individual consciousness with the universal consciousness. Pranayama is the practice of breath control in yoga. In modern yoga as exercise, it consists of synchronizing the breath with movements between asanas, but is also a distinct breathing exercise on its own, usually practiced after asanas. Since it is connected to regulation of essential gases (oxygen and carbon-dioxide), it has capability to alter the regulation of circulation. Breathing induces pressure variations in the thorax (chest cavity) where heart, major vessels and lungs are housed. Therefore, changes in thoracic cavity pressures cause changes in availability of blood to heart and big arteries. Thus breathing influences activity of heart. Activity of heart influences the blood circulation which, in turn, influences the circulation to brain. The most important health indicator is the status of heart and blood vessels. The Pranayama is best known stimulus to influence and improve these vital parameters. Several studies have suggested that breathing practices can be treated as part of interventional strategies for functional illness. Several beneficial effects have been reported consequent to rhythmic rapid breathing accompanied by adequate pauses at varying degrees of breathing rate. The literature describes several positive changes. It is suggested that regular practices of Pranayamas has a number of benefits in human physiological system and functions. Its helps keep the body supple and strong while energizing the mind and boosting self confidence.

Key words: Yoga; Pranayama; Cardiovascular; Breathing.

 

Vol.2/2020/77

Era of Paper Pencil to Advances in the Use of Technology by Sport Psychologists and Athletes -For Performance Enhancement

 

Jayashree Acharya

Dean

National Sports University, Imphal, Manipur

(Professor, Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Gwalior, MP)

 

With the issues of mental health, violence and activism in sports on the rise, more athletes and teams are seeking the expertise of sport psychologists. At present, sports psychology in India is at a new stage of development, which is attributed to the acceptance of the notion that psychological characteristics influence the athletic performance. Indian sports psychology is basically aimed at the development of optimal methods and techniques facilitating the improvement of sport performance and detecting adverse tendencies in athletes. The research areas where extensive work is completed in Indian sports psychology is: Personality, Anxiety, Stress, team cohesion etc. Further, on experimental side a little advances in technology where, the time perception, attention, visual attention in field settings, anticipation, mental training and motor imagery have been conducted by various pockets. Each of these topics highlights the recent advances of sports psychology in India with an overview of the key studies providing their specific findings and interpretation in terms of contemporary scientific views.

As we all are aware that technological advancements have affected all areas of human existence, including sport performance. In sports, small performance gains can be the difference between winning and losing, ultimately affecting contracts and earnings. Consequently, the use of technology, which often comes with the promise to improve feedback quality and enhance performance, has become invaluable to coaches and athletes. In the area of sports psychology, basically that used to be paper- pencil tests, counselling followed by a few experimental work etc. At present in addition, higher level athletes and coaches use various technologies along with their training that adds to their psychological aspect or training the mind or developing the mental strength that is required in high performance sport. As it’s well known that “Physically you might be in excellent shape but it’s your mind that matters, as there’s a fine line between winning & losing”.

In recent years, advances have been made in biofeedback, virtual reality, reaction time trainers, eye tracker, VTS Sports, neurotracker and a host of other software applications and gadgets designed to enhance human performance by enhancing various psychological abilities. For instance, wearable technology can be used to monitor the users’ vital signs to facilitate real-time injury/trauma survival predictions and improve treatment response times. Since the advent and incorporation of GPS locators, head-mounted devices, wearable health monitors, assistive devices, and various physical training tools to extend the limits of performance capacities, monitor changes, and produce data for analysis.

Overall, the presentation encompasses both the theoretical methodological aspects of Indian sports psychology and the examples of specific studies providing an opportunity to look forward to future lines of research (Quantitative & Qualitative) in addition to the existing work that is under progress. It’s not only theoretical base but has applied aspect for both coaches & sport psychologists for performance enhancement among athletes.

 

Vol.2/2020/78

 

EFFECTS OF INSTANT CHANGES AFTER THE SUPPLEMENT USAGE

AMONG BODYBUILDERS

WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THANGALLE DISTRICT IN SRI LANKA

 

K.P.W.Pradeep

Sri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force, Mahasen Welisara, Sri Lanka

wayshamtha86@gmail.com

 

ABSTRACT

Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one’s musculature. Dietary Supplement is a major factor that directly affects to the performance of bodybuilders as well as to the overall health and wellness. As a result, bodybuilders tend to test various sort of dietary supplements. Some supplements are severely harmful to the health due to over use. But it seems that most of the bodybuilders overuse supplements without sound knowledge of them.

The main objective of this study is to identify the effects of instant changes after the supplement usage among bodybuilders. The sample consisted with one hundred and fifty bodybuilders from dietary supplement using in Tangalle district in Sri Lanka. Study concentrates only eighteen registered gymnasiums in Tangalle District in Sri Lanka. The data were gathered through questionnaires, gymnasium’s profiles data, semi- structured interviews and discussions. The data collected through questionnaires and profiles data were analyzed by using Microsoft Excel spread sheets and presented by using percentage, mean, tables and graphs.

The results indicated that 80% of the bodybuilders overuse dietary supplements, each bodybuilder of the selected sample has at least taken three of the selected categories, All the bodybuilders in the sample have taken weight gaining, protein and pre workout supplements. Further it also showed a greater percentage of supplement overuse in protein category. Most of the bodybuilders try to depend only on proteins. They think that protein is the only source of energy they should take as bodybuilders. That is the reason to overuse the greatest degree of protein category by bodybuilders. The second category overused by body builders reports to be weight gaining supplements. A greater amount of bodybuilders uses steroids in order to gain quick results which is detrimental for human health with overuse. It shows the least amount of fat burning supplement overuse because most of the bodybuilders join with bodybuilding who tries to improve their body mass instead of decreasing the body mass. The conclusion mainly 67.7% of bodybuilders are faced sleeplessness after taken supplement. Nervousness, headache and irritability also had above 50% of bodybuilders after taken supplement. most of bodybuilders after take supplement feel that type of instant changes.

Keyword: Bodybuilder, Dietary supplement, Supplement

Vol.2/2020/79

Excel in Sports Through Advanced DMIT Analysis

Dr P Madhurima Reddy

CEO & FOUNDER - La Winspire International Training & Solutions LLP

Peak Performance international Trainer, Life & Business Coach, Psychologist

NLP Master Practitioner Licensed (UK), Advanced DMIT Consultant.

 

Abstract

Dermatoglyphics refer to the branch of science which constitutes the study of the patterns i.e. prints of skin (dermal ridges) on the fingers, toes and the soles of human beings. Dermatoglyphics Multiple Intelligence Test is a biometric assessment of the individual’s finger print to map his/her brain functioning.

History of DMIT: In 1926, Harold Cummins proposed the term ‘Dermatoglyphics’ for the study of finger prints at the American Morphological Society. After this, Noel Jaquin researched and proposed that each fingerprint pattern corresponds to a specific type of personality. Dermatoglyphics Multiple Intelligence Test (DMIT) came into being when the idea of Dermatoglyphics was combined with the theory of Multiple Intelligence. Multiple Intelligence was theorized by development psychologist Howard Gardner in the year 1983 in his book “Frames of Mind”: The Theory of Multiple Intelligence.

Conventional career counseling, on the other hand takes aid of standardized Psychometric test in order to identify individual’s intelligence, intelligence, aptitude and personality. The factors are then carefully analyzed and a summary of most suitable careers is drawn for the individual, keeping in mind his/her identified attributes.

Career counseling process tests an individual on three different parameters.

Intelligence: Which informs about the overall cognitive capacity of an individual to understand instructions and adapt to the environment.

Aptitude: This helps identify the specific area in which an individual has potential.

Interest: This is an objective and systematic method of concluding which field will be most suitable for the individual, given the activities that interest him.

Personality: Different jobs require a different personality type. Thus knowing one’s personality traits determining the career path ensures that one enjoys their work in a stress free manner.

1. talents: The term “ Talent” is already sufficiently clarified by the literature, and can be defined as the individual who, though his inherited and acquired conditions, has a special aptitude for sports performance, above the average of general population. Currently with the world sporting scene, the search for talented young athletes capable of withstanding high training loads and high rates of technical improvements is great. The parameters that involves obtaining the maximum physical performance, the improvement of results and the breaking of records, have been the objects of study of researcher’s of sports area. The selection of talents, as well as the promotion of talent in any sport, should be done by making scientific analysis, not by prospecting talents. It is believed that there are many children and adolescents deprived of genetic inheritance who is subjected to arduous training.

Conclusion: Currently there is a great deal of concern within sports research to find methodologies that measure the genetic potential of athletes. In sports dermatoglyphics is a technique used by many researchers who points it out as a way of estimating an athlete’s genetic potential. Through the study of Dermatoglyphics one can obtain not only the maximization of sports performance, but also the correct direction of effort time and money.

In this way and with the intention of glimpsing the future and adequate performance of athletes, it is verified that the initial phase must obtain the contribution of Dermatoglyphics through the obtaining of fingerprints. DMIT is, hence a so called ‘Psychometric’ tool to assess the specific intelligence and innate aptitude of an individual & their SWOT analysis.

The author will explain how this DMIT tests can be conducted and to be assessed the hidden talent of an individual.

 

 

Vol.2/2020/80

Long Term Athlete Development: How Smooth is Transiting from one Phase to Another?

 

Oleksandr Krasilshchikov, PhD, Professor

Exercise & Sports Science Programme

School of Health Sciences, USM;

High Performance Sports Consultant

ELMS Sports Foundation

 

Long Term Athletic Development Patterns have been explained, discussed and debated for many years first among the coaches, shared later with sports scientists who eventually have been publishing papers and book chapters related to the topic (Harre, 1971; Platonov, 1984; Singh, 1991; Bompa, 1994).

The logic of the issue never radically changed in time, although certain modifications and new ideas have emerged from from one author to another (Balyi, 2005). It typically revolves around certain stages or phases of training which are usually defined as Foundational/Initiation training, followed by General/Basic training before becoming Specialized or Advanced training and eventually getting transformed into High Performance or Masters’ training. Each phase is typically associated with certain age of the athletes (but surprisingly not always with their sport of specialization, whereby the age of recruitment differs significantly) and with certain time allotted to each phase of long term training.

Some authors describe the contents of training, expressing it in training hours and also in percentage of training time dedicated to major training factors, i.e. physical, technical, tactical, theoretical and psychological with some (Krasilshchikov, 2014) also quoting integral training as one of the major factors and distinguishing training loads volume from competitive load volumes (Platonov, 1984). All of them unanimously support smooth transition from phase to phase and sort of smooth and steady progression from one phase to another. Practical training and coaching shows however completely the opposite.

Surprisingly, none of the researchers in the field of Training Methodology paid any attention to what happens while transiting from one age group to another in terms of training and competing adjustments. No one ever raised a research question on what happens for instance while progressing from U-14 age group to U-17 age group in terms of training loads, weight categories, strength and conditioning, nutrition and eventually performance structure. More importantly: how do those adjustments reflect on within the training phase load distribution and dynamics and also on between the training phases links and associations.

 

 

Vol.2/2020/81

Paper Youth Sport Herm 2020.06 S S Dempo College Goa

Scientific International Conference on Physical Education & Allied Sciences Panaji – Goa India 2020.

Experience of Youth Sports during Past, Present and Future from Special View of Anthropology of Sports

Klaus-Peter Herm

Abstract

1. are four aspects of changing youth sports during past 120 years which influenced the view of Anthropology of Sports and the limits of human athletic performance: 1. Higher quality of talent identification and selection. 2. Higher quality of training especially for children and youth and in contrast to adult sports training. 3. Higher loading, specific coordination training and consequent warm up as well as stretching programme before and after training loading from beginning of children and youth sports. 4. Better technical equipments (online information service with sensors, tablets, Smartphone, GPS and trend to modern artificial intelligence with using of technology to revolutionizing sports training). Otherwise the changing of in living conditions and the modern documentation of training and faster realisation and consideration of the results of somatic and performance diagnostic shows that you also need like before exactly norms for training, somatic development and methodical ways in different sports kinds. What good the current information if you don’t know what means good or bad). It is shown the problem of early high specialisation as problem and opposition for young sports men in relation to Anthropology of Sports. For the future all sports kinds need multiple possibilities of talent selection if the experiences shown for years the difficulties and success of youth sports. The greatest problems we found of course for the health of young sportsmen according overloading, false loading, and way too early specialisation, no consideration of biological development like biological age, somatic type and body composition (fat, muscle and bone mass), Growth velocity and Growth Dynamic. It is demonstrated how developed this problem during past, present and for the future and the different possibilities of talent selection, children and youth training as well as the health biological development for a successfully sports development of children and youth sportsmen. Modern aspects of Talent selection – a process from youth to adult sports means: Get sports ahead. It includes research, consulting and sports project management.

It means: Active Sourcing, Data-Driven-Recruiting, On-Boarding-Processes and personal advice in different sports kind. It is to have a look to Requirement analysis, Sports- and competitive analysis, Data-Driven Recruiting, Talent Pool and network, Fit –Add Analyses – all with the most modern examination methods. Important is Long-Term Development, Not Short-Term Success!

Key words: Anthropology of Sports, Talent Selection, Biological development, Trainings Loading, Children and Youth Sports

Address of the Author:

IBS _ Institut für Bewegung und Sportanthropologie D-32549 Bad Oeynhausen Kortenweg 7 Fon+49+ (0)172 1933059 e-Mail: ibs.herm@t-online.de PD Dr. habil. Dr. h.c. Retd. Professor KLAUS-PETER HERM GERMANY

 

1. Introduction

It’s demonstrated the time of more than the last 120 years under the view what is happened special for Youth Sports during Past (time between 1896-1945), Present (time between 1945-2020) and Future (up 2020) and the big problem “talent selection” under the special view of Anthropology of Sports for the national (Germany and India) and international area, that means to look according the time distances of the Modern Olympic Games since Athens 1896 - as a guideline. In Germany GutsMuths was one of the first which wrote the book during the year 1793 “Gymnastik für die Jugend” (Gynastics for youth).

 

2. Problems

No discipline epitomises the Olympic motto of citius, altius, and fortius (faster, higher, and stronger) better than athletics. Modern athletes are very high specialised like running times, jumping heights and throwing distances that would have seemed impossible during the past. So in 1896- during the beginning of Olympics the most Athletes were All-rounder. With specialization and differentiation of spots competition started the differentiated selection. The problem exists up to now also for children and youth training. With beginning of talent identification and selection we can recognize that it is very important to realize an all-round training with looking to the early specialisation as early as possible. But attention: the most important point is to have fun and health with all sport!

 

2.1. Problems Past

Normal Life: If we look back to the past one hundred years ago we have the example to see one big problem for mankind. It was the Infant and Child mortality rate (Table 1, Figure 1).

Table 1: Infant mortality (%) during the last 100 years in Germany and India (Herm 2019)

Country	Year	1920	1950	1990	2017
Germany		14.0	5.5	0.85	0.37
India		40.0	25.0	12.6	3.94

 

 

 

 

You can recognize in table 1 the comparison of Infant mortality (%) during the last 100 years in Germany and India (Herm 2019). It is shown that we have had in Germany with 14 percent much lower mortality than India with 40 percent. For talent selection it means that we have according the health status of the children in Germany nearly four times better fundamentals than in India during the deep colonial time. The Republic of India has caught up strongly to this day with recent 3 percent in relation to Germany with 0.37 percent during the year 2017. In Figure 1 is shown the share of children (born alive) who die before they are five years estimates up until 1945 and UN Population Division from 1950 up to today.

 

Figure 1: Child mortality rate (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78806260)

Child mortality rate: Shown is the share of children (born alive) who die before they are five years estimates up until 1945 and UN Population Division from 1950 to today (Our World in Data, Max Roser - https://ourworldindata.org/child-mortality; https://www.gapminder.org, CC-BY https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78806260)

Why did I show these past problems? You need healthy normal developed children for sports!

More than hundred years ago already Cramton (1908) wrote the up to now also for sports children significant statement: “All observations, records, and investigations of children, whether pedagogical or medical, social or ethical, must regard physiological age as primary and fundamental basis”.

How all know, the Ancient Games, Olympia was at the centre of Greek civilisation!

“At its heart the Ancient Olympic Games was a religious festival held in a religious sanctuary,” and that was usually for adult athletes “it was not just a matter of playing”, so Paul Christesen wrote: And central to this concept was the site itself. Today sports play a role in society as a whole, both in high performance sport and in leisure and health sport with different tasks.

If we look back to the first Olympics 1896 in Athens the Germany’s Carl Schuhmann (Figure 2) was at the age of 26 arguably the brightest star of Athens 1896 Competing in four different sports at the same edition of the Games gymnastics, athletics, weightlifting and Greco-Roman wrestling, he won four gold medals, more than any other athlete at the inaugural modern Games. He was a talent like you say today versatile athlete- All-rounder!

He caused a special sensation with the anthropometrical body height of 163 cm!

Figure 2: Carl Schuhmann (age 26 years; body height: 163 cm)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/1920_olympics_poster.jpg

For India we have the first Olympic Medals during the Olympics 1900 in Paris. It was Norman Pritchard (later actor Trevor) is a "controversial" Olympian in that he is claimed by both Britain and India as having competed for them at the 1900 Olympics with a calendar age of 25 years. Pritchard was a member of an old colonial family and although he was born June 23rd 1875 in India, West Bengal –Kolkata. The Indian Olympic historian, Gulu Ezekiel, and the IOC claims Pritchard based on his birth and the fact that he lived in India for many years. During the Olympics in Paris 1900 he won as Indian, data approved also from IOC, two Silber Medals (200 m – Silber 22.8 s and 200 m hurdles – Silber 22.8 s). In its archives and website, continues to credit his two medals to India. India was under British rule at the time. (The Telegraph, – India 7. August 2008). That means: we did never found in former time some ideas about talent selection in India.

Figure 3: Norman Pritchard 1900 (later actor in USA as Norman Trevor) (File .jpg Wikimedia)

 

 

Table 2: Olympic medals of India

Sportart	Gold	Silver	Bronze	total
Hockey	8	1	2	11
Shooting	1	2	1	4
Athletics	—	2	—	2
Wrestling	—	1	4	5
Badminton	—	1	1	2
Boxing	—	—	2	2
Weightlifting	—	—	1	1
Tennis	—	—	1	1
Total	9	7	12	28

 

Since 1920 India participated constantly during the Olympic Summer Games and ten times during the Olympic Winter Games.

 

 

Figure 4: VIIth Olympiad- Anvers 1920

The 1916 Summer Olympics (German: Olympische Sommerspiele 1916), officially known as the Games of the VI Olympiad, were scheduled to be held in Berlin, German Empire, but were eventually cancelled due to the outbreak of World War I.

Because of the role in the First World War (28th of July 1914-11st of November 1918) Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, and Turkey were excluded from the VII Olympiad in Antwerp 1920.

During the twenties of the 19th century in Europe and North America we could found an expressive social development. They were known as the Golden Twenties! And: Nobody knows whether the 2020s will trigger such euphoria as 100 years ago!

Berlin returned to Olympic bidding in 1931 for the right to host the 1936 Summer Olympics, the last Olympics before the outbreak of World War II.

And India was especially since the Olympics 1928 Amsterdam up to the Olympic Games 1980 in Moscow Gold Medal Winner of the Hockey games. Now India fights to hold the top ten of the world. The first Indian Alpine Ski downhill athlete participated 1964 as Olympic Team during the Winter Games in Innsbruck/ Austria .

Sports Life: In India and Germany between 1900 and 1920 we found in de literature no talent selection for youth if the most athletes came for adults competitions in sports! There was alone the note in the literature that during the twenties first time youth competitions were organized like “Youth Sports Games” in relation to the Olympic Games. Since 2010 in Singapore India participate at the Olympic Youth games. In Germany developed Physical Education (German: Körperkultur und Sport) also for children.

Figure 5: Movement theory catch ball and throw ball for children during the sixties.

 

Figure 6: Movement theory catch ball and throw ball for adult during the sixties.

The big step also for Anthropology of Sports and Auxology started with the examinations from Tanner during the sixties. 1920 James M. Tanner was born, he died 2010. He was a worldwide well known and excellent scientist of Auxology between 1960 and 2010. The most important works about: A History of the Study of Human Growth and Worldwide Variation in Human Growth. And:

Figure 7: The Physique of the Olympic Athlete, George Allen and Unwin, Ltd., London, 1964 are well known.

 

 

Since organizing the First Advanced Course of Kinanthropometry was organized at NIS Patiala 1987 under Leading from Dr. Sodhi and Dr. Herm– with Guidance of Dr. C.M. Muthiah (1932-2019) (which has finished his Doctoral thesis 1975 in Germany about talent selection in Athletics during the seventies. Since this time for India Kinanthropometry played a major role (Kaur Talwar, Rajdeep 1910).

 

 

2.2. Problem Present

There was beginning after the Second World War with the very fast development of sports and also at first in small special aspects also in children and youth sports. There is given an overview about Modern aspects of Talent selection – a process from youth to adult sports” (Herm 2018, 1920). In the field of Sports Anthropology, Talent identification and selection is connected with “Models of special norms” (Herm 1988, 1993, 2012). In a conclusion it’s written: Modern aspects of Talent selection – a process from youth to adult sports means: Get sports ahead. It includes research, consulting and sports project management.

It means: Active Sourcing, Data-Driven-Recruiting, On-Boarding-Processes and personal advice in different sports kind.

• Requirement analyzes
• Sports- and competitive analysis
• Data-Driven Recruiting
• Talent Pool and network
• Fit –Add Analyses

To find the right candidate in different sports kinds means if he had the right power, endurance, resilience, willed strength for a top performer – for this you need a specially ask technology and different steps for an individual talent finding.

Figure 8: Standardised Photodocumentation for Sportsmen to take anthropometrical measurements from photography ( Herm 1972)

With an international net work and scientifically methods you will find personnel of for your sports kinds. The coach today must be also very automotive with connection to Life Science, Engineering or Digital Business, a little bit finance-specialist, IT-Manager or Marketing-Profile! Search for young professionals, potential carrier and specialists or young experts – for this you need a right feeling and lots experiences.

These performance carrier have an over average high implementation tempo, an extraordinarily will to have success and unprecedented performance level!

And you need a team for sports training, sports medicine, and sports psychology experts of Kinanthropometry and Nutrition.

There are so many aspects for the right talent selection in youth sports:

1. Sports Nutrition, Periodic of Training and Sports Performance in Youth Sports
2. Sensitive periods of brain during growth and development of children
3. The type of sport
4. The amount of training you do
5. The amount of time you spend doing the activity or exercise
6. Which age?
7. What influences the energy consumption of the young sports men?
   Possible influences factors for the energy consumption are: Anthropometrical Parameter (Age, Gender, Weight, Muscle Mass, Height), Diseases, Injuries, Sports kinds, Trainings terms, Training volumes, Training intensity, Trainings frequency, Trainings fitness, Profession/school level), Climate influences, which kind of food and specific dynamically force, food induce thermo genesis.
8. Which biological age?
9. Which growth dynamic and
10. How to realise the high loading during childhood?

Targeted talent management and the systematic selection and promotion of performance-focused means highly motivated junior executives.

One aspect to the question in point 8: Which biological age? You can give if you see the System of selection the sports children:

• Is it possible to have a complete selection all children in all schools?
• Is it possible to organize the first sighting of all children in class 1. 4. and 7. (E.g. during first class Gymnastics, swimming, diving, during fourth class athletics etc.)
• You have to overview the importance of biological age during selection of talented/suitable children for training centers!

For these aspects you have to differentiate

1. Biological development groups of children with

1. Biologically very much young (or late developed/retarded)
2. Biologically young (light late developed/light retarded)
3. Normal developed
4. Biologically older (early developed or accelerated)
5. Biologically very much older (very much early developed or very much accelerated)

1. Difference of indeed body height (mm) in relation to the average of the appropriate body development group.
2. Difference of indeed body weight (kg/10) to the norm of appropriate body height group

During present time, the greatest problems we found of course for the health of young sportsmen according overloading, false loading and way too early specialisation, no consideration of biological development like biological age, somatic type and body composition (fat, muscle and bone mass), Growth velocity and Growth Dynamic. It is demonstrated how developed this problem during past, present and for the future and the different possibilities of talent selection, children and youth training as well as the health biological development for a successfully sports development of children and youth sportsmen. So are developed methods to estimate “Biological Age”, final stature and Somatotype and others are up to now very important (Fig 1). Modern aspects of Talent selection – a process from youth to adult sports means: Get sports ahead.

Figure 9: Biological Age- Athletics- Sprint- Calendar Age: 13 years

 

 

In Anthropology was created: Sport Type from Kohlrausch (1922/1923) during the Golden twenties of 19th century. Swimmer type, Asthenicer, Athleticer, all round fighter type, Constitutional Type: leptosome, pyknosome, metro morph etc. But: Not for children! The big step also for Anthropology of Sports and Auxology started with the examinations by Tanner (1964) during the sixties. Somatocharts (Sheldon 1940) of male and female Somatotype distributions for athletes (Heath and Carter 1967, Malina 1987)). We developed Standardized Photo documentation for Sportsmen to take measurements from photo (Wutscherk and Herm (1972), Herm 1980). Correlation between development rate of performance and biological age is significant, but since 1973 we recognized the problem that in talent selection, the influence that we collect in athletic sports the calendar older talents as well as the biological older in one age group! They have with 10 years more than 10% better performance - development is significantly advanced! That means: We have up to now estimate “Biological Age” and also to see how the Growth Dynamic of the talented sports children is (Herm 1973-1990). The aim was during the seventies to develop Norms for different age and different sports kinds, different growth types, for speed, for coordination, for endurance, you can say: for all conceivable parameters. Please have attention to changing bodies of athletes: Athletes today are generally taller and stronger than the first Olympians (Herm 1981, Olds 2016). But see also that the degree of change depends on the type of event.
Modern sprinters tend to be more muscular than early Olympians, but not significantly taller. The average height and weight of middle- and long-distance runners have not change greatly over time. But athletes competing in strength events today are significantly taller and weight considerably more than the first Olympians.There are so many aspects for the right talent selection in youth sports:
Sports Nutrition, Periodic of Training and Sports Performance in Youth Sports, Sensitive periods of brain during growth and development of children, the type of sport, the amount of training you do, the amount of time you spend doing the activity or exercise, which age to start with sports (Herm 1980, 2020). An answer to the question “what is Sports in relation with Electronic” is difficult! Termini like LAN, GPS-system, block chain and others like 3-D- Laser Scanning, Image of Miraco flexible printed circuits prior to de-panelization. Technology is Revolutionizing Talent Identification and Development for Sports Training!

But it is also a long-term performance development with very different steps and success.

For example during early childhood you have every time beside of the young sportsmen the parents which influence the development of the young talents!

Every time you have in the background the critical phases of the youth development like puberty. This time is very important for the future stability of the adult sportsmen.

For example in Germany normal children between 11 and 17 years less than 25 percent have physical activities, boys a little bit more! That means, to find children which enjoy participating sport is very less.

With six years we look wit beginning of the school to recognize the coordination and senses of balance. For sports you need more!

We have brought together tradition, talent and expertise in the selection of our exclusive Premier Cru line of Sportsmen.

During the seventeenth started an extensive data collection about talent identification, talent selection like training parameters like loading, biological development and lots of parameters. The aim was to develop young children with good health during Training to high performance.

Figure 10: Growth from birth to adolescents

There are differences in growth and development by sports children and non sports children. By non sports children is described a reduced physical activity as a global development. Physical activity affects the external skeletal robustness which decreased in German and international children of other countries (Rietsch, Godina, and Scheffler, 2013).

We need biological age also for Final Height Prediction. So you have another final height according the Biological Age by Girls and Boys. And it is for the different sports kinds do you have to estimate the final stature and for this you have usefully also to observe the biological age! Investigations in different sports kinds illustrated and demonstrated the increasing the stature by adult high level sports men in different sports kinds according the talents selection and looking for higher people and according the secular acceleration of the mankind over the period of the last 150 years (Herm 1977).

. Rotch (1910) proposed the grading of a child’s development as early as 1910. It seems characteristic, that this proposal was published in a journal of physical education.

 

Table 3: Suitable of Various Body Proportions to Particular Sports

2.3. Problem Future

The eSports, the electronically sports, the media Sport are unsolvable with computer technological development of the last thirty years since 1990 connected. We have to create unique terminological basics also in training, coaching and participating sports for this and find also parallels and different to the classical sport entered. An answer to the question “what is Sports in relation with Electronic” is difficult! Termini like LAN, GPS-system and others.

The realisation of practice sports kind must have its own sport determining Motoric activity as the big aim. The acclivity hast o happen for its own and the sport must be in compliance with certain ethic values guarantee a competition system.

For finding new ways of training and coaching we have to develop online- presence training or offline or live training. Live training is the classical training under electronically guidance of the coach.

 

3. Example of Material and Methods and Results

Material and Methods present and past

Figure 11: Somatocharts of male (a)  and female (b) somatotype distributions for both U23 (unfilled icons) and OPEN (filled icons) athletes. Circles represent the mean somatotype for each age category.

 

Material and Methods Future

Darwinian “survival of the fittest” means that the bodies of Olympic athletes are becoming more specialised, more differentiated – and much more extreme.

Artificial intelligence - The lure of sports etc.

Figure 12: Basketball

 

Figure13: Shot-put

 

• Men's 100m sprint
• Jamaica's Usain Bolt has run the fastest 100m final at the Olympics, with a time of 9.63 seconds at the London Games in 2012.
• In the time Bolt ran the 100m, Thomas Burke - the gold medallist from 1896, with a time of 12 seconds - would have run 80.25 metres, almost 20 metres behind Bolt.

 

Figure 14: Marathon

It is to recognise the changing bodies of athletes

Athletes today are generally taller and stronger than the first Olympians. But the degree of change depends on the type of event.

Modern sprinters tend to be more muscular than early Olympians, but not significantly taller. The average height and weight of middle- and long-distance runners have not change greatly over time. But athletes competing in strength events today are significantly taller and weigh considerably more than the first Olympians.

We will have such development also during future how the history of body development has shown.

 

 

Figure 15: A youngster today no longer fits in a knight’s armour. We get bigger!

 

Figure 16: Today with mobile phone and Apps we have suddenly to see how our loading and lots of other parameters was.

 

 

Now I will be back to my problem to beginning of my lecture: It was the Problem of Infant mortality!

Today we have for sports the problem for the future to discuss about Gene Doping also for children. It’s well known that in China the first gene manipulated children were born. That means that for sports it’s possible with genetic change present to manipulate better for enhancement of oxygen transfer enhancement mechanism has significant ramifications both in the youth sport and in competitive sports! In sports such as sprinting, tweaking genes to convert muscle fibres
to the fast type might also … protein that spurs development of oxy- gen-carrying red blood cells.

No Gene doping for children! If it is on the problem of athletes being criminalized!

Gen doping would be in some application forms develop a permanent effect that does not similar to discontinuing a medicament after a short time disappears!
 

4. Conclusion

Usefully are for modern children and youth high performance sport participation in the future are enormous physical and psychological conditions with use modern high technological equipments. You need a high qualified training and sports medicine care for do not exceed the border of individual load-bearing capacity and to guarantee in agreement with the personal development of a harmonious long term development of performance build up while maintaining stable health.

You don’t must select the biggest, strongest and fastest young athletes! You must identify and select the talented Childs.

You must not select the ones who already are elite young sports child, you must find the young girls and boys which have the characteristics needed for long term elite performance.

Please educate your coaches to understand the difference between selecting and identifying talent, and then the coach must teach and encourage them to develop it rather than try and win with it immediately.

1. Higher quality of talent identification and selection. 2. Higher quality of training especially for children and youth and in contrast to adult sports training. 3. Higher loading, specific coordination training and consequent warm up as well as stretching programme before and after training loading from beginning of children and youth sports. 4. Better technical equipments (online information service with sensors, tablets, Smartphone, GPS and trend to modern artificial intelligence with using of technology to revolutionizing sports training).

 

5. Outlook

You must have talent identifiers, no talent selector. Your clubs and schools will have larger numbers of skilled athletes to choose from, as well as additional healthier and well rounded kids.

Anthropocene (from Greek: anthropos = human and –zän (kainos) = new, unusual), that means a proposed geological epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems, including, but not limited to, anthropogenic climate change.

Developing the sports kids from the youngest ages, with particular attention given to helping the less skilled ones catch up technically to the stronger ones. Thus, when they finish their growth spurt (Tanner has spoken from catch up growth spurts), we have a much larger pool of adequately skilled individuals to choose from, instead of just the kids who happened to have facial hair at 12 but stopped growing at 13.

In Anthropology was created: Sport Type from Kohlrausch (1922/1923) during the Golden twenties of 19th century. Swimmer type, Asthenicer, Athleticer, all round fighter type, Constitutional Type: leptosome, pyknosome, metro morph etc. But: Not for children! The big step also for Anthropology of Sports and Auxology started with the examinations by Tanner (1964) during the sixties. Somatocharts (Sheldon 1940) of male and female Somatotype distributions for athletes (Heath and Carter 1967, Malina 1987)). We developed Standardized Photo documentation for Sportsmen to take measurements from photo (Wutscherk and Herm (1972), Herm 1980). Correlation between development rate of performance and biological age is significant, but since 1973 we recognized the problem that in talent selection, the influence that we collect in athletic sports the calendar older talents as well as the biological older in one age group! They have with 10 years more than 10% better performance - development is significantly advanced! That means: We have up to now estimate “Biological Age” and also to see how the Growth Dynamic of the talented sports children is (Herm 1973-1990). The aim was during the seventies to develop Norms for different age and different sports kinds, different growth types, for speed, for coordination, for endurance, you can say: for all conceivable parameters. Please have attention to changing bodies of athletes: Athletes today are generally taller and stronger than the first Olympians (Herm 1981, Olds 2016). But see also that the degree of change depends on the type of event.
Modern sprinters tend to be more muscular than early Olympians, but not significantly taller. The average height and weight of middle- and long-distance runners have not change greatly over time. But athletes competing in strength events today are significantly taller and weight considerably more than the first Olympians.There are so many aspects for the right talent selection in youth sports:
Sports Nutrition, Periodic of Training and Sports Performance in Youth Sports, Sensitive periods of brain during growth and development of children, the type of sport, the amount of training you do, the amount of time you spend doing the activity or exercise, which age to start with sports (Herm 1980, 2020). An answer to the question “what is Sports in relation with Electronic” is difficult! Termini like LAN, GPS-system, block chain and others like 3-D- Laser Scanning, Image of Miraco flexible printed circuits prior to de-panelization.

Technology is Revolutionizing Talent Identification and Development for Sports Training!

There is the big question: Are the changing bodies of children and young athletes? And you can see that the top level Athletes today are generally taller and stronger than the first Olympians, but also according the degree of change during growth dynamic, the loading during training and depends on the type of event.

How you know during the first Olympic Games 1896 in Athens participated 241athletes in 43 events from 14 countries. Today there we will find more than 11 000 athletes in more than 300 events. This is also a result of very early and extensive sport scientific investigations and care.

You must find children which have a little bit more ambition to excel in sports.

Technology is Revolutionizing Sports Training

Tracking Performance Using sensors placed on the body or in “smart clothing” (active wear with sensing fibres woven in), sports trainers can measure and track performance in real time. Almost anything about the athlete can be measured, from breathing and heart rate, to hydration and temperature. These live metrics can help the trainer determine what aspects each athlete needs to focus on more. Athletes are unique, and real-time individual performance measurements can set a more precise and accurate baseline. During practice, trainers can read live metrics and decide when it’s time to rest, stretch or train harder. Lasers and GPS have been incorporated into various aspects of the sports training world. Instead of relying on times and splits, trainers can measure the exact position, distance, velocity and acceleration of athletes to better understand where they can improve. Identifying more intricate data leads to improved performance with less stress and less chance for injury.

Perfecting Athletic Movements

Mounir Zok, the Director of Technology and Innovation for the U.S. Olympic Commission, has watched technology change and mold sports for the better. He claims that sports technology is so advanced that it can create a ‘digital code’ for winning the gold medal. What he means is: data collected and compared can ultimately translate into a gold medal performance. Technology has increased an athlete’s prowess simply because it magnifies performance-related actions and events that have been previously unseen.

For example, cyclists can wear heads-up display (HUD) glasses that flawlessly deliver heart rate, speed, incline and other relevant cycling information. Metrics such as these can help the cyclist focus and improve because they can make adjustments mid ride.

Swimmers and divers participate in an extremely technical sport and have adapted sensors into their practices as well. When swimming or diving, the sensors measure more than the usual time and effort metrics. They map movements like rotational speed, dive angle, leg movement and hydrodynamics. Observing movements like this is groundbreaking, and allows trainers to help athletes perfect their movements. They may only shave milliseconds off their performance, but a millisecond in a race can be all the difference.

In today's episode, we take a deep dive into the realm of advanced self-quantification techniques for athletes. During our discussion, you'll discover:

-How measures the oxygen levels in his muscles…

-Why sweat and tears are the new goldmine in self-quantification…

-How an electronic, biodegradeable tattoo can be used to detect muscle and nervous system activity…

-The fascinating emergence of new contact lenses for analyzing fluids in the eye…

-Socks that can measure your blood lactate levels…

-Headbands that can prime the motor cortex for enhanced performance…

-How the US Women's Track Cycling team is using artificial intelligence to enhance training…

-How to strike a balance between the fine art and the nitty-gritty science of reading the body…

-Whether you need to be concerned exposure to excessive bluetooth or wifi radiation from self-quantification devices…

-And much more…

Resources from this episode:

- The Flexible electronics

- The Neuroscience of Learning is the cooperation between muscle and brain and create strengthen motor pathways faster

 

- Sports technology

Figure 17: TIME Magazine cover, biodegradeable tattoo

 

 

Figure 18: Image of Miraco flexible printed circuits prior to de-panelization.

Figure 19: bluetooth or wifi radiation from self-quantification devices…

 

It includes research, consulting and sports project management. It means: Active Sourcing, Data-Driven-Recruiting, On-Boarding-Processes and personal advice in different sports kind. It is to have a look to Requirement analysis, Sports- and competitive analysis, Data-Driven Recruiting, Talent Pool and network, Fit –Add Analyses – all with the most modern examination methods. Important is Long-Term Development, Not Short-Term Success!

 

So is the call given by Rabindranath Tagore, to give best level to attract the attention of young learners and to put forward the urgent need for studying the indigenous culture!

 

Key words: Anthropology of Sports, Talent Selection, Biological development, Growth Dynamic Trainings Loading, Periodic, Children and Youth Sports

 

Literature:

Conrad, K. (1963):Der Konstitutionstypus. Springer, Berlin-Göttingen-Heidelberg.

GutsMuths (1793): “Gymnastik für die Jugend” (Gymnastics for youth).

Herm, K.-P. (1980): Grundlagen der Sportanthropometrie. Fotodokumentation Biologische Altersdifferenzierungen in ausgewählten Sportarten. Deutsche Hochschule für Körperkultur, Leipzig

Herm, K.-P. (1981): Die Veränderung der Körperbaumerkmale der Teilnehmer an den Olympischen Spielen in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten. In: Biologische Gesellschaft der DDR –Sektion Anthropologie- Tagungsbericht, 17.Arbeitstagung „Mikroevolution bei Homo sapiens“. Magdeburg : 56-65.

Herm, K.-P. (1988): Methodische Schritte zur Bestimmung des biologischen Alters. In: Sportmedizinische Einflussnahme zur Sicherung der Belastbarkeit des Stütz- und Bewegungssystems (SBS) Berlin 1988, S. 152-159

Herm, K.-P. (1990): Die Wachstumsdynamik als ein Aspekt der Kennzeichnung von anthropometrischen Leistungsvoraussetzungen. In: Sport und Wissenschaft, Academia, Leipzig 2, 53-61.

Herm, K.-P.(2020): Modern aspects of Talent selection – a process from youth to adult sports.
Human Biology Review, ISSN 2277 – 4424

Herm, K.-P. , Roy, K. (1997): Experiences & Talent Selection of Young Sportsmen in German and Indian Population. Differences and Similarities. Athletic Asia. Vol 32, 1, 41-53.

 

Kaur Talwar, R. (2010): Formation of Norms for Body Development Index in the Assessment of Development Age. Faculty of Sports Sciences, Dept. of Anthropometry SAI NSNIS, Patiala

Malina, R. M.: Human Growth, Maturation and regular physical activity. Advances in Paediatric Sport Sciences. Illinois, 1 (1987).

Muthiah, C.M. (1976): Besonderheit des Kinder- und Jugendsports in Indien. DHfK Leipzig, Diss.A

Olds, T.(2016): Survival of the fittest: the changing shapes and sizes of Olympic athletes. https://theconversation.com/survival-of-the-fittest-the-changing-shapes-and-sizes-of-olympic-athletes-63184

Tanner, J. M. (1964): The Physique of the Olympic Athlete, George Allen and Unwin, Ltd., London,

Tanner, J. M., Whitehouse, Ca. (1982) Atlas of Children's Growth: Normal Variation and Growth Disorders, Academic Press, U.S.A.

Wutscherk, H., Herm, K.-P. (1972): Zu den Möglichkeiten der Abnahme Anthropometrischer Maße von Kleinbild-Fotografien. Theorie und Praxis Leistungssport, Leipzig, 4, 121-133.

Address of the Author: IBS _ Institut für Bewegung und Sportanthropologie D-32549 Bad Oeynhausen Kortenweg 7 Fon+49+ 172 1933059 e-Mail: ibs.herm@t-online.de PD Dr. habil. Dr. h.c. Retd. Professor KLAUS-PETER HERM – GERMANY