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It is essential for physical education teachers to utilize a foundation of physiological principles to design and monitor appropriate, safe, and effective exercise for their students. Adult training programs are not appropriate for children. Teachers should consider individual levels of maturation, motor skill ability, and affective needs when designing the program. The students' level of maturation, training experience, and ability should be considered in addition to grade level and chronological age when making decisions related to the level of exercise or type of program to implement. Introducing exercises early in a resistance training program teaches students how to control their body weight. Building a foundation of muscular strength and endurance at an early age, with a variety of movement experiences, can enhance human performance and prevent injury. The exercises described in this article can be included in physical education curriculums throughout elementary, middle, and high school. (Contains 9 figures.)

Clinical Scenario: Cryotherapy is one of the most commonly used modalities for postexercise muscle recovery despite inconsistencies in the literature validating its effectiveness. With the need to find a more effective modality, photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) has gained popularity because of recent research demonstrating its ability to accelerate the muscle recovery process. Focused Clinical Question: Is PBMT more effective than cryotherapy at reducing recovery time and decreasing delayed onset muscle soreness after strenuous exercise? Summary of Key Findings: Three moderate- to high-quality double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trials and 2 low- to moderate-quality translational studies performed on rats were included in this critically appraised topic. All 5 studies supported the use of PBMT over cryotherapy as a treatment for postexercise muscle recovery following exercise. PBMT was superior in reducing creatine kinase, inflammation markers, and blood lactate compared with cryotherapy, following strenuous/high intensity aerobic or strength muscular exercise. PBMT was also shown to improve postexercise muscle performance and function more than cryotherapy. Clinical Bottom Line: There is moderate evidence to suggest the use of PBMT over cryotherapy postexercise to enhance muscle recovery in trained and untrained athletes. Shorter recovery times and increased muscle performance can be seen 24 to 96 hours following PBMT application. Strength of Recommendation: Based on consistent findings from all 5 studies, there is grade B evidence to support the use of PBMT over cryotherapy for more effective postexercise recovery of skeletal muscle performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

McAllister, MJ, Steadman, KS, Renteria, LI, Case, MJ, Butawan, MB, Bloomer, RJ, and McCurdy, KW. Acute resistance exercise reduces postprandial lipemia and oxidative stress in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res 36(8): 2139–2146, 2022—Acute ingestion of a high-fat meal (HFM) results in significant increases in postprandial triacylglycerols (TAG) and markers of oxidative stress (OS). Combined aerobic and resistance exercise can attenuate postprandial lipemia; however, it is not clear if acute resistance exercise alone can reduce postprandial OS. The purpose of this study was to determine if acute resistance exercise can attenuate postprandial OS and to compare the effects of moderate versus high-intensity resistance exercise in this regard. Nine (n = 9) moderately resistance-trained individuals completed 3 testing conditions in a randomized order as follows: (a) rest (no exercise), (b) moderate intensity (3 sets of 10 repetitions at 68% 1 repetition maximum [RM]), and (c) high-intensity resistance exercise (4 sets of 6 repetitions at 85% 1RM). Exercises included barbell back squat, bench press, straight leg deadlift, lat pull-down, upright row, and sit-ups. A HFM was ingested 12 hours after each condition. Blood samples were collected immediately before as well as 2 and 4 hours after ingestion and analyzed for TAG, cholesterol (CHOL), insulin, malondialdehyde (MDA), total nitrate/nitrite (NOx), glutathione (GSH), and advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP). When comparing 4 hour area under curve (AUC) data between conditions, AOPP demonstrated a significantly lower AUC after the moderate-intensity condition compared with resting condition. In addition, resistance exercise resulted in significantly higher plasma NOx concentrations as well as lower TAG and CHOL concentrations after HFM ingestion. Resistance exercise also prevented a decline in GSH that was induced by the HFM. These results demonstrate that acute resistance exercise can attenuate postprandial OS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

McCurdy, KW, Walker, JL, Langford, GA, Kutz, MR, Guerrero, JM, and McMillan, J. The relationship between kinematic determinants of jump and sprint performance in Division I women soccer players. J Strength Cond Res 24(12): 3200-3208, 2010--The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between measures of unilateral and bilateral jumping performance and 10- and 25-m sprint performance. Fifteen division I women soccer players (height 165 [+ or -] 2.44 cm, mass 61.65 [+ or -] 7.7 kg, age 20.19 [+ or -] 0.91 years) volunteered to participate in this study. The subjects completed a 10- and 25-m sprint test. The following jump kinematic variables were measured using accelerometry: sprint rime, step length, step frequency, jump height and distance, contact time, concentric contact time, and flight time (Inform Sport Training Systems, Victoria, BC, Canada). The following jumps were completed in random order: bilateral countermovement vertical jump, bilateral countermovement horizontal jump, bilateral 40-cm drop vertical jump, bilateral 40-cm drop horizontal jump, unilateral countermovement vertical jump (UCV), unilateral countermovement horizontal jump, unilateral 20-cm drop vertical jump (UDV), and unilateral 20-cm drop horizontal jump (UDH). The trial with the best jump height or distance, reactive strength (jump height or distance/total contact time), anal flight time to concentric contact time ratio (FT/CCT) was recorded to analyze the relationship between jump kinematics and sprint performance. None of the bilateral jump kinematics significantly correlated with 10- and 25-m sprint time, step length, or step frequency. Right-leg jump height (r = -0.71, p = 0.006, SEE = 0.152 seconds), FT/CCT (r = -0.58, p = 0.04, SEE = 0.176 seconds), and combined right and left-leg jump height (r = -0.61) were significantly correlated with the 25-m sprint time during the UCV. Right-leg FT/CCT was also significantly related to 25-m step length (r = 0.68, p = 0.03, SEE = 0.06 m) during the UDV. The combined right and left leg jump distance to standing height ratio during the UDH significantly correlated (r = -0.58) with 10-m sprint time. In comparison to bilateral jumps, unilateral jumps produced a stronger relationship with sprint performance. KEY WORDS reactive strength, vertical jump, horizontal jump, unilateral jump, bilateral jump

McCurdy, K., G. Langford, M. Doscher, L. Wiley, and K. Mallard. The effects of short-term unilateral and bilateral lower-body resistance training on measures of strength and power. J. Strength Cond. Res. 19(1):9-15. 2005.--The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of short-term unilateral resistance training (UL) and bilateral resistance training (BL) with free weights on several tests of unilateral and bilateral lower-body strength and power in men and women. Thirty-eight untrained men and women (mean body mass 78.3 [+ or -] 21.47 kg; age 20.74 [+ or -] 2.6 years) completed the study. The groups trained 2 days per week for 8 weeks with free weights and 2 days per week for 5 of the 8 weeks with plyometric drills. The resistance-training program consisted of a progression from 3 sets of 15 repetitions at 50% of the subject's predicted 1 repetition maximum (1RM) to 6 sets of 5 repetitions at 87% 1RM. Training volume and intensity were equal for each group. The free-weight squat was used to measure unilateral and bilateral strength. Power was measured by the Magaria-Kalamen stair-climb test and the unilateral and bilateral vertical jump test. Analysis of covariance was used to analyze differences between men and women and the interaction of group and gender. Pretest scores were used as the covariate. The UL group improved more than the BL group on the unilateral vertical jump height (p = 0.001) and relative power (p = 0.013). After adjusting for pretest differences, the improved scores on all tests, except for the unilateral squat, were similar between the men and the women. No significant interactions on all tests were found for the men or women comparison between training groups. These results indicate that UL and BL are equally effective for early phase improvement of unilateral and bilateral leg strength and power in untrained men and women. KEY WORDS. unilateral vertical jump, bilateral vertical jump, Margaria-Kalamen stair climb, unilateral squat, bilateral squat

This article presents information related to resistance training for elementary school age children in the U.S. It is essential for physical education teachers to utilize a foundation of physiological principles to design and monitor appropriate, safe and effective exercise for their students. Adult training programs are not appropriate for children. Teachers should consider individual levels of maturation, motor skill ability, and affective needs when designing the program. The students' level of maturation, training experience and ability should be considered in addition to grade level and chronological age when making decisions related to the level of exercise or type of program to implement. Essentially, there is no difference in strength among boys and girls during early childhood prior to puberty. As both genders advance through puberty, the difference intensifies. Developing an appropriate resistance training program for younger children requires an understanding of the adaptations that occur in their bodies after regular participation in a resistance training program.

Discusses the use of a stability ball as an appropriate method of resistance training for a middle school physical education setting. Ball on the wall push-up; Squat with the ball; Walk the ball; Back on the ball; Sit-up on the ball.

The article discusses a study which compared conventional and rubber-based band squats through electromyographic analysis. The study involved 22 physically active collegiate males. Mean integrated electromyography (I-EMG) values for the vastus lateralis (VL) muscle during back squat were compared using three types of free-weight barbell resistances, namely, No Band (NB), Bottom Band (BB) and Top Band (TB) conditions. The study found that BB or TB squats allow for greater VL muscle activity.