Stretching After an In-Water Warm-Up Does Not Acutely Improve Sprint Freestyle Swim Performance in DIII Collegiate Swimmers

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 2: Issue 1, Article 11, 2021. Stretching, as part of a warm-up prior to competition, has been used as a method to enhance performance in swimming and other sports, but its efficacy as a potential ergogenic aid remains understudied. This study’s purpose was to determine if acute static stretching or a dynamic warm-up, following an in-water swim-specific warm-up, improved sprint freestyle swim performance in collegiate swimmers. NCAA Division III swimmers (n=15, 67% female) participated in three testing protocols. In each protocol, participants did an in-water warm up and either a dynamic warmup (DW), static stretching warmup (SS), or no stretching (CON) routine followed by three, 100-yard freestyle sprints, each performed four minutes apart. Swim times were recorded for the first and second 50-yard splits and for the full 100 yards in each trial. Repeated-measures analysis of variance and effect sizes were used to assess differences across protocols. Average performance was significantly faster for CON compared to DW for the first 50-yard split (mean difference ~0.47 seconds, p=0.044) and total 100-yard time (mean difference ~0.77 seconds, p=0.017), with medium effect sizes for both. No differences were observed between SS and the other protocols. Adding acute stretching or dynamic warm-up, following an in-water warm-up, either did not improve or was associated with poorer 100-yard freestyle swim performance than solely performing an in-water warm-up. Swimmers should carefully evaluate their warm-up routines and consider a focus on in-water warm-ups for maximizing sprint swim performance

Living a Long Life is a Multi-Step Process

There is a strong link between physical activity and health. Historically, large-scale epidemiological studies have used self-report surveys to capture physical activity measures (eg, type and intensity). In the past 20–30 years, large cohort studies have increasingly adopted devices, such as pedometers, accelerometers, and consumer-marketed activity trackers, to measure physical activity. Device-based physical activity measures alleviate some limitations of self-reporting by increasing measurement objectivity and accuracy. Additionally, device-based measures often show stronger associations with health outcomes than do self-reported measures, showcasing their value in understanding how physical activity affects health. Unlike self-report, device-based measures can capture steps, which are easily understandable and can be effective for goal setting and motivation to increase physical activity levels. Moreover, steps can be used to assess both physical activity volume (eg, steps per day) and intensity (eg, steps per min)

A Pilot, Virtual Exercise Intervention Improves Health and Fitness during the COVID-19 Pandemic

International Journal of Exercise Science 15(7): 1395-1417, 2022. Physical activity levels are low in individuals with chronic disease (e.g., obesity) and have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Purpose: Our pilot study tested a virtual exercise intervention for rural-dwelling adults with chronic disease from January-April 2021 for changes in mental health, physical fitness, and physical activity and for intervention fidelity. Methods: Participants (n = 8 [7 female]; age = 57.5 ± 13.8 years, body mass index = 38.2 ± 8.0 kg/m2) completed an exercise intervention led virtually by collegiate health science majors. Participants attended two 60-minute sessions/week for 12 weeks, completing individually-tailored and progressed aerobic and muscle-strengthening training. A non-randomized control group matched on gender and age continued normal activity during the 12 weeks. Changes in mental health, physical fitness, and physical activity measures were evaluated using a 2x2 (group x time) analysis of covariance. Results: Both groups improved mental health, but only intervention participants lost weight (3.1 ± 1.0 kg; no change in controls). Step test, arm curls, and chair stands improved by 16.1-20.6% in the intervention and 7.8-12.1% in the control groups. Intervention participants did not increase overall physical activity during or after the intervention. Intervention fidelity was high; participants attended ~73% of sessions and rated the sessions 4.7 ± 0.6 (out of 5). Researcher observations rated exercise sessions as meeting 12.7 ± 0.6 of 16 goals. Conclusions: Our virtual exercise program was associated with positive mental health and physical fitness changes. Such programs may provide a method, even beyond the pandemic, to improve fitness in adults with chronic disease

The Effect of Compression Socks on Maximal Exercise Performance and Recovery in Insufficiently Active Adults

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(7): 1036-1051, 2021. In athletic populations, compression socks (CS) may improve exercise performance recovery. However, their potential to improve performance and/or recovery following exercise in non-athletic populations is unknown. Our study evaluated the effects of CS on exercise performance and recovery from a graded maximal treadmill test. Insufficiently active adults (n = 10, 60% female, average physical activity ~60 minutes/week) performed two graded maximal exercise tests; one while wearing below-knee CS, and the other trial with regular socks (CON). Order of trials was randomized. For both trials, heart rate, lactate, and rating of perceived exertion were measured at each stage and at one, five, and ten- minutes post-exercise. Additionally, recovery variables (soreness, tightness, annoyingness, tenderness, pulling) were measured at 24 and 48 hours post-exercise using a visual analog scale. Paired-samples t-tests were used to compare exercise and recovery variables between CS and CON trials. Heart rate, lactate, and rating of perceived exertion were not different between trials for any stage during the exercise test or immediate recovery. Most 24- and 48-hour recovery variables were significantly improved after the CS trial, with values 34.6 - 42.3% lower at 24 hours and 40.3 - 61.4% lower at 48 hours compared to CON. Compression socks provided a significant and meaningful improvement in recovery variables 24-48 hours following maximal exercise. Therefore, CS may remove a common barrier to exercise adherence and facilitate more effective training recovery for insufficiently active adults

Walking for Health During Pregnancy: A Literature Review and Considerations for Future Research

Walking is the most commonly chosen type of physical activity (PA) during pregnancy and provides several health benefits to both mother and child. National initiatives have promoted the importance of walking in general, but little emphasis is directed toward pregnant women, the majority of whom are insufficiently active. Pregnant women face a variety of dynamic barriers to a physically active lifestyle, some of which are more commonly experienced during specific times throughout the pregnancy experience. Walking is unique in that it appears resistant to a number of these barriers that limit other types of PA participation, and it can be meaningfully integrated into some transportation and occupational activities when leisure-time options are unavailable. Preliminary intervention work suggests that walking programs can be effectively adopted into a typical pregnancy lifestyle. However, a great deal of work remains to administer successful pregnancy walking interventions, including developing and using validated methods of PA and walking assessment. This narrative review discusses the unique advantages of walking during pregnancy, provides recommendations for future intervention work, and outlines the need for pregnancy-focused community walking initiatives.Standard search procedures were followed to determine sources from the literature specific to walking during pregnancy for use in each section of this review

A Consensus Method for Estimating Physical Activity Levels in Adults Using Accelerometry

Identifying the best analytical approach for capturing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) using accelerometry is complex but inconsistent approaches employed in research and surveillance limits comparability. We illustrate the use of a consensus method that pools estimates from multiple approaches for characterising MVPA using accelerometry. Participants (n = 30) wore an accelerometer on their right hip during two laboratory visits. Ten individual classification methods estimated minutes of MVPA, including cut-point, two-regression, and machine learning approaches, using open-source count and raw inputs and several epoch lengths. Results were averaged to derive the consensus estimate. Mean MVPA ranged from 33.9–50.4 min across individual methods, but only one (38.9 min) was statistically equivalent to the criterion of direct observation (38.2 min). The consensus estimate (39.2 min) was equivalent to the criterion (even after removal of the one individual method that was equivalent to the criterion), had a smaller mean absolute error (4.2 min) compared to individual methods (4.9–12.3 min), and enabled the estimation of participant-level variance (mean standard deviation: 7.7 min). The consensus method allows for addition/removal of methods depending on data availability or field progression and may improve accuracy and comparability of device-based MVPA estimates while limiting variability due to convergence between estimate

The Benefits of Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference in the Assessment of Health Risk

Obesity is an epidemic in the United States. Most health and fitness (H&F) professionals are familiar with reports showing that 69% of American adults are overweight, and an estimated 36.5%are obese, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 kg/m2 or higher and 30 kg/m2 or higher, respectively. Thus, 78.6 million American adults are considered to have excess weight that is detrimental to their health (16,17,19). In 2014, there was not a single state with a prevalence of obesity of less than 20%, and 19 states were reported to have an obesity prevalence of more than 30%. This is a remarkable change since 1990, when the prevalence of obesity was only 12%, and no state had an obesity prevalence of more than 15% (6). Obesity raises the risk of early mortality and other chronic diseases and is associated with increased health care costs, placing a large financial burden on the United States

Inter- and Intra-Monitor Validity of the Atlas Activity Monitor During Resistance Training Exercises

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the inter- and intra-monitor validity of the Atlas activity monitor for detecting various types of upper and lower body resistance training (RT) exercises and repetition counting. METHODS: Forty-two male and female participants completed two circuits of 14 different upper- and lower-body RT exercises while wearing two wrist-worn, accelerometer-based activity monitors (Atlas Wristband2) on their left wrist. During each circuit, the participants completed one set of 12 repetitions of each circuit using a self-selected resistance. One-way ANOVA with post-hoc analyses were utilized to assess the inter- and intra-monitor validity for correctly identifying each exercise and detecting repetition count. RESULTS: Analysis of the inter-monitor validity revealed a significant main effect between monitors for identifying the correct or similar exercise type. Post-hoc analysis indicated significant difference between two of the 14 exercises (upright rows and lateral raises) (p\u3c0.05). Similar results were found for repetition counting (p\u3c0.05). For intra-monitor validity, only upright rows were significantly different across the two circuits (p\u3c0.05), although there were no significant differences in repetition counting. CONCLUSION: Overall, the Atlas activity monitor demonstrated good inter- and intra-monitor validity during a variety of upper- and lower-body exercises

Reporting accelerometer methods in physical activity intervention studies: A systematic review and recommendations for authors

Objective This systematic review assessed the completeness of accelerometer reporting in physical activity (PA) intervention studies and assessed factors related to accelerometer reporting. Design The PubMed database was used to identify manuscripts for inclusion. Included studies were PA interventions that used accelerometers, were written in English and were conducted between 1 January 1998 and 31 July 2014. 195 manuscripts from PA interventions that used accelerometers to measure PA were included. Manuscript completeness was scored using 12 questions focused on 3 accelerometer reporting areas: accelerometer information, data processing and interpretation and protocol non-compliance. Variables, including publication year, journal focus and impact factor, and population studied were evaluated to assess trends in reporting completeness. Results The number of manuscripts using accelerometers to assess PA in interventions increased from 1 in 2002 to 29 in the first 7 months of 2014. Accelerometer reporting completeness correlated weakly with publication year (r=0.24, p\u3c0.001). Correlations were greater when we assessed improvements over time in reporting data processing in manuscripts published in PA-focused journals (r=0.43, p=0.002) compared to manuscripts published in non-PA-focused journals (r=0.19, p=0.021). Only 7 of 195 (4%) manuscripts reported all components of accelerometer use, and only 132 (68%) reported more than half of the components. Conclusions Accelerometer reporting of PA in intervention studies has been poor and improved only minimally over time. We provide recommendations to improve accelerometer reporting and include a template to standardise reports