The Effect of Altitude and Travel on Rugby Union Performance: Analysis of the 2012 Super Rugby Competition.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether playing rugby at altitude or after travel (domestic and international) disadvantaged teams. In a retrospective longitudinal study, all matches (N = 125) played in the 2012 Super Rugby Competition were analyzed for key performance indicators (KPI) from coded game data provided by OPTA sports data company. Matches were played in a home-away format in New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia.

Measurement of cardiorespiratory fitness in children from two commonly used field tests after accounting for body fatness and maturity.

Body fat and maturation both influence cardiorespiratory fitness, however few studies have taken these variables into account when using field tests to predict children's fitness levels. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between two field tests of cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m Maximal Multistage Shuttle Run [20-MST], 550 m distance run [550-m]) and direct measurement of VO2max after adjustment for body fatness and maturity levels. Fifty-three participants (25 boys, 28 girls, age 10.

High intensity interval training in a real world setting: a randomized controlled feasibility study in overweight inactive adults, measuring change in maximal oxygen uptake.

Background: In research clinic settings, overweight adults undertaking HIIT (high intensity interval training) improve their fitness as effectively as those undertaking conventional walking programs but can do so within a shorter time spent exercising. We undertook a randomized controlled feasibility (pilot) study aimed at extending HIIT into a real world setting by recruiting overweight/obese, inactive adults into a group based activity program, held in a community park.

Methods: Participants were allocated into one of three groups.

Determination of maximal oxygen uptake using the bruce or a novel athlete-led protocol in a mixed population.

Treadmill tests for maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2max) have traditionally used set speed and incline increments regardless of participants training or exercise background. The aim of this study was to determine the validity of a novel athlete-led protocol for determining maximal aerobic fitness in adults. Twenty-nine participants (21 male, 8 female, age 29.

Effects of resistance training combined with vascular occlusion or hypoxia on neuromuscular function in athletes.

The aim was to investigate the effects of low-load resistant training combined with vascular occlusion or normobaric hypoxic exposure, on neuromuscular function. In a randomised controlled trial, well-trained athletes took part in a 5-week training of knee flexor/extensor muscles in which low-load resistant exercise (20% of one repetition maximum, 1-RM) was combined with either (1) an occlusion pressure of approximately 230 mmHg (KT, n = 10), (2) hypoxic air to generate an arterial blood oxygen saturation of ~80% (HT, n = 10), or (3) with no additional stimulus (CT, n = 10). Before and after training, participants completed the following tests: 3-s maximal voluntary contraction (MVC₃), 30-s MVC, and an endurance test (maximal number of repetitions at 20% 1-RM, Reps₂₀).

Effect of compression garments on short-term recovery of repeated sprint and 3-km running performance in rugby union players.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether wearing compression garments during recovery improved subsequent repeated sprint and 3-km run performance. In a randomized single-blind crossover study, 22 well-trained male rugby union players (mean ± SD: age 20.1 ± 2.

Effects of ingestion of bicarbonate, citrate, lactate, and chloride on sprint running.

Purpose: Ingestion of sodium bicarbonate is known to enhance sprint performance, probably via increased buffering of intracellular acidity. The goal was to compare the effect of ingestion of sodium bicarbonate with that of other potential buffering agents (sodium citrate and sodium lactate) and of a placebo (sodium chloride) on sprinting.

Methods: In a double-blind randomized crossover trial, 15 competitive male endurance runners performed a run to exhaustion 90 min after ingestion of each of the agents in the same osmolar dose relative to body mass (3.