exercise science experts

exercise science experts

The Comprehensive Guide to Exercise Science: Insights from Leading Experts

1. Introduction to Exercise Science

Exercise has been consistently prescribed for the prevention and/or treatment of a wide variety of health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes, to name a few. However, it is also widely recognized that exercise in many cases can exacerbate or be deleterious in and of itself. For example, during acute ischemia-reperfusion injury (e.g. stroke, myocardial infarction) occurs, with associated aggravation of impairment of functional reserves necessary to respond or recover from either the ischemia or acidotic state. Much of the scientific investigation about how exercise can prevent or induce injury has centered around the basic physiology of the cardiovascular system. Over the last 35 years, a more contemporary scientific approach has emerged, and this new field is identified as Exercise Science.

2. Key Concepts and Theories in Exercise Science

Exercise is as much a fundamental biological process as its counterpart, known as nutrition. From an evolutionary point of view, exercise training is fundamental to survival and body function. It should come as no surprise that a complex system of interacting organs orchestrates body movement in mammals, and that these organs may individually need to be trained for optimal function. Exercise scientists ask the question, “what part of the signal produced by exercise is necessary to further the defined benefits of exercise?” Elsewhere, the molecular/cellular events that follow after exercise are termed the exercise signal transduction pathway. In comparison with possible drugs aiming to treat one or another pathology, exercise is unique in that the combination of its effect at the systemic, organ, cellular, and molecular levels will produce a mix of effects generally favorable to almost any chronic disease treatment or prevention, with major cost savings for both the patient and the community because of its widespread application.

One of the tenets of science is to provide coherence and order in the complexity of nature through a system of classes, concepts, and principles. In addition, science also uses theories, which are particularly useful tools that summarize our understanding of a particular domain of knowledge. Most endeavors of medicine and health sciences abide by this structure, but this has not been an absolute requirement for all. Despite the demonstrated beneficial effects of exercise, our understanding of how exercise exactly benefits such a wide range of body organs appears to differ substantially when compared with the level of understanding of other less effective, and in fact sometimes adverse, therapeutic interventions. Current dogma is that knowledge on exercise is still at an early stage, i.e., its beneficial effects are a natural, ununderstood phenomenon. Additionally, the word “natural” also is equated with “without adverse effects,” albeit we all know of instances of suicide by exercise in the form of overexertion leading to untimely death.

3. Application of Exercise Science in Various Settings

Exercise science is a continually evolving, highly interdisciplinary field with leading experts focusing on the human body. In the case of rehabilitation science, individuals are moving from a relatively sedentary lifestyle to heightened exertion in a physically demanding or neuromuscular challenging environment. The goal is to improve or maintain health, movement, function, and quality of life through biomechanical loading, cardiovascular stress, neuromuscular or metabolic challenges. In these settings, we utilize the principles of exercise science to help us design, implement, follow, monitor, and prescribe physical activity and exercise. This book allows the dissemination of knowledge, application, and clinical experience in optimal rehabilitation science and exercise performance strategies.

Exercise science is the study of human movement and physical exertion. At the highest level, we can categorize the application of exercise science as the academic interpretation and dissemination of knowledge. Between these extremes, we apply exercise science to varied applications that range from elite athletes’ performance to those needing rehabilitation in real-world settings. Our clients may be Olympians, aspiring athletes, or functionally limited individuals who want to improve their quality of life’s activities. Regardless of our services’ scope, we must integrate decision-making algorithms to design, evaluate, or guide performance under challenging physical conditions in a continuum towards maximal effort, optimal function, extraordinary movement, and the highest performance allowed by the individual stage.

4. Cutting-Edge Research and Future Directions in Exercise Science

A third goal of this comprehensive guide is to help those future visionaries and investigators by presenting an in-depth look at what eminent experts see as cutting-edge research currently being conducted in musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary exercise sciences, as well as offer recommendations/requisites for future research in these subdisciplines. Needless to say, it is impossible for any human being to know everything about every “stroke of the brush” done by people from around the world; however, we believe that this book has the first comprehensive look at the vast canvas of exercise science. These are epitomized in the first two goals we have set forth in this section: to present the most up-to-date, state-of-the-art science conducted in the various subdisciplines comprising exercise science; and to expose the foundations and developments through an interdisciplinary and multidimensional vision of the driving forces behind today’s exercise science. Aspects such as physiological basis, metabolic response and adaptation, glycolytic and oxidative metabolism, pediatric, adult, and aged populations, energetics, genetics, structural and mechanical properties, and educational applications were covered and will also be further interconnected in the 2 sections.