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- Validation of StepTest4all for assessing cardiovascular capacity in young adultsPublication . Bragada, José A.; Bartolomeu, Raúl Filipe; Rodrigues, Pedro M.; Magalhães, Pedro; Bragada, João P.; Morais, J.E.Background: Cardiovascular capacity, expressed as maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), is a strong predictor of health and fitness and is considered a key measure of physiological function in the healthy adult population. The purpose of this study was to validate a specific step test (StepTest4all) as an adequate procedure to estimate cardiovascular capacity in young adults. Methods: The sample was composed of 56 participants, including 19 women (aged 21.05 2.39 years, body mass = 57.50 6.64 kg, height = 1.62 0.05 m, body mass index = 22.00 2.92 kg/m2) and 37 men (aged 22.05 3.14 years, body mass = 72.50 7.73 kg, height = 1.76 0.07 m, body mass index = 23.34 2.17 kg/m2). Participants were included in one of the following groups: (i) the group used to predict the VO2max, and (ii) the group used to validate the prediction model. All participants performed the StepTest4all protocol. The step height and the intensity of the effort was determined individually. Heart rate and oxygen uptake were measured continuously during rest, effort, and recovery phases. The validation process included the following three stages: (i) mean data comparison, (ii) simple linear regression, and (iii) Bland–Altman analysis. Results: The linear regression retained, as significant predictors of the VO2max, sex (p < 0.001) and heart rate recovery for one minute (p = 0.003). The prediction equation revealed a high relationship between measurements (R2 = 63.0%, SEE = 5.58). The validation procedure revealed non-significant differences (p > 0.05) between the measured and estimated maximal oxygen uptake, high relationship (R2 = 63.3%), and high agreement with Bland–Altman plots. Thus, VO2max can be estimated with the formula: VO2max = 22 + 0.3 (HRR1min) + 12 (sex), where HRR1min is the magnitude of the HR decrease (bpm) in one minute immediately after the step was stopped, and sex: men = 1, women = 0. Conclusions: The StepTest4all is an adequate procedure to estimate cardiovascular capacity, expressed as VO2max, in young adults. In addition, it is possible to determine the qualitative level of cardiovascular capacity from the heart rate recovery for one minute, more specifically, poor: <20, moderate: 20 to 34, good: 35 to 49, and excellent: 50. This procedure has the benefit of being simple to apply and can be used by everyone, even at home, without specialist supervision.
- The aging influence on cardiorespiratory, metabolic and energy expenditure adaptations in head-out aquatic exercises: differences between young and elderly womenPublication . Bartolomeu, Raúl Filipe; Barbosa, Tiago M.; Morais, J.E.; Lopes, Vitor P.; Bragada, José A.; Costa, M.J.The purpose of this study was to (1) to establish the relationship between acute physiological responses and musical cadence; and (2) compare physiologic responses between young and older women. Eighteen older (mean = 65.06 ± 5.77 years) and 19 young (mean = 22.16 ± 2.63 years) women underwent an intermittent and progressive protocol performing the head-out aquatic exercise "rocking horse. Results showed that older women demonstrated lower mean heart rate (HR), blood lactate concentration (bLa) and oxygen uptake (VO2) at rest. Hierarchical linear modelling showed that variations in the rating of perceived effort (RPE) and individual metabolic equivalent of task (MET) did not differ significantly by age group. However, during exercise, physiological responses of younger women were significantly different than for older women: in mean values, for each increased musical beat per minute (b/min), mean bLa was 0.003 mmol/l, VO2 0.024 ml/kg/min, and energy expenditure (EE) 0.0001 kcal/kg/min higher for younger women. This study shows that increases in musical cadence increased the cardiorespiratory, metabolic and energy expenditure responses. However, these responses during increasing intensity seemed to differ between young and older women, with lower values for the elderly group, when performing head-out aquatic exercises.
- Underwater and surface tethered swimming, lower limb strength, and somatic traits as the basic indices of young swimmers’ sprint performancePublication . Sokołowski, Kamil; Bartolomeu, Raúl Filipe; Krężałek, Piotr; Bragada, José A.; Pałka, Tomasz; Ambroży, Dorota; Strzała, MarekPurpose: The ability to swim fast underwater is believed to be connected to lower limb strength and some somatic traits. The main purpose of the study was to evaluate strength and speed parameters based on the relationship between the strength of underwater dolphin kicks and the countermovement jump test (CMJ) among adolescent swimmers. Methods: 48 adolescent male swimmers (13.47 +/- 0.84 years) were examined for muscle mass of arms (mm arms), trunk (mm trunk), and legs (mm legs), body height (BH), and biological age (BA). An underwater tethered dolphin kicking test was conducted in a pool; average force (5Fave) and impulse per single cycle (5Iave) in the 5-second period were measured. Force indices (20Fave - average force from 20 seconds and 20Iave - average impulse per single cycle from 20 seconds) were also measured in 20-second tethered front crawl swimming. During CMJ testing, general lower body muscle motor capabilities were evaluated by extracting the work (CMJw [J]) and height (CMJh [m]) of the jump. Results: The strongest correlations were observed between: (a) 5Fave and BH, mm arms and CMJw; (b) CMJw, mm arms, and 20Fave; (c) indices of swimming speed and 5Iave (BA control); (d) total swimming velocity and average tethered swimming force (BA control). Moderate partial correlations (BA control) were noted between speed indices of swimming race and CMJ. Conclusions: The underwater tethered dolphin kick test is a useful predictor test of 50-m front crawl performance in young male swimmers, with better specificity for swimmers than CMJ results themselves.
- Net Heart Rate for Estimating Oxygen Consumption in Active AdultsPublication . Bragada, José A.; Magalhães, Pedro; São-Pedro, Eric; Bartolomeu, Raúl Filipe; Morais, J.E.The aim of this study was to verify the accuracy of predicting oxygen consumption (O-2) in predominantly aerobic activities based on net heart rate (netHR), sex, and body mass index (BMI) in active adults. NetHR is the value of the difference between the resting HR (HRrest) and the average HR value obtained during a given session or period of physical activity. These activities must be continuous, submaximal, and of a stabilized intensity. The magnitude of the netHR depends mainly on the intensity of the exercise. The HR is measured in beats per minute (bpm). A total of 156 participants, 52 women and 104 men, between the ages of 18 and 81, had their netHR and net oxygen intake (netVO(2)) assessed. There were 79 participants in group 1 (prediction sample) (52 males and 27 females). There were 77 people in group 2 (validation sample) (52 males and 25 females). The results of the multiple linear regression showed that netVO(2) (R-2 = 85.2%, SEE = 3.38) could be significantly predicted by sex (p < 0.001), netHR (p < 0.001), and BMI (p < 0.001). The Bland-Altman plots satisfied the agreement requirements, and the comparison of the measured and estimated netVO(2) revealed non-significant differences with a trivial effect size. We calculated the formula NetVO(2) (mL/(kgmin)) = 16 + 3.67 (sex) + 0.27 (netHR) - 0.57 (BMI) to predict netVO(2), where netVO(2) is the amount of oxygen uptake (mL/(kgmin)) above the resting value, netHR is the heart rate (beats per minute) above the resting value measured during exercise, sex is equal to zero for women and one for men, and BMI is the body mass index. In addition, based on the knowledge of VO2, it was possible to estimate the energy expenditure from a particular training session, and to determine or prescribe the exercise intensity in MET (metabolic equivalent of task).