All posts tagged: functional

Five moves that are better at building functional core strength at home than crunches

Five moves that are better at building functional core strength at home than crunches

Published by Jenni Sidey

Because of Hollywood’s obsession with the six-pack, many people think crunches and sit-ups are the best way to train the muscles in your midsection. And while those exercises are an excellent way to strengthen your rectus abdominis, the muscle that runs down the front of your torso, there are a number of other muscles that make up your core and that are essential for helping you move through life with confidence. You need more than crunches to keep your core in good working order, but the good news is that the exercises you do need are easy to do at home, like these five exercises recommended by Lauren King, Pilates instructor and coach at STRONG Pilates Commack. Latest Videos From “This type of training helps the body maintain stability under load, building a strong and functional core that supports long-term health, improves movement efficiency and enhances overall performance.” The final exercise requires dumbbells, but if you don’t own dumbbells or another type of free weight, load up tote bags with books, or use heavy bags …

Unitree Shows Off Fully Functional Mecha Suit

Unitree Shows Off Fully Functional Mecha Suit

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Chinese tech company Unitree has quickly established itself as the brand to beat in the humanoids robotics industry, wowing observers with a string of headline-grabbing demos of its bots’ abilities in everything from acrobatics to basketball to manual labor to public rizz. Now the outfit has further differentiated itself with an explosive new offering: a fully functional 500 kilogram mecha suit called the GD01 that a human operator can climb inside and operate like a much larger body. Sure, it’s smaller than the towering fictional warriors of “Neon Genesis Evangelion.” And instead of a mighty robotic physique, it’s got spindly arms and legs that give it a vaguely goofy vibe. But it’s also an unmistakable feat of engineering, with a video showing the bot striding confidently, knocking over a brick wall with its mighty fist, and even clambering down into a gait that might euphemistically be described as a horse — and perhaps more accurately as a demon …

Here’s 9 functional yet chic items to spruce up your home office

Here’s 9 functional yet chic items to spruce up your home office

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Establishing a home workspace that seamlessly blends style, comfort, and thoughtful design is increasingly vital for fostering wellbeing and boosting productivity. Such an environment can serve as a powerful antidote to daily stresses and the demands of modern life. From an inspiring mood board that ignites new ideas to a meticulously organised desk featuring a personalised journal for focused thought, or simply an ergonomically sound chair offering crucial back support, every detail contributes. These considered elements are fundamental to streamlining professional life, transforming a mere room into a sanctuary for efficient work. 1. Personalised Life Planner, £39.95, Martha Brook (Martha Brook/PA) Whether it’s writing your summer holiday checklist, keeping track of spending, or keeping a social diary, this planner will help organise your busy …

This four-move resistance band workout for seniors will improve mobility and build functional strength

This four-move resistance band workout for seniors will improve mobility and build functional strength

Published by Jenni Sidey

Strength and stability can quickly diminish as we age, leading to increased risk of falls and injury when performing everyday tasks. It’s something certified personal trainer Carter Lee from BetterMe has often observed when working with seniors, but he says this four-move routine can help arrest that decline. “This circuit delivers a full-body workout using resistance bands to improve mobility and build functional strength,” he tells Fit&Well. Article continues below You may like The routine starts with a seated drill to strengthen the stabilizer muscles around your feet and ankles. The exercises then move up the body to address tightness and weakness around your chest and shoulders. Bands, Lee says, challenge muscles and joints without the impact often associated with lifting weights, making it an especially useful tool for older adults training. “Beyond their convenience, training with resistance bands can make daily activities significantly easier, supporting independence in everyday movements,” he adds. How to do the resistance band workout Lee recommends starting with a light to medium tension band. Start your week with achievable workout …

‘Functional Fitness’ Is Trending. Here’s How—and Why—You Should Start

‘Functional Fitness’ Is Trending. Here’s How—and Why—You Should Start

Published by Jenni Sidey

Big goals make for great workout motivation, whether you’re packing on muscle for summer or training for your first half-marathon. But in the grand scheme of things, those milestone moments are a blip compared with the unremarkable, everyday activities and movements we use our bodies for the most. I’m not suggesting you stop training for aesthetics. (This is GQ.) But it’s worth considering how your workouts could be doing more for you in daily life. I’m talking about making your training more functional. “Functional fitness is the capacity to perform activities of daily living,” says David Goldman, MS, RD, CSCS, sports nutritionist and exercise physiologist. “It’s the type of training you would do in the gym or at home that makes it possible for you to do the things you want—and need—to do in other areas of your life,” whether that’s unloading groceries from the car or breaking into a quick sprint to catch your train—without tweaking your back or pulling a hamstring. “That’s what functional training really helps with,” says Matt Tanneberg, DC, CSCS, …

Protein chips, sex chocolate: what are ‘functional foods’, and do they actually boost health? | Well actually

Protein chips, sex chocolate: what are ‘functional foods’, and do they actually boost health? | Well actually

Published by Sam Flores

You’re at the grocery store, looking for a sweet snack. But these days, the chocolate aisle promises so much more than that: mental clarity, a stronger immune system, PMS relief and even sexual stamina – all in a few squares. Chocolate is hardly the only treat to be reborn as a wellness product. Supermarket shelves now boast chips with added protein, gut-friendly sodas and collagen oatmeal – all part of the fast-growing “functional foods” market, which is expected to reach $586bn globally by 2030. Functional foods have been around for decades, but are taking off anew. Consumers have become more health-conscious, weight-loss drugs are changing people’s eating habits and strained household budgets make non-essentials harder to justify, said Marion Nestle, a professor emerita of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. “That’s sort of a perfect storm,” Nestle said. “This is the era of wellness influencers – whether science has anything to do with it, we can argue about.” So, can souped-up snacks actually change our brains and bodies, or is the …

Man builds functional typewriter out of Legos

Man builds functional typewriter out of Legos

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Lego kits have become impressively intricate over the years, but the company really outdid itself with a 2079-piece typewriter in 2021. Part of its Ideas series, the brickmakers released the fully functioning mechanical keyboard. It’s a unique and extremely well designed set, although not without its limits. Somewhat understandably, the Lego typewriter allowed you to type on it, but it couldn’t actually put any ink to paper.  Lego expert and YouTuber Koenkun Bricks was not completely satisfied with the tradeoff, however. In a recent video, the Netherlands-based hobbyist documented his quest to create a functional typewriter that actually pressed tiny Lego letters onto a sheet of “paper” that is also built from strips of Lego tiles. The final results are mesmerizing to watch—but only if you can handle all the trial-and-error it took to him to get there. It’s difficult to list out all the various experimental solutions, miniature prototypes, and complete workarounds it took to reach the final …

Long-term antidepressant effects of psilocybin linked to functional brain changes

Long-term antidepressant effects of psilocybin linked to functional brain changes

Published by José Betancourt

A new study suggests that the long-term antidepressant effects of psychedelics may be driven by persistent changes in how neurons fire rather than by the permanent growth of new brain cell connections. Researchers found that a single dose of psilocybin altered the electrical properties of brain cells in rats for months, even after physical changes to the neurons had disappeared. These findings were published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology. Depression is a debilitating condition that is often treated with daily medications. These standard treatments can take weeks to work and do not help every patient. Psilocybin, a compound found in certain mushrooms, has emerged as a potential alternative therapy. Clinical trials indicate that one or two doses of psilocybin can alleviate symptoms of depression for months or even years. However, scientists do not fully understand the biological mechanisms that allow a single treatment to produce such enduring results. Researchers have previously focused on the concept of neuroplasticity to explain these effects. This term generally refers to the brain’s ability to reorganize itself. One specific type is …

New study identifies functional declines that predict psychosis risk

New study identifies functional declines that predict psychosis risk

Published by José Betancourt

A new analysis of data from a large international consortium indicates that social and academic difficulties often arise years before the onset of recognizable clinical symptoms in young people at risk for psychosis. The findings suggest that these functional declines, particularly in social settings, may serve as early warning signs that precede the hallucinations or delusions typically associated with the condition. This research was published in Schizophrenia Bulletin. The primary method for identifying individuals at Clinical High Risk (CHR) for psychosis currently relies on the presence of attenuated psychotic symptoms. These include experiences such as perceptual abnormalities, hearing indistinct whispers, or harboring heightened suspiciousness. While these symptoms are diagnostic markers, they often emerge after a young person has already begun to struggle with daily life. Previous smaller studies, largely conducted in North America, indicated that problems with peer relationships and school performance frequently predate the clinical diagnosis. The scientific community needed to determine if these patterns held true across diverse cultures and if they were specifically linked to negative symptoms or cognitive deficits. Negative symptoms …

AI Agents Are Mathematically Incapable of Doing Functional Work, Paper Finds

AI Agents Are Mathematically Incapable of Doing Functional Work, Paper Finds

Published by José Betancourt

Gaston Paris / Contributor A months-old but until now overlooked study recently featured in Wired claims to mathematically prove that large language models “are incapable of carrying out computational and agentic tasks beyond a certain complexity” — that level of complexity being, crucially, pretty low. The paper, which has not been peer reviewed, was written by Vishal Sikka, a former CTO at the German software giant SAP, and his son Varin Sikka. Sikka senior knows a thing or two about AI: he studied under John McCarthy, the Turing Award-winning computer scientist who literally founded the entire field of artificial intelligence, and in fact helped coin the very term. “There is no way they can be reliable,” Vishal Sikka told Wired.  When asked by the interviewer, Sikka also agreed that we should forget about AI agents running nuclear power plants and other strident promises thrown around by AI boosters. Ignore the rhetoric that tech CEOs spew onstage and pay attention to what the researchers that work for them are finding, and you’ll find that even the …