It is well known that physical inactivity increases the risk of global death; however, the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown strategy on physical activity (PA) remains unclear. This study compared PA—i.e., daily occupation, transportation to and from daily occupation, leisure time activities, and regular sporting activities—prior (PRE) and during (POST) the on-going COVID-19 outbreak in the Greece lockdown environment. A Greek version of the web-based Active-Q questionnaire was used to access PA. The questionnaire was filled out twice (once each for the PRE and POST conditions) by 8495 participants (age = 37.2 ± 0.2 years (95% confidence interval (CI), 36.9–37.5); males = 38.3% (95%CI, 36.7–40.0); females = 61.7% (95%CI, 60.4–63.0). The relative frequency of overall sporting activities, which, prior to lockdown, occurred at least once per month, and overall participation in competitive sports was significantly reduced (8.6% (95%CI, 7.9–9.3) and 84.7% (95%CI, 82.9–86.6) respectively). With the exception of overall leisure time activities, which were significantly increased in the POST condition, daily occupational, transportation, and sporting activities significant reduced (p < 0.05). Overall PA was reduced in all genders, age, body mass index (BMI) and PA level subgroups in the POST condition, and an interaction between the males and High PA subgroups was observed. The change in overall PA (from PRE to POST conditions) was −16.3% (95%CI, −17.3 to −15.4), while in daily occupational, transportation, and sporting activities, it was −52.9% (95%CI, −54.8–51.0), −41.1% (95%CI, −42.8–39.5) and −23.9% (95%CI, −25.1–22.8), respectively. Thus, the lockdown period is highly associated with a negative change in overall PA. During lockdown, inactivity increased dramatically, with males and the high PA population affected significantly more. The decline in PA is a great concern due to possible long-term consequences on public health and healthcare system.

There is a worldwide interest in how lockdown affects physical activity (PA) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it has been shown that the mandated stay-at-home restrictions and self-isolation measures applied in different countries were accosiated with a reduction in physical exercise and activity, such results derive from studying only specific periods of lockdown. However, in order for this hypothesis to be tested, consecutive lockdown periods need to be examined separately. In this study we focus on PA change in Greek adults over time, during each of the last four weeks of lockdown in Greece. The web-based Active-Q questionnaire (see Supplementary file 1_Active-Q) was used to collect data prior to the COVID-19 crisis (PRE condition) and during lockdown measures (POST condition). The period of data collection (5 April to 3 May 2020) was divided into four phases (Ph-I, Ph-II, Ph-III, Ph-V), corresponding to the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th lockdown week respectively (out of a six-week total lockdown). There were four independent groups of respondents (G-I, G-II, G-III, G-V) who reported their age, weight, height and usual PA habits. Energy expenditure (EE) was calculated (MET-min/week; see Supplementary file 2_Data) in four main different domains (daily occupation activities, means of transportation to and from daily occupation, leisure time and regular sporting activities; see Supplementary file 3_Corresponding MET values). Each group's dataset corresponded to one of the aforementioned phases (G-I to Ph-I, G-II to Ph-II, and so on). Overall PA change (from PRE to POST condition) ranged from -21.50% in G-I (Ph-I) to -5.03 in G-V (Ph-V); PA change in male subgroups ranged from -26.10% in Ph-I to -13.64 in Ph-V; in female subgroups it ranged from -17.42% in Ph-I to -1.39 in Ph-V. Although the decline in overall PA is evident in all groups during each lockdown phase ( p <0.05), the combination of our data demonstrates that towards the end of lockdown this decline showed a gradual decreasing tendency.

Due to concerns regarding the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), major sporting events and activities have been temporarily suspended or postponed, and a new radical sports protocol has emerged. For most sports there are few recommendations based on scientific evidence for returning to team-game activities following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, the extended duration of lockdown, and self-training or detraining in the COVID-19 environment, and this is especially true for basketball. A post-lockdown return to the basketball court ultimately depends on the teams—coaches, trainers, players, and medical staff. Nevertheless, our current scientific knowledge is evidently insufficient as far as safety and return-to-play timing are concerned. This situation presents a major challenge to basketball competition in terms of organization, prioritization, maintaining physical fitness, and decision-making. While preparing an adequate basketball return program, the players’ health is the major priority. In this article we briefly discuss the topic and propose multiple strategies.

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Carbohydrate (CHO) supplementation during prolonged exercise postpones fatigue. However, the optimum administration timing, dosage, type of CHO intake, and possible interaction of the ergogenic effect with athletes’ cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) are not clear. Ninety-six studies (from relevant databases based on predefined eligibility criteria) were selected for meta-analysis to investigate the acute effect of ≤20% CHO solutions on prolonged exercise performance. The between-subject standardized mean difference [SMD = ([mean post-value treatment group–mean post-value control group]/pooled variance)] was assessed. Overall, SMD [95% CI] of 0.43 [0.35, 0.51] was significant (p < 0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that SMD was reduced as the subjects’ CRF level increased, with a 6–8% CHO solution composed of GL:FRU improving performance (exercise: 1–4 h); administration during the event led to a superior performance compared to administration before the exercise, with a 6–8% single-source CHO solution increasing performance in intermittent and ‘stop and start’ sports and an ~6% CHO solution appearing beneficial for 45–60 min exercises, but there were no significant differences between subjects’ gender and age groups, varied CHO concentrations, doses, or types in the effect measurement. The evidence found was sound enough to support the hypothesis that CHO solutions, when ingested during endurance exercise, have ergogenic action and a possible crossover interaction with the subject’s CRF.