Conditioning Research

The whole paper is here It is all about general activity levels rather than vigorous activity.... The study found that the time spent sedentary, as opposed to the vigor of physical activity, was significantly and negatively correlated with a number of metabolic risk factors. Reports here and here Think I better walk to work today.  Nice views to come anyway!

It has been interesting in recent months to see how previously lauded approaches are sometimes abandoned and positions reversed.  For example Fish Oil used to be prescribed in massive dosages ...(remember the Whole9 Fish Oil Calculator?) but there has been a recognition that this might not be healthy. Vitamin D was also held up as a wonder drug for long enough too.  Again now there are questions as to the value of it, especially in terms of supplementation. Too much vitamin D during pregnancy can cause food allergies\ Pregnant women should avoid taking vitamin D supplements. Substitution appears to raise the risk of children developing a food allergy after birth. This was the conclusion drawn from a new survey carried out by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research and the Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg in Germany which was published in the February issue of the medical journal Allergy . I am sure we could question the...

I spotted an interesting report yesterday about the potential dangers of carrying a heavy backpack in terms of nerve damage at the shoulders. ...the pressure of heavy loads carried on the back have the potential to damage the soft tissues of the shoulder, causing microstructural damage to the nerves.   The result could be anything from simple irritation to diminished nerve capacity, ultimately limiting the muscles' ability to respond to the brain's signals, inhibiting movement of the hand and the dexterity of the fingers. In practice, this could impact functionality, reducing a worker's ability to operate machinery, compromise a soldiers' shooting response time, or limiting a child's writing or drawing capacity. The context of the study was soldiers carrying heavy backpacks (I am trying to find the actual study - might be this ) However, it did make me think of the potential damage that could be caused by heavy back squats where you have large weights righ...

Chronic disease and sitting time in middle-aged Australian males: findings from the 45 and Up Study That is a link to the pdf of the full paper. As usual, the NHS Choices site is pretty good at pointing out the limitations of the study before we all rush off and get too paranoid about things. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that there is an association between longer periods of time spent sitting down and diabetes and overall chronic disease in middle-aged Australian males. Previous research has also found that the amount of time spent sitting down (‘sedentary behaviour’) is a risk factor for health, and that this risk factor is independent of the amount of time spent performing physical activity. This large study, which took into account several potential confounding variables, adds to this body of evidence. However, this study has limitations: Due to the cross-sectional study design, we cannot tell whether increased sitting time occurs ...

Another vanity post. Still maintaining a fairly lean state.  Nothing complicated in terms of either training or diet.  As I've been saying it is about consistency, patience and persistence.  I'm 45 and have been training with weights for 30 years.  I am nothing spectacular, but certainly look better and am fitter than most of my 45 year old friends. My main challenge is keeping that focus on the basics and not being diverted by the glamour of the latest machine or technique. I am still trying to get stronger because if there is any magic, then that is it - progression.  But beyond all this is a desire to keep safe and avoid injury. Diet?  Since getting more sensible and introducing more carbs and less fat, I've leaned out a lot.   Not sure if Matt Stone would be happy with me though!

This is more like a glossary or definition of terms, but it is interesting to see where some of these words come from