Whole body vibration: unsupervised training or combined with a supervised multi-purpose exercise for fitness?

Abstract

The aim of the study was to compare the effect of an unsupervised whole body vibration (WBV) training and two different supervised multi-purpose exercise programmes, with and without WBV, on body composition, functional fitness and self-reported well-being in middle-aged adults. Fifty-four healthy participants (age 48.6 ± 6.7 years) were randomly assigned to a vibration group (VG), a multi-purpose exercise group (MG) and a multi-purpose exercise with vibration group (VMG) and trained 3 days a week for 4 months. VG performed a standardised unsupervised WBV protocol, MG a supervised multi-purpose exercise and VMG a multi-purpose exercise including vibration. After training, drop out was significantly higher in VG group (P = 0.016) when compared to VMG group. In both MG and VMG, body composition, sit-up, push-up, sit and reach, agility test, hopping test and self-reported general health significantly improved (P < 0.05). No additive effects were generated by the vibration stimulus. Percentage of body fat and agility test in VG had a significant opposite trend compared to VMG group (P < 0.05). In summary, an unsupervised WBV training should not be chosen for training protocol. However, positive effects on physical fitness and the best results in adherence could be achieved integrating WBV practice into a multi-purpose exercise training.     

Walking football as sustainable exercise for older adults – A pilot investigation

The health benefits of playing football and the importance of exercise and social contact for healthy ageing are well established, but few older adults in the UK take enough exercise. Football is popular, flexible in format and draws players into engrossing, effortful and social exercise, but the physical demands of play at full speed may make it unsustainable for some older adults. Restricted to walking pace, will play still be engaging? Will health benefits be retained? Will physical demands remain manageable? This pilot study aims to investigate: (1) the experience of older adults playing walking football every week, is it sustainable and rewarding, (2) the intensity and locomotor pattern of walking football, (3) the scale and nature of walking football health benefits and (4) possible cognitive benefits of playing walking football through measures of processing speed, selective and divided attention and updating and inhibition components of executive function. ‘Walking football’ and ‘waiting list’ groups were compared before and after 12 weeks of one-hour per week football. Walking football was found to be engaging, sustainable for older adults and moderately intensive; however, selective health and cognitive benefits were not found from this brief intervention.

Highlights

• Walking football is a lower impact but authentic form of football that enables older players to extend their active participation.

• Walking football is enjoyable and moderately demanding and may be a sustainable form of exercise for older adults.

• Health and cognitive benefits to playing walking football were not found.

     

Does exercise motivation predict engagement in objectively assessed bouts of moderate-intensity exercise? A self-determination theory perspective

This study examined the utility of motivation as advanced by self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) in predicting objectively assessed bouts of moderate intensity exercise behavior. Participants provided data pertaining to their exercise motivation. One week later, participants wore a combined accelerometer and heart rate monitor (Actiheart; Cambridge Neurotechnology Ltd) and 24-hr energy expenditure was estimated for 7 days. After controlling for gender and a combined marker of BMI and waist circumference, results showed autonomous motivation to positively predict moderate-intensity exercise bouts of >or=10 min, or=20 min, and an accumulation needed to meet public health recommendations for moderate intensity activity (i.e., ACSM/AHA guidelines). The present findings add bouts of objectively assessed exercise behavior to the growing body of literature that documents the adaptive consequences of engaging in exercise for autonomous reasons. Implications for practice and future work are discussed.     

Walking for fun or for “likes”? The impacts of different gamification orientations of fitness apps on consumers’ physical activities

To effectively motivate consumers to continue exercising, many developers gamify the fitness apps, aiming at making work-outs more fun. However, the authors argue that making it fun may not be effective enough to motivate consumers to sustain their efforts. The authors propose that making the apps more social may provide better value and can be more effective in promoting consumers’ participation in physical activity. A longitudinal study was conducted, and participants were recruited for the seven-week fitness-tracking study. Participants were randomly assigned to use one of the two apps: one with game elements focusing on enhancing emotional value (Walkup) and the other with elements focusing on increasing social value (WeChat Sports). Both apps recorded participants’ daily step counts and tracked their physical activities. One week after the fitness-tracking study, participants’ intentions to continue using the app were measured. The results indicate that, compared with the participants using Walkup (focusing on fun), those using WeChat Sports (focusing on social) showed better performance in step counts in each of the seven weeks, and higher intentions to continue exercising with the app. The results indicate that, even though making the fitness app more fun can encourage consumers to adopt and participate in physical activity, making it more social can be more effective in helping them sustain a walking routine in their daily living.     

Do multiparous women need to work or exercise extra hard to control gestational diabetes?

<正>In the current issue of the Journal of Sport and Health Science,Wang et al.¹ describe their prospective study,where they analyzed whether or not multiple pregnancies would influence glycemia and the glycemic response to physical exercise in gestational diabetes mellitus(GDM).2 Multiparous women are known to be at a higher risk for GDM than primiparas.GDM carries an increased risk for adverse perinatal outcomes,not only for the mothers but also for the newborn babies.Due to a ...     

Who takes risks in high-risk sports? A typological personality approach

We investigated the risk-taking behaviors of 302 men involved in high-risk sports (downhill skiing mountaineering rock climbing, paragliding, or skydiving). The sportsmen were classified using a typological approach to personality based on eight personality types, which were constructed from combinations of neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness. Results showed that personality types with a configuration of low conscientiousness combined with high extraversion and/or high neuroticism (impulsive, hedonistic, insecure) were greater risk-takers. Conversely, personality types with a configuration of high conscientiousness combined with low extraversion and/or high extraversion (skeptic, brooder, entrepreneur) were lower risk-takers. Results are discussed in the context of typology and other approaches to understanding who takes risks in high-risk domains.     

Muscular development motives for exercise participation: The missing variable in current questionnaire analysis?

Motivation questionnaires that are currently validated do not account for muscular development motives in exercise populations, and have rarely been used to examine resistance training populations. Resistance training is a popular and widely available exercise, so the lack of such motivational information is a cause for concern. The aim of this study was to assess the need for considering motives for muscular development. This was achieved by the development of a simple scale that matched the format and style of the Exercise Motivations Inventory. The muscular development scale was combined with the ‘weight management’ and ‘appearance’ items of the Exercise Motivations Inventory to form a 13-item test questionnaire. This was administered to four groups of experienced exercisers: resistance training males (n = 40), resistance training females (n = 36), males training in a variety of sports (n = 27) and aerobic training females (n = 40). Factor analysis with varimax rotation revealed a relatively distinct muscular development factor, but with cross-loading on weight management. Muscular development was shown to be the most effective discriminator for the four groups. A multivariate analysis of variance and additional discriminant analysis revealed a series of significant differences between groups, which suggests that motive-based differences are more powerful than sex factors in determining choice of exercise modality. Although the interrelated nature of muscular development and weight management needs to be recognized and accounted for, there is a clear need for considering muscular development motives in future investigations, especially those that intend to examine motives for ‘ideal’ physical appearance.     

Muscular development motives for exercise participation: the missing variable in current questionnaire analysis?

Motivation questionnaires that are currently validated do not account for muscular development motives in exercise populations, and have rarely been used to examine resistance training populations. Resistance training is a popular and widely available exercise, so the lack of such motivational information is a cause for concern. The aim of this study was to assess the need for considering motives for muscular development. This was achieved by the development of a simple scale that matched the format and style of the Exercise Motivations Inventory. The muscular development scale was combined with the 'weight management' and 'appearance' items of the Exercise Motivations Inventory to form a 13-item test questionnaire. This was administered to four groups of experienced exercisers: resistance training males (n = 40), resistance training females (n = 36), males training in a variety of sports (n = 27) and aerobic training females (n = 40). Factor analysis with varimax rotation revealed a relatively distinct muscular development factor, but with cross-loading on weight management. Muscular development was shown to be the most effective discriminator for the four groups. A multivariate analysis of variance and additional discriminant analysis revealed a series of significant differences between groups, which suggests that motive-based differences are more powerful than sex factors in determining choice of exercise modality. Although the interrelated nature of muscular development and weight management needs to be recognized and accounted for, there is a clear need for considering muscular development motives in future investigations, especially those that intend to examine motives for 'ideal' physical appearance.     

Does acute exercise switch off switch costs? A study with younger and older athletes

This study investigated the effects of acute exercise on 53 young (16-24 years) and 47 older (65-74 years) adults' switch-task performance. Participants practiced sports requiring either low or high cognitive demands. Both at rest and during aerobic exercise, the participants performed two reaction time tasks that differed in the amount of executive control involved in switching between global and local target features of visual compound stimuli. Switch costs were computed as reaction time differences between switch and nonswitch trials. In the low demanding task, switch costs were sensitive only to age, whereas in the high demanding task, they were sensitive to acute exercise, age, and sport-related cognitive expertise. The results suggest that acute exercise enhances cognitive flexibility and facilitates complex switch-task performance. Both young age and habitual practice of cognitively challenging sports are associated with smaller switch costs, but neither age nor cognitive expertise seem to moderate the relationship between acute exercise and switch-task performance.     

Sports Gambling during the Second World War: A British Entertainment for Critical Times or a National Evil?

The catastrophe of the Second World War had a significant effect on British social and economic life, with less leisure and more time and energy spent on the war effort, yet sports betting survived. The paper begins by examining the arguments strongly advanced by vociferous anti-betting groups in the first years after the outbreak of war, and assesses their limited success. Assessments of betting turnover suggest an initial decline in betting, largely perhaps because of the brief curtailment of horse racing, dog racing, and football, the three principal betting media. The paper explores some of the reasons why it then once more increased, according to the surveys of the Churches Committee on Gambling or Mass Observation. The argument focuses on provision and betting organization: the continued legal opportunities within Britain, including new ‘unity’ football pools, the reopening of some English racecourses and dog-tracks, and the new opportunities created by illegal ready-money bookmakers, such as Irish horse-racing results, which were unaffected by the war. The national government took the view that the betting sports were ‘entertainments’ and ‘in the public interest’, and also helped by providing scarce petrol to assist with the movement of horses and dogs to meetings.     

Is remote stretching based on myofascial chains as effective as local exercise? A randomised-controlled trial

Lower limb stretching based on myofascial chains has been demonstrated to increase cervical range of motion (ROM) in the sagittal plane. It is, however, unknown whether such remote exercise is as effective as local stretching. To resolve this research deficit, 63 healthy participants (36 ± 13 years, ♂32) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: remote stretching of the lower limb (LLS), local stretching of the cervical spine (CSS) or inactive control (CON). Prior (M1), immediately post (M2) and 5 min following intervention (M3), maximal cervical ROM was assessed. Non-parametric data analysis (Kruskal–Wallis tests and adjusted post hoc Dunn tests) revealed significant differences between the disposed conditions. With one exception (cervical spine rotation after CSS at M2, P > .05), both LLS and CSS increased cervical ROM compared to the control group in all movement planes and at all measurements (P < .05). Between LLS and CSS, no statistical differences were found (P > .05). Lower limb stretching based on myofascial chains induces similar acute improvements in cervical ROM as local exercise. Therapists might consequently consider its use in programme design. However, as the attained effects do not seem to be direction-specific, further research is warranted in order to provide evidence-based recommendations.     

Front- or rear-weighted track start or grab start: Which is the best for female swimmers?

The aim of this study was to compare three competitive swimming starts (grab, rear-weighted track, and front-weighted track). The starts were compared in terms of time and instantaneous horizontal velocity, both at take-off from the block and at 5 m from the wall. Twenty US college female swimmers performed three trials of each of the three randomly ordered starts. Swimmers left the block significantly sooner using the front-weighted track start (0.80 s) than the other two starts (both 0.87 s; P < 0.001). In the rear-weighted track start, however, the athletes left the blocks with significantly higher horizontal velocity than in the grab or front-weighted track start (3.99 vs. 3.87 and 3.90 m/s, respectively; each P < 0.001). By 5 m, the front-weighted track start maintained its time advantage over the grab start (2.19 vs. 2.24 s; P = 0.008) but not the rear-weighted track start (2.19 vs. 2.21 s; P = 0.336). However, the rear-weighted track start had a significant advantage over the front-weighted track start in terms of instantaneous horizontal velocity at 5 m (2.25 vs. 2.18 m/s; P = 0.009). Therefore, the rear-weighted track start had a better combination of time and velocity than the front-weighted track start. There was also a trend for the rear-weighted track start to have higher velocity at 5 m than the grab start, although this did not reach statistical significance (2.25 vs. 2.20 m/s; P = 0.042). Overall, these results favour the rear-weighted track start for female swimmers even though most of the athletes had little or no prior experience with it. Additional research is needed to determine whether males would respond similarly to females in these three different swimming starts.     

Front- or rear-weighted track start or grab start: which is the best for female swimmers?

The aim of this study was to compare three competitive swimming starts (grab, rear-weighted track, and front-weighted track). The starts were compared in terms of time and instantaneous horizontal velocity, both at take-off from the block and at 5 m from the wall. Twenty US college female swimmers performed three trials of each of the three randomly ordered starts. Swimmers left the block significantly sooner using the front-weighted track start (0.80 s) than the other two starts (both 0.87 s; P < 0.001). In the rear-weighted track start, however, the athletes left the blocks with significantly higher horizontal velocity than in the grab or front-weighted track start (3.99 vs. 3.87 and 3.90 m/s, respectively; each P < 0.001). By 5 m, the front-weighted track start maintained its time advantage over the grab start (2.19 vs. 2.24s; P = 0.008) but not the rear-weighted track start (2.19 vs. 2.21 s; P = 0.336). However, the rear-weighted track start had a significant advantage over the front-weighted track start in terms of instantaneous horizontal velocity at 5 m (2.25 vs. 2.18 m/s; P = 0.009). Therefore, the rear-weighted track start had a better combination of time and velocity than the front-weighted track start. There was also a trend for the rear-weighted track start to have higher velocity at 5 m than the grab start, although this did not reach statistical significance (2.25 vs. 2.20 m/s; P = 0.042). Overall, these results favour the rear-weighted track start for female swimmers even though most of the athletes had little or no prior experience with it. Additional research is needed to determine whether males would respond similarly to females in these three different swimming starts.     

W5″ Test: A simple method for measuring mean power output in the bench press exercise

The aims of the present study were to assess the validity and reliability of a novel simple test [Five Seconds Power Test (W5″ Test)] for estimating the mean power output during the bench press exercise at different loads, and its sensitivity to detect training-induced changes. Thirty trained young men completed as many repetitions as possible in a time of ≈5?s at 25%, 45%, 65% and 85% of one-repetition maximum (1RM) in two test sessions separated by four days. The number of repetitions, linear displacement of the bar and time needed to complete the test were recorded by two independent testers, and a linear encoder was used as the criterion measure. For each load, the mean power output was calculated in the W5″ Test as mechanical work per time unit and compared with that obtained from the linear encoder. Subsequently, 20 additional subjects (10 training group vs. 10 control group) were assessed before and after completing a seven-week training programme designed to improve maximal power. Results showed that both assessment methods correlated highly in estimating mean power output at different loads (r range: 0.86–0.94; p?R²: 0.78). Good to excellent intra-tester (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) range: 0.81–0.97) and excellent inter-tester (ICC range: 0.96–0.99; coefficient of variation range: 2.4–4.1%) reliability was found for all loads. The W5″ Test was shown to be a valid, reliable and sensitive method for measuring mean power output during the bench press exercise in subjects who have previous resistance training experience.