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To evaluate the effects of Ramadan observance on dietary intake, body mass and body composition of adolescent athletes (design: systematic review and meta-analysis; data sources: PubMed and Web of Science; eligibility criteria for selecting studies: single-group, pre-post, with or without control-group studies, conducted in athletes aged <19 years, training at least 3 times/week, and published in any language before 12 February 2020). Studies assessing body mass and/or body composition and/or dietary intake were deemed eligible. The methodological quality was assessed using ‘QualSyst’. Of the twelve selected articles evaluating body mass and/or body composition, one was of strong quality and eleven were rated as moderate. Ten articles evaluated dietary intake; four were rated as strong and the remaining moderate in quality. Continuation of training during Ramadan did not change body mass from before to the first week (trivial effect size (ES) = −0.011, p = 0.899) or from before to the fourth week of Ramadan (trivial ES = 0.069, p = 0.277). Additionally, Ramadan observance did not change body fat content from before to the first week (trivial ES = −0.005, p = 0.947) and from before to the fourth week of Ramadan (trivial ES = -0.057, p = 0.947). Lean body mass remained unchanged from before to the fourth week of Ramadan (trivial ES = −0.025, p = 0.876). Dietary data showed the intake of energy (small ES = -0.272, p = 0.182), fat (trivial ES = 0.044, p = 0.842), protein (trivial ES = 0.069, p = 0.720), carbohydrate (trivial ES = 0.075, p = 0.606) and water (trivial ES = −0.115, p = 0.624) remained essentially unchanged during as compared to before Ramadan. Continued training of adolescent athletes at least three times/week during Ramadan observance has no effect on body mass, body composition or dietary intake.
Athletes schedule their training and recovery in periods, often utilizing a pre-defined strategy. To avoid underperformance and/or compromised health, the external load during training should take into account the individual’s physiological and perceptual responses. No single variable provides an adequate basis for planning, but continuous monitoring of a combination of several indicators of internal and external load during training, recovery and off-training as well may allow individual responsive adjustments of a training program in an effective manner. From a practical perspective, including that of coaches, monitoring of potential changes in health and performance should ideally be valid, reliable and sensitive, as well as time-efficient, easily applicable, non-fatiguing and as non-invasive as possible. Accordingly, smartphone applications, wearable sensors and point-of-care testing appear to offer a suitable monitoring framework allowing responsive adjustments to exercise prescription. Here, we outline 24-h monitoring of selected parameters by these technologies that (i) allows responsive adjustments of exercise programs, (ii) enhances performance and/or (iii) reduces the risk for overuse, injury and/or illness.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of cardiorespiratory and metabolic variables, that is, peak oxygen uptake (V'O\(_{2peak}\)) and heart rate (HR\(_{peak}\)), obtained from an agility‐like incremental exercise test for team sport athletes. To investigate the test–retest reliability, 25 team sport athletes (age: 22 ± 3 years, body mass: 75 ± 7 kg, height: 182 ± 6 cm) performed an agility‐like incremental exercise test on the SpeedCourt (SC) system incorporating multidirectional change‐of‐direction (COD) movements twice. For each step of the incremental SC test, the athletes covered a 40‐m distance interspersed with a 10‐sec rest period. Each 40 m distance was split into short sprints (2.25–6.36 m) separated by multidirectional COD movements (0°–180°), which were performed in response to an external visual stimulus. All performance and physiological data were validated with variables obtained from a ramp‐like treadmill and Yo‐Yo intermittent recovery level 2 test (Yo‐Yo IR2). The incremental SC test revealed high test–retest reliability for the time to exhaustion (ICC = 0.85, typical error [TE] = 0.44, and CV% = 3.88), V'O\(_{2peak}\), HR\(_{peak}\), ventilation, and breathing frequency (ICC = 0.84, 0.72, 0.89, 0.77, respectively). The time to exhaustion (r = 0.50, 0.74) of the incremental SC test as well as the peak values for V'O\(_{2}\) (r = 0.59, 0.52), HR (r = 0.75, 0.78), ventilation (r = 0.57, 0.57), and breathing frequency (r = 0.68, 0.68) were significantly correlated (P ≤ 0.01) with the ramp‐like treadmill test and the Yo‐Yo IR2, respectively. The incremental SC test represents a reliable and valid method to assess peak values for V'O\(_{2}\) and HR with respect to the specific demand of team sport match play by incorporating multidirectional COD movements, decision making, and cognitive components.
The training intensity distribution (TID) of endurance athletes has retrieved substantial scientific interest since it reflects a vital component of training prescription: (i) the intensity of exercise and its distribution over time are essential components for adaptation to endurance training and (ii) the training volume (at least for most endurance disciplines) is already near or at maximum, so optimization of training procedures including TID have become paramount for success. This paper aims to elaborate the polarization-index (PI) which is calculated as log10(Zone 1/Zone 2∗Zone 3∗100), where Zones 1–3 refer to aggregated volume (time or distance) spent with low, mid, or high intensity training. PI allows to distinguish between non-polarized and polarized TID using a cut-off > 2.00 a.U. and to quantify the level of a polarized TID. Within this hypothesis paper, examples from the literature illustrating the usefulness of PI-calculation are discussed as well as its limitations. Further it is elucidated how the PI may contribute to a more precise definition of TID descriptors.