Blurring lines For over 25 years I had the privilege of teaching two college courses; one on exercise prescription for fitness and health, and the other on strength and conditioning that focused on athletic populations. New research emerged, ideas and attitudes changed, and the content and style of those two courses changed substantially over my […]
So much information!!! Could I have been that arrogant, that stupid? Turns out yes I could – in spades! In fairness, I’d been raised on a steady educational dietwhere knowledge was king; knowledge was power. It never occurred to me that it could be any other way. Certainly, none of my teachers or lecturers had […]
I recently downloaded a PDF ‘Osteoporosis and You’ from the Osteoporosis New Zealand website. Fifteen pages of content, with barely half a page of non-specific exercise information, yet they somehow managed 2 and a half pages of dietary guidance for optimal bone health! I shouldn’t be surprised, but……of course, I still am! Disappointed, disheartened! I’m not […]
The magic sponge Some of you (actually probably very few now that I think about it) may remember when on-field injury treatment was a bucket of water and a sponge. It was a bit of a standing joke in sport, probably because it appeared to miraculously work 99% of the time – hence the term […]
Possibly very little, yet it seems that the training mode, philosophy, cult – call it what you will, provokes some extreme responses in exercise or health professionals. Full disclosure, while I haven’t had any direct involvement with, or particular knowledge of Crossfit™ (CF), my morning runs often took me past CF groups some knock-off versions, […]
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 vague but are usually attributed to health researcher Archie Cochrane (1972), who complained that medical practice […]
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 recreation extend well beyond physical measures of health. The risk […]
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 I think the message was ‘taking turmeric supplements somehow provides a fitness edge’. Turmeric belongs […]
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 fitness testing protocols that included skinfolds, a bike test to estimate aerobic fitness, a sit […]