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Researchers show persistent interest in mood responses among athletes and exercisers. Mood profiling has often focused on antecedents and behavioural consequences associated with the iceberg (Morgan, 1980) and inverse iceberg profiles (Terry, 1995). The iceberg profile (high vigour, low tension, depression, anger, fatigue, confusion) is associated with positive mental health and superior performance. The inverse iceberg profile (low vigour, high tension, depression, anger, fatigue, confusion) is associated with risk of psychopathology and used as a diagnostic criterion for overtraining syndrome. Four novel and theoretically meaningful mood profiles, termed the inverse Everest, shark fin, submerged, and surface profiles, were identified recently in the general population (Parsons-Smith, Terry, & Machin, 2017). In the present study, we investigated whether these six mood profiles are also evident in an athletic population.

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2011 Elsevier B.V. Objectives: Music can provide ergogenic, psychological, and psychophysical benefits during physical activity, especially when movements are performed synchronously with music. The present study developed the train of research on synchronous music and extended it to elite athletes. Design: Repeated-measures laboratory experiment. Method: Elite triathletes (n = 11) ran in time to self-selected motivational music, a neutral equivalent and a no-music control during submaximal and exhaustive treadmill running. Measured variables were time-to-exhaustion, mood responses, feeling states, RPE, blood lactate concentration, oxygen consumption and running economy. Results: Time-to-exhaustion was 18.1% and 19.7% longer, respectively, when running in time to motivational and neutral music, compared to no music. Mood responses and feeling states were more positive with motivational music compared to either neutral music or no music. RPE was lowest for neutral music and highest for the no-music control. Blood lactate concentrations were lowest for motivational music. Oxygen consumption was lower with music by 1.0%–2.7%. Both music conditions were associated with better running economy than the no-music control. Conclusions: Although neutral music did not produce the same level of psychological benefits as motivational music, it proved equally beneficial in terms of time-to-exhaustion and oxygen consumption. In functional terms, the motivational qualities of music may be less important than the prominence of its beat and the degree to which participants are able to synchronise their movements to its tempo. Music provided ergogenic, psychological and physiological benefits in a laboratory study and its judicious use during triathlon training should be considered. QAS Centre of Excellence for Applied Sport Science Research

The study assessed the influence of age, gender and weight category upon eating attitudes, body shape perceptions, and mood. Elite rowers (N = 103) participating in the 1996 World Championships or Great Britain National Championships completed the Eating Attitude Test (EAT), the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), and a short form of the Profile of Mood States (POMS-C). Participants were grouped as lightweight (Female:59 kg, n = 19; Male:72.5 kg, n = 31) or heavyweight (Female: n = 25; Male: n = 28) competitors. Results showed higher EAT scores among the lightweight group, 12.0% of whom reported scores above the threshold associated with eating disorders. Body shape concerns were higher for heavyweights than lightweights and for females than males. The interaction effect was not significant. BSQ scores were negatively correlated with age. Depression, Confusion and Tension scores collectively predicted 37% of the variance in BSQ scores while Depression scores predicted 9% of the variance in EAT scores. The results provide further evidence that the risk of eating disorders among elite rowers is moderated by age, gender and weight category. Further, they suggest that measures of mood may help identify athletes at risk from eating disorders.

Running in time to music has been shown to provide a range of benefits that include ergogenic effects and enhanced psychological responses. Elite performers running in naturalistic settings have rarely been studied in this context and the present investigation sought to address this gap in the research literature.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between game location and precompetition psychological states. Male rugby players (N = 100) completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 and the Profile of Mood States approximately 1 hr before a home and an away game. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance of mood and anxiety scores indicated significant differences between home and away locations. Participants scored higher on Vigor and Self-confidence, and lower on Tension, Depression, Anger, Fatigue, Confusion, Cognitive Anxiety, and Somatic Anxiety when competing at home. The findings support the proposal (Courneya & Carron, 1992) that psychological states are influenced by game location.

This study investigated the uptake by 11–12 year olds in a disadvantaged locality of a new sport involving a modified, low-risk form of boxing (Box'Tag), and assessed the outcomes of their involvement. The findings suggest that this new sport program appeals to school age children of both sexes, specifically engages children at risk of social disengagement, may have positive effects on aerobic fitness and mood, and for some students may yield overall behavioural benefits.

The conditioning of athletes may be described as a multi-level (psycho-socio-physiological) interaction of stress and recovery events which stimulate change in performance. Cognitive Behavioural Stress Management (CBSM) has previously demonstrated favourable changes in biological stress indicators, consistent with reductions in sports injury, and accelerated recovery following surgery. However, the effects of CBSM on the conditioning process (including the interactions of stress, recovery and performance change) remain speculative. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a time-limited CBSM program on athletes’ conditioning through assessment of stress, recovery and performance indicators. Thirty-two Collegiate rowers (mean 20.0 years, range 18 - 29 years) preparing for the 2007Australian Rowing Championships volunteered for stratification into 16 intervention-control matched pairs. The study spanned 17 weeks with one week of baseline assessment followed by three weeks of CBSM training and 13 weeks of continued practice and monitoring for the intervention group and for the control group. The intervention group was provided with six 1-hour sessions of instruction on the regular use of CBSM methods in response to daily stressors. The control group was offered the intervention at the end of the study. Salivary cortisol was measured weekly at the same time and same day of the week. Perceived stress, recovery and performance readiness were assessed through the Recovery Stress Questionnaire for Athletes, time to complete a maximal 2000m ergometer time-trial and a training log. Data are being analysed using SPSS, and results will be available for presentation.

The link between sport performance and attentional processes is well established. The present research investigated relationships between golf putting performance and electroencephalogram (EEG) activity in two studies. In Study 1, putting performance of eight skilled male golfers (handicap ≤ 4) was assessed by absolute error over 60 trials, putting from 9m on a regulation green. EEG was measured at 19 sites – far more than in most previous studies – with two EOG and one EMG sites used for artefact reduction and removal. Data were divided into 15 frequency bands and three 500ms epochs prior to impact. Correlations between putting error and EEG amplitudes for each site, frequency and epoch showed substantial individual differences, suggesting a more complex process than has previously been found with fewer sites, frequencies, and epochs. Although correlations were small, the EEG frequency mostly closely associated with performance was in the beta range, specifically 19 – 20 Hz, rather than in the alpha range (i.e., 8 – 12 Hz) as identified previously. Intra-individual correlations identified the most pertinent sites and frequencies for subsequent individualized neurofeedback training, whereby electrocortical activity of specific frequencies at particular sites is rewarded or inhibited. In Study 2, four participants received neurofeedback training over 20 sessions during which visual and auditory reinforcement was provided when EEG activity met their individualised criteria. Putting performance was assessed before and after neurofeedback training. Results of Study 2 will be presented.