Effects of Various Forms of Unstable Load on Muscle Electromyography in the Stabilizing Musculature and Rating of Perceived Exertion in the Bench Press.

ABSTRACT: Costello, K. Effects of various forms of unstable load on muscle electromyography in the stabilizing musculature and rating of perceived exertion in the bench press. J Strength Cond Res 36(4): 881-887, 2022-The purpose of the study was to determine whether unstable load training and the Swiss bar in the bench press can cause greater rating of perceived exertion (RPE) values and greater muscle activation in the stabilizing musculature and the same or greater in the primary movers with a decreased load. Division III college athletes (N = 24) performed 4 bench press interventions: stable bench press standard bar (SBp; 75% 1 repetition maximum), stable bench press Swiss bar (SwB; 65%), unstable bench press standard bar (UBp; 60%), and unstable bench press Bandbell bar (Bb; 60%). One-way repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare the average muscle activity values of pectoralis major (PM), triceps brachii (TB), anterior deltoid (AD), and biceps brachii (BB) and RPE values of each intervention. In the PM, mean muscle activity values were significantly (ps < 0.01) greater in the stable SwB and unstable Bb bar than the SBp. In the TB, mean muscle activity values were significantly (p < 0.001) greater in the stable SwB intervention than the SBp and UBp. Mean muscle activity values were significantly (p = 0.032) greater in the unstable Bb bar than the SBp intervention. In the AD, mean muscle activity values were significantly (p < 0.001) greater in the SBp than the stable SwB and significantly (p < 0.001) greater in the UBp and unstable Bb bar than the stable SwB. In the BB, mean muscle activity values were significantly (p < 0.001) greater in the UBp and unstable Bb than the SBp and significantly (p < 0.001) greater in the UBp and unstable Bb bar than the standard SwB. Mean muscle activity values were significantly (p < 0.001) greater in the unstable Bb bar than the UBp. The unstable Bb bar was perceived the most difficult when compared with other bars (ps < 0.01). The unstable interventions were viable options to replace the standard bench press as a method of upper-body resistance training.

Compendium of Health and Wellness Coaching: 2019 Addendum.

The 2019 Addendum, in conjunction with the original health and wellness coaching (HWC) Compendium, organizes HWC literature with the aim of assisting researchers while providing a resource for practitioners. The 2019 Addendum to the HWC Compendium extends the initial work by adding HWC-related literature published in the past 2 years. The 2019 Addendum divides articles retrieved into 8 categories, including a new miscellaneous section complementing categories examining HWC effects on cancer, cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and wellness. The 2019 Addendum again provides in-depth information about the nature, quality, and results from each article in a detailed spreadsheet provided as an electronic appendix. The 2019 Addendum contributes another 104 peer-reviewed coaching-related articles to the HWC Compendium. This most recent research again describes HWC as a favorable intervention with treatment potential in all categories, though only 3 new cancer articles were included in the 2019 Addendum. Trends in HWC (ie, e-coaching and group coaching) are identified, and there is also discussion of future research needs. In conclusion, the field of HWC continues to grow, as does the research describing this clinical practice; the 2019 Addendum to the Compendium of HWC organizes and assists understanding of this literature.

Compendium of the Health and Wellness Coaching Literature.

Health and wellness coaching (HWC) for lifestyle behavior change is emerging as a practice, role, and profession, in diverse health care, employee wellness, and community settings. Health care professionals apply HWC as a behavior change methodology for the prevention and treatment of diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, heart disease, cancer, and other chronic disorders. The purpose of this systematic review was to provide a comprehensive and organized compendium of HWC literature. To date, extant HWC literature remains scattered with no meaningful summary accessible. Lack of comprehensive summary stems from lack of consensus on HWC definition and standards. We applied a recently proposed, standardized definition of HWC to determine compendium inclusion criteria for peer-reviewed, data-based literature from relevant search engines (ie, PubMed, PsychInfo, and CINAHL). A systematic review process was executed and ultimately yielded 219 articles meeting HWC inclusion criteria. Of these, 150 were data-based and the remainder were expert opinion or review-style articles. A summary of results generally reveals HWC as a promising intervention for chronic diseases though further research is needed in most categories. The resulting HWC compendium organizes and describes the quantity and quality of available literature for the use and benefit of HWC practitioners and researchers.