ORCID Profile
0000-0001-5515-3694
Current Organisation
United Arab Emirates University
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Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 24-01-2019
Abstract: The assessment of oxygen uptake (VO2) kinetics is a valuable non-invasive way to evaluate cardiorespiratory and metabolic response to exercise. The aim of the study was to develop, describe and evaluate an online VO2 fitting tool (VO2FITTING) for dynamically editing, processing, filtering and modelling VO2 responses to exercise. VO2FITTING was developed in Shiny, a web application framework for R language. Validation VO2 datasets with both noisy and non-noisy data were developed and applied to widely-used models (n = 7) for describing different intensity transitions to verify concurrent validity. Subsequently, we then conducted an experiment with age-group swimmers as an ex le, illustrating how VO2FITTING can be used to model VO2 kinetics. Perfect fits were observed, and parameter estimates perfectly matched the known inputted values for all available models (standard error = 0 p 0.001). The VO2FITTING is a valid, free and open-source software for characterizing VO2 kinetics in exercise, which was developed to help the research and performance analysis communities.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-07-2023
DOI: 10.1186/S40798-023-00599-Z
Abstract: Sleep is essential for maximal performance in the athletic population. Despite that, the sport context has many factors that can negatively influence athletes’ sleep and subsequent recovery. The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesize the most recent literature regarding sleep interventions aimed at improving sleep and subsequent performance in athletes. The present systematic review was conducted based on the PRISMA guidelines and the PICOS approach. The search was conducted in May 2022 using the electronic database PubMed, SPORTDiscus via EBSCOhost, and Web of Science. Once extracted, studies were included if they met the following criteria: (1) participants were athletes of in idual or team sports (2) implemented an intervention aimed at improving sleep (3) measured at least one objective performance/recovery outcome and (4) reported the relationship between sleep and performance. The search returned 1584 records. Following the screening, a total of 25 studies met our inclusion criteria. All the included articles were intervention studies published between 2011 and 2021. The included studies implemented various sleep interventions, such as sleep hygiene, naps, sleep extension, light manipulation, cold water immersion, mindfulness, or a combination of two or more strategies. Sleep extension and naps were the most representative and most effective strategies to improve sleep and performance. Mindfulness and light manipulation demonstrated promising results, but more studies are needed to confirm these findings. Sleep hygiene, removing electronic devices at night, and cold water immersion had no effects on sleep and subsequent performance/recovery, but these results are based on a few studies only. While acknowledging the limited amount of high-quality evidence reviewed, it appears that increasing sleep duration at night or through napping was the most effective interventions to improve physical and/or cognitive performance. Protocol Registration This protocol was registered in the International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (INPLASY) on May 11, 2022, with the registration number INPLASY202250069.
Publisher: Human Kinetics
Date: 09-2016
Abstract: Coaches are often challenged to optimize swimmers’ technique at different training and competition intensities, but 3-dimensional (3D) analysis has not been conducted for a wide range of training zones. To analyze front-crawl 3D kinematics and interlimb coordination from low to severe swimming intensities. Ten male swimmers performed a 200-m front crawl at 7 incrementally increasing paces until exhaustion (0.05-m/s increments and 30-s intervals), with images from 2 cycles in each step (at the 25- and 175-m laps) being recorded by 2 surface and 4 underwater video cameras. Metabolic anaerobic threshold (AnT) was also assessed using the lactate-concentration–velocity curve-modeling method. Stroke frequency increased, stroke length decreased, hand and foot speed increased, and the index of interlimb coordination increased (within a catch-up mode) from low to severe intensities ( P ≤ .05) and within the 200-m steps performed above the AnT (at or closer to the 4th step P ≤ .05). Concurrently, intracyclic velocity variations and propelling efficiency remained similar between and within swimming intensities ( P .05). Swimming intensity has a significant impact on swimmers’ segmental kinematics and interlimb coordination, with modifications being more evident after the point when AnT is reached. As competitive swimming events are conducted at high intensities (in which anaerobic metabolism becomes more prevalent), coaches should implement specific training series that lead swimmers to adapt their technique to the task constraints that exist in nonhomeostatic race conditions.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-06-2018
DOI: 10.1111/SMS.13220
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 08-2015
Publisher: INPLASY - International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols
Date: 11-05-2022
DOI: 10.37766/INPLASY2022.5.0069
Abstract: Review question / Objective: The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the impact of sleep interventions on athletes’ performance. Condition being studied: Athletic performance after a sleep intervention (e.g., sleep hygiene, sleep extension or nap). Eligibility criteria: This review will be conducted based on the PRISMA guidelines and the PICOS approach.Articles will be eligible if they were published or in-press in peer-reviewed journals (i.e., abstracts published in conference proceedings, books, theses, and dissertations will be not considered), published in English language, and abstract was available for screening. No gender or age restriction will be applied. The PICOS approach will be established as follows: Population: In idual or team sports athletes Intervention: Strategies to improve or extend sleep Comparators: Control group or a baseline phase without sleep intervention Outcomes: Subjective and/or objective measurement of sleep and physical and/or cognitive performance.
Publisher: Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Date: 17-08-2012
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to analyse eventual kinematic and electromyographic changes during a maximal 200 m front crawl at race pace. 10 male international level swimmers performed a 200 m maximal front crawl test. Images were recorded by 2 above and 4 under water cameras, and electromyographic signals (EMG) of 7 upper and lower limbs muscles were analysed for 1 stroke cycle in each 50 m lap. Capillary blood lactate concentrations were collected before and after the test. The variables of interest were: swimming speed, stroke length, stroke and kick frequency, hand angular velocity, upper limb and foot displacement, elbow angle, shoulder and roll angle, duration of stroke phases, and EMG for each muscle in each stroke phase. Generally, the kinematic parameters decreased, and a relative duration increased for the entry and pull phases and decreased for the recovery phase. Muscle activation of flexor carpi radialis, biceps brachii, triceps brachii, peitoral major and upper trapezius increased during specific stroke phases over the test. Blood lactate concentration increased significantly after the test. These findings suggest the occurrence of fatigue, characterised by changes in kinematic parameters and selective changes in upper limbs muscle activation according to muscle action.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 20-02-2021
Abstract: This study aimed to describe habitual sleep and nocturnal cardiac autonomic activity (CAA), and their relationship with training/match load in male youth soccer players during an international tournament. Eighteen elite male youth soccer players (aged 14.8 ± 0.3 years mean ± SD) participated in the study. Sleep indices were measured using wrist actigraphy, and heart rate (HR) monitors were used to measure CAA during night-sleep throughout 5 consecutive days. Training and match loads were characterized using the session-rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE). During the five nights 8 to 17 players slept less than h and only one to two players had a sleep efficiency %. Players’ sleep duration coefficient of variation (CV) ranged between 4 and 17%. Nocturnal heart rate variability (HRV) indices for the time-domain analyses ranged from 3.8 (95% confidence interval, 3.6 4.0) to 4.1 ln[ms] (3.9 4.3) and for the frequency-domain analyses ranged from 5.9 (5.6 6.5) to 6.6 (6.3 7.4). Time-domain HRV CV ranged from 3 to 10% and frequency-domain HRV ranged from 2 to 12%. A moderate within-subjects correlation was found between s-RPE and sleep duration [r = −0.41 (−0.62 −0.14) p = 0.003]. The present findings suggest that youth soccer players slept less than the recommended during the international tournament, and sleep duration was negatively associated with training/match load.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 06-2023
DOI: 10.1136/BMJSEM-2023-001549
Abstract: The current study analysed the implementation costs of a community-based walking football exercise programme for patients with type 2 diabetes. The direct costs of a community-based walking football programme for middle-aged and older male patients with type 2 diabetes, designed and tested in Porto (Portugal), were calculated from the payer’s perspective. One season of this programme consists of three sessions per week (60 min per session) for nine months (October to June). Cost calculations were based on two groups of 20 patients and included the sports infrastructure and equipment, human resources, pre-exercise clinical evaluation, medical equipment, technical training and other consumable costs. An economic depreciation of 1 year using the linear method for sports and electronic materials was considered. Cost analysis dated December 2021 and is expressed in international dollars ($). This programme was estimated to have a total implementation cost of $22 923.07 $2547.01/month $573.08 atient $106.13/session $63.68 atient/month and $5.31 atient/session. A community-based walking football programme for patients with type 2 diabetes is affordable and can be scaled up by local communities to promote physical activity and manage type 2 diabetes with the involvement of multiple stakeholders such as the football clubs, municipalities and primary healthcare units.
No related grants have been discovered for Pedro Figueiredo.