Fitness Reads: Exercise can both age you and make you a genius

What did the SNEWS team read this week that other industry insiders might find interesting? Read on to find out!

• What?! After all that talk about how exercise makes us healthier, wards off deadly diseases and makes us happier comes this story from the Sydney Morning Herald about how exercise could be aging people who take it over the limits of normalcy. But after reading a slew of articles about how not enough people are getting the recommended amount of exercise in a day we think this probably isn’t an issue for a lot of people.

• It is an issue, however, among the ultra endurance athletes, according to this Wall Street Journal story. Though exercise generally benefits a person’s cardio health, those who took it beyond 30 miles a week had increased vulnerability to atrial fibrillation and coronary-artery plaque, studies show.

• Teens in Australia don’t have to worry about aging themselves as their exercise rates are a bit low according to a study by the University of Western Australia’s School of Sport Science Exercise and Health. Results of the study were published in this story. Only 10 percent of girls surveyed got enough exercise to maintain health, and while boys were better at 40 percent, the rates were still alarming researchers said.

• Here’s another exercise and aging story that said exercise leads to “aging with grace.” The story in the Missoulian goes so far as to say exercise is the “secret to successful aging”. So don’t even worry about what the Sydney Morning Herald said. Apparently we exercisers are on the fast track to the fountain of youth – or at least the fountain of graceful aging.

• Enough with the exercise is bad for aging, good for aging; bad for the heart, good for the heart stories – the important thing is it makes you a genius, according to recent studies conducted in the United States. This Times of India story recaps the study and said that the reason 30 minutes a day of exercise makes you smarter is because it boosts your mood, memory confidence and energy and sharpens your focus.

• Kettlebells have been around longer than the fitness industry has, and judging by their ever-rising popularity, they’re not going anywhere. So what makes them so awesome? Check out this Province story about why kettlebells remain one of the most popular fitness trends around.

• It might be tough for new mamas to leave their baby cubs for a long run or workout but sometimes it must be done in order for them to get back into pre-pregnancy shape. Or does it? This Daily Mail story features a new workout DVD for mama and baby called Bababoogie.d

• The earth was thought to be flat, now it’s apparently round. Myth busting as is as old as time itself and there will always be myths to bust, especially in the fitness industry. The Ottowa Citizen has taken charge of debunking fitness myths and half truths like skinny people are more fit than overweight people and faster in this story.

• A lot of you retailers tell us their customers also have gym memberships, so it would stand to reason that if gym membership is growing, the potential for home retail to grow is pretty good. IHRSA recently released its Global Report that show there was a 10 percent gain in health club membership since 2008 and a 5 percent increase in non-member usage. Check out a story on the report here.

• After getting our butts whooped in one particularly painful high school basketball game, our grandfather told us, “You should focus more on basketball and less on make-up.” We’ve all seen the women at the gym in full make-up, working out – some hard and some not enough to break a sweat – that make us wonder if glamour and fitness can work in harmony with one another. This The Age story makes a case for women being glamorous in daily lives but focusing on workouts during workouts. Turns out grandpa was right.

Read anything interesting this week? Email it to us because we want to read it too!