Changes in Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Power, Strength, and Flexibility After Participation in a Short 8-9 Week Intervention Based Program

While previous literature has shown improvements for aerobic capacity, and or strength/muscular endurance after performing structured exercise prescriptions, limited research has assessed a blended training program (both cardio and resistance training in the same workout/program) and how this form of training can affect aerobic and strength measurements. Furthermore, a paucity of literature is available for such training interventions with employee and community wellness populations. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to see if cardiorespiratory fitness, power (force/time), strength (force/mass), body composition and flexibility can be positively affected after participation in an 8-week intervention based program. Ten recreationally active adults (mean ± SD: age = 40.70 ± 8.45 years, stature = 167.10 ± 8.47 cm, mass = 72.24 ± 17.20 kg) participated in a structured exercise program which comprised of both cardiovascular (C) and resistance (R) training. Workouts were three times a week for 8 weeks, and lasted ~50 total minutes. Participants were assessed before the program began (week 1), and immediately after the program ended (week 10). All participants had their body weight, body composition (3-site skinfold), strength (YMCA bench press), aerobic capacity (Cooper 12-min walk/run test), flexibility (sit-n-reach box) and jumping performance (average power, average velocity, peak power, peak velocity, vertical jump height) assessed. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA (variable x time) was used to analyze each individual variable. The present findings revealed no significant changes for any variables (P = 0.68-0.962) after performing an 8-9 week HIIT training program.Health and Human Performanc

Physical demands of 5 distinct mesocycles within a NCAA Division I women's college soccer season

Soccer is characterized as a high-intensity sport that combines intermittent bouts of anaerobic and aerobic activities such as jogging, shuffling, short sprints, rapid multi-directional acceleration and decelerations, turning, jumping, kicking, and tackling. Within the context of sports performance, an overarching goal of many teams is to develop and maintain optimal physical fitness throughout the course of the competitive season. In order to achieve this, one must fully understand the general and specific demands of their population’s sport. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate differences in internal and external training loads between 5 phases of a NCAA Division I women’s soccer season. n total, 797 total data points from 80 games were analyzed from the current sample. A two-way Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was performed to analyze the effect of Position and Season Phase on internal and external loads. The MANOVA revealed no statistically significant interactions between the effects of Position and Season Phase on internal and external loads F(168, 5739) = 1.142, p = .103; Wilks' Λ = .781. Simple main effects analyses showed that Position (Defender, Midfielder, Forward) did have a statistically significant effect on internal and external loads F(42, 1524) = 7.694, p = .000; Wilks' Λ = .681. Additionally, large effect sizes were observed for this analysis (ηp2 = 0.175). Simple main effects analysis showed that Season Phase (Exhibition, Non-Conference, Conference, B12, NCAA) did have a statistically significant effect on internal and external loads F(84, 3012) = 3.785, p = .000; Wilks' Λ = .673. Additionally, a moderate effect size was observed for this analyses (ηp2 = 0.094). This study provides insight into the position- and season phase-specific physical demands of NCAA Division I women’s soccer. The findings of this research successfully reconfirmed well-reported positional differences in physical demands. However, the current study has also successfully provided a novel contribution to the field by identifying the statistically significant differences in physical demands between specific phases of the NCAA Division I women’s college soccer season. These findings may serve as a tool for assessing and enhancing current approaches to preparing female athletes for their respectful competitive seasons

The Physiological and Perceived Impact of Wearing a Face Mask During Maximal Exercise

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the expectation of facemasks in fitness facilities during exercise. However, the physiological and perceptual responses of wearing a facemask during exercise has not been fully investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of facemasks on selected physiological and subjective variables during exercise.  Using a crossover design, males (n =8) and females (n=7) and were randomly assigned to (1) a surgical facemask, (2) a cloth face mask, and (3) no mask and completed Bruce Protocol maximal graded treadmill tests 48 hrs apart. Collected data included heart rate (HR), oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2), rating of perceived dyspnea (DYS), perceived rate of exertion (RPE) and time to exhaustion (TTE). No significant (p>0.05) differences were found for HR or SpO2 at any of the treadmill stages. DYS was higher with both masks compared to no mask, but only significant (p < 0.05) between the cloth and no mask conditions in stages 2 and 3. RPE was greater in both mask conditions compared to no masks, but only significantly greater between the cloth mask and no mask conditions in stage 3. No significant differences were found for TTE among the conditions. Wearing face masks during exercise and has little effect on HR, SpO2, or TTE. However, facemasks may negatively influence DYS and RPE contributing to feelings of exhaustion. Participants should be made aware that the discomfort of wearing a mask during exercise will not hamper performance

Associations between Relative Power on Different Measures of Change of Direction Speed

Change of direction speed (CODS) is an important characteristic for successful athletic performance in most sports. However, it stands to reason that different CODS tests may have different athletic attributes that influence success on these assessments. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between relative power and two different measures of CODS. METHODS: Data from 39 NCAA division I (age: 20.1 ± 1.2yrs; height: 164.9 ± 6.5cm; body mass: 63.8 ± 7.8kg) and 18 NCAA division II (age: 19.3 ± 1.2yrs; height: 165.7 ± 5.7cm; body mass: 63.3 ± 6.3kg) women’s soccer teams was collected and analyzed for this study. The 505-agility test (505) and modified T-test (Mod T) were performed on a turf/grass soccer field following a standardized dynamic warm-up. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics (Version 24.0; IBM Corporation, New York, NY). Person’s correlation coefficient was used to relate relative power to the 505 and Mod T. Linear regression analysis was completed to determine the influence of relative power on the different measures of CODS. RESULTS: A significant large correlation was found between relative power and 505 (r = -0.714, p = 0.0001), but not Mod T (r = 0.259, p = 0.059). Furthermore, regression analysis revealed 51% of the variance in 505 was explained by relative power (p = 0.0001). In comparison, only 7% of the variance in Mod T was explained by relative power (p = 0.059). CONCLUSION: The results of this study reveal a stronger relationship between relative power to 505 performance, but not Mod T. This may be explained by the nature of the tests themselves. Based on the need for greater hip and knee flexion when performing the 505 test in contrast to the Mod. T, it appears that greater lower-body power may significantly impact performance on this measure. This suggests that measures of COD that require less hip and knee flexion may be more reliant on foot speed and quickness. When assessing CODS, strength and conditioning professionals should consider multiple measures of CODS to determine the ability of an athlete to change direction when performing sport-specific tasks

Comparison of Physiological Responses and Perceived Respiratory Resistance Among Mask Usage During Exercise

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of a face mask in public is recommended when social distancing cannot be maintained to decrease the spread of the virus with many fitness facilities requiring their patrons to wear a face mask during exercise. The physiological response of wearing a face mask during exercise is relatively unknown and is speculated among the media resulting in contradicting messages conveyed to the public PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine if a face mask influenced performance (time to exhaustion), physiological responses (heart rate, oxyhemoglobin saturation and temperature) and subjective measurements such as dyspnea, perceived respiratory resistance, and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) during exercise. METHODS: Fifteen healthy males (n =8) and females (n=7) completed three graded exercise treadmill tests with (1) a surgical face mask, (2) a cloth face mask, and (3) no mask randomly with at least 48hrs apart. Heart rate (HR), oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2), temperature, RPE, dyspnea, was measured throughout exercise. Participants rated their perceived respiratory resistance for each condition at rest, beginning of exercise, and at fatigue using a 100 mm visual analog scale. RESULTS: Significant differences (p \u3c 0.05) were observed in perceived respiratory resistance between no mask and both surgical and cloth conditions at rest (1.55 ± 2.34mm; 6.33 ± 6.11mm; 9.67 ± 10.77mm respectively) and at the beginning of exercise (5.93 ± 6.64mm; 15.47 ± 12.56mm; 21.07± 15.04mm respectively). During stage 3 of the exercise test, the no mask condition had a significantly lower RPE compared to the cloth mask condition (13.22 ± 2.14;14.60 ± 2.13 respectively). Time to exhaustion was similar for all conditions (mask: 11:51 ± 2:31min; cloth: 11:16 ± 2:24min; surgical: 11:32 ± 2:23min). At all times points, there was no significant (p \u3e 0.05) difference between the conditions for HR, SpO2, temperature, and dyspnea. CONCLUSION: Wearing either a surgical or cloth face mask is safe during exercise in healthy adults and has no effect on HR, SpO2, or body temperature. It appears that wearing a face mask may have a minor influence on subjective measurements such as perceived respiratory resistance or RPE during exercise

Heart Rate Responses during Simulated Fire Ground Scenarios among Full-Time Firefighters

International Journal of Exercise Science 13(2): 374-382, 2020. Simulated fire ground scenarios (SFGS) provide firefighters with an opportunity to maintain skills, receive feedback, and optimize performance. Although there is extensive research on heart rate (HR) changes in the firefighter population, few examine the differences between positions. Firefighters are primarily responsible for fire suppression and control (23), officers for emergency operations and organizational management, paramedics for providing on-scene emergency medical care, and drivers are responsible for driving the fire apparatus. Utilizing HR analysis to quantify the physical demands of SFGS among firefighting crews by position. Sixty-seven male (age: 38.97 ± 9.17; ht: 177.99 ± 6.45 cm. wt: 88.83 ± 13.55 kg) firefighters (FF) participated in this investigation. FF crews performed two SFGS involving the suppression and control of a structural fire. Participants were outfitted with heart rate (HR) monitors and average heart rate (HRavg) and maximum heart rate (HRmax) data were collected for each of the two SFGS. Significant differences were observed for Age (P = 0.01), APMHR (P = 0.01), HRmax1(P = 0.04), and HRmax2(P = 0.04) in which firefighters had higher values for Age-predicted maximal heart rate (APMHR), HRmax1, HRmax2compared to the officers. SFGS can be very physically demanding events that may elicit maximal or near maximal HR responses regardless of position. Based on the metabolic demands of these events and the individual firefighter’s capabilities, this information can be used to develop resistance training and conditioning programs that optimize performance at maximal or near maximal heart rates

Concurrent and prospective associations between negative social-evaluative beliefs, safety behaviours, and symptoms during and following cognitive behavioural group therapy for social anxiety disorder

Background: Improving the delivery of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD) requires an in-depth understanding of which cognitive and behavioural mechanisms drive change in social anxiety symptoms (i.e., social interaction anxiety) during and after treatment. The current study explores the dynamic temporal associations between theory-driven cognitive and behavioural mechanisms of symptom change both during and following group CBT. Methods: A randomized controlled trial of imagery-enhanced CBT (n = 51) versus traditional verbal CBT (n = 54) for social anxiety was completed in a community mental health clinic setting. This study included data collected from 12-weekly sessions and a 1-month follow-up session. Mixed models were used to assess magnitude of change over the course of treatment. Cross-lagged panel models were fit to the data to examine temporal relationships between mechanisms (social evaluative beliefs, safety behaviours) and social interaction anxiety symptoms. Results: Participants in both CBT groups experienced significant improvements across all cognitive, behavioural, and symptom measures, with no significant differences in the magnitude of changes between treatments. During treatment, greater social-evaluative beliefs (fear of negative evaluation, negative self-portrayals) at one time point (T) were predictive of more severe SAD symptoms and safety behaviours at T+1. Social-evaluative beliefs (fear of negative evaluation, probability and cost of social failure) and safety behaviours measured at post-treatment were positively associated with SAD symptoms at the 1-month follow-up. Conclusions: The current study identifies social-evaluative beliefs that may be important targets for symptom and avoidance reduction during and following CBT. Assessment of these social-evaluative beliefs throughout treatment may be useful for predicting future SAD symptoms and avoidance, and for adapting treatment to promote optimal change for patients

Accuracy of body mass index based on self-report data among law enforcement cadets

BACKGROUND - Height and body mass are often self-reported by study participants. However, the accuracy of this data compared to measured values is limited in tactical trainee populations. This study's purpose was to compare the accuracy of self-reported height and body mass to measured values within a US law enforcement cadet population, and determine how these estimations affected BMI classifications. METHODS - Self-reported and measured body height and body mass for twenty-six (n = 26) male and female cadets (males - age: 31.32 ± 10.04 years; measured height: 178.07 ± 9.87 cm; measured body mass: 92.44 ± 19.37 kg; females - age: 25.67 ± 1.53 years; measured body height: 168.17 ± 4.01cm; measured body mass: 78.94 ± 11.30 kg) were analyzed. RESULTS - Significant differences between estimated and measured height (p < 0.001), body mass (p < 0.05), but not BMI (p = 0.281) were revealed. CONCLUSION - Self-reported body height and body mass were not accurately reported when compared to measured values. However, reported resulted in accurate BMI classifications