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MRI scans show exercise can make the brain look younger

sciencedaily.com

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Re: MRI scans show exercise can make the brain look younger

#51

Post by sfn42 »

ytoawwhra92 wrote: post #50
sfn42 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not normal. I'm sure your doctor's told you that too. My first thought is that it may just be a severe case of being out of shape, I think you might be able to push through it. You didn't specify how long you kept it up but I would expect it to take at least a few weeks, maybe a few months before you really get up and running. I would suggest that you keep trying, and taking it slower. Maybe instead of running…

> I think you might be able to push through it. This is really awful advice. People who are extremely unfit tend to have no frame of reference for what a productive workout feels like. They are highly likely to push themselves too hard and then not give their bodies enough recovery time. Encouraging people in this situation to "push through it" is setting them up for overtraining leading to injury, illness, or burnou…

The person I replied to said they were taking it easy. By push through it I meant keep it up for a while longer even though it made them feel unwell, thinking they would get past the unwellness.

I wasn't intending to suggest anything remotely in the same ballpark as overtraining, that's not the kind of pushing I had in mind.

And when they clarified that they had been doing it for months I just said that's not normal, because a couple of months is beyond the scope I had in mind when I suggested pushing through it. It shouldn't take months. What they describe sounds more like a serious undiagnosed health issue.

Re: MRI scans show exercise can make the brain look younger

#52

Post by ytoawwhra92 »

throwaway849830 wrote: post #46
sfn42 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not normal. I'm sure your doctor's told you that too. My first thought is that it may just be a severe case of being out of shape, I think you might be able to push through it. You didn't specify how long you kept it up but I would expect it to take at least a few weeks, maybe a few months before you really get up and running. I would suggest that you keep trying, and taking it slower. Maybe instead of running…

I kept pushing running and cycling for a couple of months. I had to stop because it was making me feel too bad. I replaced it with hiking, walking and some misc exercises like stairs stepper. I kept that for another couple of months but eventually crashed even with this lighter effort. Zone 2 while running and cycling was absolutely impossible for me. A light jog would make my heart rate climb to 190 bpm immediately.…

I hope your doctors clear you for exercise again and you feel comfortable giving it another go (after sufficient rest and recovery from this experience).

I had a similar - but less extreme - experience in my early 30s when I decided to start exercising after 20+ years of highly sedentary living. I somehow convinced myself that my heart rate being >160 while in "zone 2" was normal for me. In truth, what seemed like impossibly light exercise (5-10 minutes of "zone 2" every day) was too intense for me at the time. I burned out after about two months. It was very humbling to realise that the elderly people who jogged in the park near my apartment were more physically fit than me, and it took me a while to accept that.

When I eventually started exercising again I began with an intensity roughly equivalent to walking on a flat surface (HR around 105-115bpm) and stuck to a simple rule of thumb: if I didn't feel fully recovered 15 minutes after finishing a workout I had pushed myself too hard. From that baseline I was able to occasionally do a more intense effort, paying close attention to my heart rate during the workout, and being very mindful of what my body felt like during the effort as well as 15 minutes after, later that day, and the next morning. Over time I was able to ratchet up the intensity of 2-3 efforts per week and still feel fully recovered. After about a year I could do 3-4 genuinely hard workouts a week with a low risk of overtraining or burnout.

What I would point out is that in your original comment you said:

> I started running and cycling. Very short distances, very slowly and very gradually.

So from your perspective these were appropriate efforts. But then you go on to say:

> It made me feel horrible. Each time it would take me a few days to recover, feeling dizzy and mentally exhausted.

> A light jog would make my heart rate climb to 190 bpm immediately. A small couple of percent incline on a bicycle, straight to 190 bpm. Obviously feeling horrible afterwards.

These are really strong indicators that you were pushing far too hard.

That a light jog would be far too hard for a 34 year old is very confronting. It's a huge blow to the ego. I've been there, and worked my way out of the hole. Assuming there's no underlying medical condition I think you can too.

Re: MRI scans show exercise can make the brain look younger

#53

Post by ytoawwhra92 »

sfn42 wrote: post #51
ytoawwhra92 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think you might be able to push through it. This is really awful advice. People who are extremely unfit tend to have no frame of reference for what a productive workout feels like. They are highly likely to push themselves too hard and then not give their bodies enough recovery time. Encouraging people in this situation to "push through it" is setting them up for overtraining leading to injury, illness, or burnou…

The person I replied to said they were taking it easy. By push through it I meant keep it up for a while longer even though it made them feel unwell, thinking they would get past the unwellness. I wasn't intending to suggest anything remotely in the same ballpark as overtraining, that's not the kind of pushing I had in mind. And when they clarified that they had been doing it for months I just said that's not normal,…

They said:

> It made me feel horrible. Each time it would take me a few days to recover, feeling dizzy and mentally exhausted.

That doesn't happen with a genuinely easy effort.

> By push through it I meant keep it up for a while longer even though it made them feel unwell, thinking they would get past the unwellness.

Yes, that is really bad advice and will lead to overtraining in a very unfit person.

> I wasn't intending to suggest anything remotely in the same ballpark as overtraining, that's not the kind of pushing I had in mind.

I don't know what you mean by overtraining, but pushing through feelings of unwellness or fatigue and continuing to workout is exactly how you get into that territory.

Re: MRI scans show exercise can make the brain look younger

#54

Post by Enginerrrd »

with wrote: post #23

Neat study, but I always chuckle at these, because has there ever been verified science that shows exercise is unhealthy ? (besides overtraining) The general consensus should just be exercising is good for you, that's it, done.

>... has there ever been verified science that shows exercise is unhealthy?

Yes, the extremes of endurance have certainly been shown to have a negative effect on heart health, and possibly also colon health, but the amount of exercise required to get into the danger zone here is so high almost no one that isn't a competitive athlete would achieve it. (Although, amateur marathon runners might.)

Re: MRI scans show exercise can make the brain look younger

#55

Post by NoPicklez »

with wrote: post #23

Neat study, but I always chuckle at these, because has there ever been verified science that shows exercise is unhealthy ? (besides overtraining) The general consensus should just be exercising is good for you, that's it, done.

And I chuckle at these types of comments.

We know that exercise is good for us, but studying it is how we better understand the different ways it is beneficial for us in a controlled setting.

I see these comments online a lot, just because something might be common knowledge, doesn't mean we fully understand it, nor should be stop studying it.

Re: MRI scans show exercise can make the brain look younger

#56

Post by sfn42 »

ytoawwhra92 wrote: post #53
sfn42 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The person I replied to said they were taking it easy. By push through it I meant keep it up for a while longer even though it made them feel unwell, thinking they would get past the unwellness. I wasn't intending to suggest anything remotely in the same ballpark as overtraining, that's not the kind of pushing I had in mind. And when they clarified that they had been doing it for months I just said that's not normal,…

They said: > It made me feel horrible. Each time it would take me a few days to recover, feeling dizzy and mentally exhausted. That doesn't happen with a genuinely easy effort. > By push through it I meant keep it up for a while longer even though it made them feel unwell, thinking they would get past the unwellness. Yes, that is really bad advice and will lead to overtraining in a very unfit person. > I wasn't inten…

They also said: > Very short distances, very slowly and very gradually.

Which does not sound like overtraining to me. Any relatively healthy 30-something should handle that just fine no matter how untrained they are. They should get over the feelings of unwellness etc after a few weeks or at least a few months.

There is clearly some underlying condition causing this, it's not overtraining.

Re: MRI scans show exercise can make the brain look younger

#57

Post by ytoawwhra92 »

sfn42 wrote: post #56
ytoawwhra92 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They said: > It made me feel horrible. Each time it would take me a few days to recover, feeling dizzy and mentally exhausted. That doesn't happen with a genuinely easy effort. > By push through it I meant keep it up for a while longer even though it made them feel unwell, thinking they would get past the unwellness. Yes, that is really bad advice and will lead to overtraining in a very unfit person. > I wasn't inten…

They also said: > Very short distances, very slowly and very gradually. Which does not sound like overtraining to me. Any relatively healthy 30-something should handle that just fine no matter how untrained they are. They should get over the feelings of unwellness etc after a few weeks or at least a few months. There is clearly some underlying condition causing this, it's not overtraining.

> Any relatively healthy 30-something should handle that just fine no matter how untrained they are.

Are you basing that on anything other than vibes?

> There is clearly some underlying condition causing this, it's not overtraining.

Two cardiologists were unable to identify an issue, and their reported symptoms match OTS pretty much exactly.

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