TY - GEN A1 - Nobari, Hadi A1 - Mahmoudzadeh Khalili, Sara A1 - Denche Zamorano, Angel Manuel A1 - ‪Bowman, ‪Thomas G. A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Workload is associated with the occurrence of non-contact injuries in professional male soccer players: A pilot study T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Injuries in professional soccer are a significant concern for teams, and they are caused amongst others by high training load. This cohort study describes the relationship between workload parameters and the occurrence of non-contact injuries, during weeks with high and low workload in professional soccer players throughout the season. Twenty-one professional soccer players aged 28.3 ± 3.9 yrs. who competed in the Iranian Persian Gulf Pro League participated in this 48-week study. The external load was monitored using global positioning system (GPS, GPSPORTS Systems Pty Ltd) and the type of injury was documented daily by the team's medical staff. Odds ratio (OR) and relative risk (RR) were calculated for non-contact injuries for high- and low-load weeks according to acute (AW), chronic (CW), acute to chronic workload ratio (ACWR), and AW variation (Δ-Acute) values. By using Poisson distribution, the interval between previous and new injuries were estimated. Overall, 12 non-contact injuries occurred during high load and 9 during low load weeks. Based on the variables ACWR and Δ-AW, there was a significantly increased risk of sustaining non-contact injuries (p < 0.05) during high-load weeks for ACWR (OR: 4.67), and Δ-AW (OR: 4.07). Finally, the expected time between injuries was significantly shorter in high load weeks for ACWR [1.25 vs. 3.33, rate ratio time (RRT)] and Δ-AW (1.33 vs. 3.45, RRT) respectively, compared to low load weeks. The risk of sustaining injuries was significantly larger during high workload weeks for ACWR, and Δ-AW compared with low workload weeks. The observed high OR in high load weeks indicate that there is a significant relationship between workload and occurrence of non-contact injuries. The predicted time to new injuries is shorter in high load weeks compared to low load weeks. Therefore, the frequency of injuries is higher during high load weeks for ACWR and Δ-AW. ACWR and Δ-AW appear to be good indicators for estimating the injury risk, and the time interval between injuries. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 784 KW - ACWR KW - external load KW - football KW - prevention KW - performance KW - injury risk Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-562216 SN - 1866-8364 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Universitätsverlag Potsdam CY - Potsdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nobari, Hadi A1 - Mahmoudzadeh Khalili, Sara A1 - Denche Zamorano, Angel Manuel A1 - Bowman, ‪Thomas G. A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Workload is associated with the occurrence of non-contact injuries in professional male soccer players: A pilot study JF - Frontiers in Psychology N2 - Injuries in professional soccer are a significant concern for teams, and they are caused amongst others by high training load. This cohort study describes the relationship between workload parameters and the occurrence of non-contact injuries, during weeks with high and low workload in professional soccer players throughout the season. Twenty-one professional soccer players aged 28.3 ± 3.9 yrs. who competed in the Iranian Persian Gulf Pro League participated in this 48-week study. The external load was monitored using global positioning system (GPS, GPSPORTS Systems Pty Ltd) and the type of injury was documented daily by the team's medical staff. Odds ratio (OR) and relative risk (RR) were calculated for non-contact injuries for high- and low-load weeks according to acute (AW), chronic (CW), acute to chronic workload ratio (ACWR), and AW variation (Δ-Acute) values. By using Poisson distribution, the interval between previous and new injuries were estimated. Overall, 12 non-contact injuries occurred during high load and 9 during low load weeks. Based on the variables ACWR and Δ-AW, there was a significantly increased risk of sustaining non-contact injuries (p < 0.05) during high-load weeks for ACWR (OR: 4.67), and Δ-AW (OR: 4.07). Finally, the expected time between injuries was significantly shorter in high load weeks for ACWR [1.25 vs. 3.33, rate ratio time (RRT)] and Δ-AW (1.33 vs. 3.45, RRT) respectively, compared to low load weeks. The risk of sustaining injuries was significantly larger during high workload weeks for ACWR, and Δ-AW compared with low workload weeks. The observed high OR in high load weeks indicate that there is a significant relationship between workload and occurrence of non-contact injuries. The predicted time to new injuries is shorter in high load weeks compared to low load weeks. Therefore, the frequency of injuries is higher during high load weeks for ACWR and Δ-AW. ACWR and Δ-AW appear to be good indicators for estimating the injury risk, and the time interval between injuries. KW - ACWR KW - external load KW - football KW - prevention KW - performance KW - injury risk Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.925722 SN - 1664-1078 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Frontiers CY - Lausanne, Schweiz ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meyer, Ursina A1 - Ernst, Dominique A1 - Schott, Silvia A1 - Riera, Claudia A1 - Hattendorf, Jan A1 - Romkes, Jacqueline A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Göpfert, Beat A1 - Kriemler, Susi T1 - Validation of two accelerometers to determine mechanical loading of physical activities in children JF - Journal of sports sciences N2 - The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of accelerometers using force plates (i.e., ground reaction force (GRF)) during the performance of different tasks of daily physical activity in children. Thirteen children (10.1 (range 5.4-15.7)years, 3 girls) wore two accelerometers (ActiGraph GT3X+ (ACT), GENEA (GEN)) at the hip that provide raw acceleration signals at 100Hz. Participants completed different tasks (walking, jogging, running, landings from boxes of different height, rope skipping, dancing) on a force plate. GRF was collected for one step per trial (10 trials) for ambulatory movements and for all landings (10 trials), rope skips and dance procedures. Accelerometer outputs as peak loading (g) per activity were averaged. ANOVA, correlation analyses and Bland-Altman plots were computed to determine validity of accelerometers using GRF. There was a main effect of task with increasing acceleration values in tasks with increasing locomotion speed and landing height (P<0.001). Data from ACT and GEN correlated with GRF (r=0.90 and 0.89, respectively) and between each other (r=0.98), but both accelerometers consistently overestimated GRF. The new generation of accelerometer models that allow raw signal detection are reasonably accurate to measure impact loading of bone in children, although they systematically overestimate GRF. KW - bone KW - impact loading KW - children KW - physical activity KW - ground reaction force Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2015.1004638 SN - 0264-0414 SN - 1466-447X VL - 33 IS - 16 SP - 1702 EP - 1709 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Howard, Joshua A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Behm, David George T1 - Trunk extensor fatigue decreases jump height similarly under stable and unstable conditions with experienced jumpers JF - European journal of applied physiology N2 - The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of back extensor fatigue on performance measures and electromyographic (EMG) activity of leg and trunk muscles during jumping on stable and unstable surfaces. Before and after a modified Biering-Sorensen fatigue protocol for the back extensors, countermovement (CMJ) and lateral jumps (LJ) were performed on a force plate under stable and unstable (balance pad on the force plate) conditions. Performance measures for LJ (contact time) and CMJ height and leg and trunk muscles EMG activity were tested in 14 male experienced jumpers during 2 time intervals for CMJ (braking phase, push-off phase) and 5 intervals for LJ (-30 to 0, 0-30, 30-60, 60-90, and 90-120 ms) in non-fatigued and fatigued conditions. A significant main effect of test (fatigue) (p = 0.007, f = 0.57) was observed for CMJ height. EMG analysis showed a significant fatigue-induced decrease in biceps femoris and gastrocnemius activity with CMJ (p = 0.008, f = 0.58 andp = 0.04, f = 0.422, respectively). LJ contact time was not affected by fatigue or surface interaction. EMG activity was significantly lower in the tibialis anterior with LJ following fatigue (p = 0.05, f = 0.405). A test x surface (p = 0.04, f = 0.438) interaction revealed that the non-fatigued unstable CMJ gastrocnemius EMG activity was lower than the non-fatigued stable condition during the onset-of-force phase. The findings revealed that fatiguing the trunk negatively impacts CMJ height and muscle activity during the performance of CMJs. However, skilled jumpers are not additionally affected by a moderately unstable surface as compared to a stable surface. KW - Countermovement jump KW - Instability KW - Balance KW - Crossover fatigue KW - Lateral jumps Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-014-3011-x SN - 1439-6319 SN - 1439-6327 VL - 115 IS - 2 SP - 285 EP - 294 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - GEN A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Muehlbauer, Thomas A1 - Göstemeyer, Gerd A1 - Gruber, Stefanie A1 - Gruber, Markus T1 - The performance of balance exercises during daily tooth brushing is not sufficient to improve balance and muscle strength in healthy older adults T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Background High prevalence rates have been reported for physical inactivity, mobility limitations, and falls in older adults. Home-based exercise might be an adequate means to increase physical activity by improving health- (i.e., muscle strength) and skill-related components of physical fitness (i.e., balance), particularly in times of restricted physical activity due to pandemics. Objective The objective of this study was to examine the effects of home-based balance exercises conducted during daily tooth brushing on measures of balance and muscle strength in healthy older adults. Methods Fifty-one older adults were randomly assigned to a balance exercise group (n = 27; age: 65.1 ± 1.1 years) or a passive control group (n = 24; age: 66.2 ± 3.3 years). The intervention group conducted balance exercises over a period of eight weeks twice daily for three minutes each during their daily tooth brushing routine. Pre- and post-intervention, tests were included for the assessment of static steady-state balance (i.e., Romberg test), dynamic steady-state balance (i.e., 10-m single and dual-task walk test using a cognitive and motor interference task), proactive balance (i.e., Timed-Up-and-Go Test [TUG], Functional-Reach-Test [FRT]), and muscle strength (i.e., Chair-Rise-Test [CRT]). Results Irrespective of group, the statistical analysis revealed significant main effects for time (pre vs. post) for dual-task gait speed (p < .001, 1.12 ≤ d ≤ 2.65), TUG (p < .001, d = 1.17), FRT (p = .002, d = 0.92), and CRT (p = .002, d = 0.94) but not for single-task gait speed and for the Romberg-Test. No significant group × time interactions were found for any of the investigated variables. Conclusions The applied lifestyle balance training program conducted twice daily during tooth brushing routines appears not to be sufficient in terms of exercise dosage and difficulty level to enhance balance and muscle strength in healthy adults aged 60–72 years. Consequently, structured balance training programs using higher exercise dosages and/or more difficult balance tasks are recommended for older adults to improve balance and muscle strength. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 733 KW - Balance KW - Daily life KW - Exercise KW - Healthy aging KW - Mobility Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-529379 SN - 1866-8364 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Muehlbauer, Thomas A1 - Göstemeyer, Gerd A1 - Gruber, Stefanie A1 - Gruber, Markus T1 - The performance of balance exercises during daily tooth brushing is not sufficient to improve balance and muscle strength in healthy older adults JF - BMC Geriatrics N2 - Background High prevalence rates have been reported for physical inactivity, mobility limitations, and falls in older adults. Home-based exercise might be an adequate means to increase physical activity by improving health- (i.e., muscle strength) and skill-related components of physical fitness (i.e., balance), particularly in times of restricted physical activity due to pandemics. Objective The objective of this study was to examine the effects of home-based balance exercises conducted during daily tooth brushing on measures of balance and muscle strength in healthy older adults. Methods Fifty-one older adults were randomly assigned to a balance exercise group (n = 27; age: 65.1 ± 1.1 years) or a passive control group (n = 24; age: 66.2 ± 3.3 years). The intervention group conducted balance exercises over a period of eight weeks twice daily for three minutes each during their daily tooth brushing routine. Pre- and post-intervention, tests were included for the assessment of static steady-state balance (i.e., Romberg test), dynamic steady-state balance (i.e., 10-m single and dual-task walk test using a cognitive and motor interference task), proactive balance (i.e., Timed-Up-and-Go Test [TUG], Functional-Reach-Test [FRT]), and muscle strength (i.e., Chair-Rise-Test [CRT]). Results Irrespective of group, the statistical analysis revealed significant main effects for time (pre vs. post) for dual-task gait speed (p < .001, 1.12 ≤ d ≤ 2.65), TUG (p < .001, d = 1.17), FRT (p = .002, d = 0.92), and CRT (p = .002, d = 0.94) but not for single-task gait speed and for the Romberg-Test. No significant group × time interactions were found for any of the investigated variables. Conclusions The applied lifestyle balance training program conducted twice daily during tooth brushing routines appears not to be sufficient in terms of exercise dosage and difficulty level to enhance balance and muscle strength in healthy adults aged 60–72 years. Consequently, structured balance training programs using higher exercise dosages and/or more difficult balance tasks are recommended for older adults to improve balance and muscle strength. KW - Balance KW - Daily life KW - Exercise KW - Healthy aging KW - Mobility Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-021-02206-w SN - 1471-2318 VL - 21 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jafarnezhadgero, Amir Ali A1 - Madadi-Shad, Morteza A1 - Alavi-Mehr, Seyed Majid A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - The long-term use of foot orthoses affects walking kinematics and kinetics of children with flexible flat feet BT - A randomized controlled trial JF - PLoS ONE N2 - Background Due to inconclusive evidence on the effects of foot orthoses treatment on lower limb kinematics and kinetics in children, studies are needed that particularly evaluate the long-term use of foot orthoses on lower limb alignment during walking. Thus, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of long-term treatment with arch support foot orthoses versus a sham condition on lower extremity kinematics and kinetics during walking in children with flexible flat feet. Methods Thirty boys aged 8–12 years with flexible flat feet participated in this study. While the experimental group (n = 15) used medial arch support foot orthoses during everyday activities over a period of four months, the control group (n = 15) received flat 2-mm-thick insoles (i.e., sham condition) for the same time period. Before and after the intervention period, walking kinematics and ground reaction forces were collected. Results Significant group by time interactions were observed during walking at preferred gait speed for maximum ankle eversion, maximum ankle internal rotation angle, minimum knee abduction angle, maximum knee abduction angle, maximum knee external rotation angle, maximum knee internal rotation angle, maximum hip extension angle, and maximum hip external rotation angle in favor of the foot orthoses group. In addition, statistically significant group by time interactions were detected for maximum posterior, and vertical ground reaction forces in favor of the foot orthoses group. Conclusions The long-term use of arch support foot orthoses proved to be feasible and effective in boys with flexible flat feet to improve lower limb alignment during walking. KW - lower-extremity kinematics KW - medial longitudinal arch KW - limb overuse conditions KW - ground reaction force KW - low-back-pain KW - knee osteoarthritis KW - calcaneal eversion KW - standing position KW - pelvic alignment KW - sex-differences Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205187 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 13 IS - 10 SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - Public Library of Science CY - San Francisco ER - TY - GEN A1 - Jafarnezhadgero, Amir Ali A1 - Madadi-Shad, Morteza A1 - Alavi-Mehr, Seyed Majid A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - The long-term use of foot orthoses affects walking kinematics and kinetics of children with flexible flat feet BT - A randomized controlled trial T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Background Due to inconclusive evidence on the effects of foot orthoses treatment on lower limb kinematics and kinetics in children, studies are needed that particularly evaluate the long-term use of foot orthoses on lower limb alignment during walking. Thus, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of long-term treatment with arch support foot orthoses versus a sham condition on lower extremity kinematics and kinetics during walking in children with flexible flat feet. Methods Thirty boys aged 8–12 years with flexible flat feet participated in this study. While the experimental group (n = 15) used medial arch support foot orthoses during everyday activities over a period of four months, the control group (n = 15) received flat 2-mm-thick insoles (i.e., sham condition) for the same time period. Before and after the intervention period, walking kinematics and ground reaction forces were collected. Results Significant group by time interactions were observed during walking at preferred gait speed for maximum ankle eversion, maximum ankle internal rotation angle, minimum knee abduction angle, maximum knee abduction angle, maximum knee external rotation angle, maximum knee internal rotation angle, maximum hip extension angle, and maximum hip external rotation angle in favor of the foot orthoses group. In addition, statistically significant group by time interactions were detected for maximum posterior, and vertical ground reaction forces in favor of the foot orthoses group. Conclusions The long-term use of arch support foot orthoses proved to be feasible and effective in boys with flexible flat feet to improve lower limb alignment during walking. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 479 KW - lower-extremity kinematics KW - medial longitudinal arch KW - limb overuse conditions KW - ground reaction force KW - low-back-pain KW - knee osteoarthritis KW - calcaneal eversion KW - standing position KW - pelvic alignment KW - sex-differences Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-419852 IS - 479 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Saidi, Karim A1 - Ben Abderrahman, Abderraouf A1 - Boullosa, Daniel A1 - Dupont, Grégory A1 - Hackney, Anthony C. A1 - Bideau, Benoit A1 - Pavillon, Thomas A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Zouhal, Hassane T1 - The Interplay Between Plasma Hormonal Concentrations, Physical Fitness, Workload and Mood State Changes to Periods of Congested Match Play in Professional Soccer Players JF - Frontiers in Physiology N2 - Background: The regular assessment of hormonal and mood state parameters in professional soccer are proposed as good indicators during periods of intense training and/or competition to avoid overtraining. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze hormonal, psychological, workload and physical fitness parameters in elite soccer players in relation to changes in training and match exposure during a congested period of match play. Methods: Sixteen elite soccer players from a team playing in the first Tunisian soccer league were evaluated three times (T1, T2, and T3) over 12 weeks. The non-congested period of match play was from T1 to T2, when the players played 6 games over 6 weeks. The congested period was from T2 to T3, when the players played 10 games over 6 weeks. From T1 to T3, players performed the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 1 (YYIR1), the repeated shuttle sprint ability test (RSSA), the countermovement jump test (CMJ), and the squat jump test (SJ). Plasma Cortisol (C), Testosterone (T), and the T/C ratio were analyzed at T1, T2, and T3. Players had their mood dimensions (tension, depression, anger, vigor, fatigue, confusion, and a Total Mood Disturbance) assessed through the Profile of Mood State questionnaire (POMS). Training session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) was also recorded on a daily basis in order to quantify internal training load and elements of monotony and strain. Results: Significant performance declines (T1 < T2 < T3) were found for SJ performance (p = 0.04, effect size [ES] ES₁₋₂ = 0.15−0.06, ES₂₋₃ = 0.24) from T1 to T3. YYIR1 performance improved significantly from T1 to T2 and declined significantly from T2 to T3 (p = 0.001, ES₁₋₂ = 0.24, ES₂₋₃ = −2.54). Mean RSSA performance was significantly higher (p = 0.019, ES₁₋₂ = −0.47, ES₂₋₃ = 1.15) in T3 compared with T2 and T1. Best RSSA performance was significantly higher in T3 when compared with T2 and T1 (p = 0.006, ES₂₋₃ = 0.47, ES₁₋₂ = −0.56), but significantly lower in T2 when compared with to T1. T and T/C were significantly lower in T3 when compared with T2 and T1 (T: p = 0.03, ES₃₋₂ = −0.51, ES₃₋₁ = −0.51, T/C: p = 0.017, ES₃₋₂ = −1.1, ES₃₋₁ = −1.07). Significant decreases were found for the vigor scores in T3 when compared to T2 and T1 (p = 0.002, ES₁₋₂ = 0.31, ES₃₋₂ = −1.25). A significant increase was found in fatigue scores in T3 as compared to T1 and T2 (p = 0.002, ES₁₋₂ = 0.43, ES₂₋₃ = 0.81). A significant increase was found from T1 < T2 < T3 intension score (p = 0.002, ES₁₋₂ = 1.1, ES₂₋₃ = 0.2) and anger score (p = 0.03, ES₁₋₂ = 0.47, ES₂₋₃ = 0.33) over the study period. Total mood disturbance increased significantly (p = 0.02, ES₁₋₂ = 0.91, ES₂₋₃ = 1.1) from T1 to T3. Between T1-T2, significant relationships were observed between workload and changes in T (r = 0.66, p = 0.003), and T/C ratio (r = 0.62, p = 0.01). There were significant relationships between performance in RSSAbest and training load parameters (workload: r = 0.52, p = 0.03; monotony: r = 0.62, p = 0.01; strain: r = 0.62, p = 0.009). Between T2-T3, there was a significant relationship between Δ% of total mood disturbance and Δ% of YYIR1 (r = −0.54; p = 0.04), RSSAbest (r = 0.58, p = 0.01), SJ (r = −0,55, p = 0.01), T (r = 0.53; p = 0.03), and T/C (r = 0.5; p = 0.04). Conclusion: An intensive period of congested match play significantly compromised elite soccer players’ physical and mental fitness. These changes were related to psychological but not hormonal parameters; even though significant alterations were detected for selected measures. Mood monitoring could be a simple and useful tool to determine the degree of preparedness for match play during a congested period in professional soccer. KW - training KW - hormones KW - overtraining KW - overreaching KW - recovery Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.00835 SN - 1664-042X VL - 11 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - GEN A1 - Saidi, Karim A1 - Ben Abderrahman, Abderraouf A1 - Boullosa, Daniel A1 - Dupont, Grégory A1 - Hackney, Anthony C. A1 - Bideau, Benoit A1 - Pavillon, Thomas A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Zouhal, Hassane T1 - The Interplay Between Plasma Hormonal Concentrations, Physical Fitness, Workload and Mood State Changes to Periods of Congested Match Play in Professional Soccer Players T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Background: The regular assessment of hormonal and mood state parameters in professional soccer are proposed as good indicators during periods of intense training and/or competition to avoid overtraining. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze hormonal, psychological, workload and physical fitness parameters in elite soccer players in relation to changes in training and match exposure during a congested period of match play. Methods: Sixteen elite soccer players from a team playing in the first Tunisian soccer league were evaluated three times (T1, T2, and T3) over 12 weeks. The non-congested period of match play was from T1 to T2, when the players played 6 games over 6 weeks. The congested period was from T2 to T3, when the players played 10 games over 6 weeks. From T1 to T3, players performed the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 1 (YYIR1), the repeated shuttle sprint ability test (RSSA), the countermovement jump test (CMJ), and the squat jump test (SJ). Plasma Cortisol (C), Testosterone (T), and the T/C ratio were analyzed at T1, T2, and T3. Players had their mood dimensions (tension, depression, anger, vigor, fatigue, confusion, and a Total Mood Disturbance) assessed through the Profile of Mood State questionnaire (POMS). Training session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) was also recorded on a daily basis in order to quantify internal training load and elements of monotony and strain. Results: Significant performance declines (T1 < T2 < T3) were found for SJ performance (p = 0.04, effect size [ES] ES₁₋₂ = 0.15−0.06, ES₂₋₃ = 0.24) from T1 to T3. YYIR1 performance improved significantly from T1 to T2 and declined significantly from T2 to T3 (p = 0.001, ES₁₋₂ = 0.24, ES₂₋₃ = −2.54). Mean RSSA performance was significantly higher (p = 0.019, ES₁₋₂ = −0.47, ES₂₋₃ = 1.15) in T3 compared with T2 and T1. Best RSSA performance was significantly higher in T3 when compared with T2 and T1 (p = 0.006, ES₂₋₃ = 0.47, ES₁₋₂ = −0.56), but significantly lower in T2 when compared with to T1. T and T/C were significantly lower in T3 when compared with T2 and T1 (T: p = 0.03, ES₃₋₂ = −0.51, ES₃₋₁ = −0.51, T/C: p = 0.017, ES₃₋₂ = −1.1, ES₃₋₁ = −1.07). Significant decreases were found for the vigor scores in T3 when compared to T2 and T1 (p = 0.002, ES₁₋₂ = 0.31, ES₃₋₂ = −1.25). A significant increase was found in fatigue scores in T3 as compared to T1 and T2 (p = 0.002, ES₁₋₂ = 0.43, ES₂₋₃ = 0.81). A significant increase was found from T1 < T2 < T3 intension score (p = 0.002, ES₁₋₂ = 1.1, ES₂₋₃ = 0.2) and anger score (p = 0.03, ES₁₋₂ = 0.47, ES₂₋₃ = 0.33) over the study period. Total mood disturbance increased significantly (p = 0.02, ES₁₋₂ = 0.91, ES₂₋₃ = 1.1) from T1 to T3. Between T1-T2, significant relationships were observed between workload and changes in T (r = 0.66, p = 0.003), and T/C ratio (r = 0.62, p = 0.01). There were significant relationships between performance in RSSAbest and training load parameters (workload: r = 0.52, p = 0.03; monotony: r = 0.62, p = 0.01; strain: r = 0.62, p = 0.009). Between T2-T3, there was a significant relationship between Δ% of total mood disturbance and Δ% of YYIR1 (r = −0.54; p = 0.04), RSSAbest (r = 0.58, p = 0.01), SJ (r = −0,55, p = 0.01), T (r = 0.53; p = 0.03), and T/C (r = 0.5; p = 0.04). Conclusion: An intensive period of congested match play significantly compromised elite soccer players’ physical and mental fitness. These changes were related to psychological but not hormonal parameters; even though significant alterations were detected for selected measures. Mood monitoring could be a simple and useful tool to determine the degree of preparedness for match play during a congested period in professional soccer. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 660 KW - training KW - hormones KW - overtraining KW - overreaching KW - recovery Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-479259 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 660 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jafarnezhadgero, Amir Ali A1 - Noroozi, Raha A1 - Fakhri, Ehsan A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Oliveira, Anderson Souza T1 - The Impact of COVID-19 and muscle fatigue on cardiorespiratory fitness and running kinetics in female recreational runners JF - Frontiers in physiology N2 - Background: There is evidence that fully recovered COVID-19 patients usually resume physical exercise, but do not perform at the same intensity level performed prior to infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 infection and recovery as well as muscle fatigue on cardiorespiratory fitness and running biomechanics in female recreational runners. Methods: Twenty-eight females were divided into a group of hospitalized and recovered COVID-19 patients (COV, n = 14, at least 14 days following recovery) and a group of healthy age-matched controls (CTR, n = 14). Ground reaction forces from stepping on a force plate while barefoot overground running at 3.3 m/s was measured before and after a fatiguing protocol. The fatigue protocol consisted of incrementally increasing running speed until reaching a score of 13 on the 6-20 Borg scale, followed by steady-state running until exhaustion. The effects of group and fatigue were assessed for steady-state running duration, steady-state running speed, ground contact time, vertical instantaneous loading rate and peak propulsion force. Results: COV runners completed only 56% of the running time achieved by the CTR (p < 0.0001), and at a 26% slower steady-state running speed (p < 0.0001). There were fatigue-related reductions in loading rate (p = 0.004) without group differences. Increased ground contact time (p = 0.002) and reduced peak propulsion force (p = 0.005) were found for COV when compared to CTR. Conclusion: Our results suggest that female runners who recovered from COVID-19 showed compromised running endurance and altered running kinetics in the form of longer stance periods and weaker propulsion forces. More research is needed in this area using larger sample sizes to confirm our study findings. KW - hospitalization KW - running mechanics KW - ground reaction forces KW - virus KW - infection KW - COVID-19 Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.942589 SN - 1664-042X VL - 13 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER - TY - GEN A1 - Jafarnezhadgero, Amir Ali A1 - Noroozi, Raha A1 - Fakhri Mirzanag, Ehsan A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - de Souza Castelo Oliveira, Anderson T1 - The Impact of COVID-19 and Muscle Fatigue on Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Running Kinetics in Female Recreational Runners T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Background: There is evidence that fully recovered COVID-19 patients usually resume physical exercise, but do not perform at the same intensity level performed prior to infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 infection and recovery as well as muscle fatigue on cardiorespiratory fitness and running biomechanics in female recreational runners. Methods: Twenty-eight females were divided into a group of hospitalized and recovered COVID-19 patients (COV, n = 14, at least 14 days following recovery) and a group of healthy age-matched controls (CTR, n = 14). Ground reaction forces from stepping on a force plate while barefoot overground running at 3.3 m/s was measured before and after a fatiguing protocol. The fatigue protocol consisted of incrementally increasing running speed until reaching a score of 13 on the 6–20 Borg scale, followed by steady-state running until exhaustion. The effects of group and fatigue were assessed for steady-state running duration, steady-state running speed, ground contact time, vertical instantaneous loading rate and peak propulsion force. Results: COV runners completed only 56% of the running time achieved by the CTR (p < 0.0001), and at a 26% slower steady-state running speed (p < 0.0001). There were fatigue-related reductions in loading rate (p = 0.004) without group differences. Increased ground contact time (p = 0.002) and reduced peak propulsion force (p = 0.005) were found for COV when compared to CTR. Conclusion: Our results suggest that female runners who recovered from COVID-19 showed compromised running endurance and altered running kinetics in the form of longer stance periods and weaker propulsion forces. More research is needed in this area using larger sample sizes to confirm our study findings. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 806 KW - hospitalization KW - running mechanics KW - ground reaction forces KW - virus infection KW - COVID-19 Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-572020 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 806 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jafarnezhadgero, Amir Ali A1 - Noroozi, Raha A1 - Fakhri Mirzanag, Ehsan A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - de Souza Castelo Oliveira, Anderson T1 - The Impact of COVID-19 and Muscle Fatigue on Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Running Kinetics in Female Recreational Runners JF - Frontiers in Physiology N2 - Background: There is evidence that fully recovered COVID-19 patients usually resume physical exercise, but do not perform at the same intensity level performed prior to infection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 infection and recovery as well as muscle fatigue on cardiorespiratory fitness and running biomechanics in female recreational runners. Methods: Twenty-eight females were divided into a group of hospitalized and recovered COVID-19 patients (COV, n = 14, at least 14 days following recovery) and a group of healthy age-matched controls (CTR, n = 14). Ground reaction forces from stepping on a force plate while barefoot overground running at 3.3 m/s was measured before and after a fatiguing protocol. The fatigue protocol consisted of incrementally increasing running speed until reaching a score of 13 on the 6–20 Borg scale, followed by steady-state running until exhaustion. The effects of group and fatigue were assessed for steady-state running duration, steady-state running speed, ground contact time, vertical instantaneous loading rate and peak propulsion force. Results: COV runners completed only 56% of the running time achieved by the CTR (p < 0.0001), and at a 26% slower steady-state running speed (p < 0.0001). There were fatigue-related reductions in loading rate (p = 0.004) without group differences. Increased ground contact time (p = 0.002) and reduced peak propulsion force (p = 0.005) were found for COV when compared to CTR. Conclusion: Our results suggest that female runners who recovered from COVID-19 showed compromised running endurance and altered running kinetics in the form of longer stance periods and weaker propulsion forces. More research is needed in this area using larger sample sizes to confirm our study findings. KW - hospitalization KW - running mechanics KW - ground reaction forces KW - virus infection KW - COVID-19 Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.942589 SN - 1664-042X VL - 13 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Frontiers CY - Lausanne, Schweiz ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hortobágyi, Tibor A1 - Vetrovsky, Tomas A1 - Balbim, Guilherme Moraes A1 - Sorte Silva, Narlon Cassio Boa A1 - Manca, Andrea A1 - Deriu, Franca A1 - Kolmos, Mia A1 - Kruuse, Christina A1 - Liu-Ambrose, Teresa A1 - Radak, Zsolt A1 - Vaczi, Mark A1 - Johansson, Hanna A1 - Rocha dos Santos, Paulo Cezar A1 - Franzen, Erika A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - The impact of aerobic and resistance training intensity on markers of neuroplasticity in health and disease JF - Ageing research reviews : ARR N2 - Objective: To determine the effects of low- vs. high-intensity aerobic and resistance training on motor and cognitive function, brain activation, brain structure, and neurochemical markers of neuroplasticity and the association thereof in healthy young and older adults and in patients with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and stroke. Design: Systematic review and robust variance estimation meta-analysis with meta-regression. Data sources: Systematic search of MEDLINE, Web of Science, and CINAHL databases. Results: Fifty studies with 60 intervention arms and 2283 in-analyses participants were included. Due to the low number of studies, the three patient groups were combined and analyzed as a single group. Overall, low- (g=0.19, p = 0.024) and high-intensity exercise (g=0.40, p = 0.001) improved neuroplasticity. Exercise intensity scaled with neuroplasticity only in healthy young adults but not in healthy older adults or patient groups. Exercise-induced improvements in neuroplasticity were associated with changes in motor but not cognitive outcomes. Conclusion: Exercise intensity is an important variable to dose and individualize the exercise stimulus for healthy young individuals but not necessarily for healthy older adults and neurological patients. This conclusion warrants caution because studies are needed that directly compare the effects of low- vs. high-intensity exercise on neuroplasticity to determine if such changes are mechanistically and incrementally linked to improved cognition and motor function. KW - Aging KW - Exercise KW - Intensity Dose -response relationship KW - Cognition motor KW - function Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2022.101698 SN - 1568-1637 SN - 1872-9649 VL - 80 PB - Elsevier CY - Clare ER - TY - GEN A1 - Sammoud, Senda A1 - Negra, Yassine A1 - Bouguezzi, Raja A1 - Hachana, Younes A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Chaabene, Helmi T1 - The effects of plyometric jump training on jump and sport-specific performances in prepubertal female swimmers T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Background/objective Dry land-training (e.g., plyometric jump training) can be a useful mean to improve swimming performance. This study examined the effects of an 8-week plyometric jump training (PJT) program on jump and sport-specific performances in prepubertal female swimmers. Methods Twenty-two girls were randomly assigned to either a plyometric jump training group (PJTG; n = 12, age: 10.01 ± 0.57 years, maturity-offset = -1.50 ± 0.50, body mass = 36.39 ± 6.32 kg, body height = 146.90 ± 7.62 cm, body mass index = 16.50 ± 1.73 kg/m2) or an active control (CG; n = 10, age: 10.50 ± 0.28 years, maturity-offset = -1.34 ± 0.51, body mass = 38.41 ± 9.42 kg, body height = 143.60 ± 5.05 cm, body mass index = 18.48 ± 3.77 kg/m2). Pre- and post-training, tests were conducted for the assessment of muscle power (e.g., countermovement-jump [CMJ], standing-long-jump [SLJ]). Sport-specific-performances were tested using the timed 25 and 50-m front crawl with a diving-start, timed 25-m front crawl without push-off from the wall (25-m WP), and a timed 25-m kick without push-off from the wall (25-m KWP). Results Findings showed a significant main effect of time for the CMJ (d = 0.78), the SLJ (d = 0.91), 25-m front crawl test (d = 2.5), and the 25-m-KWP (d = 1.38) test. Significant group × time interactions were found for CMJ, SLJ, 25-m front crawl, 50-m front crawl, 25-m KWP, and 25-m WP test (d = 0.29–1.63) in favor of PJTG (d = 1.34–3.50). No significant pre-post changes were found for CG (p > 0.05). Conclusion In sum, PJT is effective in improving muscle power and sport-specific performances in prepubertal swimmers. Therefore, PJT should be included from an early start into the regular training program of swimmers. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 658 KW - Stretch-shortening cycle KW - Young swimmers KW - Swimming performance Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-478272 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 658 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kasmi, Sofien A1 - Zouhal, Hassane A1 - Hammami, Raouf A1 - Clark, Cain Craig Truman A1 - Hackney, Anthony C. A1 - Hammami, Amri A1 - Chtara, Moktar A1 - Chortane, Sabri Gaied A1 - Ben Salah, Fatma Zohra A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Ben Ounis, Omar T1 - The Effects of Eccentric and Plyometric Training Programs and Their Combination on Stability and the Functional Performance in the Post-ACL-Surgical Rehabilitation Period of Elite Female Athletes T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Background: The standard method to treat physically active patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is ligament reconstruction surgery. The rehabilitation training program is very important to improve functional performance in recreational athletes following ACL reconstruction. Objectives: The aims of this study were to compare the effects of three different training programs, eccentric training (ECC), plyometric training (PLYO), or combined eccentric and plyometric training (COMB), on dynamic balance (Y-BAL), the Lysholm Knee Scale (LKS), the return to sport index (RSI), and the leg symmetry index (LSI) for the single leg hop test for distance in elite female athletes after ACL surgery. Materials and Methods: Fourteen weeks after rehabilitation from surgery, 40 elite female athletes (20.3 ± 3.2 years), who had undergone an ACL reconstruction, participated in a short-term (6 weeks; two times a week) training study. All participants received the same rehabilitation protocol prior to the training study. Athletes were randomly assigned to three experimental groups, ECC (n = 10), PLYO (n = 10), and COMB (n = 10), and to a control group (CON: n = 10). Testing was conducted before and after the 6-week training programs and included the Y-BAL, LKS, and RSI. LSI was assessed after the 6-week training programs only. Results: Adherence rate was 100% across all groups and no training or test-related injuries were reported. No significant between-group baseline differences (pre-6-week training) were observed for any of the parameters. Significant group-by-time interactions were found for Y-BAL (p < 0.001, ES = 1.73), LKS (p < 0.001, ES = 0.76), and RSI (p < 0.001, ES = 1.39). Contrast analysis demonstrated that COMB yielded significantly greater improvements in Y-BAL, LKS, and RSI (all p < 0.001), in addition to significantly better performances in LSI (all p < 0.001), than CON, PLYO, and ECC, respectively. Conclusion: In conclusion, combined (eccentric/plyometric) training seems to represent the most effective training method as it exerts positive effects on both stability and functional performance in the post-ACL-surgical rehabilitation period of elite female athletes. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 751 KW - return-to-sport KW - anterior cruciate ligament KW - eccentric-plyometric KW - training KW - stability KW - functional performance Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-543939 SN - 1866-8364 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Universitätsverlag Potsdam CY - Potsdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kasmi, Sofien A1 - Zouhal, Hassane A1 - Hammami, Raouf A1 - Clark, Cain Craig Truman A1 - Hackney, Anthony C. A1 - Hammami, Amri A1 - Chtara, Moktar A1 - Chortane, Sabri Gaied A1 - Ben Salah, Fatma Zohra A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Ben Ounis, Omar T1 - The Effects of Eccentric and Plyometric Training Programs and Their Combination on Stability and the Functional Performance in the Post-ACL-Surgical Rehabilitation Period of Elite Female Athletes JF - Frontiers in physiology N2 - Background: The standard method to treat physically active patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is ligament reconstruction surgery. The rehabilitation training program is very important to improve functional performance in recreational athletes following ACL reconstruction. Objectives: The aims of this study were to compare the effects of three different training programs, eccentric training (ECC), plyometric training (PLYO), or combined eccentric and plyometric training (COMB), on dynamic balance (Y-BAL), the Lysholm Knee Scale (LKS), the return to sport index (RSI), and the leg symmetry index (LSI) for the single leg hop test for distance in elite female athletes after ACL surgery. Materials and Methods: Fourteen weeks after rehabilitation from surgery, 40 elite female athletes (20.3 ± 3.2 years), who had undergone an ACL reconstruction, participated in a short-term (6 weeks; two times a week) training study. All participants received the same rehabilitation protocol prior to the training study. Athletes were randomly assigned to three experimental groups, ECC (n = 10), PLYO (n = 10), and COMB (n = 10), and to a control group (CON: n = 10). Testing was conducted before and after the 6-week training programs and included the Y-BAL, LKS, and RSI. LSI was assessed after the 6-week training programs only. Results: Adherence rate was 100% across all groups and no training or test-related injuries were reported. No significant between-group baseline differences (pre-6-week training) were observed for any of the parameters. Significant group-by-time interactions were found for Y-BAL (p < 0.001, ES = 1.73), LKS (p < 0.001, ES = 0.76), and RSI (p < 0.001, ES = 1.39). Contrast analysis demonstrated that COMB yielded significantly greater improvements in Y-BAL, LKS, and RSI (all p < 0.001), in addition to significantly better performances in LSI (all p < 0.001), than CON, PLYO, and ECC, respectively. Conclusion: In conclusion, combined (eccentric/plyometric) training seems to represent the most effective training method as it exerts positive effects on both stability and functional performance in the post-ACL-surgical rehabilitation period of elite female athletes. KW - return-to-sport KW - anterior cruciate ligament KW - eccentric-plyometric KW - training KW - stability KW - functional performance Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.688385 SN - 1664-042X VL - 12 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne, Schweiz ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gäbler, Martijn A1 - Prieske, Olaf A1 - Hortobagyi, Tibor A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - The Effects of Concurrent Strength and Endurance Training on Physical Fitness and Athletic Performance in Youth BT - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis JF - Frontiers in Physiology N2 - Combining training of muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness within a training cycle could increase athletic performance more than single-mode training. However, the physiological effects produced by each training modality could also interfere with each other, improving athletic performance less than single-mode training. Because anthropometric, physiological, and biomechanical differences between young and adult athletes can affect the responses to exercise training, young athletes might respond differently to concurrent training (CT) compared with adults. Thus, the aim of the present systematic review with meta-analysis was to determine the effects of concurrent strength and endurance training on selected physical fitness components and athletic performance in youth. A systematic literature search of PubMed and Web of Science identified 886 records. The studies included in the analyses examined children (girls age 6–11 years, boys age 6–13 years) or adolescents (girls age 12–18 years, boys age 14–18 years), compared CT with single-mode endurance (ET) or strength training (ST), and reported at least one strength/power—(e.g., jump height), endurance—(e.g., peak V°O2, exercise economy), or performance-related (e.g., time trial) outcome. We calculated weighted standardized mean differences (SMDs). CT compared to ET produced small effects in favor of CT on athletic performance (n = 11 studies, SMD = 0.41, p = 0.04) and trivial effects on cardiorespiratory endurance (n = 4 studies, SMD = 0.04, p = 0.86) and exercise economy (n = 5 studies, SMD = 0.16, p = 0.49) in young athletes. A sub-analysis of chronological age revealed a trend toward larger effects of CT vs. ET on athletic performance in adolescents (SMD = 0.52) compared with children (SMD = 0.17). CT compared with ST had small effects in favor of CT on muscle power (n = 4 studies, SMD = 0.23, p = 0.04). In conclusion, CT is more effective than single-mode ET or ST in improving selected measures of physical fitness and athletic performance in youth. Specifically, CT compared with ET improved athletic performance in children and particularly adolescents. Finally, CT was more effective than ST in improving muscle power in youth. KW - child KW - adolescent KW - muscle strength KW - cardiorespiratory fitness KW - physical conditioning human KW - resistance training KW - youth sports Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.01057 SN - 1664-042X VL - 9 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - GEN A1 - Pavillon, Thomas A1 - Tourny, Claire A1 - Ben Abderrahman, Abderraouf A1 - Salhi, Iyed A1 - Zouita, Sghaeir A1 - Rouissi, Mehdi A1 - Hackney, Anthony C. A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Zouhal, Hassane T1 - Sprint and jump performances in highly trained young soccer players of different chronological age BT - Effects of linear VS. CHANGE–OF–DIRECTION sprint training T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Objective The aim of this study was to examine the effects of two different sprint-training regimes on sprint and jump performances according to age in elite young male soccer players over the course of one soccer season. Methods Players were randomly assigned to two training groups. Group 1 performed systematic change-of-direction sprints (CODST, U19 [n = 9], U17 [n = 9], U15 [n = 10]) while group 2 conducted systematic linear sprints (LST, U19 [n = 9], U17 [n = 9], U15 [n = 9]). Training volumes were similar between groups (40 sprints per week x 30 weeks = 1200 sprints per season). Pre and post training, all players performed tests for the assessment of linear and slalom sprint speed (5-m and 10-m), countermovement jump, and maximal aerobic speed performance. Results For all physical fitness measures, the baseline-adjusted means data (ANCOVA) across the age groups showed no significant differences between LST and CODST at post (0.061 < p < 0.995; 0.0017 < d < 1.01). The analyses of baseline-adjusted means for all physical fitness measures for U15, U17, and U19 (LST vs. CODST) revealed no significant differences between LST and CODST for U15 (0.213 < p < 0.917; 0.001 < d < 0.087), U17 (0.132 < p < 0.976; 0.001 < d < 0.310), and U19 (0.300 < p < 0.999; 0.001 < d < 0.049) at post. Conclusions The results from this study showed that both, LST and CODST induced significant changes in the sprint, lower limbs power, and aerobic performances in young elite soccer players. Since no significant differences were observed between LST and CODST, the observed changes are most likely due to training and/or maturation. Therefore, more research is needed to elucidate whether CODST, LST or a combination of both is beneficial for youth soccer athletes’ performance development. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 697 KW - Football KW - Repeated sprint KW - Performance KW - Speed Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-490557 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 697 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pavillon, Thomas A1 - Tourny, Claire A1 - Ben Abderrahman, Abderraouf A1 - Salhi, Iyed A1 - Zouita, Sghaeir A1 - Rouissi, Mehdi A1 - Hackney, Anthony C. A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Zouhal, Hassane T1 - Sprint and jump performances in highly trained young soccer players of different chronological age BT - Effects of linear VS. CHANGE–OF–DIRECTION sprint training JF - Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness N2 - Objective The aim of this study was to examine the effects of two different sprint-training regimes on sprint and jump performances according to age in elite young male soccer players over the course of one soccer season. Methods Players were randomly assigned to two training groups. Group 1 performed systematic change-of-direction sprints (CODST, U19 [n = 9], U17 [n = 9], U15 [n = 10]) while group 2 conducted systematic linear sprints (LST, U19 [n = 9], U17 [n = 9], U15 [n = 9]). Training volumes were similar between groups (40 sprints per week x 30 weeks = 1200 sprints per season). Pre and post training, all players performed tests for the assessment of linear and slalom sprint speed (5-m and 10-m), countermovement jump, and maximal aerobic speed performance. Results For all physical fitness measures, the baseline-adjusted means data (ANCOVA) across the age groups showed no significant differences between LST and CODST at post (0.061 < p < 0.995; 0.0017 < d < 1.01). The analyses of baseline-adjusted means for all physical fitness measures for U15, U17, and U19 (LST vs. CODST) revealed no significant differences between LST and CODST for U15 (0.213 < p < 0.917; 0.001 < d < 0.087), U17 (0.132 < p < 0.976; 0.001 < d < 0.310), and U19 (0.300 < p < 0.999; 0.001 < d < 0.049) at post. Conclusions The results from this study showed that both, LST and CODST induced significant changes in the sprint, lower limbs power, and aerobic performances in young elite soccer players. Since no significant differences were observed between LST and CODST, the observed changes are most likely due to training and/or maturation. Therefore, more research is needed to elucidate whether CODST, LST or a combination of both is beneficial for youth soccer athletes’ performance development. KW - Football KW - Repeated sprint KW - Performance KW - Speed Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesf.2020.10.003 SN - 1728-869x VL - 19 IS - 2 SP - 81 EP - 90 PB - Elsevier CY - Singapore ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hortobagyi, Tibor A1 - Lesinski, Melanie A1 - Fernandez-del-Olmo, Miguel A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Small and inconsistent effects of whole body vibration on athletic performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis JF - European journal of applied physiology N2 - We quantified the acute and chronic effects of whole body vibration on athletic performance or its proxy measures in competitive and/or elite athletes. Systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Whole body vibration combined with exercise had an overall 0.3 % acute effect on maximal voluntary leg force (-6.4 %, effect size = -0.43, 1 study), leg power (4.7 %, weighted mean effect size = 0.30, 6 studies), flexibility (4.6 %, effect size = -0.12 to 0.22, 2 studies), and athletic performance (-1.9 %, weighted mean effect size = 0.26, 6 studies) in 191 (103 male, 88 female) athletes representing eight sports (overall effect size = 0.28). Whole body vibration combined with exercise had an overall 10.2 % chronic effect on maximal voluntary leg force (14.6 %, weighted mean effect size = 0.44, 5 studies), leg power (10.7 %, weighted mean effect size = 0.42, 9 studies), flexibility (16.5 %, effect size = 0.57 to 0.61, 2 studies), and athletic performance (-1.2 %, weighted mean effect size = 0.45, 5 studies) in 437 (169 male, 268 female) athletes (overall effect size = 0.44). Whole body vibration has small and inconsistent acute and chronic effects on athletic performance in competitive and/or elite athletes. These findings lead to the hypothesis that neuromuscular adaptive processes following whole body vibration are not specific enough to enhance athletic performance. Thus, other types of exercise programs (e.g., resistance training) are recommended if the goal is to improve athletic performance. KW - Exercise KW - Muscle KW - Force KW - Power KW - Skill KW - Reflex KW - Endocrine KW - Metabolism Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3194-9 SN - 1439-6319 SN - 1439-6327 VL - 115 IS - 8 SP - 1605 EP - 1625 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - GEN A1 - Brini, Seifeddine A1 - Ben Abderrahman, Abderraouf A1 - Clark, Cain C. T. A1 - Zouita, Sghaeir A1 - Hackney, Anthony C. A1 - Govindasamy, Karuppasamy A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Zouhal, Hassane T1 - Sex-specific effects of small-sided games in basketball on psychometric and physiological markers during Ramadan intermittent fasting BT - a pilot study T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Background: We assessed the effects of gender, in association with a four-week small-sided games (SSGs) training program, during Ramadan intermitting fasting (RIF) on changes in psychometric and physiological markers in professional male and female basketball players. Methods: Twenty-four professional basketball players from the first Tunisian (Tunisia) division participated in this study. The players were dichotomized by sex (males [GM = 12]; females [GF = 12]). Both groups completed a 4 weeks SSGs training program with 3 sessions per week. Psychometric (e.g., quality of sleep, fatigue, stress, and delayed onset of muscle soreness [DOMS]) and physiological parameters (e.g., heart rate frequency, blood lactate) were measured during the first week (baseline) and at the end of RIF (post-test). Results: Post hoc tests showed a significant increase in stress levels in both groups (GM [− 81.11%; p < 0.001, d = 0.33, small]; GF [− 36,53%; p = 0.001, d = 0.25, small]). Concerning physiological parameters, ANCOVA revealed significantly lower heart rates in favor of GM at post-test (1.70%, d = 0.38, small, p = 0.002). Conclusions: Our results showed that SSGs training at the end of the RIF negatively impacted psychometric parameters of male and female basketball players. It can be concluded that there are sex-mediated effects of training during RIF in basketball players, and this should be considered by researchers and practitioners when programing training during RIF. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 735 KW - Team sports KW - Stress levels KW - Recovery KW - Performance KW - Fatigue Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-531578 SN - 1866-8364 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Brini, Seifeddine A1 - Ben Abderrahman, Abderraouf A1 - Clark, Cain C. T. A1 - Zouita, Sghaeir A1 - Hackney, Anthony C. A1 - Govindasamy, Karuppasamy A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Zouhal, Hassane T1 - Sex-specific effects of small-sided games in basketball on psychometric and physiological markers during Ramadan intermittent fasting BT - a pilot study JF - BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation N2 - Background: We assessed the effects of gender, in association with a four-week small-sided games (SSGs) training program, during Ramadan intermitting fasting (RIF) on changes in psychometric and physiological markers in professional male and female basketball players. Methods: Twenty-four professional basketball players from the first Tunisian (Tunisia) division participated in this study. The players were dichotomized by sex (males [GM = 12]; females [GF = 12]). Both groups completed a 4 weeks SSGs training program with 3 sessions per week. Psychometric (e.g., quality of sleep, fatigue, stress, and delayed onset of muscle soreness [DOMS]) and physiological parameters (e.g., heart rate frequency, blood lactate) were measured during the first week (baseline) and at the end of RIF (post-test). Results: Post hoc tests showed a significant increase in stress levels in both groups (GM [− 81.11%; p < 0.001, d = 0.33, small]; GF [− 36,53%; p = 0.001, d = 0.25, small]). Concerning physiological parameters, ANCOVA revealed significantly lower heart rates in favor of GM at post-test (1.70%, d = 0.38, small, p = 0.002). Conclusions: Our results showed that SSGs training at the end of the RIF negatively impacted psychometric parameters of male and female basketball players. It can be concluded that there are sex-mediated effects of training during RIF in basketball players, and this should be considered by researchers and practitioners when programing training during RIF. KW - Team sports KW - Stress levels KW - Recovery KW - Performance KW - Fatigue Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-021-00285-1 SN - 2052-1847 VL - 13 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - Aloui, Ali A1 - Tayech, Amel A1 - Arbi Mejri, Mohamed A1 - Makhlouf, Issam A1 - Clark, Cain C. T. A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Zouhal, Hassane A1 - Ben Abderrahman, Abderraouf T1 - Reliability and Validity of a New Taekwondo-Specific Change-of-Direction Speed Test With Striking Techniques in Elite Taekwondo Athletes: A Pilot Study T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The purpose of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability, and convergent and discriminative validity of a new taekwondo-specific change-of-direction (COD) speed test with striking techniques (TST) in elite taekwondo athletes. Twenty (10 males and 10 females) elite (athletes who compete at national level) and top-elite (athletes who compete at national and international level) taekwondo athletes with an average training background of 8.9 ± 1.3 years of systematic taekwondo training participated in this study. During the two-week test-retest period, various generic performance tests measuring COD speed, balance, speed, and jump performance were carried out during the first week and as a retest during the second week. Three TST trials were conducted with each athlete and the best trial was used for further analyses. The relevant performance measure derived from the TST was the time with striking penalty (TST-TSP). TST-TSP performances amounted to 10.57 ± 1.08 s for males and 11.74 ± 1.34 s for females. The reliability analysis of the TST performance was conducted after logarithmic transformation, in order to address the problem of heteroscedasticity. In both groups, the TST demonstrated a high relative test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients and 90% compatibility limits were 0.80 and 0.47 to 0.93, respectively). For absolute reliability, the TST’s typical error of measurement (TEM), 90% compatibility limits, and magnitudes were 4.6%, 3.4 to 7.7, for males, and 5.4%, 3.9 to 9.0, for females. The homogeneous sample of taekwondo athletes meant that the TST’s TEM exceeded the usual smallest important change (SIC) with 0.2 effect size in the two groups. The new test showed mostly very large correlations with linear sprint speed (r = 0.71 to 0.85) and dynamic balance (r = −0.71 and −0.74), large correlations with COD speed (r = 0.57 to 0.60) and vertical jump performance (r = −0.50 to −0.65), and moderate correlations with horizontal jump performance (r = −0.34 to −0.45) and static balance (r = −0.39 to −0.44). Top-elite athletes showed better TST performances than elite counterparts. Receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that the TST effectively discriminated between top-elite and elite taekwondo athletes. In conclusion, the TST is a valid, and sensitive test to evaluate the COD speed with taekwondo specific skills, and reliable when considering ICC and TEM. Although the usefulness of the TST is questioned to detect small performance changes in the present population, the TST can detect moderate changes in taekwondo-specific COD speed. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 789 KW - taekwondo-specific testing KW - sport-specific performance KW - striking combat sports KW - sensitivity KW - taekwondo electronic scoring system Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-563192 SN - 1866-8364 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Universitätsverlag Potsdam CY - Potsdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Aloui, Ali A1 - Tayech, Amel A1 - Arbi Mejri, Mohamed A1 - Makhlouf, Issam A1 - Clark, Cain C. T. A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Zouhal, Hassane A1 - Ben Abderrahman, Abderraouf T1 - Reliability and Validity of a New Taekwondo-Specific Change-of-Direction Speed Test With Striking Techniques in Elite Taekwondo Athletes: A Pilot Study JF - Frontiers in Physiology N2 - The purpose of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability, and convergent and discriminative validity of a new taekwondo-specific change-of-direction (COD) speed test with striking techniques (TST) in elite taekwondo athletes. Twenty (10 males and 10 females) elite (athletes who compete at national level) and top-elite (athletes who compete at national and international level) taekwondo athletes with an average training background of 8.9 ± 1.3 years of systematic taekwondo training participated in this study. During the two-week test-retest period, various generic performance tests measuring COD speed, balance, speed, and jump performance were carried out during the first week and as a retest during the second week. Three TST trials were conducted with each athlete and the best trial was used for further analyses. The relevant performance measure derived from the TST was the time with striking penalty (TST-TSP). TST-TSP performances amounted to 10.57 ± 1.08 s for males and 11.74 ± 1.34 s for females. The reliability analysis of the TST performance was conducted after logarithmic transformation, in order to address the problem of heteroscedasticity. In both groups, the TST demonstrated a high relative test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients and 90% compatibility limits were 0.80 and 0.47 to 0.93, respectively). For absolute reliability, the TST’s typical error of measurement (TEM), 90% compatibility limits, and magnitudes were 4.6%, 3.4 to 7.7, for males, and 5.4%, 3.9 to 9.0, for females. The homogeneous sample of taekwondo athletes meant that the TST’s TEM exceeded the usual smallest important change (SIC) with 0.2 effect size in the two groups. The new test showed mostly very large correlations with linear sprint speed (r = 0.71 to 0.85) and dynamic balance (r = −0.71 and −0.74), large correlations with COD speed (r = 0.57 to 0.60) and vertical jump performance (r = −0.50 to −0.65), and moderate correlations with horizontal jump performance (r = −0.34 to −0.45) and static balance (r = −0.39 to −0.44). Top-elite athletes showed better TST performances than elite counterparts. Receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that the TST effectively discriminated between top-elite and elite taekwondo athletes. In conclusion, the TST is a valid, and sensitive test to evaluate the COD speed with taekwondo specific skills, and reliable when considering ICC and TEM. Although the usefulness of the TST is questioned to detect small performance changes in the present population, the TST can detect moderate changes in taekwondo-specific COD speed. KW - taekwondo-specific testing KW - sport-specific performance KW - striking combat sports KW - sensitivity KW - taekwondo electronic scoring system Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.774546 SN - 1664-042X VL - 13 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Frontiers CY - Lausanne, Schweiz ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Lacroix, Andre A1 - Roettger, Katrin A1 - Gollhofer, Albert A1 - Mühlbauer, Thomas T1 - Relationships between trunk muscle strength, spinal mobility, and balance performance in older adults JF - Journal of aging and physical activity N2 - This study investigated associations between variables of trunk muscle strength (TMS), spinal mobility, and balance in seniors. Thirty-four seniors (sex: 18 female, 16 male; age: 70 +/- 4 years; activity level: 13 +/- 7 hr/week) were tested for maximal isometric strength (MIS) of the trunk extensors, flexors, lateral flexors, rotators, spinal mobility, and steady-state, reactive, and proactive balance. Significant correlations were detected between all measures of TMS and static steady-state balance (r = .43.57, p < .05). Significant correlations were observed between specific measures of TMS and dynamic steady-state balance (r = .42.55, p < .05). No significant correlations were found between all variables of TMS and reactive/proactive balance and between all variables of spinal mobility and balance. Regression analyses revealed that TMS explains between 1-33% of total variance of the respective balance parameters. Findings indicate that TMS is related to measures of steady-state balance which may imply that TMS promoting exercises should be integrated in strength training for seniors. KW - elderly KW - core KW - gait KW - postural balance KW - force KW - physical performance Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1123/JAPA.2013-0108 SN - 1063-8652 SN - 1543-267X VL - 22 IS - 4 SP - 490 EP - 498 PB - Human Kinetics Publ. CY - Champaign ER - TY - GEN A1 - Ramirez-Campillo, Rodrigo A1 - Moran, Jason A1 - Oliver, Jonathan L. A1 - Pedley, Jason S. A1 - Lloyd, Rhodri S. A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Programming Plyometric-Jump Training in Soccer: A Review T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The aim of this review was to describe and summarize the scientific literature on programming parameters related to jump or plyometric training in male and female soccer players of different ages and fitness levels. A literature search was conducted in the electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus using keywords related to the main topic of this study (e.g., “ballistic” and “plyometric”). According to the PICOS framework, the population for the review was restricted to soccer players, involved in jump or plyometric training. Among 7556 identified studies, 90 were eligible for inclusion. Only 12 studies were found for females. Most studies (n = 52) were conducted with youth male players. Moreover, only 35 studies determined the effectiveness of a given jump training programming factor. Based on the limited available research, it seems that a dose of 7 weeks (1–2 sessions per week), with ~80 jumps (specific of combined types) per session, using near-maximal or maximal intensity, with adequate recovery between repetitions (<15 s), sets (≥30 s) and sessions (≥24–48 h), using progressive overload and taper strategies, using appropriate surfaces (e.g., grass), and applied in a well-rested state, when combined with other training methods, would increase the outcome of effective and safe plyometric-jump training interventions aimed at improving soccer players physical fitness. In conclusion, jump training is an effective and easy-to-administer training approach for youth, adult, male and female soccer players. However, optimal programming for plyometric-jump training in soccer is yet to be determined in future research. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 813 KW - human physical conditioning KW - exercise KW - resistance training KW - muscle strength KW - plyometric exercise KW - musculoskeletal and neural physiological phenomena KW - movement KW - sports KW - football KW - youth sport Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-581031 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 813 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ramirez-Campillo, Rodrigo A1 - Moran, Jason A1 - Oliver, Jonathan L. A1 - Pedley, Jason S. A1 - Lloyd, Rhodri S. A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Programming Plyometric-Jump Training in Soccer: A Review JF - Sports N2 - The aim of this review was to describe and summarize the scientific literature on programming parameters related to jump or plyometric training in male and female soccer players of different ages and fitness levels. A literature search was conducted in the electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus using keywords related to the main topic of this study (e.g., “ballistic” and “plyometric”). According to the PICOS framework, the population for the review was restricted to soccer players, involved in jump or plyometric training. Among 7556 identified studies, 90 were eligible for inclusion. Only 12 studies were found for females. Most studies (n = 52) were conducted with youth male players. Moreover, only 35 studies determined the effectiveness of a given jump training programming factor. Based on the limited available research, it seems that a dose of 7 weeks (1–2 sessions per week), with ~80 jumps (specific of combined types) per session, using near-maximal or maximal intensity, with adequate recovery between repetitions (<15 s), sets (≥30 s) and sessions (≥24–48 h), using progressive overload and taper strategies, using appropriate surfaces (e.g., grass), and applied in a well-rested state, when combined with other training methods, would increase the outcome of effective and safe plyometric-jump training interventions aimed at improving soccer players physical fitness. In conclusion, jump training is an effective and easy-to-administer training approach for youth, adult, male and female soccer players. However, optimal programming for plyometric-jump training in soccer is yet to be determined in future research. KW - human physical conditioning KW - exercise KW - resistance training KW - muscle strength KW - plyometric exercise KW - musculoskeletal and neural physiological phenomena KW - movement KW - sports KW - football KW - youth sport Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/sports10060094 SN - 2075-4663 VL - 10 SP - 1 EP - 20 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Schweiz ET - 6 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Beurskens, Rainer A1 - Haeger, Matthias A1 - Kliegl, Reinhold A1 - Roecker, Kai A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Postural Control in Dual-Task Situations BT - Does Whole-Body Fatigue Matter? N2 - Postural control is important to cope with demands of everyday life. It has been shown that both attentional demand (i.e., cognitive processing) and fatigue affect postural control in young adults. However, their combined effect is still unresolved. Therefore, we investigated the effects of fatigue on single- (ST) and dual-task (DT) postural control. Twenty young subjects (age: 23.7 ± 2.7) performed an all-out incremental treadmill protocol. After each completed stage, one-legged-stance performance on a force platform under ST (i.e., one-legged-stance only) and DT conditions (i.e., one-legged-stance while subtracting serial 3s) was registered. On a second test day, subjects conducted the same balance tasks for the control condition (i.e., non-fatigued). Results showed that heart rate, lactate, and ventilation increased following fatigue (all p < 0.001; d = 4.2–21). Postural sway and sway velocity increased during DT compared to ST (all p < 0.001; d = 1.9–2.0) and fatigued compared to non-fatigued condition (all p < 0.001; d = 3.3–4.2). In addition, postural control deteriorated with each completed stage during the treadmill protocol (all p < 0.01; d = 1.9–3.3). The addition of an attention-demanding interference task did not further impede one-legged-stance performance. Although both additional attentional demand and physical fatigue affected postural control in healthy young adults, there was no evidence for an overadditive effect (i.e., fatigue-related performance decrements in postural control were similar under ST and DT conditions). Thus, attentional resources were sufficient to cope with the DT situations in the fatigue condition of this experiment. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 303 Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-96638 SP - 1 EP - 15 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Beurskens, Rainer A1 - Haeger, Matthias A1 - Kliegl, Reinhold A1 - Roecker, Kai A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Postural Control in Dual-Task Situations BT - Does Whole-Body Fatigue Matter? JF - PLoS one N2 - Postural control is important to cope with demands of everyday life. It has been shown that both attentional demand (i.e., cognitive processing) and fatigue affect postural control in young adults. However, their combined effect is still unresolved. Therefore, we investigated the effects of fatigue on single- (ST) and dual-task (DT) postural control. Twenty young subjects (age: 23.7 ± 2.7) performed an all-out incremental treadmill protocol. After each completed stage, one-legged-stance performance on a force platform under ST (i.e., one-legged-stance only) and DT conditions (i.e., one-legged-stance while subtracting serial 3s) was registered. On a second test day, subjects conducted the same balance tasks for the control condition (i.e., non-fatigued). Results showed that heart rate, lactate, and ventilation increased following fatigue (all p < 0.001; d = 4.2–21). Postural sway and sway velocity increased during DT compared to ST (all p < 0.001; d = 1.9–2.0) and fatigued compared to non-fatigued condition (all p < 0.001; d = 3.3–4.2). In addition, postural control deteriorated with each completed stage during the treadmill protocol (all p < 0.01; d = 1.9–3.3). The addition of an attention-demanding interference task did not further impede one-legged-stance performance. Although both additional attentional demand and physical fatigue affected postural control in healthy young adults, there was no evidence for an overadditive effect (i.e., fatigue-related performance decrements in postural control were similar under ST and DT conditions). Thus, attentional resources were sufficient to cope with the DT situations in the fatigue condition of this experiment. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0147392 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 11 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - PLoS CY - Lawrence, Kan. ER - TY - GEN A1 - Golle, Kathleen A1 - Mühlbauer, Thomas A1 - Wick, Ditmar A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Physical Fitness Percentiles of German Children Aged 9–12 Years BT - findings from a Longitudinal Study N2 - Background Generating percentile values is helpful for the identification of children with specific fitness characteristics (i.e., low or high fitness level) to set appropriate fitness goals (i.e., fitness/health promotion and/or long-term youth athlete development). Thus, the aim of this longitudinal study was to assess physical fitness development in healthy children aged 9–12 years and to compute sex- and age-specific percentile values. Methods Two-hundred and forty children (88 girls, 152 boys) participated in this study and were tested for their physical fitness. Physical fitness was assessed using the 50-m sprint test (i.e., speed), the 1-kg ball push test, the triple hop test (i.e., upper- and lower- extremity muscular power), the stand-and-reach test (i.e., flexibility), the star run test (i.e., agility), and the 9-min run test (i.e., endurance). Age- and sex-specific percentile values (i.e., P10 to P90) were generated using the Lambda, Mu, and Sigma method. Adjusted (for change in body weight, height, and baseline performance) age- and sex-differences as well as the interactions thereof were expressed by calculating effect sizes (Cohen’s d). Results Significant main effects of Age were detected for all physical fitness tests (d = 0.40–1.34), whereas significant main effects of Sex were found for upper-extremity muscular power (d = 0.55), flexibility (d = 0.81), agility (d = 0.44), and endurance (d = 0.32) only. Further, significant Sex by Age interactions were observed for upper-extremity muscular power (d = 0.36), flexibility (d = 0.61), and agility (d = 0.27) in favor of girls. Both, linear and curvilinear shaped curves were found for percentile values across the fitness tests. Accelerated (curvilinear) improvements were observed for upper-extremity muscular power (boys: 10–11 yrs; girls: 9–11 yrs), agility (boys: 9–10 yrs; girls: 9–11 yrs), and endurance (boys: 9–10 yrs; girls: 9–10 yrs). Tabulated percentiles for the 9-min run test indicated that running distances between 1,407–1,507 m, 1,479–1,597 m, 1,423–1,654 m, and 1,433–1,666 m in 9- to 12-year-old boys and 1,262–1,362 m, 1,329–1,434 m, 1,392–1,501 m, and 1,415–1,526 m in 9- to 12-year-old girls correspond to a “medium” fitness level (i.e., P40 to P60) in this population. Conclusions The observed differences in physical fitness development between boys and girls illustrate that age- and sex-specific maturational processes might have an impact on the fitness status of healthy children. Our statistical analyses revealed linear (e.g., lower-extremity muscular power) and curvilinear (e.g., agility) models of fitness improvement with age which is indicative of timed and capacity-specific fitness development pattern during childhood. Lastly, the provided age- and sex-specific percentile values can be used by coaches for talent identification and by teachers for rating/grading of children’s motor performance. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 282 Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-86613 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fernandez-Fernandez, Jaime A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Martinez-Martin, Isidoro A1 - Garcia-Tormo, José Vicente A1 - Herrero-Molleda, Alba A1 - Barbado, David A1 - García López, Juan T1 - Physical fitness and throwing speed in U13 versus U15 male handball players JF - BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation N2 - Background The aim of this study was to analyze the shoulder functional profile (rotation range of motion [ROM] and strength), upper and lower body performance, and throwing speed of U13 versus U15 male handball players, and to establish the relationship between these measures of physical fitness and throwing speed. Methods One-hundred and nineteen young male handball players (under (U)-13 (U13) [n = 85]) and U15 [n = 34]) volunteered to participate in this study. The participating athletes had a mean background of sytematic handball training of 5.5 ± 2.8 years and they exercised on average 540 ± 10.1 min per week including sport-specific team handball training and strength and conditioning programs. Players were tested for passive shoulder range-of-motion (ROM) for both internal (IR) and external rotation (ER) and isometric strength (i.e., IR and ER) of the dominant/non-dominant shoulders, overhead medicine ball throw (OMB), hip isometric abductor (ABD) and adductor (ADD) strength, hip ROM, jumps (countermovement jump [CMJ] and triple leg-hop [3H] for distance), linear sprint test, modified 505 change-of-direction (COD) test and handball throwing speed (7 m [HT7] and 9 m [HT9]). Results U15 players outperformed U13 in upper (i.e., HT7 and HT9 speed, OMB, absolute IR and ER strength of the dominant and non-dominant sides; Cohen’s d: 0.76–2.13) and lower body (i.e., CMJ, 3H, 20-m sprint and COD, hip ABD and ADD; d: 0.70–2.33) performance measures. Regarding shoulder ROM outcomes, a lower IR ROM was found of the dominant side in the U15 group compared to the U13 and a higher ER ROM on both sides in U15 (d: 0.76–1.04). It seems that primarily anthropometric characteristics (i.e., body height, body mass) and upper body strength/power (OMB distance) are the most important factors that explain the throw speed variance in male handball players, particularly in U13. Conclusions Findings from this study imply that regular performance monitoring is important for performance development and for minimizing injury risk of the shoulder in both age categories of young male handball players. Besides measures of physical fitness, anthropometric data should be recorded because handball throwing performance is related to these measures. KW - Overhead athletes KW - Shoulder KW - Injury risk KW - Sport-specific performance Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-022-00507-0 SN - 1758-2555 VL - 14 PB - Springer CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - Fernandez-Fernandez, Jaime A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Martinez-Martin, Isidoro A1 - Garcia-Tormo, José Vicente A1 - Herrero-Molleda, Alba A1 - Barbado, David A1 - García López, Juan T1 - Physical fitness and throwing speed in U13 versus U15 male handball players T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Background The aim of this study was to analyze the shoulder functional profile (rotation range of motion [ROM] and strength), upper and lower body performance, and throwing speed of U13 versus U15 male handball players, and to establish the relationship between these measures of physical fitness and throwing speed. Methods One-hundred and nineteen young male handball players (under (U)-13 (U13) [n = 85]) and U15 [n = 34]) volunteered to participate in this study. The participating athletes had a mean background of sytematic handball training of 5.5 ± 2.8 years and they exercised on average 540 ± 10.1 min per week including sport-specific team handball training and strength and conditioning programs. Players were tested for passive shoulder range-of-motion (ROM) for both internal (IR) and external rotation (ER) and isometric strength (i.e., IR and ER) of the dominant/non-dominant shoulders, overhead medicine ball throw (OMB), hip isometric abductor (ABD) and adductor (ADD) strength, hip ROM, jumps (countermovement jump [CMJ] and triple leg-hop [3H] for distance), linear sprint test, modified 505 change-of-direction (COD) test and handball throwing speed (7 m [HT7] and 9 m [HT9]). Results U15 players outperformed U13 in upper (i.e., HT7 and HT9 speed, OMB, absolute IR and ER strength of the dominant and non-dominant sides; Cohen’s d: 0.76–2.13) and lower body (i.e., CMJ, 3H, 20-m sprint and COD, hip ABD and ADD; d: 0.70–2.33) performance measures. Regarding shoulder ROM outcomes, a lower IR ROM was found of the dominant side in the U15 group compared to the U13 and a higher ER ROM on both sides in U15 (d: 0.76–1.04). It seems that primarily anthropometric characteristics (i.e., body height, body mass) and upper body strength/power (OMB distance) are the most important factors that explain the throw speed variance in male handball players, particularly in U13. Conclusions Findings from this study imply that regular performance monitoring is important for performance development and for minimizing injury risk of the shoulder in both age categories of young male handball players. Besides measures of physical fitness, anthropometric data should be recorded because handball throwing performance is related to these measures. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 803 KW - Overhead athletes KW - Shoulder KW - Injury risk KW - Sport-specific performance Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-567307 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 803 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mühlbauer, Thomas A1 - Mettler, Claude A1 - Roth, Ralf A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - One-leg standing performance and muscle activity: Are there limb differences? JF - Journal of applied biomechanics N2 - The purpose of this study was to compare static balance performance and muscle activity during one-leg standing on the dominant and nondominant leg under various sensory conditions with increased levels of task difficulty. Thirty healthy young adults (age: 23 +/- 2 years) performed one-leg standing tests for 30 s under three sensory conditions (ie, eyes open/firm ground; eyes open/foam ground [elastic pad on top of the balance plate]; eyes closed/firm ground). Center of pressure displacements and activity of four lower leg muscles (ie, m. tibialis anterior [TA], m. soleus [SOL], m. gastrocnemius medialis [GAS], m. peroneus longus [PER]) were analyzed. An increase in sensory task difficulty resulted in deteriorated balance performance (P < .001, effect size [ES] = .57-2.54) and increased muscle activity (P < .001, ES = .50-1.11) for all but two muscles (ie, GAS, PER). However, regardless of the sensory condition, one-leg standing on the dominant as compared with the nondominant limb did not produce statistically significant differences in various balance (P > .05, ES = .06-.22) and electromyographic (P > .05, ES = .03-.13) measures. This indicates that the dominant and the nondominant leg can be used interchangeably during static one-leg balance testing in healthy young adults. KW - postural control KW - electromyography KW - sensory input KW - task difficulty Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1123/jab.2013-0230 SN - 1065-8483 SN - 1543-2688 VL - 30 IS - 3 SP - 407 EP - 414 PB - Human Kinetics Publ. CY - Champaign ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Beurskens, Rainer A1 - Steinberg, Fabian A1 - Antoniewicz, Franziska A1 - Wolff, Wanja A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Neural Correlates of Dual-Task Walking BT - Effects of Cognitive versus Motor Interference in Young Adults JF - Neural plasticity N2 - Walking while concurrently performing cognitive and/or motor interference tasks is the norm rather than the exception during everyday life and there is evidence from behavioral studies that it negatively affects human locomotion. However, there is hardly any information available regarding the underlying neural correlates of single- and dual-task walking. We had 12 young adults (23.8 ± 2.8 years) walk while concurrently performing a cognitive interference (CI) or a motor interference (MI) task. Simultaneously, neural activation in frontal, central, and parietal brain areas was registered using a mobile EEG system. Results showed that the MI task but not the CI task affected walking performance in terms of significantly decreased gait velocity and stride length and significantly increased stride time and tempo-spatial variability. Average activity in alpha and beta frequencies was significantly modulated during both CI and MI walking conditions in frontal and central brain regions, indicating an increased cognitive load during dual-task walking. Our results suggest that impaired motor performance during dual-task walking is mirrored in neural activation patterns of the brain. This finding is in line with established cognitive theories arguing that dual-task situations overstrain cognitive capabilities resulting in motor performance decrements. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/8032180 VL - 2016 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Hindawi CY - New York ER - TY - GEN A1 - Beurskens, Rainer A1 - Steinberg, Fabian A1 - Antoniewicz, Franziska A1 - Wolff, Wanja A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Neural Correlates of Dual-Task Walking BT - Effects of Cognitive versus Motor Interference in Young Adults N2 - Walking while concurrently performing cognitive and/or motor interference tasks is the norm rather than the exception during everyday life and there is evidence from behavioral studies that it negatively affects human locomotion. However, there is hardly any information available regarding the underlying neural correlates of single- and dual-task walking. We had 12 young adults (23.8 ± 2.8 years) walk while concurrently performing a cognitive interference (CI) or a motor interference (MI) task. Simultaneously, neural activation in frontal, central, and parietal brain areas was registered using a mobile EEG system. Results showed that the MI task but not the CI task affected walking performance in terms of significantly decreased gait velocity and stride length and significantly increased stride time and tempo-spatial variability. Average activity in alpha and beta frequencies was significantly modulated during both CI and MI walking conditions in frontal and central brain regions, indicating an increased cognitive load during dual-task walking. Our results suggest that impaired motor performance during dual-task walking is mirrored in neural activation patterns of the brain. This finding is in line with established cognitive theories arguing that dual-task situations overstrain cognitive capabilities resulting in motor performance decrements. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 291 Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-90742 SP - 1 EP - 9 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Lesinski, Melanie A1 - Schmelcher, Alina A1 - Herz, Michael A1 - Puta, Christian A1 - Gabriel, Holger A1 - Arampatzis, Adamantios A1 - Laube, Gunnar A1 - Büsch, Dirk A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Maturation-, age-, and sex-specific anthropometric and physical fitness percentiles of German elite young athletes T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The aim of this study was to establish maturation-, age-, and sex-specific anthropometric and physical fitness percentile reference values of young elite athletes from various sports. Anthropometric (i.e., standing and sitting body height, body mass, body mass index) and physical fitness (i.e., countermovement jump, drop jump, change-of-direction speed [i.e., T-test], trunk muscle endurance [i.e., ventral Bourban test], dynamic lower limbs balance [i.e., Y-balance test], hand grip strength) of 703 male and female elite young athletes aged 8–18 years were collected to aggregate reference values according to maturation, age, and sex. Findings indicate that body height and mass were significantly higher (p<0.001; 0.95≤d≤1.74) in more compared to less mature young athletes as well as with increasing chronological age (p<0.05; 0.66≤d≤3.13). Furthermore, male young athletes were significantly taller and heavier compared to their female counterparts (p<0.001; 0.34≤d≤0.50). In terms of physical fitness, post-pubertal athletes showed better countermovement jump, drop jump, change-of-direction, and handgrip strength performances (p<0.001; 1.57≤d≤8.72) compared to pubertal athletes. Further, countermovement jump, drop jump, change-of-direction, and handgrip strength performances increased with increasing chronological age (p<0.05; 0.29≤d≤4.13). In addition, male athletes outperformed their female counterpart in the countermovement jump, drop jump, change-of-direction, and handgrip strength (p<0.05; 0.17≤d≤0.76). Significant age by sex interactions indicate that sex-specific differences were even more pronounced with increasing age. Conclusively, body height, body mass, and physical fitness increased with increasing maturational status and chronological age. Sex-specific differences appear to be larger as youth grow older. Practitioners can use the percentile values as approximate benchmarks for talent identification and development. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 662 KW - biological maturation KW - reliability KW - validity KW - performance KW - physiology KW - maturity KW - injury KW - talent Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-480268 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 662 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lesinski, Melanie A1 - Schmelcher, Alina A1 - Herz, Michael A1 - Puta, Christian A1 - Gabriel, Holger A1 - Arampatzis, Adamantios A1 - Laube, Gunnar A1 - Büsch, Dirk A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Maturation-, age-, and sex-specific anthropometric and physical fitness percentiles of German elite young athletes JF - Plos One N2 - The aim of this study was to establish maturation-, age-, and sex-specific anthropometric and physical fitness percentile reference values of young elite athletes from various sports. Anthropometric (i.e., standing and sitting body height, body mass, body mass index) and physical fitness (i.e., countermovement jump, drop jump, change-of-direction speed [i.e., T-test], trunk muscle endurance [i.e., ventral Bourban test], dynamic lower limbs balance [i.e., Y-balance test], hand grip strength) of 703 male and female elite young athletes aged 8–18 years were collected to aggregate reference values according to maturation, age, and sex. Findings indicate that body height and mass were significantly higher (p<0.001; 0.95≤d≤1.74) in more compared to less mature young athletes as well as with increasing chronological age (p<0.05; 0.66≤d≤3.13). Furthermore, male young athletes were significantly taller and heavier compared to their female counterparts (p<0.001; 0.34≤d≤0.50). In terms of physical fitness, post-pubertal athletes showed better countermovement jump, drop jump, change-of-direction, and handgrip strength performances (p<0.001; 1.57≤d≤8.72) compared to pubertal athletes. Further, countermovement jump, drop jump, change-of-direction, and handgrip strength performances increased with increasing chronological age (p<0.05; 0.29≤d≤4.13). In addition, male athletes outperformed their female counterpart in the countermovement jump, drop jump, change-of-direction, and handgrip strength (p<0.05; 0.17≤d≤0.76). Significant age by sex interactions indicate that sex-specific differences were even more pronounced with increasing age. Conclusively, body height, body mass, and physical fitness increased with increasing maturational status and chronological age. Sex-specific differences appear to be larger as youth grow older. Practitioners can use the percentile values as approximate benchmarks for talent identification and development. KW - biological maturation KW - reliability KW - validity KW - performance KW - physiology KW - maturity KW - injury KW - talent Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237423 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 15 IS - 8 PB - Plos One CY - San Francisco, California ER - TY - GEN A1 - Coppalle, Sullivan A1 - Ravé, Guillaume A1 - Moran, Jason A1 - Salhi, Iyed A1 - Ben Abderrahman, Abderraouf A1 - Zouita, Sghaeir A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Zouhal, Hassane T1 - Internal and External Training Load in Under-19 versus Professional Soccer Players during the In-Season Period T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - This study aimed to compare the training load of a professional under-19 soccer team (U-19) to that of an elite adult team (EAT), from the same club, during the in-season period. Thirty-nine healthy soccer players were involved (EAT [n = 20]; U-19 [n = 19]) in the study which spanned four weeks. Training load (TL) was monitored as external TL, using a global positioning system (GPS), and internal TL, using a rating of perceived exertion (RPE). TL data were recorded after each training session. During soccer matches, players’ RPEs were recorded. The internal TL was quantified daily by means of the session rating of perceived exertion (session-RPE) using Borg’s 0–10 scale. For GPS data, the selected running speed intensities (over 0.5 s time intervals) were 12–15.9 km/h; 16–19.9 km/h; 20–24.9 km/h; >25 km/h (sprint). Distances covered between 16 and 19.9 km/h, > 20 km/h and >25 km/h were significantly higher in U-19 compared to EAT over the course of the study (p = 0.023, d = 0.243, small; p = 0.016, d = 0.298, small; and p = 0.001, d = 0.564, small, respectively). EAT players performed significantly fewer sprints per week compared to U-19 players (p = 0.002, d = 0.526, small). RPE was significantly higher in U-19 compared to EAT (p = 0.001, d = 0.188, trivial). The external and internal measures of TL were significantly higher in the U-19 group compared to the EAT soccer players. In conclusion, the results obtained show that the training load is greater in U19 compared to EAT. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 694 KW - monitoring KW - global positioning system KW - elite athletes KW - academy KW - RPE Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-489745 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 694 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Coppalle, Sullivan A1 - Ravé, Guillaume A1 - Moran, Jason A1 - Salhi, Iyed A1 - Ben Abderrahman, Abderraouf A1 - Zouita, Sghaeir A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Zouhal, Hassane T1 - Internal and External Training Load in Under-19 versus Professional Soccer Players during the In-Season Period JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health N2 - This study aimed to compare the training load of a professional under-19 soccer team (U-19) to that of an elite adult team (EAT), from the same club, during the in-season period. Thirty-nine healthy soccer players were involved (EAT [n = 20]; U-19 [n = 19]) in the study which spanned four weeks. Training load (TL) was monitored as external TL, using a global positioning system (GPS), and internal TL, using a rating of perceived exertion (RPE). TL data were recorded after each training session. During soccer matches, players’ RPEs were recorded. The internal TL was quantified daily by means of the session rating of perceived exertion (session-RPE) using Borg’s 0–10 scale. For GPS data, the selected running speed intensities (over 0.5 s time intervals) were 12–15.9 km/h; 16–19.9 km/h; 20–24.9 km/h; >25 km/h (sprint). Distances covered between 16 and 19.9 km/h, > 20 km/h and >25 km/h were significantly higher in U-19 compared to EAT over the course of the study (p = 0.023, d = 0.243, small; p = 0.016, d = 0.298, small; and p = 0.001, d = 0.564, small, respectively). EAT players performed significantly fewer sprints per week compared to U-19 players (p = 0.002, d = 0.526, small). RPE was significantly higher in U-19 compared to EAT (p = 0.001, d = 0.188, trivial). The external and internal measures of TL were significantly higher in the U-19 group compared to the EAT soccer players. In conclusion, the results obtained show that the training load is greater in U19 compared to EAT. KW - monitoring KW - global positioning system KW - elite athletes KW - academy KW - RPE Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020558 SN - 1660-4601 VL - 18 IS - 2 PB - MDPI AG CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ravé, Guillaume A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Boullosa, Daniel A1 - Hackney, Anthony C. A1 - Zouhal, Hassane T1 - How to Use Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Data to Monitor Training Load in the “Real World” of Elite Soccer JF - Frontiers in Physiology KW - acute chronic workload ratio KW - injury risk KW - physical performance KW - monitoring KW - external training load Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.00944 SN - 1664-042X VL - 11 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - GEN A1 - Ravé, Guillaume A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Boullosa, Daniel A1 - Hackney, Anthony C. A1 - Zouhal, Hassane T1 - How to Use Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Data to Monitor Training Load in the “Real World” of Elite Soccer T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 663 KW - acute chronic workload ratio KW - injury risk KW - physical performance KW - monitoring KW - external training load Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-480558 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 663 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Delfan, Maryam A1 - Juybari, Raheleh Amadeh A1 - Gorgani-Firuzjaee, Sattar A1 - Nielsen, Jens Høiriis A1 - Delfan, Neda A1 - Laher, Ismail A1 - Saeidi, Ayoub A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Zouhal, Hassane T1 - High-Intensity Interval Training Improves Cardiac Function by miR-206 Dependent HSP60 Induction in Diabetic Rats T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Objective: A role for microRNAs is implicated in several biological and pathological processes. We investigated the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on molecular markers of diabetic cardiomyopathy in rats. Methods: Eighteen male Wistar rats (260 ± 10 g; aged 8 weeks) with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetes mellitus (55 mg/kg, IP) were randomly allocated to three groups: control, MICT, and HIIT. The two different training protocols were performed 5 days each week for 5 weeks. Cardiac performance (end-systolic and end-diastolic dimensions, ejection fraction), the expression of miR-206, HSP60, and markers of apoptosis (cleaved PARP and cytochrome C) were determined at the end of the exercise interventions. Results: Both exercise interventions (HIIT and MICT) decreased blood glucose levels and improved cardiac performance, with greater changes in the HIIT group (p < 0.001, η2: 0.909). While the expressions of miR-206 and apoptotic markers decreased in both training protocols (p < 0.001, η2: 0.967), HIIT caused greater reductions in apoptotic markers and produced a 20% greater reduction in miR-206 compared with the MICT protocol (p < 0.001). Furthermore, both training protocols enhanced the expression of HSP60 (p < 0.001, η2: 0.976), with a nearly 50% greater increase in the HIIT group compared with MICT. Conclusions: Our results indicate that both exercise protocols, HIIT and MICT, have the potential to reduce diabetic cardiomyopathy by modifying the expression of miR-206 and its downstream targets of apoptosis. It seems however that HIIT is even more effective than MICT to modulate these molecular markers. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 802 KW - diabetes KW - apoptosis KW - miRNAs KW - exercise KW - cardiomyopathy Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-567238 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 802 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Delfan, Maryam A1 - Juybari, Raheleh Amadeh A1 - Gorgani-Firuzjaee, Sattar A1 - Nielsen, Jens Høiriis A1 - Delfan, Neda A1 - Laher, Ismail A1 - Saeidi, Ayoub A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Zouhal, Hassane T1 - High-Intensity Interval Training Improves Cardiac Function by miR-206 Dependent HSP60 Induction in Diabetic Rats JF - Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine N2 - Objective: A role for microRNAs is implicated in several biological and pathological processes. We investigated the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on molecular markers of diabetic cardiomyopathy in rats. Methods: Eighteen male Wistar rats (260 ± 10 g; aged 8 weeks) with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetes mellitus (55 mg/kg, IP) were randomly allocated to three groups: control, MICT, and HIIT. The two different training protocols were performed 5 days each week for 5 weeks. Cardiac performance (end-systolic and end-diastolic dimensions, ejection fraction), the expression of miR-206, HSP60, and markers of apoptosis (cleaved PARP and cytochrome C) were determined at the end of the exercise interventions. Results: Both exercise interventions (HIIT and MICT) decreased blood glucose levels and improved cardiac performance, with greater changes in the HIIT group (p < 0.001, η2: 0.909). While the expressions of miR-206 and apoptotic markers decreased in both training protocols (p < 0.001, η2: 0.967), HIIT caused greater reductions in apoptotic markers and produced a 20% greater reduction in miR-206 compared with the MICT protocol (p < 0.001). Furthermore, both training protocols enhanced the expression of HSP60 (p < 0.001, η2: 0.976), with a nearly 50% greater increase in the HIIT group compared with MICT. Conclusions: Our results indicate that both exercise protocols, HIIT and MICT, have the potential to reduce diabetic cardiomyopathy by modifying the expression of miR-206 and its downstream targets of apoptosis. It seems however that HIIT is even more effective than MICT to modulate these molecular markers. KW - diabetes KW - apoptosis KW - miRNAs KW - exercise KW - cardiomyopathy Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2022.927956 SN - 2297-055X VL - 9 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Frontiers CY - Lausanne, Schweiz ER - TY - GEN A1 - Jafarnezhadgero, Amir Ali A1 - Fatollahi, Amir A1 - Amirzadeh, Nasrin A1 - Siahkouhian, Marefat A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Ground Reaction Forces and Muscle Activity While Walking on Sand versus Stable Ground in Individuals with Pronated Feet Compared with Healthy Controls T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Background Sand is an easy-to-access, cost-free resource that can be used to treat pronated feet (PF). Therefore, the aims of this study were to contrast the effects of walking on stable ground versus walking on sand on ground reaction forces (GRFs) and electromyographic (EMG) activity of selected lower limb muscles in PF individuals compared with healthy controls. Methods Twenty-nine controls aged 22.2±2.5 years and 30 PF individuals aged 22.2±1.9 years were enrolled in this study. Participants walked at preferred speed and in randomized order over level ground and sand. A force plate was included in the walkway to collect GRFs. Muscle activities were recorded using EMG system. Results No statistically significant between-group differences were found in preferred walking speed when walking on stable ground (PF: 1.33±0.12 m/s; controls: 1.35±0.14 m/s; p = 0.575; d = 0.15) and sand (PF: 1.19±0.11 m/s; controls: 1.23±0.18 m/s; p = 0.416; d = 0.27). Irrespective of the group, walking on sand (1.21±0.15 m/s) resulted in significantly lower gait speed compared with stable ground walking (1.34±0.13 m/s) (p<0.001; d = 0.93). Significant main effects of “surface” were found for peak posterior GRFs at heel contact, time to peak for peak lateral GRFs at heel contact, and peak anterior GRFs during push-off (p<0.044; d = 0.27–0.94). Pair-wise comparisons revealed significantly smaller peak posterior GRFs at heel contact (p = 0.005; d = 1.17), smaller peak anterior GRFs during push-off (p = 0.001; d = 1.14), and time to peak for peak lateral GRFs (p = 0.044; d = 0.28) when walking on sand. No significant main effects of “group” were observed for peak GRFs and their time to peak (p>0.05; d = 0.06–1.60). We could not find any significant group by surface interactions for peak GRFs and their time to peak. Significant main effects of “surface” were detected for anterior-posterior impulse and peak positive free moment amplitude (p<0.048; d = 0.54–0.71). Pair-wise comparisons revealed a significantly larger peak positive free moment amplitude (p = 0.010; d = 0.71) and a lower anterior-posterior impulse (p = 0.048; d = 0.38) when walking on sand. We observed significant main effects of “group” for the variable loading rate (p<0.030; d = 0.59). Pair-wise comparisons revealed significantly lower loading rates in PF compared with controls (p = 0.030; d = 0.61). Significant group by surface interactions were observed for the parameter peak positive free moment amplitude (p<0.030; d = 0.59). PF individuals exhibited a significantly lower peak positive free moment amplitude (p = 0.030, d = 0.41) when walking on sand. With regards to EMG, no significant main effects of “surface”, main effects of “group”, and group by surface interactions were observed for the recorded muscles during the loading and push-off phases (p>0.05; d = 0.00–0.53). Conclusions The observed lower velocities during walking on sand compared with stable ground were accompanied by lower peak positive free moments during the push-off phase and loading rates during the loading phase. Our findings of similar lower limb muscle activities during walking on sand compared with stable ground in PF together with lower free moment amplitudes, vertical loading rates, and lower walking velocities on sand may indicate more relative muscle activity on sand compared with stable ground. This needs to be verified in future studies. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 590 Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-441027 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 590 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jafarnezhadgero, Amir Ali A1 - Fatollahi, Amir A1 - Amirzadeh, Nasrin A1 - Siahkouhian, Marefat A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Ground Reaction Forces and Muscle Activity While Walking on Sand versus Stable Ground in Individuals with Pronated Feet Compared with Healthy Controls JF - PloS ONe N2 - Background Sand is an easy-to-access, cost-free resource that can be used to treat pronated feet (PF). Therefore, the aims of this study were to contrast the effects of walking on stable ground versus walking on sand on ground reaction forces (GRFs) and electromyographic (EMG) activity of selected lower limb muscles in PF individuals compared with healthy controls. Methods Twenty-nine controls aged 22.2±2.5 years and 30 PF individuals aged 22.2±1.9 years were enrolled in this study. Participants walked at preferred speed and in randomized order over level ground and sand. A force plate was included in the walkway to collect GRFs. Muscle activities were recorded using EMG system. Results No statistically significant between-group differences were found in preferred walking speed when walking on stable ground (PF: 1.33±0.12 m/s; controls: 1.35±0.14 m/s; p = 0.575; d = 0.15) and sand (PF: 1.19±0.11 m/s; controls: 1.23±0.18 m/s; p = 0.416; d = 0.27). Irrespective of the group, walking on sand (1.21±0.15 m/s) resulted in significantly lower gait speed compared with stable ground walking (1.34±0.13 m/s) (p<0.001; d = 0.93). Significant main effects of “surface” were found for peak posterior GRFs at heel contact, time to peak for peak lateral GRFs at heel contact, and peak anterior GRFs during push-off (p<0.044; d = 0.27–0.94). Pair-wise comparisons revealed significantly smaller peak posterior GRFs at heel contact (p = 0.005; d = 1.17), smaller peak anterior GRFs during push-off (p = 0.001; d = 1.14), and time to peak for peak lateral GRFs (p = 0.044; d = 0.28) when walking on sand. No significant main effects of “group” were observed for peak GRFs and their time to peak (p>0.05; d = 0.06–1.60). We could not find any significant group by surface interactions for peak GRFs and their time to peak. Significant main effects of “surface” were detected for anterior-posterior impulse and peak positive free moment amplitude (p<0.048; d = 0.54–0.71). Pair-wise comparisons revealed a significantly larger peak positive free moment amplitude (p = 0.010; d = 0.71) and a lower anterior-posterior impulse (p = 0.048; d = 0.38) when walking on sand. We observed significant main effects of “group” for the variable loading rate (p<0.030; d = 0.59). Pair-wise comparisons revealed significantly lower loading rates in PF compared with controls (p = 0.030; d = 0.61). Significant group by surface interactions were observed for the parameter peak positive free moment amplitude (p<0.030; d = 0.59). PF individuals exhibited a significantly lower peak positive free moment amplitude (p = 0.030, d = 0.41) when walking on sand. With regards to EMG, no significant main effects of “surface”, main effects of “group”, and group by surface interactions were observed for the recorded muscles during the loading and push-off phases (p>0.05; d = 0.00–0.53). Conclusions The observed lower velocities during walking on sand compared with stable ground were accompanied by lower peak positive free moments during the push-off phase and loading rates during the loading phase. Our findings of similar lower limb muscle activities during walking on sand compared with stable ground in PF together with lower free moment amplitudes, vertical loading rates, and lower walking velocities on sand may indicate more relative muscle activity on sand compared with stable ground. This needs to be verified in future studies. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223219 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 9 IS - 14 PB - PloS ONe CY - San Francisco, California ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Delfan, Maryam A1 - Vahed, Alieh A1 - Bishop, David A1 - Juybari, Raheleh Amadeh A1 - Laher, Ismail A1 - Saeidi, Ayoub A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Zouhal, Hassane T1 - Effects of two workload-matched high-intensity interval training protocols on regulatory factors associated with mitochondrial biogenesis in the soleus muscle of diabetic rats JF - Frontiers in Physiology N2 - Aims: High intensity interval training (HIIT) improves mitochondrial characteristics. This study compared the impact of two workload-matched high intensity interval training (HIIT) protocols with different work:recovery ratios on regulatory factors related to mitochondrial biogenesis in the soleus muscle of diabetic rats. Materials and methods: Twenty-four Wistar rats were randomly divided into four equal-sized groups: non-diabetic control, diabetic control (DC), diabetic with long recovery exercise [4–5 × 2-min running at 80%–90% of the maximum speed reached with 2-min of recovery at 40% of the maximum speed reached (DHIIT1:1)], and diabetic with short recovery exercise (5–6 × 2-min running at 80%–90% of the maximum speed reached with 1-min of recovery at 30% of the maximum speed reached [DHIIT2:1]). Both HIIT protocols were completed five times/week for 4 weeks while maintaining equal running distances in each session. Results: Gene and protein expressions of PGC-1α, p53, and citrate synthase of the muscles increased significantly following DHIIT1:1 and DHIIT2:1 compared to DC (p ˂ 0.05). Most parameters, except for PGC-1α protein (p = 0.597), were significantly higher in DHIIT2:1 than in DHIIT1:1 (p ˂ 0.05). Both DHIIT groups showed significant increases in maximum speed with larger increases in DHIIT2:1 compared with DHIIT1:1. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that both HIIT protocols can potently up-regulate gene and protein expression of PGC-1α, p53, and CS. However, DHIIT2:1 has superior effects compared with DHIIT1:1 in improving mitochondrial adaptive responses in diabetic rats. KW - diabetes mellitus KW - muscle metabolism KW - time-efficient exercise KW - mitochondrial adaptation KW - exercise training Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.927969 SN - 1664-042X SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Frontiers CY - Lausanne, Schweiz ER - TY - GEN A1 - Delfan, Maryam A1 - Vahed, Alieh A1 - Bishop, David A1 - Juybari, Raheleh Amadeh A1 - Laher, Ismail A1 - Saeidi, Ayoub A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Zouhal, Hassane T1 - Effects of two workload-matched high intensity interval training protocols on regulatory factors associated with mitochondrial biogenesis in the soleus muscle of diabetic rats T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Aims: High intensity interval training (HIIT) improves mitochondrial characteristics. This study compared the impact of two workload-matched high intensity interval training (HIIT) protocols with different work:recovery ratios on regulatory factors related to mitochondrial biogenesis in the soleus muscle of diabetic rats. Materials and methods: Twenty-four Wistar rats were randomly divided into four equal-sized groups: non-diabetic control, diabetic control (DC), diabetic with long recovery exercise [4–5 × 2-min running at 80%–90% of the maximum speed reached with 2-min of recovery at 40% of the maximum speed reached (DHIIT1:1)], and diabetic with short recovery exercise (5–6 × 2-min running at 80%–90% of the maximum speed reached with 1-min of recovery at 30% of the maximum speed reached [DHIIT2:1]). Both HIIT protocols were completed five times/week for 4 weeks while maintaining equal running distances in each session. Results: Gene and protein expressions of PGC-1α, p53, and citrate synthase of the muscles increased significantly following DHIIT1:1 and DHIIT2:1 compared to DC (p ˂ 0.05). Most parameters, except for PGC-1α protein (p = 0.597), were significantly higher in DHIIT2:1 than in DHIIT1:1 (p ˂ 0.05). Both DHIIT groups showed significant increases in maximum speed with larger increases in DHIIT2:1 compared with DHIIT1:1. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that both HIIT protocols can potently up-regulate gene and protein expression of PGC-1α, p53, and CS. However, DHIIT2:1 has superior effects compared with DHIIT1:1 in improving mitochondrial adaptive responses in diabetic rats. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 794 KW - diabetes mellitus KW - muscle metabolism KW - time-efficient exercise KW - mitochondrial adaptation KW - exercise training Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-564441 SN - 1866-8364 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Universitätsverlag Potsdam CY - Potsdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Borde, Ron T1 - Effects of Sport-Specific Training during the Early Stages of Long-Term Athlete Development on Physical Fitness, Body Composition, Cognitive, and Academic Performances JF - Frontiers in physiology N2 - Introduction: Several sports demand an early start into long-term athlete development (LTAD) because peak performances are achieved at a relatively young age (e.g., gymnastics). However, the challenging combination of high training volumes and academic demands may impede youth athletes' cognitive and academic performances. Thus, the aims of this study were to examine the effects of a 1-year sport-specific training and/or physical education on physical fitness, body composition, cognitive and academic performances in youth athletes and their non-athletic peers. Methods: Overall, 45 prepubertal fourth graders from a German elite sport school were enrolled in this study. Participating children were either youth athletes from an elite sports class (n = 20, age 9.5 ± 0.5 years) or age-matched peers from a regular class (n = 25, age 9.6 ± 0.6 years). Over the 1-year intervention period, the elite sports class conducted physical education and sport-specific training (i.e., gymnastics, swimming, soccer, bicycle motocross [BMX]) during school time while the regular class attended physical education only. Of note, BMX is a specialized form of cycling that is performed on motocross tracks and affords high technical skills. Before and after intervention, tests were performed for the assessment of physical fitness (speed [20-m sprint], agility [star agility run], muscle power [standing long jump], flexibility [stand-and-reach], endurance [6-min-run], balance [single-leg stance]), body composition (e.g., muscle mass), cognitive (d2-test) and academic performance (reading [ELFE 1–6], writing [HSP 4–5], calculating [DEMAT 4]). In addition, grades in German, English, Mathematics, and physical education were documented. Results: At baseline, youth athletes showed better physical fitness performances (p < 0.05; d = 0.70–2.16), less relative body fat mass, more relative skeletal muscle mass (p < 0.01; d = 1.62–1.84), and similar cognitive and academic achievements compared to their non-athletic peers. Athletes' training volume amounted to 620 min/week over the 1-year period while their peers performed 155 min/week. After the intervention, significant differences were found in 6 out of 7 physical fitness tests (p < 0.05; d = 0.75–1.40) and in the physical education grades (p < 0.01; d = 2.36) in favor of the elite sports class. No significant between-group differences were found after the intervention in measures of body composition (p > 0.05; d = 0.66–0.67), cognition and academics (p > 0.05; d = 0.40–0.64). Our findings revealed no significant between-group differences in growth rate (deltas of pre-post-changes in body height and leg length). Discussion: Our results revealed that a school-based 1-year sport-specific training in combination with physical education improved physical fitness but did not negatively affect cognitive and academic performances of youth athletes compared to their non-athletic peers. It is concluded that sport-specific training in combination with physical education promotes youth athletes' physical fitness development during LTAD and does not impede their cognitive and academic development. KW - long-term KW - early sport specialization KW - motor skills KW - young athletes KW - scholastic demands Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2017.00810 SN - 1664-042X VL - 8 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Frontiers CY - Lausanne ER - TY - GEN A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Borde, Ron T1 - Effects of Sport-Specific Training during the Early Stages of Long-Term Athlete Development on Physical Fitness, Body Composition, Cognitive, and Academic Performances N2 - Introduction: Several sports demand an early start into long-term athlete development (LTAD) because peak performances are achieved at a relatively young age (e.g., gymnastics). However, the challenging combination of high training volumes and academic demands may impede youth athletes' cognitive and academic performances. Thus, the aims of this study were to examine the effects of a 1-year sport-specific training and/or physical education on physical fitness, body composition, cognitive and academic performances in youth athletes and their non-athletic peers. Methods: Overall, 45 prepubertal fourth graders from a German elite sport school were enrolled in this study. Participating children were either youth athletes from an elite sports class (n = 20, age 9.5 ± 0.5 years) or age-matched peers from a regular class (n = 25, age 9.6 ± 0.6 years). Over the 1-year intervention period, the elite sports class conducted physical education and sport-specific training (i.e., gymnastics, swimming, soccer, bicycle motocross [BMX]) during school time while the regular class attended physical education only. Of note, BMX is a specialized form of cycling that is performed on motocross tracks and affords high technical skills. Before and after intervention, tests were performed for the assessment of physical fitness (speed [20-m sprint], agility [star agility run], muscle power [standing long jump], flexibility [stand-and-reach], endurance [6-min-run], balance [single-leg stance]), body composition (e.g., muscle mass), cognitive (d2-test) and academic performance (reading [ELFE 1–6], writing [HSP 4–5], calculating [DEMAT 4]). In addition, grades in German, English, Mathematics, and physical education were documented. Results: At baseline, youth athletes showed better physical fitness performances (p < 0.05; d = 0.70–2.16), less relative body fat mass, more relative skeletal muscle mass (p < 0.01; d = 1.62–1.84), and similar cognitive and academic achievements compared to their non-athletic peers. Athletes' training volume amounted to 620 min/week over the 1-year period while their peers performed 155 min/week. After the intervention, significant differences were found in 6 out of 7 physical fitness tests (p < 0.05; d = 0.75–1.40) and in the physical education grades (p < 0.01; d = 2.36) in favor of the elite sports class. No significant between-group differences were found after the intervention in measures of body composition (p > 0.05; d = 0.66–0.67), cognition and academics (p > 0.05; d = 0.40–0.64). Our findings revealed no significant between-group differences in growth rate (deltas of pre-post-changes in body height and leg length). Discussion: Our results revealed that a school-based 1-year sport-specific training in combination with physical education improved physical fitness but did not negatively affect cognitive and academic performances of youth athletes compared to their non-athletic peers. It is concluded that sport-specific training in combination with physical education promotes youth athletes' physical fitness development during LTAD and does not impede their cognitive and academic development. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 354 KW - long-term KW - early sport specialization KW - motor skills KW - young athletes KW - scholastic demands Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-403760 ER -