1 in 10
When UB40 sang ‘I am the one in ten’, the song was one of despair – despair at the then unemployment rate in their part of the UK. I happened to get really agitated a few years back over another…
What’s wrong with Crossfit™?
Possibly very little, yet it seems that this training mode, philosophy, cult – call it what you will, provokes some extreme responses in exercise and health professionals. Full disclosure, while I haven’t had any direct involvement with or particular knowledge…
Evidence based what?
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an offshoot from a movement within medicine and health services (Evidence-based Medicine, EBM), that called for clinical decisions to be based on the best available research knowledge and critical scientific evidence. The origins of EBM are…
Health harshening the exercise buzz?
With the emergence of the ‘Exercise is Medicine’ (EIM) movement, biomedical models of health have been applied to exercise and physical activity, with seemingly limited success (Halall et al, 2012). The value and benefits of physical activity, exercise, sport and…
Spice up your training?
My computer screen was commandeered this morning by a video advert featuring a former All Black captain and his elite athlete wife, running together and subliminally planting turmeric in my mind. I replayed the clip a couple of times and…
Fit vs Physically Active
One of my graduate assistant roles at the University of Alberta was to conduct fitness tests for the Faculty’s Fitness Testing Unit. The Unit targeted the general population and their health and wellbeing and was well subscribed. We followed standardised…
I think therefore I am
Gimmicks and fads have been ‘part and parcel’ of societies for centuries. We only need to look to some of the medical treatments employed throughout the ages. Bloodletting, supposedly a fad treatment for a range of maladies, has documented use…
- Critical thinking, Fitness, Fitness testing & measurement, Physical activity, Strength & conditioning
The devil’s in the detail
Sometimes I wonder about the supposed advances in sciences, particularly the rapid emergence of technologies, and whether they are often more problematic than helpful. We live in a world where we prefer to see things as causes and effects. Mostly…
Functional? Movement? Screen?
Measuring what for what? I’ve just been working on a chapter from our book (longest title ever – Understanding Strength and Conditioning as Sport Coaching: Bridging the Biophysical, Pedagogical and Sociocultural Foundations of Practice) and I touched on Functional Movement…
Unhealthy weight… me… whatttt?
For the past five years, I’ve pulled a nasty trick on students taking my college Exercise Prescription course. I’d explain that the assessment for the course included a couple assignments and practicals and a final examination accounted for the other…