A Systematic Review of the Mediators of Resistance Training Behavior.

BACKGROUND: Resistance training (RT) has been identified as an important lifestyle activity for health. While systematic reviews have examined behavior change techniques (BCTs) used in interventions and potential correlates of RT behavior, the connection between BCTs and changes in putative mediators and RT participation have yet to be linked. The purpose of this review was to examine RT intervention effects, as coded by BCT clusters, on behavior change via capability, opportunity, and motivation as putative mediators of that change. METHOD: Literature searches were concluded in January of 2023, using three databases. Eligible studies included a comparison group, assessed RT as an outcome, included BCTs, assessed potential mediators, and were in English. The initial search yielded 1050 hits, which was reduced to 5 to independent RT interventions. Screening of previous reviews yielded three additional papers for a total of 8 papers. Each paper was assessed for the associations between intervention effects (as BCT clusters) on mechanisms of action (a path), effects of mechanisms of action on behavior (b path), and indirect (ab path) and direct (c path) effects of BCT clusters. RESULTS: There was support that interventions had significant effects on capability and opportunity with inconclusive effects on motivation (a path). Both capabilities and motivation had associations with RT behavior (b path). The examined studies showed that changes in capabilities have the strongest support as a mediator with some support for motivation as a mediator (ab path). Studies that used more BCT clusters seemed to have a more positive effect on behavior, yet there were no trends to suggest any one crucial BCT cluster (c path). CONCLUSION: Current evidence suggests that capabilities and motivation are important to target in RT interventions. Future interventions would be well suited to utilize behavior change techniques that address these mediators.

Resistance Training Behavior Is Enhanced With Digital Behavior Change Coaching: A Randomized Controlled Trial With Novice Adults.

BACKGROUND: Approximately a third of US adults meet the physical activity guidelines of engaging in resistance training 2 times per week, yet few studies have examined how to increase participation rates. The present randomized control trial compared a remotely delivered coaching intervention with an education only control group. METHODS: Eligible participants completed 2 remotely delivered Zoom-based personal training sessions during a 1-week run-in period. Participants randomized to the intervention group received synchronous weekly behavioral video coaching sessions over Zoom, whereas the control group received no further contact. Days of resistance training completed were assessed at baseline (pre), 4 weeks (post), and 8 weeks (follow-up). Linear mixed models were used to examine group differences at each time point and within-group differences over time. RESULTS: There were significant between-group differences favoring the intervention, at posttest for both the previous week (b = 0.71, SE = 0.23; P = .002) and the previous 4 weeks (b = 2.54, SE = 0.87; P = .003) but not at the follow-up period for either the last week (b = 0.15, SE = 0.23; P = .520) or the last 4 weeks (b = 0.68, SE = 0.88; P = .443). CONCLUSION: The present study showed that by providing participants with equipment, skill, and in the case of the intervention group, a remote coaching intervention, resistance training participation increased.

Daily Physical Activity: Associations With Memory and Affect.

PURPOSE: Little is known about effects of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and resistance training on daily variations in memory and affect. This study examined the relationship of MVPA and resistance training to memory and affect in daily life. DESIGN: Short-term longitudinal 7-day diary. SETTING: Northeast; primarily Boston-area communities. SAMPLE: Adults aged 25 to 94. MEASURES: For seven days, MVPA was assessed with an Actigraph. and resistance training was self-reported. Each evening, memory failures, positive and negative affect were recorded in a written diary and objective memory performance was assessed by telephone. ANALYSIS: Multilevel linear regression analyses examined the between and within person associations of MVPA and resistance training with memory performance, memory failures, and affect. RESULTS: Those who engaged in more MVPA had better memory performance across the week (b = 0.0163, SE = 0.0076, f2 = 0.004, p = 0.033). Participants reported higher levels of positive affect on days in which they spent more time in MVPA than usual (b = 0.003, SE = 0.001, f2 = 0.144, p < .001) and on days they engaged in resistance training (b = 0.1547, SE = 0.079, f2 = 0.007; p = 0.049). CONCLUSIONS: Those who spent more time in MVPA had better memory performance, and on days with greater than usual MVPA time and resistance training, affect was more positive than on days with less activity. Implications for motivating physical exercise are considered.

Differential correlates for aerobic physical activity and resistance training: a systematic review.

Worldwide, physical inactivity is a major public health concern. Both aerobic physical activity (PA) and resistance training (RT) are forms of exercise that provide numerous health benefits. The present systematic review aimed to examine the evidence among studies that have formally compared the correlates of both aerobic PA and RT in the same sample. Literature searchers were concluded in April 2022 using four common databases. Eligible studies were selected from English language peer-reviewed journals which reported at least a bivariate correlation between the correlate and aerobic PA and RT. Findings were grouped by the correlate in accordance with the capability, opportunity, motivation, behavior (COM-B) model. The analysis identified 18 studies with 16 independent samples. Overall, evidence suggest that there are many similarities between aerobic PA and RT participation. There were positive associations for both aerobic PA and RT for physical and psychological capabilities, reflective and reflexive motivation. There were mixed associations for environmental opportunities, and social opportunities had no association for aerobic PA but mixed evidence for RT. The analyses emphasized that comparative research is lacking in certain areas, principally for environmental opportunity and reflexive motivation.

Implementation Intentions for Exercise and Physical Activity: Who Do They Work For? A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: As a behavior change technique, implementation intentions are a cost-effective strategy to promote physical activity and exercise. This technique helps individuals plan when and where they will do a behavior. However, previous research on implementation intentions and physical activity has shown heterogeneous outcomes. METHODS: The primary aim of this review was to systematically review the literature on the social cognitive variables that moderate the mediating effects of implementation intentions on physical activity and exercise. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines, 22 papers yielded 24 studies. Of the 24 reviewed studies, 1 was cross-sectional, 12 were randomized control trials, 10 were longitudinal, and 1 was secondary data from a randomized control trial. RESULTS: Habit strength, self-concordance, self-efficacy, perceived behavioral control, and intention were identified as moderating variables. Conditions for effectiveness for implementation intentions were observed. Implementation intentions are an effective behavior change technique for individuals who have preexisting intentions and strong self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation intentions may be a valuable behavior change technique for certain individuals. For self-efficacious individuals who desire to be physically active, implementation intentions can help translate intentions into behavior.

The Sticking Point in the Bench Press, the Squat, and the Deadlift: Similarities and Differences, and Their Significance for Research and Practice.

Since it was first observed, and especially so in recent years, the phenomenon of the so-called "sticking point" in resistance training has attracted a substantial amount of sports and exercise science research. Broadly speaking, the sticking point is understood as the position in the range of motion of a lift at which a disproportionately large increase in the difficulty associated with continuing the lift is experienced. Hence the sticking point is inherently the performance bottleneck, and is also associated with an increased chance of exercise form deterioration or breakdown. Understanding the aspects of lifting performance which should be analysed in order to pinpoint the cause of a specific sticking point and therefore devise an effective training strategy to overcome it is of pervasive importance to strength practitioners, and is conducive to injury avoidance and continued progress. In this paper, we survey a range of physiological and biomechanical mechanisms which contribute to the development of sticking points, and then, led by this insight, review and analyse the findings of the existing observational research on the occurrence of sticking points in three ubiquitous exercises: the bench press, the squat, and the deadlift. The findings of our analysis should be used to inform future research and current resistance training practice.

Understanding and Overcoming the Sticking Point in Resistance Exercise.

In the context of resistance training the so-called "sticking point" is commonly understood as the position in a lift in which a disproportionately large increase in the difficulty to continue the lift is experienced. If the lift is taken to the point of momentary muscular failure, the sticking point is usually where the failure occurs. Hence the sticking point is associated with an increased chance of exercise form deterioration or breakdown. Understanding the mechanisms that lead to the occurrence of sticking points as well as different training strategies that can be used to overcome them is important to strength practitioners (trainees and coaches alike) and instrumental for the avoidance of injury and continued progress. In this article we survey and consolidate the body of existing research on the topic: we discuss different definitions of the sticking point adopted in the literature and propose a more precise definition, describe different muscular and biomechanical aspects that give rise to sticking points, and review the effectiveness of different training modalities used to address them.