Amanda C. Benson

Resistance training improves metabolic health in type 2 diabetes: a systematic review

This paper systematically reviews the effect of resistance training (RT) on glycemic control and insulin sensitivity in adults with type 2 diabetes. Twenty studies were included, with the volume, frequency and intensity of RT varying markedly. Supervised RT improved glycemic control and insulin sensitivity, however, when supervision was removed compliance and glycemic control decreased. Evidence indicates the mechanisms behind the improvements to glucose tolerance require further elucidation. Although research demonstrates apparent benefits of RT for individuals with diabetes, further research is required to elucidate the minimum effective dose by describing frequency, intensity and the duration of acute and chronic improvements.

A review of guidelines for cardiac rehabilitation exercise programmes: Is there an international consensus?:

Background Cardiac rehabilitation is an important component in the continuum of care for individuals with cardiovascular disease, providing a multidisciplinary education and exercise programme to improve morbidity and mortality risk. Internationally, cardiac rehabilitation programmes are implemented through various models. This review compared cardiac rehabilitation guidelines in order to identify any differences and/or consensus in exercise testing, prescription and monitoring. Methods Guidelines, position statements and policy documents for cardiac rehabilitation, available internationally in the English language, were identified through a search of electronic databases and government and cardiology society websites. Information about programme delivery, exercise testing, prescription and monitoring were extracted and compared. Results Leading cardiac rehabilitation societies in North America and Europe recommend that patients progress from moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic endurance exercise over the course of the programme, with resistance training included as an important adjunct, for maintaining independence and quality of life. North American and European guidelines also recommend electrocardiograph-monitored exercise stress tests. Guidelines for South America and individual European nations typically include similar recommendations; however, those in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand specify lower-intensity exercise and less technical assessment of functional capacity. Conclusion Higher-intensity aerobic training programmes, supplemented by resistance training, have been recommended and deemed safe for cardiac rehabilitation patients by many authorities. Based on research evidence, this may also provide superior outcomes for patients and should therefore be considered when developing an international consensus for exercise prescription in cardiac rehabilitation.

Physical education, sport education and physical activity policies: teacher knowledge and implementation in their Victorian state secondary school.

Despite many worldwide physical education (PE) and physical activity policies targeting children in schools, there is considerable variation between policy and implementation. The purpose of this study was to investigate Victorian state secondary PE teachers’ knowledge and implementation of the mandated policy of 100 minutes of PE and 100 minutes of sport education per week across compulsory schooling. An online questionnaire was completed by 115 teachers, 48 percent of whom had correct knowledge of the mandate. Teachers reported compliance to the mandate within their school of between 23 and 33 percent in PE and 2 and 3 percent in sport education across year levels. There were significant associations between school size and reported ability to meet the PE mandate in Year 7 (χ2(1) = 4.46, p = 0.035), Year 8 (χ 2(1) = 4.97, p = 0.026) and Year 9 (χ2(1) = 4.24, p = 0.039). In summary, findings suggest that teacher awareness or knowledge of the mandate did not equate to the implementation of policies in schools. Education Physique, Education Sportive et Politiques d’Activité Physique : Implémentation et Connaissance des Enseignants dans les Ecoles Secondaires de l’Etat de Victoria Malgré les nombreuses politiques d’éducation physique et d’activité physique à destination des enfants dans les écoles, il existe des variations considérables entre les politiques et les mises en œuvre. L’objet de cette étude était d’étudier les connaissances et mises en œuvre des enseignants d’éducation physique du secondaire dans l’état de Victoria de la politique obligatoire des 100 minutes d’éducation physique et 100 minutes d’éducation sportive par semaine au cours de la scolarité. Un questionnaire mis en ligne a été rempli par 115 enseignants, dont 48% possédait une bonne connaissance de cette injonction institutionnelle. Les résultats ont montré que les enseignants sont en conformité avec cette injonction à hauteur d’environ 23—33% pour l’éducation physique et 2—3% pour l’éducation sportive quelque soit le niveau de classe. Des relations significatives sont apparues entre la taille de l’établissement scolaire et la capacité des enseignants à respecter cette injonction avec des classes de 5ème (χ2(1) = 4.46, p = 0.035), de 4ème (χ 2(1) = 4.97, p = 0.026), et de 3ème (χ2 (1) = 4.24, p = 0.039). En résumé, les résultats suggèrent que la prise de conscience ou la connaissance des enseignants de cette injonction institutionnelle ne correspond pas aux mises en œuvre de ces politiques dans établissements scolaires. Educación Física, Educación Deportiva y Políticas de Actividad Física: Conocimiento del profesor y su implementación en la Escuela Secundaria del Estado de Victoria A pesar de las numerosas políticas de educación física y actividad física focalizadas en los escolares de escuelas por todo el mundo, existe una diferencia considerable entre el planteamiento y la puesta en práctica. El propósito de este estudio fue investigar sobre el conocimiento y puesta en práctica por parte de los profesores de educación física de secundaria en el Estado de Victoria, respecto a la orden de los 100 minutos de educación física y 100 minutos de educación deportiva por semana, en la educación obligatoria. 115 profesores cubrieron un cuestionario on-line, de los cuales, el 48% tenía un conocimiento correcto del mandato. El 23—33% de los profesores manifestó cumplir el mandato relativo a la educación física en sus escuelas, y el 2—3% en la educación deportiva, con niveles por año. Se encontraron relaciones significativas entre el tamaño de la escuela y la capacidad manifestada para llevar a cabo el mandato sobre la educación física en el año 7 (χ2(1) = 4.46, p = 0.035), año 8 (χ2(1) = 4.97, p = 0.026) y año 9 (χ2(1) = 4.24, p = 0.039). En resumen, los hallazgos sugieren que el descuido o el conocimiento del mandato por parte de los docentes no se traduce en la implementación de las políticas en las escuelas. Sportunterricht, Sporterziehung und Umsetzungsstrategien: Wissen von Lehrer/innen und Umsetzung in ihren weiterführenden Schulen in Victoria State Trotz vieler weltweiter Strategien zur Umsetzung von Sportunterricht und sportlicher Bewegung im Zusammenhang mit Schulkindern, sind beträchtliche Abweichungen zwischen Politik und Umsetzung zu beobachten. Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war die Untersuchung der Zusammenhänge in Bezug auf das Wissen von Lehrern und Lehrerinnen über die eingeführten Strategien ’100 Minuten Sportunterricht’ und ’100 Minuten Sporterziehung’ und deren faktischer Umsetzung im Rahmen des Pflichtunterrichts an Sekundarschulen in Victoria State. Ein Online-Fragebogen wurde von 115 Lehreinnen und Lehrern beantwortet, 48% von ihnen kannten den entsprechenden Auftrag. Die Lehrerinnen und Lehrer berichteten von einer Umsetzungsrate von 23—33% in Bezug auf den Sportunterricht und von 2—3% in Bezug auf Sporterziehung. Es konnten signifikante Zusammenhänge zwischen Schulgröße und berichteter Umsetzung der Strategien in der 7. Klasse (χ2(1) = 4.46, p = 0.035), in der 8. Klasse (χ2(1) = 4.97, p = 0.026) und in der 9. Klasse (χ2(1) = 4.24, p = 0.039) aufgezeigt werden. Zusammenfassend machen die Ergebnisse deutlich, dass das Bewusstsein bzw. Wissen von Lehrerinnen und Lehren nicht automatisch mit der Realisierung der entsprechenden Strategien einhergeht.

The development of the lunchtime enjoyment of activity and play questionnaire

BACKGROUND Enjoyment of physical activity is as an important determinant of childrens participation in physical activity. Despite this, there is an absence of reliable measures for assessing childrens enjoyment of play activities during school lunchtime. The purpose of this study was to develop and assess the reliability of the Lunchtime Enjoyment of Activity and Play (LEAP) Questionnaire. METHODS Questionnaire items were categorized employing a social-ecological framework including intrapersonal (20 items), interpersonal (2 items), and physical environment/policy (17 items) components to identify the broader influences on childrens enjoyment. An identical questionnaire was administered on 2 occasions, 10  days apart, to 176 children aged 8-12  years, attending a government elementary school in regional Victoria, Australia. RESULTS Test-retest reliability confirmed that 35 of 39 LEAP Questionnaire items had at least moderate kappa agreement ranging from .44 to .78. Although 4 individual kappa values were low, median kappa scores for each aggregated social-ecological component reached at least moderate agreement (.44-.60). CONCLUSIONS This study confirms the LEAP Questionnaire to be a reliable, context-specific instrument with sound content, and face validity that employs a social-ecological framework to assess childrens enjoyment of school play and lunchtime activities.

Reproducibility of multiple repeated oral glucose tolerance tests

We assessed the oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) ability to produce consistent results for estimating insulin sensitivity over four consecutive days. Individual coefficients of variation for OGIS and Stumvoll-ISI were 7.8% and 14.4% with no statistically significant difference between days. Thereby, indicating repeated OGTTs are reliable for estimating insulin sensitivity.

Peer-assisted learning in school physical education, sport and physical activity programmes: a systematic review

Background: Peer-assisted learning (PAL) is a teaching strategy utilised in both the general classroom and physical education. Through the interaction with same-age or cross-age peers, learning can occur across various domains. Purpose: This review aimed to identify school-based PAL interventions and assess the tutor training provided, as well as the capacity of interventions to influence skill performance, physical activity and physical education participation, health and nutrition behaviours and anthropometric outcomes. Data collection: A systematic review of databases yielded 19 papers reporting PAL in school physical education, sport or physical activity programmes. Results: Only four randomised controlled trials were identified in this review and only two other studies had control groups. Nine of the 19 studies reported significant findings; the implementation of PAL in a range of different physical education and physical activity contexts led to a diverse range of outcomes. Tutor training varied considerably; 13 of the 19 studies provided some training. Conclusions: Despite support for and success of PAL in other subject areas within schools, there have been few interventions implemented and vigorously evaluated within school physical education, sport or physical activity programmes. There is a need for future research to consider the duration and quality of tutor training in addition to measuring outcomes for both the tutee and tutor. Importantly, the adaptability of PAL across a range of settings provides scope for future research to assess its ability to impact on children and adolescents within a range of healthy lifestyle interventions both inside and outside the school environment.

Identification of key performance parameters during off-spin bowling with a smart cricket ball

A smart cricket ball, instrumented with three high-speed MEMS gyroscopes, was used to measure performance parameters during off-spin bowling. The average spin rate and finger torque generated by the bowler were 22.7 rps and 0.28 N·m, respectively. The arm motion could be clearly identified on the spin-axis vector diagram. The spin-axis vector described a loop that closely followed the orientation of the bowlers forearm. The centre of pressure (COP) of the finger force was located between the ring and the middle finger. A set of performance parameters was identified in this study that can be used to quantify off-spin bowling performance in the future. These performance parameters are: the spin rate of the ball, the position of the spin axis with respect to the plane of the seam, the amount of torque applied to the ball by the bowler, the bowlers angular arm velocity, the fingers COP (where the force is applied to the ball) and the impact point on the ball.

Reliability and validity of a GPS-enabled iPhoneTM “app” to measure physical activity

Abstract This study assessed the validity and reliability of an iPhoneTM “app” and two sport-specific global positioning system (GPS) units to monitor distance, intensity and contextual physical activity. Forty (23 female, 17 male) 18–55-year-olds completed two trials of six laps around a 400-m athletics track wearing GPSports ProTM and WiSpiTM units (5 and 1 Hz) and an iPhoneTM with a Motion X GPSTM “app” that used the inbuilt iPhoneTM location services application programming interface to obtain its sampling rate (which is likely to be ≤1 Hz). Overall, the statistical agreement, assessed using t-tests and Bland–Altman plots, indicated an underestimation of the known track distance (2.400 km) and average speed by the Motion X GPSTM “app” and GPSports ProTM while the GPSports WiSpiTM device overestimated these outcomes. There was a ≤3% variation between trials for distance and average speed when measured by any of the GPS devices. Thus, the smartphone “app” trialled could be considered as an accessible alternative to provide high-quality contextualised data to enable ubiquitous monitoring and modification of programmes to ensure appropriate intensity and type of physical activity is prescribed and more importantly adhered to.

A cross-sectional lower-body power profile of elite and subelite Australian football players

Abstract Caia, J, Doyle, TLA, and Benson, AC. A cross-sectional lower-body power profile of elite and subelite Australian football players. J Strength Cond Res 27(10): 2836–2841, 2013—Australian football (AF) is a sport which requires a vast array of physiological qualities, including high levels of strength and power. However, the power characteristics of AF players, particularly at the subelite level have not been extensively studied with further investigation warranted to understand the power capabilities and training requirements of elite and subelite AF groups. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to develop a lower-body power profile of elite and subelite AF players. Eighteen elite and 12 subelite AF players completed a 1 repetition maximum (1RM) squat test to determine maximal lower-body strength, and countermovement jump (CMJ) and squat jump (SJ) testing to assess lower-body muscular power performance. Maximal lower-body strength was not statistically different between groups (p > 0.05). Elite players produced greater levels of peak power for CMJ at loads of 0, 30 (p < 0.05), and 40% (p < 0.01) of 1RM in comparison to subelite players. Squat jump peak power was statistically different between groups at 0, 20, 30, and 40% (p < 0.01) of 1RM; with elite players producing greater power than their subelite counterparts at all measured loads for SJ. Findings from this investigation demonstrate that elite AF players are able to generate greater levels of lower-body power than subelite AF players, despite no significant differences existing in maximal lower-body strength or body mass. As lower-body power levels clearly differentiate elite and subelite AF players, emphasis may be placed on improving the power levels of subelite players, particularly those aspiring to reach the elite level.

Glycemic response varies between resistance and aerobic exercise in inactive males with long-term type 2 diabetes.

The glycemic response to aerobic exercise is well understood; however, the response to resistance exercise is not. Eight inactive males (61.0 ± 7.2 years) with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes randomly completed single sessions of whole-body resistance exercise or cycling, 7 days apart. There were different 24-h glucose responses (p < 0.001) between the resistance exercise and the aerobic exercise, with short-term (24-h) impairment of glycemic control following the resistance exercise (p = 0.004). Cycling did not reduce glucose concentrations (p > 0.05), which contrasts with previous findings.