Acute effects of a pilates method session on flexibility and performance in practitioners of an extreme conditioning program: A preliminary study.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute effects of Pilates exercises on flexibility and performance in practitioners of an extreme conditioning program (ECP). The hypothesis adopted was that Pilates could activate deeper muscles and improve the stability of core muscles. METHODS: This was an observational cross-sectional study with individuals practicing an ECP submitted to a Pilates method (PM) exercise session. The Wells bench test was used to assess flexibility, while performance was evaluated using the Wall Ball exercise commonly performed by ECP practitioners. The perception of effort was measured using the Borg scale. RESULTS: A single session of PM exercises was able to significantly improve flexibility immediately after the exercises (p < 0.001) and performance in one of the movements of the ECP (p < 0.001), as well as decrease the perception of effort. CONCLUSION: An acute intervention with Pilates exercises promoted improvement in performance of the CrossFit Wall Ball exercise.

Quality of life assessment for practitioners of an extreme conditioning program / Avaliação da qualidade de vida de praticantes de um programa de condicionamento extremo

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the associations between quality of life and sociodemographic characteristics, motivation, and frequency and time of practice in practitioners of an extreme conditioning program. Methods:Observational descriptive-exploratory type research, with a convenience sample consisting of CrossFit® practitioners. The practitioners answered a demographic data questionnaire, and the WHOQOL-bref instrument was used to assess the quality of life. Results: Of the 260 practitioners evaluated, 59.61% were female. The highest means of QoL scores were for the physical domain (79.8 ± 11.76), social domain (74.1 ± 15.59), psychological do-main (73.2 ± 13.67), and environment domain (70.7 ± 12.14). Practice time showed positive correlations with all QoL domains. Conclusions: The practitioners showed good results for quality of life, with the highest scores for the physical domain, followed by the social domain, the psychological domain, and finally, the environment domain. Longer practice time was correlated with higher averages for all QoL domains (AU).

Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar as associações entre a qualidade de vida com características sociode-mográficas, motivação, frequência e tempo de prática em praticantes de um programa de condicionamento extremo. Métodos: Pesquisa de caráter observacional, do tipo descritivo-exploratória, sendo a amostra por conveniência composta por praticantes de Crossfit®. Os praticantes responderam um questionário de dados demográficos e, para avaliar a qualidade de vida, utilizou-se o instrumento validade WHOQOL-bref. Resultados: Dos 260 praticantes avaliados, 59,61% foram do sexo feminino. As maiores médias dos escores da qualidade de vida foram para o do-mínio físico, (79,8 ± 11,76), domínio social (74,1 ± 15,59), domínio psicológico (73,2 ± 13,67) e domínio ambiente (70,7 ± 12,14). O tempo de prática mostrou correlações positivas com todos os domínios qualidade de vida. Con-clusão: Os praticantes apresentam bons resultados para a QV, sendo os maiores escores no domínio físico, seguido pelo domínio social, domínio psicológico e por último domínio ambiente. Maior tempo de prática indicou correlação com maiores médias em todos os domínios da QV (AU).

Additional acute effects of virtual reality head-mounted displays on balance outcomes in non-disabled individuals: a proof-of-concept study

Abstract Aim: This study aims to evaluate the additional acute effect of virtual reality (VR) head-mounted displays (HMD) when associated with balance exercises in balance outcomes in non-disabled individuals. Methods: Thirty individuals were randomized into two groups: balance exercise group (GBE; n = 15); and virtual reality + balance exercise group (GVR + BE; n = 15). The individuals were evaluated by static and dynamic balance using the tandem test (TT), single-leg stance (SLS), and Fukuda stepping test (FST). Both groups performed 30 min of balance exercises. The GVR + BE performed 8 additional minutes of virtual reality prior to balance exercises. A roller coaster application was used for the HMD. The Mann-Whitney test was used for intra-group and differences of inter-group analysis, considering a significance level of p < 0.05. Results: In the GBE group analysis, there was observed an increase of time in TT with closed eyes (p = 0.025) and SLS with closed eyes (p = 0.003). In the same way, the GVR + BE group increase TT with closed eyes (p = 0.003) and SLS with closed eyes (p = 0.002) after the intervention. In the intergroup analysis, the increase in the SLS with closed eyes was superior in the GVR + BE group when compared with GBE (p = 0.006; d = 1.67). Conclusion: The use of HMD in combination with balance exercise has an acute effect on increasing static balance in non-disabled individuals.