Today is the first video and audio-only rebroadcast from the 2015 Huffines Discussion.   Up today in our series is Dr. Larry Kenney, the Marie Underhill Noll Chair in Human Performance at Penn State University. Dr. Kenney's talk is called "Climate Change, Aging, and Human Health" and covers the physiological issues we will all face with the onset of Climate Change.  LISTEN or WATCH NOW!

Sometimes the perspective of someone from outside the field talk to us about Sports Medicine and what they see happening.  Comedian Kevin Hughes - an avid reader and health enthusiast - serves just such a role for us; the outside observer that let's us know how our field actually applies to folks outside of sports medicine.  Kevin also is unique in that he's one of the few that we know that has listened to all of our podcasts and has actually commented on most of them. (What yo...

Today we are pleased to welcome to the podcast Dr. Marielle Engelen from the Center for Translational Research in Aging and Longevity here at Texas A&M.  Dr. Engelen chats with us about the current research into the prevention of muscle loss in chronic diseases like COPD and cystic fibrosis and how things we can do every day - both from an activity and diet approach - can prevent this muscle loss.  Enjoy! LISTEN NOW! 

Use it or lose it! Wait, that never is something you want to hear! Read the text article by Jeffrey Hord titled "Use It or Lose It: The Dynamic Nature of Skeletal Muscle" to learn how to combat a loss in muscle. "Skeletal muscles come in a variety of sizes and shapes so that they suit the particular function that they perform. Some of these muscles work virtually all of the time while others are necessary only part of the time."

Know someone that ages every year? Oh wait, that is everyone! Read the weekly text article by Mr. Yang Lee titled "Is Exercise Beneficial for the Elderly Heart?" "It has been reported that heart failure is the one of the leading cause of hospitalization for patients especially in the over-65 years aged population. Huge amounts of evidence indicate that impairment of myocardial structure and function through aging contribute to the development of heart failure."Image Source: h...

Check out the weekly text article by Mr. John Seawright titled "Code Blue" and find out the secret to cheating death! "Do not go gentle into that good night.  Rage, Rage against the dying of the light.” Dylan Thomas penned these anguished words as his once strong and youthful father lay aged, blind, and dying; words which paint an agonizing depiction of humanity’s struggle against and defiance of death. In today’s world, the endless rebellion against sufferi...

Check out the weekly text article by Ms. Deanna Kennedy titled "Just Follow the Yellow Brick Road: A Guide to Performing Complex Bimanual Coordination Patterns" "Coordinating movements between the limbs is important for many activities of daily living and sport specific skills. Buttoning your shirt, opening a bottle, driving your car, and serving a tennis ball are tasks that involve some type of coordination between the limbs."

Recent research findings indicate that with older adulthood, there are functional decrements in spatial cognition and more specially, in the ability to mentally represent and effectively plan motor actions. A typical finding is a significant over- or underestimation of one's actual physical abilities with movement planning- planning that has implications for movement efficiency and physical safety. A practical, daily life example is estimation of reachability- a situation for the elderly may...

Recent studies indicate that the ability to mentally represent action using motor imagery declines with advanced age (>64 years). As the ability to represent action declines, the elderly may experience increasing difficulty with movement planning and execution. Huffines Affiliate and Director of the Child Motor Development Laboratory, Dr. Carl Gabbard's recent publication in the Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics titled "Association between imagined and actual functional rea...

For more information about this week’s Human Performance Minute, check out the links listed below. Running on age in a 15-km road run: minor influence of age on performance. Characteristics associated with 10-km running performance among a group of highly trained male endurance runners age 21-63 years. Aging and factors related to running economy. Master's performance in the New York City Marathon 1983-1999.Be sure to check out future weekly Huffines Institute Human Performance Minut...