The following positions were recently posted to HigherEdJobs.com
http://www.HigherEdJobs.com.  We hope this is helpful!  Amy

Chair, Department of Sports Science
Institution: Ashland University
Location: OH - Ashland
Posted: 05/24/2005
Application Due: Open Until Filled
Type: Full Time
http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?jobcode=175133867

Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
Institution: South Dakota State University
Location: SD - Brookings
Posted: 05/27/2005
Application Due: 06/17/2005
Type: Full Time
http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?jobcode=175134408

Assistant Professor
Institution: Western Washington University
Location: WA - Bellingham
Posted: 05/19/2005
Application Due: 06/30/2005
Type: Full Time Salary: 40,000 to 45,000 USD Per Year
http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?jobcode=175133324

Assistant Athletic Trainer
Institution: Colorado College
Location: CO - Colorado Springs
Posted: 05/17/2005
Application Due: Open Until Filled
Type: Full Time
http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?jobcode=175133108

Head Women's Softball Coach
Institution: Hiram College
Location: OH - Hiram
Posted: 05/13/2005
Application Due: Open Until Filled
Type: Full Time
http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?jobcode=175132623

For Those Interested in Biostatistics

The ACSM Biostatistics Interest Group held its annual meeting this past week
at the 2005 ACSM Conference in Nashville Tenn.  You can view the draft
minutes of the meeting by clicking on the obvious link at
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/sportscience/files/ .
The file is ACSM Biostats Group Minutes 2005.doc.
Please reply with any comments, especially if you attended to the meeting.

Here are the two most important issues...

1) Proposals for talks for next year's conference (DEADLINE JUNE 20, 2005)

The members decided that we should adopt the method used by other Interest
Groups for proposing talks for future years. Briefly, ACSM gives priority to
talks proposed by Interest Groups. In the past, we only submitted the top 2
talks, and this may have prevented some great sessions from being accepted.
Everyone is now encouraged to submit a proposal for a symposium, tutorial or
any other type of talk.

If the topic is related to Biostatistics, check off the Biostatistics
Interest Group in the appropriate place. The ACSM process is then followed.
All proposed talks associated with an Interest Group are sent to the Chair
of the Interest Group, and the Chair ranks the proposals. ACSM uses the
ranking in their decision, but sometimes feels that a lower ranked talk is
more appropriate for a given conference. For Biostatistics, we discussed
several different talks and we will rank the top 3 based on the discussions
at the annual conference. Other talks will be ranked only as "endorsed" or
"not endorsed". All topics discussed at the conference will be endorsed, and
any new topics should be passed through the listserv for an open discussion
on its appropriateness.

Finally, the decision of ACSM depends in part on whether the talk has wide
appeal to the entire ACSM audience. Therefore, we strongly suggest you send
an email to Alan Batterham who has agreed to help with writing up the
appropriate title. In brief, the title should understandable by anyone who
has never taken a statistical course. For higher level statistical topics,
we plan to hold a 10-15 minute talk during the Interest Group meeting for
future conferences. These talks would be geared towards those with an
interest in Biostatistics, and do not go through the regular ACSM submission
process.

2) Abstract submissions for next year's conference (DEADLINE NOV 1, 2005)

This year, the Biostatistics group held its first thematic poster session
and it was a great success. In fact, the attendees felt that this is best
format for biostatistics abstracts and we will request the same format for
upcoming years.

For next year, all abstract submissions must be submitted under one of the
ACSM Themes, and sub-themes. Although Biostatistics is listed in the title
of one of the Themes (Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Health Promotion),
there is no appropriate sub-theme to choose from. This may or may not be
rectified by the time the web abstract forms are created.

Should there not be an additional sub-theme category, the Biostatics group
decided to encourage members to submit under the Epidemiology of Injury and
Illness sub-theme, and to also send the submission title and name of
presenter to Ian Shrier (ian.shrier@...). Ian will keep track of all
submissions and if there is enough interest, Ian will communicate with the
Chair of the Program committee so that Biostatics will be able to have its
own session(s).

Ian Shrier and Will Hopkins
_____________

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW - EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY
(LEVEL A or B)

FACULTY OF COMPUTING, HEALTH AND SCIENCE
School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences
Joondalup Campus, Perth, Western Australia

(Three year, fixed-term contract, starting date negotiable)

The Exercise and Sports Science Research Group actively pursues research
in a number of interrelated areas and is seeking to appoint a
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Exercise Physiology with expertise in
one or more of the following areas:

Research Area 1: Thermoregulation and hydration practices in athletes
Research Area 2: Precooling methods to improve exercise performance in
the heat with experience in textile design and/or engineering
Research Area 3: Fatigue and/or pacing
Research Area 4: Muscle damage, muscle soreness and recovery
Research Area 5: Nutritional supplements and performance
Research Area 6: Ageing and muscle function
Research Area 7: Resistance training and chronic disease

For further information on the above research areas please view our
website at
http://www.chs.ecu.edu.au/org/sebhs/sports_science/research/essrg.html
or contact:
Research Area 1, 2 or 3: Dr Paul Laursen: p.laursen@... Tel: +61
8 6304 5012
Research Area 4, 5 or 6: A/Prof Ken Nosaka: k.nosaka@... Tel: +61
8 6304 5655
Research Area 7: Dr Mike McGuigan: m.mcguigan@... Tel: +61 8 6304
2118

A PhD in a relevant field or, if a PhD has been submitted, a statement
indicating probability of success from a supervisor is essential. Proven
written communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively
with other researchers in the school are essential. The successful
applicant will already have a strong publication record in moderate- to
high-impact international journals and the capacity to write Grant
applications.

Salary range: $42,788 to $58,046 pa (Level A); $61,046 to $72,494 pa
(Level B), plus a generous University superannuation contribution.

Applications Close: 22 July 2005. Obtain Selection Criteria and other
details from www.ecu.edu.au/jobs or by e-mail: c.cameron@....
Forward your application addressing the selection criteria, with the
names and contact details of three professional referees and quoting
Reference Number 4173 to: Staff Recruitment, Edith Cowan University, 100
Joondalup Drive, Joondalup W A 6027 or e-mail to: c.cameron@...

Applicants should identify the research area(s) for which they wish to
be considered

========================================================================

Paul B. Laursen, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer, Course Coordinator
School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences
Faculty of Computing, Health and Science
Edith Cowan University
100 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup
Perth, WA, 6027, Australia

Tel: +61 8 6304 5012
Fax: +61 8 6304 5036
E-mail: p.laursen@...
Web: http://www.chs.ecu.edu.au/org/sbss/spsci/staff/cv/paul_laursen.html

For those interested in Sports Nutrition, The ISSN conference is next
week. CEU's for ADA, NSCA and
   other organizations will be available. If you wish to certified in
Sports Nutrition (CISSN), that exam is
   also available (though I believe there is very little room left).

   Come learn about nutrition for the Tour de France, Disordered eating
in Athletes, Ribose, Protein
   feeding and recovery, the NIH view of Sports Supplements, Legal
aspects of Nutrition Counseling and
   much, much more. You will be able to network with the thought leaders
in Sports Nutrition and
   Exercise Physiology, meet the people that wrote the texts which you
used in graduate or even
   undergraduate school. On top of that, you can enjoy the sights, smells
and verve of New Orleans.

   You can still sign up, ADA/ACSM members get 10% of registration fees
with print out of this post
   (present it at the Registration desk or fax it in with your
registration).

   For more information, see www.theissn.org or email
issn@...

Sincerely,

Douglas Kalman MS, RD, CCRC, FACN
www.theissn.org
Office: dkalman@...
Work: 305-666-2368
Cell: 954-270-5371
Home fax 1-925-281-9680

Can someone with the latest (5th, 2001) edition of the APA manual within
arm's reach take if off the shelf and tell me how many words, lines,
paragraphs or pages are devoted to the issue of magnitudes of effects?  The
first 10 people to respond will be rewarded with a free statistical
consultation (special conditions apply).

Will

Many thanks to the three people who have so far replied.  See
below.  Probably no need for more.

I should have said why I wanted the info.  I'm putting in a proposal to
give a tutorial lecture called "Size Matters: How Big is Your Effect" at
next year's ACSM meeting.  I wanted to know how much importance APA is now
giving to magnitude--apparently a lot more than they used to.  The
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors http://www.icmje.org/
also think it's important.  If anyone knows of any other guidelines
emphasizing magnitude, please let me know ASAP.  The proposals are due on
June 20.

Will

Alan Batterham
--------------
p. 25-26, section title "Effect size and strength of relationship", two
paragraphs, 18 lines total. Effect size is mentioned (token) on a few other
pages, but the above is the main entry.

Also attached is the APA Task Force on Statistical Inference that was supposed
to inform the APA manual - they refer much more to effect size but much didn't
end up in the manual (politics, though many saw it as a huge advance that
it got
this big a treatment). See the article (also attached) on why the APA
stats recommendations are so controversial - I think you will find this article
very interesting Will.

[I have put these articles in the list's Files section.  Download them from:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/sportscience/files --Will]

Bruce Etnyre
------------
The manual lists effect size in the index as being referred to on pages 5,
and 25-26, but it mentions effect size on page 24, with a reference to
commonly used p set at .05 or .01. It doesn't specifically list magnitude
of effect size.

Gordon Chalmers
---------------
For APA 5th edition: "Magnitude of effect" is not in the index.  "Effect
Size" has 2 entries in the index.  In the first (pg 5) it says that
deficits editors find in papers include "failure to report effect
sizes".  In the second (pg 25-26) a paragraph within the section outlining
how to write results discusses "Effect size and strength of
relationship".  It lists a number (15) of possible ways to express the
magnitude of effect.  It points out that the writer must give the reader
not only statistical sig, but also magnitude of effect.

I've been teaching exercise physiology for a few years now at the
community college level and recently noted that the estimates of
glycogen and fat kcals stored for a 143lb individual at 12% body fat
have changed considerably. The second edition of Physiology of Sport
and Exercise by Wilmore and Costill shows totals of 1,538 and 72,445
respectively. The third edition lists the totals as 2,563 and 74,833.
There is no reference regarding the change nor references to source
with any dates.

Can anyone provide the reasoning behind why there is this change
and/or references to research and why the change? I'd much appreciate
it!

Thank You,

Kathryn Russell, MS, ATC, CSCS
Tacoma, WA

For those interested in submitting a proposal for a symposium, colloquium or
tutorial talk to ACSM for the 2006 meeting, the deadline is now only 2 days away
- June 20.

Proposals are being accepted electronically at the following website:
http://www.abstractsonline.com/SuggestedSessionsMain/login.asp?mkey=%7B560D9D66%\
2D1842%2D45D5%2DB76C%2D58B247ADD44E%7D.

Ian Shrier MD, PhD, Dip Sport Med (FACSM)
Past-president, Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine
check out: www.casm-acms.org

Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Community Studies
SMBD-Jewish General Hospital
3755 Cote Ste-Catherine Rd
Montreal, Qc  H3T 1E2
Tel: 514-340-8222 ext 7563
Fax: 514-340-7564

Dear Members,

We are analysing oxygen uptake from a time-to-exhaustion test (constant work
load). We used routines in MatLab for maximal O2 uptake determination and
for related metabolic parameters (Ve, VCO2, VT, and so on). We are
interested in analysing O2 kinetics and we wonder if these routines have
already been developed in MatLab. Thank you in advance for considering our
request.

Regards,

Fabien Basset
School of Human Kinetics and Recreation
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's, NL Canada A1C 5S7
fbasset@...
Phone: (709) 737 6132
Fax: (709) 737 3979

Hi Will

PhotoShop handles PDF files, so I don't know what you
are doing wrong. You can either right-click the file
and "Open with" PhotoShop, or just open the file
through PhotoShop, either way it works. Upon opening
you will be prompted as to the size (assumes the paper
size of the PDF file) and resolution (300 dpi is
necessary for high-quality professional printing)of
the image. Then you simply flatten the
image(Layer|Flatten) and then "Save as" TIFF or JPG.
Alternatively, you can open up PhotoShop and create a
new file which is at least the size of your image (say
20 x 15 cm), at a resolution of 300 dpi. Set the
background as white. Then with a grouped PowerPoint
figure, simply copy and paste into PhotoShop. You have
then created a new layer which will need to be
flattened and saved as described above. These files
can be inserted into Word documents as per normal
(Insert|Picture|From File).

Ciao

G

Thanks very much to the 10-15 people who replied.  If I missed replying to
you personally, my apologies.  Here's what worked best, suggested by Loren
Chiu and Tim Doyle, and embellished by me.

1.  Convert the Powerpoint to a PDF.  You will need the Adobe Acrobat PDF
editor to do it.

2.  In the PDF, crop the blank space around each figure using the crop
tool.  Just draw a rectangle around each figure with the tool and hit
Enter.  This maneuver reduces the file size a lot.

3.  Save as... a TIFF.   File settings:  None for everything.  Color
settings:  Off for everything.

4.  Adobe generates a new TIFF for each figure in the PDF, numbering them
sequentially.  The files are manageable in size (2-4 Meg) and seem to have
enough resolution when you open them with whatever image editor or
viewer.  There's a bit of the Bill-Gates-crooked-lines effect on screen at
some magnifications with some lines and tick marks, but might print
OK.  Whether the images pass the test at MSSE remains to be seen.

I found that the above approach produced slightly better TIFFs than Grant
Tomkinson's approach in his message to the list.

Andrew Pinder's suggestion to the list looks promising.  Not clear what you
do with the Windows metafile.  Adobe lets you save the PDF as encapsulated
postscript (EPS) but it doesn't seem to open properly with image editors or
Powerpoint or insert properly into a Word doc.

Several people suggested saving as a TIFF directly from Powerpoint in
various ways, but it produced images that were very pixelly.  There were
various suggestions for pasting into image editors via the clipboard, but
all the editors I tried (Photoshop, Fireworks, Microsoft Photo Editor)
produced images that were also too pixelly.

Once again, thanks for the great response.

Will

An update for those of you submitting high-res figures to MSSE and
presumably other journals...

I just got a message from Lori Tish at MSSE with a request to send either
TIFF **or EPS** files for the figures for a paper that has just been
accepted.  I had previously submitted the figures as Powerpoints pasted
into Word docs.  So, instead of saving them as TIFFs in line with the
previous messages on this topic, I sent her EPS files generated by saving
the PDF files as EPS.  She replied that they were fine.  EPS allows you to
save more than one figure as a single file, but that wasn't
acceptable.  One file per figure, please.  Lori also confirmed that you can
upload EPS files into the Editorial Manager at the time of submission.

EPS is presumably preferable to TIFF, because EPS is one of those "vector"
formats that contains all the info needed to regenerate the figure
perfectly at any resolution, and the files are small (100-200 K) compared
with TIFFs.

So the process is as follows:  make your graphs in Excel, paste into
Powerpoint, clean them up, convert to PDF one by one, then save as EPS one
by one.

Something I forgot to mention in my previous summary...  I make my figures
the same size as they will appear in the journal, to get everything looking
right.  I find that the axes and tick marks look better if the lines are
1/2 pt.  That may reduce the impact of the Bill-Gates-crooked-lines effect,
too, compared with 1/4 pt lines and tick marks.  The lines and symbols in a
line graph look better if they are a bit thicker (3/4 pt).  You can make
the figures bigger for a talk by copying and pasting each one into another
ppt file as an enhanced metafile.  Then when you click and drag one corner
to enlarge, fonts and all increase in size.  Then ungroup and colorize for
the talk.

Will

I was wondering if you could help me with something for [a TV program we are making].  I have been looking for a story of extreme strength and power in a time of need. Like a mother lifting a part of car off her child's leg or a farmer lifting a machine off himself when the necessity is there - a story of someone going beyond their limits.
 
Are these types of stories a reality or something of a fiction?

Where do people get this type of super human strength from? Do humans have an emergency reserve or is it adrenaline?

Bill...Has your swimmer been checked for shortened Q-T interval?  If that
is not the case, you may wish to look in to the matter further.

Take care,

Tom Rooney
Dept of Kinesiology
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA

Thanks to all those who replied to my query of a couple of days ago (see
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/sportscience/message/2701).  The
relevant replies appear below.

In summary, David Behm argues very cogently how direct electrical
stimulation of muscles already being activated by apparently maximal effort
results in only a little extra force, so it's hard to see how anyone could
develop substantial extra force in an emergency situation.  Gavin
Sandercock points out that training in untrained individuals results in a
rapid increase in maximum force that is likely to be neural rather than
muscular, so there COULD be a reserve that an untrained individual could
tap into in principle (but can't in practice, if David Behm is right, as he
almost certainly is).  Lindsay Edwards cites a couple of references in
support of the idea that superhuman force could be be due to over-riding of
a protective mechanism in the CNS.  Zig Gibson puts in a plug for the
Governor (and I am awaiting his reply to my suggestion that the Governor is
just another name for the perception of effort).   Finally Glenn Doney
refers to fainting of weightlifters, and Bill Sands thinks it's due to
breath holding, but as I recall it is due to the low blood pressure phase
of the Valsalva maneuver (where the tensing of the thorax produces a
positive pressure in the thorax that prevents venous return to the heart).

Will

From: David Behm <dbehm@...>
------------------------------------------
Regarding super human feats of strength, I would agree on the urban legend
prognosis. The use of the interpolated twitch technique to stimulate
electrically those motor units that could not be stimulated voluntarily may
involve 5-15% more strength on average. See some of the following references

Behm D.G., Power K., Drinkwater E. Muscle activation is enhanced with multi
- and uni-articular bilateral versus unilateral contractions.  Canadian
Journal of Applied Physiology 28(1): 38-52, 2002
Behm D.G., Whittle J., Button D., Power K. Intermuscle differences in
activation. Muscle and Nerve 25: 236-243, 2002

The activation deficit is greater in previously injured individuals, but
emergency situations would still not see super human feats, just a return
to the normal healthy level of activation. See this reference.

Behm D.G. and St-Pierre D.M.M. Fatigue Characteristics following Ankle
Fractures. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 29: 1115-1123, 1997

Of course the interpolated twitch technique is not perfect and some would
argue that perhaps it does not incorporate the rate coding increases that
might occur, however tetanic stimuli have been used as well with similar
results. See the following reference.

Behm D.G. St-Pierre D.M.M. and Perez D. Muscle Inactivation: An Assessment
of the Interpolated Twitch Technique. Journal of Applied Physiology 81(5):
2267-2273, 1996

Another argument might be that human force development is due to
asynchronous rather than synchronous stimulation and thus tetanic
stimulation would still not provide the truest test. That is a valid point
but I still don't believe that asynchronous interpolated or superimposed
force upon a voluntary contraction would show that we can exert
phenomenally greater amounts of strength. As you mentioned, the connective
tissue responds to the chronic stresses placed upon it. Connective tissue
would not be prepared to handle an extraordinary force output without injury.


From: Gavin Sandercock <gsande01@...>
--------------------------------------------
I recently taught this then debated it with undergraduates
and although the science is sparse regarding the potential
sources of strength in these feats may be due to the an
extreme example of muscular disinhibition or a turning off
of the negative feedback from mechano receptors in the
muscle and particularly Golgi tendon organs. We all know a
'twitch' of suprmaximal force can be superimposed
electrically on a max voluntary contraction - this tells us
that max isn't MAX. Some data in strength training studies
have shown massive (>100%) gains in MVC or 1RM with little
or no hypertrophy. These gains are undoubtedly due to
increase synchronisation and recruitment of motor units,
this is an example of the submaximal level that our muscles
work at during MVC at any one time.

It appears the muscle is continually 'damped down' as a
protective mechanism by negative feedback and theory goes
that if you really have to lift a car off your toe
disinhibition will allow you to do so - possibly at the
expense of rupturing muscle etc.

PS Don't get obsessed searching for the answer to this
question - that is what lead Dr David Banner to dose himself
with Gamma radiation and become Lou Ferrignou [The Incredible Hulk].


From: Lindsay Edwards <lindsay@...>
---------------------------------------------------------
These stories of superhuman strength might well be explained by an
overriding of protective mechanisms by the CNS, see McKardle, Katch and
Katch 5ed, p530:

"Increased neurologic arousal may also account for the so-called
'unexplainable' feats of strength and power achieved during highly charged
emergency situations".

Perhaps they could also check out:

Ikai, M. and A. H. Steinhaus. Some factors modifying the expression of
human strength. J Appl Physiol. 16:157-163, 1961.


From: Alan St Clair Gibson <Agibson@...>
-----------------------------------------------------
Had a big smile when I read this - a lot of this stuff sounds like you are
supporting our central governor models of fatigue and limits to
performance! (-:


From: Glenn Doney <Glenn.Doney@...>
----------------------------------------------
Will there is plenty of anecdotal research from the body building
circles regarding people passing out; however I have not heard of
endurance athletes passing out during competition.

A Google check on Tom Platz and passing out will bring about 90 hits

http://www.muscle-fitness.co.uk/359.html


From: "William Sands, Ph.D." <wmasands@...>
---------------------------------------------------
I'm aware of weightlifters (via Mike Stone) fainting while lifting, but
this appears to be related also to breath holding.

Dear Group

There seems to have been a glitch in the downloading of information for the
2006 ACSM symposium/tutorial/colloquium proposals. They believe they can fix
it but the meeting is in 2 weeks and I want to be sure we don't miss anyone.
If you submitted a proposal under the Biostats Interest Group, please send
me an email with the title, type of presentation, and the presenters.

Ian Shrier MD, PhD, Dip Sport Med (FACSM)
Past-president, Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine
check out: www.casm-acms.org

Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Community Studies
SMBD-Jewish General Hospital
3755 Cote Ste-Catherine Rd
Montreal, Qc  H3T 1E2
Tel: 514-340-8222 ext 7563
Fax: 514-340-7564

The following positions were recently posted to HigherEdJobs.com
http://www.HigherEdJobs.com.  We hope this is helpful!  Amy

Visiting Instructor: Exercise Science
Institution: Colby-Sawyer College
Location: NH - New London
Posted: 07/05/2005
Application Due: Open Until Filled
Type: Full Time
http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?jobcode=175138629

Instructor/Athletic Trainer
Institution: West Chester University
Location: PA - West Chester
Posted: 06/23/2005
Application Due: Open Until Filled
Type: Full Time
http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?jobcode=175137510

Lecturers - Exercise & Sport Sciences
Institution: Ithaca College
Location: NY - Ithaca
Posted: 06/23/2005
Application Due: Open Until Filled
Type: Part-Time/Adjunct
http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?jobcode=175137518

Assistant or Associate Professor - Athletic Training Education
Institution: Northeastern University
Location: MA - Boston
Posted: 06/13/2005
Application Due: Open Until Filled
Type: Full Time
http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?jobcode=175136100

Instructor/Assistant Professor of Physical Education, department of HPERSS.
Two fixed-term one year positions available.
Institution: St. Cloud State University
Location: MN - St. Cloud
Posted: 06/09/2005
Application Due: Open Until Filled
Type: Full Time
http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?jobcode=175135692

I got two informative messages following up on the summary I sent.  See
below.  Ian Shrier points out that the rapid gains in strength with
training of untrained individuals are due to improvement in recruitment of
muscle groups, not activation of single muscles (unless there are some
rapid gains in force in fibers demonstrable with direct stimulation--is the
evidence clear on that point?).  JW Yates notes that the improvement in
recruitment includes the ability to activate both limbs maximally, so maybe
extreme motivation could overcome the "bilateral deficit" in an untrained
individual and result in a feat of supramaximal, but presumably not
extreme, strength.

There was little follow-up on the notion in my first message of the
possibility of exercising until you faint. The idea I had was that
vasodilatation in the active muscles might be sufficient to cause a fall in
blood pressure that would deprive the brain of oxygen.  The "G-LOC" of jet
pilots is due to a fall in blood pressure, as Rene Venturino pointed out in
a message to me that I forgot to include earlier.  See below.  You can also
imagine other plausible mechanisms with extreme exercise, like the large
increase in K+ concentration in the blood affecting electrical activity of
the heart.  K+ and acidity in the blood wouldn't affect the brain, because
of the blood-brain barrier.

Anyway, a 30-s all-out test is bearable.  A 1-min all-out test is bl**dy
awful.  I'm getting too old to risk going for longer.  Has anyone in the
history of the human race ever run all out for several minutes, except when
being pursued by a jealous husband or other carnivore?  To faint in such
circumstances means certain death, so there is strong selective pressure
against it, and we no doubt have several protective mechanisms.  I presume
the baroreceptor reflex contributes by increasing the generalized
peripheral vasoconstriction to offset the vasodilatation in the active
muscles.  The feeling of unbearable effort itself is obviously another
protective mechanism, although any attempt to invoke perception as an agent
in human evolution brings you hard up against the mind-body problem.  Minds
(pain, effort...) can't evolve unless they interact with bodies (neurons,
muscles...).  The alternative, that minds are just epiphenomena, is even
more weird.  I would give up and believe in God, but then there is the
problem of all the suffering in the world.

Will

From: Ian Shrier <ian.shrier@...>

Some added thoughts: both Behm and Sandercock are correct and are not
contradictory. The fact that twitch interpolation does not produce much
added force does not mean that early strength gains with training are not
neurological. The early strength gains occur because the untrained person
co-contracts antagonist and agonist muscles during a movement, perhaps to
increase stiffness of the joint. With training, the antagonist muscle firing
decreases, and coordination of agonist firing which allows for increased
force during "complicated" movements.

Also, I didn't read Sands email, so maybe he gave a mechanism for breath
holding that is different from the venous return mechanism you cite. But
from your email, it isn't clear that there is a discrepancy between his
thoughts and yours.


From: "J.W. Yates" <jwyate1@...>
------------------------------------
One aspect that was not discussed involves the use of multiple muscle
groups.  Most of the data regarding motor unit recruitment and the use of
electrical stimulation involves a single muscle group.  I agree that in
general most individuals can learn to recruit all motor units, although
untrained individuals do not always do this.  However, in a situation where
a superhuman feat is performed, many muscle groups are involved.  Maximal
recruitment of multiple muscle groups becomes much more of a problem
especially for the untrained individual.  When the output from the motor
cortex is going to many muscle groups, it takes a special effort to drive
all muscle groups to maximum levels.  An example of this is bilateral
deficit.  If you measure the maximal force in the left arm and the right
arm separately, the total is often greater than the force from both arms
measured at the same time.  Individuals who train using both arms do not
demonstrate bilateral deficit.  Now take the situation where you are trying
to lift a car!  This would involve muscles from the entire body.  It is
easy to imagine that without some special motivation (such as life or
death) that not all muscles would be driven to their maximum levels.  A
surge of epinephrine would certainly help the cause.  I believe that this
situation would help explain superhuman feats.  Well-trained individuals
probably already use this factor when performing maximum lifts.


From: Nevola Venturino <VRNEVOLA@...>
--------------------------------------------------
With respect to 'blacking out whilst exercising' occasionally 1 or 2 of our
trainee pilots black-out during human centrifuge trials whilst they are
working hard to perform the anti-G manoeuvre. Infact there is classic video
footage that has been released by UK MOD to the 'Open University' in the
early 1970's where Sqn Ldr MacKenzie is shown experiencing G-lock and
black-out whilst obviously straining to perform the anti-G manoeuvre.

I know this is not quite what you meant when you said 'exercising' but it
may still be of interest to you.

For many years I've been interested in the concept of life extension
through the use of calorie restriction and dietary supplements.
Because I use so many different substances, I wrote a computer
program to track what I was taking and the effects, positive or
negative. By keeping a journal, I get a nutritional analysis of the
sum total of various nutrients.
I've evolved this program into a commercial product called NuTrak -
Nutrition & Life Tracking System. Although similar to many other diet
and food database programs, NuTrak is unique in it's ability to allow
the user to expand the database to include any nutrient, herb, drug,
supplement, human activity or physical reaction.

Please visit www.nutrak.com.

I am very interested in feedback, positive or negative.

Thanks,
Dave

Hi,

I'm wondering what the general consensus is regarding immunisation (eg.
hepatitis B, tetanus etc) for undergraduate sport science students being taught
how to take blood and then doing so over the course of their studies (eg.
physiology modules, 3rd year dissertation). Do institutions insist on it, only
advise students to do it, or have not considered it at all?

Grant.

-------------
Grant Abt Ph.D.
Lecturer in Sport & Exercise Physiology
School of Sport & Outdoor Studies
St Martin's College
Lancaster, UK

Ph. +44 (0)1524 526530

Human Kinetics is pleased to announce the March 2006 launch of the
International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, a new
publication focused on sports physiology and performance and
dedicated to advancing the knowledge of sport and exercise
physiologists, sports performance researchers, and other sports
scientists. The journal's mission will be the publication of
authoritative research in sports physiology and related disciplines,
with an emphasis on work having direct practical applications in
enhancing sports performance in sports physiology and related
disciplines.

IJSPP will include original articles pertaining to individual and
team sports, environmental physiology, applied sports nutrition,
strength and conditioning, and sports technology, as well as
research reports, invited reviews, commentaries, technical notes,
and editorials as regular features. On an occasional basis, the
journal will welcome roundtable discussions, book reviews, and
conference proceedings.

IJSPP invites authors to submit manuscripts for immediate
consideration for publication. For complete submission guidelines,
go to www.humankinetics.com/IJSPP/journalSubmissions.cfm.

About the Editor
The editor of IJSPP is David Pyne, PhD, a sports physiologist in the
Department of Physiology at the Australian Institute of Sport. He is
also an adjunct associate professor in the Medical School at the
Australian National University. His primary research interests
include the applied physiology of swimming, exercise training and
the immune system, and applied physiology and performance
enhancement in team sports. His primary sporting appointments are
currently with the Australian Swimming Team and Basketball
Australia. He was awarded the 2000 Australian Sports Medal for
outstanding contribution to Australian sport.