Human Performance Lab

Research opportunities

As a student in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science, your learning experiences won’t be limited to lectures and theory. You’ll also have opportunities to take a hands-on approach to learning in our well-equipped Human Performance Lab in the Education Annex.

In the lab, students and faculty conduct research in a wide range of areas, including supplementation, hydration, muscle recovery, athletic training, weight control and self-regulation of behavior.

The Human Performance Lab also includes a biomechanics lab, where researchers explore a more in-depth understanding of how skeletal and muscle systems work under a variety of conditions.

Equipping you to learn

In the Human Performance Lab, you’ll work with state-of-the-art equipment designed to measure physiological and psychological factors that impact the body.

The facility has a strength and conditioning lab; dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, or DEXA, lab; and biochemistry lab. It also features a stress test and electrocardiogram system and gas exchange analyzers to measure athletes’ oxygen utilization. These are just a few of the exciting resources available in the lab.

What moves us to move, and other research

The Human Performance Lab is used by both students and faculty, who often present the results of their lab research at academic conferences. SFA students have received state and university awards for their research in the lab.

A few examples of recent and ongoing research projects in the lab include:

• The experience and meaning of weight loss, exercise and healthy eating: a qualitative analysis in physician-referred patients
• Effects of ammonia inhalants on anaerobic capacity in a simulated American football game involving contrasting climates
• Impact of approach and avoidance motivations on the golf swing