Given the practicality and low cost of using elastic resistance in training for different populations and its effectiveness in a range of outcomes, a comparison with conventional devices could clarify and quantify the benefits provided by both mode. To compare the effects of resistance training with elastic devices (tubes and Thera-Bands) and conventional devices (weight machines and dumbbells) on the outcome muscular strength. A search was performed in the databases PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence Database), and CENTRAL (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) from the earliest records up to 20 December 2017. Data were pooled into a meta-analysis and described as standardized mean difference with a 95% confidence interval (registration number: CRD42016042152). Eight studies were included. The results of the meta-analysis demonstrated no superiority between the methods analyzed for upper limb (standardized mean difference = −0.011; 95% confidence interval = −0.40, 0.19; p = 0.48) or lower limb muscular strength (standardized mean difference = 0.09; 95% confidence interval = −0.18, 0.35; p = 0.52). Elastic resistance training is able to promote similar strength gains to conventional resistance training, in different population profiles and using diverse protocols.

Background: The objective of this systematic review was to determine the efficacy of the mat Pilates method on body composition in healthy adult subjects compared with traditional exercise or control condition models. Design: Systematic review with meta-analysis. Data sources: MEDLINE, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus, PEDro, SciELO, CINAHAL, and the Cochrane Library. Results: A total of 10 eligible studies were selected for revision. The findings of this review demonstrated that the mat Pilates method was not more effective than the traditional exercise or control condition models for the analyzed variables (body mass index, lean mass, body fat percentage, and abdominal circumference). Moreover, in the exploratory analysis with older people, adults, and overweight/obese individuals, the mat Pilates method was also not superior for the analyzed outcomes. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that the mat Pilates method is no better than the control condition or other types of training to reduce body composition.

Aim: To evaluate the effects of 12-week Pilates training program on cardiac autonomic modulation. Materials & methods: A randomized controlled trial of a 12-week Pilates training program was conducted. A total of 54 men were randomly allocated to either a control or a Pilates group. Initially, the RR intervals were captured for 20 min for later analysis of heart rate variability (HRV). The training protocol was then initiated, in which the Pilates group performed 36 sessions of the Pilates method for approximately 60 min each session, three-times a week, totaling 12 weeks. The control group was instructed to maintain their normal activities during this period. One week after the end of the training, the final evaluations were performed with the capture of RR intervals in both the groups. Linear indices in the time (SDNN and rMSSD) and frequency (low frequency [LF] and high frequency [HF]) domains, and the Poincaré plot (SD1 and SD2) were used. Nonlinear indices were also analyzed (approximate entropy and detrended fluctuation analysis). Descriptive statistics and generalized mixed models were performed. Results: There was a group effect for LF (ms2) and a time effect for SD2. There was a training effect observed by the time*group interactions in which an increase in global HRV indices was found for the Pilates group after 12 weeks (SDNN: mean difference [MD] = 9.82; standard deviation [SD] = 18.52; ES = -0.514; LF [ms2]: MD = 334.23; SD = 669.43; ES = -0.547; SD2: MD = 14.58; SD = 24.28; ES = -0.693). Conclusion: A 12-week Pilates training program promotes significant improvement in global modulation of HRV in the Pilates group considering the significant increase in SDNN, LF (ms2) and SD2 indices. Trial registration number: NCT03232866 .

BackgroundRecuperative techniques have been used to anticipate and potentiate recovery. The massage is one of the most widely used in sports. Among the ways to demonstrate the recovery of the organism is the resumption of autonomic modulation of heart rate, which can be analyzed in situations that cause disturbances in the behavior of the cardiovascular system with the objective of verifying the responsiveness of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Recovery can be assessed through heart rate variability (HRV) which analyzes the oscillations in consecutive heartbeats, thus allowing an important non-invasive alternative for the study of modulation of the ANS. The objective of the study will be to measure the effects of massage as a recuperative technique on the autonomic modulation of heart rate and cardiorespiratory parameters at different moments of application.MethodsThis is a randomized, cross-over clinical trial. Forty men aged 18 to 30 years, healthy and physically active according to the International Physical Activity Questionnaire will participate in the study. Participants will be randomized into groups, which will perform the five interventions of the study at randomized moments, one intervention per session: Intervention 1: control; Intervention 2: participants will receive the massage protocol; Intervention 3: performance of the stress protocol; Intervention 4: participants will perform the stress protocol and immediately after receive the massage; Intervention 5: participants will perform the stress protocol and 1 h after conclusion of the protocol will receive the massage. The sessions will occur with an interval of 1 week between them and, due to the technique used, blinding participants and therapists is not possible. The primary outcome measure is HRV that will be measured 2 h after the conclusion of each intervention, and secondary outcome measures, which include heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and individual touch perception, will be measured at specific moments in the course of each intervention.DiscussionThe implementation and use of this standardized protocol should provide important and reliable information regarding the use of massage in post-exercise recovery, with the identification of its effects on the ANS and the best timing and form of massage application. The data obtained in the present study will provide subsidies for the best management of application of the technique in sports clinical practice, considering periods of training and, mainly, of competitions.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, ID:NCT03094676. Pre-results. 12 March 2018.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-018-2830-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background: Currently there are campaigns to raise the awareness of the need to practice some physical exercise with several objectives, mainly as a preventive character. From this perspective, we can see the use of the Pilates method as an instrument of therapeutic exercise for the protection and promotion of health. However, despite being popularly performed, there is still no scientific evidence on the standardization of the use of the method and its progression to an adequate prescription of physical training. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to develop a protocol to monitor the progression of Pilates loads daily between the basic, intermediate and advanced levels, as well as to analyze the effect of the method on the psychometric, cardiorespiratory and autonomic parameters. Methods: there will be a total of 36 sessions of Pilates mat for 32 healthy men. In each training session, initially, cardiorespiratory parameters, pain through the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and a psychometric questionnaire will be collected for the volunteers. Heart rate (HR), subjective perception of effort (SPE), and RR intervals will be measured during the sessions for subsequent use to analyze the progression of the loads by monitoring the internal training load and heart rate variability (HRV), respectively. At the end of the sessions, cardiorespiratory parameters, the VAS, the psychometric questionnaire will be measured again and the participants will only be released after 15 minutes of rest for the final HR analysis and to re-respond to the PSE scale. Before and after the 36 sessions of training, participants will also be evaluated in relation to psychometric, cardiorespiratory, and autonomic parameters. Discussion: this study deserves to be highlighted as it is a parallel randomized clinical trial with standardization of training, with the purpose of monitoring the prescription of loads of the method, as well as verifying its efficacy in clinical, cardiorespiratory, and autonomic outcomes. The easy reproducibility of the protocol from its description, also improves the study, besides providing support for prescribing the method to the professionals involved.