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Background: The effect of globally recommended levels of physical activity on cognition and motor behavior is not completely understood. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to assess the effect of 300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on cognitive and motor performance among overweight and obese working-age women. Methods: Overweight and obese participants aged 38–56 years were randomized to either a control or an experimental group performing aerobic exercise at 50% to 60% of the peak oxygen consumption for a 2-month period. Changes in aerobic fitness, cardiac autonomic function, brain-derived neurotropic factor levels, and cognitive and motor performance were assessed. Results: Although aerobic exercise reduced body weight (P < .05) and improved peak oxygen consumption (P < .05), the brain-derived neurotropic factor levels and cognitive and motor performance remained unchanged. Heart rate and blood pressure decreased (P < .05), whereas heart rate variability indices were not affected. No significant correlations between changes in heart rate variability indices and cognition were observed. Conclusions: Two months of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise decreased sympathetic activity and improved cardiovascular fitness but had no impact on cognition or motor control among these middle-aged, overweight, and obese women.

Prior eccentric-concentric exercise of thigh muscles (100 drop jumps) accelerates VO kinetics at the start and increases VO during steady state of heavy cycling only in the male group. So, prior exercise of such type has a higher negative impact on cycling economy in men than in women and this might be related to greater muscle damage and fatigue in physically active male persons after plyometric exercise.

Background: Although acute thermal stress appears to be one of the most effective stressors that increase the intra-and extracellular concentrations of heat shock protein 72 (Hsp72), 17b-estradiol has been shown to inhibit heat-induced Hsp72 expression. Materials and Methods: To determine whether severe whole-body hyperthermia (increase in rectal temperature up to 39.5 C) induced by lower-body heating is a sufficient stimulus to modulate hormonal (17b-estradiol, progesterone, prolactin, epinephrine, and norepinephrine) and extracellular Hsp72 responses, we investigated young adult women (21 ± 1 yr). Results and Conclusions: In the present study, we show that a severe whole-body hyperthermia (increase in rectal temperature of approximately 2.6 C and heart rate of approximately 80 bpm from baseline) was sufficient to increase 17b-estradiol, progesterone, and prolactin and catecholamine norepinephrine concentration. Moreover, we show that the concentration of extracellular Hsp72 and catecholamine epinephrine were not affected by severe whole-body hyperthermia in young adult women. From the functional point of view, expression of ovarian hormones induced by passive heat stress may have therapeutic potential for young adult women in, for example, estrogen treatment and overall women's health.