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This study aimed to investigate the effects of mental fatigue on physical and cognitive performance (lower-limb power, isometric and handgrip strength, and psychomotor vigilance). Twenty-two physically active young adults (12 males, 10 females; Mage = 20.82 ± 1.47) were randomly assigned to either a Mental Fatigue (MF) or Control group (CON). The MF group showed a statistically significant (p = 0.019) reduction in non-dominant handgrip strength, declining by approximately 2.3 kg (about 5%), while no such change was observed in the CON group or in dominant handgrip strength across groups. Reaction time (RT) was significantly impaired following the mental fatigue protocol: RT increased by 117.82 ms, representing an approximate 46% longer response time in the MF group (p < 0.001), whereas the CON group showed a smaller, non-significant increase of 32.82 ms (~12% longer). No significant differences were found in squat jump performance, indicating that lower-limb explosive power may be less affected by acute mental fatigue. These findings demonstrate that mental fatigue selectively impairs fine motor strength and cognitive processing speed, particularly reaction time, while gross motor power remains resilient. Understanding these effects is critical for optimizing performance in contexts requiring fine motor control and sustained attention under cognitive load.

Okada, T, Huxel, KC, and Nesser, TW. Relationship between core stability, functional movement, and performance. J Strength Cond Res 25(1)252-261, 2011-The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between core stability, functional movement, and performance. Twenty-eight healthy individuals (age = 24.4 ± 3.9 yr, height = 168.8 ± 12.5 cm, mass = 70.2 ± 14.9 kg) performed several tests in 3 categoriescore stability (flexion [FLEX], extension [EXT], right and left lateral [LATr/LATl]), functional movement screen (FMS) (deep squat [DS], trunk-stability push-up [PU], right and left hurdle step [HSr/HSl], in-line lunge [ILLr/ILLl], shoulder mobility [SMr/SMl], active straight leg raise [ASLRr/ASLRl], and rotary stability [RSr/RSl]), and performance tests (backward medicine ball throw [BOMB], T-run [TR], and single leg squat [SLS]). Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. There were significant correlations between SLS and FLEX (r = 0.500), LATr (r = 0.495), and LATl (r = 0.498). The TR correlated significantly with both LATr (r = 0.383) and LATl (r = 0.448). Of the FMS, BOMB was significantly correlated with HSr (r = 0.415), SMr (r = 0.388), PU (r = 0.407), and RSr (r = 0.391). The TR was significantly related with HSr (r = 0.518), ILLl (r = 0.462) and SMr (r = 0.392). The SLS only correlated significantly with SMr (r = 0.446). There were no significant correlations between core stability and FMS. Moderate to weak correlations identified suggest core stability and FMS are not strong predictors of performance. In addition, existent assessments do not satisfactorily confirm the importance of core stability on functional movement. Despite the emphasis fitness professionals have placed on functional movement and core training for increased performance, our results suggest otherwise. Although training for core and functional movement are important to include in a fitness program, especially for injury prevention, they should not be the primary emphasis of any training program.

Castro-Piñero, J, Ortega, FB, Artero, EG, Girela-Rejón, MJ, Mora, J, Sjöström, M, and Ruiz, JR. Assessing muscular strength in youthusefulness of standing long jump as a general index of muscular fitness. J Strength Cond Res 24(7)1810-1817, 2010-The purpose of the present study was to examine the association among different measures of lower body muscular strength in children, and the association between measures of lower- and upper-body muscular strength. The study population comprises 94 (45 girls) healthy Caucasian children aged 6-17 years. Children performed several lower body explosive muscular strength tests (i.e., standing long jump [SLJ], vertical jump, squat jump, and countermovement jump) and upper body muscular strength tests (i.e., throw basketball, push-ups, and isometric strength exercises). The association among the study tests was analyzed by multiple regression. The SLJ was strongly associated with other lower body muscular strength tests (R = 0.829-0.864), and with upper body muscular strength tests (R = 0.694-0.851). The SLJ test might be therefore considered a general index of muscular fitness in youth. The SLJ test is practical, time efficient, and low in cost and equipment requirements.

Whereas motor skills of the untrained upper limb (UL) can improve following practice with the other UL, it has yet to be determined if an UL motor skill can improve following practice of that skill with the lower limb (LL). Forty-five healthy subjects randomly participated in a 10-minute single-session intervention of (1) practicing 50 reaching movement (RM) sequences with the non-dominant left LL toward light switches (LL group); or (2) observing the identical 50 light switches sequences (Switches Observation (SO) group); or (3) observing nature films (Nature Observation (NO) group). RM sequence performance with the left UL toward the light switches was tested before and immediately after the intervention and retested after 24 h. Reaching response time improved in the LL group more than in the SO and NO groups in the posttest (pBonferroni = 0.038 and pBonferroni < 0.001, respectively), and improved in the LL group more than in the NO group in the retest (pBonferroni = 0.004). Percentage of fails did not differ between groups across the timepoints. It appears that the actual practice of the RM sequence skill with the UL together with the cognitive element embedded in the observation of the RM sequences contributes to ipsilateral transfer from LL to UL.

Efficient shoulder movement depends on the ability of central nervous system to integrate sensory information and to create an appropriate motor command. Various daily encountered factors can potentially compromise the execution of the command, such as fatigue. This study explored how fatigue influences shoulder movements during upper limb reaching. Forty healthy participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: Control or Fatigue Group. All participants completed an upper limb reaching task at baseline and post-experimental, during which they reached four targets located at 90° of shoulder abduction, 90° external rotation at 90° abduction, 120° scaption, and 120° flexion in a virtual reality environment. Following the baseline phase, the Fatigue Group completed a shoulder fatigue protocol, while Controls took a 10-minute break. Thereafter, the reaching task was repeated. Upper limb kinematic (joint angles and excursions) and spatiotemporal (speed and accuracy) data were collected during the reaching task. Electromyographic activity of the anterior and middle deltoids were also collected to characterize fatigue. Two-way repeated-measures ANOVA were performed to determine the effects of Time, Group and of the interaction between these factors. The Fatigue group showed decreased mean median power frequency and increased electromyographic amplitudes of the anterior deltoid (p < 0.05) following the fatigue protocol. Less glenohumeral elevation, increased trunk flexion and rotation and sternoclavicular elevation were also observed in the Fatigue group (Group x Time interaction, p < 0.05). The Control group improved their movement speed and accuracy in post-experimental phase, while the Fatigue group showed a decrease of movement speed and no accuracy improvement (Group x Time interaction, p < 0.05). In a fatigued state, changes in movement strategy were observed during the reaching task, including increased trunk and sternoclavicular movements and less glenohumeral movement. Performance was altered as shown by the lack of accuracy improvement over time and a decrease in movement speed in the Fatigue group.

Objective: This study introduces a novel methodology combining rapid stretch compound training with blood flow restriction (BFR) to investigate post activation performance enhancement (PAPE) in basketball players, a field that has been predominantly explored for lower limbs. We aimed to assess the efficacy of this combined approach on upper limb muscle performance in athletes. Methods: We employed a randomized, self-controlled crossover trial with ten male basketball players. The bench press throw (BPT) served as the primary metric, with players undergoing four interventions post-baseline: (1) STR—plyometric training; (2) BFR—blood flow restriction; (3) COMB—STR integrated with BFR; and (4) CON—control. Innovatively, we utilized an intelligent tracking sensor to precisely measure peak power (PP), peak velocity (PV), mean power (MP), and mean velocity (MV) at 4, 8, and 12 min post-intervention, providing a detailed temporal analysis of PAPE. Results: The COMB intervention demonstrated superior PAPE effects at 4 min, significantly outperforming STR and BFR alone and the control group across all measured indices (p < 0.05). Notably, the COMB group maintained these improvements for PV, PP, and H up to 12 min post-intervention, suggesting a prolonged effect. Conclusion: (1) The COMB stimulation has been shown to successfully induce PAPE more effectively than STR and BFR modality alone. (2) It appears that the optimal effects of PAPE are achieved within 4 min of exercising under this COMB. By the 12 min mark, only the COMB group continued to show significant improvements in PV, PP, and H compared to both the baseline and the CON group, while the effects in the STR and BFR groups further diminished. This suggests that although the PAPE effect is maintained over time, its optimal performance may peak at the 4 min mark and then gradually weaken as time progresses.

This study aimed to assess the impact of the VolleyVeilig program on enhancing upper extremity performance in female volleyball players. While previous research has focused mainly on lower extremity injury prevention, there remains a significant lack of studies examining how structured warm-up routines can influence upper extremity performance in the sport. A quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test was used. Thirty female volleyball players, aged 16 to 21, were randomly divided into two groups: VolleyVeilig intervention group and traditional warm-up group. The VolleyVeilig warm-up consisted of light aerobic exercises, dynamic stretching, agility and reaction drills, as well as volleyball-specific skill drills conducted over six weeks. In contrast, the traditional warm-up included light aerobic activity, dynamic stretching, and volleyball-specific skill drills. Upper extremity performance indices including upper extremity balance and Davis tests were measured before and after the intervention. Statistical analyses, including the covariance analysis, and paired t-tests, were conducted using SPSS. Findings revealed a significant improvement in dynamic balance (Effect Size = 0.58, p  = 0.001) and upper limb stability (Effect Size = 0.27, p  = 0.001) in the VolleyVeilig group compared to the traditional warm-up. Additionally, significant enhancements were noted within the VolleyVeilig group from pre-test to post-test ( p  = 0.001). However, the small sample size and limited participant diversity may affect the generalizability of the findings. These findings indicate that the VolleyVeilig warm-up program effectively enhances dynamic balance and upper limb stability, potentially improving performance and reducing shoulder injuries. Coaches and sports therapists can integrate this 15–20-minute program into regular training sessions, incorporating aerobic exercises, dynamic stretching, and sport-specific drills, while adapting it to individual player needs for injury prevention such as shoulder impingement and rotator cuff strain, and performance optimization.

The evolution of the human upper limb involved a change in function from its use for both locomotion and prehension (as in apes) to a predominantly prehensile and manipulative role. Well-preserved forelimb remains of 1.98-million-year-old Australopithecus sediba from Malapa, South Africa, contribute to our understanding of this evolutionary transition. Whereas other aspects of their postcranial anatomy evince mosaic combinations of primitive (australopith-like) and derived ( Homo -like) features, the upper limbs (excluding the hand and wrist) of the Malapa hominins are predominantly primitive and suggest the retention of substantial climbing and suspensory ability. The use of the forelimb primarily for prehension and manipulation appears to arise later, likely with the emergence of Homo erectus .

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries impact approximately 68.6 per 100,000 individuals annually, with ACL reconstruction (ACLR) being a common intervention for restoring knee stability in physically active individuals. Despite advancements in surgical techniques and rehabilitation protocols, patients often experience prolonged recovery, hamstring weakness, and neuromuscular deficits, increasing the risk of re-injury and osteoarthritis. Early-phase ACLR rehabilitation primarily focuses on managing pain, swelling, and quadriceps strength, frequently neglecting the critical role of hamstrings in knee stabilization. This leaves a gap in addressing imbalances that hinder functional recovery and return-to-sport timelines. Upper limb isometric training (ULIT) presents an innovative approach to enhance hamstring activation during the early rehabilitation phase. By leveraging the posterior myofascial kinetic chain (PMKC), ULIT indirectly stimulates hamstrings through bilateral static upper limb exercises, such as wall push up, shoulder extension and scapular retraction, promoting neuromuscular coordination and kinetic chain synergy. These exercises mitigate challenges associated with direct hamstring loading, such as arthrogenic muscle inhibition and graft protection needs. Preliminary research suggests upper limb resistance exercise at submaximal voluntary contraction facilitates inter-limb strength gains, improves core abdominals and hamstring activation, and reduces knee imbalances, supporting accelerated recovery and reduced re-injury risk. The ULIT demonstrates potential as an alternative warm-up exercise to promote hamstring activation and enhance overall readiness for physical activity. Emerging findings highlight ULIT as a safe and potentially effective supplementary intervention, but further research is essential to establish its role in ACLR rehabilitation and develop evidence-based protocols. This study aims to evaluate the effects of integrating ULIT into standard care rehabilitation on hamstring strength and physical function in early-phase postoperative ACLR patients with hamstring autograft. The findings could introduce a novel and effective strategy to optimize recovery, enhance functional outcomes, and support a safer return to sport. Trial registration number: ACTRN12624001445561 and available at https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=388441&isReview=true .

The aim of this study was to analyse the front-crawl arm-pull kinetics and kinematics, comparing it before and after post-activation potentiation (PAP), and the associations between variables describing of the arm-pull kinetics. Twelve male competitive swimmers were randomly assigned to perform two different warm-ups in a crossover manner: (i) non-PAP (control condition); and (ii) PAP (experimental condition). PAP consisted of 2 × 5 arm-pulls with resistance bands by both upper-limbs. Eight minutes later, participants underwent a 25 m all-out trial in front-crawl arm-pull. Kinetics (i.e., peak thrust, mean thrust and thrust-time integral) and kinematics (i.e., speed and speed fluctuation) were collected by an in-house customised system composed of differential pressure sensors, speedo-meter and underwater camera. There was a significant and large improvement of the arm-pull kinetics after completing the warm-up with PAP sets (0.010 <  P  < 0.054, 0.50 < d < 0.74). There were non-significant and small effects of PAP on speed ( P  = 0.307, d = 0.18) and speed fluctuation ( P  = 0.498, d = 0.04). Correlation coefficients among kinetic variables were significant with large associations (0.51 < R < 0.90, 0.001 <  P  < 0.088). In conclusion, warm-ups including PAP conditioning sets elicit a large improvement in the thrust, but with small improvement in performance. Variables used to characterise thrust are strongly correlated and hence can be used interchangeably.