Tomas Vetrovsky

• MD, PhD
• Charles University in Prague

Introduction Resistance exercises are effective for maintaining health and activating stabilizing muscles, as they trigger abdominal wall tension responses. This study compared the effects of multi-joint and single-joint, upper-body and lower-body exercises (Lat pulldown, Rows, Peck deck, Chest press, Biceps curls, Triceps extensions, French-Press,...

Postactivation performance enhancement (PAPE) is widely acknowledged in both practical application and research. However, studies have primarily focused on single experimental PAPE sessions, neglecting the repeatability of protocols with the same individuals over time. The purpose of this study was to determine whether PAPE, involving high-velocity...

Objectives Regular physical activity (PA) and reduced sedentary behaviour (SB) have been associated with positive health outcomes, but many older adults do not comply with the current recommendations. Sensor-triggered ecological momentary assessment (EMA) studies allow capturing real-time data during or immediately after PA or SB, which can yield i...

Background Stage 1 hypertension influences acute cardiovascular responses to resistance exercises and post-exercise recovery. We examined whether the order of exercises, particularly in agonist-antagonist pairings, can alter these cardiovascular responses. This study compares systolic and diastolic blood pressure responses during agonist and agonis...

Background To design effective tailored interventions to promote physical activity (PA) among older adults, insights are needed into the contexts in which older adults engage in PA and their affective and physical experiences. Sensor-triggered event-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is an innovative method for capturing real-life contexts...

Objectives: This study evaluates the test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability of the MyotonPRO for measuring Achilles tendon stiffness at two standardized sites over various time frames and settings. Methods: Eight healthy participants underwent assessments by three raters over six visits. Tendon stiffness was measured at proximal (mid-p...

Background: Comparative efficacy of rehabilitation interventions in persons with acute ischemic stroke (PwS) is limited. This randomized trial assessed the immediate and lasting effects of five interventions on clinical and mobility outcomes in 75 PwS. Methods: Five days after stroke, 75 PwS were randomized into five groups: physical therapy (CON,...

Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) enables the real-time capture of health-related behaviours, their situational contexts, and associated subjective experiences. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of an EMA targeting physical and eating behaviours, optimise its protocol, and provide recommendations for future large-scale EMA data colle...

We aimed to determine the persisting effects of various exercise modalities and intensities on functional capacity after periods of training cessation in older adults. A comprehensive search was conducted across the Cochrane Library, PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collection up to March 2024 for randomized controlled trials examini...

BACKGROUND The accurate measurement of physical and eating behaviours is critical for designing, monitoring, and implementing public health guidelines and intervention strategies. The objective of the Wearable Sensor Assessment of Physical and Eating Behaviours (WEALTH) project was to develop standardised methods to identify daily physical and eati...

Objectives A EULAR task force was convened to develop points to consider (PtC) for patient education in physical activity and self-management of pain in young people with juvenile-onset rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases during transitional care. Methods A task force of 26 people from 10 European countries followed the EULAR Standardised Opera...

BACKGROUND Weight loss is a cornerstone of diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2D) management, but its implementation in clinical practice is limited by its perceived burden and variability in response. Personalising interventions to increase their success rate is an unmet clinical need. OBJECTIVE Identification of predictive factors associated with succes...

Background Weight loss is a cornerstone of obesity treatment and diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2D) prevention, but its implementation in clinical practice is limited by its perceived burden and variability in response. Personalizing interventions to increase their success rate is an unmet clinical need. Objective Identification of predictive factors...

Background Mobile Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is increasingly used to gather intensive, longitudinal data on behavioral nutrition, physical activity and sedentary behavior and their underlying determinants. However, a relevant concern is the risk of non-random non-compliance with mobile EMA protocols, especially in older adults. This stud...

Introduction: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate adherence and retention rates to home-based video exercise programs and identify key factors associated with these rates in older adults to understand the effectiveness of home-based video exercise interventions. Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus for a...

Objective This study aims to assess the suitability of Fitbit devices for real-time physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) monitoring in the context of just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) and event-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) studies. Methods Thirty-seven adults (18–65 years) and 32 older adults (65+) from Bel...

Purpose: This study assessed the reliability and load–velocity profiles of 3 different landmine-punch-throw variations (seated without trunk rotation, seated with trunk rotation, and standing whole body) with different loads (20, 22.5, and 25.0 kg), all with the dominant hand and nondominant hand. Methods: In a quasi-randomized order, 14 boxers (24...

Background Beam walking is a new test to estimate dynamic balance. We characterized dynamic balance measured by the distance walked on beams of different widths in five age groups of healthy adults (20, 30, 40, 50, 60 years) and individuals with neurological conditions (i.e., Parkinson, multiple sclerosis, stroke, age: 66.9 years) and determined if...

Background The escalating global prevalence of type 2 diabetes and prediabetes presents a major public health challenge. Physical activity plays a critical role in managing (pre)diabetes; however, adherence to physical activity recommendations remains low. The ENERGISED trial was designed to address these challenges by integrating mHealth tools int...

Background: Physical activity is pivotal in managing heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), and walking integrated into daily life is an especially suitable form of such physical activity. This study aimed to determine if a 6-month lifestyle walking intervention combining self-monitoring and regular phone counseling improves function...

Background Despite the increasing number of research studies examining the effects of age on the control of posture, the number of annual fall-related injuries and deaths continues to increase. A better understanding of how old age affects the neural mechanisms of postural control and how countermeasures such as balance training could improve the n...

There is increasing knowledge in the recognition of individuals at risk for progression to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) before the clinical manifestation of the disease. This prodromal phase preceding the manifestation of RA may represent a “window of opportunity” for preventive interventions that may transform the clinical approach to this disease. H...

Background The escalating global prevalence of type 2 diabetes and prediabetes presents a major public health challenge. Physical activity plays a critical role in managing (pre)diabetes; however, adherence to physical activity recommendations remains low. The ENERGISED trial was designed to address these challenges by integrating mHealth tools int...

Background Despite the availability of physical activity (PA) interventions, many older adults are still not active enough. This might be partially explained by the often-limited effects of PA interventions. In general, health behavior change interventions often do not focus on contextual and time-varying determinants, which may limit their effecti...

Commercially available punch trackers claim to measure punch speed, force, power, and other arbitrary variables such as intensity scores. However, those claims have not been validated against gold-standard laboratory equipment, and the devices do not specify whether they assess mean or peak values. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to validate...

Introduction A lack of sleep can pose a risk during military operations due to the associated decreases in physical and cognitive performance. However, fast-acting ergogenic aids, such as ammonia inhalants (AI), may temporarily mitigate those adverse effects of total sleep deprivation (TSD). Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the acu...

Aims Physical activity (PA) is an important target for improving clinical outcomes in heart failure (HF) patients. Nonetheless, assessing the daily PA profile in this population is a challenging task, traditionally performed using self‐report questionnaires such as the International PA Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ‐SF). This study aimed to evaluat...

Background Physical activity is an effective management strategy for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, but patients’ compliance is challenging. Walking is a suitable form of physical activity due to its convenience and sustainability, and it can potentially improve functional capacity in heart failure patients. Objectives The WATCHFUL...

Background Beam walking is a functional test to estimate dynamic balance. We characterized dynamic balance measured by the distance walked on beams of different widths in individuals with and without neurological conditions and determined if beam walking distance predicted prospective falls over 12 months. Methods Individuals with (n = 97) and with...

Tactical operations and armed conflicts involve symmetrical and asymmetrical conflicts, often occurring in urban and constantly changing environments. This requires tactical personnel to be prepared for unpredictable threats in dynamic scenarios. In close-quarter situations, short weapons such as handguns are becoming increasingly prevalent over as...

Background The quantity and quality of skeletal muscle are important determinants of daily function and metabolic health. Various forms of physical exercise can improve muscle function, but this effect can be inconsistent and has not been systematically examined across the health-neurological disease continuum. The purpose of this systematic scopin...

Background The EULAR task force “Implementation of a mobile health app for the self-management of juvenile-onset rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (jRMDs) during transitional care” aims at designing, developing and implementing a self-management program through a smartphone app (i.e., the EULAR Move-Up app). The first step of this task force w...

Omcirk, D, Vetrovsky, T, Padecky, J, Malecek, J, and Tufano, JJ. Validity of commercially available punch trackers. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2023-This study determined how well data from commercially available punch trackers (Corner, Hykso, and StrikeTec) related to gold-standard velocity and force measures during full-contact punches. I...

Background The growing number of patients with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes is a major public health concern. Physical activity is a cornerstone of diabetes management and may prevent its onset in prediabetes patients. Despite this, many patients with (pre)diabetes remain physically inactive. Primary care physicians are well-situated to deliver...

BACKGROUND Adopting a physically active lifestyle results in substantial health benefits. However, many adults and older adults are insufficiently physically active and engage in high levels of (SB). Just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) are promising in targeting these health behaviors by providing real-time supportive prompts during opport...

Purpose: To determine the effects of a 2-year-long maintenance (MT) exergaming training and detraining (DT) on clinical-motor symptoms in subacute ischemic patients with stroke (PwST). The hypothesis was that MT motor rehabilitation program would further increase the effects of the initial rehabilitation. Methods: Following high-intensity and hi...

BACKGROUND Adopting a physically active lifestyle results in substantial health benefits. However, many adults and older adults are insufficiently physically active and engage in high levels of (SB). Just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) are promising in targeting these health behaviors by providing real-time supportive prompts during opport...

BACKGROUND Despite the availability of physical activity (PA) interventions, many older adults are still not active enough. This might be partially explained by the often-limited effects of PA interventions. In general, health behavior change interventions often do not focus on contextual and time-varying determinants, which may limit their effecti...

Background Aerobic exercise (AE) may slow age-related cognitive decline. However, such cognition-sparing effects are not uniform across cognitive domains and studies. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a form of non-invasive brain stimulation and is also emerging as a potential alternative to pharmaceutical therapies. Like AE, the ef...

Objective. To determine the net effect of different physical activity intervention components on step counts in addition to self-monitoring. Design. A systematic review with meta-analysis and meta-regression. Data sources. Five databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest and Discus) were searched from inception to May 2022. The database sea...

Objective To determine the effects of low- vs. high-intensity aerobic and resistance training on motor and cognitive function, brain activation, brain structure, and neurochemical markers of neuroplasticity and the association thereof in healthy young and older adults and in patients with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke. Design...

Background Many theoretical frameworks have been used in order to understand health behaviors such as physical activity, sufficient sleep, healthy eating habits, etc. In most research studies, determinants within these frameworks are assessed only once and thus are considered as stable over time, which leads to rather ‘static’ health behavior chang...

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): Valencia Region Innovation Agency (INNOAVI) Background/Introduction Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in Europe. The lack of physical activity is related to the onset of CVD. Despite the evidence of the effects of exercise-base...

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Czech Health Research Council of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic Introduction Patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) commonly have impaired functional capacity and exercise intolerance which neg...

Background: Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs are used for improving prognosis and quality of life in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Nonetheless, adherence to these programs is low, and exercise-based CR programs based on virtual reality (i.e., exergaming) have been proposed as an alternative to conventional CR progra...

Introduction There is not a doubt that tailored exercise is an effective non-pharmacological approach for preventing, mitigating and even reversing ageing-related alterations. However, older adults are likely to experience prolonged periods of inactivity and training cessation periods as a consequence of falls or hospitalisation. Although recent ev...

Background Self-monitoring is a cornerstone of many complex physical activity interventions and is a powerful behaviour change technique leading to substantial physical activity increases. Whether additional intervention components, such as counselling or incentives, yield further benefits over self-monitoring is not known. We aimed to determine wh...

Physical exercise may activate a number of important biochemical processes in the human body. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to identify the long-term effect of physical activity on irisin blood levels. We searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for articles addressing the long-term effect of physical exercise on irisin...

Background Nowadays, there is a lack of consensus and high controversy about the most effective range of motion (ROM) to minimize the risk of injury and maximize the resistance training adaptations. Objective To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the scientific evidence examining the effects of full and partial ROM resistance trainin...

To determine the ability of different punch trackers (PT) (Corner (CPT), Everlast (EPT), and Hykso (HPT)) to recognize specific punch types (lead and rear straight punches, lead and rear hooks, and lead and rear uppercuts) thrown by trained (TR, n = 10) and untrained punchers (UNTR, n = 11), subjects performed different punch combinations, and PT d...

Punch trackers (PT) are marketed to both trained and untrained fighters. However, PTs likely have different algorithms to identify punch type, which may not correctly identify punches thrown by people with different technical levels. PURPOSE: This study compared 3 commercially available PTs to determine how well they could recognize specific types...

Sarcopenia and frailty are age-related syndromes with negative effects on the quality of life of older people and on public health costs. Although extensive research has been carried out on the effects of physical exercise and physical syndromes, there is a knowledge gap when it comes to the effect of resistance training on muscular strength, physi...

Background Exercise training is crucial for maintaining physical and mental health in aging populations. However, as people participate in structured exercise training, they tend to behaviorally compensate by decreasing their non-exercise physical activity, thus potentially blunting the benefits of the training program. Furthermore, physical activi...

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of changes in cardiopulmonary fitness on the mental health of patients with severe obesity who underwent gastric bypass surgery (prior to and 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery). Study participants were recruited from among patients of a regional hospital in Czechia who underwent gastric bypass surger...

Following a 4-week control period, 24 older men and women (55-91 years) attended a 4-week progressive jumping program to determine whether assisted jumping could be safely and effectively implemented as a novel stimulus in healthy older adults. Bodyweight countermovement jump performance, isometric and isokinetic strength, postural stability, and e...

Aims A reduction of habitual physical activity due to prolonged COVID‐19 quarantine can have serious consequences for patients with cardiovascular diseases, such as heart failure. This study aimed to explore the effect of COVID‐19 nationwide quarantine on accelerometer‐assessed physical activity of heart failure patients. Methods and results We an...

Tufano, JJ, Vetrovsky, T, Stastny, P, Steffl, M, Malecek, J, and Omcirk, D. Assisted jumping in healthy older adults: optimizing high-velocity training prescription. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2020-Because older adults benefit from power training, training strategies for athletes such as supramaximal velocity-assisted jumping could also be...

Aims Accelerometers are becoming increasingly commonplace for assessing physical activity; however, their use in patients with cardiovascular diseases is relatively substandard. We aimed to systematically review the methods used for collecting and processing accelerometer data in cardiology, using the example of heart failure, and to provide practi...

Introduction Although numerous activity trackers have been validated in healthy populations, validation is lacking in chronic heart failure patients who normally walk at a slower pace, making it difficult for researchers and clinicians to implement activity monitors during physical activity interventions. Methods Six consumer-level activity monito...

Both regular exercise training and beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation are shown as effective treatments to delay or reverse frailty and reduce cognitive impairment in older people. However, there is very little evidence on the true benefits of combining both strategies. The aim of this meta-analysis was to quantify the effects o...

Background: As insufficient physical activity is a widespread public health problem, the patients' perspective and experiences during their efforts to increase levels of physical activity need to be explored and elucidated. Objectives: The purpose of our study was to qualitatively analyze the patient-written email messages in order to explore patie...

Background The aging process is associated with a progressive decline of neuromuscular function, increased risk of falls and fractures, impaired functional performance, and loss of independence. Plyometric training may mitigate or even reverse such age-related deterioration; however, little research on the effects of plyometric exercises has been p...

Purpose: Assisted jumping can supplement resistance training and traditional plyometric training to increase vertical jump performance. However, as coaches may choose to make field-based decisions based on lab-based research, this study determined whether a field-based assisted jumping set-up results in different ground contact times (CT), take off...

Background: General practitioners play a fundamental role in combatting the current epidemic of physical inactivity, and pedometer-based walking interventions are able to increase physical activity levels of their patients. Supplementing these interventions with email counseling driven by feedback from the pedometer has the potential to further im...

Background: Physical activity level is positively associated with mental health and health-related quality of life. Primary care providers are ideally situated to offer physical activity interventions, and pedometers are commonly used as motivational tools to increase walking. However, several recent trials of pedometer-based interventions in prima...

Background Regular physical activity is recommended for patients with chronic heart failure to improve their functional capacity, and walking is a popular, effective, and safe form of physical activity. Pedometers have shown potential to increase the amount of walking across a range of chronic diseases, but it is unknown whether a pedometer-based i...