Sports Nutrition & Supplements

Effects of a chickpea protein hydrolysate on exercise-induced biomarkers of muscle damage and inflammation in federated road cyclists.

This study gave trained road cyclists either 12g daily of chickpea protein hydrolysate or placebo for 14 days and measured blood markers of muscle damage and inflammation. The chickpea supplement group showed significantly lower lactate dehydrogenase and C-reactive protein levels compared to placebo, suggesting reduced exercise-induced inflammation and cellular stress.

Effects of a standardised Amaranthus tricolor – Spinacia oleracea extract on exercise performance, muscle strength, endurance and recovery in active adults: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

This 12-week study tested whether a standardized extract of amaranth and spinach (SpinoleRG™) could improve exercise performance and recovery in active adults compared to placebo. The supplement group showed improvements in ventilatory threshold, muscle strength, time to exhaustion, and delayed onset muscle soreness, without affecting VO₂ max or causing safety concerns.

Acute differences in field-based physical performance between Ramadan-type fasting and non-fasting conditions in 10–11-year-old youth soccer players

This study compared how 10-11-year-old soccer players performed on various field tests after either fasting for 14 hours or eating a normal meal, measuring their jumping, sprinting, agility, and intermittent endurance abilities. Fasting didn't affect short explosive movements like jumping and sprinting, but it significantly reduced intermittent endurance performance, while also increasing fatigue perception, heart rate, and perceived exertion during the tests.

Musculoskeletal (Mal)adaptations in Response to a > 30 000-km Running Challenge.

This case study tracked a 49-year-old ultra-endurance athlete who ran approximately 70 km daily for 15 months (30,300 km total) and measured how his muscles changed before, immediately after, and during 17 months of recovery. The athlete experienced significant muscle loss, reduced strength and power, and mitochondrial dysfunction immediately post-challenge, though most of these changes gradually recovered over 10-17 months, while his muscle fiber composition shifted almost entirely to slow-twitch fibers that persisted even during recovery.

Muscle Massage Adding Capacitive Resistive Electric Transfer Therapy in Active or Sham Condition for Post-Exercise Recovery in Athletes: A Crossover Clinical Trial.

This study tested whether adding capacitive resistive electric transfer (CRET) therapy to a standard recovery massage helped athletes recover better after intense anaerobic exercise, compared to massage alone. Adding active CRET lowered blood lactate levels at 60 minutes post-exercise and showed some changes in muscle tissue on ultrasound, but didn't improve actual performance measures like strength or power output compared to sham treatment.

Stronger, smarter, healthier: the case for female-focused health education in the WTA

The WTA integrated women's health education into athlete physicals at the 2024 Miami Open, delivering sessions on sports bra fit, pelvic health, menstrual cycle, and pregnancy/postpartum return to sport. Most participating athletes (72% of those completing physicals) attended at least one session, with 90% rating the experience positively and 90% reporting they learned something new, while revealing widespread knowledge gaps in these areas.

Effects of dietary supplements on lower-limb power and jump performance in physically active individuals and athletes: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis.

This systematic review analyzed 119 studies to compare how various dietary supplements affect lower-limb power and jumping performance in active people and athletes. HMB (beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate) showed the most consistent benefits for relative peak power with moderate certainty evidence, while other supplements like creatine, beta-alanine, and caffeine showed mixed or less certain effects depending on the specific outcome measured.

Microbial-Derived Exerkines Outperform Creatine Monohydrate in Enhancing Skeletal Muscle Adaptation to Exercise in Mice.

This study tested whether a microbial-derived compound called PAS could enhance exercise performance and muscle adaptation in mice compared to creatine monohydrate, the standard supplement for strength training. Both PAS and creatine improved high-intensity exercise performance, but PAS produced greater gains in grip strength and muscle force production than creatine.

The Effects of Muscle Soreness-Based Modified Training on Physical, Physiological, and Competition Performance in Cross-Country Skiers

Effects of Concurrent Training plus Cricket Protein Hydrolysate Supplementation on Blood Pressure, Arterial Stiffness, and Heart Rate Variability in Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Heat-Related Illnesses in India: Focus on Fluid-Electrolyte Management

Efficacy of a weighted-vest aerobic dance intervention for enhancing lower extremity strength and mobility in older adults: a randomized controlled trial

Enhancing the Interpretation of Competition Performance and Physical Characteristics in Male Youth Track and Field Athletes

Strategic Application of Post-exercise Cold-Water Immersion to Enhance Performance Recovery and Adaptation: An Umbrella Review of 15 Published Systematic Reviews with Meta-analysis.

Effects of acute Capsaicin analogue intake on athletic performance: a three-level meta-analysis

Pancar Suyu Tüketiminin Erkek Voleybolcuların Aerobik ve Anaerobik Performansı Üzerine Etkisi

Comparison of Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT) and Running-based Anaerobic Sprint Test (RAST) in Combat Athletes: A Reliability and Validity Study

Multidimensional Monitoring of Recovery States, Biomarkers, Workload, and Performance in Elite Basketball: An Exploratory Longitudinal Field Study

EFEITOS DA SUPLEMENTAÇÃO DE CREATINA E BETA-ALANINA SOBRE O DESEMPENHO FÍSICO EM ATLETAS E INDIVÍDUOS TREINADOS

Yüzmede Patlayıcı Kuvvet ve Performans İlişkisi

Occupational Heat Stress Prevention Interventions: A Scoping Review of Evidence and Gaps

Disminución del rendimiento deportivo en triatleta asociado al desbalance energético

Kurashchilarda mushak toliqishidan so‘ng qayta tiklanishning fiziologik mexanizmlari va ilmiy asoslangan strategiyalari

Comparing high-intensity resistance training incorporating periodic eccentric-only exercise with blood flow restriction training in older men: physiological responses and exercise feasibility.

The effects of coenzyme Q10 supplementation on exercise-induced oxidative stress and related physiological outcomes in athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Their Impact on Exercise-Induced Muscle Soreness and Inflammatory Response – A Literature Review

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Curcumin as Non-Pharmacological Strategies for Modulating Post-Exercise Inflammation in Individuals with Autoimmune Diseases: A Scoping Review

This scoping review examined whether omega-3 fatty acids and curcumin could help reduce exercise-related inflammation in people with autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. While both supplements show some anti-inflammatory promise in theory, the review found limited direct evidence that either reliably reduces post-exercise inflammation in autoimmune populations, though omega-3 showed the strongest results in rheumatoid arthritis specifically.

Prehabilitation for Breast Reconstruction Surgery: A Practical and Evidence-based Guide.

Mechanistic interactions of diet, exercise, and pharmacotherapy in skeletal muscle metabolism: evidence and translational perspectives

This review examines how diet, exercise, and medications work together to control skeletal muscle metabolism through shared cellular pathways like AMPK, mTOR, and insulin signaling. The authors propose that these three interventions can interact in different ways—additively, synergistically, or antagonistically—depending on factors like age, disease state, training status, and baseline health, and they organize evidence around five key muscle regulatory domains including substrate use, mitochondrial health, protein turnover, inflammation, and regenerative capacity.

Sports participation and physical health outcomes: the mediating roles of educational attainment and health-related behaviors

Evaluation of a four-herb Chinese medicine formula at different concentrations on muscle damage and inflammation in a rat model of DOMS

Cluster-set rest <i>vs.</i> traditional during repeated sprint training: effects on creatine phosphokinase activity, sprint abilities and 100-m sprint performance.

Resistance training combined with creatine supplementation: a three-level meta-analysis of multidimensional outcomes from strength enhancement to body composition remodeling.

This meta-analysis of 63 studies examined whether adding creatine supplementation to resistance training improves strength and body composition compared to resistance training alone. Adding creatine produced meaningful gains in upper- and lower-body strength, increased lean mass, and slightly reduced body-fat percentage, though fat mass itself didn't change significantly.

Human Milk Oligosaccharides in Exercise Nutrition: Structure-Specific Evidence, Human Efficacy, and Translational Bottlenecks

This review examined whether human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs)—carbohydrates found in breast milk—could improve exercise performance and athletic outcomes in adults. While some HMOs showed biological activity and changed gut bacteria in studies, direct evidence of exercise benefits in humans was sparse and inconsistent, with no study demonstrating a complete chain from consuming HMOs to actual improvements in muscle function or performance.

Nutraceutical Periodization for eXercise (NPX): Matching Bioactives to Training Load, Recovery Demand, and Adaptation Windows

This review proposes a framework called Nutraceutical Periodization for eXercise (NPX) that suggests the effectiveness of supplements depends on when you use them relative to your training, recovery needs, and body state—not just on the supplement itself. The framework defines four functional windows (performance exploitation, adaptation-permissive signaling, restoration, and resilience) and suggests matching supplements to these phases, though most of these specific allocation strategies still need direct research testing.

Efficacy of Multi-Nutrient Supplementation on Improving Physical Endurance and Sports Performance of Physical Education Students, University of Mysore, India

Strength training intervention with creatine/whey protein supplementation vs placebo on frailty in older adults with cirrhosis (STRIVE): A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study tests whether combining strength training with creatine and whey protein supplements helps reduce frailty in older adults with cirrhosis compared to placebo. The study will enroll 200 patients in a 12-week program and measure outcomes like physical frailty, muscle mass, quality of life, and physical activity.

Identification and Validation of Candidate Biomarkers Co-expressed with Creatine Metabolism-Related Genes in Ischemic Stroke Based on Transcriptomics Data.

This study identified two genes (F12 and PLXDC2) that are elevated in ischemic stroke patients and connected to creatine metabolism, potentially serving as biomarkers to help diagnose stroke. The genes were validated in a small patient sample and showed promise in distinguishing stroke cases, though the findings need confirmation in larger studies.

Autocrine signaling may regulate exercise-induced interleukin-6 release from human skeletal muscle

Acute Salivary Biomarker, Cognitive, and Tennis Performance Responses to Tennis-Specific Exercise Versus HIIT: A Randomized Crossover Study.

Sodium Bicarbonate Supplementation Enhances Repeated High‐Intensity Interval Training Performance and Time Above 90% of V˙O2max in Well‐Trained Cyclists

This study examined how sodium bicarbonate supplementation affected well-trained cyclists during high-intensity interval training and sprint efforts. The researchers found that cyclists who took sodium bicarbonate produced more power output during both high-intensity intervals and repeated sprints, and spent more time working at very high oxygen uptake levels, compared to placebo.

TAURINE, BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINO ACIDS, AND BETA-ALANINE: AN EVALUATION OF THEIR EFFICACY AND APPLICATIONS IN SPORTS AND MEDICAL CONDITIONS. A REVIEW ARTICLE

Rethinking neurophysiology of delayed onset muscle soreness: updated concepts and mechanisms for mitigation across endurance, resistance, and plyometric exercise

This review examined how delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) develops across different exercise types, finding that it involves multiple interconnected systems including inflammation, nerve sensitivity, and proprioceptive changes rather than just muscle damage alone. Different exercise modalities activate distinct pathways—endurance causes cumulative inflammation, resistance training sensitizes pain receptors, and plyometrics disrupts balance control—and recovery interventions like compression, acupuncture, and foam rolling show varying effectiveness depending on the exercise type and individual response.

Association between adherence to Saudi healthy plate dietary guidelines and physical activity, muscular endurance, and body composition among adult gym users

This study examined 268 gym users in Saudi Arabia to see how closely they followed the Saudi Healthy Plate Dietary Guidelines and whether this adherence correlated with their physical activity levels, muscular endurance, and body composition. Greater adherence to these dietary guidelines was associated with less body fat, more muscle mass, higher physical activity levels, and better upper-body endurance.

Eating for performance: an evaluation of food consumption patterns and adherence to dietary guidelines in elite wheelchair basketball players

This study examined the eating and hydration habits of 66 elite wheelchair basketball players in Spain, comparing their diets against national nutritional guidelines and looking at differences between men and women and different functional classifications. The athletes generally fell short of recommendations for fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, and fish, while most didn't follow any structured diet, and hydration practices were particularly poor—especially among women and players with greater functional limitations.

UCI Sports Nutrition Project: Position Statement on Nutrition for Cycling.

The UCI Sports Nutrition Project synthesized expertise from 54 researchers to identify key nutritional requirements for elite cyclists and develop recommendations tailored to cycling's diverse disciplines and physiological demands. The project produced 14 topic-specific reviews covering 10 themes including performance preparation, in-competition fueling, recovery, energy availability, physique management, illness prevention, supplements, and age- and sex-specific considerations.

Acute Effects of 2S-Hesperidin Supplementation on Performance and External Load in Female Basketball Players.

Urinary Metabolic Profiles Before and After the Winter Training Season in Female Soccer Players.

Creatine supplementation and respiratory muscle function in health and disease: translational insights from human to mouse.

This study tested whether creatine supplementation combined with inspiratory muscle training could strengthen breathing muscles in healthy people and improve diaphragm function in heart failure. In healthy men doing breathing exercises, those taking creatine had a 33% increase in inspiratory muscle strength compared to 18% without it, and in mice with heart failure, creatine improved diaphragm muscle performance.

Four months of DHA and whey protein supplementation in semi-professional female soccer players: a prospective non-randomized controlled study of omega-3 status, hematological outcomes, and physical performance

This study examined whether 4 months of DHA and whey protein supplementation could improve oxygen transport, physical performance, and menstrual health in female soccer players. DHA supplementation successfully increased blood omega-3 levels and showed an association with better aerobic capacity, though it did not significantly improve sprint, jump, or overall performance metrics.

The Effects of Different Dietary and Glycogen-Loaded Two-a-Day Training Approaches on Muscle Damage and Inflammatory Markers for Enhancing Metabolic Efficiency

Could creatine supplementation combined with physical rehabilitation accelerate return to play in athletes with patellar tendinopathy?

This study examined whether creatine supplementation combined with physical rehabilitation could improve recovery in athletes with patellar tendinopathy. Both the creatine and placebo groups improved significantly in pain, tendon thickness, and leg strength over 8 weeks, but the creatine group showed faster pain reduction at the 4-week mark and better jumping performance improvements.

Multimodality imaging localization of a giant functional parathyroid adenoma in a young fitness trainer with delayed recognition of hypercalcemia: A case report.

A 36-year-old fitness trainer developed a giant parathyroid adenoma that was initially mistaken for training-related fatigue and weakness because his symptoms overlapped with normal workout recovery. Advanced imaging (ultrasound, PET-CT, and scintigraphy) successfully located the tumor before surgery, which removed it and normalized his calcium levels without complications.

Strength and resistance training induced alterations in calcium phosphorus homeostasis and parathyroid hormone among elite under-23 footballers: A quasi-experimental controlled trial

Feasibility and efficacy of personalized cardiorespiratory and strength exercise in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: a pilot study

This study tested whether personalized home-based exercise—combining cycling and strength training—was safe and effective for boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a genetic disease causing progressive muscle weakness. All six participants completed six months of training with high adherence and no adverse events, showing improvements in aerobic fitness, muscle size, and strength compared to untreated controls, with stable markers of muscle damage.

Relationships Between Omega-3 Index and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Factors in Collegiate Athletes

Acute Effects of Honey-Based Carbohydrate Beverage on Intermittent Exercise Performance and Heart Rate Recovery in Recreational Athletes

Associations between time-series features of training-load monitoring indicators and relative composite performance in elite speed climbers: a GEE and quantile regression study

Advances in the Protective Effects and Mechanisms of β‐Aminoisobutyric Acid in Maintaining Multi‐Organ Homeostasis

BAIBA is a molecule released by muscles during exercise that has protective effects across multiple organs including liver, heart, bone, and adipose tissue. Research shows that BAIBA enhances fat burning, protects muscle from atrophy, improves bone health, and improves heart function in animal studies, while human studies indicate that higher circulating BAIBA levels are associated with better cardiometabolic health markers.

Sports Nephrology: Managing Hypertension, Acute Kidney Injury, and Cardiovascular Risk in a Collegiate Football Player.

This case study describes a college football player with resistant high blood pressure, acute kidney injury, and cardiovascular risk factors, highlighting how standard medical guidelines may not adequately address the unique challenges athletes face due to fluid shifts, dietary trends, and performance demands. The authors argue that a specialized field of sports nephrology—working across sports medicine, cardiology, nutrition, and athletic training—is needed to better manage kidney and heart health in athletes while supporting their performance goals.

Creatine formulations and repeated sprint training: effects on physical and physiological adaptations in soccer players during the short-term preparation phase.

This study compared four groups of college soccer players—three taking different types of creatine supplements and one taking placebo—over a 4-week training program with repeated sprint drills, measuring their improvements in jumping, sprinting, and power output. All supplement groups improved more than placebo, with creatine ethyl ester and creatine hydrochloride forms showing the best gains in vertical jump, sprint speed, running agility, and peak power output.

Effects of Acute Caffeine Supplementation on Performance and Physiological Responses in CrossFit: A Systematic Review and Three-Level Meta-Analysis.

The Association Between Muscle Strength, Thigh Circumference, and Serving Efficiency in Elite Male Volleyball Players: A Prospective Observational Longitudinal Study

Multimodal Abdominal Contouring Combining Injectable Lipolysis, Ultrasonic Cavitation, and Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation: A Retrospective Case Series.

Creatine Use Among Women Across Reported Duration-of-Use Groups: A Platform-Based Cross-Sectional Survey of Supplementation Behaviors, Motivations, Knowledge, and Experiences.

Fast-Acting Caffeine Strategy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Ergogenic Effects of Caffeine Chewing Gum on Physical Performance.

This meta-analysis of 25 studies found that caffeine gum produces a statistically significant but trivial improvement in physical performance, with the largest benefits seen in aerobic endurance tasks. The benefits were most consistent for trained individuals, those with low-to-moderate habitual caffeine intake, and when chewing for 10 minutes before exercise.

Ramadan Intermittent Fasting and Injury Epidemiology in Mid and Late Adolescent Elite Male Football Players: A Prospective Cohort Study of Incidence, Burden, Training Load, and Psychophysiological Well‐Being

This study tracked 101 elite teenage male football players across 13 weeks to see how Ramadan fasting affected their injury rates, training stress, and recovery. During Ramadan, injury incidence nearly doubled and injury burden more than doubled, while perceived training load and fatigue increased significantly and protein intake dropped.

Potential Links Between Physiological and Perceptual Strain in High Heat Stress

This study examined whether how hard people *feel* they're working during exercise in heat correlates with measured physiological strain (heart rate and core temperature changes). The researchers found very strong correlations between perceived strain and physiological strain measures, and that perceived strain was good at identifying when someone was experiencing high physiological strain, but the two methods weren't interchangeable enough to use them as direct substitutes for each other.

A study on the differences in recovery effects of different types of nutritional supplements on competitive performance of esports athletes under mental fatigue

This study tested whether five different supplements (caffeine, nitrate, Ginkgo biloba, catechins, or placebo) could help esports athletes recover their performance after mental fatigue induced by a challenging task. All four active supplements and placebo improved shooting accuracy and some aspects of shooting stability, but none showed benefits beyond placebo for spatial awareness or multitasking, suggesting most recovery came from rest rather than the supplements themselves.

Individual and Combined Effects of Acute Caffeine and Sodium Bicarbonate Supplementation on Exercise Performance and Metabolic Responses: A Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis of Co-Supplementation Trials.

Microbiome-based nutrition and the gut-muscle axis: emerging perspectives for athletic performance and recovery.

Development and validation of an interpretable machine-learning model for predicting treatment failure in severe trauma patients.

Common questions and misconceptions of sodium bicarbonate as an ergogenic aid: what does the science really show?

Effects of creatine supplementation on exercise performance, physiological outcomes, and body composition in females engaged in exercise or training: a systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis.

Valorisation of Prosciutto di Parma PDO by-products for the development of protein-rich snacks

Development and validation of an explainable machine learning model for differentiating diabetic nephropathy from diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Integrative Nutritional Strategies for Performance, Recovery, and Weight Management in Taekwondo

Athlete Food Skills Interventions Are Not Conceptually Aligned with Culinary Nutrition: A Scoping Review of the Missing Ingredient in Sports Nutrition.

Multi‑omics approaches to decipher the molecular mechanisms of exercise‑mediated bone protection: From mechanistic insights to personalized exercise prescription (Review)

Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Combined with Lycopene on Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Collegiate Badminton Players After High-Intensity Training

Effects of Resistance Training Sets on Cognition and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Cognitively Impaired Individuals: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

A biopsychosocial analysis of supplement purchasing behavior in recreational fitness centers: objective BMI, motivational factors, and sex-specific effects.

Similar Muscle Recovery but Greater Soreness in Active Vegans on Low‐Protein Diets Compared to High‐Protein Omnivores Following Exercise‐Induced Damage

Quality Improvement Project to Assess the Safety of Dietary Supplements Sold on Two United States Army Installations, 2024.

Common Supplements in Plant-Based Nutrition: Dosing, Formulations, and Safety.

Post-exercise rehydration: a randomized cross-over trial comparing a 100% fruit juice, a glucose-based sports drink, and water

Acute Exertional Lateral Compartment Syndrome: A Diagnostic Challenge Presenting With Peroneal Nerve Palsy and Myoglobin-Mediated Acute Kidney Injury-A Case Report.

Overview of research and practice progress in body composition measurement techniques

Enacting the hybrid code: specialist and generalist teacher dynamics within Italy’s primary physical education reform

Post-exercise consumption of milk or Greek yogurt may support the anti-inflammatory environment following high-intensity exercise

Risk factors for the occurrence of cramps during the Ironman Triathlon: a longitudinal study

Acute effects of squat and core exercises using elastic bands on post-activation performance enhancement in tennis players: control, randomized, crossover trials

Effects of resistance training combined with creatine supplementation on muscle strength, physical function, and muscle mass in older adults: a systematic review and three-level meta-analysis.

Effect of <i>Lactiplantibacillus plantarum</i> GKK1 Supplementation on Exercise-Induced Fatigue, Muscle Damage, and Recovery in Healthy Men: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Beyond Ergogenic Effects: Limited Evidence on Caffeine-Related Problematic Use, Dependence, and Withdrawal in Athletic Populations-A Structured Narrative Review.

Rapid Weight Loss in Combat Sports: Health Risks, Performance Trade-Offs, and Evidence-Based Weight Management — A Scoping Review

This scoping review mapped the research on rapid weight loss ("weight cutting") in combat sports like boxing, MMA, wrestling and judo. It found the practice is very common and typically uses dehydration, energy restriction and heat exposure, with risks including electrolyte imbalance, kidney injury, hormonal disruption, poor sleep, mood changes and disordered eating; evidence that regaining weight fast after weigh-in improves competitive success was inconclusive.

Reducing the Risk of Unintentional Doping From Supplements: A Practical Guide for Athletes and Support Teams.

Does Lifelong Sports Participation Protect Against Sarcopenia? Prevalence, Diagnostic Criteria, and Sport-Specific Muscle Outcomes in Masters and Former Elite Athletes: A Scoping Review

This scoping review gathered studies on masters athletes and former elite athletes aged 40+ to see how lifelong sport affects sarcopenia (age-related loss of muscle mass and strength). Athletes had lower rates of confirmed sarcopenia than the general older population, with strength and sprint athletes showing more lean mass, strength, explosive force, and type II fibre preservation than endurance athletes; endurance training brought low body fat and good aerobic and oxidative muscle qualities but didn't prevent lower muscle mass, motor-unit loss, or power decline, and continuing to train mattered more than past elite status.

Hormonal Contraception and Its Effects on Sports Performance and Injury Risk in Female Athletes: A Clinical Review

This narrative review pulled together studies from 2000-2024 on how hormonal contraception affects female athletes' endurance, strength, ACL injury risk, and bone health. It reports that combined oral contraceptives may blunt maximal strength gains by 40-60% and reduce the erythropoietin response by around 20%, that VO2max evidence is mixed, that ACL risk data are contradictory, and that the injectable contraceptive depot medroxyprogesterone acetate is linked to meaningful bone mineral density loss.

Exercise and Fat: A Primer

This narrative review summarizes what's known about body fat and exercise, covering the different types of fat cells (white, brown, beige), how fat is burned as fuel during exercise, and how fat tissue changes with training. It notes that fat is the main fuel source at moderate exercise intensities and that both endurance and resistance training prompt fat and muscle tissue to release signaling molecules (exerkines) that drive adaptations and improve metabolic health.

The effect of sorbet containing the Australian native plant Davidson plum (<i>Davidsonia jerseyana</i>) on muscle recovery following a high-intensity interval training session in long-distance runners - A protocol for a double-blind parallel trial.

This is a study protocol (a plan, not results) for a double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial testing whether eating a strawberry sorbet made with Davidson plum powder for about 10 days improves muscle recovery in trained long-distance runners after a high-intensity interval session. Recovery will be tracked with soreness ratings, jump performance on force plates, sit-and-reach flexibility, and blood creatine kinase, but no findings are reported yet.

The relationship between lower extremity post-activation performance enhancement and body morphology, physiological development, and kinetics in adolescent athletes: a key factor analysis

Researchers tested 115 adolescent athletes (ages 11-16) to see who benefits most from post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) — the temporary jump boost after heavy squats (3x3 at 85% of 1RM). Most athletes (58%) peaked 8-10 minutes after the squats, and the size of the boost was best predicted by rate of force development and biological maturity, which along with 1RM explained about 69% of the variation.

Edukasi Terpadu Gizi, Pemulihan, dan Kesehatan Mental bagi Atlet Remaja Putri

This community outreach project gave 27 teenage female athletes an interactive education session plus an illustrated pocket booklet covering sports nutrition, iron/anemia, RED-S (low energy availability), hydration, meal timing, recovery, menstrual health, body image, and early signs of eating disorders. Knowledge scores rose sharply: the share of athletes rated 'good' went from 37% to 85%, and average correct answers rose from 75% to 93% (a statistically significant improvement).

Synergistic effects of synbiotic, protein supplementation, and resistance training on inflammation, oxidative stress, and muscle strength in older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a RCT triple-blinded study.

This trial had 40 older men (65+) with type 2 diabetes do resistance training while taking either nothing extra, protein supplements, or protein plus a synbiotic (probiotic/prebiotic blend). All groups improved physical performance and redox balance, but the protein-only group showed the biggest gains in muscle strength, insulin resistance, and some oxidative stress markers, and adding the synbiotic gave no extra benefit.

The effect of mental training on muscle damage, stress, and immune response biomarkers in tennis athletes.

Coffee and Physical Performance: What Is Driven by Caffeine and What Is Not.

Development of a nomogram to predict acute liver injury in children with <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i> pneumonia.

Skeletal muscle mitochondrial-methylation-neurotransmitter crosstalk: a novel synergistic model of betaine, tyrosine, and Cordyceps for exercise performance in older adults, individuals with metabolic disorders, and healthy populations.

Combined L-carnosine and L-tyrosine supplementation as an ergogenic strategy for physical and cognitive performance under fatigue in professional football players

In a randomized, double-blind crossover trial, 24 professional male footballers took L-carnosine, L-tyrosine, both together, or a placebo before a fatiguing Wingate protocol, then did sprints, agility, passing and Stroop cognitive tests. Carnosine mainly boosted anaerobic power and agility, tyrosine mainly boosted cognition, and the combination worked best (~17% higher peak power, 7-13% faster sprint/agility times, ~15% faster incongruent Stroop reaction time) with lower perceived exertion but no change in blood lactate.

Does Motivational Interviewing Nutrition Counseling Significantly Improve Body Composition in Division I Football Players?

Researchers gave 22 Division I college football players six 30-minute group nutrition counseling sessions using motivational interviewing during off-season training, measuring body composition by DXA before and after. Body weight stayed about the same, but fat-free mass rose significantly (about 80 to 88 kg), while fat mass (31 to 23 kg) and body fat percentage (25.5% to 18.9%) dropped significantly; only 58% attended four or more sessions.

Urinary Metabolic Profiles Before and After the Winter Training Season in Female Soccer Players

Researchers used urine samples and NMR-based metabolomics to track chemical markers in female soccer players before an intensive winter training season, one day after it ended, and again seven days later. Thirteen metabolites shifted significantly, with seven still altered a day after training (most dropping, taurine rising); levels drifted back toward baseline by day 7 but hadn't fully normalized, suggesting recovery takes longer than a week.

Hábitos alimentarios y perfil de composición corporal en jugadores chilenos de fútbol playa

Researchers measured body composition and eating habits in 20 male Chilean beach soccer players during national team training. The players averaged about 49.6% muscle mass and 23.2% fat mass — more body fat and less muscle than previously reported for professional footballers — and ate less dairy, fruit, vegetables and whole grains than recommended while frequently consuming sugary drinks and fried foods.

Effects of Brussels Chicory and Concurrent Exercise Training on HDL Function and Subclass Profiles in Overweight College Students: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Clinical Limitations of Oral Contraceptives in the Management of Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea in Female Athletes

This review examined whether birth control pills are a good way to protect bone health in female athletes who have lost their periods due to low energy availability (functional hypothalamic amenorrhea). It reports that the pill creates a withdrawal bleed without actually restoring normal hormonal function, which can hide an ongoing energy deficit, and that oral estrogen may lower IGF-1 and blunt bone benefits, whereas transdermal (patch) estradiol avoids liver first-pass metabolism and preserves IGF-1.

The association between a body shape index and cardiorespiratory fitness among adolescents in rural China: a sex-specific cross-sectional study

Researchers measured height, weight, waist circumference and 20-metre shuttle run performance in nearly 19,000 rural Chinese adolescents aged 6-17 to see how body shape (a body shape index, ABSI, which combines waist size with height and weight) relates to cardiorespiratory fitness. They found an inverted U-shaped relationship: shuttle run performance peaked at a middle ABSI value for each age group and was lower at both lower and higher values.

Exercise alone or combined with functional foods in aging and age-related diseases: targeting DNA damage, repair pathways, and genome integrity

This is a review paper that pulls together existing molecular, animal, and human research on how regular exercise and "functional foods" (those rich in polyphenols, omega-3s, and flavonoids) affect DNA damage, DNA repair, oxidative stress, and genome integrity as we age. It focuses especially on the brain and whether combining exercise with these nutrients adds anything beyond either one alone, and the authors conclude such lifestyle approaches show promise while noting that translational human evidence is still limited.

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.

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.

Evaluación de carbohidratos sobre la hipertrofia muscular inducida por el entrenamiento de fuerza: una revisión narrativa de la evidencia científica

This narrative review pooled 15 studies to ask whether eating carbohydrates directly drives muscle growth from lifting weights. It concluded that when protein and total calories are adequate, extra carbs don't independently boost muscle protein synthesis or mass, since that process depends mainly on essential amino acids like leucine; instead, carbs help indirectly by refilling glycogen, sustaining energy and reducing fatigue so you can train harder and longer. The authors note strength athletes are typically advised 3-7 g of carbohydrate per kg of bodyweight daily depending on training volume.

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.

Lean mass development trajectories in children and adolescents and their associations with musculoskeletal health in emerging adulthood

Researchers tracked 323 people from age 8 to 23, sorting them into low, average, or high lean (muscle) mass trajectories based on repeated body scans, then measured their bone and muscle health at age 23. Those who consistently carried more limb lean mass ended up with denser bones (up to 17% higher), stronger tibia and radius bones (22–45%), and larger muscle area (+32%), while those on a low trajectory had 8–11% lower bone density and markedly weaker shin bones.

Prospective associations of tea consumption with skeletal muscle mass and strength: Insights from the gut microbiome and proteomics

Researchers followed about 3,400 adults for roughly 12 years, tracking how often they drank tea (plus blood markers of tea compounds called flavan-3-ols) alongside repeated scans of muscle mass and grip strength tests. People who drank tea more often, and those with higher blood flavan-3-ols, tended to have more limb muscle mass and stronger grip (though no difference in walking speed), and the study found related differences in gut bacteria, fecal metabolites, and blood proteins that might partly explain the link.

Visualization of Physical Education Classroom Interaction Structure and Teaching Improvement Path Based on Social Network Analysis

Researchers video-recorded an 8-hour middle school basketball unit and mapped 1,027 interactions between one teacher and 40 students using social network analysis. They found a sparse, teacher-centered network where a few high-skill students got most of the attention, students clustered into groups by skill level and gender, and peripheral students received significantly fewer interaction opportunities.

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.

Research on the Construction and Campus Promotion of Prevention-Oriented Intervention Model for Physical Fitness Rehabilitation of College Students—Based on the Perspective of Improving Physical Health

Researchers built a preventive fitness program for university students and tested it on 800 students who had failed their school's physical fitness test, running a 16-week multi-part intervention. Afterwards, lung capacity scores rose 12.3%, sit-and-reach flexibility improved 18.7%, and the fitness test pass rate climbed from 61.5% to 84.2%.

Improvement of Sports Training Efficiency Driven by Artificial Intelligence Practice of Monitoring and Dynamic Adjustment of Training Load through Multimodal Physiological Data Fusion

This paper proposes an AI system that combines several types of physiological sensor data (rather than a single metric like heart rate) to estimate an athlete's training load in real time and automatically adjust the training plan. The authors report that their experiments showed more accurate load assessment, better performance, faster recovery, and fewer injuries, though the abstract gives no specific numbers, athlete details, or comparison conditions.

The Effect of Caffeine Mouth Rinsing on Shooting Performance in Bocce Volo Players: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study

Twenty-four professional male bocce volo players each completed shooting tests under three conditions in random order: swishing a caffeine solution in the mouth, a placebo rinse, and no rinse. Shooting accuracy (both points and accuracy percentage) was significantly higher with the caffeine mouth rinse than with placebo or no rinse.

Endocrine markers of energy deficiency and within-day energy balance metrics in elite athletes

Researchers assessed 43 Swedish national-team athletes for Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) using body composition scans, resting metabolic rate, blood markers, questionnaires and 4-day food/energy tracking. Over half (53.5%) were classified with REDs — more often women — and these athletes had higher cortisol, lower resting metabolic rate ratio, lower energy intake and availability, and spent more time in energy deficit during the day; similar patterns showed up in half the 'control' athletes too, suggesting a continuum rather than clear-cut categories.

<b>MAGNÉSIO E DESEMPENHO FÍSICO EM ATLETAS: UMA REVISÃO INTEGRATIVA</b>

This integrative review pooled 6 studies (from 175 initially found in PubMed, BVS and Cochrane) on whether magnesium intake or supplementation improves athletes' health and physical performance. It found that while supplementation reliably raises magnesium levels in the body, performance benefits were inconsistent in people who weren't already deficient "" gains seemed to come from correcting a nutritional shortfall rather than boosting performance directly.

Profesyonel Korumalı Futbol Oyuncularının İzometrik Kol Kuvvetleri ile Görsel Motor Reaksiyon Süreleri Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi

Researchers tested 11 professional American football players, measuring isometric arm strength (with an ActiveForce2 dynamometer) and visual-motor reaction times (with Fitlight units) for both the right and left hands on separate days. They then used correlation analysis to see whether arm strength related to reaction speed; the abstract text is cut off and only shows very strong correlations among the arm strength measures themselves, so no conclusion about strength versus reaction time is reported.

Estimation of resting metabolic rate in professional soccer players: A cross-sectional study comparing traditional predictive equations and a preliminary machine learning model against indirect calorimetry

Researchers measured resting metabolic rate (calories burned at rest) in 40 male professional soccer players using indirect calorimetry, the gold-standard lab method, and compared it with twelve common prediction equations plus an experimental machine learning model. All twelve equations agreed poorly with the lab measurement and overestimated calorie needs by roughly 8% to 36%, while the machine learning model had somewhat smaller errors but still explained little of the variation between players.

Correlates of muscle strengthening exercise in adolescents: A machine learning based analysis

Researchers used a machine-learning model on survey data from over 20,000 U.S. high school students to find out which factors predict doing muscle-strengthening exercise at least 3 days a week. About 62% met the guideline, and the strongest predictors were overall moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, being male, and diet quality (e.g., fruit intake), while poorer mental health was linked to lower adherence.

Similar Muscle Recovery but Greater Soreness in Active Vegans on Low-Protein Diets Compared to High-Protein Omnivores Following Exercise-Induced Damage.

Researchers put 7 physically active vegans and 7 omnivores through a hard lower-body squat and leg press session to failure, then tracked muscle damage markers (CK, LDH), soreness, jump performance and range of motion for 72 hours. The vegans ate far less protein (0.98 vs 2.14 g/kg) and fewer essential/branched-chain amino acids; both groups showed similar blood markers and functional recovery, but vegans reported markedly more muscle soreness at 24 and 72 hours.

Possible relationship between genetic polymorphisms and the risk of exercise addiction among Turkish elite athletes: an exploratory pilot study

Researchers scanned the whole genome of 168 Turkish elite athletes to see whether any genetic variants were linked to exercise addiction, measured with the Exercise Addiction Inventory. No variant reached genome-wide statistical significance, though 11 SNPs showed weaker 'suggestive' associations, including one previously tied to alcohol dependence; the authors stress this is preliminary and unreplicated.

Effects of creatine supplementation with and without exercise and diet intervention on body composition, cognitive function, and markers of health in middle-aged and older adults.

Researchers gave 64 sedentary adults aged 45-65 either 10 g/day of creatine monohydrate or a placebo for 12 weeks, with some also doing an exercise and weight-loss diet program. Creatine increased lean tissue mass, strength and muscular endurance both with and without training, improved some blood markers (lipids, HbA1c) and some memory/cognition scores, and produced a greater drop in body fat percentage when combined with exercise and dieting; it was well tolerated, though the cognitive and biomarker results were exploratory.

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.

Effects of physical activity distribution patterns on basketball skill acquisition and physical exercise self-efficacy among Chinese male university students: a randomised controlled trial

Researchers randomly split 105 male university students (18-25) into two 8-week basketball training programs with identical total volume and intensity, differing only in whether practice was crammed (massed) or spread out regularly, then followed up two months later. The spread-out schedule produced better gains in shooting and passing skills and in exercise self-efficacy, with some benefits persisting at follow-up, while dribbling improved in both groups with no significant difference between them.

Biological maturation may contribute to difference in neutrophil mobilization and IL-8 responses following repeated sprint exercise in athletes: a quasi-experimental study

Researchers had 30 trained athletes — adolescents grouped by maturity stage (before or around their growth spurt) plus adults — perform a standard repeated-sprint workout, then tracked immune markers in their blood (neutrophil counts and shape, plus the inflammatory signal IL-8) at rest and during recovery. Sprinting temporarily raised neutrophils and IL-8 in everyone, but adults and athletes around their growth spurt showed larger and/or longer-lasting immune responses than less mature adolescents, and these differences held even after accounting for age.

Phase angle during paediatric cancer treatment: Associations with complications and micronutrients in a multicentre international prospective cohort study

Researchers tracked phase angle (a body-composition measure from bioelectrical impedance that reflects cell health and fat-free mass) in 115 children and young people undergoing cancer treatment in Scotland and New Zealand. Phase angle dropped over the first 3-6 months of treatment and recovered by 12 months; lower values were linked to a higher burden of treatment complications and to lower albumin, zinc, and selenium, while standard weight-based nutrition categories showed no association.

Sleep Loss and Post-Exercise Muscle Recovery Hormonal, Inflammatory, Metabolic and Circadian Mechanisms with Practical Implications for Athletes

This narrative review gathered existing research on how not getting enough sleep affects muscle recovery after exercise. The authors report that sleep loss appears to disrupt growth hormone/IGF-1 signaling, raise cortisol, alter testosterone, increase inflammation, lower muscle protein synthesis, impair mitochondrial function and insulin sensitivity, and disturb muscle circadian rhythms — all of which may blunt repair and training adaptation.

Dose-structure-population interactions of protein supplementation combined with resistance training on body composition: a Bayesian network meta-analysis with dose-response modeling.

This review pooled 36 randomized trials (1,552 people) comparing different protein supplements against placebo during at least 6 weeks of supervised resistance training. Whey ranked best for lean body mass (+1.24 kg vs placebo), followed by milk and casein, with benefits appearing to plateau around 30-35 g/day; plant proteins showed smaller effects, though that evidence was rated low certainty.

Starting Point Matters: Baseline Protein Intake as a Moderator of the Protein-Fat-Free Mass Relationship in Energy-Restricted Athletes.

This opinion paper argues that studies on how much protein preserves muscle during dieting usually only look at the protein dose prescribed, ignoring how much protein people were already eating beforehand. The authors present exploratory evidence that people who already eat a lot of protein may see diminishing returns in muscle preservation from eating even more, and they stress measuring baseline intake accurately after a dietary adaptation period.

National Athletic Trainers' Association Position Statement: Evaluation of Dietary Supplements for Athlete Safety and Performance.

This is an official position statement from the National Athletic Trainers' Association giving athletic trainers guidance on how to evaluate dietary supplements for safety, legality, and effectiveness. It notes that supplement quality is poorly regulated worldwide even though many active people take multiple products, and it recommends a "food-first but not always food-only" approach plus referral to a sports dietitian when needed.

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.

Current Evidence and Practical Considerations for Adaptogen Use in Exercise Recovery, Training Adaptation, and Exercise Performance in Athletes: A Narrative Review.

This narrative review gathered existing research on "adaptogen" supplements — ashwagandha, ginseng (Panax), Rhodiola rosea, and Cordyceps — and their potential effects on recovery, training adaptation, and performance in trained athletes. The authors report that a small number of varied studies hint at some benefits, with ashwagandha having the most consistent evidence, while the other three remain preliminary; overall the evidence is too thin and inconsistent to set dosing or efficacy recommendations, and female athletes are underrepresented.

Effects of Beetroot-Derived Nitrate Supplementation in Highly Trained and Elite Athletes: A Scoping Review of Randomized Controlled Trials on Performance, Recovery, and Physiological Outcomes.

This scoping review pooled 31 randomized controlled trials testing beetroot juice (a nitrate source) in highly trained and elite athletes, with doses of roughly 4-19.5 mmol nitrate per day taken from a single dose up to 15 days. Benefits showed up most often for cycling time trials, Yo-Yo intermittent recovery tests, anaerobic power, neuromuscular performance, exercise tolerance and recovery, while results for endurance performance, sport skills, oxygen use and perceived effort were inconsistent even though blood nitrate levels clearly rose.

Effects of 8-week chokeberry extract supplementation on nitric oxide metabolites, immune markers, and oxidative stress in elite rowers: a randomized controlled trial

Fifteen elite male rowers took either chokeberry extract (600 mg/day) or a placebo for 8 weeks and completed 2000-m rowing tests before and after, with blood sampled before, right after, and 24 hours after exercise. The chokeberry group showed higher nitric oxide markers (nitrite, nitrate, total NOx) around exercise and some shifts in white blood cell subsets, but no differences in antioxidant capacity, oxidative damage (TBARS), IL-2, IL-10, or TNF-alpha.

Digital health solutions for chronic disease physical activity management: wearable devices, artificial intelligence, and public health implementation

This review pulled together research on using wearable trackers and AI to boost physical activity in people with chronic conditions like diabetes, obesity, heart disease, lung disease, cancer survivorship, and older adults with multiple conditions. It found the strongest and most consistent benefits for behavior — more steps, more overall activity, better self-monitoring, and sometimes less sitting — while effects on function and clinical markers were mixed, and evidence on long-term health outcomes, cost, and AI specifically was still weak or early-stage.

Peculiarities of adaptation of the endocrine system of athletes to various types of physical exercises

This is a literature review that gathered existing research on how three hormones \and vitamin D markers ",- cortisol, testosterone, and vitamin 25(OH)D - behave in athletes both at rest and after training, sorted by the sport's dominant energy system. The authors report that hormonal adaptation appears specific to the type of exercise and energy system used, and they argue that standardized hormone-monitoring protocols and more research are still needed.

Reprogramming brain bioenergetics in depression: an integrative framework linking creatine, branched-chain amino acids, and exercise to neuroplasticity, cognitive function, and depression-related outcomes.

This is a review article that pulls together existing research on how creatine supplementation, branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), and regular exercise might each support brain energy metabolism, neuroplasticity, and mood in people with depression. The authors propose that creatine helps maintain neuronal energy supply, BCAAs may indirectly help by reducing central fatigue and improving exercise tolerance and adherence, and exercise drives neuroplasticity and hippocampal neurogenesis — but this is a conceptual framework, not new experimental data.

Effects of Whey Protein Supplementation on Sarcopenia and Frailty in Older Adults – A Narrative Review

This narrative review gathered existing research on whey protein supplements in older adults with sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) or frailty. It reports that whey-containing interventions may help increase muscle mass, especially alongside resistance training or other anabolic nutrients, while effects on strength and physical function were less consistent and depended on factors like exercise, dose, duration, and baseline nutrition.

Acute Effects and Safety of Caffeine Ingestion in Adolescent Athletes: A Systematic Review and Three-Level Meta-Analysis.

Researchers pooled 35 placebo-controlled studies (about 726 young athletes aged 10-19) to see whether a single dose of caffeine improves performance and whether it causes side effects. Caffeine gave a small average boost to general physical performance (Hedges' g = 0.33), but showed no significant benefit for sport-specific performance, perceived effort, or physiological measures; no serious adverse events were reported, though side-effect tracking was inconsistent.

Potential Health Risks Associated with Sports Supplementation Use in Athletes.

This review examines the downside of sports supplements rather than their performance benefits, focusing on how misuse or excessive intake may affect athletes' hormonal, heart and circulatory, and digestive systems. The authors note that inappropriate supplement use is common and can hurt performance, harm health, and raise the risk of failing a doping test, though the health risks remain poorly characterized in research.

Caffeine Expectancy Does Not Affect Interval Running Performance, Physiological Responses, or Running Kinematics in Trained Runners: A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial.

Fourteen moderately trained runners did 5 × 1000 m interval sessions twice: once after taking a placebo pill they were told contained caffeine, and once with no pill. Believing they had taken caffeine did not change total session time, pacing, heart rate, perceived exertion, or running form, though runners felt more 'active' and reported more caffeine-like side effects such as extra urination and disturbed sleep.

A Tripartite Framework of Conflict-Induced Stress, Acoustic Hypervigilance, and Ramadan Observance as Convergent Determinants of Circadian Decoherence in Athletes

This is a review paper (not a new experiment) proposing a framework for how three stressors irumen-conflict-related chronic stress, being jolted awake by missile sirens and emergency alerts, and Ramadan fasting irumen-can each disrupt sleep, cortisol rhythms, and recovery in athletes. The authors argue these pressures may compound when they overlap, distinguish siren-driven nighttime hypervigilance from ordinary screen-related sleep loss, and suggest cortisol markers plus countermeasures like noise management, adjusted meal timing, napping, and resilience training.

Acute kidney injury induced by exertional rhabdomyolysis in military personnel.

Researchers tracked 19 Brazilian Marine Corps recruits through an extremely demanding amphibious command course that combined heavy physical exertion with food and fluid restriction in a hot, mountainous setting, measuring blood and urine markers of muscle and kidney damage. All 19 developed exertional rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown), and nine developed acute kidney injury, all of the dehydration-related 'pre-renal' type; creatine kinase spiked after exertion and returned near baseline within about seven days.

Perceived Impacts of Health Care System Navigation on Health and Well-Being Among Patients With Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Qualitative Study

Researchers interviewed 73 adults in Alberta, Canada who were getting care for knee, low back, or shoulder problems, asking how navigating the health care system affected them. Most described extra harm beyond their original injury \u2014 worsening physical health, mental health struggles, and shrinking social lives \u2014 which they blamed on care delays, conflicting advice, fragmented care, and cost barriers.

Building better relationships in physical education (PE): a theory-informed, multi-method pilot study on social competence promotion

Researchers ran a six-week PE program with 79 students aged 12 pardon Researchers ran a six-week PE program with 79 students aged 12-14 to see whether structured lessons could build three sides of social competence: understanding (perceptive-cognitive), feeling/motivation (emotional-motivational), and actual behavior. Knowledge-focused teaching was linked to gains in the understanding side and modest reductions in ignoring others and anti-social behavior, while emotional-motivational aspects showed no clear change; the authors call the effects small and preliminary.

Impact of shadow drill training on reaction time: A comparative experimental research

Researchers split 30 badminton players (18-22 years old) into three groups: coach-directed shadow drills, self-directed "move as you decide" shadow drills, and a control group doing normal practice, then measured reaction time with the Vienna Test System. Only the coach-directed shadow drill group significantly improved their reaction time, while the control group actually got slower, suggesting externally cued drills beat self-paced ones for reaction speed.

Unilateral Numbers Need Context: Reference Values for Single-Leg CMJ Performance Relative to Bilateral CMJ Capacity

Researchers measured both two-legged and single-leg countermovement jumps in 348 athletes on force plates, then expressed the single-leg results as a percentage of the two-legged jump to create reference benchmarks. Single-leg jump height was only about 45% of the bilateral jump and reactive strength index about 39%, while braking and propulsive forces were retained at roughly 75-76%, and single-leg jumps took longer to execute.

Multistrain Probiotic Supplementation Combined with a Standardized Diet Did Not Significantly Affect Exercise Performance or Inflammatory Responses in Male Endurance Runners: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Researchers gave 27 trained male distance runners either a multistrain probiotic or a placebo for four weeks while everyone ate the same standardized, calorie-matched meal-box diet, then tested aerobic capacity (VO2peak), a 30-second Wingate sprint, and blood markers of inflammation and muscle damage. The probiotic produced no significant benefit over placebo for aerobic or anaerobic performance, lactate, creatine kinase, or IL-6 and TNF-\u03b1 responses, though exercise itself reliably raised those markers in both groups.

TruBlk™ Shilajit Resin Supplementation Improves Muscle Strength, Endurance, and Exercise Recovery in Males Undertaking Resistance Training: A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Trial

Researchers gave 100 resistance-trained men aged 21-50 either 250 mg of a standardised shilajit resin twice daily or a placebo for 90 days, while everyone kept their normal training and diet. The shilajit group improved more than placebo in leg press 1RM (+26% vs +18%), muscle endurance, grip strength, perceived exertion and soreness, and also showed bigger drops in muscle-damage markers (creatine kinase, LDH), higher testosterone, and a small VO2max edge, with no adverse events reported.

Effects of Beta-Alanine Supplementation on Anaerobic Performance and Fatigue Responses in Competitive Break Dancers

Twenty-four competitive male break dancers took either 6.4 g/day of beta-alanine or a placebo for four weeks each (crossover design), then did jump tests and a repeated sprint test. Beta-alanine improved jump performance and mean sprint power, and lowered the fatigue index and perceived exertion, though it did not blunt the acute jump drop-off within a session.

Effects of L v Jian sports drink on selected physiological parameters in athletes

Researchers gave boxing and taekwondo athletes either an "L v Jian" sports drink or a control drink daily during high-intensity training, and tracked blood markers at baseline, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks. Compared with the control group, the drink group had higher serum testosterone, lower creatine kinase (a marker of muscle damage), and relatively stable hemoglobin, which the authors interpret as better recovery and physical function.

Nutrition prescription for climbing athletes on rock or artificial surfaces: are we guessing?

This minireview examined the 16 existing observational studies on what climbers actually eat, covering 658 climbers (43% female, ages 10-42) across various disciplines and skill levels. It found that no clinical diet-manipulation trials exist in climbing, and most existing studies used weak methods ecall rather than weighed food records, with energy expenditure usually estimated rather than measured, meaning evidence-based nutrition guidelines for climbers don't yet exist.

Dietary Supplement Counseling Practices Among Pharmacists in Lahore, Pakistan: Identifying Knowledge and Training Gaps

Researchers surveyed 256 pharmacists in Lahore, Pakistan about their knowledge, attitudes, and counseling practices regarding dietary supplements. Most had positive attitudes (91%) but only moderate knowledge (77%), with notable gaps in understanding drug-supplement interactions and inconsistent counseling; knowledge scores were higher among female and urban pharmacists.

Peningkatan Kapasitas Pelatih dalam Optimalisasi Performa Atlet melalui Pendekatan Sports Science Berbasis Gizi dan Kondisi Fisik di Banjarnegara

This was a community outreach project in Banjarnegara, Indonesia, where local sports coaches received workshops and mentoring on sports nutrition and how to build structured, science-based training programs. After the sessions, coaches' knowledge scores rose to 91.5% for sports nutrition and 100% for training program design, though the project measured knowledge rather than athlete performance.

Body composition changes over a 4-year span in American college football players

Researchers used DEXA scans to track body composition in 27 US college football players (linemen and non-linemen) across four years. Both groups gained lean mass (about 3.3 kg, ~4%) and bone density (~3%), but for linemen, gains above roughly 104 kg total mass came with about 1.8 kg of fat for every 1 kg of lean mass added.

Delaying task failure in high-intensity exercise: a Pi-afferent-effort framework for targeted sports nutrition

This is a theory paper (not an experiment) proposing that fatigue during hard exercise comes from several limits converging at once: inorganic phosphate buildup impairing muscle contraction, acid-base disturbance, nerve feedback from the muscles restricting motor output, and how effort and pain feel. The authors then map common supplements onto whichever limit each is most likely to influence, e.g. nitrate to lower the ATP cost of work, creatine to support phosphocreatine and between-set recovery, beta-alanine and sodium bicarbonate for acid-base buffering, caffeine for effort perception and pain tolerance, and carbohydrate for prolonged or repeated hard efforts.

Mesafe Koşuları Öncesi Tüketilen Nar Suyunun Kalp Atım Hızı Değişkenliği Üzerine Etkisi

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study, 14 healthy young men drank either pomegranate juice or a placebo 45 minutes before running a 12-minute Cooper test, while heart rate variability was recorded with a chest strap. Heart rate and RR intervals did not differ between drinks, but RMSSD (a marker of parasympathetic "rest-and-recover" nervous activity) was significantly different between conditions at baseline and throughout exercise, suggesting pomegranate juice may support autonomic regulation.

Acute caffeine supplementation and resistance exercise performance in female participants: a systematic review and three-level meta-analysis.

Researchers pooled 24 randomized placebo-controlled trials on women taking a single dose of caffeine before lifting weights, analyzing six performance categories. Caffeine produced a small average boost in maximal strength (g = 0.17) and a larger but far less consistent boost in muscular endurance (g = 0.54), though the certainty of evidence was rated low or very low and effects varied widely across protocols.

Adaptation or Maladaptation? Rethinking How Energy Restriction Outcomes Are Monitored

This opinion paper discusses how prolonged calorie restriction iving fat loss or making weight can trigger energy-conserving adaptations that harm metabolic health, and argues that current monitoring tools detect these problems only after they are well established. The authors propose metabolomics (measuring many metabolites in blood or other samples) as a way to spot early biochemical warning signs before whole-body changes appear.

Hitting the Wall in Marathon Running: An Integrative Psychophysiological and Durability-Based Review

This narrative review examined why marathon runners "hit the wall" late in races, arguing that it isn't just glycogen depletion. The authors propose that late-race collapse stems from many interacting stressors \dehydration, gut problems, heat strain, neuromuscular and biomechanical fatigue, rising perceived effort, and pacing errors and that a runner's "durability" (resistance to deterioration over long efforts) helps explain why similarly fit runners fare differently.

Effects of Acute Caffeine Supplementation on Physical, Sport-Specific, Physiological, Perceptual, and Cognitive Outcomes in Female Team-Sport Athletes: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis.

Researchers pooled 26 randomized placebo-controlled crossover trials to see how a single dose of caffeine affects female team-sport athletes across physical, sport-specific, physiological, perceptual, and cognitive outcomes. Caffeine produced small improvements in physical performance (repeated sprints, agility, speed, anaerobic power, jumping) and reduced perceived exertion, while raising heart rate; effects on sport-specific skills and cognition were unclear, and no dose, timing, or formulation stood out as better.

Real-world creatine supplementation: a large-scale cross-sectional study of use, knowledge, and experiences.

Researchers surveyed 2,178 real-world creatine users (median age 55, roughly half women) from a supplement-tracking app about how they use creatine, what they know about it, and what they experience. Nearly all planned to keep using it and satisfaction averaged 7.8/10, but only 55% felt they got a benefit; cognitive improvement was the most common goal (67.8%) yet 64.4% of those users didn't perceive a cognitive benefit, and better creatine knowledge was the most consistent correlate of a good experience, with side effects and unmet expectations more common in women and older adults.

The Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Upper- and Lower-Body Strength and Power: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Systematic review and meta-analysis quantifying the effect of creatine supplementation on upper- and lower-body strength and power outcomes.

Effects of creatine supplementation on muscle strength gains — a meta-analysis and systematic review

Meta-analysis and systematic review estimating the overall effect of creatine supplementation on muscle strength gains.

Creatine supplementation and resistance training: a comparison between novice and experienced lifters — a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis

Dose-response meta-analysis comparing the strength and lean-mass effects of creatine plus resistance training in novice versus experienced lifters.

Effect of creatine supplementation on kidney function: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Systematic review and meta-analysis assessing whether creatine supplementation affects markers of kidney function.

Short-term creatine supplementation enhances strength, reduces fatigue, and accelerates recovery in resistance-trained athletes: a double-blind, randomized, crossover trial

Double-blind, randomized crossover trial testing whether short-term creatine loading affects strength, fatigue, and recovery in resistance-trained athletes.

Comparative Effects of Dietary Protein, Creatine, and Omega-3 Supplementation on Muscle Strength, Endurance, and Recovery in Trained Athletes: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

Network meta-analysis ranking dietary protein, creatine, and omega-3 supplementation for their effects on strength, endurance, and recovery in trained athletes.