The Understanding of Rest and Its E Ects Upon Athletes' Sport
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Durham E-Theses The Understanding of Rest and its Eects upon Athletes' Sport-Performance and General Well-Being KAZMIER, ALEXANDER,WILLIAM How to cite: KAZMIER, ALEXANDER,WILLIAM (2020) The Understanding of Rest and its Eects upon Athletes' Sport-Performance and General Well-Being, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/13639/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 The Understanding of “Rest” and its Effects upon Athletes’ Sport-Performance and General Well-Being Alexander William Kazmier Abstract This thesis inductively builds a theoretical framework and understanding of athletes’ rest, pertaining to the perceived effects that it has upon their sporting performance and general well-being. Collectively, this thesis utilises a mixed methods design in order to comprehend the meanings and values that athletes have upon rest. The initial study utilised a grounded theory approach to explore athletes’ specific experiences of rest along with their personal perceptions of “what rest means to them”. For the second study a descriptive correlational quantitative design was used to identify significant differences in athletes’: use, frequency of use, and perceived effectiveness of resting techniques across a large and generalised sample. Additionally, significant differences were also sought found regarding athletes’ varying sport types and level of competition. The final study utilised a longitudinal qualitative content analysis design to examine the perceptual variances of athlete rest over the course of a competitive season. This thesis offers a conceptual model of rest that portrays the interplay between the: cessation of activity, perceptions of sport performance, and general well-being. Contributing to this model, concepts including: interaction, switching-off, adaptation, and sport specifications build upon the general understanding of rest as the cessation of activity. The dynamics of these relationships encompass the fluid variation on how rest can affect an individual’s sport performance and general well-being. Overall, this thesis is able to generate an initial conceptual model and understanding of athlete rest from a sport psychology perspective. As rest is not a concept that is studied directly or extensively in most academic disciplines, further investigation into rest across other domains is necessary in order to better understand its implications upon performance and well-being more generally. i The Understanding of “Rest” and its Effects upon Athletes’ Sport-Performance and General Well-Being Alexander William Kazmier Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy The Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences Durham University December 2019 ii Table of Content Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………...i Table of Content…………………………………………………………………………..….iii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………...………..….vii CHAPTER ONE: Introduction to Literature on rest…………………………………….….…1 Rationale, Aims, and Objectives for the Research Study………………………...…...2 Introduction to the Review Sections…………………………………………………..2 Rest’s Association with Inactivity…………………………………………………….4 Physical and Psychological Adaptations……………………………………………...9 Motor Learning and Development of Expertise……………………………………...24 Social and Environmental Influences………………………………………………...32 Nutrition………………………………………………………………………….......46 Rest in Occupational Literature……………………………………………………....47 Holistic Considerations of rest……………………………………………………….52 Rest in Sociology Literature………………………………………………………….55 Overall Aim of the Thesis……………………………………………………………62 CHAPTER TWO: Methodology……………………………………………………………..64 Overview of methods used…………………………………………………………...65 Study 1: A Grounded Theory Approach……………………………………………..66 Study 2: A Descriptive Correlational Quantitative Design………………………......72 Adoption of a Mixed Methods Design……………………………………………….73 Study 3: Content Analysis…………………………………………………………....77 CHAPTER THREE: Exploring athletes’ experiences and perceptions of rest utilising a grounded theory approach……………………………………………………………………81 Abstract………………………………………………………………………………82 Introduction………………………………………………………………………......83 Methods………………………………………………………………………………87 Results…………………………………………………………………………..……92 Discussion…………………………………………………………………………..120 iii CHAPTER FOUR: Examining various athletes’ perceptions of rest from the “Rest and its effects on general well-being and sports performance” Likert-scale Questionnaire: A quantitative study utilising descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA analyses to determine differences of resting and organisational techniques……………………….………………127 Abstract…………………………………………………………………………..…128 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………129 Methods…………………………………………………………………………..…137 Aims and Objectives…………………………………..……………………………140 Results………………………………………………………………………………142 Discussion………………………………………………………………………..…152 CHAPTER FIVE: Perceptual variances of athlete rest over the course of a competitive season: A longitudinal qualitative study……………………………………………………159 Abstract…………………………………………………………………………..…160 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………161 Methods………………………………………………………………………..……165 Results………………………………………………………………………………172 Discussion…………………………………………………………………………..196 CHAPTER SIX: General Discussion……………………………………………………….215 Thesis Overview……………………………………………………………….........216 Main Findings and Theoretical Similarities……………………………………..….218 Methodological Strengths…………………………………………………………..221 Strengths and Limitations of the thesis…………………………………………..…222 Ethical Considerations………………………………………………………………225 Recommendations and Future Directions…………………………………………..226 Concluding Statement………………………………………………………………227 Appendix A: Current CV………………………………………………………………...…229 Appendix B: Research Ethics and Risk Assessment Forms………………………………..232 Appendix C: Study One Information Sheet and Consent Form………………………….…241 Appendix D: Study One Interview Guide…………………………………………………..243 Appendix E: Study Two Rest Questionnaire……………………………………………….249 Appendix F: Study Three Information Sheet and Consent Form…………………………...260 Appendix G: Study Three Interview Guide………………………………………………...262 iv Appendix H: Conceptual Model of Rest…………………………………………………....265 References…………………………………………………………………………………..266 v The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the author's prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. vi Acknowledgements As part of my thesis, I would like to give recognition to a few individuals who have been extremely influential during my studies. Firstly, I would like to thank my wife for her continued support while completing my thesis. You have motivated me and pushed-me- through at times throughout the past few years and I am so grateful to have you in my life. I would also like to recognise the support from my family, especially from my parents and siblings, for encouraging me to be adventurous and find my own way in a country so far away from them. I am also extremely grateful for the funding opportunities that have been presented to me by Team Durham. Specifically, I would like to thank Quentin Sloper and Mark Brian for your assistance and realising my academic and sporting potential while at Durham University. Additionally, I would like to thank all of the staff members within Durham University’s; Department of Sociology, and Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences for all of your support. I cannot write this acknowledgments section without mentioning my wholehearted thanks and appreciation to the sport of water polo. The doors that have been opened due to my lifelong pursuit of water polo have been many and I am so grateful for my affiliation to my sport. Moreover, the friendships that have been made with my teammates, coaches, support staff, and colleagues have proven to be invaluable towards my continued personal development and I am so thankful for sharing their friendship. I would also like to thank all of the participants who have contributed their personal and perceptual accounts across all three of my studies. Last but not least, I must acknowledge the overwhelming support received from my two supervisors while at Durham University, Professor Martin Roderick and Professor David Eccles. Without your help and guidance this would have never been possible, thank you so much. vii CHAPTER ONE Introduction to Literature on Rest 1 Rationale, Aims, and Objectives for the Research Study In order to obtain and sustain a high level of sporting excellence athletes must achieve optimal physical and mental performance within practice and competitions. However, just as important for the athlete is maintaining personal well-being outside of these activities. Rest is known to impact both athlete performance and well-being. However,