“Many hiking-related injuries are less about a single structural problem and more about the body reacting to repetitive stress,” said Welch.

Welch says that symptoms that crop up after a long day on foot, such as heel issues, Achilles soreness, shin discomfort, or general foot pain, are often signs that the muscles, tendons, or joints are becoming irritated from repeated loading. These can be exacerbated by changes in hiking miles or terrain, insufficient recovery, or doing more than your body is prepared for.

Read the full article at backpacker.com.

Brands and influencers claim vibration plates promote lymphatic drainage, help with weight loss, improve muscle tone and strength, and reduce bloating

“We do have a lot of really knowledgeable people and some great information that’s out there, but this information exists on a spectrum. So, we get really qualified people putting out high-quality information and really good tidbits, but then we also get people that are really just looking for clicks, engagement and basically just trying to gain traction on their pages,” said Mathew Welch, MS, CSCS, ATC, USAW-1, exercise physiologist at HSS. 

There is often no research to support the claims of this latter group, which is (sorry) the case with vibration plates, Welch noted.

Read the full article at huffpost.com. 

To maximize strength gains and progression under the barbell, Welch recommends a three-day training split that you can do on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

“The first day would be a maximal strength day, where we're doing 3–5 sets of 1–5 reps, because you can build strength through that 1–5 rep range,” he says. The second day would be for accessory work—to develop the surrounding muscles that play a supporting role in the bench press. These would be exercises like the incline press and chest fly, working up to two sets of 5–8 reps for each. And Friday would be back to the bench for what Welch calls a “dynamic effort” day. Here, you’re doing 8–10 sets of just 1–3 reps, using a load around 55–65 percent of your one-rep max and trying to move the weight as fast as possible. “The dynamic effort method can be very effective for power development,” says Welch. “If you're trying to break through a plateau, adding some power development can be very helpful."

Read the full article at gq.com.

When lifting weight, researchers recommend ending each set one or two reps before failure. “This gives you the ability to both stimulate the muscle and train the muscle more frequently, so it’s like the best of both worlds,” said Welch, who generally recommends hitting each muscle group with at least three sets of 4–8 reps, with three minutes of rest between sets. Ultimately, the effective reps you’ll rack up from being able to train more frequently will outweigh the ones you’ll sacrifice from not taking every set to complete failure.

As for how you organize your workouts, according to Welch, it doesn’t really matter as long as the muscles you’re focusing on are getting enough attention each week. “Organizing your workouts into body part splits is a great way to target the muscles you are trying to grow, while managing fatigue and recovery. Full-body workouts, however, can be just as effective for hypertrophy,” he explained. “Which routine is best? This depends on personal preference.”

Read the full article at gq.com. 

We’ve all been told stretching is a great way to keep your body loose and limber and ward off any potential achy tightness. But does doing it when you’re already hurting actually help you—or are there better ways to soothe the soreness instead? 

You can address tight or sore muscles with foam rolling or massage guns. In addition to boosting blood flow, this provides “some actual compression to the area to help, the same way a massage therapist would put their hands on you and apply some pressure to help provide a little bit of release,” Welch explained. These methods could also help with pain that results from fatigue due to weakness in the short term, but you’ll still want to strengthen those muscles to prevent it from returning, Welch said. 

Read the full article at self.com. 

“It’s a low-impact exercise that is pretty much based on military training — think about how the military trains a lot for endurance, they do a fair amount of running, but they also have to carry a lot of heavy equipment, so that’s kind of how rucking started,” said Mathew Welch, exercise physiologist at HSS. 

Rucking is also good for your cardiovascular endurance, Welch said. Specifically, rucking benefits your “cardiac output, it’s going to help with the efficiency of your heart pumping the blood out,” Welch explained. This can help lower your blood pressure and improve your heart rate, so it’s a win-win all around.

It’s also good for your posture and back strength. “The ruck is kind of pulling you back, so it really forces you to maintain your posture,” Welch said, who added that it’s a good way to offset the hours and hours and hours of sitting you likely do every day.

Read the full article at huffpost.com. 

Past research has demonstrated that submerging your body in cold water increases dopamine concentrations by 250 percent. “Dopamine boosts our mental state at the moment, and it also helps with mental acuity and alertness throughout the day,” said Welch. 

Additionally, regularly challenging yourself to withstand cold temperatures may help you build resilience, or the ability to handle other stressful situations when they arise. “I think there’s a lot to be said about exposing your body to those types of stimuli in a controlled manner,” added Welch.

Read the full article: https://www.everydayhealth.com/. 

“Unfortunately, there aren’t any well-controlled studies that verify the use of Epsom salt baths for enhancing muscle recovery or relieving muscle pain,” noted Welch.

Some proponents also say soaking in magnesium-sulfate water could have an anti-inflammatory (another possible avenue to ease aches), however Welch said that it’s unlikely Epsom salt baths have a positive or negative effect on inflammation, as there is no research to support this theory. While someone might notice less muscle soreness from having an Epsom soak post-workout, Welch cited those benefits could be because warm water improves blood flow and, is generally soothing.

Read the full article at Self.com.

Any kind of strength training or jump training when you're post-menopausal can help improve your bone mineral density and muscle mass, and maintain your estrogen levels, said Welch. “By participating in an activity like jumping rope, you are exposing your bones, tendons, ligaments, and muscles to a stressor to which they can positively adapt,” he continued. “Gradually, over time, you turn on certain genes that help regulate estrogen production and can even delay age-related losses in bone density and muscle mass."

Jumping rope has benefits beyond bone density. Essentially a full-body exercise, it will elevate your heart rate, which can improve your cardiovascular fitness, for starters, noted Welch.

While many workouts go on for 20, 30, or 60 minutes, jumping rope is best performed in much smaller intervals. “An easy way to start jumping rope is to perform three to five rounds of 20 to 30 seconds,” said Welch. Doing this twice a week is a great place to start.

While that might not seem like a lot, Welch advised taking it slow and steady - the secret behind gradually adapting to the bone-boosting workout. “Most people will go too long with this activity too early on and develop a great deal of delayed onset muscle soreness that can last up to 48 hours post-exercise.”

Read the full article at Wellandgood.com.

According to Welch, removing shoes helps to restore the natural range of motion for the foot and ankle, which has a ripple effect along the kinetic chain. “I tend to use barefoot exercises when my goal is to improve the alignment of the knee and hip during the double-leg squat and single-leg squat,” he explained.

However, if you’re dealing with an injury or active foot pain, it’s a good idea to hold off on working out barefoot until you’re feeling better and have been cleared by a doctor. Because traditional Olympic lifts (specifically, the barbell snatch and clean and jerk) are both heavy and explosive, most experts recommend wearing shoes that offer support and shock absorption. “These lifts are typically performed in more rigid shoes, with a heel elevation, to allow the lifter the correct posture to stay balanced over the bar and receive the bar in the proper catch position,” noted Welch.

Read the full article at Bicycling.com.

According to Welch, “Whenever you’re performing movement that’s new to you—even if it’s something simple like a stationary bike or an elliptical—focus on the task at hand to get comfortable and learn correct form.”

He suggested waiting for a rest break between exercises to read through an email or send a text, which should often be longer than most people think.

Read the full article at Wellandgood.com.