Anatomy/Kinesiology
Gender Differences in Fitness and Brain Function
Many studies show that cardiorespiratory fitness improvements boost brain fitness in later life. New research in the Journal of Applied Physiology (2019; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01046.2018) reveals that effects may differ between men and women.
Eat Well, Breathe More Easily
If the eyes are a window to the soul, then the lungs are a door to the body—providing a gateway for the arrival of oxygen to every living cell.
The Fourth Trimester: Postpartum Exercise
It’s not over in 9 months. A new mother’s body keeps changing long after the baby arrives. Hormonal shifts, breastfeeding and risks like pelvic organ prolapse (see “3 Issues for Postpartum Exercisers,” below) complicate the weeks and months after childbirth.
Resistance Training Volume Is the Key to Muscle Size
Resistance training volume (RTV) is the total amount of work performed during a session of lifting; in other words, RTV = reps x sets x load (the product of repetitions times number of sets times intensity of load) (Figueiredo, de Salles & Trajano 2018). Any one of these variables can be adjusted to increase volume in a resistance training (RT) program. For example, you can increase RTV by performing extra sets of an exercise, adding more repetitions or increasing the weight being lifted.
Protein Is Not Necessarily Your Kidneys’ Nemesis
Eating more protein than your body needs won’t make you sprout more muscles, but it also seems unlikely to impair kidney functioning, according to research in the Journal of Nutrition. In a systematic review and meta-analysis of previous trials, Canadian researchers at McMaster University in Ontario and the University of Waterloo, Ontario, found no evidence that the glomerular filtration rate—an indicator of kidney function—is noticeably different among healthy adults who consume a higher-protein diet (1.5-plus grams per kilogram
Asthma and What You Eat
If the eyes are a window to the soul, then the lungs are a door to the body—providing a gateway for the arrival of oxygen to every living cell.
Bug Off, High-Fat Diets
High-fat diets have their fans on social media, but the pro-keto crowd is probably not cheering a recent finding that suggests a higher-fat, lower-carb diet can be bad news for your microbiome.
Unlocking the Pelvis
Eight in ten American adults and adolescents do not move enough! This alarming finding from Department of Health and Human Services 2018 research wholeheartedly underscores Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (2nd edition) recommendations to move more and sit less. Physical activity helps all of us to feel, function and sleep better, and decreases risk of many chronic diseases. We urgently need more aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities, along with greater variety of movement.
Self-Massage Techniques for Exercise Recovery
As a fitness pro, you no doubt value the restorative properties of professional massage. However, finding time for a massage may sometimes be difficult. That’s why it’s helpful to use self-care massage tools for preventing or treating pain or imbalances in the body. While these tools don’t provide “massage” as such (and can’t replace a professional therapist), the best ones offer some of the same benefits.
How to Improve Tennis Performance
Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world. In the U.S. alone, there are almost 18 million players, with another 14 million expressing interest (TIA 2018). Unfortunately, the dynamic, forceful twists and turns of the game pose ever-present injury risks to players (Roetert & Kovacs 2011).
Longing for Lung Facts
We do this every moment of the day; it can help us relax, and it speeds up when we exert ourselves—all without so much as a thought. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe! This important gas exchange, which keeps us alive, can only happen thanks to the miraculous work of the lungs.
Pilates Helps Adolescents
6-week Pilates program improved core muscle endurance and hamstring flexibility among adolescents between 9 and 19 years with a history of back pain. Research findings from a preliminary study published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice (2019; doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2019.01.006) showed that a 6-week Pilates mat exercise program with two 55-minute sessions per week can improve conditioning in both young males and young females.
Bigger Belly, Smaller Brain?
Excess body fat stored primarily in the abdominal area has been linked with lower gray-matter brain volume, according to a report in Neurology (2019; doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000006879).
Fewer Carbs May Increase Your Metabolic Rate
Anyone who’s achieved a weight loss goal, then watched his or her waistline expand over the following months, can attest to the incredible frustration of seeing hard-earned results fade away. The reasons for weight regain are many, but a big contributing factor is how the body tends to recognize missing pounds as a need to slow metabolism and burn fewer calories, making it harder for people to maintain weight loss.
Gut Hormone Ghrelin May Derail Healthy Eating
It happens to the best of us: You walk into the supermarket intent on filling your cart with nothing but healthy foods, only to be blindsided by the oh-so-enticing smell wafting from the bakery aisle. It turns out you can blame your hormones for why you’re standing with muffins at the checkout line, according to re?¡search in Cell Reports.
Variable Deadlifts & Deadshifts
We define what variable deadlifts are and address the need for variable lifting, as well as the deadlift’s forgotten cousin, the deadshift.
How Resistance Training Affects Metabolism
Resistance training does much more than build strong muscles. Research has confirmed that resistance training affects metabolism, too.
Hyped on the Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus occupies little real estate in the brain, but it houses nuclei critical to many of the body’s regulatory functions. Situated just beneath the thalamus, it keeps the body in homeostasis by controlling the sleep-wake cycle, body temperature, hunger and thirst, sex drive, fluid balance, emotions, blood pressure, and heart rate (Johnson 2018).
Sleep Deprivation: You Are How You Sleep
Spending a third of our lives horizontal, hallucinating and paralyzed may sound like something from a scary sci-fi movie—but, in reality, these are good things. It’s all about sleep, and getting enough of it is essential.
Women and Weight Training
Every day, more women are moving from the cardio room to the weight room. It’s a welcome transition; getting stronger can transform their self-esteem, confidence and self-efficacy.
