Proficiency in pole handling during Nordic walking influences exercise effectiveness in middle-aged and older adults

Nordic walking (NW) is a total body version of walking increasingly used as a health-promoting activity by middle-aged and older adults. The present study examined the relationship between force exerted through the pole and physiological response during NW. In this non-randomized exercise trial, 17 participants comprising 8 middle-aged and older recreationally trained Nordic walkers (NWrec: 63.7 ± 8.1 years) and 9 experienced NW instructors (NWinstr: 57.5 ± 7.8 years) underwent outdoor ordinary walking (OW) and NW bouts as fast as possible for 12 minutes. Walking distance, speed, heart rate (HR), energy expenditure (METs and J/kg/m) and upper and lower limb muscle activities using surface electromyogram (EMG) were assessed. A pole with a built-in load cell measured force applied to the pole with peak pole force, pole contact time, % of pole contact time with respect to the gait cycle, and pole impulse derived. We conducted two-way analysis of covariance adjusted for age and BMI. There was a significant group and walking type interaction for walking distance and speed (P = 0.04), METs (P \u3c 0.01), and HR (P = 0.04) with higher values in the NWinstr group during NW than OW. As expected, upper limb EMG activities increased (P \u3c 0.01) with NW in both groups. All pole force measures were significantly higher in NWinstr than NWrec (P ≤ 0.01). Change in walking distance and speed were correlated with pole peak force (r = 0.67, P \u3c 0.01) and pole impulse (r = 0.63, P = 0.01). Similarly, change in METs was associated with peak pole force (r = 0.66, P \u3c 0.01) and pole impulse (r = 0.56, P = 0.02). These results indicate that planting the pole on the ground more forcefully and for longer periods to derive a driving force in NW enhances the effectiveness of the exercise and potentially the health-derived benefits

Carbohydrate ingestion does not suppress increases in fatty acid-binding protein 4 concentrations post-acute aerobic exercise in healthy men: a randomized crossover study

Abstract Background Fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4) has been associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Acute aerobic exercise increases circulating FABP4 concentrations, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of inhibition of lipolysis by carbohydrate ingestion on circulating FABP4 concentrations during and after acute aerobic exercise in healthy men. Methods Men aged between 20 and 40, with no exercise habits and no metabolic diseases, were recruited. In a randomized crossover design, the participants underwent a carbohydrate-ingestion exercise (CE) and a fasted exercise (FE) trial. The CE trial consisted of 40-min acute aerobic exercise with ingestion of carbohydrates and 60-min bed rest. The FE trial followed the same protocol as the CE trial but without carbohydrate ingestion. Venous blood samples were collected to measure hormones (adrenaline, noradrenaline, and insulin) metabolites (glycerol, free fatty acids, and glucose), and FABP4 concentrations. Ventilation and gas exchange were also collected to measure substrate oxidation. Results Thirteen healthy men participated in and completed both the CE and FE trials. The insulin concentration was more than 4 times higher in the CE trial than in the FE trial (p  2.00). Free fatty acid concentrations were more than 4 times lower in the CE trial than in the FE trial (p  2.04). However, there was no significant difference in the changes in circulating FABP4 concentrations between the CE and FE trials (p = 0.108), which did not change during aerobic exercise and significantly increased post-aerobic exercise in both trials (p  1.212). Changes in FABP4 concentrations following aerobic exercise were not significantly correlated with changes in glycerol or free fatty acid concentrations during aerobic exercise. Conclusions The results suggest that suppression of lipolysis and elevation of insulin are not strongly involved in increases in FABP4 secretion following acute aerobic exercise

Proficiency in pole handling during Nordic walking influences exercise effectiveness in middle-aged and older adults.

Nordic walking (NW) is a total body version of walking increasingly used as a health-promoting activity by middle-aged and older adults. The present study examined the relationship between force exerted through the pole and physiological response during NW. In this non-randomized exercise trial, 17 participants comprising 8 middle-aged and older recreationally trained Nordic walkers (NWrec: 63.7 ± 8.1 years) and 9 experienced NW instructors (NWinstr: 57.5 ± 7.8 years) underwent outdoor ordinary walking (OW) and NW bouts as fast as possible for 12 minutes. Walking distance, speed, heart rate (HR), energy expenditure (METs and J/kg/m) and upper and lower limb muscle activities using surface electromyogram (EMG) were assessed. A pole with a built-in load cell measured force applied to the pole with peak pole force, pole contact time, % of pole contact time with respect to the gait cycle, and pole impulse derived. We conducted two-way analysis of covariance adjusted for age and BMI. There was a significant group and walking type interaction for walking distance and speed (P = 0.04), METs (P < 0.01), and HR (P = 0.04) with higher values in the NWinstr group during NW than OW. As expected, upper limb EMG activities increased (P < 0.01) with NW in both groups. All pole force measures were significantly higher in NWinstr than NWrec (P ≤ 0.01). Change in walking distance and speed were correlated with pole peak force (r = 0.67, P < 0.01) and pole impulse (r = 0.63, P = 0.01). Similarly, change in METs was associated with peak pole force (r = 0.66, P < 0.01) and pole impulse (r = 0.56, P = 0.02). These results indicate that planting the pole on the ground more forcefully and for longer periods to derive a driving force in NW enhances the effectiveness of the exercise and potentially the health-derived benefits

Physique, Body Composition and Maximum Oxygen Consumption of Selected Soccer Players of Kunimi High School, Nagasaki, Japan

This study evaluates the physical and physiological ability of selected soccer players of Kunimi High School in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The Kunimi team is famous for its intensive training, and had won the championship of the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament six times by 2003. We measured physique, body composition, and maximal oxygen uptake of 72 members aged between 16 and 18 years old between 1986 and 1994. They consisted of 66 outfield players (12 forward players, 23 midfielders, 31 defenders) and 6 goalkeepers. Body density was measured by the under-water weighing method, and Brozek\u27s equation was applied to calculate percentage body fat (%Fat, %), fat-free mass (FFM, kg), FFM/height (FFM/Ht, kg・m^), and FFM index (FFM/Ht^3, kg・m^). The following results were obtained: 1. The average of 66 outfield players was 172.7cm of height, 64.6kg of weight, 54.0cm of girth of thigh, and 90.0cm of girth of hip, 9.3% of %Fat, 58.6kg of FFM, 33.9kg・m^ of FFM/Ht and 113.8kg・m^ of FFM index. The mean vital capacity was 4.25L and total lung capacity was 5.58L. The mean maximal ventilation was 138.7L・min^, VO_2max was 3.95L・min^, and VO_2max/Wt was 61.4ml・kg^・min^. 2. Goalkeepers were taller and heavier than outfielders, and had a smaller mean value of VO_2max/Wt than outfielders (p<0.01). 3. For 23 out of the 72 players measured twice with an interval of about one year, FFM increased and %Fat reduced significantly, while V_Emax, VO_2max and VO_2max/Wt did not change. Kunimi players of the present study had as large a VO_2max/Wt as local players, and a similar or slightly smaller VO_2max/Wt than national-level players. They had similar %Fat and a similar VO_2max/Wt with professional soccer players in England (Davis et al., 1992) while they had much smaller physiques