Search Results (8)

Background: Warm-up strategies are essential for optimizing strength-training performance. Traditional warm-ups improve neuromuscular readiness, whereas post-activation potentiation (PAP) has been proposed to acutely enhance muscular output. This randomized crossover study compared the acute effects of traditional and PAP-based warm-ups on local muscular endurance (LME) during free weight back squats in resistance-trained men. Methods: Twelve trained males (age: 41.3 ± 5.7 years; one repetition maximum squat: 129.3 ± 14.3 kg) completed three randomized squat sessions: mobility with LME (M + LME), traditional warm-up with LME (T + LME), and PAP with LME (PAP + LME). The sessions were spaced 48 h apart. Outcomes included the number of repetitions, blood lactate concentration, time under tension (TUT), perceived exertion through OMNI Resistance Exercise Scale (OMNI-RES), and pain perception through visual analogue scale (VAS). One-way ANOVA and partial eta-squared (η²p) were used for statistical analyses. Results: PAP + LME significantly increased the number of repetitions (15.63 ± 3.66) compared to both M + LME (12.38 ± 3.89) and T + LME (13.63 ± 3.82; p < 0.0001). Blood lactate levels were significantly higher in PAP + LME (8.98 ± 3.87 mmol/L) compared to M + LME (5.08 ± 0.97 mmol/L; p = 0.01). TUT was significantly shorter in both the PAP + LME and T + LME groups than in the M + LME group (p < 0.05). VAS scores were higher after PAP + LME (8.50 ± 0.45) than after M + LME (6.50 ± 1.20; p = 0.02), while OMNI-RES scores did not differ significantly between the protocols. Conclusions: Both traditional and PAP-based warm-ups improved squat LME compared with mobility alone. PAP elicited greater repetition performance and metabolic stress but also increased discomfort. Warm-up selection should align with training goals, balancing performance benefits and perceived fatigue. Full article

Resistance training (RT) has been shown to produce beneficial effects, including on quality of life, renal function, physical fitness, and survival rates in kidney transplant for 24 recipients. However, the optimal periodization of load components for this population remains unclear, as no consensus has been established. This study aimed to characterize the load components of RT programs in kidney transplant recipients. A scoping review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The literature search was performed up to October 2024 in MEDLINE/PubMed, the Web of Science Core Collection, SCOPUS, ScienceDirect, and SPORTDiscus. Only studies that included RT as part of the intervention were considered. The RT variables analyzed included intervention duration, weekly frequency, session duration, number and types of exercises, intensity, number of sets, rest time between sets, progressive overload, and execution velocity. A total of 645 studies were identified, of which 15 met the eligibility criteria and were selected for analysis. The primary strategy for intensity control was based on the percentage of one-repetition maximum (%1RM), with training zones ranging from 30% to 80%. The number of sets varied from two to eight, while repetitions ranged from 10 to 20. The rest intervals between sets lasted between one and five minutes. The most highly implemented type of resistance involved the use of dumbbells, body weight, and elastic bands. A high degree of heterogeneity was identified in load periodization parameters, highlighting a lack of consensus in exercise prescription for this population. However, this review established general criteria that can serve as a reference for exercise professionals to develop more structured and effective training programs. Full article

Basketball demands a sophisticated blend of tactical, technical, physical, and psychological skills, and various methods have been proposed to prepare players for these demands, including resistance training to enhance strength, power, speed, agility, and endurance. Complex training (CT) integrates diverse strength training methodologies by combining heavy-resistance exercises (e.g., squat at 90% of one repetition maximum) with high-velocity movements or plyometrics, both sharing the same biomechanical pattern. However, the optimal application of CT in basketball remains uncertain due to diverse protocols and a lack of consensus in the literature. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the acute and chronic effects of CT interventions on physical fitness performance in basketball players and identify the most effective characteristics of moderators. Methods: A bibliographic search was conducted using PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science databases following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines using the PICOS strategy. Results: Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria, three articles analyzed acute effects, and thirteen analyzed chronic effects. The total number of participants in the studies analyzing acute effects was 50, while for studies examining chronic effects, it was 362. Conclusions: Acutely, CT triggers post-activation potentiation and enhances sprint performance when coupled with brief rest intervals. Over time, these acute improvements contribute to more substantial, long-lasting benefits. Chronic effects of CT improve strength, as evidenced by enhanced 1 RM performance, jumps, sprints, and core muscle strength. Full article

There is no evidence of the effect of exercise training on human brown-like adipose tissue vascular density (BAT-d). Here, we report whether whole-body strength training (ST) in a cold environment increased BAT-d. The participants were 18 men aged 20–31 years. They were randomly assigned to two groups: one that performed ST twice a week at 75% intensity of one-repetition maximum for 10 weeks during winter (EX; n = 9) and a control group that did not perform ST (CT; n = 9). The total hemoglobin concentration in the supraclavicular region determined by time-resolved near-infrared spectroscopy was used as a parameter of BAT-d. ST volume (T_vol) was defined as the mean of the weight × repetition × sets of seven training movements. The number of occasions where the room temperature was lower than the median (NR_cold) was counted as an index of potential cold exposure during ST. There was no significant between-group difference in BAT-d. Multiple regression analysis using body mass index, body fat percentage, NR_cold, and T_vol as independent variables revealed that NR_cold and T_vol were determined as predictive of changes in BAT-d. An appropriate combination of ST with cold environments could be an effective strategy for modulating BAT. Full article

The aim of this paper is to analyze the physiognomy of unique sets in the maximum number of repetitions (MNR) strategy and different correlations between the maximal forces, duration and volume for a relevant exercise in the case of a small muscle group. The research methodology proposes testing, in two phases, a total of 30 male students, for bicep curl exercises carried out on a bicep Scott machine. The obtained results showed that there were significant differences between the maximum forces (Fmax) developed during the initial and final repetitions of the exercise sets or for different machine loads. There was a large correlation between the load and Fmax and an inverse correlation between the load and MNR or between the MNR and Fmax. The deterioration of the execution mode, represented by the profile of the final repetition of high-duration sets, was also tested and analyzed. We concluded that the study of the physiognomy of cycles and comparisons at the level of relevant repetitions have revealed new perspectives for the design of periodization strategies, for the possibility of manipulating adapted muscular response or compensatory acceleration training for small muscle groups or the MNR strategy. Full article

Generalized spatial modulation (GSM) technology is an extension of spatial modulation (SM) technology, and one of its main advantages is to further improve band efficiency. However, the multiple active antennas for transmission also brings the demodulation difficulties at the receiver. To solve the problem of high computational complexity of the optimal maximum likelihood (ML) detection, two sub-optimal detection algorithms are proposed through reducing the number of transmit antenna combinations (TACs) detected at the receiver. One is the maximum ratio combining detection algorithm based on repetitive sorting strategy, termed as (MRC-RS), which uses MRC repetitive sorting strategy to select the most likely TACs in detection. The other is the maximum ratio combining detection algorithm, which is based on the iterative idea of the orthogonal matching pursuit, termed the MRC-MP algorithm. The MRC-MP algorithm reduces the number of TACs through finite iterations to reduce the computational complexity. For M-QAM constellation, a hard-limited maximum likelihood (HLML) detection algorithm is introduced to calculate the modulation symbol. For the M-PSK constellation, a low-complexity maximum likelihood (LCML) algorithm is introduced to calculate the modulation symbol. The computational complexity of these two algorithms for calculating the modulation symbol are independent of modulation order. The simulation results show that for GSM systems with a large number of TACs, the proposed two algorithms not only achieve almost the same bit error rate (BER) performance as the ML algorithm, but also can greatly reduce the computational complexity. Full article

Background: By using deceptive experimental designs, several investigations have observed that trained individuals may increase their performance when told they were given caffeine, when in fact they received a placebo (i.e., the placebo effect of caffeine). However, most of these investigations on the placebo effect of caffeine used individuals with low caffeine consumption or did not report habitual caffeine consumption, especially in studies analyzing resistance-based exercise. Hence, it is unknown if habitual caffeine consumers benefit from the placebo effect of caffeine on exercise performance. Thus, the aim of the present study was to analyze the placebo effect of caffeine on maximal strength and strength-endurance performance during the bench press exercise (BP) in women with mild–moderate daily consumption of caffeine. Methods: Thirteen resistance-trained women (BP one-repetition maximum (1RM) = 40.0 ± 9.7 kg) habituated to caffeine (4.1 ± 1.7 mg/kg/day) completed a deceptive randomized experimental design with two experimental trials. On one occasion, participants were told that they would receive 6 mg/kg of caffeine but received a placebo (PLAC), and on other occasions, participants did not receive any substance and were told that this was a control situation (CONT). In each experimental trial, participants underwent a 1RM BP test and a strength-endurance test consisting of performing the maximal number of repetitions at 50% of their 1RM. Results: In comparison to CONT, PLAC did not enhance 1RM (40.0 ± 10.5 kg vs. 41.0 ± 9.5 kg, respectively; p = 0.10), nor did it enhance the number of repetitions (32.2 ± 5.1 vs. 31.8 ± 4.5; p = 0.66) or mean power (130 ± 34 vs. 121 ± 26; p = 0.08) in the strength-endurance test. Conclusion: Informing participants that they were given caffeine, when in fact they received a placebo, did not modify any performance variable measured in this investigation. Thus, the use of the placebo effect of caffeine seemed an ineffective strategy to enhance muscle strength and strength endurance during the BP exercise in women with mild–moderate consumption of caffeine. Full article

In this paper, we develop a new model of a static game of incomplete information with a large number of players. The model has two key distinguishing features. First, the strategies are subject to threshold effects, and can be interpreted as dependent censored random variables. Second, in contrast to most of the existing literature, our inferential theory relies on a large number of players, rather than a large number of independent repetitions of the same game. We establish existence and uniqueness of the pure strategy equilibrium, and prove that the censored equilibrium strategies satisfy a near-epoch dependence property. We then show that the normal maximum likelihood and least squares estimators of this censored model are consistent and asymptotically normal. Our model can be useful in a wide variety of settings, including investment, R&D, labor supply, and social interaction applications. Full article