Serendipity in Science: 50+ Years of Designed, and Sometimes Lucky, Science.

Normal science is about assessing what is already known about a topic, about what needs to be known, and careful methods to collect the data required to answer the scientific question. It is the mainstay of scientific progress. But sometimes, luck or chance (eg, serendipity) plays a significant role in scientific process.

"Falling Behind," "Letting Go," and Being "Outsprinted" as Distinct Features of Pacing in Distance Running.

Introduction: In distance running, pacing is characterized by changes in speed, leading to runners dropping off the leader's pace until a few remain to contest victory with a final sprint. Pacing behavior has been well studied over the last 30 years, but much remains unknown. It might be related to finishing position, finishing time, and dependent on critical speed (CS), a surrogate of physiologic capacity.

The Fine-Tuning Approach for Training Monitoring.

Purpose: Monitoring is a fundamental part of the training process to guarantee that the programmed training loads are executed by athletes and result in the intended adaptations and enhanced performance. A number of monitoring tools have emerged during the last century in sport. These tools capture different facets (eg, psychophysiological, physical, biomechanical) of acute training bouts and chronic adaptations while presenting specific advantages and limitations.

Comparison of anaerobic speed reserve and maximal aerobic speed methods to prescribe short format high-intensity interval training.

The purpose of the study was to compare the degree of intersubject variability in the cardiorespiratory, metabolic, and perceptual responses to high-intensity interval training (HIIT) prescribed based on the relative anaerobic speed reserve (ASR) or maximal aerobic speed (MAS) and to identify the optimal % ASR for execution of such HIIT. Seventeen male physical education students (age: 23.6 ± 1.

Validation of session ratings of perceived exertion for quantifying training load in karate kata sessions.

This study was intended to investigate the associations between session Ratings of Perceived Exertion (sRPE) and Edwards' training load (TL) and Banister training impulse (TRIMP) in order to determine the validity of the sRPE method for TL assessment in karate kata discipline. Eight elite karate kata athletes, members of the national karate team, took part in this study. A multistage 20 m shuttle run test was performed to determine maximal heart rate (HR).

COVID-19 Lockdown: A Global Study Investigating the Effect of Athletes' Sport Classification and Sex on Training Practices.

Purpose: To investigate differences in athletes' knowledge, beliefs, and training practices during COVID-19 lockdowns with reference to sport classification and sex. This work extends an initial descriptive evaluation focusing on athlete classification.

Methods: Athletes (12,526; 66% male; 142 countries) completed an online survey (May-July 2020) assessing knowledge, beliefs, and practices toward training.

Simple Approach to Defining Training Intensity in Endurance Runners.

Unlabelled: Training intensity distribution is important to training program design. The zones 1 to 2 boundary can be defined by the Talk Test and the rating of perceived exertion. The zones 2 to 3 boundary can be defined by respiratory gas exchange, maximal lactate steady state, or, more simply, by critical speed (CS).

An Examination and Critique of Subjective Methods to Determine Exercise Intensity: The Talk Test, Feeling Scale, and Rating of Perceived Exertion.

Prescribing exercise intensity is crucial in achieving an adequate training stimulus. While numerous objective methods exist and are used in practical settings for exercise intensity prescription, they all require anchor measurements that are derived from a maximal or submaximal graded exercise test or a series of submaximal or supramaximal exercise bouts. Conversely, self-reported subjective methods such as the Talk Test (TT), Feeling Scale (FS) affect rating, and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) do not require exercise testing prior to commencement of the exercise training and therefore appear as more practical tools for exercise intensity prescription.

Training During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices of 12,526 Athletes from 142 Countries and Six Continents.

Objective: Our objective was to explore the training-related knowledge, beliefs, and practices of athletes and the influence of lockdowns in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Methods: Athletes (n = 12,526, comprising 13% world class, 21% international, 36% national, 24% state, and 6% recreational) completed an online survey that was available from 17 May to 5 July 2020 and explored their training behaviors (training knowledge, beliefs/attitudes, and practices), including specific questions on their training intensity, frequency, and session duration before and during lockdown (March-June 2020).

Results: Overall, 85% of athletes wanted to "maintain training," and 79% disagreed with the statement that it is "okay to not train during lockdown," with a greater prevalence for both in higher-level athletes.

Applicability of Field Aerobic Fitness Tests in Soccer: Which One to Choose?

A desire to make fitness testing cheaper and easier to conduct in a team-sport setting has led to the development of numerous field aerobic fitness tests. This has contributed to a growing confusion among strength and conditioning coaches about which one to use. The main aim of this narrative review was to examine the reliability, validity, sensitivity and usefulness of the commonly used field aerobic fitness tests and to provide practical guidelines for their use in soccer.

25 Years of Session Rating of Perceived Exertion: Historical Perspective and Development.

The session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) method was developed 25 years ago as a modification of the Borg concept of rating of perceived exertion (RPE), designed to estimate the intensity of an entire training session. It appears to be well accepted as a marker of the internal training load. Early studies demonstrated that sRPE correlated well with objective measures of internal training load, such as the percentage of heart rate reserve and blood lactate concentration.

Generalized Approach to Translating Exercise Tests and Prescribing Exercise.

Although there is evidence supporting the benefit of regular exercise, and recommendations about exercise and physical activity, the process of individually prescribing exercise following exercise testing is more difficult. Guidelines like % heart rate (HR) reserve (HRR) require an anchoring maximal test and do not always provide a homogenous training experience. When prescribing HR on the basis of % HRR, rating of perceived exertion or Talk Test, cardiovascular/perceptual drift during sustained exercise makes prescription of the actual workload difficult.

Muscle Damage During a Soccer World Cup Preparatory and Competition Period.

Purpose: To report creatine kinase ([CK]) responses during a soccer World Cup preparatory and first-leg period and to determine the influence of aerobic fitness on postmatch [CK] responses.

Methods: Eleven national-team players were analyzed in this study. A lactate threshold test was performed during the first 3 d, whereas fingertip blood was drawn most mornings (21 out of 30 d) for [CK] measurements.

Beating Yourself: How Do Runners Improve Their Own Records?

Background: Pacing studies suggest the distribution of effort for optimizing performance. Cross-sectional studies of 1-mile world records (WRs) suggest that WR progression includes a smaller coefficient of variation of velocity.

Purpose: This study evaluates whether intraindividual pacing used by elite runners to break their own WR (1 mile, 5 km, and 10 km) is related to the evolution of pacing strategy.

Substance use and misuse in the Croatian Army Special Forces: prevalence and influencing factors.

Objectives: In addition to being a serious health-hazard, substance-use-and-misuse (SUM) in military forces negatively influences physical fitness and army readiness. The aim of this study was to define the prevalence of SUM, which includes cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and multiple SUM (i.e.

The effect of cigarette smoking history on muscular and cardiorespiratory endurance.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cigarette smoking history on physical fitness in younger adults. Small, insignificant differences in BMI between non-smokers and smokers were shown regardless of cigarette smoking history duration. Although the differences in muscular endurance increased in the samples with progressing cigarette smoking history duration, a highly significant difference in aerobic endurance was observed between the group of non-smokers and smokers with a history of smoking up to 5 years and persisted at the same level in smokers with a history of smoking for longer than 10 years.

Effects of a training program for special operations battalion on soldiers' fitness characteristics.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of special operations battalion (SOB) training program on soldiers' fitness parameters. The research was conducted on a sample of 25 members (mean ± SD: age 27.93 ± 5.

Impact of body composition on performance in fitness tests among personnel of the Croatian navy.

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of body weight on fitness tests among the personnel of the Croatian navy. Forty two naval personnel (age 27 +/- 4.1 years; body mass 86.

How reliable are the equations for predicting maximal heart rate values in military personnel?

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of equations for predicting maximal values of heart rate (HR) in military personnel.

Methods: Five hundred and nine members of the Croatian Armed Forces (age 29.1 +/- 5.