Browsing by Author "Santos, Catarina C."
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- Association between the dry-land strength & power and the kick start kinetics in elite male and female swimmersPublication . Santos, Catarina C.; Barbosa, Tiago M.; Marinho, D.A.; Costa, M.J.The aim of this research was to determine the association between dry-land exercises and the start kinetics in elite swimmers. Fourteen swimmers (eight males and six females) included in a national team took part in this study. A fixed smith-machine was used to measure the maximal full squat strength (Smax). The height of squat (SJ) and countermovement (CMJ) jumps were collected with a contact mat. The ground reaction force of the kick starts in the three-dimensional axis (Fz horizontal; Fy, vertical; Fx, lateral) was obtained by an instrumented force plate in the starting block. Overall, the Smax showed a high and significant association with Fz (r = 0.60) and Fy (r = 0.87). Moderate and significant associations were found between Fy and SJ (r = 0.51) and CMJ (r = 0.57). While Smax in males showed high association with Fy (r = 0.77), the Smax for females showed greater association with Fz (r = 0.84). As conclusion, the full back squat seems to be the dry-land exercise with higher association with the kick start kinetics. While in males the full squat defines better the vertical component, for females it defines the horizontal one.
- Avaliação qualitativa de percursos pedestres em espaços de montanha: o projeto trails4healthPublication . Santos, Catarina C.; Casanova, Natalina; Casanova, Jorge; Bragada, José A.; Bartolomeu, Raúl Filipe; Costa, M.J.Foi objetivo deste estudo analisar e avaliar qualitativamente o percurso pedestre do Vale Glaciar do Zêzere. A amostra foi constituída por vinte e nove sujeitos, vinte homens e nove mulheres (idade: 28,04 ± 10,79 anos, estatura: 1,73 ± 0,09 m, massa corporal: 69,59 ± 11,00 kg) que percorreram o trilho linear com 9053 m de distância. A velocidade de caminhada foi monitorizada e mantida constante a 5 km/h com recurso a um dispositivo GPS (Fenix 5, Garmin, USA). Para a avaliação do percurso foi utilizada uma ficha de avaliação qualitativa de percursos pedestres que avalia do ponto de vista qualitativo os seguintes domínios: drenagem, perfil, pontes, escadas, vegetação, proteção lateral/vertical, solo e sinalização. As classificações foram obtidas por meio de uma escala qualitativa de 1 a 5, sendo que 1 representa “sem manutenção (0% do percurso) ” e 5 “manutenção muito boa (100% do percurso). Os resultados obtidos variam entre “sem manutenção (0% do percurso) ”, “pouca manutenção (25% do percurso) ” e “manutenção adequada (50% do percurso). A principal conclusão assenta numa necessidade de reestruturação e manutenção do percurso pedestre do Vale Glaciar do Zêzere.
- Biomechanical responses to water fitness programmes: a narrative reviewPublication . Santos, Catarina C.; Barbosa, Tiago M.; Costa, M.J.In the past years, there was an increasing interest in the biomechanical responses in water fitness sessions. The present review consolidates the current “state-of-art” on the biomechanical responses in water fitness programmes. The literature was searched and screened studies on: (i) healthy subjects; and (ii) water fitness sessions and programmes reporting physical condition outcomes. A total of 36 studies met the inclusion criteria and categorized into four categories: (i) kinematics (n = 5); (ii) ground reaction force (n = 10); (iii) neuromuscular (n = 8); and (iv) strength (n = 14). There was a larger amount of evidence on strength, whereas some gaps in the body of knowledge still persist in the remaining categories. The existent studies cover a large range of age brackets (from young adults to the elderly). Women were recruited more often than men to be part of the studies. The effect of music cadence, body segments, exercise type (e.g., alternated or simultaneous), water depth, resistance equipment, and training protocols were the main topics under research.
- A comparison of load cell and pressure sensors to measure in-water force in young competitive swimmersPublication . Santos, Catarina C.; Costa, M.J.; Forte, Pedro; Marinho, D.A.The purpose of this study was to compare the in-water force of young competitive swimmers using tethered swimming and differential pressure sensors. Thirty-one swimmers (16 girls and 15 boys) were randomly assigned to perform two in-water tests. Swimmers completed two maximum bouts of 25 m front crawl with a differential pressure system and a 30 s maximum bout with an attached load cell (tethered-swimming). The peak force (FPEAK, in N) of dominant and non-dominant upper limbs was retrieved for further analysis. Comparison between methods revealed significant differences in all force variables (p ≤ 0.05) and the biases (mean differences) were large in girls (FPEAK dominant, 45.89 N; FPEAK non-dominant, 43.79 N) and boys (FPEAK dominant, 67.26 N; FPEAK non-dominant, 61.78 N). Despite that, simple linear regression models between the two methods showed significant relationships with a moderate effect in all variables for girls, whereas in boys a high and moderate effect was verified for FPEAK of dominant and non-dominant limbs (respectively). It seems that using pressure sensors and tethered swimming leads to different FPEAK values in young competitive, where correction factors are needed to compare data between both methods.
- Comparison of propulsive forces between two head-out water exercisesPublication . Santos, Catarina C.; Rama, Luís M.; Bartolomeu, Raúl Filipe; Barbosa, Tiago M.; Costa, M.J.The aim of this study was to analyse and compare the propulsive force between two basic head-out water exercises. Twenty-nine young healthy participants (age: 21.7 ± 1.9 years-old, body mass: 68.5 ± 10.8 kg, height: 168.2 ± 9.6 cm) performed an incremental protocol for each exercise (horizontal adduction and rocking horse) from 105 beats per minute (b·min-1) until 150 b·min-1 with increments of 15 b·min-1 every 30 seconds. Data acquisition required a differential pressure system to obtain propulsive forces in upper limbs’, especially the peak force for the dominant member (DPeakF) and non-dominant member (NDPeakF). Force values from both exercises were higher in DPeakF and NDPeakF even when increasing the music cadence and higher forces were found in HAAdd. Differences (p ≤ 0.05) were found when comparing two exercises at lower music cadences. The main conclusion is that there are significantly differences between two basic head-out water exercises at lower cadences
- Efeito da cadência musical na força propulsiva num exercício base de hidroginásticaPublication . Santos, Catarina C.; Rama, Luís P.; Bartolomeu, Raúl Filipe; Barbosa, Tiago M.; Costa, M.J.O estudo da força em exercícios básicos de hidroginástica é escasso. Das evidências existentes apenas se reportam valores em exercícios verticais à máxima velocidade de execução. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar o efeito de diferentes cadências musicais na força propulsiva durante a execução de um exercício base de hidroginástica.
- Effects of a modified backpack model on ground reaction forces in children of different ages during walking and runningPublication . Barbosa, João; Marques, Mário C.; Forte, Pedro; Santos, Catarina C.; Neiva, Henrique P.; Izquierdo, Mikel; Marinho, D.A.Backpacks are widely used by children to carry different objects and the literature supports that most backpacks contain excessive weight. To minimize the loading effects (i.e., ground reaction force), modified backpacks have been tested. However, the effects of elastics on shoulders straps are yet to be studied. Thus, the aim of this study was to test and compare the effect on the vertical ground reaction force of a standard backpack with a modified one with elastic straps while walking and running. Methods: 9 children (5 boys and 4 girls) were included in the group G-5 (age: 11.0 ± 0.3 years-old; body mass: 35.3 ± 7.3 kg; height: 1.41 ± 0.1 m) and twelve (7 boys and 5 girls) in G-9 (age: 15.0 ± 0.7 years-old; body mass: 56.7 ± 11.2 kg; height: 1.63 ± 0.1 m). Participants attended a single session and were initially asked to walk and then run over a force plate. The software Ergotest MuscleLab v8.0 (MuscleLab, Ergotest Innovation, Porsgrunn, Norway) was linked to the force platform and was used to collect and export data. The level of statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Additionally, the effect size of the differences verified on T-Tests was calculated based on Cohen’s d. Results: Statistically significant differences between a common backpack and a modified one with straps (p < 0.05) were observed for the variables time and force when walking. Regarding the running condition, the time variable did not differ significantly between the backpacks. However, the force variable changed considerably between backpack types (p < 0.05). The new straps minimized the forces magnitude, resulting in lower stress. Conclusions: The modified backpacks with shoulder elastic straps reduced the ground reaction force and impact when walking and running. The study may encourage other researchers to assess the effects of different movements (such as jumping or rotating) on ground reaction force.
- Force production and symmetry in water fitness exercises: a gender comparisonPublication . Santos, Catarina C.; Costa, M.J.; Bartolomeu, Raúl Filipe; Barbosa, Tiago M.; Rama, Luís M.The aim of this study was to analyse and compare propulsive forces, relative force production and symmetry between genders during water fitness exercises. Eighteen participants (women, n= 9; age: 20.67± 0.87 years; body mass: 58.18± 4.97 kg; height: 159.19± 5.85 cm; and men, n= 9; age: 22.11± 1.76 years; body mass: 72.93± 7.00 kg; height: 170.83± 5.57 cm) underwent two incremental protocols performing horizontal adduction (HA) and the rocking horse (RHadd) exercises, from 105 to 150 bpm. Propulsive peak force of dominant (PFD) and non-dominant upper-limbs (PFND) was assessed by a differential pressure system. An isokinetic dynamometer was used to collect the dry-land isometric peak strength of the dominant upper-limb. Significant differences between genders were found for most of the music cadences in HA and RHadd. Men were able to produce higher propulsive force values for both upper-limbs during the overall incremental protocol, whereas women reached a higher relative force production. However, no significant differences were found between both genders at the same music cadence. Most actions were asymmetric in women, whereas men showed a symmetric pattern. The cadence of 135 bpm elicits a symmetric motion in both genders while exercising water fitness exercises.
- Inter-limb symmetry at simultaneous and alternated arms flexion by the elbow during water fitness sessionsPublication . Santos, Catarina C.; Barbosa, Tiago M.; Bartolomeu, Raúl Filipe; Garrido, Nuno D.; Costa, M.J.The aim was to compare the inter-limb symmetry between alternated and simultaneous arms flexion during water fitness sessions. Twenty-three elderly women were recruited to perform flexion by the elbow with di erent mechanical strategies: (a) simultaneous and (b) alternated. An incremental protocol was used, with four music cadences, starting at 105 beats per minute up to 150. The peak force of dominant and non-dominant upper-limbs was retrieved. A symmetry index (SI, %) was also used to quantify coordination. There were significant variations in force produced by the dominant and non-dominant limbs in most of the cadences in the alternated or simultaneous actions. Differences with a medium e ect between upper-limbs were shown when moving simultaneously indicating that an alternated movement can be a more proper strategy to work with. Despite that, both strategies seemed to be characterized by an asymmetric pattern (SI from 20 to 30%), requiring full attention from water fitness practitioners.
- Is there any effect of symmetry on velocity of the four swimming strokes?Publication . Bartolomeu, Raúl Filipe; Rodrigues, Pedro M.; Santos, Catarina C.; Costa, M.J.; Barbosa, Tiago M.The different characteristics of the four swimming strokes affect the interplay between the four limbs, acting as a constraint to the force produced by each hand and foot. The purpose of this study was to analyze the symmetry of force production with a varying number of limbs in action and see its effect on velocity. Fifteen male swimmers performed four all-out bouts of 25-m swims in the four strokes in full-body stroke and segmental actions. A differential pressure system was used to measure the hands/feet propulsive force and a mechanical velocity meter was used to measure swimming velocity. Symmetry index was calculated based on the force values. All strokes and conditions presented contralateral limb asymmetries (ranging from 6.73% to 28% for the peak force and from 9.3% to 35.7% for the mean force). Backstroke was the most asymmetric stroke, followed-up by butterfly, front crawl, and breaststroke. Kicking conditions elicited the higher asymmetries compared with arm-pull conditions. No significant associations were found between asymmetries and velocity. The absence of such association suggests that, to a certain and unknown extent, swimming may benefit from contralateral limb asymmetry