Although previous studies have indicated the importance of a core strength and muscular endurance training in preadolescents and adolescents, there is a lack of evidence regarding effects of a long-term core training in unstable conditions. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of core training in stable versus unstable body positions on core and upper body strength and muscular endurance in non-trained children aged 11-14 years. Participants were randomly assigned to either stable (SC, N=569) or unstable (UC, N=633) core-exercise group and assessed at baseline, four, and eight months for sit-ups, dynamic trunk extension, static trunk extension, and push-ups. Repeated measures ANOVA, with time as a within factor, and exercise group, age, and gender as between factors, was employed for data analysis. Post-hoc comparisons showed greater absolute improvements after the eight-month training in UC compared to SC for all measures, age groups, and both genders (p≤.01), and greater relative improvements (differences in Cohen’s d between UC and SC ranged from 0.08 to 1.58), except for static trunk extension in 11- and 12-year-old participants. However, the differences between SC and UC in four-month effects were inconsistent. These results point out that core exercises in unstable compared to stable conditions have a greater capacity for long-term improvement of core and upper body strength and muscular endurance in non-trained preadolescents and adolescents.

Background: FitBack is an international network established to support the creation of physical fitness monitoring and surveillance systems for children and adolescents across Europe.Aims: As a part of the greater scope of the FitBack European project, the FitBack web portal was designed and tailored for various target groups, such as teachers, health professionals, policy makers, parents, and youths, with the aim to promote their physical and health literacy.Methods: The FitBack web portal is a free and multilingual online resource, and two of its webpages were evaluated: “Make interactive report” was evaluated by 78 secondary school students and 27 physical education teachers, and “10 steps to design a physical fitness monitoring system” by 14 physical activity promotion policy makers. Validated scales and open-ended questions were used to collect both quantitative and qualitative responses.Results: ‘Good’-to-‘excellent’ scores emerged for user experience (5.43–6.36 out of 7) and webpage usability (3.70–4.27 out of 5). Qualitative feedback highlighted positive comments and cues on how to improve website features.Conclusions: Results indicate that the current FitBack web portal is a clear and user-friendly mobile health tool, which includes relevant information on how to use and implement youth physical fitness monitoring and surveillance systems.

The knowledge on office building in the past and present, how the workspace evolved to incorporate contemporary technological breakthroughs, was in this paper combined with goals of sustainable building in a “smart” office building design in Belgrade, Serbia, taking local factors into consideration to create a comfortable space for the employees in a dense urban matrix with a minimal environmental footprint, and considering the workflow of contemporary office spaces, it’s multidirectional input and increasingly horizontal work hierarchy. Issues of proper inputs for building today in the 21 ^st century are thoroughly considered in this paper and respective building’s design features as shown here: how to deal with location, position and orientation of the building, organization of both formal and informal areas, natural ventilation, green glazed surfaces, solar energy, wind turbines, rainwater utilization measures, surrounding vegetation, lighting and appliances, and piezoelectric paving.

Regular physical activity is playing a pivotal role in developing cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), which has numerous benefits for present and future health. The aim of this study was to explore CRF in adolescents, in regards to their sports participation, body mass index (BMI), age, and gender. The sample consisted of 172 students involved in sport (79 female) aged 12-14 (Mean 13.1, SD 0.5). The 20-m shuttle run test was used to estimate CRF. Data regarding years being active in sport, number of trainings weekly, age, and gender were acquired by a questionnaire, and BMI was calculated by using standard formula after measuring participants' weight and height. To investigate the relationship between potential predictors and CRF, we performed multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that overall model predicted CRF significantly, R = .58, R2 = .34, F(5, 166) = 16.74, p < .01. Further, BMI and female gender were negatively associated with CRF, b = - .33, p < .01 and b = - .40, p < .01, respectively. The only positive predictor of CRF was number of trainings weekly, b = .22, p < .01. These findings could emphasize the importance of frequent physical activity in a highly structured environments (e.g., sport clubs) for developing CRF. Further research could focus on the relationship between sportstraining variables and CRF in different sports.