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The purpose of this study was to quantify training loads (TL) of high intensity sessions through original methods (TRIMP; session-RPE; Work-Endurance-Recovery) and their updated alternatives (TRIMPcumulative; RPEalone; New-WER). Ten endurance athletes were requested to perform five sessions until exhaustion. Session 1 composed by a 800m maximal performance and four intermittent sessions performed at the 800m velocity, three sessions with 400m of interval length and work:recovery ratios of 2:1, 1:1 and 1:2 and one with 200m intervals and 1:1. Total TL were quantified from the sessions' beginning to the cool-down period and an intermediate TL (TL800) was calculated when 800m running was accumulated within the sessions. At the end of the sessions high and similar RPE were reported (effect size, η2 = 0.12), while, at the intermediate 800m distance, the higher interval distances and work:recovery ratios the higher the RPE (η2 = 0.88). Our results show marked differences in sessions' total TL between original (e.g., lowest TL for the 800m and highest for the 200m-1:1 sessions) and alternative methods (RPEalone and New-WER; similar TL for each session). Differences appear in TL800 notably between TRIMP and other methods which are negatively correlated. All TL report light to moderate correlations between original methods and their alternatives, original methods are strongly correlated together, as observed for alternative methods. Differences in TL quantification between original and alternative methods underline that they are not interchangeable. Because of high exercise volume influence, original methods markedly enhance TL of sessions with higher exercise volumes although these presented the easiest interval distances and work-recovery ratios. Alternative methods based on exhaustion level (New-WER) and exertion (RPEalone) provided a new and promising point of view of TL quantification where exhaustion determines the highest TL whatever the exercise. This remains to be tested with more extended populations submitted to wider ranges of exercises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consequence of using HR to control the exercise intensity is that target HR zones of exercise intervals (i.e., 85-95% of HRreserve) and recovery pauses (i.e., 60-70% or 20% of HR reserve depending on exercise designs) were far from being achieved during the whole duration of intervals and pauses. Therefore, we support that when studies aim at comparing the effects of varied exercises, focusing on exercise designs, they should pay more attention to the control of the exercise variables they manipulate, and to the exercise doses these exercises represent. First of all, in the present paper, exercise intensity was monitored by heart rate (HR) which is a real gamble because this parameter is known to be ineffective in controlling exercise intensity in HIIE (Guiraud et al. [3]). [Extracted from the article]

The study investigated blood markers allowing discriminating physiological responses to on-water rowing races, notably regarding training volume of athletes and race duration. College (COL) and national (NAT) rowers performed a 1000- or 2000-m race. Capillary blood samples obtained before and post-race allowed an analysis of a wide range of serum parameters. COL rowers had a lower rowing experience and training volume than NAT. Races induced a higher lactate concentration increase in NAT compared to COL (10.45 ± 0.45 vs 13.05 ± 0.60; p < 0.001). Race distance (2000 vs. 1000 m) induced a higher increase in fatty acids (0.81 ± 0.31 vs +0.67 ± 0.41; p < 0.05) and triglycerides concentration in NAT (0.33 ± 0.07 vs 0.15 ± 0.09; p < 0.01), but remained comparable between NAT and COL for the 1000-m races. Amino acids concentrations increased in NAT (0.19 ± 0.03, p < 0.01), but urea concentration increased only for NAT rowers having performed the 2000-m race (0.72 ± 0.22, p < 0.05). Transferrin concentration decreased after the 2000-m race (-0.60 ± 0.25, p < 0.05), and concentration changes of haptoglobin differed between NAT2000 (tendency to be reduced) and COL (tendency to by enhanced) (p < 0.05). Our results confirmed that the training level in rowing is associated with higher glycolysis utilization during maximal 1000- and 2000-m exercise and no difference for similarly trained subjects at these two distances. Our study also demonstrated that a 2000-m race could initiate fatty and amino-acid metabolisms in highly trained subjects. Therefore, these changes in blood parameter responses to a characteristic rowing exercise highlighted the importance of monitoring the physiological effects of training in sporting conditions and according to individual characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to understand the determinants and trends of human performance evolution, we analyzed ten outdoor events among the oldest and most popular in sports history. Best performances of the Oxford-Cambridge boat race (since 1836), the channel crossing in swimming (1875), the hour cycling record (1893), the Elfstedentocht speed skating race (1909), the cross country ski Vasaloppet (1922), the speed ski record (1930), the Streif down-hill in Kitzbühel (1947), the eastward and westward sailing transatlantic records (1960) and the triathlon Hawaii ironman (1978) all follow a similar evolutive pattern, best described through a piecewise exponential decaying model (r² = 0.95±0.07). The oldest events present highest progression curvature during their early phase. Performance asymptotic limits predicted from the model may be achieved in forty years (2049±32 y). Prolonged progression may be anticipated in disciplines which further rely on technology such as sailing and cycling. Human progression in outdoor sports tends to asymptotic limits depending on physiological and environmental parameters and may temporarily benefit from further technological progresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to quantify intermittent training sessions using different types of exercise. Strength, sprint, and endurance sessions were performed until exhaustion. These sessions were quantified by the product of duration and heart rate (HR) (i.e., training impulse (TRIMP) and HR-zone methods), by the product of duration and rate of perceived exertion (RPE-based method), and a new method (work endurance recovery (WER)). The WER method aims to determine the level of exercise-induced physiological stress using the ratio of cumulated work - endurance limit, which is associated with the naparian logarithm of the ratio of work-recovery. Each session's effects were assessed using blood lactate, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), RPE, and HR. Because sessions were performed until exhaustion, it was assumed that each session would have a similar training load (TL) and there would be low interindividual variability. Each method was used to compare each of the TL quantifications. The endurance session induced the higher HR response (p < 0.001), the sprint session the higher blood lactate increase (p < 0.001), and the strength session the higher DOMS when compared with sprint (p = 0.007). TLs were similar after WER calculations, whereas the HR- and RPE-based methods showed differences between endurance and sprint (p < 0.001), and between endurance and strength TL (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively). The TLs from WER were correlated to those of the HR-based methods of endurance exercise, for which HR was known to accurately reflect the exercise-induced physiological stress (r = 0.63 and r = 0.64, p < 0.05). In addition, the TL from WER presented low interindividual variability, yet a marked variability was observed in the TLs of HR- and RPE-based methods. As opposed to the latter two methods, WER can quantify varied intermittent exercises and makes it possible to compare the athletes' TL. Furthermore, WER can also assist in comparing athlete responses to training programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to observe the effects of exercise on plasma free fatty acids (FFA), the catecholamines (adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine) and leptin levels, before and after training, to determine their possible influence on the improvement of the regulation of energy homeostasis. Eleven trained rowers performed two exercise sessions (S1, S2) of 90 min each (70-75%V?O2peak), separated by a 36-week period of intense endurance training. Leptin, FFA and catecholamine plasma concentrations were measured both at the beginning and at the end of S1 and S2, and after recovery periods of 2 and 24 h. Training modified leptin levels in S2 as opposed to S1 (P<0.001); in S1 leptin levels remained lower after a 24 h recovery whereas they returned to pre-exercise levels in S2. The respiratory exchange ratio was significantly reduced in S2 compared to S1 (P=0.018). The FFA and leptin levels were correlated after a 24-h recovery in S1 (r=0.87;P=0.0082), and after a 2-h recovery in S2 (r=0.66;P=0.021). All data were expressed as the means and standard errors of the mean. In the two sessions, an immediate exercise effect was observed on the levels of the catecholamines, which did not persist after recovery. This training effect was apparent for all catecholamines in response to exercise, particularly on noradrenaline (P=0.0006). The noradrenaline and leptin levels were correlated after a 2-h recovery in S2 (r=-0.74;P=0.0042). We conclude that the effect of training on the response of noradrenaline to exercise seems to be involved in the delay in the normalization of leptin levels. We suggest that the amplitude of the noradrenaline response to exercise induced an increase in fat use and a rapid leptin recovery after exercise. The sensitivity of leptin to changes in the fat stores may be improved after training. Both training effects seemed to be involved in the reduction of the recovery time observed for the leptin levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research which was conducted to investigate how the rating of perceived exertion during resistance exercises was influenced by the exercise volume and athletes' training state. Researchers evaluated 80 physical eduction students. They found that the training state of athletes improved the relationship between the rating of perceived exertion and relative exercise volume during resistance exercise.

Limits to athletic performance have long been a topic of myth and debate. However, sport performance appears to have reached a state of stagnation in recent years, suggesting that the physical capabilities of humans and other athletic species, such as greyhounds and thoroughbreds, cannot progress indefinitely. Although the ultimate capabilities may be predictable, the exact path for the absolute maximal performance values remains difficult to assess and relies on technical innovations, sport regulation, and other parameters that depend on current societal and economic conditions. The aim of this literature review was to assess the possible plateau of top physical capabilities in various events and detail the historical backgrounds and sociocultural, anthropometrical, and physiological factors influencing the progress and regression of athletic performance. Time series of performances in Olympic disciplines, such as track and field and swimming events, from 1896 to 2012 reveal a major decrease in performance development. Such a saturation effect is simultaneous in greyhound, thoroughbred, and frog performances. The genetic condition, exhaustion of phenotypic pools, economic context, and the depletion of optimal morphological traits contribute to the observed limitation of physical capabilities. Present conditions prevailing, we approach absolute physical limits and endure a continued period of world record scarcity. Optional scenarios for further improvements will mostly depend on sport technology and modification competition rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has recently been demonstrated that in healthy individuals, peak oxygen consumption is associated with a greater pulmonary capillary blood volume and a more distensible pulmonary circulation. Our cross-sectional study suggests that, in healthy men aged 20 to 60 years (n = 63), endurance sport practice (vigorous-intensity domain of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire) is associated with better quantity (pulmonary capillary blood volume) and quality (slope of increase in lung diffusion for carbon monoxide on exercise) of the pulmonary vascular bed, partly counterbalancing the deleterious effects of ageing, which remains to be demonstrated in a prospective longitudinal design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Repetitions of pre-competition weight-loss diets done by athletes participating in weight class sports can be regarded as periods of weight cycling. The aim of the present study is to identify the long term post-career (22 years) evolutionary profile of athletes' BMI after such weight cycling. Methods: One hundred and thirty-six retired French athletes who participated in major international competitions in weight class sports (rowers, wrestlers, boxers, and judokas) were included. Former and current body mass, height, dietary characteristics during the career (annual frequency, amount of weight lost), current physical activity, and answers on the eating-attitude test were collected by phone interview (consistency was tested by comparison with measured weight). We performed ANOVA tests for comparison between groups (sport, dieting), post-hoc tests (Bonferroni test) to identify differences within groups. BMI's changes were treated using a mixed model. Results: The recorded weight changes did not depend upon time since retirement. Between 18 y and 50 y, athletes' BMI increased by 3.2 kg/m2 compared to the 4.2 kg/m2 increase in the general population. This increase was independent of the number of diets during the career. Retired athletes declared a mean weekly physical activity of 4.8 h ± 4.3. The eating-attitude test showed low scores for all sports without any correlation to diet characteristics. Conclusion: Weight cycling during an athletic career does not induce a massive weight gain after retirement, probably due to the high level of physical activity still practiced after retirement by these athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GUILLAUME, M., S. LEN, M. TAFFLET, L. QUINQUIS, B. MONTALVAN, It. SCHAAL, H. NASS1F, F. D. DESGORCES, and J. TOUSSAINT. Success and Decline: Top 10 Tennis Players follow a Biphasic Course. Med. Sci. Sports Exen ., Vol. 43, No. 11, pp. 2148-2154, 201 1. Introduction: The victory percentages for tennis players who entered the top 10 women and men rankings show various evolutions related to age and time since 1968. Methods: The study analyzed the careers of all top 10 players: 97 women (50,933 matches) and 144 men (92,450 matches). For each player, we describe a biphasic performance course. Two generations were compared: the first one (G[sub 1]), including players who started their professional career before 1985, and the second one (G2), with players starting after 1985. Results: The average career length is 16.1 ± 3.8 yr for the top 10 men and 15.8 ± 4.4 yr for women. Compared with G[sub 1] players, G[sub 2] players begin earlier (women = 1.3 yr, men = 0.8 yr), but career length remains the same. An exponential model describes the time course of the victory percentage with a great similarity for both genders. Using this equation, the peak victory rate reaches 82.5% at 21.5 yr for number 1 (no. 1) women and 78.5% at 23.7 yr for no. 1 men, showing a greater precocity and earlier decline in women. Finally, the area under the curve shows a potential that is 22.8% (men) to 56.8% (women larger for the no. 1 players as compared with all other numbers 2-10. Conclusions: Tennis players in the top 10 show a biphasic career. Women reach their highest level earlier than men, consistent with their more precocious biological development. For the current generation, the peak performance tends toward a younger age than the first generation. We show how to precisely quantify and compare tennis performances using indicators that follow the trends of development and aging and demonstrate mat precocity does not provide a larger victory potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We focus here on the impact of material science in swimming by measuring the impact of the three successive generations of swimsuits on human performance and estimate the upcoming performance drop consecutive to the decision of the FINA to suspend their use. We investigate the recent evolutions of the best performers over the 1990 — 2009 period and demonstrate that three bursts of performances occurred in 2000, 2008 and 2009. The overall observed gains of these bursts exceed 2.0% for both sexes. The drop in performance that may result from this rule change may return to similar levels as seen in 1999. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth law for the development of top athletes performances remains unknown in quantifiable sport events. Here we present a growth model for 41351 best performers from 70 track and field (T&F) and swimming events and detail their characteristics over the modern Olympic era. We show that 64% of T&F events no longer improved since 1993, while 47% of swimming events stagnated after 1990, prior to a second progression step starting in 2000. Since then, 100% of swimming events continued to progress. We also provide a measurement of the atypicity for the 3919 best performances (BP) of each year in every event. The secular evolution of this parameter for T&F reveals four peaks; the most recent (1988) followed by a major stagnation. This last peak may correspond to the most recent successful attempt to push forward human physiological limits. No atypicity trend is detected in swimming. The upcoming rarefaction of new records in sport may be delayed by technological innovations, themselves depending upon economical constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Repetitions of pre-competition weight-loss diets done by athletes participating in weight class sports can be regarded as periods of weight cycling. The aim of the present study is to identify the long term post-career (22 years) evolutionary profile of athletes' BMI after such weight cycling.Methods: One hundred and thirty-six retired French athletes who participated in major international competitions in weight class sports (rowers, wrestlers, boxers, and judokas) were included. Former and current body mass, height, dietary characteristics during the career (annual frequency, amount of weight lost), current physical activity, and answers on the eating-attitude test were collected by phone interview (consistency was tested by comparison with measured weight). We performed ANOVA tests for comparison between groups (sport, dieting), post-hoc tests (Bonferroni test) to identify differences within groups. BMI's changes were treated using a mixed model.Results: The recorded weight changes did not depend upon time since retirement. Between 18 y and 50 y, athletes' BMI increased by 3.2 kg/m(2) compared to the 4.2 kg/m(2) increase in the general population. This increase was independent of the number of diets during the career. Retired athletes declared a mean weekly physical activity of 4.8 h ± 4.3. The eating-attitude test showed low scores for all sports without any correlation to diet characteristics.Conclusion: Weight cycling during an athletic career does not induce a massive weight gain after retirement, probably due to the high level of physical activity still practiced after retirement by these athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]