General Health Something to Think AboutSome of us use intense exercise to clear our heads, but maybe we need to clear our heads as a warm-up before intense exercise. It’s something to think about. Or not.
We rest our muscles. We rest our bodies. We also need to rest our minds. New research has confirmed that being tired mentally can reduce cardio performance by up to 15 percent. That’s a lot. One group, in a recent study, was mentally stimulated for 90 minutes just before intense exercise; forced to think and focus without rest. They took a test. Another group was allowed to relax and watch a 90 minute video before exercising. Both groups then pushed flat out, through an identical, intense workout, to total exhaustion. The relaxed group out-lasted the focused thinkers by 2 full minutes.
The guess is that taxing your mind may affect dopamine production in the same part of the brain that calculates physical effort. Working out when you’re not stressed, pre-occupied, or your brain is going non-stop delivers a performance edge.
Think of clearing your head as the new stretching. You can refresh yourself mentally pre-workout by focusing on your breathing; slowing down all that tired thinking; and leisurely sipping on a whey protein shake. Our whey will refresh your muscles. Clearing your head will restore your energy and will, and release an added burst of performance power.
We rest our muscles. We rest our bodies. We also need to rest our minds. New research has confirmed that being tired mentally can reduce cardio performance by up to 15 percent. That’s a lot. One group, in a recent study, was mentally stimulated for 90 minutes just before intense exercise; forced to think and focus without rest. They took a test. Another group was allowed to relax and watch a 90 minute video before exercising. Both groups then pushed flat out, through an identical, intense workout, to total exhaustion. The relaxed group out-lasted the focused thinkers by 2 full minutes.
The guess is that taxing your mind may affect dopamine production in the same part of the brain that calculates physical effort. Working out when you’re not stressed, pre-occupied, or your brain is going non-stop delivers a performance edge.
Think of clearing your head as the new stretching. You can refresh yourself mentally pre-workout by focusing on your breathing; slowing down all that tired thinking; and leisurely sipping on a whey protein shake. Our whey will refresh your muscles. Clearing your head will restore your energy and will, and release an added burst of performance power.
