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Background: Exercise has been recognized as a promising and emerging treatment for individuals recovering from addiction. The purpose of this article was to systematically review scientific studies using exercise as a means to improve, sustain, or treat addictions, and to provide suggestions for the future use of exercise as a treatment method for addiction. Methods: Using PRISMA guidelines, a database search was conducted for articles that tested the impact of exercise interventions on addiction-related outcomes. To be included, peer-reviewed experimental design studies had to use human subjects to investigate the relationship between exercise and the treatment of or recovery from addiction. Garrard's Matrix Method was used to extract data from reviewed articles (n = 53). Results: Nearly three quarters of the studies reviewed documented a significant change in addiction-related outcomes (e.g., more days abstinent, reduced cravings) in response to exercise exposure, particularly while someone was receiving treatment at an in or outpatient clinic. Many studies investigated the effect of acute bouts of exercise on nicotine dependence, and many studies had small sample sizes, leaving room for future research on how exercise might benefit people recovering from substance and process addictions. Conclusion: Results affirm that exercise can be a helpful aspect of addiction treatment. Future researchers should investigate different exercise settings (e.g., group-based exercise vs individual) and explore exercise maintenance and the long-term outcomes following discharge from treatment facilities.

Tap dancing is for all ages and offers a fun way to be physically active for a lifetime. The purpose of this paper is to describe a parent-and-child tap dance program, the physical activity that occurred during sessions, and parent feedback regarding their experiences. Tap sessions were held on 10 different days within a 14-month period. Data collected included a demographic survey, accelerometer physical activity assessments, and a parent survey of perceived physical, social, and emotional program benefits. The program is unique in the dance field due to its explicit purpose of engaging parents and children together in sessions led by a university dance professor and tap ensemble students. The paper provides a complete program description and a detailed report of typical physical activity during the tap sessions for parents and children. Parent feedback was useful for program refinement and for recommendations for dance educators wanting to offer similar programs.

Engaging in empowering exercise develops movement competency (MC) and strength and supports physical health, mental well-being, and quality of life. Power building combines powerlifting and bodybuilding to increase physical activity (PA), MC, and strength. To our knowledge, power building has not been explored as an exercise intervention. This pilot study investigated the impact of an eight-week power building intervention on women's PA, MC, strength, and empowerment. Eighteen women aged 25.1±9.8 with no powerbuilding experience participated in the intervention, meeting three times weekly for one hour. PA and MC were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Three-repetition maximum (3-RM) tests in the squat, bench press, and deadlift were completed in weeks one and eight of the intervention. Data were checked for normality; the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for non-normally distributed data. The McNemar test was used to analyze differences in dichotomous variables. Effect size was calculated and interpreted as follows small r = 0.1 d = 0.2 omega = 0.1 ), medium ( r = 0.3, d = 0.5 omega ω = 0.3, and large ( r = 0.5, d = 0.8 omega ω = 0.5 ) Total PA ([ t(17) = 3.52, p = 0.003 d = 0.83I ) and participants who met the PA guidelines ( Z = 6.13, p = 0.008 omega = 0.82 ) increased significantly from pre-to post-intervention. Participants' MC scores improved significantly from pre- (24.3±3.5) to post-intervention (29.5±2.5; [ t(17) = 10.04, p < 0.001 d=2.37]). Significant increases in strength were observed (squat Z = - 3.73 p < 0.001 r = 0.881 bench press Z = - 3.73 p < 0.001 r=0.88], and deadlift It(17) = 16.41 p < 0.001 d = 3.87l ) . Empowerment in exercise scores averaged 56.3±6.6 (on a scale of 5-65). The intervention significantly increased total PA, improved MC, increased strength, and facilitated empowerment. Women's participation in powerbuilding may enhance their quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the increasing popularity of CrossFit® as a high-intensity functional training program and the potential benefits of citrulline malate (CM) in enhancing exercise performance through its role as a precursor to L-arginine and nitric oxide production, this study aimed to investigate the acute effects of CM supplementation on CrossFit® performance and cardiovascular function. Using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design, 21 recreationally active participants (mean age 22.2 ± 2.6 years, mean body weight 75.9 ± 10.4 kg) with CrossFit® experience completed the "Cindy" workout under CM and placebo conditions. Participants consumed 4.4 g of CM or a placebo 60 min before the workout, and the performance was measured by the number of rounds completed. Secondary outcomes included heart rate response, time spent in different heart rate intensity zones, and post-exercise recovery time. The results indicated no significant difference in the number of rounds completed between the CM and placebo conditions (13.5 ± 5.2 vs. 13.8 ± 6.7 rounds, respectively; p = 0.587). However, the time spent in zone 4 (80–90% of HR max) was significantly increased in the CM condition (527 ± 395 s vs. 453 ± 334 s; p = 0.017), suggesting a potential benefit for aerobic capacity and anaerobic threshold. No significant differences in post-exercise recovery time were observed (6.6 ± 4.7 h vs. 6.9 ± 4.7 h; p = 0.475). This study highlights the need for further research with larger sample sizes, both genders, and different CM dosages to clarify these findings and better understand CM's role in enhancing athletic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empowering females is a critical global priority. Sports participation is a mechanism to increase female empowerment employed throughout the world. However, measuring empowerment remains challenging because definitions often differ between geographical contexts. For example, empowerment theory constructs, especially individual or psychological empowerment, are frequently used in the Global North to examine and define empowerment. In the Global South, female empowerment, usually referred to as women's empowerment, explicitly addresses women's issues related to their ability to make life choices. Despite these differences, empowerment goals are similar regardless of geography within the sporting context. Therefore, this exploratory narrative review explores differences in empowerment and women's empowerment through sports globally and describes sports empowerment as its own construct. Sports empowerment illustrates feelings of empowerment that are the product of sports experiences that spillover to daily life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity, physical activity, and sedentary behavior in childhood are important indicators of present and future health and are associated with school-related outcomes such as academic achievement, behavior, peer relationships, and self-esteem. Using logistic regression models that controlled for gender, age, ethnicity/race, and socioeconomic status, we investigated the likelihood that youth with learning disabilities (LD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are obese, physically active, and sedentary using a nationally representative sample of 45,897 youth in the United States from 10 to 17 years of age. Results indicated that youth with comorbid LD/ADHD were significantly more likely than peers without LD or ADHD to be obese; that youth with LD only, ADHD only, and comorbid LD/ADHD were significantly less likely to meet recommended levels of physical activity; and that youth with LD only were significantly more likely to exceed recommended levels of sedentary behavior. Medication status mediated outcomes for youth with ADHD. We offer school-based recommendations for improving health-related outcomes for students with LD and ADHD.