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Physiological and Biomechanical Foundations of Strength Training
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Physiological and Biomechanical Foundations of Strength Training

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 7309

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Sergio José Ibáñez Godoy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Grupo de Optimización del Entrenamiento y Rendimiento Deportivo (GOERD), Facultad de Ciencias del Deporte, Universidad de Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Interests: sports pedagogy; physical education; coach education; coaching science; sports; sports training; sports performance; performance analysis; notational analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue entitled "Physiological and Biomechanical Foundations of Strength Training" aims to explore the intricate mechanisms underlying strength development, emphasizing the integration of physiological and biomechanical principles in training methodologies. This issue seeks to advance the scientific understanding of how various factors—ranging from muscle architecture and neuromuscular function to biomechanics and applied training strategies—contribute to optimizing strength performance. We encourage interdisciplinary perspectives that bridge gaps between research and practical application in athletic performance, rehabilitation, and health promotion.

This Special Issue invites original research, systematic reviews, and theoretical perspectives addressing, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Neuromuscular adaptations to resistance training.
  • Influence of the menstrual cycle on strength development in women.
  • Strength training methodology for improving health in special populations.
  • Objective indicators for establishing strength training and recovery processes.
  • Biomechanical analyses of strength training exercises.
  • Load management and periodization strategies.
  • Training adaptations across age, sex, and skill levels.
  • Effects of fatigue, recovery, and overtraining on strength performance.
  • Integration of wearable technology and biomechanics in training.
  • Functional applications of strength training in rehabilitation and injury prevention.
  • Cross-disciplinary approaches in sports science and kinesiology.

By consolidating insights from these domains, this Issue aims to inform evidence-based practices and foster innovation in strength training science.

Prof. Dr. Sergio José Ibáñez Godoy
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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 1800 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

  • strength training
  • biomechanics
  • neuromuscular adaptations
  • resistance training
  • muscle architecture
  • training methodology
  • fatigue and recovery
  • load management
  • wearable technology
  • rehabilitation and injury prevention

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1766 KB  
Article
Beyond Static Assessment: A Proof-of-Concept Evaluation of Functional Data Analysis for Assessing Physiological Responses to High-Intensity Effort
by Adrian Odriozola, Cristina Tirnauca, Adriana González, Francesc Corbi and Jesús Álvarez-Herms
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2026, 11(2), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk11020151 - 10 Apr 2026
Viewed by 183
Abstract
Background: Conventional analyses of physiological recovery often rely on discrete metrics that assume independence across time points, thereby ignoring intrinsic temporal continuity and masking substantial interindividual heterogeneity. This proof-of-concept study assesses the efficacy of Functional Data Analysis (FDA) as a promising framework [...] Read more.
Background: Conventional analyses of physiological recovery often rely on discrete metrics that assume independence across time points, thereby ignoring intrinsic temporal continuity and masking substantial interindividual heterogeneity. This proof-of-concept study assesses the efficacy of Functional Data Analysis (FDA) as a promising framework for characterizing individual response dynamics following a functional threshold power (FTP) test. Methods: Physiological time-series data (including blood lactate, heart rate, blood pressure, and glucose levels) collected from 21 trained cyclists (10 professionals, 11 amateurs) were represented as functional objects using FDataGrid on the original sampling grid (0, 3, 5, 10, 20 min), without basis expansion or smoothing. We conducted unsupervised functional clustering (K-means; Fuzzy K-means) and supervised classification (Maximum Depth with Modified Band Depth, K-Nearest Neighbors, Nearest Centroid, functional QDA with parametric Gaussian covariance). Model performance was estimated via Repeated Stratified 5-Fold Cross-Validation with 10 repetitions (50 folds), reporting accuracy, balanced accuracy (mean ± SD), 95% CIs, permutation p-values, and sensitivity/specificity from aggregated confusion matrices. Results: Lactate (CL) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) provided useful and statistically significant discrimination across several classifiers (e.g., KNN, Nearest Centroid, functional QDA), whereas heart rate showed modest discriminative value and glucose intermediate performance. Unsupervised analyses revealed distinct lactate recovery profiles and graded membership for hemodynamic/metabolic variables, supporting the value of FDA for resolving heterogeneity beyond group-average trends. Conclusions: FDA offers a feasible and informative approach for classifying recovery phenotypes while preserving temporal structure. Findings are promising but should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size, sparse time points, and the need for external validation in larger, independent cohorts before translation into routine decision-making. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Biomechanical Foundations of Strength Training)
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15 pages, 402 KB  
Article
Acute Effects of Three Recovery Interventions on Post-Practice Vertical Jump Force-Time Metrics in Female Basketball Players
by Dimitrije Cabarkapa, Damjana V. Cabarkapa, Dora Nagy, Richard Repasi, Tamas Laczko and Laszlo Ratgeber
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2026, 11(1), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk11010044 - 21 Jan 2026
Viewed by 581
Abstract
Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the acute effects of cold-water immersion (CWI), cryotherapy (CRT), and intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) on lower-body neuromuscular performance in female basketball players. Methods: Eighteen athletes volunteered to participate (body mass = [...] Read more.
Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the acute effects of cold-water immersion (CWI), cryotherapy (CRT), and intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) on lower-body neuromuscular performance in female basketball players. Methods: Eighteen athletes volunteered to participate (body mass = 63.0 ± 7.2 kg; height = 171.4 ± 6.5 cm; age = 16.4 ± 1.2 years), completing testing at three time points: (i) pre-practice, (ii) post-practice, and (iii) 45–60 min following a randomly assigned recovery intervention. At each time point, athletes performed three countermovement vertical jumps on a dual force plate system sampling at 1000 Hz (VALD Performance). To standardize external load across groups, all players wore inertial measurement units (Kinexon). Results: The two-way repeated measures ANOVA showed no statistically significant interaction (p > 0.05) between the three testing time points and recovery modalities for any of the analyzed variables. However, a significant main effect of time was observed, with 13 of 20 force-time metrics (65%), including jump height, reactive strength index-modified, contraction time, and concentric peak and mean force, declining post-recovery compared with pre-practice values, regardless of the recovery intervention applied. External load measures (e.g., total distance, number of jumps) remained consistent across groups. Conclusions: Overall, these findings suggest that CWI, CRT, and IPC were no more effective than passive recovery (i.e., control group) in mitigating post-practice declines in lower-body force and power-producing capacities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Biomechanical Foundations of Strength Training)
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15 pages, 397 KB  
Article
Hamstring Strain Injury Patterns in Spanish Professional Male Football (Soccer): A Systematic Video Analysis of 78 Match Injuries
by Aitor Gandarias-Madariaga, Antonio Martínez-Serrano, Pedro E. Alcaraz, Julio Calleja-González, Roberto López del Campo, Ricardo Resta and Asier Zubillaga-Zubiaga
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2025, 10(2), 201; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk10020201 - 31 May 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3542
Abstract
Background: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the different injury mechanisms of the hamstring muscle group have not been defined in detail in men’s professional football. For this reason, the main aim of this study is to determine the mechanisms and [...] Read more.
Background: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the different injury mechanisms of the hamstring muscle group have not been defined in detail in men’s professional football. For this reason, the main aim of this study is to determine the mechanisms and contextual patterns associated with hamstring muscle group injuries in professional male football players in competition, using a systematic video analysis method. Methods: Video recordings of official matches from two consecutive seasons (2017/18 and 2018/19) of the Spanish First Division of Football (LaLigaTM) were used for this research. The process to determine the moment of injury was carried out by two independent evaluators using an ad hoc observation tool and, subsequently, all relevant data were collected to detail the specific patterns of injury events observed. Results: In total, 78 cases of hamstring injuries were included for the final analysis of specific patterns. The most outstanding results were that, (1) although the sprint-related pattern (SP) is predominate (54%; 42 cases), the combined pattern 2 (COMB2) is another mechanism that appears frequently (26%; 20 cases), (2) within the SP, curved runs show a greater number of cases (52% of SP; 22 cases), (3) the majority of the injuries occur without contact (83%; 65 cases) and with the presence of the ball (88%; 69 cases), and finally, (4) the most injured positions were fullbacks/wingbacks (28%; 22 cases), central defenders (27%; 21 cases), and wingers/wide midfielders (23%; 18 cases). Conclusions: The SP remains the most frequent pattern in hamstring injuries; however, the present study presents other mechanisms that are also quite common and should be considered, such as curvilinear runs in SP and COMB2. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Biomechanical Foundations of Strength Training)
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13 pages, 681 KB  
Article
Investigating Countermovement and Horizontal Jump Asymmetry in Female Football Players: Differences Across Age Categories
by Elena Mainer-Pardos, Rafael Albalad-Aiguabella, Víctor Emilio Villavicencio Álvarez, Santiago Calero-Morales, Demetrio Lozano and Alberto Roso-Moliner
J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2025, 10(2), 158; https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk10020158 - 3 May 2025
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2244
Abstract
Background: Lower limb asymmetry is a critical factor influencing performance and injury risk in football players. Despite the increasing popularity of women’s football, limited research has examined how asymmetry varies across different age categories. This study aimed to investigate countermovement jump (CMJ) [...] Read more.
Background: Lower limb asymmetry is a critical factor influencing performance and injury risk in football players. Despite the increasing popularity of women’s football, limited research has examined how asymmetry varies across different age categories. This study aimed to investigate countermovement jump (CMJ) and horizontal jump (HJ) asymmetry in female football players across four age categories (U14, U16, U18, and +18). Methods: Seventy-six female football players from the same club participated in the study. Players performed unilateral CMJ and HJ tests to assess inter-limb asymmetry. A one-way ANOVA and Chi-square tests were conducted to examine age-related differences in asymmetry levels. Results: CMJ asymmetry significantly varied across age groups (p < 0.001), with the highest asymmetry observed in U14 and the lowest in +18. In contrast, HJ asymmetry remained consistently low across all age groups (p = 0.113). No significant correlation was found between CMJ and HJ asymmetry. Additionally, asymmetry levels in CMJ were significantly associated with age (p = 0.003), whereas no such association was observed for HJ. Conclusions: CMJ asymmetry is more prevalent in younger female football players and tends to decrease with age, suggesting that neuromuscular development plays a role in reducing asymmetry over time. These findings highlight the importance of monitoring asymmetry levels across different age groups to optimize training interventions and injury prevention strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Biomechanical Foundations of Strength Training)
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