Mateus Rossato

Cadence and Workload Effects on Pedaling Technique of Well-Trained Cyclists

This study investigated the effects of changing cadence and workload on pedaling technique. Eight cyclists were evaluated during an incremental maximal cycling and two 30-minute submaximal trials at 60% and 80% of maximal power output (W(60%) and W(80%), respectively). During submaximal 30-minute trials, they cycled for 10 minutes at a freely chosen cadence (FCC), 10 minutes at a cadence 20% above FCC (FCC+20%), and 10 minutes at a cadence 20% below FCC (FCC-20%). Pedal forces and kinematics were evaluated. The resultant force (RF), effective force (EF), index of effectiveness (IE) and IE during propulsive and recovery phase (IEprop and IErec, respectively) were computed. For W(60%), FCC-20% and FCC presented higher EFmean (69+/-9 N and 66+/-14 N, respectively) than FCC+20% (52+/-14 N). FCC presented the highest IEprop (81+/-4%) among the cadences (74+/-4 and 78+/-5% for FCC-20% and FCC+20%, respectively). For W(80%), FCC presented higher EFmean (81+/-5 N) than FCC+20% (72 +/- 10 N). The FCC-20% presented the lower IEprop (71+/-7%) among the cadences. The EFmin was higher for W(80%) than W(60%) for all cadences. The IE was higher at W (80%) (61+/-5%) than W (60%) (54+/-9%) for FCC+20% (all p<0.05). Lower cadences were more effective during the recovery phase for both intensities and FCC was the best technique during the propulsive phase.

Comparison of body adiposity index (BAI) and air displacement plethysmograph with estimations of |[percnt]| body fat in adults with Down|[rsquo]|s syndrome

Background/Objectives:The aim of this study was to verify the agreement between body fat percentage (%BF) values evaluated by air displacement plethysmograph (ADP) and body adiposity index (BAI) in adults with Down’s syndrome (DS).Subjects/Methods:Forty-five adults with DS volunteered to participate in this study (19 women; age 28.7±8.5 years and 26 men; age 29.1±8.8 years). The %BF was measured by ADP (%BFADP) and estimated by anthropometric measures [%BF=(hip circumference/height)1.5−18] (%BFBAI). Agreement between methods was evaluated by paired t-test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Bland–Altman analysis.Results:Although high correlation coefficients were found between %BFADP and %BFBAI for women (r=0.78, P<0.05) and men (r=0.87, P<0.05), significant differences were observed between methods for both sexes (38.9±8.9 vs 42.5±8.5% for women, and 25.8±11.3 vs 32.6±5.4% for men in %BFADP and %BFBAI, respectively). Moreover, Bland–Altman analysis showed that the mean error estimate was +3.6 (95%CI, −7.59 to 14.79) in women and +6.74 (95%CI, −7.25 to 20.72) in men.Conclusions:The results indicate that BAI seems to be a limited method to evaluate %BF in women and in men with DS.

Kinetics and Pedaling Technique

Improving the interaction between cyclists and their bicycles is a key issue to enhance performance. The reason for that is linked to the optimal use of force applied from cyclists at the pedals, handlebars and saddle in order to improve bicycle speed at the minimum possible energy cost.

Effects of Two Different Training Methods in Women With Fibromyalgia Syndrome

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects generated by the methods of training in women with fibromyalgia. Two methods were applied—aerobic training (TA) and circuit training (TCIRC)—and their effects were compared on the quality of life of patients through diagnostic tests for fibromyalgia (questionnaire on the impact of fibromyalgia, visual scale of pain), development of aerobic capacity (test time, VO2max, and HRmax), and strength (15RM test). With the analysis performed in the pre- and post-training periods, it was found that in diagnosis of fibromyalgia the TCIRC had a greater development than the TA when pre- and post-test evolution were compared. In 6 weeks, however, the TA had better results than the TCIRC in aerobic capacity, considering the duration of the training period. In the variable strength development, as expected, the TCIRC showed a higher evolution. Thus, it was concluded that circuit training can be an alternative form of treatment of fibromyalgia.