Detection of exercise adaptations by different specimens analysis

Abstract

This literature review is a compilation of the most used methods to monitoring athletes in training and competition. Blood is certainly the best known and proven methodology and a wide range of markers can be analyzed through it, but it can be difficult to obtain, especially among athletes or people who are afraid of needles. The use of saliva is an interesting alternative especially for the easy and less invasive method of collecting. The saliva infact contains a few of compounds diffused in the plasma, like water, electrolytes, proteins, metabolites and hormones. However, new methods yet poorly understood are slowly catching on; sweat for example, may carry far more information, may provide useful biomarkers that can give indications about the physical state of the body (electrolytes, lactate, creatinine, glucose, proteins, amino acids) and may be easier to stimulate, gather, and analyze than previously thought.