The course aims to provide students with the  knowledge and skills required for designing and implementing tailored physical activity programs. Drawing on the field of physical activity for prevention, the course will also provide the theoretical criteria and practical methods of exercise assessment and planning for both healthy subjects and for those affected by diseases, for which physical activity is fully recognized in international scientific literature as a valid method of treatment. Specifically, the course aims to provide students with the theoretical background necessary to be able to choose among different assessments and to prescribe the appropriate physical activity. In addition, it furnishes students with the specific skills required to carry out assessments and to monitor training loads.

Module I: Course introduction

• Course presentation;
• Physical activity classification and terminology;
• The preventive and late stage rehabilitative role of physical activity [Attività Fisica Adattata (AFA) in primary and secondary prevention; Rehabilitation and Late Stage Rehabilitation].

Module II: Physical activity for prevention – 4 credits

• Approach to exercise management and possible pathologies;
• Health screening and risk stratification;
• Physical activity as a lifestyle and related methods and tools of assessment of physical activity levels;
• Guidelines for physical activity and exercise in healthy and diseased subjects;
• Key concepts and key words in the field of exercise testing and prescription;
• Overview of acute physiological responses (adjustments) to aerobic and resistance exercise;
• Overview of chronic physiological responses (adaptations) to aerobic and resistance exercise, and training-related acute responses;
• Exercise testing: maximal and submaximal (field and laboratory) tests of the main indices of cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness and body composition assessment methods;
• Exercise prescription: the parameters to be used and  how to use them to tailor a suitable exercise program.

Module III: Functional assessment – 3 credits

• Observation and assessment of healthy subjects (assessment principles, anatomical landmarks for assessment, global and analytical objective tests, standard posture and physiological/pathological deviations, length and circumference measurements, practical hands-on training);
• Walking (subject evaluation in dynamic conditions, the gait of normal subjects, the gait of subjects with pathologies, gait analysis, practical hands-on training);
• Joint assessment (general concepts of range of motion, observation and administration; indications and contraindications; joint assessment techniques; assessment tools; the physiology of different joints, principles of joint assessment; practical hands-on training);
• Manual muscle assessment (basic principles and techniques of the manual muscle test, subject postures: fixation/compression/resistance, assessment, principles of the muscle length and strength tests, practical hands-on training).

None.

Theoretical learning outcomes. The student will possess:

• a proven knowledge and understanding of the theoretical concepts that ground the different methods of exercise testing and prescription in healthy subjects and in those suffering from the most common chronic pathologies;
• the ability to work, from a practical standpoint, with what is mentioned in the previous point, with the aim of contextualizing and tailoring the concepts for their subsequent correct practical application.

Practical learning outcomes. The student will possess:

• the ability to apply the theoretical concepts in functional assessment and exercise prescription;
• the ability to contextualize and tailor what is mentioned in the previous point, even in non-standard or in multidisciplinary settings, with the aim of making proper functional assessments and designing truly tailored exercise programs.

Integrated learning outcomes (theoretical-practical). The student will have developed:

• the ability to integrate theoretical concepts and practical skills to make a correct interpretation of partial or complete results of functional assessments   and to place subjects in the appropriate health risk categories and fitness levels;
• the ability to use the results of functional assessments in setting out the parameters that define an exercise program for health maintenance or performance enhancement and in planning the progression of those parameters over the time;
• the ability to clearly explain the results of functional assessments and resulting exercise programs using both a specialized (colleagues) and a non-specialized (often the tested subjects) jargon;
• a clear understanding of the ethical and moral implications and social and legal consequences of not complying with all the previous points.
• the theoretical-practical learning skills necessary to stay abreast of the ever-changing body of specific knowledge in the field, even once they have entered the workforce.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

Lectures (on theory and practice), practical hands-on lessons, seminars.

Attendance

Minimum mandatory attendance: 50% of total course hours (3.5 credits).

Course books

Reference books:

• ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription - 10th ed., American College of Sports Medicine; Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 2016 [last italian version available: ACSM. Linee guida per i test e la prescrizione di esercizi. CLUEB, 2004];
• I muscoli, funzioni e test - 5a ed., Kendall F. et al.; Verduci Editore, 2006;
• Cinesiologia. Boccardi S. e Lissoni A.; Società Editrice Universo, 2004;
• Lecture slides (see above for the the link to the repository platform Moodle).

Further readings:

• ACSM's Resource Manual for Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription - 7th ed.; Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 2014;
• Valutazione Cinesiologica. Esame della mobilità articolare e della forza muscolare - 2a ed., Clarkson H. M.; Edi- Ermes, 2002;
• Fisiologia Articolare - 6a ed. Vol. III., Kapandji I. A.; Monduzzi Editore, 2011.

Assessment

Oral exam, in which will be assessed (using the following scale: 6, excellent; 5, good; 4 sufficient; 3, not sufficient): a) knowledge and understanding skills; b) applied knowledge and understanding skills; c) judgment authonomy; d) communication skills; e) learning ability.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Attendance

Minimum mandatory attendance: 50% of total course hours (3.5 credits).