Purpose: The study aimed at determining the relationships between muscle architecture and badminton-specific physical abilities.Methods: The total of 30 university level badminton players (mean age: 22.1 ± 1.4 years) were recruited as participants and underwent assessment of muscle architecture and badminton-specific physical abilities. Pennation angle, fascicle length, and muscle thickness of vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, and biceps femoris were determined with ultrasonography for muscle architecture variables. Lunge one repetition maximum (1RM), lunge relative 1RM, standing long jump, vertical jump, and agility t-test were performed for physical abilities. The relationship between all muscle architectures and physical abilities was determined with the use of Pearson correlation.Results: The results showed that the pennation angle and muscle thickness were positively correlated while fascicle length was negatively correlated with the physical abilities except for the agility test.Conclusions: The study demonstrates that the possibilities of training performed by athletes affect their muscle architecture; further studies are required to examine how different kinds of training affect muscle architecture, which can then influence performance in sports.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the needs of athletes regarding monitoring the implementation of training programs for Android-based athletes and trainers. This research method is descriptive quantitative. The samples in this study were 20 athletes, 5 licensed trainers in petanque sports, and 1 expert in the fields of physical conditioning, 1 information, and technology. The data collection technique for this research was purposive sampling. The results of this study are that researchers found various things athletes need based on data in the field. The data is based on the results of distributing questionnaires and interviews with athletes, licensed petanque trainers, experts in physical conditioning, and experts in information and technology. These needs can be summarized in an Android-based application that can record data and athlete training developments on the field. Additional information from experts on physical conditions that monitor the implementation of petanque sports is urgently needed. This is useful for reducing the risk of injury to athletes caused by physical conditions that are not properly monitored. Information and technology experts claim that the Android application can be used to display chat features and maps, and it is very safe for storing data on the condition of athletes in each exercise. The conclusion from this study is that athletes need the application of a monitoring system for implementing training programs to improve the athlete's performance. Petanque trainers need a touch of technology based on Android applications to monitor the implementation of training programs and activities outside athlete training. Keywords: Monitoring, Training Program, Android, Petanque

Participating in sports has been shown to promote overall wellness and, at the same time, reduce health risks. As more people are participating in sports, competitions have increased, and every aspect of the game has been focused by coaches and athletes in order to improve performance. One of these aspects is the warm-up session. The purpose of this study was to investigate the acute effect of a dynamic warm-up versus a proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) warm-up on the sprint and jump performance of recreationally active men. Thirty (n = 30) males were randomly assigned to undergo three sessions of different warm-up types, 72 h apart, involving either proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF), dynamic stretching (DS), or no stretching session (control). The PNF and dynamic modes of stretching improved vertical jump performance, F (2.58) = 5.49, p = 0.046, to a certain extent (mean + 3.32% vs. control, p = 0.002 for dynamic and mean + 1.53% vs. control, p = 0.048 for PNF stretching). Dynamic stretching is best used to get a better vertical jump height. Sprint performance was also increased to a greater extent following the stretching session, F (2.58) = 5.60, p = 0.01. Sprint time was +1.05% faster vs. the control, with a value of p = 0.002 after dynamic stretching, while PNF stretching demonstrated a sprint time of +0.35% vs. the control, with a value of p = 0.049. Dynamic stretching showed a better sprint performance and also vertical jump height performance in this study. PNF and dynamic stretching prove to be equally efficacious in flexibility conditioning depending on the type of movement involved. This type of stretching should be utilized to help preserve or improve the performance output of physical activity, especially in sprinting and jumping events.

This study was conducted to determine and compare the kinetics during step forward lunge (SFL) and jump forward lunge (JFL) in badminton. Fifteen university badminton players (mean age = 22.07 ± 1.39 years old) were recruited and were assigned to perform SFL and JFL while holding a badminton racquet using their dominant hand. For both dominant and non-dominant leg, all the force variables during JFL were significantly higher compared to SFL. Results also showed that time to peak force and stance time was significantly shorter during SFL compared to JFL. Besides that, all the forces variables were greater in the dominant limb compared to the non-dominant limb. Time to peak force and stance time were also shorter in dominant limb compared to the non-dominant limb. To conclude, coaches and athletes need to be aware of the mechanical demands during both lunge method and the assymetries that exist in terms of force production between both sites of limbs. Keywords: concentric; eccentric; impact; force; asymmetry.

This study aimed to examine the effects of unilateral versus bilateral resistance training and bilateral deficit on unilateral and bilateral strength adaptation among trained men. Thirty recreationally active, resistance trained men were recruited and were divided into three groups; i) unilateral (n=10), ii) bilateral (n=10) and iii) control (n=10). Chest press and biceps curl strength tests were conducted unilaterally and bilaterally before and after six weeks of training intervention. Unilateral bicep curl and chest press training was given to the unilateral group while the bilateral group was asked to undergo bilateral bicep curl and chest press training. 1RM bicep curl and chest press tests were measured unilateral and bilateral strength and bilateral deficit before and after the intervention. The intervention period were six weeks. Mixed design (ANOVA) was used to compare strength during pre- and post-test in groups while MANOVA was used to compare the changes in percentage during pre and post-test between groups. Results showed a significant difference in the test of unilateral strength within groups. Both unilateral and bilateral training groups managed to improve both unilateral and bilateral strength significantly in both exercises but there was a decrease in unilateral and bilateral strength within control group. On the other hand, all the three groups showed no bilateral deficit for bicep curl and chest press test. The findings also revealed that there was a significant difference in the percentage changes between groups. The unilateral group showed a greater change in percentage the in unilateral strength compared to the control group but no significant difference with the bilateral group. While, the bilateral group showed a greater percentage change in bilateral strength compared with the unilateral and control group. In conclusion, this study showed that both of these unilateral and bilateral exercises can increase muscle strength in trained men. However, the unilateral and bilateral strength adaptation is specific to the training performed especially for multi-joint and complex exercise.

Background and Study Aim. Spike is the most important techniques to be mastered due to its big impacts to volleyball match. There is still lack of study to evaluate and discusses how the role of jumping performance and coordination in volleyball could affect spike ability. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of these variables on spike ability. Material and Methods. This study used a quantitative descriptive method, involved 42 participants (20 men and 22 women). The jump performance was measured using MyJump 2 application which can measure flight time, force, jump height, jumping power and speed based on free-arm jumping method. Then, the measurement of coordination was done using an alternative hand wall test. Spike ability is shown by the results of the hit and spike performance. Spike performance was based on The Volleyball Test Skills for Smasher. For spike performance, data collection is based on observations from five phases of spike movement; i) Initial posture; ii) Initial Motion; iii) Motion of Appeal; iv) Advanced Motion; v) Placement of the ball, using the scoring points 1-4. All the data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson Correlation. Results. The results of the study show that in the perspective of gender differences, almost all variables had significant difference between men and women on flight time (0.028 < 0.05), force (0.001 < 0.01), jump height (0.040 < 0). 0.05), strength (0.001 < 0.01), and speed (0.028 < 0.05), coupled with coordination (0.003 < 0.01), hit results (0.181 > 0.05), and spike performance (0.216 > 0.05). Meanwhile, the relationship between variables were found to be significant (p-value < 0.01) on the five jumping performance variables. Another significant correlation obtained from the results of calculations between coordination and jump height (0.033 < 0.05), coordination with strength (0.044 < 0.05), coordination with spike hitting results was significant (0.003 < 0.01). Instead of them, relationship between one and another was not found significant relationship (p-value > 0.05). Conclusions. Coaches can use the information in this study as a guideline to develop training program to improve their athletes effectiveness in spiking.