Skip to content

Anatomy/Kinesiology

category Article Categories

Personal Training

Diagram of the mitochondria
The Mighty Mitochondria

It’s time to revisit one of the basics of biology: mitochondria. These organelles, which occur in almost all types of human cells, generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy that cells use (New­man 2017; Newman 2018). They are critical for powering metabolic processes, making them a building block of physical health and fitness.

Older adults building muscle mass
Building Muscle Mass at Any Age

Here’s motivating news for older adults and those who train them. New research shows that older men, even in their 80s, can build muscle mass regardless of training background.

Picking the Brain

As the control center for the body’s nervous system, the brain participates in every human function. From sensing to controlling motor skills, its vital role in movement means this cognitive powerhouse is—literally—the brains behind your work as a fitness professional.

There are three main components that make up your mind:

Posture and Food Tasting

Often we are told to rise up from our chairs to help offset the health woes associated with sitting too much. But if we want to glean more joy from a meal, says a study in the Journal of Consumer Research, then we’re better off taking a seat.

Flexing the Muscular System

As a fit pro, you are all too familiar with training muscles to build strength, mass and better movement in your clients—by now, you might consider it muscle memory!

Yet, as a major system present throughout the body, the muscular system is vast and intricate with plenty to explore. After all, muscles produce every movement, from the basic, like digestion and respiration, to the complex, like running, dancing and weightlifting.

Childhood Activity and Midlife Brain Fitness

Here’s one more solid reason to inspire kids to exercise. The secret to maintaining cognitive fitness later in life may lie in getting active while young and staying active throughout teen, young-adult and middle-aged years.

First-Time Marathon Training Has Anti-Aging Effect

Here’s a good reason to encourage your midlife clients to try an inaugural running event. First-time marathon runners who trained for 6 months saw a 4-year reduction in arterial age, according to study findings presented at EuroCMR 2019, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

Minimalist Shoes and Stronger Foot Muscles

Minimalism is trending in many areas of life, including athletic shoes, with many fans touting numerous benefits. But does the evidence support the hype? Yes, according to research findings published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2018; doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000001751). Walking in minimalist shoes is as effective as foot-strengthening exercises and may result in better compliance than doing specific exercises.

Muscle Cramps? Find Out Why

Muscle cramps can stop athletes in their tracks. Although they usually self-extinguish within seconds or minutes, the abrupt, harsh, involuntary muscle contractions can cause mild-to-severe agony and immobility, often accompanied by knotting of the affected muscle (Minetto et al. 2013). And cramps are common; 50%–60% of healthy people suffer muscle cramps during exercise, sleep or pregnancy or after vigorous physical exertion (Giuriato et al. 2018).

Alternative Pain Relief by Incrediwear

How much do you think your clients spend on pain relief? It’s a rhetorical question, but statistics show that the annual cost of healthcare due to pain ranges from $560 billion to $635 billion in 2010. This is in the United States alone, which combines the economic and medical costs to disability days, lost wages, and productivity.

Aching for the Quadratus Lumborum

Many of your clients likely work desk jobs and sit most of the day. This is not an ideal situation for many reasons, one being the risk of developing chronic lower-back pain. If you or a client is experiencing aches or sharp pains in the lower back, the issue may stem from problems with the quadratus lumborum.

2019 IDEA® World Convention: Igniting Passion With Purpose!

Purpose, passion and people! The fitness industry is all about forging relationships that lift others up. Fitness professionals have energy to spare, and they are dedicated to mentoring new generations of pros, networking with peers, and motivating clients and participants every day.

Power Training vs. Strength Training for Older Adults

For maintaining functional ability—and potentially even for living longer—growing research
supports the benefits of power training, particularly as we age. Power is the ability to move weight with speed and to generate force and velocity with coordinated movement.

Anti-rotation coaching with golf player
Using Anti-Rotation to Coach Rotation

When you watch someone hit a golf ball, throw a punch or simply retrieve groceries from the car, it’s evident that human movement occurs in all three planes of motion. A review of basic core anatomy—major muscles attached to the trunk, above the ischial tuberosity and below the superior aspect of the sternum—reveals that 87.5% of the core muscles are oriented either diagonally or horizontally, and one action that these muscles perform is rotation (Santana 2000).