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Situational social physique anxiety (SPA) and immediate exercise intentions in male and female fitness club members were examined in response to all-female, all-male, and mixed-sex exercise setting scenarios. Overall, women showed higher levels of situational SPA than men. SPA increased significantly from an all-female, to a mixed-sex, to an all-male exercise setting for women but not for men. More women indicated they would shorten their workout in response to the all-male vs. all-female or mixed-sex exercise scenarios. For all-male and mixed-sex scenarios, participants who intended to shorten their workout also tended to report higher situational SPA scores. The results indicate that the presence of men in an exercise setting stimulates physique anxiety in women, and that exercising in an all-female environment may have the least negative impact on the exercise behavior of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to identify off-ice variables that would correlate to on-ice skating sprint performance and cornering ability. Previous literature has not reported any off-ice testing variables that strongly correlate to on-ice cornering ability in ice hockey players. Thirty-six male hockey players aged 15-22 years (mean ± SD: 16.3 ± 1.7 years; weight = 70.8 ± 10.4 kg; height = 175.6 ± 4.1 cm) with an average of 10.3 ± 3.0 years hockey playing experience (most at AA and AAA levels) participated in the study. The on-ice tests included a 35-m sprint and the cornering S test. The off-ice tests included the following: 30-m sprint, vertical jump, broad jump, 3 hop jump, Edgren side shuffle, Hexagon agility, side support, push-ups, and 15-second modified Wingate. The on-ice sprint test and cornering S test were strongly correlated (r = 0.70; p > 0.001). While many off-ice tests correlated with on-ice skating, measures of horizontal leg power (off-ice sprint and 3 hop jump) were the best predictors of on-ice skating performance, once weight and playing level were accounted for. These 4 variables accounted for a total of 78% (p > 0.0001) of the variance in on-ice sprint performance. No off-ice test accounted for unique variance in S-cornering performance beyond weight, playing level, and skating sprint performance. These data indicate that coaches should include horizontal power tests of off-ice sprint and 3 hop jump to adequately assess skating ability. To improve on-ice skating performance and cornering ability, coaches should also focus on the development of horizontal power through specific off-ice training, although future research will determine whether off-ice improvements in horizontal power directly transfer to improvements in on-ice skating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Individuals in society typically consume alcohol in ‘standard’ units (e.g., bottles/cans of beer, glasses of wine, shots of distilled spirits) over a reasonable period of time whereas in many hangover studies, participants consume a single large dose of alcohol relative to their body weight in a short period of time. The purpose of this study was to examine how consuming low to moderate ‘standard’ quantities of alcohol over an evening affected subjective hangover ratings, physical, physiological, and psychomotor functioning of adult females the next morning. Method: Twelve females consumed zero, two, four, or six bottles of beer (341 ml; 5% weight by volume) in a within-subjects design. Blood alcohol concentration, resting heart rate, resting blood pressure, and grip strength were measured prior to consumption, 1 hour after consumption, and the following morning (9 hours after consumption). In the morning, participants rated the presence of eight hangover symptoms, completed a four-choice reaction time test, and performed tests of submaximal and maximal endurance on a treadmill; blood lactate, blood glucose, and perceived exertion were recorded during submaximal and maximal exercise. Results: Heart rate, blood pressure, grip strength, blood lactate, blood glucose, and reaction time did not significantly change the next morning as a function of alcohol dose. Participants made more choice reaction errors after consuming six than zero bottles of beer. Conclusion: These results suggest that consuming moderate quantities of beer affects decision making but not physical and physiological performance in adult females the next morning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2010 Alcohol Hangover Research Group consensus paper defined a cutoff blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.11% as a toxicological threshold indicating that sufficient alcohol had been consumed to develop a hangover. The cutoff was based on previous research and applied mostly in studies comprising student samples. Previously, we showed that sensitivity to hangovers depends on (estimated) BAC during acute intoxication, with a greater percentage of drinkers reporting hangovers at higher BAC levels. However, a substantial number of participants also reported hangovers at comparatively lower BAC levels. This calls the suitability of the 0.11% threshold into question. Recent research has shown that subjective intoxication, i.e., the level of severity of reported drunkenness, and not BAC, is the most important determinant of hangover severity. Non-student samples often have a much lower alcohol intake compared to student samples, and overall BACs often remain below 0.11%. Despite these lower BACs, many non-student participants report having a hangover, especially when their subjective intoxication levels are high. This may be the case when alcohol consumption on the drinking occasion that results in a hangover significantly exceeds their "normal" drinking level, irrespective of whether they meet the 0.11% threshold in any of these conditions. Whereas consumers may have relative tolerance to the adverse effects at their "regular" drinking level, considerably higher alcohol intake—irrespective of the absolute amount—may consequentially result in a next-day hangover. Taken together, these findings suggest that the 0.11% threshold value as a criterion for having a hangover should be abandoned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]