Enhancing wellness during young adulthood

© Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Apply It! •Guiding young adult clients to adopt an active lifestyle has a positive effect on developing well-being. •Identifying a client\u27s barriers to physical activity, and healthy living in general, is critical to long-term wellness. •Barriers can be discovered during initial intake/screening or subsequent conversations. •Personalizing habit-forming strategies can help clients to overcome barriers. •Using technology, social media, games, challenges, and rewards create external motivators to jump start or motivate a client\u27s wellness behaviors. •When a client is resistant to healthy behavior change, or is having trouble adhering to wellness programming, consider referring to a qualified health and wellness coach

Monitoring exercise heart rate using manual palpation

To understand the shortcomings of using postexercise heart rate palpation to monitor exercise intensity. Copyright © Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Sustainability and repeatability of postactivation potentiation

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the duration and repeatability of postactivation potentiation (PAP) benefits within a single exercise session. Specifically examined were the recurring effects, over multiple sets, of heavy back squats on repeated sprint times. METHODS: A partially randomized, counterbalanced, repeated measures design was implemented using 29 college-aged male NCAA varsity field sport athletes participating in PAP and control conditions. Subjects performed four repetitions of back squats (PAP=90% 1RM; control =20% 1RM), rested 8 minutes, performed a set of four 40-m sprints (55 s inter-repetition active recovery) and rested for 8 minutes after the last sprint. This was performed two more times, for a total of three sets (of back squats and sprints) performed 20 minutes apart. Sprint performance was measured using electronic timing gates and a timing pad to capture of reaction time (RT) at the start of each sprint. 2x3 (condition x sets) and 2x4 (condition X repetition) repeated measures ANOVAs were used to analyze both sprint and RT outcomes. RESULTS: Subjects ran significantly faster (P\u3c0.05) after PAP than control. Specifically, sprint times were faster for the first two-three sprints, but not the fourth, across all three sets of sprints over the 51-min exercise session. RT was not affected (P\u3e0.05) by PAP activity. CONCLUSIONS: The PAP effect was sustainable up to 11 minutes after heavy back squats and was repeated successfully three times. These findings can assist coaches and athletes interested in applying PAP to improve performance

Knowledge and imagery of contractile mechanisms do not improve muscle strength

Improving performance in strength tasks requires modifications characteristic of motor skill learning, such as more efficacious motor-unit firing behavior. Because domain-specific knowledge is integral to learning and performing motor skills, the present purpose was to examine selected factors of strength-specific knowledge and effects they might have on acquiring strength. Following baseline testing for maximal strength on a knee-extension task, participants were matched by sex and strength and placed into control (n = 8) and treatment (n = 8) groups, Quadriceps muscle electromyographic data were also collected. The treatment group underwent two educational sessions detailing muscle physiology, neural control of muscle force, and imagery training using this knowledge. The control group underwent two educational sessions about health and fitness. Following the educational sessions the participants were retested for strength. Analysis indicated that the education and imagery treatment had no effect on strength, nor did electromyographic measures indicate that the treatment group benefitted from intervention. It was concluded that the knowledge was simply not relevant to knee extension-force production or that use of the knowledge involved a disadvantageous internal focus of attention away from relevant task demands

The effects of combining elastic and free weight resistance on strength and power in athletes

This study was undertaken to determine whether combined elastic and free weight resistance (CR) provides different strength and power adaptations than free weight resistance (FWR) training alone. Forty-four young (age 20 ± 1 years), resistance-trained (4 ± 2 years\u27 experience) subjects were recruited from men\u27s basketball and wrestling teams and women\u27s basketball and hockey teams at Cornell University. Subjects were stratified according to team, then randomly assigned to the control (C; n = 21) or experimental group (E; n = 23). Before and after 7 weeks of resistance training, subjects were tested for lean body mass, 1 repetition maximum back squat and bench press, and peak and average power. Both C and E groups performed identical workouts except that E used CR (i.e., elastic resistance) for the back squat and bench press, whereas the C group used FWR alone. CR was performed using an elastic bungee cord attached to a standard barbell loaded with plates. Elastic tension was accounted for in an attempt to equalize the total work done by each group. Statistical analyses revealed significant (P \u3c 0.05) between-group differences after training. Compared with C, improvement for E was nearly three times greater for back squat (16.47 ± 5.67 vs. 6.84 ± 4.42 kg increase), two times greater for bench press (6.68 ± 3.41 vs. 3.34 ± 2.67 kg increase), and nearly three times greater for average power (68.55 ± 84.35 vs. 23.66 ± 40.56 watt increase). Training with CR may be better than FWR alone for developing lower and upper body strength, and lower body power in resistance-trained individuals. Long-term effects are unclear, but CR training makes a meaningful contribution in the short term to performance adaptations of experienced athletes. © 2008 National Strength and Conditioning Association

Impact of rapid weight loss on cognitive function in collegiate wrestlers

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of rapid weight loss (RWL) on cognitive function in collegiate wrestlers. Methods: Wrestlers (N = 14) and controls (N = 15) were college-aged males who were tested at three different times: baseline, RWL, and rehydration. Wrestlers practiced RWL in preparation for competition while controls maintained normal body weight and dietary practices throughout the study. At each test session, blood glucose, hemoglobin (Hgh), hematocrit (Hct), plasma volume (PV), and body weight were measured. Subjects also completed mood and hypoglycemic profiles as well as five short cognitive tests. Results: Two-way ANOVA and post-hoc tests revealed poorer performance for wrestlers than controls in two recall tests as well as greater mood negativity for the wrestlers after RWL. With RWL, between group differences were also evident in hypoglycemic profile, blood glucose, PV, and body weight. All measures returned to near baseline values after rehydration, suggesting that all physiological and cognitive effects associated with RWL were reversible. It is possible that precompetition anxiety may partially explain the results. Conclusions: RWL, in collegiate wrestlers before a competition appears to cause physiological effects that are accompanied by transient mood reduction and impairment of short-term memory. The potential negative impact of this practice on the student-athlete should be considered

Free choice access to multipoint wellness education and related services positively impacts employee wellness: A randomized and controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: Examine effects of voluntary participation in employer-sponsored, multipoint wellness education programming on employee wellness. METHODS: A randomized and controlled design was used to organize 96 participants into an education + access group; an access-only group, and control group. Outcome measures were made at start and end of a 12-week intervention period. RESULTS: Education + access improved wellness knowledge, which, in turn, enhanced life satisfaction, employee morale, and energy, and nearly improved stress level. Those who received facility access without educational programming did not reap health benefits. Employees voluntarily used the fitness facility and healthy meal cards only 1.3 and 1.5 times per week, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Participants made limited and likely inadequate use of wellness opportunities. As a result, physical health benefits (eg, blood pressure, fitness parameters) were not seen in the present study. However, multipoint wellness education resulted in psychosocial health benefits in 12 weeks. © 2012 The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Improving Nutritional Habits With No Diet Prescription: Details of a Nutritional Coaching Process

Thousands of dollars are spent today with policies encouraging physical activity and healthy eating, but nutritional consultation per se has continuously failed to yield consistent and lasting results. The aim of this case report is to detail and evaluate nutritional coaching (employing health coaching techniques) in promoting lifestyle changes, enabling improvement of nutritional and body composition associated parameters. The patient in this study had previously engaged in a series of different diet regimens, all of which failed in achieving the proposed aim. After 12 nutritional coaching sessions (one per week) with the strategy presented herein, reductions in body fat mass and in total body weight were attained. Nutritional habits also improved, as the patient showed decreased total energy intake, decreased fat intake, and increased fiber ingestion. Daily physical activity and energy expenditure were enhanced. The coaching program was able to induce immediate health benefits using a strategy with the patient at the core of promoting his own lifestyle changes. In conclusion, the nutritional coaching strategy detailed was effective at helping our patient develop new eating patterns and improve related health parameters