I’ve been diving into the science of how exercise shapes not just our muscles, but also our brains and intelligence. And honestly, the evidence from the last decade is too powerful to ignore. 📚 Since around 2015, research has been showing that when we train consistently, the brain changes too. Kids and teenagers who exercise regularly don’t just get fitter they actually score higher on intelligence tests. A big meta-analysis from Pediatrics (2024) found that physical activity improved IQ by an average of about 4 points. Think about that: just by moving your body, you can literally get smarter. 👩‍💻 For adults, the story is more about mental sharpness. Studies on executive functions things like focus, memory, and decision making consistently show that exercise gives us a measurable edge. Whether it’s lifting weights, running, or doing a mix, the brain responds by becoming more efficient. 👴 For older adults, this might be the most powerful tool we have. Some trials have shown that a few months of structured training can actually increase hippocampal volume the part of the brain tied to memory. Even when the volume doesn’t grow, exercise slows down the shrinkage that naturally happens with age. The mechanism? One word: BDNF. It’s a growth factor that rises every time we train, helping neurons survive, grow, and connect. Basically, it’s like Miracle-Gro for your brain. So here’s my takeaway for all of us here: if you’re training just for the mirror, you’re missing half the picture. Every squat, every sprint, every push-up is literally rewiring your brain for sharper thinking, better focus, and yes even higher intelligence.

You’re probably sick and tired of hearing it. That diet is 70% and training is 30%. Or 20/80, or 50/50… as if this were some kind of mathematical equation. The problem with this idea is that it makes people believe that if you hit one side 100%, you’ve already “covered” that part. But it doesn’t work like that. Because both diet and training are absolutely essential. If one fails, the result never comes. That said— Even though talking in percentages doesn’t make sense, there is one clear difference: training demands far more from the person than diet does. With nutrition, it’s ultimately about hitting certain numbers: calories, macros, micros, fibre… If you meet those, the job is done. Whether it feels harder or easier to stick to it is another story, but from a technical perspective, simply hitting the targets is enough. You can (and honestly, you should) even organise your meals in a way that feels enjoyable—so you actually look forward to eating them. I’ll share more on this later. Now, with training it’s not the same. It’s not just about showing up to the gym and going through the motions. You need to face an ever-increasing level of physical effort in order to create the adaptations you’re after. To generate enough stress to break your body’s state of balance—its homeostasis. That’s uncomfortable, exhausting, painful. And if you’re training properly (really properly), you’ll feel nerves and maybe even slight anxiety before a hard session, because you know it’s going to be a grind. That never happens with eating. Quite the opposite: you do it with pleasure, even seeking that enjoyment. Or put another way: - Training (done right) is unpleasant. - Nutrition (done right) is enjoyable. And if either one doesn’t feel that way, something’s off. On top of that, training is the true trigger. In a deficit, it dictates where your body takes the missing energy from. In a surplus, it determines where the excess goes. That’s why so many sports nutritionists admit that before you need a great nutritionist, you need a great coach.