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Alastair Hodges

Dr. Alastair Hodges

Professor (On Leave)

Faculty of Health Sciences, Kinesiology

Chilliwack campus at CEP

email Alastair

Education

B.H.K.: University of British Columbia
M.A.: McGill University
Ph.D.: University of British Columbia
Post-doctoral fellowship: University of Calgary

Memberships

Certified Exercise Physiologist (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology)

Teaching Interests

Exercise physiology
Clinical exercise physiology and exercise prescription for health
Health and fitness assessment and high performance conditioning

 

Research Interests

As an exercise physiologist, I have an interest is the acute and chronic physiological adaptations that occur in humans in response to dynamic exercise. In particular, I have an interest in the cardiopulmonary responses to aerobic exercise, and the role the pulmonary system may play in both facilitating and limiting exercise. With exercise training, virtually every organ system in the human body adapts to meet the increased metabolic demand that results. It has traditionally been thought that the lungs do not adapt with exercise training, that, unlike the heart for example, an athlete’s lungs are virtually the same as a sedentary individual because the lungs are “overbuilt” to begin with. This paradigm, however, has been challenged with the observations that athletes do not always have efficient pulmonary gas exchange during exercise. Changes in altitude significantly and sometimes unpredictably affect human metabolic ability, and the changes that occur in terms of the pulmonary system’s ability to maintain oxygenation of blood are vast and complex, particularly when altitude is combined with heavy exercise. These relationships form the basis of my main scholarly interest.

I also have an interest in occupational physiology, performance, and health. For 17 years during my university education I worked seasonally in the reforestation and forest fire-fighting industries throughout Northern B.C. and Alberta. I witnessed an industry that places extreme physical and psychological demands on workers, and a workplace that presents unique acute and chronic health and safety hazards. Tree planting has consistently been considered one of Canada’s most physically demanding occupations, yet there is a paucity of research in the industry. One of my interests is to explore the occupational demands in the forestry sector, and to better understand the unique physiological challenges facing these workers.

Publications

Kennedy, M.D., J. Gill, and A.N.H. Hodges (2017). Field versus race pace conditions to provoke exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in elite swimmers: Influence of training background. Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness, 12(1): 12-17.

Lesser, I.A. and A.N.H. Hodges (2015). The effects of a delay following warm-up on the heart rate response to sudden strenuous exercise. British Journal of Medicine and Medical Research 8(9): 765-771.

Hodges, A.N.H. and M.D. Kennedy (2011). Physical exertion and working efficiency of reforestation workers. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology 6:20.

Hodges, A.N.H., B.C. Sporer, K.N. Lane, and D.C. McKenzie (2010). One session of interval work does not alter VO2MAX, peak power, or plasma volume. European Journal of Sport Science 10(4):285-289 .

Hodges, A.N.H., A.W. Sheel, J.R. Mayo, and D.C. McKenzie (2007). Human Lung Density is not Altered Following Normoxic and Hypoxic Moderate-Intensity Exercise: Implications for Transient Edema. Journal of Applied Physiology 103:111-118. 

Brugniaux, J.V., A.N.H. Hodges, P. Hanly, and M.J. Poulin (2007). Cerebrovascular responses to altitude. Invited review. Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology 158:212-223.

Hodges, A.N.H., J.R. Mayo, and D.C. McKenzie (2006). Pulmonary oedema following exercise in humans. Sports Medicine 36(6):501-512.

Koehle, M.S., A.N.H. Hodges, B.M. Lynn, M. Rachich, and D.C. McKenzie (2006).Diffusing Capacity and Spirometry following a 60-minute Dive to 4.5 Metres. Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine 33(2):109-18.

Hodges, A.N.H., B.M. Lynn, M.S. Koehle, and D.C. McKenzie (2005). Effects of inhaled bronchodilators and corticosteroids on exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia in trained male athletes. British Journal of Sports Medicine 39(12):917-920. 

Hodges, A.N.H., J.D. Ellis, and D.C. McKenzie (2005). Body composition changes following 10 weeks of reforestation work. Wilderness and Environmental Medicine 16(1):3-8.

Warburton, D.E.R., A.W. Sheel, A.N.H. Hodges, I.B. Stewart, E.M. Yoshida, R.D. Levy, and D.C. McKenzie (2004). The effects of upper extremity exercise training on peak aerobic and anaerobic fitness in patients after transplantation. American Journal of Cardiology 93:939-943.

Hodges, A.N.H., J.S. Delaney, J.M. Lecomte, V.J. Lacroix, and D.L. Montgomery (2003). Effect of hyperbaric oxygen on oxygen uptake and measurement in the blood and tissues in a normobaric environment. British Journal of Sports Medicine 37:516-520.

Hodges, A.N.H., B.M. Lynn, J.E. Bula, M.G. Donaldson, M.O. Dagenais, and D.C McKenzie (2003). Effects of pseudoephedrine on maximal cycling power and submaximal cycling efficiency. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 35(8):1316-1319.

Stewart, I.B., D.E.R. Warburton, A.N.H. Hodges, and D.C. McKenzie (2003).Cardiovascular and splenic responses to exercise in humans. Journal of Applied Physiology 94:1619-1626.

Wu, T-C, D. Pearsall, A.N.H. Hodges, R. Turcotte, R. Lefebvre, D. Montgomery, and H. Bateni (2003).The Performance of the ice hockey slap and wrist shots: the effects of stick construction and player skill. Sports Engineering 6(1):31-40.

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The kinesiology program has not only exposed me to the theory, but has equipped me with a vast amount of practical knowledge, applications, and tools to use in the future. This program has led me to pursue a career in medicine where I can have a positive impact on other and help them live a healthy life.

  • – P.J. Retief
  •    Kinesiology (Class of 2017)

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