The use of social media has been increasing among pre-teens, affecting body satisfaction and leading to the development of a dualism between real and virtual identities. It is also associated with low physical activity levels. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the influence of dualism and physical activity levels on body satisfaction in male and female pre-teens. A sample of 2378 Italian pre-teens (Mage = 12.02 years, SD = 0.82) was recruited. Two anonymous and self-administered questionnaires were used to investigate social media use, the representation of the bodies through the social media, body image, and physical activity levels. Descriptive statistics were computed for all variables; Pearson’s Chi square and Cramer’s V were calculated to assess gender differences. Linear mixed models were used to explore the association between body satisfaction (dependent variable) and physical activity levels and the dualism (independent variables). It emerged that physical activity positively influences body satisfaction for both males and females; dualism negatively influences body satisfaction only for females. Therefore, it can be assumed that the engagement of pre-teens in offline activities counteracts the undesirable consequences of the beauty ideal models proposed by image-centred social media platforms.

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 assess the intensity of the activity (30-min), heart rate (HR), expressed as percentages of age-predicted maximal HR (%HRmax), and session ratings of perceived exertion (sRPE), collected on a CR10 scale, were used. %HRmax data were categorically separated in five classes of intensity according to the American College of Sport Science’s guidelines. Enjoyment was evaluated using the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES). Repeated measures ANOVA was used to evaluate differences (p < 0.05) in relation to gender and exercise intensity. No gender difference emerged for %HRmax and sRPE. Significantly higher (p < 0.05) %HRmax were found for the moderate intensity (47.1 ± 34.4%) with respect to very light (3.6 ± 6.9%), light (14.5 ± 23.3%) and vigorous (34.6 ± 39.6%) and for the vigorous intensity with respect to very light; no near maximal to maximal values were observed. Subjects perceived SuperJump® as moderate (sRPE = 3.1 ± 1.2) while showing high levels of enjoyability (PACES = 86.6 ± 16.2%). SuperJump® can be classified as moderate-to-vigorous activity, representing an effective alternative and enjoyable home-based activity for preventing the effects of a sedentary lifestyle during home-confinement.

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 diseases. As one of the few possible ways to stay active is home-based training, this review aims to provide evidence on alternative and feasible home-based activity programs as a tool to improve the fitness level in older adults, especially when preventive measures are needed to ensure isolation and limit interpersonal contacts. During quarantine, older adults, especially those with chronic diseases, are recommended to regularly exercise. Combined balance and muscle-strengthening training has proven to be particularly useful in limiting falls and mobility limitations. In addition, the use of virtual reality systems seems to be a potential strategy in remaining physically active, reducing physical inactivity time and significantly increasing the compliance of the older adults with physical activity programs. In conclusion, home-based programs induce improvements in physical functions in general and quality of life in older people with or without co-morbidities, and it can be considered in the future as one of the feasible and economic ways to increase physical well-being. This may be of unique importance in the setting of coronavirus disease 2019 enforced limitations in out-of-home activity.

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: PlayerLoad™, accelerations, decelerations, changes of direction, and jumps and total of inertial movements. IL was assessed objectively and subjectively using the summated heart rate zones and training load calculated via session rating of perceived exertion, respectively. Spearman correlations (ρ) were used to assess the relationship between EL and IL. The interindividual variability was investigated using linear mixed models with random intercepts with IL as dependent variable, PlayerLoad™ as the independent variable, and players as random effect. Results: The lowest significant (P < .05) relationship was for high jumps with objective (ρ = .56) and subjective (ρ = .49) IL. The strongest relationship was for PlayerLoad™ with objective (ρ = .9) and subjective (ρ = .84) IL. From the linear mixed model, the estimated SD of the random intercepts was 19.78 arbitrary units (95% confidence interval, 11.75–33.31); SE = 5.26, and R2 = .47 for the objective IL and 6.03 arbitrary units (95% confidence interval, 0.00–7330.6); SE = 21.87; and R2 = .71 for the subjective IL. Conclusions: Objective and subjective IL measures can be used as a monitoring tool when EL monitoring is not possible. Coaches can predict IL based on a given EL by using the equations proposed in this study.

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 Linear Mixed Model could represent a more appropriate statistical procedure to deal with intrasubject variability. This study aimed to compare conventional correlations and the Linear Mixed Model to assess the relationships between objective and subjective measures of internal load in team sports. Thirteen male youth beach handball players (15.9 ± 0.3 years) were monitored (14 training sessions; 7 official matches). Correlation coefficients were used to correlate the objective and subjective internal load. The Linear Mixed Model was used to model the relationship between objective and subjective measures of internal load data by considering each player individual response as random effect. Random intercepts were used and then random slopes were added. The likelihood-ratio test was used to compare statistical models. The correlation coefficient for the overall relationship between the objective and subjective internal data was very large (r = 0.74; ρ = 0.78). The Linear Mixed Model using both random slopes and random intercepts better explained (p < 0.001) the relationship between internal load measures. Researchers are encouraged to apply the Linear Mixed Models rather than correlation to analyze internal load relationships in team sports since it allows for the consideration of the individuality of players.