Q1. If you were to train someone for a trip to Mars, what would you prescribe for them for 12 weeks prior to their trip?
“In the low-gravity conditions of space, the cardiovascular system gets deconditioned because it doesn't have to work so hard against gravity to pump blood throughout the body. Also due to microgravity, there is more blood in the head and chest, which in turn reduces the workload on the heart” (Hughson, 2012). Before any astronauts are allowed to board a space flight, they must be “trained” mentally, physically, emotionally, and cardiovascularly. It has been well documented that space travel reduces aerobic capacity (VO2max) along with bone density levels and muscular strength.
Before any astronaut may leave the earth to head into space for a mission of any length, they must go through a rigorous selection process and training routine. Because of the effects of microgravity on the human body, a high level of fitness must be obtained before selection can occur. Based on the NASA-STD-3001, Volume 1, and the guidelines set by the American College of Sports Medicine, maximum aerobic capacity (VO2max) must be at or above the mean for their age and gender for any astronaut to meet pre-flight selection criteria (Dunbar, 2012) (Farrell, 2012). Based off of the Canadian Physical Activity, Fitness and Lifestyle Approach (CPAFLA), pre-flight musculoskeletal fitness must be within or above the very good health zone for age and gender matched norms. This musculoskeletal fitness is measured through handgrip, push-ups, partial curl-ups, sit and reach, as well as the vertical jump test.
After selection of astronauts has occurred and flight dates have been secured, a 12-week exercise prescription protocol must be performed leading up to the date of launch. This exercise protocol must include resistance and cardiorespiratory/aerobic conditioning, which will prepare the astronaut for the in-flight deficiencies and allow the body to have a pre-loaded function so once the effects of microgravity begin to set in, the body will have a buffer over its normal levels. According to Mark Guilliams, Astronaut Strength and Conditioning and Rehab specialist, “From a weight training and cardio standpoint, the training the astronauts do to prepare for flight and the training they do in-flight helps to mitigate the losses somewhat” (Ragusa, 2011).
A suitable resistance training protocol would consist of a three-phase program; stabilization, strength, and undulating periodization, while including flexibility, balance, and agility exercises in all phases.
The higher a person’s VO2max, the longer they can sustain endurance events at higher training intensities. Conclusively, the experiment proved that the trained participant had a higher VO2max (higher oxygen consumption) and was indeed more fit than that of the untrained participant.
In the article, “Undulation Training for Development of Hierarchical Fitness and Improved Firefighter Job Performance,” a research was conducted when a critical problem emerged from the extraordinary job risks of firefighting. In this article, it was recognized that firefighting was a high risk occupation in which many activities were life threatening. Yearly incidences brought on from these life-threatening activities and conditions included cardiovascular disease from the inhalation of smoke as well as musculoskeletal injuries from the physical demands of the job. The problem was lying in the fact most fire departments were failing to adequately prepare the firefighters in terms of health and physical fitness to take on the physiologically challenging demands of the job. Now, there are contemporary training methods to boost physical fitness and cardiovascular health in order to make the firefighters “emergency prepared.” However, despite the emphasis on physiological training, previous research had shown that the traditional physical training programs were inadequate to prepare firefighters because it featured systematic physical exercises during specific mesocycles and little variety. In this research, standard resistance training, or standard training control, was compared to and put to the test against undulation training, a method to draw out a specific systematic arrangement of different physiological factors and components in order to accommodate the need for simultaneous development of physical fitness and performance needs. The purpose was to determine the influence of both types of training on muscle adaptation as well as assess how well the trainings transferred over to situations and testing areas that really utilized...
Muscular and bone degeneration is something that also occurs in people who spend long periods of time in a low or null gravity environment, such as astronauts, and for muc...
Controlled increases in physical stress through progressive resistive exercise cause muscle fibers to hypertrophy and become capable of generating greater force.3 Early emphasis is on restoring joint range of motion and muscle flexibility, however, resistive exercises are not delayed. The initial emphasis of muscle loading should be on endurance, accomplished with lower loads and higher repetitions. Progressive resistive exercises are initiated at the available range and progressed to new positions as wrist range of motion returns in all planes. Both the overload principle and the SAID Principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands) are important considerations in therapeutic exercise dosing.1,3,11 Within pain tolerance, dosing progressive resistive exercises that maintain a therapeutic stress level will encourage muscle tissue hypertrophy. Finding activities that produce the correct force and repetition, without injury, is the goal of the remobilization period. Starting with low force, moderate to high repetitions, and encouraging therapeutic rest following induced stress is important to both the overload principle and the SAID Principle. Additionally, it is important to prevent dosing resistive exercises that exceed optimal stress, which may result in injury. The patient’s response to therapeutic exercise should be assessed during, immediately following,
Due to the strong and growing evidence in scientific literature on the beneficial effects of physical activity on health and well-being, the importance of Clinical Exercise Science has increased. Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure. Exercise, is a subcategory of physical activity that is planned, structured, repetitive, and purposeful in the sense that the improvement or maintenance of one or more components of physical fitness is the objective (http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/pa/en/; last accessed on 30 April 2016). Generally speaking, Clinical Exercise Science is an applied clinical branch which deals with the application of various exercise modalities for
As for the type of exercises, clients should try to stay away from high intensity training and
Cardiovascular conditioning can be defined as the efficient transport and utilization of necessary oxygen and nutrients to the tissues of the body. The cardiovascular system needs to be well conditioned to enable the body to deliver adequate oxygenated blood and nutrients to the working muscles, in addition to improving the muscles’ capacity to use extra oxygen. Cardiovascular training is the most important style of training both for general health and for overall athletic performance.
Support A: SECOND POINT: Astronaut’s health are the first priority before travelling to space however, it is proven that space exploration or staying in the space can actually affect a person’s health. Support A: According to a study done by NASA, astronauts that stays in space for six months or even longer are found to have some changes in their eyes and their vision.
Dunn, George et al. National Strength and Conditioning Association. National Strength and Conditioning Association Journal. 7. 27-29. 1985.
Gabboth, Tim. "Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins). Feb2012, Vol. 26 Issue 2, P487-491. 5p." N.p., n.d. Web.
“With the exception of nutrition, more fallacies exist in the area of exercise than in any other area of health” (Dintiman, Stone, Pennington, & Davis, 1984). Exercise produces significant physical and mental benefits and is extremely vital to life. It substantially improves stamina, strengthens and tones muscles, helps prevent diseases, enhances flexibility, controls weight, and prolongs the quality of life. In order to gain all the benefits from exercise and be truly healthy, it is very important to understand and take action with both types of exercise: anaerobic and aerobic. With the combination of aerobic and anaerobic exercise, an individual will greatly increase their overall health and wellness significantly.
This study assessed heart rate, blood pressure, and pulse oximeter readings at rest and during exercise. The heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and oximetery measurements provide better insight into the inner workings of the human body. In using the results of the assessment, one can determine the affects that rest and exercise have on the cardiac system.
In the awe-inspiring event of man experiencing interstellar travel many detrimental problems arise. Before 1970, the majority of biomedical studies on space flight were conducted immediately before and after flight. They examined the changes and readaptation processes for astronauts from a weightless to a gravitational environ-ment. After the successful Skylab space station projects from 1973-1974 and the Soviet Salyut missions from 1977-1982, biomedical research and experiments commenced in space. These experiments in space have shown that the physiological aspects can be deadly if not prepared for correctly and adequate medical support is not available. Although problems due to weightlessness and lack of exercise have been thoroughly researched and new machines and procedures have been developed to overcome these difficulties, there is still the opportunity to further understand weightlessness.
Crossfit routines incorporate three main training areas that consist of gymnastics, weightlifting and sprinting. A specific workout known as WOD or workout of the day is created for each day, especially when used in classes at gyms. Each WOD is unique although all workouts combine the principles of speed, power, coordination, strength, flexibility, agility, respiratory and cardiovascular endurance, stamina, balance and accuracy. In addition, gym crossfit workouts consist of twenty minutes of high intensity activity which may be focused on a specific exercise.
Information When you think of a person who is physically fit you probably think of a sprinter, gymnast, weightlifter, football player, or basketball player. There is so much to physical fitness besides being one of those people. For decades, physiologist and fitness organizations have tried to come up with an answer and here it is. “Physical fitness- a measure of the body’s ability to function efficiently and effectively in work and leisure activities, resist hypokinetic disease (diseases from sedentary lifestyles), and to meet emergency situations .” Sometimes they add to the definition stating it is the ability to transmit genes to the next generation. Now, this is the short answer for what physical fitness it is much longer is and detailed