Physical inactivity is a major health concern, associated with the development of several non-communicable diseases and with an increased mortality rate. Therefore, promoting active lifestyles has become a crucial public health necessity for enhancing overall health and quality of life. The WHO guidelines for physical activity (PA) present valuable contributions in this respect; however, we believe that greater specificity should be added or complemented towards physical exercise (PE) testing, prescription and programming in future recommendations. In this review article, we suggest simple and practical tools accessible to the entire population to improve the specificity of this approach, highlighting aspects of PE programming used by trained subjects. By adopting these suggestions, exercise professionals, clinicians and physical trainers can optimise the current general PA recommendations towards PE prescription to improve fitness status and encourage PE adherence in the general population.

Endurance training results in diverse adaptations that lead to increased performance and health benefits. A commonly measured training response is the analysis of oxygen uptake kinetics, representing the demand of a determined load (speed/work) on the cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic systems, providing useful information for the prescription of constant load or interval-type aerobic exercise. There is evidence that during high-intensity aerobic exercise some interventions prescribe brief interval times (<1-min), which may lead to a dissociation between the load prescribed and the oxygen uptake demanded, potentially affecting training outcomes. Therefore, this review explored the time to achieve a close association between the speed/work prescribed and the oxygen uptake demanded after the onset of high-intensity aerobic exercise. The evidence assessed revealed that at least 80% of the oxygen uptake amplitude is reached when phase II of oxygen uptake kinetics is completed (1 to 2 minutes after the onset of exercise, depending on the training status). We propose that the minimum work-time during high-intensity aerobic interval training sessions should be at least 1 minute for athletes and 2 minutes for non-athletes. This suggestion could be used by coaches, physical trainers, clinicians and sports or health scientists for the prescription of high-intensity aerobic interval training.

Strength training is a form of healthy ageing in older women. Although recommendations currently exist, some are very broad or fail to cover the needs of aging. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of blocks strength training based on age-related functional consequences on functional performance in older adult women. 82 community-dwelling older women (70.17 ± 6.04 y) were randomly assigned to either experimental (n = 40) or control (n = 42) group. Experimental group performed a Block Strength Training (BST) program based on strength, power, and muscular endurance, and different level of effort for 9 weeks, and control maintained daily routine with physical activity recommendations. Functional performance was assessed using absolute handgrip strength [AHS], timed up and go [TUG], two-minutes step test [2MST], five times stand-to-sit test [5-SST], 6-m walking speed test [6-WS] pre-post intervention. Statistical analyses were performed using two-way ANOVA (Time*Group) and effect size (partial eta-squared, ŋP2) with a significance level of p < 0.05. BST improved functional performance in the protocols of AHS (21.51 vs. 23.07-kg; + 7%), TUG (8.22 vs. 7.29-sec; + 11%), 2MST (78.76 vs. 97.18-steps; + 23%), 5-SST (12.68 vs. 9.43-sec; + 26%), and 6-WS (1.16 vs. 1.36- m·s^-1; + 17%) compared to control (19.31 vs. 19.66-kg; 8.94 vs. 9.26-sec; 62.68 vs. 63.73-steps; 13.99 vs. 14.25-sec; 1.06 vs. 1.06-m·s^-1, respectively) in a Time*Group interaction effect (p < 0.01; ŋP2> 0.11). This BST is effective in improving overall functional performance and thus reducing the risk of physical frailty in community-dwelling older women. These findings strengthen the approach to exercise programming over recommendations, moving toward effective precision dosing for older adults.

This study aimed to objectively compare the accuracy of estimating repetitions in reserve (RIR) in the back squat among subjects with different levels of experience in resistance training (RT). Sixteen healthy adults (24.31 ± 4.94 years, 4 women and 12 men) were divided into the experienced (N = 8; ≥ 18 months of experience) and the novice (N = 8; 0.05, d ≥ 0.03). Furthermore, there were no differences in MPV, velocity loss, the RPE, and total of repetitions to muscle failure, RIR3, and RIR1 sets (p > 0.05, d ≥ −0.07). Overall, our findings suggest that RT experience does not influence the accuracy of estimating RIRs in the back squat, which is objectively supported by individualized MPV and the RPE. Previous familiarity with high-level effort may play a key role in accuracy beyond RT experience.

In this article, Festa et al. highlight that the assessment of physical performance is not currently valued as a simple and practical tool for estimating health status in the general population. Consequently, the purpose of this opinion article is to highlight the importance of testing and classifying physical performance as an indicator of overall health, encouraging health professionals to consider them as an accessible and inexpensive tool for the public health context, in contrast to laboratory assessments.