Objective Our objective was to explore the training-related knowledge, beliefs, and practices of athletes and the influence of lockdowns in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Methods Athletes (n = 12,526, comprising 13% world class, 21% international, 36% national, 24% state, and 6% recreational) completed an online survey that was available from 17 May to 5 July 2020 and explored their training behaviors (training knowledge, beliefs/attitudes, and practices), including specific questions on their training intensity, frequency, and session duration before and during lockdown (March–June 2020). Results Overall, 85% of athletes wanted to “maintain training,” and 79% disagreed with the statement that it is “okay to not train during lockdown,” with a greater prevalence for both in higher-level athletes. In total, 60% of athletes considered “coaching by correspondence (remote coaching)” to be sufficient (highest amongst world-class athletes). During lockdown, < 40% were able to maintain sport-specific training (e.g., long endurance [39%], interval training [35%], weightlifting [33%], plyometric exercise [30%]) at pre-lockdown levels (higher among world-class, international, and national athletes), with most (83%) training for “general fitness and health maintenance” during lockdown. Athletes trained alone (80%) and focused on bodyweight (65%) and cardiovascular (59%) exercise/training during lockdown. Compared with before lockdown, most athletes reported reduced training frequency (from between five and seven sessions per week to four or fewer), shorter training sessions (from ≥ 60 to < 60 min), and lower sport-specific intensity (~ 38% reduction), irrespective of athlete classification. Conclusions COVID-19-related lockdowns saw marked reductions in athletic training specificity, intensity, frequency, and duration, with notable within-sample differences (by athlete classification). Higher classification athletes had the strongest desire to “maintain” training and the greatest opposition to “not training” during lockdowns. These higher classification athletes retained training specificity to a greater degree than others, probably because of preferential access to limited training resources. More higher classification athletes considered “coaching by correspondence” as sufficient than did lower classification athletes. These lockdown-mediated changes in training were not conducive to maintenance or progression of athletes’ physical capacities and were also likely detrimental to athletes’ mental health. These data can be used by policy makers, athletes, and their multidisciplinary teams to modulate their practice, with a degree of individualization, in the current and continued pandemic-related scenario. Furthermore, the data may drive training-related educational resources for athletes and their multidisciplinary teams. Such upskilling would provide athletes with evidence to inform their training modifications in response to germane situations (e.g., COVID related, injury, and illness).

Objective: Ramadan is a period of daylight abstention from liquid or solid nutrients. As sports continue to be scheduled, an understanding of the effects of Ramadan on Muslim athletes is warranted. Design: Two Algerian professional soccer teams (55 men) were studied. Field tests of physical and soccer performance were collected before, at the end and 2 weeks after Ramadan in 2004. Players were queried on sleeping habits and personal perception of training and match performance. Setting: Field setting at club training ground. Main outcome measures: Performance on fitness and skill tests. Results: Performance declined significantly (p,0.05) for speed, agility, dribbling speed and endurance, and most stayed low after the conclusion of Ramadan. Nearly 70% of the players thought that their training and performance were adversely affected during the fast. Conclusions: The phase shift of food intake and disruption of sleep patterns affect actual and perceived physical performance. Islamic athletes need to explore strategies that will maximise performance during Ramadan. S occer's popularity crosses geographical, political and religious boundaries. One of the major religions of the world is Islam, with over one billion people in multiple nations living under Islamic laws where soccer is one of the major spectator and participant sports.The major religious period of the Islamic calendar is Ramadan, when healthy post-pubescent Muslims fast, without damaging their health, from sunrise to sunset for the 4-week period. Muslims are invited to abstain from all types of liquid or solid nutrient intake as well as all unhealthy or aggressive behaviour during this period of purification, internal meditation and regeneration.Physiological and clinical effects of Ramadan on hormonal, metabolic and behavioural responses have been the focus of study. Limited data on physical performance show that submaximal factors (ie, heart rate) are affected little whereas maximal work declines.1 Because football is contested internationally and matches continue to be scheduled during Ramadan, our aim was to learn how Ramadan affects the performance of competitive soccer players. MATERIALS AND METHODSThe study was conducted in Algeria in 2004 when Ramadan occurred between 15 October and 13 November. Two professional teams consented to participate in the project. The total number of players who participated in the study was 55. The ethics committee of the state of Algiers approved the protocol. All players gave their signed, informed consent before participation in the project.Field tests of fitness were conducted 2 days after a match at 14:00 h (typical match time). Explosive leg power was determined by the standing vertical jump. Agility was measured using the four-line test.2 A dribbling test 2 was used as a test of soccer skill. Speed and acceleration were obtained by photoelectric cells during a 20 m sprint from a standing start. The sprint course had timing lights every 5 m. The fastest of three trials was reported in m/s. Endurance was measur...

Ramadan alters the normal patterns of food intake and sleep. The aim of this study was to describe the impact of Ramadan on physical performance in youth Muslim athletes. The members of four Tunisian teams (age 18 years, N = 85) resided at the Tunisian Football Federation training ground. Each player chose either to fast or not fast during the 4-week period of Ramadan. Two teams were randomly chosen for morning testing; the remaining teams were tested in the afternoon. Testing took place 3 weeks before and in the second and fourth weeks of Ramadan. A subgroup of 45 players was tested again 3 weeks after Ramadan. Each player was assessed for speed, power, agility, endurance, and for passing and dribbling skills. No variables were negatively affected by fasting. Almost all variables had improved significantly by the third test session (training effect). A limited number of variables were also significant for time of day or in an interaction with week of testing. Changes in performance were most likely due to the effects of training and familiarity with the test methods. Based on these data, Ramadan had little effect on objective tests of physical performance in this sample of youth players observing Ramadan.

Healthy young male football players who were either fasting (n = 59) or not fasting (n = 36) during the month of Ramadan were studied. Body mass, body composition, and dietary intake were assessed at each time point. Energy intake was relatively stable in the fasting participants, but there was a small decrease of approximately 0.7 kg in body mass during Ramadan. Mean daily energy intake increased from 14.8 MJ (s = 2.9) to 18.1 MJ (s = 3.2) during Ramadan in non-fasting participants, with concomitant increases in body mass and body fat content of about 1.4 kg and 1% respectively over the month. The fractional intake of protein increased and the fractional contribution of carbohydrate decreased for both groups in Ramadan. Estimated mean daily water intake was high (about 3.8 litres) throughout the study period. Water intake increased on average by 1.3 litres . day(-1) in line with the greater energy intake in the non-fasting group in Ramadan. Daily sodium intake fell during Ramadan in the fasting participants from 5.4 g (s = 1.1) before Ramadan to 4.3 g (s = 1.0) during Ramadan, but increased slightly by about 0.7 g . day(-1) in the non-fasting group. Dietary iron decreased in the fasting group and increased in the non-fasting group, reflecting the difference in energy intake in both groups during Ramadan. These data suggest that Ramadan fasting had some effects on diet composition, but the effects were generally small even though the pattern of eating was very different. After Ramadan, the dietary variables reverted to the pre-Ramadan values.

African athletes displayed large proportion of ECG abnormalities, including a striking increase in R/S-wave voltage, ST-segment elevation, and deeply inverted or diffusely flat T waves by adolescence. LV remodeling in African athletes was characterized by a disproportionate wall thickening than in Caucasians but similar cavity size. Finally, distinctive peculiarities existed in African athletes according to the country (and ethnic) origin.

Competitive Muslim athletes often have to train and compete during the holy month of Ramadan when they abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. In this study, we investigated the effect of Ramadan fasting on some biochemical and haematological parameters in 78 Tunisian junior male soccer players aged 16-19 years who continued their usual schedule of daily training and weekly competition. The study population was divided into four groups based on the time of day of sampling (am or pm) and on whether they were fasting (48 players: 28 am and 20 pm) or non-fasting (30 players: 14 am and 16 pm). Resting venous blood samples were collected approximately 3 weeks before Ramadan, after 2 and 4 weeks of Ramadan, and 3 weeks after the end of Ramadan. Some small, but statistically significant, modifications were observed in circulating concentrations of haemoglobin, ferritin, transferrin, creatinine and cortisol, but the mean values for all variables were always within the reference ranges. The minor changes observed during Ramadan may be explained by changes in patterns of food consumption, activity patterns and by hypohydration. The results suggest that the combination of the changes in eating time and frequency during Ramadan fasting, together with the continuation of normal training load, has no marked effect on the blood profiles of these adolescent athletes.

Eighty-seven players (54 fasting players, 33 non-fasting players) who carried out their club's scheduled training and competitive matches completed the daily questionnaire before and during Ramadan. Fasting players trained on average 11 h after their last food and drink. While fasting players reported that they were slightly less ready to train during the Ramadan fast than in the period before Ramadan, there was no increase in their perceived effort during training or in training difficulty compared with their ratings before Ramadan, or with those of the non-fasting group during Ramadan. The fasting players were marginally more thirsty, hungry and tired, and slightly less able to concentrate before training during Ramadan than in the pre-Ramadan period. Before Ramadan, both groups averaged more than 9 h sleep each night. The non-fasting players recorded that they had about 105 min less sleep per night during the first week of Ramadan, before reverting back to their pre-Ramadan amount of sleep. The fasting group consistently reported having about 1 h less sleep per night throughout Ramadan, but neither group appeared to find sleep quality to have altered. In the first 2 weeks after Ramadan, the modest changes reported by the fasting players reverted back to their pre-Ramadan values.

Purpose: To investigate differences in athletes’ knowledge, beliefs, and training practices during COVID-19 lockdowns with reference to sport classification and sex. This work extends an initial descriptive evaluation focusing on athlete classification. Methods: Athletes (12,526; 66% male; 142 countries) completed an online survey (May–July 2020) assessing knowledge, beliefs, and practices toward training. Sports were classified as team sports (45%), endurance (20%), power/technical (10%), combat (9%), aquatic (6%), recreational (4%), racquet (3%), precision (2%), parasports (1%), and others (1%). Further analysis by sex was performed. Results: During lockdown, athletes practiced body-weight-based exercises routinely (67% females and 64% males), ranging from 50% (precision) to 78% (parasports). More sport-specific technical skills were performed in combat, parasports, and precision (∼50%) than other sports (∼35%). Most athletes (range: 50% [parasports] to 75% [endurance]) performed cardiorespiratory training (trivial sex differences). Compared to prelockdown, perceived training intensity was reduced by 29% to 41%, depending on sport (largest decline: ∼38% in team sports, unaffected by sex). Some athletes (range: 7%–49%) maintained their training intensity for strength, endurance, speed, plyometric, change-of-direction, and technical training. Athletes who previously trained ≥5 sessions per week reduced their volume (range: 18%–28%) during lockdown. The proportion of athletes (81%) training ≥60 min/session reduced by 31% to 43% during lockdown. Males and females had comparable moderate levels of training knowledge (56% vs 58%) and beliefs/attitudes (54% vs 56%). Conclusions: Changes in athletes’ training practices were sport-specific, with few or no sex differences. Team-based sports were generally more susceptible to changes than individual sports. Policy makers should provide athletes with specific training arrangements and educational resources to facilitate remote and/or home-based training during lockdown-type events.