Bibliometric Review of the Step Test: A Comprehensive Analysis of Research Trends and Development.

Background: The step test provides valuable information on cardiorespiratory parameters such as maximal oxygen uptake and heart rate. Cardiorespiratory capacity is critical to health-related fitness, with heart rate recovery after exercise serving as a predictor of mortality risk.

Main Body: The primary objective of this review was to identify trends, key contributors, and emerging themes in the step test literature through 2023 using the Web of Science Core Collection.

The Accuracy and Reliability of the Power Measurements of the TACX Neo 2T Smart Trainer and Its Agreement against the Garmin Vector 3 Pedals.

The power output in cycling is one of the most important factors for athletes and coaches. The cycling community has several commercial gears that can be used. One of the most used is the TACX Neo 2T (TN2T) smart trainer.

Underwater and surface tethered swimming, lower limb strength, and somatic traits as the basic indices of young swimmers' sprint performance.

: The ability to swim fast underwater is believed to be connected to lower limb strength and some somatic traits. The main purpose of the study was to evaluate strength and speed parameters based on the relationship between the strength of underwater dolphin kicks and the countermovement jump test () among adolescent swimmers. : 48 adolescent male swimmers (13.

Net Heart Rate for Estimating Oxygen Consumption in Active Adults.

The aim of this study was to verify the accuracy of predicting oxygen consumption (O) in predominantly aerobic activities based on net heart rate (netHR), sex, and body mass index (BMI) in active adults. NetHR is the value of the difference between the resting HR (HR) and the average HR value obtained during a given session or period of physical activity. These activities must be continuous, submaximal, and of a stabilized intensity.

StepTest4all: Improving the Prediction of Cardiovascular Capacity Assessment in Young Adults.

Cardiovascular capacity, expressed as maximal oxygen uptake (VO), is a strong predictor of health and fitness and is considered a key measure of physiological function in the healthy adult population. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the physical activity levels (PA) of participants in the StepTest4all (validated protocol for the estimation of VO in adults). The sample consisted of 69 participants, including 27 women (age 21.

Effects of a 16-Week Training Program with a Pyramidal Intensity Distribution on Recreational Male Cyclists.

Different training intensity distributions (TIDs) have been proposed to improve cycling performance, especially for high-competition athletes. The objectives of this study were to analyze the effect of a 16-week pyramidal training intensity distribution on somatic and power variables in recreational cyclists and to explore the training zone with the greatest impact on performance improvement. The sample consisted of 14 male recreational cyclists aged 41.

Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes, Impaired Fasting Glucose, and Diabetes Risk in an Adult and Older North-Eastern Portuguese Population.

The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in a middle-aged north-eastern Portuguese population, (2) to analyze the prevalence of impaired fasting glucose (IFG), and (3) to assess the risk of T2D in this community-based sample. An exploratory, retrospective, and cross-sectional study was conducted from a total of 6570 individuals aged 18-102 years, among which 3865 were women (57.4 ± 18.

Interaction of Kinematic, Kinetic, and Energetic Predictors of Young Swimmers' Speed.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the interaction of kinematic, kinetic, and energetic variables as speed predictors in adolescent swimmers in the front-crawl stroke.

Design: Ten boys (mean age [SD] = 16.4 [0.

Race Analysis and Determination of Stroke Frequency - Stroke Length Combinations during the 50-M Freestyle Event.

The aims of this study were to: (1) analyze and compare the stroke kinematics between junior and senior elite male swimmers in every section of the race during the 50-m freestyle event, and; (2) identify stroke frequency (SF)-stroke length (SL) combinations on swim speed independently for junior and senior swimmers in each section of the 50-m freestyle event. Eighty-six junior swimmers (2019) and 95 seniors (2021) competing in the 50-m long course meter LEN Championships were analyzed. The t-test independent samples (p ≤ 0.

Relationship between Oxygen Uptake Reserve and Heart Rate Reserve in Young Male Tennis Players: Implications for Physical Fitness Monitoring.

The aims of this study were to (i) verify the relationship between reserve oxygen uptake (VO) and reserve heart rate (HR) in young male tennis players, and (ii) understand the relationship between oxygen uptake (VO) measured at the end of a tennis drill and recovery heart rate (HR) after the tennis drill. Ten young male tennis players (16.64 ± 1.

Validation of StepTest4all for Assessing Cardiovascular Capacity in Young Adults.

Background: Cardiovascular capacity, expressed as maximal oxygen uptake (VO), is a strong predictor of health and fitness and is considered a key measure of physiological function in the healthy adult population. The purpose of this study was to validate a specific step test (StepTest4all) as an adequate procedure to estimate cardiovascular capacity in young adults.

Methods: The sample was composed of 56 participants, including 19 women (aged 21.

Structural Equation Modelling for Predicting the Relative Contribution of Each Component in the Metabolic Syndrome Status Change.

Understanding the factor weighting in the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS) may help to predict the progression for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop a confirmatory model to describe and explain the direct and indirect effect of each component in MetS status change. A total of 3581 individuals diagnosed with MetS, aged 18−102 years, were selected between January 2019 and December 2020 from a community-representative sample of Portuguese adults in a north-eastern Portuguese region to test the model’s goodness of fit.

Aerodynamic analysis of human walking, running and sprinting by numerical simulations.

The drag in walking, running and sprinting locomotion can be assessed by analytical procedures and experimental techniques. However, assessing the drag variations by the above-mentioned types of locomotion were not found using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Thus, the aim of this study was two-fold: (1) to assess the aerodynamics of human walking, running and sprinting by CFD technique; 2) compare such aerodynamic characteristics between walking and running.

Stability analysis and prediction of pacing in elite 1500 m freestyle male swimmers.

This study aimed to analyse the stability of elite male long-distance swimmers (1500 m), and to identify the main predictors related to the pace. The performance of 16 elite male swimmers (22.59 ± 2.

The aging influence on cardiorespiratory, metabolic, and energy expenditure adaptations in head-out aquatic exercises: Differences between young and elderly women.

The purpose of this study was to: (1) establish the relationship between acute physiological responses and musical cadence; and (2) compare physiologic responses between young and older women. Eighteen older (mean = 65.06 ± 5.

Longitudinal study in male swimmers: a hierachical modeling of energetics and biomechanical contributions for performance.

The aim of this study was to assess the pooled and individual response of male swimmers over two consecutive years of training and identify the energetic and biomechanical factors that most contributed for the final performance. Nine competitive swimmers (20.0 ± 3.

Longitudinal interventions in elite swimming: a systematic review based on energetics, biomechanics, and performance.

Longitudinal information requires the notion of repeated measurements throughout time. Such data is important because it allows the determination of the effectiveness of an intervention program. Research in competitive swimming has given special emphasis to energetics and biomechanics as determinant domains to improve performance.

Stability of elite freestyle performance from childhood to adulthood.

Stability of athletic performance is important for practitioners and coaches, since it allows the selection of appropriate training methods and prediction of ages for best results. We performed a longitudinal study of 1694 season-best performances of 242 elite-standard swimmers throughout their careers, from 12 to 18 years of age. Mean stability (descriptive statistics and one-way repeated-measures ANOVA, followed by a Bonferroni post-hoc test) and normative stability (Cohen's kappa tracking index and the Pearson correlation coefficient) were determined for seven consecutive seasons.

Tracking the performance, energetics and biomechanics of international versus national level swimmers during a competitive season.

The purpose of this study was to track and compare the changes of performance, energetic and biomechanical profiles of international (Int) and national (Nat) level swimmers during a season. Ten Portuguese male swimmers (four Int and six Nat level subjects) were evaluated on three different time periods (TP(1), TP(2), TP(3)) of the 2009-2010 season. Swimming performance was assessed based on official time's lists of the 200-m freestyle event.

Longitudinal Study in 3,000 m Male Runners: Relationship between Performance and Selected Physiological Parameters.

The purpose of the present study was to analyze longitudinal changes in 3,000 m running performance and the relationship with selected physiological parameters. Eighteen well-trained male middle-distance runners were measured six times (x3 per year) throughout two consecutive competitive seasons. The following parameters were measured on each occasion: maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), running economy (RE), velocity at maximal oxygen uptake (vVO2max), velocity at 4mmol L(-1) blood lactate concentration (V4), and performance velocity (km·h(-1)) in 3,000 m time trials.

Tracking the performance of world-ranked swimmers.

Tracking the swimming performance is important to analyze its progression and stability between competitions and help coaches to define realistic goals and to select appropriate training methods. The aim of this study was to track world-ranked male swimmer's performance during five consecutive seasons (from 2003/2004 to 2007/2008) in Olympic freestyle events. An overall of 477 swimmers and 2385 season best performances were analyzed.

Actigraph calibration in obese/overweight and type 2 diabetes mellitus middle-aged to old adult patients.

Background: Several methods exist to asses and control physical intensity levels of subjects engaged in physical activities programs, accelerometry is a method that could be easily used in the field. The purposes were: to calibrate Actigraph in middle-aged to old obese/overweight and DM2 adult patients; and to determine the threshold counts for sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity (PA).

Methods: Sample comprise 26 participants (62.

Effects of musical cadence in the acute physiologic adaptations to head-out aquatic exercises.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationships between musical cadence and the physiologic adaptations to basic head-out aquatic exercises. Fifteen young and clinically healthy women performed, immersed to the breast, a cardiovascular aquatic exercise called the "rocking horse." The study design included an intermittent and progressive protocol starting at a 90 b.

Energetics and biomechanics as determining factors of swimming performance: updating the state of the art.

The biophysical determinants related to swimming performance are one of the most attractive topics within swimming science. The aim of this paper was to do an update of the "state of art" about the interplay between performance, energetic and biomechanics in competitive swimming. Throughout the manuscript some recent highlights are described: (i) the relationship between swimmer's segmental kinematics (segmental velocities, stroke length, stroke frequency, stroke index and coordination index) and his center of mass kinematics (swimming velocity and speed fluctuation); (ii) the relationships between energetic (energy expenditure and energy cost) and swimmer's kinematics; and (iii) the prediction of swimming performance derived from above mentioned parameters.

Net heart rate to prescribe physical activity in middle-aged to older active adults.

i) to develop a regression equation to estimate metabolic equivalent (MET) in walk/run by heart rate increment above rest (NetHR), and; ii) to determine NetHR thresholds for light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity (PA), from middle aged to elderly. Sample 1 (prediction sample) comprised 39 subjects (19 male and 20 female), with 58.2 ± 11.