Previous studies from our group have shown that "pure" eccentric exercise performed on an isokinetic dynamometer can induce health-promoting effects that may improve quality of life. In order to investigate whether the benefits of "pure" eccentric exercise can be transferred to daily activities, a new and friendlier way to perform eccentric exercise had to be invented. To this end, we have proceeded to the design and construction of an automatic escalator, offering both stair descending (eccentric-biased) and stair ascending (concentric-biased) exercise.

It is well-documented that chronic/regular exercise improves the cardiovascular function, decreases oxidative stress and enhances the antioxidant capacity in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. However, there is insufficient evidence regarding the chronic effects of different types of training and detraining on cardiovascular function and the levels of oxidative stress and antioxidant status in these patients. Therefore, the present study aimed at investigating the effects of cardiovascular, resistance and combined exercise training followed by a three-month detraining period, on cardiovascular function, physical performance and blood redox status parameters in CAD patients. Sixty coronary artery disease patients were randomly assigned to either a cardiovascular training (CVT, N = 15), resistance training (RT, N = 11), combined cardiovascular and resistance training (CT, N = 16) or a control (C, N = 15) group. The training groups participated in an 8-month supervised training program (training three days/week) followed by a 3-month detraining period, while the control group participated only in measurements. Body composition, blood pressure, performance-related variables (aerobic capacity (VO_2max), muscle strength, flexibility) and blood redox status-related parameters (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), reduced glutathione (GSH), oxidized glutathione (GSSG), catalase activity (CAT), protein carbonyls (PC)) were assessed at the beginning of the study, after 4 and 8 months of training as well as following 1, 2 and 3 months of detraining (DT). CVT induced the most remarkable and pronounced alterations in blood pressure (~9% reduction in systolic blood pressure and ~5% in diastolic blood pressure) and redox status since it had a positive effect on all redox-related variables (ranging from 16 to 137%). RT and CT training affected positively some of the assessed (TAC, CAT and PC) redox-related variables. Performance-related variables retained the positive response of the training, whereas most of the redox status parameters, for all training groups, restored near to the pre-exercise values at the end of the DT period. These results indicate that exercise training has a significant effect on redox status of CAD. Three months of detraining is enough to abolish the exercise-induced beneficial effects on redox status, indicating that for a better antioxidant status, exercise must be a lifetime commitment.

Resilience has been defined as one’s ability to maintain a mental health state and overall well-being when undergoing grave stress or facing significant adversity. Numerous resilience-investigating research tools have been developed over the years, with the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), a self-rated tool presenting valuable psychometric properties, remaining one of the most prominent. We aimed to translate and validate the brief CD-RISC-10 in a convenience sample of 584 nurses in Greece’s secondary and tertiary health care system. We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis and known-groups validity test and estimated the reliability of the CD-RISC-10. Our confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the scale had a unifactorial structure since all the model fit indices were very good. Moreover, the reliability of the CD-RISC-10 was very good since the acquired Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega were 0.924 and 0.925, respectively. Therefore, the Greek version of the CD-RISC-10 confirmed the factor structure of the original scale and had very good validity and reliability.

A pre-workout supplement’s (PWS; 200 mg caffeine, 3.3 g creatine monohydrate, 3.2 g β-alanine, 6 g citrulline malate and 5 g branched chained amino acid (BCAA) per dose) acute effects on the alactic (jumping, sprinting, agility), lactic (Running-Based Anaerobic Sprint Test, RAST) and aerobic performance (Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1, Yo-Yo IRL1 VO_2max) of well-trained basketball players was investigated in this double-blind placebo-controlled study. Thirty players (age 18–31 years, height 166–195 cm, weight 70.2–116.7 kg, body fat 10.6–26.4%) were allocated to pre-workout (PWS, n = 15) or placebo (PL, n = 15) groups. Half of the participants in each group performed the evaluations without PWS or PL, while the rest consumed PWS or PL 30 min before the assessments (1st trial) and vice versa (2nd trial). Significant improvements in counter-movement jump (CMJ) (PWS: 4.3 ± 2.1%; PL: 1.2 ± 1.0%), agility (PWS: −2.9 ± 1.8%; PL: 1.8 ± 1.7%), RAST average (PWS: 18.3 ± 9.1%; PL: −2.2 ± 2.0%), minimum power (PWS: 13.7 ± 8.9%; PL: −7.5 ± 5.9%), and fatigue index (PWS: −25.0 ± 0.9%; PL: −4.6 ± 0.6%) were observed in the PWS group vs. the PL group (p < 0.05). No differences were found regarding sprinting, aerobic performance, and blood lactate concentrations. Thus, although players’ alactic and lactic anaerobic performance could be improved, peak power, sprinting and aerobic performance are not.

The objective of the study was to examine the effects of Pilates exercise training combined with walking on cardiorespiratory fitness, functional capacity, and disease activity in patients with non-radiologically confirmed axial spondylitis (nr-axSpA). Thirty patients with nr-axSpA (seven women (90%), with a mean age of 46.07 ± 10.48 years old and C-reactive protein (CRP) 2.26 ± 2.14 mg/L) were randomly divided into two groups: A (n₁ = 15 patients) and B (n₂ = 15 patients). Group A followed a 6-month home-based Pilates exercise training program, while Group B remained untrained until the end of the study. A cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), timed up and go test (TUG), five times sit-to-stand test (5×STS), sit-and-reach test (SR), back scratch test for the right (BSR) and the left arm (BSL), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), and Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) were applied to all patients, both at the beginning and at the end of the study. After 6 months, Group A showed higher values in exercise time by 37.41% (p = 0.001), higher peak oxygen uptake (VO₂peak) by 25.41% (p = 0.01), a higher ratio between oxygen uptake and maximum heart rate (VO₂/HRmax) by 14.83% (p = 0.04), and higher SR by 18.70% (p = 0.007), while lower values were observed in TUG by 24.32% (p = 0.001), 5×STS by 12.13% (p = 0.001), BASDAI score by 20.00% (p = 0.04) and ASDAS score by 23.41% (p = 0.03), compared to Group B. Furthermore, linear regression analysis showed a positive correlation in Group A between BASDAI and 5×STS (r = 0.584, p = 0.02), BASDAI and TUG (r = 0.538, p = 0.03), and ASDAS and 5×STS (r = 0.538, p = 0.03), while a negative correlation was found between BASDAI and VO₂peak (r = −0.782, p < 0.001), ASDAS and SR (r = −0.548, p = 0.03), and ASDAS and VO₂peak (r = −0.659, p = 0.008). To sum up, cardiorespiratory fitness, functional capacity, and disease activity improved after a long-term Pilates exercise training program in patients with nr-axSpA.

Systematic, regular high-volume endurance training induces significant metabolic adaptations in glucose and lipids metabolism, which seems to affect the negative impact of unhealthy nutrition, at least in animal models. The present study aimed to investigate the main determinants of body composition, blood glucose and lipids concentrations between middle-aged sedentary individuals (Sed) and well-trained endurance athletes (Run), both following an unhealthy high-fat diet. In thirty-five Sed (Age: 54.0 ± 6.6 yrs, Body Mass: 77.1 ± 10.5 kg, BMI: 31.3 ± 6.0 kg·m⁻²) and thirty-six Run (Age: 51.6 ± 5.2 yrs, Body Mass: 85.8 ± 3.4 kg, BMI: 23.2 ± 1.8 kg·m⁻²), body composition, nutritional intake, energy expenditure, resting metabolic rate (RMR), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and blood glucose and lipids concentrations were evaluated. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that body composition, blood glucose and lipids’ concentrations in the Run group were primarily determined by the energy expenditure (B: −0.879 to −1.254), while in the Sed group, by their energy intake (B:−0.754 to 0.724). In conclusion, it seems that in well-trained endurance middle-aged athletes, body composition, blood glucose, and lipids concentrations seem to be determined by their training-induced daily energy expenditure and not by their nutritional intake per se. At the same time, nutrition is the primary determinant in aged-matched sedentary individuals, even if they both follow high-fat diets.