Background This systematic review aims to identify the effects of exercise interventions in patients with breast cancer (BCP) and survivors (BCS) on selected variables of physical fitness. Methods A comprehensive literature search was conducted using Medline and Scopus. Randomized controlled trials with isolated exercise interventions in BCP and BCS women (< 5 years from therapy completion) were included. The risk of bias (RoB) assessment was conducted using the Cochrane RoB-2-tool. Variables regarding cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), strength (ST), fatigue (F) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were discussed. Results Of the 336 studies initially identified, 22 met all the inclusion criteria and were deemed eligible. RoB assessment indicated that the studies had predominantly “some concerns” or had “low RoB”, with only 3 studies presenting a “high RoB”. The mean duration and frequency of exercise interventions were 19 weeks and 3 sessions/week, performed at moderate intensity (65% VO2max and 66% 1RM, for aerobic and resistance-training interventions, respectively). Conclusions Exercise interventions seem to be a valuable strategy in BCP to avoid the decline of CRF, ST, F and HRQoL. Conversely, improved physical function among BCS is observed for the same variables. Resistance training and combined interventions seem to provide the most encouraging variations of the selected outcomes. PROSPERO registration ID CRD42021237917.

Stiffness is a fundamental property of living tissues, which may be modified by pathologies or traumatic events but also by nutritional, pharmacological and exercise interventions. This review aimed to understand if specific forms of exercise are able to determine specific forms of tissue stiffness adaptations. A literature search was performed on PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases to identify manuscripts addressing adaptations of tissue stiffness as a consequence of long-term exercise. Muscular, connective, peripheral nerve and arterial stiffness were considered for the purpose of this review. Resistance training, aerobic training, plyometric training and stretching were retrieved as exercise modalities responsible for tissue stiffness adaptations. Differences were observed related to each specific modality. When exercise was applied to pathological cohorts (i.e. tendinopathy or hypertension), stiffness changed towards a physiological condition. Exercise interventions are able to determine tissue stiffness adaptations. These should be considered for specific exercise prescriptions. Future studies should concentrate on identifying the effects of exercise on the stiffness of specific tissues in a broader spectrum of pathological populations, in which a tendency for increased stiffness is observed.

CrossFit is a high-intensity training discipline increasingly practiced in recent years. Specific nutritional approaches are usually recommended to maximize performance and improve body composition in high-intensity training regimens; notwithstanding, to date there are no targeted nutritional recommendations for CrossFit athletes. The Mediterranean Diet (MD) is a diet approach with a well-designed proportion of macronutrients, using only available/seasonal food of the Mediterranean area, whose health benefits are well demonstrated. No studies have evaluated this dietary strategy among CrossFit athletes and practitioners; for this reason, we tested the effects of 8 weeks of MD on CrossFit athletes’ performance and body composition. Participants were assigned to two groups: a diet group (DG) in which participants performed CrossFit training plus MD, and a control group (CG) in which participants partook in the CrossFit training, continuing their habitual diet. Participants were tested before and after the 8 weeks of intervention. At the end of the study, no significant difference was noted in participants’ body composition, whereas improvements in anaerobic power, explosive strength of the lower limbs, and CrossFit-specific performance were observed only in the DG. Our results suggest that adopting a MD in CrossFit athletes/practitioners could be a useful strategy to improve specific strength, endurance, and anaerobic capacity while maintaining overall body composition.

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Background The aim of this study was to compare the positional transversal release (PTR) technique to stretching and evaluate the acute effects on range of movement (ROM), performance and balance. Methods Thirty-two healthy individuals (25.3 ± 5.6 years; 68.8 ± 12.5 kg; 172.0 ± 8.8 cm) were tested on four occasions 1 week apart. ROM through a passive straight leg raise, jumping performance through a standing long jump (SLJ) and balance through the Y-balance test were measured. Each measure was assessed before (T0), immediately after (T1) and after 15 min (T2) of the provided intervention. On the first occasion, no intervention was administered (CG). The intervention order was randomized across participants and comprised static stretching (SS), proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) and the PTR technique. A repeated measure analysis of variance was used for comparisons. Results No differences across the T0 of the four testing sessions were observed. No differences between T0, T1 and T2 were present for the CG session. A significant time × group interaction for ROM in both legs from T0 to T1 (mean increase of 5.4° and 4.9° for right and left leg, respectively) was observed for SS, PNF and the PTR. No differences for all groups were present between T1 and T2. No differences in the SLJ and in measures of balance were observed across interventions. Conclusions The PTR is equally effective as SS and PNF in acutely increasing ROM of the lower limbs. However, the PTR results less time-consuming than SS and PNF. Performance and balance were unaffected by all the proposed interventions.