From Amateur to Professional Cycling: A Case Study on the Training Characteristics of a Zwift Academy Winner.

This study aimed to describe the training leading to the Zwift Academy (ZA) Finals of a world-class road cyclist who earned a professional contract after winning the contest. Four years of daily power meter data were analyzed (male, 25 years old, 68 kg, VOmax: 85 mL·min·kg, and 20-min power: 6.37 W·kg), focusing on load, volume, intensity, and strategies.

Maximal aerobic power and anaerobic power reserves to prescribe cycling interval training sessions.

Background: Prescribing interval training intensity can be challenging due to individual variations in physiological capacity. Traditional methods often rely on maximal aerobic power (MAP), but this may not fully capture the characteristics of different athletes. This study aimed to investigate whether alternative methods, such as anaerobic power reserve (APR) and glycolytic power reserve (GPR), could provide more individualized high-intensity interval training (HIIT) prescriptions.

Visual attention and response time to distinguish athletes from non-athletes: A virtual reality study.

In recent years, cutting-edge technologies have been increasingly integrated into sports to assess physical and cognitive capacities. Virtual Reality (VR) technology has emerged as a powerful tool, offering an immersive and controlled scenario for examining cognitive functions. In light of the growing adoption of VR-systems, this study aimed to investigate the differences in visual attention and response time (RT) between athletes and non-athletes utilizing a VR-system and evaluate the discriminatory power of VR assessments towards the two groups.

Effects of cryo-facial mask on running performance in amateur middle-distance runners.

The excess heat accumulated during exercise can lead to stress-induced fatigue, possibly impairing athletic performance. Various precooling techniques have been applied to enhance thermal comfort, reduce perception of effort, and improve endurance. In this randomized crossover study, twelve male amateur middle-distance runners (age: 33.

Health-Related Field-Based Fitness Tests: Normative Values for Italian Primary School Children.

conducting fitness tests in educational settings can lead to advantages for both individuals and groups, beyond just enhancing fitness. With the aim of appropriately interpreting performance, this study was conducted to establish sex- and age-specific percentile normative data for a physical fitness (PF) protocol and to define a compound measure of physical performance. In this cross-sectional study, a short, feasible, and easy-to-administer test battery was performed for 5106 school children, aged 6-10 years.

Chronotype, sleep hygiene, and sleep characteristics among athletes of different disciplines.

The objective of the study was to assess chronotype, sleep hygiene, and sleep characteristics of Italian athletes in order to identify differences among sport disciplines (team- vs individual-sports), level of competition (Elite vs Non-Elite) and sexes. Moreover, correlations between chronotype, sleep hygiene and sleep quality were evaluated. Two hundred eighty Italian athletes (Females:113; Males:167) participated in the study.

Heart Rate Variability in Professional and Semiprofessional Soccer: A Scoping Review.

In modern soccer, fitness and fatigue monitoring tools tend to be focused on noninvasive, time-efficient and player-friendly measures. Heart rate variability (HRV) has been suggested as an effective method for monitoring training response and readiness to perform. However, there is still a lack of consensus on HRV monitoring when it comes to soccer.

Corrigendum: Fat oxidation rates and cardiorespiratory responses during exercise in different subject populations with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a comparison with normative percentile values.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.

Muscle-UCP3 in the regulation of energy metabolism.

Uncoupling protein-3 (UCP3) is a mitochondria-regulatory protein with potential energy- homeostatic functions. This study explores the role of UCP3 in the regulation of muscle- and energy metabolism. UCP3 is critical for tuning substrate utilization, favoring lipid oxidation, particularly in conditions of high-fat availability.

Power output at the moderate-to-heavy intensity transition decreases in a non-linear fashion during prolonged exercise.

Purpose: The aims of this study were to: (i) describe the time course of the decrease in power output at the moderate-to-heavy intensity transition during prolonged exercise; (ii) investigate the association between durability of the moderate-to-heavy intensity transition and exercise capacity; and (iii) explore physiological correlates of durability of the moderate-to-heavy intensity transition.

Methods: Twelve trained cyclists (age: 40 ± 8 y, Opeak: 52.3 ± 5.

Is change of direction influenced by motor competencies? A possible response from a MOBAK-based study in Italian schoolchildren.

Background: Change of direction (COD) ability requires higher motor control capacity and helps children improve individual motor skills. Likewise, basic motor competencies (BMC) are relevant during child maturation and may interleave with COD ability. This study aimed to investigate the possible individual determinants between the COD ability and the BMC, cognitive skills, and anthropometrics characteristics in Italian primary school children aged 6 to 11.

Cardiorespiratory and metabolic consequences of detraining in endurance athletes.

A training program can stimulate physiological, anatomical, and performance adaptations, but these improvements can be partially or entirely reversed due to the cessation of habitual physical activity resulting from illness, injury, or other influencing factors. To investigate the effects of detraining on cardiorespiratory, metabolic, hormonal, muscular adaptations, as well as short-term and long-term performance changes in endurance athletes. Eligible studies were sourced from databases and the library up until July 2023.

The Day-by-Day Periodization Strategies of a Giro d'Italia Podium Finisher.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the day-by-day training and racing characteristics in preparation for the Giro d'Italia of 1 world-class road cyclist who achieved a place on the podium in the final general classification of the Giro d'Italia.

Methods: Day-by-day power meter training and racing data of 1 study subject (road cyclist; age 25 y; relative maximum oxygen consumption 81 mL·min-1·kg-1; relative 20-min record power output 6.6 W·kg-1) covering the 152 days leading up to the podium in the Giro d'Italia final general classification were retrospectively analyzed.

Elite Cyclists with Type 1 Diabetes Show Acceptable Glycemic Excursions During a Time-Trial Performance Under High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) on glycemic excursions during a time-trial performance in elite cyclists with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Methods: In a double-blind, randomized crossover order, 9 elite cyclists with T1D (no complications) underwent either HD-tDCS (F3 and F4) or control (SHAM) and completed a constant-load trial at 75% of the second ventilatory threshold plus a 15-km cycling time trial.

Results: Real-time continuous glucose monitoring revealed similar glycemic variability between the 2 conditions, showing a significant effect of time but no interaction (stimulation × time) or stimulation effect.

Fat oxidation rates and cardiorespiratory responses during exercise in different subject populations with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a comparison with normative percentile values.

Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) presents a spectrum of symptoms following acute COVID-19, with exercise intolerance being a prevalent manifestation likely linked to disrupted oxygen metabolism and mitochondrial function. This study aims to assess maximal fat oxidation (MFO) and exercise intensity at MFO (FATmax) in distinct PASC subject groups and compare these findings with normative data. Eight male subjects with PASC were involved in this study.

"I Am on Top!": An Interactive Intervention Program to Promote Self-Regulation Processes in the Prevention of the Use of Doping in Sports High Schools.

The use of substances to improve sports performance is a widespread phenomenon among adolescents. Several anti-doping programs have been developed, mainly based on knowledge-based evidence. The main aim of the present study was to implement an anti-doping intervention in sports high school students, based on a psychological framework, such as Socio-Cognitive Theory, through the development of a Serious Game (SG), i.

"I RUN CLEAN Project"-An Innovative and Self-Sustainable Approach to Develop Clean Sport Behaviours in Grassroots Athletes.

The phenomenon of doping is a public health issue that poses threats to sport and society. In recent decades, the emphasis on efforts to address the issue and reduce the incidence of doping by young people in sport has shifted from deterrence through testing and punishment to the promotion of clean sport behaviours through values-based education. The "I Run Clean project" sought to develop new and effective tools targeting grassroots athletes and those around them (coaches, medical support personnel, sport leaders, parents).

Partial-body cryostimulation procured performance and perceptual improvements in amateur middle-distance runners.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of partial-body cryostimulation on middle-distance runners before two 3000-m tests at the speed of the first and second ventilatory threshold, and before a time to exhaustion test at 110% of the maximal aerobic speed. Twelve amateur runners (age: 46 ± 9 years; VO2max: 51.7 ± 4.

Do maturation, anthropometrics and leg muscle qualities influence repeated change of direction performance in adolescent boys and girls?

The ability to change direction rapidly is a key fitness quality especially in invasive sports where young players perform approximately 300 changes of direction in a game. There is currently limited understanding of how anthropometric characteristics and maturation status influence change of direction ability in adolescent. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation is to assess the influence of anthropometrics and maturation status on change of direction ability in young people.