Davide Malatesta

Bio: Davide Malatesta is an academic researcher from University of Lausanne. The author has contributed to research in topics: Preferred walking speed & Medicine. The author has an hindex of 22, co-authored 73 publications receiving 1716 citations. Previous affiliations of Davide Malatesta include University of Auckland & University Hospital of Lausanne.

Effects of in-season plyometric training within soccer practice on explosive actions of young players.

Abstract: In soccer, explosive actions such as jumping, sprinting, and changes of direction are essential to optimal performance not only in adults, but also in children's games. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the influence of a short-term plyometric training within regular soccer practice on explosive actions of early pubertal soccer players during the in-season. Fourteen children (13.3 +/- 0.6 years) were selected as the training group (TG) and 11 children (13.1 +/- 0.6 years) were defined as the control group (CG). All children were playing in the same league and trained twice per week for 90 minutes with the same soccer drills. The TG followed an 8-week plyometric program (i.e., jumping, hurdling, bouncing, skipping, and footwork) implemented as a substitute for some soccer drills to obtain the same session duration as CG. At baseline and after training, explosive actions were assessed with the following 6 tests: 10-meter sprint, agility test, 3 vertical jump tests (squat jump [SJ], countermovement jump [CMJ], contact test [CT] and multiple 5 bounds test [MB5]). Plyometric training was associated with significant decreases in 10-m sprint time (-2.1%) and agility test time (-9.6%) and significant increases in jump height for the CMJ (+7.9%) and CT (+10.9%). No significant changes in explosive actions after the 8-week period were recorded for the CG. The current study demonstrated that a plyometric program within regular soccer practice improved explosive actions of young players compared to conventional soccer training only. Therefore, the short-term plyometric program had a beneficial impact on explosive actions, such as sprinting, change of direction, and jumping, which are important determinants of match-winning actions in soccer performance.

Energy cost of walking and gait instability in healthy 65- and 80-yr-olds

Abstract: This study tested whether the lower economy of walking in healthy elderly subjects is due to greater gait instability. We compared the energy cost of walking and gait instability (assessed by strid...

Effects of electromyostimulation training and volleyball practice on jumping ability.

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of a 4-week electromyostimulation (EMS) training program on the vertical jump performance of 12 volleyball players. EMS sessions were incorporated into volleyball sessions 3 times weekly. EMS consisted of 20-22 concomitant stimulations of the knee extensor and plantar flexor muscles and lasted approximately 12 minutes. No significant changes were observed after EMS training for squat jump (SJ) and counter movement jump (CMJ) performance, while the mean height and the mean power maintained during 15 seconds of consecutive CMJs significantly increased by approximately 4% (p < 0.05). Ten days after the end of EMS training, the jumping height significantly (p < 0.05) increased compared with baseline also for single jumps (SJ +6.5%, CMJ +5.4%). When the aim of EMS resistance training is to enhance vertical jump ability, sport-specific workouts following EMS would enable the central nervous system to optimize the control to neuromuscular properties.

Effects of Three Types of Exercise Interventions on Healthy Old Adults' Gait Speed : A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Background Habitual walking speed predicts many clinical conditions later in life, but it declines with age. However, which particular exercise intervention can minimize the age-related gait speed loss is unclear.

Therapeutic Use of Exercising in Hypoxia: Promises and Limitations

Abstract: It is well-established that different altitude training modalities can improve convective oxygen (O2) transport capacity and physical fitness of athletes (Millet et al., 2010). Exercising in hypoxia also induces specific muscular adaptations including increased oxidative enzymes (e.g., citrate synthase) activity, mitochondrial density, capillary-to-fiber ratio, and fiber cross-sectional area (Hoppeler et al., 2008). These changes with hypoxic training are mostly modulated via hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) signaling cascade, which is not activated to the same extent when training is performed in normoxia or by passive hypoxic exposure. Indeed, large body of literature shows that, compared to hypoxic exercise, passive exposure to hypoxia does not provoke similar acute responses. In healthy individuals, both systemic (e.g., performance enhancement), cardiovascular (e.g., maximal O2 uptake, VO2max) or transcriptional muscular responses are minimal with intermittent passive exposures at moderate altitude. On the other hand, there are clear evidences that when hypoxia is combined with exercise, it triggers specific responses, not observed following similar exercise in normoxia (Bartsch et al., 2008; Lundby et al., 2009). In addition, greater specific adaptations have been reported in high-intensity vs. moderate-intensity hypoxic intervention (Faiss et al., 2013) (e.g., improvements in muscle O2 homeostasis and tissue perfusion induced by enhanced mitochondrial efficiency, control of mitochondrial respiration, angiogenesis, and muscle buffering capacity). It seems that the main underlying mechanism is the larger hypoxemia resulting from the combination of muscle deoxygenation (high-intensity exercise) and systemic desaturation (moderate hypoxia). In patients or elderly individuals, altitude is generally associated with increased health risks through enhanced sympathetic vasoconstrictor activation (Blitzer et al., 1996), obstructive sleep apneas (Nespoulet et al., 2012), hypoxemia (Levine et al., 1997), pulmonary hypertension (Valencia-Flores et al., 2004), arrhythmias (Kujanik et al., 2000), and alterations of postural control (Degache et al., 2012). However, several studies have investigated the therapeutic benefits of exercising in mild hypoxia on the blood pressure regulation and the influence of different hypoxic modalities in healthy individuals (Bailey et al., 2001; Wang et al., 2007; Haufe et al., 2008; Nishiwaki et al., 2011; Morishima et al., 2014; Shi et al., 2014) or in patients with different cardiovascular and respiratory risk factors such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (Haider et al., 2009), obesity (Wiesner et al., 2010), coronary artery disease (Burtscher et al., 2004). Recent studies (Haufe et al., 2008; Wiesner et al., 2010) have also reported that sustained hypoxia may be of benefit to weight management programs of obese patients (Urdampilleta et al., 2012; Kayser and Verges, 2013). Both exercise (Williams et al., 2002) and/or intermittent hypoxia (Burtscher et al., 2004; Shatilo et al., 2008) have been suggested to positively influence age-related alterations in elderly individuals. Finally, living at altitude seems to have contradictory effects on different mortality risk factors. Therefore, this essay summarizes recent evidences suggesting that exercising in hypoxia might be a valuable and viable “therapeutic strategy.” We discuss the benefits and risks/limitations in (i) hypertensive (ii) obese, (iii) elderly individuals. Since the benefits of being active have been extensively investigated in these three groups of individuals (see respective reviews on the effects of physical activity in Cherubini et al., 1998; Baillot et al., 2014; Borjesson et al., 2016), the present article focus on the potential additional health benefits provided by hypoxic exercise, when compared to normoxic exercise. For safety and practical reasons, patients cannot access high altitude (even by using hypoxic devices) and preferably stay at moderate altitude (1800–3000 m). In this setting, exercise is used to increase the overall hypoxia-induced metabolic stress and thereby provide benefits beyond those achievable by normoxic therapeutic training modalities.

Textbook Of Work Physiology Physiological Bases Of Exercise

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Gait variability: methods, modeling and meaning

Abstract: The study of gait variability, the stride-to-stride fluctuations in walking, offers a complementary way of quantifying locomotion and its changes with aging and disease as well as a means of monitoring the effects of therapeutic interventions and rehabilitation. Previous work has suggested that measures of gait variability may be more closely related to falls, a serious consequence of many gait disorders, than are measures based on the mean values of other walking parameters. The Current JNER series presents nine reports on the results of recent investigations into gait variability. One novel method for collecting unconstrained, ambulatory data is reviewed, and a primer on analysis methods is presented along with a heuristic approach to summarizing variability measures. In addition, the first studies of gait variability in animal models of neurodegenerative disease are described, as is a mathematical model of human walking that characterizes certain complex (multifractal) features of the motor control's pattern generator. Another investigation demonstrates that, whereas both healthy older controls and patients with a higher-level gait disorder walk more slowly in reduced lighting, only the latter's stride variability increases. Studies of the effects of dual tasks suggest that the regulation of the stride-to-stride fluctuations in stride width and stride time may be influenced by attention loading and may require cognitive input. Finally, a report of gait variability in over 500 subjects, probably the largest study of this kind, suggests how step width variability may relate to fall risk. Together, these studies provide new insights into the factors that regulate the stride-to-stride fluctuations in walking and pave the way for expanded research into the control of gait and the practical application of measures of gait variability in the clinical setting.

Effects of obesity and sex on the energetic cost and preferred speed of walking.

Abstract: The metabolic energy cost of walking is determined, to a large degree, by body mass, but it is not clear how body composition and mass distribution influence this cost. We tested the hypothesis tha...

Gait dynamics in Parkinson’s disease: Common and distinct behavior among stride length, gait variability, and fractal-like scaling

Abstract: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common, debilitating neurodegenerative disease. Gait disturbances are a frequent cause of disability and impairment for patients with PD. This article provides a brief introduction to PD and describes the gait changes typically seen in patients with this disease. A major focus of this report is an update on the study of the fractal properties of gait in PD, the relationship between this feature of gait and stride length and gait variability, and the effects of different experimental conditions on these three gait properties. Implications of these findings are also briefly described. This update highlights the idea that while stride length, gait variability, and fractal scaling of gait are all impaired in PD, distinct mechanisms likely contribute to and are responsible for the regulation of these disparate gait properties.