Exercise Makes You Smarter as You Age

 A new study finds that endurance sports like cycling may help prevent cognitive decline

By nelson rice

Here’s more reason to keep riding well after you’ve eclipsed 40 years old: Endurance exercise may keep your brain working at full-tilt as you age, according to a new study in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin attempted to determine the correlation between a person’s cardio fitness and cognitive function in middle-aged adults.

The study drew from a sample of 59 adults between the ages of 43 and 65, with 32 participants classified as endurance-trained subjects and 27 as sedentary subjects. The exercising group had engaged in moderate or strenuous aerobic exercise for at least four days or seven hours a week, while the sedentary subjects exercised less than one hour a week.

The measurements used in the study consisted of an incremental treadmill test to measure cardio fitness, an ultrasound to measure blood flow velocity, and a series of cognitive tests that gauged a subject’s memory and attention.

Overall, the exercise group displayed a better performance on memory-related tests and had better cognitive composite scores. The possible link between exercise and staying sharp? People who exercised also displayed better vascular function, or blood flow in the brain, than the sedentary individuals.

The findings from this study suggest that middle-age endurance athletes “do not only have better cardiovascular function and health, but also enhanced cognitive performance particularly in the domains linked with age related cognitive decline and impairment,” said Dr. Martha Pyron, a coauthor of the study.

The study concluded, “Habitual aerobic exercise ameliorates vascular health, an effect which may further translate into improved cognitive performance.”

Although the majority of the endurance trained participants in the study were runners, Pyron said results imply that other forms of aerobic exercise, such as swimming or bicycling, can also have a positive impact on vascular health, and, in turn, cognitive function.

This article originally appeared on Runners World. 

Training to win a SX championship: Resting up

By Aaron Hansel

The latest instalment in the Red Bull series looks at the vital importance of letting your body recover.

The importance of rest in fitness programs is often overlooked. After all, if you’re not working hard, your body isn’t gaining any benefits, right? Wrong. Aldon Baker, trainer to Red Bull KTM superstars Ryan Dungey and Marvin Musquin, explains why.

 Making it Count

“Fitness is all about recovery. If you don’t recover quickly, your fitness is useless. It’s the only time the body can really learn how to recover and do its job. If you don’t have that balanced out well, you’re just hammering on the body constantly, which can work against you. You can start to see negative results because your body hasn’t had the time to learn how to deal with, and recover from, that stress,” Baker says. “It goes hand in hand with nutrition too. If you don’t treat your body right, if it doesn’t have the right ingredients, it won’t recover in the right way. You train hard, but you also recover hard. When you’re not training you should be resting and letting the body do what it naturally does. You have to train that ability too.”

Disciplined Relaxation© Ray Archer/Red Bull Content Pool

Disciplined Relaxation

“It’s a constant battle in a way because you don’t want the athlete to have a boring life, but you can’t lose sight of what your goals are. Resting instead of having fun recreating takes discipline—it’s not easy. Especially with these guys. The way they have to train and live, they’re constantly on the move and when you’re not doing that, you have to understand that you have to recover. You have to be able to keep that balance. It’s tough, and I get that, but part of my job is to monitor that and to get the athlete to understand why you need to be doing that.”

The Balance

“Finding a balance is a constant battle with racing’s brutal travel schedule and sponsor obligations. There’s nothing you can do about the travel, you just have to make that work. It’s the same with sponsor obligations too, you just have to make that part work. It’s a matter of prioritizing, weeding out what you have to do and what doesn’t really have to be done. That constantly changes too. The sponsors are a very important part of racing, but they want a lot in return too – these guys have a lot of people pulling on them. It comes down to trying to keep that balance and focusing on what the priorities really are. And normally, you can get the whole system to gel. The sponsors can usually be pretty understanding. You just have to keep it all in balance.”

Training to win an MX championship: Strength

Continuing our series, with advice and inside knowledge from star trainer Aldon Baker...

Date 22 June 2015AuthorAaron Hansel

James Stewart: Strength Training© Red Bull Content Pool

Strength training is a matter of debate in motocross. Some competitors build serious muscle, while others believe weight training can have unwanted effects, such as arm pump. To get to the bottom of it, we asked star trainer Aldon Baker, who has trained racers like James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael, Ryan Villopoto and many more, and currently works with Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey and Marvin Musquin.

The Methods

Strength training is an important component to any racer’s fitness program. If you want to wrestle a motorcycle while smashing over extremely rough terrain at high speed you can’t be weak! It has to be usable strength though, which has a directly affects how Baker trains Dungey and Musquin.

“We work a lot on combination strength. If you look at the way a rider has to work the motorcycle, it’s never in one dimension—there’s multiple angles and directions that require multiple muscles to work at the same time,” Baker says. “With that in mind, I’m always challenging the guys to do combination workouts, like lifting while lunging—things like that. We’re challenging the body to be better in multiple areas at the same time.”

“We focus a lot on improving form, and we also do fatigue training to combat the stresses of racing a motorcycle. I utilize dumbbells a lot and a few barbells here and there, but I’m not a big fan of kettlebells—I think they can sometimes get a little out of control and do more harm than good. Controlled weight training is the best. A lot of the workouts are done just using the rider’s own weight. Plyometrics are a big component, as are core workouts—the hinge between the upper and lower has to be strong so the connection is right.”

Ryan Dungey: High Speed© Red Bull Content Pool

The Workload

“Just like with everything else, strength training depends on the individual—each guy has strengths and weaknesses. When I first start with an athlete, we test his strength to determine what I call a power-to-weight ratio. You want a guy to be as lean as possible so that he’s efficient, but you also want him to be as strong as possible for his size and weight,” Baker explains. “I’m not a big believer in heavy weights, I don’t think it’s necessary. I’m also don’t like exercises that affect an individual muscle. You’ve got to be careful with exercises that cause your biceps and forearms to get big—you need to spread the force throughout your entire arm and upper body in a linear motion. When you target a single muscle its memory gets messed up. You’re not trying to be a body builder. You’re not trying to pump a muscle up. That looks good on the beach, but for motorcycle racing it’s really not that good.”

The Balance

It’s important to switch up the routine from time to time. Doing the same exercises over and over not only leads to disinterest, but doesn’t produce well-balanced athletes.

“I like to change things up. The guys need be challenged in different areas and different combinations,” Baker explains. “It’s such a long year for them that I want to retain their interest and keep it fun, while getting them fitter and stronger.”

How to train like a MX pro: Cardio

A new series of tips from top riders, starting with Ryan Dungey and Marvin Musquin.

Date 15 June 2015AuthorAaron Hansel

You’d never know just how demanding motocross is by looking at Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey and Marvin Musquin. Even after a race – they both look like they’re ready to charge through another full night of racing! Maybe that’s because they’re both trained by Aldon Baker, one of the best, most accomplished trainers in the business.

To learn more, we asked Baker what he does to make sure Dungey and Musquin are prepared to handle the intense cardiovascular demands of racing.

 The Methods

According to Aldon Baker there are three main ways to get your cardio on: swimming, jogging and cycling. Aldon leans on cycling the heaviest to keep Ryan Dungey, Marvin Musquin and the rest of his elite athletes in fighting shape.

“The one that links in best with racing motorcycles is cycling. I use some running, but cycling prevents any further jarring on the body, something the guys already get plenty of from being on the motorcycle. It’s also easier to get in the zones that are required off the motorcycle, and it really seems to fit in well with the guys.”

The Workload

Every athlete’s body is different, so you have to match the amount of work to the individual. Before training begins, Baker assesses each athlete so that their individual programmes can be optimised. Baker continues to monitor their fitness levels and adjusts his requirements accordingly to make sure they’re on the right track.

“The work varies throughout the season, depending on what kind of loads they already have on them with racing, but they’re pretty much doing some form of heart rate training every day of the week,” Baker explains. “When they’re cycling they don’t do set a set mileage, because the body doesn’t remember that – it remembers time. Everything is related to time, which varies anywhere from an hour a day to two-and-a-half. During the off-season we’re doing a lot more hours on the bicycle, but even on the light days you can always expect a minimum of an hour.”

“I monitor their heart rates on race day too, at least at some point during the day, either in practice, during a heat race or even the main. I want information, as far as what’s happening during a race situation, and having a guy wear a monitor during a race helps make sure the training we’re doing is lining up with what the stresses are in a race scenario. The amount of racing and training on the motorcycle that you have to do is incredible [Baker’s athletes are turning approximately 1,000 hard laps a month], so it’s important to have them conditioned in order to be able to cope with those kinds of demands all year.”

Balance

“You have to train in all areas to produce a complete athlete with complete fitness, and anyone who knows anything about motocross knows that heart rates are high,” Baker says. “They already spend a huge amount of time on the bike, so I don’t have too many off-the-bike sessions with high heart rates – it would throw them out of balance. When we’re doing cardio we’re actually targeting some of the lower zones, like 130-145 BPM. We do have some high intensity workouts, but at heavy points in the season that’s usually only about once a week. They’re getting enough of that on the motorcycle.”

Probiotics and Training

Can Probiotics Help Me With My Training?

• By Pip Taylor

Q: I’ve heard that probiotics can help me in training. What are the best sources, and how much do I need daily?

A: Probiotics are a hot topic, with mounting research supporting the notion that consuming probiotics regularly can improve health and well-being. Manufacturers and marketers have caught onto their benefits and, as a result, supermarket shelves are filled with new products touting their probiotic properties.

Here’s the lowdown: Billions of bacteria live inside our gastrointestinal tract. More than 500 of these microbial species are “friendly,” assisting in the function of digestion and supporting the immune system. Many factors can contribute to a disruption of the bacteria within our gut: medications, stress, fatigue, inflammation, nutritional status and even age. The resulting reduction in beneficial bacteria gives potentially harmful disease-causing bacteria the opportunity to flourish.

This is where probiotics come in. Ingesting certain foods or supplements containing healthy bacteria can help maintain good gut health. Just as important are prebiotics, the non-digestible food particles (think skins of fruits and vegetables, seeds and nuts) that sustain or fuel the probiotics. Working together, prebiotics and probiotics achieve the best gastrointestinal environment for well-being. Improved health and a stronger immune system means you can train effectively and consistently without interruption due to illness and fatigue.

Here’s what to look for on the label when shopping for probiotics:

Live and active cultures. For probiotics to have any beneficial effects they need to reach the intestine alive and in sufficient numbers. Some products may contain cultures in insignificant amounts—or may have at some point contained cultures that have since been destroyed during the manufacturing process. For a product to claim it has live and active cultures it needs to show it has more than 100 million bacteria per gram at time of manufacture.

Culture count. Ingesting 1 billion CFUs (colony-forming units) per day is helpful for people trying to simply maintain gut health; you should ingest 10 billion CFUs per day if you’re trying to reduce the severity of a gastrointestinal illness.

Culture specificity. Some probiotics work best for specific illnesses, so variety is better. Look for one that lists multiple culture strains.

Pills or food? During times of stress—increased training load, family/work pressures, illness—it might be prudent to increase your consumption of beneficial bacteria, and you may need to supplement with pills or with specialty probiotic “shots” such as Yakult, DanActive or Good Belly Shots. Bacteria can also be concentrated and packaged into pills or tablets for an even greater concentration of CFUs. Strains and strain count vary greatly, as does recommended dose, so check labels carefully.

TIP: Because bacteria are sensitive to heat and light, many probiotics are found refrigerated and must be stored chilled, while others have been stabilized to be effective even at room temperature. Check the “use by” dates and use within the specified time for efficacy.