October 2017 The ‘Obesity Paradox’ Paradox What if a paradox is demonstrated to not be so paradoxical after all? Can a paradox be a double negative? The “obesity paradox”, developed in 1999 from observations that patients undergoing dialysis for end-stage kidney disease had lesser mortality if overweight or obese (BMI of 25-29.9 and 30-34.9, respectively)Read More
Heart Health
How athletes age – like the rest of us
The NYT fitness writer added some more fodder to the aging well discussion with an article that summarized the results of a study of elite athletes from 50 years ago. As one might expect, these old coots were still pretty fit, retaining higher-than-average aerobic capacities compared to others in their now-older age group. But they stillRead More
REAL News September 2017
September 2017 Specificity: Neuromuscular Adaptions Depend on How You Train There are two main principles to fitness training that determine your outcomes: overload and specificity. Overload refers to making the body do more than it’s accustomed to doing, be it lifting, running, stretching or what not. Specificity refers toRead More
Athletes’ hearts, Lean Obesity and Single-payer Healthcare
You’re probably thinking I was trying to get a bunch of keywords into the title so Google will spot me. You’re probably thinking, how in the hell is he going to link three disparate health and fitness issues into one coalesced blog post? And you’re probably thinking I’ve been drinking. But you must read thisRead More
Are All Fats Risky?
It has been a while since a research article slapped me – and the rest of the fitness community – in the face. However, today via HealthNews Canal, a site that posts p.r. pieces on research being done worldwide, came out with a headline that bursts – or could burst – a lot of fitnessRead More
Heart Disease, Lifestyle Change and Motivation to Do So
What does it take to make you shake it up, to alter your lifestyle in a direction you and your loved ones know has to be done….or else? This rhetorical question is always on the mind of healthcare professionals, from personal trainers to physicians. How can we help you make the small but significant lifestyle changesRead More
Yo-Yo Dieting Isn’t All Bad If….
A recent article in the WaPo sent shivers down the spines of many dieters as it used valid, peer-reviewed research to back up its headline that yo-yo diets are counterproductive. But it only told part of the story. Essentially, referring to a few articles, the author noted that yo-yo diets often lead to a cycleRead More
Could Fidgeting Lead to Healthier Blood Vessels?
I hope so, because my dad used to ask me at dinner if I was nervous – my leg was always bouncing up and down. But then, as I aged my legs, vein-y and muscular from training and conditioning, started looking like my grandpa’s – vein-y and muscular. And hairless. And they needed some veinRead More
Once Again Exercise Proves Its Bona Fides
DNA, the chains of molecules that design who and maybe what we are, is the question. The answer is, we’re still trying to decipher it all. One thing we do know is that their ends – telomeres – act like the tips of your shoestrings in that they take the brunt of daily wear soRead More
To Fast or Not to Fast, Shakespeare Never Bothered to Inquire
To fast or not to fast, that is a dumb question if you enjoy food. But if you’re trying to lose weight, silly ideas start sounding smart. A great study several years ago, on middle aged overweight, hypertensive men split them up into two groups: one at 2500 cals/day in three meals, the others brokeRead More