Search Results (85)

While the interest and participation in general endurance training and recreational sports competitions have continuously increased in recent decades, the number of recreational master-level endurance athletes has additionally multiplied. Athletes, active men and women older than 40 years of age, who participate in competitive athletics are usually referred to by the term master athletes (MAs). Previous research revealed the significant benefits of regular moderate physical activity, i.e., its positive influence on cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular health; however, recent data have raised concerns that long-term endurance exercise participation is associated with cardiac remodeling and potential adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Previous research also indicated potential structural, functional, and electrical remodeling in MAs due to prolonged and repeated exposure to high-intensity endurance exercise—a condition known as athlete’s heart. In this review, we focus on the association between extreme levels of endurance exercise and potential cardiovascular controversies, such as arrhythmogenesis due to new-onset atrial fibrillation, accelerated coronary artery atherosclerosis, and exercise-induced cardiac remodeling. Additionally, the exercise-dependent modulation of immunological response, such as proteomic response and cytokine alterations, is discussed. Furthermore, we discuss the impact of nutritional supplements in MAs and their potential benefits and harmful interactions. We aim to provide sports medicine practitioners with knowledge of these contemporary longevity controversies in sports cardiology and to highlight the importance of shared decision making in situations of clinical uncertainty. Full article

Long-term participation in marathon running involves complex psychological processes, yet existing research predominantly focuses on static, single-time-point analyses. This study addresses the gap by longitudinally examining the psychological evolution of an elite Chinese marathon runner (119 marathons completed) to uncover dynamic shifts from novice to master(s) level athlete stages. A longitudinal single-case study was conducted using inductive thematic analysis. Data included in-depth interviews, observational records, and archival materials spanning three life stages (youth, middle age, maturity). Five experts validated the credibility and validity of the findings. The results show that the runner’s psychological trajectory followed a three-phase model: competitive drive (youth: external achievement motivation), reflective transformation (middle age: health prioritization and identity reconfiguration), and value reconstruction (maturity: legacy mission and lifelong running). These stages were shaped by the interplay of achievement motivation, social roles, and physiological changes. Notably, the transition mirrored China’s marathon culture shift from elitism to mass participation. This study proposes a novel “motivation-physicality-society” interaction model, challenging static theories of sports psychology. It highlights how long-term runners dynamically balance extrinsic and intrinsic motivations while embedding personal growth within socio-cultural transformations. The findings offer theoretical foundations for optimizing psychological support systems and promoting sustainable marathon engagement. Full article

This systematic review aims to evaluate the impact of hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle on the performance of female athletes. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search was conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases using the keywords: (“Menstrual cycle”) AND (“performance” OR “female athlete” OR “sport” AND NOT “male”); AND NOT (“contraceptive”). Inclusion criteria focused on original studies published between 2013 and 2023, in English or Spanish, involving eumenorrheic female athletes without menstrual disorders or oral contraceptive use. The studies were critically assessed using the McMaster scientific review method. Results: Thirteen eligible articles were reviewed, comprising a total sample of 152 athletes. Significant findings include increased flexibility during the ovulatory phase and enhanced aerobic and anaerobic capacities in the luteal phase. Additionally, the menstrual and premenstrual phases notably influenced aerobic and anaerobic capacities, performance perception, symptomatology, and exercise-induced muscle damage. Conclusion: Hormonal fluctuations can impact female athletes’ performance. However, further research is warranted due to inconsistent results stemming from variations in cycle phases studied, lack of standardized methodologies, small sample sizes, and short observation periods. Full article

Background/Objectives: Master athletes in team sports represent a growing population of individuals who continue to engage in structured training and competition. Among these sports, basketball has primarily been investigated in older athletes; however, age-related effects on training load within the broader master athlete population remain largely unexplored. This study aimed to examine the age-related differences in workloads among master basketball athletes and determine whether game participation can facilitate the achievement of the recommended physical activity level. Methods: A total of 178 male athletes were divided into three age groups (35–45, 46–60, and ≥60 years) and participated in a national tournament. External load metrics, including accumulated acceleration load (AAL), mechanical load (ML), and jump load (JL), were recorded using tri-axial microsensors. Internal load (IL) was assessed via session ratings of perceived exertion (sRPE). Physical activity levels were categorized into light, moderate, and vigorous intensity using accelerometry-derived metabolic equivalents. Results: Significant age-related differences (p < 0.01) were observed in AAL, ML, and JL, with the youngest group showing the highest values. Likewise, the time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) displayed an age-dependent manner and decreased with age. Older athletes spent more time in low-intensity activities and employed energy-conserving strategies, avoiding high-speed and high-impact actions. Despite these variations, sRPE ratings were similar among groups. Conclusions: In conclusion, age is a crucial regulator of training load and physical activity and should be considered by practitioners and coaches who design training and physical activity plans for master basketball athletes. Despite the age-related differences, participation in basketball matches provides a substantial opportunity for increasing daily MVPA. Full article

Background: Self-directed learning (SDL) most appropriately is learning that is personally selected based on individual values. SDL potentially achieves psychological flow. Flow is an outcome identified and investigated by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Among those whose flow he studied were individuals who engaged in self-directed careers—athletes, musicians, and researchers. Method: Based on their career self-direction, this investigation compares the reports of athletes, musicians, and researchers of Csikszentmihalyi through a qualitative narrative analysis of his relevant forty-seven-year publication record. The included reports have Csikszentmihalyi as an author, are an analysis of athletes, musicians, or researchers, and mention flow. The lack of an empirical study is the reason for exclusion. Results: The results reveal a significant difference between those who experience flow from a performance of their achieved skills and those who experience flow while learning. This examination of Csikszentmihalyi’s studies regarding athletes and musicians identifies that they are most likely to experience flow during performances of their mastered skills, unlike researchers, whose flow occurs during SDL—a distinction unmentioned by Csikszentmihalyi. Conclusions: Although athletes and musicians may self-direct their careers, only the flow of researchers corresponds with SDL. This result meaningfully extends the literature on SDL and flow, offering direction for future empirical studies and educational opportunities. Full article

In sports science, accurate tracking of athletes’ movement patterns is essential for performance analysis and injury prevention. Changes of direction (COD), frequently executed during basketball games at cutting angles of around 135° (internal angle of 45°), are essential for agility and high-level performance. Moreover, mastering effective COD mechanics is associated with a lower risk of injuries and enhanced long-term athletic success. However, manual segmentation of data from wearable sensors is labor-intensive and time-consuming, often creating bottlenecks for sports practitioners. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of an automated algorithm for detecting COD movements in basketball and to compare its performance with manual detection methods. Data were collected from 62 basketball players, each completing two tests (V-cut test and a modified V-cut test), totaling 248 trials. The system utilizes kinematic data from an Xsens full-body kit to analyze key variables that characterize direction changes. The proposed method detects COD events with a median error of one frame and an interquartile range of two frames. The system demonstrated nearly 80% accuracy in COD detection, as validated against manual video analysis. These findings indicate that automated COD detection can significantly reduce segmentation time for practitioners while providing actionable, data-driven insights to enhance kinematic assessment during sport-specific activities. Full article

This scoping review aimed to determine the somatotype of modern elite athletes across various sports. The literature search followed the PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews. Four databases were consulted, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Clarivate InCites, as well as platforms such as Google Scholar, Taylor & Francis Online, Books Ovid, CAB eBooks, MyiLibrary, and Core Collection. Eligibility criteria included articles published between 1995 and 2024 involving athletes at the elite level, such as junior, senior, Olympic, first-division professionals, world-class competitors, national competitors, black belts, master athletes, non-professional athletes with at least 10 years of experience, those ranked in the national or international top 10, and high-level collegiate athletes. A total of 66 studies were included. Modern male elite athletes predominantly exhibited an endomorphic mesomorphic somatotype, whereas female athletes were classified as central. The present study was the first to synthesize data from 66 articles, encompassing athletes of varying elite levels, both males and females, while providing detailed information on age, weight, height, BMI, somatotype and its classification, and complemented by somatoplot references. Future research is recommended to include a greater diversity of sports and a more significant number of elite female athletes to enhance the representativeness of elite athletes. Full article

Sufficient protein intake has been shown to be advantageous for developing muscle mass, muscle strength, muscle quality, as well as for improving recovery from strenuous exercise, all of which are essential for athletic performance. Aging athletes, so-called master athletes, would benefit from evidence-based recommendations; however, studies investigating the role of their protein intake on muscle quality or performance are diverse and rare. Consequently, existing recommendations for this subpopulation of aging athletes are non-existent or speculative in nature. The aim of this short scoping review is to summarize available reports, identify common outcomes, and suggest future research directions. Literature research was carried out in PubMedMedline, SPORTDiscuss, and ScienceDirect without any restrictions regarding year of publication, type of research or sports discipline. Only observational and interventional studies with data on protein intake linked with body composition or performance outcomes were included for further analyses. We identified 12 suitable reports on master athletes with very diverse age-ranges, a broad variety of sports, and very heterogeneous outcome parameters. Seven studies investigated endurance athletes, four studies investigated multi-sports athletes, and only one study reported on strength-trained athletes. Average protein intake ranged between 1.0 and 1.9 g/kg/d. Within the few available studies, evidence tends to point towards a benefit of higher protein intakes for muscle mass and function; however, the low number of studies, combined with heterogeneity in study design and methods, limits their generalizability. Future studies are needed to build the evidence base for clear dietary recommendations respecting the specific needs of aging athletes. Full article

Background and Objectives: Sports injury prevention programs (SIPPs) are crucial for mitigating sports injuries and enhancing athletes’ performance. In Saudi Arabia, the sports sector is growing, and the awareness and implementation of sports injury prevention programs (SIPPs) among physical therapists require examination. This study aims to evaluate physiotherapists’ awareness of and the implementation of sports injury prevention programs (SIPPs) in the Saudi Arabian region with findings that could enhance rehabilitation and sports injury prevention practices. Materials and Methods: A self-administered online questionnaire was distributed to licensed physiotherapists in Saudi Arabia. Three hundred sixty-six participants responded to the questionnaire, of whom 55.5% were male and 44.5% were female physiotherapists. Results: Licensed physical therapists show a high awareness of sports injury prevention, with 83.9% agreeing or strongly agreeing. However, only 53.8% were aware of sports injury prevention programs, and 37.7% reported actively implementing them. Sports physical therapists scored significantly higher in awareness and implementation than other specialties (p < 0.001) with no significant regional differences. Educational qualification was also significant, with those holding a master’s degree or higher reporting greater awareness and implementation than those with a bachelor’s degree (p = 0.007). There was a strong positive correlation between awareness and implementation (r = 0.723, p < 0.01), along with weak correlations between awareness and perceived barriers (r = 0.270, p < 0.01) and implementation and barriers (r = 0.280, p < 0.01). Conclusions: This study finds that physical therapists in Saudi Arabia have moderate-to-low awareness and implementation of sports injury prevention programs (SIPPs), especially outside of sports-specific fields. Sports physical therapists and those with higher education have significant awareness. There are minimal regional differences but a strong positive correlation between awareness and implementation. Enhanced training, resources, and institutional support are needed to improve SIPP implementation in rehabilitation. Full article

In sports training, personalized skill assessment and feedback are crucial for athletes to master complex movements and improve performance. However, existing research on skill transfer predominantly focuses on skill evaluation through video analysis, addressing only a single facet of the multifaceted process required for skill acquisition. Furthermore, in the limited studies that generate expert comments, the learner’s skill level is predetermined, and the spatial-temporal information of human movement is often overlooked. To address this issue, we propose a novel approach to generate skill-level-aware expert comments by leveraging a Large Multimodal Model (LMM) and spatial-temporal motion features. Our method employs a Spatial-Temporal Attention Graph Convolutional Network (STA-GCN) to extract motion features that encapsulate the spatial-temporal dynamics of human movement. The STA-GCN classifies skill levels based on these motion features. The classified skill levels, along with the extracted motion features (intermediate features from the STA-GCN) and the original sports video, are then fed into the LMM. This integration enables the generation of detailed, context-specific expert comments that offer actionable insights for performance improvement. Our contributions are twofold: (1) We incorporate skill level classification results as inputs to the LMM, ensuring that feedback is appropriately tailored to the learner’s skill level; and (2) We integrate motion features that capture spatial-temporal information into the LMM, enhancing its ability to generate feedback based on the learner’s specific actions. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method effectively generates expert comments, overcoming the limitations of existing methods and offering valuable guidance for athletes across various skill levels. Full article

This research aimed to investigate morphological parameters (body mass, height, BMI) of medallists at the World Masters Orienteering Championships (WMOC), alongside their sports achievements and results. Fifty medallists from the 2022 WMOC, aged 35 to 80, were surveyed using a questionnaire, with non-parametric statistics (Mann–Whitney U test and ρ-Spearman test) applied for analysis. The average height was 179 cm for men and 165 cm for women, with average weights of 70 kg for men and 54 kg for women. BMI was 21.5 (SD = 1.43) for men and 20.4 (SD = 1.74) for women, with significantly lower BMI values in women (Z = 2.054, p = 0.04). Men’s BMI decreased with age (R = −0.534, p < 0.01). The BMI value of masters foot orienteers is typical for middle-distance runners. Women are closer to the somatotype of 1500 m athletes and men to 800 m athletes. Lack of earlier elite success does not preclude being on the podium at the WMOC (only 3 of the 50 medallists surveyed had won a medal in elite competition in the past). Full article

Aging is associated with decreased muscle strength and power. Power is particularly important for maintaining the independence of older adults when performing activities of daily living. The countermovement jump has been identified as a reliable and safe method to assess lower extremity power across the lifespan. The purpose of this investigation was to study sex differences and age-related changes in countermovement jump peak power among masters weightlifters with the secondary purpose of comparing results to previous reports of community and masters athletes. Female (n = 63, 39 to 70 yrs, med (56 yrs)) and male (n = 39, 35 to 86 yrs, med (59 yrs)) participants of the 2022 World Masters Championships completed three maximal effort countermovement jump repetitions following a dynamic warm-up. Vertical ground reaction forces were recorded, and peak power normalized to body mass was calculated. Results indicated significant age-related peak power among weightlifters, with the decline being significantly more pronounced in males than females. Female weightlifters exhibited less age-related decline compared to normative data as well as the other Master athlete comparison cohorts (short and long-distance runners), whereas the males demonstrated similar age-related declines as the comparison cohorts. While the female weightlifters in the current study generally demonstrated the least age-related declines in CMJ peak power of the comparative literature, the male weightlifters showed similar age-related decline rates. Full article

This study presents the implementation and results of the Annual Physical Training Program for Masters +45 Half Marathoners (PASm-12), focused on optimizing athletic performance through rigorous planning of training volume and intensity. PASm-12, structured over 12 mesocycles and 52 microcycles, was applied to 6 female runners with over 10 years of experience. The results indicate that the total running volume achieved (2347 km) was 90.2% of the volume proposed by PASm-12 (2603.2 km), with statistically significant differences in most mesocycles (Cohen’s f² = 6.24, t = −5.997, p = 0.002, indicating a large effect size). The training intensity was achieved at an average of 94.8% of what was proposed by PASm-12, with significant differences in several mesocycles (Cohen’s f² = 0.45, t = −1.972 to −3.984, p < 0.05, indicating a moderate to large effect size). The female runners’ performances in field tests generally showed faster times than the maximum and average values proposed in PASm-12, with the exception of the final competition, where performance was slightly lower due to external competitive factors (Cohen’s d = −0.53, t = −1.192, p = 0.3). This plan, demonstrating good practice, could serve as a guideline model for amateur runners who do not have specialist counseling. PASm-12 can reduce the risk of injury, prevent excessive fatigue, and support ongoing participation in sports activities. Additionally, the implementation of this plan could provide amateur runners with a safe and effective training structure, contributing to improved health and athletic performance. Full article

Background: Warfighters, often called tactical athletes, seek dietary supplementation to enhance training and recovery. Roughly 69% of active-duty US military personnel have reported consuming dietary supplements. The objective of this systematic review was to examine the impact of dietary supplements on muscle-related physical performance and recovery in active-duty military personnel. Methods: Randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental controlled trials of oral dietary supplementation in active-duty military members were examined. A protocol was registered (PROSPERO CRD42023401472), and a systematic search of MEDLINE and CINAHL was undertaken. Inclusion criteria consisted of studies published between 1990–2023 with outcomes of muscle performance and recovery among active-duty military populations. The risk of bias was assessed with the McMaster University Guidelines and Critical Review Form for Quantitative Studies. Results: Sixteen studies were included. Four were conducted on protein or carbohydrate; four on beta-alanine alone, creatine alone, or in combination; two on mixed nutritional supplements; two on probiotics alone or in combination with beta hydroxy-beta methylbutyrate calcium; and four on phytonutrient extracts including oregano, beetroot juice, quercetin, and resveratrol. Ten examined outcomes related to physical performance, and six on outcomes of injury or recovery. Overall, protein, carbohydrate, beta-alanine, creatine, and beetroot juice modestly improved performance, while quercetin did not. Protein, carbohydrates, beta-alanine, probiotics, and oregano reduced markers of inflammation, while resveratrol did not. Conclusions: Nutrition supplementation may have small benefits on muscle performance and recovery in warfighters. However, there are significant limitations in interpretation due to the largely inconsistent evidence of ingredients and comparable outcomes. Thus, there is inadequate practical evidence to suggest how dietary supplementation may affect field performance. Full article

Melatonin (N-acetyl-5 methoxytryptamine) is an indolic neurohormone that modulates a variety of physiological functions due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunoregulatory properties. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to critically review the effects of melatonin supplementation in sports performance and circulating biomarkers related to the health status of highly trained athletes. Data were obtained by performing searches in the following three bibliography databases: Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus. The terms used were “Highly Trained Athletes”, “Melatonin”, and “Sports Performance”, “Health Biomarkers” using “Humans” as a filter. The search update was carried out in February 2024 from original articles published with a controlled trial design. The PRISMA rules, the modified McMaster critical review form for quantitative studies, the PEDro scale, and the Cochrane risk of bias were applied. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 21 articles were selected out of 294 references. The dose of melatonin supplemented in the trials ranged between 5 mg to 100 mg administered before or after exercise. The outcomes showed improvements in antioxidant status and inflammatory response and reversed liver damage and muscle damage. Moderate effects on modulating glycemia, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and creatinine were reported. Promising data were found regarding the potential benefits of melatonin in hematological biomarkers, hormonal responses, and sports performance. Therefore, the true efficiency of melatonin to directly improve sports performance remains to be assessed. Nevertheless, an indirect effect of melatonin supplementation in sports performance could be evaluated through improvements in health biomarkers. Full article