Background and Study Aim. Common use of surgical face masks is recommended for social and individual health due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is no systematic report for responses of organism to wearing a surgical face mask during different exercises. In this context the purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of wearing a surgical face mask during a one-hour brisk walking. Material and Methods. A total of thirty male (n=16) and female (n=14) volunteers (mean age and BMI of 32±1.07 years and 25.1±0.68 kg/m2, respectively) completed the protocol. This was a multiple cross-over trial for healthy volunteers. All participants took a one-hour brisk walking with and without a surgical face mask. Specific physiological measurements (HR - heart rate; BP - blood pressure, SaO2 - arterial oxygen content) were compared before and immediately after two brisk walking. Each subject served their own control. Results. The evaluation found that there was no statistically significant difference between the mean HR and blood pressure values during the brisk walking with and without a surgical face mask, while there was a statistically significant difference in the SaO2 values on behalf of no-mask-walking (p<0.05). Conclusions. The use of surgical face masks in healthy volunteers causes a decrease in SaO2 during brisk walking. However, it does not affect the mean pulse rate and blood pressure. Although there was a statistically significant decrease in the SaO2 parameter during mask-walking, it is possible to state that brisk walking with a surgical face mask does not have a physiologically negative impact, because this decrease is in ranges that are accepted to be normal.

Background & Study Aim: The use of preconditioning strategies (PconSt) alone has a positive impact on performance. However, it is thought that there will be more impact on the performance of the combined preconditioning strategies, and this is the first work to prove it. This study was to examine the effect of combined preconditioning strategies on isokinetic strength in well-trained kickboxers. Material & Methods: The following preconditioning strategies were combined: morning resistance exercise (MRE), ischemic preconditioning (IP), active warm-up (AW-U), hormonal preconditioning (HP) and post-activation potentiation (PAP). Fifteen well-trained male kickboxers (age: 22.38 ± 4.01years, height: 182.23 ± 1.05cm, body mass: 77.67 ± 8.01kg) volunteered for this study. Peak isokinetic knee extension and flexion moment were determined at 60°/s, 180°/s and 240°/s bilaterally. All participants performed the pre-test and then were randomly divided into Sham and PconSt groups on separate days. For the PconSt group, MRE, IP, AW-U, HP and PAP were implemented sequentially before test. Results: The findings indicated significant increase in strength after combined training in the PconSt groups for right leg flexion at 180°/s flexion (p < 0.05). The average percentage strength difference between sham and PconSt groups was 4.12 ± 8.95%. Conclusionː This study showed that a combined preconditioning strategy increased isokinetic strength.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of resistance band training for 6 weeks on the strength performance development of puberty boys participating in soccer. Pre-test - post-test control group research design was used. The study was randomly divided into two groups as resistance band group (n=15) and control group (n=15) by randomization method. While the resistance band and control groups continued their regular soccer training, the resistance band group performed resistance band exercises before training 2 days a week for 6 weeks in addition to soccer training. Resistance band and control groups were tested for strength performance; explosive strength; vertical jump, standing long jump, backward medicine ball throw, upper body and core muscular endurance; plank test, 30 seconds push-ups, 30 seconds sit-ups, maximal strength; back and leg strength test, and for anaerobic power; pediatric rast test were applied. At the end of 6-week training, the two-way ANOVA test with repeated measures was used to determine the difference between the repeated measurement results obtained at two different time points in the dependent groups. Significance level was determined as p<0.05 in all calculations. When the pre-test and post-test differences of the resistance band group and the control group were examined, it was found that there was a statistically significant difference in explosive strength, muscular endurance, maximal strength values and a statistically significant difference in anaerobic power parameter.

This study aims to investigate the impact of cardiorespiratory fitness on cardiometabolic risk factors and testosterone levels among firefighters. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with seventy-four firefighters working in a metropolitan municipality. Anthropometric measurements, cardiometabolic risk parameters (high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, triglycerides, total cholesterol), total testosterone (TT) levels were clinically evaluated for each participant. The proportion of firefighters with low TT was 20.3%, and a statistically significant negative relationship was found between TT and weight, BMI, body fat percentage, waist circumference, hip circumference, and HbA1c as cardiometabolic risk factors (p < 0.05). Additionally, statistically significant positive relationship was observed between metabolic equivalent scores and testosterone levels among the firefighters (p < 0.05). The key findings of this study reveal significant differences in various cardiometabolic risk factors between firefighters with high fitness levels and those with lower fitness levels.

Background and Study Aim. Despite its increasing popularity, beach handball has not been studied in terms of physiological responses. Thus the aim of this study was to demonstrate lactate and heart rate responses as well as urine specific gravity (USG) levels and fluid intakes of female university students who competed at an international beach handball tournament. Material and Methods. Five university students who are also handball players (age: 21±1,2, body weight: 56,6±6,4, height:1,61±0,06 and BMI: 21,7±1,43) voluntarily participated in this study. Heart rate (HR), lactate level (LA) and USG were measured before each and immediately after each competition and fluid intake during competition was monitored. Results: The mean values of lactate accumulation and heart rate before and after the match were 1,4 mmol and 87,3, 5,0 and 123,9, respectively. Athletes were euhydrated before the matches (USGmean=1,018) and only presented dehydration after the second match. Conclusions. Beach handball does not result in strenuous physiological effects according to heart rate and lactate responses. Their fluid intake was not enough to eliminate dehydration. Despite fluid availability during the match they presented dehydration at the second match.

Basketball is a dynamic sport that involves frequent directional changes, high-intensity sprints, and vertical actions such as jumping and rebounding. Agility is a fundamental component of basketball performance, especially during preadolescence, a period marked by rapid neuromuscular and morphological development. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between V-cut agility performance and three key physical abilities: linear sprint speed, vertical jump, and change of direction (COD) in young male basketball players. Forty-one young male basketball players (age: 11.02 ± 0.79 years, height: 152.72 ± 7.40 cm, weight: 42.61 ± 7.38 kg, training experience: 2.3 ± 0.4 years) from regional basketball academies participated in this cross-sectional study. All participants were actively involved in basketball training programs at least three times per week for the last year. Before data collection, players completed a 10-minute standardized warm-up, consisting of easy jogging, dynamic stretching, and movements. Each participant completed the V-cut agility test, a 25-meter sprint, a countermovement jump (CMJ), and a Hexagon COD. All tests were conducted indoors, on a hardwood basketball court, over two non-consecutive days to minimize fatigue-related effects and ensure consistent environmental conditions. Pearson correlation and regression analyses were used to investigate the relationships between variables. Correlation coefficient values were evaluated as 0.00-0.25 very weak, 0.26–0.49 weak, 0.50–0.69 moderate, 0.70–0.89 high, 0.90-1.00 very high correlation. A simple linear regression test was conducted to evaluate whether V-cut performance could predict Sprint, Jump, and Change of Direction (COD). The regression coefficient (β), coefficient of determination (R²), and p-values were reported for each model. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. A high positive correlation was found between V-cut and 25-m sprint performance (r=0.795, R²=0.633, F (1,39)=67.42, p