University of Queensland

One more good reason to exercise

/ Kevin McCormack / 1 Comment 
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As we start the New Year with a fervent hope that it’s better than the last two, many people are making a resolution to get more exercise. A new study suggests that might not just benefit the body, it could also help the brain. At least if you are a mouse.

Researchers at the University of Queensland Brain Institute found that 35 days of exercise could improve brain function and memory.

In an interview in Futurity, Dan Blackmore, one of the lead researchers on the study, says they not only showed the benefits of exercise, but also an explanation for why it helps.

“We tested the cognitive ability of elderly mice following defined periods of exercise and found an optimal period or ‘sweet spot’ that greatly improved their spatial learning. We found that growth hormone (GH) levels peaked during this time, and we’ve been able to demonstrate that artificially raising GH in sedentary mice also was also effective in improving their cognitive skills. We discovered GH stimulates the production of new neurons in the hippocampus—the region of the brain critically important to learning and memory.

The study was published in the journal iScience.

Obviously, this is great for mice, but they hope that future research could show similar benefits for people. But don’t wait for that study to come out, there’s already plenty of evidence that exercising has terrific benefits for the body. Here’s just seven ways it can give you a boost.

Researchers cool to idea of ice bath after exercise

/ Kevin McCormack / 1 Comment

Have you ever had a great workout, really pushed your body and muscles hard and thought “You know what would be good right now? A nice plunge into an ice bath.”

No. Me neither.

Weightlifter Karyn Marshall taking an ice bath: Photo courtesy Karyn Marshall

Weightlifter Karyn Marshall taking an ice bath: Photo courtesy Karyn Marshall

But some people apparently believe that taking an ice bath after a hard workout can help their muscles rebound and get stronger.

It’s a mistaken belief, at least according to a new study from researchers at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia. They are – pardon the pun – giving the cold shoulder to the idea that an ice bath can help hot muscles recover after a hard session of strength training.

The researchers got 21 men who exercise a lot to do strength training twice a week for 12 weeks. One group then agreed – and I’d love to know how they persuaded them to do this – to end the training session by jumping into a 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 Celsius) ice bath. The other group – let’s label them the “sensible brigade” – ended by doing their cool down on an exercise bike.

Happily for the rest of us at the end of the 12 weeks the “sensible brigade” experienced more gains in muscle strength and muscle mass than the cool kids.

So what does this have to do with stem cells? Well the researchers say the reason for this result is because our bodies use so-called satellite cells – which are a kind of muscle stem cell – to help build stronger muscles. When you plunge those muscles into a cold bath you effectively blunt or block the ability of the muscle stem cells to work as well as they normally would.

But the researchers weren’t satisfied just putting that particular theory on ice, so in a second study they took muscle biopsies from men after they had done leg-strengthening exercises. Again, half did an active cool down, the others jumped in the ice bath.

In a news release accompanying the article in the The Journal of Physiology, Dr Llion Roberts, from UQ’s School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, said the results were the same:

“We found that cold water immersion after training substantially attenuated, or reduced, long-term gains in muscle mass and strength. It is anticipated that athletes who use ice baths after workouts would see less long-term muscle gains than those who choose an active warm down.”

The bottom line; if you strain a muscle working out ice is your friend because it’s great for reducing inflammation. If you want to build stronger muscles ice is not your friend. Save it for that nice refreshing beverage you have earned after the workout.

Cheers!