Strength and Conditioning Society 2022: Sports Performance, Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Health Improvement

A special issue of Sports (ISSN 2075-4663).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2023) | Viewed by 13498

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
UCAM Research Center for High Performance Sport, UCAM Universidad Católica de Murcia, 30107 Murcia, Spain
Interests: strength training; power training; sprint training; soccer; football; basketball; training load; injury prevention
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Nucleus of High Performance in Sport, NAR, São Paulo 04753-060, SP, Brazil
Interests: training programming; strength, speed, and power development in high-performance sports
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
UCAM Research Center for High Performance Sport, UCAM Universidad Católica de Murcia, 30107 Murcia, Spain
Interests: strength and conditioning; performance assessment; training load; team sports; futsal; soccer
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

On the occasion of the Strength and Conditioning Society (SCS) 5th Annual Conference held at the Nucleus of High Performance in Sport (NAR, São Paulo, Brazil), we are delighted to host this Special Issue in Sports (Basel), the SCS’s publishing partner. The Special Issue aims to disseminate evidence-based training approaches and publish studies related to applied strength and conditioning practices with implications for sports performance, injury prevention, rehabilitation, and health improvement. We are particularly interested in providing authors that submitted an abstract to the SCS 5th Annual Conference with the opportunity to publish the full-text version of their work in this Special Issue. Nevertheless, we extend the invitation to all authors who wish to submit their investigations with both males and female athletes from different sports, competitive levels, age categories, and training backgrounds.

Sports performance is complex and multifactorial, and studies focused on strength, power, and speed training and testing practices; aerobic and anaerobic conditioning; injury risk mitigation; and health improvement in athletic populations are required to provide practitioners with up-to-date scientific evidence. We recognize that conducting research in real-world settings is challenging and that the methodological approaches used in these situations may differ from those employed in laboratory settings. However, we are aware that the results from applied research are more likely to be implemented in high-performance sports environments. Original articles, reviews, case studies, short reports, and opinion pieces are welcome.

Dr. Pedro E. Alcaraz
Dr. Irineu Loturco
Dr. Tomás T. Freitas
Guest Editors

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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. Sports is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

  • athletic performance
  • injury
  • testing
  • health
  • strength–power training
  • speed development
  • endurance
  • training programming

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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9 pages, 1304 KiB  
Article
The Percentage of Total and Regional Fat Is Negatively Correlated with Performance in Judo
by Izabela Aparecida dos Santos, Gabriel Felipe Arantes Bertochi, Wonder Passoni Higino, Marcelo Papoti and Enrico Fuini Puggina
Sports 2023, 11(9), 168; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports11090168 - 4 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1760
Abstract
This study investigated the associations between total and regional body composition with performance in the special judo fitness test (SJFT), as well as strength and power tests (countermovement vertical jump—CMJ, squat jump—SJ, plyometric push-up—PPU, and force push-up—FPU). Twenty-three high-level judo athletes participated in [...] Read more.
This study investigated the associations between total and regional body composition with performance in the special judo fitness test (SJFT), as well as strength and power tests (countermovement vertical jump—CMJ, squat jump—SJ, plyometric push-up—PPU, and force push-up—FPU). Twenty-three high-level judo athletes participated in this study. Initially, they underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, after which they performed the CMJ, SJ, PPU, and FPU tests. On another day, the SJFT was carried out. Correlations were tested using Pearson’s test. The performance in the SJFT was correlated with the total and arm %fat mass (r = −0.759), torso fat mass (r = −0.802), torso %fat mass (r = −0.822) and in the lower limb regions with the leg fat mass (r = −0.803) and leg %fat (r = −0.745). In the strength and power tests, there were also negative correlations observed between regional fat and performance. There was a negative correlation between the percentage of total fat and performance in the SJFT (r = −0.824), SJ (r = −0.750), CMJ (r = −0.742), PPU (r = −0.609), and FPU (r = −0.736). Fat, both total fat and regional fat in the arms, torso, and legs, is strongly correlated with a poor performance in the SJFT and poor strength and power. Full article
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8 pages, 503 KiB  
Article
Fatigue-Induced Neuromuscular Performance Changes in Professional Male Volleyball Players
by Damjana V. Cabarkapa, Dimitrije Cabarkapa, Shay M. Whiting and Andrew C. Fry
Sports 2023, 11(6), 120; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports11060120 - 16 Jun 2023
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2723
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to assess pre-post practice changes in countermovement vertical jump (CVJ) force-time metrics and to determine the relationship between internal and external load variables within a cohort of professional male volleyball players. Ten elite athletes competing in [...] Read more.
The purpose of the present study was to assess pre-post practice changes in countermovement vertical jump (CVJ) force-time metrics and to determine the relationship between internal and external load variables within a cohort of professional male volleyball players. Ten elite athletes competing in one of the top professional European leagues participated in the present study. While standing on a uni-axial force plate, each athlete performed three CVJs immediately prior to the regular training session. Each athlete wore an inertial measurement unit (VertTM) through an entire practice from which the following external load metrics were obtained: Stress (i.e., an algorithm-derived metric used to quantify the percentage of high-impact movements), Jumps (i.e., the total number of jumps performed during the practice session), and Active Minutes (i.e., the total amount of time performing dynamic movements). Immediately post-practice, each athlete completed another set of three CVJs and reported their subjective measure of internal load using a Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale (Borg CR-10). While no statistically significant differences were observed in any of the force-time metrics examined in the present study pre-post practice (e.g., eccentric and concentric peak and mean force and power, vertical jump height, contraction time, countermovement depth), our findings indicate a strong positive association between RPE and Stress (r = 0.713) and RPE and Jumps (r = 0.671). However, a weak non-statistically significant correlation was observed between RPE and Active Minutes (r = −0.038), indicating that internal load seems to be more dependent on the intensity rather than the duration of the training session for this sport. Full article
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9 pages, 7619 KiB  
Article
Physical and Performance Characteristics of 3×3 Professional Male Basketball Players
by Dimitrije Cabarkapa, Darko Krsman, Damjana V. Cabarkapa, Nicolas M. Philipp and Andrew C. Fry
Sports 2023, 11(1), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports11010017 - 12 Jan 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3532
Abstract
Despite exponential growth in popularity over the last decade and recently becoming an Olympic sport, the amount of scientific literature focused on depicting a profile of successful 3×3 basketball players is sparse. Thus, the purpose of this study was to present the physical [...] Read more.
Despite exponential growth in popularity over the last decade and recently becoming an Olympic sport, the amount of scientific literature focused on depicting a profile of successful 3×3 basketball players is sparse. Thus, the purpose of this study was to present the physical and performance characteristics of professional 3×3 male basketball players and how they differ between elite and non-elite athletes. The anthropometrics, vertical jump, agility, and sprint performance parameters collected from ten players during regular training sessions were (x¯ ± SD): height (193.7 ± 4.5 cm), weight (89.2 ± 4.1 cm), wingspan (196.5 ± 5.2 cm), squat jump (43.5 ± 4.6 cm), countermovement jump with (53.3 ± 4.4 cm) and without an arm swing (46.3 ± 4.0 cm), reactive strength index (2.4 ± 0.3 m/s), t-test (10.3 ± 0.3 s), 505 drill (2.4 ± 0.2 s), 10 m sprint (1.5 ± 0.1 s), 30 m sprint (4.0 ± 0.3 s), shuttle run (27.7 ± 1.7 s), and bench press (98.2 ± 10.0 kg) and back squat (139.5 ± 17.6 kg) one repetition maximum. Additionally, the average and maximal heart rate (HR) responses during simulated games were 160.6 ± 8.0 and 188.5 ± 6.3 bpm, with players spending 6.3 ± 4.2, 11.4 ± 5.2, 13.9 ± 3.5, 26.4 ± 10.4, and 42.1 ± 10.0% of the total time in HR Zones 1–5, respectively. Interestingly, no statistically significant differences in the aforementioned physical and performance parameters were noted between elite and non-elite players. Overall, the findings of the present study provide coaches, sports scientists, and strength and conditioning practitioners with information that can aid in the athlete selection process, detection of areas for further improvement, and development of training regimens that resemble 3×3 basketball on-court competitive demands. Full article
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63 pages, 627 KiB  
Conference Report
SCS 5th Annual Conference. São Paulo, Brazil, 2022
by Pedro E. Alcaraz, Elena Marín-Cascales, Anthony J. Blazevich, Lucas A. Pereira, Valter P. Mercer, Túlio B. M. A. Moura, Victor Fernandes, Tomás T. Freitas and Irineu Loturco
Sports 2023, 11(5), 95; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports11050095 - 28 Apr 2023
Viewed by 4299
Abstract
On behalf of the Strength and Conditioning Society (SCS) and the Nucleus of High Performance in Sport (NAR), we are pleased to present the abstracts of the SCS 5th Annual Conference, which, for the first time, took place outside of Europe. The event [...] Read more.
On behalf of the Strength and Conditioning Society (SCS) and the Nucleus of High Performance in Sport (NAR), we are pleased to present the abstracts of the SCS 5th Annual Conference, which, for the first time, took place outside of Europe. The event was held at NAR’s state-of-the-art facilities in São Paulo, Brazil, on 3–5 November 2022, and comprised several invited sessions from international and national speakers on a variety of topics related to strength and conditioning practices and their application to health, injury prevention and sports performance. These included strength training in high-performance sports and older adults, sleep and recovery in elite athletes, performance optimization of the female athlete, high-intensity interval training, velocity-based resistance training, and running and cycling biomechanics, among others. The Conference also included different practical workshops conducted by renowned academics and practitioners on post-competition recovery strategies, plyometric training, hamstring strain injuries in soccer, and resisted sprint training. Finally, the event disseminated up-to-date strength and conditioning research by providing practitioners and researchers with the opportunity to present their most recent findings. In this regard, all abstracts of the communications presented at the SCS 5th Annual Conference can be found in this Conference Report. Full article
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