Comparative Effect of Forward and Backward Stair Climbing on Cardio-respiratory Parameters of Apparently Healthy Young Adults

Forward stair climbing (FSC) is associated with cardiovascular fitness benefits, but the training effects of backward stair climbing (BSC) have not been reported in the literature. This study compared the effects of 8 weeks of FSC and BSC on the cardiovascular parameters of apparently healthy young adults. Forty apparently healthy young adults, aged 18-30 years were recruited consecutively and assigned to FSC and BSC training groups. Thirty-one subjects (16 FSC and 15 BSC) completed the study. The FSC subjects climbed a stepladder in the forward direction while the BSC subjects did so in the backward direction. Each paced ascent and descent lasted 8 seconds for both FSC and BSC groups. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DPB), heart rate (HR) and cardiovascular endurance (CE) were evaluated at baseline, and at the end of the 4th and 8th weeks of the study. Data was analysed using mean, standard deviation, percentages, one-way of variance (ANOVA) and independent t-test. Level of significance was set at 0.05. The groups were not significantly different (p> 0.05) in their cardiovascular parameters at weeks 0, 4, and 8. The FSC group had significant improvement (p = 0.045) in CE. The percentage change in CE by FSC (11.06 ± 11.44%) was significantly greater (p = 0.006) than that by BSC (-0.60 ± 10.41%). Both interventions had no significant effect on the participants’ systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate. Forward stair climbing is more effective in improving the CE of apparently healthy young adults and, hence, for improving cardiovascular endurance in rehabilitation and athletic training

Comparative assessment of back extensor muscles' endurance between nulliparous and parous women

Background and objective: Poor endurance of the back extensor muscles has been reported among more women than men. There are several reported reasons for its predilection but the influence of parity has not been investigated. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of parity on back extensor muscles' endurance between nulliparous and parous women. Methods and Results: 146 women whose ages ranged between 21 to 60 years were recruited into the study using sampling of convenience. This consisted of 77 nulliparous women group (21-42 years) with a mean age of 32.7 ± 5.7 years and the parous women group (26-60 years) with a mean age of 41.2 ± 9.9 years. The participants performed the Biering-Sørenson test of Static Muscular Endurance (BSME) and their height, weight and percentage body fat were measured using standard procedures. Body Mass Index (BMI) and lean body mass (LBM) and body fat mass (BFM) were calculated. Data were summarized using the descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation, Pearson's Chi-square, Independent t-test, and Analysis of Variance were used as applicable. The α level was set at 0.05. The finding of this study showed that parous women were significantly older, heavier and had greater level of adiposity than their nulliparous counterparts. The result indicated a significant association between parity and endurance time (X2 = 88.05; P = 0.020), nulliparous women have significantly greater back extensor muscles' endurance (t = 4.902; P = 0.000) when compared to parous women. The results suggested that the significant age and anthropometric difference between the nulliparous and parous women could contribute to the endurance differences. Number of parity is much related to back extensor muscle endurance (F = 22.32; P = 0.000). Back extensor muscles' endurance decreases as the number of parity increases. Conclusion: Our results suggest that parity is an important factor in the aetiology of low back extensor muscles endurance among women