Andrea Fusco

Università degli studi di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale | UNICAS · Department of Sports Science and Health

Since the European Year of Education through Sport (EYES, 2004), sport has been recognised as an important cultural, social and economic phenomenon in the European Union, fully recognising the right of sportspeople (e.g. athletes, coaches, referees, sport managers and volunteers) to combine their academic/work and sport careers (e.g. dual career)....

Prolonged sedentary behavior is considered a risk factor for health throughout the human lifespan. Although outdoor activities, such as walking and hiking, can be effective in reducing sedentary behavior, there is a lack of data harmonization on the psychophysiological characteristics of hiking trails. Therefore, this research protocol aims to prov...

Purpose: A range of wearable sensors has been used to capture human movements such as fine motor skills. Specifically, inertial measurements unit (IMU) have been used for the assessment of physical symptoms such as Hand Tremor (HTR), crucial to perform fine motor skills. Although training proved to be effective in improving HTR, little is known on...

Purpose: The literature documents the influence of high-intensity exercise, especially above the ventilatory threshold (VT), on blood pressure (BP). The temporary decrease in BP, particularly systolic BP (sBP), following exercise is referred to as Post-Exercise Hypotension (PEH). Despite the benefits of exercise on BP, no study has yet investigated...

Purpose: Mental health is an important component of overall health, although concerns about body’s appearance could affect mental health. Body image (BI) is a multidimensional construct focused on how subjects see, feel, think and behave regarding their bodies. Negative BI is predictors of health-related problems such as depression, weight control...

Purpose: Changes in cardiac parasympathetic activity (CPA) can be evaluated by measuring heart rate variability (HRV), with the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) being a primary time-domain measure used to estimate vagally mediated changes in HRV. Controlled breathing (CB) during resting has a significant impact on HRV and serves a...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the acute effects of a mini trampoline training session (SuperJump®) on leg stiffness and reactive power (RP) while examining its relation to participants’ sex. A total of 20 participants (11 females, age: 24.4 ± 1.0 yrs; 9 males, age: 27.3 ± 2.9 yrs) performed continuous jump repetitions (RJs), measured on...

Background: Hydration status has a direct role in sports performance. Bioelectrical Impedance Vector Analysis (BIVA) and Urine Specific Gravity (USG) are commonly used to assess hydration. The study aims to identify the sensitivity and relationship between BIVA and USG in a field sports setting. Methods: BIVA and USG measurements were conducted...

The full text of the paper is freely accessible here: https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/aop/article-10.1123-ijspp.2023-0132/article-10.1123-ijspp.2023-0132.xml

The lifelong education of coaches is one of the priorities of the European Union. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate Italian elite coaches' motivation to engage in a sport-related academic education, and its demands, barriers, support, and relocation issues in relation to their dual career (DC) path. Sixteen Italian elite coach...

Scientific interest in pacing goes back >100 years. Contemporary interest, both as a feature of athletic competition and as a window into understanding fatigue, goes back >30 years. Pacing represents the pattern of energy use designed to produce a competitive result while managing fatigue of different origins. Pacing has been studied both against t...

Inter-limb asymmetry is defined as the performance imbalance of a limb with respect to the other one. Studies demonstrated how plyometric training could minimize inter-limb imbalance by reducing asymmetries and the relative risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Among the different plyometric training modalities, SuperJump® represented a reliable method...

In the first volume of “Exercise Evaluation and Prescription” in the Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology [...]

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive and neurodegenerative disorder defined by physical symptoms such as hand disability and postural instability. To counteract the detrimental effects of PD, physical activity programs showed improvements in overall aspects of physical functioning. Therefore, this protocol will aim to evaluate the effect a of...

PURPOSE: SuperJump® workout is an innovative training modality that allows aerobic work by making the most of the potential of a jump training. Unlike jumping on the floor, it minimizes the stress on the joints, thus lowering the risk of microtraumas and injuries. Although SuperJump® is thought to stimulate higher muscle activations than traditiona...

Purpose: the beneficial effects of physical activity (PA) to enhance overall aspects of health and to counteract the detrimental effects of aging process are well documented.To contain the airborne infection, during the COVID-19 pandemic, several restrictions were imposed. Those limitations resulted in lifestyles’ changes and increasing in sedentar...

Since 2020 there has been an increase in demand for home workouts. Therefore, different ways of delivering distance training have been proposed to promote “stay active at home.” This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of three different training programs consisting of a total of 15 workouts (three sessions perweek): supervised livestreaming (...

Purpose: Talk Test (TT) is commonly used as surrogate of maximal testing exercises due to its simplicity, validity and easily expose to determine exercise intensity in several populations. Since only few study validated its use in different languages, this study aimed to determine the validity of the Italian version of TT in healthy young adults. M...

Purpose: Arterial blood pressure is strongly influenced by exercise modality and intensity in both normotensive and non-normotensive subjects. Exercise can also contribute to the temporary decrease in blood pressure during the post-exercise period, a phenomena known as post-exercise hypotension (PEH), with vigorous intensity exercises having higher...

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...

Introduction: Low back pain (LBP) is a major cause of physical disability in the world. The origin of this condition can be due to differents causes, with a specific cause or of unknown mechanical origin,being characterized as unspecific. In this case a physical therapy treatment approach with manual therapy is relevant, which includes the Muscle...

INTRODUCTION: Fatigue can have a negative impact on performance, especially when it is not adequately monitored and there is not an appropriate workload to rest ratio [1]. This could result in non-functional overreaching and overtraining not only in players, but also in referees. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship...

Although dance is considered a rhythmic aerobic activity contributing to improve overall physical fitness, no study has quantified the intensity of folk dances (FD) workouts. Among Italian FD, Pizzica and Tammurriata are very popular, and they are characterized by intense rhythm, with Pizzica being more intense than Tammurriata. PURPOSE: To determ...

Fatigue can influence the performance in negative way, especially when it is not adequately monitored and there is not an appropriate workload to rest ratio, thus resulting in non-functional overreaching and overtraining. PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between Hooper index (HI) taken before training session and rate of perceived exertion...

INTRODUCTION: The evaluation of fine motor skills provides essential information about motor coordination, particularly in relation to age and clinical conditions. Several motor coordination assessments, such as the Grooved Peg Test (GPT), have been used to evaluate fine motor skills. Alongside, computerized wobble boards (WBs) have been suggested...

INTRODUCTION: The physiological age-related functional ability decrements in older adults are more evident during high velocity coordinated movements (1) such as vertical jumps. The Countermovement Jump (CMJ) test is one of the most commonly used protocols to evaluate maximal vertical jump height and overall lower limbs power in older adults. It ha...

Training intensity distribution is important to training program design. The zones 1 to 2 boundary can be defined by the Talk Test and the rating of perceived exertion. The zones 2 to 3 boundary can be defined by respiratory gas exchange, maximal lactate steady state, or, more simply, by critical speed (CS). The upper boundary of zone 3 is potentia...

The role of physical activity in improving overall aspects of health regardless of age is well documented. Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak, preventive measures to limit airborne infection have been introduced, with people, especially older adults, advised to stay at home, thus increasing sedentary lifestyle and the risk of chronic dise...

Introduction: The relationship between the percentage of a fatiguing ambulatory task completed and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) appears to be linear and scalar, with a relatively narrow "window." Recent evidence has suggested that a similar relationship may exist for muscularly demanding tasks. Methods: To determine whether muscularly dema...

Introduction One factor affecting a successful performance in beach handball is the efficiency of shootings. As only few studies evaluated the gender-related differences in shooting performance, the aim of this study was to analyze the variations of shooting efficiency between males (M) and females (F) during beach handball matches. Material and m...

Objectives: Explore training-related knowledge, beliefs and practices of athletes and the influence of COVID-19-related lockdowns. Methods: Athletes [n = 12,526 classified: world-class (13%), international (21%), national (36%), state (24%), and recreational (6%)] completed an online survey (50 d; 17th May to 5th July 2020) exploring their trainin...

Purpose: Assessing the relationship between external load (EL) and internal load (IL) in youth male beach handball players. Methods: A total of 11 field players from the Lithuanian U17 beach handball team were monitored across 14 training sessions and 7 matches. The following EL variables were assessed by means of inertial movement units: Player...

Anthropometrics and sex influence balance performances, and visual information can change anthropometrics’ relation and the postural sway. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of anthropometric characteristics, sex, and visual biofeedback and/or their interaction on a computerized wobble board. Twenty-seven (14 females...

Exercise prescription based on exercise test results is complicated by the need to downregulate the absolute training intensity to account for cardiovascular drift in order to achieve a desired internal training load. We tested a recently developed generalized model to perform this downregulation using metabolic equivalents (METs) during exercise t...

Despite Dual Careers (sports and education) and mobility of students being priorities in the funding policies of the European Commission, migrating student-athletes report severe challenges and decreased performance or dropouts at sport and academic levels. The objective of this study was to depict and assess the perceptions on challenges, support...

Walking tests, such as the 6-min walk test (6MWT), are popular methods of estimating peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) in clinical populations. However, the strength of the distance vs. VO2peak relationship is not strong, and there are no equations for estimating ventilatory threshold (VT), which is important for training prescription and prognosis. Sin...

Exercise training is an important component of clinical exercise programs. Although there are recognized guidelines for the amount of exercise to be accomplished (≥70,000 steps per week or ≥150 min per week at moderate intensity), there is virtually no documentation of how much exercise is actually accomplished in contemporary exercise programs. Ha...

Ever since the farm boy, Milo of Crotone, lifted a growing bullock every day, to become the strongest man in the world, and six-time champion of the ancient Olympic Games, we have known about the principle of progression of exercise training [...]

During competitive events, the pacing strategy depends upon how an athlete feels at a specific moment and the distance remaining. It may be expressed as the Hazard Score (HS) with momentary HS being shown to provide a measure of the likelihood of changing power output (PO) within an event and summated HS as a marker of how difficult an event is lik...

The session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) method was developed 25 years ago as a modification of the Borg concept of rating of perceived exertion (RPE), designed to estimate the intensity of an entire training session. It appears to be well accepted as a marker of the internal training load. Early studies demonstrated that sRPE correlated wel...

Although cycling class intensity can be modified by changing interval intensity sequencing, it has not been established whether the intensity order can alter physiological and perceptual responses. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects of interval intensity sequencing on energy expenditure (EE), physiological markers, and perceptual...

Purpose. the continuous migration of student-athletes to pursue their educational and sport careers (i.e., dual career) urges the scientific community to investigate this phenomenon. to provide a systematic literature review on migrating student-athletes, this review framed the research questions, identified relevant scientific contributions, asses...

Internal load can be objectively measured by heart rate-based models, such as Edwards’ summated heart rate zones, or subjectively by session rating of perceived exertion. The relationship between internal loads assessed via heart rate-based models and session rating of perceived exertion is usually studied through simple correlations, although the...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the intensity of SuperJump® workout as a home-based activity for fulfilling physical activity recommendations during COVID-19 home-confinement. Seventeen (males: n = 10; females: n = 7) college students (age: 25.8 ± 2.7 years; height: 1.7 ± 0.1 m; weight: 66.2 ± 12.1 kg) participated in the study. To ass...

Computerized wobble boards (WB) are used to objectively assess balance in healthy and chronic ankle instability individuals. As in field setting health professionals might not own WB, objective evaluations are not always feasible. Therefore, the aim of this tudy was to investigate the contribution of sagittal plane joints angular-displacement and a...

OPEN ACCESS: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/17/5921/htm ||| The purpose of this study was to determine whether coordinative jump training that induces neuromuscular stimuli can affect balance performance, associated with injury risk, in elite-level female volleyball players. During the competitive season, the balance performance of 12 elite fe...

Although there is evidence supporting the benefit of regular exercise, and recommendations about exercise and physical activity, the process of individually prescribing exercise following exercise testing is more difficult. Guidelines like % heart rate (HR) reserve (HRR) require an anchoring maximal test and do not always provide a homogenous train...

We are glad to introduce the Third Journal Club of Volume five, the third issue. This edition is focused on relevant studies published in the last years in the field of PhysioMechanics of Human Locomotion, chosen by our Editorial Board members and their colleagues. We hope to stimulate your curiosity in this field and to share with you the passion...

Purpose: To determine the effect of in-season differential training on volleyball spike-jump technique and performance in elite-level female players. Methods: During the season, spike jumps of 12 elite female players (Austrian Volleyball League Women) were recorded by 13 Qualisys Oqus cameras (250 Hz) and an AMTI force plate (1000 Hz). First mea...

Purpose With the coronavirus outbreak, the preventive measures include staying at home and isolation, increasing sedentary behaviours and risk for worsening of chronic diseases. To explore alternative forms of home-based physical activity, the study aim was to evaluate physiological (heart rate [HR], respiratory exchange ratio [RER], oxygen consump...

Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and session RPE (sRPE) are reliable tools for predicting exercise intensity and are alternatives to more technological and physiological measurements, such as blood lactate (HLa) concentration, oxygen consumption and heart rate (HR). As sRPE may also convey some insights into accumulated fatigue, the purpose of th...

Objective The multifaceted characteristic and task-specificity of postural control clearly reflects the need of knowing which factors could influence the balance measures in order to provide reliable and unbiased information. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of selected anthropometric characteristics, sex, lower limb’s strengt...

We are glad to introduce the first Journal Club of volume five, the first issue. This edition is focused on relevant studies published in the last years in the field of eccentric training, chosen by our editorial board members and their colleagues. We hope to stimulate your curiosity in this field and to share with you the passion for the sport, se...

The Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is an important measure of exercise intensity, which is useful both as a primary and adjunctive method of exercise prescription. However, there are multiple variants of the Borg RPE scale, primarily the Borg 6-20 RPE scale (BORG-RPE) and the Borg Category-Ratio-10 scale (BORG-CR10). There are inadequate data a...

INTRODUCTION: Suspension training (ST) uses body weight in multi-directional movements as a form of exercise and due to its feasibility promotes a large variety of workouts within a low space occupancy. However, only few studies (1,2) investigated the load distribution during ST, especially during pulling exercises. Therefore, the aims of this stud...

Objectives: Performance factors in the volleyball spike jump are well known for male players; however, technical-coordinative differences for female players are known only marginally. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between movement characteristics and female’ spike jump performance and to identify the most relevant...

Purpose: Although the Session RPE (sRPE) is primarily a marker of internal training load (TL), it may be sensitive to external TL determining factors such as duration and volume. Thus, sRPE could provide further information on accumulated fatigue not available from markers of internal TL. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate sRP...

The aims of this study were to evaluate body inclination and ground reaction force and to predict equations to estimate the training load distribution during suspension training (ST) static back-row at different lengths of the straps. Thirty volunteers (men = 16 and women = 14; age = 23.3 ± 1.7 years; body mass = 63.9 ± 13.3 kg; height = 167.9 ± 9....

Purpose: The session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) is a well-accepted method of monitoring training load in athletes in many different sports. It is based on the category-ratio (0–10) RPE scale (BORG-CR10) developed by Borg. There is no evidence how substitution of the Borg 6–20 RPE scale (BORG-RPE) might influence the sRPE in athletes. Metho...

Background Wobble boards (WBs), commonly used to train postural control, have been recently equipped with accelerometers connected to a computer displaying real-time balance performances. However, little is known about their ability to detect balance deficits in subjects with unilateral chronic ankle instability (CAI). Objective To determine if co...