Diana J. Smith

Las Vegas gyms ready to comply with new COVID restrictions

By Diana J. Smith 2 days ago

The new 25 percent capacity limit at gyms and fitness centers doesn’t concern the general managers who spoke with the Review-Journal, and they say the new requirements to wear a mask even while exercising shouldn’t worry you.

Both measures are effective as of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday as part of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s three-week pause.

“I did it today for the first time,” said Steve Datte, senior general manager of Life Time Summerlin. “I wore my mask during my entire workout. … It was tolerable, and I’m a baby when it comes to this stuff. I got through it, and it was OK.”

The key, he said, is choosing a mask that’s breathable. Around 15 percent of the people on his fitness floor already were keeping their masks on throughout their workouts.

On Monday afternoon, all but one member was wearing a mask while exercising at the Anytime Fitness at

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Balance health with enjoying Thanksgiving dinner

By Diana J. Smith 4 days ago

11 Fitness: Balance your health while enjoying Thanksgiving dinner


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THEO: THANK YOU, TAYLOR. TIME NOW FOR 11 FITNESS. JOINING US THIS MORNING, TEDDY SAVAGE FROM PLANET FITNESS. GOOD MORNING, TEDDY. >> GOOD MORNING, THEO. HOW ARE YOU? THEO: I’M GOOD. THANKSGIVING NEXT WEEK. HOW DO WE ENJOY GOOD FOOD AND KEEP THINGS HEALTHY? IT’S A DELICATE BALANCE. >> YOU SAID THE MAIN WORD THERE, THEO. BALANCE. I WANT YOU TO ENJOY THE MEAL, INDULGE IN YOUR FAVORITE FOODS BUT MINDFULLY. YOUR BODY WANTS TO CREATE SYMMETRY AND BALANCE, BUT YOU HAVE TO MOVE BEFORE YOU EAT, RIGHT? SO I’M GOING TO SHOW YOU A COUPLE OF FUN CARDIO ALTERNATIVES BECAUSE YOU MAY NOT HAVE A TREADMILL OR AN ELLIPTICAL IN YOUR LIVING ROOM, OKAY? THEO: OKAY. >> THE FIRST IS GOING TO BE STAR JACKS. WE’RE ALL STARS, RIGHT?

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Hands on: Can a fertility tracker give you useful health tracking too?

By Diana J. Smith 6 days ago

Early in the pandemic, researchers started experimenting with fitness and health trackers as a way to detect COVID-19, ideally before patients noticed any symptoms, by looking at measurements like sleep levels, skin temperature, breathing rate, resting heart rate and heart rate variability (how much the heart rate changes over time in response to biophysical stress).

The US Army’s Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium worked with multiple projects including Fitbit, the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency partnered with Garmin and Oura, and the NBA bought more than 1,000 Oura rings in the summer to help basketball players track their health risk. 

And when Ava, whose fertility tracker bracelet is already a licenced medical product, started actively looking for researchers, the government of Lichtenstein enrolled 2,000 people in the ongoing COVI-GAPP study to see if the sleep, skin temperature, pulse rate, skin perfusion, breathing rate and heart rate variability ratio that the

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Large study finds clear association between fitness and mental health

By Diana J. Smith 6 days ago

New research from a large study demonstrates that low cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength have a significant association with worse mental health.

Researchers have reported a clear link between low physical fitness and the risk of experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, or both.

The study, which included more than 150,000 participants, found that cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength independently contribute to a greater risk of worse mental health.

However, the researchers saw the most significant association when they looked at cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength in combination.

The research, which appears in the journal BMC Medicine, may help inform clinical guidance on mental health and physical fitness.

Problems with mental health, just like physical health issues, can have a significant negative effect on a person’s life. Two of the more common mental health conditions are anxiety and depression.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 18.1%

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