Reflection on my Writing

The blog that I had written this semester was titled Sports and Physical Activities. The blog posts were about different sports and physical activities and how participating in them can be good for one’s health. The first blog post that I chose to look back at was called Evaluative Summary Blog. This post was about the article “Transfer of Strength and Power Training to Sports Performance” by Warren B. Young and how well the article was written. My intention with this assignment was to give a review on this article while also trying to make people more aware of the benefits of being and staying active, and hopefully inspire people to become active and participate in sports or other physical activities. My audience for my blog posts was a wide range of ages. I tried to find articles that people of all ages could relate to. My thesis for the assignment was: “The article “Transfer of Strength and Power Training to Sports Performance” is a well written scientific article that gives good examples of how strength and power training can transfer to one’s performance in sports, how it everything actually works physically, and how one can apply the training.” I felt that my thesis was well-defined and that it contained all three parts. In the blog post, I demonstrated my ability to analyze by quoting sections from the article to strengthen my claim that the article was well written. I work well with another’s work because I always try to look for places and different things that I can use to back up my arguments with.

            The same aspects could also apply to how I wrote my research paper. My research paper was titled Marching Band vs. Sports. The paper was about how marching band is a sport through specific reasons and comparisons with certain aspects of sports, and since marching band is a sport then it should receive the same recognition and funding as one. My audience for this paper was high school and college students as well as adults, specifically the ones who have the power over what is considered a sport. My thesis statement was:  “Marching band is a sport and therefore should receive recognition and funding as one.” I demonstrated my ability to analyze and my ability to work with another’s work by quoting parts from different articles to back up my arguments.

            Looking back at my work over the semester, I noticed that there really wasn’t a big change in how I was writing. Over the semester, my writing didn’t really change, but the way I was writing was strengthened from continuing to write in the same style. In every paper that I wrote, I always tried to quote things from the articles I found to back up my arguments and make my claim stronger. For example in an earlier blog post, I had quoted: The positive or negative transfer could be achieved by either “increased excitatory neural activation of muscles that contribute to skillful performance and/or by inhibition of muscles that can degrade performance” (Young). For the research paper, I also quoted many things. One example was: With 8 weeks with home games, 8 weeks with away games, and an entire week of band camp, the HMB practiced for about 274 hours during one semester, which does not include any extra time for sectional rehearsals or individual practicing (Bough, 2012).  This shows that there wasn’t much change to my writing. I feel that the way I write was just strengthened by everything we did during the semester.

Marching Band vs. Sports

Marching Band vs. Sports

            For years, there have been debates over giving an activity the title and recognition of being a sport. The activity that would usually come to mind would be cheerleading. A lot of people just think that cheerleaders just lead the crowd in cheers and look all pretty, but in reality there is more to cheerleading than just cheers and some girls who look nice. Cheerleading requires a lot of flexibility and many stunts are performed which can be compared to some aspects of gymnastics. According to the definition of a sport by the Women’s Sports Foundation, cheerleading meets all of the elements described as a sport (Cheer Debate: Is Cheerleading a Sport?). However, there are more activities that are also fighting the same battle to gain recognition as a sport. One of those activities is marching band. Many people believe that marching band is not a sport and should just be classified as a musical activity. Those beliefs give marching band the general stereotype that it is not an athletic activity and should just be thought of as a part of the music program. Marching band is a sport and therefore should receive recognition and funding as one.

There are many reasons as to why marching band should be considered a sport. One of the reasons is the pure definitions of marching band and sport. The definition of marching band is: "a band that marches (as in a parade) and plays music at the same time"(Marching Band, n.d.), however, the definition of sport is: “physical contests pursued for the goals and challenges they entail" (Sports, n.d.). From those two definitions, one can make the argument that marching band should be considered a sport for a few reasons. Marching band goes along with the definition of sport because there are a couple of things that can be considered physical contests in marching band. At competitions for marching band, the various bands compete against one another with their actual field or half time show, and the bands also compete against each other in a parade portion of the competition. Both of these aspects of the competition are physical contests because the bands are competing against each other and both the parade and the field shows require the members of each band to do physical activity.  The parade portion of the marching band competitions covers what is said in the definition of marching band which is that a marching band is a band that marches and plays music at the same time as in a parade.

            Another reason why marching band is a sport is because marching bands practice and put in the same amount of work that sports do. The usual practice schedule for sports teams is to hold practice every day. Marching band rehearsal schedules can vary more often. Each school might have a different set of practice hours and different practice days for their band to rehearse. Some school might choose to practice every day or some might choose to practice only certain days out of the week, and they can also choose to hold practices during the afternoon or at night. There are also some schools, such as those located in the south, that choose to practice all year round since the weather conditions permit them to.

For example, at Northern Illinois University (NIU), the Huskie Marching Band (HMB) practices every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for at least two hours (Bough, 2012). On Saturdays, the HMB rehearses before every game for at least a couple of hours, marches in a parade, plays at different areas outside of the football stadium, marches pregame and halftime, and finally plays a post-game show. A week of rehearsals with a football game on Saturday would total about 16 hours of rehearsal time. That does not include all of the extra time that the band members have to put in for sectional rehearsals and individual practice. With 8 weeks with home games, 8 weeks with away games, and an entire week of band camp, the HMB practiced for about 274 hours during one semester, which does not include any extra time for sectional rehearsals or individual practicing (Bough, 2012). 

A third reason that marching band is a sport is because of the amount of physical activity that is done. During a performance or a rehearsal, the members of the marching band are doing numerous physical things at once. Members have to hold their instruments up at attention or playing position for almost the entire time (Wozniak 12). This requires good arm strength and endurance to be able to keep the instrument in the proper position. Marching band is similar to sports in this aspect because athletes involved in sports need to have good muscular strength and endurance in order to perform all of the necessary tasks that are required of them.

 The members of the band also must play and march at the same time. Playing an instrument and marching at the same time “demands high levels of oxygen to allow the body to exert the needed effort”, and because of this “marching and playing simultaneously is a highly aerobic activity” (Wozniak 12).  Bands that march in high step style require their members to exert more effort while they are marching. For high step style, the members “must quickly lift their legs so that their thighs are parallel to the ground and their calves are perpendicular” (Wozniak 12). This style requires extra effort to perform. Since marching and playing is considered to be an aerobic physical activity, it can be compared to different sports, such as cross country or soccer. Those sports are also aerobic activities and require a lot of endurance and good oxygen support.

Marching band is also similar to sports because of the fact that injuries can occur from either activity. Not too many people think that injuries could occur from playing in the marching band. Both athletes and musicians in the marching band “use specific muscle groups for long periods of time and this long-term, recurrent use may increase injury risk” (Knapik 1). Injuries have occurred with band members as well as with members of the color guard, which is a part of the auxiliary unit of the marching band. Some examples of injuries experienced by band and color guard members were lumbar pain, upper-extremity pain and sensory symptoms, thoracic pain, headaches, shortness of breath, and chest pain (Haman 3). For the members of the band, having to carry heavy instruments in awkward positions requires extra effort to maintain and also puts extra stress on their bodies (Haman 3). Many people are surprised to find out that about 50% of young musicians experience some type of injury (Haman 2).

The information about the different types of injuries experienced by the members of bands and color guards shows that the activities that marching band members participate in during rehearsals and games can be intense and puts a lot of stress on the body. With sports, all of the physical activities that the athletes partake in during practices, games, and workouts also put a lot of stress on the body. The added stress from marching band or sports puts the students at risk for injury if they are not careful about it. This similarity between marching band and sports strengthens the argument that marching band is a sport because it shows that marching band can be just as physically demanding and stressful as sports are.

Hydration is another subject that can go hand in hand with injuries. Hydration is extremely important to athletes, marching band members, and even life in general. It is a serious topic. It is important to stay hydrated so one would be able to perform at their absolute best. When someone is dehydrated, it decreases their ability to perform well and it is also a serious risk to their health and safety. It is not good for student safety when “the director encourages them to continue because once students get out of formation for water breaks, practice time is lost” (Vepraskas 237). Athletes are usually given adequate time for water breaks to keep hydrated. However, marching band members don’t always get those same opportunities. Hydration is just as important to marching band members especially since marching band is a physical activity.

Some high school around the country allow physical education credits to be replaced by participating in marching band (Strand). At a few universities, marching band has also gone towards physical fitness credits (Wozniak). This shows that many schools and universities believe that marching band can be a good physical activity to participate in that it could replace a class of the normal standard of a physical activity.

Just as sports have try outs for positions on the team, marching band also has try outs for positions in the band. There are certain marching bands that don’t have try outs and would accept everyone into the band. However, there are marching bands that have try outs for positions in the band (Aho 57). Some bands have playing auditions for part distribution or to determine alternates who would be subs for pre-game and members could challenge for spots (Aho 107). This similarity strengthens that argument that marching band is a sport because it helps to show the competitive side of marching band.  

Another similarity between sports and marching band is competition. When people think of competition, the first thought that comes to their mind is some sort of sport or athletic event. Little do people know but competition is a part of music and marching band. Competition is one of the reasons marching band is a sport. Marching bands hold huge competitions where bands come from different areas to perform their field shows in front of judges and a crowd of people. Just like in sports, competition has the same effects on people. The competitive nature of competitions, sporting events, and one’s own desire to win can cause anxiety (Robson). The anxiety that someone might experience could affect the way they perform in the competition in a bad way.

 Other similarities between marching band and sports are that the levels of motivation and engagement are present (Martin 57). The last similarity is the concept of flow. The definition of flow is “a state of consciousness where one becomes totally absorbed in what one is doing to the exclusion of all other thoughts and emotions” (Steckel 6). The idea of flow “can also be described as being in the zone” (Steckel 6). When someone is in the zone, they are completely focused on the task at hand and not even one distraction could throw them off. This sensation is common among athletes and also among musicians. During a game, an athlete can get in the zone by making a few good plays, and suddenly that person has all of the momentum on their side and it would be really hard to break the rhythm that they got into. Musicians also experience the same thing. Sometimes while a musician is playing a piece, they get so caught up in the piece that nothing can break their concentration and they start to play with more emotion to try and portray the story of the piece more. This similarity also helps to strengthen the argument that marching band is a sport because they share many of the same mind frames.

When marching band earns the title of being a sport, it should receive the same amount of funding as a sport. One of the main parts of funding would be scholarships. Athletes in the NCAA get scholarships from their sport and their coaches. A lot of times athletes get full ride scholarships or most of their tuition paid for to go to college. Scholarships for music are far less than athletic scholarships (O’Shaughnessy). Schools have offered scholarships of $100 for freshman and could range up to $750 for upper classmen (Aho 107). The amount of scholarship money available to award to band students is significantly less than what the sports programs offer. If marching band had the title of sport, they might be able to earn more funding for the program and could attract new members to join the band. Some studies show that there is a correlation between scholarships and motivation to do well in a sports or activity (Medic 295). If students are motivated by scholarships to join an activity and do well in it, it might be beneficial to the band program if the opportunity of giving more scholarships could be made.

The marching band would need funding for a few other things as well. One such expense would be money for transportation and housing for away games. Another expense would be equipment. New instruments and repairs on broke instruments can add up to be quite expensive. Marching bands would appreciate help for funding those things so that the organization or the students don’t have to pay for everything themselves.

One last thing that would be worth funding is training for first-aid or other medical occurrences. There are many “music directors that receive little or no training in health-related issues and do not fully understand the importance of adequately hydrating their students who practice for hours at a time in high heat-index conditions in formation, which is a military-style marching on the field while carrying heavy instruments” (Vepraskas 237). Sports programs have coaches and trainers who are trained properly to handle that type of medical stuff, so it would be fair to educate the leaders of the marching band.  If more information and training was provided to band directors and other staff members, “recommendations about uniforms, first-aid training for a designated member of the crew, collection of relevant health information from band members, and possible conditioning/exercise programs” could be made which would help create a safer environment for the students (Haman 4).

Once marching band is considered a sport, it can start to gain recognition as one. Marching bands could have the opportunity to perform in large stadiums and in front of thousands of people. The stadiums could start to make a profit off of the various shows that the marching bands would present. Marching bands could gain some air time on some of the sports channels on TV. The air time would be good for publicity and might even help to raise some funds. The most important thing that marching band would gain from being recognized as a sport would have to be respect. Today, marching band doesn’t get a good amount of respect from the sports world. The sports world doesn’t believe that marching band should be a sport because it doesn’t seem to be athletic to them. The sports world thinks that marching band should be categorized only with music. Our society has the view that marching band is nerdy and should be kept with music. If marching band earned the title of sport, the opinions that people would have might start to change, and maybe more people would like to try to join marching band.

There are many similarities and comparisons that can be made between sports and marching band. The similarities that they share only help to strengthen the argument that marching band is a sport. Studies have shown that marching band contains many of the same aspects that other sports do such as a heavy practice schedule, competiveness, mind sets, hydration, and the risk of injury. There are also many benefits that could come from having marching band as a sport such as more scholarship opportunities for students, the possibility of more income for sporting event, more publicity, and safer environments for the students participating in marching band. The more people know about what marching band is all about, the better chance it has of being considered to have a status as a sport.

References

Aho, E. W. (2005). A Descriptive Analysis of the Fourteen Mid- American Conference Athletic Band Programs (Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University). Retrieved from http://etd.ohiolink.edu/send-pdf.cgi/Aho%20Eric%20W.pdf?osu1124390664

Bough, D. T. (2012, April). Huskie Marching Band Performance Schedule 2010. Retrieved from Huskie Marching Band.

Harman, S. E. (1993, December). Medical Problems of Marching Musicians. Medical Problems of Performing Artists, 132-135. Retrieved from http://www.sciandmed.com/mppa/journalviewer.aspx?issue=1122&article=1256&action=1

Knapik, J. J., Jones, S. B., Darakjy, S., Hauret, K. G., Nevin, R., Grier, T., & Jones, B. H. (2007, November 2). Injuries and Injury Risk Factors Among Members of the United States Army Band. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 50(12), 951-961. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajim.20532/pdf

Marching Band. (n.d.). In The Free Dictionary online. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/marching+band

Martin, A. J. (2008). Motivation and Engagement in Music and Sport: Testing a Multidimensional Framework in Diverse Performance Settings. Journal Of Personality, 76(1), 135-170. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2007.00482.x

Medic, N. (2007). The Effects of Athletic Scholarships on Motivation in Sport. Journal of Sport Behavior, 292-306.

O’Shaughnessy, L., (2010, June 22). 7 Things You Need to Know About Sports Scholarships. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-college-solution/2010/06/22/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-sports-scholarships

Sports, (n.d.). In Encyclopedia Britannica online. Retrived from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/561041/sports

Steckel, C. L. (2006, May). An Exploration of Flow Among Collegiate Marching Band Participants. Retrieved from okstate.edu: http://digital.library.okstate.edu/etd/umi-okstate-1776.pdf

Strand, B., & Sommer, C. (2005). Should Marching Band be Allowed to Replace Physical Education Credits: An Analysis. Physical Educator, 62(3), 164-168.

Robson, B. E. (2004, December). Competition in Sport, Music, and Dance. Medical Problems of Performing Artists, 160-166. Retrieved from http://www.sciandmed.com/mppa/journalviewer.aspx?issue=1159&article=1562&action=1

Vepraskas, C. (2002). Beat the Heat: Managing Heat and Hydration in Marching Band. The Journal of School Nursing, 237-243.

Wozniak, M. (2008). Feasibility Study on Implementing Small Amount Scholarships, Additional Course Credits, a Gym Credit, and a Free Gym Membership For Blue Band Members. Blue Band Rewards Not Given. Retrieved from http://test.scripts.psu.edu/users/m/v/mvw5033/classes/engl202c/assignment4_recommendation_report.pdf

Cheer Debate: Is Cheerleading a Sport? (n.d.). Retrieved from Varsity: http://varsity.com/event/1252/cheer-as-a-sport.aspx

Blog 5

Sports and physical activities can have an impact on people’s lives in more ways than one. Not only can it help one live a healthy life style and be a hobby or a pass time for some, but sports and physical activities can also influence the life styles and decisions one makes later on in life. The article “Adolescent participation in sports and adult physical activity” by Tuija Tammelin talks about the relationship between participating in sports as an adolescent and how that would influence and affect the likelihood that one would continue being involved with physical activities as an adult. The article is about a study that was done where 7794 people responded to a survey about physical activity status at the age of 14 and then again at the age of 31 (Tammelin). The study showed that those who participated in sports and physical activities in their adolescence were more likely to continue to participate in physical activities as an adult.

            There are a few articles that help to support the ideas from the article by Tammelin. One of those articles is “Transfer of Strength and Power Training to Sports Performance” by Warren B. Young and it explains how strength and power training should be used to improve sports performance in things such as sprinting, how the training physically transfers to performance in sports, and how people could use the different types of exercises to train. The second article is “Statement on Exercise: Benefits and Recommendations for Physical Activity Programs for All Americans” by the Committee on Exercise and Cardiac Rehabilitation of the Council on Clinical Cardiology, American Heart Association and it explains some of the health benefits of continuing to exercise throughout your life, gives some examples of physical activities to participate in and how they can be good for you, and explains how there needs to be even more research done on physical activities to fully understand all of the health benefits that exercise can give us. People need to be a where that sports and physical activities can influence their lives and that certain aspects of their lives can also have an impact on their participation in those activities.

            The life style one has and the activities that one is involved with in their adolescence can have an impact on the life style and the activities that they will be a part of as an adult. In the study from the article by Tammelin, it showed that “the percentages of those who participated in sports daily, every other day, twice a day, once a day, and less often than once a day were 23%, 25%, 22%, 12%, and 18% for males, and 13%, 15%, 23%, 20%, and 29% for females” (Tammelin). For the participants at age 31, the results showed that “of very active, active, moderately active, and inactive persons were 13%, 28%, 29%, and 30% for males, and 12%, 29%, 25%, and 24% for females” (Tammelin). From the data collected by the study, one can see that males that participated in sports twice a week and females that participated once a week would be likely to be active or very active with sports and physical activities as adults. This helps to show that the life styles and the activities people do in their youth can influence what they end up doing later on in life.

            Another topic the article talked about was how the type of sport or physical activity that one participated in had an influence on what they participated in later on in life. The study showed that individual sports as well as team sports “showed a strong carry-over value from adolescence into adulthood” (Tammelin). For example, the data collected from the study showed that 27% of the males questioned participated in ball games and even more participated in endurance sports like running as adults (Tammelin).  This shows that the activities that one chooses to participate in early on in their life may influences the activities later on in their life as well.

            Tammelin also writes about how other factors such as where people live and their skills for a sport may influence their involvement in the sport and might ultimately influence their participation in the sport later on in life as an adult. The article explains how people’s participation in certain activities might be influenced by the area they grew up in or by the social status of their family. Tammelin writes that people who live in urban areas might participate in activities that would need certain facilities and organization, such as combat sports or dance; however, people who live in rural areas might be more involved with activities such as running (Tammelin). Another factor that might affect one’s participation in a sport is their skills for certain sports. For some sports, motor and coordination skills are needed. People who have those skills might be more drawn to play those sports and further develop those skills by participating in that sport throughout their life.

            The article written by Young explains how strength and power training can help to improve one’s performance in sports. One example that was used was for someone “to achieve a 2.2% gain in sprint performance a 21% improvement in squat strength was required” (Young). This shows that one must work to increase their strength in order to improve their sprint performance. Some of the exercises stated in the article that were used in the training to increase strength were various squats and pulling exercises. The article also stated that some findings “reported that 8 weeks of plyometric training including some unilateral/horizontal exercises induced significant improvements in sprint time to 10 m” (Young). This shows that multiple training exercises can be used to help one improve their performance in sports.  This goes along with the study from the first article because if people improve their skills at a sport they would be more likely to continue participating in the sport throughout their lives.

            The article by the Committee on Exercise and Cardiac Rehabilitation of the Council on Clinical Cardiology, American Heart Association explains some of the health benefits of continuing to exercise throughout your life. One of the benefits described in the article was that “exercise training increases maximum ventilator oxygen uptake by increasing both maximum cardiac output and the ability of the muscles to extract and use oxygen from blood” (Committee on Exercise and Cardiac Rehabilitation of the Council on Clinical Cardiology, American Heart Association). The article also states that “maximum ventilatory oxygen uptake drops 5% to 15% per decade between the ages of 20 and 80, and a lifetime of dynamic exercise maintains an individual’s ventilatory oxygen uptake at a level higher than that expected for any given age” (Committee on Exercise and Cardiac Rehabilitation of the Council on Clinical Cardiology, American Heart Association). The statements from this article show that exercising throughout one’s life can help to improve their health. The improved oxygen uptake described in the article helps to support what was written in the articles by Young and Tammelin because better oxygen uptake can help a person perform better in a sport which would make that person want to continue to be involved with that sport, and continuation with the sport will also continue to provide more health benefits for that person.

            Sports, physical activities, and the life styles people choose to lead all have an impact on their lives. Whether it is how much a person chooses to be active, the activity being involved with, or other factors that influences people’s decisions on what to participate in, it is all important and can affect one’s life in one way or another. The ways sports and physical activities can have an influence on people’s lives is another reason why it is important to participate in them and lead healthy life styles.

Bibliography

Tammelin, Tuija. "Adolescent Participation in Sports and Adult Physical Activity." American Journal of Preventive Medicine (2003): 22-28.

the Committee on Exercise and Cardiac Rehabilitation of the Council on Clinical Cardiology, American Heart Association. "Statement on Exercise: Benefits and Recommendations for Physical Activity Programs for All Americans." (1996).

Young, Warren B. "Transfer of Strength and Power Training to Sports Performance." International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance (2006): 74-83.

Short Analysis Blog

Sports and physical activities can have an impact on people’s lives in more ways than one. Not only can it help one live a healthy life style and be a hobby/pass time for some, but sports and physical activities can also influences the life styles and decisions one makes later on in life. The article “Adolescent participation in sports and adult physical activity” by Tuija Tammelin talks about the relationship between participating in sports as an adolescent and how that would influence and affect the likelihood that one would continue being involved with physical activities as an adult. The article is about a study that was done where 7794 people responded to a survey about physical activity status at the age of 14 and then again at the age of 31 (Tammelin). The study showed that those who participated in sports and physical activities in their adolescence were more likely to continue to participate in physical activities as an adult. In the article, examples of the different types of sports and physical activities participated in at the two different ages were given. Reasons as to why people might participate in some of the sports and physical activities and why they might want to pursue being involved with them as time went on were also given. People need to be a where that sports and physical activities can influence their lives and that certain aspects of their lives can also have an impact on their participation in those activities.

            The life style one has and the activities that one is involved with in their adolescence can have an impact on the life style and the activities that they will be a part of as an adult. In the study, it showed that “the percentages of those who participated in sports daily, every other day, twice a day, once a day, and less often than once a day were 23%, 25%, 22%, 12%, and 18% for males, and 13%, 15%, 23%, 20%, and 29% for females” (Tammelin). For the participants at age 31, the results showed that “of very active, active, moderately active, and inactive persons were 13%, 28%, 29%, and 30% for males, and 12%, 29%, 25%, and 24% for females” (Tammelin). From the data collected by the study, one can see that males that participated in sports twice a week and females that participated once a week would be likely to be active or very active with sports and physical activities as adults. This helps to show that the life styles and the activities people do in their youth can influence what they end up doing later on in life.

            Another topic the article talked about was how the type of sport or physical activity that one participated in had an influence on what they participated in later on in life. The study showed that individual sports as well as team sports “showed a strong carry-over value from adolescence into adulthood” (Tammelin). For example, the data collected from the study showed that 27% of the males questioned participated in ball games and even more participated in endurance sports like running as adults.  This shows that the activities that one chooses to participate in early on in their life may influences the activities later on in their life as well.

            Tammelin also writes about how other factors such as where people live and their skills for a sport may influence their involvement in the sport and might ultimately influence their participation in the sport later on in as an adult. The article explains how people’s participation in certain activities might be influenced by the area they grew up in or by the social status of their family. Tammelin writes that people who live in urban areas might participate in activities that would need certain facilities and organization, such as combat sports or dance; however, people who live in rural areas might be more involved with activities such as running (Tammelin). Another factor that might affect one’s participation in a sport is their skills for certain sports. For some sports, motor and coordination skills are needed. People who have those skills might be more drawn to play those sports and further develop those skills by participating in that sport throughout their life.

            Sports, physical activities, and the life styles people choose to lead all have an impact on their lives. Whether it is how much a person chooses to be active, the activity being involved with, or other factors that influences people’s decisions on what to participate in, it is all important and can affect one’s life in one way or another. The ways sports and physical activities can have an influence on people’s lives is another reason why it is important to participate in them and lead healthy life styles.    

Bibliography

Tammelin, Tuija. "Adolescent Participation in Sports and Adult Physical Activity." American Journal of Preventive Medicine (2003): 22-28.

Evaluative Summary Blog

There are many people who participate in strength and power training to help them improve in their sport. The article “Transfer of Strength and Power Training to Sports Performance” by Warren B. Young explains and gives examples of how strength and power training should be used to improve sports performance in things such as sprinting, how the training physically transfers to performance in sports, and how people could use the different types of exercises to train. This article was published in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, which is an actual scientific journal. Also, a lot of the research Young talks about in the article has been cited from other studies and research. The article “Transfer of Strength and Power Training to Sports Performance” is a well written scientific article that gives good examples of how strength and power training can transfer to one’s performance in sports, how it everything actually works physically, and how one can apply the training.

            The first topic discussed in the article was how strength and power training should be used to improve performance in sports. The article used sprinting as the example of a sport since many sports involve sprinting in some way or another. This section of the article gave good examples of strength and power training exercises and how they would affect your performance. One example that was used was “to achieve a 2.2% gain in sprint performance a 21% improvement in squat strength was required” (Young). This shows that one must work to increase their strength in order to improve their sprint performance. Some of the exercises stated in the article that were used in the training to increase strength were various squats and pulling exercises. The article also stated that some findings “reported that 8 weeks of plyometric training including some unilateral/horizontal exercises induced significant improvements in sprint time to 10 m” (Young). This shows that multiple training exercises can be used to help one improve their performance in sports.

            The second topic that the article talks about was how the training and the transfer to performance works physically. Young states in the article how the muscles and the nervous system have to work together to reach the end result of the desired performance. The article states that with resistance training, “negative transfer could occur if there is increased coactivation of antagonist muscles because this would produce force that opposes the intended movement direction”, or a “positive transfer can occur if resistance training reinforces the optimum muscle-activation patterns that are required in the execution of the sport skill” (Young). This is a good explanation because it allows the reader to recognize that one has to be careful when training because the exercise could either hurt or help one’s performance depending on whether the exercise is appropriate to be doing. The positive or negative transfer could be achieved by either “increased excitatory neural activation of muscles that contribute to skillful performance and/or by inhibition of muscles that can degrade performance” (Young). These examples from the article show that the author had a clear understanding of the physiological processes that go along with training and transferring it to the performance in a sport.

            The third topic discussed in the article was how people could use the different types of exercises to train. In this section of the article, examples of training exercises such as bench-press and pull-over exercises were given and examples of what they could improve, such as throwing velocity, were also given. Young also mentions how strength training can reduce the risk of injury from sports. The information in this section of the article showed that the author has a good amount of knowledge on strength training and what the benefits of the training and certain exercises can give.

            The article “Transfer of Strength and Power Training to Sports Performance” by Warren B. Young was written well. The examples and explanations that the author gave in the article gave the impression that the author had knowledge of the topics being discussed and would be a credible source for information. The tone and style of the article also helped to bring credibility to the author and the information given in the article.

           

Bibliography

Young, Warren B. "Transfer of Strength and Power Training to Sports Performance." International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance (2006): 74-83.

Objective Summary Blog

Throughout our lives, many people such as doctors, teachers, parents, and coaches have told us the importance of physical activity and living an active life style. It has always been our choice to decide to follow their advice or to completely disregard it and live by our own rules. There has been a lot of research done and many articles written about the importance of physical activity and how it can be beneficial to our lives. The article “Statement on Exercise: Benefits and Recommendations for Physical Activity Programs for All Americans” by the Committee on Exercise and Cardiac Rehabilitation of the Council on Clinical Cardiology, American Heart Association explains some of the health benefits of continuing to exercise throughout your life, gives some examples of physical activities to participate in and how they can be good for you, and explains how there needs to be even more research done on physical activities to fully understand all of the health benefits that exercise can give us. No matter who you are or where you come from, physical activity and exercise is extremely important for your health.

There are many health benefits that have already been discovered from the research done on physical activities and exercise. Physical activity and exercise can have an impact on your heart rate and your oxygen intake. Studies show that physical activity and exercise can improve the amount of blood that your heart can pump out in one beat, decrease the amount of oxygen your body needs, and can improve your body’s ability to use the blood and oxygen it receives more efficiently. Physical activity and exercise can help improve your metabolism and can help your body weight/proportion if you combine it with healthy eating habits. Some of the other biological benefits that physical activity and exercise can have are aerobic endurance, joint flexibility, maintenance of muscular strength and mass, and bone mineral density. Physical activity and exercise can also have a psychological effect on us as well. Some studies show that people who participate in physical activities and exercise can perform better on tests, have higher self-confidence, respond less to stress, and show fewer signs of anxiety and depression. Physical activity and exercise can be good for you regardless of your age and no matter what kind of activity or exercise you choose to participate in.

Many options of physical activities are available for everyone to partake in. Frequently participating in activities such as walking, running, swimming, basketball, soccer, and cycling can help you to maintain a good fitness level. Regardless of what the intensity level of the activity is, it will still be beneficial to take part in the activity. The most important part of participating in physical activities is remembering and having the motivation to continue exercising.

Being informed about the health benefits of physical activity and exercise is just as important as participating in them. Parents need to be informed so that they can become active and set an example for their children of how to live a healthy life style. Schools and communities should also be informed about physical activities and exercise, so that they can also teach children about the importance of exercise and give them a place where they can participate in physical activities and join sports teams.

Physical activity and exercise is beneficial to our lives and our health, and there are many studies that can prove this statement to be correct. However, there is a lot more research that can still be done. More research needs to be done on how physical activities and exercise affect us so that we can fully understand all of the benefits we can get from participating in these activities. The information gathered from these studies can be used to enhance our knowledge about how physical activities and exercise can affect our lives.

Biography Blog

There are many topics for people to blog about. Blogging about a topic is interesting because anyone in the world can pick a topic that they are interested in and blog about it. The topic that is going to be discussed in this blog is sports and physical activities. All around the world, many people are involved with sports, fitness clubs, or participate in physical activities on their own. For many people, playing sports and physical activities are a huge part of their lives. They stay active because they enjoy it, and they like that it keeps them in shape.

            Throughout my life, sports and just being active have been a gigantic part of my life. Even when I was not participating in any physical activity, sports would have been on TV, played on a video game, or been discussed among family members. The constant exposer to sports and physical activities through participating in them, the media, physical education classes, and health classes have given me a lot of experience and a good amount of knowledge on the subject.

During my childhood, I spent a lot of time doing physical activities outside. Some examples of those activities are tag, kickball, wiffleball, sledding, and snowboarding.  Throughout my years in grade school, I was able to play basketball, volleyball, and softball competitively. My knowledge of sports and physical activities grew even more throughout high school. During my four years of high school, I was able to take various physical education classes such as a regular PE class where the students would play a variety of different sports, a martial arts class, and a strength and conditioning class.  In high school, I had the opportunity to play on the softball team and be a member of the marching band for 4 years. The health class that all the students took taught about the importance of leading a healthy life style and being active.

There are a couple of reasons as to why I chose to blog about the topic of sports and physical activities. The first reason I chose this topic was because I have a passion for playing sports and I love to be an active person. The second reason I am blogging about this topic is to get people interested in getting involved with sports and physical activities, and to help promote living a healthier life style. Being active is extremely important for living a healthy life style. Sports and physical activities are a lot of fun to participate in, and they will also help you to stay in great shape.

Over the next few months, I will be blogging about various sports and physical activities. Some of the sports I will blog about include basketball, volleyball, softball, wiffleball, ultimate Frisbee, and flag football. For the physical activities, I will be blogging about some strength and conditioning aspects such as weight lifting, running, and marching band. In my blog posts, I will talk about these sports and physical activities in general, give a little history on the sport or activity, and promote them.