As research has shown increased disturbances in psychosocial states following a brain injury as well as higher rates of depression, results have important implications for individuals involved in rehabilitation, as physical activity can positively influence mood.

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BackgroundSimilar to other combat sports, mixed martial arts (MMA) includes divisional weight classes. The purpose of our research was to further investigate the amount of weight professional MMA fighters lost prior to weighing in for competition, their methods used to cut weight, and their sources of advice on how to cut weight.MethodsThis survey was administered to 92 male professional MMA athletes. The survey questions included duration of overall weight loss prior to competition, methods of weight-cutting, and their sources of advice regarding weight cutting.ResultsWhen comparing the number of methods of weight cutting with the source of advice, those who received their advice from social media used slightly more methods of weight cutting (M = 4.86, SD = 1.27) than those who did not (M = 4.02, SD = 1.55); t(90) = − 2.53, p < .05. MMA athletes that used the help of a registered dietitian nutritionist also reported using the least amount of methods for weight-cutting than any other category (M = 3.84, SD = 1.67). Those that used teammates and did not use a registered dietitian nutritionist used slightly more methods (M = 4.46, SD = 1.41) than those who used a registered dietitian nutritionist.ConclusionsThe findings of this study report that professional MMA athletes do undergo rapid weight loss through various methods to make weight for competition. This study adds evidence to the literature that most professional MMA athletes undergo RWL for competition without the guidance of a registered dietitian nutritionist. It is unclear what the effect of using a registered dietitian nutritionist may have on an MMA athletes’ ability to reduce weight in a safe and effective manner. Future research should seek to investigate if employing a registered dietitian nutritionist may lead to a higher rate of success for MMA athletes to make weight, and help reduce adverse risks of RWL.

Statewide physical fitness testing is gaining popularity in the United States because of increased childhood obesity levels, the relations between physical fitness and academic performance, and the hypothesized relations between adult characteristics and childhood physical activity, physical fitness, and health behaviors. Large-scale physical fitness testing can be fraught with problems unless properly planned and conducted. Legislators, administrators, teachers, and parents should consider the following 10 essential issues when conducting large-scale physical fitness testing purpose of testing, proper planning, training, quality of the data, reporting support, costs, interpretation, programmatic matters, and policies and politics.

Background The effect of the Köhler group dynamics paradigm (i.e., working together with a more capable partner where one's performance is indispensable to the team outcome) has been shown to increase motivation to exercise longer at a strength task in partnered exercise video games (exergames) using a software-generated partner (SGP). However, the effect on exercise intensity with an SGP has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to examine the motivation to maintain or increase exercise intensity among healthy, physically active middle-aged adults using an SGP in an aerobic exergame. Methods Participants ( n = 85, mean age = 44.9 years) exercised with an SGP in a 6-day cycle ergometer protocol, randomly assigned to either (a) no partner control, (b) superior SGP who was not a teammate, or (c) superior SGP as a teammate (team score was dependent on the inferior member). The protocol alternated between 30-min continuous and 4-min interval high-intensity session days, during which participants could change cycle power output (watts) from target intensity to alter distance and speed. Results Mean change in watts from a targeted intensity (75% and 90% maximum heart rate) was the primary dependent variable reflecting motivational effort. Increases in performance over baseline were demonstrated without significant differences between conditions. Self-efficacy and enjoyment were significantly related to effort in the more intense interval sessions. Conclusion Under these conditions, no Köhler effect was observed. Exercise performance during the higher-intensity interval format is more closely related to enjoyment and self-efficacy beliefs compared to the continuous sessions.