Michael Gonzalez-Wallace's Blog, page 35
June 19, 2012
Trends in health, aging, exercise science, neuroscience and meditation
Trends in brain decline, brain aging, exercise science, nutrition and meditation. Latest studies by Michael Gonzalez-Wallace
Cognitive abilities such as attention, memory, auditory processes, motor coordination or executive functions like planning or multitasking deteriorate over the time unless used regularly.
No matter what age group we belong to we should be aware of the latest trends in different fields. The most important fields in my opinion are Neuroscience applied to fitness, Exercise science, Nutrition, Exercise and Aging and Meditation.
-NEUROSCIENCE APPLIED TO FITNESS
-The More we use our brain the better physical and mental results
-The more active we are the greater connectivity between brain regions
-Complex motor learning combined with strength training is the best for the brain
-Neuroplasticity and Neurogenesis
-5 Tips to Prevent Cognitive decline
Enriched Environments. Exercise helps our brain work better but also create more synaptic connections. When our brains and bodies are in these enriched environments we are happier and in better shape than if we were in sedentary locations. Here is one of the most important studies showing the implications of exercise for brain health.
1.- Greenough, W. T., and A. M. Sirevaag. “Plasticity of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocyte size and number in visual cortex of rats reared in complex environments.” BrainResearch540, no. 1–2 (Feb. 1, 1991): 273–278.
2.-Krammer, Arthur F., et al. “Aerobic fitness is associated with hippocampal volume in elderly humans.” Hippocampus 19, no. 10 (Oct. 2009): 1030–1039.
Cardiovascular activity is connected with intelligence: exercise your beautiful heart. Can our heart makes us smarter? Charles Hillman Ph.D is a top scientist studying the connection of the heart on cognitive function. Here is groundbreaking study:
3.-Be smart, exercise your heart: exercise effects on brain and cognition. Hillman CH, Erickson KI, Kramer AF.
4.-Jen, C. J., and H.-I. Chen. “Differential effects of treadmill running and wheel running on spatial or aversive learning and memory: Roles of amygdalar brain-derived neurotrophic factor and synaptotagmin.” Journal of Physiology 587 (July 1, 2009): 3221–3231.
-EXERCISE SCIENCE
What is Biomechanics? Biomechanics is the science of movement of a living body, including how muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments work together to produce movement.
According to David Winter who is the Author of Biomechanics and Motor Control Biomechanics can be defined as an interdiscipline which describes, analyzes and asseses Human Movement. A wide variety of physical movements are involved -everything from the gait of the physically handicapped to the lifting of a load by a factory worker to the performance of a superior athlete. Click here for more information about Dr Winter
1- Biomechanics and whole body movements: the more muscles we use the better for a greater health/ Cardiovascular activity not only help us get fit but also get smarter.
Creative Total-Body Exercises by Rodney Corn, MA
Fitness Trends by the American College Sports of Medicine
. A study from Harvard University concluded that lack of brain activity between different areas of the brain means faster aging.
-NUTRITION AND INTELLIGENCE
•Nutrition Vs Intelligence: High Saturated fats destroys BDNF, Omega 3 diet enhances BDNF
MEDITATION AND THE BRAIN
According to the New York Times This exercise in focused awareness and mental catch-and-release of emotions has become perhaps the most popular new psychotherapy technique of the past decade.
•Meditation studies are showing the importance of this technique to battle relax, battle stress and improve brain activity and thickness of the grey and white matter
Practices like physical exercise, certain forms of psychological counseling and meditation can all change brains for the better, and these changes can be measured with the tools of modern neuroscience, according to a review article now online at Nature Neuroscience to keep reading click here
Social influences on neuroplasticity: stress and interventions to promote well-being
Experiential factors shape the neural circuits underlying social and emotional behavior from the prenatal period to the end of life. These factors include both incidental influences, such as early adversity, and intentional influences can be produced
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jun 11. [Epub ahead of print]
Mechanisms of white matter changes induced by meditation.Tang YY, Lu Q, Fan M, Yang Y, Posner MI.
June 17, 2012
Happy Fathers Day to everyone!
Happy Fathers Day to everyone! I am here with my Father Pedro Gonzalez-porqué and my Godfather Miguel Sanchez what two exceptional role mode and inspirational figures in my life!
Happy Fathers day to everyone!
My father still has a really powerful impact in my life. I admire him, I adore him and I accept his as an inspirational and role model. My father is a retired Doctor with the name of Dr Pedro Gonzalez-Porque who inspired me to pursue my dreams and achieve new heights of knowledge. I love spending time with him I keep learning so much from him.
John Martin PhD, Michael Gonzalez-Wallace and Dr Pedro Gonzalez-Porque
Fathers are so important for the development of any kid,
A noted sociologist, Dr. David Popenoe, is one of the pioneers of the relatively young field of research into fathers and fatherhood. “Fathers are far more than just ‘second adults’ in the home,” he says. “Involved fathers bring positive benefits to their children that no other person is as likely to bring.”6 Fathers have a direct impact on the well-being of their children. It is important for professionals working with fathers—especially in the difficult, emotionally charged arena in which child protective services (CPS) caseworkers operate—to have a working understanding of the literature that addresses this impact. Such knowledge will help make the case for why the most effective CPS case plans will involve fathers click here to keep reading
My Dad traveled all the way from Spain to be at my Book Party!
I hope and wish all of you have a fantastic Father Day!
June 15, 2012
Exercise of the Week: The Windmill for better brain fitness, coordination and muscle strength
Squat Exercises: MIchael Gonzalez-Wallace shows an exercise to improve strength and balance
The Human Body is the most absolute perfect machine ever invented, yes I said it right, The Human Body it is a machine that has puzzled scientists, historians, physicists and many others throughout history. I just love how the Human Body moves. Movement defines us who we are and if movement becomes impaired we lose a vital quality that is really important to us.
Are you ready to improve your upper body strength, your abs and your legs in one move? Try this phenomenal exercise: The Windmill. The windmill is a great exercise for strength, flexibility and balance.
Description: From a squat position with your feet wider than shoulder width toes pointing outward and holding weights between your legs. Stand up up from the squat pulling both of your arms backwards at your head level and simultaneously raise your heels maintaining perfect balance. Hold this position for one second. This is one rep do it ten times
Trick: try this exercise without weights first so you feel the enormous power of different muscles working together
Beginners 3 sets with 5 lbs 30 seconds rest between sets
Advanced 5 sets with 10 lbs 10 seconds rest between sets
Please make sure you are allowed to exercise!
Whole Body Exercise
Extra Bonus: Motor Skills and Physiology
June 13, 2012
P90X by Tony Horton and Stomach Pains- Started exercising but I have lower stomach pains. Help?
P90X by Tony Horton causes me stomach pains
Michael Gonzalez-Wallace
Jun 11, 2012
QUESTION FOR MY MICHAEL GONZALEZ-WALLACE AT THE BRAIN BODY FITNESS FORUM AT MEDHELP:
P90X by Tony Horton and Stomach Pains- Started exercising but I have lower stomach pains. Help?
I am 16 and recently started exercising with my volleyball team. We have been doing P90X, weights, pull-ups, abs, and lots of running. However, lately I’ve been having lower stomach pains. I feel that maybe I’m hungry, but the pain is still there. I’ve also noticed I’m not eating as much, but maybe that has to deal with the exercise? I’m not quite sure if this is normal, but I wanted to see anyways.
MY RESPONSE: Hi there and thanks so much for your question! Yes P90Xit is a very popular program designed by the popular fitness Trainer Tony Horton.Me as an ex athlete I have always expressed interest in new ways of physical exercise and when trying the program I could see that P90X could be beneficial for specific audiences with extensive athletic background otherwise I would strongly not recommend it unless you combine it with other sorts of exercise programs. What you are experiencing it may be an internal strain of the rectus abdominus that is in other words the abdominal wall. This intense movements can cause in fitness what is regarded as an abdominal hernia click here to keep reading
June 12, 2012
NBA 2012 FINALS START TODAY- Train like a professional NBA player. Playing pro helped me to develop my book Super Body, Super Brain
NBA FINAL START TODAY-HOW BASKETBALL HELPED ME DEVELOP SUPER BODY, SUPER BRAIN- image:bigstockphoto
NBA finals start today with two phenomenal teams: Miami Heat vs Oklahoma Thunder.
2 teams with two different styles. Miami full of stars and lacking consistency and disciplined and Oklahoma a more compact and consistent team. Who will win?
Basketball is more than a game: In order to play basketball you need to be not only a superb athlete but a fast thinker combining different disciplines such as fitness, biomechanics, kinetics or kinematics. Remember that playing a sport like basketball it requires that you are constantly taking decisions. The 2011 NBA Finals will get underway Tuesday night from AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami. ABC will broadcast the entire series (TSN in Canada)
However I wanted to share my experience of playing professional basketball in Spain and how basketball has helped me to develop my book: SUPER BODY, SUPER BRAIN
From Super Body, Super Brain book: Chapter 2:
When I was playing basketball in Spain, before every game I would take the lead and start clapping shouting out “Let’s go”, “We can’t do it” half an hour before every game, My energy level zoomed until i felt completely in the right emotional to give my absolute best and be on top of my game. Now years after I realized that what i was doing it was altering my brain chemistry and you can totally do it at home, your office or anywhere else. However I wanted to share how basketball has helped me to develop my strength training program: Super Body, Super Brain
BASKETBALL IS BASED ON BIOMECHANICS-
What is the basis of training just one muscle say the biceps. Whole body movements are key for optimal health and are crucial to improve brain body efficiency and does not apply only to sports players it affects to all of us. I wanted to share how I developed my book Super Body, Super Brain
So i started thinking of my days practicing basketball. When you play a sport, you are engaged, you are focusing in multi-tasking different muscle movements but also specific motions requiring balance, coordination and strength. So i started asking to myself why not add those principles to the most important physical exercise strength program? “Mark, do a biceps curl while lifting the right leg, then cross the leg behind and simultaneously do an upper back extensions and a semi-sqaut plie”. My client became focused, mentally engaged, happy but also sweaty, his muscles were projecting muscle power and more powerful brain muscle connection. To browse inside my book click here
Components of a perfect movement:
-BALANCE
-COORDINATION
-STRENGTH
-CARDIOVASCULAR
for more information about my book SUPER BODY, SUPER BRAIN CLICK HERE
June 11, 2012
New Question at my Brain Body Fitness Forum: Increase height?
Question: I am 18 years old how can o increase my height exercises stretches my mom is like 5’6 dad is 5’9 how to increase height and i also have a tall uncle does that matter…….. talk to me
Response: Hi there and thanks so much for your question! Did you know that strength training can add few inches to your height? Regarding to that specific question I wish I had a clear answer to your question. Unfortunately there are many factors associated to our height.
The rate of growth in females varies from female to female. Some females don’t stop growing until they are 14, and for some females it is even older. It really all just depends on a the females hormones and genetics although specific exercises can add you maybe one to three inches
Research and evidence is supporting more and more that generations tend to be taller than the previous ones. In practical terms my Dad is 174 cm and I am 183 cm so normally current generations surpass previous generation but sometimes it is not the case and remember that males tend to grow up to 18 years old
I want to try to help you understand how we are getting taller as a society with this reflection from a Professor in Scientific American
Michael J. Dougherty, assistant director and senior staff biologist at Biological Sciences Curriculum Study in Colorado Springs, Col.
“In fact, over the last 150 years the average height of people in industrialized nations has increased approximately 10 centimeters (about four inches).
Most geneticists believe that the improvement in childhood nutrition has been the most important factor in allowing humans to increase so dramatically in stature” keep reading
June 9, 2012
5 Tricks to Look Younger and 6 minutes for a bikini blast!
5 Simple Tricks to look younger
Hi there Super Body, Super Brain followers!
I am so excited that I got featured in Yahoo.com (Home page) in an incredible article by Liz Brodycalled
5 Simple Tricks to Looking Younger
Age can be so annoying. If birthdays were recyclable, we’d all be environmentalists. But is it worth going under the knife to fake away a few years? (The recent uptick in celebs on plastic-surgery benders is a little unnerving.) Don’t worry: These six switches will make you look younger without a lot of drama.
The Body
Instead of: Walking
Try: Walking backward
From Yahoo.com: Don’t get us wrong: Any exercise is good exercise. But moving nimbly is a subtle indicator of being young. “The key is motor plasticity,” says Michael Gonzalez-Wallace, creator of theSuper Body, Super Brain program to read more please click ”You need to continue to train the brain circuits responsible for movement.” That means, instead of just walking or jogging, which you do automatically, you should periodically throw in a balance or coordination challenge: Walk backward, play basketball, take a ballet class, stand on one foot with your eyes closed. “Try one new activity a week,” Gonzalez-Wallace suggests. “You just need a few minutes click here to keep reading
Yahoo features Michael Gonzalez-Wallace in “6-
Minute Bikini Blast” to get toned and healthier!
Yahoo features 6 minute Bikini Blast
Roll out of bed, wake up your brain, and work out your body in (good morning!) 6 minutes. It’s even better with your eyes closed.
We’re not saying that 6 minutes will turn you into Kim Kardashian. But this routine is more than genius. New York City trainer Michael Gonzalez-Wallace has been teaming up with a Columbia University neuroscientist for the last couple of years to design what can only be called the next generation of exercise. Keep reading here
June 5, 2012
BRAIN FITNESS- PREVENTION Magazine features Michael Gonzalez-Wallace’s brain fitness program, Super Body, Super Brain
PREVENTION Magazine features Michael Gonzalez-Wallace’s brain fitness program, Super Body, Super Brain
From Prevention Magazine When Michael Gonzalez-Wallace began to teach his new workouts, which incorporated brain exercises and activity into physical movements, he could see the change in his clients’ bodies. But it was the change in their eyes that intrigued him the most. “I started seeing how people had to concentrate,” says the 37-year-old personal trainer. The workouts were not just improving the body — they were sharpening the mind. You would see it in their faces. I had finally gotten their attention.” click here to keep reading
Neuroscience-Brain Fitness and Physical Exercise
http://www.prevention.com/health/brain-games/brain-exercises-your-workout#ixzz1wqfLb8p5
June 3, 2012
Brain Fitness Exercise: Obliques Exercise for a better core.
External Oblique Exercise. Flamingo Workout by Michael Gonzalez-Wallace at this week Body Smart Magazine. Photo by Beth Bischoff
FLAMINGO
Synopsis:
Michael Gonzalez-Wallace author of Super Body, Super Brain proposes a new weekly exercise for your waist and oblique muscles to improve strength, flexibility and muscle definition.
Power Obliques! Are you afraid of shrinking? Getting shorter with age? The solution must be in your powerful muscles at both sides of your trunk.
How many times do you reach to open a door, to shake someone’s hand, or turn your torso to change directions? Well, your Oblique muscles are engaged in maximum muscular activity to do the most simple of our tasks. Now think about when you are sitting down: your body is crunched and your oblique muscles at both sides of your waist are smashed like sweet potatoes and then what happens? Your back starts to hurt and you feel you need a stretch. That is exactly what I feel right now and I just started to write!
To see a description of the exercise click here Body Smart. Check out the previous edition of Body Smart! Click to read last weeks edition of Body Smart the best digital magazine, you can read it FOR FREE check it out here
Ready to challenge your core, agility and strength in one move? This exercise will target two of the most difficult body areas to tone: Your waist and your gluts! You will suddenly get the best of a dancer and a basketball player. Give a try to this movement and bring the best out of you!
Obliques workout anatomy- MIchael Gonzalez-Wallace proposes a great workout for your obliques: Internal and external
stand tall with one weight held in both hands above your head then cross your right leg behind your left and bend it slightly then raise your right leg to the side with your knee bent while simultaneously bending your waist to the right . Return to the starting position. that is one rep. Do it 10 times then change legs for a full set. Beginners do it three times advanced do it ten times
June 1, 2012
AMAZON reader reviews Super Body, Super Brain and titles it “This guy is awesome and his book is amazing and it does work”!
AMAZON reader reviews Super Body, Super Brain by Michael Gonzalez-Wallace
I am so excited to receive this incredible review from an Amazon reader!!! and NO, I don’t know her hahah…so super excited I better control my excitement and share what she had to say about my book
From Amazon reviewer
5.0 out of 5 stars This guy is awesome and his book is amazing and it does work!, May 29, 2012
By
J. Dumas (Vidalia, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
This review is from: Super Body, Super Brain: The Workout That Does It All (Hardcover)
I have been reading and doing fitness books and DVDs for at least the last 20 years (started in high school). I love science and I know that new discoveries are occurring everyday in the realm of what scientists know about the body, mind and exercise benefits.
I love this book!!! I am a mother of 4 and have very little time. I was making time to work out for an hour a day (It was hard but…worth it). Then, I read this book. Everything in it is rock solid. The information is thorough but digestible. The tone is conversational and it flows well. He spends a lot of time in my opinion going into the studies and research. I found nothing to contradict what I have already read elsewhere through the years and on an ongoing basis.
Brain Fitness reviews: Amazon reader reviews Super Body, Super Brain by Michael Gonzalez-Wallace
The best part is when you actually start his 10 minutes fitness sets they are so ‘easy’/'doable’. They don’t feel that long but apparently they are. Are they effective???? YES! click here to keep reading
Brain Fitness reviews: Amazon reader reviews Super Body, Super Brain by Michael Gonzalez-Wallace
Michael Gonzalez-Wallace's Blog
