Be Prepared: How Girl Guides of Canada Inspires

Contributed by Forever Fit Science founder Virginia Davies Be Prepared. This was (and still is) the motto of the Girl Guides of Canada – a motto that I repeated at weekly meetings fifty years ago. It is also one of the themes in a delightful story – The Tiger Who Came to Tea – written and illustrated by Judith Kerr.

HIIT: High Intensity Interval Training

RESEARCHERS IN BEAUTIFUL BRITISH COLUMBIA ARE COMBATING DIABETES ONE HILL AT A TIME October 27, 2015 by Sara Thompson and Fiona Callender This summer, Fiona and I travelled to various labs around the world. We targeted exercise physiologists in particular who are the leading researchers in the area of high-intensity exercise in the aging population. We

Generation 100: The Biggest Clinical HIIT Trial in the World!

Fiona Callender and Sara Thompson Sara and I arrived in Norway late in the evening and took a bus to an Airbnb just down the street from the Norwegian Institute of Science and Technology in Trondheim. We were just settling in when our hosts knocked our door and rushed us outside to see the Northern

A New Prescription For Health: Interval Walking

by Sara Thompson and Fiona Callender We extended our visit in Copenhagen to visit Professor Kristian Karstoft, thanks to a recommendation by his colleague Dr. Jonathan Little. Dr. Karstoft is a medical doctor at the University of Copenhagen who has focused on clinical research over the past five years. He does research on various chronic

Improving Cognition Through Exercise - Part 2

Improving Cognition Through Exercise – Part 2

Contributed by Julia C. Basso, Post-doctoral Research Associate, New York University, Center for Neural Science Improving Cognition Through Exercise – Part 2 During the aging process, a variety of changes occurs within the brain. These changes include decreases in neurogenesis or new neuron growth, detriments in the vasculature surrounding the brain tissue, and deterioration in the

The Sprint to Slow-Down Brain Decline

Contributed by Sara Thompson, MSc, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, Human Physiology Research Unit, University of Toronto As we learned from a recent FTG post by Fiona Callender, exercise can improve the cognitive decline that occurs with age. In her article, Ms. Callender highlighted the use of resistance training to improve cognitive function in patients

stretching with a resistance band

Strength Training: Integral to Wellness as We Age

Contributed by Gillian White, HBSc, MSc, PhD(C), Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, Human Physiology Research Unit, University of Toronto Previous articles on Fast Twitch Grandma have focused on sprint training as it relates to muscle/bone mass and health implications as we age. While we can now appreciate the importance of sprint training as we

Have No Fear, High Intesity Exercise Isn’t That Intense

Contributed by Julianne Barry, PhD Student, School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus Two of the reasons that people don’t exercise are “lack of enjoyment” and “lack of time”. Although “lack of time” is the number one stated reason why people don’t exercise, let’s face it, when you enjoy doing

stretching with a resistance band

Can Resistance Training Build Brain and Brawn?

Contributed by Fiona Callender, Research Assistant, University of Toronto In Gillian White’s most recent FTG article she brought strength training in to our conversation. We learned about the importance of strength training as we age and the parameters we should employ to optimize the benefits of this training. As we have seen in past articles, loss

Smaller Waistline and Bigger Brain

A 360 Look at How Exercise Affects Brain Function

Contributed by Gillian White, PhD candidate, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, Human Physiology Research Unit, University of Toronto A growing field of research is showing the importance of exercise for brain health as we age, not only slowing decline in older years, but actually improving cognitive function. It was startling news to us at

Music and Workouts

Why Music Motivates a Workout

Sara Thompson, MSc, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, Human Physiology Research Unit, University of Toronto In recent FTG articles, we’ve discussed how sprint training can help prevent and treat ailments that are prevalent in the aging population, such as osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, and cognitive decline. While this is valuable information, it might be

Brain Growth with Exercise

Brain Growth with Exercise

Contributed by Julia C. Basso, PhD, Post-doctoral Research Associate at the Center for Neural Science and New York University Brain Growth with Exercise The hippocampus, a seahorse-shaped structure located in the medial (middle) temporal lobe, is a brain area involved in learning and memory.  This structure is essential for the formation of our long-term memories as