The brain is at the center of all we do, and it needs three things in order to operate. Glucose, oxygen and activation through movement. Over the last two days we have addressed the brain and body’s need for glucose, as well as oxygen. Now we are going to look at activation, or the brain and body’s need for movement.

The quality of our movement has a direct impact on the quality of brain function. Because neurons must be regularly activated in order to keep them functioning, if we go for extended periods of times with stimulating them we lose control over them.

Let me give you an example. Think about all the things we used to do on playgrounds as children. Climbing on monkey bars, spinning and twirling, or how about just running back and forth playing tag. Those are all skills we developed which have faded without use.

The more sedentary our bodies become the less control we have over them. The physical loss of control, and results in decreased activity of the brain further impairs other brain functions such as problem solving.

Because our brains are fed from bottom to top and from back to front, the more active our brains are as a whole, the better the performance of the pre-frontal cortex. This means if we move more throughout the day the more productive and creative we become with intellectual tasks.

So along with glucose and oxygen, movement becomes the third way we can restore or extend brain and body performance. Walking, playing and working out are all great ways to relieve stress, and improve brain and body performance. And the more varied and interesting an activity is the more stimulating it is for the brain.

If you don’t already have some regular physical activities, start thinking about something you used to make time for in the past, or new activity you would like to try. If there is nothing specific that comes to mind, then focus on walking more.

In the action phase we will introduce specific ways to workout that supports normalizing your weight. But for now the most important thing you can do is to understand that some workouts aid in weight loss while others contribute to weight gain.

Previously we covered the SAID principle, meaning that our bodies specifically adapt to the demands imposed on it. Lets use the example of running. When we first start running it is difficult, it is hard to breathe, our legs, back and shoulders get sore. But over time we are able to go further and further before we hit exhaustion.

So, lets say that first run lasted twenty minutes with us starting and stopping and maybe walking a bit, then running some more. And just as an example lets say we burned two hundred calories during that twenty minutes.

After a few months of running we are able to conformably run much further in that twenty minutes, but guess what?  Even though we are going further, we are using fewer calories to get there. Now in a twenty minute run we may only burn 100 calories.

What has happened is that our bodies realized this stress was reoccurring and in an effort to meet the challenge the body got more efficient at how it used its available energy, it also lowered the metabolism to help with this. And if we were not eating enough to provide the needed energy to keep up with the running, for instance if we had been on a calorie restrictive diet, then our body also started storing more and more fat to meet the expenditure demands.

This exact thing happens to any high-duration aerobic workouts from running to dance, to cardio machines, and boot camps or group fitness classes that are aerobic.

This is an excerpt of the RESOLUTE online weight loss and metabolic repair course inspired by the work of Dr. Ray Peat, Dr. Broda Barnes, Dr. Brene Brown, Dr. James Prochaska, Dr. Martha Beck, Dr. Judith Beck, and Dr. Hans Selye.   

Taiso Fitness and Nutrition

If you are looking for a shared personal training experience try Taiso Fitness and Nutrition. We are Tacoma’s fitness and nutrition gym for people who want to get out of pain or improve performance, who need immediate, measurable results, and want to make educated decisions to take control of their health.

Shared personal training provides the coaching of a personal trainer with the social support of a bootcamp style class.

Set up a complimentary consultation, or start a 21 Day Risk Free Trial. Stay up to date on the latest information through our website at www.taisofitness.com

Looking for an online course to help lose weight by repairing your metabolism and lowering your stress? Try RESOLUTE The Step-By-Step Program for People Who Want To Repair Their Metabolism.