Gross motor coordination in relation to weight status: a longitudinal study in children and pre-adolescents.

Introduction: Gross Motor Coordination (GMC) is crucial for the adequate development of motor competence. Our purpose in this semi-longitudinal study was to evaluate the influence of BMI on GMC in children and pre-adolescents of both sexes, across school years (classes).

Methods: We evaluated 117 subjects (aged 8-13 years) belonging to three different cohorts for 4 consecutive years, providing data over 6 years (classes).

Non-specific and ski-specific performance development in peri-pubertal cross-country skiers.

Purpose: To evaluate non-specific and ski-specific performance development in male (M) and female (F) peri-pubertal cross-country skiers and to evaluate their relationship with cross-country skiing (XCS) performance and biological maturation within each age category and sex.

Methods: Twenty-one and 19 athletes under 14 and 16 years old, respectively (U14 and U16), were tested for biological maturation; non-specific speed, agility, strength, endurance, and balance; ski-specific speed, agility, and endurance. XCS index was considered as average percentage time-gap from the winner in four official races.

Do poles really "save the legs" during uphill pole walking at different intensities?

Purpose: In sky- and trail-running competitions, many athletes use poles. The aims of this study were to investigate whether the use of poles affects the force exerted on the ground at the feet (Ffoot), cardiorespiratory variables and maximal performance during uphill walking.

Methods: Fifteen male trail runners completed four testing sessions on different days.

The effects of a 6-hour ultra-endurance run on postexercise parasympathetic reactivation responses.

Background: Alterations in cardiac autonomic control reflecting depressed parasympathetic activity have been previously reported after ultra-endurance events at rest and during dynamic tasks assessing cardiac autonomic responsiveness. This study investigated the impact of a 6-hour ultra-endurance run on parasympathetic reactivation indices, using an exercise-recovery transition approach.

Methods: Nine trained runners (VO2max 67±12 mL/kg/min) completed a 6-hour run (EXP) whilst other six runners (VO2max 66±10 mL/kg/min) served as a control (CON).

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.

A Scientific Perspective on Reducing Ski-Snow Friction to Improve Performance in Olympic Cross-Country Skiing, the Biathlon and Nordic Combined.

Of the medals awarded at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, 24% were for events involving cross-country skiing, the biathlon and Nordic combined. Although much research has focused on physiological and biomechanical characteristics that determine success in these sports, considerably less is yet known about the resistive forces. Here, we specifically describe what is presently known about ski-snow friction, one of the major resistive forces.

Margins of stability and trunk coordination during Nordic walking.

Although it has already been demonstrated that Nordic walking has some peculiar biomechanical features with respect to walking, the effects on balance and trunk coordination are still unknown. Our aim here was to compare margins of stability, hip stabilizer muscle activation and scapular-pelvis coordination (mean and variability of continuous relative phase) between walking and two different pole walking techniques (observational design). Eleven Nordic walking instructors were asked to walk at 5.

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).

The Entrainment Frequency of Cardiolocomotor Synchronization in Long-Distance Race Emerges Spontaneously at the Step Frequency.

In forced conditions, where the heart rate and step frequency have been matched, cardiolocomotor synchronization (CLS) has been recognized. However, knowledge about the occurrence of CLS and its triggers in sports gesture in real contexts is little known. To address this gap, the current study tested the hypothesis that CLS in running spontaneous conditions would emerge at entrainment bands of muscle activation frequencies associated with a freely chosen step frequency.

Prolonged unsupervised Nordic walking and walking exercise following six months of supervision in adults with overweight and obesity: A randomised clinical trial.

Background And Aims: This study is a randomized trial that examined the effects of 6 months of unsupervised Nordic walking (NW) and walking (W) exercise following 6 months of supervised training in overweight/obese adults.

Methods And Results: After a 6-month program of diet and supervised training participants (n = 27) of NW (66 ± 7 yrs, body mass index (BMI) 34 ± 5) and W (66 ± 8 yrs, BMI 32 ± 5) group continue the training without supervision for other 6 months. Steps count and mean heart rate (HR) were performed in each session; anthropometric and body composition, aerobic capacity and strength of the upper and lower limbs were evaluated at baseline, after 6 months of supervised and 6 months of unsupervised training.

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.

Post-Exercise Hypotension and Reduced Cardiac Baroreflex after Half-Marathon Run: In Men, but Not in Women.

We examined whether trained women exhibit similar cardiovascular and cardiac baroreflex alterations after a half-marathon compared to men. Thirteen women (39.1 ± 9.

Biomechanical determinants of cross-country skiing performance: A systematic review.

Cross-country skiing is a complex endurance sport requiring technical skills, in addition to considerable physiological and tactical abilities. This review aims to identify biomechanical factors that influence the performance of cross-country skiers. Four electronic databases were searched systematically for original articles in peer-reviewed journals addressing the relationship between biomechanical factors (including kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activation) and performance while skiing on snow or roller skiing.

Biomechanical analysis of the "running" vs. "conventional" diagonal stride uphill techniques as performed by elite cross-country skiers.

Purpose: This study aimed to compare biomechanical aspects of a novel "running" diagonal stride (DS) with "conventional" diagonal stride (DS) skiing techniques performed at high speed.

Methods: Ten elite Italian male junior cross-country skiers skied on a treadmill at 10 km/h and at a 10° incline utilizing both variants of the diagonal stride technique. The 3-dimensional kinematics of the body, poles, and roller skis; the force exerted through the poles and foot plantar surfaces; and the angular motion of the leg joints were determined.

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.

Estimating an individual's oxygen uptake during cycling exercise with a recurrent neural network trained from easy-to-obtain inputs: A pilot study.

Measurement of oxygen uptake during exercise ([Formula: see text]) is currently non-accessible to most individuals without expensive and invasive equipment. The goal of this pilot study was to estimate cycling [Formula: see text] from easy-to-obtain inputs, such as heart rate, mechanical power output, cadence and respiratory frequency. To this end, a recurrent neural network was trained from laboratory cycling data to predict [Formula: see text] values.

Double poling kinematic changes during the course of a long-distance race: effect of performance level.

We aimed to evaluate the changes in double poling (DP) kinematics due to a long-distance cross-country skiing race in athletes with different performance levels. A total of 100 cross-country skiers, belonging to 10 different performance groups, were filmed on flat terrain 7 and 55 km after the start line, during a 58-km classical race. Cycle velocity, frequency and length decreased from the best to the lower-ranked group, while duty cycle increased (all <.

Nordic walking training in elderly, a randomized clinical trial. Part II: Biomechanical and metabolic adaptations.

Background: Nordic walking is an attractive method of endurance training. Nevertheless, the biomechanic response due to the additional contribution of using poles in relation to free walking training has been less explored in the elderly.

Purpose: This randomized parallel controlled trial aimed to assess the effects of 8 weeks of Nordic walking and free walking training on the walking economy, mechanical work, metabolically optimal speed, and electromyographic activation in elderly.