The Impact of Fluid Loss and Carbohydrate Consumption during Exercise, on Young Cyclists' Fatigue Perception in Relation to Training Load Level

A meta-analysis of the criterion-related validity of Session-RPE scales in adolescent athletes

BACKGROUND

The objective of this study was to establish the criterion-related validity of the session-rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE) method in adolescent athletes.

METHODS

According to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) guidelines, a meta-analysis (PROSPERO ID: CRD42022373126) was performed using Stata 15.1 software. Eight databases using the following terms: ('s-RPE' OR 'Rating Perceived Exertion session' OR 'RPE session' OR 'RPE' OR 'Rate of Perceived Exertion' OR 'Rated of Perceived Exertion') AND ('Adolescen*' OR 'Youth*' OR 'Teen*') AND ('validity' OR 'correlation' OR 'concurrent validity') were searched up to 2022. Articles meeting the inclusion criteria were screened and adopted the "Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS)" to evaluate the risk of bias.

RESULTS

An initial 1798 studies using the s-RPE method were identified and finally, a total of 16 studies were included for further analysis. The relationship between assessment instruments CR-10 or CR-100 modified methods of s-RPE and the heart rate measures of these selected studies were calculated using correlation coefficient (r values) and Fisher's z-score. A strong to very strong correlation between s-RPE and HR was observed (overall: r = 0.74; CR-10: r = 0.69; CR-100: r = 0.80). CR-100 scale (Fisher's z = 1.09) was shown to have a higher criterion validity than that of the CR-10 scale (Fisher's z = 0.85).

CONCLUSION

Preliminary findings showed that s-RPE using either CR-10 or CR-100 scales can be used "stand-alone" for monitoring internal training load for children and adolescent athletes. Future studies should focus on whether CR-100 could better perform than CR-10 for junior and children athletes in different age groups and sports as well as the causes leading to potential scoring biases.

Dehydration, Wellness, and Training Demands of Professional Soccer Players during Preseason

Purpose

Our study is aimed at analyzing the relationships between water loss and a professional soccer team's internal and external training load throughout the first three months of a season, covering all the preseason and the first two months of the competitive season.

Methods

This study followed an observational analytic design. Twenty-seven athletes (age: 25.5 ± 4.1 years, height: 180.7 ± 8.2 cm, and body mass: 78.4 ± 8.7 kg) were included in the study, conducted over the first three months of the season. Players were weighed at the beginning and end of all training sessions to estimate fluid losses. They were asked to complete a wellness questionnaire and indicate the color of the first urine of the day upon their arrival at the practice session. Additionally, all sessions were monitored for locomotor demands.

Results

We found a positive correlation between urine color and sprint distance (r = 0.46, p = 0.01) and a positive correlation between dehydration and rating of perceived exertion (r = 0.44, p = 0.015), whereas a negative correlation between dehydration and number of acceleration (r = −0.39, p = 0.034).

Conclusions

Dehydration increased perceived physical exertion. Regularly monitoring training load and changes in body mass, as well as raising awareness about hydration, can contribute to cognitive and physical performance.

Musculoskeletal Pain in Gymnasts: A Retrospective Analysis on a Cohort of Professional Athletes

Gymnastics athletes are exposed to a high risk of injury, but also of developing musculoskeletal pain. These data are still little investigated in the available scientific literature. An online survey was distributed to 79 professional athletes who practiced artistic and rhythmic gymnastics. The survey collected demographic and anthropometric data, information about the sport practice, the training sessions, the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain gymnastics-related, and lifestyle habits. Musculoskeletal pain had a high prevalence, involving 65 of 79 athletes (82.3%). A significant correlation was found between musculoskeletal pain and the duration of sports practice, both for general pain (p = 0.041) and for specific districts: right wrist pain (p = 0.031), left wrist pain (p = 0.028), right shoulder (p = 0.039), left hip (p = 0.031), right thigh (p = 0.031), and left knee (p = 0.005). Another statistical association was found between right wrist pain and BMI (p = 0.001), and hip pain and BMI (p = 0.030). Hours spent in a sitting position were also correlated with the incidence of pain (p = 0.045). Wrist pain and right shoulder pain had a statistically significant association with the age of the athletes (right wrist pain: p = 0.038; left wrist pain: p = 0.004; right shoulder pain: p = 0.035). The more the gymnasts practice this sport, the more likely they are to develop musculoskeletal pain. Increased age and a higher BMI, as well as daily prolonged sitting position, seem to be potential risk factors for the onset of musculoskeletal pain. Future studies could plan training strategies aimed at preventing musculoskeletal pain associated with gymnastics, in order to promote its further spread.

The Use of Dietary Supplements in Fitness Practitioners: A Cross-Sectional Observation Study

This study was aimed at evaluating the prevalence of use of dietary supplements (DSs) among gym users and gym instructors involved in body shaping-oriented fitness training. Furthermore, this study aimed to verify whether differences existed in the prevalence and in the types of DSs used in both gym users and gym instructors involved in body shaping-oriented fitness competitions vs. those not involved in fitness competitions. A survey was distributed to 316 participants, composed of 89 gym instructors and 227 gym users of both genders aged 27.3 ± 7.7. Among these participants, 52 were involved in competitions and 248 were not, while 16 participants did not specify either way. The results showed a high prevalence in the use of DSs in the population considered, with 85.4% of the participants declaring they used DSs, with high heterogeneity in the numbers and in the combinations used. No differences were found between gym instructors and gym users, or between participants involved and those not involved in competitions. The results indicate that DSs are widely used by persons involved in body shaping-oriented fitness training. The results also suggest that the majority of the participants decided individually which DSs to use.