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
aging
REAL News – February 2022
February 2022 Body Recomposition for the Older Female “Body recomposition” – a new term in the fitness science world – refers to the positive changes you get from an exercise program such as increased lean muscle mass (LBM) and decreased body fat (BF), both of which are favorable to health, not just appearance. This isRead More
REAL News – December 2020
December 2020 What Makes Old Folks So Tight: Muscle-Tendon or Nerves We all lose flexibility as we age and we all need it every bit as much as we age. We have addressed some of these issues here, here, here and here. There are basically 4 sources of restrictions on range of motion (ROM):Read 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
Balanced Training: For Young and for Old
A recent article in the American Council of Exercise (ACE) on-line newsletter provides a nice synopsis of the value and merits, and techniques, of balance training as a component of overall fitness. I want to address this very current and super-crucial elements of training as I do it here at STEPS Fitness. And sometimes youRead More
REAL News – April 2019
April 2019 How Much Do You Have to Lift to Get Strong…or Big? A study that evaluated the required volume of weight lifting exercises necessary to effect muscle strength and size (hypertrophy) made all the news at the end of 2018. In what might be considered a large study of this type, 45 healthy, youngRead More
What is ‘Old’ and How Can One Procrastinate Aging?
The answer to the title question, “What is ‘Old’ and How Can One Procrastinate Aging”, is a timeless one. It’s as old as cognition itself. For the next step after old is dead and mankind has been trying to make sense of that once he and she realized he and she existed beyond the bodilyRead More