D-Aspartic Acid or DAA has been making waves in the fitness world; it has taken the supplements industry by storm. Marketed as an effective and safe ‘testosterone booster’, DAA does indeed seem to increase testosterone levels in your body; almost as much as by 40% over baseline. For those worried about the ‘side-effects’ profile drugs that promise to increase your anabolic hormones, there is more...
All forms of exercise involve bodily movements. These movements are nothing but changes in the alignment of bones brought about by contraction of muscles – most often accompanied by intense contraction of muscles in other parts of the body without much apparent change in the angle of joints involved (such as occurs in the muscles of the arms when we are carrying heavy grocery bags while there is...
Although an integral part of fitness, isometric muscle strength is an often ignored component. The importance of isometric strength in almost all functional (carrying a heavy box) and sporting activities (a bat swing) is undeniable – yet for some reason or the other – isometric exercises are just not done by many. They are just not popular – in fact, you will be hard pressed to find too much...
Pre-workout drinks which raise the levels of nitric oxide (NO) in your system are a craze with gym goers and athletes alike. The reason – the so called ‘pump’ you get when doing typical bodybuilding exercises combined with the ability to ‘rep out’ a few more on all exercises. Contrary to anecdotal evidence, however, there is not much published research on the alleged effects of ‘pre-workout’...
As we all know, obesity is now considered a pandemic. In the US, prevalence rates of obesity have almost doubled from 12.8% to 22.5% during the last couple of decades (Kuczmarski et al., 1994; Mokdad et al., 1999). Diet interventions or exercise alone has been unsuccessful in controlling obesity and the accompanying metabolic diseases. A combination of the two seems more appropriate in...
Damage to skeletal muscle occurs in a number of conditions like muscle rupture or cell necrosis (Cervellin, Comelli, & Lippi, 2010). Resistance exercise-induced skeletal muscle damage is devoid of necrosis (cell-death) and although microscopic in nature, is crucial for muscle hypertrophy (increase in muscle size). The intensity and volume in combination with overload associated with...
Did you know that the oft-spoken ‘metabolic rate’ is, in fact, a measure of the rate of secretion, blood levels and action of certain hormones? These hormones, as you may well have guessed, are immensely influenced by your lifestyle (whether active or sedentary – level of physical activity, the kind of exercises you are into – endurance or anaerobic training) and the kind of food you eat...
Cardiorespiratory fitness is best reflected by oxygen uptake and its utilization during maximal intensity exercise. The greater the peak oxygen uptake (VO2 max.), more efficiently the individual burns oxygen and thus more efficient is the functioning of his/her cardiorespiratory system and hence more is the cardiorespiratory fitness. Aerobic capacity can also be calculated using the heart rate...
As we all know, anabolic-androgenic steroids are used to gain lean muscle mass; in the process either getting big (as in bodybuilding) or improving sporting performance (as in track and field). While casual and limited use of these AAS appears to be harmless, those who indulge in regular and chronic use tend to get addicted; they exhibit dependence on these substances with adverse functional...
Breast surgery has been around for more than a century. More recently, an increasing number of women have been opting for cosmetic breast surgery, mainly augmentation (to enlarger size) surgery. According to an estimate, in 2005 in the US alone, a whopping 260,000 women underwent cosmetic breast surgery, more than doubling the amount of surgeries conducted in 1998. In the UK too, breast...
Dr. Deepak S Hiwale, a.k.a "The Fitness Doc" specializes in sports medicine in addition to being an elite personal trainer. He currently runs an elite personal training company in West London. As a sports injury and fitness writer-presenter, he tries to disseminate as much knowledge as possible for the benefit of all. MBBS (University of Pune); MSC, Sports and Exercise Medicine (University of Glasgow); Diploma in Personal Training (YMCA Dip. PT, London).
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