elite endurance performance monitoring

INTRODUCTION: Gymnastics consists of several different disciplines, whereof TeamGym is one. TeamGym is a young discipline with sparse research. The aim of the study is to investigate the injury characteristics in Swedish elite gymnasts competing in TeamGym including training load and other physical and psychological factors associated with injury. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The Swedish TeamGym Injury Cohort is a longitudinal prospective cohort study for 52 weeks that includes the junior (15-17 years) and senior (≥18 years) Swedish female and male national teams in TeamGym...

BACKGROUND: Patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) often face glycemic fluctuations during exercise. HD-tDCS, known for enhancing neuromodulation focus, has shown promise in improving endurance. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex HD-tDCS on glycemic excursions during a time-trial performance in elite cyclists with T1D. METHODS: In a double-blind, randomized crossover order, nine elite cyclists with T1D (no complications) underwent either HD-tDCS (F3, F4) or control (SHAM) and completed a constant-load trial at 75% of the 2nd ventilatory threshold plus a 15-km cycling time-trial...

PURPOSE: To determine if post-exercise heart rate variability, in the form of logged transformed root mean square of successive differences of the R-R intervals (LnRMSSD) can be measured reliably during the recovery from a submaximal cycle test and what the relationship of LnRMSSD is with training status of the cyclists. METHODS: Fourteen male cyclists participated in the reliability part for the study, which included performing six Lamberts Submaximal Cycle Test (LSCT), during which recovery LnRMSSD was measured over 30 s (LnRMSSD30 s ), 60 s LnRMSSD60 s )and 90 s LnRMSSD90 s )...

Longitudinal measurements of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) among adolescent male elite athletes are lacking. We aimed to monitor REDs indicators and their possible impact on performance in elite high-school cross-country skiing and biathlon athletes ( n = 13) (16.3 ± 0.4 years, 179.4 ± 7.6 cm, 63.6 ± 8.2 kg body mass (BM), and peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak ): 61.5 ± 5.3 mL/kg BM/min) every 6 months for 3 years. Protocols included assessments of energy availability (EA), body composition and bone mineral density (BMD), resting metabolic rate (RMR), disordered eating behavior, exercise addiction, VO2peak , and muscle strength...

The aim of this study is to analyze the worst-case scenarios of professional futsal referees during the first and second half of official matches in the Spanish Futsal Cup using a Local Positioning System (LPS) for monitoring their movement patterns. Eight professional futsal referees (40 ± 3.43 years; 1.80 ± 0.03 m; 72.84 ± 4.01 kg) participated in the study. The external load (total distance, high-speed running distance and efforts, sprint distance and efforts, and accelerations and decelerations distances) of the referees was monitored and collected using an LPS...

Basketball is a sport that is characterized by various physical performance parameters and motor abilities such as speed, strength, and endurance, which are all underpinned by an athlete's efficient use of the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC). A common assessment to measure SSC efficiency is the countermovement jump (CMJ). When performed on a force plate, a plethora of different force-time metrics may be gleaned from the jump task, reflecting neuromuscular performance characteristics. The aim of this study was to investigate how different CMJ force-time characteristics change across different parts of the athletic year, within a sample of elite collegiate male basketball players...

BACKGROUND: Elite sport is continuously evolving. World records keep falling and athletes from a longer list of countries are involved. PURPOSE: This commentary was designed to provide insights into present and future trends associated with world-class endurance training based on the perspectives, experience, and knowledge of an expert panel of 25 applied sport scientists. RESULTS: The key drivers of development observed in the past 10-15 years were related to (1) more accessible scientific knowledge for coaches and athletes combined with (2) better integration of practical and scientific exchange across multidisciplinary perspectives within professionalized elite athlete support structures, as well as (3) utilization of new technological advances...

INTRODUCTION: Monitoring muscle metabolic activity via blood lactate is a useful tool for understanding the physiological response to a given exercise intensity. Recent indications suggest that skeletal muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2 ), an index of the balance between local O2 supply and demand, may describe and predict endurance performance outcomes. PURPOSE: We tested the hypothesis that SmO2 rate is tightly related to blood lactate concentration across exercise intensities, and that deflections in SmO2 rate would coincide with established blood lactate thresholds (i...

OBJECTIVE: In this scoping review, we aimed to 1) identify and evaluate existing research that describes the long-term development of training characteristics and performance-determining factors in male and female endurance athletes reaching an elite/international (Tier 4) or world-class level (Tier 5), 2) summarize the available evidence and 3) point out existing knowledge gaps and provide methodological guidelines for future research in this field. METHODS: This review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews...

INTRODUCTION: Exercising outdoors may inadvertently lead to individuals inhaling levels of air pollution that may be detrimental to their health and activity-related performance. Endurance athletes are a particularly susceptible subgroup due to their high ventilation rates sustained over prolonged periods of time coupled with high training loads that often occur outdoors. In this study, we estimate the effects of air pollution on a series of athletic performance parameters in an elite adolescent soccer team...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate possible persistent performance deficits after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in elite athletes. METHODS: A prospective cohort study in three Belgian professional male football teams was performed during the 2020 - 2021 season. Participants were submitted to strength, jump, and sprint tests and an aerobic performance test (the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery test (YYIR)). These tests were repeated at fixed time intervals throughout the season...

BACKGROUND: Altitude training is often regarded as an indispensable tool for the success of elite endurance athletes. Historically, altitude training emerged as a key strategy to prepare for the 1968 Olympics, held at 2300 m in Mexico City, and was limited to the "Live High-Train High" method for endurance athletes aiming for performance gains through improved oxygen transport. This "classical" intervention was modified in 1997 by the "Live High-Train Low" (LHTL) model wherein athletes supplemented acclimatization to chronic hypoxia with high-intensity training at low altitude...

BACKGROUND: Rectal distension increases regulatory burden to autonomic nervous system in the brain. PURPOSE: To determine the effect of rectal defecation on endurance performance and blood supply to the prefrontal brain and sub-navel regions of elite triathletes. METHODS: Thirteen elite triathletes completed a cycling time trial (80% VO2max ) under defecated and non-defecated conditions, using a counterbalanced crossover design. Oxygenation and blood distribution in prefrontal brain and sub-navel regions were monitored by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) during cycling...

BACKGROUND: Training load is typically described in terms of internal and external load. Investigating the coupling of internal and external training load is relevant to many sports. Here, continuous kernel-density estimation (KDE) may be a valuable tool to capture and visualize this coupling. AIM: Using training load data in speed skating, we evaluated how well bivariate KDE plots describe the coupling of internal and external load and differentiate between specific training sessions, compared to training impulse scores or intensity distribution into training zones...

INTRODUCTION: Rowing is a strength endurance type of sport, and morphology and mass are undoubtedly performance-related factors. Precisely identifying these morphological factors associated with performance, can assist the exercise scientists and coaches in selecting and developing talented athletes. There is however, a lack of anthropometric data collected at either World Championship or Olympic Games level. The aims of this study were to describe and compare the morphology and basic strength characteristic of male and female heavyweight and lightweight rowers competing at 2022 World Championship (18...

ABSTRACT This study aimed to determine the neuromuscular changes in muscle contractile properties and countermovement jump (CMJ) performance after a long distance (LD) triathlon, inquiring to what extent it is influenced by gender and the evaluated muscle, and to explore for response differences. Four elite (2 females and 2 males) and 18 well-trained triathletes (3 females and 15 males) who competed in the 2019 LD Triathlon World Championship undergone, prior and post-race, a CMJ and a muscle contractile properties assessment in vastus lateralis (VL) and biceps femoris (BF) using tensiomyography...

Introduction: Arrhythmias also occur among elite endurance athletes. Conventional diagnostic tools for assessment of arrhythmias suffer from limited availability and usability challenges, particularly under the demanding training conditions of an elite athlete. Among endurance athletes, there is a need for out-of-hospital monitoring to enhance detection of arrhythmias under conditions that are relevant and potentially provocative of underlying pathology. The Norwegian patch ECG247 Smart Heart Sensor has been developed to simplify the assessment of heart rhythm disorders...

Purpose: We assessed the occurrence of rhythm alterations in elite athletes with suspected risk using Holter monitoring, and the association of Holter-determined rhythm alterations with echocardiographic findings. Methods: A large cohort of Spanish elite athletes ( N = 6,579, 34% female) underwent in-depth cardiological examination (including echocardiographic evaluation, and resting and exercise electrocardiogram [ECG]) between 01/02/1998 and 12/31/2018. Holter monitoring was performed in those reporting cardiovascular symptoms, with suspicion of cardiac structural abnormalities potentially associated with dangerous arrhythmias, or with resting/exercise ECG features prompting a closer examination...

BACKGROUND: Some probiotics appear to improve athletic performance, endurance, and recovery after intense exercise. Other formulations may provide performance-related benefits via immune and gastrointestinal functions in athletic individuals. However, few formulations have been studied for both types of effects among non-elite athletes. The primary objective of this study is to assess the ergogenic effects of a probiotic on high-intensity endurance running performance in non-elite runners...

Organized biannually in the Swiss Alps since 1984, the "Patrouille des Glaciers" (PDG) is one of the most challenging long-distance ski mountaineering (skimo) team competitions in the world. The race begins in Zermatt (1,616 m) and ends in Verbier (1,520 m), covering a total distance of 53 km with a cumulated 4,386 m of ascent and 4,482 m of descent. About 4,800 athletes take part in this competition, in teams of three. We hereby present the performance analysis of the uphill parts of this race of a member (#1) of the winning team in 2018, setting a new race record at 5 h and 35 min, in comparison with two amateur athletes...