A semi-standardised physical activity counselling intervention was developed for annual repetition courses of the Swiss Army, consisting of poster presentations, group discussions and the selection of individual behavioural targets. Feasibility of the intervention was good, acceptance also. According to telephone interviews carried out after 12 weeks, similar changes in moderate intensity physical activity behaviour were observed in three intervention and three control units with 175 and 167 soldiers respectively. There were indications for effects on vigorous intensity activities and strength training, but they did not quite reach statistical significance. Adaptations have been made in the questionnaires and the intervention material. We believe that the intervention can make an important contribution to addressing physical inactivity in a militia army.

Elite athletes and recreational runners rely on the accuracy of global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-enabled sport watches to monitor and regulate training activities. However, there is a lack of scientific evidence regarding the accuracy of such sport watches.; The aim was to investigate the accuracy of the recorded distances obtained by eight commercially available sport watches by Apple, Coros, Garmin, Polar, and Suunto when assessed in different areas and at different speeds. Furthermore, potential parameters that affect the measurement quality were evaluated.; Altogether, 3 × 12 measurements in urban, forest, and track and field areas were obtained while walking, running, and cycling under various outdoor conditions.; The selected reference distances ranged from 404.0 m to 4296.9 m. For all the measurement areas combined, the recorded systematic errors (±limits of agreements) ranged between 3.7 (±195.6) m and -101.0 (±231.3) m, and the mean absolute percentage errors ranged from 3.2% to 6.1%. Only the GNSS receivers from Polar showed overall errors

Elevation gain (EG) is a significant contributor to the total workload in many endurance sports. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of elevation recording as assessed by popular sport watches. Eighteen participants walked and ran at different speeds in various weather conditions in two terrain types: on a hilly 2490 m course with a total EG of 90 m and on a flat 1200 m outdoor track with 0 m EG. In total, 180 recordings from each sport watch were analyzed and compared according to two processing types: filtered and unfiltered EG data. Compared to the reference values, regarding default settings, on hilly terrain, EG was underestimated by -3.3 to ?9.8 %, and on flat terrain, EG was overestimated by 0.0–4.8 m per 1200 m. These errors could be reduced to -3.3 to +0.4 %, when filtering conditions were adjusted according to the terrain. Gait speed (ranging from 1.47 to 4.89 m s?1) or fluctuations in weather conditions between- or within-trials did not influence EG accuracy. A straightforward comparison between manufacturers is hampered as the filter conditions set by default differ. In conclusion, all devices measure EG adequately; however, the displayed default feedback on EG data is not always the most accurate measurement. Consequently, accuracy in elevation recordings could be increased if users appropriately post-process EG data.

The aim of this study was to validate the detection of ground contact time (GCT) during running in 2 differently working systems: a small inertial measurement sensor, PARTwear (PW), worn on the shoe laces, and the optical measurement system, Optojump (OJ), placed on the track. Twelve well-trained subjects performed 12 runs each on an indoor track at speeds ranging from 3.0 to 9.0 m·s. GCT of one step per run (total 144) was simultaneously obtained by the PW, the OJ, and a high-speed video camera (HSC), whereby the latter served as reference system. The sampling rate was 1,000 Hz for all methods. Compared with the HSC, the PW and the OJ systems underestimated GCT by -1.3 ± 6.1% and -16.5 ± 6.7% (p-values ≤ 0.05), respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficients between PW and HSC and between OJ and HSC were 0.984 and 0.853 (p-values < 0.001), respectively. Despite the constant systematic underestimation of GCT, analyses indicated that PW successfully recorded GCT over a wide range of speeds. However, results showed only moderate validity for the OJ system, with increasing errors when speed decreased. In conclusion, the PW proved to be a highly useful and valid application, and its use can be recommended not only for laboratory settings but also for field applications. In contrast, data on GCT obtained by OJ during running must be treated with caution, specifically when running speed changes or when comparisons are made with GCT data collected by other measurement systems.

Sport watches and fitness trackers provide a feasible way of obtaining energy expenditure (EE) estimations in daily life as well as during exercise. However, today's popular wrist-worn technologies show only poor-to-moderate EE accuracy. Recently, the invention of optical heart rate measurement and the further development of accelerometers in wrist units have opened up the possibility of measuring EE. This study aimed to validate the new multisensory wristwatch Polar Vantage and its EE estimation in healthy individuals during low-to-high-intensity activities against indirect calorimetry. Overall, 30 volunteers (15 females; mean age 29.5 [SD 5.1] years; mean height 1.7 [SD 0.8] m; mean weight 67.5 [SD 8.7] kg; mean maximal oxygen uptake 53.4 [SD 6.8] mL/min·kg) performed 7 activities-ranging in intensity from sitting to playing floorball-in a semistructured indoor environment for 10 min each, with 2-min breaks in between. These activities were performed while wearing the Polar Vantage M wristwatch and the MetaMax 3B spirometer. After EE estimation, a mean (SD) of 69.1 (42.7) kcal and 71.4 (37.8) kcal per 10-min activity were reported for the MetaMax 3B and the Polar Vantage, respectively, with a strong correlation of r=0.892 (P<.001). The systematic bias was 2.3 kcal (3.3%), with 37.8 kcal limits of agreement. The lowest mean absolute percentage errors were reported during the sitting and reading activities (9.1%), and the highest error rates during household chores (31.4%). On average, 59.5% of the mean EE values obtained by the Polar Vantage were within ±20% of accuracy when compared with the MetaMax 3B. The activity intensity quantified by perceived exertion (odds ratio [OR] 2.028; P<.001) and wrist circumference (OR -1.533; P=.03) predicted 29% of the error rates within the Polar Vantage. The Polar Vantage has a statistically moderate-to-good accuracy in EE estimation that is activity dependent. During sitting and reading activities, the EE estimation is very good, whereas during nonsteady activities that require wrist and arm movement, the EE accuracy is only moderate. However, compared with other available wrist-worn EE monitors, the Polar Vantage can be recommended, as it performs among the best.

In the final ranking of the International Orienteering Federation World Cup 2014 Switzerland was classified as the best nation with 5 women in the top 12 and 7 men in the top 15. A great part of the weekly orienteering training is performed as endurance running training. However, a high weekly running mileage puts considerable stress on the athlete’s musculoskeletal system (Jones et al., 1994). A consequence thereof are acute and overuse injuries. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the injury incidence rate and injury pattern in Swiss elite orienteering athletes. Methods The injury data were collected retrospectively for the years 2005-2014 from volunteering, current and former, athletes of the Swiss Orienteering Federation. The athletes’ medical records were used to classify injuries according to the Orchard Sports Injury Classification System (OSICS version 10.1). The training data were collected from the athletes’ digital training diary and matched for age. The data are presented as mean ± standard deviation, proportions of injuries by anatomical region, type and onset of injuries. Results The data of 30 athletes aged 22±3.2 years (range 18-30), were recorded. A total of 175 injuries were assessed. The most commonly affected anatomical region was the lower extremity (92.6%). Thereof, the knee (29.1%), the lower leg (20.0%) and the foot (18.9%) were injured most. The most common types of injury were pain and/or inflammation (65.1%), sprains (11.4%) and dislocations (9.1%). Almost two thirds (61.1%) of all injuries were classified as overuse injuries. About a third of injuries (28.6%) resulted in training days lost. The mean injury incidence risk for athletes aged 18-23 years was 3.1±3.1 injuries per 1000 training hours. No significant relation between training volume (380.8±77.1 hours per year) and injury risk was found. Discussion A high amount of running based training is a risk factor for musculoskeletal injuries. This was confirmed in the present study with the great amount of lower extremities injuries, most of them due to overuse onset. Previous studies with recreational runners reported 2.5-12.1 and 10.0 injuries per 1000 hours of training, and the knee as the most commonly affected region (van Mechelen, 1992; Hespanhol Jr., et al. 2013). Concluding, the Swiss elite orienteers display a rather low injury incidence rate within the former reported range, and further, the injury patterns are in line with previous results. References Hespanhol Jr., LC., Pena Costa, LO., Lopes, AD. (2013). J Physiother, 59(4):263-269. Jones, BH., Cowan, DN., Knapik, JJ. (1994). Sports Med, 18(3):202-214. van Mechelen, W. (1992). Sports Med, 14(5):320-335.

There is evidence that progressive loading of physical demands at the beginning of basic military service and specific physical training can reduce injury incidences. Therefore, aim of this study was to measure the effects of a progressive increase in marching distances and an adapted physical training program on injury incidence and attrition rate in a Swiss Army infantry training school. One company reduced the distances covered on foot during the first 4 weeks of basic military training. A second company performed an adapted physical training program for 10 weeks. A third company participated in both interventions combined, and a fourth company served as a control group without any intervention. The injury incidences and attrition rates of 651 male recruits were registered during 21 weeks of military service. Several predictor variables for injury and attrition, such as physical fitness, previous injuries, level of previous physical activity, smoking, motivation, and socioeconomic factors, were assessed as well. The data were analyzed using binary logistic backward regressions. Each intervention separately had a favorable effect on injury prevention. However, combining the 2 interventions resulted in the greatest reduction in injury incidence rate (-33%). Furthermore, the adapted physical training successfully reduced the military service attrition rates (-53%).

BACKGROUND: Good physical fitness seems to help the individual to buffer the potential harmful impact of psychosocial stress on somatic and mental health. The aim of the present study is to investigate the role of physical fitness levels on the autonomic nervous system (ANS; i.e. heart rate and salivary alpha amylase) responses to acute psychosocial stress, while controlling for established factors influencing individual stress reactions. METHODS: The Trier Social Stress Test for Groups (TSST-G) was executed with 302 male recruits during their first week of Swiss Army basic training. Heart rate was measured continuously, and salivary alpha amylase was measured twice, before and after the stress intervention. In the same week, all volunteers participated in a physical fitness test and they responded to questionnaires on lifestyle factors and personal traits. A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine ANS responses to acute psychosocial stress from physical fitness test performances, controlling for personal traits, behavioural factors, and socioeconomic data. RESULTS: Multiple linear regression revealed three variables predicting 15 % of the variance in heart rate response (area under the individual heart rate response curve during TSST-G) and four variables predicting 12 % of the variance in salivary alpha amylase response (salivary alpha amylase level immediately after the TSST-G) to acute psychosocial stress. A strong performance at the progressive endurance run (high maximal oxygen consumption) was a significant predictor of ANS response in both models: low area under the heart rate response curve during TSST-G as well as low salivary alpha amylase level after TSST-G. Further, high muscle power, non-smoking, high extraversion, and low agreeableness were predictors of a favourable ANS response in either one of the two dependent variables. CONCLUSIONS: Good physical fitness, especially good aerobic endurance capacity, is an important protective factor against health-threatening reactions to acute psychosocial stress.

Better understanding is needed regarding the effects of exercise alone, without any imposed dietary regimens, as a single tool for body-weight regulation. Thus, we evaluated the effects of an 8-week increase in activity energy expenditure (AEE) on ad libitum energy intake (EI), body mass and composition in healthy participants with baseline physical activity levels (PAL) in line with international recommendations. Forty-six male adults (BMI = 19·7–29·3 kg/m2) participated in an intervention group, and ten (BMI = 21·0–28·4 kg/m2) in a control group. Anthropometric measures, cardiorespiratory fitness, EI, AEE and exercise intensity were recorded at baseline and during the 1st, 5th and 8th intervention weeks, and movement was recorded throughout. Body composition was measured at the beginning and at the end of the study, and resting energy expenditure was measured after the study. The intervention group increased PAL from 1·74 (se 0·03) to 1·93 (se 0·03) (P < 0·0001) and cardiorespiratory fitness from 41·4 (se 0·9) to 45·7 (se 1·1) ml O2/kg per min (P = 0·001) while decreasing body mass (−1·36 (se 0·2) kg; P = 0·001) through adipose tissue mass loss (ATM) (−1·61 (se 0·2) kg; P = 0·0001) compared with baseline. The control group did not show any significant changes in activity, body mass or ATM. EI was unchanged in both groups. The results indicate that in normal-weight and overweight men, increasing PAL from 1·7 to 1·9 while keeping EI ad libitum over an 8-week period produces a prolonged negative energy balance. Replication using a longer period (and/or more intense increase in PAL) is needed to investigate if and at what body composition the increase in AEE is met by an equivalent increase in EI.

The aim of this study was to objectively assess and compare the type, duration and intensity of physical activity during the basic training provided by each of 5 selected Swiss Army occupational specialties. The first objective was to develop and validate a method to assess distance covered on foot. The second objective was to describe and compare physical activity levels among occupational specialties. In the first part of the study, 30 male volunteers completed 6 laps of 290 m at different gait velocities. Data from 15 volunteers were used to develop linear regression equations for the relationship between step frequency and gait velocity, and data from the other 15 volunteers were used to verify the accuracy of these equations. In the second part of the study, 250 volunteers from 5 military schools (each training school for a different occupational specialty) wore heart-rate, acceleration and step-count monitors during workdays of weeks 2, 4, 8 and 10 of their basic training. Sensor data were used to identify physically demanding activities, estimate energy expenditure (based on already published algorithms) and estimate distance covered on foot (based on the algorithm developed in the first part of this study). A branched model using 2 regression equations (gait velocity=0.705∙step frequency for walking speeds below 1 m/s and gait velocity=1.675∙step frequency - 1.464 for faster gait velocities) was shown to be accurate for estimating distance covered on foot. In the training schools investigated, average physical activity energy expenditure was 10.5 ± 2.4 MJ per day, and trainees covered 12.9 ± 3.3 km per day on foot. Recruits spent 61.0 ± 23.3 min per day marching and 33.1 ± 19.5 min per day performing physically demanding materials-handling activities. Average physical activity energy expenditure decreased significantly from week 2 to week 8. The measurement system utilised in the present study yielded data comparable to those of prior studies that applied alternative methods. Nevertheless, the new sensor-based, objective measurement system used provided more information on daily physical activity and demands than traditional, single measurement instruments. The average daily total energy expenditure values in all training schools investigated were within the range found for the armed forces of other nations and for professional athletes.

Introduction: Competitive elite athletes train hard for many hundreds of hours a year to achieve specific goals, such as medals at world championships. Orienteering is a complex sport in which the athletes train physical, cognitive, and tactical components (Creagh & Reilly, 1997). The aim of the present study was to detect training patterns, which might enhance orienteering athletes’ chances of achieving their physical performance and competition goals. Methods: The participating athletes submitted their training diaries and gave permission to assess their medical files, including the annual 5000 meter time trial performance test Results. Competition success was assessed by the individual World Cup ranking. Data of 15 Swiss elite orienteering athletes during their competition year of age 23 years were analyzed to investigate the effect of training patterns on competition success. To assess the influence of training patterns on competition success and athletic performance, multiple linear regressions were performed. Results: The athletes trained on average 9.1 ± 1.7 training sessions per week with a total duration of 9.0 ± 1.3 hours of athletic training and 0.9 ± 0.3 hours of regeneration training per week. Mul tiple linear regressions revealed that five variables were significant predictor variables of com petition success (World Cup points) and seven variables significantly predicted athletic perfor mance (5000 meter time trial). Female gender, higher frequency of training sessions, longer orienteering duration, higher proportion of high-intensity interval training within total running, and a fast 5000 meter time trial performance positively predicted World Cup points within this group of athletes and explained 72.7% of the observed variance in competition success. Male gender, lower frequency of training sessions, longer total training duration, longer total running duration, shorter orienteering duration, shorter high-intensity interval training, and higher pro portion of high-intensity interval training within total running were significant predictor variables of a fast 5000 meter time trial performance. These variables explained 97.4% of the observed variance in individual athletic performance. Discussion: In this homogeneous group of nationally and internationally successful Swiss orienteering ath letes, certain training patterns seem to be beneficial for competition success and athletic per formance. Duration of orienteering, total frequency, proportion of high-intensity interval training within total running, and gender remained in both regression analyses in the final model. To conclude, in orienteering it is an advantage to be a fast runner, indicated by the influence of the predictive variable 5000 meter time trial performance on competition success. However, other factors not necessarily beneficial for the 5000 meter time trial performance are also im portant, such as longer duration of orienteering, higher training frequency, and higher propor tion of high-intensity interval training compared to total running training time.

The aim of this study was to assess the reliability, validity and feasibility of selected physical performance tests, to compile a new fi tness test battery based on these results and to obtain standard values for young men. 79 men (20.3 ± 1.1 y) performed the tests for the reliability part, while 60 men (20.3 ± 1.1 y) completed the tests for the validity part of the study. Feasibility was confi rmed by 25 sport experts who conducted the test battery among 1704 men (19.5 ± 1.0 y). For standard values, the data of 12 862 men (19.9 ± 1.0 y) were collected. Based on the reliability and validity data, the following 5 tests were selected for the fi tness-test battery: 1) progressive endurance run, 2) seated 2-kg-shot put, 3) standing long jump, 4) trunk muscle strength test and 5) 1-leg standing test. The reliability and validity of the selected performance tests were suffi cient to very good (r = 0.50–0.90 and r = 0.64–0.91, respectively). The suggested fi tness-test battery can be applied among large groups.

Recent corruption scandals involving major international sport organisations (ISOs) have deeply affected the sport system. Consequently, ISOs are being urged to follow ‘good governance’ principles such as transparency, accountability and democracy in order to restore public trust and preclude further unethical behaviour. Nevertheless, no group of major sport organisations and their stakeholders has yet accepted the sort of general and binding code or standard of governance needed to give itconceptual and operational clarity and stability. Moreover, sport organisations are faced with a plethora of governance principles and indicators, contained in almost 50 different frameworks, which might impact their activities. This chapter describes a selection of these frameworks in order to provide a better understanding of sport governance frameworks and issues relating to their implementation. It also suggests an approach for assessing and comparing them, and proposes avenues for further research in the emerging field of sport governance assessment.

Background: Appropriately measuring habitual physical activity (PA) in children is a major challenge. Questionnaires and accelerometers are the most widely used instruments but both have well-known limitations. The aims of this study were to determine activity type/mode and to quantify intensity and duration of children's everyday PA by combining information of a time activity diary with accelerometer measurements and to assess differences by gender and age. Methods: School children (n = 189) aged 6/7 years, 9/10 years and 13/14 years wore accelerometers during one week in winter 2004 and one in summer 2005. Simultaneously, they completed a newly developed time-activity diary during 4 days per week recording different activities performed during each 15 min interval. For each specific activity, the mean intensity (accelerometer counts/min), mean duration per day (min/d) and proportion of involved children were calculated using linear regression models. Results: For the full range of activities, boys accumulated more mean counts/min than girls. Adolescents spent more time in high intensity sports activities than younger children (p < 0.001) but this increase was compensated by a reduction in time spent playing vigorously (p = 0.04). In addition, adolescents spent significantly more time in sedentary activities (p < 0.001) and accumulated less counts/min during these activities than younger children (p = 0.007). Among moderate to vigorous activities, children spent most time with vigorous play (43 min/day) and active transportation (56 min/day). Conclusion: The combination of accelerometers and time activity diaries provides insight into age and gender related differences in PA. This information is warranted to efficiently guide and evaluate PA promotion.