Research and News
Posts tagged training and conditioning
Thera-Band exercise program can improve lower limb biomechanics in females
Jan 30th
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Female athletes are particularly susceptible to anterior knee pain and injury to their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). This increased risk is thought to result from poor dynamic control of the hip and knee, particularly when the foot hits the ground. The inability to control hip adduction, knee valgus, and internal rotation in the transition from an open- to closed-chain position of the leg may result from weakness of the hip abductor and external rotator muscles.
Researchers have suggested that females have weakness of their hip abductors, extensors, and external rotators (Prins et al. 2009). Exercise programs using Thera-Band® elastic resistance for females with anterior knee pain have been successful and featured previously in the Academy blog. These programs include core stabilization, as well as hip and knee strengthening exercises.
In the January 2012 journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Brazilian researchers published a study of 28 healthy female athletes. They wanted to determine if their exercise program could improve lower limb biomechanics, which theoretically may help reduce injuries. The subjects were assigned to either an 8 week training group or non-exercising control group.
The More >
Evidence-based Recommendations for Core Training with Unstable Surfaces
Sep 2nd
Core training has maintained its popularity in fitness and rehabilitation despite controversies over optimal training methods for “core stability.” Training with unstable surfaces such as Thera-Band® exercise balls, stability trainers, and balance boards have been recommended for core training, suggesting that such surfaces promote activation of core muscles. The “core” can be defined as the axial skeletal and its muscular and fascial attachments, including the pelvic and shoulder girdle.
Recently, resistance training while balancing on unstable surfaces such as exercise balls has become popular. Canadian researchers David Behm PhD and colleagues published a comprehensive review and position stand on the use of instability to train the core. Research has shown that exercises performed on unstable surfaces produce higher levels of muscle activation in both the core and extremity muscles compared to stable surfaces. However, force and power outputs are decreased while exercising on unstable surfaces, sometimes up to 70%. Interestingly, increasing levels of core muscle activation can also be achieved with free weight exercises such as squats and Olympic lifts without added instability.
In their article, the authors made several recommendations for both athletes and non-athletic conditioning based on their review of the literature. Dr. Behm et al. noted that athletes should emphasize “higher-intensity ground-based lifts” (such More >
Training program improves throwing accuracy in baseball players
Mar 31st
Core training is thought to be important to improve functional sport activities, particularly those involving force transfer through the abdominals and back, into the extremities. For example, much of the strength and power required to throw a baseball comes from the force transmitted through the core from the legs. This is an example of the ‘kinetic chain,” where different parts of the body are interconnected and all contribute in some way to performing a functional activity.
Few studies have investigated the effects of core training on functional performance. Athletic training researchers investigated the effects of a shoulder training program with and without core stability exercises. 19 baseball players were randomly assigned to an open and closed-chain exercise program, or the same program with additional core training. 15 healthy age-matched non athletes were used as a quasi-control group. Each subject was tested for throwing accuracy, core stability, and proprioception before and after the 6-week program.
Both groups performed a shoulder training program that included free weights, closed-chain balance board, step-up, and exercise ball exercises, as well as plyometric ball tosses. The core training group also performed stabilization exercises such as the dead bug, sit-up, bridge, wall slides, and sitting on an exercise ball.
After the training program, More >
Are elastic resistance squats better than free weight squats?
Mar 1st
The squat exercise is used primarily for hip and knee strengthening. It is considered one of the most fundamental strengthening exercises for strength and power in the legs. Elastic bands have been used to add resistance to the squat exercise while using barbell free weights to offer more dynamic resistance at the top of the squat movement as the resistance of the band is at its highest. No studies have directly compared the effects of squatting with elastic resistance versus free weights.
In a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, researchers compared squatting with equivalent work loads of elastic-resisted and isotonic free-weight squats in trained weight lifters. Subjects squatted with each type of resistance while muscle activity and biomechanical variables were measured. The band-resisted squats resulted in higher force, velocity, power, and quadriceps muscle activity near the top of the squat, which includes the first part of the eccentric phase, as well as the last part of the concentric phase.
The researchers concluded that elastic resistance produces similar resistance patterns as standard free weights, except at the bottom of the squat, where the bands are on less stretch and thus, less tension. More importantly, the researchers stated that elastic band squats More >
