PROTIME-FITNESS HOLISTIC HEALTH AND WELLNESS

  SEMAGLUTIDE: MOST PEOPLE QUIT USING IT WITHIN A YEAR  A new Danish study has thrown some cold water on the hype around semaglutide, the weight-loss drug that’s been all over the headlines the past few years. Despite its reputation for helping people shed serious pounds, the reality is that more than half of adults without diabetes who start taking the drug in Denmark end up quitting within a year. The main culprits? High costs, nasty side effects, and existing medical or mental health conditions. The numbers are even starker for younger adults and men, who are especially likely to drop out—and unfortunately, stopping the drug often leads to weight gain creeping right back. GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide are being praised as a new era in obesity treatment, but the data suggest a different story in the real world. Researchers looked at health records across Denmark and tracked nearly 80,000 adults who started semaglutide for weight loss between December 2022 and Octo...

HEALTHY BODY WEIGHT: HOW TO ACHIEVE IT   Keeping your body at a healthy weight isn’t just about looking good—it’s one of the smartest moves you can make for your long-term health. There’s a mountain of evidence showing that staying at a healthy weight can lower your risk of chronic diseases, help you live longer, and boost your quality of life. On the other hand, carrying extra weight increases your chances of developing heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and can even shorten your life. The connection is so strong that losing even a small amount of weight can make a real difference, improving things like blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar control ( JAMA Internal Medicine ). Why Does Healthy Weight Matter So Much? Excess body fat isn’t harmless. It raises your risk for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and joint problems. Overweight and obesity are linked to higher rates of death from all causes, for both men and women ( Journal of Women's Healt...

  SQUATS AND LUNGES: A DYNAMIC DUO Squats and lunges are cornerstones of lower-body training, and for good reason: both have been closely studied for their roles in building leg strength and power. Sports scientists and strength coaches have spent years testing, comparing, and fine-tuning these classic moves to see how they stack up—and what each one brings to the table. Squats: The Foundation of Lower-Body Strength Squats are famous for a reason. Research consistently shows that heavy squats, including variations like jump squats, are some of the best ways to develop both maximal strength and explosive power in the legs, especially in the quadriceps and hip extensors (McBride et al., Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research ). In fact, back squats have outperformed even the leg press when it comes to gains in strength and short-term power output (Wirth et al., Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research ). Another study found that just six weeks of squat training—compar...

  BACK PAIN PREVENTION STEPS If you want to dodge chronic back pain, it might be time to lace up your sneakers and make walking a non-negotiable part of your day. A massive study out of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology tracked over 11,000 people and found something refreshingly simple: walking more — not faster — can slash your risk of developing nagging lower back issues. It’s not about power-walking or racking up steps at lightning speed. The big difference came from people who walked at least 100 minutes a day, even at a relaxed pace. They saw a 23% lower risk of developing chronic back pain compared to those who walked less. Just moving more, every day, made all the difference. These results, published in JAMA Network Open, are a wake-up call. Back pain is widespread — up to 80% of us will deal with it at some point, and one in five Norwegians is struggling with it right now. It’s a problem that costs health systems billions and drains your quality of life. Bu...

  PULL-UPS: A SIMPLE, TRANSFORMATIVE EXERCISE Pull-ups stand out as one of the most effective exercises for building upper body strength and power in both men and women, engaging multiple major muscle groups, improving muscular endurance, and enhancing functional fitness . At their core, pull-ups primarily activate the latissimus dorsi, biceps brachii, brachialis, and muscles around the shoulder girdle. Electromyographic studies confirm that pull-ups produce high to very high muscle activation levels, making them ideal for strength training. Variations in grip (pronated, supinated, neutral) subtly shift muscle recruitment; for instance, a pronated grip increases brachialis activation, while supinated grips emphasize the biceps more. This versatility allows tailored emphasis depending on training goals [Dickie et al., 2017; Youdas et al., 2010]. From a mechanical perspective, pull-ups require lifting the entire bodyweight, providing a challenging resistance that promotes strength ga...

 Rats Regain Mobility After Spinal Cord Repair. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have achieved a remarkable step forward in spinal cord injury treatment by merging 3D printing, stem cell science, and lab-grown tissues. Their new method, recently published in Advanced Healthcare Materials, enabled rats with completely severed spinal cords to regain the ability to walk. The team developed a special 3D-printed scaffold—think of it as a tiny framework laced with microscopic channels—that guides stem cells to become functional nerve cells. These scaffolds, known as organoid scaffolds, are seeded with spinal neural progenitor cells (sNPCs), which are derived from human adult stem cells. These cells possess a unique ability to multiply and differentiate into the specific nerve cells required for spinal cord repair. “We use the 3D printed channels of the scaffold to direct the growth of the stem cells, which ensures the new nerve fibers grow in the desired way,” explained Guebum ...