Brandon S. Shaw

By Brandon S. Shaw, Gregory A. Brown and Ina Shaw

Contrary to the longstanding taboo of resistance training (RT) as a therapeutic treatment, RT has been gaining importance as a safe therapeutic option in the management of numerous diseases. Although exercise has well-documented health benefits on cardiovascular disease (CVD), the benefit of RT on CVD risk factors is not yet as widely prescribed as other modes of exercise. Due to its efficacy in the management of CVD, RT should be regarded as a complementary therapeutic treatment rather than a substitute to other modes of exercise therapy. While it is clear that RT can result in an attenuation of CVD risk, the various RT design options related to intensity and volume and how they impact on CVD risk, especially in different populations (i.e. children, elderly, women) is not yet well documented. This chapter will discuss the physiological phenomenon and benefits of RT as a therapeutic intervention aiming to manage CVD risk.

Part of the book: Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease

By Ina Shaw, Travis Triplett and Brandon S. Shaw

In addition to the impact of normal ageing on body composition, increasing levels of sedentariness reduce an individual’s ability to mobilise fat, resulting in an altered body composition characterised by increased fat mass, and more specifically an increased total and abdominal fat, and reduced muscle mass. While exercise, and aerobic exercise in general, has been promoted as a means to maintaining an appropriate body weight, aerobic exercise should not be considered as the golden standard to do so. This is because resistance training (RT) has an unsurpassed ability to improve lean mass along with other simultaneous improvements in multiple body composition parameters. An increased muscle mass is essential in that it is the amount of exercising muscle that determines the magnitude of lipolysis (fatty acid release from adipocytes) during exercise. In addition, an increased muscle mass results in an elevated basal metabolic rate (BMR) and resting metabolic rate (RMR), effectively increasing the amount of energy or calories utilised even at rest. RT is especially useful in the general population for weight management in that the ideal form of RT required for improvements in body composition is of moderate intensity, which reduces the risk of injury and improves adherence.

Part of the book: Weight Management

By Brandon S. Shaw, Gavin R.H. Sandercock, Anneke Van Biljon and Ina Shaw

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be the leading cause of death and continuous efforts are needed to reduce CVD risk and established CVD. Most exercise training guidelines do not recommend RT as an integral component of an overall CVD prevention and/or rehabilitation programme. This is notwithstanding the increasing evidence of RT’s orthopaedic and hemodynamic safety, its cardioprotective effects and positive effects on mortality, and even its unique role on improving the comorbidities associated with CVD. As with cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular fitness is increasingly being demonstrated to be related to the integrated function of numerous physiological systems and as a reflection of whole-body health and function. As such, ‘“counting reps’” should be as important as ‘“counting steps’” in any CVD prevention and management programme. While many current international recommendations and guidelines are based on the fact that not all health benefits can be achieved through a single type of exercise, emphasis is still placed on aerobic training over RT. This chapter will not only discuss the importance of RT in overall CVD prevention and/or rehabilitation, but will directly inform recommendations and provide guidelines on practical exercise as a safe and foundational component of CVD programmes.

Part of the book: Novel Pathogenesis and Treatments for Cardiovascular Disease

By Ina Shaw, Musa L. Mathunjwa and Brandon S. Shaw

Continuing epidemiological and clinical studies have accumulated evidence that appropriate regular physical activity (PA) results in significant health benefits and can even prevent and treat many diseases like cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes, musculoskeletal problems, stress, anxiety, and depression. These benefits are universal to all populations and age groups making physical activity a critical component in reducing many of the leading causes of global mortality. Additional benefits have also been found to follow an expanding quantity and quality of PA through the proper manipulation of the exercise design (i.e., frequency, intensity, duration, and mode). Global health benefits are achievable through physical activity, but this requires competent health professionals able to prescribe appropriate physical activity to their clients, patients, and communities to ensure engagement in increasing their PA levels and thus contribute to their own well-being and the prevention of the main non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs).

Part of the book: Health Promotion