Conditioning Research

I have posted about this before and also mentioned this study in the science posting over at hillfit. Interesting to see it reported and demonstrated. The science is in a PhD thesis here .

I just wanted to summarise a few interesting studies I'd seen recently. Review of recent research The GI approach is flawed. This article explains how the Glycemic Index Values Vary from One Test to the Next. (commentary here ) Emma and Barry Groves have both written excellent pieces on the bankruptcy of the GI approach. Swiss Balls and BOSU’s do not work. I had a post earlier questioning the validity of using swiss balls. This article says a similar thing. Unstable surface training, using inflatable rubber discs worsens performance improvements in healthy, trained athletes. Such implements have proved valuable in rehabilitation, but caution should be exercised when applying this approach to athletic performance and general exercise scenarios. Old people who exercise are perceived more positively. This study examined whether information about an older person's exercise habits influences the impressions formed of them by others…..it does! Is Alzheimer’s just diabetes...

shock news! exercise is good for your joints!!! Somehow I seem to be posting a lot on knees! It is just that I keep coming across articles on knee health that I think are useful; plus I know a few people - especially older hill walkers - whose knees give them trouble. I've noted previously how balance training can help prevent ACL injuries and how appropriate stretching may also be beneficial. This article explains that exercise itself is beneficial to the joints. Among the notable findings, both baseline and current vigorous physical activity— exercise that gets the heart pumping and the body sweating—were associated with an increase in tibial cartilage volume, free from cartilage defects. What’s more, tibial cartilage volume increased with frequency and duration of vigorous activity. Recent weight-bearing exercise was also linked to increased tibial cartilage volume and reduced cartilage defects. Finally, moderate physical activity, including regular walking, was associated...

Bryce Lane put up a good article recently on stress and it made me think. Stress. It is all over the place. From work, relationships and often from our own personalities. Stress is there especially for those of us involved in exercise or fitness training. We tend to set ourselves goals: I want to lose fat, run faster, get stronger, climb more munros ... These goals are not always bad. I think sometimes that without goals and aims I would just become literally aimless....I don't like people who go through life as spectators , tourists. I want to be doing something - walking, cycling, climbing, whatever. Not even anything massive, just something. Going through life as a spectator doesn't appeal.... However...all these goals can just be a source of extra stress. I want to climb all the munros eventually. But sometimes the desire to do that spoils the enjoyment of other things. If the weather or circumstance mean that a day in the hills doesn't happen for a while t...

Do you need an excuse for a glass of red wine? I have been thinking more about this.Barry Groves has a post up saying that a bottle of red wine is better than a statin for your heart . There seems to be plenty written about the antioxidant effect of red wine. (This is not an excuse to go out and get hammered, but in moderation a glass of wine is good for you.) The study below seems to support this idea. However, I have been thinking a lot about Emma's post which considered the role of flavonoids . I am still trying to digest Emma's argument but I think she has a point that flavonoids in themselves may not be good for you. There may be an antioxidant effect from ingesting them, but that may be a byproduct of the fact that your body is reacting against them. The study does indicate that red wine is an antioxidant in effect....but having read Emma's post I am wondering if this is really a good thing..... Red wine consumption increases antioxidant status and decreases o...

I don't really have much commentary to go with this one. I just thought that with all the ongoing debate about intermittent fasting (IF) this is an interesting study. Note that IF allowed these athletes to maintain their intense training and lose body fat. I don't know how much to make of this though - Ramadan fasting could mean all sorts of things. Still another interesting study of which to be aware. Lipid Profiles of Judo Athletes during Ramadan. The effect of Ramadan intermittent fasting (RIF) was studied on a battery of blood lipid markers in 15 elite judo athletes during a period when they were maintaining their training load without competing. Nine-to-twelve hours postprandial serum lipid and lipoproteins were measured on five occasions: before, three times during Ramadan, and three weeks post-Ramadan. Dietary data were collected using a 24-hour recall method for three days before, during and after the Ramadan month. Mean energy intake (12.9 MJ/d) remained similar thr...

In previous posts we have noted the way in which women are more prone to knee injuries but also the way in which balance training and stretching can help to prevent such problems. This study identifies some of the serious implications of an ACL injury in women. It can seriously affect the health of the leg bones. Strong bones are essential as we age. To keep healthy it is essential that you maintain the health of your knees. So : - do some balance training ; and - stretch ! Unilateral chronic insufficiency of anterior cruciate ligament decreases bone mineral content and lean mass of the injured lower extremity Abstract: We studied the effects of unilateral chronic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury on bone size, bone mineral content (BMC), bone mineral density (BMD), soft tissue composition and muscle strength of the injured lower extremity in Japanese 21 men and 12 women aged 15 to 39 years. Bone area, BMD, BMC, lean mass and fat mass of lower extremity were measured using d...