Well the first step would be in keeping your programme varied, challenging and fun. Do not go to gym day in and day out and do the same thing. Have you seen those people who get on to the bicycle, set it at the same resistance and same time and sit pedalling at the same speed, some even reading the newspaper while they do this or staring into space for 20 minutes. Well at least they are doing something which is better than those who are sitting at home on the couch but if you are going to invest time and energy into something why not gain the most benefit from it? So, what could you do. Lets stay on the bike shall we, how about changing the resistance for starters. Crank it up for 3 minutes and then drop it for 1 minute recovery, repeat this three times. Do some breakaway sprints, maintain your speed for 20 seconds and then sprint for 40 seconds, repeat a few times, you can also change the resistance, increasing it with each set, do this standing and sitting. How about hops at 10 and 5 second intervals, again changing the resistance. Challenge yourself with a high resistance seated climb for 3 minutes, recover for 1 minute and repeat but with a standing climb.Gee that already sounds a whole lot more interesting and of course you would have had to engage your mind and stay focused instead of drifting off. Trust me the time will fly by much quicker if you shake your workout up a bit.
Compound exercises are another great way to keep your brain stimulated. Instead of just sitting on a bench doing a concentration curl and only primarily working on your bicep. Why not do a concentration curl from a squat position, thereby incorporating, quads, hammies, glutes, calves and core. How about a bicep curl in a push up position for an incredible challenge or a hammer curl while stepping up onto a bench. A shoulder press with a one legged bench stand up.....the list goes on. Then to further keep your mind active and involved, change the weight and adjust your reps accordingly.
Incorporate balance into your workout. This is the best way by far for a complete body workout especially core and most especially your brain. Balancing takes huge concentration and skill. Try the tree pose or stalk pose and progress it to doing it with your eyes shut. Do a hammer curl on a bosu with a squat and then turn the bosu upside down and do the same exercise. If you have ever tried this you will know how difficult it is and WOW what a challenging workout, it will definitely keep you wide awake. You will be using all sorts of stabilisers that you never even knew existed. There are so many balance exercises that you could try that would keep your programme interesting, there is no reason to ever get board. Funny thing about balancing and you will discover this when you try it, if your mind is calm and relaxed, you will be able to balance, if your mind is busy and stressed, you will struggle!
Proprioception is basically knowing where our body parts or limbs are without looking. Sounds simple doesn't it? Try closing your eyes, standing on one leg and passing a ball over the top of your head, hand to hand. Ok, so not so easy anymore. Better still you have just incorporated not only proprioception, but a compound exercise, balance, coordination and flexibility all in one move. This surely is not boring and as you can imagine you have to concentrate. Try a tripod tricep kickback or a reverse lunge with a shoulder press and row!
All of this is functional training and will help you cope better with daily activities. Believe it or not you will also find that your cognitive function will improve, you will have longer attention span, better short term memory and improved verbal skills! All of that from simply using your brain when you train....what a bargain and what a NO BRAINER!!!!!
Get busy moving...get busy thinking!
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