A recent study shows that working the muscles may strengthen not only your body, but your brain as wemay improve the brain’s ability to think.
In past research, lab animals and people generally performed better on cognition tests after engaging in exercise for several weeks.
Researchers designed an experiment to observe the exact effects of exercise on the brain. Using two drugs that simulate the effects of exercise on lab animals for 2 weeks, the experiment confirmed that changes in muscles did indeed affect the mind.
The lab animals that received the drugs performed significantly better on tests of memory and learning than control animals that had been idle for the same 2 weeks.
The results suggested, however, that exercise may need to be aerobic in order to substantially affect the brain.
For more details, go to http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/
A study conducted in Oregon State University has recently observed the positive effects of short bouts of exercise as compared to the recommended 30 minute structured exercise regimen we are usually told to strive for.
Researchers say that instead of dedicating 30 minutes to exercise all at once, it can be broken up into spurts of physical activity as short as one or two minutes at a time, which at the end of the day can easily add up to 30 minutes.
They suggest becoming aware of your ability to add physical movement into any part of your day and making small changes in your normal routine, such as pacing while talking on the phone, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, using a rake instead of a leaf blower, and shopping in stores instead of online.
The study found that 43% of people who engaged in short bouts of physical activity met the physical guidelines of getting 30 minutes of exercise daily. However, less than 10% of people engaging in longer bouts of exercise met the same federal guidelines.
These new findings provide an easy alternative for those of us who don’t have the time to fit 30 or more consecutive minutes of exercise into our busy days.
For more details, go to http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130129100118.htm
Weight training alone is not an effective way to reduce the risk of heart disease or diabetes if you are overweight, but aerobic training might be, according to a new study from the Duke University Medical Center.
Participants in the study were divided into three groups for eight months. One group did only resistance training, working out on eight different weight machines three times per week. The second group did two hours of aerobic training per week, and the third group did both programs.
People in the weight training group gained an average of 1.5 pounds, added to their waistline and failed to reduce their risk for heart disease or diabetes. The aerobic training group lost three pounds and a half-inch from their waists, and participants who did both cardio and weights in the study lost four pounds and an inch from their waists. Both groups also decreased their risk of illness.
Although the combination of weight training and aerobic training produced the best results, the study published in the American Journal of Cardiology says that it is hard to determine whether the difference between the combined group and the aerobic group was due to the combination of training being more effective or simply forcing participants to work out twice as much.
“When weighing the time commitment versus health benefit, the data suggest that AT (aerobic training) alone was the most efficient mode of exercise for improving cardiometabolic health,” says the study, titled “Comparison of Aerobic Versus Resistance Exercise Training Effects on Metabolic Syndrome.”
Exercise also plays a prominent role in reducing the risk of sudden cardiac death, which is the result of a sudden loss of heart function due to problems with the heart’s electrical impulses, according to another study published earlier this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
By analyzing data on lifestyle factors of more than 80,000 women over the span of 25 years, researchers found that those who worked out regularly and also had a healthy body mass index (under 25), did not smoke and ate a well-balanced diet significantly reduced their chances of sudden cardiac death.
It’s pretty common to be excited when you start a new exercise program. There’s hope that you’ll finally reach your goals, you’re immersed in a new regime, and because you are starting fresh, your mind is a little more engaged and curious to see what’s coming next.
But after a few months, how do you keep that going?
Here is a list of 10 ways tostay excited about exercising, and below are some of my favorites that I use too:
1.) Make exercise a part of your schedule. This personally is crucial for me. If I block out the hour, and have a workout regularly dedicated to this time slot, that’s it- I have my plans set in stone and there’s no backing out!
2.) Mix it up. I try one new exercise routine or format every other week. Even just slightly mixing up something I normally do keeps me engaged and challenged.
3.) If you ever happen to miss a workout (life gets in the way, so this does happen sometimes!) re-motivate and make a game plan right away. Figure out how you can reschedule that workout and stick to it!
Our very own Annique Roberts was recently written up in the New York Times as one of the 10 Best New Dancers in New York!
Annique S. Roberts is a native of Atlanta, GA and Magna Cum Laude graduate of Howard University where she earned a BFA in Dance. She toured nationally and internationally with Garth Fagan Dance for over 5 years. Currently, she dances with Ronald K. Brown/Evidence based in Brooklyn, NY. Annique is AFAA group fitness certified and you can take a class with her at Smart Workout.
Sign up on the righthand side of this page, or visit www.smartworkout.net, to enroll in a free promotional class with Annique.