Stress Eating
‘Stress eating’ is a phrase with a lot of truth behind it. The effects of sugary ‘comfort foods’, and stress and the hormones released by it, cause people to overeat. Roughly 1 in every 4 people have rated his/her level of stress as at least 8, on a scale of 10, according to a survey […]
Bone Health
Osteoporosis, the skeletal disease of bone thinning and compromised bone strength continues to be a major public health issue. Bone fragility and increased risk of fractures especially hip and spine are characteristics of this disease. Risk for osteoporosis has been reported in people of all ethnic backgrounds. After the age of 70 years, both men […]
World Arthritis Day
Knee osteoarthritis is degeneration of the knee’s cartilage—the flexible, slippery material that normally protects bones from joint friction and impact. The condition also involves changes to the bone underneath the cartilage and can affect nearby soft tissues. What causes damage? Repair: If you load the joint and the muscles surrounding it and thereby the cartilage […]
Exercise During Pregnancy
In the not-so-distant past, women were urged to cut down on or even avoid exercise during pregnancy. Doctors feared that the jarring motion of running or lifting weights could damage the fetus, and prescribed abstinence from these activities even for the professional athletes. Fortunately, the tide has turned and it has been proven that exercising […]
Understanding Diabetes – On World Diabetes Day
World Diabetes Day (WDD) was created in 1991 by International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes. It is marked every year on 14 November, the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin. Objective- The WDD 2019 has three main focus areas: […]
Physiology of Endurance Training Part 1: Energy Systems
Understanding how our bodies work will be quite helpful in our pursuit to optimise Endurance performance. A person training for competing in endurance-based events requires a significant amount of energy. In this part, we will learn about energy and the various pathways through which our body derives it from. What is Energy? To begin, Energy […]
Physiology Of Endurance Training Part 1 : Cardiopulmonary System
In our earlier blog we have seen that endurance based activities primarily depend on Oxidative Phosphorylation (Oxygen) energy system, hence it is beneficial for an athlete or coach to understand the fundamentals of cardiopulmonary system, which is responsible for transporting oxygen throughout the body. The word cardiopulmonary stands for heart and lungs and the mechanism […]
Physiology of Endurance Training Part 3: Effects on the Cardiopulmonary system.
Until now, we have seen that an improvement in the oxygen carrying ability is an important factor contributing to peak performance in endurance sport, since it is heavily dependent on the oxidative energy system (Oxygen dependent). Athletes can see significant improvements in the cardiopulmonary system and oxygen carrying capabilities of the body through regular training, […]
Physiology of Endurance Training Part 4 : Skeletal Muscle
Skeletal Muscle Fibre Types : Most textbooks on exercise physiology classify the skeletal muscle fibres into three basic types. However, recent research suggests that there might be several additional muscle fibre types present. For the purpose of this blog, we shall focus only on the prevalent three muscle fibre types, namely : Most muscles have […]
Endurance Tests and Assessments Part 1 : Movement Analysis and Biomechanics
The goal of every Training Program is to maximize effectiveness and improve competitive performance. By minimising risk of injuries and maximising enjoyment, a well-designed training program can benefit competitive athletes as well as non-competitive and recreational athletes. Regular testing helps determine is working to improve an athlete’s performance or is detrimental to progress. Usually field […]