Didn’t I know this was going to happen?
(You wouldn’t know unless you know me, but if you do, then you may not be surprised). What’s the fuss? It’s been three weeks since my last post! Oh, for Pete’s Sake. So on with it then — (and if you want the exciting news that has absorbed my attention, post a comment or send me a message on FB.)
Today it’s about ROI — Return on Investment!
One tip is about physical fitness, the other is more about fiscal fitness. Fitness covers a heap of territory, doesn’t it? So why not apply the idea of paring down to how we spend our time? Check out Y’s Business Blog to get the skinny on accounting, as well as a new way to think about how spending time is not so different from spending calories. It’s all about the ROI!
1. Y’s Business Blog: http://ys-business.com/blog/
2. Aging bodies and brains:
In one surprising trial, researchers randomly assigned 155 women to three separate groups. They then compared the effects of two kinds of exercise:
a. resistance training, done once or twice weekly, in which participants worked out with free weights and weight machines and did squats and lunges, versus
b. toning and balance exercises, which participants did twice a week, versus
c. no exercise.
By the end of the yearlong study, the women — aged 65 – 75 — who weight-trained saw an improvement in their performance on tests of memory, learning, decision-making and conflict resolution. The women who did balance and toning may have had cute legs on which to balance, but their brains were no better off than with no training at all.
The muscle-strengthening exercise also helped the volunteers boost their walking speed, a commonly used indicator of overall health status in the elderly, as faster pace has been linked with lower mortality.
There it is – good news and bad news! The good news? We can heft some weights and enjoy every part of our lives more. The bad news? I’m now considered “elderly.”
Got to run — I need to lift some weight so that I won’t forget to post here before I leave for my mom’s 90th birthday party!
endorphin rush 
I love your writing style ~ great information infused with wit and wisdom! 🙂
That study surprised me ~ I would have thought balance would have won out in those brain performance categories. Very interesting!
The personal trainer in me says that lifting weights while balancing on one leg or an unstable surface wins out above all! 🙂
Thanks, Linda!
I think you’re on to the secret, Beth! The full study seems to indicate that much of the cognitive gain came from mastering a new skill — using machines and so forth while moving and counting reps.
Probably the same reason ball room dancing leads to a better brain: social, mental (the complicated routine!), physical! I’m such a klutz that dancing has never done it for me — although I do like to ride my bike to Sibelius!