Debunking the myths about training load, injury and performance: empirical evidence, hot topics and recommendations for practitioners

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated mobility restrictions caused many athletes to adjust or reduce their usual training load. The aim of this study was to investigate how the COVID-19 restrictions affected training and performance physiology measures in U23 elite cyclists. METHODS: Twelve U23 elite cyclists (n = 12) participated in this study (mean ± SD: Age 21.2 ± 1.2 years; height 182.9 ± 4.7 cm; body mass 71.4 ± 6.5 kg). Training characteristics were assessed between 30 days pre, during, and post COVID-19 restrictions, respectively. The physiological assessment in the laboratory was 30 days pre and post COVID-19 restrictions and included maximum oxygen uptake (V̇O2max), peak power output for sprint (SprintPmax), and ramp incremental graded exercise (GXTPmax), as well as power output at ventilatory threshold (VT) and respiratory compensation point (RCP). RESULTS: Training load characteristics before, during, and after the lockdown remained statistically unchanged (p > 0.05) despite large effects (>0.8) with mean reductions of 4.7 to 25.0% during COVID-19 restrictions. There were no significant differences in maximal and submaximal power outputs, as well as relative and absolute V̇O2max between pre and post COVID-19 restrictions (p > 0.05) with small to moderate effects. DISCUSSION: These results indicate that COVID-19 restrictions did not negatively affect training characteristics and physiological performance measures in U23 elite cyclists for a period of <30 days. In contrast with recent reports on professional cyclists and other elite level athletes, these findings reveal that as long as athletes are able to maintain and/or slightly adapt their training routine, physiological performance variables remain stable.

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Electricity Sector Reform in Developing Countries : A Survey of Empirical Evidence on Determinants and Performance

10.1596/1813-9450-3549 ◽

2005 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Tooraj Jamasb ◽

Raffaella Mota ◽

David Newbery ◽

Michael Pollitt

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Empirical Evidence ◽

Electricity Sector ◽

Sector Reform ◽

And Performance

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Distinctive Capabilities and Performance: Empirical Evidence from Malaysian SMEs

Malaysian Management Journal ◽

10.32890/mmj.4.1-2.2000.8578 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Mohd Khairuddin Hashim

Keyword(s):

Empirical Evidence ◽

Positive Relationship ◽

Manufacturing Sector ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

General Notion ◽

Research Issue ◽

Significant Positive Relationship ◽

Strategic Variable ◽

And Performance ◽

Functional Areas

Despite the general notion that distinctive capabilities are crucial to the success affirms, empirical studies that focused on this strategic variable in SMEs remains limited. This study seeks to address this research issue by empirically investigating 100 SMEs in the Malaysian manufacturing sector. The findings of the study suggest that the SMEs studied established capabilities in several business functional areas. In addition, the results of the correlations indicate statistically significant positive relationship between distinctive capabilities and the performance of the SMEs in this study.

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Exploring market failures in open innovation

International Small Business Journal Researching Entrepreneurship ◽

10.1177/0266242617696347 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 23-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Nola Hewitt-Dundas ◽

Stephen Roper

Keyword(s):

Empirical Evidence ◽

Open Innovation ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Optimal Level ◽

Average Level ◽

Market Failures ◽

Policy Initiatives ◽

Lack Of Information ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

And Performance

There is now considerable empirical evidence demonstrating the innovation and performance benefits that accrue to firms engaging in open innovation (OI). Here, we use novel data on micro-businesses to show that the average level of engagement in OI falls well below the optimal level, a finding that reflects that of other empirical studies. We identify and examine three market failures which may help to explain this result. These relate to a lack of understanding of the potential benefits of OI by firms, a lack of information about the capabilities of potential partners and a lack of information about the trustworthiness of potential partners. Our findings provide evidence that policy initiatives designed to offset these information failures are likely to increase the range of partners with which firms engage with significant benefits for innovation.

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Impact of leadership styles on employees’ attitude towards their leader and performance: Empirical evidence from Pakistani banks

Future Business Journal ◽

10.1016/j.fbj.2016.05.002 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 54-64 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Muhammad Asrar-ul-Haq ◽

K. Peter Kuchinke

Keyword(s):

Leadership Styles ◽

Empirical Evidence ◽

And Performance

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Board diversity and performance in a masculine, aged and glocal supply chain: new empirical evidence

Corporate Governance ◽

10.1108/cg-09-2020-0417 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Giuseppe Giulio Calabrese ◽

Alessandro Manello

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Firm Performance ◽

Empirical Evidence ◽

Linear Models ◽

Data Set ◽

Board Diversity ◽

Content Type ◽

Automotive Supply Chain ◽

And Performance ◽

Automotive Supply

Purpose This study aims to contribute to the debate on the relationship between board diversity and performance, a hot topic for scholars and shareholders. A number of studies have found contrasting impacts of board diversity on firm performance and this paper adds new and original evidence in the context of the automotive supply chain focusing on gender, age and nationality diversity. Design/methodology/approach The authors propose a triple stage empirical analysis. First, the authors use linear models according to different performance indexes for investigating diversity (gender, age and nationality) within the board of directors and executives. Second, the authors investigate the issue of diversity in different contexts such as position in the supply chain, nationality of the owner and family/corporate ownership. Finally, the authors use non-linear models to find a better combination of diversity in terms of gender and nationality for retrieving some managerial implications. Findings First, the authors demonstrate a robust positive effect of women in board representation on firm performance in terms of profitability and firm risk. In the case of, age and nationality the results are more equivocal in particular for the former. Second, the authors depict board diversity in different contexts as follows: positioning in the supply chain, type and nationality of the final owner. Again, gender heterogeneity is more adequate in the complex firm as Tier 1 suppliers, corporate and foreign company. Originality/value The authors focused the analysis on a specific industry, shedding light on the main specificities linked to operating in certain phases of the supply chain, a substantial novelty in this field. The empirical evidence is based on a very large data set containing quantitative and qualitative information on a representative sample of 1,538 firms operating in the Italian automotive supply chain, one of the most relevant in Europe.

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