50 Strength and Conditioning Journal August 2003 RESEARCH SUMMARIES © National Strength & Conditioning Association Volume 25, Number 4, pages 50–51 Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology: Northern Highlights L. Perry Koziris, PhD, CSCS, *D; NSCA-CPT, *D; FACSM Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and Recreation University of North Texas L. Perry Koziris Column Editor MALE SOLDIERS WERE TESTED with an indoor 6-station obstacle course (OC) and a repetitive box- lifting task (RBLT). Performance in the more-complex OC stabilized on the third dual-trial test session, whereas that in the more simple RBLT stabilized on the second sin- gle-trial test session. These can be reliable tests, but only after initial sessions have provided the partic- ipants with test familiarization. The same would apply to other oc- cupational physical performance tasks or physical fitness tests in which performance depends con- siderably on skill. Pandorf, C.E., et al. Reliability assessment of two military rele- vant occupational physical perfor- mance tests. Can. J. Appl. Phys. 28(1):27–37. 2003. This study showed that the oxygen cost and exercise heart rate of male varsity hockey players was higher when using the skat- ing treadmill at 18–22 km/h than at the same submaximal velocities on ice. Their skating also resulted in a faster stride rate and shorter stride length on ice. These differ- ences should be taken into ac- count by anyone training on the skating treadmill. Nobes, K.J., et al. A compari- son of skating economy on-ice and on the skating treadmill. Can. J. Appl. Phys. 28(1):1–11. 2003. Young triathletes (mean age = 23 years) who were in their compet- itive season (mean training volume = 16.4 h/wk) underwent 14 days of acclimatization in a tropical cli- mate. Signs of adaptation and physiological responses to exercise were tracked with maximal running aerobic tests. These well-trained athletes, performing 50 minutes of running and 70 minutes of swim- ming at 60–80% V ˙ O 2 max every day in the wet heat, were showing in- complete acclimatization at 14 days. The finding that more than 2 weeks would be required under these conditions is surprising in light of previous thinking. Voltaire, B., et al. Effect of fourteen days of acclimatization on athletic performance in tropi- cal climate. Can. J. Appl. Phys. 27(6):551–562. 2002. Isokinetic plantar flexor (calf muscle group) torque was exam- ined at slow and medium veloci- ties in middle-aged (48.9 ± 5.3 years) men and women who had been exercising for at least 1 year. Those who had been customarily involved in weight-bearing aerobic exercise had only 35–46% of the concentric strength of those who had been regularly participating in high-intensity resistance exercise (3–4 sets of 8–10 repetitions) but had similar eccentric strength. These results support the addition of resistance exercise for this movement to typical aerobic exer- cise programs. Krishnathasan, D., and A.A. Vandervoort. Ankle plantar flexion strength in resistance and en- durance trained middle-aged adults. Can. J. Appl. Phys . 27(5):479–490. 2002. One group of highly trained male endurance cyclists contin- ued with their normal base train- ing. Another group replaced 2 hours of base training with 2 ses- sions of high-intensity interval training (HIT) per week for 2 weeks, alternating 1 minute at V ˙ O 2 peak power output with 2 minutes of recovery at 50 W.