Self-confidence (SC) is one of the most cited factors thought to affect athletic performance. SC is said to playa critical role in athletes 'success; in contrast, lack ofSC seems to be closely associated with athletic failure. Thus, confidence is an importantfactor that distinguishes successful athletes from unsuccessful ones in terms of both their mental states as well as their performances. H...

doping is the use of drug for the purpose of improving performance in general and sports performance in particular. rejection or acceptance of the use of banned substances by athletes is determined by internal factors that are subjective and external or social. against this background, the present study examined social risk factors as determinants of intention (temptation) to use banned substan...

The month-long diurnal Ramadan fast imposes a major challenge to Islamic athletes. Sporting events are programmed throughout the year, with the result that training and competition are often scheduled during Ramadan. The small numbers of well-controlled studies that have examined the effects of Ramadan on athletic performance suggest that few aspects of physical fitness are negatively affected,...

A substantial part of the entertainment industry is devoted to the visualization of human activity. Frequently, these activities involve many people interacting. Examples include reality shows, dance, music and theatrical performances but most prominently sports events, especially team sports such as ice hockey, basketball and football. Today’s experience of these live sports events is primaril...

The sports environment is stress-eliciting in that it encapsulates perceived uncontrollability, unpredictability and requires ego-involvement. The HPA axis has been shown (indicated by cortisol release) to respond to anticipated sports competition up to a week prior to the event. Research also alludes to the importance of individual differences, such as optimism and trait perfectionism, in mode...

In this brief report, we provide an initial account of the association between love and athletic performance from the perspective of Olympic athletes. We posit that Romantic Passionate Love (RPL) and athletic performance may both involve the reward-motivation system of the brain. Based on this premise, we explored whether activation in one domain (love) might influence the other (sport). Our in...

Introduction Recreational runners and cyclists ask me if donating blood will slow them down in their weekend racing. Sure, I tell them, but only for a week or two, and donating is worth it. Blood donors are community helpers. Not long ago, I was asked: If an NFL team sponsors a community blood drive, can players who donate a pint of blood on Tuesday play to their full ability in a game 5 days l...

The major cycling "Grand Tours" have shown an attenuation of performance over the last decade. This has been interpreted as circumstantial evidence that newer anti-doping strategies have reduced the use of performance-enhancing drugs. To examine this idea under more controlled conditions, speed trends for world class 5000 m, 10000 m, and marathon performances by men from 1980 to 2013 were analy...

In our daily lives, we use faces as a major source of information about other people. Recent work has begun to highlight how one's facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) is linked to a number of behaviours (e.g. deception, aggression and financial performance in firms). fWHR has also been linked to several factors that may be beneficial for sport (e.g. achievement drive, winning mentality and aggr...

Performance-enhancing drugs, ergogenic aids, or sports supplements have been a part of sports since sporting competition began and likely always will be. Considered cheating by purists and necessary by some athletes, we must accept the fact that they are used, understand why they are used, and study how to prevent their use to institute change. This article summarizes current information regard...