Perfil físico, qualidade de vida e dependência ao exercício de praticantes de condicionamento extremo

Abstract

The growing popularity of Extreme Conditioning Programs has implied the importance of studying and understanding the benefits and harms of the activity for its practitioners. Several studies have investigated these factors, mainly about the factors that can lead to injuries and psychological factors that involve adherence and continuity of activity. Thus, the objectives for this study were: to quantify strength, flexibility and quality of life according to the time of practice in the PCE (article 1); Determine the prevalence of addiction to exercise in practitioners of extreme conditioning programs (PCE) and analyze whether the practice of another activity, training volume and length of experience influence the results (article 2); Assess whether the practice of an extreme conditioning program (PCE) added to other activities improves flexibility when compared to those who practice only the PCE (article 3). The study was observational, transversal and used dorsal and scapular force dynamometers, fleximeter and the Whoqol-Bref and Exercise Addiction Inventory questionnaires as tools. The results were presented as mean and standard deviation. Normality tests, Student's t, Mann-Whitney, Pearson, bivariate logistic regression were applied, considering the significance level of 5%. The results point to a slight increase in strength and quality of life and a reduction in flexibility in women practicing PCE. The practice of another modality and the volume of training at the PCE had an effect on exercise dependence. In addition, flexibility was not influenced by the practice of another modality added to the PCE when compared to those who only practiced the PCE. It is concluded that women can benefit from the practice of PCE. The prevalence of dependence was 15.09%. The volume of training in the PCE and the practice of another modality added to the PCE influence dependence on exercise. Another modality added to the PCE was not able to influence the participant's flexibility.