United States Sports Academy - "America's Sports University"

Introduction

The
American culture is a sports-oriented culture. Sports metaphors
are used to represent personal and professional lives. For
example, "take one for the team" or "go for
it" are common everyday phrases with origins in athletic
competition. And, statistics are used to track favorite teams
and players. Consider the following selected statistics regarding
the sports industry:

Americans
spent $213.5 billion on sports in 1999, a whopping $763 per
capita (Street and Smith's SportsBusiness Journal 1999).

Abstract

In view of the fact that a century of medical and drug warfare
has not liberated us from disease progressive practitioners
have put a growing emphasis on "wellness" and "prevention",
as a health strategy; recognizing that maintaining a state
of good physical, mental and emotional health is the best
way to prevent illness. At the same time, new discoveries
in the science of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) have provided
evidence that a healthy mental state is a prime contributor
of wellness, especially to the athlete. It is the objective
of this article to present this knowledge to the reader in
a precise and understandable manner.

Abstract

Members of the Swedish National Swimming Team (N = 16) traveled
by air from Stockholm to Tokyo via Copenhagen in route to
FINA (La Federation Internationale de Natation Amateur) World
Cup competitions in Hobart, Tasmania and Sydney, Australia.
Following competition at the above venues, the team trained
for nine days at Cronulla Beach, one hour south of Sydney.
This investigation assessed the effect of diaphragmatic breathing
and sleep training on sleep, jet lag and swimming performance.
Prior to the start of the investigation, swimmers were matched,
by gender, using the FINA point scoring system. The eight
matched pairs were assigned to Experimental and Control groups
via a flip of a coin. This procedure produced two matched
groups that were statistically equal (2.75 point of each other;
t(14) = .071, n.s.). The Experimental group listened to a
sleep training tape and did diaphragmatic breathing each night
during the 21 day long experiment. To assess mood, the POMS
was administered each day, except when competitions were held
in Hobart and Sydney. Jet lag was assessed on an 11 point
Likert-like scale by each swimmer following arrival in Tokyo
and Hobart. The sleep of each swimmer was assessed daily using
an Actiwatch. Following programming, this wristwatch like
device was positioned on the non-dominant wrist of each swimmer.
It recorded sleep length, sleep efficiency, movement and fragmentation
index and other sleep variables. The FINA point scoring system
determined swimming performance. Univariate and multivariate
analyses of sleep, jet lag, mood and performance data did
not find any significant between-group differences. It was
concluded that sleep training and diaphragmatic breathing,
as it was done in this study, did not effect, sleep, mood,
jet lag or swimming performance.

Introduction

"Rejuvenology™" is defined (in part) as "…the
proactive art and science of appearance, health, and performance
enhancement…through, both, prevention and rehabilitation."
This new discipline helps individuals look, feel, and perform
better…longer, giving them the comprehensive competitive
package, needed to "win" in any arena. Whether in
sports, business, or interpersonal endeavors, success generally
comes to the individual, who understands human nature and
comes to grips with why people do what they do…why people
think what they think…and what it takes to gain the competitive
edge in a world, which places emphasis on beauty and brains,
as well as brawn. This being the case, the author will share
the essentials of Rejuvenology's Image-Building Triangle,"
which includes physical, psychological, and aesthetic elements.
This triangular model can be used to build one's own image…or
that of a student or client.