Wednesday musings, 9/23/15

I had the opportunity to chat with one of CSUMB's kinesiology professors last week. During a talk I gave to one of her classes, I mentioned l I discovered a deep interest in neuromuscular training during graduate school. Simply, this is the interaction between the brain and the musculoskeletal system and is the foundation for all movement. It turns out, her specialty is neurophysiology. Her dissertation examined the impact of a high intensity recumbent bike program on individuals with Parkinson's. Not only were there improvements in lower body balance and coordination after a six week program, there were improvements in upper body strength and coordination as well.

A recumbent bike is a lower body exercise. Improvements in other areas indicate our brain doesn’t view body parts separately. My most recent blog examined the relationship between the hips and shoulders from an anatomical perspective; clearly, there is more going on than that, and by exercising one body part, there will be a greater impact on the entire physiological system. The idea that any particular exercise is a “mind body” exercise is a bit of a misnomer. All exercise is impacting the mind and the body; however, some utilize more focused attention than others.