The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on countermovement jump performance (CMJ) in men with advanced strength training experience. Ten healthy male subjects, with advanced strength training and squatting exercise experience, were included. Participants took part in an initial visit to the laboratory to complete anthropometric measurements and CMJ kinematic test-retest reliability. Participants then completed three experimental conditions, 48-72 hours apart, in a randomized, double-blinded crossover design: anodal, cathodal and sham tDCS (2 mA for 20 minutes targeting the motor cortex bilaterally). Participants completed three CMJ tests before and after each experimental condition, with one-minute recovery interval between each test. The best CMJ in each moment was selected for analysis. Two-way (condition by moment) repeated measures ANOVA's were performed for CMJ height, flight time and muscular peak power. Effect sizes and interindividual variability of tDCS responses were also analyzed. There was a significant condition by moment interaction for all outcome measures, with a large pre-post increase in CMJ height, flight time and muscular peak power in the anodal condition. All the participants displayed CMJ performance improvements after the anodal condition. There were no significant differences in both cathodal and sham conditions. Anodal tDCS may be a valuable tool to enhance muscle power related tasks performance, which is extremely relevant for sports that require vertical jumping ability. Anodal tDCS may also be used to support strength training, enhancing its effects on performance-oriented outcome measures.

Lattari, E, Andrade, ML, Filho, AS, Moura, AM, Neto, GM, Silva, JG, Rocha, NB, Yuan, T-F, Arias-Carrión, O, and Machado, S. Can transcranial direct current stimulation improve the resistance strength and decrease the rating perceived scale in recreational weight-training experience? J Strength Cond Res 30(12): 3381-3387, 2016-The goal of this study was to evaluate the acute efficacy of anodic transcranial direct current stimulation on the total volume of repetitions and perceived exertion in recreationally trained individuals in strength. The sample consisted of 10 participants trained in exercise against resistance for at least 3 months. Participants underwent elbow flexion exercise at barbell with a specific load of 10 repetition maximum (10RM), responded immediately after the OMNI-RES scale, and were stimulated for 20 minutes with a tDSC protocol (2 mA), depending on randomization. After applying the tDSC, subjects were again subjected to perform elbow flexion with 10RM load and, soon after, again responded to OMNI-RES scale. All subjects underwent the 3 experimental conditions of the study, c-tDSC, a-tDSC, and sham-tDSC, which were randomized. A range of 48-72 hours was allowed between each assessment visit. An interaction to condition and time (F = 52.395; p ≤ 0.001) has shown that repetitions completed after anodic condition were higher compared with the other conditions in the postsession. In relation to perceived exertion, verified by OMNI-RES scale, 2-way analysis of variance for repeated measures showed an interaction between condition and time (F = 28.445; p ≤ 0.001), where the perceived exertion was decreased after the a-tDSC condition and increased after the c-tDSC condition. In strict terms of performance, it seems to be beneficial to attend a session of 20 minutes a-tDSC, when strength training practitioners can no longer support high-volume training and have increased responses in the perceived exertion.

Background:Physical activity level (PAL) is known to play an important role in reducing risk factors associated with sedentarism, in addition to improving the mental health and health-related quality of life (HRQL).Objective: Investigate the relationship of PAL and their domains with HRQL, mood state (MS) and anxiety. Method: 140 Physical Education students (23.6 ± 3.7 years) were evaluated. The Baecke Habitual Physical Activity and Quality of Life (QOL-36) questionnaires, State-Trait Anxiety Inventories (STAI-S and STAI-T) and Profile of Mood States (POMS) scale were used to investigate PAL, HRQL and mental health indicators. Pearson’s correlation coefficient examined the association between PAL and both mental health and HRQL parameters.Results: There was a correlation between state anxiety and both the domain leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) (p = 0.013) and total PAL score (p = 0.010). In relation to MS, a negative correlation was found between LTPA and total mood disorder (TMD) (p = 0.004). However, there were positive correlations between the vigor subscale and both LTPA (p=0.001) and total PAL (p=0.019). With respect to HRQL, analysis of the relationship between LTPA and total PAL demonstrated positive coefficients with the physical component summary (PCS) (p=0.000; p = 0.005), mental component summary (MCS) (p = 0.000; p = 0.006) and total HRQL (p = 0.000; p = 0.003).Conclusion:The findings suggest that the rise in LTPA was related to an increase in HRQL and MS. However, PAL was positively related to anxiety.

BackgroundThe prevalence of body image dissatisfaction (BID) is currently high. Given that psychological well-being is associated with the body measurements imposed by esthetic standards, BID is an important risk factor for mental disorders.Objective Identify the prevalence of BID, and compare anthropometric and mental health parameters between individuals satisfied and dissatisfied with their body image.MethodA total of 140 university students completed the silhouette scale to screen for BID. Anthropometric measures, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and body fat percentage (BFP) were used. To investigate mental health, The State-Trait Anxiety Inventories (STAI-S and STAI-T), Profile of Mood States (POMS) scale and Quality of Life (QOL-36) questionnaire were used to investigate mental health. The Student’s t-test was applied to compare anthropometric and mental health parameters. Results67.1% of university students exhibited BID. There was a significant difference (p = 0.041) in BF and WC (p = 0.048) between dissatisfied and satisfied individuals. With respect to mood states, significant differences were observed for anger (p = 0.014), depression (p = 0.011), hostility (p = 0.006), fatigue (p = 0.013), mental confusion (p = 0.021) and total mood disturbance (TMD) (p = 0.001). The mental aspect of QOL was significantly higher (p = 0.001) in satisfied university students compared to their dissatisfied counterparts.Conclusion BID was high and it seems to be influenced by anthropometric measures related to the amount and distribution of body fat. This dissatisfaction may have a negative effect on the quality of life and mood state of young adults.