Endurance & Cardiovascular
48 items
Musculoskeletal Pain in Unsupervised Gym-Goers: Prevalence and Anatomical Distribution
Researchers surveyed 100 regular gym-goers aged 18-30 who trained 4-5 days a week without a personal trainer, using a standard questionnaire to ask where they had musculoskeletal pain. 92% reported pain in at least one body region, most often the lower back (36%), shoulder (24%), upper back (22%), and neck (21%).
Impact of Combined Core Strength, Balance and Visual Skill Training on Selected Skill-Related Physical Fitness and Performance Variables of School-Level Badminton Players in Tirupathur District: A Quasi-Experimental Study
Researchers gave school-age badminton players in Tamil Nadu a 12-week programme combining core strength, balance, and visual (eye-tracking/coordination) training, then compared them with players doing their usual training. The trained group showed greater gains in agility, dynamic balance, explosive power, eye-hand coordination, and badminton skill performance than the control group.
Run Smart, Run Strong: Exploring the Role of Physiotherapy in Running Load Management and Injury Prevention Among Recreational Runners
This narrative review pulled together six randomized trials on recreational runners to see whether physiotherapy-style exercise and smarter training-load management reduce running injuries and improve performance. It reported that a multi-component exercise programme cut overall and overuse running injuries, HIIT and plyometrics improved power, sprint speed and agility, while isolated hip/core or ankle/foot drills produced only small biomechanical changes with no clear clinical benefit.
The influence of high-intensity interval training on the development of speed strength abilities in 16-17-year-old taekwondo athletes
Researchers tested whether a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program could improve speed-strength (explosive power) in 20 competitive taekwondo athletes aged 16-17, split into a control group and an experimental group that followed a custom HIIT program mixing speed-strength, strength, and sport-specific drills. The abstract describes the study design and testing methods but does not report the actual results.
Effect Of Fatigue Mitigation On Kicking Precision During Penalty Shootout In Soccer
Researchers tested whether refuelling during a match protects penalty-kick accuracy: 20 elite young male players played 120 minutes, with one group given a rice-stew-fish meal (4 g/kg body mass) plus a glucose-fructose electrolyte drink (1.2 g/kg) and the other not. The fed group kept higher blood glucose, reported less general fatigue, and shot more accurately after extra time, while the unfed control group's kicking precision dropped significantly.
A common WBGT limit activates unequally across Grand Slam tennis venues because dry heat suppresses the wet-bulb term
Researchers used a decade of hourly weather data to calculate wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) at the four tennis Grand Slam venues and check whether the same WBGT heat-policy thresholds get triggered equally. They found they don't: the very hot but dry Australian Open never hit the suspension threshold despite air temperatures up to 44 °C, while the humid US Open came closest, and at matched air temperatures (33–37 °C) WBGT ran about 3.2 °C higher in New York than in Melbourne.
Technopreneurial Physical Education Model Integrating South Sumatran Traditional Games
Researchers built and tested a physical education program for elementary school students in South Sumatra, Indonesia, that runs traditional local games as circuit-style activities with a structured warm-up, core, and reflection format. After field testing with pretest-posttest measures, students showed significant gains in physical fitness and critical thinking, plus high engagement and participation.
Gut microbiome and functional adaptations to paleo and rational diets in professional athletes: a pilot study
Ten professional male handball players were randomly assigned to eat either a Paleo diet or a conventional ("rational") diet of equal calories for 8 weeks, with stool samples analyzed at the start, 4 weeks and 8 weeks to track gut bacteria. Neither diet substantially changed the core gut microbiome, though the rational diet produced some specific bacterial and functional shifts; the Paleo diet was lower in carbs and higher in (mostly unsaturated) fats, and both diets fell short on vitamin D, with the Paleo group also low in calcium.
Crianças praticantes de artes marciais possuem melhor coordenação motora, atenção e função executiva
Researchers compared 51 children aged 7-11 in Brasília, 23 who trained in martial arts and 28 who did other sports, using tests of body composition, motor coordination (KTK), attention, and cognitive flexibility (Trail Making A/B). The martial arts group showed better motor coordination and faster information processing and execution than the comparison group.
Effects of plyometric and core training on swimming performance in prepubescent swimmers
Researchers had 30 prepubescent swimmers do eight weeks of land-based training on top of their normal pool work: one group did plyometrics, one did plyometrics plus core work, and one just swam as usual. Both training groups improved sprint times at 15 m, 25 m, and 50 m in all four strokes, plus core strength and vertical jump, while anaerobic power rose only in the plyometrics-only group and the control group showed no changes.
Association Between Core Endurance , Flexibility and Balance and their Interrelationship among Bharatanatyam Dancers: A Rapid Review
This rapid review gathered existing studies on core endurance, flexibility, and balance in Bharatanatyam dancers, an Indian classical dance form demanding strength, stability, and range of motion. The reviewed studies suggest dancers outperform non-dancers on these measures and that greater core endurance is linked to better balance and postural control, though inconsistent testing methods across studies made direct comparisons difficult.
Carbon monoxide and other “tricks” in sports: does the winner take it all?
This is an opinion piece, not an experiment: it uses the trend of athletes repeatedly inhaling carbon monoxide (and using simulated-altitude hypoxia) as an example of risky shortcuts chased in elite sport. The author notes CO inhalation has been banned by cycling's governing body and WADA over safety concerns, that its performance benefits are unproven and possibly offset by inflammation and toxicity, and argues that lasting success comes from years of consistent, evidence-based training rather than tricks.
Association between Somatotype Characteristics and Changes in Body Fat Percentage Following Exercise Intervention Among Overweight Adults
Researchers put 42 overweight and obese adults into one of two 12-week exercise weight-loss programs, grouping them by body type (somatotype) using the Heath-Carter method and tracking body fat with bioelectrical impedance. Neither body type nor which program people did significantly affected changes in body fat percentage, and there was no interaction between the two.
Developing a method for assessing and promoting paramedics' physical capacity: Part I - Physically most strenuous work tasks and physical strain of Finnish paramedics on 12-hour day shifts
This is the first part of a Finnish research project aiming to develop a way to assess and improve paramedics' physical fitness, focusing on the most physically demanding tasks and the strain experienced during 12-hour day shifts. No abstract was available, so the study's methods and findings can't be summarized here.
Acute effects of the 1-minute sit-to-stand test (STST) on immune-metabolic stress indices
Researchers had 28 healthy adults do a 1-minute sit-to-stand test and took fingertip blood samples before, right after, and for 45 minutes afterward to track lactate, glucose, and immune cell counts. The single minute of effort pushed lactate above the anaerobic threshold (>4 mmol/L) and significantly raised white blood cell, lymphocyte, and granulocyte counts, with leukocytes returning to baseline within 30 minutes while granulocytes stayed elevated; lactate changes tracked with the immune cell changes.
Preferences of Female Triathletes and Their Coaches for Education on REDs: A Qualitative Study
Researchers interviewed 12 female triathletes and 8 coaches about how they learn about Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) and what education formats they prefer. Both groups were keen to learn more, but the sport's ingrained 'leaner is faster' culture and reluctance to change training habits were seen as barriers; participants favoured podcasts mixing expert content with real athletes' stories.
Sternocleidomastoid muscle morphology is independently associated with neck strength and endurance in athletes and para-athletes
Researchers used ultrasound to measure the size (cross-sectional area) of the sternocleidomastoid, a main neck muscle, in 195 men including athletes, para-athletes, and active controls, then compared it to neck strength, endurance, and range of motion. Bigger SCM muscles were linked to stronger and longer-lasting neck flexion even after accounting for age, BMI, grip strength, and sport type, while plain neck girth did not explain performance in the same way; SCM size was not independently tied to neck extensor strength and was slightly linked to less extension range of motion.
Influence of Aerobics Training on Physical Health: The Auxiliary Effect of Sportswear Design on Cardiopulmonary Function and Sports Performance
Researchers put 20 female aerobics athletes through 8 weeks of training, with one group wearing gradient compression sportswear and the other ordinary cotton kit. The compression group showed bigger gains in VO2max (13.4% more) and lactate threshold (14.4% higher), used 10.6% less energy, had 33.3% less muscle vibration, and reported less perceived exertion and better thermal comfort.
Potential effects of β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate and exercise on brain aging and age-related disorders: implications for immunometabolic regulation and muscle–brain–immune crosstalk
This review pooled 24 studies on the leucine metabolite HMB to see whether it affects brain aging, inflammation, and immune-metabolic health, especially alongside exercise. Most studies showed gains in strength, physical performance, and function (often without much added muscle mass), but direct brain-specific evidence was lacking, and exercise itself appeared to be the main driver of the benefits, with HMB playing only a supporting, context-dependent role.
Living with the aftermath: family experiences of managing concussion and sport-related head injury
Researchers interviewed 10 family members (parents, partners, spouses, adult children) of people who had suffered sport-related head injuries to understand what living with the long-term effects is like. Families reported that they spotted problems early but were dismissed by medical, school, and sporting bodies, leaving them to take on exhausting, unsupported roles coordinating care and managing crises across fragmented systems.
Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training on Physical Fitness and Skill-Related Performance in Badminton Players: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Researchers pooled 8 studies (202 badminton players aged 10-19) that compared high-intensity interval training against traditional badminton training, with HIIT programs running 8-10 weeks, 2-4 sessions weekly of 30-90 minutes. The analysis found HIIT significantly improved sprinting ability and agility compared with usual badminton training.
Cardiorespiratory and autonomic trajectories in cadets training for general versus strength endurance, with differential ventilatory economization: a 4-month observational study.
Researchers followed 52 male military cadets for 4 months, comparing those doing mainly general endurance training with those doing strength-endurance training, and measured resting heart, blood pressure, breathing and autonomic function. Only the strength-endurance group showed significant changes — a lower resting heart rate (about -10%) and roughly 24% lower resting minute ventilation and oxygen uptake — and the only reliable difference between groups was this breathing 'economization'; heart-rate variability measures didn't change significantly.
Understanding Anterior Cruciate Ligament Adaptation: Structural, Mechanical, and Healing Considerations.
This narrative review pulls together animal and human evidence showing the ACL isn't just a passive rope in the knee — it remodels in response to the loads you place on it, influenced by training type, sex, maturation stage, and blood supply. The authors report that endurance and resistance training can increase ligament stiffness, strength and cross-sectional area, that athletes who start heavy training in adolescence show ligament hypertrophy, and that both chronic underloading and chaotic overload raise injury risk.
Novel Home-Based Remotely Supervised High Intensity Interval Training is Safe and Feasible and Improves Aerobic Fitness and Adiposity in Older Adults.
Twenty healthy adults aged 61-74 did 8 weeks of their usual lifestyle followed by 8 weeks of home-based high intensity interval training on a non-weight-bearing all-limb ergometer, supervised remotely by video call with live heart rate monitoring 4 days a week. There were no training-related adverse events, 96% of sessions were completed, and aerobic fitness fell slightly during the control period but rose by about 4.5 ml/kg/min after HIIT, with reported improvements in body fat as well.
Does the choice of inspiratory muscle training modality affect respiratory and peripheral muscle function in chronic kidney disease?
This randomized trial had 38 people with non-dialysis chronic kidney disease do 10 weeks of either "fundamental" breathing-muscle training, "functional" breathing-muscle training (breathing training combined with movement), or no training, all delivered remotely. Both training groups beat the control group on breathing muscle strength and pressure, diaphragm mobility, quadriceps and grip strength, trunk endurance, and 6-minute walk distance, and the authors concluded functional IMT may add extra benefit for inspiratory endurance and musculoskeletal function.
Assessing impact of supervision in aerobic exercise training on fitness and clinical outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
This review pooled 42 studies (about 5,000 patients) comparing supervised or unsupervised moderate-to-high-intensity aerobic exercise against controls in clinical populations, mainly before surgery. Both supervised and unsupervised training improved 6-minute walk distance, supervised training improved peak oxygen uptake, and supervised high-intensity programmes reduced postoperative complications — though no study directly compared the two formats.
Endurance Training Attenuates Acute Exercise-Induced Monocyte Transcriptomic Responses in Adolescents: Sex-Specific Molecular Adaptations.
Researchers had 21 teenagers (12 boys, 9 girls) do a hard interval cycling session before and after 8 weeks of supervised endurance training with some strength work, then sequenced the genes switched on in their blood monocytes (immune cells involved in artery disease). Before training, a single exercise session triggered a much larger gene-expression response in girls than boys (about 5,135 vs. 567 changed transcripts), and the authors conclude that endurance training changes how these immune cells respond, in pathways tied to vascular and cardiovascular health.
Body composition determinants of aerobic performance in elite soccer players: a partial correlation and regression analysis.
Researchers measured body fat (via skinfolds) and treadmill-tested aerobic fitness in 38 elite Russian Premier League soccer players at the start of pre-season. Players with more body fat tended to have lower relative VO2max and slower speed at VO2max (about 1.93 mL/kg/min lower VO2max per extra 1% body fat), but the associations were modest and the authors stress the results are exploratory group-level trends, not reliable predictions for any individual.
Biological mechanisms of different exercise modalities in improving sleep disorders: A review.
This narrative review gathers existing research on how different types of exercise raining training, and mind-body practices like yoga \u2014 may help with sleep problems such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and circadian rhythm disruption. It describes the proposed biological pathways behind these benefits, including body temperature regulation, brain chemistry, hormone signaling, and shifts in the nervous system's stress/recovery balance, and notes exercise is viewed as effective and safe compared with medication.
Near infrared spectroscopy-derived muscle oxidative capacity correlates to oxidative metabolic predictors of performance in highly trained female middle-distance runners.
Researchers measured how quickly the thigh muscle of highly trained female middle-distance runners could restore oxygen use (a marker of muscle oxidative, or aerobic, capacity) using near-infrared spectroscopy, then compared it to VO2max, lactate turn point, critical speed, and a ~4-minute run-to-exhaustion test. Muscle oxidative capacity was strongly correlated with VO2max, lactate turn point, and critical speed, but showed no relationship with time-to-exhaustion performance.
Effect of Porphyromonas gingivalis Infection on PGC-1α in Skeletal Muscle After Endurance Training In Vivo.
Researchers injected rats with either a gum-disease bacterium (Porphyromonas gingivalis) or saline, then had them run on a treadmill and measured muscle markers 24 hours later. The infected rats showed more muscle inflammation (TNF-\u03b1) and lower levels of PGC-1\u03b1, the key signal for building new mitochondria, suggesting infection may blunt endurance gains from training.
Aerobic Endurance Training Modulates Cardiac Renin-Angiotensin System Peptides and Matrix Metalloproteinase Activity During Chronic Stress.
Researchers put rats through 8 weeks of treadmill endurance training, with or without three weeks of chronic mild stress, and measured stress hormones, heart enzymes (matrix metalloproteinases) and renin-angiotensin system peptides in the heart and blood. Chronic stress raised corticosterone, increased cardiac MMP-2 activity and Ang 1-9 while lowering protective Ang 1-7, and disrupted heart function; endurance training appeared to offset some of these stress-related changes, which the authors interpret as cardioprotective.
Associations between incremental exercise capacity and multimodal brain characteristics across training levels.
Researchers scanned the brains of 32 men "high-level endurance athletes, moderately trained runners, and active controls" and compared brain structure and resting activity with treadmill test results like VO2max and lactate threshold. Better endurance capacity was linked to differences in brain regions involved in planning, movement and coordination (prefrontal, premotor, precuneus, temporal and cerebellar areas), though comparisons between training-level groups were unstable and the authors urge caution.
Comparative and dose-response effects of supplementary exercise training on VO<sub>2</sub>max in trained athletes: a Systematic Review and Bayesian network meta-analysis.
Researchers pooled 61 randomized trials to compare 11 types of extra training added on top of athletes' normal sport-specific training, ranking which ones best raise VO2max. Five modalities beat the control condition — blood flow restriction training, HIIT, intermittent hypoxic training, sprint interval training, and small-sided games — with HIIT and SIT showing the most consistent support; age, starting fitness, and program length didn't clearly change the results, and the overall certainty of evidence was low to very low.
Does too much exercise damage the heart? A narrative review of the long-term cardiovascular effects of intense training.
This narrative review examined whether decades of intense endurance training can harm the heart, pulling together evidence on athletes' heart rhythm and structural changes. It reports that long-term high-volume endurance athletes (mostly middle-aged male Caucasians in the available data) more often show atrial fibrillation, sinus node dysfunction, patchy heart fibrosis and coronary calcification, yet high activity levels still track with lower cardiovascular and overall death rates than being sedentary, with benefits appearing to plateau at very high volumes.
90% mental, 10% physical? Psychological and physiological predictors of ultrarunning performance
Researchers tested 69 ultramarathon runners across 24 different races, measuring both physical fitness (VO2max, exercise testing) and psychological traits (emotional intelligence, impulse control, sleep habits, pain tolerance), then compared these to how each runner placed relative to the winner. The combined model explained about 43% of performance differences, with VO2max the strongest predictor, followed by emotional intelligence, inhibitory control, and sleep behaviours.
Youth Female Cross-Country Skiers Maintain Anaerobic Speed Reserve Classification Across Running and Roller Skiing Modes
Researchers tested 12 youth female cross-country skiers in both running and roller skiing, measuring top sprint speed and maximal aerobic speed to calculate their anaerobic speed reserve (the gap between the two). Both speeds were higher on roller skis, but the size of the speed reserve was essentially the same in both modes, and most athletes kept a 'hybrid' profile regardless of testing mode.
Muscle mechanical and architectural adaptations in response to different endurance training modalities in older adults.
Researchers had 50 healthy adults aged 59-79 do 8 weeks of cycling training (three sessions a week) in one of four styles - moderate continuous, heavy continuous, high-intensity intervals, or eccentric cycling - all matched for total workload, plus a non-training control group. All training groups improved maximal isometric and eccentric knee-extension strength, but there were no changes in thigh muscle architecture (thickness, pennation angle, fascicle length), optimal knee angle, or maximum contraction velocity.
Effects of Single-Bout Endurance Exercise Intensity on Peripheral Neurotrophic Factors in Patients With Ischemic Stroke During the Subacute Phase of Rehabilitation.
Researchers had 30 people recovering from a first ischemic stroke do one session of either low- or moderate-intensity cycling, then measured blood markers linked to brain health (like BDNF and irisin) plus cognition, movement, and mood. Descriptively, the moderate-intensity group showed a rise in BDNF and a drop in irisin, but formal statistical tests found no meaningful difference between intensities for the neurotrophins — only blood lactate differed.
Exercise training attenuates high-fat diet-induced skeletal muscle atrophy by inhibiting Drp1-mediated cuproptosis in male mice.
Researchers fed male mice either a normal or high-fat diet for 8 weeks and had some of them do aerobic exercise (or receive a drug blocking the mitochondrial protein Drp1). The high-fat diet shrank muscle and reduced grip strength and endurance alongside mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and copper-driven cell death, while aerobic exercise — like the Drp1-blocking drug — largely reversed these changes.
The Effect of Inspiratory Muscle Training on Respiratory Parameters, Trunk Control, Gait, and Functional Independence in Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Researchers randomly assigned 36 children with cerebral palsy to 6 weeks of real or sham inspiratory (breathing) muscle training on top of their usual exercise program, then measured breathing strength, lung function, trunk control, walking, and daily independence. The real training group improved more in inspiratory muscle strength (MIP) and lung function (FEV1), but there were no group differences in walking speed, walking endurance, functional independence, or trunk control.
Reduced cardiac workload and enhanced oxygen extraction during maximal exercise in recreational endurance runners.
Researchers compared 44 male recreational long-distance runners with 41 untrained men of similar age during a maximal cycling test, measuring oxygen use, blood flow and blood pressure. The runners reached much higher maximal oxygen consumption (about 53 vs 39 mL/kg/min) and extracted more oxygen from their blood, while showing a lower cardiac (haemodynamic) response, suggesting their hearts work less hard at peak effort.
Effects of different intensity endurance training on atrial fibrillation in rats.
Researchers had 40 male rats do endurance training at different intensities for 8 weeks, then measured how easily atrial fibrillation could be triggered along with heart tissue changes. Higher exercise intensity was linked to more atrial fibrillation, more myocardial fibrosis and lipid deposition, plus changes in mitochondrial activity, autophagy, reactive oxygen species and ion-channel proteins; the authors concluded sustained moderate-intensity exercise was best for heart energy metabolism and atrial rhythm.
CreaSol® SSAT (Stabilized Tyrosol) Enhances Creatine on Muscle Performance and Anti-fatigue Capacity in Trained Mice
Researchers gave trained mice creatine monohydrate alone or creatine plus a stabilized form of the antioxidant tyrosol (CreaSol) for four weeks, then tested grip strength and weighted swimming to exhaustion on consecutive days. The combined group showed 28.1% greater grip strength and 51.5% longer swim endurance than creatine alone, plus smaller drop-offs in performance across repeated exhaustive sessions.
Distinct genome-wide salivary DNA methylation changes following superset and repeated sprint training in youth male basketball players.
Researchers had 62 youth male basketball players add one 30-minute weekly session of either superset strength training or repeated sprint training for eight weeks, then measured performance and DNA methylation (chemical marks on genes) from saliva. Each method produced different methylation changes and lit up different biological pathways \u2014 growth/muscle-building signals for supersets, and blood-vessel and endurance-related signals for sprints \u2014 suggesting the two styles trigger distinct molecular responses.
Left atrial adaptation to different overloads: is atrial enlargement always related to atrial dysfunction?
Researchers used advanced ultrasound to compare left atrium (upper heart chamber) size and function in 548 people: 286 endurance athletes, 225 with high blood pressure, and 37 with leaky mitral valves. An enlarged left atrium was common in athletes (78%), but athletes had better diastolic function and better atrial reservoir and conduit function than the patient groups, suggesting enlargement doesn't always mean dysfunction.
Comparison of different interval training methods on athletes' oxygen uptake: a systematic review with pairwise and network meta-analysis
Pairwise and network meta-analysis comparing interval-training formats for their effect on athletes' oxygen uptake (VO2max/VO2peak).
Effects of menstrual cycle phases on athletic performance and related physiological outcomes: a systematic review of studies using high methodological standards
Systematic review, restricted to high-methodological-standard studies, examining whether menstrual cycle phase affects athletic performance and related physiological outcomes.