Recreational Therapy Commons^™

Embodied Aging: Older Adults’ Gendered Participation In Physical And Recreational Activity In Assisted Living, Gavin Anderson

Self-Designed Majors Honors Papers

This study examines how older adults interpret their experiences with physical and recreational activity in assisted living, and how these interpretations influence how they engage in their everyday social and physical contexts. In the fall of 2025, eleven older adults—nine women and two men—living in an assisted living facility in a coastal city in Southeastern Connecticut participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews. The facility provides both short-term post-acute care and long-term residential care, offering structured opportunities for physical and recreational engagement.

Past research demonstrates that participation in physical and recreational activity provides substantial benefits for older adults; yet, the lived experience …

Sex-Based Differences In The Representation Of Top Youth Athletes, Jessica J. James, Sandra K. Hunter, Elizabeth P. Bueckers, Michael J. Joyner, Jonathon W. Senefeld

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

Although emerging research demonstrates that male athletes outperform female athletes before puberty, the effect of these sex-related advantages on ordinal ranking of top performances remains unclear.

Objectives

Among overall top performances of youth track and swimming athletes, we aimed to determine 1) the proportional number of male compared with female athletes represented and 2) at what age females are no longer represented.

Methods

Finishing times and sex of the top 10 and top 100 performances of youth runners and swimmers between 5 and 18 yr were abstracted from online U.S.-based databases for four running (100 m–800 m) and six freestyle …

Sex Differences In Elite Swimming With Advanced Age Are Less Than Marathon Running, Jonathon Senefeld, Michael J. Joyner, A. Stevens, Sandra K. Hunter

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

The sex difference in marathon performance increases with finishing place and age of the runner but whether this occurs among swimmers is unknown. The purpose was to compare sex differences in swimming velocity across world record place (1st–10th), age group (25–89 years), and event distance. We also compared sex differences between freestyle swimming and marathon running. The world's top 10 swimming times of both sexes for World Championship freestyle stroke, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly events and the world's top 10 marathon times in 5-year age groups were obtained. Men were faster than women for freestyle (12.4 ± 4.2%), backstroke (12.8 …

Age And Sex Differences In Steadiness Of Elbow Flexor Muscles With Imposed Cognitive Demand, Hugo M. Pereira, Vincent C. Spears, Bonnie Schlinder-Delap, Tejin Yoon, Kristy A. Nielson, Sandra K. Hunter

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose: These studies determined (1) age and sex-related differences in steadiness of isometric contractions when high cognitive demand was imposed across a range of forces with the elbow flexor muscles (study 1) and, (2) sex differences in steadiness among older adults when low cognitive demand was imposed (study 2).

Methods: 36 young adults (18–25 years; 18 women) and 30 older adults (60–82 years; 17 women) performed isometric contractions at 5%, 30% and 40% of maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). Study 1 involved a high-cognitive demand session (serial subtractions by 13 during the contraction) and a control session …

Sex Differences And Mechanisms Of Task-Specific Muscle Fatigue, Sandra K. Hunter

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

Women can be less fatigable than men due to sex-related differences within the neuromuscular system that impact physiological adjustments during a fatiguing task. The involved mechanism(s) for the sex difference, however, is task specific. This review explores the novel hypothesis that variation of the task will alter the magnitude of the sex-difference in muscle fatigue and the contribution of involved mechanisms.

Sex Differences In Time To Task Failure And Blood Flow For An Intermittent Isometric Fatiguing Contraction, Sandra K. Hunter, Erin E. Griffith, Kristine M. Schlachter, Tim D. Kufahl

Exercise Science Faculty Research and Publications

The purpose of this study was to compare the time to task failure, postcontraction hyperemia, and vascular conductance of young men and women for a submaximal intermittent fatiguing contraction performed with the handgrip muscles. Twenty men and 20 women (mean SD: 22 4 years) performed an isometric contraction at 50% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) (6-s contraction, 4-s rest) until task failure. Forearm venous occlusion plethysmography was used to estimate the peak blood flow (after 10-min occlusion) and blood flow at rest after 6-s submaximal contractions of varying intensities, and during an intermittent fatiguing contraction at 1-min intervals and task …