Richard P. Mikat

Eight Weeks of Ballistic Exercise Improves Power Independently of Changes in Strength and Muscle Fiber Type Expression

Winchester, JB, McBride, JM, Maher, MA, Mikat, RP, Allen, BK, Kline, DE, and McGuigan, MR. Eight weeks of ballistic exercise improves power independently of changes in strength and muscle fiber type expression. J Strength Cond Res 22(6): 1728-1734, 2008-This study investigated the effects of ballistic resistance training and strength training on muscle fiber composition, peak force (PF), maximal strength, and peak power (PP). Fourteen males (age = 21.3 ± 2.9, body mass = 77.8 ± 10.1 kg) with 3 months of resistance training experience completed the study. Subjects were tested pre and post for their squat one-repetition maximum (1RM) and PP in the jump squat (JS). Peak force and rate of force development (RFD) were tested during an isometric midthigh pull. Muscle biopsies were obtained from the vastus lateralis for analysis of muscle fiber type expression. Subjects were matched for strength and then randomly selected into either training (T) or control (C) groups. Group T performed 8 weeks of JS training using a periodized program with loading between 26 and 48% of 1RM, 3 days per week. Group T showed significant improvement in PP from 4088.9 ± 520.6 to 5737.6 ± 651.8 W. Rate of force development improved significantly in group T from 12687.5 ± 4644.0 to 25343.8 ± 12614.4 N·s−1. PV improved significantly from 1.59 ± 0.41 to 2.11 ± 0.75 m·s−1. No changes occurred in PF, 1RM, or muscle fiber type expression for group T. No changes occurred in any variables in group C. The results of this study indicate that using ballistic resistance exercise is an effective method for increasing PP and RFD independently of changes in maximum strength (1RM, PF), and those increases are a result of factors other than changes in muscle fiber type expression.

The effects of gloves on grip strength and three-point pinch

No-glove, leather-glove, nitrile-glove, and vinyl-glove conditions were evaluated to determine their effects on grip strength and three-point pinch. Forty-one adult volunteers from a local university and local hospital participated in the two-day study. The order of testing was randomly assigned. A hydraulic hand dynamometer and a hydraulic pinch gauge were used to evaluate grip strength and three-point pinch with no glove and with each glove type. Grip strength and three-point pinch were tested on separate days. Grip strength test results showed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) for no glove vs. leather glove, no glove vs. nitrile glove, no glove vs. vinyl glove, leather glove vs. nitrile glove, and leather glove vs. vinyl glove, but no statistically significant difference for nitrile glove vs. vinyl glove. Three-point pinch test results also showed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) for no glove vs. leather glove, leather glove vs. nitrile glove, and leather glove vs. vinyl glove, but no statistically significant differences for no glove vs. nitrile glove, no glove vs. vinyl glove, and nitrile glove vs. vinyl glove. The results indicate that glove type may have clinical applications for occupational and physical therapists whose patients use gloves in the workplace.

Podcasting for Your Class

14 JOPERD • Volume 78 No. 5 • May/June 2007 Technology can enhance and support academic learning in physical activity, recreation, and health courses. A recent addition to an instructor’s arsenal of technology tools is the podcast. Consider the following scenario for using podcasts as a teaching and learning aid: A physical education teacher directs her students to the class web site. The web site contains a link to an audio fi le that the students can download and listen to at their leisure. The teacher instructs her students to listen to the fi le in preparation for their next class. The fi le contains information about the reduction of heart disease risk from increased physical activity. The fi le concludes by asking the students questions that they should be able to answer after listening to the recording. The next day, students arrive in class and immediately begin to engage in a discussion about the audio fi le and its contents. In the above scenario, the teacher used minimal class time to instruct students on the topic, to review information, and to assess students’ assimilation of the content. She was immediately free to move into higher-order teaching strategies and content applications. As the semester progresses, her students will be able to listen to the fi le as often as they wish in preparation for examinations or assignments. This can be done at the student’s own pace and at any time they choose. Using digital audio fi les has become a win-win practice for students and teachers.

Muscle dysmorphia: risk may be influenced by goals of the weightlifter.

Abstract Skemp, KM, Mikat, RP, Schenck, KP, and Kramer, NA. Muscle dysmorphia: risk may be influenced by goals of the weightlifter. J Strength Cond Res 27(9): 2427–2432, 2013—Athletes with muscle dysmorphia suffer from constant dissatisfaction with body size and shape because they perceive themselves as smaller and less muscular than they actually are. There may be discrepancies among the various subgroups within the weightlifting community in regards to vulnerability and susceptibility to the development of MD. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine and compare MD symptomology between male and female, competitive and noncompetitive, and appearance-related and performance-related weightlifters. The MD assessments were made with the muscle dysmorphia inventory (MDI). The participants included 85 competitive (55 men and 30 women) and 48 noncompetitive (24 men and 24 women) weight training athletes. Each group included athletes with a primary focus on appearance enhancement or performance enhancement. Factorial analyses of variance were used to measure differences between each group on all MDI subscales. The results showed that men scored significantly higher than did women on the supplement (p = 0.006), physique protection (p = 0.039), and body size and symmetry subscales (p < 0.001). Competitive athletes scored significantly higher than noncompetitive athletes did on diet (p < 0.001), supplement (p < 0.001), exercise dependence (p < 0.001), and body size and symmetry (p = 0.002) subscales. Finally, the athletes focused on appearance enhancement scored significantly higher than athletes focused on performance enhancement on all 6 subscales (p < 0.01). Coaches and health and fitness professionals should understand that the goals of athletes in regard to weight training can influence susceptibility to development of MD symptoms. Knowing that athletes who engage in weight training to enhance appearance may exhibit greater behavioral characteristics than those athletes who do not may be helpful so they may be able to identify, prevent, and reverse MD in the athletes they serve.

Evidence That the Talk Test Can Be Used to Regulate Exercise Intensity

Abstract Woltmann, ML, Foster, C, Porcari, JP, Camic, CL, Dodge, C, Haible, S, and Mikat, RP. Evidence that the talk test can be used to regulate exercise intensity. J Strength Cond Res 29(5): 1248–1254, 2015—The Talk Test (TT) has been shown to be a surrogate of the ventilatory threshold and to be a viable alternative to standard methods of prescribing exercise training intensity. The TT has also been shown to be responsive to manipulations known to change physiologic function including blood donation and training. Whether the TT can be used independently to regulated training intensity is not known. Physically active volunteers (N = 16) performed an incremental exercise test to identify stages of the TT (Last Positive [LP], Equivocal [EQ], and Negative [NEG]). In subsequent, randomly ordered, 30-minute steady-state runs, the running velocity was regulated solely by “clamping” the TT response desired and then monitoring the response of conventional markers of exercise intensity (heart rate, blood lactate, rating of perceived exertion). All subjects were able to complete the LP stage, but only 13 of 16 and 2 of 16 subjects were able to complete the EQ and NEG stages, respectively. Physiologic responses were broadly within those predicted from the incremental exercise test and within the appropriate range of physiologic responses for exercise training. Thus, in addition to correlating with convenient physiological markers, the TT can be used proactively to guide exercise training intensity. The LP stage produced training intensities compatible with appropriate training intensity in healthy adults and with recovery sessions or long duration training sessions in athletes. The EQ and NEG stages produced intensities compatible with higher intensity training in athletes. The results demonstrate that the TT can be used as a primary method to control exercise training intensity.

Session RPE During Prolonged Exercise Training: 962 Board #278 June 1, 3: 30 PM - 5: 00 PM.

Introduction: Various strategies are used to monitor training intensity and permit the calculation of training load. Traditional measures such as speed, heart rate (HR) and blood lactate (HLa) are widely used. The session RPE (sRPE) has been used as an alternative method of training monitoring. PURPOSE: This study compared the evolution of speed, HR, HLa and sRPE during an intensive swimming training session. METHODS: Collegiate swimmers (NCAA Div III), during mid preparatory season, performed 4 x 10 x 100 yd, on a 1:15-1:30 sendoff, and with 10 min rest between sets. Speed and HR were measured after each repetition, and averaged per set. HLa was measured immediately after each set. sRPE was measured after each set, but asking the athlete to rate the effort “as if this was the completion of the workout.” RESULTS: Speed, HR and HLa were essentially constant across the training session, indicating that both the external and internal training load was constant and only dependent on volume of training. The sRPE increased significantly from set to set. CONCLUSIONS: The progressive increase in sRPE suggests that it reflects some aspect of internal training load not reflected by the objective measures.