Sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, is a major contributor to functional decline and reduced quality of life among older adults. To address this growing concern, the STaR Study investigates whether a combination of resistance training and nutritional supplementation, resveratrol, can help mitigate sarcopenia-related declines in older adults. A key component of this intervention was supervised strength training. During training sessions, exercise technique was continuously monitored to promote participant safety, ensure consistent implementation of the intervention across all participants, and verify activation of the targeted muscle groups. Initial resistance loads were established during the familiarization phase, providing individualized starting points based on participant strength and exercise competency, and were adjusted accordingly throughout the study. Throughout the intervention, participants demonstrated progression beyond their initial training loads, indicating successful implementation of the supervised strength-training component and establishing a foundation for the interpretation of future study outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of supervised strength training as a fundamental component of interventions targeting sarcopenia. Participant progression throughout the intervention suggests that structured, individualized resistance training may serve as a primary driver of improvements in muscle strength and physical function among older adults, providing the foundation upon which additional intervention strategies may be evaluated. Future analyses will examine whether resveratrol supplementation further enhances these adaptations beyond those achieved through supervised strength training alone.

The countermovement jump (CMJ) landing is a valuable task for assessing an individual’s overall injury risk and neuromuscular readiness for performance. Additionally, arch height has been shown to put athletes at a higher risk for certain types of lower extremity injuries. Few studies have examined differences in landing mechanics across arch types in a recreationally active population. This study aims to examine differences in landing characteristics between low arch (LA) and high arch (HA) individuals. We hypothesize that arch heights will influence landing characteristics related to injury risk. Thirteen participants (8 male, 5 female) were put into LA and HA groups as scored by the Foot Posture Index (FPI-6). Participants performed three maximal effort CMJ trials without arm swing. Kinetic data were recorded during each trial, and independent samples of t-tests were used to analyze data. Results suggest that arch heights did not have a significant impact on landing characteristics related to injury risk. While these results were statistically insignificant, the LA individuals did exhibit a landing strategy with a decreased peak impact FZ and increased loading time, suggesting that they emphasize the amount of time taken to attenuate force at impact more than the NA group. The findings of the current study may be important for practitioners looking to individualize training for these groups.

Childhood obesity is an increasing health risk around the world. The treatment method that is most recommended for children and adolescents is to initiate lifestyle modifications (i.e., increased physical activity and/or changes in dietary intake), however these have been proven to be difficult to institute for this population. There has been very little research that shows how effective semaglutide is in children. The purpose of this study is to look at the effects of semaglutide (i.e., Ozempic) on body composition and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) in adolescents. Participants were randomized to either 56 weeks of intensive behavioral counseling (BC: 52 contact hrs) or 56 weeks of low-intensity behavioral counseling (12 contact hrs) combined with 2.4 mg semaglutide (SEM). Participants underwent measures of body composition using dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at baseline, 52 and 56 weeks. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine body composition change over time. All statistical analyses were completed using R Studio with a statistical significance of p>0.05. At baseline there were no differences between the BC and SEM groups in regards to body fat percentages or visceral adipose tissue. At 52 and 26 weeks there were significant differences in percent fat and VAT between the BC and SEM groups.

Background: An inspiratory muscle warm up (IMW) improves select markers of physical function and athletic performance. However, the effect of IMW on treadmill time to exhaustion (TTE) and respiratory function during such a test have not been assessed. Hypothesis: IMW will increase TTE and ventilation but lower perceived respiratory strain, as indicated by reduced rates of perceived dyspnea (RPD) and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), compared to not completing an IMW (control). Methods: This is a randomized cross-over design study. VO2peak and maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax) are measured at an initial visit. Participants then complete a TTE test (90 percent VO2peak) with or without prior IMW (2x30 breaths at 40 percent PImax) in a randomized order. Outcomes are compared across conditions. Results: Initial data are available on four participants (age 30, SD:8 years, VO2peak 49.4, SD:12.1 ml/kg/min, 3 male and 1 female). There was no difference in TTE between the control (18.5, SD:4.6 min) and IMW (15.5, SD:8.2 min) conditions (p=0.514). Similarly, there were no differences in ventilation (control: 102, SD:24 L/min, IMW: 92, SD:35 L/min; p=0.231), RPD (control: 5.2, SD:1.2, IMW: 6.9, SD:5.9; p=0.524), or RPE (control: 12.8, SD:1.3, IMW: 11.9, SD:3.2; p=0.469). Conclusion: Preliminary results suggest IMW does not affect TTE or respiratory function. Data collection from additional participants is ongoing.