ACSM’s Publications Committee is pleased to highlight the excellent content its journals are publishing and acknowledges authors whose exemplary work provides readers with unique scientific and practical content. The editorial team of ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal® has selected “Developing a Lifelong Resistance Training Program,” by Len R. Kravitz, Ph.D. (1), as the 2019 Paper of the Year.
Resistance training has been identified as an evidence-based, effective, and vital modality for enhancing health-related physical fitness and function and a recommended component of comprehensive exercise programs for people of all ages (2–5).
Len’s article was selected because it has so clearly translated the scientific literature and industry guidelines on resistance training into practical information, which readers can apply immediately with clients and patients. Len distinctly summarizes current science behind the recommendations and provides meaningful, practical examples that readers can easily follow. His descriptions of best practices are consistent with recommendations for the general population (2,3), athletes (4), youth (3,5), older adults (6–9), and select populations (10–13). He provides easy to follow recommendations for designing safe and effective resistance training programs for clients and patients throughout the life span. Students, faculty, health and fitness professionals, and ACSM certification candidates can use this article as a primer. Len is an accomplished, articulate, and highly sought health and fitness industry educator and expert. Len’s articles and keynote presentations are always exceptionally informative, practical, and engaging. His knowledge and expertise as a scientist, researcher, and author is second only to his energy, enthusiasm, and passion for teaching. Len is program coordinator of Exercise Science and a researcher at the University of New Mexico where he won the Outstanding Teacher of the Year award. For his distinguished service, Len was inducted into the National Health and Fitness Hall of Fame Museum and Institute and has been recognized as the 2009 Canadian Fitness Professional “Specialty Presenter of the Year,” American Council on Exercise (ACE) 2006 “Fitness Educator of the Year,” and has received the Canadian Fitness Professional “Lifetime Achievement Award.”
To hear more about this article from Len, click here: https://links.lww.com/FIT/A147. To read Len's Paper of the Year visit: https://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/Fulltext/2019/01000/DEVELOPING_A_LIFELONG_RESISTANCE_TRAINING_PROGRAM.6.aspx.
References
1. Kravitz LR. Developing a lifelong resistance training program.
ACSMs Health Fit J. 2019;23(1):9–15.
2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. 2nd ed. Washington (DC): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2018. Available from:
https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf.
3. Fraser BJ, Schmidt MD, Huynh QL, et al. Tracking of muscular strength and power from youth to young adulthood: longitudinal findings from the childhood determinants of adult health study.
J Sci Med Sport. 2017;20(10):927–31.
4. Suchomel TJ, Nimphius S, Bellon CR, Stone MH. The importance of muscular strength: training considerations.
Sports Med. 2018;48:765–85. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0862-z.
5. Lloyd RS, Faigenbaum AD, Stone MH, et al. Position statement on youth resistance training: the 2014 International Consensus.
Br J Sports Med. 2013;48:498–505. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2013-092952.
6. Fragala MS, Cadore EL, Dorgo S, et al. Resistance training for older adults: position statement from the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
J Strength Cond Res. 2019;33(8):2019–52.
7. Borde R, Hortobágyi T, Granacher U. Dose–response relationships of resistance training in healthy old adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Sports Med. 2015;45(12):1693–720.
8. Csapo R, Alegre LM. Effects of resistance training with moderate vs heavy loads on muscle mass and strength in the elderly: a meta-analysis.
Scand J Med Sci Sport. 2016;26(9):995–1006.
9. Gómez-Cabello A, Ara I, González-Agüero A, Casajús JA, Vicente-Rodríguez G. Effects of training on bone mass in older adults: a systematic review.
Sports Med. 2012;42(4):301–25.
10. Strasser B, Schobersberger W. Evidence for resistance training as a treatment therapy in obesity.
J Obes. 2011;2011:482564. doi:10.1155/2011/482564.
11. American Diabetes Association. Lifestyle management: Standards of medical care in diabetes–2018.
Diabetes Care. 2018;41(Suppl 1):S38–50. doi:https://doi.org/10.2337/dc18-S004.
12. Ishiguro H, Kodama S, Horikawa C, et al. In search of the ideal resistance training program to improve glycemic control and its indication for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Sports Med. 2016;46:67–77.
13. Nunez TP, Amorim FT, Janot JM, et al. Circuit weight training: acute and chronic effects on health and clinical populations.
J Sport Human Perf. 2017;5(3):1–21.
