Huub M. Toussaint's research while affiliated with Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences/Centre for Applied Research on Education and other places
What is this page?
This page lists the scientific contributions of an author, who either does not have a ResearchGate profile, or has not yet added these contributions to their profile.
It was automatically created by ResearchGate to create a record of this author's body of work. We create such pages to advance our goal of creating and maintaining the most comprehensive scientific repository possible. In doing so, we process publicly available (personal) data relating to the author as a member of the scientific community.
If you're a ResearchGate member, you can follow this page to keep up with this author's work.
If you are this author, and you don't want us to display this page anymore, please let us know.
It was automatically created by ResearchGate to create a record of this author's body of work. We create such pages to advance our goal of creating and maintaining the most comprehensive scientific repository possible. In doing so, we process publicly available (personal) data relating to the author as a member of the scientific community.
If you're a ResearchGate member, you can follow this page to keep up with this author's work.
If you are this author, and you don't want us to display this page anymore, please let us know.
Publications (140)
We aimed to examine how participants of different skill level adapt their stroke when asked to swim at different speeds. 20 subjects divided into (a) low-(n = 6), (b) medium-(n = 8), and (c) high-(n = 7) expertise level swam in front crawl at four different swim paces of 60, 70, 85 and 100 % of their maximal speed in a swimming flume. Eight force s...
The present study aimed to examine how high- and low-speed swimmers organise biomechanical, energetic and coordinative factors throughout extreme intensity swim. Sixteen swimmers (eight high- and eight low-speed) performed, in free condition, 100-m front crawl at maximal intensity and 25, 50 and 75-m bouts (at same pace as the previous 100-m), and...
Purpose:
To conduct a biophysical analysis of the factors associated with front crawl performance at moderate and severe swimming intensities, represented by anaerobic threshold (vAnT) and maximal oxygen uptake (vVO2max) velocities.
Methods:
Ten high-level swimmers performed two intermittent incremental tests of 7x200 and 12x25 m (through a syst...
We aimed to examine how participants of different skill level adapt their stroke when asked to swim at different speeds. 20 subjects divided into (a) low-(n=6), (b) medium-(n=8), and (c) high-(n=7) expertise level swam in front crawl at four different swim paces of 60, 70, 85 and 100% of their maximal speed in a swimming flume. Eight force sensors...
The aim of this review was to describe the effects of acute bouts of physical activity on attention levels of children. A systematic review was performed of English studies from searches in PubMed, Sportdiscus and PsycINFO from 1990 to (May) 2014 according to the PRISMA statement. Only prospective studies of children aged 4-18 years old were includ...
In a biophysical approach to the study of swimming performance (blending biomechanics and bioenergetics), inter-limb coordination is typically considered and analysed to improve propulsion and propelling efficiency. In this approach, 'opposition' or 'continuous' patterns of inter-limb coordination, where continuity between propulsive actions occurs...
The effect of three months of aerobic training on spatio-temporal and coordination parameters was examined during a swim trial at maximal aerobic speed. Nine male swimmers swam a 400-m front crawl at maximal speed twice: in trial 1, after summer break, and trial 2, after three months of aerobic training. Video analysis determined the stroke (swimmi...
An accurate measure of active drag and propulsion in swimming provides possibly the best quantitative measure of a swimmer’s technique. Presently the MAD, the VPM and the ATM are commonly used in an attempt to accurately obtain active drag values as an assessment of swimmer technique. The ATM system is relatively new compared to both the MAD and VP...
There is a real need in biomechanics to provide objective quantifiable parameters associated with free swimming to enhance the swimming performance of elite athletes. Active drag and propulsion profiles, with synchronised video footage of performance, are used at the Australian Institute of Sport (A.I.S.). The A.I.S. ATM assisted and resisted activ...
The Measuring Active Drag (MAD) system was developed to determine active drag in swimming by measuring the push-off force exerted at fixed pads placed below the waterline. The imposed inter-pad distance, which to date has been kept constant while using the MAD system, could affect the active drag because it requires the use of different stroke freq...
Aims Worldwide levels of daily physical activity (PA) in children are low. This has negative health consequences. Schools have been recognised as key settings to promote PA. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the playground programme PLAYgrounds on increasing PA.
Methods PLAYgrounds was evaluated by a controlled trial, with a follow-up durin...
The measurement of active drag in swimming is a biomechanical challenge. This research compared two systems: (i) measuring active drag (MAD) and (ii) assisted towing method (ATM). Nine intermediate-level swimmers (19.7 ± 4.4 years) completed front crawl trials with both systems during one session. The mean (95% confidence interval) active drag for...
The aim of this study was to establish the relationships between the intracycle velocity variation (IVV) and Froude efficiency (η(T)), energy cost (C), and index of coordination (IdC) throughout a 200-m freestyle race. Ten male international level swimmers performed a maximum 200 m front crawl swim. Performance was recorded with four below- and two...
Objectives:
To present the results of the process evaluation of the PLAYgrounds program, using the RE-AIM framework.
Design:
This study provides information regarding Reach, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance.
Methods:
The PLAYgrounds program promotes increasing levels of physical activity in 6-12 years old children and was evaluated usi...
The relative number of children meeting the minimal required dose of daily physical activity remains execrably low. It has been estimated that in 2015 one out of five children will be overweight. Therefore, low levels of physical activity during early childhood may compromise the current and future health and well-being of the population, and promo...
Swimming performance depends on the interaction of propulsive and resistive forces. A swimmer can improve by reducing resistive forces, or drag, that act on the swimming body at a given velocity or by increasing the propulsive forces. It is thus interesting to have knowledge of the backgrounds of both propulsion and drag. Especially when improvemen...
This research project aimed to estimate values of active drag over a range of swimming velocities. The data required to do this was the passive drag values for the swimmer at various swim velocities, together with the active drag force value for the individual at their maximum swim velocity. The drag force is represented by an exponential equation...
The effects of skill level on index of arm coordination (IdC), mechanical power output (P(d)), and swim efficiency were studied in front crawlers swimming at different speeds. Seven national and seven regional swimmers performed an arms-only intermittent graded speed test on the MAD-system and in a free condition. The MAD-system measured the drag (...
This study analyzed the kinematics and kinetics (jumping ability) of the aerial start phase in 11 elite front crawl sprinters. The aim was to determine whether a particular start technique leads to a short 15 m start time or whether several start profiles contribute equally well. All swimmers performed 3 starts using their preferential style, which...
Effects of drafting on the hydrodynamic and metabolic responses of the drafter behind and at the side of a passive and an active lead swimmer were related to the influence of a lead swimmer on the flow field of the draftee.
Passive drag of the draft swimmer was compared for the nondrafting condition, in the drafting conditions behind a passive and...
In nautical literature, 'dead-water' refers to the obstructive effect encountered by ships moving in stratified water due to the ship generating waves on an interface that separates different water masses. To investigate the hypothesis that open water swimming may also be obstructed by an encounter of dead-water, possibly causing drowning, we perfo...
Race analyses during swimming reveal how exercise duration affects both clean swimming speed (v), stroke rate (SR), and stroke length (SL). The aim of this study is to provide an explanation for the change of SL and SR during paced exercise swimming the front crawl through an analysis of intracycle changes in motor organization.
Trained swimmers (N...
The goal of the present study was to determine the contribution of the intrinsic muscle properties and muscle activation of the knee extensors to the maximal rate of unilateral isometric torque development and to relate both factors to maximal bilateral jumping performance in experienced jumpers. On the basis of previous studies, we hypothesized th...
Race analyses during swimming provide information on the time-dependent values of, among other variables, a swimmer's clean swimming speed (v), stroke rate (SR), and stroke length (SL). The effect of fatigue on changes in v, SR, and SL was investigated.
Lap-averaged values of v, SR, and SL while swimming 100 m all out with arms only (trial 1) were...
Subjects prepare for a whole body lifting movement by adjusting their posture and scaling their lifting forces to the expected object weight. The expectancy is based on visual and haptic size cues. This study aimed to find out whether lifting force overshoots related to object size cues disappear or persist over a number of repeated lifts. In addit...
Peak performances in sport require the full deployment of all the powers an athlete possesses. How factors such as mechanical power output, technique and drag, each individually, but also in concert, determine swimming performance is the subject of this enquiry. This overview of swimming biomechanics focuses on three performance factors: (i) genera...
The measurement of drag while swimming (i.e. active drag) is a controversial issue. Therefore, in a group of six elite swimmers two active drag measurement methods were compared to assess whether both measure the same retarding force during swimming. In method 1 push-off forces are measured directly using the system to measure active drag (MAD-syst...
Peak performances in sport require the full deployment of all powers an athlete possesses. How factors like mechanical power output, technique, and drag each on itself, but also in concert determine swimming performance is subject of inquiry. This overview of swimming biomechanics focuses on three performance factors: (i) generation of propulsion i...
The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that high-intensity hypoxic training improves sea-level performances more than equivalent training in normoxia. Sixteen well-trained collegiate and Masters swimmers (10 women, 6 men) completed a 5-wk training program, consisting of three high-intensity training sessions in a flume and supplemen...
It is currently held that propulsion in human front crawl swimming is achieved by lift and drag forces predominantly generated by the hands. Calculation of these propulsive forces relies on the quasi-steady assumption that the fluid dynamic behavior of a hand model in a flow channel (constant velocity and orientation) is similar to that of a hand o...
The effect on drag of a Speedo Fast-skin suit compared to a conventional suit was studied in 13 subjects (6 males, 7 females) swimming at different velocities between 1.0 and 2.0 m.s-1. The active drag force was directly measured during front crawl swimming using a system of underwater push-off pads instrumented with a force transducer (MAD system)...
The effect on drag of a Speedo Fast‐skin suit compared to a conventional suit was studied in 13 subjects (6 males, 7 females) swimming at different velocities between 1.0 and 2.0 m•s‐1. The active drag force was directly measured during front crawl swimming using a system of underwater push‐off pads instrumented with a force transducer (MAD system)...
Low back loading during occupational lifting is thought to be an important causative factor in the development of low back pain. In order to regulate spinal loading in the workplace, it is necessary to measure it accurately. Various methods have been developed to do this, but each has its own limitations, and none can be considered a "gold standard...
A repeated-measures in vivo experiment.
To describe within-subject variability of spinal compression in repetitive lifting.
Epidemiology and failure mechanics suggest that peak loads may be more predictive of injury than average loads. Nevertheless, biomechanical studies usually focus on the latter.
Ten healthy males performed 360 lifts in 1 hour o...
Anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) were studied in a bimanual whole-body lifting task, using a mechanical analysis of the downward movement phase preceding loaded versus unloaded lifts. APAs in the backward ground reaction force were found to lead the perturbing forward box reaction with approximately 400 ms, thus inducing a backward centre o...
To compare two methods of calibrating the erector spinae electromyographic signal against moment generation in order to predict extensor moments during asymmetric lifting tasks, and to compare the predicted moments with those obtained using a linked-segment model.
Eight men lifted loads of 6.7 and 15.7 kg at two speeds, in varying amounts of trunk...
The purpose of this study was to determine the primary factors causing the differential oxygen uptake (VO2) response at submaximal intensities between one-legged and two-legged exercise, and whether peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) increases in proportion to the increase in active muscle mass.
Two different types of exercise were used for this experime...
This study evaluates the effects of lifting an unexpectedly heavy object on low-back loading and loss of balance.
It is often suggested that lifting an unexpectedly heavy object may be a major risk factor for low-back pain. This may lead to an increase in muscle activation, stretch of ligaments and posterior disc, and loss of balance.METHODS. Nine...
To assess the rationale of advocating the squat as opposed to the stoop technique, biomechanical studies comparing the two were reviewed. With the exception of some specific lifting tasks, net moments and compression forces were estimated to be equal or higher in squat lifting. Shear force and spinal bending moments appeared lower in squat lifting....
Occupational manual material handling (MMH) is generally not limited to the sagittal plane. Yet, for practical reasons, biomechanical modeling of low back loading during occupational MMH is mostly restricted to 2D. In this study, the limitations to such an approach are analyzed through quantification of the errors made during 2D analysis of 3D lift...
To assess the biomechanical evidence in support of advocating the squat lifting technique as an administrative control to prevent low back pain.
Instruction with respect to lifting technique is commonly employed to prevent low back pain. The squat technique is the most widely advised lifting technique. Intervention studies failed to show health eff...
It is hypothesized that, in a large number of cases of aspecific low back pain, the primary cause of the pain is a fracture of the vertebral endplate caused by compression forces. Clinical studies have shown that, in many low back pain patients, damage of the vertebral bodies and or the intervertebral disc is present. In vitro studies reveal that t...
Patients with ankylosing spondylitis may experience a progressive spinal kyphosis, which induces a forward and downward displacement of the centre of mass (COM) of the trunk. In this pilot study, the possible mechanisms used to compensate for the displacement of the trunk COM were analysed.
Joint angles of hip, knee and ankle were determined in fou...
Compressive loading of the lumbar spine was analyzed using electromyographic, movement analysis, and force-plate techniques.
To evaluate the inertial forces that cannot be detected by electromyographic techniques alone.
Links between back pain and manual labor have stimulated attempts to measure spine compressive loading. However, direct measuremen...
Human balance in stance is usually defined as the preservation of the vertical projection of the center of mass (COM) on the support area formed by the feet. Under microgravity conditions, the control of equilibrium seems to be no longer required. However, several reports indicate preservation of COM control in tasks such as arm or leg raising, tip...
In ergonomics research, two-dimensional (2-D) biomechanical models are often used to study the mechanical loading of the low back in lifting movements. When lifting movements are asymmetric, errors of unknown size may be introduced in a 2-D analysis. In the current study, an estimation of these errors was made by comparing the outcome of a 2-D anal...
Asymmetric lifting is associated with an increased risk of low back disorders. Especially in lifting movements, characterized by a small amount of asymmetry, it is still the question if asymmetric lumbosacral torques occur, or if subjects try to avoid asymmetric back loading by twisting their pelvis with respect to the feet. An increase of the lift...
Anticipatory control of motor output enables fast and fluent execution of movement. This applies also to motor tasks in which the performance of movement brings about a disturbance to balance that is not completely predictable. For example, in bi-manual lifting the pick-up of a load causes a forward shift of the centre of mass with consequent distu...
In the present study, the effects of repetition on the kinematics in discrete lifting were studied in 10 subjects who lifted a barbell weighing 10% of body mass at a determined speed and along a determined trajectory 630 times during about 40 min. Three-dimensional (3-D) kinematics of the feet, lower and upper legs, pelvis, and trunk were recorded...
Competitive pool swimming events range in distance from 50 to 1500 m. Given the difference in performance times (+/- 23-1000 s), the contribution of the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems changes considerably with race distance. In training practice the regression line between swimming distance and time (Distance = critical velocity x time + anae...
Sagittal balance of the spine is becoming an important issue in the assessment of the degree of spinal deformity. On a standing lateral full-length radiograph of the spine, the plumb line, or sagittal vertical axis (SVA), can be used to determine the spinal sagittal balance. In this procedure patients have to adopt a habitual standing position with...
This study examined anticipatory postural adjustments in a dynamic multi-joint action in which a relatively fast voluntary movement is being executed while balance is maintained in the field of gravity. In a bi-manual whole body lifting task, the pickup of the load induces a forward shift in the position of the center of mass, challenging the dynam...
Balance regulation and movement control were examined in the context of bi-manual lifting. Subjects picked up a load (20% body mass) after several unloaded cycles using the leg-lift technique. The addition of the load to the body caused the system center of mass to shift forward and thus presented the subject with an expected perturbation of balanc...
A sensitivity analysis of two alternative models predicting damage to vertebral motion segments (VMS) in cyclic compression was performed to evaluate the relative probability of damage occurring when peak compression force, loading frequency, or duration in a lifting task is changed. The first model is based on the assumption that fatigue failure i...
This study investigated the effect of the presence or absence of load knowledge on the low-back loading and the control of balance in lifting tasks. Low-back loading was quantified by the net sagittal plane torque at the lumbo-sacral joint. The control of balance was studied by the position of the centre of gravity relative to the base of support,...
Anticipatory postural adjustments (APA) were studied in a dynamic multi-joint movement, in which the legs serve both a focal and a postural role. Eight male subjects bimanually lifted a barbell (20% of body mass) after several unloaded movement cycles using two distinct lifting techniques. Picking up a load induces a perturbation to balance, becaus...
In this study, changes in movement coordination caused by fatigue that developed during repetitive lifting were examined. Five men performed 6 times a 5-min bout of lifting an 8-kg barbell at 15 lifts/min, using two lifting techniques; one minimized trunk rotation (squat lift), and the other minimized rotation in the knee joint (stoop lift). Kinema...
In studies related to human movement, linked segment models (LSM's) are often used to quantify forces and torques, generated in body joints. Some LSM's represent only a few body segments. Others, for instance used in studies on the control of whole body movements, include all body segments. As a consequence of the complexity of 3-dimensional (3-D)...
In manual materials handling jobs a reduction in the weight of materials often concurs with an increase in handling frequency. The effect of weight and inversely related frequency on spinal load was studied in two bricklaying tasks: building the skin and the floor of a steel ladle. In both tasks five subjects laid bricks of varying weight and frequ...
The estimation of segment inertial parameters (SIPs) is an important source of error in inverse dynamic analysis. In most individual cases SIPs are derived from extrapolation of known SIPs of a certain population through regression equations (proportional models). Another well-known method is the use of mathematical approximation of the shape of hu...
The influence of contraction force and velocity during isokinetic contractions on the development of fatigue in the erector spinae muscle was studied. Seven male subjects performed a series of 250 contractions at 25% and 50% of their isometric maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) at 40 and 80 degree.s-1. Fatigue defined as a decrease of the contract...
Five subjects performed a maximal exercise test of repetitive lifting and lowering, with a discontinuous protocol of incremental exercise (3 min) and relative rest (2 min). Exercise periods consisted of repetitive lifting and repetitive lifting and lowering at increasing movement frequencies. Relative rest periods consisted of ergometer cycling at...
The mechanical loading on the low back was studied in three different current methods of refuse collecting: in polythene bags, two-wheeled mini-containers and large four-wheeled containers. To this end the most prominent activities of each collecting method were performed in a laboratory. On the basis of movement analysis, force measurements and bi...
The control of the ground reaction force vector relative to the center of gravity (CoG) was examined while subjects performed a back-lifting task. Six male subjects (aged 24.0 +/- 2.5 years) repeatedly lifted a barbell. A biomechanical analysis that used a linked segment model revealed that the summed rotations of body segments during lifting yield...
The position or trajectory of the body center of mass (COM) is often a parameter of interest when studying posture or movement. For instance, in balance control studies the body COM can be related to the ground reaction force or to the base of support. Since small displacements of the body COM are important in balance control studies, it is essenti...
The energetic load and guidelines were formulated for energetic load in three methods of refuse collecting. These methods were collecting refuse in polythene bags (in a city area and in a suburb), in two-wheeled mini-containers and in large four-wheeled containers. To determine the energetic load of the collecting methods, these collecting methods...
A simulation study of compression of vertebral motion segments to failure was performed.
The aim of this study was to determine whether damage of the motion segment under axial compression can be predicted when the load is quantified by means of the elastic energy storage it causes in the segment.
Although in one-cycle loading, motion segment stren...
During the full flexion phase of the back lift movement the lumbar part of the erector spinae muscle exhibits a reduced activity level (flexion relaxation). This study addresses the question how the required extension torque in the lumbo-sacral joint (L5/S1 joint) is balanced during the period in which apparently the lumbar erector spinae ceases to...
An analysis of the mechanics and energetics of swimming reveals that different factors play key roles in success in competitive swimming events. Knowledge of these performance factors will help the development of optimal training programmes, especially when their relative importance can be identified. One approach to doing this is to evaluate the e...
