Stuart A Best

University of Kentucky | UKY · Sports Medicine Research Institute

It is unclear if running power (RP) estimated by the Stryd footpod device maintains its linear relationship to metabolic power (WMET) when switching between training and racing shoe types. This study determined if RP estimated by the Stryd footpod and its other spatiotemporal metrics reflect the improvement (decrease) in WMET when wearing high-perf...

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate cannabidiol (CBD) cream’s effects on muscle soreness and performance after exercise. Materials and Methods: This double-blinded, placebo-controlled experiment included 15 men and 13 women (n = 28; mean ± standard deviation age: 23.29 ± 2.54 years) untrained in lower-body resistance traini...

Langford, EL, Bergstrom, HC, Lanham, S, Eastman, AQ, Best, S, Ma, X, Mason, MR, and Abel, MG. Evaluation of work efficiency in structural firefighters. J Strength Cond Res 37(12): 2457–2466, 2023—To perform occupational tasks safely and effectively, firefighters (FF) must work quickly and consume air provided by the self-contained breathing apparat...

Commercial running power (RP) meters may provide endurance runners and coaches with improved precision for monitoring running intensity. Previous research has demonstrated strong validity, reliability, and repeatability for a commercial RP meter to estimate metabolic demand under controlled conditions; however, practical influences like shoe type h...

Physical performance data collected during the National Basketball Association (NBA) combine has been shown to be associated with early career performance (1-3 years). However, the relationships between combine performance data, draft selection, and long-term career success have not been examined. PURPOSE: To determine if NBA combine performance da...

BACKGROUND: Firefighting requires the completion of rigorous occupational tasks in austere environments that increase the risk of injury. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), about 65,000 firefighter injuries are reported annually. Specifically, regarding fireground injuries, 21% were the result of a slip/trip/fall and 40%...

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the feasibility and efficacy of implementing autoregulatory progressive resistance exercise (APRE) and high intensity interval training (HIIT) methodologies to improve physical fitness and occupational physical ability in police cadets. Two law enforcement academy classes were stratified into a standa...

THE PREVALENCE OF RUNNING TECHNOLOGY AND DATA USE IN RECREATIONAL AND COMPETITIVE RUNNERS AND MULTISPORT ATHLETES J. Hudgins, S. Best University of Kentucky Wearable running technologies have grown in popularity for their potential to improve workload quantification and training periodization. Although device sales describe device preferences fo...

CONCURRENT VALIDITY AND INTER-LIMB RELIABILITY OF A COMMERCIAL RUNNING POWER METER IN RECREATIONAL RUNNERS J. Hudgins, I. Gillis, J. Pastina, M.G. Abel, H. Bergstrom, W. Black, S. Best University of Kentucky Recent development of running power (PW) meters has provided endurance runners and coaches with a novel measure of running intensity. Despi...

Flywheel-based iso-inertial training (FIT) has been purported to provide enhanced adaptations to muscle overload compared to dynamic constant external resistance (DCER), but previous studies have not controlled for exercise intensity. We compared quadriceps electromyography (EMG) amplitude between FIT- and DCER-squats with similar tempo. Eleven (5...

Corin (an atrial natriuretic peptide-converting enzyme) represents a potential biomarker for gestational hypertensive disorders; yet, its role in blood pressure (BP) regulation throughout pregnancy remains unclear. We investigated the time course of change in blood corin content in relation to BP and sympathetic nerve activity throughout pregnancy....

ABSTRACT Objective: The prevalence of hypertension increases with advancing age in women. Blood pressure control is more difficult to achieve in older women and despite well-controlled blood pressure, the cardiovascular mortality remains high. However, the underlying mechanisms are not understood. Methods: 19 women with uncontrolled hypertension on...

Introduction Tactical demands of a Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) Critical Skills Operator (CSO) require high levels of physical performance. During combat deployments, teams of CSOs are supplemented with enablers who specialize in mission-specific tasks. MARSOC CSOs and enablers serve alongside each other in extreme combat...

The benefit of job-related employment standards in physically demanding occupations are well known. A number of methodological frameworks have been established to guide the development of physical employment standards for single job functions. These frameworks enable targeted and specific employment standards to be developed for a single occupation...

Arterial stiffness and cardiac function are important predictors of cardiovascular events in patients with hypertension even with adequate blood pressure (BP) control. We evaluated whether a direct renin inhibitor, aliskiren, reduces arterial stiffness and modulates left ventricular function compared with a diuretic, hydrochlorothiazide, in elderly...

Background Pregnancy is associated with dramatic changes in volume status and vascular function. Previous human studies have focused extensively on endothelial function and arterial stiffness in pregnancy, but time-course changes in venous compliance throughout gestation have received little attention. Purpose To examine the changes in calf venous...

Background Physical activity is recommended for people with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and can improve walking capacity and quality of life; and reduce pain, requirement for surgery and cardiovascular events. This trial will assess the efficacy of a brief behavioral counselling intervention delivered by allied health professionals to improv...

PurposeWomen with a history of hypertensive pregnancy are at greater risk for future cardiovascular events; however, the mechanisms for this increased risk are unknown. Evidence suggests that an exercise stimulus unmasks latent hypertensive tendencies, identifying individuals at the greatest risk for developing cardiovascular disease. The current s...

Objectives: Repetitive manual handling tasks account for a substantial portion of work-related injuries. However, few studies report endurance time in repetitive manual handling tasks. Consequently, there is little guidance to inform expected work time for repetitive manual handling tasks. We aimed to investigate endurance time and oxygen consumpt...

The sympathetic response during the cold pressor test (CPT) has been reported to be greater in young blacks than whites, especially in those with a family history of hypertension. Because blood pressure (BP) increases with age, we evaluated whether elderly blacks have greater sympathetic activation during CPT than age-matched whites. BP, heart rate...

Soldiers undergo regular physical testing to assess their functional capacity. However, current physical tests, such as push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups, do not necessarily assess job-specific physical capability. This article assesses the utility of generic predictive tests and a task-related predictive test in predicting performance against four j...

Key points Asian women have a lower prevalence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy than Caucasian women. This is the first longitudinal study to investigate neural and humoral responses during pregnancy in Asians and Caucasians. The key finding was that Asians had attenuated sympathetic activation but enhanced renal–adrenal responsiveness during...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of age on the capacity to acclimatise to exercise-heat stress. This study hypothesised that age would not affect body temperature and heat loss effector responses to short-term exercise-heat acclimation in trained subjects. Seven young subjects (19-32 years) were matched with 7 older subjects...

Abnormal heart rate recovery (HRR) after maximal exercise may indicate autonomic dysfunction and is a predictor for cardiovascular mortality. HRR is attenuated with ageing and in middle-age hypertensive patients but it is unknown if HRR is attenuated in older-age adults with hypertension. This study compared HRR between 16 unmedicated Stage 1 hyper...

We investigated the effect of exercise in the heat on both intracellular and extracellular Hsp72 in athletes with a prior history of exertional heat illness (EHI). Two groups of runners, one consisting of athletes who had a previous history of EHI, and a control group (CON) of similar age (29.7 ± 1.2 and 29.1 ± 2 years CON vs. EHI) and fitness [max...

New Findings What is the central question of this study? The study was designed to investigate the age‐ and sex‐related differences in muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) in relation to age‐ and sex‐related differences in haemodynamics, blood volume and left ventricular size and function. What is the main finding and its importance? Age‐relate...

Hypertension is associated with cardiovascular stiffening and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, leading to comorbidities such as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). It is unknown whether sex and hypertension subtype affect haemodynamics and left ventricular function in older individuals. Ninety-five older patients with Sta...

Cardiovascular risk remains high in patients with hypertension even with adequate blood pressure (BP) control. One possible mechanism may be sympathetic activation via the baroreflex. We tested the hypothesis that chronic inhibition of renin reduces BP without sympathetic activation, but diuresis augments sympathetic activity in elderly hypertensiv...

Military manual handling requirements range from discrete lifts to continuous and repetitive lifting tasks. For military organizations to implement a discrete lifting assessment, the assessment must be predictive of the various sub-maximum lifting tasks personnel are required to perform. This study investigated the relationship between discrete and...

As the number of older adults participating in strenuous exercise and sports increases, there exists a need to understand the effect of ageing on thermoregulation during strenuous exercise. The question of whether age affects the capacity to disperse heat to the external environment has been studied with equivocal results. Most researchers agree th...

Psychophysical assessments, such as the maximum acceptable lift, have been used to establish worker capability and set safe load limits for manual handling tasks in occupational settings. However, in military settings, in which task demand is set and capable workers must be selected, subjective measurements are inadequate, and maximal capacity test...

There are conflicting reports as to whether ageing causes a decreased thermoregulatory response, or if observed differences in previous studies are related to maximal aerobic capacity or training status. This study hypothesized that thermoregulatory response to severe exercise-heat stress is maintained with ageing when both young and older subjects...

Introduction: Age related impairment in thermoregulation has been reported to be a result of a diminished capacity and/or sensitivity of the sweating response. There is evidence to suggest skin blood flow (SBF) is restricted in older adults through decreased vasodilation and splanchnic vasoconstriction. During exercise in the older trained cyclist,...