STEM Shoutout: Dr. Fabiano Amorim

UNM Associate Professor of Exercise Science studies effectiveness of a bodyweight workout for people working from home during the pandemic

Dr. Fabiano Amorim in the UNM exercise science department recently finished a study on an exercise protocol that can keep people active in a remote working environment. 

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, people have had to adjust to a work-from-home routine. This change has led to extended sitting periods and many reports have shown that there has been an increase of sedentary lifestyles and obesity in children and adults. 

To promote more active lifestyles, Amorim and his team of UNM graduate students Gabriella Bellissimo, Jeremy Ducharme, and Zachary Mang are focused on bodyweight exercise programs that people can perform at home without specialized equipment and large spaces. 

“We developed a workout routine with five bodyweight exercises and tested it in the lab measuring cardiovascular (i.e. heart rate) and metabolic (i.e. oxygen consumption) markers. We compared this protocol with a traditional treadmill running protocol. We found that treadmill running provoked a higher metabolic stress, but body weight exercise might be more stressful on the skeletal muscle system, which may lead to increases in muscular strength and endurance,” Amorim said.

Because Amorim has been investigating the effect of exercise in individuals with obesity and insulin resistance for ten years, the team’s next step is to test the benefits of the new exercise protocol on these individuals in March 2021. 

“I hope I can provide sound scientific evidence that this type of exercise is effective to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, increase muscular strength and metabolic health, and make exercise more accessible for everyone,” Amorim said, “My outcome for this project is to provide a practical and time-efficient exercise that can positively impact an individual’s health.”