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Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts

Monday, 15 December 2014

Lifting Weights Can Help Your Memory

Posted by mewmew, on 03:54

Lifting Weights Can Help Your Memory

Lifting Weights Can Help Your Memory
Whether you’re going over notes for a big work presentation or cramming for an exam, new research from the Georgia Institute of Technology shows that lifting weights after your study session may help you better memorize your material.
For the study, 46 young adults (20 years old, on average) looked at a series of 90 photos on a computer screen. Researchers didn’t ask them to remember the photos, but secretly, they were waiting to test their memory.
Then, the participants sat down on a leg-extension machine. Half of the participants performed 50 reps at max effort, which took about 20 minutes. The rest just sat on the machine and let the researchers move their legs for them. Meanwhile, the researchers also monitored each participant’s blood pressure, heart rate, and saliva (for stress-linked chemicals).
MORE: 12 Reasons You Should Start Lifting Weights Today
Two days later, all of the participants came back to the lab and checked out a series of 180 photos—the 90 originals mixed in with 90 new ones.
Researchers found that while the non-lifters remembered about half of the photos from the first lab session, those who had lifted remembered 10 percent more. Pretty handy trick, huh?
MORE: 5 Ways Exercise Impacts Your Brain
And this isn’t the first study to find a link between a fit body and a sharper brain. One Brazilian study, for instance, found that six months of resistance training enhanced lifters’ brain function, including their short- and long-term memory. Meanwhile, recent research published in Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience found that young adults who are aerobically fit perform better on memory tests than non-fit ones.  
However, this study is unique (and awesome!) in that it found that just one post-study weight-lifting session can improve your memory.
But how’s that work? Researchers explain that people are more likely to remember experiences after undergoing acute stress, which weight lifting provides. What’s more, they say it should also work with bodyweight strength moves like squats, lunges, and pushups. So there’s no excuse not to reap weight lifting’s memory-boosting benefits!

12 Reasons You Should Start Lifting Weights Today

Posted by mewmew, on 03:52

12 Reasons You Should Start Lifting Weights Today

12 Reasons You Should Start Lifting Weights Today

Just because you're not vying for 20-inch biceps or thunderously strong thighs like the muscle heads in the gym doesn't mean you should shun the weight room. Lifting weights gives you an edge over belly fat, stress, heart disease, and cancer—and it's also the single most effective way to look hot in a bikini. Yet somehow women are still hesitant: Only about a fifth of females strength train two or more times a week.
Here are 12 reasons you shouldn't live another day without hitting the weights.
You'll Lose 40 Percent More Fat
If you think cardio is the key to blasting belly fat, keep reading: When Penn State researchers put dieters into three groups—no exercise, aerobic exercise only, or aerobic exercise and weight training—they all lost around 21 pounds, but the lifters shed six more pounds of fat than those who didn't pump iron. Why? The lifters' loss was almost pure fat; the others lost fat and muscle.
Other research on dieters who don't lift shows that, on average, 75 percent of their weight loss is from fat, while 25 percent is from muscle. Muscle loss may drop your scale weight, but it doesn't improve your reflection in the mirror and it makes you more likely to gain back the flab you lost. However, if you weight train as you diet, you'll protect your hard-earned muscle and burn more fat.
Your Clothes Will Fit Better 
Research shows that between the ages of 30 and 50, you'll likely lose 10 percent of your body's total muscle. Worse yet, it's likely to be replaced by fat over time, says a study. And that increases your waist size, because one pound of fat takes up 18 percent more space than one pound of muscle.
You'll Burn More Calories
Lifting increases the number of calories you burn while your butt is parked on the couch. That's because after each strength workout, your muscles need energy to repair their fibers. In fact, researchers found that when people did a total-body workout with just three big-muscle moves, their metabolisms were raised for 39 hours afterward. They also burned a greater percentage of calories from fat compared with those who didn't lift.
Lifting gives you a better burn during exercise too: Doing a circuit of eight moves (which takes about eight minutes) can expend 159 to 231 calories. That's about what you'd burn if you ran at a 10-mile-per-hour pace for the same duration.
Your Diet Will Improve
Exercise helps your brain stick to a diet plan. University of Pittsburgh researchers studied 169 overweight adults and found that those who didn't follow a three-hours-a-week training regimen ate more than their allotted 1,500 calories a day. The reverse was also true—sneaking snacks sabotaged their workouts. The study authors say both diet and exercise likely remind you to stay on track, aiding your weight-loss goals.
You'll Handle Stress Better
Break a sweat in the weight room and you'll stay cool under pressure. Scientists determined that the fittest people exhibited lower levels of stress hormones than those who were the least fit. Another study found that after a stressful situation, the blood pressure levels of people with the most muscle returned to normal faster than the levels of those with the least muscle.
You'll Be Happier
Yoga isn't the only Zen-inducing kind of exercise. Researchers found that people who performed three weight workouts a week for six months significantly improved their scores on measures of anger and overall mood.
You'll Build Stronger Bones
As you age, bone mass goes to pot, which increases your likelihood of one day suffering a debilitating fracture. The good news: A study found that 16 weeks of resistance training increased hip bone density and elevated blood levels of osteocalcin—a marker of bone growth--by 19 percent.
You'll Get Into Shape Faster
The term cardio shouldn't describe only aerobic exercise: A study found that circuit training with weights raises your heart rate 15 beats per minute higher than if you ran at 60 to 70 percent of your max heart rate. This approach strengthens muscles and provides cardiovascular benefits similar to those of aerobic exercise—so you save time without sacrificing results.
Your Heart Will Be Healthier
Researchers at the University of Michigan found that people who did three total-body weight workouts a week for two months decreased their diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) by an average of eight points. That's enough to reduce the risk of a stroke by 40 percent and the chance of a heart attack by 15 percent.
You'll Be Way More Productive
Lifting could result in a raise (or at least a pat on the back from your boss). Researchers found that workers were 15 percent more productive on days they exercised compared with days they didn't. So on days you work out, you can (theoretically) finish in eight hours what would normally take nine hours and 12 minutes. Or you'd still work for nine hours but get more done, leaving you feeling less stressed and happier with your job--another perk reported on days workers exercised.
You'll Live Longer
University of South Carolina researchers determined that total-body strength is linked to lower risks of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. Similarly, other scientists found that being strong during middle age is associated with "exceptional survival," defined as living to the age of 85 without developing a major disease.
You'll Be Even Smarter
Muscles strengthen your body and mind: Brazilian researchers found that six months of resistance training enhanced lifters' cognitive function. In fact, the sweat sessions resulted in better short- and long-term memory, improved verbal reasoning, and a longer attention span.

5 Ways Exercise Impacts Your Brain

Posted by mewmew, on 03:50

5 Ways Exercise Impacts Your Brain

5 Ways Exercise Impacts Your Brain

You know that exercise helps you stay fit and toned and can help you slim down. But that's soooo not the only reason to hit the gym—it's also hugely helpful for your psyche. We rounded up the top ways that it helps your brain, not just your body:
1. It helps alleviate depression:  Research shows that exercise is so effective at chasing away the blues, it can even help treat major depressive disorder. In fact, last year, researchers at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center came up with clinical guidelines for the necessary exercise “dose” doctors should recommend to patients to reap the antidepressant effects.
2. It improves your memory: Getting your heart rate up improves blood flow to the brain, which helps boost memory and overall brain function. In one study that looked at brain structure pre- and post-workout, researchers found increases in brain volume in a number of areas after participants got sweaty. The effect is pretty noticable, too: Patients in the study did 10 to 15 percent better on a variety of memory and attention tasks after they'd exercised.
3. It helps you de-stress: When you're stressed, it's often because your to-do list is a mile long—so you probably feel like it would just be more nerve-wracking to try to squeeze in a workout on top of everything else. But here's why you should: A study that came out last year from the University of Colorado at Boulder found that even forced exercise can help protect you from anxiety and stress. So stop making excuses, and get thee to the gym when you're feeling frantic.
4. It makes you more focused: After evaluating more than 100 studies on exercise, University of Iowa researchers concluded that strength training helps your focus because it requires focus: After all, it takes some serious effort to eek out those reps without sacrificing the correct form, all while remembering to breathe and tuning out the distracting guy huffing and puffing beside you.
5. It helps you stick to your goals: In the same University of Iowa study, researchers concluded that, since cardio requires such long and consistent effort, doing a lot of it may help you develop an ability to follow through with tasks. That, in turn, can help you stick to other (non-exercise-related) goals that require long-term effort.

Being Out of Shape Could Have a Scary Effect on Your Brain

Posted by mewmew, on 03:48

Being Out of Shape Could Have a Scary Effect on Your Brain

Being Out of Shape Could Have a Scary Effect on Your Brain

As if you needed more evidence that workouts are good for more than just keeping your body toned, a new study indicates that they may help keep your memory sharp, too. The research, published in Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience, found that young adults who were aerobically fit racked up better results on memory tests than their more sedentary counterparts.
Researchers tested 75 college students over a three-day period. They measured their peak oxygen consumption, which determines aerobic fitness, via a treadmill test (taking into account each student's body fat percentage, weight, age, and sex). They also had the participants study word pairs. Finally, researchers quizzed the students on the word pairs to gauge their long-term memory (defined as anything remembered for longer than 30 seconds) and implicit memory (the kind you're not conscious of that lets you do tasks on autopilot, like walking or tying your shoe). The students who had the lowest peak oxygen consumption also showed the poorest long-term and implicit memory, suggesting a link between physical fitness and strong mental recall. 
 
"The findings show that lower-fit individuals lose more memory across time," said Kimberly Fenn, a study co-author and an assistant professor of psychology at Michigan State University, in a press release. 
The study is the first to take a look at young adults, memory, and exercise; previous research focused on the brains of children or senior citizens. Besides giving you another great reason to lace up your kicks and get moving, the study shows that working out has definite cognitive benefits in addition to these other ways exercise affects your brain. If you've been on an extended break from the gym, these tips will motivate you to get back in the habit of exercising.

Researchers Create Exercise Guidelines to Beat Depression

Posted by mewmew, on 03:45

Researchers Create Exercise Guidelines to Beat Depression

Researchers Create Exercise Guidelines to Beat Depression
 
You already know (and love!) that endorphin-fueled happy feeling you get after a really great workout. Past research has even shown that exercise can be successful in treating major depressive disorder. And now a new report published in the Journal of Psychiatric Practice, which is geared toward clinicians, outlines the necessary exercise “dose” for patients to reap the antidepressant effects. 

Researchers at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center came up with clinical guidelines based on what’s worked in past studies, says senior study author Madhukar Trivedi, MD, of the department of psychiatry. Their recommendations: Patients should do aerobic exercise or resistance training (though there’s more research evidence to support the former) for 45 to 60 minutes three to five times per week. Aerobic exercise—running, biking, walking—should be at about 50 to 85 percent of max heart rate. For resistance—something like weight-lifting—the workoutsshould target both upper- and lower-body muscles, and intensity should be three sets of eight repetitions at 80 percent max. The regimen should last for at least 10 to 12 weeks. “It boils down to about 150 minutes per week of exercise at moderate intensity,” says Trivedi. 

While these recommendations are based on what was shown to work in past studies that have looked at the link between exercise and depressive symptoms, that doesn’t necessarily mean other regimens won’t work. These are just helpful guidelines if you want to reap the full mood-boosting benefits of exercise. 

And of course, if you’re experiencing depressive symptoms and would like to try exercise as treatment, make sure you're doing so under the guidance of a clinician, says Trivedi.

Brainpower: Sharpen Your Mind

Posted by mewmew, on 03:44

Brainpower: Sharpen Your Mind


Of all the things you've got on your mind — work, bills, that weird, new stain on the kitchen floor — your mind probably isn't one of them. But now that you've started blanking on your own cell phone number and freezing when the ATM asks for your PIN, maybe it's time to start thinking about it. See, your brain tissue is steadily being chipped away — some of it by the natural aging process and some of it by such brain shrinkers as stress and cigarettes. Luckily, there are ways to strengthen your brainpower the way you build your abs. All it takes is a quick seven-step diet and exercise plan designed to boost your memory, attention span, and all the other things that will restore your skull-covered hard drive to its maximum power.

Brain Booster 1: Your Heart

The reason you misplace keys or can't remember what you ate 9 minutes ago? Normal aging shrinks neurons (brain cells) and drains neurotransmitters (the messengers that communicate between and among cells). But getting your heart rate up can reverse this process by increasing blood flow to the brain to improve memory and overall brain function, says Arthur Kramer, Ph.D., a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Illinois. "We examined brain structure before and after fitness training and we found increases of brain volume in a number of areas," says Dr. Kramer, whose patients improved 10 to 15 percent on a variety of memory and attention tasks after exercise. The minimum: You can reap benefits from as little as walking 30 minutes three times a week.

Brain Booster 2: Your Back

Hauling your everyday (80-pound) shoulder bag can leave you tired. Carrying whiny kids can leave you frazzled. And both may injure your back — and your brain — in the process. A recent Northwestern University study found that people who suffered from chronic back pain lost up to 1.5 cubic centimeters (equivalent to 1 teaspoon) of gray matter per year. That's because the area of the brain that copes with the stress of the pain (the lateral prefrontal cortex, for those scoring at home) becomes depleted and dysfunctional enough to affect emotional decision-making, says A. Vania Apkarian, Ph.D., whose previous work found that patients with chronic back pain were slower decision-makers. Best way to beat back pain: build muscle in your lower back and abdominals to support the spine. Try the reverse trunk curl. Lie flat on your stomach and fold your hands under your chin. Lift your chin and chest off the floor about 3 to 6 inches. Aim for three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions three times a week.

Brain Booster 3: Your Waist

A body mass index below 25 not only means you'll look great in a bikini but that you'll be more likely to remember that you do. A recent Swedish study found that women who had a BMI of 27 (25-30 is considered overweight) were more likely to experience loss of brain tissue in the temporal lobe (that's your brain's main hub for memory function and one of the first areas affected by Alzheimer's). That's because extra fat generates more chemicals that can be toxic to your brain, says Deborah Gustafson, Ph.D., the lead study author and assistant professor at the Institute of Clinical Neuroscience in Sweden. One class of these chemicals — called free radicals — latches on to cells, disrupts the way they function, and can kill them. Aging naturally chews away at your memory, but excess fat may speed up the process. For each point your BMI increases, your risk increases 12 to 16 percent. "If you decrease your body weight, you're going to slow potential atrophy," says Dr. Gustafson, who recommends a BMI below 25.

How to Work Out When You Totally Don’t Want To

Posted by mewmew, on 03:38


How to Work Out When You Totally Don’t Want To
As awesome as a great workout can feel, it’s hard to magic up the motivation to make it happen some days. But new research suggests you should power through, even if you’re not 100 percent feeling it. 

Even “forced” exercise can help protect against anxiety and stress, according to a study from the University of Colorado at Boulder. So essentially, dragging yourself to the gym is just as beneficial to your Zen levels as going voluntarily. “Sometimes, you just have to bite the bullet and push yourself to work out, even if you’re feeling less than inspired,” says Wendy Larkin, master trainer at Crunch San Francisco. “I have to force myself to go on a run every Sunday, but after I do, I feel better, my mood is better and I sleep better.” 

Need a little help getting off the couch? These tactics can keep you strong the next time you get the urge to bail. 

Schedule sessions with a trainer If this seems like a duh, that’s because it is. Think about it: You commit a) weeks in advance to b) actual appointments where c) someone will be expecting you, so you basically have to show. Plus, you’ll still get charged if you back out. “Go in on a regular sessions with a few friends, and make it a regular thing,” suggests Larkin. “You’ll get the same workout, but you can divvy up the cost.” That, and sweating it out with your crew sounds way better than going at it solo. 

Start a work-buddy system Larkin says she sees it all the time: People plan to get their sweat on after work, but then talk themselves out of it by 5 p.m. With crazy deadlines, last-minute meetings and the like, your workplace is booby-trapped with gym-bailing temptations—so you need allies to stay strong. “Find a few people in the office with similar fitness goals, and make a pact to keep tabs on each other,” says Larkin. Tell them to make sure you leave at X time so you make your workout—and vice-versa. Then follow up to keep each other accountable. 

Splurge on foxy workout gear Like a good LBD on a night out, gym gear that plays up your assets can give your mojo a serious boost and make you want to put it to good use. “When you look and feel good, you have a little more pep in your step, and the reasons you didn’t feel like going to the gym earlier will fade,” says Larkin. Plus, paying top dollar for super flattering workout clothes definitely makes you want to get your money's worth. 

Establish a gym family Introduce yourself to your fitness instructor before class, and take a few minutes to chat it up with people you recognize as regulars. As people get to know you, they’ll be more likely to learn your capabilities, push you if they see you slacking off, and call you out when you skip a week, Larkin says. You’ll also feel more compelled to show up at the gym if you know you’ll be expected. 

Leave important things in your gym locker If you accidentally-on-purpose forget to bring your hairdryer and make-up bag home after a gym sesh, you’ll be forced to go back the next day to get ready. “Half the challenge is getting in the door, so the more reasons you give yourself to stop by, the better,” Larkin says. 

Get a vacation on the books ASAP Beach season is so close, you can practically smell the sunscreen already. “Most people rev up their workout routines right before taking a big trip, so wherever you’re going this summer, get your reservations nailed down as soon as you can,” says Larkin. Not only will thinking of your trip give you that extra push you need to get through a tough workout, but it also gives you a deadline you can’t cheat. Nothing is more motivating than having to show off your bikini bodyin, oh, 35 days.

Tone Your Body, Sharpen Your Mind

Posted by mewmew, on 03:36


Tone Your Body, Sharpen Your Mind
Feeling scatterbrained? It might be time to hit the gym. 

A research team from the University of Iowa recently evaluated more than 100 studies and found that resistance training and aerobic exercise both give your brain a boost—but in different ways. 

Strength training takes a great deal of focus. You have to maintain proper form, concentrate on your breathing, and tune out the grunting bodybuilder next to you. Researchers believe that the more you perform focused resistance workouts, the more you will be able to avoid distractions in other areas of your life. 

Meanwhile, cardio involves long and constant effort, which scientists believe can improve your cognitive ability to carry out multiple tasks for long periods of time and stick to plans. 

After just six months of exercise, brain scans show that gray and white matter in the prefrontal and temporal lobes of the brain actually grow. Even better, since these are spots that usually diminish with time, exercise (whether it's strength or cardio), can help keep your mind sharp as you age.

Sculpt Your Upper Body This Weekend!

Posted by mewmew, on 03:33

Sculpt Your Upper Body This Weekend!

Join the Women's Health Weekend Challenge to help you meet your fitness goals fast and make your weekend  workouts count. Thousands of women already have. Join them, and achieve your fitness goals faster!
Alternating Dumbbell Row: Looking for strong shoulders and a toned back? Then add this move to your strength training.
SO...ARE YOU IN?!
Sculpt Your Upper Body This Weekend!
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