Archive for: August 2007

LEXINGTON, Ky., Aug. 27 (UPI) — A U.S. study found that one in four obese people in an intensive weight loss program for 12 weeks can go on to lose more than 100 pounds.

Dr. James Anderson, head of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Metabolic Research Group, led a nine-year study of patients who have lost 100 or more pounds via limited calorie intake — 1,000 to 1,200 calories daily — and increased physical activity such as with walking. The average weight loss was 134 pounds in 44 weeks.

The weight loss was accompanied by improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol levels, diabetes, sleep apnea — 66 percent of the participants on medications for high blood lipids, high blood pressure, diabetes or degenerative joint disease were able to discontinue those medications.

“Many severely obese persons, needing to lose more than 100 pounds, become frustrated and turn to surgery,” Anderson said in a statement. “This program has much lower risks than surgery and can lead to similar long-term weight loss.”

Copyright 2007 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.

SALISBURY, Md., Aug. 27 (UPI) — U.S. researchers found the benefits of exercise for weight loss could be increased by using rapid — or explosive — muscle contractions.

Scott Mazzetti, of Salisbury University in Maryland and researchers from Anderson and Ball State universities, compared the effects of explosive verses slow contractions on energy expenditure and thus, weight loss.

The study, published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, found explosive concentric muscle contractions as the key to weight loss because the explosive muscle contractions used more energy than slow contractions — even if the amount of weight lifted was identical.

The study also found that explosive contractions were more effective in increasing energy expenditure when using moderate weight loads instead of heavy loads.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved

Science Daily — We may not be as fit as the people of ancient Athens, despite all that modern diet and training can provide, according to research by University of Leeds exercise physiologist, Dr Harry Rossiter.

Dr Rossiter measured the metabolic rates of modern athletes rowing a reconstruction of an Athenian trireme, a 37m long warship powered by 170 rowers seated in three tiers. Using portable metabolic analysers, he measured the energy consumption of a sample of the athletes powering the ship over a range of different speeds to estimate the efficiency of the human engine of the warship. The research is published in New Scientist.

By comparing these findings to classical texts that record details of their endurance, he realised that the rowers of ancient Athens – around 500BC – would had to have been highly elite athletes, even by modern day standards.

Says Dr Rossiter: “Ancient Athens had up to 200 triremes at any one time, and with 170 rowers in each ship, the rowers were clearly not a small elite. Yet this large group, it seems, would match up well with the best of modern athletes. Either ancient Athenians had a more efficient way of rowing the trireme or they would have to be an extremely fit group. Our data raise the interesting notion that these ancient athletes were genetically better adapted to endurance exercise than we are today.”

Dr Rossiter worked closely with Professor Boris Rankov, Professor of Classics at Royal Holloway, University of London to interpret the details of the endurance of the ancient rowers from classical texts. Many of these texts were originally collected and used to estimate sustainable ship speeds in The Athenian Trireme (CUP, 2rd edition 2000), which Professor Rankov co-authored.

For example, one account talks of the Athenians quelling a revolt in Mytilene on the island of Lesbos in the eastern Aegean. The Athenian assembly ordered all Mytiline’s men to death, and despatched a trireme to carry out this command. The next day, the assembly relented and sent a second trireme to halt the massacre. According to the records of Thucydides, this second trireme would have made the journey in about 24 hours, rowing in shifts and eating while they rowed, so the ship could travel non-stop.

Says Dr Rossiter: “From these details we can estimate the average sustainable ship speeds. Then, using the reconstruction we measured the metabolic demands of the human engine required to sustain these speeds. If the historians are correct, we would struggle to find enough people at that level of fitness today to power the ships at those speeds.”

Triremes were a huge technological advance, allowing Athens to dominate the seas. They had a strong keel, taken forward into a huge spike covered in bronze plates, which meant they could ram and hole enemy ships – a new technique in naval warfare. To ensure sufficient impact to cause damage, the triremes had to reach great speeds – so were designed with more than three times more rowers than earlier warships. By placing the rowers on three tiers, the ship could remain a manoeuvrable length and weight.

The trireme used in Dr Rossiter’s research, Olympias, was built in the 1980s and was used to carry the Olympic flame to Piraeus, the port near Athens, at the start of the last Olympic Games. It is now housed in a museum in Piraeus.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of Leeds

Science Daily — Philadelphia, Pa. Add treadmill machines to the list of home exercise equipment that can pose dangers to small children. Plastic surgeons at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia reported on 12 children who suffered hand injuries from the belt of a moving treadmill. Six of the children required surgery, including skin grafting in one case.

“Most parents don’t regard treadmill machines as potential hazards,” said Benjamin Chang, M.D., a pediatric plastic surgeon at Children’s Hospital, and senior author of an article recently published in the Annals of Plastic Surgery. “Injuries to children from stationary bicycles have been much better publicized over the past decade, and manufacturers have modified their designs to make them safer, but treadmills have received less attention,” said Dr. Chang.

The children in the study ranged in age from 14 months to 7 years, with a median age of 2.4 years. Most of the children were injured when their hands were caught in the back of the machine where the treadmill belt wraps around the rear roller. Most of the injuries were hand abrasions, some of them equivalent to full-thickness burns in the skin. Half of the children required plastic surgery because scarred skin prevented them from fully extending their fingers.

Frequently the children were injured while an adult was using a treadmill, and the child came behind an exercising parent. In other cases, the children were injured after switching on an unattended machine.

Although there may be design modifications that could improve safety, such as making treadmills harder to start and easier to stop, Dr. Chang says the most practical preventive measure is to keep children away from the equipment. He suggests keeping treadmills in a room that can be locked while not in use. He also advises that adults using the machine be aware of their surroundings, and should not wear headsets. “These injuries are easily preventable, but people need to be aware of the potential safety hazards,” he said.

Dr. Chang is an attending surgeon in Children’s Hospital’s Division of Plastic Surgery and a specialist in pediatric hand injuries at the Hospital’s Sports Medicine and Performance Center. Co-author of the article with Dr. Chang was Christine Carman, M.D., also of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The report was published in the Annals of Plastic Surgery, volume 46, pages 15-19.

Founded in 1855 as the nation’s first pediatric hospital, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is ranked today as the best pediatric hospital in the nation by a comprehensive Child Magazine survey. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country, ranking second in National Institutes of Health funding.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Childrens Hospital Of Philadelphia.

Science Daily — If one part of your car isn’t properly maintained, it can affect how the entire vehicle runs – especially if you’re taking a long trip. The same can be said for the human body. That’s why, when it comes to fitness in space, it’s important to create a program addressing the whole system, parts included.

Building on decades of research studying athletes and performance, Levine and colleagues at the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine (IEEM) at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, which is a collaboration between Presbyterian and UT Southwestern Medical Center, have developed an exercise training program that varies intensity and duration, combines strength and aerobic work, and includes a specially-designed oral supplement of potassium-magnesium-citrate. The supplement is known to prevent kidney stones by reducing urinary excretion of calcium.

Levine is testing the rower machine regimen as part of a bed-rest study designed to simulate how weightlessness affects the body.

“With bed rest, subjects don’t bear weight on the lower body, much like the effect of floating in space. The bones bear less weight and the muscles are used less,” said Levine, a cardiologist, professor of medicine at UT Southwestern and director of the IEEM.

When confined to bed rest, participants lie on their backs with their heads tilted slightly below their feet.

“In this position, the heart works about 15-20 percent less than during normal living conditions, there are changes in blood pressure and work capacity is lessened,” Levine said.

The study involves 24 subjects divided into three groups, undergoing five weeks of bed rest. One group is sedentary and serves as the control group. The remaining two groups perform exercise training while in bed. Half of the training subjects receive the potassium-magnesium-citrate supplement and the other half receive a placebo.

“We chose rowing for several reasons – it uses a large muscle mass, it is non-impact so there are low chances for injury, and astronauts could use similar equipment in space,” he said. “Because of the unique cardiovascular stresses of the combined static and dynamic work, rowers have the largest hearts of any other competitive athlete.”

Static exercise, also known as strength training, exerts muscles at high contraction intensities sufficient to impede blood flow into the muscles. Dynamic or endurance-type exercise is the regular contraction of large muscle groups, characterized by activities that keep muscles moving and the blood pumping through them, like swimming, running and cycling. Rowing combines both types of exercise into a single training activity.

Of the training group, subjects perform exercise by sitting on a rowing machine with their knees level to their hearts, never standing up. The control group sits on the rowing machine for the same amount of time (no more than 30-45 minutes per day) but does not row.

“Participants train with the same periodized (or highly varied) regimen that athletes use to achieve maximal physical benefit: a program consisting of base training followed by threshold, interval and recovery training,” Levine said.

The base-training session consists of moderate rowing exercise performed at a level where subjects can still carry on a conversation, but with slight shortness of breath. Threshold training, occurring one-to-two days a week, is a little faster. Called the maximal steady state (sometimes also referred to as the ventilatory or lactate threshold), subjects performing at the threshold level are working at their maximum sustainable effort.

“Professional marathon runners run at this level; pushing themselves but not sprinting,” Levine said.

The interval training segment is a high-intensity, non-sustainable exercise effort where subjects push their hardest for about one-to-three minutes, building power and explosive-type energy. Each interval training session is followed by a recovery session where subjects exercise at low intensity. The regimen includes one long, slow distance effort.

“We’re finding that this kind of exercise, performed in this manner, preserves cardiac size and function, muscle mass and bone mineralization,” Levine said.

Throughout the study, researchers track progress through several diagnostic resources: invasive measures of cardiac performance using heart catheterization, magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy of the heart and muscle to look at changes in tissue, and ultrasound measurements of both the heart and bone to see how the heart is functioning and to assess the quality of the bones of the lower extremity.

“Our ultimate goal is to develop a single, integrative exercise prescription for astronauts to use on long missions that will prevent the bone demineralization, cardiovascular deconditioning and muscle atrophy that leads to health problems in space.”

On Earth, the exercise regimen can be used to treat patients experiencing post-operative weakness, obesity, hypertension, heart disease, orthostatic intolerance and osteoporosis.

“We’re already employing this strategy on patients with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), and are seeing very satisfying results,” Levine said.

POTS is a disorder whose sufferers experience problems when standing such as an excessive heart rate and low blood pressure, causing dizziness.

NSBRI, funded by NASA, is a consortium of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration space flight. The Institute’s science, technology and education projects take place at more than 70 institutions across the United States.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by National Space Biomedical Research Institute.

The Sole E95 elliptical has easy to use electronic console with all the features of a health club model. Includes a built-in cooling fan and water bottle holder. Smooth natural motion provided by a whisper quiet drive system. The combination of a heavy flywheel and a high gear ratio not found on comparable models means an extremely smooth feel with plenty of resistance at the top end for a machine that will provide a challenging workout. Upper body exercise provides a total body workout. Custom molded hand grips for a comfortable feel. Stationary handle bars with built-in pulse sensors for monitoring your heart rate. Sole elliptical is considered among the best of elliptical exercise machines. A heart rate chest strap is also included for hands free pulse monitoring and heart rate interactive programs. Oversize foot pedals with durable foam cushioning for a comfortable workout.

These unique foot pedals were designed in collaboration with a leading physical therapist and sports enthusiast. Together with Sole engineers we have designed a 2 degree inward slope to the foot pedals which reduce ankle and knee stress common in other elliptical machines. This collaboration also produced a revolutionary foot pedal angle adjustment not found on any other elliptical at any price. Not everyone walks the same way; for this reason we have made the E95 pedals adjustable to fit the way you walk. This feature also reduces numb toe effects and sore Achilles tendons, common occurrences on other elliptical machines.The four rear wheels which ride on heavy duty rails provide a smoother more stable feel and reduce side to side foot pedal motion. A feature found only on more expensive models. The Sole e95 elliptical also incorporates a rear plastic shroud which encloses the back roller mechanism and adds additional stability for aggressive use. Maximum User Weight: 400 lbs.

Tags: Sole e95 elliptical

Horizon EG5 Elliptical

The Horizon EG5 elliptical machine offers an anatomically-correct design that helps provide pain-free workouts. The elliptical features a full 18-inch stride length, 4 pre-set workouts, programmable resistance and a LCD display that offers easy-to-read motivational feedback. 10 resistance levels allow you to choose the workout level that is right for you, while a handlebar grip pulse sensor lets you keep track of your heart rate. This cross trainer is incorrectly referenced as the Horizon e95 elliptical.

Stamina Silent Magnetic Resistance Cross Trainer Elliptical

Stamina elliptical gym equipment gives you an aerobic workout that firms and tones your buttocks, hamstrings, quadriceps, thighs and calves while minimizing pressure on your joints. Add in the dual action handlebars to work the upper body and increase the effectiveness of your cardiovascular workout. The six preprogrammed workouts on the Stamina Magnetic Elliptical Trainer Exercise Machine help you maximize your exercise time.

The elliptical motion is a unique blend of stair climbing, cycling, skiing, and walking all together in one movement. Like a room full of exercise equipment. In forward motion, your quadriceps, buttocks, lower abdominal, hips and thighs are targeted. In reverse motion, your hamstrings, lower buttocks, hips, thighs, and calves are targeted. The precision engineered gears are built to move smoothly and quietly. And with its small footprint, it will easily fit in most homes. The motivational console of the Stamina Magnetic Elliptical Trainer Exercise Machine displays workout time, speed, distance, calories burned, and heart rate. The eight levels of intensity ensure that everyone from the novice to the full blown endorphin junkie can get a complete and challenging aerobic workout.

WESLO MOMENTUM 745 Elliptica

The Weslo Momentum elliptical trainer is among the cheap elliptical trainers and is a great way to get a low-impact workout. Adjustable resistance lets you choose between 10 levels of resistance. Oversized pedals and an 17.5″ stride length offer comfortable and fulfilling exercise. Four personal trainer programs let you maximize your fitness routine. A large LCD display and an Easy Pulse heart rate monitor help you keep track of your feedback for a great calorie-burning workout.

Features:
• Adjustable Resistance
• Oversized Pedals
• 17.5″ Stride Length
• Large LCD Display
• 4 Personal Trainer Programs

Tags: Weslo Momentum elliptical trainer, cheap elliptical trainers

The Step F1011W Original Health Club Step
Amazon Price: $99.95


Customer Review: My knees are bad so I can’t use it much for stepping but when I do it’s great. Perfect size. I use it as a bench press too. Works great. It’s once piece of equipment that was well worth the investment.

The Step F1010W Original Health Club Step
Amazon Price:


Customer Review: The good:

It’s lightweight, assembles easily.

The bad:

It shouldn’t be used with weights if you’re over 200lbs.

I’m around 210 and standing in the center, it sinks and flexes way too much.

Stand in the middle, towards the edge and you sink into it (I do).

It isn’t as sturdy as the Reebok version. The base blocks make it easier for it to tip over while you’re using it.

The Step F1005 Original Health Club Step
Amazon Price: $79.99


Customer Review: Still can’t understand why they have to put a 200lb limit, thereby scaring away folks weighing more. This thing is indestructible! My sister and I have stepped on identical Steps for over 10 years and hers is still in as great condition as mine. She was up to 260lbs a few years back and jumped all over this Step and the thing barely budged. I’ve seen other 200lb+ steppers using the Original Step and it just won’t give even a tad. It can take it. Start selling it for up to 250lbs at least!

Cathe Friedrich: Butts and Guts
Amazon Price:


Customer Review: Cathe uses every exercise known to tighten those buns!! And, the core workout is also very thorough. I’m in my 60’s and have abdominal definition so I know this tape works!

Cathe Friedrich’s Hardcore Series: Muscle Max DVD & FREE Resistance Band
Amazon Price:


Customer Review: I finished this DVD for the 2nd time today and WOW! My legs were shaking, literally! This is definately a DVD that you can grow with. I always thought I had pretty good strength; that was until I tried lifting with Cathe! I feel like a weenie now compared to her weights. However the great thing about it is, as you get stronger, you work up to her weights and perhaps beyond.

It offers several premixes if you are short on time or just want an upper body workout. If you select the full routine there are even a few Ab exercises thrown…

Step aerobic exercise is all about the technique but you cannot do anything without step aerobic exercise equipment. You want sturdy steps that adjust to 4, 6 and 8 inches with non-marking, non-slip rubber floor pads. You could also do step aerobic exercises on a door step or regular stairway but there is more than a little science involved in determining the exact height of aerobic step equipment. The cardio effect comes from lifting your body weight with your leg muscles. The Step Aerobic Step comes with a 53-minute All-Step Video, featuring premiere step aerobic instructor Cathe Friedrich.

You can get more sophisticated than static aerobic exercise steps. If you are limited on space yet want a great cardiovascular and overall strength workout at home, Staminas InStride Plus Electronic Mini-Stepper is the solution. The InStride Plus Electronic Stepper adds upper body toning bands for a toned back, arms, shoulders, and torso. You get a workout like the larger, more expensive steppers, but with a stepper that is affordable, light-weight enough to take along, and small enough to store at home or at work.

The Tony Little Gazelle Edge is not a traditional eliptical machine although it is sometimes referred to as such. A better name is elliptical strider. Whatever the term even the most basic (under $100) model of the Tony Little Gazelle does provide you with a good, low-impact aerobic workout.

The machine is very easy to use and is suitable for all fitness levels and ages. You can integrate a full range of motion into your workout that lets you go from a slow walk to a full run with no sudden stops. You work all the big muscle groups - legs and arms - so you get aerobic and resistance training in one easy workout.

The Tony Little Gazelle has three things going for it. It is inexpensive. It is simple to set-up and use. It can be moved and stored without hiring a moving crew.

You are not going to get any fancy pre-programmed workouts, or a flashy LCD display. Most of that stuff is of questionable value to begin with anyway. You are better off getting a chest strap heart rate monitor with the money you will save on the Gazelle.

There is a 3 video set called the Gazelle Total Body Workout, if you feel like you need the instruction. Most people will not. Get on the Gazelle, get those arms and legs moving, and the heart pumping, and you are doing aerobics and resistance training without thinking about it.

Tags: Tony Little Gazelle

By simulating the same motions experienced through walking, stepping, cycling, and skiing, Schwinn elliptical trainers build strength in the arms and legs. Elliptical trainers are used by standing in an upright position while holding the handrails of the machine. Your feet remain in the foot pedals throughout the exercise period and circulate in a smooth and seamless motion. Elliptical exercise causes little to no impact on the joints in the knees, back, and hips.

The Schwinn 430 Elliptical Trainer provides an effective cardiovascular workout by combining upper and lower body flexibility and coordination into one impact-free motion. Elliptical equipment emulates the natural motion of your foot while supporting your heel throughout the stride. This no-impact benefit is much easier on your knees and joints. Regular routines on elipticals will increase heart and lung capacity while burning calories at the same time.

The Schwinn 430 offers eight computer-controlled resistance levels and eight workout programs for workout variety, including six user-profile programs, one manual, and one calorie goal program. Its quick start functions allows you to easily change your resistance level while exercising to challenge yourself to the next level. Three feedback programs–recovery mode, results mode, and body mass index (BMI)–allow you to track the progress of your workout routine. BioGlide motion technology offers a natural-feeling 18-inch stride while the trainer’s BioFit design will provide a comfortable feel on the footpads and handlebars. The handlebars also feature grip heart rate monitoring which allows you to track your heart rate while you’re exercising.

Additional features of the Schwinn 430 elliptical trainer include Eddy current brake resistance for smooth and quiet stopping, transport wheels to easily move the trainer across the room, and a water bottle holder to keep your hydration source close by.

You should also consider the Schwinn 418 Elliptical Trainer which earned a Consumer Reports Best Buy.

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While dehydration is a common concern for runners, the role and impact of hydration is largely misunderstood. Most runners simply do not exercise long enough for dehydration to be a threat. In fact, there is no sound scientific evidence that supports the idea that dehydration is a significant danger for runners. Increasingly, the reverse problem arises, where runners drink too much, causing a condition known as hyponatremia which can be fatal. The rule generally adhered to is that runners should drink no more than one cup (8 oz.) every 20 minutes while exercising.

Science Daily — The impact of exercise on body fat differs for boys and girls, suggests research published ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Recommendations on exercise to curb the rising tide of obesity in children have tended to take a unisex approach, say the authors.

The findings are based on a random sample of 224 children aged between 7 and 10 at 12 schools in the Republic of Ireland. One in five children was overweight, and 6% were obese, figures which are significantly higher than those of other European countries, say the authors. More boys than girls were obese.

Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured in all the children, using a validated running test, and the amount of exercise taken over a period of four days assessed in 152. Boys exercised hard twice as often as girls. On average, they spent more than an hour a day, exercising vigorously. Girls spent just over half an hour a day. Running at 9 km per hour, or its equivalent, was classified as vigorous exercise.

Overall, all the children who scored well on measures of cardiorespiratory fitness were significantly leaner and had smaller waists than those whose fitness levels were poor. Waist size is important, say the authors, because midrift fat is associated with certain metabolic changes, which in turn are linked to poorer cardiovascular health.

Boys tended to be more physically fit than the girls. But the amount of hard exercise taken regularly had a direct impact only on the boys’ weight. Unlike the girls, those boys who did the least hard exercise were the fattest. And those who led a predominantly sedentary lifestyle had the thickest waists.

The authors suggest that the current measure of body mass index (BMI) may be inadequate, by itself, to determine the extent of cardiovascular risk in children and adolescents.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by BMJ Specialty Journals.