By Laird Harrison
I weigh myself too much. The scale sits there in the bathroom, and I stand on it when I get up in the morning. After I work out. Before going to bed. Just because I noticed it when I was passing by.
I know this constant monitoring does me no good. Bathroom scales aren’t all that accurate. Any significant change over the course of a day probably results from a loss or gain in water rather than fat. And new research shows that we should focus on our waistlines more.
By Laird Harrison, CPT and Will Workman, MD
Which is worse: Thunder thighs, chicken wings, a bubble butt or a beer belly? If you guessed “beer belly” you’re on top of the latest research.
A study published this month by researchers at Harvard and the University of Michigan has highlighted the risk of too much visceral fat. Visceral fat pads your internal organs where you can’t see it. Subcutaneous fat hangs around just under your skin. It’s the jiggly stuff that you can grab between a forefinger and thumb. Continue reading Watch Your Waist
Sports compression garments are popping up everywhere. You may have seen them at the gym or running trail: those sleeves, shorts and socks made of stretchy fabric, sometimes in bright primary colors.
And you may have wondered if they’re just the latest in stylish sports wear or whether they actually serve some purpose. Sports medicine researchers are wondering that, too. Continue reading Sports Compression Garments May Help Recovery
Sports injury genes could change your future.
Imagine this scenario. You try to register for your hockey team as you do every year. But the league has a new policy: All players must report to a health center to get their mouths swabbed. A couple of days later, you get a call. “You’re positive for ApoE4. We’re sorry, but because of liability rules, you can’t play in this league. In fact, you shouldn’t play hockey anywhere.” Continue reading Do Sports Injury Genes Determine Your Fitness?
Does women’s soccer need a smaller, lighter ball? That’s the idea behind the Eir, offered by a new Danish company of that name.
Women have a higher rate of concussion and knee injury in soccer, and Eir argues that this is because soccer balls were designed for men. Continue reading Small Ball Promoted for Women’s Soccer
Recognizing concussion symptoms may save your life.
For generations, athletes took blows to the head and kept right on playing. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the game. Coaches, teammates and fans may depend on you. But getting hit again and again can permanently damage your brain. It can even kill you. Continue reading Recognize Concussion Symptoms
Lots of pitching drills can make the thrower faster and more accurate. Now researchers have shown that the right sort of exercises can also reduce arm injuries.
For years, official baseball authorities have had one piece of advice for people concerned about injuring their arms through pitching: Don’t pitch so much. Continue reading Pitching Drills that Reduce Injury (Part II)
Professional English rugby players will get concussion tests on the sidelines if they show signs of a head injury, under a new policy Premiership Rugby reports.
A joint venture between Premiership Rugby, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the Rugby Players Association (RPA) has produced a new set of processes designed to optimise the treatment of concussion…
The Head Injury Assessment (HIA) process, formerly the Pitchside Suspected Concussion Assessment, will be used in all Aviva Premiership Rugby, LV= Cup and European matches this season, with cases of confirmed or suspected concussion resulting in the affected player being removed from the pitch.
It’s no news to anyone watching the Major League Baseball playoffs that pitchers’ arms tire out pretty fast.
But just how much harm pitchers and other throwers may be doing to themselves is just now becoming clear. Not only does throwing too much damage muscles, ligaments and tendons, it can actually prevent a pitcher’s bones from developing normally. Continue reading How to Avoid Arm Injuries in Baseball and Other Throwing Sports (Part I)
Bad news, folks. I have exceeded my maximum heart rate.
Surprisingly, I am still able to write this newsletter, but how much longer I can continue, who can say? My wearable devices do not produce that reading.
After last week’s adventures with RunKeeper, I thought I’d experiment with some other monitoring devices, hoping to gain deeper insight into my fitness. Continue reading What Wearable Heart Rate Monitors Can Tell You (Part III)
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