Masters in Exercise

In this episode I speak with Dr. Michelle Mottola, Professor in the School of Kinesiology at University of Western Ontario, in Canada. Dr. Mottola has spent most of her research career studying exercise prescription in pregnant and post-partum women. This is the second time that Michelle comes to the podcast. In the first episode we discussed exercise prescription during pregnancy and in this episode we talk about exercise after giving birth. We tackle many interesting questions such as for example why women tend to decrease their PA levels after giving birth and what the benefits of exercise during the post-partum period are. We also learn that exercising with their infants could be a simple strategy for women to increase their levels of PA after pregnancy. You can follow Michelle's research at https://www.uwo.ca/fhs/EPL/.

In this episode, I spoke with Dr. Shawn Youngstedt. Dr. Youngstedt is a Professor in the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University.  We talk about the interaction between, exercise and sleep, seemingly two very different human activities. We first talk about the evidence supporting the role that exercise can have on sleep quality and sleep architecture. We also discuss which type of exercise is the best to improve sleep and how aspects such as the timing of exercise in relation to when we go to sleep can influence the effects. We also discuss how exercise can restart our circadian clock and about the disruptive effects of sleep restriction on exercise and the effects of sleep deprivation on brain plasticity and cognition. I was really looking forward to speaking with him about the fascinating interactions between sleep, exercise and cognition. You can follow Dr. Youngstedt research at https://nursingandhealth.asu.edu/content/shawn-youngstedt

In this episode I spoke with Dr. Ada Tang. Dr Tang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at McMaster University. Her research focuses on cardiovascular health in people with stroke. Before discussing exercise prescription after stroke we discuss the evidence the effect of exercise on stroke prevention. Can exercise prevent strokes? We also discuss the different types of training that we can use in these patients and what are the expected benefits. We also discuss how early we can start training after we had stroke, the barriers and facilitators of exercise in this group of patients and many more interesting things. For those not familiar with the jargon, please note that CPET is an abbreviation for cardiorespiratory exercise testing. You can follow Dr. Tang's superb research on twitter at @MacstrokeCan.

In this episode, I talked with Dr. Michelle Mottola, Professor in the School of Kinesiology at University of Western Ontario, Canada. Dr. Mottola has spent most of her research career studying exercise prescription in pregnant and post-partum women. Her research investigates the effects of maternal exercise on both the mother and the developing fetus. In this episode we talk precisely about exercise prescription in women during pregnancy. We discuss the benefits of exercise for both the mother and the child, precautions and contraindications and how exercise during pregnancy may affect the future cognitive and physical health of the offspring. The conversation was so interesting that we decided to have another episode in the near future to discuss exercise after giving birth (post-partum). You can follow her research at https://www.uwo.ca/fhs/EPL/

In this episode I talked with Dr. Tania Janaudis-Ferreira. She is an Assistant Professor in the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at McGill. Her specific research interests include assessing disability in individuals with chronic lung disease and solid organ transplant candidates. She also examines the effects of different rehabilitation interventions for these patients. In this episode we talk about exercise prescription in people with solid organ transplantation. This is a new, important and exciting area of research. I learned a lot of things in this episode. You can follow Dr. Janaudis-Ferreira on twitter @JanaudisFerr or know more about her research at https://canrestore.wordpress.com.

In this episode, I have a fascinating conversation with Dr. Michelle Ploughman. Michelle is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University. She is an expert in studying the effects of exercise on brain plasticity and her research focuses on the effects of exercise, rehabilitation and lifestyle habits on the brain challenged by injury, disease and aging. We talk about exercise prescription in multiple sclerosis (MS). We start discussing what we know about the risk factors of MS, and the gaps in knowledge in the prescription of exercise for these patients. We then talk about the importance of controlling body temperature during exercise and how essential it is to adapt training in periods where the symptoms of the disease are exacerbated. I found this episode extremely informative and educational. You can see what Michelle is working on on twitter @michploughman. 

In this episode I spoke with Dr. Kristin Campbell, who is a Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at University of British Columbia. Her research focuses on exercise prescription for individuals with cancer. We start discussing the evidence behind the use of different types of exercise to reduce the risk of some types of cancer. We also talk about the mechanisms that make exercise an affordable yet powerful tool to protect us from this disease. We also discuss aspects that both patients and clinicians should take into account in relation to exercise and exercise prescription at different stages of the disease. We also talk about strategies to adapt to the often variable physical and psychological status of the person with cancer. Fascinating conversation with one of the best scientist in this field. Dr. Campbell can be reached by email at [email protected], twitter @KLCampbellPhD and @CEPL_UBC, or her lab website (https://cepl.rehab.med.ubc.ca).

In this episode I had the pleasure to speak with Dr. Sunita Mathur, who is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at University of Toronto. Her research focuses on improving skeletal muscle function and structure in people suffering from muscle atrophy and weakness. In this episode we talk about exercise prescription in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We start learning about the risk factors of this respiratory disease and its most common symptoms. We then discuss exercise prescription and the importance of monitoring closely shortness of breath in these patients. We also talk about why is so crucial to train the peripheral muscles in these patients and the techniques she uses in her research to study how exercise changes muscle structure and function. Her knowledge in this area of exercise prescription is remarkable. You can find out more about her research in twitter: @SunitaMathur1 or https://canrestore.wordpress.com.

In this episode I had the pleasure to speak with Teresa Liu-Ambrose. Dr. Liu-Ambrose is a Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at UBC. Her research focuses on studying the effects of different types of exercise on cognition in older populations and people with chronic conditions. We start discussing the evidence behind the use of exercise to slow down age-related cognitive decline. We also talk about the effects of different types of exercise on brain and cognitive health. We also discuss genetics, biological sex and other factors that can potentially affect the cognitive response to exercise in the elderly. I find her research and her knowledge in this interdisciplinary area of cognitive neuroscience really fascinating. You can follow her research at https://cogmob.rehab.med.ubc.ca.   

In this first episode of the podcast, I had the pleasure to interview Dr. Jay Alberts. Dr Alberts is an Associate Staff Member within the Center for Neurological Restoration and Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. His research aims to understand how the brain controls movement and to study movement patterns produced by different patient groups. Dr Alberts has pioneered the study of assisted and voluntary cycling on motor function in people with Parkinson's Disease. In this episode of the podcast, we talk precisely about exercise prescription in these patients. We start talking about the effects of exercise on the brain on people with Parkinson's disease. We also discuss the concept of forced cycling as a training strategy for these patients and how their medication can affect their responses to exercise. For those of you not familiar with Parkinson's, DBS stands for deep brain stimulation and Levodopa is the most common medication taken by people with Parkinson's disease.