Guinea Pig Diaries

Zachary busting the Bio-Dex!

Today the boys did the next session of the BAM (Brock Active Muscles) study that is led by my colleague Dr. Bareket Falk at Brock. The study is looking at the long-term development of bone density and muscle strength in children with different levels of physical activity. Our boys are of special interest because of the high level of activity and impact load from gymnastics. The testing involved different muscle strength tests with the Bio-Dex machine, ultrasound testing for bone age using the wrist and also around the upper arm and quadriceps for muscle size. There is also an accelerometer that was worn for a week, along with activity logs to record activity levels. With the boys being so active and busy, the activity logs can be very difficult to fill in properly!
Don't ask me why, but the boys get allowed to do these studies, yet have never been allowed to be guinea pigs for my studies!

Joel and the boys

Today was also the last day of gymnastics practice here at Gymnastics Energy for the boys, so we brought some treats for all the boys. It's hard to believe that they've already been training here for four years! It's also astounding the progress that they've made in that time in the sport. Training 12 hours a week has required a lot of commitment from them, and we're really proud of how hard they've worked and their attitude too. We've also been lucky to have had the chance to carpool the past years with Joel. Besides the time/gas savings, Joel's attitude and work ethic has also been a great role model for our guys. By the time we get back, Joel will be 17 and have graduated from high school, so who knows when we come back?

Two days to go before the blog tags are no longer "Ontario!"