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You’ve probably heard of high-intensity interval training, or ‘HIIT’ for short. It’s become widely popularised among both elite athletes and amateur fitness enthusiasts due to its reported ability to bring about positive health outcomes in a relatively short session and time period.When I say ‘positive health outcomes’, I mean improved VO2 max (which represents the maximum amount

Continuing the theme of mental health, here we explore the practise of mindfulness as a way of promoting health, improving performance and treating serious illnesses such as depression.   It’s an increasingly common belief that mindfulness is a tool with the potential to hugely impact our lives. Have you tried it yet? Before you read

What might a typical day involve for you working at CP+R? A typical day for me would be to firstly check in on the wellbeing of the cardiac coaches and be aware of any barriers that are preventing them from being happy and healthy both within and outside of their role. I would then also

The role of a “Cardiac Coach” seems very relevant to someone suffering from cardiac disease, doesn’t it? But what about to someone fighting cancer? Well, it might surprise you to learn that having a Cardiac Coach is equally important when fighting either illness and where’s why…   “The benefits of exercise in cancer patients and

The American Heart Association recently reviewed effects of dietary cholesterol on cardiovascular disease. The review highlighted a number of key points to consider regarding the impact of diet on supporting a healthy blood cholesterol concentration. What is Dietary cholesterol? Dietary cholesterol is found in foods such as eggs, meat, and diary products. When you break

In this week’s article we are discussing a TED talk titled “could the sun be good for your heart?” delivered by Richard Weller, a dermatologist with a history in general medicine. “A Gradient of Health” In Britain, research shows there to be a “gradient of health” with your cardiovascular related mortality risk being higher the

HIIT training is a hugely popular form of exercise due to its seemingly quick results, high calorie burn and high endorphin release. However, it puts the heart under a high level of stress and without doing it safely, particularly those people with a weakened heart can put themselves in serious danger of having a cardiac

In this week’s article, we are discussing a recent review paper titled ‘The Benefits of Strength Training on Musculoskeletal System Health: Practical Applications for Interdisciplinary Care’ published in the journal Sports Medicine. What are the benefits of Strength Training? Strength training is a type of exercise which has begun to grow in popularity and for

In this week’s research club, we tackled ‘Plant-Based Diets for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: All Plant Foods Are Not Created Equal’ (Hemler and Hu, 2019). This paper reviewed some of the literature around the different definitions of plant-based diets and in particular how they can impact upon cardiovascular health. The authors also aimed to distinguish between

In this week’s article, we are reviewing current evidence that looks at why individuals should complete both resistance and endurance training, if they wish to see a positive response in both their strength and cardiovascular fitness. The STRUETH (Studies of Twin Responses to Understand Exercise as a Therapy) study investigated the response ofVO2max and muscular