Awareness of Social Presence on Virtual Fitness Platforms and Relationship with Exercise Motivation and Physical Activity Levels

The health benefits of physical activity are well-known, however, only 20% of the U.S. population meets the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. This study aimed to explore the association of awareness of social presence in a virtual fitness platform with motivation and physical activity levels (PAL). Virtual fitness users (n = 590, 42 ± 12.7 years old) completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and Behavioral Regulation of Exercise Questionnaire. Relative autonomy was correlated with PAL (r = .21, p < .001, 95.00% CI = [.13, .29]) and predicted PAL (F(1,588) = 27.03, p < .001). Awareness of social presence was significantly related to motivation (U = 41864.5, z = –5.99, p < .001), and predictive of relative autonomy (F(1,588) = 27.03, p < .001). The results suggest that higher relative autonomy is associated with higher PAL in virtual fitness users. Awareness of social presence on virtual platform appears to correlate to higher levels of relative autonomy, which may influence exercise adherence

Exercise participation and subjective well-being of collegiate athletes during COVID-19 Pandemic

While the NCAA grapples with how to return to sport during the COVID-19 pandemic, knowledge of the current exercise habits and well-being of collegiate athletes can better inform strength and conditioning professionals how to adjust periodization plans for the coming year. As collegiate athletes attempt to train independently, there is an opportunity to survey the athletes who normally participate in organized strength and conditioning programs. This study aims to understand current independent exercise regimes and explore current well-being measures such as fatigue, sleep, mood, soreness, and stress. Coaches may be facing massive levels of detraining or potentially the rest and recovery desperately needed for a rejuvenated return to sport. In this study, 237 collegiate athletes (mean age = 19.75, SD = 1.18) completed an online survey measuring exercise participation and well-being. Exercise habits indicate a statistically (p < .05) and clinically significant increase in frequency (t(234) = 4.36, p = .000, ES = .32), intensity (t(235) = 5.31, p = .000, ES = .47), and duration (t(234) = 6.54, p = .000, ES = .47) of exercise sessions overtime during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine. Perceived psychological well-being also increased as time went on during quarantine with an improvement in fatigue (Z = 3.42, p = .001, ES = .22), sleep quality (Z = 4.59, p = .000, ES = .30), stress (Z = 6.53, p = .000, ES = .42), and mood (Z = 5.86, p = .000, ES = .38). It appears there was a potential adaptation to quarantine that improved athletes’ exercise participation and perceived well-being but concerns for periodization strategies, motivation, and possibility of detraining remain for strength and conditioning professionals in the transition to the return to sport

IMPACT OF AN ACADEMY TRAINING PROGRAM ON AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC PERFORMANCE AMONG LAW ENFORCEMENT CADETS

BACKGROUND: Law enforcement requires adequate fitness levels to optimize occupational readiness. Law enforcement academies are responsible for developing a foundation of physical readiness by targeting relevant biomotor abilities, such as anaerobic and aerobic endurance. However, there is limited research evaluating the effectiveness of academy physical training (PT) programs to improve these outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of a law enforcement PT program on anaerobic and aerobic endurance in cadets. METHODS: 58 cadets (43 males, 15 females; Age: 26.2 ± 6.4 yr; Height: 175.0 ± 10.2 cm; Body mass: 90.3 ± 24.5 kg) completed the 30:15 Intermittent Fitness Test (30-15 IFT) and timed 500 m row as measures of aerobic and anaerobic capacity, respectively, prior to and at the completion of an 11-week training academy. The PT program was designed by a certified strength and conditioning practitioner. Specifically, cadets completed 5 sessions per week composed of circuit resistance training, mobility exercises, plyometrics, and interval running. Paired samples t-tests, effect size (Cohen’s d), and relative change scores ((% change = posttest - pretest / pretest) x 100) were used to compare pre vs. post-academy changes in performance outcomes. Significance was set to p \u3c 0.05. RESULTS: The PT program significantly improved 30-15 IFT (t (57) = -11.96, p \u3c 0.001; d = -1.57; MD: 1.04 ± 0.66 s, 5.3% increase) and 500 m row performance (t (57) = 6.81, p \u3c 0.001; d = 0.89; MD: -8.6 s, 6.4% decrease). CONCLUSION: These data indicate that an 11-week PT program elicited desirable aerobic and anaerobic fitness responses among law enforcement cadets. Law enforcement training academies are encouraged to employ certified strength and conditioning practitioners to design and implement appropriate PT programs to enhance cadet readiness

EFFECT OF SHIFT SCHEDULE ON FIREFIGHTERS’ SLEEP QUALITY AND QUANTITY

BACKGROUND: Obtaining adequate amounts of sleep is critical for optimal health and physical performance. Firefighters’ sleep patterns are often disrupted due to emergency responses. Fire agencies utilize a variety of shift schedule configurations. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research investigating the impact of shift schedules on firefighters’ sleep quality and quantity. Evaluating sleep outcomes by shift schedule will guide fire agencies in implementing appropriate on-duty interventions (eg, scheduled napping, sleep hygiene education) and guide work schedule configuration. Therefore the purpose of this proposed study is to descriptively compare sleep quantity and quality outcomes between fire agencies utilizing different shift schedules. METHODS: An international sample of fire departments utilizing different shift schedules and a control group composed of law enforcement officers working day shift will be recruited to participate in this study. The firefighter shift schedules will include 24/48 (24 hr on-duty, 48 hr off-duty), 48/96 (48 hr on-duty, 96 hr off-duty), Swing Shift (SS; 2 day shifts (10 hr), 2 night shifts (10 hr), 4 days off; n=50), and a control group including a police department day-shift (10 hr) schedule. Demographic data will include sex, age, occupational experience, second job status, call characteristics, use of sleep medication and alcohol use, exercise level, body mass index, sleeping conditions, smoking status, caffeine intake, and diagnosed sleep disorders. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) will be utilized to assess sleep outcomes. Specifically, 7 components of sleep outcomes will be scored on a 0-3 scale (aggregate range: 0 (“no difficulty”) to 21 (“severe difficulty”)) including subjective sleep quality, latency, duration, efficiency, disturbances, medication use, and daytime dysfunction. An electronic survey will be distributed via agency listserv. Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA will be used to compare PSQI outcomes between shift schedule cohorts, utilizing covariates as necessary. Post-hoc analyses will be conducted using pairwise Mann-Whitney tests with Bonferroni correction. ANTICIPATED RESULTS: It is hypothesized that firefighters will report inferior sleep outcomes compared to non-shift workers and that the SS schedule will yield inferior sleep outcomes compared to other firefighter shift configurations potentially due to greater circadian rhythm disruption

Empagliflozin in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background The effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease who are at risk for disease progression are not well understood. The EMPA-KIDNEY trial was designed to assess the effects of treatment with empagliflozin in a broad range of such patients. Methods We enrolled patients with chronic kidney disease who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of at least 20 but less than 45 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) of body-surface area, or who had an eGFR of at least 45 but less than 90 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (with albumin measured in milligrams and creatinine measured in grams) of at least 200. Patients were randomly assigned to receive empagliflozin (10 mg once daily) or matching placebo. The primary outcome was a composite of progression of kidney disease (defined as end-stage kidney disease, a sustained decrease in eGFR to &lt; 10 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2), a sustained decrease in eGFR of &amp; GE;40% from baseline, or death from renal causes) or death from cardiovascular causes. Results A total of 6609 patients underwent randomization. During a median of 2.0 years of follow-up, progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes occurred in 432 of 3304 patients (13.1%) in the empagliflozin group and in 558 of 3305 patients (16.9%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.82; P &lt; 0.001). Results were consistent among patients with or without diabetes and across subgroups defined according to eGFR ranges. The rate of hospitalization from any cause was lower in the empagliflozin group than in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.95; P=0.003), but there were no significant between-group differences with respect to the composite outcome of hospitalization for heart failure or death from cardiovascular causes (which occurred in 4.0% in the empagliflozin group and 4.6% in the placebo group) or death from any cause (in 4.5% and 5.1%, respectively). The rates of serious adverse events were similar in the two groups. Conclusions Among a wide range of patients with chronic kidney disease who were at risk for disease progression, empagliflozin therapy led to a lower risk of progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes than placebo