Effects of Foot-Strike Pattern on Neuromuscular Function During a Prolonged Graded Run.

Purpose: To study whether, during typical-level running, non-rear-foot strikers (non-RFS) or rear-foot strikers (RFS) presented a similar or different extent of neuromuscular fatigue after a prolonged graded run.

Methods: Sixteen experienced male trail runners (8 non-RFS and 8 RFS) performed a 2.5-hour treadmill graded running exercise.

Participation and performance by women and men in ski-mountaineering sprint races during the past decade.

Background: The sprint is one of the two ski-mountaineering disciplines that will be held at the coming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics (Italy). To date little information exists on this novel Olympic discipline.

Methods: We characterized retrospectively the participation and performance in international male and female ski mountaineering sprint races from November 2012 to April 2022.

Eager to set a record in a vertical race? Test your VO first!

We investigated the relationship between maximal oxygen consumption (VO) and performance in vertical races (VRs). In total, 270 performances, from 26 VRs, and cardiopulmonary data of 64 highly-trained mountain runners (53 M, V O: 75.7±5.

Relationship Between Cognitive Appraisal of Control and Cardiac Vagal Regulation During an Unsupported Ski Crossing of Greenland.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between Perceived Control (PC) and Heart rate variability (HRV) during a 27-day expedition, during which an unsupported crossing was made from the west coast to the east coast of Greenland (across the Ice Sheet); and that therefore a high PC represents a favourable factor for recovery and stress management.

Methods: Four subjects participated in the study. PC was measured on alternated days in the evening at the end of the day, using the Pearlin Mastery Scale; and the next day, upon waking, heart rate using a wrist heart rate monitor and a chest strap.

Exercising at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic: acute physiological, perceptual and performance responses of wearing face masks during sports activity.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic requires the adoption of strict preventive measures, such as wearing a protective face mask, but few studies investigated its impact during exercise. We investigated the effects of wearing a protective face mask while exercising at different intensities and verified whether differences between two types of protective face masks exist.

Methods: Twenty subjects performed 4-min running at 8 km•h and at 10 km•h, 8 x 90-m Intermittent running bouts and the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level-1, while wearing either a surgical mask, a sports-reusable mask or no mask.

Ski Mountaineering: Perspectives on a Novel Sport to Be Introduced at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

Ski mountaineering is a rapidly growing winter sport that involves alternately climbing and descending slopes and various racing formats that differ in length and total vertical gain, as well as their distribution of downhill and uphill sections. In recent years, both participation in and media coverage of this sport have increased dramatically, contributing, at least in part, to its inclusion in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina. Here, our aim has been to briefly describe the major characteristics of ski mountaineering, its physiological and biomechanical demands, equipment, and training/testing, as well as to provide some future perspectives.

Effects of three-exercise sessions in the heat on endurance cycling performance.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of a very short-term acclimation protocol (VSTAP) on performance, physiological and perceptual responses to exercise in the heat.

Methods: 12 trained male cyclists (age 31.2 ± 7; weight 71.

Post-exercise cardiac autonomic and cardiovascular responses to heart rate-matched and work rate-matched hypoxic exercise.

Purpose: This study investigated the effect of performing hypoxic exercise at the same heart rate (HR) or work rate (WR) as normoxic exercise on post-exercise autonomic and cardiovascular responses.

Methods: Thirteen men performed three interval-type exercise sessions (5 × 5-min; 1-min recovery): normoxic exercise at 80% of the WR at the first ventilatory threshold (N), hypoxic exercise (FiO = 14.2%) at the same WR as N (H-WR) and hypoxic exercise at the same HR as N (H-HR).

Talent Development in Young Cross-Country Skiers: Longitudinal Analysis of Anthropometric and Physiological Characteristics.

Very little is known about talent development and selection processes in young cross-country skiers. (1) to analyze the effect of age on anthropometric and physiological parameters in medium-to-high level cross-country skiers during the late teenage period; (2) to describe parameters' trend in selected talents after the late teenage period; (3) to define which characteristics during the late teenage period could discriminate against further talent selection. We found 14 male (M) and nine (F) athletes in our database, identified as talents by regional teams during the late teenage period, who performed the same diagonal-stride roller-skiing incremental test to exhaustion at 17 and 18 years old.

Shortening Work-Rest Durations Reduces Physiological and Perceptual Load During Uphill Walking in Simulated Cold High-Altitude Conditions.

Fornasiero, Alessandro, Aldo Savoldelli, Federico Stella, Alexa Callovini, Lorenzo Bortolan, Andrea Zignoli, David A. Low, Laurent Mourot, Federico Schena, and Barbara Pellegrini. Shortening work-rest durations reduces physiological and perceptual load during uphill walking in simulated cold high-altitude conditions.

Neuromuscular Fatigue of Cycling Exercise in Hypoxia.

Introduction: The understanding of fatigue in hypoxia is limited due to: lack of control in arterial saturation, different exercise intensities and hypoxia levels, lag time between exercise cessation and fatigue evaluation. We aimed at evaluating fatigue during cycling and immediately after exhaustion (EXH) in normoxia, moderate and severe hypoxia at relative and absolute intensities.

Methods: Thirteen subjects completed three sessions in normoxia, moderate, and severe hypoxia with intensity based on percentage of normoxic maximal power output (NOR, MODABS, SEVABS) plus two sessions where intensity was based on the corresponding environmental condition (MODREL, SEVREL).

Changes in spatio-temporal gait parameters and vertical speed during an extreme mountain ultra-marathon.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of altitude and distance on uphill vertical speed (VS) and the main spatio-temporal gait parameters during an extreme mountain ultra-marathon. The VS, stride height (SH) and stride frequency (SF) of 27 runners were measured with an inertial sensor at the shank for two different altitude ranges (low 1300-2000 m vs high 2400-3200 m) of 10 mountains passes distributed over a 220 km course. There was a significant interaction ((4,52) = 4.

Similar cardiovascular and autonomic responses in trained type 1 diabetes mellitus and healthy participants in response to half marathon.

Aims: This field experiment examined whether trained people with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) have similar cardiovascular and baroreflex alterations after a 21-km running race when compared to healthy people.

Methods: Nine T1D (39.0 ± 11.

Cardiac Autonomic and Physiological Responses to Moderate- intensity Exercise in Hypoxia.

Exercise physiological responses can be markedly affected by acute hypoxia. We investigated cardiac autonomic and physiological responses to different hypoxic training protocols. Thirteen men performed three exercise sessions (5×5-min; 1-min passive recovery): normoxic exercise at 80% of the power output (PO) at the first ventilatory threshold (N), hypoxic exercise (FiO=14.

Regular changes in foot strike pattern during prolonged downhill running do not influence neuromuscular, energetics, or biomechanical parameters.

Research has suggested that a high variability in foot strike pattern during downhill running is associated with lower neuromuscular fatigue of the plantar flexors (PF). Given the popularity of trail running, we designed an intervention study to investigate whether a strategy with regular changes in foot strike pattern during downhill running could reduce the extent of fatigue on neuromuscular, energetics and biomechanical parameters as well as increase an uphill time-to-exhaustion trial (TTE) performance. Fourteen experienced trail runners completed two interventional conditions (separated by 15 days) in a pseudo-randomised and counter-balanced order that consisted of 2.

Postural Control Follows a Bi-Phasic Alteration Pattern During Mountain Ultra-Marathon.

It is well knows that postural control (PC) is deteriorated with neuromuscular fatigue, altitude or sleep deprivation induced by a mountain ultra-marathon (MUM). Several regulatory mechanisms have also been reported during this type of event and the changes in PC at different points of MUM remain unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the time course of PC during an extreme MUM.

Delayed parasympathetic reactivation and sympathetic withdrawal following maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in hypoxia.

Purpose: This study investigated the effects of acute hypoxic exposure on post-exercise cardiac autonomic modulation following maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET).

Methods: Thirteen healthy men performed CPET and recovery in normoxia (N) and normobaric hypoxia (H) (FiO = 13.4%, ≈ 3500 m).

Joint kinematics and ground reaction forces in overground versus treadmill graded running.

Background: Treadmills are often used to assess running biomechanics, however the validity of applying results from treadmill graded running to overground graded running is currently unknown.

Research Question: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether treadmill and overground graded running have comparable kinematics and ground reaction force parameters.

Methods: Eleven healthy male adults ran overground and on an instrumented treadmill as motion capture and force platform data were collected for the following conditions: downhill running at a slope of -8° at 10, 13 and 16 km⋅h; level running at 10 and 13 km⋅h; uphill running at a slope of +8° at 8, 10 and 13 km⋅h.

The Energetics during the World's Most Challenging Mountain Ultra-Marathon-A Case Study at the Tor des Geants®.

To provide insights into the energy requirements as well as the physiological adaptations of an experienced 50-year-old ultra-marathon male athlete during the world's most challenging mountain ultra-marathon (MUM). The international race supporting the study was the Tor des Geants®, characterized by 330 km with +24,000 m D+ to be covered within 150 h. Before the MUM, we assessed the peak oxygen uptake ([Formula: see text]) by means of an incremental graded running test.

Physiological intensity profile, exercise load and performance predictors of a 65-km mountain ultra-marathon.

The aims of the study were to describe the physiological profile of a 65-km (4000-m cumulative elevation gain) running mountain ultra-marathon (MUM) and to identify predictors of MUM performance. Twenty-three amateur trail-runners performed anthropometric evaluations and an uphill graded exercise test (GXT) for VO ventilatory thresholds (VTs), power outputs (PMax, PVTs) and heart rate response (HRmax, HR@VTs). Heart rate (HR) was monitored during the race and intensity was expressed as: Zone I (VT2) for exercise load calculation (training impulse, TRIMP).

Physiological and anthropometric characteristics of top-level youth cross-country cyclists.

In the literature there is a lack of data about the development of top level athletes in cross-country mountain biking (XCO). The purpose of this study was to analyze anthropometric and physiological characteristics of some of the best XCO bikers aged between 13 and 16. The study involved 45 bikers (26 males and 19 females) belonging to a youth national team.

An Extreme Mountain Ultra-Marathon Decreases the Cost of Uphill Walking and Running.

To examine the effects of the world's most challenging mountain ultramarathon (MUM, 330 km, cumulative elevation gain of +24,000 m) on the energy cost and kinematics of different uphill gaits. Before (PRE) and immediately after (POST) the competition, 19 male athletes performed three submaximal 5-min treadmill exercise trials in a randomized order: walking at 5 km·h, +20%; running at 6 km·h, +15%; and running at 8 km·h, +10%. During the three trials, energy cost was assessed using an indirect calorimetry system and spatiotemporal gait parameters were acquired with a floor-level high-density photoelectric cells system.

Mechanical energy patterns in nordic walking: comparisons with conventional walking.

The use of poles during Nordic Walking (NW) actively engages the upper body to propel the body forward during walking. Evidence suggests that NW leads to a longer stride and higher speed, and sometimes to increased ground reaction forces with respect to conventional walking (W). The aim of this study was to investigate if NW is associated with different changes in body centre of mass (COM) motion and limbs energy patterns, mechanical work and efficiency compared to W.