Exercise

One modality to improve quality of life, in Breast Cancer Survivors (BCS), is physical activity (PA). Less than 30% of BCS participate in PA. The purpose of this study is to explore BCS’s intention to exercise. Seventy-five BCS patients, undergoing treatment, completed a survey. The survey assessed the following: Health care practitioner influence, Demographics, Stages of Change (SOC), anxiety and depression, perceived barriers to exercise, past and current exercise, and the constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). BCS who were older, had less education, did not exercise before diagnosis, were in the pre-contemplation and contemplation stages, and/or exhibited a low Perceived Behavioral Control had a lower intention to exercise. Incorporating the findings from this research into an intervention may assist with increasing intention to exercise among BCS.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the benefits of a Pilates-based mat exercise program (PME) on low back pain (LBP). Twenty-two volunteers who had LBP were recruited from local commercial and community fitness centers in Delray Beach, Florida and completed the study. All subjects performed pre- and post-assessments of range of motion, flexibility, body composition, surface electromyography (EMG) and Oswestry questionnaire for pain perception. The subjects were randomly divided into Pilates-based mat exercise (PME, n = 15) and control group (CG, n = 7). The PME group completed a 12-week, twice a week, 60-minute per session Pilates-based exercise program. Between group differences were seen in EMG results at L3R, L5R and S1 L. These results indicate Pilates may be an effective method for reducing muscle activity in paraspinal muscles in those who experience chronic lower back pain.

Recent anecdotal reports, surveys, studies and litigation have questioned the competency of commercial fitness instructors to provide safe and effective exercise programming. This research study was designed to measure, within the State of Florida, commercial fitness instructors' knowledge base in exercise science, a knowledge base which relates to one's ability to deliver competent instruction. To determine adequacy of exercise science knowledge, test scores of commercial fitness instructors were compared to that of fitness instructors certified by the American College of Sports Medicine. It was hypothesized that commercial fitness instructors within the State lack appropriate training and, therefore, would not demonstrate a comparable exercise science knowledge base to ACSM instructors who have to meet requisite standards to become certified. Samples of commercial instructors were drawn from five geographically distributed, large metropolitan areas within the State; and their testing scores and those of an ACSM sample were statistically treated with One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). ACSM instructors scored over twice as high as commercial instructors on the testing instrument; and ANOVA reflected a significant difference that supported the research hypothesis. It was concluded that commercial fitness instructors in the State of Florida have significantly less knowledge of exercise science than ACSM certified Health/Fitness instructors which lends credence to the concern that perhaps practicing instructors are incapable of delivering safe and effective exercise programming.

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of compression socks worn post exercise on the perceived rating of muscle soreness. Methods: In a randomly cross over design, 16 subjects performed a soreness inducing protocol. Below knee CG (Compression garments) were worn for the next 6 hours post exercise. HR (Heart Rate), RPE (rate of perceived exhaustion) and time to complete one cycle was measured throughout the intervention. PS (Perceived Soreness) was assessed prior, immediate post, 6h, and 24h post exercise. Results: There was no significant difference in perception of soreness between compression and no compression at 6h post exercise (p=.136) and at 24h post exercise (p=286). Conclusion: Compression socks worn post exercise did not significantly alter ratings of perceived soreness after a soreness inducing protocol.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of cadence on time trial performance in novice female cyclists. Ten novice female cyclists volunteered to participate in this study. Participants performed 3 sessions: one VO2 peak and two time trials (TT). Cadence was randomly selected and fixed for each TT (60 or 100 rpm) while power output (PO) was adjusted by the participant, as tolerated. Finish time, HR, blood lactate, PO, VO2, and RPE were measured throughout the time trials. The major finding of this study was the significantly faster (p<0.05) finish time (minutes) during the 60 rpm condition (34:23) versus the 100 rpm condition (37:34). Also the 60 rpm TT resulted in significant (p<0.05) differences for HR (155.9 vs 161.2 bpm), gross efficiency (21.1% vs 17.7%), and PO (147 vs 129 watts). These results indicate that novice female cyclists benefit from adopting a low cadence during an 8k TT.

The purpose of this study was to determine the acute effects of caffeine supplementation on strength and muscular endurance in resistance-trained women. In a randomized manner, 15 women consumed caffeine (6 mg/kg) or placebo (PL) seven days apart. Sixty minutes following supplementation, participants performed a one repetition maximum (1RM) barbell bench press test and repetitions to failure at 60% of 1RM. Heart rate and blood pressure were assessed at rest, 60 minutes post-consumption, and immediately following completion of repetitions to failure. Repeated measures ANOVA indicated a significantly greater bench press maximum with caffeine (p<0.05) (52.9 « 11.1 kg vs. 52.1 « 11.7 kg) with no significant differences between conditions in 60% 1RM repetitions (p=0.81). Systolic blood pressure was significantly greater post-exercise, with caffeine (p<0.05) (116.8 « 5.3 mmHg vs. 112.9 « 4.9 mmHg). Our findings indicate a moderate dose of caffeine may be sufficient for enhancing strength performance in resistance-trained women.