Between-session reliability of dry-land and in-water tests to measure inter-limb asymmetries in swimmers.

The aims of the present study were to: i) analyse the between-session reliability of dry-land and in-water swimming tests, and ii) investigate the prevalence of meaningful asymmetries in swimming athletes. Twenty-eight swimmers (21 males, 7 females) performed anthropometric, shoulder range of motion (ROM), countermovement jump, shoulder isokinetic torque, and 15-s tethered swimming tests two times, 1 week apart. Inter-limb asymmetries were calculated for each variable. Raw data reliability was determined using the intraclass coefficient correlation (ICC) and the typical error of measurement (TEM), and effect size (ES) was used to determine systematic bias between test sessions. At an individual level, inter-limb asymmetries were compared to the coefficient of variation (CV) to determine whether they were real. The between-session reliability was good to excellent (0.75 to 1.00) for most of the raw data, except for ROM. Between-session ES was predominately "trivial" or "small" for raw data and asymmetries, reinforcing that the values did not change significantly between the sessions. In addition, real asymmetries were seen in some tested metrics, depending on the test. In conclusion, the tested variables presented good levels of between-session reliability and were able to detect real and consistent asymmetries.

Muscle Architecture and Maximal Strength between Male Practitioners of Functional Fitness Training and Strength Training.

Functional Fitness Training (FFT) is a very popular training method in recent years. However, the combination of aerobic and strength components of this training method raised the hypothesis of impaired strength and muscle structure when compared to Strength Training (ST). Thus, the study aimed to compare muscle architecture and strength between FFT and ST, and the relationship between muscle architecture and maximum strength performance. Males (28.46 ± 6.03 years), nonathletes, and practitioners for two years in FFT (n = 8) and ST (n = 8), in addition to males classified as physically active (n = 8) were recruited. Muscle architecture of the rectus femoris (RF) and vastus lateralis (VL) of the thigh were evaluated with the aid of B-mode ultrasound and maximum strength in the back squat through the one-repetition maximum test. For muscle architecture, the fascicle length (FL), pennation angle (PAn), and muscle thickness (MT) were evaluated, in addition to the cross-sectional area (CSA). The FL, PAn, MT, and CSA of the RF and VL did not differ between the FFT and ST groups. Similarly, maximum strength did not differ between the FFT (152 ± 23.68 kg) and ST (151.88 ± 14.77 kg) groups. A significant relationship was observed between the PAn of the RF and the maximum strength (r =0.862; p =0.006) of FFT practitioners. The muscle architecture, CSA, and muscle strength do not differ between FFT and ST male practitioners, and PAn of the RF correlates with the maximum force for FFT practitioners.