Abstract
Recently, the attention on recovery in sport increased enormously although there is lack of scientific evidence on the role of lifestyle in terms of movement [i.e., physical behaviors (PBs)], apart from sleep. Few studies assessed physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in athletes. The aims of this scoping review were to answer to the following scientific questions: (1) How active/inactive are competitive athletes out of training? (2) Do off-training PBs affect recovery, performance, and health? (3) What strategies can be implemented to improve recovery using off-training PBs, apart from sleep? From 1,116 potentially relevant articles, nine were eligible for inclusion in this review. The main issues identified were related to the heterogeneity concerning the types of sports, age category, gender, competitive level, sample size, and instruments/devices adopted, the paucity of studies investigating the effects of PBs while awake on recovery, and the lack of experimental designs manipulating PBs while awake to accelerate recovery. Furthermore, PA and SB domains were rarely investigated, while no research articles focused on the combined effect of 24-h PBs. Eight out of nine studies measured PA, seven SB, and two included sleep. Three studies included training practice into PA measurement by the means of accelerometry. Overall, almost the totality of the athletes achieved recommended PA levels although they sustained prolonged SB. In conclusion, more descriptive researches are needed in different athletic populations and settings. Furthermore, experimental designs aimed at investigating the effects of PBs manipulation on recovery and the putative mechanisms are encouraged.
Highlights
Pascal Izzicupo 1*, Angela Di Baldassarre 1, Barbara Ghinassi 1, Felipe Fossati Reichert 2, Eduardo Kokubun 3 and Fábio Yuzo Nakamura 1,4,5
According to the recent and more comprehensive definition of physical activity (PA) proposed by the DEDIPAC-KH research team, it consists of any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure and this may be unstructured and everyday life activity, exercise that includes prearranged, deliberate, and repetitive activity and grassroots sports and competitive sports (Condello et al, 2016)
This article aims to answer to the following scientific questions: (1) How active/inactive are competitive athletes out of training and do they differ on the basis of competitive level, age categories, and particular settings? (2) Do offtraining physical behaviors (PBs) affect recovery, performance, health, physical fitness, and career in competitive athletes and by means of which mechanisms? (3) What strategies can be implemented in competitive athletes to improve recovery using off-training PBs, apart from sleep? For the purpose of clarification, a competitive athlete is considered in this scoping review article a highly trained individual who engages in regular organized physical training within a particular sporting discipline and competes at county or national or international level (Sharma, 2003)
Summary
Pascal Izzicupo 1*, Angela Di Baldassarre 1, Barbara Ghinassi 1, Felipe Fossati Reichert 2, Eduardo Kokubun 3 and Fábio Yuzo Nakamura 1,4,5. For the purpose of clarification, a competitive athlete is considered in this scoping review article a highly trained individual who engages in regular organized physical training within a particular sporting discipline and competes at county or national or international level (Sharma, 2003) This scoping review introduce the 3ST (Sleep, Sedentary behavior, Spontaneous physical activity, and Training) project which proposes to (1) provide a complete and detailed description of PBs of competitive athletes using an observational design; (2) explore associations between competitive athletes’ PBs and physiological/psychological markers of health, performance, and recovery, as well as describe the mechanisms that regulate such associations and; (3) test the effectiveness of interventions (e.g., education and therapies) to improve competitive athletes’ lifestyles and habits, aiming at optimizing training adaptation, recovery, and performance. This review and the associated 3ST project may inspire the design of high-quality studies in the field across different athletic populations and the various forms of training-related demands
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