BBC News has a piece on the anti-aging affects of long-term endurance training that will get anyone to sit up and listen. They noticed changes at the cellular level as the result of aging that was much slower and less pronounced in athletes with a history of endurance training and sports.
new years – finding your new viscious cycle
New Years is about resolutions, and everyone is talking about how fit they’re going to be in the new year. I’m all for it. Here’s some more food for thought.
In this Scientific American piece – Eat Exercise & Be Merry keeping a weekly journal of what you have to be grateful for, seemed to help folks in the study exercise more and keep a positive attitude. I would agree that thinking positively leads you to be more optimistic, and try a little harder, and that leads you to push a little more in your workouts, which in turn will give you better results.
So putting yourself into a little positive feedback loop, a viscious cycle turned on end if you will, doesn’t sound like such a bad idea for the new year!
keep the body fit make the mind fit?
Found another great article on the link between physical fitness of the body, and brain or mental fitness. One way to think of it is a lucky side affect of working out the body. Another way to think of it is there is no real way to separate the two. Overall body health and fitness go together.
humans built for long-distance running
I’ve read some of this before, but just saw this article over at the New York Times which is worth a read. This probably follows somewhat in the recent fad of “barefoot running” which I’m not even going to touch with a ten-foot pole.
Never the less the evidence is there that exercise and training actually strengthens the body and joints. Why the injuries then? Well quite simply from improper training. One has to stretch the joints, and warm up slowly to activities that we don’t do everyday. Beware the weekend-warrior syndrome of not working out at all for some time, then heading out for a weekend where you think you’re in the same shape you were at 20 years old.
Ease into your training, build up slow, warmup and warmdown in a balanced way, and take stretching seriously, and you’ll continue to train injury free. It’s like they say, it’s what we were built for!
calorie restriction – the fountain of youth?
A lot of studies have been coming out on calorie restriction. My personal theory is all this nonsense about how people from certain countries have better genes… it all boils down to better diet. It seems a lower calorie diet makes you younger, age better and live longer!NY Times – The Calorie Restriction Experiment
exercise and smarts
Another article, this time over at the NY Times, discussing the affects of exercise on what is called neuroplasticity, the ability for the brain to change & grow new pathways through new experiences. What Sort of Exercise Can Make You Smarter?
brain surgery then ultrarunner
Here’s an interesting story about a woman named Diane Van Deren. She suffered from epilepsy, had a lobectomy, removal of the right temporal lobe. What healed her in one way, then also pushed her to become an ultrarunner, but also had certain strange side affects. All interesting discussion of the brain, exercise, and health. Worth a read.
obesity as phenomenon of social norms
A fascinating article at Wired discusses the changes in a social group in Framingham MA, and how obesity spread through the population.
The Buddy System: How Medical Data Revealed Secret to Health and Happiness
vegetarian ultraman
I like reading CNN’s health columns and listening to Sanjay Gupta because I think he speaks very matter of factly, and plainly about complex issues surrounding health.
Here’s a great article about a guy who, just preceding his 40th birthday, decided to get into shape, and the story of his path to the ultraman world championships.
PERF – produce, exercise, relaxation & fiber
Interesting article over at www.lifehacker.com discusses monitoring your own health in between doctor checkups.
Among some of the other interesting points in the article are to check your urine color – ie check your hydration, check your sleepiness, monitor your heartbeat after exercise. The PERF acronym is to remind people to get produce (fruits and veggies), exercise, relaxation (laughter and fun time for 15 minutes…) and fiber (beans, grains, you know the drill)…