How Exercise Affects Your Brain With Tony Horton

Tony Horton is the wildly popular creator of the best-selling fitness series: P90X?, P90X2?, P90X3?, and Ten Minute Trainer?, and most recently his 22-Minute military inspired workout, 22 Minute Hard Corps?. Tony is a world-class motivational speaker and the author of top-selling books “Bring It”, Crush It!” and his latest motivational book, “The Big Picture” 11 Laws that will change your life.

Did you know you can beat stress, lift your mood, fight memory loss, sharpen your intellect, and function better than ever simply by elevating your heart rate and breaking a sweat? The evidence is incontrovertible: aerobic exercise physically remodels our brains for peak performance.

What got you interested in “Spark,” a book by Dr. John Ratey?

Horton met author Dr. John Ratey while visiting the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York a few years ago. Ratey was a fan of Horton and his P90X workout system. Ratey understands the effects of physical activity on the body, the brain and cognition. While at the event, someone handed Horton Ratey’s book, “Spark.” But it wasn’t until Horton was on a lengthy plane ride returning home that he started reading the book and once he did, he was hooked. “It reminded me of why I want to work out five days a week for forever,” says Horton. It’s because “I don’t want to end up with exercise bipolar disorder.”

So, what is an exercise bipolar disorder, exactly? Many experts agree that exercise can boost your mood if you have a bipolar disorder. But, what Horton is referring to is a little different. Do you ever get that post-workout feeling of elation from all the serotonin running through your body? Yet, if you skip a workout or more, you are left with a not so elated feeling. It’s like that.

Horton also got the chance to speak to a group of people who came back from the Middle East with PTSD. He explained the importance of staying active. “The more you move, the less you are going to have of these moments of freaking out,” says the P90X workout creator, “That’s not suggesting that you don’t need therapy or to see specialists or anything. But exercising and eating right can give you that leg up.”