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Exercise and Cognitive Health

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 07:14:40 GMT

Exercise and Cognitive Health: Strengthening Body and Mind

Cognitive health refers to the brain’s ability to think, learn, and remember. These abilities impact how we process information, make decisions, acquire skills, and retain memories. When an exercise requires focus and concentration to complete, we are effectively engaging in a cognitive challenge – giving the brain a workout as well as the body.

Why Learning Slows as We Age

As we grow older, many of us become less inclined to try new things. Once we’ve moved past our school or university years, the opportunities – or motivation – to learn regularly tend to decline. We might pick up a few new skills at work, but it’s rarely as consistent or demanding as earlier stages of life.

Yet the brain thrives on new challenges. Activities like learning to play a musical instrument or speak a new language are well known for improving and maintaining cognitive function. The good news is, exercise — especially the right kind — can offer similar cognitive benefits.

How Exercise Engages the Brain

What kinds of exercises are we talking about?

When we begin a new form of exercise, particularly those involving strength, balance, or coordination, we're learning new skills. Think of it like playing a sport for the first time or learning the rules of a new board game. These activities require concentration, decision-making, and precise motor control — all of which activate and challenge the brain.

Some of the most effective exercises for cognitive engagement involve dynamic balance and dual-task movements . For example:

Standing on one leg while throwing and catching a ball
Performing a squat with a row
Doing a split squat with a shoulder press

These movements require the limbs to move in sequence, demand coordination, and force us to focus in order to complete the movement smoothly and effectively.

What the Research Says

The benefits of combining physical and cognitive challenges in exercise aren’t just theoretical — they’re backed by science:

A 2020 study found that a 12-week resistance training program helped older adults maintain selective attention and conflict resolution abilities, while significantly improving working memory.
A 2014 study demonstrated that even a single session of resistance training enhanced episodic memory in young adults.
A 2012 study published in Neurobiology of Aging found that a year of resistance training helped maintain cognitive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), suggesting it may help slow cognitive decline and reduce the risk of dementia.

Why Exercise Helps the Brain

So why does physical exercise boost cognitive health?

There are a few key mechanisms:

Improved cerebral blood flow
Hormonal and neurotrophic stimulation (e.g., neurotrophins that support brain cell development and function)
Better sleep and sleep quality , which are essential for memory consolidation and mental clarity

These factors work together to promote healthy brain function and help preserve or even enhance cognitive performance over time.

 The Bottom Line: Challenge Yourself

The evidence is clear — regular physical activity, especially exercises that involve coordination and concentration, plays a powerful role in maintaining and improving cognitive health.

The key is to keep challenging yourself. Whether it’s:

Balancing for one more second
Pushing for one more repetition
Lifting one more kilogram

These small, consistent steps — known as progressive overload — can lead to big improvements, not just in physical strength, but in brain function, too.

Your body moves better. Your brain thinks sharper. Keep learning, keep moving.

References

Liu-Ambrose, T. et al. (2020). Resistance training and executive functions: A 12-week randomized controlled trial in older adults.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-021-01535-5
Weinberg, L. et al. (2014). The acute effects of resistance exercise on memory.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691814001577
Nagamatsu, L. S. et al. (2012). Resistance training promotes cognitive and functional brain plasticity in seniors with probable mild cognitive impairment. Neurobiology of Aging, 33(4), 828.e1–828.e13.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21741129

THE EFFECTS OF EXERCISE ON BONE HEALTH

Wed, 21 May 2025 01:06:47 GMT

THE EFFECTS OF EXERCISE ON BONE HEALTH

The effects of exercise on bone health / density and its overall importance to the holistic view of our health is a great topic of discussion that I often have with people I see.

Resistance training is the best form of exercise to improve bone health, but how does it compare to other forms of exercise and what does the literature say about frequency, loads and volume? (load = amount of resistance, volume = resistance x reps x sets)

I listened to a podcast recently (Perform, by Dr Andy Galpin) aptly titled ‘Build stronger bones’. Andy Galpin is a well renowned Exercise Scientist in the US and I highly recommend his podcast.

Bone health is often not something people think about until they are of a certain age or have a specific issue. Just like in previous blog pieces I have written; as with all health measures, it is much easier to maintain strong bones and a high bone mineral density then to try and improve it once you’ve lost it.

The research finds that resistance training is the most effective form of exercise for maintaining and improving bone mineral density. Weight bearing exercises can go a long way in preventing osteopenia and osteoporosis in both men and women. Postmenopausal women become the most susceptible to bone loss and fragility, making the importance of strength training even greater in order to reduce the risk of fractures, falls and weakness as we age.

Research proves that exercises such as walking, swimming, cycling show very little in terms of improvement or maintenance of bone density. This doesn’t mean that these types of exercises aren’t beneficial in other ways, just that a well-rounded exercise regime is always going to be the most effective and that begins with strength training.

In the end it’s all about challenging your systems in a safe and effective way. Sometimes lifting a certain weight might seem daunting, but if you maintain a strong technique and understand when you have hit a fatigue point, you won’t be at risk of injuring yourself.

Much of my focus is to make sure people are comfortable with exercises before progressing to levels required to build muscle, strength, power and improve or maintain bone density. The key being progressions, this means increasing exercise difficultly and volume (load x reps x sets).

What does this mean in terms of volume and loads? To Improve and maintain bone density through exercise we need load (resistance), multi-directional movements (using different body parts), intensity, consistency and progressive overload (regularly increasing load, reps, sets). Bone density isn’t going to improve by a huge percentage but even a 1-2% improvement when it comes to density is well worth the effort.

My advice is to keep challenging yourself no matter your age or abilities. It’s not meant to be easy, but there is no reason one can’t find some enjoyment and/or satisfaction in the challenge and the improvement.

FOUR MOST EFFECTIVE EXERCISES FOR DEEP GLUTE MUSCLES

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 04:36:04 GMT

FOUR MOST EFFECTIVE EXERCISES FOR DEEP GLUTE MUSCLES

If you have ever seen a clinician for any type of lower body injury or pain, chances are one of the first things they will tell you is you have weak, tight or inactive glutes. What does this mean exactly?

The gluteal muscles are made up of three muscles, the gluteus maximus, gluteus minimus and the gluteus medius. The gluteus maximus (biggest and most superficial muscle) is the primary extender of the hip (bringing your leg back with your knee straight), the minimus and medius primary movement is hip abduction (taking the leg away from the body sideways)

Many people are told that they have trouble activating or using their glute muscles, especially minimus and medius. The four exercises I highly recommend are a full proof way to activate and use these muscles correctly as you’re likely to find.

Now why is this important?

In my opinion a lot of our true strength stems from around our hips, if we are strong through the core, gluteals and upper legs it makes many exercises easier and improves the ability to complete more advanced movements. For example, all of the squat and lunge variations you can think of, which can lead to the more complicated variations of Olympic lifts.

From a lifestyle sense having the hip and leg strength makes so many daily tasks easier, even our ability to go for a jog or a long walk without the worry of tiring quickly or dealing with soreness the day after.

Exercises

1. Bridge with resisted external rotation (using a band)

Use a band and put it around your legs just above your knees. Lie on your back with your knees bent and arms relaxed by your side. Raise up your hips off the ground and lower down slowly. Keep constant resistance on the band, the band will try to push your knees together, keep them apart to engage the resisted external rotation.

2. Stiff knee crab walk

Use a band and put it around your legs just above your knees. Standing up tall side step with long steps and STIFF KNEES. Stiff knees are the absolute key here. As soon as we bend our knees we bring in other supporting muscles within the quads to help with the sideways movement. Keep the knees stiff and you will isolate the gluteal muscles.

3. Side step and squat

Use a band and put it around your legs just above your knees. Start with your feet shoulder width apart, starting with the right side take a small step away to your right and then perform a squat to a depth you’re comfortable and then step back to the starting position with your left leg. Complete this exercise the prescribed amount leading with each side. This exercise can be easily progressed by adding a kettlebell to add load to the squat.

4. Side stepping over hurdles

Use a band and put it around your legs just above your knees. I understand not everybody has some hurdles just lying around and your gym might not have any either. You can perform this exercise without them. Firstly, lead with the right side, raise your knee up to a high march position, swing over the hurdle and repeat with the left, then take two long steps (same movement as the stiff knee crab walk) toward the next hurdle and repeat for the prescribed number of reps on both sides. If you don’t have access to hurdles just imagine there is something you have to swing your leg over.

Four great exercises for the gluteal muscles that I prescribe regularly. All you need is a band. There is a very common theme of putting the band around your legs above your knees, this provides the resistance for hip abduction (leg to the side) and external rotation which will active and use the gluteals.

These exercises can and should be apart of any good program and any are a great warm up before completing any type of squat, lunge or deadlift variation.

SIX STRETCHES THAT I OFTEN PRESCRIBE AND COMPLETE EVERY DAY

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 05:23:48 GMT

SIX STRETCHES THAT I OFTEN PRESCRIBE AND COMPLETE EVERY DAY

Over the Christmas break I was able to spend a lot of time with my two son’s (one nearly three and the other one and half). Whilst watching them play, I can’t help but analyse their movements. One thing we are born with is excellent flexibility and this inherently decreases over time.

Watching my son’s squat down to pick something up and remain in that position with absolute ease is amazing to watch (they are much closer to the ground, so of course it’s easier).

In the early days of my career, I wasn’t much into flexibility training and had it a long way down my list of importance. I have never been very flexible myself.

These days, I incorporate flexibility training in some form into every program I create and every program I myself perform. It doesn’t take a long time, usually 5-10 minutes, but over time can have a great effect in at the very least maintaining current abilities and often improvement.

The following are six stretches that I find most effective and can be completed daily with no equipment required in 5-10 minutes, depending on how may sets you want to do.

1. Lumbar rotation (in lying)

2. Single leg spine rotation

3. Seated single leg hamstring stretch

4. Pidgeon pose (glute stretch)

5. Thread the needle

6. Levator Scap stretch

Other techniques I like to use to improve flexibility is working through full range with some load. I have found this very effective in improving squat depth and thus hip and knee flexibility. This method can be followed with numerous exercises and areas of the body.

Although I am a strong advocate for regular strength training, I often say that a great addition is yoga or pilates. Both forms of exercise are great to further improve flexibility, coordination and overall range of motion.

So try these stretches out, first thing in the morning, during a break from work, or just before bed. All you need is five minutes and you will feel much better for it.

BALANCE TRAINING AND IT’S IMPORTANCE AT ANY AGE

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 00:31:00 GMT

BALANCE TRAINING AND IT’S IMPORTANCE AT ANY AGE

When thinking about what I will write about in this blog piece my thoughts went to what is an underrated and, in my opinion, underutilized exercise component… Balance! We all know balance becomes increasingly important as we age, I will discuss this, but I also want to dive into the importance of challenging your balance in any well-rounded exercise routine.

You may have read about or seen on numerous news programs that if you can balance on one leg for a certain amount of time your life expectancy increases. This is all well and good but in the end it’s a rather pointless statistic created to help support a theory. We all know the saying that you can prove anything with statistics if you try hard enough.

What I have found over my years of clinical experience is that balance exercises often prescribed are too easy and rather monotonous. They are categorized as ‘static’ balance exercises. What this means is you stand in a pre-determined position for a set amount of time (feet together, one foot in front, single leg). But what do you do when this becomes easy? Or when your abilities are beyond that of the static balance?

Now let’s introduce a term called ‘dynamic’ balance, this is where things become really challenging and my creative side as a clinician gets to take over. Dynamic balance is the ability to remain stable whilst performing movements that may displace one’s self. Whilst in a challenging balance position you can be throwing or bouncing a ball, or performing any upper limb exercise you can think of, you could also be walking across a slim beam or a balance designed obstacle course.

Many of the people I see will tell you that if they are rock solid in a balance exercise, I will make it harder. The whole point is to challenge yourself; the ‘wobble’ and corrective movements are exactly what I want to see happening.

Now why is this so important at every age? Balance can deteriorate quickly and like other aspects of health and fitness, balance skills can take a long time to improve once impairment has occurred. Balance should not be overlooked as an important aspect of any program. I will post a few videos and pictures of some of my personal favourites, not a lot of equipment required, just a creative mind and a willingness to really challenge yourself, safely of course.

THE BEST EXERCISES TO IMPROVE POOR SEATED POSTURE AND CROOK NECK

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 05:05:35 GMT

THE BEST EXERCISES TO IMPROVE POOR SEATED POSTURE AND CROOK NECK

One of the most common physical issues I treat are tight upper back, stiff neck and reoccurring tension headaches. It is the unfortunate side effect of the majority of occupations which demand a lot of time sitting in front of a computer. And then to compound this, we often find ourselves in our downtime spending time on our phone, iPad or watching T.V.

Some people have required treatment for this before or undergo regular treatments such as remedial massage or manual therapy. These treatments are all well and good, but will be a short-term fix. The problem will only be completely resolved by doing one thing, and you guessed it EXERCISE!

Here are my top 5 exercises. All these can easily be done at home or a as a part of your regular routine. They can seem monotonous but the effects are profound.

1: Shoulder ‘W’ raise. All you need is a floor; a mat is also recommended for comfort. Think about this exercise as if you’re trying to squeeze your spine between your shoulder blades. You can do this exercise with your head on the ground or lift it up slightly, this all depends on what you’re comfortable doing. Start with a 3 second hold and build from there.

2: Shoulder press with resisted external rotation. In the name this exercise sounds much fancier then it is. You only need a resistance band. I have found the best way to do this exercise is in standing as we can promote correct posture. Always try to focus on something in front of you to prevent looking down or up and thus elongating or shortening the extensors in your neck and upper back. This exercise is all about control, take your time with each rep, the slower the better.

3: Resisted GHjt Flexion into ER. This is a slightly more complicated and advanced exercise. GHjt Flexion just means shoulder joint and raising your arms about your head. This exercise requires a high level of control and focus, it’s easy to rush and thus incorporate multiple muscles. Think of this exercise as three separate actions; the row, raising your arms above your head, and bringing the arms forward with the elbows locked.

4: Plank to push up or Commando push ups. I know what you’re thinking, not only does this incorporate a plank but a push up as well, no way I can do that! This exercise can be easily modified by using a wall, on your knees and then to the full push up position. I really like this exercise as it promotes control using the back muscles as a stabilizer and underutilized anterior muscles called the serratus anterior.

5: Snow angles. Perhaps the simplest exercise on the list by no means least effective. An exercise I use frequently at the start or end of a program to help with scapula control. This exercise can be done lying on the floor, or as I like to do it, lying on a foam roller running up your spine and protecting your head and neck. Snow angles can be progressed by adding a small weight in each hand, you only need a small resistance (1-2kg), as adding the weight will make it significantly more difficult.

All of these exercises can be done with minimal equipment and some with no equipment at all. Try 2 sets of one of the exercises each day, add them to your current routine or even 2 sets of each exercise a few days a week. It won’t happen instantly but after a few weeks of this you will gain strength and stability through your neck and upper back that could relieve headaches and stiffness caused from prolonged sitting.

My Exercise Philosophy & Fundamentals

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 17:33:48 GMT

My Exercise Philosophy & Fundamentals

Over my 10+ years as an accredited exercise physiologist, the basics of effective and safe exercise haven’t changed. To get the best results, focus on these five key elements:

Goal Setting: Start with small, achievable goals (like walking around the block or exercising for 10 minutes a day). Gradually work up to more challenging goals. This approach helps you build confidence and avoid frustration.

Exercise Effectiveness: Effective exercise doesn’t always mean heavy weights or intense movements. It’s about finding what works for you. Social media and bodybuilding trends can be misleading. Focus on exercises that suit your needs, rather than just aesthetics.

Enjoyment: Exercise doesn’t have to be a chore. If you dislike certain exercises, switch them out for something you enjoy. Finding pleasure in your workouts can make a big difference in sticking with them.

Physical Challenge: Learning how to push your limits safely is important. People often fear injury or don’t know how to challenge themselves. With a solid base and guidance from a professional, you can safely increase your effort and continue to improve.

Creating a Routine: Making exercise a regular part of your life is key. Aim to work out 2-4 times a week, but you don’t need a fixed schedule. The goal is to make exercise as regular as brushing your teeth, so it becomes an effortless part of your routine.

By focusing on these fundamentals, you’ll have a better chance of achieving your fitness goals.