I have written extensively about what foods you need to be eating to help maintain and boost brain function. But what about Fitness routines? First off Fitness in General OF ANY KIND is pretty good for blood flow and pascticity but new data is coming out about the frequency and type of exercise you can be doing to help the brain grow long into your golden years. As our population grows older and older, there is no better time to discuss this exciting topic.
The Reality We Face Today.
There are two major realities that we must look at over the next 30 years.
1. The population of people over 65 is about to explode! According to the United Nations. by the year 2030, this age group will represent over 20% of the entire population on this earth. That is astounding considering that we continue to have massive population booms in developing countries. This means people are living longer and want to be active for longer as well.
2. The rates of Dementia and Alzheimers are exploding with people living longer as well as the hypothesis that these diseases are chronic inflammatory diseases which 1 in 3 seniors now has. A quick look at the Alzheimers Association Website can be pretty damn scary. Beyond the acute effects of caring for a family member who has the disease; there are the health care costs, which will grow exponentially in regards to growth in care and research.
The Best Exercises for the Brain.
I will break down the types of fitness into two catergories, those which help with the glycogen synthesis and metabolic development; and those that are specifically targeted to plasticity and cognitive growth.
First lets talk about CrossFit and other forms of Intense Fitness. In 2015 I read one of the best books of my life “Spring Chicken” by Bill Gifford. His book followed and researched some of the healthiest seniors an their fitness habits. What he found was that those seniors who had a competitive drive and did “sprint’ style workouts had a longer life expectancy and were leaner than their counterparts.
Attributing this to the relative intensity of the workouts and its advantageous effects on the bodies ability to process glycogen, lower resting cortisol levels, higher serotonin production and a better BMI. Functional Exercises done with purpose and in a group setting seemed to have the best overall effects on health and well being.
But we need to go further than just the body and metabolic states. I know of many seniors and people with declining cognitive health that have good BMI and strong muscles. Its the brain that I wish to train, it is the brain that we NEED to keep healthy so that we can outlive our healthy bodies!
In my research, and the vast research of those at Yale and Harvard (my sources), the goal of brain boosting exercise is less about the intensity and more about the connection of the brain and body. Please don’t mock this generalization I will dig deeper into it, just bear with me…..
Intense Fitness does many things including;
-Lean Muscle Development
-Cardiovascular benefits
-Metabolism improvements
But what Intense fitness can also do is harm the GUT with an overproduction of lactate , increase inflammatory responses throughout the body, and increase stress hormones if not checked. Long and Slow exercises and fitness routines have been shown to mitigate this effect and increase the Brain and Body connection, essentially centering yourself in a way that stimulates neural-synaptic development…. especially in older adults.
So what am I talking about?
Yoga and Tai-chi are two types of fitness that have ben shown to dramatically improve the brain. As well, swimming and rowing are good long term solutions to fitness because they keep muscles strong; another very real aspect to keeping your cognitive health in good standing.
A Healthy Brain Needs Support.
Across all the studies that I read, there is also one piece of the brain fitness routine that isn’t measured with strength tests or lap times… its the necessity and benefit of group fitness. Humans are social creatures the thrive off of the sense of connection we get in groups. Hence the popularity of group fitness training!
What you can do today is find a balanced Fintess Routine that incorporates both Intense Functional Movement as well as Mind/Body elements to get an all around platform for longevity. AND THEN, find a group that will do this alongside you. Connection with others helps to hold you accountable s well as stimulate the Brain in ways that you simply cannot do alone.
We grow as a group… Literally. So smile, throw up a High -5 and get to it. Our brains need to last us and we should all be better about paying more attention to it rather than just our muscles. Ill be here to support you the entire time,
Love
Eric
Programming Notes 1/20-1/24 *** This week I put the Aerobic Pathway to the test with some unique stimulus of unilateral exercises and odd object work. Strength Focus is on the Backsquat. Heavy and slow to increase Time Under tension. Tuesday is one of the best interval workouts of all time. Push the intensity on this and test the threshold.
1/20
Baseline:
400m Run
3X
20 high Knee Jump Rope
10 Elbow To Instep Lunges
8 Divebomber Push ups
6 Squat + T Spine Reach
Core Strength:
Every 3 Mins for 12 Minutes
60 Plank Hold
7 Eccentric Dips (Ring or Bar)
5 Weighted Squat Jumps
Condtiioning:
AMRAP 20
30 Double Unders, 10 Dumbbell Snatch 50/35
30 Double Unders, 10 Dumbbell Press
30 Double Unders, 10 Overhead DB Lunge
30 Double Unders, 10 Tripod Bent Row
1/21
Baseline:
7 Minute Bike
*Every Minute perform 15 Squat / 15 Push ups
Lunge Flow:
-Ankle Roll Outs
-Hamstring Pulses
-Elbow To Instep W/ Reach
-Samson Lunge + Reach
-Bootstraps
-Pigeon Stretch
Clean and Jerk Warm Up:
7@ Each
-Barbell Deadlift
-Shrug+ High Pull
-Muscle Clean
-Front Squat
-High Hang Clean + Strict Press
-Mid Hang Clean + Push Press
-Clean and Jerk
Clean Complex;
10 Minute EMOM
-Clean Deadlift
-Hang Squat Clean
-Power Clean
-Squat Clean
WOD;
“The Chief”
5 X 3 Minute AMRAP
3 Power clean 135/95
6 Push up
9 Squats
1/22
Baseline:
800m Run
3X
10 Kip Swings
10 KB Goblet Squat
10 KB Cossack Lunge (side Lunge)
10 American KB Swing
Squat Flow: Squat Flow: Kang Squat, Internal Rotation, Ankle Roll Out, Bootstraps, PNF Stretch, Squat W/ T Spine Stretch
BackSquat
6X3
-1st Rep is Tempo (3,2,1)
-Reps 2/3 are free tempo
Conditioning:
Every 5 Minutes for 25 Minutes
12 Cal Bike
5 Strict Pull Ups
5 Thruster 115/75
8 Lateral Cone Touches (@12’ Apart)
1/23
Baseline:
Agility Warm Up @ 10m Each
High Knee Pull
Quad Pull
Squat 180 **stepping the leg high over hip, swing opposite leg to 180, squat
High Knees
Butt kickers
Marching High Kicks
Groiners
Straight leg shuffles
A Skip
B Skip
Fig 4 Drill
Lateral Shuffle
Carioca
Lateral Bounding
Sprint W/ Change of Direction
Plyometric Work:
3 Rounds, Not For Time
10 Burpee Tuck Jump
10 Ice Skaters
10 Single Leg Box Jumps
Aerobic Conditioning:
3 Rounds for Time
800m Run
30 Toes To Bar
20 Sandbag Step Up @100/75#// 18/12” Box
*If you do not have sandbag, wear a weight vest and hug plates in front of you.
1/24
Baseline:
4 Rounds
250m Row
5 Wall Climbs
12 Deadbug Ipsalateral reach
5 Strict Pull Ups
Conditioning:
For Time, 1X through
50 Box Jumps 24/20”
50 Pull Ups
50 American KB Swings 53/35
75 Overhead Kettlebell Lunge
50 Kettlebell Press (Single Arm)
50 Burpee
50 Wall Ball
