The study aimed to determine the effects of 6 months daily physical activity on physical fitness in preschool children. A total of 72 children (36 boys) and 92 children (47 boys) composed the ...experimental (EG) and control group (CG), respectively. We used the PREFIT battery access physical fitness. In EG, participants had 45 minutes of organized physical activity 5 days per week. The CG continued their usual routine with 30 minutes of structured physical activity two times per week. The EG improved the mean performance of grip strength (η
=0.08) and sit-ups in the 30s (
=0.16) to a significantly greater extent as compared to the CG. In boys, the improvements of mean performance of handgrip strength (η
=0.13), 4x10m shuttle run η
=0.09), standing long jump (η
=0.05), sit-ups in 30s (η
=0.17) were significantly greater in EG than in the CG. However, girls in EG only had significant improvements in the sit-ups in the 30 s test compared to CG (η
=0.14). Overall, our study shows that after 6 months of daily exercise programme, preschool children improved muscular strength compared to those peers allocated in the control group. No significant differences between groups were found in the remaining fitness components analysed.
The ability to differentiate the elite from nonelite athletes is not clearly defined. We investigated level differences in speed, change of direction speed (CODS), and reactive agility in a group of ...trained adolescent soccer players. A total of 75 adolescent male soccer players (aged 14–19 years) were recruited. The players were grouped based on the level of play to elite, sub-elite, and amateur players. Players were tested for 5-, 10- and 20-m sprints, CODS, and reactive agility tests (RAT). Elite players had faster reaction movement time during RAT with live opponent stimuli (p ≤ 0.01) compared to sub-elite and amateur players. Moreover, elite players showed a faster time during light stimuli (p ≤ 0.01) but only compared to amateur players. The times for 5-m and 10-m sprint groups did not differ (p > 0.05). The results demonstrated that the skilled players (elite and sub-elite) performed better in reactive agility tests, speed, and COD speed compared to amateur players. Additionally, we can conclude that total and reaction time in the agility test with live opponent stimuli can be a significant factor that differentiates between adolescent soccer players considering their level.
Studies dealing with the effectiveness of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 11+ prevention program to improve performance outcomes in children aged < 14 years are limited. ...This study aimed to point out the effects of the application of short-term FIFA 11+ warm-up program on physical performance in young football players. Participants were 36 youth male football players, divided into a FIFA 11+ (n = 19; mean (SD) age: 11.15 (0.79) y) and a control group (CG: n = 17; age: 10.87 (0.8) y) and trained for 4 weeks. Before and after the training period, standing long jump performance, agility, repeated sprint ability, sit and reach, and "30-15" intermittent fitness tests were assessed. A mixed ANOVA showed significant differences between the groups in the standing long jump test (FIFA 11+: 5.6% vs. CG: -1.9%) in favor of FIFA 11+ over CG. Additionally, the FIFA 11+ performance of the Illinois agility test was significantly better compared to the CG performance (FIFA 11+: -1.9% vs. CG: 0.03%). The main findings of this study suggest that just 4 weeks of implementation of the FIFA 11+ improves physical performance compared with traditional warm-up routines in young soccer players.
There is a strong need for a new, probably cheaper, smaller, and more portable isometric dynamometer. With this aim, we investigated the concurrent validity and reliability of a low-cost portable ...dynamometer to measure the isometric strength of the lower limb. Seventeen young participants (age 16.47 ± 0.51 years) were randomly assessed on three different days for knee flexion and extension isometric forces with two different devices: a commonly used isokinetic dynamometer (ISOC) and a portable isometric dynamometer prototype (ISOM). No significant differences were observed between the ISOC and the ISOM (all comparisons p > 0.05). Test–retest comparison showed the ISOM to have high reliability (ICC 0.879–0.990). This study showed that measurements with the ISOM could be performed without systematic bias and with high reliability. The ISOM is a device that is able to assess knee isometric strength with excellent concurrent validity and reliability.
Functional movement is an important part of developing athletes' but also untrained individuals' performance. Its monitoring also proved useful in identifying functional limitations and asymmetries, ...and also in determining the intervention effects. The quasi-experimental pre-test post-test study investigated the effects of core stability training program on the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) score in untrained students after six weeks. The intervention (INT) and control (CG) groups included 73 and 65 male students, respectively. Functional movement patterns were evaluated using the FMS including seven components scores representing seven basic functional patterns. Both groups significantly improved almost all FMS components scores, but the INT increased the mean performance of the hurdle step (partial
× 100 = 4%,
= 0.02), in-line lunge (partial
× 100 = 3%,
= 0.05), rotatory stability (partial
× 100 = 4%,
= 0.02) and total FMS (partial
× 100 = 3%,
= 0.04) significantly more than the CG. This justifies that core strengthening can improve FMS in untrained individuals even with the short duration programs.
There is a strong relationship between body composition and performance in male soccer players. This study aimed to display an optimal body height and weight, and body composition profile of male ...soccer players for four competitive age groups. This cross-sectional study included four groups: U-15 (n = 152), U-17 (n = 154), U-19 (n = 61), and seniors (n = 27). Body height and weight were measured under standard conditions, and the bioelectrical impedance analyzer (BIA) analyzed body composition. On average, soccer players in the U-15 group had significantly lower body height, weight, body mass index, skeletal muscle mass, fat-free mass, total body water and basal metabolic rate than U-17, U-19 and seniors, but a higher percentage of body fat than U-17 and U-19, p < 0.05. In addition, the results show significant non-linear increases in body height, weight and body composition as the age of soccer players increases, with the exception of the percentage of body fat mass, which tends to significantly decrease with age. The main findings of this study are that body fat mass remains stable and similar across all age groups, including in the senior squad.
Generalized joint hypermobility (GJH) is suggested as a contributing factor for injuries in young athletes and adults. It is presumed that GJH causes decreased joint stability, thereby increasing the ...risk of joint and soft tissue injuries during sports activities. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between the hypermobility score (using the Beighton`s modification of the Carter-Wilkinson criteria of hypermobility) in gymnasts and injury rate, during the period of one year.
This study observed 24 artistic gymnasts (11-26 years old), members of Qatar National Team in artistic gymnastics. We examined the Beighton joint hypermobility screen and a seasonal injury survey. The gymnasts characteristics (age, gender) and gymnastics characteristics (training per day and number of years in training artistic gymnastics) and their relations to injury rate were also included.
The most common injury was the lower back pain injury, followed by knee, shoulder, hip and ankle injuries. We found strong correlation of number of years gymnastics training and injury rate (P<0.001). There is no significant correlation in the numbers of training hours during one week and hypermobility score to numbers of injuries (P>0.05).
According to this study there is no correlation between GJH and injury rate in artistic gymnasts in Qatar. Total training period in gymnastics have greater contribution in injury rate.
The early detection and continuous monitoring of children’s motor competence levels and physical fitness is very important. The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in motor ...coordination of children enrolled in soccer and multisport activities. The participants of this study included 147 boys and girls (mean age 7.60 ± 0.85 years). The total sample of subjects was composed of two subgroups: children who were enrolled in organized exercise programs—multisports (n = 77), and children who were engaged in soccer training (n = 70). Motor coordination was evaluated with the Kiphard–Schilling body coordination test (KTK). Physical fitness was assessed with a 20 m shuttle run test, 4 × 10 m shuttle run test, standing long jump, and handgrip strength. The ANCOVA showed significant differences (p < 0.05) with large effect size between groups for tests hopping for height (d = 0.93), total motor quotient (d = 1.31), jumping sideways (d = 1.32), and moving sideways (d = 1.59), after adjusting for age and gender. There were no significant differences between groups in the physical fitness tests. It can be concluded that children enrolled in multisport activities have higher levels of motor coordination than children who are enrolled only in soccer. Therefore, multiple sport training programs should be considered and encouraged by parents, educators, and other training professionals.
Swimming is a form of physical activity and a life-saving skill. However, only a few studies have identified swimming ability classifiers in preschool children. This pilot cross-sectional study aimed ...to find anthropometric (AM) and motor competence (MC) predictors of swimming ability in preschool children, by building classifiers of swimming ability group (SAG) membership. We recruited 92 children (girls n = 45) aged 5-6 years and took the AM and MC measurements in accordance with the reference manual and using the KTK battery test (motor quotient, MQ), respectively. A linear discriminant analysis tested a classification model of preschoolers' swimming ability (SAG: POOR, GOOD, EXCELLENT) based on gender, age, AM, and MC variables and extracted one significant canonical discriminant function (model fit: 61.2%) that can differentiate (group centroids) POOR (-1.507), GOOD (0.032), and EXCELLENT (1.524). The MQ total was identified as a significant classifier, which absolutely contributed to the discriminant function that classifies children's swimming ability as POOR (standardized canonical coefficient: 1.186), GOOD (1.363), or EXCELLENT (1.535) with an accuracy of 64.1%. Children with higher MQ total ought to be classified into higher SAG; thus, the classification model of SAG based on the MQ total is presented.
•Reference intervals for grip strength in Serbian children are first-time established.•Age- and gender-specific reference intervals are based on the large sample (n = 1602).•Growth charts consisted ...of the smooth 2.5th-97.5th centile curves are also given.•Given materials enable professionals to track the growth of children's grip strength.
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