Hey welcome back everybody to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays. Brain health is an important topic as it relates to longevity and quality of life. Did you know that exercise can have a tremendous influence over the health and function of your brain? But, not just any kind of exercise will do the trick. We have three tips for you below to start implementing into your weekly workout plan to make sure you are able to use exercise to improve your brain’s health.
1) Do Resistance Training At Least 2x/Week
Our first tip to use exercise to improve the health of your brain is to make sure you are doing resistance training a minimum of twice per week. Each exercise you do should be done for at least two sets while using loads that are 50% to 80% of your 1-rep max. In other words, you need to be challenging yourself with each exercise so the exercise feels difficult, but not to the point of momentary failure.
Action Step: Look at your schedule and write in two days this week when you are going to get your resistance training in. Resistance training, specifically for the upper body, has been one thing that has shown a significant ability to ward off various forms of dementia, per our conversation with Dr. Forchetti this past summer.
Related: What is Alzheimer’s disease and what can you do to prevent it?
2) Do Cardio 3x/Week for Upwards of 45 Minutes
Our second tip to use exercise to improve the health of your brain is to get in three cardio workouts per week for upwards of 45 minutes each. Ideally, these workouts would be done at a medium to higher intensity as that level of exertion has been shown to have greater brain-boosting benefits than lower intensity cardio.
Action Step: Treadmills, bikes, rowers, and ellipticals can all be great indoor options for your cardio workouts, but don’t be afraid to step outside and go for a jog, as well. As the weather continues to improve, more and more outdoor cardio opportunities will present themselves. Be on the lookout!
Related: Brain Health – The Importance of Exercise
3) Get MATRx®
Our third tip to use exercise to improve the health of your brain is to get Muscle Activation Techniques®, and specifically the MATRx® process if you have somebody certified in that near you. There is new news coming out about the positive impact MATRx® can have on brain wave function, so you are definitely going to want to add this in on a regular basis.
Action Step: Want to learn more about the brain-boosting benefits of MAT®? Tune into the Exercise Is Health podcast tomorrow as we have a special interview coming out with Greg Roskopf, the developer of Muscle Activation Techniques®! And be sure to connect with a certified specialist in your area through the MAT® headquarters website here.