{
  "abstract": "Core training is widely used to support youth athletic development, yet its effects in trained adolescent athletes remain uncertain. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated whether core-focused interventions improve physical fitness in athletes aged 10–19 years classified as McKay Tier 2 or above. PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Scopus were searched for controlled trials, including randomized and non-randomized designs. Random-effects models were used to pool standardized mean differences with Hedges’ g. Thirty-one studies involving 818 athletes were included. Compared with control conditions, core training was associated with significant improvements in countermovement jump, standing long jump, ≥ 20-m sprint, change of direction, dynamic balance, static balance, core stability, dynamic core endurance, and isometric core endurance. The evidence for ≤ 10-m sprint performance was inconclusive. The certainty of evidence ranged from moderate to very low. Overall, benefits appeared more consistent for balance and core-related outcomes than for jumping, sprinting, and change-of-direction performance. These findings suggest that core-focused exercises may serve as a supplementary component of regular training, particularly for improving postural control, core stability, and core endurance, while indicating that transfer to jumping, sprinting, and change-of-direction performance may be more limited. PROSPERO registration: CRD420261379288.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Fengming Zhang",
      "orcid": "0009-0008-6167-3096"
    },
    {
      "name": "Chengzhi Ji"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hanpeng Wang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Cheng Li"
    },
    {
      "name": "Oleksandr Yeremenko"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zengjing Liu"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8cxbq9jzwpcgg.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41598-026-72536-5",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "8cxbq9jzwpcgg",
  "issns": [
    "2045-2322"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-72536-5",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2732|Sports Performance and Training"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222017946",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-72536-5_reference.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-15",
  "publisher": "Springer Science and Business Media LLC",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8cxbq9jzwpcgg.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:28Z",
      "native_id": "10.1038/s41598-026-72536-5",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-72536-5"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2732|Sports Performance and Training",
      "subfield": "surgery"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Effects of core training on physical fitness in trained adolescent athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis",
  "title_text": "Effects of core training on physical fitness in trained adolescent athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:28Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8cxbq9jzwpcgg",
  "venue": "Scientific Reports",
  "versions": []
}