Sports « Weekly Gravy

Still looking for a New Year’s resolution? Consider strength training. It’s important for everyone, regardless of age, gender and how developed you do and don’t want to get. Strong muscles make everyday activities easier and allow you to maintain your independence throughout life. But you don’t have to go to a gym to get in these workouts. If you prefer machines to free weights yet have limited space, an all-in-one home weight machine with multiple stations for upper and lower body workouts is a great option. There are many different types of such machines and you’ll want to try out the various options to see what feels most comfortable, according to experts from the American College of Sports Medicine. Machines with weight stacks allow you to change the resistance from tens to hundreds of pounds by moving a pin. Some popular machines have rods or cables that you move to increase tension and resistance. Others use fluid-filled hydraulic pistons. And still others use your own bodyweight to create the resistance — you increase the difficulty just by sliding a lever. Many machines come with directions for a workout that targets all your muscle groups. It might take trial and error to find the right starting weight for each exercise. But as with any strength-training program, your goal for each movement is to build up to… read on >

Commuting by car doesn’t just try your patience. An Australian study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that it can also lead to weight gain, even if you’re active on the weekends. One answer is to turn at least part of your commute into a workout. As cities with municipal bike programs like New York and Cleveland have shown, biking is a quick way to get around and get great exercise. You don’t have to be a world-class cyclist or even go very fast to gain benefits from this low-impact cardio activity. Of course, you want to take all the necessary safety precautions. That means making sure your bike is in good working order. Wear a helmet plus any other protective gear that’s appropriate for you. Obey local traffic rules and take safe routes, preferably those with a dedicated bike lane. If your commute is too long to bike the entire way, try other ideas to shorten your time in the car. For instance, park your car 15 minutes from your office and walk the rest of the way — you’ll arrive less stressed. You’ll also unwind on the way back to your car at the end of the day. If you commute with mass transit, build some activity into your mornings by getting off one stop short of your destination. If… read on >

If you’ve just shed a lot of pounds, you might want to hold off on buying a new wardrobe full of “thin” clothes. That’s because new research finds that lost weight starts creeping back almost immediately after a diet stops. “We noticed that individuals transitioned from a weight loss intervention immediately to weight gain,” said Kathryn Ross, of the University of Florida, Gainesville, College of Public Health and Health Professions. As to why weight started to come back so quickly, Ross said, “There are a lot of different reasons. There’s not an easy answer.” It may be that people need a specific maintenance intervention where the focus shifts from how to lose weight to how to maintain that loss. Ross said people also need to understand how challenging the environment is, and how it’s geared to weight gain because of the easy and seemingly endless access to high-calorie foods. People also get a lot of positive reinforcement when they’re losing weight. Family and friends probably comment on what a great job the dieter’s doing. Once weight loss is done, however, no one pats you on the back and says, “Hey, great job maintaining your weight!” said Ross, an assistant professor in the clinical and health psychology department. There are also physiologic and metabolic changes that may make it easier to regain weight if you’re not… read on >

The growing popularity of snowboarding and skiing has meant more injuries on the slopes, a new review shows. In 2015, more than 140,000 people were treated in U.S. hospitals, doctors’ offices and emergency rooms for skiing and snowboarding-related injuries, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Snowboarders are three times more likely than skiers to be injured. In 1989, snowboarding injuries accounted for 4 percent of all snow sport-related injuries, before rising to 56 percent by 1999, according to the review. The review was published this month in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. “Skiing and snowboarding are associated with a large number of injuries, with specific patterns and anatomic areas affected,” said study author and orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Brett Owens. “While some injuries are unavoidable, many are caused by skiers and snowboarders exceeding their comfort zone in either speed or technical challenges on the mountain,” Owens said in a journal news release. “It is critical to stay in control and be prepared to slow and stop to avoid contact with another person on the slope.” The most common skiing and snowboarding injuries are to the spine, pelvis, shoulders, wrists, hands, knees, feet and ankles. “Snow sport athletes can best prepare for their sport with a general preseason conditioning program, as well as familiarity and maintenance of equipment,” said Owens, who’s… read on >

Many studies have tried to pinpoint the best time of day to exercise for peak performance and best results. But most of these studies were designed for elite athletes. For general fitness, exercise can be whenever it’s most convenient for you. In fact, the best time of day for exercise is whatever time you can do it consistently. That’s because fitness benefits come from working out on a regular basis. Consider factors like work and home responsibilities, your energy level at various times during the day, and what type of exercise you like best when picking your “prime time” for fitness workouts. If you’re a morning person whose energy fizzles by 3 p.m., start your day with a workout, even if it means waking up a half-hour early. If you need a workout buddy to stay motivated, schedule exercise when it’s easiest for both of you. If you like solitude, try off-peak hours at your gym or create your own at-home workout space. Remember that you can break up daily activity into three 10-minute segments if that’s what it takes to get it all in. Park 10 minutes away from work and walk briskly to the building. Do 10 minutes of desk exercises at lunch. Then walk back to your car to go home, and you’re done for the day. Or take a walk during… read on >

(HealthDay News) — The U.S. National Institute on Aging suggests performing endurance exercises as you age. This type of exercise benefits your cardiovascular system, lungs and circulatory system. Examples include walking, jogging, swimming and biking. The agency offers these suggestions before starting an endurance exercise regimen: Warm up and cool down before and after exercise. Drink plenty of fluids when doing any activity that makes you sweat. Dress in layers when exercising outdoors, so you can remove a layer if you get too hot. If exercise equipment is involved, make sure it’s safe and well maintained. Walk during the day or in well-lit areas at night, and be aware of your surroundings.

You might be excited to begin an exercise program for better health, but for some people, getting a fitness assessment first is the right way to get started. As part of this exam you’ll learn about appropriate exercises and safety guidelines, such as workout duration and the intensity level best for you. During the assessment, key components of your fitness will be measured and your risk factors for heart disease and other health conditions will be evaluated. The findings will provide you your unique exercise road map and serve as a baseline from which to track your progress. A fitness assessment evaluates the following areas of conditioning: Cardiovascular fitness. Muscular strength. Muscular endurance. Flexibility. Balance. Who needs this type of assessment? The American College of Sports Medicine recommends a simple self-evaluation to help you decide. The more heart disease risk factors you have — like high blood pressure and high cholesterol, a family history of heart disease, a smoking habit, obesity, or pre-diabetes — the more important it is to check in with your doctor or another qualified health professional. If you already have heart, lung or kidney disease, asthma or arthritis, it’s essential to work hand-in-hand with your health-care provider to develop an exercise program for wellness. Talk to your doctor first if you answer yes to any of these seven questions: Do you… read on >

The more college football referees know about concussion symptoms, the more confident they are in calling a timeout for a suspected head injury, a new study shows. Researchers surveyed more than 1,300 college football officials during the 2015 season and found that they called an average of one injury timeout for a suspected concussion every four games. Those with greater awareness about concussion symptoms were more confident in making such calls, according to the study published online recently in The Journal of Athletic Training. “Concussion education for officials is important,” said lead author Emily Kroshus, an assistant professor in University of Washington’s department of pediatrics. “When officials are more aware of concussion symptoms, they are more confident in calling injury timeouts,” Kroshus said in a journal news release. “Understanding the determinants of whether officials call an injury timeout when they suspect a concussion has important implications for the design of interventions that better support officials in this role,” she added. Study co-author John Parsons is managing director of the NCAA Sports Science Institute. “One way that officials can help ensure sports safety is to recognize potentially concussed athletes and call injury timeouts appropriately so that athletic trainers or other medical personnel can conduct evaluations,” he said. Said Kroshus: “When officials believe that coaches, athletic trainers, parents, fans, athletes and athletic administrators are equally committed to… read on >

It’s common doctors’ advice to the elderly: Walk around the block each day to help stay fit. Trouble is, that advice might do more harm than good if you live in a neighborhood with smoggy air, a new study shows. British research suggests the unhealthy effects of breathing dirty air might outweigh whatever benefit the daily walk brings. “For many people, such as the elderly or those with chronic disease, the only exercise they very often can do is to walk,” noted lead researcher Dr. Kian Fan Chung, of the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London. But “our study suggests that we might advise these people to walk in green spaces, away from built-up areas and pollution from traffic,” Chung said in a news release from Duke University. “But for those living in inner cities, this may be difficult to do, and there may be a cost associated with it as they have to travel further away from where they live or work.” The study was conducted in London, but one U.S. expert in respiratory health said the findings probably hold true everywhere. “It is no surprise that traffic-polluted streets may negate the cardio-respiratory effects of walking in older adults,” said Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. He advises that “peak traffic times should… read on >

Former professional football players are at increased risk for an enlarged aorta, which can lead to a life-threatening bulge in the artery, a new study reports. The aorta, the largest artery in the body, carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body. The short part of the aorta is called the ascending aorta. It rises from the left ventricle — the bottom left chamber of the heart — and supplies the coronary arteries with blood. Enlargement of the ascending aorta, called dilation, can increase the chances of a bulge. The bulge is known as an aneurysm. An ascending aorta that is more than 4 centimeters (1.6 inches) in diameter is considered to be dilated. The study included 206 former National Football League players and a control group of 759 other men older than 40. Compared with the control group, the former pro football players had significantly larger ascending aortic diameters. Nearly 30 percent of the ex-NFL players had an aorta wider than 4 centimeters, compared with only 8.6 percent of men in the control group. Even after the researchers adjusted for age, body mass and heart risk factors, former NFL players were still twice as likely as the control group to have an aorta wider than 4 centimeters. The findings were to be presented Wednesday at the annual meeting of the Radiological… read on >