Perceptual fatigue accumulates over consecutive tag football matches, although there were only marginal increases in neuromuscular fatigue. However, both neuromuscular and perceptual fatigue measures were found to contribute to reduced match running performance in the final match.

This study determined the effect of 6 months of low-load very high-repetition resistance training on bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition in nonosteoporotic middle-aged and older women. Fifty healthy, active community-dwelling women aged 56-75 years took part in the two-group, repeated-measures randomized controlled trial. Participants either undertook 6 months of low-load very high-repetition resistance training in the form of BodyPump™ or served as control participants. Outcome measures included BMD at the lumbar spine, hip, and total body; total fat mass; fat-free soft tissue mass and maximal isotonic strength. Significant group-by-time interactions were found for lumbar spine BMD and maximal strength in favor of the BodyPump™ group. No favorable effects were found for hip BMD, total body BMD, total fat mass, or fat-free soft tissue mass. Three participants withdrew from the intervention group due to injury or fear of injury associated with training. Under the conditions used in this research, low-load very high-repetition resistance training is effective at attenuating losses in lumbar spine BMD compared to controls in healthy, active women aged over 55 years but did not influence hip and total body BMD or fat mass and fat-free soft tissue mass.

The squat is used extensively in strength and conditioning, physical therapy, rehabilitation, and fitness programs. However, the movement pattern of the hip and knee is still relatively unknown, in particular, the timing of when maximum angles is reached. The purpose of this study was to quantify the hip and knee movements of the squat and establish if load alters these movements. Twenty-eight subjects (16 men and 12 women) performed 2 sets of 8 squats. Load was applied in random order as no additional weight (body weight [BW]) or an additional load of 50% of the subject's weight (BW+50%). Joint angles and time for hip and knee, as well as forward knee, displacement in the descent and ascent phases were measured with significance at p<0.05. Regardless of gender, phase, and load, all subjects achieved their maximum hip and knee angles within 2% of the deepest position. Load significantly increased the flexion angle at the hip and knee joints in men. The knees movement forward of the toes ranged from 63.8 to 64.7 mm in men and 93.2 to 96.6 mm in women. A significant difference in the timing of when the maximum forward knee movement occurred was observed because of gender. The overriding factor for the practical prescription of squat technique was regardless of load, gender, or phase; the maximum angles of the hip and knee are reached almost simultaneously at the bottom of the squat. Furthermore, for all subjects, the knee moved forward of the toes when squatting with men reaching their maximum forward knee position around 84% of the descent phase, whereas this occurred for women around 93%.

Six weeks of unsupervised Wii balance training is an effective modality for improving balance in independent older adults.

An essential exercise for strength training of the lower limbs is the squat exercise. During this exercise, changes in lumbar lordosis are commonly used to indicate when the descent of the squat should cease, yet the behavior of the lumbar-scarum segments remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to quantify the lumbar-sacrum movements during the back squat, because the movement of the sacrum is influenced by the width of stance, this variable was also investigated. Thirty trained subjects, 18 men with 1 repetition maximum (1RM) squat of 123% (13.9%) of bodyweight and 12 women with 1RM squat of 93% (15.6%), performed a set of narrow and wide stance squats, each carrying an additional 50% of body weight as load. The timing and movement of the lumbar angle (T12/L1), sacrum angle (L5/S1), and lumbar flexion angle (lumbar lordosis) were measured in 3 dimensions for the ascent and decent phases. Men and women achieved similar lumbar angles for both width of stance and phase. Sacrum angles, lumbar flexion angles, and timing differed significantly (p < 0.05) between gender and width of stance. The lumbar flexion range during the descent phase for women in narrow and wide stance was 12.9° and 12.6°, respectively; for men, this range was significantly (p < 0.05) larger at 26.3° and 25.4°, respectively. Men and women developed different movement patterns for the squatting movement, and therefore, this needs to be considered in strength development and screening procedures. The lumbar spine became kyphotic as soon as a load was placed on the shoulders, and any teaching cues to maintain a curved lumbar spine when squatting must be questioned.