Biomedical subjects

W L Spinks

Publications and source records attributed to W L Spinks.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

Exercise, mobility and aging.

The elderly population is growing both in size and in proportion of the total population. The costs to the community of the elderly being in poor health are also growing proportionately. The beneficial effects of exercise on various physiological and psychological parameters in the elderly have been well established. The effects of exercise on the mobility and independence of the elderly are also of primary concern, their maintenance being an important exercise goal. Impaired balance and gait are the 2 most significant risk factors for limited mobility and falls in the elderly. It is important to understand the effects of aging and exercise on these risk factors.

Accidental Falls↗

PubMed1997

Dynamics of exercise induced affect.

This study investigated: (a) whether moderate intensity aerobic exercise exerted a significant affective influence during, and postexercise, (b) the nature of the affective response to exercise in relation to positive and negative affects, and affects associated with physiological distress, and (c) whether exercise induced affect was significantly influenced by exercise behaviour. Habitual exercisers (n = 15) and sedentary participants (n = 13) undertook three randomly allocated interventions; (a) exercise (EX; i.e., 20 min of cycling at 60% estimated VO2max), (b) normal workstation duties for 60 min (WRK), and (c) a 60 min sedentary lunch break (SED). Affect was measured pre, post, and 90 min postintervention, as well as every 5 min during exercise, using the Subjective Exercise Experiences Scale (SEES; McAuley & Courneya, 1994). Exercise behaviour had no significant affect on affective responses to exercise in this study (p > .05). Significant (p < .05) postintervention increases in positive affect were found for EX compared to WRK and SED indicating that exercise did produce a positive affective influence. Despite enduring postexercise (i.e., 90 min) improvements in both positive and negative affects, and affects related to fatigue, the affective response during exercise was characterised by significant (p < .05) decreases in levels of positive affect and increased levels of affects related to fatigue.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Discriminant analysis of biomechanical differences between novice, good and elite rowers.

Oar force and oar angle data resulting from a 6-min maximal rowing ergometer test undertaken by novice (n = 9), good (n = 23) and national (n = 9) level male rowers, were used to identify biomechanical performance variables which accurately discriminated between rowers of differing ability levels. The variables included two work capacity measures, mean propulsive power output per kilogram of body mass (W kg-1) and propulsive work consistency (%), and two skill variables, stroke-to-stroke consistency (%) and stroke smoothness (%). Discriminant function analysis indicated the presence of two functions, both of which clearly indicated the importance of mean propulsive power output per kilogram of body mass as a discriminating variable. Function 2 gave greater weight to stroke-to-stroke consistency and stroke smoothness than function 1; however, function 1 was the most powerful discriminator. Classification procedures were used to predict the ability level to which a rower most likely belonged and involved defining the 'distance' between each rower and each ability level centroid, with the rower being classified into the 'nearest' ability level. These procedures indicated that 100% of the elite, 73.9% of the good, 88.9% of the novice and 82.9% of all rowers were correctly classified into their respective skill levels. Stepwise discriminant analysis included the variables in the following order: mean propulsive power output per kilogram of body mass, stroke-to-stroke consistency, stroke smoothness and propulsive work consistency (P < 0.001). The results of this study indicate that biomechanical performance variables related to rowing capacity and skill may be identified and used to discriminate accurately between rowers of differing skill levels, and that, of these variables, propulsive work consistency is the least effective discriminator.

Adult↗