Articles by Brian Cole

Pain, which can be severe, on the outer side of the elbow. Its name comes from the forces generated when a tennis player hits a backhand. Before the two-hand backhand became so popular, that is. [Read More…]

A framed quote by my desk is: “Everything should be made as simple as possible. But not simpler.” It’s obviously by someone with a subtle sense of humor. It’s by Albert Einstein. And I’m applying [Read More…]

Please read or re-read last month’s column (“May I be blunt?” on our website and Oyster Pointer’s July “To Your Health” column). It’ll make what follows more meaningful. In the closing last month, I said [Read More…]

A few years ago a very bright lady (but also the most divisive person I’ve known) told me that before she says something uncomfortable she asks: “May I be blunt?” Rarely will someone reply: “No [Read More…]

As I’m writing this, I’ve just finished a four-day Personal Fitness Trainer Conference in Washington, D.C., which I attend regularly. While the workshops and lectures are different every year, there are common denominators. The presenters [Read More…]

My primary purpose in writing these columns is to offer practical functional information to improve your health and your daily life. For that purpose, I’ve not written a more important column. Walking, with good posture [Read More…]

Before we get into this month’s column, I’m going to mention what’s become my January mantra. Every year, because I get lots of positive feedback, I say some version of: Another year just flew by. [Read More…]

Every time I’m in a gym I see shoulders and low backs and knees being used in dangerous ways—often with the supervision of “trainers” who should (but don’t) know better. A certification obviously doesn’t assure [Read More…]

While my August Oyster Pointer column on not trying to stretch hamstrings seems to have triggered a good bit of attention, as promised, I’m now going to address the whole concept of “stretching.” (You can [Read More…]

Afew years ago a local physical therapist and I developed and patented a low-back strengthening machine—The Back Unit. We developed it because we each were familiar with the research that clearly proved that with low [Read More…]