To apply a new method to identify, classify, and follow up young swimmers based on their performance and its determinant factors over a season and analyze the swimmers' stability over a competitive season with that method. Fifteen boys and 18 girls (11.8±0.7 y) part of a national talent-identification scheme were evaluated at 3 different moments of a competitive season. Performance (ie, official 100-m freestyle race time), arm span, chest perimeter, stroke length, swimming velocity, speed fluctuation, coefficient of active drag, propelling efficiency, and stroke index were selected as variables. Hierarchical and k-means cluster analysis were computed. Data suggested a 3-cluster solution, splitting the swimmers according to their performance in all 3 moments. Cluster 1 was related to better performances (talented swimmers), cluster 2 to poor performances (nonproficient swimmers), and cluster 3 to average performance (proficient swimmers) in all moments. Stepwise discriminant analysis revealed that 100%, 94%, and 85% of original groups were correctly classified for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd evaluation moments, respectively (0.11≤Λ≤0.80; 5.64≤χ2≤63.40; 0.001<P≤.68). Membership of clusters was moderately stable over the season (stability range 46.1-75% for the 2 clusters with most subjects). Cluster stability is a feasible, comprehensive, and informative method to gain insight into changes in performance and its determinant factors in young swimmers. Talented swimmers were characterized by anthropometrics and kinematic features.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to analyze secular trends in anthropometrics and physical fitness of Portuguese children. Material and Methods: A group of 1819 students (881 boys and 938 girls) between 10 and 11 years old was assessed in their 5th and 6th scholar grade throughout a 20 years’ time-frame. ANCOVA models were used to analyze variations in anthropometrics (height, weight and body mass index) and physical fitness (sit and reach, curl-up, horizontal jump and sprint time) across four quinquennials (1993 - 1998; 1998 - 2003; 2003 - 2008; 2008 - 2013). Results: Secular trends showed the presence of heavier boys and girls with higher body mass index in the 5th and 6th grade throughout the last 20 years. There was also a presence of taller girls but just until the 3rd quinquennial. Both boys and girls were able to perform better on the core strength test and sprint time but become less flexible over the years. Mean jumping performance remained unchanged for both genders. Discussion: The present study provides novel data on anthropometrics and physical fitness trends over the last two decades in young Portuguese children, consistent with the results reported in other developed countries. Conclusion: Evidence for the start of a positive secular trend in body mass index and in some physical fitness components over the last two decades among the Portuguese youth.

The purpose of this study was to analyze in which physical capabilities boys and girls are closer or distant. An additional objective was to find which of the body fat, physical activity, and somatotype factors have a greater effect on prepubescent children's physical fitness. This was a cross-sectional study involving 312 children (10.8 ± 0.4 years). The physical fitness assessment employed sets of aerobic fitness, strength, flexibility, speed, agility, and balance. The boys presented higher values in all selected tests, except tests of balance and flexibility, in which girls scored better. Gender differences in the physical fitness were greatest in the explosive strength of upper (p ≤ 0.01, η(p)(2) = 0.09) and lower limbs (p ≤ 0.01, η(p)(2) = 0.08), although with a medium-size effect of gender, and smaller in the abdominal (p > 0.05, η(p)(2) = 0.007) and upper limbs (p > 0.05, η(p)(2) = 0.003) muscular endurance, and trunk extensor strength and flexibility (p > 0.05, η(p)(2) = 0.001). The endomorphic (p ≤ 0.01, η(p)(2) = 0.26) in the girls, and the ectomorphic (p ≤ 0.01, η(p)(2) = 0.31) and mesomorphic (p ≤ 0.01, η(p)(2) = 0.26) in the boys, had the high-sized effect on the physical fitness. The physical activity in the girls, and the endomorphic and body fat in the boys, did not have a significant effect. These findings can help in the planning of activities that take into account the success and motivation of both boys and girls and thus increase levels of physical activity and physical fitness at school. However, in prepubescent children, one cannot neglect the influence of genetic determinism, observed from the morphoconstitutional point of view.

The main purpose of the present study was to verify the effects of a 12-week water aerobics program in a real-life context on health indicators and physical fitness in adults and older adults. Fifteen volunteers (58.80 ± 14.32 years old) were part of an experimental group (Exercise), and eight volunteers (59.00 ± 12.26 years old) were part of the control group (Control). The Exercise performed 45 min of water aerobics twice a week for 12 weeks; no physical exercise was permitted for the Control during the same period. The evaluations were performed the week before (pre-training) and after the training program (post-training). The primary outcomes were the strength and cardiorespiratory fitness variables and the secondary outcomes included body anthropometry, lipid profile and blood pressure. Adjusted analysis for age and baseline values showed no differences between Exercise and Control in post-training moment. However, there was a moderated tendency for increased explosive strength of the upper limbs (ηp2 = 0.17), reduced body fat (ηp2 = 0.17), reduced systolic blood pressure (ηp2 = 0.14) and triglycerides (ηp2 = 0.19) in Exercise. Within groups changes showed that the training program caused an increase mainly in explosive strength in the upper limbs (0.26 m, 95% CI, 0.03, 0.49; ES = 0.63) In addition, there was a significant decrease in fat mass (-0.89%, 95% CI, -1.74, -0.03; ES = 0.61) and in the systolic blood pressure (-0.83 mmHg, -1.46, -0.19; ES = 0.71). Nonetheless, no significant changes were observed for the lipid profile. These results suggest that 12 weeks of water aerobics performed twice a week in a real-life context seem to benefit the explosive strength, body composition, and blood pressure of adults and older adults but is insufficient to alter cardiorespiratory fitness and lipid profiles.

Physical education plays a fundamental role in the integral development of the student, allowing cognitive, psychomotor, and affective development, while stimulating healthy lifestyles, socialization, team spirit, and sports practice. One of the strategies that can increase its effectiveness, and which has been implemented in the school context, is the multivariate training program, which, duly adapted, allows the inclusion of different contents and the development of different individual skills, as well as improving the practice of physical, technical, and tactical exercises. However, a lack of evidence has been reported on this topic. The main purpose of this thesis was to analyze the effects of the multivariate training program in game performance and physical fitness during physical education classes. In addition, for a more in-depth analysis, the effect of the multivariate training program on the relationship between the components (physical fitness and game performance) and the variables of each component considered was also studied. To accomplish these objectives, the following sequence was used: (i) to review the available literature; (ii) to investigate the effects of a multivariate training program on physical fitness and tactical performance during physical education classes (iii) to determine the magnitude of the correlation between the physical fitness and game performance components before and after the application of the aforementioned training program.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of body fat and somatotype on explosive strength and aerobic capacity trainability in the prepubertal growth spurt, marked by rapid changes in body size, shape, and composition, all of which are sexually dimorphic. One hundred twenty-five healthy children (58 boys, 67 girls), aged 10-11 years (10.8 ± 0.4 years), who were self-assessed in Tanner stages 1-2, were randomly assigned into 2 experimental groups to train twice a week for 8 weeks: strength training group (19 boys, 22 girls), endurance training group (21 boys, 24 girls), and a control group (18 boys, 21 girls). Evaluation of body fat was carried out using the method described by Slaughter. Somatotype was computed according to the Heath-Carter method. Increased endomorphy reduced the likelihood of vertical jump height improvement (odds ratio [OR], 0.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.01-0.85), increased mesomorphy (OR, 6.15; 95% CI, 1.52-24.88) and ectomorphy (OR, 6.52; 95% CI, 1.71-24.91) increased the likelihood of sprint performance, and increased ectomorphy (OR, 3.84; 95% CI, 1.20-12.27) increased the likelihood of aerobic fitness gains. Sex did not affect the training-induced changes in strength or aerobic fitness. These data suggest that somatotype has an effect on explosive strength and aerobic capacity trainability, which should not be disregarded. The effect of adiposity on explosive strength, musculoskeletal magnitude on running speed, and relative linearity on running speed and aerobic capacity seem to be crucial factors related to training-induced gains in prepubescent boys and girls.

This paper affords an update review over the state of art regarding the importance of physical fitness and the significance of different combination approaches between resistance and aerobic training, as well as conditioning methods exercise alone on physical fitness improvements, specifically explosive strength and cardiorespiratory fitness in prepubertal children. The main research conclusions can be summarized as: i) Resistance training can be reliable to improve muscle strength in prepubertal children; ii) A proper and quantifiable exercise frequency and intensity in aerobic training remains unclear; iii) No differences have been found between prepubertal girls and boys on strength and aerobic capacity improvements after intra- session concurrent training , resistance or aerobic training alone; iv) In adults, concurrent resistance and aerobic training seems to be more effective on improvements of aerobic capacity than aerobic training alone; v) Aerobic training biomechanically specific to the concurrent resistance training may minimize adaptation interference when concurrently training; vi) In adolescents, concurrent resistance and aerobic training is equally effective to improve explosive strength compared to resistance training alone, and more efficient in aerobic capacity than resistance training alone; vii) Optimum training sequence was determined by the individual purposes of the training program; viii) Performing aerobic prior to resistance training produces endurance gains, while performing resistance prior to aerobic training appears to be more adequate to obtain strength improvements; ix) In adults, performing concurrent training in different sessions seems to be more effective to improve muscular strength than intra-session concurrent training. These results can be helpful for coaches, teachers and researchers to optimize explosive strength and cardiorespiratory fitness training in sports club and school-based programs, as well as a reliable source for further researches

Water aerobics has gained popularity, with its benefits increasingly recognized. However, there is limited information on the intensity and duration needed for optimal outcomes. This thesis explores the effects of varying intensities and durations of water aerobics on health-related variables in adults and older adults. To achieve this, the following steps were performed i) a systematic review with meta-analysis on the effects of water-based programs on the health and fitness of healthy adults and those with chronic diseases; ii) comparison of moderate versus high-intensity water aerobics (12 and 24 weeks) on muscle strength, anthropometry, lipid profile, blood pressure (BP), and quality of life (QoL); iii) analysis of the relationship between muscle strength gained after water aerobics and other factors including program intensity and duration, age, and baseline health-related variables; iv) analysis of the association between BP and lipid profile results obtained after water aerobics and factors like program intensity and duration, age, and initial health-related measurements. The findings indicated that i) few studies have assessed exercise intensity in water aerobics; ii) high-intensity water aerobics was more effective than moderate-intensity in improving lipid profile, fat mass, fat-free mass, diastolic BP, and physical QoL; iii) both durations of high-intensity water aerobics benefited diastolic BP, with greater effects after 24 weeks; iv) both programs improved muscular endurance after 12 and 24 weeks, with higher intensity related to better lower limb muscular endurance; v) psychological QoL improved after 12 weeks; vi) initial values of muscular endurance and age were related to upper limb muscular endurance and explosive strength outcomes, while initial body composition was associated with explosive strength; vii) changes in lipid profile were influenced by intensity, while diastolic BP was affected by program duration, and initial total cholesterol levels were positively associated with changes in systolic and diastolic BP. Overall, high-intensity water aerobics improves lipid profile, body composition, and physical QoL in adults and older adults. 24 weeks of this exercise also reduces diastolic BP. Water aerobics enhances muscular endurance regardless of intensity and duration. This thesis offers valuable insights for water aerobics instructors, recommending strategies to tailor intensity levels to individual needs.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of an 8-week program of resistance training (RT) or suspension training (ST) on explosive strength in prepubescent boys. Methods: Fifty-seven boys aged 10–11 years were assigned to 2 training groups, RT or ST or a control group (no training program). Boys trained twice weekly for 8 weeks. Results: A significant interaction was reported with a large (P < .001, η2p = .463), medium (P < .001, η2p = .395), and small effect sized (P ≤ .001, η2p = .218) in the 1-kg ball throw, 3-kg ball throw, and time-at-20-m test, respectively. There was no significant interaction in the countermovement vertical jump or the standing long jump. Changes from preintervention to postintervention for the 1-kg ball throw were 5.94% and 5.82% for the ST and RT, respectively, and 8.82% and 8.14% in the 3-kg ball throw for the ST and RT, respectively. The improvement in the 20-m sprint was 1.19% for the ST and 2.33% for the RT. Conclusion: Traditional RT and ST seem to be effective methods for improving explosive strength in prepubescent boys. ST could be considered as an alternative modality to optimize explosive strength training in school-based programs.

This PhD thesis consists of a research project divided into six separate studies and looks at the following variables: sport, quality of life (QoL), well-being, functional physical fitness, and body composition in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). In order to contextualise the study population, it is important to note that IDD is characterised by limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour, which are expressed in conceptual, practical and social domains. It can present different degrees of severity and manifest itself up to the age of 22. After a brief introduction in chapter one, chapter two consists of a systematic review (study 1 - Physical Activity, Quality of Life and Well-Being in Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disability), which aims to analyse the state of the art on the role of physical activity (PA), physical exercise (PE) and sport in QoL and well-being in people with IDD. Three databases were used to conduct the research: PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus, and fifteen articles met the eligibility criteria for the study. After analysing the articles, higher values were identified in the total QoL score and in some of its domains (e.g., personal development, physical well-being and emotional well-being), in life satisfaction and in the perception of well-being in people with IDD who have benefited or benefit from PA, PE and/or sports programmes. The third chapter contains a cross-sectional study (study 2 - Functional fitness and quality of life in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: an exploratory study) that aims to analyse functional physical fitness and QoL, as well as the associations between these variables, in a sample population with IDD, composed of 37 individuals. The results demonstrate an association between specific functional abilities and physical well-being, suggesting that promoting these skills can positively influence the physical well-being of the sample. The narrative review (study 3 - The use of control groups in research design: the ethical challenge in the population with intellectual and developmental disabilities), which corresponds to the fourth chapter, addresses the ethical challenges in the use of control groups in research projects. In the studies analysed on populations with IDD, it was possible to verify that most researchers favour the use of control groups that, during the research period, do not perform any activities beyond their usual daily activities. It was also possible to verify that, for the most part, the authors ensure compliance with ethical standards in studies involving human subjects. The fifth chapter, the study protocol (study 4 - The Effects of a Multi-Sports Programme on the Physical Fitness, Quality of Life, and Well-Being of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities—A Study Protocol), describes the intervention programme to be implemented in the experimental studies, based on the practice of sports for people with IDD, with the aim of analysing its effects on body composition, functional physical fitness, QoL, and well-being. In the present study, it is stated that the convenience sample should consist of at least 24 adult participants, institutionalised, with a previous diagnosis of IDD and no associated comorbidities (e.g., visual impairment or cerebral palsy). Participants will be divided into two groups: experimental and control, with the experimental group (EG) enjoying a weekly 60-minute session for 36 weeks. The sixth chapter and first intervention study (study 5 - The effect of practising sports on the quality of life and well-being of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities) aims to analyse the effect of an intervention based on practising sports on the QoL and well-being of people with IDD. The sample consisted of 36 participants with IDD in an institutional setting, divided into two groups: the EG, composed of 23 participants, and the control group (CG), with 13 individuals. After the intervention programme, significant improvements were observed in the EG participants in the domains of self-determination, social inclusion and physical well-being of QoL, as well as in life satisfaction and negative affect. In turn, the seventh and final study (study 6 - The effect of practising sports on the body composition and physical fitness of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities) aims to analyse the effect of an intervention based on the practice of sports on the body composition and functional physical fitness of people with IDD. After the intervention programme, significant improvements were observed in the comparison between the pre-intervention and post-intervention moments in the participants of the EG in body mass index (BMI), muscle mass, sit-to-stand test and 6-minute walk test. This research reinforces the importance of PA and sports as a vehicle for improving the health, QoL, well-being, and physical fitness of people with IDD. Although still scarce, there is a growing interest in sports for people with disabilities and their benefits. In this sense, the importance of integrating this type of intervention into institutional and community contexts is increasingly evident. It is therefore essential that exercise technicians, institutions and local authorities actively contribute to the implementation of projects of this nature and, equally important, to their continuity over time.