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Scientific studies have repeatedly confirmed the positive effect of physical activity on a person’s mental abilities: concentration, memory, etc. The question is which loads are more useful: long-term aerobic exercises (running, cycling) or strength training (dumbbells, barbell, exercise equipment). This question remains open.

IT professionals often prefer not aerobic, but power loads. This is logical: after all, such training (with proper nutrition) not only burns excess fat and improves metabolism, but gives good aesthetic and social effects. The body acquires a nice beautiful shape that is liked by friends, colleagues and the opposite sex. This is a bonus to health, career and overall quality of life.

Beauty of the body and life success

Dozens of scientific papers from the 1970s to the 1990s confirm the persistent manifestation of the stereotype “ good is beautiful ” in people. As a result, physical attractiveness is associated with good, positive traits, and unattractiveness with negative traits. For example, people with an attractive appearance are better perceived in society. External attractiveness has the strongest influence in evaluating a person as a whole. Studies show that, on average, men with an attractive appearance have much more friends, they are more socialized, their sex life is much more active .
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To confirm the last thesis - the table shows the Spearman's rank correlation coefficients for the number of sexual partners and physical attractiveness of the body and face of a man. It is seen that the beauty of the body is more important than the beauty of the face.


Spearman's rank correlation coefficients for the number of sexual partners, the age of sexual debut among heterosexual men and physical attractiveness (face and body). Data: " Physical Fitness ", Evolution and Human Behavior, 28 (2): 106-111, March 2007


^{Note b: for five virgins, their current age at the time of the survey is taken into account}
The average for the entire sample (77 men). Data: " Physical Fitness ", Evolution and Human Behavior, 28 (2): 106-111, March 2007

Earlier studies have shown that beautiful employees find it easier to advance in the service and get a high salary. Other things being equal (intellect, experience, etc.), the authorities choose to enhance the more beautiful. Pleasant appearance helps in speaking in public, gives self-confidence, helps in business negotiations and generally strengthens the position of a person in any social contacts.

Some may say that in this case there is discrimination in appearance - the so-called Lookism . Perhaps this should be fought at the state level, helping ugly people. For example, setting a minimum quota for them in the staff of companies, as is done for other objects of discrimination.

Discrimination by appearance is a topic for another conversation. The fact is that it exists and is very strong. According to scientists, the choice of physically attractive partners is of an evolutionary nature . In ancient times, some aspects of physical fitness were important for survival: these are motor skills (leg length), cardiorespiratory parameters (wide chest), physical strength (muscle volume), endurance, and others. The ancient girls had a very important ability to bear the fetus, childbearing and feeding the baby (wide hips, high-quality mammary glands).

If you start strength training, after a few months you will notice how the attitude of others will change towards you in a favorable direction. Especially in summer. This is the everyday manifestation of discrimination and common stereotypes that have an evolutionary nature.

Physical strength and mental abilities

Physical strength gives a great bonus to career and health. But for IT workers it’s more important that it also has a positive effect on mental abilities. Of course, the barbell and dumbbells will not objectively increase your IQ (only subjectively increase it in the eyes of others ), but they will help to significantly prolong an active intellectual life.

Researchers at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney (Australia) conducted a study under the program of Study of Mental and Resistance Training (SMART) among people over 55 years of age who showed the first symptoms of mild cognitive impairment (SCN). Note that such symptoms can occur not only in the elderly, but also in the young - under the influence of various forms of addictive behavior , that is, an obsessive need for certain activities. Such addiction causes impaired mental functions.

So, as part of an experiment at the University of Sydney, for the first time, there was a clear connection between muscle adaptation to increasing power loads and brain functioning. In other words, the cognitive functions of those participating in the experiment clearly correlated with muscle strength.

Participants in the experiment were divided into four groups:

1. Strength exercises + computer mental training.
2. Strength exercises + placebo computer training of mental abilities (view a video about nature).
3. Computer training mental abilities + placebo strength exercises (gymnastics).
4. Placebo strength training + placebo computer mental training.

Strength training included weight lifting sessions twice a week for six months. The weight for the exercise was chosen at 80% of the peak and increased with increasing physical strength.

Cognitive tests on the basis of the experiment showed that mental activity improved qualitatively in the first experimental group.

Further research will help to choose the most effective type and intensity of loads that are recommended for older people in order to increase muscle strength and, consequently, mental abilities. Scientists also want to find a cause that causes an improvement in people's mental abilities after prolonged physical exertion. This will help develop the most optimal program.

The research results were published on October 24, 2016 in the Journal of American Geriatrics (doi: 10.1111 / jgs.14542).