Why steady state exercise is good for your Brain.
Cardio is hard.
Whether it is climbing on the bike, lacing up the shoes for a run, jumping in the pool or strapping into the rower, it takes motivation and discipline to load up for a long bout of huffing and puffing.
Many people need a distraction to overcome the barrier to entry into the hell hole that is cardio… But before you reach for the earbuds, let me tell you about the golden opportunity you have.
The mundane/ repetitive nature of long duration exercise, especially at a low to moderate intensity (technical speak for Cardio) lends itself to thought work.
This is because your brain is NOT needed to do this type of exercise. It literally is free to think, imagine, create, visualize, story tell and play. IT does not need to think about picking one leg up and putting it down. It just does it… AMAZING.
CPG – Central pattern generators are to thank for this amazingly often overlooked skill
Essentially, this great mechanism allows us to exercise without the stimulus/ message having to reach the actual brain. CPG’s are housed in the spinal cord. They take in the stimulus and craft a response without the message moving up to the Brain. Beautiful!
Check out this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZkKiZ7lOVE
This cat has had its brain disconnected from its spinal cord. Poor Kitty!
Yet it is still able to walk and even run on a treadmill. This was the discovery of CPG’s and their function.
So here we have evidence that you are free to think and use your brain however you would like during your next long cardio session.
**My challenge to you is do not take the easy way out, do not plug in and drop out, use your cardio time to imagine, create and visualize. You must exercise your brain just like your heart and muscles.
Cardio is vital for your body and your MIND….
“Work Smarter, not harder.”
