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Physiological Adaptations and Improvements in Sports Performance through Training in...
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Physiological Adaptations and Improvements in Sports Performance through Training in Adverse Environments

A special issue of Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology (ISSN 2411-5142). This special issue belongs to the section "Athletic Training and Human Performance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 494

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Ismael Martínez Guardado

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Health Sciences, Camilo José Cela University, C. Castillo de Alarcón, 49, Villafranca del Castillo, 28692 Madrid, Spain
Interests: physical fitness; exercise science; exercise physiology; exercise performance; sports science; strength & conditioning; resistance training; sport physiology; environment stress physiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The upcoming issue, titled "Physiological Adaptations and Improvements in Sports Performance through Training in Adverse Environments", aims to explore how athletes adapt to challenging environmental conditions and the resulting impact on their performance. This Special Issue will delve into the physiological mechanisms that underpin these adaptations, highlighting how exposure to thermal stress (heat and cold) and hypoxia (low oxygen conditions) can enhance athletic capabilities.

The scope includes a comprehensive analysis of the acute and chronic physiological responses to training in extreme environments, such as changes in cardiovascular, respiratory, and muscular systems. It will cover topics like heat acclimatization, cold exposure, altitude training, and simulated hypoxia, examining their effects on endurance, strength, and overall athletic performance. Additionally, this Special Issue will address the practical applications of these training methods, offering insights into optimizing training protocols for various sports disciplines. Research findings, case studies, and expert reviews will provide a holistic understanding of how adverse environmental training can be leveraged to gain competitive advantages, improve resilience, and ensure athlete safety and well-being.

Dr. Ismael Martínez Guardado
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • heat acclimatization
  • altitude training
  • thermal stress
  • hypoxia
  • performance enhancement

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 6482 KiB  
Article
Passive Heat Stimuli as a Systemic Training in Elite Endurance Athletes: A New Strategy to Promote Greater Metabolic Flexibility
by Sergi Cinca-Morros, Martin Burtscher, Fernando Benito-López and Jesús Álvarez-Herms
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2025, 10(2), 220; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk10020220 - 7 Jun 2025
Viewed by 79
Abstract
Objectives: The ability to efficiently regulate body temperature is crucial during endurance activities such as trail running, especially during competitive events in hot conditions. Over the past decade, passive hyperthermia exposure has grown significantly in popularity as a means of improving acclimatization and [...] Read more.
Objectives: The ability to efficiently regulate body temperature is crucial during endurance activities such as trail running, especially during competitive events in hot conditions. Over the past decade, passive hyperthermia exposure has grown significantly in popularity as a means of improving acclimatization and performance in hot environments. The present study aims to compare the physiological changes that occur in a group of professional athletes due to passive sauna exposure (80–90 °C) and their own response to maximal aerobic performance. Methods: Twelve professional trail runners (eight men and four women) were tested in three conditions: (i) baseline; (ii) before; and (iii) after (a) passive dry sauna exposure and (b) a maximal endurance test. In both cases, physiological parameters such as heart rate, tympanic temperature, arterial and muscle oxygen saturation, and blood concentrations of glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and hemoglobin were measured. Results: Sauna exposure produced similar trends in cardiovascular and metabolic responses to those occurring during exercise, but at a much lower physiological level. Glucose and HDL levels were both significantly elevated (or tended to be so) after sauna and exercise (p < 0.03 and p < 0.01, respectively). Athletes who mobilized the sum of substrates (glucose and HDL) performed the exercise test faster (r = −0.76; p < 0.004). The response of arterial oxygen saturation (decreased) was similar during sauna and exercise, but opposite at the muscular level (increased during sauna and decreased during exercise). Additionally, inter-individual variability in responses was noted for most of the other parameters, suggesting the existence of ‘responders’ and ‘non-responders’ to thermal stimuli. Conclusions: The physiological responses of trained endurance athletes are moderately impacted by passive sauna use. However, individual changes could be correlated with endurance performance and optimizing individualization. Heat stimuli promote different physiological responses in terms of cardiac function, oxygen kinetics and substrate mobilization, albeit to a lesser extent than exercise. Greater substrate mobilization during maximal endurance exercise was found to be correlated with better performance. Further studies are needed to explore the concepts of metabolic flexibility, as described here, and how heat exposure may improve systemic health and performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological Adaptations and Improvements in Sports Performance through Training in Adverse Environments)
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