man rock climbing outside

Grip Strength Is An Indicator of Whole Body Strength

Hunter Bennett As we age, we tend to see general declines in health, and more importantly, general declines in whole body function. It is these declines in function that can result in the loss of independent living, in which they can also act as a precursor to the onset of more severe age-related diseases. The

Woman running in a endurance race

Developing & Maintaining Athleticism

Hunter Bennett When we think of great athletes, we think of their physical skills on the court. Their ability to make the most ridiculous of shots look easy, their ability to seemingly see the play unfold before it even happens, and their ability to beat their opponent in every manner possible. We think of their

Man jumping

Muscle Growth and Loss

Dayton Kelly Muscle growth may not be entirely lost following detraining: a paradigm shift in thinking This article was adapted from a combination of speeches given at the European Sports Science Conference 2018, most notably Kristian Gundersen (UNIVERSITY OF OSLO, NORWAY). It has been long accepted that resistance training offers transient improvements in muscle size

push up

3 Ways Lifelong Exercise Prevents Aging

Alyssa Biawolas It’s no secret that exercise is good for the soul. Lifelong exercise is associated with everything from reductions in frailty, to the regulation of skeletal mass and function, to successful aging (Elliott, et al. 2017). As we age, our bodies change. Physically active people and elite athletes often age more successfully than others,

How HIIT Changes Our Body

Evan Stevens Researchers looked at how HIIT (high intensity interval training) changed glucose metabolism in diabetic mice. We have known for a long time that exercise can be used to improve, treat, and prevent all manner of metabolic disease outside of actually curing the disease and the changes are independent of dietary factors. However, there

senior man performing kettle ball swings

Increase Strength, Increase Lifespan

Katie Rose Hejtmanek, PhD, Anthropologist  With a significant portion of the world’s population aging, it is important to know and understand how best to prevent bone and muscle loss, to decrease rates of chronic illnesses (such as hypertension and high cholesterol) and obesity, and to improve human health and longevity. Some research investigates the relationship between

4 Essential Exercises

Dayton Kelly Essential to the development of any strong training plan is the concept of muscular symmetry: following a training program that excludes certain muscle groups promotes injury and leads to a plateau in progress. This is especially relevant when strength training and is part of the reason we should lift weights. People who regularly

Power Training for Runners

Evan Stevens This session had several talks that just went over things we’ve already heard at the conference thus far; there were only two that had some novel information and are presented here. The first talk in the session was about how power training in ‘ultra-marathon’ runners significantly improved measures of performance. In this study,

Tired Of The Same Exercise Routine? Try Tai Chi!

Sara Thompson – MSc in Exercise Sciences, University of Toronto As Evan Stevens discussed in a recent FTG article, osteoporosis occurs naturally with age as individuals tap into their bone reservoirs to absorb nutrients. This causes a decrease in bone mass and strength, which ultimately leads to increased risk of falls and fractures. In fact,

man and woman passing an exercise ball while doing sit ups at a gym

90 Seconds A Day of HIIT Might Be All You Need

Evan Stevens We know that HIIT can be used to improve parameters of health in diseased individuals, but can it work in healthy individuals/a whole population, and if so, how might it work? The first talk of the session examined just that by having individuals perform single leg cycling tests; one leg would perform short,

Stand Up Paddle Boarding Physical And Mental Benefits

Sara Thompson – M.Sc. in Exercise Science With summer on its way, it’s time to put away the skis, snowshoes and toboggans and get ready for some summer activities. One summer sport that is rapidly increasing in popularity is stand up paddle boarding. Stand up paddle boarding (SUP) involves standing on a surface similar to

group balancing

Exercise Program For High Blood Pressure

Sara Thompson – M.Sc. in Exercise Science The Workout 4 Essential Activities for High Blood Pressure: Aerobic High-intensity Strength Balance 4 Specific Exercises for High Blood Pressure: Daily living (such as moving a weight from one place to another) Balance  Proprioceptive exercises Upper body resistance exercises *Each exercise was performed for one minute, followed by