Physical fitness is a powerful marker of health in youth. Studies in adolescents and adults suggest that higher fat mass is related to worse physical fitness. However, there is limited knowledge whether fat mass and fat-free mass are associated with physical fitness already in preschoolers. Baseline data from the MINISTOP (Mobile-based INtervention Intended to STop Obesity in Preschoolers) tria...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effectiveness of a body mass reduction programme entailing diet caloric restriction and moderate physical activity with or without supplementary treatment with recombinant (r) GH or steroids to improve body composition and muscle performance in severely obese women aged 61-75 years. METHODS Twenty women were randomly assigned to one of three groups: body mass redu...

The purpose of this study was to examine the relative importance of physiological characteristics during firefighting performance, as assessed by the Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT). Subjects included career and volunteer firefighters aged 18-39 (N = 33). Upper- and lower-body strength, muscle endurance, lower body muscle power, body composition analysis, aerobic capacity, anaerobic fitn...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE The benefits of weight reduction for musculoskeletal disorders are well understood. Steep declines in muscle mass following considerable weight reduction can decrease muscle strength and, consequently, physical performance. However, only a limited number of studies have examined the changes in muscle mass and strength in the context of interventional weight reduction pr...

A four-year retrospective analysis of injury data was conducted on a collegiate (NCAA Division I) women’s volleyball team. Twenty athletes (Year 1: age = 19.4 ± 0.9 y, height = 175.2 ± 5.1 cm, body mass = 70.5 ± 10.2 kg; Year 2: age = 20.1 ± 1.0 y, height = 175.7 ± 4.7 cm, body mass = 69.5 ± 10.1 kg; Year 3: age = 20.1 ± 1.4 y, height = 173.8 ± 6.3 cm, body mass = 69.9 ± 10.8 kg; Year 4: age = ...

The aim of this study was to examine the hormonal and strength responses to different periodization models of resistance training in male athletes. Eighteen experienced resistance trained males were randomly assigned to either a block (BP; n=10; age: 23.7±2.9 yr; body mass: 78.5±11.3 kg; height: 1.77±0.05 m) or weekly undulating (WUP; n=8; age: 26.0±5.7 y; body mass: 78.9±12.4 kg; height: 1.79±...