Newswise — Wichita State University's Human Performance Lab -- with its top-level faculty expertise and resources -- is well equipped to assist forward-thinking companies needing help with industry research.
So when Performance Health, makers of the popular TheraBand resistance exercise bands, needed some research done, they came to Wichita State's Michael Rogers, professor of exercise science and chair of the Department of Human Performance Studies.
"Many of these companies are not large enough to have their own research departments, so when they start asking questions, we seem to be one of the laboratories they are coming to for answers," Rogers says. "Each year we seem to be moving more and more toward industry-sponsored research, and our ties with these companies keep getting stronger."
Rogers' research has to do with how well resistance bands help people reach their exercise goals. Results of his study are providing physical therapists, personal trainers and other fitness professionals with new exercise guidelines that will help in the promotion of physical activity and weight loss/management programs.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity. To reach that goal, people often use energy expenditure charts to determine the amount of energy burned during specific activities.
But despite their popularity in fitness programs, elastic resistance exercises are not specified in such charts.
So the idea of Rogers' research was to determine the caloric expenditure of elastic band exercises to see how they fit in with the ACSM's exercise recommendations. Then, Rogers says, health professionals and the general public could have a better idea of their options.
"Even with band exercises being as popular as they are, there have been no previous studies to determine the amount of calories burned while doing this form of exercise," he says. "This would allow someone to figure out the amount of energy required or consumed by this activity."
A new option
Two levels of exercise bands were evaluated in Rogers' study. He had 20 WSU students complete 16 minutes of upper- and lower-body exercises in the Human Performance Lab. Their oxygen consumption was measured during each of the exercises.
Results showed that exercises with TheraBand blue and black bands would meet the physical activity recommendation for moderate levels of resistance training.
Given that elastic resistance exercises fit the recommended intensity level, an individual can count performing this activity toward the accumulation of 150 minutes per week, Rogers says.
"Many people are aware of the current physical activity guidelines, but most are still confused about what moderate-intensity physical activity is," he says. "Now another option to engage in moderate-intensity physical activity is using elastic resistance bands."
Practical research applications
Understanding the caloric cost of using elastic resistance bands will also be of use to clinical specialists who work with special conditions such as diabetes and weight loss. Rogers says the information will facilitate the development of better exercise prescriptions utilizing elastic resistance exercise for weight loss and health promotion.
Rogers hopes that results of this study will be incorporated into smartphone applications and other technologies that track exercise intensity, similar to how the FitBit monitors foot strikes when people walk or run.
Based on the results of the study, TheraBand has redesigned its bands to provide added functionality. The new product will be released in January 2015. Performance Health has also partnered with Rogers to conduct similar research on the remaining line of TheraBand resistance bands.
And in addition to measuring oxygen consumption as in the previous research project, Rogers also collaborated on a separate research project his past summer to determine the bands' force-elongation, or how much resistance is provided at different lengths of stretch.
"All of these results will be combined to provide exercise and health professionals the information they need to properly prescribe and monitor the use of elastic resistance bands in fitness and rehabilitation settings," he says.
A photograph is available at http://www.wichita.edu/thisis/wsunews/newsrelease/highres/?pid=4630# # # # #Contact: Michael Rogers, 316-978-5959 or [email protected].
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