by Dan Williams | May 17, 2011 | Blogs, Exercise, Health, Older Persons
We know that exercise helps to slow the effects of ageing. But what of the effects of ageing on our ability to exercise? Ageing brings with it to the exercise table the following negative effects: Reduced strength Reduced magnitude of reflex responses Slowing of rapid...
by Dan Williams | May 6, 2011 | Blogs, Chronic Conditions, Exercise, Health
Examining the vast body of research on factors aiding in the prevention of all forms of cancer reveals some common themes. Reviewing the literature tells us that the following methods are supported for cancer prevention: Consuming healthy foods. Maintaining a healthy...
by Dan Williams | May 5, 2011 | Blogs, Chronic Conditions, Exercise, Health, Psychology
Researchers have delved deep into the links between exercise and sleep. The results are relatively simple, and provide steadfast recommendations to improve sleep quality, and sleep patterns through targeted exercise. Intense exercise before sleep delays sleep onset....
by Dan Williams | May 2, 2011 | Blogs, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
The Knee is responsible for the majority of energy absorption during the running cycle, while the hip is responsible for the greatest energy generation. Basically, this tells us that strong hips (specifically hip extensors, gluteals) will increase the ability to run...
by Dan Williams | Apr 29, 2011 | Blogs, Exercise, Improving Athletic Performance
‘I could do that with my eyes closed!’ you cry. Apply that to exercise and you just might be able to. Proprioception is your brain’s knowledge about your body’s position. Close your eyes and bend your arm. Even though you can’t see your...
by Dan Williams | Apr 25, 2011 | Blogs, Chronic Conditions, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
The hamstrings muscle group has been plagued by injury, injury recurrence, improper rehabilitation and impaired performance. Bahr and Holme (2000) proposed that injuries result from a complex interaction of multiple risk factors and events. In terms of prevention and...
by Dan Williams | Apr 21, 2011 | Blogs, Chronic Conditions, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Psychology
There is a close relationship between stress and performance. This relationship can exist in both a negative and positive way. Stress is a stimulus that causes a physiological or psychological effect. Good stress is termed ‘eustress’, while bad stress is...
by Dan Williams | Apr 19, 2011 | Blogs, Exercise, Improving Athletic Performance
We want to increase strength. No surprises there. And yet we fail to use eccentric training as a mainstay of our programming. So what is eccentric training, and how can we use it to maximise performance. Eccentric training involves training the ‘lowering’...
by Dan Williams | Apr 14, 2011 | Blogs, Chronic Conditions, Exercise, Psychology
How much physical activity is needed to drastically reduce the risk of disease? The answer might be surprising. You should already know that exercise intensity is the single most important variable in maximising the health benefits of exercise. You can read more in my...
by Dan Williams | Apr 10, 2011 | Blogs, Chronic Conditions, Exercise, Health, Improving Athletic Performance, Musculo-skeletal Rehabilitation
In parts one and two of this series we covered the need for more effective hamstring injury screen, prevention and rehabilitation. In this, the final part, we discuss initiatives to fill this need. To aid in effective injury prevention, mode specificity is a vital...
