Brief moments of blood flow occlusion followed by reperfusion may promote enhancements in exercise performance. Thus, this study assessed the 24-h effect of post-exercise ischemic conditioning (PEIC) on exercise performance and physiological variables in trained cyclists. In a randomized, single-blind study, 28 trained cyclists (27.1 ± 1.4 years) performed a maximal incremental cycling test (MICT). The outcome measures were creatine kinase (CK), muscle soreness and perceived recovery status, heart rate, perceived exertion and power output. Immediately after the MICT, the cyclists performed 1 of the following 4 interventions: 2 sessions of 5-min occlusion/5-min reperfusion (PEIC or SHAM, 2 x 5) or 5 sessions of 2-min occlusion/2-min reperfusion (PEIC or SHAM, 5 x 2). The PEIC (50 mm Hg above the systolic blood pressure) or SHAM (20 mm Hg) treatment was applied unilaterally on alternating thighs. At 24 h after the interventions, a second MICT was performed. In all the groups, the CK levels were increased compared with the baseline (p < 0.05) after the 24-h MICT. The PEIC groups (2 x 5 and 5 x 2) felt more tired at 24 h post intervention (p < 0.05). However, both PEIC groups maintained their performance (2 x 5: p = 0.819; 5 x 2: p = 0.790), while the SHAM groups exhibited decreased performance at 24 h post intervention compared to baseline (2 x 5: p = 0.015; 5 x 2: p = 0.045). A decrease in the maximal heart rate (HR) was found only in the SHAM 2 x 5 group (p = 0.015). There were no other significant differences in the heart rate, power output or perceived exertion after 24 h compared with the baseline values for any of the interventions (p > 0.05). In conclusion, PEIC led to maintained exercise performance 24 h post intervention in trained cyclists.

de Souza, HLR, Arriel, RA, Hohl, R, da Mota, GR, and Marocolo, M. Is ischemic preconditioning intervention occlusion-dependent to enhance resistance exercise performance? J Strength Cond Res 35(10): 2706–2712, 2021—Ischemic preconditioning is a rising technique with potential to improve performance. Currently, its effects are still controversial, and a placebo effect seems to have a role. In this sense, this study evaluated the effect of high-pressure (HP) and low-pressure (LP) cuffing on resistance exercise performance during repeated 5-day intervention. Twenty healthy trained men (24.0 ± 4.4 years; 80.1 ± 12.2 kg; and 176.9 ± 6.6 cm) performed a 1 repetition maximum (1RM) test before interventions. Maximal isometric force test, number of repetitions (75% 1RM), total workload (sets × reps × load), fatigue index (FI) ([set 1 − set 3]/set 1 × 100), and perceived scales were assessed during knee extension preceded by HP (3 × 5-minute unilateral leg occlusion at 50 mm Hg above systolic blood pressure), LP (3 × 5-minute unilateral leg occlusion at 20 mm Hg), or control ([CON] 30-minute resting). The main effect of cuff intervention was significant for total workload (F(1,16) = 4.2, p = 0.03) after adjusting for baseline (analysis of covariance). Adjusted means (confidence interval) and effect sizes (ES) indicate that HP (1778 kg [1,613–1944]; ES: 0.29) and LP (1761 kg [1,590–1932]; ES: 0.34) significantly increased total workload compared with CON (1,452 kg [1,262–1,643]; ES: 0.17). Finally, isometric force and FI were similar for all conditions (HP, LP, and CON) with no difference from baseline performance. In conclusion, the short-term (5-day) intervention of HP and LP cuffing increases the total workload. This effect in muscle endurance performance is nondependent of blood flow occlusion, since LP is not able to obstruct arterial blood flow. A likely motivational effect cannot be ruled out.

Rules determine how team sport matches occur. Match-induced fatigue is specific to each sport, and may be associated with injury incidence. For example, the injury rate in soccer is distinctly higher during matches than in training sessions. Understanding the differences between team sports rules might be useful for enhancing rules (e.g., safer sport). Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of the rule-induced physical demands between soccer, futsal, basketball, and handball, focusing on substitution rules. Data from the elite team sports’ rules (e.g., absolute and relative court dimensions; the number of players, substitutions allowed, total game time, time-outs) were collected, including the changes due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in soccer substitutions, and comparisons were performed. The data showed that soccer has higher rule-induced physical demands: e.g., substantially lower substitution rate, higher dimensions in absolute (eight to fifteen times), and relative (four to eight times) values. Simulations also showed that soccer has extremely large differences, even considering COVID-19 substitution changes (from three to up to five). We conclude that elite soccer has remarkably higher overall rule-induced physical demands than elite futsal, basketball and handball, and increasing soccer substitutions permanently (e.g., unlimited) might mitigate overall soccer demands.