Executive Function at the Junction

"It takes a little more persistence to get up and go the distance."

Ok, so we are living longer. Are we living better? Are we still being productive? Is it living we're doing, or just merely existing?

I'm in gyms six days a week, for hours at a time. I see and train all makes and models. I give each person a C+ just for showing up. But who are the folks who impress me the most? The Jessica Simpson clones? Well......no. Actually it's the grandparents of the Jessica Simpson clones. The greatest generation; folks in their 70's and 80's. My wife should be relieved to know the only women I strike up conversations with in the gym are my grandmother's age. Well, maybe a bit younger. My grandmother is 96, lives alone, and is very active. She still shovels her own snow. Hey, maybe I'm on to something: older people in the gym, active in their yards, working, moving, improving.....staying functional and independent. These people are impressive, and not because they can pick up dumbbells, move snow, or do push ups. Their minds are sharp, every one of them. Why? They regularly exercise, be it in the weight room, on the treadmill, clearing their sidewalks, or just walking, walking and walking. Healthy, active brains clear the way for healthy, active minds.

There's a saying, "kill the head, the body will die." Regular exercise turns that saying on its proverbial head, especially as we age. Here's an idea, put down those crossword puzzles and brain teasers and join yourself a gym. The best way to train your brain is not through word searches, but through regular aerobic exercise.

Exercise improves your brain's "executive function," the various abilities that allow you to choose behavior that is appropriate to a situation, inhibit inappropriate behavior and work through distractions. Executive function means the basic brain functions such as the speed at which you process thoughts, execute movements, and your working memory. Working memory basically means you can remember why you went upstairs.
The area in the brain where executive function occurs is the frontal cortex. Exercise has shown to slow the depletion of the nerve fibers and brain cells which "wire up" to perform those functions in that area. Regular aerobic exercise has shown to increase the number of frontal cortex neurons, increase their wiring, their efficiency, and increase oxygenated blood flow into the capillaries which fuel them. Exercise also increases the production of growth hormones and proteins which are instrumental in increasing the effectiveness of your neurological pathways and junctions. Another noticeable byproduct of this exercise; improved memory. My anecdotal theory holds that as a turbocharger increases the flow of air into an engine, in turn boosting its horsepower, the increased flow of O2 into your brain during exercise increases the healthful fuel for its cells.

There is a dramatic difference in executive function between elderly folks who exercise several times a week and sedentary people of the same age. Those of you who know me know one of my mantras is, better to pre-hab than re-hab. For many of us dementia and Alzheimer's is right around the corner. Regular exercise has also proven to reduce the risk of the onset of these terrible diseases. The key is to keep your brain as active as you possibly can. Knock out three birds with one stone; use your mind to train your body to train your brain. You might not learn as much trivia, but you might not need to.

When Negative and Strength Unite

Weight bearing eccentric muscle contractions, also known as negatives, are an excellent method of increasing strength. An eccentric (ek-sentrick) contraction is one where a muscle is lengthening as it is loaded, or bearing weight. Examples include; the downward phase of the biceps curl, the downward phase of the squat, or the downward phase of the push-up. This is actually the contractile phase where your muscles are their strongest, up to 25% stronger than the opposite type of contraction - concentric, or, contraction while the muscle is shortening. This is also the area where the vast majority of injuries occur; when a person is stepping down a stair, bending forward to put on socks, reaching into the back seat, or merely sitting.

We tend to overlook the importance of eccentric contractions to instead lift more weight and trick ourselves into believing we are getting stronger. I see it all the time in the gym; guys on the bench, bouncing enormous amounts of weight off their chests in order to lift enormous amounts of weight. An effective method, until the sternum, or collar bones cave in, but brutally inefficient. This method is also very unfriendly to the spine. Lowering the bar, slowly, and instead raising it quickly is a much safer lift, and creates more strength and even some power.


Doing several sets of eccentric contractions to a muscle group will increase the strength of the muscle for both types of contractions. Try to work a set or two of negatives into your weight lifting routine. Do the negative sets in the middle of each group of exercises per body part. You will actually need to overload the weight, say, use your maximum, and do as few as one or two repetitions. Try to hold each negative repetition for 4-6 seconds. Remember, you are doing only the downward phase, not the upward one. Your core muscles are really being tested here due to the duration of the contraction, so pay strict attention to your posture and form. You are going to need to have a rack, or a strong spotter in order to set the bar down at the bottom of the contraction. Be careful, inhale during the entire eccentric contraction, and pay very close attention to your form. Do not compromise form in order to lift more weight. Be patient, the gains will come. Like the weed growing through a crack in the road; slow, persistent, strength.

Fanfare for the Common Abs

Myth - Common client question: I need to train my abs every day, right?
First, just which abs are we talking about?
There are four compartments of muscle that compose the core/ab musculature. When most people refer to their core or abs they are talking about the rectus abdominus, the abdominals they see in the mirror, that six pack every one craves. This is the muscle that is working when you do crunches or sit ups, the torso flexor. It is responsible for about 25 degrees of torso flexion, or bend. That's it. Any more than 25 degrees of torso bend and that muscle goes into an isometric (static) contraction and then your hip flexors take over to bring you the rest of the way up into that full sit up. Quick tip: Don't crunch all the way up. You can train that muscle much more efficiently by bending no more than 25 degrees. What's 25 degrees? Crunch up until your mid back is off the floor or ball. That is a good gauge. 

Your abdominal muscles are skeletal muscles. They are intrinsically the same as all of your other skeletal muscles. They need rest as much as they need work. Therefore, when they are tired, they need to be rested. Proper rest is very important in increasing your fitness. In my training, with my clients, or when I workout, I usually work each muscle group to or near to exhaustion. This includes the abs (core). The abs are very crucial to the structural integrity of your spine. This is why we call them core muscles. They are active in virtually every movement you make, whether you're in the gym, coughing, doubling over in laughter or getting out of bed. They function not just to move joints, but also to support them, namely your spine. When you contract your abs, and I mean your entire core, bear down and exhale, your entire abdominal compartment contracts around your spine to support it. This is the main reason why your trainer tells you to exhale on exertion. In fact, if you are not breathing properly or holding your breath while performing an exercise, you are not allowing your core muscles to meet one of their key responsibilities; aligning and protecting your spine. If you isolate and exhaust these muscles one day and don't rest them for at least a couple of days, not only are they not capable of doing more work, i.e. stronger, they are not able to fully function as supporters of your spine. It is here that you are most prone to an injury. Weak, tired core muscles are the enemy of the healthy back. Rest. Take at least two days between isolated core workouts. Your back will thank you.

To be continued.....................

Breathe, Breathe in the Air

"I turn my back to the wind
To catch my breath
Before I start off again"

Breathing during weight training - this is an area I never see addressed, be it in books, videos, or on the gym floor. All day I have to remind my clients to breathe properly during each phase of a movement. Folks tend to either hold their breath, or reverse the inhale/exhale during the shortening phase of a contraction. Why do we hold our breath during weight lifting? It is a natural physiological reaction to physical AND mental stress. Notice the next time you are stumped at your computer at work. You will most likely have to let out a huge breath of air, from stress. The same thing happens in the gym. Powerlifters actually try to take advantage of that stress and do what is known as the Valsalva Manuever in order to lift more weight. This is a fabulous way to spike your blood pressure off the charts, or in some cases end up with this or this.

Salma Hayek takes my breath away, and, for a slightly different reason, so does a tough set of barbell squats. There is great demand for oxygen here in your muscles, and in your brain. There is also a demand of sorts by your spine for you to breathe properly. You must meet those demands by breathing during each repetition. You inhale on the downward phases; dropping into a squat, lowering a barbell, and bear down on your abs and exhale during the upward phases. To clarify bearing down, I mean the same feeling you have in your core at the tail end of a cough or sneeze. Breathing this way has a two-fold action: you are supplying much needed O2 to your muscles, and you are forcing all your core muscles, which aid in expiring spent O2, to tighten around and support your spine.

Your blood pressure is elevated during exercise, which is a good thing. You are also elevating your heart rate during your workout. The end result is lower resting blood pressure and lower resting heart rate. Your cardiovascular system operates at greater output, with less effort. So, during your workouts keep your breathing correct to add to that efficiency. As my wise, pithy yoga teacher Ruzica tells me, "the difference between life and death is breath." Breathe properly, your back, brain, muscles, and insurance provider will thank you.