Honours Projects in 2012

Research Project

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Can we adapt our muscle coordination to keep pedalling well?
In healthy subjects, the Central Nervous System can rely on more than 600 muscles to produce the wide range of movements we produce every day. Pedalling is one of those movements. Previous studies have shown that the different muscles of the lower limbs work all together (i.e. muscle coordination) to produce a finely tuned pedalling movement. However, many factors can affect the role and the importance of each muscle in the production of the pedalling movement (e.g. training programs, injury, and fatigue). This project will explore the adaptations of the muscle coordination as well as the alteration of the pedalling movement caused by the inhibition of some specific muscles. This project offers a very good opportunity for students interested in the neuromuscular and biomechanical aspects of human movements. Beyond the fundamental aspect of this project, its results will provide important information to the cycling community (i.e. cyclists, cycling coaches, sport scientists).   

   Dr David Rouffet

Can we produce more power when riding on a real bike?
The maximal power that individuals (i.e. cyclist, non cyclists athletes, sedentary subjects) can produce in cycling has been widely investigated in the literature. In most studies, power has been measured while individuals were pedalling on a stationary ergometer in a laboratory environment. However, sport scientists have observed that the maximal power generated by an individual riding his bike in real-world conditions differs from the maximal power he can produce on a stationary bike ergometer. The aim of this project will be to quantify the variations of power output between the two situations (i.e. laboratory vs. real-world). This project will extend an existing collaboration with the cycling department of the Victorian Institute of Sport. It offers a very good opportunity for students interested by gaining a significant experience in applied sport sciences, and/or by performance in cycling.
 

   Dr David Rouffet

Is there a similar threshold of fatigue for all exercise durations?

Most recent research demonstrates that during self-paced exercise athletes regulate their pace and complete the exercise with a similar amount of peripheral limb muscle fatigue. In fact, there appear to be an individual critical threshold of fatigue that is task-specific and that is never exceeded under ‘normal’ exercise conditions. However, a limitation to all previous studies is that only endurance exercise has been investigated. This project will verify this hypothesis by investigating real-time neuromuscular adjustments and end-exercise muscle fatigue during cycling time trials of 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 km. This project will be conducted with cyclists from the Australian Institute of Sport and/or from local clubs, and would suit students with particular interest in applied sport science.

The immediate cognitive benefits from prescribed verses preference-based exercise.
Insufficiently active older adults are at high risk of a number of health concerns, including rapid cognitive decline (impairing memory, attention and response speed). Increased physical activity may be encouraged by demonstrating the immediate improvement to cognitive performance from a single bout of exercise. People may also be motivated to engage in exercise if they derive a sense of enjoyment from the activity. However, older adults are often prescribed exercise intensities that lead to declines in pleasure. This project will investigate whether cognitive task performance is most improved immediately following exercise either at a prescribed intensity, or at a preference-based intensity. The effect of an older adults’ current level of fitness will also be considered by recruiting both master athletes and sedentary individuals. These findings may have significant implications for the recommendations of physical activity prescribed to older adults and adoptions and maintenance of active lifestyles.
 

Maintenance of weight loss in previously obese women: Is surgery or exercise the answer?
Obesity is a major health issue in Australia and almost one in four females classified as obese. There are both physiological and psychological implications of obesity include a higher risk of diabetes, asthma, hypertension, heart problems, low self-esteem and depression. More Australians are opting for lap band surgery to lose weight. However, some previously clinically obese individuals have been able to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle without surgery, through changes to their diet and exercise. This research project will involve interviews with women who have lost a significant amount of their body weight and maintained this loss either with, or without, the aid of surgery. It is of interest to understand the factors that influence an individual’s decision to lose weight, the means chosen to initiate and maintain weight loss, and the perceived benefits and disadvantages of their choice.
 

   or

   Dr Erika Borkoles

   or

   9919 5977

or

Erika.Borkoles@vu.edu.au

Walking with our eyes: Family views of (re)discovering the neighbourhood on foot.
If academics and practitioners are to promote walking, they need to acknowledge all of the elements that can enhance and enrich the experience of the walk. This study aims to explore the social and physical experiences of parents and children as they walk in their neighbourhoods. Understanding the attraction of these experiences may help encourage walking. Participants include 20 families from the Western Melbourne area. This study will involve the use of the Victoria Walks Inc. online walking map tool and photography as well as a review of council policies promoting walkable environments and walking. This is an opportunity for young scholars to help propose policy recommendations that may increase opportunities for active living among families as well as promote local explorations in the neighbourhood.
 

Supporting Parent’s Physical Activity
Parents with young children (between the ages of 3 and 5 years) are a population at risk for inactivity. The requirements of parenting young children can often overwhelm parents and subsequently lead to feelings of exhaustion and lack of motivation to engage in physical activity. An understanding of how parents can be motivated is thus needed. This study adopts the social cognitive theory to understand parental PA patterns and the way that parents support each other’s PA. Participants include 30 families drawn from the Melbourne metropolitan area. This is a mixed methods study using both quantitative and qualitative strategies to gain a comprehensive understanding of parental physical activity behaviours. Interested students will help provide an understanding of these behaviours and such efforts will form the basis of future PA intervention strategies.