Research

Muscle Performance and Exercise Training Labs

Muscle Performance and Exercise Training Laboratory

The laboratory, funded by the Medical Research Council and is one of the only clinically qualified research laboratories for the evaluation of muscle performance, physical fitness and physical activity in the UK.

All staff are fully accredited by the American College of Sports Medicine.

Services offered

The facility combines state of the art measurement equipment for physical fitness, cardiac function, muscle strength and body composition alongside a physical activity and exercise intervention delivery team.

The laboratory has three main focuses;

  1. Assessment of physical function
  2. Assessment of everyday physical activity
  3. Delivery of standardised physical activity and exercise interventions

The laboratory is being used by studies funded by the Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry. These groups use the laboratory to provide clinical trial grade outcome measures for interventions and assessment of habitual physical activity.

Services offered include:

  • Maximal exercise testing
  • Sub-maximal exercise testing
  • Muscle strength testing
  • Habitual physical activity
  • Physical activity and exercise prescription

Specialist Services

  • Exercise ergometers (Lode treadmill and cycle [arm and leg])
  • Online gas analysis with integrated ECG assessment (Cortex)
  • Cardiac output measurement (Nicom)
  • Body composition (Bodpod / DEXA)
  • Muscle function (isokinetic dynanometer, Biodex)
  • Standardised lifestyle intervention (Movement as Medicine)

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