WEDNESDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) -- Vigorous exercise offers more of a mood boost than less strenuous exercise, a new study finds.

U.K. researchers compared 11 sedentary people who did moderate and high-intensity exercise. Their mood was assessed before, during, immediately following, and 20 minutes after they did the workouts.

The participants' moods were more negative during and immediately after high-intensity exercise, compared to when they did the less strenuous exercise or no exercise. However, their mood 20 minutes after doing the vigorous workout was much better compared to before the workout.

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THURSDAY, May 5 (HealthDay News) -- You stand a better chance of survival if your heart stops beating while you're in an exercise facility than if you're in another type of indoor public place, a new study found.

Overall, 50 percent of cardiac arrest victims survived if the attack occurred in a public place where some sort of exercise was happening, whereas only 36 percent of those who experienced cardiac arrest in other indoor public places survived. Exercise facilities included places traditionally thought of, such as gyms and fitness clubs, as well as places considered alternative exercise venues, such as bowling alleys and dance studios.

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In the past few years, a fitness craze has been sweeping the industry-the operative word being “craze".

They call it “Functional Training".

I have witnessed this craze reach epidemic proportions in the fitness world, to the extent that many people equate this type of training with the field of personal training: in other words, so many trainers are training people this way, people think that so-called Functional Training is what personal training is, and that's all it is; that they are one in the same.

I've had it.

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Hard workout today:

1. MedX Neck Extension

2. MedX Neck Flexion

3. Weighted Chin Up on the Nautilus Omni Multi Exercise (OME)

4. MedX Shoulder Press

5. MedX Leg Press

6. OME Wrist Curl with thick bar attachment

7. OME Wrist Extension with thick bar attachment

Total workout time was around 15 minutes. I'll do it again in 3 or 4 days. Normally I'd take a little longer, around 20 minutes or so – not because I do more exercises but because I rest longer between sets – but I had to get it done before my next client arrived for his workout.

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"I know I should eat more bananas, better breakfasts, and less junk -- but I just don't want to!"

 

Sound familiar? Yes, if you are among the cluster of athletes who rationalizes that your consumption of "junk food" is OK because you exercise hard, burn off the calories and hence "deserve" a reward.

You undoubtedly know an optimal sports diet includes more fresh fruits, more vegetables, more whole grains and less fast-and-fatty foods, gooey sweets and tempting treats.

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FRIDAY, May 6 (HealthDay News) -- After moving to the United States, immigrant groups trying to fit in tend to choose high-calorie, fatty foods in an attempt to appear more American, a new study finds.

That's one reason why immigrants approach U.S. levels of obesity within 15 years of moving to America, according to research in the June issue of Psychological Science.

Researchers surveyed Asian-American and white college students about embarrassing childhood food memories. Although 68 percent of the Asian-American respondents recalled food-related insecurities, such as awkwardness about using chopsticks, only 27 percent of white respondents recalled any embarrassing food practices.

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MONDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) -- People with a history of heart attack are at increased risk of suffering another attack or dying after even a week of taking certain types of prescription and over-the-counter painkillers, including Advil, Motrin or Voltarin, a large new study suggests.

Danish researchers analyzed nationwide records of almost 84,000 heart attack survivors and found that those who used certain non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) for one week faced a 45 percent heightened risk of another heart attack. Three months' use raised the risk to 55 percent.

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Dr. Scott Collier was the lead investigator of the study published in the October 2010 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. The study is part of the growing body of research being conducted at Appalachian State University on the effects of exercise, supplements and health.

Collier looked at changes that occurred to arteries and blood flow following 45 minutes of moderate intensity resistance exercise using machines like those typically found in fitness centers.

He found that the resistance training resulted in as much as a 20 percent decrease in a person's blood pressure, which is as good as or better than the benefit of taking anti-hypertensive medication. “And exercise has no adverse side effects," Collier said.

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Odds are that if the words "strength training" are mentioned, one of the first thoughts that comes to mind is a male individual lifting weight in order to pack on muscle.

The idea that strength training must involve muscle growth and huge, strong, ripped bodies is often centered around the days of old when weight training first became popular. Old magazines featured many male body builders with muscular, tanned bodies that exuded manliness and testosterone.

Those times are gone, and science has proven that strength training is not just for muscle-bound men trying to look good at the beach. In fact, strength training is just as important to a woman's health and fitness as it is to a man's.

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