Department of Health and Human Performance, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences-INEF, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Department of Education, Investigation Methods and Evaluation, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Comillas Pontifical University, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Sep 3;18(17):9328. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18179328.
The "effort character" (EC) is a resistance training method without reaching muscle failure. It was defined by González-Badillo and Gorostiaga Ayestarán (2002) as the relationship between the repetitions performed and the repetitions achievable. Then, the EC is at its maximum (i.e., 100%) when the subject realizes all the repetitions possible in a series with any load. Therefore, an EC of 50% indicates execution of 50% of the repetitions achievable in a series. This study aimed to determine the effects of two programs of eight weeks of concurrent training (CT) with different EC over muscle strength (MS), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), functional mobility (FM), health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and lipid profile (LP) among hospital workers.
Fourteen hospital workers (age: 41.1 ± 10.8 years; body mass: 63.0 ± 10.8 kg; height: 165.2 ± 6.5 cm; body mass index (BMI): 23.0 ± 3.4 kg/m) were randomly assigned to an EC 50% ( = 7) or EC 100% ( = 7) group.
The main finding was that both groups significantly improved in MS and FM levels but not HRQoL, with no statistical differences between EC 50% and EC 100% in adherence and any test despite performing half the volume of the strength workout.
An eight-week CT program with different EC (i.e., EC 50% vs. EC 100%) seems to improve the MS and FM levels in hospital workers similarly. These findings could be very useful in health-training practices because of the possibility of planning training loads with half the volume of strength workouts without the loss of any training adaptation.
“努力程度特征”（EC）是一种无需达到肌肉疲劳的抗阻训练方法。它由 González-Badillo 和 Gorostiaga Ayestarán（2002 年）定义为所完成的重复次数与可完成的重复次数之间的关系。然后，当受试者在任何负荷下完成一系列中所有可能的重复次数时，EC 达到最大值（即 100%）。因此，EC 为 50%表示在一系列中完成了可完成重复次数的 50%。本研究旨在确定两种不同 EC 的八周同步训练（CT）方案对肌肉力量（MS）、心肺功能适应性（CRF）、功能性移动能力（FM）、健康相关生活质量（HRQoL）和血脂水平（LP）的影响。
14 名医院工作人员（年龄：41.1 ± 10.8 岁；体重：63.0 ± 10.8 千克；身高：165.2 ± 6.5 厘米；体重指数（BMI）：23.0 ± 3.4 千克/米）被随机分配到 EC 50%（n=7）或 EC 100%（n=7）组。
主要发现是两组在 MS 和 FM 水平上都有显著提高，但 HRQoL 没有提高，尽管在强度训练的运动量减半的情况下，EC 50%和 EC 100%在坚持率和任何测试方面都没有统计学差异。
八周不同 EC（即 EC 50%与 EC 100%）的 CT 方案似乎可以相似地提高医院工作人员的 MS 和 FM 水平。这些发现对于健康训练实践非常有用，因为有可能在不损失任何训练适应性的情况下，以强度训练运动量的一半来规划训练负荷。
