Sports « Weekly Gravy

High blood pressure is a serious risk factor for heart disease, stroke and other life-threatening medical conditions. While many people need medication and dietary changes to control their blood pressure, exercise is a key component of nearly every management plan. Scientists know that exercise causes the body to adapt in ways that lower blood pressure, but there’s no single formula guaranteed to work for everyone. However, there are general guidelines regarding four key aspects of exercise. Frequency: Aim to do aerobic exercise on a daily basis and strength training twice a week (on non-consecutive days to allow for muscle repair). Intensity: Aim for moderate intensity exercise to start. For aerobic workouts, that means reaching between 60% and 70% of your maximum target heart rate (or 220 minus your age). Evidence suggests that higher intensity exercise can result in greater reduction of high blood pressure, but at the moment the risks aren’t clear. Duration: Aim for at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity a day, increasing to 60 minutes if possible. If time or ability is a problem, work out in 10-minute segments that add up to your daily total. Strength training should target all major muscle groups using weight that enables you to complete two to three sets of 10 to 12 reps each. Type: Effective aerobic activities that are easy to start with are… read on >

Guarding against falls isn’t just for the elderly. The inner ear’s ability to maintain balance can begin to decline as early as age 40, according to a study in Frontiers of Neurology. So the time to improve your balance is now. Strong legs and flexible ankles help prevent falls and allow you to catch yourself if you do trip, so target these areas through exercise. Here are three moves to practice regularly. Ankle rotations: Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor. Lift one leg out in front of you and use your big toe to make circles in the air. Move clockwise for 15 to 20 rotations and then counterclockwise for an equal amount. Repeat with the other foot. Single leg balancing: Stand straight, feet together, arms at your sides. Lift one foot a few inches off the floor, bending that knee slightly, and balance on the other leg. Hold for 30 seconds. Switch legs and repeat. Aim for twice on each side. Keeping stomach muscles contracted will help. The dancer’s pose: Better balance is one of yoga’s benefits, and this pose is particularly effective. Stand straight, feet together, arms at your sides. Raise your right arm out in front of you, thumb toward the ceiling. Lift your left leg behind you, bending at the knee. Reach back with your left… read on >

Stop agonizing over the decades you spent glued to the couch. New research shows that physically active middle-aged and older adults live longer — even if they were inactive when they were younger. And that’s even if they had previous serious health problems, according to the British study. “These results are encouraging, not least for middle-aged and older adults with existing cardiovascular disease and cancer, who can still gain substantial longevity benefits by becoming more active,” said Soren Brage, of the epidemiology unit at the University of Cambridge, and his colleagues. The study included nearly 14,600 men and women, ages 40-79, who were recruited between 1993 and 1997. They underwent four assessments up to 2004. Deaths were recorded up to 2016. During follow-up, there were more than 3,100 deaths among the participants, including about 1,000 each from heart disease and from cancer. The researchers controlled for risk factors such as diet, weight, medical history, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. They concluded that higher physical activity levels and increases in physical activity over time were associated with a lower risk of death. What counted as physical activity? The research noted activity at work, sports and recreational exercise. Among those who were inactive at the start of the study and gradually met minimum physical activity guidelines over five years, there was a 24% lower risk of death… read on >

It’s great to challenge yourself to keep workouts interesting, but you need to take steps to avoid injury whether you’re new to exercise or a seasoned veteran. This often means adapting exercise to your current fitness level and abilities. For instance, if you’re experiencing a problem with balance, swimming will be safer than running. If you develop joint pain from a condition like arthritis, avoid high-impact activities to avoid stressing those joints. If you take fitness class and are having trouble with certain movements, don’t hesitate to ask the teacher to help you modify exercises. If you have a medical condition and are new to exercise, talk to your doctor about the safest options for you. Get instruction before you go it alone. Always warm up first. Walking in place gets your circulation going and delivers blood to your muscles, prepping them for more intense exercise of almost every type. Afterward, cool down the same way. To avoid overuse injuries, vary your exercise choices from one day to another. For instance, alternate between brisk walking and cycling. When you’re ready to challenge yourself, gradually increase intensity and length of workouts. A 5% increase is safe as you progress. Don’t forget to make sure your equipment and any safety gear are in good working order. Ease up or skip a workout when you’re not feeling well… read on >

A new study is sure to strike a chord with anyone who plays in a high school or college marching band. The researchers report that long, afternoon practices and playing on artificial turf put marching musicians at high risk of heat stroke. “People usually think of football players when they think of students struggling with heat issues, but high school and college marching bands also often practice in the heat of August and early September, and play on the same surfaces while wearing uniforms and carrying heavy equipment,” said study author Dawn Emerson. She is an assistant professor of health, sport and exercise sciences at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. For the study, Emerson’s team measured the core body temperatures of musicians in two unidentified college marching bands during rehearsals and football games over one season. Participants swallowed a capsule with sensors to get the measurements. A core body temperature of more than 104 degrees Fahrenheit signifies heat stroke — the most severe form of exertional heat illness (EHI). It’s a leading cause of death among U.S. high school athletes. Average overall core temperature was significantly higher in one group: 101.1 degrees before activity for Band 2 versus 99.7 degrees for Band 1; and 101.8 degrees after activity for Band 2 versus 100.2 for Band 1. Maximum core temperature was 102.7 degrees in Band… read on >

Cautions about TV viewing are as old as television itself, but how bad is it really? A number of studies cite health risks due to the link between a sedentary lifestyle and the number of hours spent watching the tube. Young adults who watch three or more hours of TV a day and get little exercise have a greater chance of cognitive issues in midlife, according to a 25-year study published in JAMA Psychiatry. The same amount of TV time could also double the risk of early death compared to watching an hour or less each day, according to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. People who watch TV for five or more hours a day have more than double the risk of dying from a blood clot in the lungs compared to those who watch 2-1/2 hours a day, according to a study in the journal Circulation. Again, this is likely due to all the sitting involved. What’s the answer? It’s a two-pronged approach. Cut back to one to two hours of TV and increase the amount of moderate-intensity exercise you do to between 60 and 75 minutes every day. According to research published in The Lancet, this won’t completely eliminate the increased risks associated with TV time, but it can certainly lessen them. It also helps to find more… read on >

Next time you’re ready to hit the sofa for an evening of TV, think twice — it just might kill you. Though too much sitting has long been linked to health risks, a new study suggests all sitting isn’t the same — and sitting in front of the TV after dinner for long hours at a stretch is especially unhealthy. In fact, those who did just that increased their risk for heart attack, stroke and early death by 50% compared to those who didn’t, researchers report. “It’s the combination of dinner and sitting on the couch watching TV for hours afterward that we think can be very toxic,” said lead researcher Keith Diaz, an assistant professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. Sitting in front of the TV is different from sitting at work, he said. “At work, we get up and move often — we go to a coworker’s desk, we go to the bathroom, to the copy machine, etcetera,” Diaz said. “But when we sit and watch TV, we tend not to move for hours at a time. That type of sitting is the most hazardous type of sitting.” Hours spent in front of the TV after dinner increase blood sugar and cholesterol. And because muscles are inactive, they don’t help clear away… read on >

The biceps, the very visible muscles in the front of the upper arms, are a target in every comprehensive strength-training regimen, but what exercise is the most effective? To answer that question, the American Council on Exercise asked scientists from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse to evaluate eight popular biceps exercises. Popular Biceps Strength-Training Exercises Barbell curl Cable curl Chin-up Concentration curl EZ curl with wide grip EZ curl with narrow grip Incline curl Preacher curl At the very top of the list for effectiveness is the concentration curl, because it best isolates the biceps. Most of the other popular exercises also target other muscles, such as those in the shoulder called deltoids. But because the upper arm is pressed against the leg in concentration curls, the biceps is engaged the most. To do this curl, sit on a flat bench with a dumbbell in front of you. Legs are apart, knees bent and feet flat on the floor. For the starting position, hold the weight in your right arm, arm extended toward the floor, palm up. Press the back of the upper arm against the top of your inner right thigh. Now, with control, use only your forearm to curl the weight toward your biceps as you contract that muscle. Bring the weight up to shoulder level, leading with the outside of your hand… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Stress fractures are overuse injuries and usually occur in the lower leg. Typically, they are triggered by increasing the amount or intensity of an activity too quickly, says the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. To prevent stress fractures, the AAOS suggests: Set incremental goals for sports and activities. Cross-train, rather than repeat the same exercise daily. Maintain a healthy diet, including vitamin D and calcium. Stop and rest if pain or swelling occurs.

Research points to a very long list of benefits from exercise, from improving your overall health to easing stress and enhancing mental well-being. But a landmark study in the journal Circulation highlights a negative, yet specific, concern. While health factors like obesity and diabetes are known heart attack triggers, data from 12,500 people in 52 countries pointed to two other risk factors to be aware of: exercising at a very high level of physical exertion; and anger or emotional distress. Either can double the risk of a heart attack. And when combined, they’re even more dangerous, tripling the risk. So, while you might take a walk around the block to cool off when you’re angry, it’s not the time to bench press 300 pounds at the gym. Does this mean you should never challenge yourself with strenuous workouts? Not necessarily. For an external trigger such as exercise to bring on a heart attack, there probably needs to be an existing problem, like cholesterol build-up in your arteries, researchers explained. Regular activity is associated with heart benefits, according to the American College of Cardiology. The person who faces a risk from exercise is more likely to be someone out-of-shape who jumps into vigorous exertion suddenly. That’s a reminder that the best approach is to start slow, and increase duration and intensity at a slow yet steady… read on >