Exercise is Medicine

Medica-O’Hea, Zena
SPHS 504 WK6 Discussion Post: Mental Health Benefits of Strength Training 13 July 2022

Article Reviewed:
“Exercise and cognition in older adults: Is there a role for resistance training programs?” Liu-Ambrose and Donaldson. 2008

Summary of Article:
A 2008 brief review article investigating 3 studies of resistance training and mental health found that resistance training for 6-12 months was associated with improved cognitive function as well as increased insulin-like growth factor and decreased homocysteine levels (Liu-Ambrose & Donaldson, 2008).
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Notable information:

1. The identification of the biomarkers possibly involved in the clinical observations of improve cognitive function in elder adults was new information to me.  As I conducted further exploration of biochemical changes possibly associated with the positive outcomes of brain function (mood and cognitive agility improvements) led to the discovery of the following studies:

a. A 2018 review article by Ruegsegger and Booth explored that not only did exercise improve 40 plus medical conditions associated with lack of exercise but also elegantly presented in a figure the multitude of physiological actions of myokines released from skeletal musculature that results in 8 organ targets of action (Ruegseggar & Booth, 2018, p. 11).

b. A  2020 randomized control study of resistance and power training in women >60yrs of age conducted by Coelho-Junior of 36 women interestingly found that cognitive adaptations in response to RT may be time-dependent but did not find an elevation of one of the myokines thought to play a role in improved cognition, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), to be elevated (Coelho-Junior, 2020).

c.  Gradalsmoen and colleagues in 2020 conducted a survey study of 50,054 Norwegian college students (aged 18-35yrs old) investigating the association of exercise intensity, frequency, and mental health status. The team found that for women there was a U-shaped association with exercise and mood/suicidality. The worse psychiatric scores were associated with the lower and higher exercise groups but were best with the moderate exercise group (Gradalsmoen et al., 2020, p.5-7). This was not seen in men, who had a linear improvement of mental scores with increased exercise participation and intensity.

d.  Schuch & Vancampfort in a 2021 review of exercise and mental disorders association found that in a meta-analysis aerobic and strength combined exercise was more effective that strength exercises alone for improved mental health (Schuch & Vancampfort, 2021, p.180). They did also find in a more recent larger study that strength training alone is still effective for reduction of depression and that age and sex do not alter the size of the effect (Schuch & Vancampfort, 2021, p.180).

Professional Application Discussion:
Daily application of the information from the article and subsequent data exploration will be continued efforts to endorse ‘exercise as medicine’ and continue to monitor the development of biochemical and physiological understanding for the mechanism of action. 


References

Coelho-Júnior, H. J., Oliveira Gonçalves, I. D., Sampaio, R. A., Sampaio, P. Y., Lusa Cadore, E., Calvani, R., Picca, A., Izquierdo, M., Marzetti, E., & Uchida, M. C. (2020). Effects of combined resistance and power training on cognitive function in older women: A randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(10), 3435. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17103435

Grasdalsmoen, M., Eriksen, H. R., Lønning, K. J., & Sivertsen, B. (2020). Physical exercise, mental health problems, and suicide attempts in university students. BMC Psychiatry, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02583-3 Liu-

Ambrose, T., & Donaldson, M. G. (2008).Exercise and cognition in older adults: Is there a role for resistance training programmes? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 43(1), 25-27. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2008.055616

Ruegsegger, G. N., & Booth, F. W. (2017).Health benefits of exercise. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine, 8(7), a029694. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a029694

Schuch, F. B., & Vancampfort, D. (2021).Physical activity, exercise, and mental disorders: It is time to move on. Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 43(3), 177-184. https://doi.org/10.47626/2237-6089-2021-0237

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Resistance Training Order- Does It Make a Difference?

Medica-O’Hea, Zena
SPHS 504 WK5 Discussion Post: Strength Training Order 6 July 2022

Discussion:
Much study has been dedicated to determining if and how exercise order for resistance training (RT) effects muscular responses (strength, hypertrophy, endurance, and power). A 2010 study conducted by Simao and colleagues examined the influence of exercise order for maximum strength of population of 31 untrained men (control group 9, small to large muscle group 13, and large to small muscle group 9) over a 12 week period (Simao et al., 2010).

The key take-aways of the 2010 study:

1. Training order affects strength gains in that the muscles first targeted in the RT sequence will strengthen more robustly than those exercised later in the RT sequence (Simao et al., 2010, p.5).

2. The fact that training order influences the gains of the muscular more which are targeted early in the RT sequence provides a flexibility in the training to tailor it to the needs of the athlete to meet their goals (Simao et al., 2010, p.1, 5).


Investigation into the linear progression of this topic 2010 vs. 2020:
Simao and colleagues 2010 study of exercise order effects on strength and individual goals was interesting.
A data search found similar results as sampled below:

1. Brigetto and colleagues published a 2020 study in the International Journal of Exercise Science which examined the relationship between exercise order of large to small and small to large muscle RT for upper body musculature in 16 RT experienced men. The cross over study revealed that there was no significant difference between the order except that the muscle group targeted at the start of the exercise sequence experienced the most gains (Brigetto et al., 2020, p.1682 & 1688).

2. Stein and colleagues in 2020 from Norway explored the small vs large muscle group RT sequence training in a randomized controlled study of 53 RT experienced women over 8 wks. This study also revealed that there was no difference and exercise selection can be based on personal training goal preference with emphasis on starting with the predominate goal of development first in the RT sequence (Stein et al., 2020).

3. Interestingly van den Tillaar et al., 2020 did a cross over study of explosive strength and plyometrics training in male and female adolescent handball players which also came to the same conclusion as 1 and 2 above (van den Tillaar et al., 2020).

Considering personal application-
Other than functional strength and agility for equestrian sports and performance of cattle ranching activities, not much thought had been given really. I did not consider large or small musculature RT sequence approach for strength gains nor compound movements vs singular. My experience with the US Army from a young age of 18- to 40-year-old, ingrained the military approach of calisthenics with some strengthening on weight machines. Now with new eyes and understanding, there is going to be a serious shift in my personal training program. Working on correction of upper and lower cross syndrome, I will now put those strengthening exercises for the lengthened (weaker) associated musculature first in my program (Rhomboids, mid and lower trapezius, gluteus maximus and medius and transverse abdomnis). The program will have small to large group training sequences to strengthen weakened postural muscles and on other days building on agility and coordination with compound movements to single movement focus.

The updated 2022, 2nd edition of ACSM’s Foundations of Strength Training and Conditioning has a very concise and practical chapter (12) that discusses resistance training program design (pgs. 293-304) which I find is very helpful for me to re-structure my training program to align with the evidence-based approach to RT.

References

Brigatto, F. A., DE Camargo, J., DE Ungaro, W. F., Germano, M. D., Marchetti, P. H., Aoki, M. S., Braz, T. V., & Lopes, C. R. (2020). Multi-joint vs. Single-joint Resistance Exercises Induce a Similar Strength Increase in Trained Men: A Randomized Longitudinal Crossover Study. International journal of exercise science, 13(4), 1677–1690.

Simao, R., Spineti, J., De salles, F., Oliveira, L. F., Matta, T., Miranda, F., Miranda, H., & Costa, P. B. (2010). Influence of exercise order on maximum strength in untrained young men. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 13(1), 65-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2008.09.003

Stien, N., Pedersen, H., Ravnøy, A. H., Andersen, V., & Saeterbakken, A. H. (2020). Training specificity performing single-joint vs. multi-joint resistance exercises among physically active females: A randomized controlled trial. PLOS ONE, 15(5), e0233540. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233540

Tillaar, R. V., Roaas, T., & Oranchuk, D. (2020). Comparison of effects of training order of explosive strength and plyometrics training on different physical abilities in adolescent handball players. Biology of Sport, 37(3), 239-246. https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2020.95634