Introduction: The purpose of this study was to assess and compare motor abilities in young and adult male South African Taekwondo athletes. To date, knowledge of the motor ability demands of this combat sport is in its infancy. Methodology: Participants were profiled as junior (n = 25, 15.5 ± 2.6 years, 163.0 ± 13.4 cm, 53.3 ± 10.7kg) and senior (n = 20, 23.5±2.5 years, 166.8 ± 7.9cm, 68.6±7.9kg) males from a local Taekwondo (WTF) club in South Africa. Flexibility (sit-and reach), abdominal strength and endurance (60-second sit-ups and 2 minutes push ups), explosive leg power (vertical jump), agility (T-test), aerobic power (20 m bleep test) converted to maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) were measured. Data were analysed with t-test for independent samples and Z-score individual radar plot statistics for each athlete. Results: There was no significant difference in agility between juniors (10.9 ±0.4s) and seniors (12.6 ± 1.2s) (p>0.05). The seniors showed significant (p<0.05) higher values in sit ups (53.1 ± 6.1 vs 48.9 ±13.8), push-ups (76.6 ± 17.1 vs 25.6 ±10.6), sit & reach (54.6 ±5.8 vs 40.1± 7.5 repetitions), horizontal jump (2.6 ± 1.1 vs 1.9 ±0.3), and VO2max (52.5 ± 2.8 vs 42.2 ±6.6) than in juniors. More extensive research is required before extending existing knowledge from this study in order to permit specialized conditioning with junior athletes leading to improved motor ability at an early stage of Taekwondo training, resulting into better combat performances. Conclusions: The results showed that the performance of senior male Taekwondo athletes is higher than the juniors’.

Knowing the age and gender characteristics of children is a prerequisite for the sports pedagogue to manage the different stages of the multi-annual sports training. The complex development of motor skills raises the question of the assessment and control of the specific functional training of the athletes. Permanent control over the level of development of basic motor skills allows coaches to determine the main directions for optimization of the educational and training process and to work more effectively for the development of specific technical and tactical skills of adolescent basketball players. Undoubtedly, one of the main factors of gaming efficiency is the ability of the athletes to materialize their motor potential in rational technical and tactical actions. To the greatest extent, the contribution of each of the indicators studied to the sports performance of an individual or group depends on 3-4 key factors. The disclosure of the factor structure of physical development and the specific work capacity of 14-15-year-old basketball players is of high information value for the optimization of the training process. In the present study, the five identified factors have the largest contribution to the basketball achievement for this age group.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to determine if there are certain relations between maximal isometric strength and competition performance of young kayakers. Methods: This study was conducted with a sample of 25 male young kayakers from the kayak clubs of Serbia and Macedonia, aged 11 ± 1.5 years. Kayakers were divided into two separate groups, group of pioneers aged 11,36 (±1,54), and group of kadets aged 15(±1,58). Kayakers performed three isometric strength tests: hand grip, knee extensor, and lower back extensor. Testing was performed half an hour before the copmetition due to maximal performance, and more importantly test procedures did not have any negative effect on the final performance. Subjects were adviced to produce maximal effort as fast as they can. Correlation analysis was used to process obtained results in STATISTICA 8 for Windows. Results: The overall analysis showed that there was a moderate correlation between all of maximal ismometric strength test results and competition performance among pioneer kayakers, and there was no statistical significant correlation between all of maximal ismometric strength test results and competition performance among kadet kayakers. Discussion and Conclusion: The general objective of this study was to highlight the importance of maximal isometric force production as the contributor of competition performance. But this data should be considered with caution, because the paddeling techniques and anticipation during the race are often the most important parameters of success. However, strength developement should not be ignored while planning the training process.

The ??V Bulgarian Antarctic expedition on the Livingston isles, which included scientists and alpinists, began in November 2016. The participants’ activities are highly dependent on the extreme conditions they are in. The aim of the present researchis to studydynamics ofanxiety and perceived stress and to find a relation with the participants’preferred strategies for coping with stress in highly risky activities in an extreme climatic and social environment. Subject of the study were 21 participants in the ??V Bulgarian Antarctic expedition, mean age 27 and 70. We have used Bulgarian adaptation of: Spielberger‘s Anxiety Inventory (STAI); Questionnaire for perceived stress (PS-1) and Coping Orientations to Problems Expe-rienced scale – COPE 1. The first two tests were applied before the departure for Antarctica and before the return to Bulgaria. The level of perceived stress in the beginning of the expedition issignificantly higher compared to the results obtained in the end of the expedition.Similar results were observed in terms of situational anxiety, which refers to the dynamic mental states.The cognitive engage-ment coping strategies are the main ones, whereas cognitive and emotional disengagement strategies are the least used.The results from the regression analysis show that the high levels of perceived stress has the biggest impact on the levels of anxiety in participants studied. The present study adds to the understanding the role of anxietyand perceived stressin difficult and challenging missions in extreme conditions in highly risky activities.

Cycling is a sport that integrates man‘s physical condition and the technical parameters of the cycle. The position of the body in relation to the cycle is particularly important for obtaining results of this physical activity. Together with the other factors determining the right upright posture saddle height is also important. We studied the relationship between the Monark 618-E cycle ergometer saddle height and mechanical effectiveness when pedalling. For this purpose, we chose the Wingate cycle ergometer anaerobic test. We studied 8 men volunteers, aged between 19 to 25 years, all of them students at the National Sports Academy “Vasil Levski” in Sofia, with major - cycling coach. The research demonstrates that the lower height of the saddle compared to the one recommended in the “Heel” method, leads to lower mechanical effectiveness of pedalling in terms of W/kg body weight. This affects both the maximal and the average power of pedalling, with statistical significance of 99% determined by Mann-Whitney non-parametric test. Relative to the literature discussed, the study presents new evidence of the height of the cycle saddle for mechanical pedaling effectiveness.

Spinal deformities are a major demographic health issue among the adult population all over the world. Surgeons are often very conservative in the treatment of adult scoliosis because of the complication rates associated with the surgeries. A prerequisite to surgical interventions is usually failure of all appropriate conservative care. There is currently a lack of consensus on the most efficient conservative treatments for adult scoliosis. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of two different methods of exercise-based therapies on the treatment of adult idiopathic scoliosis. The research was done among 62 patients with scoliosis (10.93°Cobb) and back pain. They were randomly divided into two groups, depending on the physiotherapy (PT) protocol. To evaluate the effect of physiotherapy we used the posture assessment, visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, muscle strength test and Functional Rating Index (FRI). The control group – CG (n=37) performed a conventional physiotherapy program, including symmetrical exercises for the trunk muscles, lower and upper limbs, while the experimental group – EG (n=25) performed PT program, additionally including spinal mobilization, muscle energy technique, and postural therapy. The results after 6 months of treatment revealed a statistically significant improvement in the following parameters in the EG: the posture correction, pain index (according to VAS), muscle strength hand quality of live (p < 0.01). In the control group these results did not improve significantly. Conclusion: The combined use of spinal mobilization and postural therapy applied in the EG appears more effective than the conventional physiotherapy program used in the treatment of adult scoliosis.

Exercise is known to cause considerable changes in leucocyte counts and functions. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of exercise on leukocyte counts in athletes of different sporting codes during the competition time of the season. Forty-two university athletes voluntarily participated in the study, rugby players, male soccer players, female soccer players and female netball players. Blood samples were collected and analysis for whole blood count was done in Lancet laboratory, Richards Bay, RSA. Data were analyzed using unpaired t-test for treatment independent samples. It is noteworthy to point out the higher levels of leucocytes in the netball players than in female soccer players (6.8 ± 1.24 X 109/L and 6.11 ± 1.28 X 109/L respectively). The lymphocyte levels were also higher in the netball players than in female soccer players (2.60 ± 0.58 X109/L and 2.16 ± 0.49 X109/L respectively). There were also higher levels of leucocytes in the male soccer players compared to the male rugby players (6.26 ± 1.97X109/L and 5.46 ± 0.99 X109/L respectively). The lymphocyte levels were higher in the soccer players than in the rugby players (2.17 ± 0.36 X109/L and 1.85 ± 0.32 X109/L respectively), but the differences were not significant at p< 0.05. The changes in leucocytes could be a result (among other things) of the removal of dead cells related to exercise stress and trauma. It was expected, considering the levels of physical contact, that the leucocyte counts and the lymphocytes in particular were going to be higher among female netball players and male soccer players. The athletes’ results for the measured blood parameters were within the health norms. These findings could be related to the less intensive training protocols and lower levels of physical contact and stress in players from the students teams compared to the professional players.

Introduction: There is still conflicting information about the prevalence of EDs with female athletes. The results for different countries and subpopulations of athletes also show large variations due to various reasons including intercultural differences, eating habits and behaviors. Purpose: The aim of this first for Bulgaria study was to examine the prevalence of eating disorder attitudes and behaviors among Bulgarian female athletes and to estimate how eating disorders vary across the nature of the sport and level of proficiency. Methods: A total of 363 female athletes, aged between 12-25 years participated in the study. All participants completed an anonymous paper-based EDE-Q and provided information about their age, sports experience, participation in competitions and competitive level. The subjects were divided into groups according to the type of sport (aesthetic and non-aesthetic) and level of participation (non-competitive, low and high competitive level). Results: There were no differences between the athletes in the subgroups with respect to any of the EDE-Q subscales. On the basis of pre-established cutoff score of 4 on EDE-Q scales and the presence of pathological eating behavior we found the same prevalence rate of eating disorder with female athletes in both aesthetic sports (33.3%) and non-aesthetic sports (31.8%). Although the tendency of increasing the incidents with DE was observed, the statistical analysis showed no significant differences between the three groups with respect to the level of participation. Conclusion: This study found a relatively high prevalence of abnormal eating patterns with Bulgarian female athletes, as measured by EDE-Q. Eating disorder behavior is a prerequisite for increased risk of mental eating disorders and serious health problems.

The Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT) is the most commonly used test for the assessment of anaerobic power and anaerobic capacity of athletes. The well known parameters recorded during the WAnT routine procedure in our opinion could be subjected to additional analysis generating substantial additional physiological data. The aim of this study was to develop a new, easy to set up method estimating the relationship between the contribution of the anaerobic and aerobic energy systems in athletes performing WAnT. A parallel registration of WAnT parameters and the oxygen consumption breath by breath was done. Thus, the indicators for the activity of the aerobic and anaerobic systems, ensuring the physical effort in each segment (in seconds) of the test, were calculated. The proposed method was introduced and applied to twelve soccer players, 14 years of age; height 164,7±8,0 cm; body weight 50,7±9,2 kg; maximal heart rate 195,7±7,0 bpm; maximal oxygen uptake 58,1±9,9 ml.kg -1. Participants were tested twice, before and after 5 months specialized training program focussed on the improvement of speed/power and endurance. Statistically significant progress was found in: Total power output by 16,4%; O2 deficit by 32,4%; O2 deficit/O2 excess by 80,3% in favor of the deficit. It was established that the differences in the calculated physiological parameters during the performance of the WAnT before and after the five-month training program are more pronounced compared to the ergometric ones, especially with regard to the participation of each system in energy processes. The results indicate that the proposed physiological parameters are of high sensitivity and reflect strong associations with the metabolic changes in response to the training modalities. The method is easy to implement, allowing quick analysis of the individual results and its application in exercise physiology laboratories and the sports practice could be beneficial.