The links between increased participation in Physical Activity (PA) and improvements in health are well established. As this body of evidence has grown, so too has the search for measures of PA with high levels of methodological effectiveness (i.e. validity, reliability and responsiveness to change). The aim of this “review of reviews” was to provide a comprehensive overview of the methodological effectiveness of currently employed measures of PA, to aid researchers in their selection of an appropriate tool. A total of 63 review articles were included in this review, and the original articles cited by these reviews were included in order to extract detailed information on methodological effectiveness. Self-report measures of PA have been most frequently examined for methodological effectiveness, with highly variable findings identified across a broad range of behaviours. The evidence-base for the methodological effectiveness of objective monitors, particularly accelerometers/activity monitors, is increasing, with lower levels of variability observed for validity and reliability when compared to subjective measures. Unfortunately, responsiveness to change across all measures and behaviours remains under-researched, with limited information available. Other criteria beyond methodological effectiveness often influence tool selection, including cost and feasibility. However, researchers must be aware of the methodological effectiveness of any measure selected for use when examining PA. Although no “perfect” tool for the examination of PA in adults exists, it is suggested that researchers aim to incorporate appropriate objective measures, specific to the behaviours of interests, when examining PA in free-living environments.

Test-Retest Reliability of Measurements of the Center of Pressure Displacement in Quiet Standing and During Maximal Voluntary Body Leaning Among Healthy Elderly Men: The aim of the study was to evaluate intra- and intersession test-retest reliability for the measurements of centre of pressure displacement in quiet standing and during maximal voluntary body leaning (approximate area of stability limits). 27 elderly men participated in the study (71.4±4.9 of age). Intrasession (4 measurements with two-minute breaks) and intersession (4 measurements one week apart) reliability were examined. Parameters connected to the centre of pressure data (AMTI force platform) were measured during a quiet stance and voluntary body leaning in medio-lateral and anterior-posterior directions (approximate limits of stability). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC_2,1 and ICC_{2, k}) were calculated. In case of quiet standing, only mean velocity of centre of pressure sway provides high reliability in intrasession - ICC_2,1 of .84 and ICC_{2, k} of .96, and in intersession - ICC_2,1 of .76. Evaluation of limits of stability showed high values of all parameters (maximal and minimal displacement in sagittal and frontal planes, distance between maximal and minimal position of centre of pressure in sagittal and frontal planes and approximated area of stability limits) in intrasession - ICC_2,1 between .82 to .96 and ICC_{2, k} between .95 to .99. Similar tendency was observed in the intersession retest. Average velocity of the centre of pressure is the only parameter that showed a high application value in case of measurements during quiet standing. Parameters related to the stability limits appeared very reliable what proves that this evaluation may have potential application in the clinical practice.

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of proprioceptive training with the use of virtual reality (VR) on the level of postural stability of high–altitude workers. Twenty-one men working at height were randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG) with training (n = 10) and control group (CG) without training (n = 11). Path length of the displacement of the center of pressure (COP) signal and its components in the anteroposterior and medial–lateral directions were measured with use of an AccuGaitTM force plate before and after intervention (6 weeks, 2 sessions × 30 min a week). Tests were performed at two different platform heights, with or without eyes open and with or without a dual task. Two–way ANOVA revealed statistically significant interaction effects for low–high threat, eyes open-eyes closed, and single task-dual task. Post-training values of average COP length were significantly lower in the EG than before training for all analyzed parameters. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the use of proprioceptive training with use of VR can support, or even replace, traditional methods of balance training.

Caffeine (CAF) ingestion improves performance in a broad range of exercise tasks. Nevertheless, the CAF-induced, dose-dependent effect on discipline-specific performance and cognitive functions in CrossFit/High-Intensity Functional Training (HIFT) has not been sufficiently investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of acute supplementation of three different doses of CAF and placebo (PLA) on specific performance, reaction time (R_Time), postural stability (P_Stab), heart rate (HR) and perceived exertion (RPE). In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover design, acute pre-exercise supplementation with CAF (3, 6, or 9 mg/kg body mass (BM)) and PLA in 26 moderately trained CrossFit practitioners was examined. The study protocol involved five separate testing sessions using the Fight Gone Bad test (FGB) as the exercise performance evaluation and biochemical analyses, HR and RPE monitoring, as well as the assessment of R_Time and P_Stab, with regard to CYP1A2 (rs762551) and ADORA2A (rs5751876) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). Supplementation of 6 mg_CAF/kg_BM induced clinically noticeable improvements in FGB_Total results, R_Time and pre-exercise motor time. Nevertheless, there were no significant differences between any CAF doses and PLA in FGB_Total, HR_max, HR_mean, RPE, pre/post-exercise R_Time, P_Stab variables or pyruvate concentrations. Lactate concentration was higher (p < 0.05) before and after exercise in all CAF doses than in PLA. There was no effect of CYP1A2 or ADORA2A SNPs on performance. The dose-dependent effect of CAF supplementation appears to be limited to statistically nonsignificant but clinically considered changes on specific performance, R_Time, P_Stab, RPE or HR. However, regarding practical CAF-induced performance implications in CrossFit/HIFT, 6 mg_CAF/kg_BM may be supposed as the most rational supplementation strategy.