The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of an adapted basketball training program on the cardiorespiratory fitness and sport skills performance of adolescents with mental retardation (MR). Fifty adolescents with mild MR who participated in this study were divided in two groups. Experimental group (n = 25; mean ± SD age: 15.7 ± 0.9 years) performed the adapted training program, four times per week during eight weeks. A control group (n = 25; mean ± SD age: 15.9 ± 0.8 years) followed ordinary physical education classes and continued with their normal lifestyle. Exercise testing included the six-minute walk test (6MWT), monitoring of heart rate frequency and sport skills performance test battery. Results showed a significant difference between groups pre- and post-treatment in 6MWT distance. The experimental group experienced a 10% increase in covered distance pre- to post-testing (p < 0.05), whereas controls had no significant changes in the same period. Conducted adapted training also resulted in significant improvement in examined sport skills performance. However, this kind and duration of experimental procedure did not result in significant differences in anthropometric variables and heart rate frequency. This study demonstrated that adapted basketball training is an adequate stimulus for improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness and sport skills performance of adolescents with mild MR. The advantage of this type of adaptive training program is that it does not require a large financial input, but only the engagement of a qualified and dedicated physical education professor.

The aim of this systematic review was to examine the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on physical performance and body composition in female basketball players. The review followed PRISMA guidelines, and the protocol was registered in the PROSPERO database (registration number: CRD420251006285). A comprehensive search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Nine studies that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed, with intervention durations ranging from 4 to 12 weeks. Despite differences in protocols, a majority of studies reported improvements in VO_2max (6/9), explosive strength (7/9), agility (5/6), and speed (5/6) and reductions in body mass and fat percentage (3/3). These findings highlight HIIT as an effective method for enhancing both aerobic and anaerobic capacities, as well as optimizing body composition. Despite variations in study protocols, HIIT consistently offers improvements in performance, irrespective of training level. The results underscore the importance of HIIT in preparing athletes, not only during the preseason but also throughout the competition period. Coaches should consider integrating HIIT into training programs, adjusting intensity and volume based on the season to optimize performance and prevent overtraining.

This study was done with the aim of determining the effects a programmed training would have on the changes in the explosive strength of young female volleyball players. The sample consisted of 30 female volleyball players, aged 14 to 16, divided into two groups – the experimental one (n=15) and the control group (n=15). The experimental group was comprised of the players from the club OK ‘Desetka’, who, apart from the basic technical and tactical training process, underwent a specially designed programme for developing explosive strength two times a week (on Tuesdays and Thursdays). The experimental programme was applied during the period of preparations before the official beginning of the regional competitions for cadets. The control group was comprised of the players from the club OK ‘Millennium’, who, during the same period of time, underwent only those training sessions which had previously been planned within the annual plan and programme of the club. Explosive strength evaluation included four sets of tests: the squat jump (SJ), countermowement jump (CMJ), drop jump (DJ), one-legged CMJ (OLCMJ). The effects of the progremmed training on the development of the explosive strength of the young female volleyball players was determined by the Covariance Analysis, ANCOVA. The results obtained in such a way showed the statistically significant improvement in the parameters tested within the experimental group. The difference was insignificant in the OLCMJ test only. The results point to the conclusion that the experimental training programme had positive effects on the changes of explosive strength of young female volleyball players.

Assessing physical fitness throughout the entire season can provide valuable insights for designing effective training programs to enhance handball performance. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate seasonal changes in body composition, jump, sprint, and agility performance among elite female handball players. This study involved fourteen elite female handball players (age 21.98 ± 1.22) who participated in the Serbian Handball Super League and the European Handball Federation (EHF) European Cup during the 2022/23 season. Within the framework of seasonal changes, five measurements were made. Players were tested for height, weight, BMI, body fat and muscle mass percentage, jump performance (CMJ, CMJA, SJ, CMJ right, CMJ left), linear sprint (5 m, 10 m, 20 m), and agility performance (zig-zag and slalom). Repeated measures ANOVA revealed no changes in body composition parameters during the season. Among the five jump performance tests, a significant change was observed only in the CMJ left test, where better values were achieved in the fourth and fifth measurements compared to the initial measurement. In sprints over 5 and 10 m, significant changes were noted between specific measurement points, while no differences were observed in the 30-m sprint. For agility, differences were recorded in four out of five tests, with the best performances in the Zig-Zag tests observed in the third measurement, while in other tests, the best results were most often recorded in the second and fifth measurements. These results indicate that body composition remained stable, while performance improvements were specific to certain physical capacities and time points during the season. These findings can help coaches design targeted strength and agility training aligned with key performance periods, emphasizing short sprints and agility with/without the ball, rather than focusing on body composition changes. However, this study is limited by its small sample size and single-season scope, which may affect the generalizability of the results.

The aim of this research was to define differences in functional and mechanical characteristics of isometric hand grip (HG) strength between young female handball players and the CG comprised of physically active girls with no experience in sport. 70 individuals participated in the research, 36 of whom were the best young female handball players (of cadet and junior categories) while 34 girls comprised the CG. The results obtained show that the young female handball players who took part in the tests achieved F_max at the levels from 306.4±40.8 to 335.5±47.0 N and RFD_max at the levels ranging from 1918.1±366.8 to 2174.4±382.1 N/s for the non-dominant and dominant hand. When these results are compared to the ones achieved by the CG it is clear that the young female handball players had a statistically significant higher level of the maximum HG force of both arms as well as the higher level of maximum explosiveness. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups regarding all the indexes of dimorphism (ID) as well as the values of the time needed for achieving the maximum intensity of muscle excitation (tRFD_max). Therefore, it can be concluded that the handball players who underwent the testing procedures showed positive adaptation from the aspect of the mechanical characteristics of hand grip strength, which can most likely be ascribed to the phenomenon of biological adaptation to the training stimuli characteristic for handball. However, the same influence was not detected from the aspect of functional characteristics, more precisely, dimorphism.