An article in The New York Times this week has shed light on the changes that take place in the brain in response to exercise. The story focused on a series of brain scans performed on a lady who started exercising at the age of 77 and went on to set numerous world records in masters track and field competition.
In short, when compared to other 90 somethings who were studied, her brain showed:
Fewer abnormalities in the white matter (the cells that help to transmit messages from one part of the …

A new study has found that men who had higher cardiorespiratory fitness (endurance) had significantly lower rates of certain types of cancer compared to less fit men. The differences were pretty huge for both Lung Cancer and ColoRectal Cancer, and seriously, none of us want that.
The benefits get larger the fitter you become. Compared to the least fit, the fittest people had a 55% less risk of developing Lung Cancer, and a 44% less risk of ColoRectal Cancer.
Each level of fitness provides a little more benefit – even moving up …

New research suggests it could be very simple to add up to 8 years to your life. 8 more times you get to celebrate Christmas with your family, 8 more years of travelling to enjoy, 8 more years watching your grandchildren grow up. Or if you’re my Nanna Joyce (pictured), 8 more years of Singapore Slings!
The research, which followed 17,000 people for 30 years, identified the components that make up the unhealthiest lifestyle. These were physical inactivity, smoking, poor diet and alcohol use.
For a 65 year old who doesn’t …

A recent article in the online journal Medical News Today has reported findings of a study into yoga poses and scoliosis. The study found that “erforming a single yoga pose for 90 seconds for at least 3 days a week could reduce spine curvature in patients with scoliosis in as little as 3 months.”
The pose is the side plank (pictured), which involves lying on one side of the body with straight knees, and propping up the upper body with the elbow and forearm.
On average, participants did the side plank pose for …

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of people with injuries related to the sudden desire to quickly get in shape. Their exercise regime drifted a little over the winter months but with Summer approaching they need to get their bikini body back. Bravo I say! But, we need to temper that enthusiasm/desperation with a little common sense. If you’re trying to fit 6 months worth of training into the next 6 weeks read on.
I think the most common times people get injured is when they start a new activity, or …

Last week 60 Minutes ran a story on the perils of prolonged sitting. For a long time I’ve been a firm believer that the length of time you spend sitting is a lot more important then the position you sit in. This is true for musculoskeletal conditions like back pain, neck pain and headaches, but now we’re seeing that this is true for general health conditions like cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes. This only takes 12 minutes and is well worth your time. Get up and move Australia!
To watch the story click here.

Pictured is the Astronaut Position, which is a great way to relieve back pain. In this post I’m going to discuss the results of a study which has found that when you suffer a back injury you are better off staying active than resting.
Now, it may not seem terribly important, I mean, how bad could a couple of days on the couch be? Well, here are the stats: “more than three quarters of individuals will have a recurrence of their symptoms within a year from the initial onset, and up …

Don’t mean to brag (I actually love bragging), but having been consulted by a lot of World and Olympic champion athletes I can tell you that one of the biggest issues they face is how to prevent recurrence of injuries. When it comes to hamstring tears, there is very strong evidence that we can reduce the risk of suffering one by performing a simple (but incredibly challenging) exercise.
The New York Times recently posted an article outlining how this exercise works. Here’s a great excerpt and a link to the full article. I …

I just found a great video on the New York Times website (so highbrow) that demonstrates a number of exercises for improving your ankle stability. This is particularly important for anyone who has ever sprained or injured their ankle ligaments, but I recommend these exercises for anyone participating in sports. Having good stability will help in a number of sports such as running, touch football, soccer, netball, aussie rules (go the mighty Swans!) etc etc etc. It may even come in handy when you’re wearing the wobbly boot after three …

My ongoing quest to become a professional sports star took me to the Dunc Gray Velodrome on Saturday. A few old mates of mine hired the Olympic Velodrome (wasn’t even that expensive) and we did a 1 hour session learning to ride around a cycling track. I could not believe how steep that banked curve is – 42degrees!
I was looking good to become a pro when the coach motioned to me to slow down. I assumed it was because he was worried that my bike was going to disintegrate due …