TIGHT ARSE +
SMARTY PANTS
New research from Pennsylvania State
University has found that fit young women
(those aged 18–35 were studied) do better
on tasks related to attention, learning,
problem-solving and memory. Boom! Try
these workouts to reap the brainy benefits.
WEIGHT
LIFTING
Strength training
lights up the
spots in and
around the
prefrontal
cortex, which
governs all
of those
‘career climber’
functions such
as complex
thinking,
reasoning and
multi-tasking.
According to
a study by the
University of
British Columbia
in Vancouver,
if you lift weights
twice a week,
you’ll keep your
brain sharp.EQUIPMENT
SPORTS
Exercising with
a ball, Frisbee
or other props
can improve
visual-spatial
processing
(a skill you use
in packing,
reading maps
and merging into
traffic). When
you perform
an activity that
requires you to
be coordinated,
you repeatedly
spark and
strengthen those
areas of the
brain required.DANCE CARDIO
Artistic
movement
(the more
freestyle,
the better)
may promote
creative thinking
which could
help you come
up with new,
out-of-the-
box solutions
to existing
problems.ROCK CLIMBING
Dynamic
activities
that demand
awareness of
body position –
like scaling a tree
or swinging from
bars – improve
your memory
and ability to
process and
apply info.THE NUMBER
OFMINUTES OF
EXERCISE OFFICE
WORKERS NEED
TO DO EACH DAY
TO OFFSET THE
HEALTH RISKS OF
SITTING AT WORK.
Source: University
of CambridgeStand on one leg on a couch pillow placed on the floor, eyes closed.
If you sway – or worse, fall – in under 10 secs, your balance could be
better. Women are prone to lower-body injuries as our wide hips cause
slightly knocked-knees, adding stress to lower joints. Ward off injuries
by improving your balance: hold 30-sec tree poses (stand with one foot
10-SECONDTESTresting on the inside of the opposite thigh) as you brush your teeth.BRAIN
FITdiscuss
{
fitness
30
WORDS: TARA ALI. PHOTOGRAPHY: ADAM VOORHES/GALLERYSTOCK.COM/SNAPPER MEDIA