Optimizing performance and mood state in competitive swimmers through tapering strategies

Tapering is a concept that is of great importance in relation to performance, due of its great effect on the psychological and physical condition of the swimmer. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the effect of two-week of tapering characterized by a progressive training volume reduction on mood state and swimming performance in competitive swimmers. Twenty-four competitive male swimmers were randomly assigned into two groups. Experimental group (age = 16.9 +/- 0.5 years) and control group (16.1 +/- 0.4 years). The mood subscales (tension, depression, anger, fatigue, confusion and vigor), total mood disturbance and swimming performance (50-m front crawl) were measured in pre and posttest. Our findings revealed a significant improvement in mood subscales (20.8 to 47.8%), total mood disturbance (14.4%) and in swimming performance (3.5%) after 2 weeks of tapering training. A significant correlation was observed between the total mood disturbance and the 50 m front crawl (r = -0.63) only in the experimental group. It was concluded that a progressive reduction in training volume with a maintain of intensity could improve mood state and swimming performance. In addition, a change in total mood disturbance could affect swimming performance. Swimming coaches are advised to include tapering period according to the standards we mentioned earlier before competitive swimming to improve mental state, which helps the swimmers to overcome the negative influences of overtraining and therefore they can promote sprint-swimming performance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Acute effects of different balance exercise types on selected measures of physical fitness in youth female volleyball players

Background!#!Earlier studies have shown that balance training (BT) has the potential to induce performance enhancements in selected components of physical fitness (i.e., balance, muscle strength, power, speed). While there is ample evidence on the long-term effects of BT on components of physical fitness in youth, less is known on the short-term or acute effects of single BT sessions on selected measures of physical fitness.!##!Objective!#!To examine the acute effects of different balance exercise types on balance, change-of-direction (CoD) speed, and jump performance in youth female volleyball players.!##!Methods!#!Eleven female players aged 14 years participated in this study. Three types of balance exercises (i.e., anterior, posterolateral, rotational type) were conducted in randomized order. For each exercise, 3 sets including 5 repetitions were performed. Before and after the performance of the balance exercises, participants were tested for their static balance (center of pressure surface area [CoP SA] and velocity [CoP V]) on foam and firm surfaces, CoD speed (T-Half test), and vertical jump height (countermovement jump [CMJ] height). A 3 (condition: anterior, mediolateral, rotational balance exercise type) × 2 (time: pre, post) analysis of variance was computed with repeated measures on time.!##!Results!#!Findings showed no significant condition × time interactions for all outcome measures (p > 0.05). However, there were small main effects of time for CoP SA on firm and foam surfaces (both d = 0.38; all p < 0.05) with no effect for CoP V on both surface conditions (p > 0.05). For CoD speed, findings showed a large main effect of time (d = 0.91; p < 0.001). However, for CMJ height, no main effect of time was observed (p > 0.05).!##!Conclusions!#!Overall, our results indicated small-to-large changes in balance and CoD speed performances but not in CMJ height in youth female volleyball players, regardless of the balance exercise type. Accordingly, it is recommended to regularly integrate balance exercises before the performance of sport-specific training to optimize performance development in youth female volleyball players.!##!Trial registration!#!This study does not report results related to health care interventions using human participants and therefore it was not prospectively registered

The Influence of Maturity Status on Dynamic Balance Following 6 Weeks of Eccentric Hamstring Training in Youth Male Handball Players

Information about when to apply an appropriate eccentric hamstring strength training stimulus during long-term athlete development is essential for effective programming and improving balance performance. This study examined the effects of six-week eccentric hamstring training on dynamic balance performance in youth handball players of different maturity statuses (pre- or post-peak height velocity (PHV)). A randomized controlled design with 45 young male handball players (14.6 ± 0.3 years) from a local national handball club were randomly allocated to a 6 week, twice weekly eccentric hamstring training in two experimental groups: a pre-PHV (maturation offset: −2.13 ± 0.63, n = 10) and post-PHV (maturation offset: 0.79 ± 0.34, n = 12) group and two control groups: maturation offset: −2.09 ± 0.61, n = 10 and maturation offset: 0.55 ± 0.67, n = 13. Dynamic balance performance was evaluated by using the composite score during the lower quarter Y-balance test from pre- and post-intervention. A significant effect on balance scores was found from pre to post (F = 11.4; p = 0.002; η(2)(p) = 0.22), intervention (F = 5.4; p = 0.025; η(2)(p) = 0.12), and maturation (F = 369; p < 0.001; η(2)(p) = 0.9), but no significant interaction effects were found (F ≥ 3.3; p ≥ 0.077; η(2)(p) ≤ 0.07). Post hoc analysis revealed that the post-PHV group had a higher score than the pre-PHV group. Furthermore, that dynamic balance increased in the post-PHV group after intervention much more in the control post-PHV group. It was concluded that somatic maturation influences dynamic balance performance and that eccentric hamstring training results in greater improvement in balance performance in young male handball players for the post-pubertal group

Exploring of two different equated instability resistance training programs on measure of physical fitness and lower limb asymmetry in pre-pubertal weightlifters

Background: Although previous research in pediatric populations has reported performance enhancements following instability resistance training, the effects of different volumes on measures of balance, strength and power and lower limb asymmetry remain unclear. Objective: To compare the effect of two 8-week instability resistance training programs (IRT1: 2 sets x 8 repetitions, 20% one-repetition maximum (1RM); IRT2: 2 sets x 4 repetitions, 40% 1RM) in balance (center of pressure displacements), 1RM, single-leg jumps, and inter-limb asymmetry of prepubescent weightlifters. Methods: Thirty-two male athletes (10.94 ± 0.47 yrs, 17.05 ± 0.14&nbsp;kg/m2, and 6.44 ± 0.93% bodyfat) voluntarily participated and combined IRT (front and back squat, lunge, and deadlift) with their usual weightlifting training. Nonparametric tests evaluated the differences between pre- and post-intervention. Results: Significant improvements were encountered in all the variables for both groups (effect sizes [ES] from 0.46 to 2.60), except the inter-limb asymmetry and the velocity of displacement of the center of pressure, which did not improve in IRT2. It is also worth highlighting that in the single-leg jumps and center of pressure displacements, whereas no significant differences were observed between IRT1 and IRT2 in the baseline, significant differences appeared in the follow-up measurements. Conclusion: IRT combined with weight-lifting training improves prepubescent weightlifters' performance; therefore, strength and conditioning coaches may consider including unstable devices with low loads into an overall conditioning program and warm-ups for prepuberal male weightlifters to promote their physical fitness and potentially decrease inter-limb asymmetry. Trial registration: This study does not report results related to healthcare interventions using human participants; therefore, it was not prospectively registered

Acute Effects of Different Plyometric and Strength Exercises on Balance Performance in Youth Weightlifters

Background: High-intensity muscle actions have the potential to temporarily improve the performance which has been denoted as postactivation performance enhancement. Objectives: This study determined the acute effects of different stretch-shortening (fast vs. low) and strength (dynamic vs. isometric) exercises executed during one training session on subsequent balance performance in youth weightlifters. Materials and Methods: Sixteen male and female young weightlifters, aged 11.3±0.6years, performed four strength exercise conditions in randomized order, including dynamic strength (DYN; 3 sets of 3 repetitions of 10 RM) and isometric strength exercises (ISOM; 3 sets of maintaining 3s of 10 RM of back-squat), as well as fast (FSSC; 3 sets of 3 repetitions of 20-cm drop-jumps) and slow (SSSC; 3 sets of 3 hurdle jumps over a 20-cm obstacle) stretch-shortening cycle protocols. Balance performance was tested before and after each of the four exercise conditions in bipedal stance on an unstable surface (i.e., BOSU ball with flat side facing up) using two dependent variables, i.e., center of pressure surface area (CoP SA) and velocity (CoP V). Results: There was a significant effect of time on CoP SA and CoP V [F(1,60)=54.37, d=1.88, p<0.0001; F(1,60)=9.07, d=0.77, p=0.003]. In addition, a statistically significant effect of condition on CoP SA and CoP V [F(3,60)=11.81, d=1.53, p<0.0001; F(3,60)=7.36, d=1.21, p=0.0003] was observed. Statistically significant condition-by-time interactions were found for the balance parameters CoP SA (p<0.003, d=0.54) and CoP V (p<0.002, d=0.70). Specific to contrast analysis, all specified hypotheses were tested and demonstrated that FSSC yielded significantly greater improvements than all other conditions in CoP SA and CoP V [p<0.0001 (d=1.55); p=0.0004 (d=1.19), respectively]. In addition, FSSC yielded significantly greater improvements compared with the two conditions for both balance parameters [p<0.0001 (d=2.03); p<0.0001 (d=1.45)]. Conclusion: Fast stretch-shortening cycle exercises appear to be more effective to improve short-term balance performance in young weightlifters. Due to the importance of balance for overall competitive achievement in weightlifting, it is recommended that young weightlifters implement dynamic plyometric exercises in the fast stretch-shortening cycle during the warm-up to improve their balance performance

Do Acute Bouts of Resistance Training Influence the Psychometric Status and Affective State of Prepubertal Weightlifters?

Resistance training (RT) can represent a challenging and stressful endeavour for those who participate in it. We aimed to investigate the acute effect of four types of RT exercise [i.e., Concentric (CONC), Isometric (ISOM), Dynamic (DYN) and Eccentric (ECC)] on psychological parameters (feeling scale: FS) and perceived internal load (RPE) in young elite weightlifters. The RT protocols were differentiated according to the contractile characteristics of the involved muscles and comprised: (i) CONC: 3 sets of 3 hurdle jumps; (ii) ECC: 3 sets of drop jumps; (iii) ISOM: 3 sets of 3-second maximal isometric back squat; (iv) DYN: 3 sets of 3 repetitions of 10 RM maximal back squats. Thereafter, participants were reported scores for RPE and FS. The execution of different types of RT exercises did not induce changes in FS. On the contrary, differences in RPE were observed with the CONC protocol being the least acutely strenuous, followed by the ECC and DYN methods. Of all four types used in this study, ISOM seemed to induce the highest RPE score , though these remained relatively low across the 10-point scale. Coaches can manipulate training activities based on the condition of the athlete and the potential physical strain that is associated with each exercise type