Exercise Science Academic Programs and Research in Brazil

The International Journal of Exercise Science has enjoyed an association with several students and professionals from Brazil. In this invited editorial, professors from leading institutions in Brazil, Roberto Simão from Rio de Janeiro Federal University, and Jonato Prestes from the Federal University of São Carlos, share information regarding their programs relating to Exercise Science. They have provided information on academic components such as entrance requirements, progression through programs, and professional opportunities available to students following completion; as well as details regarding funding available to students to participate in research, collaboration, and specific research interests

Infections of the upper respiratory tract and counting of leukocytes in volleyball athletes

Submaximal and regular exercise tends to improve the immune response. On the other hand, athletes have a higher incidence of infection of the upper respiratory tract (URTI). The objective of the present study was to correlate the total episodes of URTI with the relative count of circulating neutrophils and lymphocytes in volleyball female athletes, aged 18.92±0.76 years (n=12), within the periods of training. The blood was collected at the end of the periods: Pre-competitive (M1), Competitive-I (M2) and Competitive-II (M3) and the URTI weekly. The athletes participated of 30 weeks of training and competitions. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used, p≤0.05. The results showed moderate to high correlations with 0.8 (p=0.001) and -0.76 (p=0.004) in M1; 0.68 (p=0.014) and -0.59 (p=0.042) in M2; followed by no significant correlations of 0.35 and -0.62 in M3, respectively for neutrophils and lymphocytes when coupled with URTI. The increased number of neutrophils and decreased number of lymphocytes were correlated to URTI and may be useful tools during long time training periods to prevent overload induced immunesuppression

Body mass index is not a reliable tool to predict obesity in postmenopausal women

The aim of this study was to compare two methods of body composition evaluation in postmenopausal women, and establish correlations with the Body Mass Index (BMI). Twenty seven postmenopausal women (58.03±5.33) were evaluated by two body composition methods: Bioimpedance (Biodynamics 310) and Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA). Results of the fat mass showed by the DXA was 38.21±7.46% of the body mass, and 39.05±4.40% by the Bioimpedance, with 0.76 of correlation (Perason’s correlation test). In the other hand, the BMI found was 28.08±4.90. There was a high correlation between DXA and Bioimpedance; however low correlation between DXA and Bioimpedance with BMI. When the body composition classification was made by the BMI, subjects were classified as overweight. In the other hand, DXA and Bioimpedance classified subjects as obese. The main conclusion of this study was that BMI is not a reliable index to classify and determine levels of obesity. Bioimpedance appear to be a satisfactory method to predict body composition in postmenopausal women, since it was observed a significant correlation with the gold standard method for body composition DXA

The Effect of rest interval between sets on the number of repetitions performed in the bench press exercise

The aim of the present study was to analyze the effects of different rest intervals on the number of repetitions performed in the bench press exercise. Methods: 6 resistance-trained men (age 24.27±1.61 years, body fat 14.72±5.32 %, body mass 76.60±11.00 kg, 1-RM bench press 98.42±19.78kg) volunteered for the study. Subjects performed a bench press 1-RM test and in two subsequent sessions they performed five maximal sets of the bench press exercise with 70%, 75%, 75%, 80% and 85% of 1-RM and a 1- or 2-minute rest interval between sets. Sessions occurred at least 48h apart, with the last two in a random fashion. Statistical analyzes was made by the student t-test to compare the differences between rest intervals. The number of repetitions performed with the 2-minute rest interval (33.16 ± 6.14) was significantly higher than with 1-minute rest interval (26.67 ± 3.44), (p=0.009) and in sets 2 (p=0.016), 3 (p=0.004) and 4 (p=0.018). The 2-minute rest interval yielded a larger number of repetitions performed throughout the five sets of bench press. Furthermore, the subjects were unable to maintain a large number of repetitions even when a 2-minute rest interval was taken. This indicates that larger rest intervals may be necessary when training with this intensity, especially if the maintenance of exercise volume is desired

Monitoring Training Load, Well-Being, Heart Rate Variability, and Competitive Performance of a Functional-Fitness Female Athlete: A Case Study

The aim of this case study was to quantify the magnitude of internal load, acute/chronic workload ratio (ACWR), well-being perception, and heart rate variability (HRV) following 38 weeks of functional-fitness training in a female elite athlete. The internal load was obtained with session rating perceived exertion (session-RPE) while the ACWR was calculated by dividing the acute workload by the chronic workload (four-week average). Furthermore, HRV measurements were analyzed via a commercially available smartphone (HRV4training) each morning upon waking whilst in a supine position. The magnitude of internal load was: the weekly mean total during the 38 weeks was 2092 ± 861 arbitrary units (AU); during the preparation for the Open 2018 was 1973 ± 711 AU; during the Open 2018 it was 1686 ± 412 AU; and during the preparation for the Latin America Regional was 3174 ± 595 AU. The mean ACWR was 1.1 ± 0.5 and 50% of the weeks were outside of the ‘safe zone’. The well-being during the 38 weeks of training was 19.4 ± 2.3 points. There were no correlations between training load variables (weekly training load, monotony, ACWR, and HRV), and recuperation subjective variables (well-being, fatigue, sleep, pain, stress, and mood). This case study showed that the training load can be varied in accordance with preparation for a specific competition and ACWR revealed that 50% of the training weeks were outside of the ‘safe zone’, however, no injuries were reported by the athlete. The effectiveness and cost of these methods are very practical during real world functional-fitness

Effect of Different Training Programs at Self-Selected Intensity on Body Composition, Perceptual Responses and Fitness Outcomes in Obese Women

International Journal of Exercise Science 15(4): 373-385, 2022. Obesity induces several disorders, such as android obesity, insulin resistance, and coronary/peripheral artery disease, and obese individuals commonly have low adherence to training programs. Exercise at self-selected intensity is a feasible strategy to avoid dropouts of training routines. We aimed to assess the effects of different training programs at self-selected intensity on body composition, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), feelings of pleasure and displeasure (FPD) and fitness outcomes (maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) and maximum dynamic strength (1RM)) in obese women. Forty obese women (n = 40; Body Mass Index: 33.2 ± 1.1 kg.m-2) were randomly allocated to combined training (CT = 10), aerobic training (AT = 10), resistance training (RT = 10) and control group (CG = 10). The frequency that CT, AT and RT performed the training sessions was 3 times per week during 8 weeks. Body composition (DXA), VO2max and 1RM were assessed at baseline and after intervention. All participants were on a restricted dietary intake aiming to ingest 2.650 kcal per day. Post hoc comparisons revealed that CT promotes a larger decrease in body fat percentage (p = 0.001), body fat mass (p = 0.004) than other groups. CT and AT elicited higher V̇O2max increases (p = 0.014) than RT and CG, and 1RM values were higher in CT and RT (p = 0.001) than AT and CG at post-intervention. All training groups presented low RPE and high FPD over the training sessions, but only the CT was effective to reduce body fat percentage and body fat mass in obese women. In addition, CT was effective to increase simultaneously maximum oxygen uptake and maximum dynamic strength in obese women

Effect of Different Resistance Exercise Methods on Post-Exercise Blood Pressure

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the post-exercise blood pressure (BP) responses to two different methods of resistance exercise (RE, traditional multiple set and tri-set). Young adult men (n = 30, 19.6 &#; 0.7 years old; 76.0 ± 2.7 kg; 178.2 ± 6.7 cm; 90.5 ± 5.8 MBP) with six months of previous experience in RE were selected. The volunteers were randomly assigned into three groups (n = 10, each group): non-exercised control group (CON); multiple set group (MS); and a tri-set group (TRI). The TRI group performed three consecutive exercises (3 sets of 10 repetitions with 70% of 1RM and 1 minute of rest interval after the three exercises for the same muscle group) in the following order: bench press, cross-over and peck-deck and lat pull-down, seated cable row and barbell row. The multiple set group performed 3 sets of 10 repetitions for the same exercises, but with 1 minute rest interval between each set and exercise. After the exercise sessions and control situation, individuals remained seated for BP measure every 5 minutes up to 90 minutes. The repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) (2 groups by three time points) was used, followed by post-hoc Bonferroni test, for p≤0.05. There were no significant alterations for systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared with the CON group and in the moments after exercise. Heart rate was increased after exercise for both exercised groups in all post-exercise measures compared with baseline. RE method (MS or TRI) exerted no influence on post-exercise blood pressure. Post-exercise induced hypotension may require the recruitment of larger muscle groups, such as those of the lower limbs

Influence of exercise order on upper body maximum and submaximal strength gains in trained men

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of exercise order on one-repetition maximum (1-RM) and ten-repetition maximum (10-RM) strength gains after 6 weeks of resistance training (RT) in trained men. Sixteen men were randomly assigned into two groups based on the order of exercises performed during training sessions: a group that performed large muscle group exercises first and progressed to small muscle group exercises (LG-SM); while a second group performed the opposite sequence and started with small muscle group exercises and progressed to large muscle group exercises (SM-LG). Four sessions of RT were conducted per week; all exercises were performed for three sets of 8–12 repetitions with 1-min rest intervals between sets. Maximal and submaximal strength were assessed at baseline and after 6 weeks of RT with 1-RM and 10-RM testing for the bench press (BP), lat pulldown (LPD), triceps pulley extension (TE) and biceps curl (BC), respectively. Two-way ANOVA for the 1-RM and 10-RM tests indicated a significant group x time interaction. The 1-RM values significantly increased for all exercises in both groups (P\u3c0.05), but were not significantly different between groups. However, effect size (ES) data indicated that the LG-SM group exhibited a greater magnitude of gains (1-RM and 10-RM) for the BP and LPD exercises. Conversely, ES indicated that the SM-LG group exhibited a greater magnitude of gains (1-RM and 10-RM) for the TE and BC exercises. In conclusion, the results suggest that upper body movements should be prioritized and performed according to individual needs to maximize maximal and submaximal strength

Evaluation on body weight and its relation with abdominal circumference in the diagnosis of obesity in school students in Cacoal municipality, RO, Brazil

Obesity in school-aged children has reached epidemic levels, which is considered a chronic disease. Researchers have been on alert, given the rising prevalence of obesity in the last few decades. The objective of this study is to evaluate the relation between body weight and abdominal circumference as a predictor for nutritional status in school students from 7 to 12 years of age in the municipality of Cacoal, RO, Brazil. The current study is of a descriptive nature, with cross-sectional and quantitative analysis. The study sample had 482 school students, of both genders, 230 male ones and 252 female ones, divided into school students from the urban and teaching rural teaching areas. Body Mass Index (BMI), abdominal circumference, and body weight were the variants analyzed. Reading with general comprehension strategies. It was possible to notice that 13% of the school students from the rural area were obese. On the other hand, 25% of the school students from the urban area, including both genders, were obese. There was a significant relation in body weight variant versus abdominal circumference in both genders, in the two areas studied. The body weight variant showed a significant relation with abdominal circumference and with body weight index in both genders