
Saied Jalal AboodardaUniversity of Calgary · Faculty of Kinesiology
Saied Jalal Aboodarda
PhD
About
84
Publications
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Introduction
I am an exercise neurophysiologist and my research includes applied and basic human studies exploring functional and structural adaptations of the corticomotor pathway in response to different modes of physical activity. With the application of neurophysiological techniques such as transcranial magnetic, spinal cord electrical and peripheral nerve stimuli, I investigate the contribution of CNS and PNS to the development of neuromuscular fatigue.
Additional affiliations
July 2019 - present
October 2015 - December 2018
June 2012 - October 2015
Education
August 2008 - October 2012
Publications
Publications (84)
The present study investigated the effects of exercise-induced elbow flexor fatigue on voluntary force output, electromyographic (EMG) activity and motoneurone excitability of the nonexercised knee extensor muscles. Eleven participants attended 3 testing sessions: (i) control, (ii) unilateral fatiguing elbow flexion and (iii) bilateral fatiguing el...
Exercise-induced fatigue can change motor performance in non-exercised muscles. The objective
was to investigate unilateral elbow flexion (EF) fatigue effects on the maximal voluntary force
(MVC) and corticospinal excitability of contralateral non-exercised biceps brachii (BB).
Transcranial magnetic, transmastoid electrical and brachial plexus e...
Key points
Fatigue and muscle pain induced in a remote muscle group has been shown to alter neuromuscular performance in exercising muscles.
Inhibitory neural feedback associated with activation of mechano‐ and metabo‐sensitive muscle afferents has been implicated in this phenomenon.
The present study aimed to quantify and compare the effects of pr...
Experiencing pain in one leg can alter exercise tolerance and neuromuscular fatigue (NMF) responses in the contralateral leg; however, the corticospinal modulations to nonlocal experimental pain induced by blood flow occlusion remain unknown. In three randomized visits, 13 male participants performed 25% of isometric maximal voluntary contraction (...
A comprehensive characterization of neuromuscular and perceptual mechanisms of fatigue at task failure following exercise across the entire intensity spectrum is lacking. This study evaluated the extent of peripheral and central fatigue, and corresponding perceptual attributes, at task failure following cycling within the moderate-(MOD), heavy-(HVY...
Epidemiological evidence suggests low‐frequency physical activity provides health benefits, but the physiological impacts of weekly training frequency are understudied. We investigated whether “Weekend Warrior” (WW) training was inferior to traditional, high‐frequency (HF) training for improving maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2max). The secondary aim wa...
Introduction
In numerous sport and occupational settings, individuals often need to perform multiple exercise sessions in one day or across consecutive days, yet performance and perceptual responses to such exercise paradigms are unclear. PURPOSE: This study investigated performance fatigue and perceptual responses to repeated, consecutive sessions...
Above the first lactate threshold, the steady‐state is delayed or prevented due to the slow component (). This phenomenon has been associated with muscle fatigue, but evidence for a causal relationship is equivocal. Moreover, little is known about the contribution of pedalling technique adjustments to during fatiguing cycling exercise. Eleven parti...
The measurement of skeletal muscle fatigue in response to cycling exercise is commonly done in isometric conditions, potentially limiting its ecological validity, and creating challenges in monitoring the time course of muscle fatigue across an exercise bout. This study aimed to determine if muscle fatigue could be reliably assessed by measuring qu...
Few studies have explored the kinetics of performance and perceived fatigability during high‐intensity interval training, despite its popularity. We aimed to characterize the kinetics of fatigability and recovery during an 8 × 4‐min HIIT protocol, hypothesizing that most muscle function impairment would occur during the initial four intervals. Fift...
We sought to determine the effects of acute simulated altitude on the maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) and physiological responses to cycling at and 10 W above the MLSS-associated power output (PO) (MLSS p and MLSS p+10 , respectively). Eleven (4 female) participants (mean [SD]; 28 [4] years; V̇O 2 max: 54.3 [6.9] mL×kg ⁻¹ ×min ⁻¹ ) acclimatized...
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) measures the excitability and inhibition of corticomotor networks. Despite its task-specificity, few studies have used TMS during dynamic movements and the reliability of TMS paired pulses has not been assessed during cycling. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of motor evoked potentials (MEP) and s...
Classical training theory postulates that performance fatigability following a training session should be proportional to the total work done (TWD); however, this notion has been questioned. This study investigated indices of performance and perceived fatigability after primary sessions of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and constant work r...
Introduction: The role of muscle mass in modulating performance and perceived fatigability across the entire intensity spectrum during cycling remains unexplored. We hypothesized that at task failure (T lim ), muscle contractile function would decline more following single- (SL) vs. double-leg (DL) cycling within severe- and extreme-, but not moder...
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) measures the excitability and inhibition of corticomotor networks. Despite its task-specificity, few studies have used TMS during dynamic movements and the reliability of TMS-derived measures has not been assessed during cycling. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of motor evoked potentials (MEP) an...
Exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH) is a transient decrease in pain perception that can be observed following various tasks, including non-painful low-intensity and painful high-intensity exercise. The application of blood flow occlusion (BFO) can help enhance exercise adaptations while being able to exercise at a low intensity, which has important...
The impacts of carbohydrate (CHO) availability on time to task failure (TTF) and physiological responses to exercise at the maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) have not been studied. Ten participants (3 females, 7 males) completed this double blinded, placebo-controlled study that involved a ramp incremental test, MLSS determination, and four TTF t...
Critical torque (CT) represents the highest oxidative steady state for intermittent knee extensor exercise, but the extent to which it is influenced by skeletal muscle mitochondria and sex is unclear. Vastus lateralis muscle biopsy samples were collected from 12 females and 12 males –matched for relative maximal oxygen uptake normalized to fat‐free...
This study assessed the validity of the Entralpi force plate in the assessment of finger flexor performance in rock climbers. In addition to a static force evaluation, peak force, peak impulse, and total impulse were measured during 30 all-out performance trials by 15 participants, in which force during the trials was recorded simultaneously by the...
MacDougall, KB, McClean, ZJ, MacIntosh, BR, Fletcher, JR, and Aboodarda, SJ. Ischemic preconditioning, but not priming exercise, improves exercise performance in trained rock climbers. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2023-To assess the effects of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) and priming exercise on exercise tolerance and performance fatigabil...
The purpose of this study was to assess
the test-retest reliability of a 4-minute all-out critical force test in well-trained rock climbers. Thirteen rock climbers
(n=4 females) completed a familiarization session and two all-out critical force tests on different days. During each
trial, participants completed 24 repetitions of 7s right-handed, max...
Muscle pain is an important determinant of exercise tolerance, but its relationship with neurophysiological responses during a submaximal exercise trial is unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of persistent contralateral pain on neurophysiological function and perceptual responses during, ipsilateral isometric knee extensi...
Purpose
Constant blood flow occlusion (BFO) superimposed on aerobic exercise can impair muscle function and exercise tolerance; however, no study has investigated the effect of intermittent BFO on the associated responses. Fourteen participants (n = 7 females) were recruited to compare neuromuscular, perceptual, and cardiorespiratory responses to s...
This study aimed to characterize neuromuscular, perceptual, and cardiorespiratory responses to high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with superimposed blood flow restriction in males and females. Twenty-four, healthy individuals (n=12 females) completed two cycling HIIT protocols to task failure (1-min work phases at 90% of peak power output inte...
Introduction:
The intensity, duration, and distribution of work and recovery phases during high intensity interval training (HIIT) modulate metabolic perturbations during exercise, and subsequently influence the development of performance fatigability and exercise tolerance. This study aimed to characterize neuromuscular, perceptual, and cardiores...
While neuromuscular fatigability has been previously characterized after running and cycling, no study has investigated an ultra-endurance upper body task. In preparation for a world record attempt, three pacing strategies to perform 1980 pull-ups in 6 hrs were compared during independent sessions: fast pace, long recovery (FL), fast pace, multiple...
Whereas fatigue is recognized to be the main complaint of patients with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), its etiology, and particularly the role of resistance to fatigability and its interplay with disability level, remains unclear. The purposes of this review were to (i) clarify the relationship between fatigue/disability and neuromuscular performance i...
Hypoxia negatively impacts aerobic exercise, but exercise testing in hypoxia has not been studied comprehensively. To determine the effects of simulated altitude on the gas exchange threshold (GET), respiratory compensation point (RCP), and maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2max), 24 participants (mean [SD]; 26 [4] years; 171.6 [9.7] cm; 69.2 [11.9] kg) ac...
Purpose:
to investigate the time course and amplitude of performance fatigability during cycling at intensities around the maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) until task failure (TTF).
Methods:
10 females and 11 males were evaluated in 8 visits: 1) ramp incremental test; 2-3) 30-min constant power output (PO) cycling for MLSS determination; 4-8)...
Neuromuscular (NM) fatigue can vary according to exercise intensity and duration; however, fatigue responses across the full spectrum of exercise intensities to task failure remain unclear. PURPOSE: To characterize the central and peripheral NM fatigue responses to cycling to task failure in different exercise intensity domains. METHODS: After a ra...
Neuromuscular (NM), cardiorespiratory, and perceptual responses to maximal graded exercise using different amounts of active muscle mass remain unclear. We hypothesized that during dynamic exercise, peripheral NM fatigue (declined twitch force) and muscle pain would be greater using smaller muscle mass, whereas central fatigue (declined voluntary a...
Non-local muscle fatigue (NLMF) studies have examined cross-over impairments of maximal voluntary force output in non-exercised , contralateral muscles as well as comparing upper and lower limb muscles. Since prior studies primarily investigated contrala-teral muscles, the purpose of this study was to compare NLMF effects on elbow flexors (EF) and...
It is unclear whether motor fatigability and perceived fatigue share a common pathophysiology in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). This cross-sectional investigation explored the relationship between the mechanisms of motor fatigability from cycling and fatigue severity in PwMS. Thirteen highly fatigued (HF) and thirteen non-fatigued (LF) PwMS...
Although it has been claimed that rolling massage (RM), may lead to improvements in skeletal muscle oxygenation, metabolism, blood flow, and vascular function, scientific evidence has not yet been provided. Thus, the current study investigated the effects of 30 s and 2 min of RM on forearm muscle oxygenation, and parameters associated with oxidativ...
To investigate the effects of one leg exercise-induced fatigue and pain on the contralateral leg exercise tolerance, NM and perceptual responses. METHODS: Nine healthy young men (age: 26±7 years) performed right leg sustained contraction at 25% of isometric maximal voluntary contraction (25%IMVC) to task failure. In three testing sessions, the 25%I...
Studies have suggested that older individuals are more fatigable than young adults when power loss, measured during single-joint contractions, is considered the fatigue index; however, age-related differences in fatigue considering power measurements during multi-joint movements (e.g., cycling) have not been fully elucidated yet. This study examine...
To investigate the influence of pre-induced fatigue in one leg on neuromuscular performance and corticospinal responses of the contralateral homologous muscles, three experiments were conducted with different exercise protocols; A (n = 12): a 60 s rest vs. time-matched sustained left leg knee extension maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), B (n = 12...
The majority of studies have routinely measured neuromuscular (NM) fatigue with a delay (∼1–3 min) after cycling exercises. This is problematic since NM fatigue can massively recover within the first 1–2 min after exercise. This study investigated the etiology of knee extensors (KE) NM fatigue and recovery kinetics in response to cycling exercises...
While fatigue can be defined as an exercise-related decrease in the maximal power or isometric force, most studies have assessed only isometric force. The main purpose of this experiment was to compare dynamic measures of fatigue [maximal torque (Tmax), maximal velocity (Vmax) and maximal power (Pmax)] with measures associated with maximal isometri...
Background:
The recovery of neurophysiological parameters at various time intervals following fatiguing exercise has been investigated previously. However, the repetition of neuromuscular assessments during the recovery period may have interfered with the true corticomotor excitability responses. In this experiment, fatiguing contractions were com...
Purpose
The adaptations induced by endurance training on the neuromuscular function remain under investigation and, for methodological reasons, unclear. This study investigates the effects of cycling training on neuromuscular fatigue and its peripheral contribution measured during and immediately after cycling exercise.
Methods
Fourteen healthy me...
This study investigated the effects of 9-week endurance cycling training on central fatigability and corticomotor excitability of the locomotor muscles. Fourteen healthy participants undertook three incremental fatiguing cycling tests to volitional exhaustion (EXH): (i) before training (PRE), (ii) after training at the same absolute power output as...
Purpose:
The assessment of power changes after fatiguing exercise provides important additional information about neuromuscular function compared to traditional isometric measurements, especially when exploring age-related changes in fatigability. Therefore, the aim of this review was to explore the effects of age on neuromuscular fatigue (NMF) wh...
Fatigue is the most common and often most disabling symptom experienced by people with MS, yet its etiology remains unclear. It is possible that some of the mechanisms of MS-related fatigue could concurrently affect neuromuscular function (ie. the processes involved in muscle contraction, from the motor cortex of the brain to the skeletal muscle),...
The aim of the present study was to investigate the alterations of corticospinal excitability (motor evoked potential, MEP) and inhibition (silent period, SP) following rolling massage of the quadriceps muscles. Transcranial magnetic and femoral nerve electrical stimuli were used to elicit MEPs and compound muscle action potential (Mmax) in the vas...
In this study, neuromuscular fatigue recovery was investigated in elbow flexors using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the cerebral cortex in combination with transmastoid (TMES) and brachial plexus electrical stimulation (BPES).
The term fatigue is used to describe a distressing and persistent symptom of physical and/or mental tiredness in certain clinical populations, with distinct but ultimately complex, multifactorial and heterogenous pathophysiology. Chronic fatigue impacts on quality of life, reduces the capacity to perform activities of daily living, and is typically...
PURPOSE:
The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of unilateral fatigue of the knee extensors at different movement velocities on neuromuscular performance in the fatigued and non-fatigued leg.
METHODS:
Unilateral fatigue of the knee extensors was induced in 11 healthy young men (23.7 ± 3.8 years) at slower (60°/s; FAT60) and fas...
Introduction:
Roller massage (RM) has been reported to reduce pain associated with exercise-induced muscle soreness and increase range of motion without force or activation impairments. The objective was to examine RM effects on evoked pain and contractile properties.
Methods:
Twelve men received three sets of 30-s RM at a perceived discomfort l...
Equivocal evidence indicates that high intensity muscle contractions can affect the corticospinal responses in muscles not directly involved in the task. In the present study, the responsiveness of corticomotor pathway innervating non-dominant biceps brachii was measured in eleven healthy participants before and after: i) two 100-s isometric unilat...
The objective of this study was to develop a standardized test to determine quadriceps and hamstrings muscle activation in a position emulating a non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injury. We assessed the intra- and inter-session reliability of surface electromyography (EMG) of the dominant leg following single-leg landing from a standardized h...
Foam rolling has been shown to increase range of motion without subsequent performance impairments of the rolled muscle, however, there are no studies examining rolling effects on antagonist muscles. The objective of this study was to determine whether foam rolling the hamstrings and/or quadriceps would affect hamstrings and quadriceps activation i...
Background:
Elastic resistance has been commonly used in the therapeutic and fitness setting; however, the ability of elastic resistance to overload and activate muscles has been questioned because of linear increase in elastic resistance as the device is elongated. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the available literature on muscl...
Exercise-induced fatigue affects muscle performance and modulates corticospinal excitability in non-exercised muscles. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of bilateral knee extensor fatigue on dominant elbow flexor (EF) maximal voluntary force production and corticospinal excitability. Transcranial magnetic, transmastoid electri...
Introduction: The initial rapid eccentric contraction of a stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) activity is typically
reported to accentuate the subsequent concentric jump performance. Some researchers have rationalized
that adding elastic resistance (ER) to explosive type activities (e.g. countermovement jumps and
drop jumps) would increase excitatory s...
The purpose of the current study was to assess the effects of 5 brief (2s), intermittent,
submaximal elbow flexors voluntary contractions at 50% of maximal voluntary contraction
(MVC) on measures of central (i.e. supraspinal and spinal) excitability. Supraspinal and spinal
excitability of the biceps brachii were assessed via transcranial magnetic s...
Background
The aim of the present study was to determine the acute effect of rolling massage on pressure pain threshold (PPT) in individuals with tender spots in their plantar flexor muscles.
Methods
In a randomized control trial and single blinded study, tender spots were identified in 150 participants’ plantar flexor muscles (gastrocnemius or s...
The aim of this study was to examine the effects of an ankle compression garment (CG) on muscle performance and physiological variables associated with recovery from fatigue. Fifteen participants took part in a randomized, crossover study design with two experimental conditions (ankle CG and control). The dependent variables: skin temperature, evok...
Background: The aim of the present study was to determine the acute effect of rolling massage on pressure pain
threshold (PPT) in individuals with tender spots in their plantar flexor muscles.
Methods: In a randomized control trial and single blinded study, tender spots were identified in 150 participants’
plantar flexor muscles (gastrocnemius or s...
The purpose of this study was to investigate different intensities of unilateral fatiguing dynamic quadriceps contractions on non-exercised, contralateral quadriceps performance. In a randomized crossover study design with 12 recreationally trained male (1.78 ± 0.05 m, 84.5 ± 7.6 kg, 30.0 ± 8.5 yrs) participants, maximal voluntary contraction (MVC)...
Most studies have examined pacing strategies with cycli-cal activities (running and cycling). It has been demon-strated that males employ different pacing strategies dur-ing repeated maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs) dependent upon a known endpoint. Since different fatigu-ing mechanisms have been identified between the gen-ders, it is not known...
Aboodarda, SJ, Byrne, JM, Samson, M, Wilson, BD, Mokhtar, AH, and Behm, DG. Does performing drop jumps with additional eccentric loading improve jump performance? J Strength Cond Res 28(8): 2314-2323, 2014-Previous investigators have speculated that applying additional external load throughout the eccentric phase of the jumping movement could ampli...
Previous investigators have speculated that applying additional external load throughout the eccentric phase of the jumping movement could amplify the stretch shortening cycle mechanism and modulate jumping performance and jump exercise intensity. The aims of the present study therefore were to determine the effect of increased eccentric phase load...
Abstract Non-local muscle fatigue has been demonstrated with unilateral activities, where fatiguing one limb alters opposite limb forces. Fewer studies have examined if non-local fatigue occurs with unrelated muscles. The purpose of this study was to investigate if knee extensors fatigue alters elbow flexors force and electromyography (EMG) activit...
Pacing strategies have been reported to occur during continuous cyclical exercises. However, currently no studies have examined if pacing takes place during repeated maximal voluntary muscle contractions (MVCs). Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to examine if informing subjects on the number of MVCs they would perform would affect force an...