Nashville's Premier Personal Fitness Training Center
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
February 2024 If a Rose is a Rose, Is a Calorie a Calorie? Much has been written about the differences between certain foods and how they impact weight. Ever since the concept of “glycemic index” hit the airwaves, calculating the impact of carbs on how quickly our blood sugar levels rise, many have argued thatRead More
February 2025 The Gut-Brain Axis Concept and Frailty The concept of the gut microbiome has taken the healthcare and fitness world by storm. The biome is affected by lifestyle, including medications, diseases, diet, and exercise. It is thought to effect not just the body but the brain, and cognition in the elderly. Sarcopenia – theRead More
January 2024 Free Weights vs Machines: Is There a Difference? Ever since Nautilus gym equipment hit the market in the 1970s, the burning question among fitness specialists and researchers was, Can you get as strong and/or as hypertrophied on machine resistance (MR) devices as you can using free weights (FW) like dumbbells and barbells? WhenRead More
