Changes In Physical Fitness Research Articles

Effects of an Exercise Program Combining Aerobic and Resistance Training on Protein Expressions of Neurotrophic Factors in Obese Rats Injected with Beta-Amyloid.

In this study, the effects of a 12-week exercise program combining aerobic and resistance training on high-fat diet-induced obese Sprague Dawley (SD) rats after the injection of beta-amyloid into the cerebral ventricle were investigated. Changes in physical fitness, cognitive function, blood levels of beta-amyloid and metabolic factors, and protein expressions of neurotrophic factors related to brain function such as BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) in the quadriceps femoris, hippocampus, and cerebral cortex were analyzed. The subjects were thirty-two 10-week-old SD rats (DBL Co., Ltd., Seoul, Korea). The rats were randomized into four groups: β-Non-Ex group (n = 8) with induced obesity and βA25-35 injection into the cerebral ventricle through stereotactic biopsy; β-Ex group (n = 8) with induced obesity, βA25-35 injection, and exercise; S-Non-Ex group (n = 8) with an injection of saline in lieu of βA25-35 as the control; and S-Ex group (n = 8) with saline injection and exercise. The 12-week exercise program combined aerobic training and resistance training. As for protein expressions of the factors related to brain function, the combined exercise program was shown to have a clear effect on activating the following factors: PGC-1α (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha), FNDC5 (fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5), and BDNF in the quadriceps femoris; TrkB (Tropomyosin receptor kinase B), FNDC5, and BDNF in the hippocampus; PGC-1α, FNDC5, and BDNF in the cerebral cortex. The protein expression of β-amyloid in the cerebral cortex was significantly lower in the β-Ex group than in the β-Non-Ex group (p < 0.05). The 12-week intervention with the combined exercise program of aerobic and resistance training was shown to improve cardiopulmonary function, muscular endurance, and short-term memory. The results demonstrate a set of positive effects of the combined exercise program, which were presumed to have arisen mainly due to its alleviating effect on β-amyloid plaques, the main cause of reduced brain function, as well as the promotion of protein expressions of PGC-1α, FNDC5, and BDNF in the quadriceps femoris, hippocampus, and cerebral cortex.

Physical Fitness of Chinese Primary School Students across the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak: A Retrospective Repeated Cross-Sectional Study.

Social distancing measures against COVID-19 imposed restrictions on students that may have affected their physical health and fitness. The objective of this study was to investigate the change in physical fitness of primary school students across the coronavirus outbreaks from 2019 to 2021. This was a retrospective repeated cross-sectional study. We obtained the annual physical and fitness assessment data measured every November for all students at the same primary school in Guangzhou, China. There was a total of 6371 observations in the dataset for three years. The physical fitness of the students was evaluated with an overall physical fitness score, body mass index (BMI), lung vital capacity, physical flexibility (via a sit-and-reach test) and sports task performances (sprint, shuttle run, rope-jumping, and sit-up). Generalised estimating equations were used to determine any significant changes from 2019 to 2021, adjusted for confounders. After the COVID-19 outbreak in 2021, there was a significant elevation in BMI of 0.64 kg/m2 in 2020 and 0.39 kg/m2 in 2021 (p < 0.001). The overall physical fitness score was significantly increased by 2.1 and 4.1 points, respectively, in 2020 and 2021 (p < 0.001). Lung vital capacity and rope-jumping performance were significantly improved in both 2020 and 2021 compared with 2019, and sit-up performance was marginally significantly improved in 2020 and significantly improved in 2021. However, students demonstrated poorer flexibility and sprint and shuttle run performance in 2021 compared with 2019. A health promotion programme during and after COVID-19, including online physical education classes, television broadcasts, and a rope-jumping campaign, could account for these positive outcomes, along with the ease of administering rope-jumping and sit-ups at home.

Quantification of Recruit Training Demands and Subjective Wellbeing during Basic Military Training.

Purpose: Assess and describe the physical demands and changes in subjective wellbeing of recruits completing the 12 week Australian Army Basic Military Training (BMT) course. Methods: Thirty-five recruits (24.8 ± 6.8 y; 177.4 ± 10.1 cm, 75.6 ± 14.7 kg) consented to daily activity monitoring and weekly measures of subjective wellbeing (Multi-component Training Distress Scale, MTDS). The physical demands of training were assessed via wrist worn activity monitors (Actigraph GT9X accelerometer). Physical fitness changes were assessed by push-ups, sit-ups and multi-stage shuttle run in weeks 2 and 8. Results: All objective and subjective measures significantly changed (p < 0.05) across the 12 week BMT course. In parallel, there was a significant improvement in measures of physical fitness from weeks 2 to 8 (p < 0.001). The greatest disturbance to subjective wellbeing occurred during week 10, which was a period of field training. Weeks 6 and 12 provided opportunities for recovery as reflected by improved wellbeing. Conclusions: The physical demands of training varied across the Australian Army 12 week BMT course and reflected the intended periodization of workload and recovery. Physical fitness improved from week 2 to 8, indicating a positive training response to BMT. Consistent with findings in sport, wellbeing measures were sensitive to fluctuations in training stress and appear to have utility for individual management of personnel in the military training environment.

Changes in Physical Function of Shuttlecock Players after Short-Term Intensive Training based on Data Mining.

This paper investigates the changes in body composition and physical fitness of badminton players after short-term high-intensity training. Methods. During an 8-week short-term training camp, 12 nonprofessional badminton players were paired to design training sessions, and body composition and fitness were measured before and after training. Results. After 8 weeks of high-intensity training, there was no significant change in body weight of badminton players (P > 0.05), while lean body mass increased significantly and body fat percentage decreased significantly (P < 0.05). The time of kicking, lying on the back, and standing forward was increased (P < 0.05), and the time of running back and forth 6.1 meters 3 times was shorter than that before training (P < 0.05). Conclusion. The increase of lean body mass can promote the energy conversion, oxygen consumption, and exercise capacity of athletes. Short-term training can reduce excess body fat, promote muscle development, and improve physical fitness.

The Benefits of Integrated Exercise Intervention in Osteoporotic Women with Pre-Sarcopenia or Sarcopenia

目的：骨質疏鬆症與肌少症是高齡社會重要健康議題，與跌倒、骨折有高度相關。惟過去研究少以兩者合併個案進行評估，且運動介入模式多為阻力訓練。研究目的為評估整合性運動對骨質疏鬆症女性合併肌少症前期或肌少症（四肢骨骼肌指數，skeletal muscle index, SMI低於5.7kg/m^2）之效益，以作為骨質疏鬆症合併肌少症照護之參考。方法：採準實驗設計，在區域型醫院招募24位骨質疏鬆症併有肌少症前期或肌少症之婦女為研究對象，分成實驗組與控制組。兩組均接受面對面之營養衛教模式；實驗組進行16週整合性中高強度阻力與敏捷性運動訓練（自覺強度維持6－8分），每週一次，每次120分鐘。評估訓練介入前、後組內之身體組成（體脂肪率、上下肢肌肉量）、肌少症指標（SMI、握力）及功能性體適能（上下肢肌力、動靜態平衡）之變化，並控制年齡以單因子共變數或無母數統計進行組間分析。結果：實驗組12位（63.1±7.7歲）與控制組12位（70.1±6.1歲），兩組除年齡外，在基本資料無明顯差異。組內分析，實驗組體脂肪率、上下肢肌肉量、SMI、握力與上肢肌力均顯著改善；而控制組之體脂肪率、軀幹、右腿與左腿肌肉量均顯著變差，上下肢肌力亦明顯退步。組間分析顯示實驗組相較控制組體脂肪率顯著降低，且SMI、握力、上肢肌力、及下肢肌力之變化量均顯著較控制組提升。兩組在動態及靜態平衡上無顯著差異。結論：合併阻力與敏捷性之整合性運動對骨質疏鬆症合併肌少症前期或肌少症之婦女的身體組成、肌少症指標及上下肢肌力表現有實質提升效益，而無介入運動模式下，控制組在16週內體脂肪率增加、肌力下降。未來經更多著重骨質疏鬆症合併肌少症之實證研究，此整合性運動訓練模式或可作為介入和照護方向參考。Objective: Osteoporosis and sarcopenia are two important geriatric issues highly correlated with falls and frailty fractures in the elderly. Studies in the past rarely investigate the combined case of the two syndromes, and emphasis has been placed mainly on resistance training. This study aimed to investigate the benefits of integrated exercise interventions in osteoporotic women with pre-sarcopenia or sarcopenia (Skeletal Mass Index, SMI＜5.7 kg/m^2). Methods: Twenty-four osteoporotic women with pre-sarcopenia or sarcopenia were recruited from a regional hospital to participate in the quasi-experimental study. They were divided into an integrated exercise group (EG) and a control group (CG) with all participants receiving face-to-face nutrition education. The EG group was required to enroll in a 16-week moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise program in resistance and agility training (Rating of Perceived Exertion maintained at 6-8 points). Each weekly session lasted for 120 minutes. Changes in body composition (body fat percentage, muscle mass), sarcopenia parameters (SMI, grip strength), and physical fitness (muscle strength, static and dynamic balance) before and after the integrated exercise intervention were analyzed with age as a covariate in the analysis. Results: Except for age, there was no significant difference in the basic characteristics between the EG (n=12; 63.1±7.7 years) and CG (n=12; 70.1±6.1 years) groups. Intragroup analysis showed a reduced body fat percentage , along with significant improvement in SMI, grip strength, and upper limb muscle strength in the EG group. In contrast, the CG group reported an increased body fat percentage, and a significant decrease in the muscle mass in the trunk and lower leg, as well as in the muscle strength in the upper and lower limbs. Intergroup analysis showed that the EG group experienced a significant improvement in body fat percentage, SMI, grip strength, and upper and lower limb muscle strength. There was no significant difference in the results of dynamic and static balance tests between the two groups. Conclusion: The integrated exercise intervention combined with resistance and agility training can substantially improve the body composition, sarcopenia parameters, and upper and lower limb muscle strength in osteoporotic women with pre-sarcopenia or sarcopenia. On the contrary, a significant increase in body fat percentage and a decrease in muscle strength in 16 weeks are likely to occur in the absence of the intervention. In the future, more empirical studies focusing on the combined case of osteoporosis and sarcopenia are needed, and the integrated exercise training in this study may serve as a reference for intervention.

Застосування комплексів спеціально підібраних вправ у підготовці тенісистів 6-7 років

Purpose: to determine the change in physical and technical fitness of 6-7-year-old tennis players with the help of complexes of specially selected exercises. Material and methods: 12 young tennis players from Kharkiv took part in the research. Sports experience of sportsmen is 1-2 years. Classes were held 8 hours a week. To determine the current level of physical fitness, test exercises are selected: running in three directions “Fan”; run 18 m (s); long jump from the place (cm); throwing a tennis ball into the target 3m, 6m, 9m (number of hits); shuttle run 10 m per 3 times (s); slopes forward standing on the gymnastic ladder (cm). In the technical training test exercises were as follows: stuffing the ball with a bounce from the racket down, stuffing the ball with a bounce from the racket up, stuffing the ball with a racket without bouncing off the floor, game to hold the ball without error, game to hold m ' diagonal ball on the right without error, game to hold the ball diagonally on the left without error, serving from the bottom with 10 attempts. The study was conducted in two stages. At the first stage, exercises were selected for the development of speed, speed, strength, coordination skills, dexterity, which formed a set of exercises for physical training of young tennis players. In the technical training, specially selected exercises took into account the parallel improvement of hitting technique and the development of a sense of ball, rhythm, differentiation of efforts, coordination of movements, spatial orientation. At the second stage, a formative pedagogical experiment was conducted using the developed sets of specially selected exercises in the training process and changes in the results of test exercises were determined. Results: The need to find new, more effective, means and methods of training in modern tennis is confirmed. Drawing up individual programs and sets of specially selected exercises will help increase the training of tennis players. The current level of physical and technical fitness of tennis players is established and complexes of specially selected exercises are determined. Significant changes in the results of physical fitness were determined, except for indicators in the forward tilt p&gt;0.05. Reliable results were also obtained in technical training, except for stuffing the ball with a racket without bouncing off the floor p&gt;0.05. Conclusions: using the presented complexes of specially selected exercises positively influenced the changes in physical and technical fitness indicators, which allows recommending 6-7-year-old tennis players in the training process.

Physical fitness and frailty status of frail older adults in long-term care facilities after acupunch exercises: A cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Frailty is a complex geriatric syndrome and serves as an indicator for functional degradation in older adults. Regular exercise intervention could reduce the level of frailty and improve general physical fitness. The aim of this study was to test the effects of the Vitality Acupunch (VA) exercise on the promotion of physical fitness and the improvement of frailty status among frail older adults in long-term care facilities. This study was a cluster-randomized controlled trial adopted a pretest-posttest design. Using convenience sampling, 81 frail adults older than 65years of age from 10 long-term care facilities participated in this study. The older adults were cluster-randomized by facility into an intervention group (5 long-term care facilities, n=40) and a control group (5 long-term care facilities, n=41). The intervention group engaged in the VA exercise 3 times a week, each lasting 40min, for 24weeks. The control group maintained regular activities of daily living. The outcome measures for physical fitness were assessed before study began (pretest), at the 12th week (posttest 1), and at the 24th week (posttest 2) in the study. After a 24-week intervention, the frail older adults who engaged in the VA exercise program showed significant improvements in handgrip strength, upper-limb muscle endurance, lung function, shoulder flexibility, forward flexion, shoulder joint flexion, and shoulder joint abduction (all p<0.05) but not in lower-limb muscle endurance (p=0.502) compared against their pretest data. The intervention group had significantly better physical fitness and positive changes in frailty status than the control group (all p<0.001), except for the lower-limb muscle endurance (p=0.557). Regular engagement in the VA exercise program for 24weeks significantly improved the physical fitness and frailty status of frail older adults in long-term care facilities.

코로나로 인한 스포츠활동 제한이 노인들의 혈압 및 혈중지질성분에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of limited sports activities caused by COVID-19 on blood pressure and blood lipid components in the elderly and provide basic data for the elderly’s health. This study analyzed changes in weight, BMI, blood pressure, and blood lipid two years after COVID-19 in the elderly(n=42) who participated in the exercise program of the health class for the elderly before COVID-19. The paired t-test was conducted with the whole subjects to compare a difference in each factor before and after COVID-19. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA was performed to analyze a difference between period and group by group before and after COVID-19 in elderly men and women groups. The level of statistical significance was set at p<.05. The following conclusion was drawn.<BR>There was no statistically significant difference in weight, BMI, DBP, LDL, HDL, and TG before and after COVID-19 in all the elderly.<BR>However, their systolic blood pressure(SBP), glucose, and TC were significantly increased. The elderly men’s results were analyzed before and after COVID-19. There was no statistically significant difference in weight, BMI, DBP, glucose, TC, LDL, and TG. However, SBP was significantly increased and HDL was significantly decreased. For the elderly women, there was no statistically significant difference in weight, BMI, DBP, glucose, LDL, HDL, and TG. However, SBP and TC were significantly increased. There were no significant between-group differences for the elderly men and women groups before and after COVID-19. Based on the findings, it is necessary to develop exercise programs and build up educational system to resolve the negative effects of limited physical activities and exercise participation on the elderly’s health due to prolonged COVID-19. It is suggested that further study should be conducted to analyze changes in physical fitness caused by COVID-19 in the elderly.

Effects of Nordic walking in people with Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Nordic walking (NW) may be a beneficial treatment for people with Parkinson's disease (PD). Since high-quality research has been published on the effects of NW on people with PD by now, an actualised and comprehensive, in-depth review is recommended to guide practitioners in prescribing this exercise modality. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of NW as a rehabilitation strategy for PD. According to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a literature search was performed using Pubmed, SportDiscus and Scopus up to May 2021. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) addressing the impact of a NW intervention on any outcomes in people with PD were included. The critical appraisal of the RCTs was retrieved from the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) or evaluated using the PEDro scale. The Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias tool was also employed. The review was not registered a priori on any database and a review protocol was not published. Twelve studies were included in the review. The investigations were mostly good-to-fair methodological quality, and risk of bias was acceptable. None of the reported statistically significant benefits of NW were clinically meaningful, except for walking ability. Although adherence to NW programs was good, some adverse effects derived from its practice were informed. The practice of Nordic Walking does not lead to clinically significant changes in global motor impairment, functional mobility, balance and physical fitness in patients with PD. This therapy seems to improve walking ability and quality of life, although further research in this latter outcome is needed.

Prevention of heart failure in type 2 diabetes by exercise intervention: protocol and design of the PROTECTION study

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): research Foundation - Flanders (FWO) Introduction Cardiac dysfunction is highly prevalent in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), leading to increased risk of cardiac morbidity and premature death. Previous research underscored the high prevalence of a disturbed global longitudinal strain (GLS), a marker to predict this cardiac dysfunction, in both symptomatic and asymptomatic T2DM patients. Exercise-based therapy is recommended in the management of patients with type 2 diabetes. However, it remains unclear i) which type of exercise therapy to have the biggest effect on GLS and ii) which factors modify the effect of exercise therapy on GLS. Purpose The PROTECTION study will i) investigate the impact of exercise volume and intensity on GLS to optimize exercise prescription in T2DM and will ii) assess which patient-specific factors influence the change in GLS and physical fitness as a result of exercise intervention in T2DM. Methods and analyses The PROTECTION study is composed of two work packages (WP). In WP 1, 100 T2DM adults (50% male, aged 30-75 years) will be randomized to a usual care group or one of the three supervised exercise intervention groups (see Table 1) for a duration of 26 weeks. Outcome measures will be performed at baseline, 13, 26 and 52 weeks of follow-up. The primary outcomes are GLS and cardiac dimensions. Secondary outcomes include health-related physical fitness, blood biomarkers and physical activity behavior. Data will be analyzed by two-way ANOVA repeated measures. A two-tailed P-value &amp;lt;0.05 will be considered statistically significant. Parallel with the randomized controlled trial, a longitudinal intervention study (WP2) involving 107 adults (50% male, aged 30-75 years) with T2DM will be conducted. All participants will engage in a supervised intervention for 26 weeks, including a high volume of moderate intense physical activity (see Table 1). The main objective of this work package is to define determinants of change in GLS during an exercise intervention. Moreover, the interaction between diet-exercise, habitual physical activity-exercise and phenotype-exercise on change in GLS will be studied in great detail. Patient-specific data will be analyzed by multivariate regression analysis. A two-tailed P-value &amp;lt;0.05 will be considered statistically significant. Conclusion It is anticipated that the PROTECTION study will contribute to a better understanding on i) which exercise characteristics are preferred to maximally improve GLS in T2DM and on ii) the determinants of the responsiveness of GLS and physical fitness to exercise in T2DM.

Feature Extraction of National Physical Fitness Data Based on Data Mining

In order to better understand and optimize the national physical fitness, this paper puts forward the national physical fitness data change feature extraction method based on data mining, uses the decision tree and association rule data mining algorithm to collect the national physical fitness data in recent years, constructs the database to realize the effective data management, and uses the data mining algorithm to construct the physical fitness change feature evaluation index. Finally, through experiments, it is confirmed that the national physique data change feature extraction method based on data mining has high effectiveness in the process of practical application. It can better understand the national physique change trend and put forward targeted suggestions for national physique health optimization.

A retrospective study of physical fitness and mental health among police students in Sweden

Little is known about the physical and mental health among police students. Based on data on Swedish police students’ physical fitness ( N = 1736) and mental health ( N = 407), the results show that: (a) there are gender differences; (b) the physical fitness changes during police education; in general, the students get stronger but less flexible, and the aerobic endurance increases for women but decreases for men; and (c) students’ self-reported physical activity and mental health affect their perceived police ability differently in relation to gender. Consequently, this study questions if the Swedish police education is preparing the students adequately for their future profession.

Is health-related quality of life 1-year after coronary artery bypass graft surgery associated with living in a greener environment?

IntroductionGreenery in the residential environment and in the hospital has been associated with improved surgical outcomes and recovery. We investigated the association between the level of residential greenness of patients with coronary disease and their heart disease-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) 1-year after a coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. MethodsParticipants in a prospective cohort study who underwent CABG surgery at seven cardiothoracic units throughout Israel during the years 2004–2007 filled in the MacNew HRQoL one day before and one year after surgery. Successful recovery was defined as ≥0.5 increase in the MacNew score between baseline and follow-up. Exposure to residential greenness in 90 m and 300 m buffers around the patient's home was assessed with Linear Spectral Unmixing analysis of Landsat 30 m imagery. ResultsThe cohort comprised of 861 patients (22% female) with a mean age of 65.5 years, and 59.2% classified as low-income. In the total cohort, higher residential greenness was associated with an improvement in emotional HRQoL (OR = 1.33 (95%CI: 0.99–1.79)), adjusting for demographic and socio-economic factors, living in the periphery/center, presence of diabetes, attending cardiac rehabilitation following surgery, BMI, and change in physical fitness and depression over the 1-year follow-up. Although no association was found between greenness and change in the physical or social subscales, a positive association was specifically observed among the low-income patients for the global HRQoL score, OR = 1.42 (95%CI: 0.97–2.10), as compared to the higher-income patients, p for interaction = 0.03. ConclusionsResidential greenness is associated with improvement in HRQoL 1-year after CABG surgery, but not the physical and social scales, only in low-income patients. Ensuring greenery in the living environment may act as a social intervention that supports human health and disease recovery.

The effect of low impact aerobic exercise on increasing physical fitness for the elderly

This study aimed to investigate the effect of low-impact aerobic exercise on increasing physical fitness for the elderly. This one group of pretest-posttest quasi-experimental research recruited elderly subjects from Sumber Waras Elderly Association in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Twenty-four elderly subjects aged 60-70 years old participated in the 16 sessions of aerobic exercise intervention. All subjects completed pre-and post-intervention physical fitness tests comprising the aerobic/cardiovascular (CV) endurance (2 minutes step test), upper body strength (arm curl test), lower body strength (chair stand test), upper body flexibility (back scratch test), core and lower body flexibility (sit and reach test) and balance (8 foot up and go test). Changes in physical fitness (post- versus pre-intervention) of the subjects were analyzed using paired T-test. The normality and homogeneity tests were performed using the Kolmogorov Smirnov and Levene’s tests, respectively. Statistical significance was set to p 0.05. This study showed that all physical fitness components, including aerobic endurance, upper and lower body strength, upper and lower body flexibility, and balance, were increased significantly in the subjects (p 0.05). The results suggest that low-impact aerobic exercise positively affects physical fitness improvement in the elderly.

THE INFLUENCE OF STRENGTH TRAINING ON TAEKWONDO ATHLETES’ REACTION SPEED

ABSTRACT Introduction: Taekwondo is a skill-oriented confrontational event. Athletes’ physical fitness and flexible changes in skills and tactics have become the cornerstone of athletes’ victory. Objective: The objective was to explore the influence of strength training on the reaction speed of boxing athletes. Method: 8 master-class Taekwondo athletes, 16 first-class Taekwondo athletes, and 30 second-class Taekwondo athletes from a particular province were selected as Group A, B, and C. The control groups were Group A1, B1, and C1. Results: Group B athletes showed significant changes in 15s front kick and 15s high leg lift. Group C athletes showed highly significant differences in rapid strength. After the traditional fast strength training in the control group, all the Group C1 had significant changes in the test. However, Group B1 athletes only had substantial changes in 15s down split and 15s front kick. There was no significant change in all indexes of Group A1 athletes before and after the experiment. Conclusion: The analysis of experimental data shows that core strength training significantly improves the reaction speed of Taekwondo athletes. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment results.

Changes in children’s physical fitness, BMI and health-related quality of life after the first 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in England: A longitudinal study

ABSTRACT We aimed to assess one-year changes in physical fitness, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and body mass index (BMI), encompassing the 2020 COVID-19 UK lockdowns. Data were collected (October 2019, November 2020) from 178 8–10–year-olds in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, 85% from England’s most deprived quintile. Twenty-metre shuttle run test performance (20mSRT), handgrip strength (HGS), standing broad jump (SBJ), sit-and-reach, height, body mass, HRQoL (Kidscreen-27 questionnaire) and sports club participation were measured. BMI z-scores and overweight/obesity were calculated (≥85th centile). Paired t-tests and linear regression assessed change, adjusting for baseline BMI. Significant (p<0.001) changes were observed: increases in mean BMI (+1.5kg·m−2), overweight/obesity (33% to 47%), SBJ (+6.8cm) and HGS (+1.5kg); decreases in 20mSRT performance (−3 shuttles), sit-and-reach (−1.8cm). More children at follow-up were categorized “very low” for 20mSRT performance (35% baseline v 51%). Increased BMI z-score was associated with decreased “Physical Wellbeing” HRQoL. Follow-up sports club participation was associated with better 20mSRT performance (p=0.032), and “Autonomy & Parents” (p=0.011), “Social Support & Peers” (p=0.038) HRQoL. Children’s 20mSRT performance and BMI changed adversely over one year; national lockdowns potentially made negative contributions. Physical fitness, physical activity and sports programmes should be part of children’s physical and mental recovery from the pandemic.

International football players with cerebral palsy maintained their physical fitness after a self-training program during the COVID-19 lockdown.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 global pandemic caused a complete stop in sport participation which meant a detraining period for athletes. High-level athletes had to train at home guided by their coaches and conditioning trainers in an effort to maintain their physical fitness. The aim of maintaining the training adaptations and physical fitness during the COVID-19 mandatory lockdown was especially important for CP athletes, in which the detraining period was expected to cause early declines in motor function, poor coordination and muscle weakness due to their disability.MethodsThe present study assessed the effect of a guided self-training program on international CP football players’ physical fitness during the COVID-19 mandatory lockdown. Fifteen CP football players from the Spanish National Team participated in the study. An experimental design with a pre- (T1) and a post-intervention (T2) assessment was carried out, with a 12-week period of players’ self-training (divided in two periods of 6 weeks) which combined strength and endurance training. Physical performance assessment consisted in the free countermovement jump (CMJ), 5, 10 and 20-m sprint, the modified agility T-test (MAT) and a dribbling test. The Kruskal–Wallis test was used for between-group comparisons, while the Student’s paired t test or the Fisher Pitman permutation test, based on the normality of the data, were used for within-group comparisons.ResultsThe results showed no differences between sport classes (FT1, FT2 and FT3) in physical fitness change after the training program (Chi2 = 0.16 to 1.73; p = 0.42 to 0.92). Within-group comparisons showed an increase of jump height in the CMJ (4.19 cm [2.46, 5.93]; p < 0.001) and a maintenance of the 5, 10 and 20-m sprint, MAT and dribbling ability (<0.01 to 0.09 s; p = 0.19 to 0.97).DiscussionTo the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that examined the physical fitness adaptations to a training program with CP football players. The results show that a 12-week guided self-training program without football-specific stimulus may be effective to maintain or even improve the specific physical performance of international CP football players during a non-competitive period (as the COVID-19 lockdown). This study reveals that CP football players are able to show adaptations to the strength and endurance training and this could be the basis for future research regarding training adaptations in CP football players.

The relationship between developmental changes in toe muscle strength and physical fitness during childhood

article: The relationship between developmental changes in toe muscle strength and physical fitness during childhood - Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2021 December;180(12):822-8 - Minerva Medica - Journals

Bicycle Touring 480 km in Seven Days: Effects on Body Composition and Physical Fitness-A Case Study.

Bicycle touring as a modality of physical activity that involves whole-body cardiorespiratory and metabolic functions could be a potential strategy to improve body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of 7-days bicycle touring activity on body composition and physical fitness. A total of 13 individuals (three women) participated in this quasi-experimental study. The participants were evaluated at baseline and were tracked for up to 12 days after the intervention. The intervention consisted of a 480 km bicycle touring route performed over 8 days. Body weight and body composition (i.e., fat mass and lean mass) were assessed using a bioelectrical impedance analyser. Physical fitness was measured using the International Fitness Scale questionnaire. We conducted a repeated-measures analysis of variance to determine changes in body weight and body composition and paired sample t-tests to analyse changes in physical fitness. Significant differences in fat mass were observed between the baseline and both post-intervention (p = 0.003) and re-test values (p = 0.031). Significant differences were also noted in lean mass between the baseline and post-intervention values (p = 0.003), whereas no significant changes were observed when compared the baseline and re-test values (p = 0.178). Significant differences were obtained in cardiorespiratory fitness when comparing the baseline with the post-intervention values (p = 0.016), whereas no significant differences were noted in general fitness, muscular strength, speed/agility, and flexibility (all p > 0.05). In conclusion, a 7-day bicycle touring intervention can significantly reduce fat mass and increase lean mass and cardiorespiratory fitness in healthy individuals.

Changes in Physical Fitness during COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown among Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study.

The negative impact of COVID-19 on physical activity has been improved, while the research on changes in physical fitness that may be caused by physical inactivity is still scarce. This study aims to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on physical fitness, and the impact of initial physical fitness indicators on their changes during the lockdown in adolescents. A longitudinal study including 265 adolescents aged 14.1 ± 0.4 years old was conducted in China. Physical fitness measurement at baseline and follow-up were respectively measured before (November 2019) and after the lockdown (July 2020). Several physical fitness indicators including aerobic fitness (i.e., 800-m or 1000-m run) and explosive force (i.e., 50-m sprint) deteriorated during the lockdown. Whereas the performances of vital capacity, flexibility (i.e., sit and reach), and muscular strength (i.e., pull-ups) were significantly improved during the lockdown. Furthermore, the reduction in physical fitness for adolescents with higher physical fitness before the lockdown was greater than that for others. These findings may contribute to the development of targeted intervention strategies for physical fitness promotion during the lockdown caused by the public health emergency.