All Posts in Category

Muscular

Sarcopenia: The Importance of Exercise Selection and Stability

  Demographics are steadily shifting towards an aging population, worldwide; by 2050, it is estimated that 25% of the global population will be of advanced age.1 Such knowledge should behoove one to preemptively consider interventions to manage health. In this author’s previous posts, information was provided regarding advanced age (i.e., 65+), sarcopenia, and general interventions…

Strength Training and Sarcopenia

In this author’s previous post, information was provided regarding advanced age (i.e., 65+) and associated changes in strength production, muscle physiology, and quality of life. Left unchecked, such losses compound over time impeding individuals’ health and function. Primary drivers behind such unfavorable changes included a lack of physical activity and decreased appetite (please see The…

Exploring Age-Related Strength Loss

Individuals of advanced age (i.e., 65+) tend to exhibit changes in several biomarkers considered essential in maintaining activities of daily living (ADL) and overall health. Such changes include steady decrements in both muscle mass and bone density; hallmarks of the aging process.1 Left unchecked, such losses compound over time inexorably impeding individuals’ health and function….

Restricted Ankle Mobility: Risks and Interventions

In a previous discussion, I explored the general benefits of warm-ups and their relationships to performance enhancement. Stiff joints and restricted flexibility hinder full expressions of motions, movement patterns, and movement economy. Warm-ups can help circumvent these problems (Fradkin, Zazryn, & Smoliga, 2010). In order to more deeply appreciate the application and interventions of exercises…

Warm-Ups and Performance

A warm-up can be defined as preparatory exercise to improve competition or training performance (Fradkin, Zazryn, & Smoliga, 2010). However, have warm-ups been supported by evidence as being effective? If so, to what degree are they effective, and why are they effective? The following sections will explore the aforementioned questions to gain insight and appreciation…

Evidence-Based Practice and Low Back Pain

Understanding the utility and efficaciousness of evidence-based practice (EBP) is a vital first step in ensuring safe and effective outcomes with my clientele. In the following sections, I would like to provide an example of EBP, the findings I have used, and how it has helped me successfully re-strengthen clients with low back pain (once…

B5 and Cysteine Supplementation: Do They Increase Energy Production?

Coenzyme A (CoA) is an enzyme considered an essential cofactor for biochemical reactions, to include energy production (represented as ATP in above image). As such, CoA has gained attention as a possible means of enhancing health and performance by researchers such as Wall, Stephens, Marimuthu, Contstantin-Teodosiu, Macdonald, and Greenhaff (2012). In the following sections, this…

Neuromuscular Dysregulation and Electrolyte Deficiencies

The human body communicates, interacts, and coordinates with itself and the external environment through a dense network of electrochemical conduits, colloquially known as the nerves or nervous system (NS) (Kenney, Wilmore, & Costill, 2012). Virtually all tissues, organs, motor, and sensory systems are fully integrated with the NS; like a conductor in an orchestra, the…

Exercise and “Hitting the Wall”

Movement is the product of many systems working together in a highly coordinated and harmonious fashion. Such systems include the sensorimotor, musculoskeletal, and energy systems (Page, Lardner, & Frank, 2010). When functioning optimally, the coalescence of such systems can produce meaningful and effective motions, such as running. Over time, however, fatigue is expressed as a…

Train Muscles, or Movement Patterns?

It is intriguing that skill acquisition emanates from constraints imposed upon us (i.e., environment) from within us (i.e., the organism) as well as the task itself (Clark, 1995). These concepts find their home within the dynamic pattern theory, accompanied by self-organization, patterns and stability. I’d like to explore the utility of these perspectives in reducing…