Investigações têm demonstrado que o uso de roupas de compressão para membros inferiores pode melhorar a potência em saltos e a economia de corrida. Recentemente, o uso de roupas de compressão para os membros superiores tornou-se popular em desportos onde a força, resistência e potência muscular são requeridas. No entanto, os benefícios das roupas de compressão no desempenho muscular ainda precisam ser investigados. O objetivo do estudo foi investigar os efeitos de mangas de compressão na produção de força e no trabalho dos flexores do cotovelo. Participaram do estudo oito homens jovens e saudáveis com experiência em exercício resistido. Os testes foram conduzidos de forma aleatória com design contrabalanceado, sendo: 1) manga de compressão e 2) manga sem compressão (placebo). Foram avaliados o pico de torque (PT) e o trabalho total (TT) durante quatro séries de 10 repetições máximas dos flexores do cotovelo a 60°.s-1 em dinamómetro isocinético. Verificou-se redução significativa do PT e TT entre as séries em ambas as condições. No entanto, não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre compressão e placebo. Os resultados indicam que as mangas de compressão usadas por atletas e entusiastas não contribuem para aumento da força ou capacidade de realizar trabalho dos flexores do cotovelo.

Investigations have demonstrated that progressive lower-body compression garments can enhance jump power and running economy. Recently, the use of upper-body compression garments has become popular in sports that require muscular strength, endurance, and power. However, the benefits of these garments on muscular performance still need to be investigated. The aim of this study was investigate the effects of wearing compression sleeve on force production and muscle work of the elbow flexors. Eight healthy resistance trained young men volunteered to take part in this study. Testing was conducted using a randomized treatment design with two experimental conditions consisting of: 1) compression sleeve, and 2) placebo sleeve with no compression. Peak torque (PT) and total work (TW) testing consisted of four sets of 10 maximal isokinetic elbow flexion repetitions at 60°.s-1. No significant differences were found between the compression and placebo conditions. However, PT and TW decreased significantly across sets for both conditions. These results indicate that compression sleeves commonly worn by athletes and fitness participants do not contribute to enhance elbow flexion muscle strength or work capacity.

Sarcopenic obesity is the combination of reduced fat-free mass (FFM) and increased fat mass (FM) with advancing age but there is lack of clear criteria for its identification. The purposes of the present investigation were: 1) to determine the prevalence of postmenopausal women with reduced FFM relative to their FM and height, and 2) to examine whether there are associations between the proposed classification and health-related variables. A total of 607 women were included in this cross-sectional study and were separated into two subsets: 258 older women with a mean age of 66.8 ± 5.6 years and 349 young women aged 18-40 years (mean age, 29.0 ± 7.5 years). All volunteers underwent body composition assessment by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The FFM index relative to FM and height was calculated and the cutoff value corresponded to two standard deviations below the mean of the young reference group. To examine the clinical significance of the classification, all older participants underwent measurements of quadriceps strength and cardiorespiratory fitness. Values were compared between those who were classified as low FFM or not, using an independent samples t-test and correlations were examined. The cutoff corresponded to a residual of -3.4 and generated a sarcopenic obesity prevalence of 19.8% that was associated with reduced muscle strength and aerobic fitness among the older participants. Also, the index correlated significantly with the health-related fitness variables. The results demonstrated reduced functional capacity for those below the proposed cutoff and suggested applicability of the approach as a definition for sarcopenic obesity.

OBJETIVO: Avaliar o efeito de dois diferentes Intervalos de Recuperação (IR) entre séries de extensões isocinéticas de joelho no Pico de Torque (PT) e no Trabalho Total (TT) em jovens destreinados. MÉTODOS: Dezoito homens (24,22±2,58 anos; 80,42±11,41 kg) realizaram três séries de 10 extensões isocinéticas com o joelho direito a 60° e 180°/s. O IR entre as séries foram de 1 e 2 minutos, contrabalanceados entre os dois dias de teste, separados por, no mínimo, 48 horas. A taxa de trabalho-recuperação foi de 1:3 e 1:6 para 60°/s e 1:6 e 1:12 para 180°/s. Os voluntários não participavam de programas de treinamento resistido há pelo menos 6 meses. A análise estatística foi a ANOVA de medidas repetidas 2 x 3 [IR (1 e 2 minutos) x série (1ª, 2ª e 3ª)]. O nível de significância foi a<0,05. RESULTADOS: Tanto 1 como 2 minutos não conseguiram manter o PT e o TT ao longo das três séries (p<0,05). Porém, a 60°/s, 2 minutos de IR possibilitaram um melhor PT e TT na segunda e na terceira série que 1 minuto (p<0,05). Já a 180°/s, 2 minutos só foi superior (p<0,05) a 1 minuto na terceira série para o TT. CONCLUSÃO: O estudo indicou que durante um protocolo de treinamento isocinético, homens jovens necessitam mais de 2 minutos para recuperar totalmente o PT a 60°/s, e totalmente o TT a 60° e 180°/s. Entretanto, uma melhor recuperação do PT pode ser alcançada com uma taxa de trabalho-recuperação de 1:12 a 180°/s.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of two recovery intervals (RIs) between sets of isokinetic knee extension exercises on peak torque (PT) and total work (TW), among untrained young men. METHODS: Eighteen men (24.22±2.58 years; 80.42±11.41 kg) performed three sets of ten isokinetic extensions of the right knee, at 60° and 180°/s. The RIs between the sets were one and two minutes long, spread over two test days separated by a minimum of 48 hours. The work-to-recovery ratio was 1:3 and 1:6 for 60°/s, and 1:6 and 1:12 for 180°/s. The subjects had not participated in any resistance training programs within the last six months. The statistical analysis consisted of 2 x 3 repeated-measures ANOVA [RI (one or two minutes) x set (1st, 2nd or 3rd)]. The significance level was a<0.05. RESULTS: Neither one minute nor two minutes RIs maintained the PT and TW throughout the three sets (p<0.05). However, at 60°/s, two minutes RIs enabled better PT and TW in the second and third sets than one minute RIs (p<0.05). At 180°/s, two minutes RIs were only better (p<0.05) than one minute RIs for TW in the third set. CONCLUSION: This study indicated that, during an isokinetic training protocol, young men require more than two minutes of RI for full PT recovery at 60°/s and full TW recovery at 60°/s and 180°/s. However, better PT recovery can be attained with a 1:12 work-to-recovery ratio at 180°/s.

OBJETIVO: Comparar os efeitos de diferentes intervalos de recuperação (IR) entre séries de contração isocinética no desempenho muscular em idosos. MÉTODOS: Vinte idosos voluntários (66,9±3,9 anos, 76,1±13,4kg, 169±5,2cm) foram submetidos a três sessões de exercício resistido isocinético unilateral da musculatura extensora do joelho com diferentes IR (1 minuto, 2 minutos, e 3 minutos) na velocidade de 60°•s-1. Cada sessão consistia em três séries de 10 repetições durante as quais foram avaliados o pico de torque (PT), trabalho total (TT) e índice de fadiga (IF). ANOVA fatorial para medidas repetidas, com a análise de Post hoc por Bonferroni, foi utilizada para identificar possíveis diferenças entre os IR. O nível de significância estatístico utilizado foi de p<0,05. RESULTADOS: Não foram observadas diferenças no desempenho muscular entre as 1as séries nos diferentes IR (p>0,05). Apesar de ter sido observado menor desempenho muscular na 3ª série em todos os IR, maiores quedas no PT, TT e IF foram observadas quando adotado o IR de 1minuto (p<0,05). CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados mostraram que a variável IR exerce importante influência sobre o desempenho muscular isocinético em idosos, principalmente a partir da 3ª série, o que sugere incrementos no IR à medida que séries subsequentes forem executadas durante a mesma sessão de exercícios.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of different rest intervals (RI) between sets of isokinetic contractions on muscle performance in older adults. METHODS: Twenty older participants (66.9±3.9 years; 76.1±13.4kg; 169±5.2cm) underwent three sessions of unilateral isokinetic training for the knee extensor muscles, with different RI (1 minute, 2 minutes and 3 minutes) at an angular velocity of 60°•s-1. Each session consisted of three sets of 10 repetitions, during which the peak torque (PT), total work (TW) and fatigue index (FI) were evaluated. Factorial ANOVA for repeated measurements, with Bonferroni post-hoc analysis, was used to identify possible differences between the RI. The statistical significance level was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: No differences in muscle performance during the first sets were observed between the different RI (p>0.05). Although muscle performance was lower during the third sets with all RI, the greatest decreases in PT, TW and FI occurred with the 1 minute RI (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that the RI variable has an important influence on isokinetic muscle performance in older adults, particularly from the third sets onwards, which suggests that RI should be increased as successive sets are performed within the same exercise session.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an exercise intervention on the total caloric intake (TCI) of breast cancer patients undergoing treatment. A secondary purpose was to determine whether or not a relationship existed between changes in TCI, body fat composition (%BF), and fatigue during the study, which lasted 6 months. Twenty females recently diagnosed with breast cancer, scheduled to undergo chemotherapy or radiation, were assigned randomly to an experimental (N = 10) or control group (N = 10). Outcome measures included TCI (3-day food diary), %BF (skinfolds), and fatigue (revised Piper Fatigue Scale). Each exercise session was conducted as follows: initial cardiovascular activity (6-12 min), followed by stretching (5-10 min), resistance training (15-30 min), and a cool-down (approximately 8 min). Significant changes in TCI were observed among groups (F1,18 = 8.582; P = 0.009), at treatments 2 and 3, and at the end of the study [experimental (1973 ± 419), control (1488 ± 418); experimental (1946 ± 437), control (1436 ± 429); experimental (2315 ± 455), control (1474 ± 294), respectively]. A significant negative correlation was found (Spearman rho(18) = -0.759; P < 0.001) between TCI and %BF and between TCI and fatigue levels (Spearman rho(18) = -0.541; P = 0.014) at the end of the study. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that an exercise intervention administered to breast cancer patients undergoing medical treatment may assist in the mitigation of some treatment side effects, including decreased TCI, increased fatigue, and negative changes in body composition.