Physiological demands of indoor wall climbing in children

The study aimed to assess the physiological demands of indoor wall climbing in children. Twenty five children (aged 8–12 years) from a climbing school, with a performance RP (red point) of IV to V+ UIAA (Union Internationale des Associations d’Alpinisme) scale, (5.4 to 5.7 YDS, Yosemite Decimal System and 4a to 5a Sport/French scale), participated in the study. All 25 children climbed the first vertical route (IV UIAA, 5.4 YDS, 4a Sport/French) and ten went on to complete the 110° overhanging route (IV+ UIAA, 5.5 YDS, 4b Sport/French). Both routes were climbed in a top rope style, at a self-selected pace. A portable gas analyser was used to assess the physiological response to the climbs. In addition, the time spent climbing by the children was recorded during the subsequent eight-week period. There were no significant differences found in the peak oxygen consumption between boys and girls, or for the route inclinations, with mean values of around 40 ml·kg-1·min-1. The children also achieved similarly high mean % values of HRmax, of between approximately 81 – 90%. To conclude, a typical children’s climbing session involves short intermittent high intensity climbing, interspersed with longer periods of rest. It is possible that climbing in short intermittent bursts, as seen in the present research, may be considered high-intensity-training (HIT), with sufficient intensity to influence aerobic fitness in children

Profili i usporedbe sastava tijela vrhunskih odbojkašica

The authors present the profile and comparison of body composition of the female national volleyball team of the Slovak Republic (senior team – SNT, U19 and U17). The body composition was identified with the use of the multi-frequency bioimpedance method (BIA 2000M). The monitored parameters included the amount of lean body mass (LBM), intra- (BCM) and extracellular mass (ECM) and BCM proportion in LBM (CQ), fat mass (FM), the phase angle indicating cell quality (α), total body water (TBW) and its distribution into intra- (ICW) and extracellular liquid (ECW). The authors recorded the values of female volleyball players indicating their good training load and corresponding to the values characterizing highperformance sport even in the category U17, when this team significantly differed from the senior team (SNT) only in FM (p<.05). On the contrary, teams U19 and SNT were significantly different in FM, TBW, α, BCM, ECM/BCM, ICW, ECW and CQ (p<.05). We assume that body composition indicators of the team may relate not only to the state of training load (players’ physical preparedness) but also to the success of the team at important events.U ovom radu autori su predstavili profile i usporedbe tjelesnog sastava ženskih slovačkih nacionalnih odbojkaških ekipa (seniorke-SNT, U19 i U17). Sastav je tijela određen pomoću više-frekvencijske metode bioimpedancije (BIA 2000M). Mjereni su parametri uključili količinu nemasne mase tijela (LBM), unutar- (BCM) i izvanstaničnu masu (ECM) te proporciju BCM u LBM (CQ), masu potkožnog masnog tkiva (FM), kutnu fazu koja je upućivala na kvalitetu stanice (α), ukupnu vodu u tijelu (TBW) i njezinu distribuciju u unutar- (ICW) i izvanstaničnoj tekućini (ECW). Zabilježene vrijednosti kod odbojkašica su upućivale na dobro trenažno opterećenje i korespondirale su s vrijednostima koje karakteriziraju vrhunske sportašice čak i u kategoriji U17, budući da su se odbojkašice U17 statistički značajno razlikovale od seniorki samo u masi potkožnog masnog tkiva (p<.05). Naprotiv, statistički značajne razlike između odbojkašica U19 i seniorki utvrđene su u FM, TBW, α, BCM, ECM/BCM, ICW, ECW i CQ (p<.05). Pretpostavka je autora da pokazatelji sastava tijela pojedine ekipe nisu povezani samo s trenažnim opterećenjem kojem su podvrgnute, odnosno razini kondicijske pripremljenosti igračica, već također i s uspješnošću ekipe na važnim natjecanjima

Pilot investigation of the oxygen demands and metabolic cost of incremental shuttle walking and treadmill walking in patients with cardiovascular disease

Objective: To determine if the metabolic cost of the incremental shuttle-walking test protocol is the same as treadmill walking or predicted values of walking-speed equations. Setting: Primary care (community-based cardiac rehabilitation). Participants: Eight Caucasian cardiac rehabilitation patients (7 males) with a mean age of 67±5.2 years. Primary and secondary outcome measures: Oxygen consumption, metabolic power and energy cost of walking during treadmill and shuttle walking performed in a balanced order with 1 week between trials. Results: Average overall energy cost per metre was higher during treadmill walking (3.22±0.55 J kg/m) than during shuttle walking (3.00±0.41 J kg/m). There were significant post hoc effects at 0.67 m/s (p<0.004) and 0.84 m/s (p<0.001), where the energy cost of treadmill walking was significantly higher than that of shuttle walking. This pattern was reversed at walking speeds 1.52 m/s (p<0.042) and 1.69 m/s (p<0.007) where shuttle walking had a greater energy cost per metre than treadmill walking. At all walking speeds, the energy cost of shuttle walking was higher than that predicted using the American College of Sports Medicine walking equations. Conclusions: The energetic demands of shuttle walking were fundamentally different from those of treadmill walking and should not be directly compared. We warn against estimating the metabolic cost of the incremental shuttle-walking test using the current walking-speed equations

Difference in end-tidal CO(2 )between asphyxia cardiac arrest and ventricular fibrillation/pulseless ventricular tachycardia cardiac arrest in the prehospital setting

INTRODUCTION: There has been increased interest in the use of capnometry in recent years. During cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the partial pressure of end-tidal carbon dioxide (PetCO(2)) correlates with cardiac output and, consequently, it has a prognostic value in CPR. This study was undertaken to compare the initial PetCO(2 )and the PetCO(2 )after 1 min during CPR in asphyxial cardiac arrest versus primary cardiac arrest. METHODS: The prospective observational study included two groups of patients: cardiac arrest due to asphyxia with initial rhythm asystole or pulseless electrical activity, and cardiac arrest due to acute myocardial infarction or malignant arrhythmias with initial rhythm ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT). The PetCO(2 )was measured for both groups immediately after intubation and then repeatedly every minute, both for patients with and without return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). RESULTS: We analyzed 44 patients with asphyxial cardiac arrest and 141 patients with primary cardiac arrest. The first group showed no significant difference in the initial value of the PetCO(2), even when we compared those with and without ROSC. There was a significant difference in the PetCO(2 )after 1 min of CPR between those patients with ROSC and those without ROSC. The mean value for all patients was significantly higher in the group with asphyxial arrest. In the group with VF/VT arrest there was a significant difference in the initial PetCO(2 )between patients without and with ROSC. In all patients with ROSC the initial PetCO(2 )was higher than 10 mmHg. CONCLUSIONS: The initial PetCO(2 )is significantly higher in asphyxial arrest than in VT/VF cardiac arrest. Regarding asphyxial arrest there is also no difference in values of initial PetCO(2 )between patients with and without ROSC. On the contrary, there is a significant difference in values of the initial PetCO(2 )in the VF/VT cardiac arrest between patients with and without ROSC. This difference could prove to be useful as one of the methods in prehospital diagnostic procedures and attendance of cardiac arrest. For this reason we should always include other clinical and laboratory tests