[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to determine how an exercise program focusing on muscular strength could aid firefighters with chronic lower back pain. [Subjects] The research subjects were randomly assigned to two groups, the experimental group (n=8) and the control (n=8). [Methods] The experimental group performed two types of exercise programs four times per week for 8 weeks under su...

BACKGROUND Bone mass and fall propensity are two major risk factors for hip fracture. Our intent was to determine if weight-bearing exercises with added resistance from weighted vests would improve dynamic balance, muscle strength and power, and bone mass in postmenopausal women, thereby reducing risk for falls and hip fracture. METHODS Forty-four nonsmoking, community-dwelling, Caucasian wom...

BACKGROUND Estimates of obesity, based on body mass index (BMI) reveal that Canadian adults have become heavier over the past quarter century. However, a comprehensive assessment of fitness requires additional measures. This article provides up-to-date estimates of fitness levels of Canadians aged 20 to 69 years. Results are compared with estimates from 1981. DATA AND METHODS Data are from th...

Older adulthood is accompanied by declines in muscular strength, coordination, function, and increased risk of falling. Resistance training increases muscular strength in this population but its effect on proprioception is unknown. To evaluate the effect of resistance training on proprioception, community dwelling older women completed a three-month exercise study. A resistance training (RT) gr...

Background Resistance training (RT) enhances muscle protein synthesis and increases muscle strength and hypertrophy. Protein and amino acid supplements have been shown to augment the physiological improvements associated with RT such as improved body composition, muscular strength, and hypertrophy while suppressing exerciseinduced proteolysis. Supplements that also contain creatine and caffeine...

Background. Archery is a sport that demands a high level of fitness due to its long hours of training and competitive nature. Thus, archers need to have high fatigue tolerance and body figure to perform successfully. Objectives. This study aims to compare and correlate the anthropometric and physical fitness variables on archery shooting performance. Methods. Participants were youth archers o...

Respiratory muscle strength is a proven predictor of long-term outcome of neuromuscular disease (NMD), including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and spinal muscular atrophy. Maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), a sensitive measure of respiratory muscle strength, one of several useful tests of respiratory muscle strength, is gaining interest as a therapeutic clinical t...