Physical fitness : training, effects, and maintaining

193 Pages·2011·3.821 MB·English

by  Mark A Powell

SPORTS AND ATHLETICS PREPARATION, PERFORMANCE,
AND PSYCHOLOGY

P F : T ,
HYSICAL ITNESS RAINING
E , M
FFECTS AND AINTAINING
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SPORTS AND ATHLETICS PREPARATION,
PERFORMANCE, AND PSYCHOLOGY

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SPORTS AND ATHLETICS PREPARATION, PERFORMANCE,
AND PSYCHOLOGY

P F : T ,
HYSICAL ITNESS RAINING
EFFECTS, AND MAINTAINING

MARK A. POWELL
EDITOR

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New York
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Physical fitness : training, effects, and maintaining / editor, Mark A.
Powell.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-62100-043-3 (eBook)
1. Physical fitness. I. Powell, Mark A.
RA781.P567 2009 613.7'1--dc22
2010023915

Published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. † New York
CONTENTS

Preface vii
Chapter 1 Active versus Passive Recovery: Metabolic
Limitations and Performance Outcome 1
Savvas P. Tokmakidis, Argyris G.Toubekis and
Ilias Smilios
Chapter 2 Promoting Physical Fitness, Exercise Training and
Sport for Individual with Mental Retardation 45
Emanuele Franciosi and Maria Chiara Gallotta
Chapter 3 Low Cost Physical Fitness Programs across the
Lifespan of Individuals with Intellectual and
Developmental Disability: Improving Cardio-
Vascular Fitness, Functional Ability and Muscle
Strength and Reducing Infirmary Visitation 67
Lotan Meir
Chapter 4 Effects of Chronic Low Back Pain on
Physical Fitness 91
Iván Leonardo Duque
Chapter 5 Using Mental Tricks to Enhance Physical Fitness 101
John DiPrete
Chapter 6 Can Active Video Games Improve Physical Fitness
in Children and Adolescents? 107
Erica Y. Lau, Patrick W.C. Lau and Del P. Wong
vi Contents
Chapter 7 Staying Fit during and after Pregnancy 121
Linda May, Sarah Pyle and Richard Suminski
Chapter 8 The Health Benefits of Aerobic Activity and
Physical Fitness in Young People 143
Craig A. Williams, Julien Aucouturier, Eric Doré,
Pascale Duché and Sébastien Ratel
Index 169
PREFACE

Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness (a state of
health and well-being) and specific fitness (a task-oriented definition based on
the ability to perform specific aspects of sports or occupations). Physical
fitness is generally achieved through exercise and is considered a measure of
the body‘s ability to function efficiently and effectively in work and leisure
activities, to be healthy, to resist hypokinetic diseases, and to meet emergency
situations. This new and important book gathers the latest research from
around the globe in the study of physical fitness with a focus on such topics as
promoting physical fitness and sports for individuals with developmental
disabilities; the effects of chronic low back pain on physical fitness; using
mental tricks to enhance physical fitness and the unique issues of physical
activity during pregnancy.
Chapter 1 - The common training practice of active recovery, using low
intensity of exercise, is often applied during the interval between repeated
exercise bouts and following training sessions with the intention to promote
the restoration of muscle metabolism and hasten the recovery of performance.
The purpose of this chapter is to address the metabolic limitations concerning
the use of active recovery during and after training sessions of high or
maximum intensity. Although there is a consensus concerning the faster
lactate removal after active recovery, there is no clear evidence concerning the
effect of this practice on performance. This is probably attributed to different
exercise modes and experimental protocols that have been used to examine the
effectiveness of active compared to passive recovery. Active compared to
passive recovery increases performance in long duration sprints (15 to 30 s and
40 to 120 s) interspaced with long duration intervals (i.e. exercise to rest ratio
1:8 to 1:15), but this is less likely after short duration repeated sprints (4 to 15
viii Mark A. Powell
s) interspaced with a relatively short rest intervals (i.e. exercise to rest ratio of
1:5). The duration or the intensity, and possibly the mode of exercise, may be
critical factors affecting performance after active recovery as compared to
passive recovery. This in turn affects the energy systems contributing to the
exercise bout that follows. It is likely that active compared to passive recovery,
following long duration sprints, creates a beneficial intramuscular environment
due to a faster restoration of acid-base balance within the muscle cell.
However, the oxygen dependent PCr resynthesis may be impaired by active
recovery when it is applied between short duration sprints and especially when
the recovery interval is short. Furthermore, the intensity of active recovery can
also be crucial for an effective performance outcome. Low intensity should be
used for short duration sprints whereas the intensity at the ―lactate threshold‖
may be more appropriate between long duration sprints. In addition, active
compared to passive recovery applied immediately after high intensity training
may help to maintain performance during the next training session. Coaches
should be aware of the above limitations when using active recovery to
improve the effectiveness of training.
Chapter 2 - The aims of four investigations presented in this chapter were
to assess: a) the contribution of selected factors to athletics and basketball
performance; b) basketball abilities before and after a training period during
one and two following sports seasons; c) the variation of sports abilities by
subjects‘ mental retardation (MR) level. In the first and second investigations
all participants performed fitness tests assessing body composition (BC),
flexibility (SR), muscular strength and endurance (HG, SUP and PUP),
explosive leg power (SLJ), cardiovascular endurance (ST), balance ability
(FT), and motor coordination (TUGT). In the first investigation, the selected
athletics performances were as follow: 60 m, 300 m, 400 m in walking,
Standing long jump, Vortex throw or 100 m, Shot put, and Long jump. TUGT
and body weight had contributions to 60 m, the %body fat to 300 m and to 100
m. The SLJ had contribution to Vortex throw and to Standing long jump. The
PUP had contribution to Shot put. Body weight had contribution to Long
jump. In the second investigation, showed that greater SLJ and PUP had
positive contributions to ball handling; SLJ had positive contribution to
reception and shooting. The HG and PUP had positive contributions to
passing. In the third and fourth investigations, all athletes were tested through
a basketball test battery (Guidetti, 2009) before and after a training period
preceding the championship, during one and two following sports seasons,
respectively. The purpose was to propose adapted basketball tests useful to
evaluate whether individual and team ability level is adequate to participate in
Preface ix
a specific Championship category. This test battery simplified the
classification of basketball competitors with mental retardation by using
functional quantitative measures. Moreover, it is also useful to follow up the
training improvement in athletes with mental retardation during two
consecutive sports seasons.
All our investigations showed that specific sport training could improve
fitness of individuals with MR. Moreover, the possibility to determine the
contribution of selected factors to sport performance should be addressed in
training to help athletes to perform successfully in their competitions.
Chapter 3 - Background: Individuals with intellectual and developmental
disability (IDD) too frequently maintain a sedentary life style, resulting in
health harming consequences and early aging. Physical intervention programs
have been suggested and implemented with this population in the past, mostly
with success, but with extreme costs. The Interventions: The present chapter
describes three low cost intervention programs for children and adults at
different functional levels and intellectual ability. All programs have been
implemented by volunteers trained and supervised by an experienced physical
therapist.
Project 1 – 15 children (Mean age: 7.9) diagnosed at a moderate-severe
cognitive level, were trained daily on a treadmill for the duration of two month
with significant improvements in aerobic capacity and functional ability.

Project 2 – 17 ambulating adults (mean age: 42) diagnosed with moderate
cognitive level, were trained twice weekly on a treadmill, for the duration of
one year. Results were compared with a control group (n=17) matched for
function, gender, age, and primary diagnosis and showed significant reduction
in pulse at rest (p<0.05) and during exercise (p<0.001) only for the trained
participants. A significant reduction was also observed in infirmary visitation
(P<0.025) for the research group alone.
Project 3 – 4 adults (mean age: 47.5) constant wheel chair users who have
never walked, diagnosed with moderate cognitive level, were trained twice
weekly on a four wheeled walker, for the duration of two month. Results were
compared with a control participant (n=1) and showed significant reduction in
pulse at rest (p<0.05) and during exercise (p<0.001) in muscle strength
(p<0.001) and functional ability (p<0.01).
Conclusions:The results of all three projects indicate that a low cost
exercise program can yield extremely positive results in many areas that
influence clients' health. The author suggests implementing such programs for
individuals with IDD on a regular basis since childhood and across their