Background and Study Aim. Single leg exercises have some advantages in terms of time, practice and energy costs. However, the activation values that occur in different single leg exercises can be used for training planning. The aim of this research was to examine the thigh muscle activation values during three different single leg exercises. Materials and Methods. Ten healthy male volunteers who were students of the faculty of sports sciences participated in the study. In the study, the EMG ampilitude values of the vastus medialis (VM), vastus lateralis (VL), semitendinosus (SEM) and biceps femoris (BF) muscles were examined during Step-up, Bench Squat and Airborne Lunge exercises. At the same time, Quadriceps (VM+VL): Hamstring (SEM+BF) ratios were determined. Results. Significant differences were detected in all thigh muscles in the ascent and descent phases (p<0.05). While the greatest activation for the quadriceps group was seen in the airborne lunge, the greatest activation for the hamstring group was detected in the bench squat. A statistically significant difference was found in terms of exercise practices in the quadriceps: hamstring (Q:H) ratio (F(2,18)=12.282, p=.003). It was seen that the most balanced exercise was bench squat (Q:H=2.55), and the most unbalanced exercise (agonist dominant) was airborne lunge (Q:H=5.51). Conclusions. The findings show that the exercises examined can be selected depending on the purpose of the training. While bench squats can be preferred for more balanced co-activation the airborne lunge can be preferred for dominant knee extensors.

Somatotype characters have been defined for many diseases. However, there is insufficient information on the somatotype characters of chronic kidney patients. The first aim of our study was to define the specific somatotype in patients diagnosed with CKD. The second aim was to investigate the relationship between somatotype characters and physical activity and depression in CKD patients. A total of 88 (52.7 %) patients diagnosed with CKD between January and December 2021 at the Department of Nephrology, Inonu University Hospital (Malatya, Turkey) and 79 (47.3 %) healthy volunteers were included in the study. Somatotype analysis was performed using the Heath-Carter method. Physical activity was assessed with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and depressive symptoms with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Analysis revealed that patients had greater medial calf girth (p = 0.036), higher triceps (p = 0.007) and suprailiac (p = 0.042) skinfold thicknesses and higher body mass index (p = 0.007) compared to controls. Patients also had significantly higher endomorphy (patients: 6.57±1.35 vs. controls: 6.04±1.3; effect size (ES): 0.40, p=0.010) and significantly higher mesomorphy (patients: 7.44±2 vs. controls: 6.85±2.3; ES: 0.27, p=0.039) as well as significantly lower ectomorphy (patients: 0.71±0.69 vs. controls: 1.10±0.93; ES: 0.47, p=0.006). Significant positive correlations were also observed between mesomorphy and IPAQ (rho = 0.219, p = 0.04), endomorphy and BDI (rho = 0.423, p < 0.001) and mesomorphy and BDI (rho = 0.392, p > 0.001). Significant negative correlations were observed between ectomorph and BDI (rho = -0.325, p = 0.002). We observed that the dominant somatotype was endomorphic mesomorph in patients with CKD. In addition, the fact that CKD patients with ectomorphic body structure have lower depressive symptoms could have an impact on their well-being.