Terry Mclaren Functional Physio

09/12/2025

Good to understand

This new paper reframes the classic 80/20 idea in exercise physiology: ~80% of total activity should be low intensity, and ~20% should impose meaningful metabolic stress.
But instead of a simple binary, it maps six distinct intensity zones from light, frequent movement to maximal alactic bursts.

Zone PEP: low-load preparatory movement

Zone 1: low-aerobic (talking pace)

Zone 2: sustainable threshold work

Zone 3: VO₂max-level intervals

Zone 4: high-lactate strength/anaerobic efforts

Zone 5: brief, maximal VILPA-type bursts

It integrates daily-life load with planned exercise, offering a more physiologically coherent model for training, aging, pain management, and performance.

Fernandez & Seiler, 2025 (Front Sports Act Living 7:1641818)

22/11/2025

Let’s keep it moving folks, it’s worth it 🙏

Your muscles aren’t just moving weight, they’re protecting your brain.

Every rep you lift sends signals far beyond the muscle.
The brain feels it.
Blood vessels feel it.
Your long-term cognitive health feels it.

A single, well-designed strength-training routine influences:

🔹 Endothelial function & cerebral blood flow: keeping the brain’s vascular system responsive and healthy.
🔹 Neurotrophic factors: the growth signals your brain uses to repair, adapt, and form memories.
🔹 Blood–brain barrier integrity: the shield that protects your brain from toxins and inflammation.
🔹 White-matter preservation: the wiring that keeps your cognition sharp.
🔹 Amyloid and tau accumulation: proteins strongly linked to Alzheimer’s pathology.
🔹 Inflammation and antioxidant defenses: the balance that determines how fast the brain ages.
🔹 Cognition & memory: the functional outcome that actually matters.

Greater muscle strength is consistently associated with lower Alzheimer’s and dementia risk.
Not because muscles and memory are directly connected…
but because resistance training remodels the systems that support brain health.

And none of this works without a program people can actually stick to. Effective resistance training requires:

• Adoption: getting people started
• Adherence: keeping them going
• Feasibility: making it accessible for everyone

Citation
Allison E.Y., Bedi A.M., Rourke A.J., Mizzi V., Walsh J.J., Heisz J.J., Al-Khazraji B.K. (2025).
Resisting decline: The neuroprotective role of resistance exercise in supporting cerebrovascular function and brain health in aging.

20/11/2025

So true 🙏

Truth… A lot of wonderfully healthy adaptations occur at the boundary between comfort and discomfort. Yet, our brain often makes us fear that zone, especially as we age.

Let’s explore this in depth: https://howardluksmd.substack.com/p/getting-comfortable-with-being-uncomfortable?r=8b26

13/11/2025

👏

Health adaptations resulting from regularly engaging in resistance training (RT) versus aerobic training (AT) in addition to the concurrent effects of AT + RT.

29/10/2025

Interesting and good news. We are all built different, make the most of it, don’t change it

10/10/2025

About time someone said it 👍

10/10/2025

Awesome 👏

06/10/2025

Move🙏

✅ Clinical Highlights: Physiology of Sedentary Behavior (SB)

▪️ Sedentary behavior (SB; time spent sitting) occupies a high proportion of adults’ waking hours, and its effects can be examined distinctly from a lack of exercise or physical activity (PA)

▪️ The average energy cost of common SBs generally ranges between 1.0 and 1.5 metabolic equivalent of task (MET).
• Energy expenditure, heart rate, skeletal muscle blood flow, and contractile activity are higher during sitting compared to reclining, but these measures are lower than in a standing position and during PA of any intensity.

▪️ Prolonged and uninterrupted SB leads to numerous adverse health outcomes, including:
• Insulin resistance
• Vascular dysfunction
• A shift in substrate use toward carbohydrate oxidation
• A shift in muscle fiber from oxidative to glycolytic type
• Reduced cardiorespiratory fitness
• Loss of muscle mass and strength and bone mass
• Increased total body fat mass, visceral fat depot, blood lipid concentrations, and inflammation

▪️ From a physiological standpoint, the impacts of SB relate to those caused by physical inactivity (i.e., too little exercise). However, high volumes of SB can still have adverse physiological impacts even when large volumes of aerobic and/or resistance exercise are performed.

▪️ Acutely, reducing/interrupting SB improves:
• Postprandial glucose and insulin responses
• Systolic blood pressure
• Mean arterial pressure
• Lower limb vascular function

In the longer term, small improvements are observed in:
• Body weight
• Waist circumference
• Percent body fat
• Fasting glucose
• HbA1c and HDL concentrations
• Systolic blood pressure
• Vascular function
Evidence for other health outcomes and physiological systems in the longer term is more limited.

▪️ While reducing/interrupting SB improves body composition, intermediary metabolism, and cardiovascular health outcomes, these effects are typically small, though marginally clinically meaningful.
👉 Since most studies have been conducted in healthy population groups (where outcomes are within normal ranges), larger effects may be observed in populations that are less healthy.

▪️ The focus of contemporary public health guidelines ("sit less, move more and exercise") is largely a consensus based primarily on epidemiological findings.
Further experimental evidence is required to clarify the physiological effects of interventions that combine exercise with SB reduction/interruption.
👉Nonetheless, reducing/interrupting SB is considered a low-risk strategy that holds clinical and population health relevance, and it can serve as a stepping stone toward regular participation in moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA.

⚠️Link To Article 👇

29/09/2025

Awesome

Your Muscles and Brain Are Talking. Exercise Is the Conversation Starter! 🧠💪

▪️ Ever feel sharper and more focused after a good workout? It’s not just a feeling—it’s science! There’s a powerful, two-way communication system in your body called muscle-brain crosstalk

▪️ Here’s how it works in 3 simple steps:
💡 You Move: When you exercise, your muscles get to work. Whether it's walking, swimming, or lifting weights, this activity is the trigger.
📩 Muscles Send Messages: In response to exercise, your muscles release special messenger molecules called myokines into your bloodstream. Think of them as tiny health-boosting packages sent directly from your muscles!
🧠 Your Brain Benefits: These myokines travel to your brain and deliver incredible benefits, such as:
▪️ Protecting brain cells and helping to create new ones
▪️ Improving memory and cognitive function
▪️ Fighting inflammation in the brain, which is linked to aging and disease
▪️ Helping prevent age-related diseases like sarcopenia (muscle loss) and cognitive decline, including Alzheimer's disease

▪️ It’s a positive feedback loop! As your brain gets healthier from these messages, it becomes better at controlling your muscles, which helps them stay strong and release even more beneficial myokines

▪️ Ready to get the conversation started?
🏃 You don’t have to run a marathon! Research suggests that for older adults, aiming for low- to moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (like brisk walking) 3 times a week for 12 weeks or more can significantly boost myokine levels and support brain health.
🏋️ Resistance training 2-3 times a week is also highly effective

▪️ So next time you exercise, remember you’re not just strengthening your body—you’re sparking a vital conversation that keeps your brain young and healthy!

Link to Article👇👇

22/09/2025

Practical advice 👍

🔗📃The Relationship Between Running Biomechanics and Running Economy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

🏃‍♂️ Running Biomechanics & Running Economy: How They Connect

🔹 Running economy (RE) is the amount of oxygen or energy your body uses to run at a steady speed.
🔹 Better RE = less energy used for the same pace = improved performance.
🔹 Alongside VO₂max and lactate threshold, RE is a key factor for distance running success.

⚙️ How Biomechanics Affect Running Economy

⏱️ Step Frequency: A slightly higher cadence is linked with a better running economy.

⬇️ Vertical Movement: Lower “up-and-down” motion reduces wasted energy.

🦵 Leg Stiffness: A stiffer spring-like leg mechanism improves energy return.

🦿 Joint Angles & Muscle Activation: Show only small or non-significant effects, but may still matter for certain runners.

🎯 Practical Ways to Improve Running Economy

1. Optimize Cadence → Gradually increase step frequency by 3–5% if cadence is very low.

2. Reduce Bounce → Focus on smooth forward motion rather than vertical lift.

3. Strength & Plyometrics → Improve leg stiffness with single-leg hops, jump squats, and calf strengthening.

4. Technique Adjustments → Small tweaks in stride length or contact time may help, especially if gait is inefficient.

5. Consistency & Training → Long-term adaptations from endurance and interval training also improve RE.

📌 Key Takeaway

Running economy is trainable. By making small biomechanical adjustments, strengthening the legs, and refining technique, runners can save energy and perform better without necessarily increasing fitness markers like VO₂max.

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⚠️Disclaimer: Sharing a study or a part of it is NOT an endorsement. Please read the original article and evaluate critically.

Link to Article 👇

06/09/2025

True!

06/09/2025

Hmmm something to think about 🤔