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Zack Riley performs a squat press to demonstrate his testing of football athletes gain or loss of muscle strength during the football season. David Pearson, director of Ball State's Strength Conditioning Laboratory, is helping Zack with his research methods.
MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State University has opened the Strength Research Laboratory to bolster research in areas related to resistance training.
The new facility is designed to assist athletes and coaches, who will benefit from the performance-based research. The general public also will benefit from the lab's health-related research, said David Pearson, a physical education professor directing the lab.
The research facility will support undergraduate and graduate academic programs within the School of Physical Education.
"Our first project will look at the problem of de-bulking the post-competitive athlete," Pearson said. "Many athletes put on large amounts of muscle to play sports at a competitive level. But, how do they safely reduce their size when it is no longer needed?
"No one is looking at this problem that is present not only at the professional and college levels but is also a problem for athletes after they graduate from high school."
The Strength Research Laboratory is a natural outgrowth of the university's existing research facilities within the Human Performance Laboratory, said Mitch Whaley, chair of the School of Physical Education.
"We have a long, productive history of research in the areas of exercise science, and this new lab's focus fits nicely into this niche," Whaley said. "The science-base in the areas of resistance training for athletes and the general public has some real gaps at present. There is a clear need for quality research in these areas."
The lab is adjacent to the Biomechanics Laboratory on the Human Performance Lab's second floor wing of the Health and Physical Activity Building.
Pearson was selected to lead the new research facility due to his research background in resistance training. He also was Ball State's first strength and conditioning coach.
"Dave has considerable experience with resistance training and is a great fit for this position," Whaley said. "However, we have other faculty who have professional interest in the performance and/or health aspects of resistance training, and these folks will have involvement with the strength lab as well."
(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Pearson at dpearson@bsu.edu or (765) 747-1143. Whaley may be reached at mwhaley@bsu.edu or (765) 285-3206. For more stories, visit the Ball State University News Center at www.bsu.edu/news.)
By Marc Ransford, Media Relations ManagerThe new facility is designed to assist athletes and coaches, who will benefit from the performance-based research. The general public also will benefit from the lab's health-related research, said David Pearson, a physical education professor directing the lab.
The research facility will support undergraduate and graduate academic programs within the School of Physical Education.
"Our first project will look at the problem of de-bulking the post-competitive athlete," Pearson said. "Many athletes put on large amounts of muscle to play sports at a competitive level. But, how do they safely reduce their size when it is no longer needed?
"No one is looking at this problem that is present not only at the professional and college levels but is also a problem for athletes after they graduate from high school."
The Strength Research Laboratory is a natural outgrowth of the university's existing research facilities within the Human Performance Laboratory, said Mitch Whaley, chair of the School of Physical Education.
"We have a long, productive history of research in the areas of exercise science, and this new lab's focus fits nicely into this niche," Whaley said. "The science-base in the areas of resistance training for athletes and the general public has some real gaps at present. There is a clear need for quality research in these areas."
The lab is adjacent to the Biomechanics Laboratory on the Human Performance Lab's second floor wing of the Health and Physical Activity Building.
Pearson was selected to lead the new research facility due to his research background in resistance training. He also was Ball State's first strength and conditioning coach.
"Dave has considerable experience with resistance training and is a great fit for this position," Whaley said. "However, we have other faculty who have professional interest in the performance and/or health aspects of resistance training, and these folks will have involvement with the strength lab as well."
(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Pearson at dpearson@bsu.edu or (765) 747-1143. Whaley may be reached at mwhaley@bsu.edu or (765) 285-3206. For more stories, visit the Ball State University News Center at www.bsu.edu/news.)
