Archive for March 2025
Buy or Bye: Psyllium
As the awareness of the importance of high-fiber eating and metabolic health spreads, so does the resurgence of psyllium. Psyllium (pronounced “silly-um”) is a form of soluble fiber made from the husks (outer coating) of seeds of the shrub-like Plantago ovata plant that is primarily grown in a few regions of India. As the main…
Read MoreMorning Coffee Drinking More Strongly Linked to Lower Mortality Risk
Over the past few decades we have witnessed research suggesting that drinking up to a few cups of coffee a day can improve heart and overall health, but does the timing of your caffeine habit impact its benefits? It certainly may, according to research in the European Heart Journal. The study—the first to examine the…
Read MoreGrass-finished vs. Grain-finished Beef — Which Meat is Healthier?
It’s long been thought that if your budget allows it’s best to purchase beef products sourced from cattle that were fattened up on pasture (grasses, shrubs, etc.) instead of grains like corn and soy as this is the most nutrient-dense option. Now, a study conducted by researchers at Utah State University has thoroughly explored how…
Read MoreRecipe for Health
To keep our tickers in good shape it appears that loading up on carotenoids is a solid move. According to a review paper in Nutrients. that analyzed data from 38 previously published papers, eating sufficient amounts of carotenoids can reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors and inflammatory markers. The researchers say that food sources of carotenoids…
Read MoreCold-Water Immersion: Helpful or Harmful?
From swimming in cold rivers and lakes to ice baths after sports, enthusiasts swear by the physical and mental health benefits of cold-water immersion. Cold water immersion in baths, showers or cold plunges up to chest level in water temperatures of less than or equal to 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit) for a minimum…
Read MoreThe Female Gym Experience
Women who train in gyms expressed both positive and negative emotions, from feeling “always on display” to “sometimes empowered”, in a survey study that explored women’s body image and gym experiences. Female researchers from Ireland and the U.K. reported these findings after studying why, in spite of all the benefits of regular exercise, women are…
Read MoreFit Preschoolers and Brain Fitness
Encourage restless kids to run, jump and play. Not only is it good for their bodies, it’s also good for their minds. Active pre-school children demonstrate better working memory, less distractibility and more cognitive flexibility to adapt to new rules, when compared with sedentary peers. A study by researchers from the Public University of Navarre…
Read MoreBenefits of Athletic Brain Endurance Training
We’ve all experienced mental fatigue—that feeling when you’re too tired to pay attention or make decisions. Mental fatigue can lead to increased accident risks and poor choices. Elite athletes practiced brain endurance training (BET), a form of training that combines cognitive and physical training to improve endurance sports performance. BET differs from typical endurance training.…
Read MoreAthletes Have Better Working Memory
Better sports performance is consistently linked with superior working memory performance, according to findings published in Memory. Researchers from University of Jyvaskyla, in Jyväskylä, Finland, conducted a meta-analysis of 21 studies with 1,455 participants. The review provides more evidence of the relationship between sports participation and improved attention, perception and decision-making among athletes. Working memory…
Read MoreFocus on Fitness
Fit or fat? The conversation continues. Fit pros know that fitness is important, yet many people focus on weight rather than physical activity. A recent systematic review of 20 studies with a sample size of 398,716 adults published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine adds more evidence to share with clients about the value…
Read MoreHow Long to Form a New Habit?
New exercisers face the challenge of sticking with a new activity program. Personal trainers are all too familiar with clients who quit when they don’t experience fast, visible results. Sharing information about the “invisible” benefits of exercise helps. Explaining that habits can take up to one year to form may also be helpful. “In our…
Read MoreNew Approach to Resistance Training for Menopausal Women
Many assume that menopausal women will respond differently to a resistance training program than younger mid-life women. New research suggests that body weight and resistance band exercises can improve muscle mass, strength, balance and flexibility in healthy women regardless of pre-, peri- or post-menopausal status, as reported in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.…
Read MoreStriding Lunges vs Stationary Forward Lunges
Longer steps while lunging and striding maximize muscle recruitment, according to a small study of young, healthy male and female adults published in Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology .Researchers primarily from California State University in Sacramento compared muscle recruitment patterns among lunge variations in 20 subjects. Gluteus medius activation was significantly higher with long…
Read MoreHolistic Approaches to Health: Combining Physical Training with Mental Well-being for Optimal Client Results
Holistic health is an increasingly popular and effective approach to fitness and wellness, especially as we come to understand the complex connections between the body and mind. Health and fitness professionals today are recognizing that true wellness goes beyond physical strength or endurance; it involves supporting the mental, emotional and psychological aspects of well-being that…
Read MoreWhat Do You Think?
Beans and lentils might be playing a starring role in newly proposed changes to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. If adopted, the new guidelines would emphasize such plant-based proteins and also encourage people to eat more whole grains (to make up 50% of all grains eaten) and less sugary drinks, salt, and all processed foods.…
Read MoreQuestion of the Month
What programming, services or accommodations do you or your facility make for people who are differently abled? For example, in addition to making facilities and equipment accessible or you offering programs for people in wheelchairs? Or, for example, do you offer adaptive water fitness programs? If you’re a personal trainer with special training, how are…
Read MorePeople Are Talking About . . .
Australian Conor Johnstone MSc, personal trainer in Australia, who has cerebral palsy and who competed in the 2024 World Para Jiu-Jitsu Championships;… A pickleball program at the YMCA of the Suncoast in Tampa, Florida that is helping cancer survivors improve health and wellness, as reported in the journal Healthcare; … A Safe Space Studio, founded…
Read MoreRunning for Health: A Brief Review
In the 5th century BC, the physician Hippocrates stated: “All parts of the body, if used in moderation and exercised in labors to which each is accustomed, become thereby healthy and well developed and age slowly; but if they are unused and left idle, they become liable to disease, defective in growth and age quickly.”…
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