Francisco B Alves

Francisco B Alves
University of Lisbon | UL

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171
Publications
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Publications

Publications (171)
Article
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Introduction Since sex-specific accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD) during high-intensity swimming remains unstudied, this study aimed to assess AOD during 50, 100, and 200 m front-crawl performances to compare the responses between sexes and analyse the effect of lean body mass (LBM). Methods Twenty swimmers (16.2±2.8 years, 61.6±7.8 kg, and 48.8±11....
Article
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The amount of anerobic energy released during exercise might modify the initial phase of oxygen recovery (fast-O2debt) post-exercise. Therefore, the present study aimed to analyze the reliability of peak oxygen uptake ( V ˙ O 2 p e a k ) estimate by back-extrapolation ( B E − V ˙ O 2 p e a k ) under different swimming conditions in the severe-inten...
Article
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The time sustained during exercise with oxygen uptake (V̇O2) reaching maximal rates (V̇O2peak) or near peak responses (i.e., above second ventilatory threshold [t@VT2) or 90% V̇O2peak (t@90%V̇O2peak)] is recognized as the training pace required to enhance aerobic power and exercise tolerance in the severe domain (time-limit, tLim). This study compa...
Conference Paper
INTRODUCTION: Hypoxia disrupts body internal dynamics, increases energetic demand requiring a coordinated systemic network response of the body to reestablish equilibrium [1]. This study aimed to observe how the manipulation of inspired fraction of oxygen (FiO2) during constant load cycling exercise impacts internal homeodynamics. METHODS: Twenty-s...
Presentation
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INTRODUCTION: Performance enhancement in sport is closely and decisively related to accuracy in identifying exercise intensities domains toward optimizing daily training [1] and kinematic parameters are particularly important in swimming since athletes´ classifications are often decided by tenths of a second. The aim of the present study was to eva...
Article
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The present study sought to investigate if faster upper body oxygen uptake (VO2) and hemoglobin/myoglobin deoxygenation ([HHb]) kinetics during heavy intensity exercise were associated with a greater upper body repeated-sprint ability (RSA) performance in a group of judokas and in a group of individuals of heterogenous fitness level. Eight judokas...
Article
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Background: the aim of this study was to analyze the chronobiology influence on the mechanical, kinematic, and physiological variables in a mountain bike (MTB) time trial. Methods: 16 mountain bike (MTB) male athletes volunteered to participate. Their characteristics were as follows: body mass 70.2 ± 5.4 kg, stature 172.7 ± 4.0 cm, body fat 9.8...
Article
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Competitive swimming requires high training load cycles including consecutive sessions with little recovery in between which may contribute to the onset of fatigue and eventually illness. We aimed to investigate immune changes over a 7-month swimming season. Fifty-four national and international level swimmers (25 females, 29 males), ranging from 1...
Article
PurposeThis study aims to analyze swimmers’ oxygen uptake kinetics (\(\dot{V}{\text{O}}_{2}\)K) and bioenergetic profiles in 50, 100, and 200 m simulated swimming events and determine which physiological variables relate with performance.Methods Twenty-eight well-trained swimmers completed an incremental test for maximal oxygen uptake (Peak-\(\dot{...
Article
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Incremental exercise testing is the standard means of assessing cardiorespiratory capacity of endurance athletes. While the maximal rate of oxygen consumption is typically used as the criterion measurement in this regard, two metabolic breakpoints that reflect changes in the dynamics of lactate production/consumption as the work rate is increased a...
Article
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Purpose: to compare different methods to assess the arm stroke efficiency (? F ), whenswimming front crawl using the arms only on the Measurement of Active Drag System (MADSystem) and in a free-swimming condition, and to identify biophysical adaptations to swimming onthe MAD System and the main biophysical predictors of maximal swimming speed in th...
Article
To analyze young swimmers’ performance regarding sex and skill level, 23 boys and 26 girls (15.7 ± 0.8 and 14.5 ± 0.8 years old, respectively) were assessed for anthropometry, flexibility, strength, drag, coordination, and biomechanical vari- ables. During a 50-m maximal front-crawl bout, seven aerial and six underwater Qualisys cameras assessed ki...
Article
Full-text available
Previous studies have reported that slower VO2 kinetics typically observed in healthy older individuals can be prevented by long-term endurance training interventions. However, the chronic adaptations on the VO2 kinetics and muscle deoxygenation ([HHb]) kinetics response in trained older adults with coronary artery disease (CAD) remains unknown. Pu...
Article
Leucine metabolites may reduce training-induced inflammation; however, there is scant evidence for this assertion. We conducted a double-blind randomized controlled pragmatic trial where 40 male participants were allocated into 4 groups: α-hydroxyisocaproic acid group ([α-HICA], n = 10, Fat-free mass [FFM] = 62.0 ± 7.1 kg), β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyra...
Article
Full-text available
Blood flow restrictive (BFR) exercise elicits a localized hypoxic environment compatible with greater metabolic stress. We intended to compare the acute changes in muscle microvascular oxygenation following low-intensity knee extension exercise, combined with different levels of BFR. Thirteen active young men (age: 23.8 ± 5.4 years) were tested for...
Article
β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (calcium: HMB-Ca and free acid: HMB-FA) and α-hydroxyisocaproic acid (α-HICA) are leucine metabolites that have been proposed to improve body composition and strength when combined with resistance exercise training (RET). In this double-blind randomized controlled pragmatic trial, we evaluated the effects of off-the-shelf...
Article
Leucine metabolites, α-hydroxyisocaproic acid (α-HICA) and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (calcium, HMB-Ca and free acid, HMB-FA), have been proposed to augment resistance training-induced changes in body composition and performance. PURPOSE We aimed to conduct a double-blind randomized controlled pragmatic trial to evaluate the effects of off-the-she...
Poster
Full-text available
ABSTRACT: Some leucine metabolites like β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (calcium: HMB-Ca and free acid: HMB-FA) and α-hydroxy-isocaproic acid (α-HICA or leucic acid) have been suggested to augment training-induced adaptations in body composition and performance. PURPOSE: To compare the effects of commercially available supplements, HMB-Ca, HMB-FA and α-...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose: Long-term training influence on athletes' immune cell response to acute exercise has been poorly studied, despite the complexity of both chronic and acute adaptations induced by training. The purpose of the study is to study the influence of a 4-month swimming training cycle on the immune cell response to a high-intensity training session...
Article
Full-text available
The purpose of this study was to verify if competitive performance status was associated to different levels of specific aerobic fitness in Portuguese surfboard riders. Six recreational surfers (age: 32.3±3.1 years; body mass: 73.2±7.8kg; height: 1.75±0.05m) and six competitive international level surfers (age: 25±8.4years; body mass: 68.5±3.8kg; h...
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this study was to compare the oxygen uptake (V˙O2) kinetics in front crawl between male and female swimmers at moderate and heavy intensity. We hypothesized that the time constant for the primary phase V˙O2 kinetics was faster in men than in women, for both intensities. Nineteen well trained swimmers (8 females mean ± SD; age 17.9 ± 3.5...
Article
Full-text available
A prescrição do exercício pressupõe que se antecipe a tolerância ao esforço de cada indivíduo. Os erros e imprecisões na determinação da intensidade a prescrever e a complexidade da resposta fisiológica ao exercício comprometem a aplicação das orientações genéricas. A modelação matemática é uma ferramenta para a previsão da resposta fisiológica ao...
Article
Full-text available
There is general perception that elite athletes are highly susceptible to changes in immunohematological profile. The objective of this study was to compare immunohematological parameters of elite athletes of different aerobic and muscular strength sports and analyze changes over 2 months. Sixteen judoists and 14 swimmers were evaluated 2 months be...
Article
Introduction Incremental protocols for cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) are the gold standard in determining intensity domains (IntDom) for exercise prescription. In CPET, gas analysis provides proxy of muscular metabolism during exercise, but a delay between the end-expiratory gases analysed and the myocyte can be attributed to the bufferin...
Article
The present study aimed to examine how high- and low-speed swimmers organise biomechanical, energetic and coordinative factors throughout extreme intensity swim. Sixteen swimmers (eight high- and eight low-speed) performed, in free condition, 100-m front crawl at maximal intensity and 25, 50 and 75-m bouts (at same pace as the previous 100-m), and...
Article
Purpose: To conduct a biophysical analysis of the factors associated with front crawl performance at moderate and severe swimming intensities, represented by anaerobic threshold (vAnT) and maximal oxygen uptake (vVO2max) velocities. Methods: Ten high-level swimmers performed two intermittent incremental tests of 7x200 and 12x25 m (through a syst...
Article
Full-text available
Understanding the impact of training sessions on the immune response is crucial for the adequate periodization of training, to prevent both a negative influence on health and a performance impairment of the athlete. This study evaluated acute systemic immune cell changes in response to an actual swimming session, during a 24-h recovery period, cont...
Article
Our purpose was to verify if the use of the new AquaTrainer(®) respiratory snorkel lead to an increase of front crawl hydrodynamic drag and whether the constraint of using an adapted turning technique influences its corresponding turning time. 12 swimmers performed 2 (without and with snorkel) 12×25 front crawl repetitions from low to maximal veloc...
Article
Full-text available
The purpose of this study was to understand the ventilatory and physiological responses immediately below and above the maximal lactate steady state velocity (MLSS) and to determine the relationship of oxygen uptake (V[Combining Dot Above]O2) kinetics parameters to performance, in swimmers. Competitive athletes (N = 12) completed in random order an...
Article
It is undeniable that many benefits come from physical activity. People exercise in fitness centers to improve their health and well-being, prevent disease and to increase physical attractiveness. However, these facilities join conditions that cause poor indoor air quality. Moreover, increased inhalation rates during exercise have influence on inha...
Article
Full-text available
Although the sport of triathlon provides an opportunity to research the effect of multi-disciplinary exercise on health across the lifespan, much remains to be done. The literature has failed to consistently or adequately report subject age group, sex, ability level, and/or event-distance specialization. The demands of training and racing are relat...
Article
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Studies examining the immune response to acute intensive swimming have shown increased leukocytosis and lymphocyte populations. However, studies concerning mucosal immunity and sex differences remain controversial. The objective of the study was to examine sex differences on the immune response to maximal incremental swimming exercise in well train...
Article
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to examine the effect of swimming speed (v) on the biomechanical and physiological responses of a trained unilateral arm amputee front crawl swimmer. A 13-y-old female unilateral arm (level of the elbow) amputee was tested for stroke length (SL, horizontal displacement cover with each stroke cycle), stroke frequency (SF, inverse of the time to comp...
Article
Full-text available
High intensity training regimens appear to put athletes at a higher risk of illness. As these have been linked to alterations in the proportions of differentiated T cells, how training load affects these populations could have important implications for athlete susceptibility to disease. This study examined the effect of a winter training season on...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
INTRODUCTION Passive exposures to hypoxia interspersed with training bouts in normoxia is a model known as intermittent hypoxic exposure (IHE). However the effects of normobaric hypoxic exposure in subsequent exercise remain unclear. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that a previous IHE would be associated with an increase in the slo...
Article
Full-text available
Abstract The aim of the study was to compare the maximal physiological responses during three protocols: maximal test on land cycle ergometer, maximal test on water cycling in an indoor pool at 27 °C (WC27) and at 31 °C (WC31). Moreover, the submaximal physiological responses were compared according cycling cadences and water temperatures during th...
Data
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RESUMO Introdução: O propósito deste estudo foi testar as qualidades psicométricas do módulo de Recuperação do RESTQ-Sport, um instrumento para avaliar os níveis de stress e recuperação em atletas. Nesse sentido, procedemos ao estudo de diferentes medidas da sua validade e à análise da sua fiabilidade. Métodos: Participaram 206 atletas de Natação P...
Article
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Regular moderate exercise has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects that help prevent several chronic diseases. However, the effects of chronic training an elite athletes have not been the focus of much research. This study aimed to determine whether there were differences in cytokine levels (IL-1 β , IL-1ra, IL-6, IL-10, IL-18, IFN- γ , and...
Article
Full-text available
Although the variety of distances, formats and age-groups that are involved in triathlon make it a useful model to investigate the effects of multi-discipline endurance training and competition on injury risk across the life-span, this opportunity has not been taken advantage of. Most studies are limited by their retrospective nature, recall period...