From ACSM’s 2020 Virtual Experience to the COVID-19 Updates and Resources page on the ACSM site, ACSM members are working to meet the needs of the exercise science community who must rely on virtual resources. ACSM members also have access to additional online content in ACSM’s leading scholarly journals. The Exercise and Sport Science Reviews (ESSR) Editorial Board and article authors have created digital features for three separate papers from the July issue of the journal, which can be accessed only online.

Arturo Figueroa, M.D., Ph.D., FACSM and colleagues describe the vascular and muscular benefits of oral L-Citrulline supplementation by older adults. Ultimately, in combination with exercise, this supplement promotes vascular function and muscular fitness, as measured by muscle mass, strength and walking speed. While the article explores physiological mechanisms of L-Citrulline by providing detailed text and figures, the visual abstract eloquently summarizes these key points for those who may prefer visual learning or quicker reviews.

In an incredibly thorough review on the biomechanics of breast support for women during physical activity, Deidre McGhee, Ph.D., and Julie Steele, Ph.D., describe existing research and limitations of published works. Unfortunately, as previously reported by McGhee and Steele in 2010, about 85% of women have reported wearing poorly fitted bras. In the current review, some will find it helpful that the authors provide advice for women selecting sports bras, describing common features of crop tops and encapsulation bras to consider. Highly recommended: this month’s ESSR issue features an excellent video abstract by McGhee and Steele. In this < four-minute long video, as well as in the review, women with “special needs” are highlighted, which include those with large breasts, pregnant and breastfeeding, older women, teenagers, athletes and those diagnosed with breast cancer.

The third of this month’s digital features is related to the review by Joseph Welch, Ph.D., on the synergy between acute intermittent hypoxia and task-specific training to improve motor function post-spinal cord injury. Welch and colleagues propose a hypothetical working model of neural network and cellular elements to describe this association, hoping to promote further research to progress understanding and therapeutic implementation of acute intermittent hypoxia and task-specific training. This article comes with nine journal club questions that can be incorporated into research lab and/or classroom education. These questions provide opportunities for students to dissect material at many levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, ranging from knowledge and comprehension to synthesis and evaluation. For suggestions on how to incorporate journal club into your classroom or research lab, check out this related blog from May 2020.

Ultimately, many journals have recognized the significance of reaching readers in different formats, and ESSR is one of them, providing these digital features that allow readers to easily share material with others, even when the topic is outside the individual’s field of study or general knowledge. We hope you enjoy this issue’s digital features, and, if you’re able to incorporate them in your classroom or share them in a unique way, we’d love to hear about it; please do reach out!

Email 

Twitter: @ESSRonline 

Facebook 

Diba Mani, Ph.D., is a lecturer in the Department of Applied Physiology & Kinesiology at the University of Florida. She serves as the Digital Editor for Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews. She earned her degrees under the mentorship of Dr. Roger Enoka in the Neurophysiology of Movement Laboratory at the University of Colorado. Her doctoral dissertation focused on evaluating the effects of electrical nerve stimulation on motor unit discharge properties and mobility in young and older adults. Dr. Mani most enjoys the human component of any work she is engaging in, be it research in the field of geriatrics or teaching college students in the classroom. Dr. Mani is a nationally certified judo referee and coach and also a regular vinyasa yoga practitioner. She is passionate about diversity and cultural promotion through involvement in groups such as Iranian American Academics & Professionals and the Persian Students Organization.