While there is strong support of the usefulness of post‐activation potentiation (PAP) phenomenon in power demanding sports, the role that PAP could play in endurance sports has received less attention. The aim of this review is to present evidence for a better understanding of PAP in endurance athletes; and to discuss the physiological basis and methodological aspects necessary for better practices and designing further studies. A search for relevant articles on PAP and endurance trained athletes was carried out using Medline and ISI Web of Knowledge databases. Twenty‐two studies were included in the review. The current evidence suggests the possible influence of PAP for performance enhancement after appropriate conditioning activities during warm up. Evaluation of PAP responses during testing, training and competition may be also important for athletes monitoring. There are many unresolved questions about the optimum load parameters for benefiting from PAP in both training and competition; and the role that PAP may exert for optimal performance while interacting with central and peripheral factors associated with muscle fatigue. Further studies should elucidate the association between PAP responses and long‐term adaptations in endurance athletes.

Background: Exercise helps many aspects of cognition, but at this time no review has summarized the literature on the association of exercise and physical fitness with attention. Method: A systematic search was conducted on PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Scopus databases. After inclusion criteria assessment, a final pool of 44 articles was included. A number of behavioral and neurophysiological indices of attention were examined. Results: The majority of studies showed an increase in performance of attention. Acute exercise results in greater enhancement of attention in those who are active. There was an association of aerobic fitness and attention in the young and old, but not in young adults. Aerobic exercise training interventions generally resulted in positive changes, while some resistance training studies detected no evidence of an effect. Not all forms of exercise were effective. Shorter interventions were inferior with respect to longer ones. Most studies were rated with a moderate methodological quality. Conclusion: There is an association of aerobic exercise (acute and chronic) and aerobic fitness with attention. Future research should determine the dose and mechanisms by which different forms of physical activity and exercise may influence the development of different components of attention along the lifespan.

Previous studies on HR recovery (HRR) measures have utilized the supine and the seated postures. However, the most common recovery mode in sport and clinical settings after running exercise is active walking. The aim of the current study was to examine the reliability of HR measures during walking (4 km · h⁻¹) before and following a maximal test. Twelve endurance athletes performed an incremental running test on 2 days separated by 48 h. Absolute (coefficient of variation, CV, %) and relative [Intraclass correlation coefficient, (ICC)] reliability of time domain and non-linear measures of HR variability (HRV) from 3 min recordings, and HRR parameters over 5 min were assessed. Moderate to very high reliability was identified for most HRV indices with short-term components of time domain and non-linear HRV measures demonstrating the greatest reliability before (CV: 12–22%; ICC: 0.73–0.92) and after exercise (CV: 14–32%; ICC: 0.78–0.91). Most HRR indices and parameters of HRR kinetics demonstrated high to very high reliability with HR values at a given point and the asymptotic value of HR being the most reliable (CV: 2.5–10.6%; ICC: 0.81–0.97). These findings demonstrate these measures as reliable tools for the assessment of autonomic control of HR during walking before and after maximal efforts.

The aim of this study was to compare the physiological, mechanical and perceptual responses to two sprint interval training (SIT) sessions with very short vs. long sprints, and to verify if those differences could be reflected in measures of acute fatigue. Eleven physically active men performed, after the maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) determination, SIT5s (16×5s with 24s of recovery) and SIT20s (4×20s with 120s of recovery) in random order on a cycle ergometer. Physiological, mechanical, and perceptual responses were evaluated during and after the sessions. The countermovement jump (CMJ) height and autonomic control of heart rate (HR) were evaluated before and after the sessions. Diet was also controlled through recall questionnaires. During the training, SIT5s exhibited greater HR, VO2, power output, and total work (TW) (p<.05). In contrast, respiratory exchange ratio (RER), rate of fatigue (RF), and blood lactate (BLa) % accumulation were greater in SIT20s (p<.05). The OMNI-cycle Scale Rating of Perceived Exertion (OMNIcycle scale) and Feeling Scale (FS) scores were similar during both protocols (p>.05). A faster HR recovery (HRR) and a higher CMJ height were observed after the SIT5s (p<.05). However, HR variability (HRV) was similarly depressed after both protocols (p>.05). Some correlations between the mechanical and physiological responses were revealed only in the SIT5s. SIT5s was demonstrated to be more efficient as exhibited by greater mechanical responses associated with a higher aerobic activity, when compared to the volume-matched SIT protocol of longer sprints. Simple monitoring tools such as HRR and CMJ could help practitioners to detect differences in acute fatigue after different SIT sessions.

This study aimed to: (1) investigate the influence of a 2-weeks sprint interval training (SIT) program on aerobic capacity, cardiac autonomic control, and components of attention in young healthy university students; and (2) to ascertain whether training fidelity would influence these adaptations. One hundred and nine participants were divided into an experimental (EG) and control (CG) groups. The EG performed a SIT program that consisted of 6 sessions of 4 × 30 s “all-out” efforts on a cycle ergometer, interspersed with active rests of 4 min. The criterion for fidelity was achieving >90% of estimated maximum heart rate (HR) during sprint bouts. After analyses, the EG was divided into HIGH (n = 26) and LOW (n = 46) fidelity groups. Components of attention were assessed using the Attention Network Test (ANT). Aerobic capacity (VO₂max) was estimated while the sum of skinfolds was determined. Autonomic control of HR was assessed by means of HR variability (HRV) and HR complexity at rest and during ANT. Both HIGH and LOW significantly increased aerobic capacity, vagal modulation before and during ANT, and executive control, and decreased body fatness after SIT (p < 0.05). However, only participants from HIGH showed an increase in HR complexity and accuracy in ANT when compared to LOW (p < 0.05). Two weeks of SIT improved executive control, body fatness, aerobic fitness, and autonomic control in university students with better results reported in those individuals who exhibited high fidelity.