There has been a stigma about taking hormones as it is believed by many to cause cancer. This is based on the WHI (woman’s health initiative) trial done in 2003 that showed an increase in the risk of getting breast and uterine cancer. There were several problems with that trial. The biggest of which was that only synthetic hormones were …

Visceral Fat and insulin resistance Visceral fat is what wraps around internal organs of the abdominal cavity. It is not the fat under your skin or around muscle tissue that can be seen. It has important implications for your health and can be a significant issue in otherwise fit appearing people. Increases in visceral fat are associated with increases with …

Aerobic Training Considerations What is referred to as cardiovascular health is really the ability to utilize oxygen efficiently throughout multiple systems. That is the moment you take a breath in, how efficiently your diaphragm and accessory muscles work to bring in a desired volume of air, to blood flow from the lungs to the heart and the entire vascular system, …

Resistance Training Considerations The order of the exercises chosen can determine maximum gains. Younger, more powerful athletes often start with the most difficult and complex exercises first which is not ideal for the older athlete or for the athlete looking to prevent injury. Consider instead doing these exercises later in the workout near the end – muscles will be more …

Training Variables to Consider The goal is to develop an exercise program with the intensity desired for sustainable gains and adequate rest periods.  Intensity should not be so great it causes injury or excess stress and discouragement, but intense enough to provide gains. The individual sweet spot is what is desirable to achieve. Let me explain in this section. Intensity …

The Importance of Oxygen Metabolism Capacity And Extensor Core Strength The better the cardiovascular capacity in an individual, the healthier they are and more likely to live a longer fully functional life. There are a number of measurements used to assess cardiovascular health as well as the muscles ability to efficiently use oxygen with VO2 max considered the most reliable. …

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Exercise Chronic inflammation is the underlying cause of a number of age-associated chronic diseases. From auto-immune disorders to cardiovascular issues to cancer to diabetes to dementia to all-cause mortality. Chronic inflammation has a role in developing many of these diseases of aging particularly when coupled with a sedentary lifestyle. Regular exercises reduce pro-inflammatory proteins or cytokines. These …

Systemic Training Adaptations To promote muscle growth, flexibility, endurance or agility; training must introduce stress. Which must be followed by rest. And then stress again the type which varies. Each new plateau achieved has to be challenged for continued growth. Muscles adapt in cardiovascular ways as well as structurally, metabolically, neurologically, and hormonally. Structural changes that can occur is an …

Progressive and Overload Principles The Idea is simple. Stress forces adaptation which is applied to muscle strength, flexibility, explosiveness or agility, and endurance. However, overtraining will lead to muscle breakdown and loss-the opposite of training goals. Adequate rest is important between training sessions. Now let’s talk about why. Overload is exercising more than you are use too and can be …

Traditional Moderate Intensity Aerobic Exercise Compared to High Intensity Interval Training Traditionally, the American Heart Association has trained us to believe aerobic exercise is recommended for durations of 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week, but in some medical circles this is not enough. Remember when we talked about HIIT training earlier? HIIT training has better improvement in …