Research can provide important information to health and fitness professionals, but trying to keep up with it all can be overwhelming! Not to worry, I’ve done the legwork for you. Here are some current and not-so-current findings that I think you’ll find interesting.

CURRENT RESEARCH

Fewer Injuries in Weight-Training Sports

“While the majority of the research we reviewed utilized retrospective designs, the weight-training sports appear to have relatively low rates of injury compared with common team sports.”

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Note: I talk about this in greater detail in my webinar, Injury Prevention Strategies for Aging Athletes. Check it out!

Resistance Training for Neck Pain

“The neck resistance training was an effective method for pain relieving, mobility improving, pain threshold, and neck muscle strength enhancing in women with chronic computer-related neck pain. Thus, our study provided evidence that women with work-related neck pain might benefit more from PRT [progressive resistance training], which may have important implications for future clinical practice.”

Source

Note: Wearing the shoulders too low is a cause of neck pain. The Sahrmann Press can help correct that condition.

Gain Muscle with Drop Sets

“Superior muscle gains might be achieved with a single set of DS [drop sets] compared to 3 sets of conventional RT [resistance training], probably due to higher stress experienced in the DS protocol.”

Source

Note: Performing drop sets with momentary maximal loads can result in a 40% strength improvement over constant submaximal loads. I talk about it on pages 20-21 of The Elite Trainer.

NOT-SO-CURRENT RESEARCH

Go Deep with Squats

“Training deep squats elicited favourable adaptations on knee extensor muscle size and function compared to training shallow squats.”

Source

Note: Here are a bunch of reasons why you should consider performing full squats.

Tomorrow we’ll look at how circuit training and explosive strength training can be beneficial for elderly women, the role of magnesium supplementation in the treatment of depression, and how strength training can improve sprint performance.