Programming & Periodization

Plyometric-jump training with versus without unstable load to improve physical fitness in trained young volleyball players: a randomized controlled trial

Coaching Style and Athlete Performance: The Mediating Roles of Coach–Athlete Relationship, Motivation, and Training Load–Recovery Management

Effects of integrating self-efficacy strategies into multi-joint resistance exercise for overweight and obese older adults: A randomized controlled trial.

Effects of qigong and resistance exercise on improving balance and cognitive ability of community-dwelling older adults

The post-activation performance enhancement of sub-maximal load back squat with varied range of motion and intra-set fatigue on jump height in trained males

Cell-Free Circulating Mitochondrial DNA: A Biomarker of Physiological Stress and Adaptation in Athletes.

Effects of a Mindfulness Intervention on Volleyball-Specific Performance: A Randomized Trial.

Tapering and Peaking in the Weight Lifting Sports: A Systematic Review of Athletes' Self-Reported Strategies.

Force-time metric responses to training in an Olympic 400m sprinter across a two-week microcycle: a case study

Not all players warm up the same: position-specific external load during standardized pre-match protocol in women’s handball

Effects of creatine on strength, muscle mass, post-exercise recovery and anaerobic capacity in women - literature review

This narrative review pulled together studies from the past 18 years on creatine supplementation in women, including active women, athletes, and older women doing resistance or high-intensity training. The authors conclude that creatine appears to help muscle strength and anaerobic performance when paired with regular training, while effects on muscle mass gain and post-exercise recovery are less clear.

LOW-RESISTANCE TRAINING AS A CATALYST FOR ENHANCING MUSCULAR ENDURANCE IN YOUNG-OLDER MALE ADULTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR ACTIVE AGEING.

Researchers had 16 men aged 60-69 in Nigeria do resistance training twice a week for 12 weeks at a light load, starting at 25% of their one-rep max and stepping up to 35% and then 45%. Muscular endurance improved significantly, with further gains measured at each 4-week checkpoint through the end of the program.

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%).

Exercise modalities for overall and domain-specific balance performance in older adults: A systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis.

Researchers pooled 423 randomised trials covering nearly 34,000 adults aged 60+ to compare 19 types of exercise for improving balance. Almost every modality beat doing nothing (stretching was the exception), with perturbation training, sensory training, dance and agility stepping showing the largest overall effects, and different modalities standing out for different balance types (e.g. Tai Chi for global, Pilates for dynamic, aquatic exercise or agility stepping for proactive balance).

Low-frequency resistance training enhances 2D strain-derived carotid strain and strain rate: a novel longitudinal application of strain imaging in healthy middle-aged females

Sixteen inactive middle-aged women did resistance training just once a week for 12 weeks, and researchers used ultrasound to check the flexibility and function of their neck (carotid) and arm arteries, both at rest and during a handgrip stress test. Resting measures didn't change, but carotid artery strain and strain rate improved across the handgrip conditions after training, while traditional stiffness measures and brachial flow-mediated dilation showed no change.

The Fatigue Assessment Model for Athlete Training by Integrating Inertial Sensors and Multimodal Physiological Signals

Effect of Extensive Interval Training on Endurance Performance in Long-Distance Runners

Researchers had 15 male long-distance runners (aged 20-27) complete a program of extensive interval training, testing their endurance before and after with the 12-minute Cooper run test. Average distance covered rose from about 1,835 m to 1,929 m, a statistically significant improvement in endurance.

Resistance training and its cessation: hormonal responses, muscle thickness, strength, and muscular endurance adaptations to high- and low-load protocols in male runners

Effects Of Resistance Training on Metabolic and Hormonal Markers in Overweight Female University Athletes in China: A Randomized Controlled Trial”

Prevalence and severity of pubic symphysis radiographic findings in male and female sub-elite football players with and without hip and/or groin pain.

The effect of rapid expansion and contraction composite training on dynamic posture control and landing biomechanics of athletes with chronic ankle instability

Occupational Impacts of Compound Resistance Training in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Effects of a minimal dose of plyometric training on the FITescola®

Effectiveness of Total Resistance Exercise on Flexibility and Core Strength in College-Level Cricket Players with Lower Crossed Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Improved cognitive flexibility after high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in individuals with Parkinson's disease: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Effect of dual-task training on postural stability in obese individuals: a randomised controlled trial

EFFECT OF HALLIWICK AQUATIC TRAINING ON DYNAMIC BALANCE IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS: A PRE–POST EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Comparative Effect of Early and Late Preparatory Phase Training on Selected Motor Fitness, Physiological, and Handball Skill Performance Variables

Depth-specific responses to 8-week additional aquatic plyometric training on explosive performance and start-turn metrics in collegiate male swimmers

Concurrent training is associated with enhanced post-exercise ceramide clearance and fat oxidation capacity in individuals with type 2 diabetes following lifestyle intervention

Responsiveness of muscle mass gain to different load intensities of resistance training in older women: A randomized crossover study

Periodization, training intensity distribution, and blood lactate monitoring in a female Olympic champion 20 km race walker: a longitudinal case study

Acute Performance, Mechanical and Thermal Effects of Isometric Conditioning Versus Standardized Volleyball Pre-Training Activation in Highly Trained Male Players

Effects of a four-week ladder drill training program on dribbling performance in u-14 youth soccer players: a quasi-experimental study

Nutritional Strategies for Recovery-Adaptation Coupling After Exercise: From Muscle Damage to Performance Remodeling.

This narrative review proposes a framework called recovery-adaptation coupling (RAC), which tries to balance recovering fast for the next session against blunting the biological signals that drive long-term training adaptation. Reviewing 130 papers, the authors found the strongest applied support for adequate energy intake, protein spread through the day, carbohydrate refueling when the next session is soon, and individualized fluid and sodium replacement, while polyphenols, curcumin, omega-3s and creatine were context-dependent and collagen/gelatin evidence was only mechanistic or pilot-level; the RAC framework itself is unvalidated.

Effects of high-intensity interval cross training and classical training on physical and sprint performance in male junior sprinters

Aerobic and Resistance Exercise Modalities Ameliorate Hippocampal Plasticity and Neurocognitive Changes Induced by Receiving Nandrolone Decanoate in Rats (Physiological, Biochemical, and Histological Study).

Researchers gave rats the anabolic steroid nandrolone decanoate, with or without 8 weeks of treadmill (aerobic) or ladder-climbing (resistance) training, then tested memory and examined the hippocampus. The steroid impaired spatial learning and memory, raised oxidative stress, and lowered brain growth factors (BDNF, NGF); both exercise types reduced this damage, with aerobic training helping most.

Blood Biochemical Acute Daily Responses During an Intensive Training Microcycle: A Case Report of an Olympic Kayaker

The workout is not the program: Physiological load, repeatability, and consistency in endurance training

Perturbation-based vs multicomponent training in adults over 70: effects on balance and mobility

Effect of an Eight Weeks Endurance Training Program on Body Mass Index (BMI) in Male College Students

Effects of hybrid plyometric-ladder and plyometric-circuit training on sprint speed and maximum velocity development in male students

A Mouse Ladder-Climb Protocol Induces Acute Anabolic Signaling and Muscle-Specific Adaptations to Resistance Training.

Researchers tested whether mice climbing a weighted ladder show the same muscle-building responses as humans doing resistance training, looking at both a single session and 6 weeks of training. A single session raised muscle-protein-building signals (mTOR activation, new protein synthesis, and muscle growth gene activity), while 6 weeks increased strength, fat-free mass, sarcomeric protein levels, muscle fiber diameter, and satellite cell numbers and fusion, with no change in general physical performance.

The effect of high-intensity interval training on cardiorespiratory fitness for non-ambulatory stroke survivors: a randomized controlled trial

Effects of a Hale-Based Speed, Agility, and Quickness (SAQ) Training Program on Agility Performance in Male High School Futsal Players

Growth Plate Injuries, Skeletal Maturity, and Bone Health in Young Dancers: A Bibliometric Analysis.

Effects of fin-based kick training on 50-m freestyle performance in adolescent swimmers

Exercise-based rehabilitation with or without blood flow restriction in individuals with heart failure: Protocol for the rehab-washout HF trial.

This is a study protocol (no results yet) for a trial comparing four months of conventional moderate-to-heavy resistance training (60-80% of 1RM) against low-load training with blood flow restriction (20-30% of 1RM at 50% arterial occlusion pressure) in 52 people with heart failure. It will track a blood marker of cardiac strain (NT-proBNP), quality of life, heart function on echo, functional capacity, and clinical events, plus eight months of follow-up.

Plyometric Training for Enhancing Jump Performance and Speed in Young Badminton Players: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Unstable trunk core strength training improves shooting performance and holding stability in elite 10 m air pistol athletes: a pilot randomized controlled trial

The effects of 8-week wearable resistance training on neuromuscular adaptations in soccer players

A generative adversarial network framework for individualized training load distribution based on physiological response patterns and injury risk prediction

Chlorinated pool air, airway mucosal immunity, and respiratory health in competitive swimmers: a mini review.

Competition and training load of high-level competitive non-motorised surface water sports athletes: a scoping review of athlete monitoring methodology.

Effect of Training Load and Recovery Time on Neuromuscular Performance in Elite Youth Soccer Players

Activation of the flexor reflex for gait training in chronic stroke patients

Integrated multidomain model for predicting meniscal injury in amateur athletes: Development of a personalized prevention algorithm.

The effect of squat training with different eccentric contraction tempos on lower limb muscle strength

Thirty sports-training students did squats twice a week for 8 weeks using one of three lowering speeds: a slow 4-second eccentric, a 2-second eccentric, or a self-selected tempo, and were tested on max squat strength, jump height, and 30 m sprint. All groups got stronger with no significant difference between them, but the 2-second eccentric group showed the biggest effect sizes for strength and the clearest gains in countermovement jump, squat jump, and sprint performance, while the 4-second group's jump effects were negative.

Analysis of the Load-Velocity Relationship in the Full Squat Exercise in Female Soccer Players of Different Ages.

Researchers tested 85 female soccer players (senior, U18, U16) doing progressively heavier full squats to see how bar speed relates to the percentage of their one-rep max. Velocity predicted relative load very well (especially mean propulsive velocity and mean velocity, less so peak velocity), and the relationship was essentially the same regardless of age group.

Photobiomodulation as an Adjunct to Resistance Training in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Researchers pooled 11 randomized trials (456 older adults) testing whether red/near-infrared light therapy (photobiomodulation, via laser or LED) added to resistance training boosts strength gains. Across the five trials with 1RM data, adding light therapy did not significantly improve maximal strength versus sham, though some non-training studies hinted at benefits for fatigue and recovery in frail or critically ill older adults.

Effect of external trunk perturbations on the biomechanics of plant leg during instep kick.

Researchers had 15 male college-level footballers perform instep kicks while being pushed at the trunk from different directions, either expected or unexpected, and measured the support (plant) leg with motion capture and force plates. Unanticipated perturbations significantly changed plant-leg joint angles, moments and stiffness (including greater ankle inversion-eversion stiffness), suggesting the leg is under more control demand when a push isn't expected.

Day-to-day variability in resting metabolic rate in strength athletes.

Researchers measured resting metabolic rate (calories burned at rest) on five consecutive mornings in 13 weight-stable strength-trained athletes to see how much it naturally fluctuates day to day. Day-to-day variation averaged about 3.4%, and a change had to exceed roughly 10% to be considered a real change rather than noise; averaging the whole session's breath data gave the most consistent results, and prior-day training load or protein intake weren't clearly linked to variability.

Evidence for Periodizing Strength and/or Endurance Training

Review of the current evidence base for periodizing strength and/or endurance training and how periodized models compare with non-periodized approaches.

The Resistance Training Dose Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gains

Systematic review with meta-regressions examining how weekly set volume and training frequency relate to muscle hypertrophy and strength adaptations.