Fitness & Function

Fitness & Function

Matt Cooper is an accredited exercise physiologist, providing evidence-based information and motivation to keep you exercising better, for every day, for the rest of your life.

Episodes

June 23, 2025 12 mins

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It’s taken a bit longer than I had anticipated to get this new episode out. Just when I was about to start writing episode 9 - about exercise and bone health - I had something happen to me that I thought would be worth sharing.


For context, now that I’m in my 50s - 53, to be precise - I have an annual blood test done to check things like my cholesterol, fasting blood sugar level, triglycerides and prostate specifi...

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Recently on the social media platform LinkedIn I saw a post put up by someone who I believe was an orthopedic surgeon. He had on his post  an image of a patient’s spine after they had had spinal fusion surgery. This is where rods and screws - and usually bone grafts - are implanted around two or more bones of the spine to reinforce that structure. It’s a risky procedure, despite many brilliant advances in the technolo...

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March 17, 2025 9 mins

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Episode 6 - The Clock is Ticking


Human psychology is a fascinating thing. The mind is the driver for all of our behaviour - it is our software driving our hardware. The mind gives us our sense of self, and allows us to utilise our intelligence. It projects our personality, and hides our self-perceived flaws. Our mind is sensitive to all manner of stimuli - physical, emotional, and environmental - and always refers...

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February 23, 2025 18 mins

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When we think about the way that exercise trains energy systems, we classify strength training as a form of anaerobic training, that is, utilising an energy system that does not require oxygen. The anaerobic pathway uses glucose to convert to energy. This process produces molecules that the cells within our body use as what I like to call ‘fast energy’, and is fundamental to all eukaryotic cells. Those molecules are A...

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Before we get stuck into this, just a quick side note: you’ll hear me use the expressions ‘resistance training’ and ‘strength training’ throughout this episode. Although there are subtle differences between the two, the meaning is basically the same. I’ll probably expand on this idea a bit more in another episode, but for now, think of them as the same.

If we think about the ways we can train our body to improve fitnes...

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February 2, 2025 10 mins

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I remember when I was a kid back in the 1980s there was this magazine called Omni. It was a science magazine published in the US, but available on newsstands here in Australia. On almost every cover there’d be some reference to how people would live in the future. There’d usually be articles about longevity, cryopreservation, elixirs (or drugs) of youth, and futurism. I seem to recall that there was never any mention ...

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January 27, 2025 13 mins

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My name is Matt Cooper. I’m an accredited exercise physiologist, and this is Fitness and Function.


Before we get started, let me say that there are times when exercise is not recommended for certain populations. Any exercise program should be cleared by your doctor, and be planned and supervised by an exercise physiologist.


You might’ve heard the expression ‘exercise is medicine’. It’s used a lot by people lik...

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January 20, 2025 8 mins

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My name is Matt Cooper. I’m an accredited exercise physiologist, and this is Fitness and Function.

To start, I’d like to thank you for listening to this production. You’ve probably found this because of a search relating to exercise, health, fitness, training, or a myriad of other related searches. Welcome. I don’t advertise this podcast. I don’t have any sponsors. It’s made specifically for people like you, who have m...

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