March 2020 Multi-Dimensional Balance Training Beats Strength Alone Preventing falls among older adults is a health-care crisis of economic, quality of life (QoL) and morbidity dimensions. With nearly 60% of those over 65 reporting limited mobility and the high rates of falling in this group, exercise researchers are attempting to discern what type ofRead More
Newsletters
REAL News – February 2020
February 2020 What Would Tiger Do? Preventing golf injuries and improving performance are the main reasons golfers would even consider stretching. A literature review aimed to determine (1) what are golfers’ current warm-up routines; (2) if there’s an association between these and injury risk; and, (3) whether warm-ups help golf performance. The study designRead More
REAL News – February 2021
February 2021 Elder Resistance Training: Two vs Three Days/Week? The national and international guidelines for health and fitness recommend at least 2 days of week of resistance training (RT.) For the aging among us, studies clearly show that maintaining muscle mass prevents many health-related issues including frailty and susceptibility to falling. Few studies have investigatedRead More
REAL News – January 2020
January 2020 What’s the BEST Way for Mobility-Impaired Adults to Exercise? Preventing falls among older adults is a health-care crisis of economic, quality of life (QoL) and morbidity dimensions. With nearly 60% of those over 65 reporting limited mobility and the high rates of falling in this group, exercise researchers are attempting to discernRead More
Fit Happens – Winter 2019
Winter – or 30th Anniversary – 2019 Pillar 1: The Winter of Our Discontent In the summer of 1986, my colleague, Kathy Alexander, and I wondered what we would do once we finished our dissertations in exercise science at Vandy. At the time, there were very few options in that field: academia, hospital-based wellness andRead More
REAL News – December 2019
December 2019 Please help us celebrate 30 years helping Nashville’s finest stay healthy and fit. December 14 from 6-8 p.m. at STEPS Cardio Intensity, Brain Blood Flow and Age (in men) Among the many other insults of age, include reduced blood flow to the brain. This was linked to decreased cognitive function and, in extremeRead More
REAL News – November 2019
November 2019 Running Economy and How You Run MaxVO2 is your body’s maximal oxygen uptake and use capacity. But this only tells how fit you are while your running economy (RE) tells how much energy you use relative to the distance you run. And it’s a better predictor of your racing skills. A study fromRead More
REAL News – October 2019
October 2019 Step Frequency, Knee-joint Forces in Female Runners Running is mostly good for you. Studies have repeatedly demonstrated cardiovascular, metabolic, mental and musculoskeletal benefits galore. Furthermore they have recently shown that running does not cause knee osteoarthritis unless….you have had previous injury, poor mechanics or obvious alignment issues. Knee injuries are common in runners,Read More
REAL News – September 2019
September 2019 Sprint Intervals, Body Composition & Menopause The hormone differences between males and females take a sharp turn at puberty such that females deposit more fat while males add more muscle. At menopause, when estrogen and progesterone levels decline, females lose some of the protections they offer but don’t lose their many years ofRead More
REAL News – August 2019
August 2019 High School Sports & Adult Bone Strength In May 2019, we reported on how youth sports injuries may impact adult-onset osteoarthritis, especially if proper care and training were not followed. Now this study from the University of Iowa reports that high school sports participation confers long-lasting bone health benefits compared to those whoRead More