Kacey Deamer is a journalist for Live Science, covering planet earth and innovation. She has previously reported for Mother Jones, the Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press, Neon Tommy and more. After completing her undergraduate degree in journalism and environmental studies at Ithaca College, Kacey pursued her master's in Specialized Journalism: Climate Change at USC Annenberg. Follow Kacey on Twitter.
A mosaic floor panel depicts soldiers being swallowed by large fish, surrounded by overturned chariots in the parting of the Red Sea
Credit: Baylor University
Mosaics depicting prominent Bible scenes were uncovered during annual excavations of an ancient synagogue in Israel's Lower Galilee.
During the excavation in June, archaeologists found two new panels of a mosaic floor in a Late Roman (fifth-century) synagogue at Huqoq, an ancient Jewish village. One panel showed Noah's ark with pairs of animals, such as lions, leopards and bears. The other panel depicted soldiers being swallowed by large fish, surrounded by overturned chariots in the parting of the Red Sea.
Such images are extremely rare for the time period, according to excavation director Jodi Magness, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, whose work was funded by the National Geographic Society. [Photos: Unusual Mosaics Decorated Ancient Synagogue in Israel]
I know of only two other scenes of the parting of the Red Sea in ancient synagogues," Magness told National Geographic.
"One is in the wall paintings at Dura Europos [in Syria], which is a complete scene but different from ours — no fish devouring the Egyptian soldiers," Magness said. "The other is at Wadi Hamam [in Israel], but that's very fragmentary and poorly preserved."
The Noah's ark mosaic included pairs of animals, such as lions, leopards, bears, and donkeys.
Credit: Baylor University
The ark scenes are also uncommon; Magness said she knows of only two other mosaics showing such depictions.
Along with a team of university scholars and students, and the Israel Antiquities Authority, Magness has excavated at Huqoq since 2012. Previous mosaic discoveries have depicted Bible scenes such as Samson and the foxes and Samson carrying the gate of Gaza on his shoulders.
The Huqoq excavations revealed the first nonbiblical mosaic found in an ancient synagogue. That three-tiered mosaic included a scene showing a meeting between two important male figures, thought to be the legendary meeting between Alexander the Great and the Jewish high priest.
These previous discoveries were uncovered in the synagogue's eastern aisle, and the researchers were uncertain whether the mosaics would continue into the nave, the large central area of the synagogue. However, the excavations did, indeed, reveal the Red Sea and Noah's ark mosaics.
"This panel is exactly as it should be," Magness said of the ark mosaic. "It's facing north, so people could see it as they entered from the south," where the main door would have been located.
Excavations at this site also uncovered coins spanning 2,300 years.
"The ancient coins … are critical for our knowledge of the monumental synagogue and the associated village," Nathan Elkins, a member of the research team and a professor of art history at Baylor University, said in a statement.
As is the case after each excavation season, the researchers will remove the uncovered mosaics for conservation and backfill the excavated areas. Excavations are scheduled to continue in the summer of 2017.
Rachael has been with Live Science since 2010. She has a masters degree in journalism from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in molecular biology and a Master of Science in biology from the University of California, San Diego.
Strength exercise, or resistance training, works your muscles by using resistance, like a dumbbell or your own body weight. This type of exercise increases lean muscle mass, which is particularly important for weight loss, because lean muscle burns more calories than other types of tissue. When people drop pounds, they can also lose muscle, so it's important to do resistance training to keep that muscle mass.
"You can lose weight quickly [by] doing other stuff, but you're not going to keep it off [in the] long term if you don't maintain lean muscle mass," said said Kelly Drew, an exercise physiologist with the American College of Sports Medicine. [The Best Way to Keep Weight Off]
People also naturally lose muscle mass as they age, so resistance training is important for older adults. Having strong muscles can make it easier to do everyday activities, like gardening or taking your suitcase out of an overhead bin on an airplane, said Jason Schatzenpahl, a fitness specialist at CU Anschutz Health and Wellness Center in Aurora, Colorado.
Examples of strength exercises include:
Lifting weights
Using resistance bands
Using your body weight for resistance, by doing push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, leg squats or push-ups against a wall
Using weight machines at a gym
Benefits of strength exercises include:
Increased lean muscle mass (or prevention of its loss)
Increased bone density and reduced risk of osteoporosis
Increased metabolism to help with weight loss or weight maintenance
Increased muscle strength to make everyday activities easier
Lowered risk of injury (by allowing the muscles to better support the joints)
In addition, some of the benefits that are perhaps traditionally associated with aerobic exercise can also be gained by doing strength training. For example, a 2009 review study found that resistance training reduces people's blood sugar levels and improves sensitivity to the hormone insulin, which helps blood sugar get inside cells.
How much strength exercise do you need to do?
The HHS' physical activity guidelines recommend doing resistance-training exercises at least two days per week. These exercises should work all of the major muscle groups in your body — your legs, hips, back, chest, abdomen, shoulders and arms.
For each muscle group that you exercise, you should try to do at least eight to 12 repetitions of an activity (like lifting a weight), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To get the benefits from the exercise, you need to work the muscles to the point where it's difficult for you to do another repetition, the CDC says.
But you shouldn't exercise the same muscle group two days in a row, because your muscles need time to recover, according to the National Institutes of Health.
How can you avoid injury when doing strength training?
It's very important that you have the correct form and body position when you do resistance training. "If you do some of these exercises poorly, with bad technique, you can injure yourself," said said Dr. Edward Laskowski, co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center in Rochester, Minnesota. You may need to work with a professional trainer, or watch exercise videos online, to make sure you use the correct technique.
If you're just starting out, you should use a light weight that you can lift or push at least eight times, the NIH says. Once it becomes easy to lift this weight, gradually add more weight. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that when you are comfortable lifting a certain weight, you should increase the weight by about 2 to 10 percent, and then work on lifting this heavier weight until it again becomes comfortable.
Rachael has been with Live Science since 2010. She has a masters degree in journalism from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in molecular biology and a Master of Science in biology from the University of California, San Diego.
Credit: Photo credits, clockwise from top left: Halfpoint/Shutterstock.com, Pressmaster/Shutterstock.com, Tyler Olson/Shutterstock.com, Yuri Arcurs/Shutterstock.com
When you think of exercise, you may imagine strenuous activities such as running or biking — the ones that make you breathe hard, turn flush and drip with sweat. But aerobic activity is only one type of exercise, and although it is critical for boosting fitness, there are actually three other types of exercise that are also important: strength training, balance training and flexibility training.
Each type of exercise is important in its own way, and doing all four types is the way to maximize your fitness and prevent injury, experts say.
"While aerobic exercise is very important, it's not as effective for overall health" when done alone compared with when people include all four types of exercise in their routine, said Dr. Edward Laskowski, co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center in Rochester, Minnesota. "They all kind of go together" and complement each other, Laskowski said. [How to Start an Exercise Routine and Stick to It]
For example, strength training makes muscles stronger, which, in turn, helps to support and protect joints — and this could help prevent injury during aerobic exercise. Meanwhile, balance exercises use muscle strength in a coordinated fashion to stabilize your movements, and can reduce the risk of injuries such as ankle sprains, Laskowski said.
In addition, you could be very fit aerobically, but "if you're not flexible, you're still going to pull something when you're training," said Kelly Drew, an exercise physiologist with the American College of Sports Medicine. Flexibility also helps you do strength training, because it improves your range of motion around your joints, ensuring you can perform lifts and other strength moves effectively, Drew said.
To dig up the most important information on these exercise types, Live Science spoke with experts and reviewed the latest scientific research. Below, we’ve linked to our detailed articles about the four types of exercise. Each article discusses the benefits of the particular exercise type, as well as how much you need to do and how to avoid injury during the activity. Finally, we'll provide ways to incorporate all four types of exercise into your workout regimen.
Aerobic exercises, such as running, swimming or dancing, are activities that work your cardiovascular system — they get your heart rate up and make you breathe harder. This type of exercise can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, and may even lower the risk of cancer. Full story: Here's what you need to know about aerobic exercise.
Strength exercises, such as weight lifting, push-ups and crunches, work your muscles by using resistance (like a dumbbell or your own body weight.) This type of exercise increases lean muscle mass, which is particularly important for weight loss, because lean muscle burns more calories than other types of tissue. Full story: Here's what you need to know about strength training.
Balance exercises improve your ability to control and stabilize your body's position. This type of exercise is particularly important for older adults, because balance gets worse with age.But balance exercises can be beneficial for everyone, including people who have gained or lost a lot of weight or those who become pregnant, which can throw off your center of gravity, Drew said. Full story: Here's what you need to know about balance exercises.
Ideally, you should include all four types of exercise in your workouts. But that doesn't mean you have to do four separate workouts, Drew said. You can combine some exercises together, like strength and balance training. For example, you could do bicep curls while standing on one leg. Some workouts, such as yoga, incorporate strength, flexibility and balance exercises.
A sample workout might include running or walking briskly for 30 minutes on a treadmill for aerobic exercise, then doing strength and balance exercises combined, and finishing by doing some static stretches, Drew said. "Your exercise program should include a bit of all four [types of exercise]," Drew said.
A man has a sore leg.Photo Credit warrengoldswain/iStock/Getty Images
A bit of muscle soreness following exercise is normal and results from pushing yourself beyond your normal levels during a workout. Typical muscle pain results from small tears that occur in muscle tissue during exercise. When exercisers overwork themselves, like at the beginning of the season when they are out of shape, they are susceptible to extreme muscle soreness. However, worse than regular post-exercise pain, delayed onset muscle soreness -- DOMS -- requires special treatment and time to heal before returning to your workout.
DOMS Symptoms
DOMS is a serious condition, characterized by severe muscle pain, swelling and weakness. If overworked arm muscles are affected, sufferers can be too sore and weak to even brush their teeth. The pain generally peaks within 24 to 48 hours after exercise and subsides within four days. Muscle weakness begins within 48 hours and resolves within five days. Muscle swelling and stiffness from DOMS usually peaks within four days following exercise and disappears within 10 days. Each symptom is independent and you can experience one or several during your bout with the condition, explains Len Kravitz, Ph.D., associate professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. Returning to your normal workout before the symptoms of DOMS subside and your muscles stabilize can result in dangerous muscle and joint injury.
DOMS Causes
While intense and prolonged exercise is associated with DOMS, eccentric rather than concentric exercise is most directly responsible for the painful condition. During eccentric movement, when muscles lengthen -- such as when lowering your arms during biceps curls -- muscles experience the most strain. Possible causes include the buildup of lactic acid in muscles, connective tissue damage, muscle spasm, enzyme release or possibly a combination of these potential causes.
DOMS Treatment
Medical professionals recommend several treatments to alleviate the intense pain, fatigue and limited range of motion experienced by DOMS sufferers. While no single treatment is viewed as definitive, several different treatments can potentially bring relief and restore normal muscle function. Stretching and low-intensity exercise done for short intervals is recommended. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, NSAIDs, taken as soon as pain is experienced can reduce swelling and soreness. Massage can also relieve DOMS symptoms. Suggested but unproved treatments include electric current, ultrasound and cryotherapy.
DOMS Prevention
Warm-up exercises that slowly increase body heat improve muscle function and flexibility and reduce the chance for injury. In his article, “Treating and Preventing DOMS,” Kravitz reports that gradually introducing eccentric exercises, slowly increasing the intensity during a six-week period, has been found to reduce DOMS. Most importantly, pain is a sign that something is wrong and exercise experts agree that you should never try to work through any pain you experience during exercise.
Should I Apply Ice or Heat for Post-Run Soreness?Photo Credit gofugui/iStock/Getty Images
Nothing ruins that runner's high quicker than a twinge of muscle soreness. Soreness can be a sign of injury, but for new runners it may simply be delayed onset muscle soreness. Ice and heat are among the more popular treatment options for post-run muscle soreness. Whether you should use ice or heat depends upon the nature of your symptoms. While applying ice or heat may ease your symptoms, such treatments do not speed up the healing process. If soreness worsens or persists beyond 48 hours, consult your doctor.
Muscle Soreness Causes
Overexertion or poor form can trigger muscle pain.Photo Credit Pixland/Pixland/Getty Images
New runners, especially those running frequent downhill routes, may be more prone to delayed onset muscle soreness, which is triggered by novel muscle movement and eccentric loading of muscles. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, completing a single exercise session that triggers soreness offers a protective effect when performing that same exercise in the future.
While soreness after a run often resolves on its own with minimal treatment, experiencing pain after a run may be a sign of a muscle or joint injury. Overexertion or poor form can trigger muscle pain. If you experience debilitating pain or extreme swelling, seek prompt medical attention.
Benefits of Ice
Applying ice helps reduce inflammation and may offer pain relief because it numbs the affected area.Photo Credit Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
Applying ice helps reduce inflammation and may offer pain relief because it numbs the affected area. By restricting blood flow, ice treatment can help reduce swelling. Ice is most effective for acute injuries and should be applied up to six times within the first 48 hours for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Do not place an ice pack directly on the skin. Wrap it in a towel to prevent tissue damage.
Benefits of Heat
A heating pad increases blood flow.Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images
Heat increases blood flow. It can help relieve the soreness caused by stiff muscles, and it may reduce the risk of muscle spasms. Heat may be particularly effective in treating the neck and back. If you are dealing with mild, chronic soreness, applying heat after your run may help ease symptoms. Heat treatment can be applied in moist form with a warm towel or in dry form with a heating pad.
Proceed with Caution
Allow yourself sufficient healing time before running again.Photo Credit matthewennisphotography/iStock/Getty Images
Ice and heat treatment may not be appropriate for those with circulation issues and should not be used on open wounds. Use caution to prevent burns when using heat treatment. Using heat can also increase inflammation, exacerbating some injuries.
RICE -- rest, ice, compression and elevation -- is a typical approach for treatment of muscle soreness.
Allow yourself sufficient healing time before running again. While engaging in warm-up exercises such as jogging or jumping jacks may not prevent delayed onset muscle soreness, they can prepare muscles for physical activity and reduce risk of injury.
A jogger holding her strained hamstring.Photo Credit lzf/iStock/Getty Images
Overview
A pulled, or strained, hamstring can hurt and even be disabling. This injury to the muscles in the back of the thigh often affects athletes, but can happen during falls or other everyday accidents. The pain and accompanying tissue inflammation must be controlled in order for cells to begin rejuvenating and mending the muscle strain. Unless tissue damage is extensive, home remedies will suffice to promote healing and rehabilitation.
Cease Activity
Muscle strains in the leg often occur during sports engagements. Play should be stopped immediately following an injury, or more damage will occur. Muscle tissue fibers that have stretched may suffer greater separation or tear. Rest affords instant pain relief. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggest resting with no weight on the leg for 48 hours, elevating the thigh area, if possible.
Apply Ice
Ice packs or chilled reusable gel packs are the recommended first aid treatment by the University of Buffalo Sports Medicine group. These can be applied at the time of the injury and at home, while resting. For the first two or three days of inflammation, 20-minute applications of cold therapy should be used on the pulled hamstring three times a day. Keeping a reusable gel pack in the refrigerator produces a comfortable temperature for effective pain relief.
Support the Leg
The large hamstring muscles must support a great proportion of body weight, and should be supported when walking. The NIH reports that an elastic thigh wrap may suppress inflammation while providing structural support. Using crutches or a cane plays an active role in healing the muscle strain by reducing physical stress on the affected leg.
Apply Heat
Hot compresses, showers, Jacuzzi soaks or heating pads can be used to apply heat a few days after inflammation subsides. Heat reduces muscle tension in a pulled hamstring that is healing. The NYU Langone Medical Center suggests applying heat for 20 minutes, prior to stretching, when it is safe to resume exercise. Heat can also be used for pain relief by alternating heat applications with cold therapy.
Resume Activity
A pulled hamstring can take anywhere from 10 days to three months or more to heal, according to the NYU Langone Medical Center. Gradually resuming activity is essential to minimizing rehabilitation time. Gentle stretches of the muscle strain area should precede strengthening exercises prior to a return to full sports or everyday activity. A doctor or physical therapist can provide targeted exercises that are appropriate for the degree of injury.
Hamstring tightness is often the result of a lack of stretching before running.Photo Credit Pixland/Pixland/Getty Images
The hamstrings are an important muscle in running, acting as both a hip extensor and knee flexor, but they tend to be neglected by runners in terms of strengthening and stretching. They are most injury prone when subjected to sudden increases in speed work or workload. A tight hamstring is often the result of not stretching before running and could be indicative of a strain. Hamstring tightness can easily be prevented by incorporating a daily stretching routine in your workouts in the future.
Causes of Hamstring Tightness
Hamstring problems are common among distance runners who have significantly increased their workload or prematurely introduced speed work. The most common cause of tightness after running is a hamstring strain. In a strain, the muscle tends to be tight and painful when stretched. The pain and tightness will generally ease off during running but return again afterward. Muscle strains are most likely caused by not properly stretching before running or a muscle imbalance in which the quadriceps are stronger -- or gluteals weaker -- than the hamstrings.
Treatments for Tightness
As long as you feel no discomfort, it is OK to continue running with a tight hamstring. Eliminate speed work completely and decrease your weekly mileage until tightness after activity subsides. If running is painful, it is advisable to take several days off completely. Ice your hamstring for 10 minutes at least twice a day and take anti-inflammatory medication regularly. Massage the area to relieve tightness and improve blood flow to the injury. Avoid over-stretching the hamstring to prevent further tears.
Preventing Tightness
Hamstring tightness can be prevented by incorporating a daily stretching routine into your workout. Walk around for five to seven minutes to properly warm up your muscles before stretching. Hamstring stretches are most effective when performed sitting or lying down. Stretching the hamstrings while standing does not allow the muscles to completely relax. Strengthening the hamstrings by using a leg-curl machine may also prevent hamstring injuries in the future.
Stretching Your Hamstrings
The modified hurdler stretch is effective in stretching the hamstrings. Begin in a seated position with your right leg extended and your left leg bent with the foot pressed against your right thigh. Your legs should resemble the number four. Slowly lean forward, keeping a flat back, and reach your arms toward your extended right foot until you reach a point of tension in the stretch. Back off the stretch if you feel any pain or discomfort. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds and repeat on the opposite leg.
woman flexing arm musclePhoto Credit dolgachov/iStock/Getty Images
You probably have heard time and time again that the most effective way to lose weight is by burning more calories than you eat. Some people do this by increasing their activity levels in addition to reducing the amount of calories they consume. Any activity, from jogging to jumping, burns calories. Surprisingly, flexing your muscles also burns calories.
Calories
A calorie is a unit of heat energy obtained through eating and drinking. Your body uses calories in the same way that a car uses gasoline to start. There are different amounts of calories in different foods; however, fat, protein and carbohydrates all provide calories. ABC News states that fatty foods have the highest caloric count in comparison to lower fat foods. Processed meats, snack foods and junk food all contain high calorie counts.
How the Calories are Burned
Your metabolic system is responsible for converting what you eat into energy. This process takes the calories you consume and combines them with oxygen to create energy. This energy is used to help every system in the body function and to give you energy to stay alert. The amount of calories you burn is dependent on your age, sex and body size. People who are larger burn more calories. Ten percent of the calories you burn each day are burned by your body processing food for digestion and absorption. Another way people burn calories is by exercising.
What Happens When You Flex
When you flex your muscles, you cause them to tighten to create a bulky or lean appearance. Body builders usually flex their muscles in order to show off their stature and certain groups of muscles. By simply flexing the muscles, it makes them appear larger and more solid than usual.
How it Burns Calories
Although some people believe that you must workout vigorously to burn calories, a movement as small as flexing your muscles can also burn calories. This is because calories are energy, so anything that uses energy can burn calories. "Shape" magazine reports that squeezing your muscles throughout the day can considerably increase the calories you burn.
A woman jogging on a beachPhoto Credit moodboard/moodboard/Getty Images
Most exercises can help you lose weight, even jogging for as few as 30 minutes, as long as you take other factors into consideration. The only way to lose weight is to burn off more calories than you consume, so you must pay attention to what you eat and jog frequently enough for the activity to make a difference.
Anatomy of a Pound
The bottom line for any weight loss is burning off more calories than you consume. Each pound is worth 3,500 calories, which means you will gain 1 lb. for every 3,500 calories you consume above and beyond what your body burns, and you will lose 1 lb. for every additional 3,500 calories you burn off beyond your body’s needs.
Calories Burned
Jogging burns calories, for sure, but just how many depends on your weight, your pace and the duration. Thirty minutes of jogging 5 mph for a person weighing 155 pounds burns 298 calories, while someone weighing 185 pounds burns 355 calories.
Jogging Frequency
Your half-hour of jogging won’t do much good as a one-time deal, but if you jog every day for 30 minutes, you’ll notice a difference. The only way the difference will equal a lighter weight, however, is if you adjust your calorie intake to burn off more than you consume. Even if you don’t lose weight, jogging for 30 minutes each day will improve your cardiovascular fitness and endurance. Jogging 30 minutes each day also fulfills the recommended daily dose of exercise and exceeds the 2.5 hours of moderate aerobic activity per week suggested.
Calculations
If you weigh 155 pounds, a daily 30-minute jog will burn 2,086 calories weekly, which is not even a full pound. If you cut back calories, you can speed up the process. If you remove 500 calories from your daily diet, you are reducing your weekly calorie intake by 3,500. That means you’ll lose one pound per week from your diet alone; plus burn an additional 2,086 calories with your daily jog for a combined 5,586 extra calories burned each week. In a month, that's about 6 lbs.
2 mature women jogging outdoors.Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images
Jogging provides an effective workout for your heart and your muscles. Jogging may be more difficult after age 50, however, since your knees, back, hips, ankles and feet will have suffered more than half a century of wear and tear. Many people who were joggers or runners most of their lives turn to other sports that are less stressful on the joints, such as bicycling and swimming. If you want to jog at age 50 or older, you can minimize the detriments to your body by taking some reasonable precautions.
Knee Considerations
The old saying that "the knees are the first to go" isn't that far from the truth, especially if you are overweight or have had a knee injury, particularly one that required surgery. Both those issues can contribute to the onset of osteoarthritis, an inflammation of the joints due to wear and tear. Jogging can actually speed up progression of arthritis in the knees if those joints are already vulnerable. If, however, you maintain a healthy weight, wear running shoes that offer support and flexibility, and stick with flat surfaces, you may find that jogging's benefits outweigh risks to the knees.
Jogging and Your Feet
Your feet take quite a pounding when jogging, too. A 10-mile jog can equate to 15,000 impacts between your feet and the ground at a force that's three to four times your body's weight. If you haven't seen a podiatrist and you jog frequently, you should make an appointment, even if you have no pain or symptoms. For example, identifying early signs of wear and tear on the plantar fascia, the thick band of tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot, can save you pain later on. Your doctor may prescribe orthotic devices for your running shoes to improve arch support and slow the progression of any chronic foot problems.
Getting Overheated
As you get older, you gradually lose your ability to sweat and you may find it more difficult to tell when you are starting to get overheated. Compounding the problem is that increasing age also results a decreasing sense of thirst. You may be starting to become dehydrated without even starting to feel thirsty. For these reasons, jogging, especially outdoors in the heat, can be especially dangerous for older adults. To stay safe while jogging, try to avoid activity during the hottest parts of the day and be sure to stay hydrated before, during and after you jog. While jogging or doing any exercise, try to drink at least 8 oz. of water for every hour you're active.
Neck and Back Pain
Nearly half of all older adults will experience lower back pain of some kind. Neck pain is also a common age-related condition. Both can be exacerbated by jogging, especially if you don't follow proper form. If you have back or neck pain, try to minimize your time jogging up and down hills. Jogging downhill, for example, causes many joggers to overcompensate and lean back farther than they should, putting excess strain on their backs. Looking down too much while jogging can also strain the neck. Keeping your head and gaze level and your back as straight as possible can help you avoid some unnecessary discomfort from jogging at any age.
