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BackgroundThe most talented young athletes often face challenges related to sports health problems (ie, injury and illness), largely due to inappropriate training, condensed competition schedules and high demands. Previous preventive measures in Norway have lacked successful integration into young athletes’ routines, highlighting the need for a systematic approach to safeguarding their health.ObjectiveTo document the development of Prep to be PRO, an educational module-based programme, designed to support the development and protect the health of young athletes enrolled in sports junior high schools and sports academy high schools. Prep to be PRO aims to empower athletes with the relevant knowledge and skills to prevent health problems.MethodsThe development process, guided by the Translating Research into Injury Prevention Practice framework, involved extensive collaboration with school leaders, coaches and athletes. From June 2019 to June 2023, the process incorporated multidisciplinary input from more than 40 stakeholders, including health personnel, as well as experts in sports science, nutrition and sports psychology.ResultsPrep to be PRO consists of 10 modules tailored for both sports Junior high schools and sports academy high schools. The modules cover a range of topics, including performance training, growth and maturation, load progression, recovery, total load, nutrition and sports psychology. The programme is athlete-centred, but coach-driven, including student-active approaches, collaboration, use of digital tools and deep learning. Prep to be PRO is anchored in the National High School Curriculum, ensuring relevance and alignment with educational standards. Specific competence goals and learning objectives from the curriculum are addressed and linked to each individual module.ConclusionsThis educational programme appears to be a notable step forward in the Norwegian sports school’s approach. Specifically, it may enhance the focus on overall health, introduce an individualised approach and foster long-term athlete development. The integration into the national curriculum and the involvement of school staff in its delivery is expected to facilitate implementation. Future work will focus on the next phases of implementation, as systematic data collection from coaches and athletes, ongoing stakeholder engagement, continuous adaptation and support for educators to ensure fidelity and relevance. Updates and analyses from all evaluations will examine the programme’s effectiveness. Long-term sustainability will be secured by organisational commitment, resource alignment and integrating the initiative into existing structures.

BackgroundDue to the substantial burden of health problems among youth elite athletes we have developed a holistic, health-promoting, and injury-preventing educational program, across all sports.Design“Prep to be PRO” is a ten-module teacher-/coach-driven program, anchored in relevant competency and learning objectives mandated by the Norwegian Directorate of Education.SettingThe program is athlete-centered and includes practical and theoretical sessions on relevant sport-specific physiological and psychological demands in high-level sports. The modules focus on growth and maturation, how to manage load progression and transition periods, overload, burnout, recovery, sports nutrition, and mental health. The aim is to contribute to athletes’ overall health and to empower young athletes to make thoughtful, balanced choices that prioritize their long-term goals while navigating the challenges of sport and adolescence. ParticipantsA questionnaire-based pilot study was performed among 158 coaches and 1101 students at 9 schools.InterventionsIn the development phase, we conducted meetings and practical workshops for school administrators and coaches to encourage the adoption and sustainability of the program. We also designed an evaluation form for the pilot.Main Outcome MeasurementsA pilot questionnaire consisting of 21 questions.ResultsA large majority of the coaches (83.8%-96.5%) answered ”to a large or very large extent” in questions about the relevance of the program for the students. The students reported increased independence; 91.1% stated that “Prep to be PRO”-instructions improved self-confidence and 95.2% planned to integrate the knowledge acquired in their daily training.Abstract 926 Figure 1ConclusionsThe pilot indicated that “Prep to be PRO” empowers elite youth athletes to assume responsibility for, and to be more aware of the complexity related to, -their overall health. The program will be implemented at elite sports high schools in Norway throughout 2023–24, and each school and sport will be monitored for research purposes.

Correspondence to Hege Heiestad, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo, Norway; hegeheiestad@gmail.com Multiple studies across multiple sports have demonstrated that tailored exercise programmes reduce the risk of sport injuries by about 50%.1–3 These programmes typically include exercises to improve balance and neuromuscular control, optimise landing and turning techniques, and increase muscle strength and endurance. In collaboration with the International Olympic Committee, we developed the free mobile application Skadefri (Get Set) and the website www.skadefri.no (fittoplay.org) to translate science into action, spreading the word on the significant potential benefits from injury prevention training at the individual, team, club and societal level. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 2015; 23: 1138–43. doi:10.1016/j.joca.2015.02.165 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25749009 8 Malm C, Jakobsson J, Isaksson A. Physical activity and sports—real health benefits: a review with insight into the public health of Sweden.

This study investigated self-perception of overall health (SPH) and quality of life (QoL) at onset and after 3, 6 and 12 months of fitness club membership. Also, we compared SPH and QoL between those who reported regular use of the fitness club (≥2 exercise sessions/week the last month) with those who did not (one exercise session/week or no exercise the last month). Longitudinal prospective study. 25 fitness clubs in Oslo, Norway. In total, 250 newly registered fitness club members (equal numbers of men and women, mean age=36.4±11.3 years, mean body mass index=25.7±4.4) were recruited. At onset (n=250), after 3 (n=224), 6 (n=213) and 12 months (n=187), the participants answered an electronic questionnaire, covering background variables, exercise involvement, perceived SPH and QoL. SPH was measured by a single-item question, rating health status from poor to excellent on a 5-point scale. High SPH was dichotomised as excellent or good, and low SPH as moderate, fair or poor. QoL was measured on a 7-item scale, rating five statements and dichotomised according to a total max sum score of 35, with low QoL ≤25 and high QoL >25. Repeated measurements did not show any changes in SPH. In QoL, we observed an improvement in QoL sum score and a significant increase in mean scores for two out of five statements at 12 months follow-up: 'In most ways, my life is close to my ideal (p=0.036) and'If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing (p<0.001). Regular use of the fitness club was associated with high SPH (OR 3.532 (95% CI 1.60-7.82), p=0.002) and high QoL (OR 1.914 (95% CI 0.95-3.86), p=0.069). The results were unchanged after adjusting for confounders. Regular attendance at a fitness club was associated with high SPH and high QoL at 12 months follow-up.

Objectives. The aim was to investigate the effects of three different types of resistance training implementation. Design. Randomized controlled trial. Methods. Inactive, overweight women ( n = 143 ), mean BMI 31.3 ± 5.2 kg/m2, mean age 39.9 ± 10.5 years, were randomized to one of the following groups: A (BodyPump group training), B (individual follow-up by a personal trainer), C (nonsupervised exercise), or D (controls). The intervention included 12 weeks of 45–60 minutes’ full-body resistance training three sessions per week. The outcomes in this paper are all secondary outcome measures: exercise motivation, self-perceived health, and quality of life. Results. Adherence averaged 26.1 ± 10.3 of 36 prescribed sessions. After the intervention period, all three training groups (A–C) had better scores on exercise motivation ( A = 43.9 ± 19.8 , B = 47.6 ± 15.4 , C = 48.4 ± 17.8 ) compared to the control group (D) ( 26.5 ± 18.2 ) ( p < 0.001 ). Groups B and C scored better on self-perceived health ( B = 1.9 ± 0.8 , C = 2.3 ± 0.8 ), compared to group D ( 3.0 ± 0.6 ) ( p < 0.001 ). For quality of life measurement, there was no statistically significant difference between either intervention groups or the control. Conclusions. Resistance training contributed to higher scores in important variables related to exercise motivation and self-perceived health. Low adherence showed that it was difficult to motivate previously inactive, overweight women to participate in regular strength training.