Electromyographic Comparison of an Abdominal Rise on a Ball with a Traditional Crunch.

We propose a new exercise, the abdominal rise on the ball, to replace the traditional crunch in exercise programs. The aim of this study is to compare the activity of the abdominal muscles when performing an ARB with the same activity when performing a traditional crunch. Twenty healthy adults participated in the study.

Test UHCJ20m-Measurement Procedure Standardization and Metric Characteristics Determination.

The purpose of the research study was to standardize the measurement procedure and determine the reliability, homogeneity, and sensitivity of a 20 m unilateral horizontal cyclic jump test (UHCJ20m) whose intentional (assumed) measurement aim is the lower extremities' explosive strength. The subject sample consisted of 31 students from Zagreb University (20.68 ± 1.

Peroneal muscle activity during different types of walking.

Background: As the most common form of movement, walking happens not only on flat but also on uneven surfaces, where constant loss and regaining of balance occur. The main balancing function of the ankle joint is performed by tibial muscles. When changing inclination in a frontal plane, an essential balancing function is performed by the peroneal muscles.

Activation Pattern of Lower Leg Muscles in Running on Asphalt, Gravel and Grass.

Running is performed on different natural surfaces (outdoor) and artificial surfaces (indoor). Different surface characteristics cause modification of the lower leg muscle activation pattern to adopt ankle stiffness to these characteristics. So the purpose of our investigation was to study changes of lower leg muscles activation pattern in running on different natural running surfaces.

An Explanation of the Influence on Deciding which Type of Foot Strike to Use when Running Barefoot or in Minimalistic Shoes.

Buying minimalistic shoes does not mean that you know how to use them. Salespersons are rarely competent to give adequate advice how to transition to new shoes. The same happens when someone chooses to run barefoot.

Gender-related differences in maximum mechanical power output in short-term activities in children and adolescents.

The study was designed to examine the gender-related differences in maximum mechanical power output in various short-burst activities during growth. The subject sample consisted of four subgroups: 9 boys (14.11 +/- 0.

High-frequency fatigue after alpine slalom skiing.

The aim of the study was to examine the presence of high-frequency fatigue (HFF) after simulated alpine slalom skiing race. Eight male alpine skiers (18.4+/-1.

Changes in mechanical work during severe exhausting running.

The possible contribution of muscular work to the increase in oxygen uptake ( VO(2)) over time during running was investigated on 11 adult males who were asked to run until exhaustion at 90 (3)% [mean (SD)] of their maximal aerobic velocity on a treadmill ergometer. Ground reaction forces, expired gases and EMG from leg muscles were collected for 30 s at min 3 and during the last minute of the run. Subjects ran for 829 (165) s and showed an increase in VO(2 )of 179 (93) ml.