Background: The immunological responses to exercise and the corresponding adaptations in high-level sports have become an important issue, from both the health and the physical performance points of view. A better understanding of the immune responses to exercise and chronic exercise training may benefit athletes and improve physical performance and health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the fluctuations in the immune status of young swimmers throughout a training season.

Methods: Twelve well-trained male swimmers (14.08 ± 1.0 yrs) were recruited. Measurements were carried out at the beginning of the training season (T1) and pre- and post the taper of each competitive period (i.e., T2, T3 for the first training macrocycle, and T4, T5 for the second macrocycle, respectively). Blood samples were collected before and 1 hour post a maximal 400 m swimming testing at each of the above time points. Serum interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-1rα, IL-4, IL-10, C-reactive protein (CRP) and creatine kinase (CK) levels were measured. Adjustment for exercise-induced plasma volume changes was performed before all data analyses. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures was used for statistics.

Results: An anti-inflammatory profile was induced during the second competitive period characterized by a reduction in the levels of inflammatory indices (T1 compared to T4 and T5, IL-1β: p = 0.019, p = 0.034 respectively; T1 compared to T4, CRP: –43%, p > 0.05) along with a tendency of increase in anti-inflammatory ones (T1–T5, IL-6: 75%, T4–T5 IL-10: 122%; p > 0.05). Moreover, acute exercise induced anti-inflammatory responses, causing an increase in anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-10, IL-1rα; p < 0.05). There was a significant decrease in serum CK levels between T1-T4 both in the pre- and post-test condition (p = 0.027, p = 0.005, respectively), while significant differences were found between pre- and post-test at T1, T2, and T4 (p = 0.000, p = 0.011, p = 0.017, respectively).

Conclusions: The findings of this study indicated that swimming training throughout a season induces mild long-term but strong acute effects on the immune profile of the swimmers. These findings should be taken into consideration throughout a training season in young swimmers, adjusting the exercise stimuli accordingly in terms of volume, intensity, and recovery time.

Background: Several reports have highlighted the beneficial impacts of caffeine on performance in various disciplines of Paralympic Powerlifting (PP), a sport renowned for its emphasis on maximal strength. Moreover, caffeine consumption within the context of PP has been found to be safe.

Objective: To examine the effects of caffeine intake before, during, and after PP training sessions at national level in Brazil.

Methods: Thirteen male PP athletes competing at national level (31.31 ± 10.13 years, 80.77 ± 22.66 kg) participated in the study. They were provided with either 9.0 mg/kg of Caffeine Anhydrous (CA) or Placebo (PL) and were evaluated using 45% of their one-repetition maximum (1RM) before and after training sessions, as well as 24 and 48 hours after sessions. Additionally, they performed five sets of five repetitions maximum (5x5), with assessments carried out during the first and fifth sets for all five repetitions. Evaluations focused on Mean Propulsive Velocity (MPV), Maximum Velocity (MaxV), and Power.

Results: No significant differences were observed with 45% 1RM. However, at 80% 1RM, CA demonstrated significant improvement compared to PL during Set 1 and Set 5 (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: CA exhibits promising ergogenic properties, enabling athletes to sustain training intensity throughout the session, even when working with heavier PP loads.