When you hit the gym, what is your go-to exercise? Do you make a beeline for the treadmill? Head for the rowing machines? Saddle up in the exercise bike?
If all this choice is making your head hurt, then you shouldn’t be surprised – for today, scientists revealed that your brain may benefit from simple sessions of regular weightlifting.
Research by academics at Australia’s Sydney University found that cognitive brain function can improve exponentially as a result of weight training. Published in a new medical journal, the findings suggest that men should work out at least twice a week over a six month period before they see any brain changes.
The study, which put 100 people to the test – some of whom were suffering from the early effects of Alzheimer’s disease – scanned participants’ brains in an MRI machine. After six months of training, scientists saw a significant increase in activity in some parts of the brain.
These participants, reveals lead author Dr Yorgi Mavros, worked twice weekly with weights that were 80 per cent of the maximum weight they could lift. They stuck to this 80 per cent rule as they continued, suggesting that the focus may not be on gains, but rather the act of exercise itself that benefits the brain.
“The more we can get people doing resistance training like weight lifting, the more likely we are to have a healthier ageing population,” said Dr. Mavros. “The key however is to make sure you are doing it frequently, at least twice a week, and at a high intensity so that you are maximising your strength gains. This will give you the maximum benefit for your brain.
“The next step now is to determine if the increases in muscle strength are also related to increases in brain size that we saw.”
But, for now, why not use these findings for extra motivation at the gym? Train your brain and, for once, look to put a weight on – rather than taking it off – your mind.
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