Brain Fitness: Did you workout your mind today?

"67% percent of people with gym memberships never use them"

[highlight] If you think the above statistic is sad, then take note that the real number may be closer to 80%[/highlight].

My personal experience working at gyms selling memberships and working as a personal trainer suggests the 80% figure. Every January we would sell droves of memberships and more than half of these new sign ups would never even return to pick up their membership card. It was around this time I started to become interested in motivation and mental fitness as a way to enhance my work as fitness coach. Knowing how to help people get fit was pointless if they would not stick with the program that they were provided with. So I set out in search of a system I could offer the world that would give people motivation to be fit for life.

After almost two decades of research, exploration, and trial and error I have to admit the magic pill does not exist. However there are a number of techniques we can apply to improve our chances and some of the most potent possibilities lie in the realm of neuroscience. Since every behavior you engage in originates in the brain and is driven by your brain’s chemistry, it would be useful to understand how you can alter your brain chemistry though diet, positive mental states and activity.

The "How to"

Diet: You Are What You Eat

Dr. David Kessler, highlights in his book The End of Overeating that "rich, sweet and fatty foods (like fast and processed foods) stimulate the brain to release dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with the pleasure center. In the process, they rewire the brain, so that the dopamine pathways light up even at the thought of eating these foods." Since dopamine influences motivation we become motivated to seek out more of these unhealthy foods and dependent on them to provide this essential brain chemical. However, if you cut out high sugar, high fat and highly processed foods you can (thanks to neuroplasticity) rewire your brain to generate dopamine though more natural means.

If you are ready to make the switch, then start to eat healthy dopamine producing foods like fava beans, chicken, ricotta cheese, oatmeal, mustard greens, edamame, dark chocolate (at least 70%+ and NO milk chocolate), seaweed & wheat germ. You can also look into L-tyrosine as a supplement with your health care provider.

Mental State:  Think Big, Lift Big

The Canadian Sports Institute states: "Considerable evidence gathered over several decades has demonstrated that a performer’s mental state has a vital impact on performance". Now we may not be professional athletes but we all should train our mind to be stronger if we expect to make our bodies to be stronger. Mediation, yoga and mindfulness training is being used by sports teams and even the military to increase physical stamina with excellent results. Learn to be calm, to be powerful.

Activity: Move more = Think More

Physical exercise profoundly influences the central nervous systems. Brain noradrenaline (norepinephrine), serotonin and dopamine are increased during exercise. The irony is that exercise balances brain chemistry so you can be motivated to exercise. So the ultimate way to become healthy is to start now. All efforts to raise your heart rate and challenge you muscles will generate accelerated returns. So get off the couch and get started!

[caption id="attachment_13107" align="aligncenter" width="552"] Remember: "A body in motion likes to stay in motion!"[/caption]

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About the author:  Elias Arjan

In college Elias became fascinated with the human body and shifted his major from Business to Human Kinetics. Elias then became a personal trainer and fitness consultant. After college Elias went in search of other methods to obtain a deeper understanding of the body/mind and lived in a Buddhist Monastery, a Yogic Ashram and studied with Indigenous Medicine People. Elias has continued to live a fit lifestyle and explore the frontiers of human consciousness. Now a recognized expert on the brain-body connection Elias presents his unique perspective in seminars and events around the world.

Connect with Elias on Twitter ( @eliasarjan ) on Facebook at Be Well and Alive or online at Be Well and Alive.com