The research team of Dr. Claire J. Steves, Dr. Ted Spector and
others at Kings College in London are doing some amazing research on aging (and
other important research as well). Much of that examines
aging effects on the brain. One of the research studies involved exercise and
cognitive decline. Here is a quote from that research: “A striking protective relationship was found between
muscle fitness (leg power) and both 10-year cognitive change… and subsequent
total grey matter”. In other words, the women with better leg strength and
fitness showed less cognitive decline as they aged.
As we continue to note, the link
between physical fitness, exercise and so on to maintaining a healthy brain is
well known. And, we’ve seen studies where older adults improved cognition with
dancing, which obviously requires use of leg muscles. (See Dance Your *** Off; Grow a Bigger Brain). But this is the first I recall where leg muscles in
particular were noted, and the first where a muscle group is shown to have
predictive power.
On Twitter, the fitness competitors
and body-builders frequently post pictures of female athletes’ derrieres with
the hastag #shesquatsbro. Turns out those women may be working their brains
just as much.
For some reason, almost everyone who
does resistance training regularly seems to hate “leg day”.
Don’t skip leg day.
WWW.BigBrain.Place offers
fun products that are good for your brain.
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