Peter Reaburn

• BHMS(Ed)(Hons), Grad.Cert. Flex.Learn., Ph.D.
• Professor (Honorary Adjunct) at Bond University

Background Masters athletes (MA) are typically considered healthier than age-matched non-athletes. However, limited evidence exists on the prevalence of chronic conditions in MA. Methods Masters athletes competing at the 2017 Australian Masters Games ( n = 4,848) and 2018 Pan Pacific Masters Games ( n = 14,455) were invited to complete a survey co...

This study compared heart rate variability (HRV) parameters of cardiovascular autonomic regulation between well-trained masters and young cyclists at rest, during and following a continuous cycle (CTS) protocol. Ten masters (age = 56 ± 5 years) and eight young (age = 26 ± 3 years) cyclists completed a 100 min experimental protocol consisting of a 6...

Purpose: The aim of the current study was to assess the effect of altering conditioning contraction within contrast training on subsequent drop jump performance in the presence of same day concurrent training. Methods: In a randomized crossover design, 8 professional Australian Football athletes completed same day skills/endurance training followed...

Background Little is known about contrast training and post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) in a same day concurrent training model. The aim of the current study was to examine the use of two short duration (1-min and 4-min) recovery periods on drop jump performance in same day concurrently trained athletes. Methods Ten professional Aust...

Purpose: To determine physiological and perceptual responses and performance outcomes when completing high-intensity exercise in hot outdoor and indoor environments with contrasting solar radiation exposure. Methods: Seven cyclists and nine Australian Football League (AFL) players undertook cycling trials in hot conditions (≥30C) outdoors and indo...

Context: Exercise in hot environments increases body temperature and thermoregulatory strain. However, little is known regarding the magnitude of effect that ambient temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH), and solar radiation individually have on team-sport athletes. Purpose: To determine the effect of these individual heat-stress variables on...

Purpose: To compare the effect of 12-weeks of cycling training and competition versus recreational cycling on successful aging across physical, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning domains in mid-aged adults. Methods: Recreational cyclists were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 13, M age = 47.18 years) and comparison (n = 13, M...

Purpose: To test confirmatory factor analyses of successful aging composed of physical, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning factors in masters athletes (n = 764) and non-sporting adults (n = 404), and compare the physical, psychological, cognitive, and social functioning of masters athletes versus non-sporting adults. Method: Self-repo...

High-intensity concurrent sprint and strength training has been shown to provide a strong physiological training stimulus in young adult endurance athletes. However, the effect in veteran endurance athletes remains unknown. This study examined if replacing a portion of endurance training with concurrent sprint and strength training influenced resti...

Background: Exercise during pregnancy is associated with a variety of health benefits for both mother and child. Despite these benefits, few Australian pregnant women are sufficiently active to meet current exercise during pregnancy guidelines. Healthcare practitioners can play an instrumental role in encouraging women to be active during their pr...

Purpose: Due to age-related changes in the psychobiological state of masters athletes, this brief report aimed to compare training load responses using heart rate (HR) and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) during standardized training sessions between masters and young cyclists. Methods: Masters (n = 10; 55.6 [5.0] y) and young (n = 8; 25.9 [3...

Little is known about the effect of preceding endurance-exercise bouts on subsequent resistance-training (RT) performance in team-sport players. Purpose: To examine the effect of prior skills/endurance training and different recovery time periods on subsequent same-day RT performance in professional Australian football players. Methods: Sport-s...

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare physical performance, perceptual and haematological markers of recovery in well-trained masters and young cyclists across 48 h following a bout of repeated high-intensity interval exercise. Methods: Nine masters (mean ± SD; age = 55.6 ± 5.0 years) and eight young (age = 25.9 ± 3.0 years) cyclists...

Introduction: Data about age-related differences in recovery following high intensity interval training (HIIT) in trained masters and young subjects is lacking. Therefore, this study examined the effect of age on acute (0-1 h) and chronic (1-48 h) recovery following HIIT. Methods: Masters (n=9, age=55.6±5.0 yr) and young (n=8, age=25.9±3.0 yr) cycl...

Communities of Practice (CoPs) have been operating successfully at Central Queensland University Australia (CQU) since 2009. The major purpose of this chapter is to use a scholarly reflection approach to share what we have learnt are the keys to creating, sustaining and facilitating CoPs within an Australian regional university. A second purpose of...

Due to their high physical functioning, masters athletes are regularly proposed to exemplify successful aging. However, successful aging research on masters athletes has never been undertaken using a multidimensional successful aging model. To determine the best model for future successful aging research on masters athletes we had masters swimmers...

Hydration responses of rugby union players within and between day and night training sessions in hot and humid conditions were monitored. Body mass, fluid ingestion, perceptual thermal stress (TSS), and thirst scores were monitored in ten players (age: 21.9 ± 4.4 yr; body mass: 97.9 ± 15.5 kg; height: 179.5 ± 5.6 cm) across both training sessions....

Strength and sprint training exercises are integral part of training in many younger endurance cyclists to improve cycling efficiency and sprinting ability. This study was undertaken to examine whether muscle and performance characteristics could be improved in endurance-trained masters cyclist by adding strength and sprint training stimuli into th...

The purpose of this literature review is to examine and explore the research literature related to masters cycling from a social ecology framework. An exploration of health promotion research, leisure research and physical activity research supports the validity of the social ecology framework with respect to perceived benefits and constraints. Thr...

Background: Physical activity (PA) during pregnancy is associated with a variety of health benefits including a reduced risk of pregnancy related conditions such as pre-eclampsia and pregnancy-induced hypertension and leads to greater control over gestational weight gain. Despite these associated health benefits, very few pregnant women are suffic...

PurposeThis study aimed at examining the autonomic cardiovascular modulation in well-trained masters and young cyclists following high-intensity interval training (HIT). Methods Nine masters (age 55.6 ± 5.0 years) and eight young cyclists (age 25.9 ± 3.0 years) completed a HIT protocol of 6 x 30 sec at 175% of peak power output, with 4.5-min’ rest...

In older previously sedentary individuals endurance training imposes a more effective stimulus to enhance cardiometabolic health compared with resistance or sprint training. We examined the effect of replacing a portion of endurance training with combined resistance and/or sprint training and how this influences cardiometabolic health indicators in...

Global population aging has raised academic interest in successful aging to a public policy priority. Currently there is no consensus regarding the definition of successful aging. However, a synthesis of research shows successful aging can be defined as a late-life process of change characterized by high physical, psychological, cognitive, and soci...

Following exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD), masters athletes take longer to recover than younger athletes. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of higher than recommended post-exercise protein feedings on the recovery of knee extensor peak isometric torque (PIT), perceptions of recovery, and cycling time trial (TT) performance...

The objective of this study was to record plantar pressures using an in-shoe measuring system before, during, and after a mara-thon run in ten experienced long-distance runners with a mean age of 37.7 ± 11.5 years. Peak and mean plantar pressures were recorded before, after, and every three km during a marathon race. There were no significant chang...

PARTICIPATION NUMBERS IN MASTERS TRACK CYCLING DEMONSTRATE THAT TRACK CYCLING IS BECOMING AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR SPORT FOR MASTERS ATHLETES. DESPITE THIS, RESEARCH FOCUSED ON PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT FOR MASTERS TRACK CYCLISTS IS LACKING. AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN MORPHOLOGICAL AND NEUROMUSCULAR FACTORS AFFECT SPRINT PERFORMANCE AND PRESENT STRENGTH A...

Cold water immersion (CWI) and ice massage (IM) are commonly used treatments to prevent the delay onset of muscle soreness (DOMS); however, little is known on their relative benefits and effectiveness to lower tissue temperature. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of IM and CMI on tissue temperature and potential benefit to preve...

Participation of masters athletes (>30 years) in sprint running (100-400 m) and sprint track cycling (200 m, team sprint, 1-km) has increased significantly over recent decades. With aging, sprint and endurance performance gradually declines. The present review focuses upon the effects of resistance training on sprint and endurance performance and i...

Acute exercise performed at a self-selected intensity improves affect and may improve long-term adherence. Similarly, in people with severe depression, acute aerobic exercise performed at self-selected intensity improves affect and arousal. However, the relationship between changes in affect and arousal and perceived exercise intensity in people wi...

Purpose: The objective of this study is to compare the integrated muscle protein synthesis (MPS) rates of masters and younger triathletes over three consecutive days of intense endurance training. Recovery of cycling performance, after muscle-damaging running, was also compared between groups. Methods: Five masters (age, 53 ± 2 yr; V˙O2max, 55.7...

Despite their widespread use in performance assessment in younger athletes, the reliability of squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ) assessments has not been reported in masters athletes. The aim of this study was to assess the test-retest reliability of the SJ and CMJ in masters athletes. Ten masters athletes (50.8 ± 6.0 years) were recru...

Despite the increasing popularity of kickboxing and associated combat sports, no studies to date have examined field-based performance tests that may influence roundhouse and front kicking performance. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between field-based measures of mean kicking velocity, lower limb strength, lower...

Despite their widespread use in performance assessment in younger athletes, the reliability of squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ) assessments has not been reported in masters athletes. The aim of this study was to assess the test-retest reliability of the SJ and CMJ in masters athletes. Ten masters athletes (50.8 ± 6.0 years) were recru...

Post-exercise nutrition is a critical component of an athlete’s recovery from training and competition. However, little is known about athletes’ post-exercise dietary practices or knowledge of dietary recommendations, particularly among masters athletes. The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast the knowledge of post-exercise nutritiona...

BACKGROUND: The importance of regular exercise on bone health during aging is widely acknowledged. However, non-weight-bearing activities such as cycling lead to decreases in bone mineral content (BMC) in aging individuals. In contrast, high-impact and strength-training exercises increase BMC in older populations. In aging endurance cyclists concur...

Work-life conflict is a form of inter-role conflict that arises by reason of simultaneous occurrence of workloads and other aspects of life. Compliance with one may limit an individuals’ ability to meet the demands of the other domain. Work-life conflict has been examined by a number of discipline with varied methodological approaches. This resulte...

Participation rates of masters athletes in endurance events such as long distance triathlon and running continue to increase. Given the physical and metabolic demands of endurance training, recovery practices influence the quality of successive training sessions, and consequently, adaptations to training. Following muscle-damaging endurance exercis...

Objectives: Regular exercise during pregnancy is a recommended prenatal care strategy with short and long-term health benefits to mother and child. Unfortunately, most pregnant women are insufficiently active to obtain health benefits and there is evidence that activity levels decrease overall during pregnancy. Physical activity among regionally b...

There is some debate whether job strain or working hours is more prominent in explaining work-family conflict. We tested a multi-group structural equation model and the results suggested the model was equally applicable to academic and administrative staff employed at an Australian regional university. After controlling for demographic and work-rel...

Fluctuating levels of endogenous estrogen are thought to have an adverse effect on lower limb biomechanics, given the observed higher rate of ACL injury at certain phases of the menstrual cycle. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of fluctuating endogenous estrogen levels during the menstrual cycle on acceleration transients at...

There is strong evidence indicating that physical activity during pregnancy has significant health and quality of life benefits for both pregnant women and their unborn children. With pregnancy seen as a 'teachable moment', it presents as an opportune time to bring about positive behavioural changes, including increases in weekly physical activity....

Despite increasing participation rates in masters sport and extensive research examining age-related changes in performance, little is known about the effect of age on recovery kinetics in masters athletes. This narrative review focuses on the relationship between ageing and sports participation, and their effect on both performance and recovery fo...

Accessible summary: Exercise is valuable in the treatment of mental illness, yet personal and organizational barriers limit widespread implementation by nurses in mental health settings. Using a self-report questionnaire, we sought to identify how often nurses prescribe exercise and their level of agreement with previously identified barriers to e...

Endurance exercise is known to promote healthy aging of cardiovascular system, but the effects on muscle characteristics are still unclear. Some evidence suggests that endurance running provides insufficient stimulus to prevent age-related losses in muscle mass and muscular strength. However, few studies have evaluated the muscular adaptations to h...

Nurses working in mental health are well positioned to prescribe exercise to people with mental illness. However, little is known regarding their exercise-prescription practices. We examined the self-reported physical activity and exercise-prescription practices of nurses working in inpatient mental health facilities. Thirty-four nurses completed t...

Leadership has increasingly become a major research focus in the corporate sector as well as in the higher education sector (HES). Previous studies have shown that different leadership styles play a significant role in promoting both employee wellbeing and organizational outcomes. However, there is a lack of clear understanding of how leadership, e...

Work-life conflict is a form of inter-role conflict that arises by reason of simultaneous occurrence of workloads and other aspects of life. Compliance with one may limit an individuals' ability to meet the demands of the other domain. Work-life conflict has been examined by a number of discipline with varied methodological approaches. This resulte...

There is some debate whether job strain or working hours is more prominent in explaining work–family conflict. We tested a multi-group structural equation model and the results suggested the model was equally applicable to academic and administrative staff employed at an Australian regional university. After controlling for demographic and work-rel...

PurposeTo investigate the views of general practitioners (GPs) regarding exercise and the treatment of depression.Design and Methods Twenty GPs completed a 25-item survey investigating their knowledge, beliefs, perceived benefits and barriers, and recommendations to patients regarding exercise for the treatment of depression. The exercise habits of...

Mental illness affects the lives of a significant number of Australians. In addition to pharmacological and psychological interventions, exercise has demonstrated benefits for people with mental illness including symptom reduction, improved cardiovascular risk profile and improved physical capacity. Unfortunately, evidence shows that clinician-deli...

Mental illness presents a growing disease burden, with worldwide prevalence estimates between 18 and 36% (1). In the USA, the prevalence of affective disorders including unipolar depression and bipolar disorder (BD) is around 20% (2, 3). While psychotropic medications remain at the front line of treatment for affective disorders, a growing body of...

There is a large body of literature which examines the mental health benefits of physical activity. In general, studies report an inverse, dose dependent relationship between leisure-time physical activity participation, and mental health outcomes. Studies also show a positive association between maximal aerobic capacity and general well-being. Mor...

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of cold-water immersion (CWI) on physiological, psychological, and biochemical markers of recovery and subsequent cycling performance following intensive run training. Seven high-performance male triathletes (age: 28.6±7.1 y; cycling VO2peak: 73.4±10.2 mL·kg·min) completed two trials in a rando...

The aim of this study was to develop a reliable and valid field test that simulates the match-specific activity demands of male basketball competition. Fourteen male basketball players (mean ± SD, age: 24.9 ± 2.3 yr; stature: 187.8 ± 7.7 cm; body mass: 88.8 ± 10.5 kg) from state- (n = 6) and regional-level (n = 8) Australian competitions volunteere...

Work-life conflict is a form of inter-role conflict where simultaneous occurrence of role pressure from work and other aspects of life such as family may lead to a conflict situation as compliance with one may limit an individuals" ability to meet the demands of the other domain. The extant research of work-life conflict literature mostly focused o...

Strength and conditioning coaches working with amateur male kickboxers should implement a periodised program of both maximal upper body strength and maximal upper body power training to maximise maximal impact power. Further training studies are required.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a video-self modelling intervention on the cycling standing start performance and self-efficacy beliefs of novice track cyclists. Nineteen participants from a Talent Identification Program were randomly assigned to one of two groups (Traditional and Intervention group). The traditional g...

Objectives: There is growing evidence regarding the efficacy of exercise as a treatment strategy for patients with depression. This paper summarises the benefits of both cardiovascular and resistance exercise for patients with depression. Design: A narrative review design was employed. Supporting literature for the individual and combined benefi...

Objectives: There is growing interest in the use of exercise in the treatment of depression. A number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated a reduction in depressive symptoms with both aerobic and non-aerobic exercise interventions. This has been supported in a number of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. However, the heterog...

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the recently developed Basketball Exercise Simulation Test (BEST). Ten semiprofessional (age, 22.7 ± 6.1 years; height, 189.6 ± 9.5 cm; weight, 86.5 ± 18.7 kg; % body fat, 14.7 ± 3.5%) and 10 recreational (age, 26.6 ± 4.0 years; height, 185.9 ± 7.9 cm; weight, 92.6 ± 8.4 kg; % body fat, 23.8 ±...

To describe the physiological and activity demands experienced by Australian female basketball players during competition. A between-subjects (positional comparison) repeated measures (playing periods) observational experimental design was followed. State-level basketball players (n=12; age: 22.0±3.7 yr; body mass: 72.9±14.2 kg; stature: 174.2±6.9...

The purpose of the study was to describe the differences in the activity demands of sub-elite and elite Australian men's basketball competition. Ten elite (age 28.3 ± 4.9 years, mass 97.0 ± 13.9 kg, height 197.4 ± 8.3 cm) and 12 sub-elite (age 26.1 ± 5.3 years, mass 85.9 ± 13.2 kg, height 191.4 ± 7.6 cm) Australian basketball players participated i...

To examine whether wearing various size lower-body compression garments improves physiological and performance parameters related to endurance running in well-trained athletes. Eleven well-trained middle-distance runners and triathletes (age: 28.4 ± 10.0 y; height: 177.3 ± 4.7 cm; body mass: 72.6 ± 8.0 kg; VO2max: 59.0 ± 6.7 mL·kg-1·min-1) complete...