Category: Sports Science

Sports Science, vibration, Vibration exercise

Two new papers

Apologies for radio silence. It has been a buys few months with loads happening. I have now left Team GB and moved on to new adventures (I will talk about it soon). In the meantime two papers have been recently published and the abstracts are here.

 

Horm Metab Res. 2013 Apr 15. [Epub ahead of print]

Combination of External Load and Whole Body Vibration Potentiates the GH-releasing Effect of Squatting in Healthy Females.

Giunta M, Rigamonti AE, Agosti F, Patrizi A, Compri E, Cardinale M, Sartorio A.

Source

Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Laboratorio Sperimentale di Ricerche Auxo-endocrinologiche, Milan and Piancavallo (VB), Italy.

Abstract

In recent years, whole body vibration (WBV) has become an efficient complement or alternative to resistance training. Very limited data on the effects of different WBV protocols on anabolic hormones are available. In this study, we compared the growth hormone (GH), blood lactate (LA), and cortisol responses to different protocols involving WBV. Six healthy women recreationally active performed 10 sets of 12 dynamic squats in the following conditions: squatting alone (S), squatting+vibration (SV), squatting+external load (SE), and squatting+external load+vibration (SEV). All responses at the different stimuli determined acute increases in GH, cortisol, and LA. In particular, GH secretion significantly increased in all 4 conditions immediately after the exercise session compared to other time points. Furthermore, a significantly larger increase was identified following SEV as compared to the other conditions. Cortisol concentrations significantly decreased after S, SV and SE whereas they increased significantly following SEV. LA peaks occurred immediately at the end of each condition. However it reached statistical significance only following SEV. The results of our study demonstrate that the combination of squatting+external load+vibration (SEV) could represent the most suitable modality to potentiate the somatotropic function and, indirectly, to obtain an increase in muscle strength and positive changes in the body composition. Further studies are necessary in order to determine the chronic effects of this exercise modality on the hormonal profile.

 

Eur J Appl Physiol. 2013 Jan 24. [Epub ahead of print]

Neuromuscular fatigue induced by whole-body vibration exercise.

Maffiuletti NA, Saugy J, Cardinale M, Micallef JP, Place N.

Source

Neuromuscular Research Laboratory, Schulthess Clinic, Lengghalde 2, 8008, Zurich, Switzerland, nicola.maffiuletti@kws.ch.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the magnitude and the origin of neuromuscular fatigue induced by half-squat static whole-body vibration (WBV) exercise, and to compare it to a non-WBV condition. Nine healthy volunteers completed two fatiguing protocols (WBV and non-WBV, randomly presented) consisting of five 1-min bouts of static half-squat exercise with a load corresponding to 50 % of their individual body mass. Neuromuscular fatigue of knee and ankle muscles was investigated before and immediately after each fatiguing protocol. The main outcomes were maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque, voluntary activation, and doublet peak torque. Knee extensor MVC torque decreased significantly (P < 0.01) and to the same extent after WBV (-23 %) and non-WBV (-25 %), while knee flexor, plantar flexor, and dorsiflexor MVC torque was not affected by the treatments. Voluntary activation of knee extensor and plantar flexor muscles was unaffected by the two fatiguing protocols. Doublet peak torque decreased significantly and to a similar extent following WBV and non-WBV exercise, for both knee extensors (-25 %; P < 0.01) and plantar flexors (-7 %; P < 0.05). WBV exercise with additional load did not accentuate fatigue and did not change its causative factors compared to non-WBV half-squat resistive exercise in recreationally active subjects.

friends, Sports Science

Tribute to two lost friends

When sad news reach you there are many ways to react. Disbelief, sadness and various other feelings mix up. You realise that life is a wonderful gift and you never know what the next day brings. When somebody dies in unexpected situations it is hard not to ask why? It is pointless…as of course there is no way to find an answer. For me, it’s a time for reflection. And such happenings help to put life in perspective. We are totally immersed in our working lives, totally taken by the challenges, battles and stresses that working in Sport provides us on a daily basis. Sometimes we lose track of everything else. Family, friends, people we know, we don’t realise how important they are for us and how lucky we are in having them around. Sadly we tend to realise this only when we lose them.

In the last few months I lost two great friends and colleagues. The kind of people I am lucky enough to have met because of the job I do. The kind of people you have not grown up with, but instantly become more than just a colleague, because you not only share the same views and passions, you also enjoy to spend time with them to talk about all sorts of other things that are not work-related. Their loss is sad, but I would like to celebrate what they did in life and how fortunate I was to meet them and spend time with them.

Nick Broad was the Head of Sports Science at Paris St. Germain. I met Nick probably 10 years ago for the first time at a conference in UK. We spoke about the impact of nutrition and science in Football and how this was evolving. He was a former Aberdeen student, having done his Master in Sports Nutrition with Prof. Ron Maughan in Scotland. So we had common ground, common friends, common interests. Nick progressed in his career from being one of the first Sports Nutritionists working in football trying to change the way nutrition was applied and delivered in the Premiership. Since his early career he was not only interested in nutrition, he realised quickly than an holistic approach was the way forward, and the use of all sciences was fundamental to improve the player’s performances. He was a keen listener, he always exchanged his views in an open and frank way and became soon one of the leaders in the field working as head of science at Chelsea Football club and recently at Paris St. Germain. He showed that people who strive for knowledge and excellence can make a difference also in a conservative sport like Football and I have no doubts he is a role model for the young practitioners who attended conferences he was presenting at. We used to meet and exchange ideas frequently and we both shared a passion for good coffee. I also enjoyed his challenging questions, because they made me think a lot and learn a lot. Today Nick is not with us anymore. I can say I have been fortunate to meet him. He was a great practitioner, a brilliant mind and a very good friend. I will miss our catch ups with good coffee.

Marcello Faina was the Head of Sports Science of the Italian Olympic Committee. I knew Marcello since I was a student in Rome, mainly because he was the closest collaborator of Professor Antonio Dal Monte. They were the brains of the Institute of Sports Science and Medicine of CONI in Rome. The team who was pushing boundaries to help Italian athletes succeed on the World stage. Marcello then became the director of the Institute and contributed to the preparation of Italian athletes to countless Olympic Games, Worlds and European Championships. Furthermore, he was heavily involved in education (educating coaches and young sports science and sports medicine students), research (we also published a paper together recently), and mentoring young practitioners. We met countless times over the years and were consistently in contact. He was my sounding board. His experience in the Olympic movement was immense, so I used to ask him advice and learn from his experiences. We met at the last 3 Olympic Games I attended with Team GB and used to joke about our rivalry. The last time we met it was two days before the closing ceremony in London. We had an ice cream outside the Italians’ HQ together with my Team GB colleagues and the rest of the Italian medical team. We were all happy about the results of our respective teams and were sharing knowledge/views and also chatting about things unrelated to sports. Marcello was due to receive the most prestigious award in Italian sport for his contributions to sports science and medicine over the years. He never made it, the award was given in his memory.

I never got the chance to thank you for the wise words and your way to find the positive and humorous side of each story. I will take the chance now. Thank you Marcello.

muscle physiology, Sports Science, Vibration exercise

New article published #3: whole body vibration effects on obese subjects

This article was published on Obesity Facts. It is the result of a collaboration i have with the Italian Auxological Institute. An organisation working every day to help obese patients and trying to develop innovative approaches to weight management. In this experiment we showed how whole body vibration with and without additional loading can induce acute increases in Growth Hormone which is very difficult to obtain with other forms of exercise in this population. In the obese, some endocrinological disturbances during acute endurance and resistance exercise have been identified inmany studies: a blunted growth hormone response, atrial natriuretic peptide and epinephrine release, and greater cortisol and insulin release. These hormonal disturbances might contribute to a suppressed lipolytic response, and/or suppressed skeletal muscle protein synthesis, as a result of acute endurance or resistance exercise, respectively. Our finding suggests that this form of exercise has the potential to be effective at least in the initial stages of an exercise programme in this population.

Obes Facts. 2012 Aug 24;5(4):567-574. [Epub ahead of print]

Growth Hormone-Releasing Effects of Whole Body Vibration Alone or Combined with Squatting plus External Load in Severely Obese Female Subjects.

Giunta M, Cardinale M, Agosti F, Patrizi A, Compri E, Rigamonti AE, Sartorio A.

Source

Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Laboratorio Sperimentale di Ricerche Auxo-endocrinologiche, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.

Abstract

Background: Whole body vibration (WBV) has been reported to exert growth hormone(GH)-releasing effects in healthy subjects. Despite the potential of WBV to positively affect body composition changes via lipolytic effects, few studies have been performed in obese subjects to date. Methods: This study evaluated the acute effects of WBV alone or in combination with squatting plus external load (WBV+S) on serum GH levels and blood lactate concentrations in 7 severely obese women (age 22 ± 5 years; BMI 39.9 ± 2.9 kg/m(2)). Results: WBV and WBV+S determined a significant GH increase (mean GH peaks 5.1 ± 1.9 ng/ml, p < 0.001 vs. basal, and 6.5 ± 3.7 ng/ml, p < 0.001 vs. basal, respectively), GH peaks occurring immediately after both exercise sessions. No significant differences were observed between GH peaks and GH net incremental area under the curve (nAUC) after both conditions (p = 0.39 and p = 0.53, respectively), the whole pattern of GH responsiveness being comparable among all the subjects. Lactate concentrations increased after both conditions (mean lactate peaks 2.0 ± 0.5 mmol/l, p < 0.05 vs. basal, and 4.5 ± 2.0 mmol/l, p < 0.001 vs. basal, respectively). The lactate response was significantly higher after WBV+S than after WBV (p < 0.05). Baseline GH and GH peak values positively correlated to baseline lactate and lactate peak concentrations in both conditions (R(2) = 0.64, p < 0.001, and R(2) = 0.52, p < 0.05, respectively). Conclusions: WBV alone stimulates GH release and lactate production in severely obese female subjects, with no additive effect when combined with squatting plus external load. Further additional studies are required to verify the chronic effects of WBV exercise on the GH/IGF-1 system, which could represent a potentially effective approach for weight management in obese subjects. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.