BRAIN TRAINING By Joel Harper – NYC Celebrity Trainer

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How many hours a week do you spend training your body? Is it 4, 5, or is it more? Do you spend that many hours training and caring for your brain? It is extremely important that you do-and I hope you’re doing it too. Your brain is the driving force to maximize your physical talents and it needs to be fine tuned for you to succeed.

Take exhaustion for example. If your brain is telling you that you’re getting into exhaustion overload, then your brain is warning you what is going on in your body. I want you to learn to listen to this internal signal, as your brain is telling you that you’ve reached a state of exhaustion and you should really slow down, or else. When you attempt to push yourself hard, and past your limits, fatigue may actually be protecting you from hurting yourself. And once you are injured you set yourself back from your well needed consistent training.

However, when you are properly trained, your stamina kicks in and enables you to activate your aerobic muscles and you begin to excel. Fatigue is a thing of the past, as you’ve properly trained yourself up to a more efficient level of performance.

So here’s a test. Ask yourself, from 1-10 (10 being the worst), what was your stress level this past month? If you answered 4 and above, we have some work to do. Stress can interfere with how efficient your brain is functioning and it can really get your cortisol levels up. Which, as an athlete, you know we don’t want or need.

Also, did you get your 7-8 hours of sleep in? If not, WHY NOT? You are the only person that can answer this. If you know “why” and you can’t figure out “how,” there are tons of incredible books, CDs, DVDs, and doctors to help you find a solution. I can’t reinforce the importance of getting proper rest, and especially if you’re training. There are no options other that getting 7 nights of perfect rest, so immediately break any bad habits that are preventing you from getting proper rest.

So now that you are rested and your stress is minimal, your brain can now balance out your aerobic system and heart rate. This allows your body to stay at normal levels and not be out of balance. This in turn will allow for adequate reserves to build up and you can perform consistently at optimal levels.

Remember, when you are in balance, you will be:

1) Injury free
2) Have higher energy
3) Your body fat will be normal
4) You will feel healthy 24/7

Teach yourself on how to be the best athlete you can be. Start taking control of your stress, poor sleeping habits, and not letting it control you. You owe it to yourself! Focus on being serene, sleeping well, and being strong!

BRAIN TRAINING by Joel Harper www.joelharperfitness.com NYC celebrity trainer Joel has been developing custom workouts for 20 years. His clients range from Dr. Oz to Olympic Medalists who are striving for break through performances. He has appeared in various publications from “O” magazine and Esquire to Bottomline Health.

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