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Horgan, BG, Tee, N, West, NP, Drinkwater, EJ, Halson, SL, Colomer, CME, Fonda, CJ, Tatham, J, Chapman, DW, and Haff, GG. Acute performance, daily well-being and hormone responses to water immersion after resistance exercise in junior international and subelite male volleyball athletes. J Strength Cond Res37(8): 1643–1653, 2023—Athletes use postexercise hydrotherapy strategies to improve recovery and competition performance and to enhance adaptative responses to training. Using a randomized cross-over design, the acute effects of 3 postresistance exercise water immersion strategies on perceived recovery, neuromuscular performance, and hormone concentrations in junior international and subelite male volleyball athletes (n= 18) were investigated. After resistance exercise, subjects randomly completed either 15-minute passive control (CON), contrast water therapy (CWT), cold (CWI), or hot water immersion (HWI) interventions. A treatment effect occurred after HWI; reducing perceptions of fatigue (HWI > CWT: p= 0.05, g= 0.43); improved sleep quality, compared with CON (p< 0.001, g= 1.15), CWI (p= 0.017, g= 0.70), and CWT (p= 0.018, g= 0.51); as well as increasing testosterone concentration (HWI > CWT: p= 0.038, g= 0.24). There were trivial to small (p< 0.001–0.039, g= 0.02–0.34) improvements (treatment effect) in jump performance (i.e., squat jump and countermovement jump) after all water immersion strategies, as compared with CON, with high variability in the individual responses. There were no significant differences (interaction effect, p> 0.05) observed between the water immersion intervention strategies and CON in performance (p= 0.153–0.99), hormone (p= 0.207–0.938), nor perceptual (p= 0.368–0.955) measures. To optimize recovery and performance responses, e.g., during an in-season competition phase, postresistance exercise HWI may assist with providing small-to-large improvements for up to 38 hours in perceived recovery (i.e., increased sleep quality and reduced fatigue) and increases in circulating testosterone concentration. Practitioners should consider individual athlete neuromuscular performance responses when prescribing postexercise hydrotherapy. These findings apply to athletes who aim to improve their recovery status, where postresistance exercise HWI optimizes sleep quality and next-day perceptions of fatigue.

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text.Horgan, BG, West, NP, Tee, N, Drinkwater, EJ, Halson, SL, Vider, J, Fonda, CJ, Haff, GG, and Chapman, DW. Acute inflammatory, anthropometric, and perceptual (muscle soreness) effects of postresistance exercise water immersion in junior international and subelite male volleyball athletes. J Strength Cond Res36(12): 3473–3484, 2022—Athletes use water immersion strategies to recover from training and competition. This study investigated the acute effects of postexercise water immersion after resistance exercise. Eighteen elite and subelite male volleyball athletes participated in an intervention using a randomized cross-over design. On separate occasions after resistance exercise, subjects completed 1 of 4 15-minute interventions: control (CON), cold water immersion (CWI), contrast water therapy (CWT), or hot water immersion (HWI). Significance was accepted at p≤ 0.05. Resistance exercise induced significant temporal changes (time effect) for inflammatory, anthropometric, perceptual, and performance measures. Serum creatine kinase was reduced (g= 0.02–0.30) after CWI (p= 0.007), CWT (p= 0.006), or HWI (p< 0.001) vs. CON, whereas it increased significantly (g= 0.50) after CWI vs. HWI. Contrast water therapy resulted in significantly higher (g= 0.56) interleukin-6 concentrations vs. HWI. Thigh girth increased (g= 0.06–0.16) after CWI vs. CON (p= 0.013) and HWI (p< 0.001) and between CWT vs. HWI (p= 0.050). Similarly, calf girth increased (g= 0.01–0.12) after CWI vs. CON (p= 0.039) and CWT (p= 0.018), and HWI vs. CON (p= 0.041) and CWT (p= 0.018). Subject belief in a postexercise intervention strategy was associated with HSP72 (“believer”>“nonbeliever,” p= 0.026), muscle soreness (“believer”>“nonbeliever,” p= 0.002), and interleukin-4 (“nonbeliever”>“believer,” p= 0.002). There were no significant treatment × time (interaction effect) pairwise comparisons. Choice of postexercise water immersion strategy (i.e., cold, contrast, or hot) combined with a belief in the efficacy of that strategy to enhance recovery or performance improves biological and perceptual markers of muscle damage and soreness. On same or subsequent days where resistance exercise bouts are performed, practitioners should consider athlete beliefs when prescribing postexercise water immersion, to reduce muscle soreness.

Dudley, CE, Drinkwater, EJ, and Feros, SA. Different cluster-loading protocols have no effect on intraset and interset power expression. J Strength Cond Res36(7): 1763–1769, 2022—This study investigated the effect of cluster-loading protocols on changes in hang power clean (HPC) power characteristics. Ten trained weightlifters (7 male, 3 female, HPC 1.28 [M]; 1.03 [F] × body mass) completed 4 experimental protocols in a randomized repeated-measures design. Protocols were traditional, a basic cluster, and 2 undulating clusters. Each protocol comprised 3 sets of 5 HPC repetitions at an average of 70% 1 repetition maximum (RM). The load for undulating cluster protocols ranged between 60 and 80% 1RM. Countermovement jumps (CMJs) were performed before and after each protocol to gauge effect on neuromuscular status. Statistical analysis comprised a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance. Peak power was significantly greater in the fifth repetition of the basic cluster set protocol compared with the traditional set protocol (mean ± SD: 6.6 ± 2.8%, p= 0.043, g= 0.25). Neither undulating load protocol significantly altered set power characteristics compared with basic cluster sets; however, when analyzing repetition data, peak power increased as load increased (and vice versa), indicating the prescribed loads were suboptimal for power expression in this sample. There was no change in CMJ height between protocols. Coaches should prescribe inter-repetition rest to maintain peak power across multiple repetitions and sets. Basic cluster protocols seem to be the most practical choice over undulating cluster protocols because there is no need to adjust load between repetitions.

ABSTRACTWhile recent research has indicated that personalised motor imagery (MI) interventions are beneficial to skill performance, little research has investigated the influence of personalised MI on performance of complex weightlifting movements. In addition, this research has rarely compared the efficacy of personalised scripts with instructor-generated scripts and has focused mainly on performance outcomes as opposed to examining the performance processes. A total of 16 individuals novice in the power clean were randomly allocated to one of two conditions: personalised MI, or instructor-generated MI. Participants engaged in a 6-week training intervention, completing three power clean sessions per week. Scripts were listened to five times each week. Results indicated no significant between-condition differences for total forward displacement at 1RM and 90% 1RM (both p = 0.27), but there was a significant difference at 80% of 1RM for total forward displacement between conditions (p = 0.04, g = −0.94). Differences between conditions for rearward displacement were not significant at any intensities (p = 0.54). No significant (p = 0.16–0.97) between-condition differences in kinetic variables were detected at any intensity over the 6-week training period. Findings indicate that the differences in script content do not influence the development of complex weightlifting movements. A large degree of variation was evident when observing the SD’s of technical variables for each group which may have contributed to the present results. Future research should seek analysis techniques that allows for further investigation of movement variability and how this impacts the efficacy of personalised MI.

The study determines the effects of resistance or aerobic exercise training on interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) and pretraining and posttraining associations between alterations of IL-6 and CRP and alterations of body composition. Evidence suggests only resistance exercise training causes significant reduction of CRP concentration.

Context:After an intense bout of exercise, foam rolling is thought to alleviate muscle fatigue and soreness (ie, delayed-onset muscle soreness DOMS) and improve muscular performance. Potentially, foam rolling may be an effective therapeutic modality to reduce DOMS while enhancing the recovery of muscular performance.Objective:To examine the effects of foam rolling as a recovery tool after an intense exercise protocol through assessment of pressure-pain threshold, sprint time, change-of-direction speed, power, and dynamic strength-endurance.Design:Controlled laboratory study.Setting:University laboratory.Patients or Other Participants:A total of 8 healthy, physically active males (age 22.1 ± 2.5 years, height 177.0 ± 7.5 cm, mass 88.4 ± 11.4 kg) participated.Intervention(s):Participants performed 2 conditions, separated by 4 weeks, involving 10 sets of 10 repetitions of back squats at 60 of their 1-repetition maximum, followed by either no foam rolling or 20 minutes of foam rolling immediately, 24, and 48 hours postexercise.Main Outcome Measure(s):Pressure-pain threshold, sprint speed (30-m sprint time), power (broad-jump distance), change-of-direction speed (T-test), and dynamic strength-endurance.Results:Foam rolling substantially improved quadriceps muscle tenderness by a moderate to large amount in the days after fatigue (Cohen d range, 0.59 to 0.84). Substantial effects ranged from small to large in sprint time (Cohen d range, 0.68 to 0.77), power (Cohen d range, 0.48 to 0.87), and dynamic strength-endurance (Cohen d 0.54).Conclusions:Foam rolling effectively reduced DOMS and associated decrements in most dynamic performance measures.

NEUROMUSCULAR TRAINING OF THE SPINAL STABILIZING MUSCULATURE IS RELEVANT FOR LOWER BACK PAIN PREVENTION AND TREATMENT. INSTABILITY RESISTANCE EXERCISES PROMOTE COCONTRACTIONS, INCREASING JOINT STABILITY. OF GREATEST IMPORTANCE TO JOINT STABILITY IS NOT NECESSARILY STRENGTH OR ENDURANCE BUT MOTOR CONTROL. DYNAMIC PROVOCATIVE CALISTHENIC EXERCISES MAY IMPROVE CORE STABILIZING FUNCTIONS. HIGHER CORE MUSCLE ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE WITH STABLE GROUND-BASED EXERCISES. PERFORMING RESISTANCE EXERCISES ON UNSTABLE SURFACES MAY HAVE BENEFITS IN JOINT INJURY PREVENTION AND IMPROVING BALANCE; HOWEVER, STRENGTH GAINS COULD BE COMPROMISED. HIGHER LEVELS OF DYNAMIC STABILIZATION MAY BE RECOMMENDED WITH REHABILITATION BUT SHOULD ONLY BE ONE COMPONENT OF A PERIODIZED PLAN.

We assessed the magnitude of changes in fitness and anthropometric test scores of well-trained basketball players between phases of a year and over several years. Players were 1011 females and 1087 males in Basketball Australia’s State and National junior programs (1862 and 236 players respectively). Players undertook a set of three fitness and three anthropometric tests on 2.6 ± 2.0 (mean ±SD) occasions over 0.8 ± 1.0 y. Mixed modeling was used to estimate mean changes within and between seasons, and to estimate individual variability as the standard deviation of change scores between assessments. Changes were expressed as standardized (Cohen) effect sizes for interpretation of magnitudes (trivial <0.2; small 0.2-0.6, moderate 0.6-1.2). In the first 2 y National and State males showed small longitudinal improvements in body mass, skinfolds, and shuttle-run performance (effect size 0.28 – 0.42). After 2 y National females made small improvements in most tests (0.27 – 0.42), but National males showed a small decline in shuttle-run performance (0.55). Other changes in mean test scores within and between seasons were trivial. Individuals showed small to moderate variability about the mean change between phases (0.23 – 0.87) and between years (0.26 – 1.03), with State-level players having greater variation in all tests (State/National ratio 1.1 – 2.4). Coaches or sport scientists monitoring or modifying fitness of basketball players should recognize there is generally little overall change in mean fitness within and between seasons. They should also take into account the small to moderate changes in individuals.