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.