Effect of respiratory muscle endurance training on performance and respiratory function in professional cyclists during the off-season.

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to analyze the effect of respiratory muscle endurance training (RMT) on performance and respiratory function in professional road cyclists during the off-season period. METHODS: Twenty professional road cyclists from the Czech Republic were divided into the control (CON) (N.=10) and the RMT (N.=10) groups. Cyclists from the RMT group accomplished 30 sessions over 10 weeks. Performance in the incremental cycling test and respiratory capacity via test were assessed before and after 10 weeks in both groups. The comparison between and within the groups was performed, together with effect size and delta % (P<0.05). RESULTS: Significant effects on respiratory function during the exercise, on lung volume utilization at 90% of VO2max (TV-90%) and maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) were found in RMT compared to the CON group, with a moderate effect size (0.71 and 0.61), and improvements of 13% and 14%, respectively. Parameters of performance in the cycling protocol and respiratory function at rest presented better values in the RMT group, however with no significance and in minor magnitude. CONCLUSIONS: Using RMT during off-season benefits professional road cyclists by improving the major efficiency of respiratory function during progressive efforts. Therefore, the protocol of RMT could be used as an ergogenic aid during this period in order to maintain respiratory adaptations, optimizing the pre-season training. Adjustments can be made to improve the parameters outcomes.

Home-based training program during the SARS-CoV-2 quarantine: training load, motivation, and wellbeing in professional elite female basketball players.

BACKGROUND: Due to the quarantine caused by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), professional team-sports adapted their training routine to maintain the athletes' performance and minimize the negative emotional effects. The aim of the present study was to describe a home-based training program and extra-activities applied during the quarantine in elite professional female basketball players, and to compare the internal training load (ITL), session rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE), motivation, and wellbeing responses before and during the quarantine. METHODS: Nine female elite players (25.7±7.0 years; 180.0±8.0 cm; 79.0±11.0 kg) belonging to a professional basketball team performed a home-based training program during the quarantine. ITL, s-RPE, training motivation, and wellbeing were examined before (phase 1), at the beginning (phase 2), and during (phase 3) the quarantine. RESULTS: ITL was higher (main effect) in phase 1 (449.5±62.8 a.u.) compared to phase 2 (265.5±39.0 a.u.) and phase 3 (423.1±18.7 a.u.); s-RPE was higher in phase 1 (4.50±0.63 a.u.) compared to phase 2 (3.8±0.6 a.u.), but not to phase 3 (4.37±0.79 a.u.). Motivation was higher in phase 1 (3.6±0.3 a.u.) compared to phase 2 (2.3±0.6 a.u.) and phase 3 (2.4±0.5 a.u.). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study demonstrated that extra-activities involving online athletes' socialization were implemented to rouse the motivation, but the quarantine period induced a reduction in ITL and influenced the player's training motivation.

Relationship between Physical Performance, Anthropometric Measurements and Stroke Velocity in Youth Tennis Players.

Given that serve velocity has been identified as one of the most important components influencing performance in tennis, identifying the factors associated with serve velocity is crucial for coaches and athletes. The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between physical performance, anthropometric characteristics and stroke velocity in youth tennis players. Twenty-seven youth players (male = 16, age = 15.69 ± 1.70 years; female = 11, age = 15.82 ± 1.40 years) underwent an anthropometric and physical performance assessment. On a tennis court, players were assessed for forehand, backhand and serve velocities. Pearson's correlation coefficient revealed that forehand velocity was significantly correlated with height (r = 0.58) and handgrip strength (right hand: r = 0.68; left hand: r = 0.57), whereas backhand velocity was significantly correlated with running time (r = 0.52) and handgrip strength (right hand: r = 0.67; left hand: r = 0.55) in males. Similarly, in males, serve velocity was significantly correlated with height (r = 0.60), running time (r = 0.62) and handgrip strength (right: r = 0.77, left hand: r = 0.71). In females, a significant correlation was only demonstrated between serve velocity and body weight (r = 0.69). These findings highlight that handgrip strength, running time and body height variables are positively associated with stroke velocities in male youth tennis players.

Effect of mental fatigue on performance, perceptual and physiological responses in orienteering athletes.

BACKGROUND: Mental fatigue seems to impair the athletes' performance; however, in sports with high cognitive demand, such as orienteering, this negative effect could be attenuated during the race. Therefore, this study investigated mental fatigue effect on performance, perceptual, and physiological responses in orienteers. METHODS: Fifteen male orienteers (30±8 years) participated in the study. Two conditions of cognitive tasks preceded the orienteering performance, performed randomly: 30 minutes of mental exertion (experimental condition [EXP]) by Stroop task, or 30 min without mental exertion (control condition [CON]). Orienteering performance was determined by the time required to perform the Orienteering race. The perceived recovery and motivation were evaluated in each condition, pre-cognitive task, and heart rate during the task. Perceived exertion (RPE) was measured pre- and post-orienteering race. Orienteering performance and perceived performance were measured immediately after the race. RESULTS: Orienteering performance and remain variables showed no significant differences between conditions (EXP versus CON) (P>0.05). Although a slight increase in performance-time was found in EXP (40.8±11.4 min) versus CON (38.4±13 min) (P=0.4; ES=0.20). RPE increase post-EXP (P<0.05; ES=0.96) but not post-orienteering race (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Thirty minutes of the cognitive task did not significantly affect the perceptual and physiological responses but demonstrates the addition of 2.4 minutes to orienteering performance. Orienteers may cope with mental effort due to the cognitive demands and physical conditions required in orienteering.

The impact of menstrual-cycle phase on basal and exercise-induced hormones, mood, anxiety and exercise performance in physically active women.

BACKGROUND: The influence of menstrual cycle phase on perceptual responses and exercise performance is still unclear in the literature. Therefore, this study investigated salivary estradiol (sal-E2) and cortisol (sal-C) concentrations, mood, anxiety and exercise (aerobic, anaerobic) performance in physically-active women across two menstrual-cycle phases. METHODS: Twelve women (mean age 24.9±4.3 years) were assessed in the early follicular (early-FP) and mid luteal (mid-LP) phase of their menstrual cycle. In each phase, participants were tested for both aerobic (i.e. VO2max) and anaerobic (i.e. peak power, average power and Fatigue Index) performance. Basal and exercise-induced changes in sal-E2 and sal-C concentrations, self-appraised mood and anxiety were assessed. RESULTS: We observed a significant increase in basal (pre-exercise) sal-E2 concentration from early-FP to mid-LP (P≤0.05), coupled with a significant increase in VO2max in early-FP (39.9±7.8 mL/kg/min) versus mid-LP (36.9±7.8 mL/kg/min). Depression also decreased with aerobic exercise, but only in the early-FP. No other significant menstrual-phase differences in exercise performance, emotional state or hormonal change scores were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that physically-active women may experience a natural rise in estradiol concentration, as they transition from the early-FP to mid-LP. In the present study, this was accompanied by a small reduction in VO2max. An exercise (aerobic)-related decline in depression also emerged in the early-FP. Most of the exercise performance, emotional state and hormonal measures did not exhibit any menstrual phase-related difference.

Use of the anaerobic speed reserve to normalize the prescription of high-intensity interval exercise intensity.

The aim of this study was to compare the perceptual and physiological responses and time-to-exhaustion in high intensity interval exercise (HIIE) protocols that are prescribed based on the relative anaerobic speed reserve (ASR) or maximal aerobic speed (MAS) in athletes with different ASR values, as well as the coefficient of variation (CV) of the abovementioned variables. Eleven long-distance runners and ten rugby players were submitted to five experimental sessions on different days; the first and second session were intended for the determination of the anthropometry, MAS and maximal sprint (MSS). In the subsequent sessions, three HIIE15:15s protocols were performed until exhaustion (110%MAS, Δ25%ASR, and Δ50%ASR) in random order. The anthropometric characteristics and variables obtained from the MAS and MSS tests in the different groups were compared by Student's unpaired t-test. The analysis of mixed models for repeated measures (groups and protocols) was used to compare the speed, delta blood lactate, rating of perceived exertion, and time-to-exhaustion. Rugby players presented higher ASR (13.6 ± 0.9 km h-1) compared to long-distance runners (12.6 ± 0.9 km h-1) (P = .049). For the HIIE15:15s protocols, there were no protocol and group interaction effects. However, lower CV values were observed for time-to-exhaustion (a mean reduction of 52%) and delta blood lactate (a mean reduction of 48%) in Δ25%ASR and Δ50%ASR when compared to 110%MAS. Furthermore, the rating of perceived exertion CV was similar in all HIIE15:15s protocols. The prescription of intensity of HIIE based on the ASR was able to reduce the inter-subject variability of lactate and time-to-exhaustion in rugby players and long-distance runners.