The podcast “Consumer’s Guide To Health” returned to the airwaves in January. This biweekly podcast and live stream airs on BlogTalkRadio every second Thursday at 11:00am central time. Join the discussion!

Episode 41 is entitled “WalkSmart”. Walking may hold the keys to this country's exercise and fitness dilemma. It is something that people have been doing since they were 11 or 12 months old, so little is required in terms of education or sport training.

In today's fitness culture, running continues to grow in popularity, but the injury rate continues to grow as well. Anywhere from 60 to 90% of all runners will be injured within any given year, and the majority of these injuries are training-related.

WalkSmart was initially developed as a component of a program for running-related injuries. The goal of the program is to facilitate various physiological responses - biomechanical, cardiovascular, neuromotor, and postural - through graded high-intensity walking.

But would a high-intensity walking program provide fitness participants with a safer environment for exercise, along with a significant training effect, with far less risk? Would this foster exercise adherence simply because participants won't experience a high injury rate?

All previous episodes of CGH are currently available on my BlogTalkRadio channel. You can subscribe via RSS and the podcasts are also available on iTunes. The next episode will be on Thursday, April 26.

Read more...

The concept of periodization has been around for quite some time in the sports world. Coaches build training schedules around "periods" of training and recovery in a cyclical fashion.

However, the more perspectives you read on periodization in the training world, the more you realize that certain elements of it have been a little bent and twisted out of shape. More on that later.

But at least periodization actually exists in the world of sport training. We know that the timing of training sessions is important. Recovery is critical as training adaptations require time without subsequently "de-training". So what makes injury recovery any different?

Absolutely nothing.

Read more...

Hype. Pageantry. Red carpet. Lame jokes. Lousy masters of ceremony. Paparazzi. Outfits that only People Magazine could appreciate. Wardrobe malfunctions. And all points in between.

You've seen it on TV many times before: the Academy Awards. But for that matter, it could be the Grammy Awards or the Golden Globes or any one of countless awards ceremonies. Frankly, the statuette doesn't matter. Nor does the genre. And you certainly don't have to be a fan of awards shows on TV.

What is most important is the passion underlying these celebrations of creativity. It is the beauty of an artist, diving deep within, to find something bigger than themselves - and then to share it with the world.

Read more...

The podcast “Consumer’s Guide To Health” returned to the airwaves in January. This biweekly podcast and live stream airs on BlogTalkRadio every second Thursday at 11:00am central time. Join the discussion!

Episode 40 is entitled “Fear Of Health Care Reform”. It is sad and incomprehensible how much angst and fear appears in people from all walks of life when you mention the phrase "health care reform". It is promoted by the media, the politicians, and the special interests, yet much of it is unfounded.

There seem to be a number of talking points that have been the focus of media and special interest attention in the discussion of health care reform. But as Franklin Delano Roosevelt noted in his first inaugural speech - "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Sadly, it is that same fear that drives the health care reform debate these days.

All previous episodes of CGH are currently available on my BlogTalkRadio channel. You can subscribe via RSS and the podcasts are also available on iTunes. The next episode will be on Thursday, April 12.

Read more...