Funny how people become obsessed with specific movements, specific exercise styles, etc. I’ve done it all including becoming obsessed with Mark Rippetoe and the derivatives, cardio like running and mountain biking, swimming 2km a day (80 lengths) etc. The one thing that has absolutely transformed my life is yoga. No more back pain, insane strength I never had, no more injuries from eg lifting a 100 lbs propane tank at an awkward angle onto a truck, and unbelievable mental clarity and focus. I do it daily for 30 mins. Never been to a class. I got into it via the 3 week yoga retreat program on the Beachbody app. Been doing it for about 4 years now. Takes about a year or two to fully realize the benefits.
I disagree with doing a crossword puzzle (or other mentally stimulating activity) mid-squat if you're working with any interesting amount of weight. Once you're at a weight that's challenging, things get potentially dangerous, and the last thing you want to be thinking about is what's a four letter word for a small quantity of whiskey.
Squats are fantastic. They force your brain to recruit a tremendous number of muscle fibers and coordinate them simultaneously. The impact this has on how your brain/body works is really cool.<p>If you want to take it to the next level, look into the [power] clean (and press) or the snatch. These take the power profile of a squat, and add explosive speed to the mix. If you think simply engaging all your muscles is good, wait til you add in the speed component and/or the upper body... Definitely higher-risk exercises, but you get what you pay for in my experience. Just think about the kinematics of moving a barbell from the ground to as high as you can possibly hold it within 1~2 seconds. These are the most incredible exertions your body can possibly make. Some athletes can put out in excess of 4kW of power [1] when performing these movements. Imagine the adaptations the human brain would have to make in order to properly manage this amount of power.<p><pre><code> [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7392903/</code></pre>
Funny, back in my powerlifting days, I used to get asked a lot about "plateauing". My advice was almost always the same: do squats. The conversation usually went like this:<p>- I'm benching all the time, but I can't get past 275.<p>- How often do you squat?<p>- Huh? I'm talking about bench press!
This article really motivated me to go do a quick set of squats this morning and now I feel so much better already. (work from, gym set up in basement right next to my office)<p>Can't wait for the next time one of these stories to pop up on my feed so I can get motivated to do another set.<p>But in all seriousness... my problem (as is the case with almost all the proactive things I should be doing in my life) is that I lack motivation.
This reminds me of Superbrain yoga<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSwhpF9iJSs" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSwhpF9iJSs</a><p>Which guess what? Is just a variation of a Yoga move from India that the teachers used to give to improve cognition in children who were not focussing in class<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murga_punishment" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murga_punishment</a><p>The idea is that squats or moving your head up and down rushes blood to your head. Further if you hold certain activation points like your ears whilst doing it, it activates certain parts of the brain that improve coordination and brain power.<p>All ripped from Hinduism, what I suggest to those who love Yoga and feel they benefit from Yoga is explore the other types of Yoga mentioned in the Gita. After all, if the Rishis/Sages were right about Yoga, Hinduism is clearly onto something in the Gita about the other types of Yoga.
No explanation of the benefit doing squats, I am afraid.<p>My guess is increased BDNF and maybe neurogenesis(scientifically disputed)? I heard sleep is a mechanism in which the brain clear out debris, so that might be a potential benefit of doing squats.
My theory is that anaerobic exercise, like squats, uses up ATP in the muscles. To replenish the ATP, muscle cells pull glucose from the bloodstream thus lowering your blood sugar level which leaves you feeling relaxed. If done prior to sleeping it can help you sleep through the night rather than wake up at 2am. There may be other benefits as well. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.
I think Dan John said it best (and I can’t recall nor find which essay he said it in) - “everybody needs to squat. But not everybody needs to squat heavy”.
Any heavy lifting exercise will dramatically help. Squats and deadlifts are unique in that they engage so many muscles at the same time. The size of the muscles also boosts testosterone production. If you do these exercises earlier in the day so you arent too excited you’ll be really relaxed. To me, being relaxed helps my brain the most because Im calm enough to let my subconscious “bubble up”.