strength

Static vs dynamic stretching. What’s the difference and what should I be doing?

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When it comes to preparing your body for a workout, the notion of static stretching as a warm-up is facing a considerable challenge. Recent research is uncovering potential drawbacks, revealing that this traditional approach might not be the performance booster we once believed it to be. In fact, static stretching could have the counterintuitive effect of decreasing muscle power for hours post-stretch, potentially hindering your athletic performance.

The promise of injury prevention often associated with static stretching seems to fall short in the scientific realm. Studies are urging fitness enthusiasts to pivot toward dynamic exercises for a more effective warm-up routine. Dynamic exercises, such as proprioceptive training, strength workouts, and dynamic warm-ups, are emerging as champions in preserving performance levels and reducing the risk of injuries.

The shift from static to dynamic warm-ups has a growing evidence base. Dynamic exercises engage your muscles in a way that static stretching simply doesn’t. They prepare your body for the dynamic movements that lie ahead in your workout, enhancing flexibility, blood flow, and overall performance. As we bid adieu to the old-school static stretches, consider embracing a new era of warm-up routines that incorporate dynamic, agility, strength, and balance exercises for superior results.

So, before you settle into that long-held stretch pre-workout, take a moment to reassess. Your body might just thank you for the switch, unlocking a new realm of athletic potential and injury prevention. After all, in the dynamic world of fitness, adaptability is key. ????????

Get your two strength sessions in per week

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physio newcastle university callaghan

Callaghan provides a community who strive to produce and utilise research to better ourselves and our university.

There is a single research driven intervention that increases concentration, mood, mental health, metabolic health and overall well-being. Yet most of us struggle to maintain a routine that includes it. Exercise is that intervention and it is well known that achieving the National health and WHO recommendations of 150-300 mins of exercise per week including two strength sessions provides many benefits.

So, what are the side-effects or negative consequences of achieving this? If you find the right exercise for you and use simple exercise guidelines there are minimal risks. Here are some of those recommendations:

  • If over 50 get a medical check from your GP before starting a new routine, especially if its going to be high intensity exercise.
  • Don’t go too hard at the start. Its a common source of injury when the body is not conditioned to a new activity or exercise program.
  • If you are going to lift weights, then make sure your technique is correct. A personal trainer or exercise physiologist at NU Sport can provide this advice and education.
  • Strength classes don’t have to involve weights. You can use body weight in multiple ways to achieve your two strength sessions. Learn more about strength in small group pilates style classes designed for uni staff on campus.
  • If you feel pain associated with exercise that doesn’t ease of quickly then get some advice from the uni physio clinic on campus. Don’t let pain stop you participating in activity and exercise. Early advice and management is the key.

Go to the gym and get your 2 recommended strength sessions per week! You will feel better and live healthier if you can achieve what research has clearly proven.

If you want to read more here is a summary of a research article on strength exercise.

Staying active on Callaghan campus

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Staying active on Callaghan Campus Physio Newcastle

Its winter but your body still needs a regular dose of activity. Staying active is harder when the days get shorter but it’s still just as important and beneficial to our health. The good news is that inactivity is reversible.

The research still tells us that better cardiovascular fitness is associated with healthier living and 2 strength sessions per week can make a difference to your health in many ways. We’ve summarised the evidence of staying active via strength exercise previously. Click here to read more. There are plenty of good activity options on Callaghan campus.

  • Walking on campus – it’s the quickest and easiest option and much better than having lunch at your desk each day
  • Outdoor equipment surrounding the oval 2 and 3 outside The Forum is free and easy to use. Another great lunchtime session combined with walking between them.
  • Group fitness classes at The Forum – either before work or after or even at lunchtime, the group fitness classes
  • NU Strength classes – If you like small group, mat based pilates style exercise then NU Moves Physio provides a range of early morning, lunchtime and evening workouts to help the body and back.
  • The newly refurbished gym at The Forum is an excellent way to combine cardio exercise with some stretching and strength exercise for an overall feel better workout that you are in control of.
  • Have a swim at The Forum – its particularly quiet and calm around lunchtime for a peaceful exercise session that will make you feel great.

Feel better & get active. Its worth doing.

Bending the back

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Back pain physio newcastle australiaWe all know the old posters showing correct lifting technique. An ominous red cross stamped atop a person bending the back to pick up a box. The message was clear “keep the spine straight and move through the hips and knees when lifting”.  After all, many back injuries result from lifting with a rounded spine. However, what if there is no load or you are not lifting? Is it unsafe to tie our shoes, or play with the kids? This message has been misinterpreted somewhat. Fearing bending the back (spinal flexion) when it is not under load in some cases can lead to persisting back pain. The problem is that if we don’t move and stretch our spine, it can become inflexible and tight, possibly leading to further injury. Maintaining flexibility and stability throughout our spine is optimal to allow us to perform everyday tasks and reduce back pain.

If you have recurrent back pain and don’t stretch contact us on 4921 6879 and we can develop a suitable program of movement to reduce pain.

NU Pilates is also a great way to introduce safe spinal flexibility and core stability for those who want general body conditioning for back pain. A physiotherapist supervises our small group classes, so your exercises are modified appropriately to suit your body.

To bend or not to bend – the choice is yours.

Strength exercise – more evidence that it is worth doing

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Strength Training

The reason for doing the recommended 2 strength based exercise sessions per week has been given another boost from a recently published study. Stamatakis et al analysed adults over 30 in the United Kingdom that were selected from a pool of 80,000 people completing an annual survey then further assessed via interview and questionnaires over a 9 year period.

Strength based exercise on its own has been shown to reduce diabetes risk and when combined with cardio exercise gave even greater benefits. This study looked at reductions in mortality that could be attributed to different types of exercise that is recommended by the world health organisation. Namely 150-300 minutes of cardiovascular exercise and 2 strength exercise sessions per week.

They found 36.2% of the sample group met only the aerobic exercise guidelines. 3.4% met only the strength exercise guidelines and 5.5% met both aerobic and strength exercises recommendations.

Participation in any form of strength exercise led to a 23% reduction in mortality from all causes and a 31% reduction in mortality from cancer. Combining the strength and aerobic exercise guidelines further reduced the rate of mortality than aerobic physical activity alone.
The definition of strength exercise included both gym and body weight exercises but they analysed whether one was better than the other. The study found bodyweight exercises gave the same benefit to gym-based activity. Previous studies have indicated that increasing muscle strength has been associated with reduced cancer mortality independent of aerobic fitness. Also higher muscle strength, as opposed to just participating in strength exercise led to reductions in mortality.

Meeting the strength exercise recommendations of twice per week was found to be as important as achieving the weekly aerobic exercise recommendations for health benefits and reducing the risk of mortality.

Summary:

  • Get into strength exercises even if it’s just body weight exercise
  • Make it challenging enough to increase your strength
  • If you are just starting out, don’t go too hard too fast or you may increase your risk of injury
  • If you are not sure what strength exercise program is suitable for you, let us know and we can help you get started on a program that is safe and effective to achieve your health goals

Stamatakis et al 2017, Does strength promoting exercise confer unique health benefits? A pooled analysis of eleven population cohorts with all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular mortality endpoints. Am J of Epidemiology.

Aerobic vs anaerobic … what type of exercise should you be doing?

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Exercise types

There are plenty of research articles supporting both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. Some examples of aerobic exercise include running, walking, swimming, cycling etc. Types of anaerobic exercise include weight training, sprinting or any exercise bout lasting less than two minutes. After around two minutes your body’s demand for oxygen is exceeded by the body’s production of oxygen and therefore becomes more aerobic type exercise. Aerobic training is beneficial for cardiovascular health. It enhances the hearts function enabling it pump more blood to the body with each beat and also lowers resting heart rate. Aerobic training is beneficial for overall health, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and many other chronic diseases. Resistance training is beneficial for building strength, supporting and enhancing bone growth, and lowering blood sugar. This is especially beneficial for those people diagnosed with diabetes. Resistance training builds muscle which uses glucose for energy and increases insulin sensitivity. So which type of exercise should you be doing? A combination of aerobic and resistance training will have optimal effects. Make exercising enjoyable; try a range of exercise options until you find one you enjoy and stick with it. Try exercising with friends, with music or different classes. You are more likely to stick to a program if it is something you enjoy.

If you want to learn more about the best type of exercise for you contact us on 49216879. Our physiotherapists are skilled in exercise prescription for everyday casual exercise through to professional sports conditioning programs.

Exercise recommendations for healthy living

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running and physiotherapy

The current exercise recommendations for healthy living in Australia and via the world health organisation (WHO) are worth checking. Do you accumulate 150 – 300 minutes moderate intensity exercise or 75 – 150 vigorous exercise per week? Do you do muscle strengthening 2 days per week?

Think about where you sit relative to the recommendations. And while mentioning sitting, this advice is most important if you spend most of your day at a  desk. Anything is better than nothing but maintaining the recommended level of healthy exercise will pay dividends in the short and long term.

If you want to know more about the health recommendations click here. If you need help getting started with strength based exercise program give us a call 49216879.