Thursday WAR Strength & Conditioning

Mysterious Moon

WAR Workout3 sets of:10 Touch & Go Squat Cleans15 pull ups (Adv. CTB)10 Burpees15 Russian KBS (70,55)Run 200 Meters    Rest 8 MinutesGYM NOTE: Log load used on squat cleans, and 3 separate times. Challenge yourself on the squat cleans. For those of you who haven't attempted CTB, give it a shot if you feel like you are ready. Rest exactly 8 minutes. Thanks.HappinessIf the mere thought of trudging round ice-bound playing fields at school was enough to bring you out in a cold sweat, the idea that exercise makes us happy might sound perverse. But, beyond the (potential) mood-lifting effects of fresh air and scenery, evidence suggests that pounding the pavement can also change the way our brains work to make us happier, or even stave off depression. “Exercise is as good as any anti-depressant I know,” Ratey claims.Last December, scientists from Yale University wrote in the journal Nature Medicine that regular exertion affects the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for mood. Tests on mice showed that exercise activated a gene there called VGF, which is linked to a “growth factor” chemical involved in the development of new nerve cells. Tests show that this brain activation lifts a person’s mood. Participants in one recent German survey were asked to walk quickly on a treadmill for 30 minutes a day over a 10-day period. At the end of the experiment, researchers recorded a significant drop in depression scores. Scientists are now working on a drug that mimics the effects of the VGF gene to market it as an alternative to conventional antidepressants.