Hi folks! I feel that our research-review service is a must-have for strength coaches, personal trainers, and physical therapists. Each month I receive excellent feedback from subscribers and it’s a steal when you consider how much time and effort is put into it.

July’s PDF will be sent out on Sunday so make sure you’re subscribed if you want to receive it. HERE is the link to our research review service in case you’re not yet subscribed. We also have back issues available for purchase HERE. If you’re new to S&C Research I think you should buy all four back issues, delve in head-first, and get caught up.

Below is the list of questions we tackle in our review this month.

Strength & Conditioning

1. How good is the evidence in favor of eccentric hamstring exercises playing a role in hamstring injury prevention?
2. How did Thomas L. DeLorme influence the medical profession’s understanding and use of resistance exercise in physical rehabilitation? Hint: He was the founder of something very important in S&C
3. Does resistance training to failure lead to improved cardiovascular fitness in humans through similar mechanisms to aerobic training?
4. Which exercise is better for strengthening the adductor magnus and the semitendinosus: the lunge or the leg curl?
5. How do volume, gender, rest periods and training status affect the impact of a post-activation potentiation activity?
6. Can low-Intensity exercise increase muscle mass and strength under ischemic conditions?
7. Does short-term sled towing resisted sprint training in athletes produce different results from unresisted sprint training?
8. How should coaches decide which hamstring exercises to use in a hamstring injury prevention program?
9. Which swimming training methods are effective at improving performance?
10. How does exercise tempo affect the amount of weight that can be lifted during resistance exercise?
11. Is cheating more effective for hypertrophy training than performing strict reps?

Biomechanics

1. Does DOMS as a result of eccentric exercise of the knee flexors alter gait mechanics?
2. How does the snatch technique change with increasing barbell weights?
3. What were some of the findings from the recent Fascia Research Conference, in Vancouver BC, March 2012?
4. Can the metabolic cost of incline walking be predicted from muscle activity?
5. Which muscles are responsible for increasing speed at higher running speeds?
6. Does moderate running cause significant intervertebral disc compression?
7. Do previous estimates of leg stiffness from previously published models correlate with direct measures?
8. Is it possible to make use of the stretch shortening cycle under modified acceleration conditions?
9. Can belly-dancing movements activate specific lumbar extensor muscle compartments based on functional demands?
10. Do American football-specific tasks such as cutting and jumping lead to greater ankle and foot ROMs than walking and running?
11. Which muscles are most active during the golf swing?
12. Does fatigue during submaximal muscle contractions alter depending on whether the contractions are below or above a critical torque?
13. Do maximum breath expirations cause greater activity of the abdominal muscles than the abdominal drawing-in maneuver?
14. Are titin properties reflected in single myofibrils?
15. What are the architectural differences between the various hamstring muscles?

Physiology

1. What makes champions?  Is it practice or genetics?
2. Do we know whether it is possible to change muscle fiber types, and what does the evidence suggest?
3. Does strength training reduce intra-cortical inhibition?
4. Do men or women receive better hypertrophic signaling from sprint exercise?
5. What can we learn from studies showing similar muscle protein synthesis rates in young men and women?
6. What protein types and dosage are optimal for maximizing muscle protein synthesis after resistance exercise?
7. Does low muscle glycogen affect the anabolic response to resistance exercise?
8. How does lipid metabolism occur in skeletal muscle?
9. Are heart rate variability and heart rate recovery correlated in endurance athletes?
10. Does caloric restriction make you more “metabolically flexible”?

Physical Therapy

1. What do physiotherapists consider to be the best sitting spinal posture?
2. What can you do to improve sciatica?
3. Is there a best tactic for improving functional movement screen (FMS) scores?
4. What can we learn about neuroplasticity from the current clinical practices in neurorehabilitation?
5. How is repetitive strain injury mediated within the soft tissues?
6. Do computer models predict disc failure in healthy human spines with repetitive loading?
7. How different are the movement patterns of a single leg squat between men and women?
8. Does playing soccer during the formative years lead to an increased risk of femoroacetabular impingement in later life?
9. Does the nucleus pulposus migrate more in the annulus of intervertebral discs exposed to cyclic flexion only or combined cyclic flexion and extension?
10. What are the current issues in evidence-based practice for rehabilitation professionals?
11. What effect do core stability exercises have on feed-forward activation of deep abdominal muscles in subjects with chronic low back pain?
12. Is it possible to screen female athletes to identify whether they are more at risk of ACL injury?
13. If we know that a female athlete is more at risk of an ACL injury, what exercises or approaches could help reduce that risk?
14. Does foam rolling increases joint range of motion and force production?

Happy Friday fitness friends!!! Have a great weekend.