Effects of a Brief Stair-Climbing Intervention on Cognitive Performance and Mood States in Healthy Older Adults

Upon arrival at the laboratory at the University, the participant will be asked to remain seated for 5 min to obtain a measure of resting heart rate. Following the 5-min resting period participants will receive verbal instructions regarding how to perform the ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) using Borg's (1998) RPE scale, and the stair-climbing protocol, and watch a short demonstration video of the stair-climbing phase. Participants will then leave the testing room with the experimenter to complete the protocol. Further instructions are provided during the stair-climbing protocol. An adapted version of the 3 x 60-s 1F stair-climbing protocol from Allison et al. (2017) will be used. The number of stair-climbing intervals will be six, instead of three as in the original protocol by Allison et al. (2017). The protocol entail the following phases: 2-min warm up, 45-s instructional interval, 1-min stair climbing, 1-min recovery, 1-min stair climbing, 1-min recovery, 1-min stair climbing, 1-min recovery, 1-min stair climbing, 1-min recovery, 1-min stair climbing, 1-min recovery, 1-min stair climbing, and 3-min cool down. For the warm up, the participant walk at a moderate pace on a flat surface from the laboratory to the stairwell and then up two flights of 12 stairs (each 17 cm in height). The participant then walk at a brisk pace back and forth along the corridor for the remainder of the 2 min. During the 45-s instructional interval, the experimenter provide final instructions for the stair-climbing and recovery phases. The three stair-climbing phases are completed on one flight of 12 stairs, measuring 17 cm in height. Participants receive the following instruction adapted from Allison et al. (2017): “For the stair climbing please move vigorously. This means relatively intense but not all out, so please move up the stairs as fast as you can while taking one step at a time. Maintain control and safety at all times”. Each recovery phase involve the participant descending to the landing from their place on the stairs, and walking back and forth at a self-selected pace. RPE ratings are given immediately before (pre RPE) and after (post RPE) each stair-climbing interval. The cool down phase involve walking down two flights of stairs, then back and forth on a flat surface, all at a self-selected pace. Following cool down, the participant return to the testing room and sit for 5 min (seated rest), after which they begin the cognitive battery. Cognitive testing takes approximately 7 min. The duration between the stair-climbing session and control session is one week. Reference Allison, M. K., Baglole, J. H., Martin, B. J., Macinnis, M. J., Gurd, B. J., & Gibala, M. J. (2017). Brief intense stair climbing improves cardiorespiratory fitness. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 49(2), 298-307. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000001188 Borg, G. (1998). Borg's perceived exertion and pain scales. Human kinetics.