October 2024 To Speed or Not to Speed – Lift, That is? Read any layperson’s magazine or news article about resistance training (RT) and you’ll be cautioned frequently about doing the lifts slowly, with good form and proper breathing patterns. In other words, don’t fling the weights and don’t hold your breath. All is goodRead More
Newsletters
REAL News – September 2024
September 2024 Speedy Squats Suppress Senior’s Sarcopenia As we’ve reported with increasing frequency, likely as a consequence of the aging of my/the Boomer generation, the loss of muscle mass portends serious declines in function and longevity. This loss is called sarcopenia and only one intervention slows it down: resistance training (RT). (Heavy doses of proteinRead More
REAL News – August 2024
August 2024 Which Popular Diet Works Best? An old study comparing the effects of the Atkins (A), Ornish (O), Weight Watchers (WW), and Zone (Z) diets didn’t settle the question but does make sense of the ultimate truth of any diet: any diet that reduces caloric intake long enough will help you lose weight andRead More
REAL News – July 2024
July 2024 What We Mean When We Say “Activate” Muscles A readily-bandied about if not overused phrase in the fitness arena is “activate your _____ muscles”. Intuitively, we understand its meaning but a recent study out of the UK will give it more currency. They studied what they call ‘force steadiness’ in subjects with andRead More
REAL News – June 2024
June 2024 Fatness ——> Decreased Brain Fitness A long-running argument exists in the health and fitness arena: can you be fat and be fit? Rather, can you have a body composition (BC) with excess fat and have good cardiovascular health if you exercise and eat well? Now they’ve ramped up the question to include theRead More
REAL News – May 2024
May 2024 Hypertrophy and Strength Gains After 75 A study out of Chile aimed to find out if old-old (>85) get similar strength and muscle growth as young-old – that is, 65-75 – from a similar resistance training (RT) program. Knowing that muscle size diminishes with age – called sarcopenia – and that size isRead More
REAL News – April 2024
April 2024 Rotator Cuff: Where the Sun Doesn’t Shine The risk of shoulder rotator cuff (RC) pain and injury mounts with age and abuse, or non-use, smoking and, maybe just maybe hypovitaminosis D – that is, chronic low levels of vitamin D. We have covered rotator cuff injury and rehab in these posts – here,Read More
REAL News – March 2024
March 2024 Can Weight Vests Answer All Your Fitness Needs? Weight vests (WV) getting some media attention. These are either fixed or adjustable velcro-fitted vests that presumably enhance one or more elements of fitness and wellness training. A deep-dive into the science of WV reveals some benefits worth considering. For example, a study in RheumatologyRead More