Recently the New York Times covered the new military fitness protocols for incoming recruits.  The program innovations bring modern exercise science to the challenge of recruiting from a generation notoriously inactive and less fit than their predecessors.  Gone is the “one size fits all” mentality, replaced by slower progressions and a focus on building soldiers’ functional capacity for the actual demands of their jobs. 

Among this generation of recruits the military is observing low bone density (leading to bone fractures), overweight, and inability to meet basic fitness standards.  The Times writes,

“The new fitness regime tries to deal with all these problems by incorporating more stretching, more exercises for the abdomen and lower back, instead of the traditional situps, and more agility and balance training. It increases in difficulty more gradually. And it sets up a multiweek course of linked exercises, rather than offering discrete drills.”

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Here are a couple of really interesting articles I've been meaning to share for a while:

To Tone Without Bulk: Lift Heavier Weights, Fewer Times
The New York Times confirms that folks who wish to build strength without bulk should lift more weight for fewer reps.  They conclude that: "For people who lift weights to tone up and slim down...a regimen that includes a combination of challenging weights and fewer repetitions can help significantly."

Something I've been telling clients for years!  You can read the article here.

Pelvic Floor Fix for the Post-Partum Mama More recently, my bloggy-friend Kara of mamasweat wrote a stunning expose on kegels as the enemy of pelvic floor health.  She interviewed "biomechanical scientist" Katy Bowman on the post-partum pee problem.  According to Katy, it's your weak, flat butt that's the problem and holding that million-dollar bill with your "kegel muscles" just exacerbates things.  With the tagline "You now have permission to pee in the shower," this is an article not to miss.  Find it here.

"The moral of the story is: I must not be inactive."

A new client was quoting a friend of hers when she said,

"Exercise is awesome--movement changes the mind!"

There is science to back this statement up--or you could just try it for yourself and see how you feel! I feel smarter, clearer and calmer after a good workout.

"I always feel better when I exercise!"