High-Intensity Interval Training May Reverse Frailty Among Seniors. Investigators studied the effect of a ten-minute exercise program that included several high-intensity intervals on older, frail mice over the course of sixteen weeks and found that these mice experienced dramatic improvements in grip strength, treadmill endurance, gait speed, and muscle mass compared with mice in a…

Exercise May Be the Key to Becoming More Successful. Exercise is known to protect against several diseases, such as diabetes and stroke. Now, a new study suggests that exercise helps people socialize and accomplish more. Researchers recruited 179 college students and asked them to record each time they exercised during a 21-day span. The investigators…

Benefits of Intense Exercise. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is characterized by brief bouts of intense exercise followed by less intense activity. According to the American Council on Exercise, HIIT benefits include: improved anaerobic and aerobic fitness; increased sensitivity to insulin; decreased fasting insulin; reductions in belly fat and fat deposits just beneath the skin; and…

Elderly Adults Who Exercise More May Live Longer. Among a sample of 803 seniors participating in the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly, researchers found that those who increased their physical activity levels over a ten-year period had a 43% lower risk of death during the course of the study than…

Manage Knee Pain with Exercise. People who have knee pain are often tempted to rest instead of exercise; however, regular exercise can help strengthen the knees and ease pain. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommends: start exercising slowly and increase repetitions or weights as you get stronger; some discomfort is normal, pain isn’t, so…

Bouldering is a form of rock climbing that involves low-level climbing without the use of harnesses or ropes. In a new study, researchers followed 100 participants who took part in bouldering for three hours per week for a total of eight weeks and found that participants with depression experienced significant improvements in their depressive symptoms.…

Marathon Running Won’t Harm Arteries. In recent years, there’s been debate about whether endurance activities, like marathons, are harmful for the heart. In a new study, researchers tested the arteries of 97 runners who had competed in long distance races and found no evidence of a link between these endurance activities and atherosclerosis. Lead author…

Previous studies indicate that fat in bone marrow leads to low bone density. In a study involving obese mice, researchers discovered that just a few weeks of exercise resulted in both a reduction of marrow fat and an improvement in bone quality. The findings suggest that obese individuals, who often have poor bone quality, could…

In a new small study, researchers monitored the activity levels of 86 people age 65 and older, half of which were dog owners, for three weeks. They found that the dog owners in the study walked an average of 22 minutes more and took 2,760 more steps per day than the non-dog owners. Lead author…

To reach your exercise goals, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends avoiding these seven mistakes: failing to keep a journal to monitor your progress, losing track of your goals, strength-training the same muscles on consecutive days, breathing incorrectly during exercise, not eating enough protein, getting distracted during your workout, and ignoring flexibility and balance…