Sports, Volume 13, Issue 6

Professional training in elite team handball academies is key to developing top players, yet its direct impact on physical performance remains unclear. This study aimed to (1) provide professional training to elite adolescent players and (2) assess p...

We examined the effects of carbohydrate ingestion on endurance performance and fatigue during a soccer simulation in adolescent soccer players and evaluated the protocol’s reliability. Nine (13.5 ± 0.4 years pre-PHV) soccer players perfo...

Paddler athletes use resistance training (RT) to optimize power output (PO) during competitions. Understanding the power–load relationship (P–Lr) is essential for effective RT prescription. Moreover, the push-to-pull ratio (PU/PR)—t...

Background/Objectives: Sleep and recovery are critical for optimising exercise performance. However, the efficacy of melatonin supplementation in improving sleep quality and next-day physical performance remains unclear. This study examined the effec...

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the sleep characteristics and behaviours of senior male, senior female, and under 21 (U21) male elite soccer players using athlete-specific questionnaires. During the preseason/early season period...

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of static stretching (SS) duration on balance. Twenty-two participants performed passive dorsiflexion measurements and balance tests before and after SS. Passive dorsiflexion measurements determin...

Background: This study investigated boxers’ activity profiles during the final matches (3 × 3 min format) of the IBA 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championships. Methods: Footage of the 12 finals was used to analyse the frequency and du...

Sedentary behavior is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for various health issues, including cognitive decline. Objectives: This pilot study examined the acute and chronic effects of workplace-integrated exercise snacks—short, vigorous b...

The heart rate variability (HRV), influenced by female sex hormone fluctuations, is an indicator of athletes’ adaptation. This case study explores HRV responses over 18 months across a natural menstrual cycle (MC) and during oral contraceptive...

Purpose: Although chronic resting hormonal changes were traditionally considered to modulate muscle tissue remodeling and growth, our knowledge of exercise on the acute post-exercise hormonal response is limited. Moreover, the type of exercise protoc...

(1) Background: Limited research has examined elastic resistance preconditioning effects on post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) using the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) as an intensity indicator. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the ap...

Objective: Most recreational gym-goers independently consume nutritional supplements (NSs) without physician advice and a personalized diet. The present study examines the preference for nutritional supplements (NSs) based on protein and amino acids...

Physiological characteristics such as VO_2max, running economy (RE), maximal aerobic speed (MAS), maximal sprinting speed (MSS), anaerobic speed reserve (ASR), and player profiling (based on MSS and MAS) have been proven to be important for training p...

The effects of physical activity on skeletal muscle mass and cardiac function are well-documented, but there is limited information on the relationship between the two. Furthermore, differentiating between the ‘athlete’s heart’ and...

Background: Understanding the physical demands of basketball at different competitive levels is essential for optimizing training and performance. While elite players are often assumed to experience the highest physical loads, evidence comparing peak...

Organized sports are assumed to boost overall physical activity, but evidence suggests structured training does not always increase general activity outside formal sessions. This study explores the link between physical activity levels and weekly tra...

Background/Objectives: Various studies have investigated the importance of perceptual–cognitive skills in decision-making and the expert performance of athletes. However, bibliometric study has yet to identify research trends on this topic. The...

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between acute and chronic loads, and the fatigue response within male elite professional football players. Design: 40-week longitudinal study across the 2021–2022...

This study examined the use of linear regression models for predicting the outcomes of a six-week velocity-based training (VBT) intervention in female floorball players. The intervention was integrated into regular training and consisted of brief 30-...

This study examines six decades (1964–2023) of changes in motor skills and body dimensions among Japanese 13-year-old students, analyzing grip strength, handball throwing, 50 m dash, endurance running, and composite scores. National Physical Fi...

This study aimed to explore the relationship between perceived stress, burnout, and mental toughness, and investigate how mental toughness mediates the relationship between perceived stress and burnout among Hungarian coaches. Three hundred and thirt...

Dementia-friendly walking football offers a way of helping people who are less likely to engage with traditional services to participate in physical activity and support their physical, mental and social wellbeing. This addresses a gap in the current...

The purpose of this study was to assess whether a simple and reproducible battery of jump tests can distinguish between patients affected by chronic ankle instability (CAI) and control subjects. The hypothesis was that patients with CAI would demonst...

Air pollution is an escalating global concern with significant implications for human health and athletic performance. This narrative review synthesizes and critically compares the current literature on the impact of air pollution on health and footb...

Athletes engaged in dynamic sports experience a shortened red blood cell (RBC) lifespan and accelerated turnover due to RBC destruction. This accelerated RBC turnover might have a positive impact on exercise performance by increasing the number of yo...

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effectiveness of exercise interventions in regulating inflammatory biomarkers among individuals with musculoskeletal pain. A comprehensive search of MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Co...

Critical speed (CS), the respiratory compensation point (RCP), and the midpoint between gas exchange threshold and maxial oxygen uptake (VO_2max) (i.e., 50%Δ) have been considered indexes able to demarcate the boundary between the heavy and seve...

Background: Little is known about the perspectives of elite female rugby union players and practitioners towards rehabilitation and return to play (RTP) following shoulder injuries and how to manage these complex injuries. Methods: An interpretive he...

Sports participation according to socioeconomic status (SES) was related to children in high-income Western countries. This study aimed to examine whether family or neighborhood-level SES is associated with current and continued organized sports part...

We examined the effects of resistance training over 1.5 years (two seasons). Body mass, strength, power, and aerobic capacity were assessed during the first 1.5 years of a standardised, progressive, blocked linear periodisation training program in ad...

This longitudinal study investigated the incidence and characteristics of injuries among U9, U11, and U13 male football players in an academy setting over a six-season period, from 2016/17 to 2021/22. A total of 374 injuries were analyzed, with a par...

This study explores how age influences the relationship between physical performance (PP) and technical–tactical parameters (TPs) in youth soccer, analyzing 80 matches across four age groups: U15, U17, U19, and NB1 (adults). Team-level data wer...

Background: Optimal health requires self-direction for exercise regime consistency. Boredom may cause abandoning regular exercise. Experiencing psychological flow—a concept psychologist Csikszentmihalyi originated—may avert boredom. Metho...

Background: Knee injury risk screening protocols predominantly employ high-impact tasks (HIT), but there is a need for low-impact movement screening alternatives. This study aimed to investigate kinematic carryover between low-impact tasks (LIT) and...

Aging is associated with physiological changes that increase the risk of falls, impacting functional independence and quality of life. Multicomponent exercise training has emerged as an effective strategy for mitigating these risks by enhancing stren...

Introduction: Para-cycling is a competitive sport governed by the World Body for Cycling, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), encompassing various cycling disciplines tailored to athletes with physical or visual impairments. This study aimed to pros...

Squash, which originated in the early 19th century, was officially incorporated into the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee in 2023. This inclusion marks a significant milestone, highlighting its growing internation...

Relevant skills and physiological traits vary between high-intensity functional training (HIFT) workouts, but it is unknown how altering each programming detail affects their importance. To examine the effect of workout duration on relationships to H...