The Spine-Friendly Alternative to Barbell Squats This month we’re taking a closer look at this excellent exercise. The Belt Squat is an amazing way to get all the work on the lower body of weighted squats but without the wear and tear on the spine and shoulders. Shane at Central Fitness Temuka Firstly, what is a Belt Squat? A belt squat involves using a thick belt around the hips/waist to get load onto the lower body loading weight via the pendulum arm which can then be weighted accordingly...

A Brief History of Human Energy Balance For the better part of human history, the primary struggle regarding health and survival of the species was simple: combat scarcity. The goal was to secure enough calories to survive, migrate to avoid harsh winters and to find enough clean water to make it to the next season. The hunter gatherer lifestyle was a fine caloric balance between the calories spent finding food and the calories gained from ingesting the food, being in excess was never for...

“A pity youth is wasted on the young” is a very popular utterance and an enduring quote from the 1930’s believed to be firstly attributed to George Benard Shaw the Irish playwright in an interview in the early 1930’s. It captures a universal irony: the peak of physical vitality, energy, and resilience is handed to those who may not yet grasp its full value, squandering it on fleeting and trivial pursuits while older folks, armed with wisdom and appreciation, watch it fade. But what if we...