Psychometric Properties of the Body-Mind-Spirit Wellness Behavior and Characteristic Inventory for the Greek Population.

The Body-Mind-Spirit Wellness Behavior and Characteristic Inventory (BMS-WBCI) is a free-of-charge wellness tool with good psychometric properties, widely used mainly in studies assessing quality of life and healthy lifestyle habits. This certain tool is based on the Hettler's (1980) model and has been validated for use with students aged 18-36. The purpose of this study was to adapt the BMS-WBCI in the Greek language and at the same time to validate it for use in the general population. This study included 520 participants aged 16-75 (M = 39.86, SD = 10.5), who were recruited from the Greek population using the snowball procedure. The BMS-WBCI was adapted into Greek language, following a multiple forward-and-backward translation protocol. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to validate the overall construct of the Greek BMS-WBCI. The final solution was a three-factor model with 38 items, after removing the items B1, B8, B9, M11, M24, and S43. This final model demonstrated an acceptable to good fit, presenting higher goodness-of-fit indices (CFI = 0.91, TLI = 0.90) and lower badness-of-fit indices (χ2/653 = 2.29, p < 0.001, RMSEA = 0.05, SRMR = 0.06). All items in the hypothesized model exhibited statistically significant standardized factor loadings (p < 0.001), with loadings consistently above 0.40. A very good internal consistency was found using the composite reliability measures (Body 0.86, Mind 0.95, Spirit 0.94). Further analysis indicated a good convergent validity (average variance extracted values: Body 50.5%, Mind 50.7%, Spirit 54.9%). The results indicated adequate discriminant validity, as all square roots of average variance extracted were higher than the correlation between construct items. In conclusion, this psychometric evaluation of the BMS-WBCI adds to the evidence supporting its use in the Greek language, not only in students, but also in the general population.

Transversus Abdominis Ultrasound Thickness during Popular Trunk-Pilates Exercises in Young and Middle-Aged Women.

The transversus abdominis (TrA) is a core muscle that contributes to functional mobility and lumbar stability. This study aimed to compare the changes in TrA thickness during different Pilates exercises, and to identify the exercise that elicited the greatest TrA activation. Forty-four healthy women were divided into two groups: young (25-35 years old) and middle-aged (36-55 years old). TrA thickness was assessed by ultrasound while the participants performed five Pilates exercises: basic position, hundred, hip roll, side plank, and dead bug. A repeated measures analysis of variance revealed that the dead bug exercise induced a significantly higher increase in TrA thickness (relative to rest) than the other exercises (p < 0.05). The young group also showed a significantly higher overall TrA thickness than the middle-aged group (p < 0.05). The findings suggest that the dead bug exercise is the most effective for enhancing TrA activation among the Pilates exercises tested. The basic position and the hundred exercises can be used as warm-up exercises before performing more challenging exercises such as the hip roll, the side plank, and the dead bug. The sequence of exercises can be similar for both young and middle-aged women.

Spinal Muscle Thickness and Activation during Abdominal Hollowing and Bracing in CrossFit® Athletes.

Exercises that improve muscle activation are essential for maintaining spinal stability and preventing low back pain. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of abdominal hollowing and bracing on the activation of the core muscles in CrossFit® participants using ultrasound and electromyography (EMG). Twenty-four healthy adults aged 21 to 42 years old with at least two years of CrossFit® experience performed three core stability exercises (plank, side plank, bridge) with abdominal hollowing and bracing. We measured the ultrasound relative thickness of the local core muscles (transversus abdominis, internal oblique, and lumbar multifidus), and the EMG percentage of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of the global core muscles (rectus abdominis, external oblique, and iliocostalis lumborum). Analysis of variance tests showed that the relative thickness of the local core muscles was greater (p = 0.016) during hollowing (range from 26.8 ± 5.33 to 88.4 ± 11.9% of rest) than bracing (range from 15.9 ± 3.54 to 61.2 ± 15.9% of rest), while the EMG of the global muscles was greater (p = 0.001) in bracing (range from 24.4 ± 7.30 to 72.5 ± 9.17% of MVC) than hollowing (range from 16.4 ± 3.70 to 56.6 ± 7.65% of MVC). These results indicate that the recruitment of spinal muscles during popular exercises is achieved with both hollowing and bracing. Nevertheless, it appears that hollowing tends to recruit more of the local muscles, whilst bracing recruits more of the global muscles. The grading of the exercises varied between muscles and varied between maneuvers, especially for the surface abdominals and lumbar muscles. CrossFit® practitioners can choose to use either hollowing or bracing to activate their core muscles more selectively or more appropriately, depending on the goal and purpose of the exercise.

Swimming coaches' professional development and training practices: an international survey.

This study investigated swim coaches' perceptions of professional development issues and current training practices according to their coaching experience, education level, and gender. An online survey (January-April 2022) was completed by 123 swim coaches (96 male/27 female) of competitive swimmers based in 41 countries. The survey consisted of 36 questions divided into six sections: (1) background information, (2) developing swim coaching through learning, (3) self-evaluation, (4) interpersonal-intrapersonal interactions, (5) life skills, and (6) analyzing swimming performance. Pearson chi-square assessed the relationship between the frequency of responses and professional background and gender. The survey results indicated that swim coaches' educational level is potentially one of the most influential parameters affecting the coaches' perceptions about their own professional development. The data presented may be used for the future design of coach education programmes as they advance current knowledge on understanding psycho-social issues related to professional development and training perceptions involved in the competitive swimming environment.

Investigating Differences in Personality Traits, Self-Esteem, Eating Attitudes, and Body Image among Participants in Indoor and Outdoor Fitness Activities.

Physical activity environments influence physical condition, nutrition, individual and social behaviors, and emotional well-being. The aim of the study was to investigate differences in eating attitudes, self-esteem, personality traits, and body image among participants in indoor and outdoor leisure-time fitness programs. Participants included 1747 adults (882 men and 865 women) aged 34 ± 9.2 years, divided into experimental and control groups. All participants completed the Demographic Characteristics Questionnaire, the Eating Attitudes Test 26 (EAT-26), the Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Traits Personality Questionnaire 5 (TPQue5), and the Appearance Scales of the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ-AS). The results revealed statistically significant differences between groups. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed noteworthy variations in personality trait scores between the groups (neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness) as well as body image factors (self-esteem and eating attitudes). Two-way ANOVA revealed a significant interaction between gender and participation in different types of exercise. Females had lower self-esteem and body area satisfaction scores but higher eating disorder proneness, neuroticism, appearance evaluation, and overweight preoccupation scores than males. These findings add to the current literature focusing on the psychosocial and behavioral mechanisms associated with physical activity and exercise environments. The findings provide an effective supplement to promote public health-focused fitness programs and leisure-time physical activity motivation strategies.