RESEARCH REVIEW
MASQUERADE WHILE
The conclusion of researchers that the wearing of face masks has no effect on exercise may be overstating the definitiveness of the study ’ s findings . Review by Assoc Prof Mike Climstein PhD & Dr Joe Walsh PhD .
CEC ARTICLE
EXERCISING
WHAT HAS THIS WORLD COME TO ?
1 OF 5 ARTICLES
Title : Wearing of cloth or disposable surgical face masks and vigorous exercise Authors : Dr Shaw and colleagues ( University of Saskatchewan , Canada ) Source : International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17 . 8110 . Available free online at
ncbi . nlm . nih . gov / pmc / articles / PMC7662944 /
Introduction : It ’ s January last year and we have booked our bi-yearly Bali surf trip . Impossibles surf break at the Bukit peninsula is calling me , but thanks to a new virus called COVID-19 I can ’ t answer the call and miss out on the trip ( along with 25 % of the money spent on it ). That ’ s OK , I ’ m sure by September 2020 the coronavirus will be a memory and we ’ ll return to Bali for the much-needed break . So confident am I , in fact , that I tack on an extra week , because we truly deserve it by then . How unrealistic was I . Now it ’ s February 2021 and there ’ s no Bali in slight , or this year ’ s pencilled-in Hawaii surf trip . Any overseas travel for that matter .
March 2020 and although university staff are now working from home , my unreliable home internet means I have special permission to continue working from the campus . The university ’ s air conditioning offers welcome respite from the hot South East Queensland summer , so in the scheme of things I ’ m doing OK , but with the gym closed , I ’ m going to have to get creative about my training regime ... Let ’ s see ; in the training room and my research lab I have access to a number of treadmills , cycle ergometers , a dual axis Smith machine , 200 kilograms of weights and a power rack . OK , this will work . With the COVID safety plan only one person is allowed in the lab at a time , equipment must be wiped down prior to and immediately after use , and a surgical facemask and gloves must be worn at all times . I ’ m ready to train , or am I ? This will be very interesting .
The treadmill is first up , and it ’ s always high intensity interval training ( the sooner the cardio is over , the quicker I can get to the ‘ real ’ workout , ha ha ). Whoa , it ’ s only the first interval , a mere 14.0 kilometres per hour for one minute ( followed by one minute walking at 6.0 kilometres per hour ) and I am not liking this at all with a surgical mask on … but rules are rules . OK , let ’ s try the next interval , a big increase to 14.5 kilometres
58 | NETWORK AUTUMN 2021