Free at Last, Free at last, Thank God Almighty: I am free at last (Final Report)

Final Progress Report

Overall, I'd say my project was a success. When I say this, it doesn't mean I met my goal, or I got a certain achievement. No, it means I did what I wanted to do. My project revolved researching the effects of exercise on study habits and knowledge retention, and then trying it out for myself. The purpose of the TED talk was to pass that experience on to those who heard it (and still can if you check the page called "TED talk"), along with some advice on what to do or not do.

Here's what I've learned about myself: I have undergone a fundamental change in the way that I view not just exercise and studying, but many other fields of work as well. Everything is connected, no matter how small the link may be, and although exercise and studying may seem like two opposite things,one of which we associate with jocks and the other with nerds, I've learned to begin linking many different things to get the most I possibly can out of both my education and life in general.

After this study, a few questions have arisen for me. I know exercise can lead to neural cell creation, growth, and development, but HOW????? This avenue of questioning will no doubt be in the back of my mind, and I will continue to go down these branching set of questions as I continue on in college. If I had more time, I would see if I could rope other people onto it, and have them do it in their own special way, and document what they did, how they did it, and whether their strategies worked. I would also have others follow my way of doing things and see if I can get similar results on that end.

In terms of my TED talk

1. I felt that my TED talk went rather well. I got all the content I wanted out, even though I had to speak quickly due to the time constraint. I was bummed out that there wasn't time for questions, as I'd have loved to answer them, and even receive some criticism on how to improve not only my presenting technique, but also my research technique, and what I could have done in order to better document my study.

2. I didn't prepare much for my TED talk. I essentially made my presentation around what I wanted to say, and then I took quick notes on a piece of paper that I could refer to If I ever got lost. The rest was just me winging it. While giving it, I was slightly nervous, and I spoke a little too quickly, but overall I think I did well and got my point across. People chuckled when they were supposed to and paid attention when necessary, at least from my point of view.

3. From this experience, I've learned that it is actually much harder to conduct a study and present the findings in front of your peers than to simply write a speech and read it off, or do one of these studies with a group. I also learned that once you have an idea, you should stick with it and try not to deviate too far from your original idea. Otherwise, you'll go nowhere in your research, or rather, you'll go in circles.

Yippity yippity yip that's all folks. Have a great summer vacation.

Surprising Results

Last time, I noted that I was going to change the subject of my study from simply exercising to analyzing the effect of physical activity on studying and knowledge retention.

So far, I think I was right to do that.

Seeing as it's near the end of April, and finals and AP tests are right around the corner, I've been testing the effects of rigorous and "slow" endurance based exercises to see which one works better. I can quickly conclude that heavy and highly draining "extreme" exercises are not good for studying afterwords, for me at least. As I heard on the radio, it takes about 7 minutes for the body to release the hormones that increase body and brain function, as well as spark the burning of adipose and glycogen. Technically, one could stop at this point and start studying, but if you want, you can actually go on for a full workout and there will still be enough "juice" in your system to buff your brain function during studying.

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Now, after a few AP tests and finals have passed, I can say for certain that this has helped to an almost frightening degree. I originally thought the body would have to grow used to this kind of activity before it started producing visible results, but that idea was thrown out the window after the first test I took merely a day or two after my change in study.

Conclusion: Oh my god yes, this works great. Do it. Seriously. It's kinda wierd how "on point" your body can be and how quickly you get used to this kind of schedule.

Progress and Change in Study

After going through my routine regularly, I have decided that something that interests me is how exercising changes studying efficiency and effectiveness. I will continue to exercise regularly from here on out, but I will mostly be reporting on how it changes my schoolwork and studying for tests and quizzes in the coming weeks (especially AP tests and classes).

That being said, in the break week we just had, I spent some time doing miscellaneous physical activities, such as rock climbing, backpacking, carrying equipment, and running.

One thing I have heard over the radio, and has been corroborated by many studies, is that the body releases the glycogen that gives you extra energy after 5-6 minutes of the workout. Advice given by numerous people is to set your workout time to roughly 7-8 minutes, so that way the carbs can fully breakdown in your blood, and you will have energy to go much longer than your set minimum.

So far, this technique has proved rather fruitful, and I will continue to use it as my basis for the coming weeks. I have a math final and a physics test coming up this week, let's see how this goes.

Update

Weight: 168 lbs

Height: 5 feet, 9 inches

BMI: 24.8 (Bordering Overweight)

BMR: 1866.54

% Body Fat: (At Home)

Update: I am going to be changing my exercise routine and method to a more CrossFit Style Agenda. This is to essentially force myself to work all the parts of my body equally rather than devoting days to a type of exercise, thus preventing me from using one day wastefully. Also, it is simply easier for me to go through with an exercise if I have ONE set regimen that I follow through every day rather than if I have multiple (one for every other day). 

I will now be doing workouts that are slightly longer (as I am combining the Weight bearing and Cardio) and encompass the whole body.

Physical Status: Sore, but feeling better as a whole.

Mental Status: Okay, so I tried exercising before studying and doing review homework for math, and before I knew it, I was finished with a section in a 1/2 hour that would normally take me an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. I haven't seen to many more mental changes (understandable as I started not too long ago), but this alone makes me want to exercise more just to see how well this works.

Week 1-2: Oh my god why

3/16
Exercise: Cardio

Stationary Biking: 10 minutes at high resistance
Burpees: Constant for 5 minutes
Running with Weights: 10 lbs dumbbells in each hand at 5 mph for 8 minutes
Sit ups with same 10 lbs dumbbells in hands: Constant for 4 minutes

Next day is weight bearing exercise, which is measured in reps instead of endurance time

3/17
Exercise: Weight

Curls: 4 sets of 20 (10 lbs)
Weighted squats: 3 sets of 20
Inclined lift Push press: 3 sets of 15

3/18,20,22,

Steady work out.
Stationary Biking: 10 minutes at high resistance
Burpees: Constant for 7 minutes
Running with Weights: 10 lbs dumbbells in each hand at 5 mph for 7 minutes
Sit ups with same 10 lbs dumbbells in hands: Constant for 4 minutes

skipped 24 due to test and compulsive study habits

3/19,21,23,25
Steady work out.

Curls: 4 sets of 20 (10 lbs)
Weighted squats: 3 sets of 20
Inclined lift Push press: 3 sets of 15
More sit ups with weights in hand: 30

End of week 2, will show current Weight, BMI, and BMR

Basic Idea

This is my first actual post.

The Exercise starts Monday March 16th, and will be alternating A and B days. A days are mostly Cardio, whereas B days are mostly Weight Bearing. 3 weeks go on with increasing intensity followed by one rest week where intensity is lowered by a significant amount. I test against my base line and watch for improvement. I will periodically post daily results as well as mental and physical states. The full routine will most likely be posted on Thursday or Sunday.

Stuff goin' on

Right now, I'm just researching the different programs and strategies I should integrate into my system.' I have everything else ready, and will most likely start next week.