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This scoping review presents an overview of physical fitness parameters in rhythmic gymnastics as well as the association of fitness with gymnasts' performance, competitive level, and age. PubMed, Scopus, and Sport Discus databases were searched. Of the 586 records retrieved, 41 studies met the inclusion criteria (n = 1915 participants). The included studies examined flexibility, aerobic capacity, muscle power, muscle endurance, muscle strength, sprint speed, agility, balance, and coordination. Performance was associated with flexibility, aerobic capacity, lower-limb muscle power, agility, muscular endurance, balance, and coordination from a young age. Flexibility, aerobic capacity, and muscle power were, in general, higher in high-level gymnasts than in low-level gymnasts or controls. Older rhythmic gymnasts demonstrated higher scores than the younger ones in flexibility, aerobic capacity, balance, and sport-specific coordination but not in muscle endurance, while some studies reported a decline in muscle power with age. Supplementary physical fitness training improved all physical abilities irrespective of the gymnasts' level. Rhythmic gymnastics training alone improved muscle power, agility, speed, muscular endurance, and balance to a lesser extent than targeted fitness training. Muscular strength, speed, and agility are largely under-researched in rhythmic gymnastics. Emphasis should be given to targeted strength and power training due to the high mechanical loads placed on skeletally immature athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Long-term stretching of human skeletal muscles increases joint range of motion through altered stretch perception and decreased resistance to stretch. There is also some evidence that stretching induces changes in muscle morphology. However, research is limited and inconclusive. Objective: To examine the effect of static stretching training on muscle architecture (i.e., fascicle length and fascicle angle, muscle thickness and cross-sectional area) in healthy participants. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: PubMed Central, Web of Science, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus were searched. Randomized controlled trials and controlled trials without randomization were included. No restrictions on language or date of publication were applied. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane RoB2 and ROBINS-I tools. Subgroup analyses and random-effects meta-regressions were also performed using total stretching volume and intensity as covariates. Quality of evidence was determined by GRADE analysis. Results: From the 2946 records retrieved, 19 studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis (n = 467 participants). Risk of bias was low in 83.9% of all criteria. Confidence in cumulative evidence was high. Stretching training induces trivial increases in fascicle length at rest (SMD = 0.17; 95% CI 0.01–0.33; p = 0.042) and small increases in fascicle length during stretching (SMD = 0.39; 95% CI 0.05 to 0.74; p = 0.026). No increases were observed in fascicle angle or muscle thickness (p = 0.30 and p = 0.18, respectively). Subgroup analyses showed that fascicle length increased when high stretching volumes were used (p < 0.004), while no changes were found for low stretching volumes (p = 0.60; subgroup difference: p = 0.025). High stretching intensities induced fascicle length increases (p < 0.006), while low stretching intensities did not have an effect (p = 0.72; subgroup difference: p = 0.042). Also, high intensity stretching resulted in increased muscle thickness (p = 0.021). Meta-regression analyses showed that longitudinal fascicle growth was positively associated with stretching volume (p < 0.02) and intensity (p < 0.04). Conclusions: Static stretching training increases fascicle length at rest and during stretching in healthy participants. High, but not low, stretching volumes and intensities induce longitudinal fascicle growth, while high stretching intensities result in increased muscle thickness. Registration: PROSPERO, registration number: CRD42021289884. Key Points: Static stretching training induces trivial increases in fascicle length at rest and small increases in fascicle length during stretching. High, but not low, stretching volumes and intensities induce longitudinal fascicle growth. High stretching intensities result in increased muscle thickness. Fascicle angle remains unaffected by static stretching training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared the acute and long-term effects of intermittent and continuous static stretching training on straight leg raise range of motion (ROM). Seventy-seven preadolescent female gymnasts were divided into a stretching (n = 57), and a control group (n = 20). The stretching group performed static stretching of the hip extensors of both legs, three times per week for 15 weeks. One leg performed intermittent (3 × 30 s with 30 s rest) while the other leg performed continuous stretching (90 s). ROM pre- and post-stretching was measured at baseline, on weeks 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and after 2 weeks of detraining. ROM was increased during both intermittent and continuous stretching training, but remained unchanged in the control group. Intermittent stretching conferred a larger improvement in ROM compared to both continuous stretching and control from week 3, until the end of training, and following detraining (p = 0.045 to 0.001 and d = 0.80 to 1.41). During detraining, ROM after the intermittent protocol decreased (p = 0.001), while it was maintained after the continuous protocol (p = 0.36). Acute increases in ROM following the intermittent stretching were also larger than in the continuous (p = 0.038). Intermittent stretching was more effective than continuous, for both long-term and acute ROM enhancement in preadolescent female athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined changes in countermovement jump (CMJ) height and hip and knee joint range of motion (ROM), after an acute bout of prolonged static stretching. Nineteen, female "Gymnastics for All" gymnasts (age: 9.8±0.5 years, training experience: 2.5±1.5 years, height: 135.0±7.3cm, body mass: 33.4±6.9 kg) performed 90s of quadriceps stretching. A single-leg stretching and jumping design was used, with the contra-lateral limb serving as control. One-leg CMJ performance for the stretched and the control leg and two-legs CMJ were measured after warm-up, and 2 min post-stretching. ROM of the stretched leg was measured before and after stretching. One-leg CMJ height remained unchanged for both the stretched (pre: 7.4±1.7, post: 6.9±1.8 cm) and the control leg (pre: 7.0±1.7, post: 6.7±2.1 cm), as shown by the lack of main effects for time (pre vs. post: p= 0.278), leg (stretched vs. non-stretched leg: p= 0.207), and interaction (p= 0.444). Two-legs CMJ also remained unchanged (pre: 16.9±3.1, post: 16.3±3.4 cm, p=0.186). Hip joint ROM increased after stretching (pre: 16.3±3.7, post: 18.2±4.2°, p=0.002), while knee joint ROM remained unchanged (pre: 26.6±2.7, post: 25.9±3.0°, p= 0.218). Prolonged static stretching increases ROM, but has no negative effect on CMJ performance in very young, flexibility-trained female gymnasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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