Follow These 3 Exercise Regimens to get Brain-Fit

Follow These 3 Exercise Regimens to get Brain-Fit

We already know that doing physical exercise helps our brain in a great many ways. But are there any types of exercises that are specifically tied to improvements in certain brain functions? Is there anything we specifically need to do in order to keep our brain fit and healthy in the long-run?

Well, the jury is still out on what the ideal brain-fit exercise regime should look like. But there are some studies that show a direct correlation between certain types of exercises and brain functions. Read on!

Cardio training

The saying goes, what’s good for the heart is good the mind – and cardio exercise is one of the best types of activity for your heart. This includes walking, running, swimming, cycling etc. Basically whatever exercise works your blood circulation system. All these activities increase the capacity of your heart, lungs and blood vessels to carry more and more oxygen.

What it does, in turn, is increase oxygen supply to your brain, and has been linked to marked improvement in grey matter volume, numbers of synapses, analyzing and problem-solving capacities, and general decrease in age-related atrophy that leads to Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Weight Training

No comprehensive study has yet linked weight training directly with cognitive benefits. But scientists in recent years have increasingly become interested in the positive correlation between weight or resistance training regimens and an increased capacity of practical and application-based thinking. This points to an increased functioning of working memory as well.

Also, results in weight training are typically visible more quickly than cardio regimes, so they also boost motivation. They are specifically beneficial in terms of boosting self-esteem and willpower.

Yoga

This ancient form of exercise is a lot more than just exercise – it works both your mind and body in a holistic way, and that is perhaps the reason so many people are drawn to this century-old practice even in this day and age. Yoga combines posture training with mindfulness techniques, thus giving you the benefits of meditative practices along with improving your mind-body alignment. Yoga has been known to make practitioners more in tune with their bodies. Specifically for brain, Yoga builds thinking flexibility and improves concentration to a great extent.

How to begin?

There is really no one-size-fits-all solution to keeping your body and brain fit, but some generalized tips can be followed for best effect.

Devote at least two hours to exercise at least five days a week and work with a combination of these three regimes. Yoga is low-intensity and as such recommended as an everyday practice. Keep cardio and weight exercises for alternate days.

Most importantly, consult your doctor or a professional trainer to devise your regime in accordance with your bodily needs.

Conclusion

Our bodies are different from one another, and so should be our exercise regimes. Also, some of us may be coming from a completely sedentary lifestyle, while others may have experience with exercising before or already practice some forms of it. So to keep brain-fit, first listen to your body!