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Objective: This study investigates the efficacy of training methodologies aimed at mitigating asymmetries in lower limb strength and explosiveness among basketball players., Methods: Thirty male university basketball athletes were enrolled in this research. Initial assessments were made regarding their physical attributes, strength, and explosiveness. Subsequently, the participants were randomly allocated into two groups: an experimental group (EG, n = 15) and a control group (CG, n = 15). Over 10 weeks, the EG engaged in a unilateral compound training regimen, incorporating resistance training exercises such as split squats, Bulgarian split squats, box step-ups, and single-leg calf raises (non-dominant leg: three sets of six repetitions; dominant leg: one set of six repetitions) and plyometric drills including lunge jumps, single-leg hops with back foot raise, single-leg lateral jumps, and single-leg continuous hopping (non-dominant leg: three sets of 12 repetitions; dominant leg: one set of 12 repetitions). The CG continued with their standard training routine. Assessments of limb asymmetry and athletic performance were conducted before and after the intervention to evaluate changes., Results: 1) Body morphology assessments showed limb length and circumference discrepancies of less than 3 cm. The initial average asymmetry percentages in the single-leg countermovement jump (SLCMJ) for jump height, power, and impulse were 15.56%, 12.4%, and 4.48%, respectively. 2) Post-intervention, the EG demonstrated a significant reduction in the asymmetry percentages of SLCMJ height and power ( p < 0.01), along with improvements in the isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) test metrics ( p < 0.05). 3) The EG also showed marked enhancements in the double-leg countermovement jump (CMJ) and standing long jump (SLJ) outcomes compared to the CG ( p < 0.01), as well as in squat performance ( p < 0.05)., Conclusion: The 10-week unilateral compound training program effectively reduced the asymmetry in lower limb strength and explosiveness among elite male university basketball players, contributing to increased maximal strength and explosiveness., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Zhang, Chen, Xu, Xie, Chen, Zhu, Ji, Li and Sun.)

Introduction: In sports, 10 m, 30 m and 40m events are used to test the athlete's acceleration ability, which depends on the coordination of physiological and neural function and can be greatly improved through scientific training., Evidence Acquisition: This study conducted a systematic meta-analysis on the intermittent time of post-activation potentiation enhancement (PAPE) and the outcome measure was the sprint ability in 10 m and 30 m events. Data Sources : Web of Science, PubMed, ProQuest, Embase, Science Direct, Google Scholar, WanFang Data and CNKI. Study eligibility criteria : to qualify for inclusion in meta-analysis, the study must be: 1) healthy people (athletes, students); 2) randomized controlled trials; 3) Barbell squat was used to induce PAPE; 4) intervention period of at least 6 weeks; and 5) an outcome indicator of sprinting ability., Evidence Synthesis: We used the inverse-variance random-effects model for meta-analyses. Effect sizes (standardized mean difference), calculated from measures of horizontally orientated performance, were represented by the standardized mean difference and presented alongside 95% confidence intervals (CI). A total of 9 studies including 141 participants, met the inclusion criteria. The sprint ability in 10 meters (ES=-0.03, P<0.0001) and 30 meters events (ES=-0.03, P=0.004) could be significantly improved when the intermittent time of PAPE was 4-8 min. When the intensity of the squat load was 85%1RM~100%1RM, compared with the intermittent time of 0-3min, 9-12min, and more than 13min, the sprint ability in 10 meters (ES=-0.04, P<0.0001) and 30 meters events (ES=-0.08, P=0.0001) was incredibly enhanced if the intermittent time was 4-8 minutes. Compared with college students, the sprint ability in 10-meter (ES=-0.03, P<0.0001) and 30-meter (ES=-0.04, P=0.001) events was significantly improved in athletes when the intermittent time of PAPE was 4-8 minutes. Compared with non-ball games, the sprint ability in 10 meters (ES=-0.04, P<0.0001) and 30 meters (ES=-0.09, P=0.0002) in ball games was significantly improved when the intermittent time of PAPE was 4-8 minutes., Conclusions: Our meta-analysis indicated that when squats were used as the induction and the load intensity was 85% 1RM~100% 1RM, the sprint ability in 10-meter and 30-meter events could be significantly improved if the intermittent time was 4-8min. According to the analysis on different population, compared with college students and non-ball games, the 10-meter and 30-meter the sprint ability were significantly improved in athletes and ball games when the intermittent time was 4-8 minutes. Therefore, future research should focus on developing a reasonable combination of load stimulation and intermittent time according to the sprint ability to better induce PAPE.

Excessive exercise leads to myocardial injury or even sudden exercise death. For the vast sports population, appropriate physiological state is a necessary condition for exercise. The present study aims to investigate the cardioprotective effects and potent mechanism of astragalus polysaccharide (APS) treatment against the exercise-induced myocardial injury via in vitro cell-based assay and in vivo model rat. Efficacies of APS incubation on the inflammatory response and oxidative stress induced by LPS were both explored in H9c2 cells by using CCK-8 and western blotting method, respectively. Normal SD rats were randomly divided into saline-treated overexercise rat group, and APS-treated overexercise rat groups with three doses. Then long-term swimming training load cycle (8 week) were performed on these rats. Finally, the changes on body weight, myocardial morphological and injury indicators, as well as the inflammation-related proteins in overexercise-induced model rats were all assessed. Three concentrations of APS all significantly increased cell viability, and decreased the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes in LPS-treated H9c2 cells. Moreover, chronic treatment of APS at all three doses also could obviously decreased myocardial injury-related indicators. Furthermore, the histopathologic examination exhibited that the APS successfully attenuated the changes of myocardial tissues, reduced the lipid accumulation and the protein levels of IL-1β, TNF-α and NF-κB. Furthermore, the APS could activate the AMPK signaling pathway, enhance the autophagy and suppress the production of ROS. On conclusions, APS exerted the protective efficacies on overexercise-induced myocardial injury by activating the AMPK signaling pathway to increase autophagy and suppress the inflammation response, oxidative stress, apoptosis of myocardial cells.