Optimising recovery post-game or post-training could provide a competitive advantage to an athlete, especially if more than one bout of exercise is performed in a day. Active recovery is one common method that is thought to enhance the recovery process. Another recovery method that is gaining popularity is water immersion. The objective of this thesis was to analyse whether these two recovery methods provided greater recovery from explosive exercise than passive recovery. A physiological rationale that may explain the possibility of enhanced recovery with water immersion was initially investigated. The literature surrounding active recovery, water immersion and passive recovery on strength, cycling, running and jumping was then examined. Following these reviews an experimental study was conducted investigating the effects of water immersion, active recovery and passive recovery conducted after repeated bouts of explosive exercise. The rationale for active recovery post-exercise is that during intense exercise, fluid from the blood is forced into the working muscles due to the increase in mean arterial pressure, which increases muscle volume and decreases blood plasma fraction. Active recovery reduces this exercise induced edema and, with an associated increase in blood flow throughout the body, may increase the metabolism of waste substrates produced during exercise. Researchers have observed this increased substrate metabolism with reductions in post-exercise blood lactate accumulation following active recovery. Water immersion would appear to cause a similar physiological response to active recovery without the need to expend extra energy. When a large portion of the body is immersed, hydrostatic pressure acts on the body's fluids within the immersed region. Fluids from the extravascular space move into the vascular system reducing exercise-induced increases in muscular volume and reducing soft tissue inflammation. Additionally, blood volume increases and is redistributed towards the central cavity, which in turn increases cardiac preload, stroke volume, cardiac output, and blood flow throughout the body. Cardiac output increases in relation to the depth of immersion and have been observed to increase by as much as 102% during head-out immersions. These cardiovascular responses occur without any increase in energy expenditure. If extra-intravascular fluid movement is enhanced, then the movement and metabolism of waste substrates could increase. Observations of increased post-exercise blood lactate clearance with water immersion would support this theory. Most methodologies studying the performance benefits of active recovery and water immersion suffer many limitations. These limitations often consist of the experimental time schedule not replicating what is likely to occur in a practical situation, no isolation of water temperature and hydrostatic pressure effects, and lack of a sport-like exercise consisting of repeated expressions of explosive power. Light-intensity active recovery and water immersion do not appear to be detrimental to performance, but neither does there appear to be enough evidence to claim they are beneficial. Effects of active recovery and water immersion would seem to be trivial to small, with any benefits more likely following multiple bouts of high-intensity exercise and recovery or following muscle damaging exercise. There may be a link between blood plasma fraction and performance, however, evidence is inconclusive. Given these issues and limitations the aim of this research was to investigate whether combinations of active recovery, water immersion and passive recovery could maintain peak power and work during subsequent bouts of explosive exercise. We also investigated whether there was any difference in subjects' blood plasma faction and perceived fatigue between the recovery modes. A cross-over experiment was conducted on seven subjects over four weeks. On the same day of each week subjects performed three sessions of maximal jumping, each two hours apart, followed by a different recovery method. Each jump session consisted of three sets of 20 maximal jumps repeated every three seconds, with a minute's rest in-between. Immediately following the jumping subjects performed 10 minutes of either (A) active recovery on a cycle ergometer followed by seated rest, (I) immersion to the gluteal fold in 19°C water followed by seated rest, (AI) active recovery followed by immersion, or (P) seated passive rest. Jumping was conducted on an instrumented supine squat machine that allowed the measurement of total peak power and total work. Pre-jump, post jump and post-recovery blood was taken and the percentage of blood plasma fraction calculated. Perceived leg fatigue was also measured at these times. Observed differences in total peak power and total work between the recovery modes were non-significant. No differences were observed in the change of blood plasma fraction between the recovery modes or perceived fatigue. One reason for any lack of difference between the recovery modes may have been the brevity of the recovery time. Research that has observed significant benefits of active recovery and water immersion compared to passive recovery have used recovery times greater of 15 minutes or more. Additionally, changes in blood plasma fraction between active recovery, water immersion and passive recovery have not been apparent until at least 10 minutes post-recovery in previous research. Alternatively, rather than brevity, it may be that active recovery or water immersion simply does not provide any benefit to performance recovery. Overall there is a meagre amount of research into active recovery, water immersion and passive recovery. Further research that incorporates a variety of exercise and recovery protocols is required.

Optimising recovery post-game or post-training could provide a competitive advantage to an athlete, especially if more than one bout of exercise is performed in a day. Active recovery is one common method that is thought to enhance the recovery process. Another recovery method that is gaining popularity is water immersion. The objective of this thesis was to analyse whether these two recovery methods provided greater recovery from explosive exercise than passive recovery. A physiological rationale that may explain the possibility of enhanced recovery with water immersion was initially investigated. The literature surrounding active recovery, water immersion and passive recovery on strength, cycling, running and jumping was then examined. Following these reviews an experimental study was conducted investigating the effects of water immersion, active recovery and passive recovery conducted after repeated bouts of explosive exercise. The rationale for active recovery post-exercise is that during intense exercise, fluid from the blood is forced into the working muscles due to the increase in mean arterial pressure, which increases muscle volume and decreases blood plasma fraction. Active recovery reduces this exercise induced edema and, with an associated increase in blood flow throughout the body, may increase the metabolism of waste substrates produced during exercise. Researchers have observed this increased substrate metabolism with reductions in post-exercise blood lactate accumulation following active recovery. Water immersion would appear to cause a similar physiological response to active recovery without the need to expend extra energy. When a large portion of the body is immersed, hydrostatic pressure acts on the body's fluids within the immersed region. Fluids from the extravascular space move into the vascular system reducing exercise-induced increases in muscular volume and reducing soft tissue inflammation. Additionally, blood volume increases and is redistributed towards the central cavity, which in turn increases cardiac preload, stroke volume, cardiac output, and blood flow throughout the body. Cardiac output increases in relation to the depth of immersion and have been observed to increase by as much as 102% during head-out immersions. These cardiovascular responses occur without any increase in energy expenditure. If extra-intravascular fluid movement is enhanced, then the movement and metabolism of waste substrates could increase. Observations of increased post-exercise blood lactate clearance with water immersion would support this theory. Most methodologies studying the performance benefits of active recovery and water immersion suffer many limitations. These limitations often consist of the experimental time schedule not replicating what is likely to occur in a practical situation, no isolation of water temperature and hydrostatic pressure effects, and lack of a sport-like exercise consisting of repeated expressions of explosive power. Light-intensity active recovery and water immersion do not appear to be detrimental to performance, but neither does there appear to be enough evidence to claim they are beneficial. Effects of active recovery and water immersion would seem to be trivial to small, with any benefits more likely following multiple bouts of high-intensity exercise and recovery or following muscle damaging exercise. There may be a link between blood plasma fraction and performance, however, evidence is inconclusive. Given these issues and limitations the aim of this research was to investigate whether combinations of active recovery, water immersion and passive recovery could maintain peak power and work during subsequent bouts of explosive exercise. We also investigated whether there was any difference in subjects' blood plasma faction and perceived fatigue between the recovery modes. A cross-over experiment was conducted on seven subjects over four weeks. On the same day of each week subjects performed three sessions of maximal jumping, each two hours apart, followed by a different recovery method. Each jump session consisted of three sets of 20 maximal jumps repeated every three seconds, with a minute's rest in-between. Immediately following the jumping subjects performed 10 minutes of either (A) active recovery on a cycle ergometer followed by seated rest, (I) immersion to the gluteal fold in 19°C water followed by seated rest, (AI) active recovery followed by immersion, or (P) seated passive rest. Jumping was conducted on an instrumented supine squat machine that allowed the measurement of total peak power and total work. Pre-jump, post jump and post-recovery blood was taken and the percentage of blood plasma fraction calculated. Perceived leg fatigue was also measured at these times. Observed differences in total peak power and total work between the recovery modes were non-significant. No differences were observed in the change of blood plasma fraction between the recovery modes or perceived fatigue. One reason for any lack of difference between the recovery modes may have been the brevity of the recovery time. Research that has observed significant benefits of active recovery and water immersion compared to passive recovery have used recovery times greater of 15 minutes or more. Additionally, changes in blood plasma fraction between active recovery, water immersion and passive recovery have not been apparent until at least 10 minutes post-recovery in previous research. Alternatively, rather than brevity, it may be that active recovery or water immersion simply does not provide any benefit to performance recovery. Overall there is a meagre amount of research into active recovery, water immersion and passive recovery. Further research that incorporates a variety of exercise and recovery protocols is required.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2004. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (D.PT.)--Sage Colleges, 2010. / "May 2010." "A Capstone project for PTY 768 presented to the faculty of The Department of Physical Therapy Sage Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Physical Therapy." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M Sport Sc (Sport Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It is well-known that acute and chronic aerobic and resistance exercise results in decreased blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive individuals. There is little evidence that water exercise has a similar effect on BP response. There is also no certainty regarding the magnitude and duration of post exercise hypotension (PEH) after either land or water-based exercise. Most studies were also performed under controlled laboratory conditions and very few characterised the PEH response under real life conditions. The current study endeavoured to examine the magnitude and duration of PEH after an acute session of water- and land-based exercise during free living conditions in persons with mild to moderate hypertension. Twenty-one men and women (aged 52 ± 10 years) volunteered for the study. All participants were pre-hypertensive or hypertensive. Participants completed a no exercise control session, a water exercise session and a combined aerobic and resistance land exercise session in random order. After all three sessions, participants underwent 24 hour monitoring using an Ergoscan ambulatory BP monitoring device. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were monitored to determine changes from resting values after each session and to compare the PEH responses between land and water exercise. Overall, the land exercise treatment caused a 3.6 mmHg lower average SBP over 24 hours than the control treatment (P = 0.04). The average difference over 24 hours between the water and control treatments was 2.2 mmHg and between land and water exercise it was 1.5 mmHg (P > 0.05). During daytime, both land and water exercise resulted in significantly lower SBP (12.7 and 11.3 mmHg) compared to the control session (2.3 mmHg). The PEH response lasted for 24 hours after land exercise and nine hours after water exercise. There was no difference in the daytime DBP for the three treatments (P > 0.05). Although all three groups showed significant reductions during night time, both exercise treatments showed greater nocturnal falls in SBP, DBP and MAP than the control treatment. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Dit is alombekend dat akute en chroniese aërobiese- en weerstandsoefening tot ‘n afname in bloeddruk (BD) lei in persone met hipertensie. Daar is egter min getuienis dat wateroefening dieselfde effek op die bloeddruk respons het. Daar is ook nie sekerheid oor die grootte en duur van post-oefening hipotensie na water- of landoefening nie. Die meeste studies is onder gekontrolleerde laboratorium omstandighede gedoen en min resultate is beskikbaar onder alledaagse lewensomstandighede. Die huidige studie het gepoog om die grootte en duur van die post-oefening hipotensie respons in persone met ligte tot matige hipertensie onder alledaagse omstandighede na ‘n akute sessie van water- en landgebaseerde oefening te ondersoek. Een-en-twintig mans en vrouens (ouderdom 52 ± 10 jaar) het ingewillig om aan die studie deel te neem. Alle deelnemers was hipertensief of pre-hipertensief. Alle deelnemers het ‘n kontrolesessie, ‘n wateroefeningsessie en ‘n gekombineerde aërobiese en weerstands landoefensessie, in lukrake volgorde, voltooi. Na elke sessie het die deelnemers 24 uur bloeddrukmonitering met ‘n Ergoscan wandelende bloeddruk monitor ondergaan. Sistoliese bloeddruk (SBD), diastoliese bloeddruk (DBD), gemiddelde arteriële bloeddruk en harttempo (HT) is gemonitor om die veranderinge vanaf rustende waardes na elke sessie te bepaal en om die hipotensiewe respons na land- en wateroefening te vergelyk. Landoefening het ‘n 3.6 mmHg laer gemiddelde SBD oor 24 uur tot gevolg gehad in vergelyking met die kontrolesessie (P = 0.04). Die gemiddelde verskil oor 24 uur tussen die water- en kontrolesessies was 2.2 mmHg en 1.5 mmHg tussen die land en water oefensessies (P > 0.05). Gedurende die dag het beide die land- and wateroefening gelei tot beduidende laer SBD (12.7 en 11.3 mmHg) in vergelyking met die kontrolesessie (2.3 mmHg). Die post-oefening hipotensie het 24 uur geduur na die landoefening en nege uur na die wateroefening. Daar was geen verskil in DBD gedurende die dag tussen die drie groepe nie (P > 0.05).

Populations that utilize deep water running (DWR) are described in Chapter I. A review of the literature concerning studies comparing peak physiological variables of water exercises (swimming, DWR, & land based running) to land based exercises (cycle ergometer, walking, & running) are presented in Chapter II. The protocols utilized for obtaining peak values on land and in the water along with subject characteristics, statistical methods and description of the training regimen are discussed in Chapter HI. The results, presented in Chapter IV, indicate no interaction between any of the variables measured but a main effect for treadmill V02 peak for the pre- and post testing. Chapter V discusses factors which may limit physiological changes within each training group. Chapter VI contains suggestions for further research.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2006. / "May, 2006." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 207-217). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

The direct measurement of maximal oxygen consumption (V02 max) has always been the benchmark for the determination of Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). However, the time and expense of that type of testing does not lend itself to students in activity classes or adult fitness participants. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of a 500 yard shallow water run test in determining CRF. A commonly used field test, the 1.5 mile run, was used as a basis for comparison during the 500 yard water run. Subjects in this study included 15 men and 28 women that completed a 1.5 mile run and a 500 yard shallow water run as well as a graded exercise test to fatigue on a treadmill. Correlations between 1.5 mile runs and the 500 yard shallow water run and VO2 peak were -.89 and -.80 respectively. In addition to simple regression analysis, multiple regression analysis was used to significantly improve the prediction of CRF (p<0.05). Peak HR during the 1.5 mile run significantly improved the 1.5 mile run prediction of CRF (R2=0.78 to 0.82) with a reduction in SEE (3.95 to 3.52 ml/kg/min) from the simple regression alone. Percent body fat and subject height improved the 500 yard shallow water runs prediction of CRF (R2=0.62 to 0.86) with a reduction in SEE (5.14 to 3.19 ml/kg/min). In conclusion the 500 yard shallow water run can be used to accurately predict CRF and with the addition of percent body fat and height provide a better prediction of CRF. / School of Physical Education

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Susan K. Lynn, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Sport Management, Recreation Management, and Physical Education. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Jan. 26, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 135 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of West Florida, 2005. / Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 91 pages. Includes bibliographical references.