Avery Faigenbaum

College of New Jersey | TCNJ · Department of Health and Exercise Science

Background Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and premature mortality globally. While the relationship between indicators of physical fitness and arterial health is reasonably well-studied in adults, these associations in children and adolescents remain less understood. The aim of this study was to investigate longitu...

• A vast majority of adults do not engage in sufficient resistance exercise to achieve health, fitness, and functional benefits. • The Fear of Resistance Exercise, or FoRE, is a unique term that describes a phenomenon observed in individuals who develop an avoidance behavior to resistance exercise due to persistent feelings of worry, apprehension,...

Objective This study evaluated the relationship between physical literacy (PL) and muscular fitness (MF) as well as muscle-strengthening activities (MSA) in adolescents. Methods A secondary cross-sectional study included 823 adolescents (45.1% boys) from the Eating Healthy and Daily Life Activities Study. The Spanish Perceived Physical Literacy In...

Aim To determine the prevalence of adolescents who meet muscle‐strengthening activities (MSA) recommendation and their associations with anthropometric variables, physical fitness, and lifestyle behaviours in a sample of Spanish adolescents aged 12–17 years. Methods This was a cross‐sectional study using data from The Eating Healthy and Daily Life...

The aim of this study was to compare the warm-up effects of a treadmill walking warm-up (TW) with a dynamic warm-up (DW) on the responses to cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in youth. A sample of 16 active youth (age 13.6 ± 1.8 yr) were tested for peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak) using the Fitkids treadmill test protocol on 2 nonconsecutive day...

Today's youth are weaker than previous generations, and measurable reductions in physical fitness are beginning to emerge. Without targeted initiatives that recognize the foundational importance of resistance training, weaker children and adolescents may be more likely to experience the inevitable consequences of neuromuscular dysfunction and less...

Studies investigating the acute effect of postprandial exercise (PPE) on glucose responses exhibit significant heterogeneity in terms of participant demographic, exercise protocol, and exercise timing post-meal. As such, this study aimed to further analyze the existing literature on the impact of PPE on glycemic control in overweight individuals an...

Studies investigating the acute effect of postprandial exercise (PPE) on glucose responses exhibit significant heterogeneity in terms of participant demographic, exercise protocol, and exercise timing post-meal. As such, this study aimed to further analyze the existing literature on the impact of PPE on glycemic control in individuals with overweig...

Physical fitness is a powerful marker of health in youth. However, negative secular trends have been reported for cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength/power, and fundamental movement skills in children and adolescents. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated these declines in physical fitness due to sedentarism related to school closures and so...

Regular participation in well-designed resistance training programmes can offer observable health and fitness benefits to children and adolescents. In addition to increasing muscular strength and power, resistance training can increase bone mineral density, improve cardiovascular risk factors, fuel metabolic health, facilitate weight control, enhan...

This book presents an integrated, research-driven, collection of 54 evidence-based chapters. Chapters are founded on the research and practical experience of 104 internationally renowned scientists and clinicians, from 25 countries. Each extensively referenced chapter concludes with a bulleted summary and where appropriate is cross-referenced to co...

Background The primary aim of our systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effect of resistance training on academic outcomes in school-aged youth. Methods We conducted a systematic search of six electronic databases (CINAHL Complete, PsycINFO, SCOPUS, Ovid MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus and EMBASE) with no date restrictions. Studies were...

Kang, J, Ratamess, NA, Faigenbaum, AD, Bush, JA, Finnerty, C, DiFiore, M, Garcia, A, and Beller, N. Time-of-day effects of exercise on cardiorespiratory responses and endurance performance-A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2022-The time-of-day effect of exercise on human function remains largely equivocal. H...

The aim of this article is to explore the concept of resistance training skill literacy and discuss related strategies to enhance learning, improve adherence and help youth realize the holistic benefits of resistance exercise.

The purpose was to evaluate selected physical tests in children and to compare the outcomes by sex. A cross-sectional study design was used to evaluate children 6–11 years who completed five physical tests: hand grip, vertical jump, sit and reach, Y-balance, and obstacle course (time and score). The outcome measures including test results were desc...

The aim of this study was to compare the warm-up effects of treadmill walking (TW) with a dynamic (DY) bodyweight warm-up on maximal aerobic exercise performance in children. Sixteen children (10.9 ± 1.5 vrs) were tested for peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak) on 2 nonconsecutive days following different 6 min warm-up protocols. TW consisted of walking o...

Background The measurement of physical fitness has a history that dates back nearly 200 years. Recently, there has been an increase in international research and surveillance on physical fitness creating a need for setting international priorities that could help guide future efforts. Objective This study aimed to produce a list of the top 10 inte...

Background: Physical illiteracy is often referred as a lack of movement competence and is a serious concern, especially among children. Physical tests to evaluate physical literacy are understudied, especially potential sex effects. To evaluate selected tests of physical literacy in children and to compare the outcomes by sex. Methods: A cross-sect...

By reading this feature article, readers will learn: • Insufficient physical activity is associated with ill-mental health in youth. • Physical activity is an acceptable, feasible, and non-stigmatizing intervention that can be helpful in improving mental health in children and adolescents. • Effective teaching strategies and physical activity pract...

We imagine that you want to be healthy; nobody likes to be ill because that often prevents us from doing the things we like to do. However, we often do not do everything in our power to keep ourselves healthy because modern life is designed to be comfortable. Consequently, we are moving and exercising less than ever, and even young people are suffe...

Background Improved survival rates for children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer call for novel strategies for reducing short- and long-term treatment-related side effects. These include the physical and metabolic sequelae that are exacerbated by sedentary behavior and treatment-induced toxicities. We aim to investigate the effect of an integr...

Context Neuromuscular training (NMT) facilitates the acquisition of new movement patterns that reduce ACL injury risk; however, the neural mechanisms underlying these changes are unknown. Objective Determine the relationship between brain activation and biomechanical changes following NMT with biofeedback. Study Design Controlled Laboratory Study...

Introduction: The identified domains of child physical literacy include knowledge/understanding, behavior, motivation/confidence, physical competency. Understanding physical literacy is critical to moving forward intervention efforts surrounding physical inactivity. Objectives: To investigate physical literacy domains by presenting responses to the...

Highlights: School-based muscle and bone strengthening exercises performed at least 3 days per week may serve to support the development of muscular fitness in girls and boysIntegrative interventions that include a variety of strength and conditioning activities seem to be a promising strategy to promote muscular fitness in school environmentFutur...

High-intensity functional training (HIFT) integrates different modes of exercise into training sessions performed at a relatively high intensity. Although HIFT is becoming more popular in youth strength and conditioning programs, research comparing the effects of HIFT with traditional forms of training, such as strength training (ST) or endurance t...

Regular participation in youth resistance training (RT) programs has been shown to elicit favorable short-term influences on diverse health dimensions. However, traditional concerns and misconceptions persist, although a compelling body of research indicated that supervised resistance exercises can be a safe and effective protocol of training for c...

The Pediatric Collections: Sports Medicine Playbook will increase pediatric providers’ understanding of the injuries that young athletes may incur – including their history, treatment, and prevention. Each section includes a unique expert introduction and they cover such topics as the benefits of physical activity, injuries, and concerns including...

Time restricted feeding (TRF) as a form of intermittent fasting (IF) has gained popularity because its ability to reduce body mass (BM) without an emphasis on caloric restriction. However, how this dietary protocol may affect health, fitness, and performance in a relatively healthy cohort remains less clear. The purpose of this article was to syste...

Low physical fitness is associated with reduced physical activity and increased cardiovascular diseases. To date, limited research has compared physical fitness levels between children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Therefore, the primary aim was to investigate if differences in fitness levels exist between children with ASD and a...

Alonso-Aubin, DA, Picón-Martínez, M, Rebullido, TR, Faigenbaum, AD, Cortell-Tormo, JM, and Chulvi-Medrano, I. Integrative neuromuscular training enhances physical fitness in 6- to 14-year-old rugby players. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2021-The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of an 8-week integrative neuromuscular training (I...

Purpose: A period of familiarization to exercise interventions is recommended for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Unknown, however, is how long this familiarization period should be to ensure optimal engagement in the exercise intervention. To address this gap in understanding, this study sought to define the required duration needed...

Global health reports indicate that a vast majority of children and adolescents are not accumulating the recommended amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) daily. This decline in MVPA has coincided with troubling temporal trends in muscular fitness in modern day youth. Since a prerequisite level of muscular strength is needed to mo...

Alonso-Aubin, DA, Chulvi-Medrano, I, Cortell-Tormo, JM, Picón-Martínez, M, Rial-Rebullido, T, and Faigenbaum, AD. Squat and bench press force-velocity profiling in male and female adolescent rugby players. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2019-Power development is critical for enhancing rugby performance because there is a close relationship bet...

This review aimed to synthesize the most up-to-date evidence regarding the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) among adolescent female athletes. We conducted a systematic review of studies regarding UI in female athletes less than 19 years of age. This review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews...

Although evidence indicates that muscular fitness is foundational for ongoing participation in active play, exercise and sport, current national and international youth physical activity guidelines underplay the critical importance of strength-building activities during this developmental phase of life. In view of troubling trends in muscular fitne...

An equation that uses heart rate index (HRI) defined as HR/HRrest to predict oxygen uptake (VO2) in METs (e.g., METs = 6 × HRI - 5) has been developed retrospectively from aggregate data of 60 published studies. However, the prediction error of this model as used by an individual has not been established. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to...

INTRODUCTION: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder defined by the presence of persistent deficits in social communication, interaction and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities with severity classified as mild, moderate and severe (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Exercise has shown to be beneficial...

The aim was to systematically review and meta-analyze the current evidence for the effects of resistance training (RT) on blood pressure (BP) as the main outcome and body mass index (BMI) in children and adolescents. Two authors systematically searched the PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science Core Collection and EMBASE electronic databases. Inclusio...

Background The purpose of the Smart Nutrition and Conditioning for Kids (SNACK) pilot study was to increase fitness levels and overall health of children aged 7 to 9 years in two elementary schools, one urban and one urban rim. Fundamental Integrative Training (FIT) was incorporated into physical education class and was considered a vital component...

The aim of this study was to determine the minimum change in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) required to reduce adiposity (percent body fat) in exercise programs for overweight and obese youth. Studies were identified through a systematic search of five databases. Studies were limited to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of exercise training (e.g...

Apply It!Summary •Health and fitness professionals can protect young children from disease and other risks while making sure they reach their fullest potential by recognizing the effect of daily physical activity, positive childhood experiences, and family lifestyle habits on wellness. •By encouraging imaginative play with lots of expressive moveme...

Much of the evidence examining temporal trends in fitness among youth has found a decrease in measures of muscular strength and muscular power over recent decades. The aim of this study was to examine trends in lower body muscular power in Spanish boys over 47 years. In 1969 140 boys (10–11 years; body mass index = 19.24, SD = 2.91 kg/m2) and in 20...

Menezes, GB, Alexandre, DR, Pinto, JC, Assis, TV, Faigenbaum, AD, and Mortatti, AL. Effects of integrative neuromuscular training on motor performance in prepubertal soccer players. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2020-The present study examined the effects of integrative neuromuscular training (INT) on motor performance in prepubertal soccer p...

Apply It! • A majority of youth worldwide do not accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily. • The pediatric inactivity triad is a novel construct that consists of three interrelated determinants, namely, exercise deficit disorder, pediatric dynapenia, and physical illiteracy, that drive physical inactivity in yo...

Resistance training is becoming more important as an integral part of comprehensive sport training regimens, school physical education classes, and after-school fitness programs. The increasing number of youth who are involved in sport activities, coupled with the health problems of inactivity and being overweight, have resulted in increased intere...

Ketogenic diets (KDs) have received increasing attention among athletes and physically active individuals. However, the question as to whether and how the diet could benefit this healthy cohort remains unclear. Purpose: This study was designed to systematically review the existing evidence concerning the effect of KDs on body composition, aerobic a...

Background Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a common symptom during and after cancer treatment that negatively affects the patient’s quality of life. Exercise is one of the most effective non-pharmacological treatments for CRF. Multimodal exercise therapy programs that include hypopressive exercises, relaxation and myofascial release may be benefici...

The “F-words” of youth physical activity (family, facilitators, facilities, force, fitness, function, fun, feeling, and future) illustrate the complex web of factors that influence participation in active play, exercise, and sport activities in children and adolescents. The “F-words” can be used to expand our conceptual thinking about youth physica...

Objective The impact, positive or negative, of youth sport specialisation (YSS) on short-term and long-term performance is not fully understood; however, the desire to maximise performance goals is generally considered the primary reason children and adolescents specialise at a young age. We performed a systematic review of original research to est...

Temporal trends of youth muscular fitness (i.e., muscular strength, muscular power and local muscular endurance) indicate that contemporary children and adolescents are weaker and slower than previous generations. Consequently, this generation of millennials appear to be just as vulnerable as older adults to the inevitable consequences of muscle di...

Objective: To investigate primary care physician clinical practice patterns, barriers, and education surrounding pediatric physical activity (PA), and to compare practice patterns by discipline. Study Design: cross-sectional study Methods: 4500 randomly selected pediatricians, family practice, and sports medicine physicians in the United States wer...

Fitness results from a modified eurofit testing battery displaying the difference in fitness levels between children with ASD and their age matched typical developing peers. This was awarded the best poster at the FSEM Conference

Nunes, ACCA, Cattuzzo, MT, Faigenbaum, AD, and Mortatti, AL. Effects of integrative neuromuscular training and detraining on countermovement jump performance in youth volleyball players. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2019-The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of integrative neuromuscular training (INT) on countermovement vertica...

This article describes a developmentally appropriate strength-building intervention for elementary-age children that is designed around fundamental integrative training (FIT) with an emphasis on creativity and fun.

Integrative neuromuscular training (INT) has emerged as an effective strategy for improving health- and skill-related components of physical fitness, yet few studies have explored the cardiometabolic demands of this type of training in children. The aim of this study was to examine the acute cardiometabolic responses to a multi-modal INT protocol a...

The purpose of this poster was to examine the effects of a school-based exercise program on the fitness level of 35 elementary school children who attend an autism class.

This poster displays results from the effects of an 8-week structured physical activity intervention programme on 50 children with a moderate level autism who attend primary school. The 8-week exercise programme consisted of upper and lower limb push pull exercises through the use of games. The programme was altered and adapted to the child’s speci...

Objective: The present study aimed to examine the interactive effect of exercise and energy balance on energy expenditure and substrate utilization. Method: Seven men and 7 women underwent three 2-day experimental protocols in a random order. Each protocol consisted of no exercise (NE), exercise only (EO), or exercise with a matched energy replacem...

This investigation examined the interactive effect of bodyweight (BW) exercises and vibration on cardiometabolic responses. Fourteen subjects performed a BW exercise protocol with (BW+V) and without (BW-V) vibration in a randomized order. The BW exercise protocol consisted of three circuits of eight calisthenics-based exercises including prisoner s...

This commentary highlights 23 noteworthy publications from 2018, selected by leading scientists in pediatric exercise science. These publications have been deemed as significant or exciting in the field as they (a) reveal a new mechanism, (b) highlight a new measurement tool, (c) discuss a new concept or interpretation/application of an existing co...

The Presentation answers if children with ASD will participate in a group exercise class, what fitness levels are like in children with ASD, and if an 8 week group exercise class can increase fitness levels. This presentation was displayed at the World Autism Congress Conference in Houston Texas in November 2018.