02.07.2025, 17:45 - 19:00, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
The eligibility of DSD (Differences of Sexual Development)- and trans-athletes in the female category in elite sports is a controversial issue and raises fundamental questions of scientific and ethical kinds. The scientific questions relate among other things to the impact of elevated testosterone levels in the development and execution of athletic performance in various sports, and the ethical questions concern the tension between the right of individuals to take part according to their legal gender and the right of all athletes to fair competition in their category. The underlying general questions concern the meaning and function of categorizing athletes in sports, and competition fairness. In this session, two international experts, Professor of Sport and Exercise Science Yannis Pitsiladis and bioethicist and Professor Silvia Camporesi, address the issue from complementary perspectives. Dr. Pitsiladis examines the justification in some sports for deeming transgender women athletes ineligible in the female class, and Dr. Camporesi discusses similar questions in the case of DSD athletes. These are topical issues that should be of interest to the broad sport science community.
03.07.2025, 11:30 - 12:45, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
This symposium will focus on the mechanisms behind human skeletal muscle hypertrophy induced by mechanical overload, primarily through resistance training. Hypertrophy is a critical factor for improving performance in athletes and preventing muscle loss due to aging or disease. The symposium will explore key signalling pathways, including the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway, which plays a crucial role in promoting muscle protein synthesis following resistance training. Additionally, it will cover the role of satellite cells and their contribution to muscle repair and growth, along with insights into omic factors that influence hypertrophy outcomes. This symposium is particularly relevant for members of the ECSS, who are involved in enhancing athletic performance and maintaining muscle health in various populations, including athletes and older adults. Understanding the cellular and molecular underpinnings of muscle hypertrophy provides invaluable insights for optimizing training protocols, rehabilitation strategies, and nutritional interventions. The symposium is designed for researchers, sports scientists, coaches, and health professionals interested in the physiological adaptations to resistance training. It will appeal to those focused on enhancing athletic performance, understanding muscle aging, and developing effective strategies for muscle rehabilitation and growth in all populations.
04.07.2025, 16:15 - 17:30, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
This talk will address recent global issues arising from novel pharmacological approaches to modify physiology, behaviour and metabolic health in humans. The potentially critical role of exercise, particularly resistance-based training, during incretin (Ozempic) therapies will be considered in the context of the effect of these blockbuster new therapies which radically alter body composition. The past decade has also witnessed growing scientific and commercial interest in the identification of bioactive oral compounds that mimic or potentiate the effects of exercise, so-called 'exercise mimetics.' This has raised the controversial issue of whether such agents may one day replace exercise as treatments for a number of chronic diseases in humans. These issues will be explored in the context of the future role of exercise specialists in guiding personalised exercise prescription that optimises preventative outcomes in healthcare systems that are currently focussed on service provision that occurs after diseases have manifested and are difficult and expensive to treat.
02.07.2025, 14:45 - 16:00, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
The concept of time perception and its relation to exercise is intriguing yet currently not well understood. As Einstein famously suggested, ‘put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute.’ In sport, an athlete’s perception of time is dynamically shaped by physiological and psychological states—from pre-event anticipation and in-event exertion to post-exercise reflection. Therefore, how athletes perceive time before, during, and after performance carries important implications for event preparation, training, motivational strategies, engagement, and post-exercise recovery. Such distortions suggest the brain’s management of time is deeply intertwined with physiological signals and the environment, impacting decision-making, strategies, and endurance. Misjudging time can result in pacing errors, cognitive fatigue, and under performance. During events, subjective time often diverges from objective time, distorted by discomfort, focus, or fatigue, leading athletes to experience time as either dragging or flying. Over the course of this symposium, we will explore these topics through three interlinked presentations examining pre-event strategies, in-event experiences, and post-event reflections from the sequential perspective of a performer, providing cutting-edge research evidence, building on existing concepts with new insights relevant to sport scientists, coaches & athletes.
02.07.2025, 13:15 - 14:30, Lecture room: Arco
Research on the effect of the menstrual cycle (MC) on performance has rapidly grown in the past five years. While this progress is encouraging, i) current research tends to neglect hormonal contraceptive cycles (HC) and menstrual dysfunction; ii) the primary focus is on specific parts of MC phases rather than including transitions between MC or HC phases; iii) testing is generally performed in a resting rather than fatigued state when the success of a game or race is generally determined. These points raise the question: How could current research methodologies be augmented to study the effect of the MC/HC on female health and sports performance in a way that may be more meaningful for those working within sport? As part of the invited symposium, we will discuss the effect of the MC on performance parameters in relation to durability, as well as the potential of using hormone profile patterns to monitor health status and optimise training prescriptions in female athletes. In addition, we will present several case studies from elite athletes and how they deal with female health challenges within their training programs and competitions.
03.07.2025, 10:00 - 11:15, Lecture room: Tempio 1
The proposed invited symposium will aim to explore how sport science can be applied to enhance the occupational task performance of military personnel. To provide context the first session will consider the demands of the contemporary military operational environment and will argue that the adoption of a conceptual Human Performance Optimisation (HPO) framework is vital to enhance warfighter operational readiness. Following this, the second session will discuss evidence-based strategies by which to modernize the training of women for ground close combat roles. Finally, the third session will conclude with a discussion on what lessons have been learned as a result of 30 years of research on reducing musculoskeletal injuries during military basic training.
04.07.2025, 08:00 - 09:15, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
Wearable technologies have become vital tools in sports science, providing researchers, athletes, and professionals with real-time data to enhance performance, optimize training, and reduce injury risk. This symposium will explore the practical use of wearables, focusing on their integration into research and practice, while addressing challenges and opportunities across various sports contexts. Recent advances in wearable sensors, from heart rate monitors to GPS and IMUs, have transformed athletic data collection. These devices offer insights into parameters like load management, fatigue, and recovery. With improved accuracy, wearables allow personalized training and real-time monitoring, facilitating evidence-based decisions. The symposium will present key research findings on how wearables are used to monitor and enhance performance, from recreational to elite athletes. It will also discuss challenges, including data accuracy, athlete compliance, and the effective interpretation of data. Solutions like interdisciplinary collaboration between data scientists, sports professionals, and medical experts will be explored. Dr. Lepley will address accuracy in smartwatches, Dr. Olthof will discuss performance optimization and tactical analysis, and Dr. Coutts will cover holistic athlete monitoring. This session is aimed at sports scientists, coaches, and research professionals seeking to leverage wearables to improve outcomes.
04.07.2025, 09:30 - 10:45, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
Fatigue is a complex phenomenon encompassing both mental and physical dimensions, the inter-relationship between which is not well-understood despite its apparent importance as a protective behavioural cue. Whilst the behavioural consequences of fatigue are easily observed in sport, its effects are ubiquitous across various societal contexts, including work and daily life. This symposium aims to elucidate the societal benefits of investigating fatigue and will consider some of the conceptual and heuristic challenges associated with the kind of interdisciplinary research needed to develop theory and create effective psychological interventions. We draw on our work of measuring perceptions of fatigue (Micklewright et al., 2018) and using psychological strategies to resist slowing down or stopping during endurance activity (Meijen et al., 2023). We also draw on a recent model (Beedie et al., 2022) that differentiates mood as sustained physiological disturbances (like fatigue) from reactionary emotions, suggesting physiological strategies to stabilize mood and psychological skills for managing situational emotional responses.
04.07.2025, 13:00 - 14:15, Lecture room: Arengo
Breathing monitoring has a long tradition in laboratory settings, but its importance in applied contexts remains overlooked. Today, we argue that several developments suggest that we should move breathing monitoring out into the field. First, technological innovation currently provides valid and accessible measures of ventilatory variables using wearables suitable for different sport-specific demands. Second, the importance of breathing monitoring during training and competition is supported by evidence showing that breathing frequency is more closely associated with physical effort than oxygen uptake, heart rate and blood lactate. Third, the importance of breathing monitoring is reinforced by our growing understanding of the mechanisms underlying ventilatory control during exercise. This is a fundamental topic that is regaining interest considering new experimental evidence suggesting that breathing frequency and tidal volume are largely modulated by different inputs during exercise. Hence, the opportunity to explore the topic of breathing monitoring from different perspectives is expected to offer an educational advantage to the sports science community. Potential benefits of moving breathing monitoring into practical settings include improved exercise testing, as well as better-informed prescription and monitoring across different sports, populations, and exercise conditions.
01.07.2025, 12:00 - 13:15, Lecture room: Arengo
The speed of actual walking is rather a time-varying trajectory that is modulated by task urgency, individual neuromuscular capacity or locomotor perturbations, and therefore steady locomotion in real-world environments is more an exception than the rule. Movement on irregular surfaces is associated with external mechanical perturbations, increased gait instability and increased risk of falls. Therefore, research that promotes our understanding of how biological systems control and regulate stability in the presence of perturbations and how adaptation in stability control can be generalised across tasks, is very important for safe and effective locomotion. Mechanical preflexes, sensory feedback and feedforward commands are mechanisms that control the stability of biological systems, are complementary and can be modified through experience and motor learning. In the session, we will focus on challenging locomotor conditions such as walking on uneven ground and different types of gait perturbations, as walking is the most common fall-related activity in humans and missteps and trips account for the majority of all falls. We will address (i) how the human neuromotor system regulates the translational and rotational behaviour of the whole-body to maintain stability, (ii) how generalisation of adaptation is possible and how it may be limited across gait perturbation tasks and, (iii) how biarticular mechanisms of the musculoskeletal system may contribute to stability control.
02.07.2025, 09:30 - 10:45, Lecture room: Arengo
Content: In our symposium on eccentric contractions and aging, we will explore the latest insights on how eccentric resistance exercise impacts molecular signalling pathways, adaptation, and muscle form and function in older adults. Eccentric contractions - those involving muscle lengthening under tension - hold unique potential in preserving muscle function and structure as we age. This symposium brings together leading experts who will share cutting-edge research on this important topic. Dr. Colleen Deane will open with her work on the transcriptional responses triggered by eccentric exercise, shedding light on the cellular mechanisms that drive adaptation in aging muscle. Following her, Dr. Martino Franchi will discuss how eccentric contractions influence muscle morphology, with a focus on structural changes and adaptations that can preserve muscle function in old age. Lastly, Dr. Geoff Power will address how eccentric training can stimulate sarcomerogenesis, providing insight into how eccentric stimuli promote sarcomere addition and potentially counteract age-related muscle decline and impairments in muscle mechanical performance. Relevance: This will surely be a thought-provoking session as we examine how eccentric training may serve as a powerful tool to promote and maintain healthy adult aging. Target Audience: Given the basic and applied nature of research being presented, this symposium is geared towards both practitioners and basic scientists.
02.07.2025, 11:00 - 12:15, Lecture room: Arengo
Animals including human athletes move using energy generated (work done) by muscles, which are activated by the nervous system. Optimum movement performance can occur when muscle activation is maximal and coordination optimal (if maximum strength or speed are required) or when the energy cost of activation is minimized (if movement economy is required), so a trade-off between speed/strength and endurance is apparent. However, no single musculoskeletal design allows force, speed, and efficiency (economy) to be optimized, and some balance must be achieved. This integrative symposium aims to explore trade-offs created by the need for muscle-tendon units to produce forces and power of different magnitudes, at different lengthening-shortening speeds, and over different overall durations (A. Blazevich), while investigating the impact of these trade-offs in various animal species known for speed or endurance (P. McGuigan), and finally addressing these aspects and their implications for the design of optimized resistance training protocols in human athletes (B. Van Hooren).
02.07.2025, 14:45 - 16:00, Lecture room: Castello 1
As a measure of muscle activation, electromyographic (EMG) recordings comprise the sum of muscle fiber action potentials. These signals are most often obtained from electrodes that are attached to the skin over a muscle of interest. Such recordings, however, provide limited information about the underlying strategies used by the nervous system to perform various actions. More detailed information can be obtained from recordings of motor unit action potentials, the sum of which represents the neural drive sent from the spinal cord to the involved muscles to perform an intended action. The purpose of this symposium is to examine contemporary approaches used to decode the neural strategy embedded in EMG recordings. To achieve this goal, the three presenters will describe a new technology that can obtain more complete recordings of motor unit action potentials (Associate Prof. Muceli), discuss the neuromuscular structure and function of the hamstring muscles (Mr. Sahinis), and share recent findings on neural modules at the motor unit level (Prof. Enoka).
03.07.2025, 10:00 - 11:15, Lecture room: Castello 1
Cyclic forms of human locomotion (such as cycling, running, swimming or kayaking) are characterized by cyclic force application. In the corresponding sports activities, this intermittent force is then utilized to sustain a target “average velocity” of motion which, ultimately, is the parameter to be maximized to improve athletic performance. When analyzing the dynamics of locomotion in these sports, the average force/velocity/power developed over a cycle are generally calculated. A deeper understanding of the intermittent application of the force and of the effects of this unsteady motion would, however, allow to better understand the determinants of performance in these sports.
03.07.2025, 13:45 - 15:00, Lecture room: Castello 1
Fatiguing exercise is characterized by a reduction in the ability to produce voluntary force and by an increase in general sensation of fatigue. The interaction between central and peripheral mechanisms contributing to fatigue is complex and varies with exercise modality and between healthy and clinical individuals. Detailed understanding of the two components is crucial for performance and for improving physical and mental health in clinical settings. The symposium delves into the complex interplay between the brain and body, exploring recent research on neuromuscular fatigue, exercise regulation, and neuromodulation. Speakers will offer fresh insights into how neural and muscular systems interact to shape performance and therapeutic potential across diverse populations. Dr. Hureau will provide a structured synthesis of recent insights into the limit of exercise with a particular focus on the brain-muscle interactions and their consequences on neuromuscular fatigue and exercise performance. Dr. Angius will talk about the application of non-invasive brain stimulation for understanding the brain mechanisms involved in exercise regulation and recent applications for improving physical function. Dr. Sidhu will cover factors behind neurophysiological responses to neuromodulation, including experimental evidence on metaplasticity in multiple sclerosis and older adults. Key research areas are highlighted, such as personalised treatments, standardised protocols, and therapies.
02.07.2025, 13:15 - 14:30, Lecture room: Castello 1
Age-related changes in motor functions manifest across multiple neuroscientific levels. Metabolically, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) reveals shifts in key neurochemicals such as declines in N-acetylaspartate glutamat and GABA, as well as increases in creatine+phosphocreatine and choline with the increases in aging. These changes can disrupt motor control and execution. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) shows notable age-related decline in both gray and white matter. The motor cortex, but also other cortical and subcortical areas critical for initiating and refining movement—experience volume reduction and more subtle microstructural changes. These structural changes contribute directly to declines in mobility and balance often observed in older adults. Functionally, the brain adapts to these changes by reduced inhibitory processes and accompanied overactivation of motor areas. This loss of balance between excitation and inhibition impacts motor control of older adults contributing to a reduced physical function. Together, these metabolic, structural, and functional changes provide a comprehensive view of how aging impacts motor abilities. With this session we aim to cover a broad range of current research on age-related alteration in brain structure and function and how these changes are related to motor functioning. Finally, we will address how physical activity interventions can help to counteract these age-related declines in physical function.
04.07.2025, 08:00 - 09:15, Lecture room: Arengo
Exergames provide new opportunities to engage older adults in motor-cognitive training. Concurrent motor-cognitive training is considered promising to prevent both the decline in physical and cognitive functioning in older adults and can be highly motivating when applied in such settings. Here we explore several mechanisms why video game-based exergame training necessitating subject’s ability to lift the toes and to place the feet on different target zones can lead to improved brain and physical function. The physical exercise involved promotes cardiovascular health, enhances coordination, and increases strength and endurance, which contribute to overall physical fitness. Simultaneously, the cognitive aspects of gaming—such as problem-solving, strategy formation, and rapid decision-making—stimulate brain activity and can improve neuroplasticity, attention, and memory. Positive effects in the nervous system are due to stimulating neural pathways through concurrent movement, thinking and coordination.
01.07.2025, 12:00 - 13:15, Lecture room: Arco
Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) is common among female and male athletes representing various sports at different performance levels, and the underlying cause is problematic (severe/long-term) low energy availability (LEA). It is essential to prevent problematic LEA to decrease the risk of serious health aspects such as impaired bone health and eating disorders as well as performance consequences such as sport injuries. This Symposium will address REDs primary, secondary and tertiary prevention strategies targeting researchers as well as coaches, the athlete health and performance team and sport organisations.
01.07.2025, 13:30 - 14:45, Lecture room: Arco
Physical activity (PA) is vital for people of all ages and stages of life. Prenatal PA is important as it contributes to maternal and child health. The in-utero environment shapes the offspring’s future health. Globally, too few women meet the recommended guidelines for prenatal PA. This lack of adherence is partly due to not knowing the recommendations, not fully understanding the safety and positive outcomes of PA in pregnancy. By combining Applied Sports, Physiology, and Sports & Exercise/Medicine & Health perspective, our session will present new evidence for the global promotion of prenatal PA. We will share new clinically relevant multidisciplinary research explaining the impact of PA/exercise on the health of mother, placenta, and child. We present data on the association between PA and maternal & cord blood metabolome and how this relates to pregnancy outcomes. Next, we will summarize the influence of concurrent PA on maternal-placental-fetal inflammatory cytokines & metabolites for mother and neonate. Lastly, we will move to the influence of specific exercise types during pregnancy on neonate and downstream infant inflammatory cytokines & metabolites related to health outcomes. We will discuss how this relates to clinical practice for healthcare and exercise professionals, for those interested in or who are pregnant. We will provide an overview on how clinicians, exercise professionals, and individuals can apply these outcomes in their practice and personal lives.
02.07.2025, 08:00 - 09:15, Lecture room: Arco
In snow sports like alpine skiing, big air, slopestyle, or ski and snowboard cross injury risk is high, with severe injuries resulting in lengthy absences from competition. To address this, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) established the Athlete Health Unit (AHU) to reduce injury risk and improve safety. The AHU is initiating projects with partners from science, industry, standard organizations, and national federations to mitigate injury risk. This work is focused on the competition framework (e.g., race calendars or course design), equipment (regulating performance-maximizing equipment that could harm athletes, developing protective gear), and athletes' physical, mental, and social resilience (through injury registration, warm-up/cool-down practices, training and testing, and return-to-sport strategies) as key areas for injury prevention. It employs a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach involving scientists, industry stakeholders, national federations, and non-governmental organizations. Six months before the Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina, Italy, a symposium will be held to illustrate the FIS AHU's approach to injury prevention and its multi-disciplinary collaboration between international stakeholders combining their complementary approaches. The symposium will feature three leading researchers in snow sports injury prevention, highlighting the AHU's roadmap for reducing injury risk in competitive snow sports and the Olympic Games.
02.07.2025, 09:30 - 10:45, Lecture room: Arco
Athletes have been consistently shown to have poor oral health with common negative impacts on performance and psycho-social outcomes. These consequences likely result from the demands of training, nutrition, and environmental factors. While physically active individuals exhibit healthier oral microbiome profiles than their sedentary counterparts, elite athletes may experience poorer oral health due to cumulative stress, dietary choices, and dehydration. These issues are further complicated by gender-specific factors, with female athletes facing additional risks related to hormonal fluctuations and potential nutritional deficits. An emerging solution in this context is dietary nitrate, which has been shown to act as an oral health prebiotic offering a novel approach to improving the oral health of elite athletes. This session will explore research and potential strategies to address these challenges. Professor Needleman will open with a presentation on oral health challenges faced by athletes, their impact on performance, and behaviour change interventions. Dr Burleigh will discuss emerging research on how exercise affects the oral microbiome and discuss the unique challenges female athletes face. Professor Easton will conclude the session with a presentation on the potential of dietary nitrate supplementation as an oral health prebiotic. This session will interest researchers and practitioners in nutrition, sports medicine, oral health, and athlete support teams.
03.07.2025, 15:15 - 16:30, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
Effort and its perception regulate our behaviour and are key determinants of motor and cognitive performances. This symposium will review the current knowledge on effort and its perception. To this end, we will use a multidisciplinary approach at the intersection of exercise science, physiology, neuroscience and psychology. This symposium is grounded in theoretical frameworks applicable across various disciplines, considering effort and perception of effort (PE) to have a narrow and specific meaning, and PE as a unique perception dissociated from other exercise-related perceptions, such as pain and fatigue. Dr Halperin will review the definitions of effort and the PE, and discuss key methodological aspects for measuring the PE. Dre André will challenge the general assumption that effort is inherently aversive and discuss a cost-benefit approach to effort-related decision-making. Dr Pageaux will review the current knowledge on the neurophysiology of PE, from its sensory signal(s) to the brain processing of the signal(s) generating the conscious experience of effort. Taken together, these presentations will highlight the crucial need for adopting a multidisciplinary approach to investigate effort and its perception. This symposium will benefit researchers from a range of exercise-related fields, including those focused on increasing engagement and adherence to physical activity, as well as applied sport scientists interested in the regulation of physical performance.
03.07.2025, 10:00 - 11:15, Lecture room: Arco
Despite insulin therapy, persons with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) develop severe complications such as cardiovascular and renal disease; largely due to chronic dysglycemia, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance. These complications impact the quality of life and lifespan of those with T1D; estimated at 15 years less than those without T1D. Despite important advances in T1D care, there is still no cure. Given the importance of skeletal muscle and its associated microvasculture to whole-body well-being, research focused on improving our understanding of skeletal muscle health in those with T1D has the potential to create translatable, evidence-based exercise and pharmacological advances to improve the healthy lifespan of those with T1D. This proposed symposium has invited internationally recognized scientists who are leading world class research into the mechanisms underlying the development of diabetic myopathy and therapeutic strategies to mitigate this complex complication. The reputation of these researchers is highlighted below. The invited speakers will provide state of the art research on mechanisms underlying impairments to skeletal muscle health in T1D. This symposium will be attractive to all researchers interested in skeletal muscle biology, exercise physiology, diabetes, and tissue cross-talk. Keywords: diabetes, myopathy, extracellular matrix, mitochondria, muscle wasting, atrophy, inflammation, sex differences, metabolism
03.07.2025, 17:00 - 18:15, Lecture room: Arco
Over the past two decades, the significance of exercise medicine and nutrition therapy in cancer management has gained relevance and implementation. There is now extensive research evidence of how exercise influences etiology, development, treatment, and progression of cancer, revealing potential mechanisms of action. Despite these scientific advancements, implementation in oncology remains challenging due to the complexity of cancer and the impact of the treatments. Similarly, nutritional interventions in oncology, while promising, current recommendations are often vague or even contradictory. We will focus on recent advances elucidating the bio-physiological mechanisms across the cancer care continuum and examine the role of exercise and nutrition in this context. Specifically, we will explore exercise medicine as neoadjuvant, adjuvant, rehabilitative and palliative therapy including functional, structural and patient outcomes, explore mechanisms mitigating tumor growth pathways. We will also address the limitations and challenges of applying exercise oncology guidelines in international and Italian clinical settings with the experience within the Italian Group on Exercise Oncology (IGEO). IGEO brings together a multidisciplinary team of researchers, healthcare professionals, and experts in oncology and exercise science to promote and integrate exercise medicine as a crucial component in the care of patients with cancer.
01.07.2025, 13:30 - 14:45, Lecture room: Castello 2
Skeletal muscle adapts quickly to physiological stressors including aging, disuse, and exercise. Aging decreases muscle mass and strength, increasing falls, fractures, and critical illness risks. These conditions often lead to muscle disuse (bed rest or casting), exacerbating muscle atrophy and weakness and reducing quality of life. Exercise can counteract muscle deterioration. This symposium explores modern multi-omics techniques (single nuclei RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq), spatial proteomics, and mass-spectrometry based proteomics) to unravel molecular alterations in human aging, disuse and exercise. The goal is to understand the mechanisms underlying muscle deterioration in aging and disuse, paving the way for effective interventions improving quality of life. Prof Bottinelli will discuss human neuromuscular system degenerative changes in response to disuse, highlighting snRNA-seq potential for generating novel insights. Dr. Monti will explore the use of this technology to assess aging and sarcopenia-related alterations, coupled with spatial proteomics to examine muscle tissue reorganization at the protein level. Prof. Murgia will conclude by overviewing mass-spectrometry based proteomics use in understanding protein content changes in skeletal muscle disuse and exercise with unprecedented resolution. This session will interest researchers in human physiology, biology, neuroscience, sports medicine doctors, bioinformaticians, and health practitioners.
02.07.2025, 08:00 - 09:15, Lecture room: Castello 2
This symposium brings together cutting-edge research on the unique aspects of female respiratory, cardiovascular, and skeletal muscle physiology, highlighting how these systems are influenced by the female sex hormonal profile. 1. Power: Skeletal Muscle Physiology will examine how the female sex hormonal profile regulates muscle mass and function in females and thereby influences training outcomes. 2. Breath: This presentation will explore how dynamic exercise impacts pulmonary gas exchange and ventilation, with a focus on sex differences in oxygen extraction, acid-base balance, and respiratory muscle function, specifically addressing the limited research on young and older women, including recent findings on pulmonary responses and diaphragm fatigue in female athletes. 3. Beat: This presentation will examine the influence of estrogen and its decline at menopause on cardiovascular health in females, highlighting the slower cardiovascular adaptations to endurance training in postmenopausal women and the importance of exercise before, during, and after menopause to counteract the decline in cardiovascular function. This symposium is relevant for physiologists, coaches, sports science researchers, and clinicians who are interested in female physiology and how the female hormones influence performance, training, and health.
02.07.2025, 13:15 - 14:30, Lecture room: Castello 2
Operating under extreme environmental conditions in recreational, professional, or sports contexts poses significant implications for human physiology, health, and performance. This symposium discusses environmental stressors of underwater, high-altitude, and spaceflight, highlighting acute and long-term adaptations, performance limitations, and coping strategies. Shared risks across these environments include hypoxia, hypercapnia, and decompression due to altered ambient pressure and available life-support solutions, fluid shifts and their effects on gas exchange and work of breathing, and the risk of altered pressures for disease in mountaineers, divers, and astronauts. This symposium highlights risks and potential coping strategies that can be applied before or during exposure to maintain health and performance. Emphasis will be placed on interdisciplinary approaches to enhance human resilience and functionality across these extreme environments, innovative countermeasures, and current limitations.
03.07.2025, 08:30 - 09:45, Lecture room: Arco
This symposium will provide insight from big data and randomised control trials conducted in Finland, the UK and the Netherlands on innovations on mobile and digital health aimed at breaking up sedentary time, increase physical activity and prescribing and monitor exercise. The focus will be on individuals at risk of and with cardiovascular disease and the outcomes presented will have clinical, physiological and population health relevance.
03.07.2025, 15:15 - 16:30, Lecture room: Arco
The effects of environmental heat stress on physiological functions (in particular, cardiovascular and muscle functions) and its associated consequences on sport performances have largely been investigated in young adults. Epidemiological data have indicated that children and older people are vulnerable to heat. Yet comparatively little research has examined physiological responses to environmental heat stress to fully elucidate its impact on performance and health in young and older populations. With temperatures rising across the globe and people of all ages exposed more commonly to hot and extreme temperatures, it is imperative that those promoting and delivering physical activity for health or exercise for performance understand differences in physiological responses/adaptations to environmental heat stress at various stages of the lifecourse. The aim of this symposium is therefore to present the latest research on the impact of environmental heat stress on the performance and health of young people (i.e. children and adolescents), young adults (focusing here on a widely understudied organ, i.e. the lungs) and older adults.
03.07.2025, 17:00 - 18:15, Lecture room: Castello 2
Understanding sex differences in exercise physiology is crucial for optimizing athletic performance and health. Males and females differ in body size, cardiovascular structure, and -function, influencing oxygen transport and utilization during exercise. This symposium provides advanced insights into the physiological mechanisms driving these differences. The first presentation examines the limiting factors to maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max) and time-trial performance, emphasizing sex-specific differences in cardiac output, leg blood flow, and oxygen extraction, while accounting for muscle mass normalization. The second presentation explores sex differences in functional reserve and supramaximal exercise performance, focusing on hemodynamic and oxygen transport responses and adaptive changes following sprint interval training combined with ischemia-reperfusion. The third presentation investigates sex differences in VO₂max after normalizing the oxygen transport capacity through blood withdrawal and carbon monoxide inhalation, with particular emphasis on echocardiographic assessments under altered hemodynamic loads. This symposium addresses critical gaps in understanding sex differences in performance and adaptive response, appealing to exercise physiologists, sports scientists, clinicians, and professionals working with athletes.
04.07.2025, 13:00 - 14:15, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
A progressive decline in muscle mass and strength accompanies ageing. Degeneration of motoneurons and neuromuscular junctions (NMJs), as well as loss of entire motor units, seem to play a key role in this scenario. This symposium aims to provide a comprehensive overview of age-related neuromuscular alterations and explore the role of exercise as a countermeasure. Dr. Baraldo will introduce the topic by exploring the molecular pathways involved in the maintenance of NMJ, the specialised synapse linking muscle and nerve, and their dysregulation with ageing. Focusing mainly on findings from animal models, she will provide preclinical evidence of the protective effects of aerobic training on NMJ maintenance. Dr. Casper Soendenbroe will shift the focus to human research, presenting key biomarkers used to assess NMJ stability and innervation status. He will also discuss how these have been applied to investigate the role of resistance training in combatting neuromuscular decline in older adults. Dr. Fabio Sarto will conclude the symposium by exploring the functional impact of these molecular alterations at motor unit level. In particular, he will focus on electrophysiological alterations occurring in old age, including NMJ transmission impairment, and how these are modulated by exercise. The session will be of interest to researchers in muscle and exercise physiology. Furthermore, it offers relevant insights to sports medicine doctors, neuroscientists, and biologists.
04.07.2025, 09:30 - 10:45, Lecture room: Castello 2
Dietary protein is essential for optimising exercise-induced muscle remodelling and supporting muscle health in ageing, disease and acute illness. Over the last decade, research focus on how the protein type/source for muscle-related outcomes has intensified, due largely to shifting global consumer trends and widespread societal and media interest towards sustainable protein alternatives. In this symposium, Prof Wall will present an overview of the nutritional and exercise-induced regulation of skeletal muscle anabolism and synopsize recent metabolic experiments and intervention studies into the role of dietary protein source/quality on muscle adaptive remodelling. Prof Breen will discuss mechanistic underpinnings of age-related muscle deterioration and contemporary evidence on the influence of protein source/quality for muscle health and function in older adults. Finally, Dr Weijzen will outline new perspectives on dietary protein consumption for maintaining and improving muscle mass in clinical settings. She will outline practical nutritional strategies to enhance muscle health and patient outcomes, with emphasis on dietary protein source. This timely series of talks will be of great relevance to researchers interested in the metabolic regulation and adaptive remodelling of skeletal muscle with dietary protein and exercise as well as nutritionists and dieticians who apply contemporary research evidence into their practice.
04.07.2025, 13:00 - 14:15, Lecture room: Castello 2
Effective energy intake management is essential for athletes aiming to balance performance, recovery, and long-term health. While strategies like Caloric Restriction (CR) and Time-Restricted Eating (TRE) can offer benefits by controlling body composition and improving metabolic efficiency, inadequate fuelling can also lead to unintended consequences, such as energy deficits. Sustained and/or severe energy deficit may represent one of several stressors to which athletes are exposed and influence performance, injury risk, and recovery, especially in athletes with high training loads. This symposium will delve into the complex effects of reduced energy intake, including both its positive applications and potential downsides. We will examine how CR and TRE can be strategically applied to meet athletic goals while minimizing the risk of energy deficiency, hormonal disruptions, and compromised health.
01.07.2025, 13:30 - 14:45, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
Psychological First Aid (PFA) has become increasingly essential in safeguarding practices at major sports events. This symposium explores PFA as a rapid-response intervention for mental health crises in high-stakes, high-stress sports environments. Aimed at protecting athletes' well-being and fostering a culture of safety, PFA equips sports psychologists, welfare officers, and support staff with essential tools to diminish the immediate effects of trauma, anxiety, and emotional distress. This session will include three perspectives. Each speaker will address the unique mental health needs of athletes, officials, and support teams at events like the Olympics, focusing on (1) implementing PFA protocols for quick intervention, (2) recognizing signs of mental health risks, and (3) building collaborative welfare networks. Presentations will center on practical applications, training models, and research insights, as well as fostering resilience and promoting ethical welfare standards.
03.07.2025, 08:30 - 09:45, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
The purposes of our multidisciplinary symposium are threefold. First, the symposium will explore the psychobiological determinants of sport performance. Using field based studies of football players as a context, we will look at the psychological and physiological determinants of sport performance. Second, the symposium will explore the psychobiological correlates of fatigue, effort and performance. Using laboratory studies as a context, we will look at neurophysiological markers, such as EEG, of fatigue, effort and performance. Third, the symposium will explore the effectiveness of psychological and physiological countermeasures to tackle the deleterious effects of mental fatigue on performance. Using studies of young adult athletes and sedentary older adults we will look at the beneficial and detrimental effects of physical and cognitive warmup activities on padel shot accuracy, resistance exercise, endurance exercise, and cognition. The three talks will provide overviews of the relevant literatures before presenting evidence and recommendations for basic scientists and applied practitioners wishing to monitor, measure and moderate the deleterious effects of fatigue on human performance.
02.07.2025, 09:30 - 10:45, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
02.07.2025, 11:00 - 12:15, Lecture room: Castello 2
02.07.2025, 13:15 - 14:30, Lecture room: Tempio 1
02.07.2025, 14:45 - 16:00, Lecture room: Castello 2
03.07.2025, 08:30 - 09:45, Lecture room: Arengo
03.07.2025, 08:30 - 09:45, Lecture room: Castello 1
03.07.2025, 10:00 - 11:15, Lecture room: Ponte
03.07.2025, 13:45 - 15:00, Lecture room: Castello 2
03.07.2025, 10:00 - 11:15, Lecture room: Borgo
03.07.2025, 10:00 - 11:15, Lecture room: Arengo
03.07.2025, 10:00 - 11:15, Lecture room: Castello 2
03.07.2025, 15:15 - 16:30, Lecture room: Porto
03.07.2025, 17:00 - 18:15, Lecture room: Lavatoio
03.07.2025, 17:00 - 18:15, Lecture room: Tempio 1
03.07.2025, 17:00 - 18:15, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
04.07.2025, 08:00 - 09:15, Lecture room: Castello 2
04.07.2025, 08:00 - 09:15, Lecture room: Castello 1
04.07.2025, 09:30 - 10:45, Lecture room: Tempio 2
04.07.2025, 09:30 - 10:45, Lecture room: Parco
04.07.2025, 13:00 - 14:15, Lecture room: Tempio 2
03.07.2025, 13:45 - 15:00, Lecture room: Marina
02.07.2025, 13:15 - 14:30, Lecture room: Lavatoio
03.07.2025, 17:00 - 18:15, Lecture room: Castello 1
04.07.2025, 09:30 - 10:45, Lecture room: Castello 1
04.07.2025, 13:00 - 14:15, Lecture room: Arco
04.07.2025, 08:00 - 09:15, Lecture room: Orologio
04.07.2025, 09:30 - 10:45, Lecture room: Lavatoio
02.07.2025, 14:45 - 16:00, Lecture room: Tempio 1
03.07.2025, 08:30 - 09:45, Lecture room: Tempio 2
03.07.2025, 10:00 - 11:15, Lecture room: Tempio 2
03.07.2025, 13:45 - 15:00, Lecture room: Tempio 2
03.07.2025, 15:15 - 16:30, Lecture room: Tempio 2
03.07.2025, 08:30 - 09:45, Lecture room: Porto
02.07.2025, 08:00 - 09:15, Lecture room: Castello 1
02.07.2025, 14:45 - 16:00, Lecture room: Marina
03.07.2025, 08:30 - 09:45, Lecture room: Parco
03.07.2025, 10:00 - 11:15, Lecture room: Parco
01.07.2025, 12:00 - 13:15, Lecture room: Borgo
02.07.2025, 08:00 - 09:15, Lecture room: Parco
02.07.2025, 11:00 - 12:15, Lecture room: Lavatoio
01.07.2025, 12:00 - 13:15, Lecture room: Lavatoio
01.07.2025, 12:00 - 13:15, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
02.07.2025, 13:15 - 14:30, Lecture room: Porto
02.07.2025, 13:15 - 14:30, Lecture room: Borgo
02.07.2025, 14:45 - 16:00, Lecture room: Ponte
02.07.2025, 08:00 - 09:15, Lecture room: Ponte
02.07.2025, 14:45 - 16:00, Lecture room: Lavatoio
02.07.2025, 16:30 - 17:30, Lecture room: Arco
03.07.2025, 18:30 - 19:30, Lecture room: Castello 2
04.07.2025, 11:00 - 12:00, Lecture room: Tempio 2
03.07.2025, 18:30 - 19:30, Lecture room: E-posters
03.07.2025, 18:30 - 19:30, Lecture room: Arengo
02.07.2025, 16:30 - 17:30, Lecture room: Arengo
04.07.2025, 11:00 - 12:00, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
02.07.2025, 16:30 - 17:30, Lecture room: Castello 2
02.07.2025, 16:30 - 17:30, Lecture room: Lavatoio
03.07.2025, 18:30 - 19:30, Lecture room: Arengo
03.07.2025, 18:30 - 19:30, Lecture room: Lavatoio
04.07.2025, 11:00 - 12:00, Lecture room: Tempio 2
04.07.2025, 11:00 - 12:00, Lecture room: Porto
04.07.2025, 11:00 - 12:00, Lecture room: Castello 2
02.07.2025, 16:30 - 17:30, Lecture room: E-posters
02.07.2025, 16:30 - 17:30, Lecture room: Castello 1
03.07.2025, 18:30 - 19:30, Lecture room: Porto
03.07.2025, 18:30 - 19:30, Lecture room: Orologio
02.07.2025, 16:30 - 17:30, Lecture room: Ponte
03.07.2025, 18:30 - 19:30, Lecture room: Castello 1
03.07.2025, 18:30 - 19:30, Lecture room: Borgo
04.07.2025, 11:00 - 12:00, Lecture room: Lavatoio
04.07.2025, 11:00 - 12:00, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
04.07.2025, 11:00 - 12:00, Lecture room: Tempio 1
04.07.2025, 11:00 - 12:00, Lecture room: E-posters
01.07.2025, 12:00 - 13:15, Lecture room: Castello 1
Technological advances and new methods of big data processing have been revolutionizing training and competition-related measures in competitive football since the turn of the Millennium. Nowadays, the head coach is supported by competence teams consisting of performance diagnosticians, data analysts, sports physicians, nutritionists, and psychologists. This new constellation presents chances but also includes the risk of a non-functional information overload. Consequently, a major challenge for applied sport scientific research currently lies in optimizing information management by evaluating measurement accuracy and relevance of measurements as well as by prioritizing and filtering the information provided to the team. The CSSS-ECSS Exchange Symposium addresses the historical change in the support situation in youth football and takes a critical methodological look at selected methods of data collection (e.g. wearable technologies) and processing (e.g. AI).
02.07.2025, 08:00 - 09:15, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
Decades of research have identified that exercise/physical activity supports brain function. In particular, it is well established that acute exercise has the potential to benefit several domains of cognitive function. However, a number of questions remain unanswered. For example, are the beneficial effects of exercise on cognition dependent on time? Can passive exercise (i.e., without voluntary motor control) also benefit cognition? What mechanisms underly acute exercise-related improvements to cognition? To answer these questions, we present a multi-faceted exchange symposium. Our first speaker will discuss the time-dependent effects of physical activity on executive function and mood; with naturalistic studies in children and university students, as well as shift workers. Our second speaker will discuss how passive exercise affects cognition and proposes the potential for passive exercise to support brain health and cognition in various contexts. Finally, our third speaker will explain mechanistic insights into the association between acute exercise and cognitive performance with a special focus on endogenous dopamine release in response to acute exercise. This exchange symposium extends our knowledge of the interactions between exercise and cognition and helps us to understand the importance and far-reaching implications of exercise to promote cognitive health.
02.07.2025, 11:00 - 12:15, Lecture room: Anfiteatro
Lactate (La-) metabolism has long been a controversial topic in research, clinical, and athletic settings. Since its discovery in 1780, La- has often been erroneously viewed as simply a hypoxic waste product with multiple deleterious effects. Not until the 1980s, with the introduction of the cell-to-cell lactate shuttle did a paradigm shift in our understanding of the role of La- in metabolism begin. The evidence for La- as a major player in the coordination of whole-body metabolism has since grown rapidly. La- is a readily combusted fuel that is shuttled throughout the body. Through rapid multisystem exchange involving membrane monocarboxylate transporters, lactate concentration ([La-]) in the blood offers a partial "snapshot" of relative rates of glycolytic La- production and its mitochondrial consumption. Thus, while strenuous physical activity elicits a transient La- accumulation, adaptations to exercise training often include attenuated [La-]s for a given submaximal work rate, as well as lower [La-]s at rest. Despite these new perspectives, many fundamental discoveries about La- are still working their way into mainstream research, clinical care, and practice. Beyond the basic mechanisms, various indices of La- metabolism are central to our understanding of performance, assessment, and training in athletes. Primary among these are the La- and gas exchange thresholds, maximal La- steady state and its relationship to critical power/speed and the use of peak and recovery La- dynamics to evaluate ‘anaerobic capacity’. These exchange lectures will synthesize current understanding of La- metabolism from basic physiology/biochemistry to applied sports considerations.