Background: An important motivation for adolescents and young adults to engage in aerobic exercise (AE) is to improve fitness, body composition and physical appearance. These parameters have an impact on bodily perception as conceptualized by the ‘body image’ (BI) construct. AE is known to have positive effects on pain perception, mood, and body image (BI). However, no study has hitherto investigated their interrelationship within one study. Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG, n = 16, 6 months of AE) or a passive control group (CG, n = 10). Frankfurt Body-Concept Scales (FKKS), Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), State and Trait Anxiety Inventory, warmth and heat pain thresholds (WPT, HPT), pain tolerance, and graded exercise test data from baseline (T0) and the end of the intervention (T6) were analyzed using a paired t-test (p < 0.05). Results: A significant increase in the BI dimension ‘physical efficacy’ was identified from T0 to T6, which correlated positively with PANAS Positive Affect Scale and HPT. Conclusion: Data in young adults undergoing AE indicate that changes in the BI sub-category ‘physical efficacy’ are closely linked with changes in positive affect and antinociception. These novel findings suggest that BI plays a role in antinociception and positive affect.

The aim of this study was to evaluate a field-based approach to determine torque-cadence and powercadence profiles in professional cyclists and establish if this field-based protocol can differentiate between varying rider specialisations. Twenty-four male professional athletes from a World Tour cycling team participated in this investigation (Height = 1.84 ± 0.05 m, Weight = 72.3 ± 5.6 kg, Age = 25 ± 4 y). All riders were subsequently categorised into the following groups: 1) General Classification (GC) group; 2) sprinter group; and 3) classics group. All participants completed a specific sprint protocol in the field which included 6 times 6s sprints with varying gearing, starting cadences, starting speeds and position (i.e. seated vs standing). Power-cadence and torque-cadence profiles were determined based on the sprint outputs. There was a significant main effect of rider specialisation on the measured (sprint) variables (P≤0.03). Body weight, maximum power outputs (1s, 10s and modelled) and maximum torque were highest in the sprinter group, followed by the classics group, followed by the GC group. The protocol was able to differentiate between different rider specialisations (i.e. GC, sprinters, classics). The proposed methodology can contribute to individualising training content in the short-duration domain. Highlights. Commercially available power metres can be used to assess power-cadence and torque cadence relationships in the field . Key differences are present for the modelled parameters between cyclists of different specialisations . Profiling a cyclist's power-cadence and torque-cadence relationship provides greater insight into the physiological mechanisms behind maximal power production KEYWORDS