Much research has been done in sports nutrition in recent years as the demand for performance-enhancing substances increases. Higher intake of nitrates from the diet can increase the bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO) via the nitrate–nitrite–NO pathway. Nevertheless, the increased availability of NO does not always lead to improved performance in some individuals. This review aims to evaluate the relationship between the athlete’s training status and the change in time trial performance after increased dietary nitrate intake. Articles indexed by Scopus and PubMed published from 2015 to 2019 were reviewed. Thirteen articles met the eligibility criteria: clinical trial studies on healthy participants with different training status (according to VO_2max), conducting time trial tests after dietary nitrate supplementation. The PRISMA guidelines were followed to process the review. We found a statistically significant relationship between VO_2max and ergogenicity in time trial performance using one-way ANOVA (p = 0.001) in less-trained athletes (VO₂ < 55 mL/kg/min). A strong positive correlation was observed in experimental situations using a chronic supplementation protocol but not in acute protocol situations. In the context of our results and recent histological observations of muscle fibres, there might be a fibre-type specific role in nitric oxide production and, therefore, supplement of ergogenicity.

Athletes are often associated with a greater degree of risk behaviour. It also includes potentially dangerous sexual habits and behaviour, among other things. This study deals with sexual habits and behaviour of combative athletes. The research sample (n-65) consists of representatives of various combat sports and these representatives are categorized into three groups: international (n-15), national (n-28), and regional competitors (n-22). Data were collected through the medium of a questionnaire which allowed us to compare results with sexual behaviour of Czech population over last 20 years. Athletes comprised in this study are more sexually active, have more sexual partners over the life, and tend to have various, risk sexual behaviour more likely than common Czech population. This phenomenon is more significant in elite athletes. We believe this could be affected by access to short-term relationships and by the awareness of athletes that they are attractive to women. In the light of these findings, we suggest to increase prevention of risky sexual behaviour for athletes in masculine sports.

BACKGROUNDː The COVID-19 outbreak forced many states to introduce public health and social measures (PHSM), which may pose an obstacle to performing physical activity (PA).METHODS: This study investigated PA levels and their changes and perceived stress in a sample of 193 participants (aged 71.21 ± 4.87 years) engaged in exercise lessons prior to PSHM. Data were collected via an online survey distributed directly to the participants. The survey included two instruments: the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Perceived Stress Scale.RESULTS: The results indicate that sports habits may be a protective factor in staying active and meting PA recommendations. Nevertheless, there were no associations between the number of exercise lessons in the pre-COVID-19 period and PA level or the perceived change in PA during PSHM. Ability to replace the cancelled exercise lesson with PA of similar duration and intensity was negatively associated with PA levels and its change. The PSS-10 score suggests that the sample did not experience a significant increase in perceived stress, but the relationship of this outcome to PA is unclear.CONCLUSIONS: The promotion of alternative PA that could be performed during PHSM and building long-term exercise habits in older adults should be considered.

The inclusion of resistance training in the athletic preparation of young athletes is associated with increased time and personal demands. This study compared the effect of different rest interval (RI) lengths on quarter-squat performance in two age groups. Sixteen girls (age 12.20 ± 0.55) and 16 women (age 23.13 ± 2.23) performed three series of 10 quarter squats (10 repetition maximum [RM] load) with different RI times (1 min, 2 min, 3 min) between the three series. Each participant was randomly tested under all the RI conditions. The number of successful repetitions, power, and speed were recorded for each set using by FitroDyne device. The women completed significantly less repetitions in the third set than in the first set for the 2-min and 1-min RIs (9.38 ± 1.54, p = .05 and 8.44 ± 2.42; p = .003, respectively). There was observed a significant decrease in mean power and speed in the 3-min RI between the first and second set and in the 1-min RI between the first and third sets. No significant differences in numbers of completed repetitions and mean power were evident in girls for any RI condition, but there was a significant decrease in mean velocity in the 2-min RI between the first and second sets in this group. These results show that recommendations for adults may be not suitable for girls; the girls’ performance in three sets of 10 quarter squats was less affected by RI than the women’s performance.

It is assumed that there are many factors influencing sport performance in youth sport. This research is designed to find out whether there are any differences between individual and group physical performance. The aim of study is to report on the effect of social-comparative effect on young girls’ physical performance. The study involved young elite synchronized swimmers from a Czech club with Olympic tradition who compete at an international level (n = 28, age 10.12±1.20). The swimmers were required to hold a wall-seat position as long as possible in two separately measured rounds, i.e. as individuals and as a group. The girls were randomly split into two groups. They started with an individual or group try of the wall-seat position exercise. There was a week’s interval between the measured rounds. The mean performance was M = 108.82±57.10 in the individual try and M = 271.50±218.88 in the group one. The influence of social interaction in the group was evaluated by Cohen’s d which showed high substantive differences (d = 1.1, large effect). The Wilcoxon matched pair test was used for data analysis (results were statistically significant, P < 0.05). It showed mutual social encouragement in a group that caused improvement in performing a wall-seat position and influenced significantly their performance. However, it was also established that such social interaction / encouragement is not consistent for every child. Nevertheless, there are many other important factors influencing a youth physical performance as positive verbal motivation, constructive feedback or appraisal.

We examined whether supraliminal word stimuli can affect walking speed of older adults in laboratory settings. The 78 physically active subjects (age >65 years) were randomly assigned to prime and control conditions. All subjects walked 19 m measured distance pre- and post-completing a word search puzzle containing either words associated with early adulthood or neutral ones. Although participants in the prime group went faster in the posttest, the ANOVA did not reveal significant interaction between the subjects’ conditions and walking speed. No significant priming effect of exposure to words on walking speed in older adults was detected in the current study. There is a need for further research, as there is a lack of data in this age cohort. The priming effect could possibly be used to increase the physical activity of seniors and may bias the clinical outputs in gait tests.