True to my previous promise to keep links on this post recent, (almost) all of these links have been gathered within the last week:

• Very recently, I discovered the PLoS blogs, a source of blogs by scientists and science-orientated journalists.  The one that jumped out at me most this week was this discussion of a study entitled: what hurts fitness more, 30 years of ageing or 3 weeks of bed rest? The article explains that in the study, authors performed a 30-year follow-up on a group of 5 men.  The inital study took place in 1966, when all 5 men were healthy 20 year-olds.  They were assessed extensively at 3 different time points: baseline, following 3 weeks of bed rest, and following 8 weeks of physical training. In 1996, these same 5 men were assessed for a fourth time, allowing the researchers to compare the influence of 3 weeks of bed rest and 30 years of aging on markers of fitness.  The results of the study suggest that 3 weeks of bed rest resulted in a substantial reduction in fitness in the group as a whole… which was even larger than the one seen after 30 years of aging.
• Still on the topic of ageing, I found it fascinating to read in the Telegraph that researchers have developed a new measure to assess the cost of an ageing population, called the adult disability dependency ratio (ADDR).  Calculating the ratio, the researchers show that in the UK, while life expectancy is increasing, the ADDR is remaining constant.  This means that although the UK population is getting older, it is also likely to be getting healthier.  I cannot believe this for a minute.
• For those swimmers amongst you (Andy), here’s an interesting study about muscle usage during 100m front crawl.  The aim of the study was to evaluate muscle fatigue in upper body muscles during 100-m all-out front crawl. Surface electromyogram data was collected from the pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi and triceps brachii muscles of 11 experienced swimmers and the muscles were all found to have tired equally.  So if you want to get faster at crawl, you need to train your pecs, lats and triceps.  Pull ups and dips, then…
• Apparently, drugs in the water system are starting to turn male fish into female fish.  Apparently, such unpleasant chemicals can have feminising effects on male humans too, including fatty deposits where you don’t want them.  Something else to worry about, then…
• More happily, it looks like coffee is actually good for you, again.  After analyzing data on 126,000 people for as long as 18 years, Harvard researchers calculate that compared with not partaking in America’s favorite morning drink, downing one to three cups of caffeinated coffee daily can reduce diabetes risk by single digits. But having six cups or more each day slashed men’s risk by 54% and women’s by 30%.
• If you’re not squeamish and you want to know what a snapped biceps tendon looks like, then check this out…
• The Art of Manliness has done an interesting “so you want my job” article about a martial arts instructor.  I enjoyed the mentality of the interviewee in this article.  I felt that they had a calling rather than a business.
• I was amused to see that, despite living across the pond, Robb Wolf has discovered that British Beer really is best, with this endorsement of gluten-free St Peters…
• And Eric J Moss rants spectacularly about exactly how useless Skechers Shape-Ups are.
• Keats Snideman has done a fascinating case study of training his wife, from initial assessment and screening through to programme design.  I have Bret Contreras to thank for introducing me to Keats’s blog, as I had not found it prior to his epic links posts.  What is really awesome about this screening and programme design is that the problems addressed are very typical of those that most desk-bound people face today: upper and lower crossed syndromes.
• More really useful stuff from EliteFTS, which seems to get better every day, with Marc Bartley offering some really helpful tips on how to improve your squat.  I was interested in the “holding the bar for time” at the beginning and end of the set idea, as this sounded similar to the assistance exercise Bret Contreras has started using for his deadlift, the front squat holds for time.
• At the Vince Gironda site, there is an interesting discussion about the paleolithic use of fats for energy instead of carbohydrates.  I find it fascinating to set this kind of discussion against the opposite end of the scale (see for example, this great little discussion that I linked to last week, by Matt Metzgar titled: “where are all the low-carb hunter-gatherers?”) and try and find the truth, which must be common to both points of view at some level!
• If you’re looking to quit a bad habit and you tend to enjoy thinking analytically about things, check out this interesting perspective on stopping eating candy, which goes into the mechanisms in play in certain solutions.
• A couple of older links now… Beer is paleo!  No, not really.  Sorry for the false alarm.  But, offsetting behaviour reports that chemical analysis of the bones of ancient Sudanese Nubians who lived nearly 2,000 years ago shows they were ingesting the antibiotic tetracycline on a regular basis, likely from a special brew of beer.  The find is the strongest yet that antibiotics were previously discovered by humans before Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928.  I realise that 2,000 years ago isn’t exactly paleo but this is definitely a step in the right direction!
• Martial artists can really break boards with their hands.  Boing Boing reports that certain key preparations are required: when breaking wooden boards, you use pine (not oak, not mahogany) that isn’t marred by dense knots, cut ¾ inch thick and about 12 inches on the diagonal; you hit them to break along the wood’s natural grain.  One good board, if held securely so that it won’t move on impact, is so easy to break that even those with no training at all can be taught to do it in under five minutes.
• Kottke reports that the world’s highest paid athlete ever was Gaius Appuleius Diocles.  He was a 2nd-century Roman charioteer.  Not exactly breaking news, then.
• A while back, when I reviewed my first impressions of kettlebells, I mentioned that I was looking for a good discussion of the difference between a hip-driven swing and a squat driven swing.  Tony Gentilcore has obliged:

• And here is some light relief, with a video of cats doing parkour.  You really need to watch the end of this track, as some of the best moves are towards the end: