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Monday 8am - 5pm Tuesday 8am - 5pm Wednesday 8am - 5pm Thursday 8am - 5pm Friday 8am - 5pm

http://health.ucdavis.edu/sports-medicine/

UC Davis Sports Performance and Wellness, 3301 C Street, Ste 1600, Sacramento, CA (2025)

11/14/2025

STRENGTH TRAINING AS WE AGE

One of the steepest declines as we age is our level of strength. It's not so much about how much muscle you have, but about how strong those muscles are. Obviously, to be strong, we must have sufficient amounts of muscle, but the goal isn’t hypertrophy; it’s about strength. Research shows that after the age of 35, muscle strength decreases by about 1-2% per year. The goal is to slow this decline down and ensure you have the right amount of strength to continue doing the things you love.

Strength training is the best activity to improve your overall strength. Incorporating higher intensity lifting, typically, ~80% of 1RM for 1-6 repetitions, to elicit the physiological changes. The general rule is to lift 2-3 days per week, and progressively improve the amount of weight lifted over time. For proper guidelines to strength training, the best resource is to consult a personal trainer to ensure you're doing the proper exercises and avoiding injury.

Protein is the most important nutrient for maintaining and building muscle mass. Making sure you consistently hit the optimal amount of protein consumption per day is the key to supporting a stronger body. The general recommendation for protein intake is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. It can be difficult to stay consistent with protein intake, so incorporating snacks like protein bars or protein shakes can make a difference.

Tracking your progress is crucial to ensuring what you’re doing is working for you. The most efficient way to track your muscle mass is by getting a DEXA scan. DEXA scans provide a variety of body composition insights that tell you what your body is made up of and how you’re progressing over time. Depending on your goals, it may be beneficial to track your progress via DEXA every 3-4 months to make any corrections to your training program and ensure you are reaching the goals you desire.

Taking the necessary steps to get stronger is crucial for overall health span and lifespan. Make sure you are tracking your progress, consuming the right amount of protein, and consistently strengthening your muscles.

11/10/2025

Weightlifting promotes both strength and hypertrophy, but how do they develop on a cellular level?

Sarcomeres, the fundamental contractile units of muscle fibers, can be arranged in series or in parallel. Hypertrophy occurs primarily through the addition of sarcomeres in parallel, which increases the physiological cross-sectional area of the muscle and enhances its capacity for force production. In contrast, the addition of sarcomeres in series lengthens the fibers, improving contraction velocity rather than maximal force.

While structural adaptations such as hypertrophy contribute to long-term strength development, neural adaptations also play a critical role. Strength can increase independently of muscle size through improved motor unit recruitment, firing frequency, and synchronization of contractions. These neural adaptations largely explain the rapid strength gains observed in novice lifters, with subsequent progress more dependent on hypertrophic changes.

11/08/2025

Type 2 Diabetes and Exercise

Exercise: our best preventative treatment for some of the most common chronic health conditions. Diabetes, specifically type 2, is the 8th most common cause of death here in the U.S. The condition develops when the body becomes resistant to the hormone insulin, which regulates blood glucose levels. There are 3 primary drivers to becoming insulin resistant: lack of adequate exercise, poor nutrition, and genetic influence.

Incorporating exercise, along with additional support through monitored nutrition, can minimize the symptoms of diabetes and improve overall health. How does it work against diabetes? When we exercise at higher intensities, such as strength training or sprinting, our bodies use anaerobic (using glucose as fuel) processes to produce energy. This means that for people who are insulin-resistant and unable to regulate glucose through insulin, our bodies can compensate through exercise. This process is called insulin-independent glucose uptake.

For regulating blood glucose levels, the most effective form of exercise is strength training due to its complete anaerobic energy processes. This doesn’t just apply to people with diabetes but to everyone, even those who participate in endurance sports. The general recommendation for strength training is to aim for 2-3 days per week, with each session around 30-60 minutes.

In short, diabetes is one of the most prevalent conditions currently in the U.S. To protect ourselves, we must take action by monitoring our diets and incorporating the right exercise into our weekly routines.

11/05/2025

Is RICE still recommended for soft-tissue injuries?

RICE has been a popular method to treat soft tissue injuries. These injuries include damage to the soft parts of your musculoskeletal system like the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Invented in 1978, the RICE protocol stands for rest, ice, compression and elevation. However, in light of recent research, its recommendations have been altered.

After injury, the RICE protocol should be used for the first 48 to 72 hours. Rest should be used to restrict excessive movement that aggravates the pain. Ice can be used immediately after injury in 20 minute intervals to help with inflammation and pain. However, if continuously used for 4+ days following injury, it can reduce your body's repair mechanisms. Recently a new acronym has been on the rise: PEACE and LOVE. The new protocol acknowledges the RICE protocol and emphasizes the use of movement to help treat musculoskeletal injuries.

PEACE stands for Protect, Elevate (the injury site), Avoid anti-inflammatory modalities, Compression, and Educate the benefits of an active approach compared to a passive one. After a few days of injury, soft tissues need LOVE: Load, Optimism, Vascularization, and Exercise. This approach focuses on spreading awareness to get movement in as soon as possible without increasing pain. Early mechanical stress helps build tendon and muscle tolerance allowing for the restoration of mobility and strength. The PEACE and LOVE protocol emphasizes the long-term outcomes and holistically treats the injury.

https://www.physio-pedia.com/Peace_and_Love_Principle #:~:text=More%20recently%20Dubois%20and%20Esculier,anti%2Dinflammatory%20medication%20for%20recovery.

https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/rice-protocol-for-injuries

10/31/2025

How to maximize performance?

Maximizing performance starts with understanding your goal and monitoring two key variables: Overreaching and Overtraining. Monitoring these two variables helps us prepare for adaptation, ensure adequate rest, and measure the volume and intensity of our workouts.

Overreaching involves temporarily pushing your body through increased stress, which leads to a short-term decline in performance that triggers long-term adaptations. This process is closely tied to progressive overload, where you gradually increase the stress of the exercise through intensity, volume, and frequency. Without overreaching, our bodies would stop adapting, and performance would stay the same. However, it’s important to monitor the amount of overreaching we perform within a given training program. Too much overreaching can lead to a decline in performance, so space out intense exercises and make sure you're getting enough rest for your body to repair and get stronger.

Overtraining occurs when overreaching goes too far and leads to a decline in performance. It’s important to space out intense exercise and allow for adequate rest. Preventing overtraining means making sure you're prioritizing sleep and nutrition to help the body fuel and repair for the next workout. Taking a rest day and incorporating active recovery, such as light walking or meditation, will get you ready for another intense session.

Train smarter and sometimes a little harder. Balance stress and recovery to maximize your performance.

10/25/2025

Can exercise help with sickness?

Exercise is one of the best ways to keep your body healthy and prevent disease/illness. One bodily system that benefits from the effects of exercise is the immune system. This occurs through the physiological adaptations that occur after applying a specific number of stimuli to the body. Exercise benefits can come from as little as a brisk walk following a meal and increase beneficially through consistency and larger exercise volume. But what about when you are already sick?

The answer depends on the severity of your sickness. For example, if you have a fever or are feeling nauseous, then it's probably best to prioritize rest. If your symptoms are mild, such as a runny nose or congestion, then, yes, exercise can be beneficial. The key is to exercise in moderation. Just remember to listen to your body, stay hydrated, and lower the intensity or duration of your workout.

In short: Exercise can help prevent colds and may even ease symptoms when they’re mild, but rest is the best medicine when your body is fighting something more serious.

10/21/2025

Fitness tracking devices have become increasingly popular in today’s health and wellness industry, but are they worth using?

Wearable trackers offer convenient ways to monitor workouts and daily activity. Nearly all include an accelerometer, which measures movement across three dimensions to estimate step count. More advanced models integrate GPS, allowing for refined measurements of stride length and distance during outdoor activities. Many devices also can monitor heart rate through photoplethysmography (PPG). By emitting red, infrared, or green light into the skin and measuring light reflection changes in response to blood flow, the sensor can calculate beats per minute. Beyond exercise monitoring, this technology is also applied to sleep tracking, as changes in heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) provide estimates of different sleep stages.

It is important to recognize that wearables are not absolute performance measurement tools. Their metrics should be viewed as supportive data rather than definitive assessments. However, when used consistently, fitness trackers can help monitor changes in activity levels, track progress over time, and provide valuable feedback. Additionally, features like goal setting and achievement badges can foster motivation and encourage positive behavioral changes.

10/17/2025

Should you use a weight belt?

Weight belts are commonly used during heavy lifting exercises such as squats and deadlifts to provide spinal stability and reduce the risk of injury. Do we need to use weight belts every time we do those exercises? The answer is no, especially when lifting lighter weights. In fact, weightlifting without a belt during lighter intensity exercises may provide significant strength benefits for your back, core, and spine.

Whether or not you should use a weight-lifting belt depends on the exercise, intensity, and training goal. For example, if your goal is to lift as much weight as possible through a proper back squat exercise (powerlifting), then yes, using a weightlifting belt is necessary for safety purposes. If you’re strength training for general strength gains and want to get stronger overall without trying to lift extremely heavy, then you don’t necessarily need a weight belt.

Our bodies have their own "biological weight belts" to handle everyday spinal loading. By using a weight belt, you take the stress off those muscles, which is good and bad depending on how much you’re lifting. If you’re lifting light, try to avoid the belt to strengthen those muscles unless you have a previous back or spine injury. For heavier lifts, use a weight belt to reduce the risk of injury, since the focus shifts from core strengthening to safely moving heavier weights.

10/14/2025

Strength training can be modified in various ways to align with an individual’s fitness goals. One key consideration is the choice between isolation exercises and compound movements. While each serves a distinct purpose, both can be effectively integrated into a well-balanced training program.

Compound exercises engage multiple muscle groups and involve movement across more than one joint. For example, the squat activates the quadriceps during knee extension and the gluteal muscles during hip extension in the upward (concentric) phase. Similarly, pull-ups require both shoulder adduction and elbow flexion, targeting the back and arm muscles. These multi-joint exercises are highly effective for building a solid foundation, developing overall strength, and enhancing functional performance that carries over to daily and athletic activities. Because they engage stabilizing muscles and recruit several muscle groups simultaneously, compound movements also have higher energy demands.

In contrast, isolation exercises focus on a single muscle group at a time. Examples include biceps curls, lateral raises, and leg extensions. These exercises are ideal for addressing muscle imbalances or promoting hypertrophy in targeted muscles. They are also valuable in rehabilitation settings and for improving mind-muscle connection through focused and controlled movements.

10/14/2025

The Necessity for Testing Resting Metabolic Rate

Resting metabolic rate (RMR) is a measurement used to understand the lower threshold of energy required by your body in order to perform daily tasks and function. This test is a practical measurement of the number of calories needed in order to sustain your body through rest and other basic daily activities. At the UC Davis Sports Health and Wellness Clinic, this RMR test is made easy and accessible. With the results from this examination, patients are able to personalize their nutrition and physical activities to achieve a more well-balanced diet and lifestyle over all

10/11/2025

Fighting Age with Exercise

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, most people when they reach the age of 40 will have already started to begin losing bone mass. As we get older, physical inactivity increases due to various factors such as pain, reduction of muscle strength, inflexibility, etc. But instead of letting this affect our lifestyle, we can take preventative steps to combat this.

Exercise plays a key role when it comes to maintaining bone health or managing conditions like osteoarthritis or low bone density (osteoporosis). When we exercise, we create mechanical stress that stimulates bone forming cells to produce new bone tissue. For patients with osteoarthritis, exercising also strengthens the muscles that support and protect the joints that are affected with arthritis.

It is NEVER too late to start exercising. Research shows that it is possible for exercise to increase bone mineral density in post-menopausal women and prevent further bone loss in osteoporotic patients.

So next time you see your parents, invite them for a walk or bring them to the gym with you. Their bones will thank you.

https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/staying-healthy/healthy-bones-at-every-age/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6323511/ #:~:text=The%20exercise%20types%20most%20effective,understand%20the%20effects%20of%20deconditioning.

10/08/2025

Today we cover some alternatives to whey-based protein powders: Plant Protein!

Overall, these offer another method of getting your daily protein. For those who don't want to have whey for any number of reasons, plant proteins are great alternative.

H**p and soy proteins are complete proteins and contain all the same amino acids as whey protein although they are lacking in the balance of essential ones. Pea based proteins, while not complete, offer a multitude of other health benefits and are the highest in BCAA's, greatly helping in building muscle. Mixed protein powders offer a complete and balanced amino acid profile, most similar to whey, along with all the benefits of regular plant-based proteins.

As we always like to highlight, go with what's best for you! These and many more are great options to be used as supplements, but the best option will always be what aligns with your goals the most.

Protein concentration here refers to how much protein is present in a single serving of that type of powder. This is NOT reflective of the specific brands pictured, just generalized values from processing differences.

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Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm