2.1. Methods
cancer, hypertension
ACUTE INFECTION, NEUROLOGICAL DISEASE, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS, CANCER, PERIPHERAL VASCULAR DISEASE, ATHEROSCLEROSIS, HYPERTENSION
This randomized controlled study included 33 elite canoe athletes who received written and verbal information regarding the trial. The Eastern Mediterranean University Scientific Research and Health Ethics Committee approved the study on December 31, 2021 (ETK00-2022-0023) and the study was registered with clinicaltrial.gov (Identifier: NCT05225129). The study followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. The power and sample size of the study were evaluated using the G *Power 3.1.9.7 software.Forty-two elite canoe athletes volunteered to participate in the study. The athletes were randomly divided into 2 groups: an intervention group and a control group. The intervention and control groups were composed of 40 male canoe athletes, randomly assigned using the Random Allocation Software, version 1.0. The study recruited national team athletes between 18 and 25 years of age, who were licensed canoe athletes for at least 3 years, had no history of orthopedic injury in the last 6 months, and had been performing resistance exercises for at least 5 years. Individuals with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, neurological disease, atherosclerosis, deep vein thrombosis, peripheral vascular disease, acute infection, or a history of cancer were excluded. After excluding 5 participants who could not attend regularly, one due to a sports injury, and one due to contact with COVID-19 patients, the study was completed with 33 participants. Of the 33 athletes, 17 were assigned to the intervention group (INT-gr), and the remaining 16 to the control group (CONT-gr). The athletes in both groups were assessed before and after the 8-week training program, which was conducted at the Turkish Olympic Preparation Centre in Adana Canoe-Rowing Facilities. The flow diagram of the study is shown in Figure The flow diagram of the study.