What Makes a Good Workout?
When looking at your workout, the best can help connect your body and mind. When you exercise in ways that make your brain work while in motion, you will have better outcomes than weight lifting or running. The best type of exercise is when your muscles and mind work together.
Many people are typically only focused on building muscle or losing weight. Research suggests that challenging your mind while exercising yields significantly better results. Your memory and body will improve, you will think more clearly, and your body will improve!
Why Brain + Body Workouts Are Better
It's always good to work out. But workouts that are challenging and require you to think while you're exercising are better because they:
- Help your brain create new connections faster
- Help you focus and make better decisions
- Help you learn new physical skills faster
- Help maintain your interest in following through with your workout plan
- It will help exercise feel less tiring
Studies have shown that brain-focused workouts slow mental ageing by up to 32% compared to regular exercise alone.
5 Easy Ways to Work Out Your Brain and Body
1. Do Two Things at Once
You can physically exercise while allowing your brain to work on something else.
Try this: Hold a plank position and count backward from 100 by 7s, or stand on one foot and name as many animals as possible.
Start easy: walking and counting backwards. Once that's easy, try something harder, like juggling and solving math problems simultaneously.
2. Learn Complex Movements
Movements that require coordination create a situation where your brain has to work harder while your body becomes fit.
Try learning a dance routine, practising martial arts, or trying movement sports such as parkour, which require thinking and moving creatively.
Dancing is exceptionally good for the brain. Studies also say it may reduce the risk of memory problems by 76% compared to other forms of exercise.
3. Mindful Strength Training
Paying attention to your muscles for brain-added benefits while performing strength exercises.
Try this: when lifting weights or using bodyweight exercises, pay particular attention to which muscles are engaged. Switch up your tempo, use different weights on each side, or close your eyes.
Start with:
- Regular squat with eyes open
- Slow squat while counting in your head
- Squat with eyes closed
- Single-leg squat while solving simple problems
4. Reaction Training
Train your ability to react quickly to signals while active to improve reflexes and decision-making.
Try this: Set up exercise stations that you colour-code. When a colour is called, you do the exercise for that colour. You could also use ladder drills as an example of changing your stepping pattern based on signals.
For more of a challenge, you could consider products like BlazePod, which light up randomly and require you to respond quickly.
5. Frequently Learn New Skills
You should regularly put your noggin to the test with a new physical skill every month or so.
For example, you could spend 4-6 weeks learning to juggle, do a handstand, walk on a slackline, or learn new moves for basketball dribbling.
Try to make things harder each time you get better to keep your mind and body challenged.
From studies in Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2022-2024
How to Construct Your Own Brain-Body Workout
Developing your own brain-body workout is simple. Keep the following in mind:
- Keep it simple: start with easy combinations and progress to more difficult ones.
- Mix it up: Incorporate different movement and thinking challenges randomly and often.
- Work at the right level: The movements should be challenging but not frustrating.
- Track your progress: Recognise the improvements in movement and thinking.
- Rest sufficiently: Both your brain and body need an adequate amount of recovery time.
Start by just adding one brain challenge to your regular workout. Once you become proficient, you can start adding more challenging features.
Weekly Plan Example
Monday: Two-Things-at-Once Day
- 20 minutes of balance exercises while doing memory challenges
- 15 minutes of light circuit training while naming categories
Tuesday: Complex Movement Day
- 30 minutes of dance or martial arts
- 15 minutes of animal movements (bear crawls, crab walks)
Wednesday: Easy Recovery Day
- 20 minutes of gentle movement with mindfulness
- Brain games without hard physical work
Thursday: Mindful Strength Day
- 40 minutes of strength training with extra focus
- Try different speeds and uneven weights
Friday: Reaction Day
- 25 minutes of agility drills with surprise signals
- 15 minutes of partner reaction games
Saturday: New Skills Day
- 45 minutes learning a specific physical skill
- Focus on getting better each week
Sunday: Rest and Plan Day
- Light activity and thinking about your progress
- Planning next week's challenges
Tools That Assist with Brain-Body Workouts
Very little equipment is needed, but these tools can make brain-body workouts more fun.
1. Reaction Ball Training Set – Balls that bounce in unpredictable ways to challenge your reactions
2. BlazePod Flash Reflex Training System – Touch these light-up pods quickly after they flash.
3. Balance Training Kit – Wobbly boards and pads to make standing difficult
4. Cognitive-Physical Exercise Cards – Some cards have exercises that challenge your body and brain
5. Smart Jump Rope with Display – Counts your jumps and can help you learn patterns
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Common Questions
How long until I notice my brain improve?
Most people will see improvements in their thinking with regular brain-body workouts after about 2-3 weeks. Larger changes will typically require 8-12 weeks of doing the exercises regularly, about 3-4 times a week. Everyone is different, and your results will reflect your starting fitness, age, and level of effort put into the training.
Can I drop regular workouts and only do brain-body workouts?
You can also add brain challenges to your workouts without completely changing everything. Start by adding thinking tasks to parts of your regular routine. The more you see the benefits, the more you may want to do more brain-body workouts.
Are these workouts suitable for older adults?
Yes! These workouts can be perfect for older adults. In some studies, older adults derive up to 37% more brain benefits from brain-body exercises than younger adults. Just adjust the physical difficulty to your abilities.
How do I know I'm improving?
You can measure improvements in physical ability (strength, endurance, flexibility) and brain ability (reaction time, memory, dual-tasking ability). Many brain training apps have tests that you can use in conjunction with your physical measurements.
Are brain-body workouts beneficial for kids?
Kids naturally combine thinking and movement when playing, so structured brain-body exercises can help children age 6 and older improve their movement skills, academic performance, and attention span. And they can be fun! Use movement games that involve memory, patterns, and quick decision-making.
In Closing: A Better Way to Work Out
The ideal kind of workout combines brain and body training. By thinking as you move, you progress in both areas much faster.
Brain-body workouts are not a fad. They reflect a better understanding of how our body and brain work together. Research is a persuasive argument – combined training is better than exercising alone.
Keep in mind that what you do regularly matters more. Start small, not perfect—add simple brain challenges to your workouts, and progressively do more as you progress. Your brain and body will reward you with better performance, easier learning, and reduced ageing effects.
Take Action Today
Are you prepared to begin brain and body workouts? Here's how you can get started:
Download our free starter guide with 15 easy exercises by visiting us.
Add a one-two-things-at-once exercise to your workout this week
Challenge yourself to learn one new physical skill in the next 30 days
Document your progress and engage with our community by using #BrainBodyFitness
Check out our online course "Mind-Muscle Connection", which includes workout plans and brain tests.
Your journey towards better fitness can be accomplished with a simple step. You can start today—your future self will thank you!
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