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Good morning and welcome to Episode 030 of the Train Your Brain Podcast with Dr. Michael Trayford. Every Monday we produce a 30-minute episode. Tuesday through Sunday we produce episodes with five-minute tips. Every episode of the Train Your Brain Podcast features a tip, so you can receive pointers 365 days a year that will help enhance the performance of your brain!

In Episode 030, Dr. Trayford provides a tip to make exercise actually happen for you and to make it fun! He poses the question: “What do you like to do?” Then, that is what you should do to stay active. It’s not only imperative for your body, but it’s crucial for brain function. Make the time for physical activities that are fun! Now, that’s not so hard — is it? So go have fun!

If you have any concerns regarding the information and applications discussed in this podcast, please consult your physician and a doctor who is experienced in functional neurology. Michael Trayford DC, DACNB is available for consultation by calling (828) 708-5274. Thanks for listening.

This tip has to do with exercise, specifically doing something that you like. These tips might seem obvious, but we’re really trying to reinforce things.

There’s really a lot of stuff behind this. When you think about it, when people want to exercise, they go to the gym like they have to go to the gym. For the most part I think I know about two people that really enjoy going to the gym. Many do it because they feel they have to.

That’s not necessarily a good place to be, because if you’re pulling yourself from doing other things that you really want to do, then it can create some stress in your life. This can also fall in the category of stress management.

By and large exercise is good for us. But we want it to be really good for us. The way we can do really well is by doing something you love to do. So what’s your favorite outdoor activity Jason?

Jason: Outdoor activity? Wow I guess it would be… I just like going on walks with my family.

Great. And when you do that are you out in nature at all, or are you walking the streets of the neighborhood?

Jason: Yeah actually it’s a little bit of both, we mainly walk the streets of the neighborhood but there’s a little path we take. It’s in the desert, so it’s not the trees Asheville North Carolina or anything.

It has it’s own beauty. I was out in Las Vegas and Arizona last year and I had some of the best runs of my life, running in the desert. It’s pretty impressive, especially at sunrise.

Jason: I heard about you out here… They called you the road runner out here!
Sounds like walking the neighborhood is something you like to do, walking the neighborhood. You get to see neighbors and friends and make some small talk and mix social interaction with your activity. When people… And I’m using the gym as an example because that’s the type of thing where people go when they have to. And when you see that, based on the number of membership that are bought at the beginning of the year and how many people actually utilize those memberships as the year goes on.

I think it’s something like 20% of people that buy them actually use those gym memberships. No slight on the gyms. I think gyms are great, the serve a purpose and for people involved with the YMCA. I think they’re doing great things. But I think people really have things that they love to do and they need to do them more.
So if you like to be in a kayak, rowing on the water and that provides that kind of peace and serenity and meditative aspect while you’re doing your exercise. If you’re walking the neighborhood and getting the socialization, while you’re walking.

If you want to be running in the woods or on paths in the desert, then you’ve got the nature aspect with it. So doing something you want to do is critically important because it provides more than just the exercise.

It provides a host of tools that will also help to train your brain in a positive manner. I can’t stress that enough. I just want people to do what they like to do and not feel that they have to do it.

And it’s much easier to develop a habit, when it’s something that you really love to do. And as we’ve talked about in the past, exercise needs to be about making the time instead of finding the time. So if you have an activity that you like to do, yet it takes up a lot of time, you need to make the time to do that and build it into your schedule.

So that is our tip for today. Doing exercise and something you like to do.

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