News from the American College of Sports Medicine Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition

PILATES BENEFICIAL FOR FLEXIBILITY, MUSCULAR FITNESS*

Pilates enhances flexibility, muscular fitness and endurance, particularly for intermediate and advanced practitioners, but may have limited potential to notably increase cardiovascular fitness and reduce body weight.  New research conducted by Michele Olson, Ph.D., FACSM supports the practice of Pilates to achieve some health benefits and adds to the knowledge about the technique.

In a recent study of the method, Olson and her team measured the metabolic and caloric cost of basic (beginner), intermediate and advanced Pilates mat workouts to assess what the popular technique may and may not do for exercisers. 

Results indicated basic Pilates activity translated into low-moderate intensity, comparable to active stretching.  The intermediate workout was shown to be of a moderate intensity level, similar to the energy requirement of speed walking at a rate of 4 to 4.5 mph.  The advanced workout was of high-moderate intensity, equivalent to basic stepping on a six-inch platform. The team also found the most dramatic increase in caloric cost occurred when participants progressed from basic to intermediate or advanced levels of training.

In another phase of the study, the team measured abdominal muscle activity during key Pilates mat exercises.  Participants performed five Pilates "ab" exercises, then basic crunches for comparison.  Results showed that the rectus abdominis muscle, which runs along the mid section of abdomen, was challenged similarly for most of the exercises.

Olson noted that other research has shown Pilates training to be effective for flexibility but limited for body composition when done just once a week. Another study specific to the Pilates Reformer, a sliding table with pulleys that attach to the arms and legs, found significant improvements in people's sit-and-reach capabilities, but no improvement on body composition.  Leg strength and muscular endurance were also highlighted as major benefits from one Reformer study.  However, Olson notes more research on Pilates will provide additional insight into the benefits of the activity.

Some misconceptions of the exercise technique center on claims that Pilates lengthens and leans muscles, streamlines the body and builds muscle tone, says Olson. 

"People made these assumptions some 80 years ago because dancers often practiced Pilates, and they often have long, lean bodies.  Back then, the physiology research wasn't available compared to what we have now," said Olson.  "Muscles cannot grow longer, but you can improve your flexibility from the exercises.  Muscles are lean anyway; they are non-fat structures in our body. You can increase your lean tissue, but what you're doing is actually putting on muscle. So you are actually increasing muscle, which is a good thing, but not narrowing the muscles."

Olson says the practice of Pilates promises to become even more mainstream and warns that this can potentially create a problem with a lack of quality instructors.  "A qualified Pilates instructor has studied for five or more years, and may have even traveled and taken intensive courses from masters.  There are more than 500 exercises, and it takes more than a workshop or short course to learn and teach it correctly."

ADDING ACTIVITY TO EXISTING YOUTH PROGRAMS IS AS EASY AS ENCOURAGING PLAY AND ORGANIZING ACTIVITY*

Existing youth programs can add physical activity as a means to promote and maintain health in kids.  A youth fitness expert at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition said kids can easily access opportunities to be active if after-school programs, day camps and child-care facilities design fitness into existing programs.

Michael Spezzano, an ACSM member and health and fitness specialty consultant for the YMCA of the USA, says fitness programs can be simple or sophisticated, but should provide an alternative to physical inactivity.  Leaders should evaluate what snacks are served and consider how much time kids can be active with current programming.  "Parents want their children to do certain things when they participate in after-school programs or child-care: do their homework, make friends, have a snack and be active," says Spezzano.  "For kids, it's not exciting to ' exercise ,' but activity can be easily disguised as fun."

Childhood obesity and inactivity are well-known problems, says Spezzano, and adding youth health and fitness programs is a natural way to bolster physical activity in after-school programs and childcare.  Spezzano says a number of good program models exist and recommends the following touchstones for developing youth fitness components:

• Make a commitment to youth health, fitness and wellness.  Community organizations, YMCAs and fitness centers often must work outside normal operating procedure to institute such a program. 
• Learn what kind of activities and resources are needed based on the capabilities of a center or organization.  Many operational elements, such as funding, equipment, nutrition and staff training must be investigated.
• Training staff is key to incorporating elements of a fitness program with the existing youth population.  A trained staff is likely to understand fitness concepts and activities, know the goals of the program, and then put activities into play.

"Effective health and fitness programs for kids don't need to look or feel a certain way," said Spezzano.  "What's important is that leaders of organizations and existing programs begin thinking about the activities they offer to children, and to what extent they include physical activity and healthy snacking.  With a little preparation in these settings, kids will have direct access to healthy activities in a safe, fun environment."  Spezzano emphasized programs should be varied and age-appropriate so kids will learn to be healthy for the long-term.

WOMEN WITH PEDOMETERS STEP UP EXERCISE LEVELS*

Women with pedometers and a goal of 10,000 steps per day walked more than those whose goal was a brisk, 30-minute walk, according to new research published in the April issue of " Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise ®" , the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

The study followed 58 women who were physically inactive before the study, averaging fewer than 7,000 steps a day. Participants were divided into two groups:

a "30-minute group" instructed to take a brisk, 30-minute walk on most, preferably all, days of the week and a "10K group" instructed to walk 10,000 steps per day

All participants wore sealed pedometers that recorded the steps taken each day. To establish baseline levels of activity, steps were measured for 14 days. During the four-week experiment, the 10K group also wore pedometers that were not sealed, allowing participants to track their steps throughout the day. Thirty-minute walkers kept activity logs recording when the pedometer was put on and taken off each day, along with their timed walking bouts. Those in the 10K group logged when the pedometer was put on and taken off, as well as total steps accumulated each day. They also had the option to record which physical activities they performed to reach the goal of 10,000 steps per day.

Results:

• Over the four-week intervention, the 30-minute group accumulated an average of 8,270 steps per day and the 10K group averaged 10,149 steps per day.
• On days when they met their target, the 10K group averaged 11,775 steps compared with 9,505 for the 30-minute group.
• On days when they did not meet their target, 10K walkers still averaged significantly more activity than the 30-minute group (7,780 and 5,597 steps, respectively.)
• Compared with their baseline step count before the four-week experiment, the 10K group averaged significantly more steps even on days when they did not meet their goal of 10,000 steps. Step counts for participants in the 30-minute group were about the same as their baseline levels on days when they didn't attain their goals.

"Pedometers are quite popular now, and with good reason," said lead researcher Dixie L. Thompson, Ph.D., FACSM. "Our study shows that they can provide an incentive for people to increase their activity levels. Study participants who monitored their daily steps with pedometers tended to walk more every day, even when they were below their goal of 10,000 steps per day. For many individuals, walking is the preferred way to reach ACSM's recommended level of physical activity, which contributes directly to better fitness and health. In a society where poor diet and physical inactivity contribute to nearly 400,000 deaths a year, increasing our level of physical activity has a very beneficial effect on public health."

*From the American College of Sports Medicine.