Search

Objective: To establish the effect of high-intensity and progressive volume resistance training (HIRT), on general health, functional, mental status, and quality of life (QOL) indicators in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods: The sample consisted of five people with SCI of both sexes, aged 46.2 ± 13.9 years, submitted to 12 weeks of HIRT, twice a week. We analyzed before and after the 12 weeks of intervention: body composition, muscle strength, functional status, perception of mental status, and QOL, using the following tests: dual-energy X-ray densitometry, 1RM, isometry of biceps, elbow flexion, Wingate, zigzag, medicine ball pitch, Beck inventory (anxiety, depression, and mental disorder) and SF-36. Results: The results pointed to an increase in the training load, the total bone mineral content (p = 0.043), the muscle power at 80% of 1RM (p = 0.043), the functional state (anaerobic power [MD = 6.81%; p = 0.043] and explosive strength [mean difference (MD) = 30.57%; p = 0.043] of the shoulder girdle muscles), the mental state (MD = 71.46%; p = 0.006) and finally, improvement in QOL, especially in the functional (MD = 60.87%; p = 0.006) and social aspects (MD = 44.44%; p = 0.006). Conclusions: HIRT can improve or maintain body composition, developing muscle power, anaerobic power, and explosive strength of the upper limbs that will impact functional capacity, promoting greater autonomy, with consequent reflex in improving mental state and of the QOL of the person with SCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pacing during cycling and running in an IRONMAN triathlon has been investigated in only one study with elite IRONMAN triathletes. We have, however, no knowledge of how professional triathletes pace during an IRONMAN World Championship. To investigate the split-by-split speed, pacing strategies and pacing variability in professional female and male IRONMAN World Championship participants in the fastest IRONMAN World Championship ever in IRONMAN Hawaii 2022. For both cycling and running, 25 specific split times were recorded in each discipline. The best 30 men and 30 women overall were chosen from the official IRONMAN website database for further analysis. They were divided into three performance groups: Top 10, 11–20th place, and 21st–30th place. Mean speed, individual linear regressions with the corresponding correlation coefficients, and coefficient of variation were calculated to assess split-by-split speed, pacing strategies, and pacing variability, respectively. In both men's and women's cycling and running segments, the top ten participants exhibited faster split times compared to the slower performance groups. Notably, no discernible differences existed between the 11–20th and 21st–30th place in men's cycling and women's running times. Conversely, in men's running and women's cycling segments, those in the 11–20th place displayed quicker times than those in the 21st–30th place. In the cycling segment across all groups, men demonstrated a more negative pacing pattern (indicating an increase in speed), whereas women exhibited more consistent pacing. In the running segment, the top 10 men and all women's groups showcased relatively similar slightly positive pacing profiles. However, men ranking 11–20th and 21st–30th displayed more pronounced positive pacing strategies, implying a more significant decline in speed over time. In terms of cycling, the variability in pacing remained relatively consistent across the three performance groups. Conversely, during the running segment, the top ten male triathletes and those in the 11–20th place displayed lower pacing variability than their counterparts in the 21st–30th position place and all women's groups. In summary, performance and pacing were examined in professional male and female IRONMAN World Championship participants during IRONMAN Hawaii 2022. Top performers showed faster cycling and running split times, with differences in pacing strategies between sexes. The pacing was more consistent in cycling, while running pacing varied more, particularly among male triathletes in different performance groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies showed that female runners reduced the performance gap to male runners in endurance running with increasing age and race distance. However, the investigated samples were generally small. To investigate this further, the present study examined sex differences by age across various race distances (5, 10 km, half-marathon, marathon, and ultra-marathon) using a large dataset of over 1,100,000 race records from Switzerland over two decades (1999–2019). The study explored performance and participation disparities between male and female runners by employing diverse methods, such as descriptive statistics, histograms, scatter and line plots, correlations, and a predictive machine learning model. The results showed that female runners were more prevalent in shorter races (5, 10 km, half-marathon) and outnumbered male runners in 5 km races. However, as the race distance increased, the male-to-female ratio declined. Notably, the performance gap between sexes reduced with age until 70 years, after which it varied depending on the race distance. Among participants over 75 years old, ultra-marathon running exhibited the smallest sex difference in performance. Elderly female ultra-marathoners (75 years and older) displayed a performance difference of less than 4% compared to male ultra-marathoners, which may be attributed to the presence of highly selected outstanding female performers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physical activity is essential in acquiring healthy lifestyle behaviors in the early years of maturational development and preventing various diseases. Resistance training (RT) is fundamental for improving body composition and is increasingly recommended for obese adolescents. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to synthesize and analyze data on the effects of RT programs in this population, seeking to develop useful recommendations for health and sports professionals. Methods: A search was performed using four databases (Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and ScienceDirect). According to specific inclusion criteria, twenty-one studies were selected to evaluate the impact of RT on body mass index (BMI), body fat, waist circumference, muscle strength, insulin sensitivity, lean mass and cardiorespiratory fitness. Results: After the RT programs, the adolescents improved their muscle strength (SMD, 1.44; 95% CI: 0.76–2.12), cardiorespiratory fitness (SMD, 1.09; 95% CI: 0.15–2.04), BMI (SMD, 0.21; 95% CI: 0.07–0.35), waist circumference (SMD, 0.27; 95% CI: 0.06–0.47) and body fat (SMD, 0.20; 95% CI: 0.05–0.34). However, insulin sensitivity (SMD, 0.32; 95% CI: − 0.47 to 1.10) and lean mass (SMD, 0.12; 95% CI: − 0.06 to 0.31) did not reveal any changes. Different RT programs were used but it seems that 2–3 times/week ∼60 min/session of RT for 12 weeks should be recommended for positive changes. Conclusions: RT seems to be effective when the objective is to improve muscle strength, cardiorespiratory fitness and can be an efficient strategy to reduce obesity in adolescents by reducing body fat, waist circumference and body mass index. PROSPERO Registration number: CRD42022333411. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short-distance swimmers may exhibit imbalances in their upper-limbs' thrust (differences between the thrust produced by each upper-limb). At maximal speed, higher imbalances are related to poorer performances. Additionally, little is known about the relationship between thrust and swim speed, and whether hypothetical imbalances exist in the speed achieved while performing each upper-limb arm-pull. This could be a major issue at least while swimming at maximal speed. This study aimed to: (1) verify a hypothetical inter-upper limb difference in the determinants related to front-crawl at maximal swim speed, and; (2) identify the main predictors responsible for the swim speed achieved during each upper-limb arm-pull. Twenty-two male swimmers of a national junior swim team (15.92 ± 0.75 years) were recruited. A set of anthropometric, dry-land strength, thrust and speed variables were assessed. Anthropometrics identified a significant difference between dominant and non-dominant upper-limbs (except for the hand surface area). Dry-land strength presented non-significant difference (p < 0.05) between the dominant and non-dominant upper-limbs. Overall, thrust and speed variables revealed a significant difference (p < 0.05) between dominant and non-dominant upper-limbs over a 25 m time-trial in a short-course pool. Swimmers were not prone to maintaining the thrust and speed along the trial where a significant variation was noted (p < 0.05). Using multilevel regression, the speed achieved by each upper-limb identified a set of variables, with the peak speed being the strongest predictor (dominant: estimate = 0.522, p < 0.001; non-dominant: estimate = 0.756, p < 0.001). Overall, swimmers exhibit significant differences between upper-limbs determinants. The upper-limb noting a higher dry-land strength also presented a higher thrust, and consequently higher speed. Coaches should be aware that sprint swimmers produce significant differences in the speed achieved by each one of their upper-limbs arm-pull. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]