Managing Fitness
Evolution to Human Performance Training: An Integrated, Multi-Disciplinary Approach
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Chang-Hyun Ko, Coreen Harada
Human performance programs have long been critical foci for elite athletes and military service members. These programs are built on the foundations of strength and conditioning and physical therapy, though the last decade has seen the addition of such additional disciplines as nutrition, data analytics, and sport psychology. Advancements in human performance programs represent a move toward promoting individual or group health and well-being in parallel to improving performance. The purpose of an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach is to provide a more holistic approach to training. While the concept is understood that an individual is constituted by connected systems, the method to train and enhance is still often isolated with respective disciplines. The next evolution to human performance training requires true integration of all disciplines to deliver a single unified lifestyle training plan, compared to multiple, but sometimes conflicting, parallel training plans. The purpose of this paper is to offer a look into how this evolutionary approach to a unified human performance training took shape in a military special operations setting. The presenter will discuss the challenges and successes of the shift to a new model. Attendees will learn how to assess their current programs and adapt as needed.
Fitness Attributes and Academic Achievement of Non-Science Majors at an Independent University in Central Florida
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Andrew Dutra
A hypothesized model of the relationship among these attributes and achievement was tested in Spring 2014. Regression results revealed that 19% of the variance in academic achievement was due to the influence of these three sets of research factors, which was statistically significant. Gender, number of academic credits (load), and sports motivation had significant direct effects on achievement. Female students scored roughly six points higher than male students on this final exam. Gender’s influence on achievement was partially attributable to the student’s level of stress (e.g., on this exam, male students with higher levels of stress had lower grades than female students with the same level of stress). Students taking more credits were likely to score higher on this exam than students taking fewer credits. As students’ level of sports amotivation increased, the strength of the relationship between the number of student academic credits and achievement decreased. These results indicated the direct and indirect effects of sports motivation (SDT) and other factors on academic achievement.
