WHAT: Performance and therapeutic impact of creatine supplementation

WHO: Scott Forbes, PhD, Assistant Professor, Brandon University

WHEN: Friday, March 15,  2:30 p.m.

WHERE: 220 ALC Boardroom

The ergogenic effects of creatine supplementation combined with exercise on muscle performance are well recognized. The purpose of Dr. Forbes’ presentation is to highlight advances in the area of creatine supplementation combined with exercise on muscle mass and strength, as well as, bone and brain health. Specifically, the optimal dosing and timing of creatine will be discussed.

Dr. Scott Forbes is an Assistant Professor at Brandon University’s Department of Physical Education, in the Faculty of Education.  His primary interest is in sport science and has focused on various nutritional and training interventions to enhance athlete performance. In addition, he has expertise examining nutritional and exercise interventions for optimal muscle and brain health in older adults. He has worked as a personal trainer as well as an athlete consultant for several professional and varsity level sport teams.  He is also Certified Exercise Physiologist (CEP): Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP), and received an International Olympic Committee diploma in Sport Nutrition.

Dr. Forbes will be introduced by University of Manitoba, Faculty of Kinesiology & Recreation Management graduate student, Nika Klaprat.  She will speak on her research, “Nothing About Us Without Us: Understanding Patient Perspectives in Exercise and Type 1 Diabetes.”

This event is intended for practitioners, professionals, researchers, policy makers, and students in the areas of physical activity, kinesiology, sport, coaching, health promotion, health care, recreation, leisure, tourism, and community development.

“Manitoba practitioners and professionals will benefit by having an opportunity for direct interaction with researchers who are conducting cutting-edge Manitoba based research thereby directly impacting practice,” said Nicole Dunn, associate director (administration), Health, Leisure & Human Performance Research Institute. “We have collaborated with the Manitoba Fitness Council to offer their members continuing education credits as well as professional development credits for members of the Canadian Society of Exercise Professionals and National Coaching Certification Program.”

Students will have an opportunity to participate in a student research poster presentation competition where there are first place and runner up prizes at each of the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels.

The keynote presenter is Elizabeth Ready, professor, Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management and director, applied health sciences (AHS) PhD program. She will inform participants about partnerships to help promote physical activity and other healthy behaviours at the broader community level.

“The many benefits of physical activity are well documented, yet the majority of Canadians are still not active enough to achieve health benefits,” said Ready. “Older adults have much to gain from regular physical activity tailored to their capabilities, including chronic disease prevention and management, maintenance of function, independence and quality of life, and psychological and social well-being.”

Lectures are taking place all day. To learn more view the Research Day agenda.

“I always think sport is an interesting way to view the world. It can tell us a lot of things about how society works,” says Hokowhitu, dean of Native studies at the University of Alberta.

Hokowhitu, a native Māori of Ngāti Pukenga decent, will give a seminar called “Indigeneity, sport and physical activity: Colonialism, neo-colonialism and resistance” at the U of M this Friday, Feb. 6 at 2:30 p.m. in 136 Frank Kennedy Centre.

He likens his home country of New Zealand’s passion for rugby to Canada’s obsession with hockey. At the same time, he clarifies the difference between how rugby is perceived in New Zealand and other places where it’s popular. “In England, Rugby is more of an upper-class sport, in New Zealand it’s a working man’s game,” he says.

It is also a sport that has always accepted Māori men. “[This] doesn’t interrupt any stereotypes,” says Hokowhitu. For example, Māori men are generally seen as physical, making them a natural fit for rugby. That got Hokowhitu thinking: Is this an authentic characteristic of Māori men, or is the idea of physicality within Māori one produced by colonialism?

With this in mind, he began studying how Indigenous masculinities and deconstructing how colonization has limited Indigenous men.

While at the U of M, Hokowhitu will also join a roundtable discussion on Indigenous masculinity, along with U of M’s Niigaanwewidam Sinclair, assistant professor in Native studies, Faculty of Arts and Michael Hart, assistant professor in the Faculty of Social Work and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Knowledge. They explore questions such as: How does male privilege extend itself into the Indigenous world? And what responsibilities do Indigenous men carry when engaging in current issues like poverty, homelessness and missing and murdered Indigenous women?

The roundtable discussion takes place in the foyer of Migizii Agamik-Bald Eagle Lodge, Friday, Feb. 6 from 10 to 11:30 am.

Both events are sponsored by the department of Native studies, the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management and the Health, Leisure & Human Performance Research Institute.