Nation’s exercise levels ‘shockingly low’

Almost one in 10 adults have not walked continuously for five minutes in the past four weeks, according to one of the most comprehensive studies conducted into physical fitness levels in England.

New research examining the lifestyles of a million adults, carried out by the Centre for Market and Public Organisation at Bristol University, paints an alarming picture of a country where “there are very high levels of physical inactivity”. The authors of the study argue that levels of physical activity are heavily influenced by socioeconomic factors.

The study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, used the government’s annual Active People Surveys, dating back to 2006, to examine physical activity across all of England’s local authorities and measure it against factors such as income and ethnicity.

Written by Jamie Doward

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How to Get Strong – The Science of Strength

Intro to Muscular Strength

How strong you are (and how strong you could be) depends on the performance of your body’sskeletal muscles.

Your body’s muscles are highly adaptable. They will react to the stresses that you place upon them.

• Sit on the couch and they will atrophy.
• Try and run fast and they adapt to produce faster contractions.
• Lift heavy objects and they will increase their ability to produce maximum strength.

Muscular Strength can and has been categorized in a variety of different ways. In this article, I am choosing to divide Muscular Strength into four categories, based primarily on Newton’s Second Law.

Written by Douglas Robb

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Overweight child star of Nike ad finds ‘greatness,’ loses 30 pounds

The overweight child star of a controversial Nike ad that aired during the 2012 Summer Olympics has shed 32 pounds in the past six months, and credits in part the “Greatness” ad that made him famous.

“I would never have changed my lifestyle if I was never in this commercial,” Nathan Sorrell told TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie on Thursday. “That’s not the only reason, but that really did help.”

Now 13, Nathan was 5 feet tall and weighed 232 pounds last year when he shot the ad, which showed him slowly jogging down a country road, panting and sweating heavily, while a voiceover declared: “Greatness is no more unique to us than breathing. We’re all capable of it. All of us.”
Written by Eun Kyung Kim, TODAY contributor

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