OH! Magazine - Australian Version May 2016 | Page 9

( Fitness & Motivation )

EXERCISE BENEFITS

THE BRAIN
Michelle Bridges reminds you that exercise
provides benefits beyond just the physical.
id I mention that a while back, I
had knee surgery and during that
time I was royally depressed and annoyed
because I couldn’t train, walk, eat or
shower properly and I felt like it was the
whole world’s fault and everyone needed
to feel sorry for me?

D

Let me put this whining into context.
There I was in the gym doing yet another
upper body training session. I say ‘yet
another’ because all of my workouts were
upper body sessions since I couldn’t run
or do any leg training due to said knee
surgery (did I mention that?)
Anyhow, I was halfway through a blistering
set of incline dumbbell presses and it
suddenly dawned on me that far from
doing exercises that focused on everything
north of my navel – chest, shoulders,
back, arms – there was actually another
body part that was benefiting from these
workouts. That body part was my brain.

Now I don’t say this because I was having
to think about what to do next, or whether
or not I’d left the iron on, it was because
exercise – generally – is great for the
health of our brain, as well as the rest of
our body.
It is a sad fact that our brains structurally
decline with age, starting in our 30s (I say
this with some regret, having waved a
tearful goodbye to my own 30s at an
undisclosed moment in the past). By the
time we hit 60 years of age, parts of it
can be shrinking in size, between one and
two per cent a year.

MICHELLE
BRIDGES

YOU CAN CONTACT MICHELLE VIA:
Web: michellebridges.com.au
Facebook: Mishy.Bridges
Twitter: @mishbridges
Instagram: @mishbridges

incredible 50 per cent when we make
regular exercise part of our lifestyle.
So what has this got to do with my incline
dumbbell presses? Our cerebellum, which
is located above the spinal column, is
responsible for coordinating smooth,
controlled body movements.

But there is good news!

So when we do exercises that require
intricate body position adjustments, we
improve plasticity and brain function in
this area. In this respect, free weight
exercises are more effective than
machines – but don’t ditch the machines
yet, as they are a great tool for older
adults to boost their strength safely, as
well as being very easy to use!

Studies have shown that a group of
60-year-olds not only put the brakes on
their cognitive decline with six months of
exercise – they actually reversed it. And it
was found that the risk of developing
Alzheimer’s disease is reduced by an

So no matter what type of workout you’re
doing, or whether you are currently limited in
how you can train, just take a breath, be
patient, keep going and appreciate that your
brain is benefiting from every session you do
– even when you feel like it isn’t.

( OH! MAGAZINE ) MAY 2016

9