Podcast appearances and mentions of gretchen reynolds

Fartlek is a Swedish term for “speed play.” This informal version of interval training is simple, effective and dare we say … enjoyable? And not just because "fartlek" is fun to say.Exercise columnist Gretchen Reynolds is here to vouch for this often-overlooked, decades-old practice. Reynolds, who helped popularize the 7-minute workout, has found that a growing body of research points to the benefits of this approach, even in small doses. According to exercise scientists, it can improve strength, endurance and longevity, and may even lower the risk of dementia. Read more: Don't like to exercise? Try this simple, science-backed trick.Being in shape is better for longevity than being thin, new study showsToday's show was produced by Elana Gordon and mixed by Sam Bair. It was edited by Maggie Penman. Thanks to Anjuman Ali.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

In this week's essay, John dives deep into the loss of his beloved dog, George, the essayist's dilemma, the comfort of quiet mornings, and more.   Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 5. September 5, 2021 I go to the morning alone.   Notebook 75, page 6. September 6, 2021 Phantom nails on the stairs     References: “Every Dog Is a Rescue Dog” by John Dickerson for The Atlantic “Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds” by Miho Nagasawa et.al for Science Haikus by Jennifer Gurney “Which Pet Will Make You Happiest?” by Arthur C. Brooks for The Atlantic “The Family Dog Is in Sync With Your Kids” by Gretchen Reynolds for The New York Times   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com    Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen. Host John Dickerson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's essay, John dives deep into the loss of his beloved dog, George, the essayist's dilemma, the comfort of quiet mornings, and more.   Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 5. September 5, 2021 I go to the morning alone.   Notebook 75, page 6. September 6, 2021 Phantom nails on the stairs     References: “Every Dog Is a Rescue Dog” by John Dickerson for The Atlantic “Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds” by Miho Nagasawa et.al for Science Haikus by Jennifer Gurney “Which Pet Will Make You Happiest?” by Arthur C. Brooks for The Atlantic “The Family Dog Is in Sync With Your Kids” by Gretchen Reynolds for The New York Times   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com    Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen. Host John Dickerson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's essay, John dives deep into the loss of his beloved dog, George, the essayist's dilemma, the comfort of quiet mornings, and more.   Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 5. September 5, 2021 I go to the morning alone.   Notebook 75, page 6. September 6, 2021 Phantom nails on the stairs     References: “Every Dog Is a Rescue Dog” by John Dickerson for The Atlantic “Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds” by Miho Nagasawa et.al for Science Haikus by Jennifer Gurney “Which Pet Will Make You Happiest?” by Arthur C. Brooks for The Atlantic “The Family Dog Is in Sync With Your Kids” by Gretchen Reynolds for The New York Times   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com    Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen. Host John Dickerson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's essay, John dives deep into the loss of his beloved dog, George, the essayist's dilemma, the comfort of quiet mornings, and more.   Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 5. September 5, 2021 I go to the morning alone.   Notebook 75, page 6. September 6, 2021 Phantom nails on the stairs     References: “Every Dog Is a Rescue Dog” by John Dickerson for The Atlantic “Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds” by Miho Nagasawa et.al for Science Haikus by Jennifer Gurney “Which Pet Will Make You Happiest?” by Arthur C. Brooks for The Atlantic “The Family Dog Is in Sync With Your Kids” by Gretchen Reynolds for The New York Times   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com    Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen. Host John Dickerson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's essay, John dives deep into the loss of his beloved dog, George, the essayist's dilemma, the comfort of quiet mornings, and more.   Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 5. September 5, 2021 I go to the morning alone.   Notebook 75, page 6. September 6, 2021 Phantom nails on the stairs     References: “Every Dog Is a Rescue Dog” by John Dickerson for The Atlantic “Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds” by Miho Nagasawa et.al for Science Haikus by Jennifer Gurney “Which Pet Will Make You Happiest?” by Arthur C. Brooks for The Atlantic “The Family Dog Is in Sync With Your Kids” by Gretchen Reynolds for The New York Times   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com    Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen. Host John Dickerson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's essay, John dives deep into the loss of his beloved dog, George, the essayist's dilemma, the comfort of quiet mornings, and more.   Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 5. September 5, 2021 I go to the morning alone.   Notebook 75, page 6. September 6, 2021 Phantom nails on the stairs     References: “Every Dog Is a Rescue Dog” by John Dickerson for The Atlantic “Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds” by Miho Nagasawa et.al for Science Haikus by Jennifer Gurney “Which Pet Will Make You Happiest?” by Arthur C. Brooks for The Atlantic “The Family Dog Is in Sync With Your Kids” by Gretchen Reynolds for The New York Times   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com    Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen. Host John Dickerson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's essay, John dives deep into the loss of his beloved dog, George, the essayist's dilemma, the comfort of quiet mornings, and more.   Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 5. September 5, 2021 I go to the morning alone.   Notebook 75, page 6. September 6, 2021 Phantom nails on the stairs     References: “Every Dog Is a Rescue Dog” by John Dickerson for The Atlantic “Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds” by Miho Nagasawa et.al for Science Haikus by Jennifer Gurney “Which Pet Will Make You Happiest?” by Arthur C. Brooks for The Atlantic “The Family Dog Is in Sync With Your Kids” by Gretchen Reynolds for The New York Times   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com    Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen. Host John Dickerson

In this week's essay, John dives deep into the loss of his beloved dog, George, the essayist's dilemma, the comfort of quiet mornings, and more.   Notebook Entries: Notebook 75, page 5. September 5, 2021 I go to the morning alone.   Notebook 75, page 6. September 6, 2021 Phantom nails on the stairs     References: “Every Dog Is a Rescue Dog” by John Dickerson for The Atlantic “Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds” by Miho Nagasawa et.al for Science Haikus by Jennifer Gurney “Which Pet Will Make You Happiest?” by Arthur C. Brooks for The Atlantic “The Family Dog Is in Sync With Your Kids” by Gretchen Reynolds for The New York Times   Podcast production by Cheyna Roth. Email us at navelgazingpodcast@gmail.com    Want to listen to Navel Gazing uninterrupted? Subscribe to Slate Plus to immediately unlock ad-free listening to Navel Gazing and all your other favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/navelgazingplus to get access wherever you listen. Host John Dickerson

Exercising can be intimidating. Any New Year's resolutions you made might feel overly ambitious and hard to keep. But fitness science tells us that exercise is linked to longevity and staying young. Read more: How fit you are is not determined by your age, weight or ability to do any one physical activity. In this bonus episode of Post Reports, we'll talk about how to stay fit at any age. Health columnist Gretchen Reynolds shares some simple exercises to assess your fitness and explains how overall fitness influences how long and how well we live. This is part of our occasional series about how we can all rethink and reset our daily habits in 2024. You can find the online fitness age calculator here.This episode was produced by Taylor White and Bishop Sand. It was mixed by Sean Carter. It was edited by Lucy Perkins.

Hometown Radio 01/29/24 4:30p: Guest host Gary J. Freiberg: Washington Post science of aging columnist Gretchen Reynolds

In this episode of GRUFFTalk: How to Age Better, we welcome back Gretchen Reynolds, a renowned health and wellness journalist who writes the "Your Move" column for the Washington Post. Join us as we delve into three of her insightful articles that offer valuable perspectives on health and fitness.  Topics Covered:  1. Never Too Late to Get Strong:     - Discussion on Gretchen's article: "It's never too late to lift weights: older bodies can still build muscle."     - Insights into new research showing significant fitness and strength improvements in individuals in their 80s and 90s who start weight training.     - Tips for those in midlife who are new to strength training.     - Recommendations for frequency of strength training sessions.  2. Exercise and Weight Loss     - Exploration of weight loss with or without the aid of medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Munjaro.     - Expert opinions on the importance of incorporating exercise into weight loss regimens, even when using these medications.  3. Moving Fast for 3 Minutes a Day Lowers Cancer Risk:     - Gretchen's article on how just three minutes of fast-paced movement daily can reduce cancer risk.     - Discussion on the scientific backing for this health advice.  4. The Calcium Score Test and Women's Heart Health:     - Gretchen shares the story of her friend's sudden passing from undetected heart disease, leading to a focus on women's heart health.     - Information about the calcium score test, which assesses plaque buildup in arteries.     - Personal experiences and the importance of early detection and preventative measures.  Closing Thoughts:  - Gretchen shares her plans and insights on how she intends to modify her exercise routine in 2024 based on the research she reported in 2023.  Links and Resources:  Previous Episode with Gretchen Reynolds: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grufftalk-how-to-age-better-with-barbara-hannah-grufferman/id1623436268?i=1000602037359f  Articles by Gretchen Reynolds Referenced in this Episode:  Strength-Training: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/11/29/weight-lifting-aging/  Importance of Exercising While Losing Weight: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/09/06/exercise-weight-loss-diet-ozempic/  Can 3 Minutes of Vigorous Exercise a Day Fight Cancer? https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/08/09/fast-movement-activity-lower-cancer-risk/   Connect with Barbara:   Love Your Age: The Small-Step Solution to a Better, Longer, Happier Life  Barbara Hannah Grufferman website  Instagram @Barbara Hannah Grufferman  Facebook @BarbaraHannahGruffermanAuthor  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Washington Post Health and Wellness Columnist Gretchen Reynolds hosts Radio Headspace all week. Today, she shares tips on exercising more efficiently to get all the health benefits in less time.Learn more about Gretchen's work here.

Washington Post Health and Wellness Columnist Gretchen Reynolds hosts Radio Headspace all week. Today, Gretchen discusses why movement is key to a healthy and well-rounded life, especially as we age.Learn more about Gretchen's work here.

Washington Post Health and Wellness Columnist Gretchen Reynolds hosts Radio Headspace all week. Today, she shares a few ways that mindful movement can help us feel more at ease.Learn more about Gretchen's work here.

Washington Post Health and Wellness Columnist Gretchen Reynolds hosts Radio Headspace all week. Today, she talks about how exercising the body can actually improve our cognitive abilities.Learn more about Gretchen's work here.

Washington Post Health and Wellness Columnist Gretchen Reynolds hosts Radio Headspace all week. Today, she talks about how easy exercise can truly be, and the positive health benefits it offers.Learn more about Gretchen's work here.

Moving more is one of the best ways to age better and this week, GRUFFtalk host Barbara Hannah Grufferman welcomes Gretchen Reynolds to the show to talk about the newest science-backed research focusing on exercise and fitness.   For many years, Gretchen was one of the most-read, most popular columnists for the New York Times. She wrote the Phys Ed column which was Barbara's go-to for the latest research on exercise and aging. But not too long ago, Gretchen moved over to the Washington Post to write the highly acclaimed “Your Move” column.   One of her best-known stories was about a hotel-room workout developed by two exercise scientists. Gretchen called it "the scientific 7-minute workout," and it became a global sensation, spurring new apps and public interest in the potency of brief, intense workouts. Her 2012 book "The First 20 Minutes" was a New York Times bestseller.   Gretchen's specialty as a journalist is she digs deep into the science behind exercise and fitness and how it all helps us to age better, and in this episode she talks through three of her recent columns for the Washington Post, and she also talks a bit about how all the new research she's been studying has helped her make different – probably better – choices to stay healthy and fit in 2023.   Here's what you'll learn in this episode with Gretchen Reynolds:  the difference between chronological age and biological age  everything you need to know about epigenetics   how moving more can reverse cell damage  ‘exercise snacks' is an efficient and effective way to move more throughout the day  why you need to move every 30 minutes and how you can do that without compromising productivity  how grip strength can predict how well you are aging and how you can measure it, and even improve it  why heart disease is still the #1 killer of women and why you should always listen to the signals your body is sending    Get more information about Gretchen:  Book - The First 20 Minutes: https://www.amazon.com/First-20-Minutes-Surprising-Exercise/dp/0142196754/ref=sr_1_1?crid=CMNLQECR5FZR&keywords=The+First+20+Minutes&qid=1675373058&sprefix=the+first+20+minutes%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-1 Washington Post Column: https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/gretchen-reynolds/  Article about Gretchen's Friend: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/12/28/women-heart-health-disease-symptoms/  Article on How Sitting All Day is Harmful to Your Health: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/09/14/meet-active-couch-potato-how-sitting-all-day-can-erase-workout/  Article on Grip Strength: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/01/18/grip-strength-muscles-aging/  Article on ‘Exercise Snacks': https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/01/04/exercise-snacks-workout-breaks/  Article on ‘The Monty Python Silly Walk': https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/12/21/monty-python-silly-walk-exercise/  The 7-Minute Workout: https://archive.nytimes.com/well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-minute-workout/  Connect with Barbara:   Love Your Age: The Small-Step Solution to a Better, Longer, Happier Life  Barbara Hannah Grufferman website  Instagram @Barbara Hannah Grufferman  Facebook @BarbaraHannahGruffermanAuthor  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to recent surveys, Americans are stressed out by inflation and are planning to buy fewer Christmas gifts and donate less to charity.  Last year on average, people bought about 16 gifts for family and friends, this year that number has dropped to nine.  Another survey found that many are planning to donate less with 44% blaming a lack of funds.  Jon Hilsenrath, senior writer at the WSJ, joins us for how inflation is souring the holiday season.   Next, hospitals are being pushed to the brink as we see RSV, Covid and the flu infecting people at high rates.  We are also seeing a continued staffing shortage in the healthcare industry that is causing a replay of what we saw during the height of the pandemic.  A slew of nursing home closures is also pushing more into the hospital system.  Sabrina Malhi, health and science reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for what to know.   Finally, dogs and humans can both get dementia, a problem we know comes with age.  We also know that movement and exercise can help reduce the risk of getting the degenerative disease.  Two recent studies are offering new data about the precise amounts of walking that can protect human and dog brains.  Gretchen Reynolds, health columnist at The Washington Post, joins us for why it's definitely a good idea to take your dog out for a walk.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show, what you need to know about the updated booster shots and why they matter amid growing pandemic fatigue. Plus, new research on the science of sitting and the pitfalls of being an “active couch potato.” Read more:The new coronavirus vaccine boosters are now widely available in the United States, but the updated shots are rolling out amid widespread pandemic fatigue. Federal health officials say that these updated vaccines could help buffer communities against future surges of the virus. Earlier this month, officials announced plans of turning coronavirus shots into an annual dose, similar to the flu shot. Today on Post Reports, health reporter Lena H. Sun, who's followed the coronavirus pandemic from the beginning, answers some of the most pressing questions about the omicron-targeted boosters. Plus, The Washington Post's newest wellness columnist, Gretchen Reynolds, on why exercising the recommended 30 minutes a day might not be enough if you are an “active couch potato.”

Today, you'll learn about whether the cyanide in apple seeds could do you any real harm, how working out in the morning and at night are both beneficial but in different ways, and how researchers have found evidence that patients with long Covid may often have fragments of the virus lingering in their gut.Snow White wasn't far off with the poisonous apple.“Can Apple Seeds Cause Cyanide Poisoning? A Toxicologist Digs Into The Details” by Elana Spivackhttps://www.inverse.com/science/stone-fruits-poisonous-seeds“Here's How Many Apple Cores It Would Take to Poison You” by Jennifer Chausseehttps://www.wired.com/2016/09/heres-many-apple-cores-take-poisonWhat time should I work out?“Is It Better to Exercise in the Morning or Evening?" by Gretchen Reynolds●  https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/well/exercise-timing.html“This is the Best Time of Day to Work Out, According to Science" by Jamie Ducharme●  https://time.com/5533388/best-time-to-exercise/An even scarier kind of ghost?“Coronavirus ‘ghosts' found lingering in the gut” by Heidi Ledfordhttps://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01280-3“‘Ghosts' In The Gut May Be Behind Long COVID” by Dr. Katie Spaldinghttps://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/ghosts-in-the-gut-may-be-behind-long-covid/“How the coronavirus infects cells — and why Delta is so dangerous” by Megan Scudellarihttps://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02039-yFollow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Calli and Nate — for free! Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/cyanide-seeds-workout-when-covid-but-ghosts

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 13, 2022 is: elucidate • ih-LOO-suh-dayt • verb Elucidate means "to make something that is hard to understand clear or easy to understand." // The author elucidates complex ideas to a general audience. See the entry > Examples: "He hopes to develop future experiments to elucidate how exercise influences metabolisms…." — Gretchen Reynolds, The New York Times, 21 Dec. 2021 Did you know? Elucidate comes from the Latin term lucidus, which means "lucid." Lucidus, in turn, comes from the verb lucēre, meaning "to shine." So elucidating can be thought of as the figurative equivalent of shining a light on something to make it easier to see.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 13, 2022 is: elucidate • ih-LOO-suh-dayt • verb Elucidate means "to make something that is hard to understand clear or easy to understand." // The author elucidates complex ideas to a general audience. See the entry > Examples: "He hopes to develop future experiments to elucidate how exercise influences metabolisms…." — Gretchen Reynolds, The New York Times, 21 Dec. 2021 Did you know? Elucidate comes from the Latin term lucidus, which means "lucid." Lucidus, in turn, comes from the verb lucēre, meaning "to shine." So elucidating can be thought of as the figurative equivalent of shining a light on something to make it easier to see.

Gretchen is the Physical Ed Columnist for the New York Times and she chats with Joan about little ways to stay active and healthy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on the Joan Hamburg Show, Joan has two fantastic conversations with very special guests. First up, Ginger Zee.  Ginger Zee, is the chief meteorologist for ABC News and her new book, "A Little Closer to Home" is available now.  Up next, it's Gretchen Reynolds. Gretchen is the Physical Ed Columnist for the New York Times and she chats with Joan about little ways to stay active and healthy. Plus, an all new edition Joan Eats and Ask Joan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Este "A riesgo de demanda" (ARDD) se basa en dos artículos de la Redacción BBC News Mundo y otro de Gretchen Reynolds escrito para el New York Times.

An interview with Gretchen Reynolds, Phys Ed Columnist for the New York Times.But figuring out how this topic, how this—the whole arena of physical activity— how important it is for our lives, that is, there are stories in all of that and that is what sticks to people. That's how they can remember this information and figure out how to apply it to their lives. So, so yes, I think of myself as a storyteller whose subject matter happens to be physical activity and exercise science.Gretchen ReynoldsWriting about exercise, exercise science, and physical activityChoosing studies to write aboutHoning the talent to write about exercise scienceStorytelling about physical activity and exercise sciencePhysical activity and enjoymentPhysical activity and longer, healthier livesPhysical activity and accessibilityIndividual response to exercisehttps://www.movetolivemore.com/https://www.linkedin.com/company/move-to-live-more@MovetoLiveMore

You read that right. Just 4 seconds of intense physical activity is enough to keep your body healthy. Seems too good to be true, right?!Well, one of our favorite writers & HER regulars is back on the show to tell us more. Gretchen Reynolds writes the popular "Phys Ed" column for The New York Times, which posts online as part of the "Well" blog and also appears in the print edition of the paper's "Science Times." The column regularly is among the week's most emailed stories and several columns have been among the most viewed and most emailed stories of the year at nytimes.com.She joins us to talk about her latest NYT piece, "Exercise Vigorously for 4 Seconds. Repeat. Your Muscles May Thank You," using exercise as a coping tool, HIIT, and how you can get a meaningful workout in a short time period.

You read that right. Just 4 seconds of intense physical activity is enough to keep your body healthy. Seems too good to be true, right?!You read that right. Just 4 seconds of intense physical activity is enough to keep your body healthy. Seems too good to be true, right?!Well, one of our favorite writers & HER regulars is back on the show to tell us more. Gretchen Reynolds writes the popular "Phys Ed" column for The New York Times, which posts online as part of the "Well" blog and also appears in the print edition of the paper's "Science Times." The column regularly is among the week's most emailed stories and several columns have been among the most viewed and most emailed stories of the year at nytimes.com.She joins us to talk about her latest NYT piece, "Exercise Vigorously for 4 Seconds. Repeat. Your Muscles May Thank You," using exercise as a coping tool, HIIT, and how you can get a meaningful workout in a short time period.

Today, we are going to be discussing everyday activities that boost memory in older adults. First, we'll talk about cognitive health, what it is, and things that affect it. Then, we will differentiate between normal age-related memory and cognitive issues that most individuals experience and the cognitive decline that happens with cognitive issues, such as Alzheimer's or dementia.   After which we will see why cognitive function decreases with age. Then, we'll talk about how older adults without cognitive issues can boost their memory and what everyday activities they can start trying now. We'll then move on to some daily things seniors with cognitive issues can do to help improve or delay the cognitive decline they are experiencing. Finally, we'll talk about the importance of exercising your brain now and how it can help you later. Now let's move on to the rest of the show.     The National Institute on Aging states that Cognitive health, which is the ability to clearly think, learn, and remember, is an important component of performing everyday activities and is just one aspect of overall brain health. Our brain health is determined by how well we are able to function across several areas which include: cognitive health, motor function, emotional function, and tactile function.     Several studies have shown that taking care of your physical health, managing high blood pressure, eating healthy foods, engaging in physical activity, keeping your mind active, staying connected with social activities, managing stress are all linked to cognitive health and can help improve brain function and a combination of all of these as lifestyle changes can actually help reduce your risk of Alzheimer's disease. Now, I know that was a big list of things I just gave you, but most of them are things you are probably already doing and things we are constantly recommending on this podcast.     Taking care of your physical health means that you make sure you are going to your scheduled doctors' appointments and keeping up with treatments and any care plans you may have. You should also reduce your risk of falling at home to prevent possible brain-related injuries that may come from a fall. If you are interested in ways to make sure your home is safe as you continue to age, check out our Quick Tips episode on Safely Aging in Place.     Many observational studies have come to the consensus that having high blood pressure between the ages of forty and sixty is a risk factor for cognitive decline as an older adult. The National Institute on Aging suggests that preventing or controlling your high blood pressure can help protect your brain and heart. Since high blood pressure can happen without any symptoms, it is important to go to your doctor for regular health screenings. If you have high blood pressure, you're not alone. One-third of Americans have high blood pressure, and nearly two-thirds of older adults have high blood pressure. Your doctor may suggest exercise, changes in your diet, or medication to help control your high blood pressure.     A healthy diet has yet to be scientifically proven to reduce the risks of cognitive decline, but researchers are currently working on it. For instance, some people on the Mediterranean diet have been shown to have a lower risk of developing dementia. Even if scientists are unable to find a connection between eating healthy and lowering your risk of cognitive decline as an older adult, eating healthy is helpful for your overall brain health. If you're interested in nutrition tips for seniors, we've done a few episodes covering the subject in the past.   Make sure you drink plenty of water and are getting the nutrients your body needs. Talk to your doctor for help developing a nutrition plan specifically for you. As we age, our body changes and we need different things to fuel our bodies than we used to. Your doctor or a registered dietician can help determine the right plan for you.     Being physically active has many benefits. The National Institute on aging says that being physically active can keep and improve your strength, allow you to have more energy, improve your balance, which can help reduce your fall risk, prevent or delay heart disease, diabetes, and other concerns, and can help improve your mood and reduce depression. Studies have found that ongoing physical activity benefits your brain health and cognitive function. Aerobic exercise, which we commonly think of as cardio, seems to be more effective than nonaerobic exercise when it comes to cognitive function.   The University of Nebraska-Lincoln suggests that activities such as walking, dancing, swimming, water aerobics, jogging, aerobic exercise classes, bike riding (either stationary or on a path), gardening activities, such as raking and pushing a lawnmower, tennis, and golf (without a golf cart) are all beneficial for your health. Older adults should aim to participate in some form of aerobic activity for a total of two and a half hours a week. If you are just starting out or have chronic pain or other health conditions, don't overdo it. Make sure you talk to your doctor before starting any new exercise programs.     While keeping your body active is important, so is keeping your mind active. Being intellectually stimulated has been connected to cognitive health, but it hasn't been proven. An ample amount of studies are being conducted on what types of mental activities help with cognitive function, but they are all ongoing. At the very least, no studies have shown any harmful effects of keeping your mind active. Learning a new skill, volunteering, and hobbies are all things you can participate in that may benefit your brain health by keeping your mind active. Most of these activities will also help ensure you have much-needed social interaction as you get older, as well.     Stress is a normal part of life, but over time, chronic stress can change the brain, affect memory, and increase the risk for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Learning to manage stress now can help your body bounce back from stressful situations and reduce your risk of affecting your cognitive function. For some helpful tips and a list of ways to help manage stress, listen to our episodes on caring for the caregiver and self-care.     Now that you know about cognitive health and some things you can start doing now to protect and improve it, let's move on to the difference between normal age-related memory and cognitive issues that most older adults will experience and the cognitive decline that happens with cognitive issues, such as Alzheimer's or dementia.     The Alzheimer's Society states that many of us get a little more forgetful as we get older. Most people will need a bit longer to remember things, get distracted more easily, or struggle to multi-task as well as they once did. This may become noticeable particularly from middle-age - usually taken as during our 40s, 50s, and early 60s - onwards. These changes are normal, but they can be a nuisance and at times frustrating. However, you may worry that these things are an early sign of dementia. It's important not to worry too much about this. For most people, these changes will be the result of normal aging and won't be down to dementia.     The Alzheimer's Society also has a helpful chart you can look at to compare the signs of normal aging versus dementia. However, it should not be used to self-diagnose anything. If you or your loved one are experiencing any sort of cognitive decline, see your doctor. They can determine whether it is because of the normal aging process or not. You can find a link to the Alzheimer's Society's website and their chart in our show notes.     An article written for Harvard Health Publishing states that scientists used to think that brain connections developed at a rapid pace in the first few years of life until you reached your mental peak in your early 20s. Your cognitive abilities would level off at around middle age, and then start to gradually decline. We now know this is not true. Instead, scientists now see the brain as continuously changing and developing across the entire life span. There is no period in life when the brain and its functions just hold steady. Some cognitive functions become weaker with age, while others actually improve.     Some brain areas, including the hippocampus, shrink in size. The myelin sheath that surrounds and protects nerve fibers wears down, which can slow the speed of communication between neurons. Some of the receptors on the surface of neurons that enable them to communicate with one another may not function as well as they once did. These changes can affect your ability to encode new information into your memory and retrieve information that's already in storage, affecting both your long- and short-term memory.     The brain is continuously changing and growing as we age and it's important to make sure we are keeping it active and healthy. Symphony Senior Living explains that when your brain is healthy, you can help delay cognitive issues such as Alzheimer's and other types of dementia. They also have a few suggestions for older adults with normal aging to do daily that can boost their memory.     Card and board games that encourage thinking and calculation such as gin rummy, mahjong or Scrabble, or chess are excellent activities to add to your regular schedule to exercise memory muscles. If you are social distancing, many of these games can be played online with your loved ones, as well.     It's important to stimulate your brain with new information and events. If you don't, your ability to process new information will decrease over time. Brain games like Sudoku, word searches, and crosswords are great ways to stimulate your brain with new information. Reading also helps your brain retain its ability to process new information and has even been linked to longevity.     As we stated earlier, learning a new skill is also beneficial for your brain health and a great way to keep your mind active. You are never too old to learn. Whatever is it you want to learn, a musical instrument, creative writing, or maybe knitting, you should just start. Look for local classes in your area or you can take a virtual class. No matter what you choose, learning something new is a great way to stimulate cognitive function for a healthy, engaged brain.   Keeping active, both physically and mentally, is important for everyone, but it is especially important for people with dementia or other memory conditions. Saran Craig, the Clinical Program Innovation Manager at Senior Link says that providing structure and routine for a person living with dementia helps to maintain their cognitive function, sense of security, and can calm anxious or aggressive behaviors. Games, exercise and outdoor activities, music, art, and maintaining a day-to-day routine have proven to be particularly helpful and beneficial for both physical and cognitive health.     Games are a great way to help someone with dementia practice their mental skills, which can help prevent or slow their memory decline and give them the self-confidence they may be lacking. Simple math can become a problem for many with dementia, but card and board games, like chutes and ladders and go fish, can help them gain confidence in themselves and allow them to practice some math.   Playing trivia can also be a fun way to help stimulate their brain and help prevent their memory from declining further. Playing matching games routinely can help improve memory, concentration, stimulate problem-solving skills and hand-eye coordination.   In an article for the New York Times, Gretchen Reynolds tells us that findings suggest that walking a few times per week might alter the trajectory of the disease and improve the physical well-being of people who develop a common form of age-related memory loss, dementia, that otherwise has few treatments. If you or your loved one are able to go for a walk, you may find this to be true. However, going for a walk most likely will not improve memory, but it may help in preventing any further decline.   Journaling may also be something that someone with dementia may find helpful. Journaling can help manage stress, which we know from earlier can help boost memory, and writing about how we feel or what we did that day stimulates the brain.   If you or your loved one has been diagnosed with dementia or if you would just like to learn more, you can find our Dementia and Alzheimer's playlist on our YouTube channel to watch some or all of the episodes we currently have released on dementia.   Make sure you are exercising your brain now instead of beginning when you notice any cognitive decline. There are tons of ways you can engage your brain. I'm sure you will be able to find a few ways to stimulate your brain and help improve your cognitive function. Starting earlier in life can help you prevent or slow any cognitive decline or issues you may face as you age and having the tools to help now can help ease your mind, and stress levels, if you experience memory issues later in life.     We want to thank you for joining us here at All Home Care Matters, All Home Care Matters is here for you and to help families as they navigate long-term care issues. Please visit us at allhomecarematters.com there is a private secure fillable form there where you can give us feedback, show ideas, or if you have questions. Every form is read and responded to. If you know someone is who could benefit from this episode, please share it with them.   Remember, you can listen to the show on any of your favorite podcast streaming platforms and watch the show on our YouTube channel and make sure to hit that subscribe button, so you'll never miss an episode. Join us next time on All Home Care Matters where we will be welcoming a very special guest, Alexis Baker. Alexis is a Board Certified and Licensed Music Therapist and will be sharing the many benefits and tools of music therapy. This is an interview that you won't want to miss!   Sources: https://www.symphonyseniorliving.com/blog/activities-that-help-memory-in-seniors/   https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/01/the-preschool-inside-a-nursing-home/424827/   https://www.senioradvisor.com/blog/2017/02/5-benefits-of-putting-a-preschool-in-a-nursing-home/   https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/cognitive-health-and-older-adults   https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/high-blood-pressure-linked-cognitive-decline   https://food.unl.edu/physical-activity-older-adults   https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/symptoms-and-diagnosis/how-dementia-progresses/normal-ageing-vs-dementia   https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/how-memory-and-thinking-ability-change-with-age   https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/24/well/move/a-1-hour-walk-3-times-a-week-has-benefits-for-dementia.html   https://www.seniorlink.com/blog/helpful-daily-activities-for-dementia-patients-50-expert-tips-and-suggestions-to-keep-your-loved-one-engaged          

¿Quieres escuchar el audiolibro completo? Visita www.penguinaudio.comSorprendentes hallazgos científicos revelan cómo ejercitarnos al máximo; entrenar mejor y vivir más.¿Sabías que 20 minutos de cardio al día es suficiente para obtener los máximos beneficios de salud? Cada semana; millones de estadounidenses modifican su rutina de ejercicio gracias a la columna de Gretchen Reynolds; una de las más leídas de The New York Times. Este audiolibro; informativo y entretenido; deja al descubierto los avances científicos más recientes sobre salud y entrenamiento físico; a la vez que echa por tierra las ideas arraigadas en torno al deporte y estimula el debate alrededor de la ciencia del ejercicio. Luego de consultar a expertos en fisiología; biología; psicología; neurología y deporte; la autora nos explica con qué frecuencia debemos ejercitarnos; cuánto deben durar los entrenamientos; cómo evitar lastimarnos y cómo encontrar la rutina ideal para alcanzar nuestros objetivos.Entre los muchos hallazgos incluidos en este libro; se encuentran: *Por qué estirarse es malo y por qué calentar es bueno. *Por qué caminar mejora tu memoria y por qué ejercitarte te pone de buen humor. *Por qué es mejor tomar agua -sólo agua- antes y después del ejercicio; pero jamás durante. *Por qué la leche con chocolate es mejor que el Gatorade para recuperarte después de hacer deporte. *Por qué una dieta promedio; saludable; es lo único que necesitas. *Por qué perder peso y mantenerse es más difícil para las mujeres que para los hombres. *Por qué el ibuprofeno debilita tu cuerpo para el ejercicio. Ya sea que estés por correr un ultramaratón o que sólo quieras subir las escaleras sin perder el aliento. Los primeros 20 minutos te enseñará cómo tener hoy una vida más saludable y cómo entrenar mejor el día de mañana. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, I have the honour of speaking with well known author and Professor of Kinesiology (that is, human movement) at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, Dr Martin Gibala. Martin studies the mechanisms behind human responses to exercise and the associated health benefits. His area of expertise is time-efficient exercise and he has been involved in pioneering research on interval training showing that brief, intense bouts of physical exercise, also known as "exercise snacks" or "activity snacks", can enhance physical fitness. Happily this can apply to both healthy individuals and those with chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes. This is music to the ears of time poor people!I would say just about everyone from the couch potato to the elite athlete could learn something from Martin's research. Tune in (do a wall sit) and enjoy.FOLLOW DR MARTIN GIBALAMartin's website: https://martingibala.comProfile page, McMaster University: https://www.science.mcmaster.ca/kinesiology/component/comprofiler/userprofile/gibalam.htmlTwitter handle @gibalamMartin's book, The One-Minute Workout: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/533236/the-one-minute-workout-by-martin-gibala-with-christopher-shulgan/9780399183669/Martin's course, Hacking Exercise for Health: https://www.coursera.org/learn/hacking-exercise-healthMENTIONED IN THE PODCASTExample of home fitness calculator: https://www.verywellfit.com/home-fitness-tests-3120282Daniel Lieberman's book, Exercised: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/557099/exercised-by-daniel-e-lieberman/Gretchen Reynolds: https://www.nytimes.com/by/gretchen-reynoldsHOW YOU CAN SUPPORT THE PODCASTPlease tell your friends about the podcast and share it with them.Follow me on Instagram @vibrant_lives_podcastFollow my Facebook page: @vibrantlivespodcastIf you could rate and review the podcast on iTunes, that would be super helpful.Purchasing a book from my website is an easy way to support the podcast too. Here is a link to the books page: https://amandaswellbeingpodcast.com/books/

New York Times-- the PC Wellness rag had to publish on February 10th an article about a drug that researchers called a "game changer " in the fat biz. What will the Times' GANG of Four: Jane Brody; Gina Kolata; Gretchen Reynolds; Tara Parker Pope do now?? No more Wellness tales. Again, everything is hormones now . But nothing will change. We are too PC & Woke and Cancel Culture to face the music. We obsess about Covid while the real illness will end our dominance.

Episode 26: Season 2, Episode 2 of our book read/podcast covering every chapter in an open source textbook to act as a free supplement to INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY. In this episode we are covering ethics and the monsters at the forefront of psychological science. For with great power, comes great responsibility, and some, use their power for ill. And while psychology has not had the terrible experiments seen in unethical medicine, it is not immune to those in our ranks poking, prodding, and manipulating others without concern for the respect of others, beneficence, or justice. Textbook: https://openstax.org/details/books/psychology-2e?Book%20details PSD Website: https://psychosocialdistancingpodcast.com/ Thomas' Webpage: https://sexography.org/ Thomas' Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBrooks_SexPsy Daniel's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScienceInChaos Monster Study Article by Gretchen Reynolds of the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/16/magazine/the-stuttering-doctor-s-monster-study.html# Bias of the Week: Negativity Bias https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h3r_CNg_MuRKbi_oJYVRth7dAMW2nNiS/view?usp=sharing

The best place to be during this pandemic is outdoors (if you're doing it correctly).The best place to be during this pandemic is outdoors (if you're doing it correctly).But even something as simple as going outside is still a bit confusing: do I need to wear a mask outside? What about if I'm riding my bike? And what happens if someone jogs by me a little too close? Gretchen Reynolds is back on the show to help us sort these new rules out when it comes to exercising in the pandemic. She writes the "Phys Ed" column for the New York Times which posts online as part of the "Well" blog and also appears in the print edition of the paper's "Science Times."

Next time you do something really embarrassing in front of other people – you will remember what I am going to tell you in this episode – and it will make you feel a lot better about whatever embarrassing thing you did. http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/family/embarrassmentThen, we are going to look at the problems created by parents today who give too much and do too much for their kids. Richard Watts, author of Entitlemania: How Not to Spoil Your Kids & What to Do If You Have (http://amzn.to/2mRbVCP) reveals the consequences of parents over indulging their kids in the name of love.Also, everyone knows that you should stretch before you exercise to become flexible and prevent injury. Yet, according to science it is actually a bad idea. It’s one of the many exercise myths I explore with New York Times writer Gretchen Reynolds, author of The First 20 Minutes (http://amzn.to/2n1Y7pK). You’ll hear the science that explains how many things people believe about exercise, health and weight loss are just plain wrong.There is this thing called the paradox of choice. It basically means that the more choices you give someone the more likely they are to pick none. It’s important to understand and I’ll explain why. http://conversionxl.com/17-lesser-known-ways-to-persuade-people/#

LIVE on the Sport Physiotherapy Canada Facebook Page, I welcome Alex Hutchinson on the show to discuss sports journalism.  Alex Hutchinson is National Magazine Award-winning journalist who writes about the science of endurance for Runner’s World and Outside, and frequently contributes to other publications such as the New York Times and the New Yorker. A former long-distance runner for the Canadian national team, he holds a master’s in journalism from Columbia and a Ph.D. in physics from Cambridge, and he did his post-doctoral research with the National Security Agency. In this episode, we discuss: -How to disseminate findings from complex research studies to a layman audience -Attention grabbing headlines that commit to a point of view -Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance -What Alex is looking forward to from the Third World Congress of Sports Physical Therapy -And so much more! Resources: Third World Congress of Sports Physical Therapy Alex Hutchinson Twitter Endure Range Alex Hutchinson Website   For more information on Alex: I’m an author and journalist in Toronto. My primary focus these days is the science of endurance and fitness, which I cover for Outside (where I’m a contributing editor and write the Sweat Science column), The Globe and Mail (where I write the Jockology column), and Canadian Running magazine. I’ve also covered technology for Popular Mechanics (where I earned a National Magazine Award for my energy reporting) and adventure travel for the New York Times, and was a Runner’s World columnist from 2012 to 2017. My latest book, published in February 2018, is an exploration of the science (and mysteries) of endurance. It’s called ENDURE: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. Before that, I wrote a practical guide to the science of fitness, called Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights? Fitness Myths, Training Truths, and Other Surprising Discoveries from the Science of Exercise, which was published in 2011. I also wrote Big Ideas: 100 Modern Inventions That Have Transformed Our World, in 2009. I actually started out as a physicist, with a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge then a few years as a postdoctoral researcher with the U.S. National Security Agency, working on quantum computing and nanomechanics. During that time, I competed as a middle- and long-distance runner for the Canadian national team, mostly as a miler but also dabbling in cross-country and even a bit of mountain running. I still run most days, enjoy the rigors of hard training, and occasionally race. But I hate to think how I’d do on an undergraduate physics exam.   Read the full transcript below: Karen Litzy:                   00:00                Hey everybody. Welcome to the Third World Congress of sports physical therapy Facebook page. And I am your host, Karen Litzy. And we have been doing several of these interviews over the past couple of months in support of the Third World Congress of sports physical therapy. And today we have writer, journalist, author, athlete, Alex Hutchinson who is part of the Third World Congress. He's going to be a part of an informal Q and A and also doing a talk with Greg Lehman, who's already been on. So Alex, welcome to Facebook live. Alex Hutchinson:           00:37                Thanks very much, Karen. It's great to be here. Karen Litzy:                   00:39                All right, so for those people who maybe aren't as familiar with you, can you tell us a little bit more about yourself? Alex Hutchinson:           00:46                Yeah, I mean, I guess when people ask what I do, I say I'm a freelance journalist, but if you kind of drill down a little bit, my subspecialty is like, I'm a sports science journalist or even an endurance sports science journalist, which isn't really a job, but it's effectively what I do. So I write for, for outside magazine and a few other places. There's Canadian running magazine and a newspaper in Canada called the globe and Mail, but mainly outside magazine about the science of Endurance sports, sports more generally, adventure, fitness, health, all those sorts of things. A fairly, fairly broad stuff that interests me, I try and look at the science angle of it. And so that means talking to a lot of athletes and sometimes I talk to coaches, but mostly I talk to researchers who are trying to use, you know, research studies, peer reviewed, you know, placebo-controlled, blinded studies to answer questions that a lot of us have when we exercise, you know, what workout should I do or how should I refuel or these sorts of things. Karen Litzy:                   01:48                Alright, so you're taking, which I think is great. You're taking the research and you're able to disseminate that out into, if you will, the layman's audience. Alex Hutchinson:           01:57                Yeah, that's the goal. Yeah. And, it's interesting cause I come from a running background. I was a competitive runner. And I was a, a guy interested in science, but there wasn't no, when I was competing in the sort of nineties and early two thousands, it to me at least, it seemed, it wasn't very easy, I didn't even know that there were, you know, thousands of researchers around the world trying to answer these sorts of questions. And I think for me it was in the middle two thousands I started seeing some columns in the New York Times from Gina Kolata. And then from Gretchen Reynolds.  Gina Kolata had a column called personal best where she was like looking into the myth that lactic acid causes fatigue. And this was maybe around 2005 and I was like, Holy Mackerel. Alex Hutchinson:           02:37                And she was interviewing scientists who are asking these questions. And I thought there are scientists who care about lactic acid so that kind of started me on the path of thinking that, realizing there's a body of research out there that wasn't reaching interested lay people like myself. So I started pursuing that. And I think today there's a lot more. Like there were a lot of avenues through which exercise science reaches the lay people. I feel like I'm one of those channels, but it's definitely, there's a lot more options for people now, including directly from scientists themselves in places like Twitter. Karen Litzy:                   03:13                Exactly. And I think that's where I, you know, in the late nineties, mid two thousands, social media certainly wasn't as robust as it is now. And now you have scientists and researchers being encouraged to get onto these platforms and disseminate some of their information, whether it be through tweets or infographics, podcasts, Facebook lives, things like this. So I think the leap from relatively nothing, you know, meaning researchers kind of doing their research but not having perhaps the means to get it out to a wider audience outside of a journal that not every lay person who reads, you know, having such great avenues to disseminate this information. Do you feel like it's made a difference in the general public? Alex Hutchinson:           04:00                I think it has. It's hard to really evaluate this stuff, but my sense is there's a higher level of literacy or sort of awareness of issues, you know, things like how to fuel that's maybe not just drawn from, I heard it from a guy at the gym or I heard it from my coach who heard it from his coach who is taught by, you know, some guy in 1830 that this is how it works. I mean, I would almost say that we've gone from a place of scarcity to a place of excess that now it's not like you can't find information. Now there's these fire hoses of information just drenching you with 20 different theories. All of which seemed to be supported by scientists about how you should eat, how you should exercise, how you should move, and all these sorts of things. Alex Hutchinson:           04:45                So I started writing about sports science, let's say 15 years ago or a little less than that. And at that point it was like, let's get the information out there. People don't realize that there's information now. It's like there's all this information, let's curate the information. Let's try and provide people with some judgements about what's reliable and what's not. Why we think that some sources of information are better than others. How each person can evaluate for themselves, whether this is trustworthy. You know, and this is obviously not an easy or there's not like one answer to this study's right and this study's wrong, but, yeah, I feel like my role has shifted a little bit from get the information out there to, okay, maybe I can be a trustworthy source of curation where I'm giving people the information, not necessarily telling them what to think, but saying, here's the evidence. Now you may choose to think this evidence isn't convincing enough for you to switch to the, you know, the Aldana Diet or you may not, but here's, here's what the evidence says it exists. Karen Litzy:                   05:45                Yeah, and that's a great lead into my next question is when we look at quote unquote fake news and we can categorize that as misinformation or disinformation. So misinformation being like you're putting something out there and you think it's good, but you just don't know that the information is bad versus disinformation, which is, I guess we can categorize more as propaganda. So you know, the information's not correct, but you're pushing it out there anyway. So I think it's important to me. Both of those are fake news, but it's important to make that distinction. So as a journalist, how do you navigate this and how important is it for you to get that right? Alex Hutchinson:           06:27                Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, getting it right is important to me and I'm glad you made that distinction because I think that's an important one because you know, fake news in the politicized sense is another way of saying propaganda. And I think that's mostly not what we're dealing with in the exercise or the health space. I mean there, there is actually, I mean, you know, let me take that back a little bit there. There are people who are just selling things to make money who are just, they don't really care whether it's true. They're putting steroids into their stimulants, into their strength supplements because they just want people to feel a boost and they're just flat out lying so those people are bad and they're also not that hard to spot if truth be told, if you're critical, what's tougher is the, you know, what you call misinformation rather than disinformation, which is people honestly believe this. Alex Hutchinson:           07:20                Like, I tried this diet, it works for me, and therefore everyone should be doing it. And I read this study that shows that people who do this diet, you know, increase their levels of some inflammatory marker and that proves, that confirms my belief. And therefore I'm going to become an evangelist for this. And I'm going to say that everyone who disagrees with me has been paid off by big industry and blah, blah, blah. And sometimes it's not quite that. I mean, I'm caricaturing it, but people don't have strong beliefs that don't have as strong beliefs about, you know, controversies in particle physics cause we don't have personal experience in particle physics when you're talking about health and exercise and eating and things like that. We all have our, we have our experiences. And so we map that on top of whatever evidence we're experiencing, and I include myself in this, you know, my experiences play into what science, scientific research finds plausible. Alex Hutchinson:           08:12                So that creates a different dynamic. So to answer your actual question, how do I navigate this? Imperfectly like every other human, but my goal in what I write, what I try and do is if I'm writing about a study, this article from my perspective as the one in which I'm able to serve, take the key graph from that study, cut and paste it into my article and then describe what the study was. Here's what they did, here's what they found. Alex Hutchinson:           08:46                I'll take it a step further than that because my role is to interpret. I'll say, here's what I think this means, but I want to make sure I can give enough information to someone who doesn't think that's what it means is also can also see, well that's what the evidence was. And it's like, well no, I don't agree that that should change my behavior or whatever, but I'm giving them, I want to give people enough information so they understand what the study did and what it found. And then the meaning, if I've given people enough information, they don't have to rely on me telling them that this is what it means even though I am going to tell them what I think it means. Karen Litzy:                   09:16                If you were to give tips to let's say the layman person, say it's like my mom or you know, your friend who knows nothing about science, he doesn't have a phd in physics, and we'll get back to that with you in a second. But what tips can you give to the lay person on how to spot this misinformation, because the thing is when you look at a lot of articles, they're always citing this study, that study, this study. Alex Hutchinson:           09:47                Yeah. It used to be like, show me the peer reviewed evidence. But yeah, I've slowly realized, you know, and understood that there is a peer reviewed study for everything. And you know, 10 years ago I used to get, I'd see a study saying, you know, hey the, you know, the fruit of this plant, if you take it's going to increase your endurance by 2%. It's like, well if they have a placebo controlled, double blinded study published in a peer reviewed journal, it must be true. I'll write about it. And then, you know, I never did hear about that extractive of such and such a plant. Again, like no one, it never turned out to be a thing. And I sort of finally understand, you know, started to understood the bigger systemic problems, which is that if you have, you know, thousands of Grad students across the country looking for a master's thesis that can be done in six months or an experiment, they can be done in six months. Alex Hutchinson:           10:33                They're testing all sorts of things. And if it's not interesting, they don't publish it. And if it happens by chance to produce a positive result, then they publish it in a journal. So we get this sort of, there's always public positive studies about everything. What I was saying, which is that just the mere presence of a study isn't enough. So there is no simple template. But I would say there are some guidelines like follow the money. If someone's trying to sell you something, it’s obvious, but it's surprising what a good rule of thumb that is. And it's why we see so much information about pills and technology. Alex Hutchinson:           11:20                And so little information about, you know, another study showing that sleep is good for you, getting some exercise is good for you because it's very hard to monetize that. And so there's lessons. I don't mean to sound like a patsy or like someone who's, you know, pump promoting my own way of seeing things. But I think there are some sources that are more sort of authoritative than others. And frankly, the mainstream media still does a pretty good job relative to the average blog. Now there are some great blogs out there and you know, and I will say, I started out in this, I set up my own blog on wordpress and I blogged there for five years, just analyzing studies. And then runner's world asked me to bring the blog onto their site and then it got moved outside. Alex Hutchinson:           12:08                So it's not that there aren't good blogs and you can maybe get a sense of what people's agendas are and what their backgrounds are. But, you know, if I knew that, I know in this highly politicized world, I know that this may be a controversial thing to say, but if I see something in New York Times, I'm more likely to believe it than if I see it on, you know, Joe's whole health blog and I read the New York Times and I get frustrated frequently and I say that now they're getting this wrong. And this is not a full picture of this. Nobody's perfect. But I think that people with credentials and getting through some of those gatekeepers is one way of filtering out some of the absolute crap that you see out there. Karen Litzy:                   12:53                Perfect. Yeah, I think those are very easy tips that people can kind of follow. So sort of follow the money, see who's commissioned said RCT, systematic review. And, oftentimes, especially on blogs, it can be a little tricky because some of them may write a blog and be like, oh, this is really good. But then when you look down, it's like the blog is sponsored by so-and-so, Alex Hutchinson:           13:18                And that's the reputable people who are acknowledging who's sponsoring them. Then there's the people who are getting free gear, free product or money straight up, but they're not, you know, like there's levels of influence and the people who are disclosing that at least they're disclosing it. But nonetheless, it's, you know, one of the things that I think people often kind of misjudge is when, when someone says that follow, you know, follow the money and the financial influences, finances can influence someone. That doesn't mean that the people who are passing on this message or corrupted or that it's disinformation as you would say that they're deliberately, yeah. I mean, lots of researchers who I really highly respect do excellent research funded by industry. And I think that there's any important information that comes from that research, but I also think that the questions that get asked in industry funded research are different than the questions that you might ask if you just had you know, a free pot of money that wasn't tied to any strings. Alex Hutchinson:           14:16                If you want to, you know, not to pick on anybody, but if you want to know which proteins are best for building strength and if the dairy industry is going to fund a whole bunch of studies on dairy protein, then you're going to have this excellent body of research that shows that dairy protein is good for building muscle. That doesn't mean it's wrong, it just means that we haven't studied what, you know, vegetable proteins or other forms of meat. There's been less emphasis on those proteins so you get a distorted view of what's good or bad without anybody doing anything wrong. It's just that money does influence the way we ask questions and the answers we get. Karen Litzy:                   14:53                Great. Thank you. Now I had just mentioned about having a phd in physics. That is obviously not me. How did you end up doing your phd in physics and how does this help you when it comes to writing your articles or writing these reviews of RCTs or systematic reviews? Alex Hutchinson:           15:14                Well, I should first say that if anyone's interested in becoming a science journalist, I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing a phd in physics. It's not the linear path or you know, the path of least resistance. I honestly didn't know what I wanted to do when I grew up. Some advice I got, which I think was good advice to some extent was, you know, if you don't know what you want to do, do something hard because at least you'll prove to people that you can, you know, solve problems and there'll be some transferability of that training. And I think that was true to some extent. And I, you know, so I did physics in Undergrad. I still didn't know what the heck I wanted to do. And I had an opportunity to go do a phd in England, which seemed like a big adventure. Alex Hutchinson:           15:50                So I went and did a phd there, PhDs there are actually a lot shorter than they are in North America. It's just over three years for my phd. So it wasn't, it wasn't like this sort of, you know, spent my entire twenties on this. Physics was fun, but it just, I could see that the other people in my lab were more passionate about it than I was, that they were, they were just interested. They were passionate about it. And I thought, man, I want to, I want to find something that I'm passionate about. So I ended up in my late twenties saying, okay, well it's been a slice, but I'm going to try something else. And, you know, fortunately I guessed right. And journalism turned out to be fun. Fun for me. I don't write, you know, especially these days if I'm writing about exercise and it's not like I need to know Newton's laws or anything like that or you know, apply the principle of general relativity to exercise. Alex Hutchinson:           16:35                So there's not a lot of like direct pay off. But I would say that having a scientific training has helped me be willing to speak to scientists and not be intimidated by paper. You know, Journal articles that look very complex and you know, I have the confidence to know that, okay, I don't have a clue what this journal article is saying, but I know if I slow down, if I read it a few times and if I call it the scientist and say, can you explain this to me? I'm not worried. Well, I mean, I don't like looking stupid, but I'm over the idea is like, it's okay. I can call up the scientist. I know enough about scientific papers to know that probably the guy in the office next door to whoever wrote this paper doesn't understand this paper. You know, science is very specialized and so it's okay to just say, explain to me, explain it to me again. Okay. This time, pretend I'm, you know, your 90 year old grandfather and explain it again. And so that allows me, or has helped me write about areas even when I'm not familiar with them and not be intimidated by numbers and graphs and things like that. Karen Litzy:                   17:36                All right. And I would also imagine that going through Phd training yourself, you understand how articles are written, you kind of can look at the design, and you can look at the methods and have a little bit more, I guess confidence in how this study was maybe put together. Versus no training at all. Alex Hutchinson:           18:03                You've seen how the sausage is made and so you understand the compromise that get made. I will say that it was surprising to me how different the physics processes to the sort of the sports science world in terms of just the factors that are there that are relevant in physics. You’re never dealing with people. And with the sample recruitment and things like that. An Electron is an electron, you know, for the most part. You know, and this is an important to understand is physics aside by looking a lot of studies, I started to see the patterns and started to understand what the functions were, started to understand how to read a paper relatively quickly. How did you know it? For me to find stories, I ended up looking at a lot of journal articles and I can't read every one of them in depth in order to find the ones I wanna write about. Alex Hutchinson:           18:52                So I have to find ways of, you know, everyone knows you. Yeah, you can read the abstract, but you're not going to get the full picture. You know, you start to learn just by experience, by doing it. That, okay, if I read the introduction, that's where the first three paragraphs are where they're going to give me the context. Because often a study seems very specific and you're like, I don't know what you're talking about. And then they'll give two paragraphs where they're just like, since the 1950s, scientists have been wondering about x, Y, and zed. And then you can go to the conclusions and then, you know, depending on how deep you want to get, you understand where, which part of every paper is written with a specific format and you can figure out where to go with a little experience. And it doesn't require a physics phd or it requires just getting, getting familiar with that particular, you know, subject area. Karen Litzy:                   19:35                Nice. And now, you know, we talked earlier about how, you know, information from researchers went from like a little drip to a fire hose and as far as getting information out to the general public, so because there is so much information available, how do you approach designing your article titles and headlines to ensure you grab attention for the reader. So I think that's a great question directed at the researchers who are maybe thinking of doing a press release or things like that to help promote their article. Alex Hutchinson:           20:10                Yeah. This is a really interesting question. This isn't one where my thinking has shifted over the last, let's say, decade. So I started out, you know, in print journalism, writing for newspapers and magazines. I still do that, but one of the things in from when you're writing for a newspaper magazine is you don't have control over your headlines. You write the article, the editor writes the headline. And so my experience in that world was always one of frustration being like, I wrote this very carefully nuanced, balanced article. And then the headline is, you know, do this and you'll live till you're a hundred or whatever. It's like, no, that's not what I was saying. It's terrible. And so I got into this sort of reflects of habit you know, just apologizing for the headlines. Like, Oh, you know, when I talked to researchers, I'm so sorry about the headline. Alex Hutchinson:           20:59                You know, I'm very sophisticated, but you know, that this silly editor wrote the headline and a couple of things help to sort of shift my views a little bit on that. One is the shift to online meant that newspapers and journalists now have a very, very clear idea of who clicks on what. So you understand what it is that gets people's attention. And the second thing is that, you know, when I started my own blog, and then even now, when I blog, I don't have full control of my headlines, but when I was on wordpress, I wrote my own headlines. And when I now as a blogger, I suggest headlines. And so I don't have control, but I am given more input than I used to be on how this article should be conveyed. Alex Hutchinson:           21:40                And one thing that's really clear is that, what people say they want and what people will do is different. And so I remember looking at when the global mail is the Big News newspaper in Canada. I remember when it first started showing its top 10 most clicked articles. You know, in the transition to digital on its website. And of course, everyone says, I hate clickbait. I want to have sophisticated, nuanced conversations. And then the top 10 articles clicked would all be something to do with Brittany Spears or whatever. You know, this was 10 years ago. And it's like, so people click on, people do respond to clickbait and click bait it's bad. But you know, I sometimes I want like sometimes give talks to scientists about science communication and I'll give some contrast between here's the journal article, you know, here's my headline and the journal article will be something that's so careful that you're not even, it definitely doesn't tell you what the article's going to say. Alex Hutchinson:           22:36                You're not even entirely sure what the subject is. You know, like an investigation of factors contributing to potentially mitigating the effects of certain exercise modalities. And you're like, I don't know. I don't know what that's about. No one clicks on it. And so it's like that sort of, if a tree falls in the forest, if you write a perfectly balanced nuanced article and nobody reads it, have you actually contributed to science communication? And so one of the things that I found in with headlines that I'd complain about is I would complain about a headline that someone had written for my article and then, and I try to think why am I complaining about this? And it's like, well it's sort of coming out and saying what I was hinting at, I was hinting at, I didn't want to come out and say, you know, overweight people should exercise more or whatever. Alex Hutchinson:           23:22                Cause that's horrible. No one would say that. But if you sort of read what the evidence that I was shaping my article to be, it'd be like, if you're not getting results from your exercise, maybe you're just not exercising hard enough. I was like, well maybe I need to own the messages. You know, if the headlines to me seems objectionable, maybe it's my article is objectionable and I've tiptoed around it, but I need to think carefully. And if someone reads my article, you know, an intelligent person reads my article and says this in sum it up in seven words, this is what it is, then I need to maybe be comfortable with having that as the headline, even if it's an oversimplification, because the headline is never going to convey everything, all the nuances. There's always caveats, there's always subtleties. Alex Hutchinson:           24:04                You can't convey those in seven words. That's what the article is for. So I've become much more of a defender, not of clickbait, not of like leading people in with misleading things. But if ultimately the bottom line of your article is whether it's a academic article or a press article is, you know, this kind of weight workout doesn't work and you should be okay with a headline that says that. And yes, people will say, but you forgot this. And then you can say, well, no, that's in the article, but I can't convey all the caveats in the headline. So anyway, that's my, that's my sort of halfhearted defense of attention grabbing headlines in a way. Karen Litzy:                   24:37                Yeah. And if you don't have the attention grabbing headline, like you said, then people aren't going to want to dive into the article. So I was, you know, looking up some of the headlines from outsideonline.com and the first one that pops up is how heat therapy could boost your performance. And you read that and you're like I would want to find out what that means. Alex Hutchinson:           25:02                And they put some weasel words in there. It's not like heat therapy will change your life. It's how it could boost your performance. And so, and I'm there, it's interesting, I've got conversations with my editor and they, you know, they don't like question headlines. They don't want to be as like, is this the next, you know, a miracle drugs? And then it turns out the answer is no. It's like they feel that's deceptive to the reader. They want declarative headlines that say something. It’s an interesting balance but outside has been, they've had some headlines which were a little, you know, there was one a while ago about trail maintenance and it was like the headline was trail runners are lazy parasites or something like that. And that was basically, that was what the article said. It was an opinion piece by a mountain biker. They got a ton of flack for that and they got a bunch of people who are very, very, you know, I'm never gonna read outside again. It's like, dude, relax. But I understand, but I understand, you know, cause it is a balance there. They want to be noticed and I want my articles to be noticed, but I don't want to do it in a deceptive way. Karen Litzy:                   26:07                Yeah. And I think that headline, how heat therapy could boost. It's the could. Alex Hutchinson:           26:12                Exactly the weasel word that it's like, it's, I'm not saying it will, but there's certainly some evidence that I described in the article, but it's possible this is something that people are paying or researching and that athletes are trying, so it's, you know, check it out if you're interested. Karen Litzy:                   26:25                Yeah, I mean, I think it's hard to write those attention grabbing headlines because like you said, you can have the best article giving great information, but if it's not enough in the headline for the average person to say, hmm, Nah, Nah, nevermind, or Ooh, I really want to read this now the, I think when you're talking about an online publication, like you said, you now have a very good idea as to who is reading by going into the analytics of your website. So I think that must make it a little bit easier, particularly on things that they're going to catch attention. Alex Hutchinson:           26:59                And so since I'm working for outside, I don't have access to their analytics though. I can ask them what my top articles were or whatever. And I actually am careful not to ask too much because I think there's a risk of you start writing to the algorithm. I start with, you know, you're like, oh, so if people like clicking on this, I'm going to write another article that has a very similar headlines. So, when I had my wordpress site, I had much more direct access to the analytics and it's a bit of a path to, it forces you to start asking yourself, what am I writing for? Am I writing to try and get the most clicks possible or to do the best article possible? So I actually tell him when I talked to my editor, I'm like I don't want too much information. Alex Hutchinson:           27:43                I want to know. Sometimes I kind of want to get a sense of what people are reacting to and what aren't. And I can see it on Twitter, which things get more response. But I don't want that to be foremost in my mind because otherwise you end up writing you know, if not clickbait headlines, you write clickbait stories, you know, cause you do get the most attention. Yeah. So I try not to follow it too much and let someone else do that worrying for me. Karen Litzy:                   28:09                Yeah. So instead, I think that's a great tip for anyone who is putting out content and who's disseminating content, whether it be a blog or a podcast, that you want to kind of stay true to the story and not try and manipulate the story. Whether that be consciously or maybe sometimes subconsciously manipulating the story to fit who you think the person who's going to be digesting that information wants. Alex Hutchinson:           28:34                Yeah. And I know that happens to me subconsciously. You know, it's unavoidable. You're thinking, well, if I write it this way, I bet more people are going to be interested, it happens a little bit, but you want to be aware of it. And especially, I guess if you're, let's say you're someone who's, you know, starting a blog or starting some form of podcast or whatever it is, clicks aren't the only relevant metric and you can get a lot of people to click on something, but if they're left feeling that it wasn't all that great, then you're not gonna, you know, it's better to have half as many people all read something and think that was really substantive and thoughtful and useful than to get a bunch of clicks. But no one had any particular desire to come back to your site. Karen Litzy:                   29:15                Like you don't want to leave people feeling unfulfilled. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not Good. Well great information for both the researchers and for clinicians who are maybe trying to get some of that research out there. So great tips. Now, we talked a little bit about this before we went on air, but in 2018 you've published your book, endure mind body and the curiously elastic limits of human performance. So talk a little bit about the book, if you will, and what inspired you to write it? Alex Hutchinson:           29:50                Sure. The book is basically, it tries to answer the question, what defines our limits. Like when you push as hard as you can, whether you know you're on the treadmill or out for a run or in, in other contexts, what defines that moment when you're like, ah, I can't maintain, I have to slow down. I have to stop. I have reached my absolute limit. And it's a direct, you know, it's easy to understand where the book came from. I was a runner and so every race I ran, I was like, why didn't I run faster? Like I'm still alive. I crossed the finish line. I've got energy left. Why didn't I, why surely I could have run a little bit faster. And so basically I, you know, I started out with an understanding of a basic understanding of exercise physiology. Alex Hutchinson:           30:32                And, you know, 15 years ago I thought if I can learn more about VO2 Max and lactate threshold and all these sorts of things, I'll understand the nature of limits and maybe what I could have done to push them back. And about 10 years ago, I started to realize that there was this whole bunch of research on the brain's role in limits. And there've been a whole bunch of different theories and actually some very vigorous arguments about this idea. But this idea that when you reach your limits is not that your legs can't go anymore. It's that in a sense, your brain thinks you shouldn't go anymore than that. Your limits are self-protective rather than reflecting that you're actually out of gas, like a car runs out of gas. And so then I thought I was gonna write a book about how your brain limits you. Alex Hutchinson:           31:12                And in the end, as you can probably guess, it ended up being a sort of combination of these sorts of things. Like there's the brain, there's the body, they interact in different ways, in different contexts. So I ended up exploring like, you know, we were talking about this before, what is it that limits you when you're free diving? If you're trying to hold your breath for as long as possible, is it that you run out of oxygen after a minute and then how come some people hold their breaths for 11 minutes? And how does that translate to mountain climbing or to running or to riding a bike or to being in a really hot environment or all these sorts of things. So that is what the book is about is, is where are your limits? And the final simple answer is, man, it's complicated and you have to read the whole book. Karen Litzy:                   31:51                Yeah. And we were talking beforehand and I said, I listened to the book as I was, you know, commuting around New York City, which one it would got me really motivated and to want to learn more. And then it also, I'm like, man, I am lazy. There are so many different parts of the book from the breath holding, like we were talking about. And things that I was always interested me are altitude trainings and the how that makes a difference, whether you're training up in the mountains or sea level or in those kind of altitude chambers. Which is wild stuff. And is that, I don't know, is that why people break more records now versus where they were before? Is it a result of the training? Is it, and then, like you said, the brain is involved and so are you just by pushing the limits of yourself physically, but then does the brain adapt to that and say, okay, well we did this, so I'm pretty sure, and we lived, so can we do it again? Alex Hutchinson:           33:08                And that's actually a pretty good segway to the World Congress of sports therapy. Because the session that I'm talking about it that I'm talking with Greg Leyman is on pain. And, one of the things that I find a topic that I find really interesting is pain tolerance. Do we learn to tolerate more. And so, you know, one of the classic questions that people argue about on long runs is like who suffers more during a marathon, you know, a two and a half hour marathoner or a three and a half hour marathoner. It's like, one school of thought is like, well, it's a three and a half hour marathoner is out there pushing to the same degree as the two and a half hour marathoner, but is out there for longer for almost 50% longer so that that person is suffering longer. Alex Hutchinson:           33:56                And the counter point, which sounds a little bit maybe elitist or something to say on average, the two and a half marathoner has learned two and half hour marathoner has learned to suffer more as his learning to push closer to his or her limits. Now that's a total generalization because it's not really about how fast you are. It's about how well you've trained, how long you've trained. So there are four marathoners who are pushing absolutely as hard as any two and half hour marathoner. And there are some very lucky two and a half hour marathoners who aren't pushing particularly hard because they were capable of doing it, you know, at two 20 marathon or something. But the general point that I would make and that I think that the reason that I think the research makes is that one of the things that happens when you train, so we all know that you go for that first run and it feels terrible, Eh, you feel like you're gonna die when you keep training, all sorts of changes happen. Alex Hutchinson:           34:52                Your heart gets stronger. You build new Capillaries, your muscles get stronger. Of course, that's super important. It's dominant. But I think another factor that's on pretend times under appreciated is you learned to tolerate discomfort. You learn to suffer. You learn that feeling when your lungs are bursting and you're panting and your legs are burning, that doesn't mean you're gonna die. It just means you can't sustain that forever, but you can sustain it for a little bit longer. You can choose to keep holding your finger in that candle flame for a little longer. And there's actually quite a bit of evidence showing that as training progresses, you learn not just in the context of whatever exercise you're doing, but in the context of totally unrelated pain challenges like dipping your hand in an ice bucket or having a blood pressure cuff squeezed around your arm. Alex Hutchinson:           35:35                You learn to tolerate more pain by going through the process of training. And I think it's an interesting area of, I think it tells us something interesting about physical limits cause it tells us that part of the process of pushing back physical limits is pushing back mental limits. But it also tells us something about how we cope with pain and why. For example, why exercise training might be helpful for people dealing with chronic pain, for example, that it's not just endorphins block the pain, it's that you learn psychological coping strategies for reframing the pain and for dealing with it. Karen Litzy:                   36:10                Yeah. As a quick example, two and a half weeks ago, I tore my calf muscle the medial gastric tear, nothing crazy. It was a small tear and it happens to middle age people. Normally the ultimate insult or worse, at any rate, you know, very painful. I was on crutches for a week. I had to use a cane for a little while, but I was being so protective around it. And then I read, I got a great email from NOI group from David Butler and they were talking about kind of babying your injury and trying to take a step back and looking at it, looking at the bigger picture. And I thought to myself, well, this was the perfect time to actually get this email because I was like afraid to put my heel down. I was afraid to kind of go into Dorsiflexion and once I saw that, I was like, oh, for God's sakes. And that moment I was able to kind of put the heel down to do a little stretching. And, so it wasn't that all of a sudden my physicality changed so much, but it was, I felt from a brain perspective, from a mental perspective that I could push my limits more than I was without injuring. Alex Hutchinson:           37:35                Absolutely. And it's all a question of how we have the mistaken assumption that pain is some objective thing that there's, you know, you have it damaged somewhere and that's giving you a seven out of 10 pain. But it's all about how you frame it and if you were interpreting that pain as a sign that you weren't fully healed and therefore you're going to delay your recovery, if you're feeling that pain, then you're going to shy away from it. And if you're just interpreting it, if you read that email and it reframes it as this pain is a part of healing, it's a part of the process of, and it's like, oh well I can tolerate that. If it's not doing damage, then I don't mind the pain and all of a sudden it's become something that's a signal rather than a sort of terrible, it's just information. Karen Litzy:                   38:15                Yeah. Information versus danger, danger, danger. I just reflected on that and thought, yeah, this is pain. It's being protected at the moment. It doesn't mean I'm going to go run a marathon given my injury but it certainly means I can put my heel down and start equalizing my gait pattern and things like that. And so it's been a real learning experience to say the least. And the other thing I wanted to touch on was that idea of pain and suffering. And I know this can probably be out for debate, but that because you have pain, does it mean you're suffering? So if you have a two hour 30 versus a three hour 30 or whatever, the person who runs it in six hours, right? Because you have pain, are you suffering through it or are you just moving through the pain without the suffering attached to it? And I don't know the answer to that, but I think it opens up to an interesting, to a wider discussion on does pain equals suffering? Alex Hutchinson:           39:20                Now we're getting philosophical, but I think it's an interesting one cause I mean I've heard a number of sports scientists make the argument that one of the sort of underappreciated keys for success in endurance sports is basically benign masochism that on some level you kind of enjoy pushing yourself into discomfort. And I think there's some truth to that. And I think it's an entirely open question. Like are people just born, some people just born liking to hurt or is it something in their upbringing? Moving outside of a competitive context and just talking about health, it's like what a gift it is to enjoy going out and pushing your body in some way because that makes it easy to exercise. And so I think one, you know, this is changing topic a little bit, but one of the big challenges in the sort of health information space is that a large fraction of the people who write about it are people like me who come from a sports background that on some level enjoy, I go out and do interval workouts. Alex Hutchinson:           40:16                Not because I'm worried about my insulin, but because I like it. I like pushing, finding out where my limits are on being on that red line. And so when I'm like, come on, just go out and do the workout, then others and some people find it very, very, very unpleasant to be near that line. And so I think we have to be respectful of differences in outlook. But I also think that’s what the evidence shows is you can learn to, you know, like fine line or whatever. You can learn to appreciate some of what seems bitter initially. And if you can then it totally changes then that pain is no longer suffering. Then it’s the pain of like eating an old cheese or whatever. It's like oh that's a rich flavor of pain I'm getting today in my workout as opposed to this sucks and I want to stop. Karen Litzy:                   41:06                Yeah. So again, I guess it goes back to is there danger, is there not danger? And if he can reach that point of feeling pain or discomfort or whatever within your workouts and then you make it through the workout and you're like, I can't believe I did that. And all of a sudden next time it's easier. You pushed the bar. Yeah. You've pushed them further to the peak a little bit. So I think it's fun when that happens. Alex Hutchinson:           41:35                And I think it's important what you said, a understanding the difference between pain as a danger signal. Cause I mean as an endurance athlete I may glorify the pushing through the pain. Well that's stupid if you have Shin splints or you know, if you have Achilles tendon problems or whatever. Yeah. You have to understand that some pain really is a signal to stop or at least to understand where that pain is coming from and to do something to address it. There are different contexts in which it's appropriate or inappropriate to push through pain. Karen Litzy:                   42:03                Yeah. And I would assume for everyone watching or listening, if you go to the Third World Congress of sports physical therapy, there will be discussion on those topics. Given the list of people there, there will be discussions on those topics. There are panels on those topics. Alex Hutchinson:           42:22                Yeah, I was gonna say, like Greg and I are talking about pain, but looking at the list of speakers, there's a bunch of people who have expertise in this understanding of the different forms of pain, trying to find that line, understanding the brain's role in creating what feels like physical pain. So I think there's gonna be a ton of great discussion on that. Karen Litzy:                   42:39                Yeah. All right, so we're going to start wrapping things up. So if you could recommend one must read book or article aside from your own which would it be? Alex Hutchinson:           42:50                I'll go with my present bias, which is so, you know, casting my mind all the way back over the past like two months or whatever. The book that I've been most interested in lately is a book called range. I think the subtitle is why generalists triumphant a specialist world by David Epstein. So David Epstein, his previous book was like six years ago, he wrote the sports gene, which I consider basically the best sports spine science book that I've read. And so it was kind of what I modeled my book endure on, but his most recent book just came out a couple months ago at the end of May. And it's a broader look at this whole role of expertise and practice, a sort of counterpoint to the idea that you need 10,000 hours of practice if you want to be any good at anything. Alex Hutchinson:           43:33                So as soon as you're out of the crib, you should be practicing your jump shot or whatever it is. And instead, marshaling the arguments that actually having breadth of experience, is good for a variety of reasons, including that you have a better chance of finding a good match for your talents. So for someone like me had, I just had too much quote unquote grit and decided that I needed to stick with physics cause that's what I started with. And I'm not a quitter. I’d be a physicist and I might be an okay physicist, but I'm positive that I wouldn't be as happy as I am now having been willing to sort of switch career tracks. And so it has a lot of sort of relevance for personal development, for parenting and for understanding expertise also in a sports realm as well. So range by David epstein is my pick on that front. Karen Litzy:                   44:22                Great. And we already spoke about what you're going to be talking about at the Sports congress, but are there any things that you're particularly looking forward to? Alex Hutchinson:           44:29                Yeah, there's a whole bunch of speakers, but I guess the one that caught my eye that I would definitely not sleep through is, I saw that Keith Barr is speaking on a panel and that over the last three, four years, maybe, maybe more than that, I've just been really blown away by the work that he's been doing on understanding the differences between what it takes to train for, you know, your strength, your muscles or your heart versus what it takes to train tendons and ligaments. And so I'm really looking forward to seeing what the latest updates are from his lab and from his results. Karen Litzy:                   45:04                Yeah. He gave the opening talk at Sports Congress, not 2019 but 2018. And he was just so good. I mean, I was just trying to live tweet and take some notes. I'm really looking forward to that as well. I feel great. Yeah, absolutely. All right, so is there anything that we missed? Anything that you want the viewers or listeners to know? Oh wait, where can they get your book from? Alex Hutchinson:           45:35                Fine booksellers everywhere. I mean include Amazon but it's definitely put it in a plug for your local independent bookstore. It should be, it should be available anywhere. And if you can find my latest stuff on Twitter @sweatscience, all one word and there might be a link to the book that there, but yeah, really, if you Google Hutchinson and endure for any bookseller, they should be able to get a copy of it. Karen Litzy:                   45:59                Perfect. And anything we missed? Anything that we want to hit on that maybe we didn't get to? I feel like we got a good amount. Alex Hutchinson:           46:06                I think we covered some good basis. I guess the only thing is, you know, for anyone listening, I hope I'll see you in Vancouver and cause I think there's all of these things are ongoing discussions and there's lots more to learn. So I'm looking forward to the conference Karen Litzy:                   46:20                As am I. Everyone. Thanks so much for tuning in. Thanks so much for listening again, the third world congress of sports physical therapy will take place in Vancouver, Canada, British Columbia, October 4th through the fifth of 2019 and so we hope to see you all there.   Thanks for listening and subscribing to the podcast! Make sure to connect with me on twitter, instagram  and facebook to stay updated on all of the latest!  Show your support for the show by leaving a rating and review on iTunes!

In his 50 years in the business, sportswriter Frank Deford evolved from the "not very bright" kid to one of the most gifted, respected and versatile writers of our time. Deford died in 2017 at the age of 78. In this 2012 conversation with Growing Bolder, he revealed the two athletes he thought were the most compelling of all time.

Sarah and co-host Ellison Weist delightedly dive into a conversation with respected reporter Gretchen Reynolds. In her New York Times column, mother runner/mountain biker Gretchen reports on new and interesting science to help our bodies function better. The trio starts by talking about dealing with hot weather while running, with Gretchen explaining why a hot bath might be a wise tool before she answers the age-old question of slushie v. frozen underwear. Gretchen shares welcome findings about the performance boost of caffeine as well as good news about the effect running can have on both back and knee health. The three mother runners take an intriguing detour to debate the use of the word “jog.” Find out why you should be doing interval training (especially if you’re north of 40) plus how much you need to run to add to your longevity. This episode is guaranteed to get your mind whirring! In the intro, “Book Bully” Ellison shares her latest gook recommendations; the Q&A with guest Gretchen starts at... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. John Ratey, expert on the correlation between brain activity and how it's important for us to move our bodies, discusses seven ways to take control of your life, along with the link between depression and sugar, being responsible for our own well-being, and the benefits of exercise. Serena Marie, RD, talks about foods that are great for brain health. Featured Guest: Dr. John Ratey Harvard psychiatrist and foremost authority when it comes to the brain and exercise, Dr. John Ratey, discusses the correlation between sugar and depression/other diseases, being proponents for our own well-being, and the benefits of exercise. He has been on TRLS in such episodes as “John Ratey” (Episode 53), “Dr. John Ratey” (Episode 59), “Optimize Your Brain With Dr. John Ratey, Part 1” (Episode 74), and “Optimize Your Brain With Dr. John Ratey, Part 2” (Episode 75). Companies work with people to find better ways to accommodate health in their lives, like startups working with the elderly to get them moving and to get them out into the community more. We're near a tipping point; people recognize that we have to be more responsible for ourselves and our own health. We're empowered by Google medicine and also knowing how to be healthier and how to increase our well-being. The biggest thing that Kari read recently is that our genes account for 5% of what can happen to us (from Super Genes: Unlock the Astonishing Power of Your DNA for Optimum Health and Well-Being by Deepak Chopra, MD, and Rudolph E. Tanzi, PhD). Our genetic inheritance can guide us to that wisdom that's impacted in our genes—to be in the moment, to eat right, to get the proper amount of sleep, to connect with others, and so on. He's excited about two different Silicon Valley firms that he's working with who recognize that small tribes are the way to promote a better sense of well-being. He'll be talking with an artificial intelligence group and another group that has proven that successful entrepreneurs have a passion for taking steps in helping the elderly try to improve their lives and getting them connected with others through exercise and the community. If you have been following him on Facebook, you'll know that he's recently been interviewed by Larry King, and to his surprise a group in CA put together a song called “Ratey-O-Active” on YouTube (like “Radioactive”). The “Super Seven” Commandments include eating right, being outside, being with your tribe, meditation, getting enough sleep, exercise, and mindset. Question: Can you get the same tribe feeling from a Facebook group that you can from meeting in person? Answer: It can be a starting point, but it's never going to be the same. But there are a lot of different mechanisms being developed and that are already in existence (like Meetup). He talks about the November Project and walking or running up and down the stairs at Harvard Stadium. The “dopamine squirt”—the surprise or novelty of an e-mail Using our past history and our biometrics (blood pressure, pulse) as well as what we've felt and what we like in the past is called affective computing so that we can be guided to prompt ourselves to move—it increases your state of well-being. You do not need sugar if you are burning fat. Dick Manning is a trail runner in Montana who has eliminated sugar for years from his diet. He's lost weight and gotten out of depression. He is using fat as his fuel (via a ketogenic diet). High concentrations of sugar lead to inflammation and putting on weight/fat. Ratey cautions jumping on the probiotics bandwagon (meaning purchasing probiotics in pill form rather than eating foods with probiotics) because we know very little about it. We're on the cusp of learning. Serena Marie, RD, talked about probiotics on “The Hottest “Living A Running Lifestyle” Trends With Kalyn Rozanski” (Episode 118). The first prescription for someone who has gastrointestinal problems is to eliminate sugar from his or her diet. For an injured runner, try to avoid depression by doing things like upper-body aerobics (Conductorcise), boxing, kettlebells, use the elliptical, or some alternative to staying active. Exhaust yourself other ways; when you do that you are raising your heart rate. Kari has been getting in the pool to do aqua running while dealing with her back injury. He mentions a New York Times article called “Learning a New Sport May Be Good for the Brain” written by Gretchen Reynolds. It helps grow your brain. He now starts off his lectures talking about neuroplasticity. That means putting ourselves in a state where the brain cells are the most liable to grow and change. The more depressed/stressed you get, the less plastic your brain gets—the less it's able to grow and respond to the environment. When it comes to sleep, during the stage of early sleep at night is when you're more liable to get into restorative sleep where your brain and your body get the best kind of sleep. It's the early morning where we get into REM sleep. In the late morning is when we dream the most, and that's very important. In Go Wild, Ratey talks about Dr. Beverly Tatumn of Spelman College (President from 2002–2015). She shut off her e-mail at 9 p.m. to prepare herself to go to sleep by 10:30 or 11 a.m. so that she could get eight hours of sleep. She helped Spelman College put an emphasis on students' health and fitness. When you go to some gyms/health clubs in northern California for an entire year, you actually get your money back/can go for free! Ratey's latest book is in process! He and Dr. Hallowell are doing an update to Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood. Dr. Ratey is also doing an update to Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. Exercise and Parkinson's—people are raising money for boot camps for recently diagnosed patients that will help to prevent the onslaught of the condition. Norman Doidge recently wrote a book called The Brain's Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity Itself, and he talks about “walking off” Parkinson's disease. When we exercise, we change the chemistry of our brains and our bodies. Serena Marie, RD Go-to, real-food dietitian, Serena Marie, RD, talks about fat and sugar as related to brain health. Serena talks about omega-3 fatty acids--which are anti-inflammatory, polyunsaturated fatty acids that are most bountiful in fatty fish (salmon, sardines, anchovies, tuna), in seaweed, and in nuts and seeds (macadamia and walnuts). Grass-fed meat is another good source of omega-3s. The version of omega-3 fatty acids that you receive from meat is very bioavailable. When we're getting it from nuts, seeds (chia or hemp seeds), the conversion is very low, so it's harder to get the appropriate amount from a diet void of fish. Aim for 1,000 milligrams a day or so. Over half of the brain's weight is made of fat. To keep our brains healthy, we need to be eating the thing that they're comprised of. Our brain is made of DHA. Studies show that having DHA intake during your lifetime is going to help with cognition. It's shown and correlated with having better memory and executive function. Studies recommend one to four servings per week. Some research says that DHA helps with depression as well. Insulin is the hormone that your body needs to run through the bloodstream to holla, “Let me in!” to your cells. Studies have shown that those people who are insulin resistant have been associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease. The proposed pathways are complicated, and there isn't one that's well studied or understood. Because insulin is unable to do its job and sugar is hanging out in the blood stream, there's increased oxidation of stress and contributes to deleterious effects in memory. Studies have shown that less than 20 grams of carbohydrates a day is a great way to combat memory problems and dementia. Gratitude Jar (Woot! Woot!) Kari is grateful that integrated health professionals exist, that the science exists and is being talked about, and that people are trying to live healthier lives. Serena is grateful that Siggi's yogurt started making 4% milk fat yogurt. She's obsessed with the strawberry rhubarb flavor (but they also have plain). It has 9 grams of sugar. People with a lactose intolerance can sometimes handle yogurt and hard cheeses. Next week, Kari talks with artist Ann Rea who runs as a form of relaxation and to help her be an even more beautiful artist. And don't forget that on Sunday, April 17, Kari and Dr. Marjorie Dejoie will be at Philadelphia Runner in Center City at 9 a.m. leading a vision board workshop. You'll leave the event with your very own vision board! Contact: John Ratey: Website: JohnRatey.com Facebook: The Ratey Institute Twitter: @jratey   Serena Marie, RD: Website: www.SerenaMarieRD.com Facebook: /SerenaMarieRD Twitter: @SerenaMarieRD Instagram: SerenaMarieRD   Kari Gormley: Facebook: The Running Lifestyle Show Twitter: @KariGormley Instagram: @KariGormley

Can one exercise too much?  What is the right amount?  Could stretching be counterproductive?  Or even harmful?  Do cortisone shots inhibit healing?  Could something as simple as standing more often actually improve our health dramatically?  New York Times health and … Continue reading →

I was listening to NPR and heard this interesting segment about how a little bit of walking, standing can really help you. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDGwOfzlCHQ&w=560&h=315] from npr.org "Stand Up, Walk Around, Even Just For '20 Minutes' 5/9/12 If you're sitting at a desk reading this article, take a minute and stand up. That's the latest advice from New York Times Phys Ed columnist Gretchen Reynolds. In her new book, The First 20 Minutes, Reynolds details some of the surprisingly simple ways you can combat the effects of a sedentary lifestyle. Federal health guidelines recommend 30 minutes of moderate exercise — such as walking or jogging — every single day. But new research shows that even regular exercisers may not be doing enough to counteract the health hazards of sitting down at a desk all day long. More Health And Exercise Tips How Revving Up Your Heart Rate, Even A Bit, Pays Off Getting your rate into your target zone can help you get more out of a workout. Lighter Weights Can Still Make A Big Fitness Difference You don't have to lift heavy weights to build muscles. More reps with lighter weights works. How To Eat Out Without Putting On The Pounds A researcher says one secret to keeping the pounds off is eating slowly and savoring each bite. Even A Little Exercise Can Help Your Heart Even modest amounts of physical activity reduce the dangers of heart disease, a new study finds. "Sitting for long periods of time — when you don't stand up, don't move at all — tends to cause changes physiologically within your muscles," says Reynolds. "You stop breaking up fat in your bloodstream, you start getting accumulations of fat ... in your liver, your heart and your brain. You get sleepy. You gain weight. You basically are much less healthy than if you're moving." Reynolds recommends standing for two minutes every 20 minutes while desk-bound — even if you can't move around your office. "That sounds so simple," she tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "But that actually has profound consequences. If you can stand up every 20 minutes — even if you do nothing else — you change how your body responds physiologically." Studies have shown that frequent standing breaks significantly decrease your chances of getting diabetes, she says. "If you can also walk around your office, you get even more benefits. You will lose weight, you lessen your chance of heart disease, and you will improve your brain. But if you can do nothing else, stand up!" Reynolds says she's started standing up every time she answers the telephone. "I bought a music stand, which costs next to nothing, and I can put papers on it," she explains. "I read standing up. I try and walk down the hall once an hour. I walk outside and turn around and walk back in. That's enough to break up the physiological changes that sitting otherwise causes." Reynolds' book also details the latest scientific research on running, stretching and hydration techniques. Here are some of the findings: The First 20 Minutes The First 20 Minutes Surprising Science Reveals How We Can Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer by Gretchen Reynolds To Stretch Or Not To Stretch?: Research now suggests that stretching before a workout isn't necessarily a good thing, because it causes the brain to think you're about to tear those muscles, says Reynolds. "When you stretch and hold a pose, the brain thinks you are about to damage yourself and it then sends out nerve impulses that actually tighten the muscles," she explains. "... The result is, you're less ready for activity, not more ready for activity." Don't Skip The Warm-Up: Science suggests that a very easy warmup — a light jog, for example — may be all that most of us need. "What you want to do when you warm up is warm up the tissues," she says. "You want to get the muscles, the tendons — all of the parts of your body — warm, and the best way to do that is to use those tissues." Reynolds recommends jogging before a run or an intense sports match. Running's Rewards And Risks: Running reduces the risks of heart disease and diabetes, helps maintain your weight and improves brain health. "There's very good science that running for even 30 minutes or so doubles the number of brain cells in certain portions of the brain related to memory," says Reynolds. "Running is wonderful for the health of your body." But the injury rate among runners, she cautions, is extremely high — with as many as 75 percent of runners getting one injury a year. "So running can be very hard on the body at the same time it's very good for the body," she says. Humans Were Made For Walking: Walking may be the single best exercise that exists on the planet, Reynolds says. It's low-impact and has a relatively low risk for injury. "Walking appears to be what the human body was built for," she explains. Even 15 minutes will reduce your risk for heart disease and diabetes. Gretchen Reynolds writes the Phys Ed column for the New York Times. Becoming fit and becoming healthier are two different things. "You can become healthy with a much lower amount and a much lower intensity of exercise," says Reynolds. "A nice easy walk will improve your health. If you make it a little ... harder or a little more difficult for you to walk, you will become more fit and you will get more benefits. But even if you just walk lightly, you will be healthier than if you don't do anything." www.onewebstrategy.com