Background: While the association between self-efficacy and sports success has been well established in previous studies, little is known regarding whether the basic approach motivation system contributes to this relationship in athletes. The study examines associations between self-reported temperamental approach disposition, self-efficacy, and predispositions to sports success in athletes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed between August 3 and 30 November 2020. The participants were 156 athletes, aged 16–34 years (M = 21.57, SD = 3.58, 41.67% women), in two groups: 54 elite athletes in speed skating (EASS) and 102 physical education students (PES). The online survey consisted of the Reinforced Sensitivity Questionnaire (RSQ), General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and Sports Success Scale (SSS). Results: There were no differences in self-efficacy and sports success in terms of gender, sports discipline, and level of competitions. The Behavioral Activation System (BAS) results were lower in the EASS sample compared with in the PES group. Self-efficacy plays a mediating role in the relationships between BAS and sports success among athletes, with sport discipline as a moderator between BAS and self-efficacy. Sports success in speed skating relies strongly on BAS, while a weak link has been found in other sports disciplines. Conclusions: BAS is directly correlated to sports success and indirectly related through self-efficacy. Mental training should be focused on maintaining self-efficacy and reward motivation in athletes to increase their sports success.

Physical activity is known to have beneficial effects on a host of factors related to physical and mental health, and positively affects postural control. However, there is no agreement on which measures of postural control and to what extent they are dependent on the past and present physical activity in older adults. To answer this question we compared the postural performance in a 20-s quiet stance with eyes open on a Kistler force plate in 38 subjects, aged 60–92, who were formerly and are currently physically active (AA) with those who were always inactive (II) and those who were either formerly (AI) or are currently (IA) active. Results indicated that only current activity promoted better postural control while former activity was ineffective. Postural control in AA and IA was very similar and much better than in II and AI who, in contrast, displayed similarly deteriorated postural control.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of additional load on postural-stability control in young women. To evaluate postural control in the 34 women in this study (mean age, 20.8 years), we measured postural sway (center of pressure, COP) in a neutral stance (with eyes open) in three trials of 30 s each. Three load conditions were used in the study: 0, 14, and 30 kg. In analysis, we used three COP parameters, variability (linear), mean sway velocity (linear), and entropy (nonlinear). Results suggested that a considerable load on a young woman’s body (approximately 48% of body weight) had significant influence on stability. Specifically, heavy loads triggered random movements, increased the dynamics of postural-stability control, and required more attention to control standing posture. The results of our study indicate that inferior postural control mainly results from insufficient experience in lifting such a load.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the body balance control of people walking and hurdling with or without a specific dominant leg in a monopodal position. This study involved 28 physical education students. The center of pressure (COP) was measured with a force plate under four conditions: single-leg standing (right and left) with eyes open and two upper limb positions (the arms were positioned in either a specific hurdle technique manner or alongside the body). A repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted separately for five parameters of the COP in the medial-lateral (ML) and anterior-posterior (AP) directions under the four conditions. In the single-leg position, athletes without a dominant lower leg had better body balance than those with a dominant lower leg. The position of the upper limbs influenced the body position when hurdling. Accepting the correct position of the upper limbs helped to maintain balance (when overcoming hurdles). In hurdles, the position of the upper limbs should be improved to maintain postural stability and save this function for more demanding postural tasks.

 INTRODUCTION:A healthy lifestyle is related to healthy practices, such as healthy diet, avoidance of psychoactive stimulants, appropriate level of physical activity, preventive behaviors, coping with stress, positive social relationships, and adjustments. University students do not usually engage in a healthy lifestyle. Moreover, excessive alcohol drinking among students is truly a health problem. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to examine the association between alcohol drinking and healthy behaviors in undergraduate students from a large public technical university in the south of Poland (Europe). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was used with participants of 283 second year undergraduate students, aged 22 years (SD = 2.92), including 88 (31%) students of Physical Education and 195 (69%) students of the Technical Faculty. The study used self-administered questionnaires of the Alcohol Drinking Scale (ADS) and the Health Behavior Inventory (HBI), which includes the following subscales: healthy habits nutrition (HHN), preventive behavior (PB), positive adjustments (PA), and healthy practices (HP). RESULTS: Alcohol drinking was negatively correlated with the total HBI and also with two subscales: HHN and PPB. The female students drank significantly less alcohol than the male students and presented with a higher level of health behavior, both in the total HBI and in the individual HBI subscales, except for PA. Students of Physical Education drank more alcohol, and scored higher in preventive behaviors, than the students of Technical Faculties. CONCLUSION: It seems necessary to conduct general health education as part of prevention programs at the university, especially for male undergraduate students in the Physical Education faculty.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the lateralization of the lead leg during special exercises and the relationship with athletic performance throughout a hurdling session. Methods: Thirty-eight physical education students participated in the study. A novel three-part “OSI” test (walking over hurdles arranged in a circle, spiral, and straight line) was performed, and various hurdle practices (jogging and running) were selected as research tools. The lead leg selected by the participants was taken into consideration, and the relationship between the chosen lead leg and athletic performance in the five tests was established. Results: The lateralization of the lead leg changed depending on the shape of the running course. The results of further analysis showed (i) no correlation between the use of the right leg as the lead leg in three tests conducted at a marching pace, and (ii) a significant positive correlation between tests performed at the marching and running paces. Conclusion: Hurdlers flexibly change the dominant leading leg depending on the shape of the running course. The results of this research could prove helpful in the training of athletes for hurdling competitions, especially young runners in 400-m hurdles involving straight and corner tracks.