Why look at research on exercise

[Guest guest]

This is a good article on why we even refer to research in the area

of exercise.

So you want to start a serious exercise program. How do you weed

through all the conflicting advice and find the best workout program

to follow? The good news is you don't have to. ASU's Rhea

has done the work for you.

Pick up a handful of health and fitness magazines and you'll find

dozens of articles describing the latest exercise research.

Unfortunately, some of these stories will probably contradict one

another.

One headline might proclaim that you only need to perform one set of

exercises to build strength. Another will say that three to four

sets are ideal.

Then there's the issue of how much weight to lift. Should you do

just a few repetitions of a heavy weight, or lots of reps with a

lower weight? How many days per week should you exercise?

With so much confusing information, it's a wonder people manage to

get through a workout at all. So how are you supposed to weed

through all this conflicting advice and find the best workout

program to follow?

The good news is you don't have to. Rhea has done the work

for you. Rhea is a doctoral student in exercise and wellness at ASU

East. He also works at the ASU East fitness center, designing

workouts for student athletes and local firefighters.

Frustrated with the conflicting research on strength training, he

wanted some solid numbers to back up his training programs. Rhea

conducted a meta-analysis of 140 different studies to determine the

ideal weight training " prescription. " A meta-analysis is a

statistical method for analyzing the results of multiple research

studies.

" For the past 25 to 30 years there has been a debate about how much

training you have to do to get an increase in fitness. There's been

a bit of conflicting research, " Rhea explains. " Using a meta-

analysis, it is possible to synthesize the results of a large body

of research. Areas such as psychology have gotten really good at

that, but my field has not taken advantage of the technique. "

Rhea looked at two groups of exercisers, " trained " and " untrained. "

The trained group includes people who have strength trained

consistently for at least one year. Untrained individuals have not.

Rhea found that untrained people benefit most by lifting weights

three times a week, at a fairly low intensity (50 to 70 percent of

their maximum weight). Trained individuals, however, should only

lift twice a week, at 70 to 90 percent of their maximum. At less

than 70 percent intensity, trained individuals did not see much

improvement. Rhea says that is because their bodies were used to

stress and did not adapt to meet the demand.

" When you first start exercising, don't lift too much, but go three

days a week. As you become more highly trained you have to work

harder but not more, " he says.

Both groups got the most benefit from performing four sets of

exercises for each muscle group. Strength gains begin to plateau and

drop off above four sets.

" There is more benefit from higher frequency and intensity, up to a

point. Maximal strength benefits occur at four sets—the strength

increases are about double what you'd get at one set. However, one

set does provide some strength gains, " Rhea says.

For some people, slight gains are enough. Not everyone has the time

or the motivation to perform four sets of exercises for every muscle

group. Rhea says a good trainer will tailor the exercise

prescription to the individual.

" How much strength gain do you need or want? If you just want to be

active and don't have a lot of time, one set may be sufficient. "

Some people, however, do need to maximize their strength gains.

Doctoral student Mark studies elite athletes, such as

professional athletes and Olympians. Combining the results of 37

studies, he found that elite athletes can maximize strength training

by performing eight sets per muscle group, twice a week, at about 85

percent intensity.

" For an athletic population, optimizing training effect is one of

the most important objectives of sport conditioning, " he

explains. " Not everyone wants to optimize their training. Athletes

have to. At a university, for example, an athlete can lose his or

her scholarship, or get cut from the team. "

says that for most college and elite athletes, the athletic

off-season and preseason lasts only a short time. Optimization of

training means that an athlete can experience the most training

effect, per unit of time, to prepare for competition.

points out that the optimum number of sets applies to each

muscle group, not each possible exercise.

" For example, if you do squats and dead lifts in the same workout,

these work essentially the same major muscles. You do not need to do

eight sets of each. Four of one and four of the other would

qualify, " he explains.

and Rhea presented their findings at the World Congress on

Sport Science in Athens, Greece in October 2003. The meeting is

sponsored by the International Olympic Committee. Rhea also

presented at the National Strength and Conditioning conference in

Indianapolis. His study was published in Medicine and Science in

Sport and Exercise. 's study is pending publication in the

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

" I think this research has gotten a lot of attention because we're

using more advanced methods than in the past on a really hot topic, "

says Rhea.

agrees. " I feel that this research will help shape the

field of sport conditioning. Until now nothing's been done like

this. There have been lots of narrative reviews, but no meta-

analysis. We feel the meta-analysis is a good way to get an

objective look at the research. "

Rhea and work with the athletic department at Chandler-

Gilbert Community College, the ASU East fitness center, and the Mesa

Community College Fire Academy. They work with faculty advisor Brent

Alvar, a joint faculty member at ASU and CGCC. In addition to

teaching, Alvar runs the fitness center.

" Our grad students work as adjunct faculty for CGCC, " he

explains. " They're getting some unbelievable professional

experience. " Alvar attended the World Congress in Athens with

and Rhea.

" This is the pinnacle conference for our field. This is exciting for

me—these are my first two graduate students and both got to present

at this forum. They're highly motivated and have really been

focused, " he says.

In fact, the strength training research isn't part of Rhea's

dissertation work.

" This project wasn't part of my degree, it was just for fun, " he

says, citing personal interest as his main motivation.

" I like exercise, I like science. When people see the science

they're more motivated, they know they're on the right program. I

want to tell them with confidence they're on the best program. " —

Diane Boudreau