This study aims to analyse the impact of limited hamstring flexibility (HF) on specific football skills, such as sprinting and jumping ability, agility, and kicking speed in young football players. Forty-three male football players (aged 14-18) from a semi-professional football academy participated voluntarily in this study. Data about anthropometric measurements, HF (unilateral passive straight-leg raise test: PSLR), vertical jumping ability (countermovement jump: CMJ), sprinting ability (5, 10, 20 m: S5 m, S10 m, S20 m), agility (Balsom agility test: BAT), and kicking speed in terms of ball speed (dominant and non-dominant leg: KSdom and KSnon-dom) were collected. Cluster analysis grouped according to HF, dividing participants into a flexible group (FG, n = 24) and a non-flexible group (NFG, n = 19) in relation to performances on the PSLR test. Despite finding no significant differences between groups in body composition and age, the FG performed better in terms of sprint scores (S5 m: 6.12%, S10 m: 4.09%, S20 m: 3.29%), BAT score (4.11%), CMJ score (10.49%), and scores for KSdom (6.86%) and KSnon-dom (8%) than the NFG. The results suggest that HF is a key factor for performing football-specific skills, such as sprinting, jumping, agility, and kicking in young football players. These results support the rationale that muscle flexibility must be specifically trained in football players beginning at early ages.

Sex differences in physical fitness are evident at an early age; in addition, the relationship between physical fitness and BMI is inconsistent in preschool children. The improvements of physical fitness performance and its association with physical activity could be important for the health of children, particularly in obesity prevention.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is emerging as a safe and effective means to combat chronic diseases. The objective of this work was to perform a systematic review of the effect of HIIT interventions in an aging population. Three electronic databases were searched for randomized trials comparing the effect of HIIT and moderate-intensity continuous training in older adults. After a thorough screening process, 15 articles were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria. All studies expressed a comparable or superior effect of HIIT in cardiorespiratory fitness measures. No studies reported a lessened effect of HIIT in comparison with moderate-intensity continuous training. This systematic review demonstrates that HIIT is a useful exercise regimen, which can be used in older adults to increase cardiorespiratory fitness. More research is needed to determine the effects of HIIT in an aging, predominately female population.

In this work we aimed to perform a systematic review of randomized controlled trials within an aging population that investigated the general impacts of a resistance training (RT) protocol on key outcome measures relating to gait and/or balance. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement guidelines, two electronic databases (PubMed, and Scopus) were searched for randomized controlled trials that measured at least one key outcome measure focusing on gait and/or balance in older adults. 3794 studies were identified, and after duplicates were removed, 1913 studies remained. 1886 records were removed due to the abstract not meeting the inclusion criteria. 28 full-text articles were assessed further, and 20 of the articles were identified as meeting the criteria for inclusion. The remaining 20 studies were assessed for quality using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale; 12 studies remained and were included in this systematic review. Our review suggests that RT has a positive effect on both gait and balance in an elderly population. RT improves gait, specifically straight-line walking speed in older adults. RT is an adequate training method to improve balance in an aging population. Improvements in strength, attributed to RT, may allow for greater autonomy and independence to carry out activities of daily living as we age.

Background: Many studies have demonstrated an inverse relationship between gait performance and cognitive impairment. The main purposes of this study were: (1) to design and validate a complex gait test (CGT) in older people, (2) to analyze the effects of age and sex on CGT, and (3) to analyze the association between CGT performance and physical functioning and cognitive measures. Methods: A total of 279 older people (60-97 years) were analyzed in 2019. Fitness tests, gait performance, and several cognitive measures such as the Trail-Walking Test and Montreal Cognitive Assessment were used. Results: The CGT reported adequate reliability and validity parameters. In the test-retest analysis, the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.868 (p < 0.001). There was a significant correlation between the CGT and Trail-Walking Test (r = 0.592; p < 0.001). The linear regression analysis showed that the CGT was associated with the Montreal Cog-nitive Assessment (R 2 = 0.357; p = 0.001). The binary logistic regression analysis revealed that a high CGT score was a risk factor for mild cognitive impairment (odds ratio 1.201, 95% CI 1.081-1.334; p = 0.001). The ROC curve of the mild cognitive impairment was predicted by the CGT performance (area under the curve = 0.768, 95% CI 0.647-0.889; p < 0.001), reaching the cutoff point at 20.25 s. Conclusions: The CGT showed good reliability and validity and may serve as a potential biomarker in mild cognitive impairment prediction in older adults aged 60-97 years.

M Mª ª L Lu ui is sa a Z Za ag ga al la az z S Sá án nc ch he ez z R Ra af fa ae el l M Mo or re en no o d de el l C Ca as st ti il ll lo o J Ja av vi ie er r C Ca ac ch hó ón n Z Za ag ga al la az z Universidad de Jaén Durante la evolución que se ha producido en la Educación Física (EF) a lo largo de todo el siglo XX, existe una relación de influencia de la sociedad imperante en cada momento, hacia la formación del profesorado y hacia las demandas de esa sociedad.Con frecuencia dicha influencia se plasma a través del marco legal que va reformando lo anteriormente establecido, de manera que, desde la Ley se recogen las necesidades sociales que el futuro profesional deberá atender, las funciones del maestro o del profesor en la sociedad, el status que se le otorga, etc... Con todo, se va moldeando un modelo de formación del profesorado que responde a los criterios políti-cos dominantes en cada situación (conservadores, liberales, socialistas...). Esta adecuación será la que trataremos de desarrollar en las líneas sucesivas, en las que intentaremos exponer las nuevas tendencias de la EF.Las nuevas tendencias o corrientes actuales de EF, podemos dividirlas en dos partes: • La primera, surge de los antecedentes más cercanos, en los siglos XVIII y XIX, que dan lugar a la configuración de algunas corrientes educativas alrededor del concepto de EF, denominadas por Vázquez (1989, 64): 1) Educación físico-deportiva: el cuerpo acrobático.2) Educación psicomotriz: el cuerpo pensante.3) Expresión corporal: el cuerpo comunicante. A estas tres tendencias podemos sumar una cuarta, la sociomotricidad, definida por Parlebás (1974) como, una motricidad en relación con los compañeros y desarrollada principalmente en los juegos.• La segunda parte incluye otras corrientes que, por su incidencia social, recreativa y, por supuesto, educativa, no debemos dejar de conocer. Nos detendremos brevemente en cada una de ellas, comenzando por el primer apartado. 1 1. . C Co or rr ri ie en nt te es s d de e l la a e ed du uc ca ac ci ió ón n f fí ís si ic ca a 1.1. La educación físico-deportiva: el cuerpo acrobático En esta corriente se plantean las diferencias y similitudes entre EF y Deporte a la hora de desarrollar los criterios educativos en nuestra materia.Comienza cuando Hèbert, recupera el término Educación Física como más comprensivo de la educación corporal que la simple gimnástica, y evoluciona hasta que mucho más tarde, Vázquez (1989), habla del afianzamiento de la expresión Educación Física sobre la de Gimnasia, pasando por los movimientos europeos y sus influencias recíprocas que fructificaron, hacia mediados de siglo XX, en una EF metó-dica, analítica y moralista en cuanto a los efectos provocados por las metodologías empleadas para su enseñanza.Las clases se imparten a base de "lecciones", con ejercicios sometidos a evolución y control mediante "ejercicios-tests" que, permitirán al profesor un conocimiento rápi-do y riguroso del proceso de enseñanza. La práctica se resuelve por medio de ejercicios construidos por el profesorado o...

Background: It is necessary to know accurately the physical effects of judo contest on athletes in order to quantify how successive judo bouts impair muscular performance parameters and physiological response associated with the aim to create specific training programs that take the demands of judo bout into account. Purpose: The purpose of current study was to characterise the evolution of muscular performance parameters and physiological response during a judo contest. Methods: Twenty-nine men performed five 5-minute bouts with 15 minutes of passive rest. Immediately after the bouts, some muscular performance parameters and physiological variables were measured, in this order: Borg´s rate of perceived exertion (RPE), maximal dynamic strength in upper body (MDS), countermovement jump (CMJ), dominant (DHS) and non-dominant handgrip isometric strength (NDHS). Lactate (LAC) was measured 3 minutes after each bout and 1 minute before the next too). Heart rate (HR) was monitored during the contest. ANOVA to compare baseline test data and successive bouts was used. Results: ANOVA revealed significant differences in HRmean (p=0.045), LAC (p<0.001) and in RPE (p<0.001). A decrease in NDHS (p<0.001), DHS (p<0.001), MDS (p<0.001) was found. Some significant correlations were found between NDHS and DMPV (r=0.368, p=0.050), DMS (r=0.369, p=0.050) and DMXS (r=0.405, p=0.029); between DHS and DLACb (r=0.430, p=0.020), DMXS (r=0.379, p=0.043), DMP (r=0.369, p=0.050) and DRPE (r=0.456, p=0.013); between CMJ and DPM (r=0.381, p=0.041), DPMX (r=0.417, p=0.024), DFM (r=0.423, p=0.022) and DDHS (r=0.348, p=0.040). These results show a high decrease of muscular performance parameters and an increase of physiological parameters, specially between baseline test and postbout 5, but gradual between all bouts. Conclusion: Judo contest can be considered a high intensity exercise, due to high levels of physiological parameters and the decrease in force production obtained.

El promedio de esperanza de vida ha aumentado a nivel mundial en las últimas décadas. Los avances en medicina y salud en general, asociado a otros factores tanto genéticos como ambientales, han hecho posible aumentar la cantidad de años de vida. Pero, ¿se podría también aumentar la calidad de vida en esos últimos años más avanzados? Con este libro se propone un modelo de envejecimiento activo y saludable, donde la calidad de vida durante los años vividos como adulto mayor, les permita llevar una vida más completa y autónoma. Centrado en la superación de los problemas de salud, degeneración física y cognitiva, este libro intenta comprender la nueva realidad a la que se enfrentan los mayores tras el abandono de la vida activa, de su rutina laboral.