Jogging for intelligence

Hey Guys and Gals,

Yes, that's right, you're reading the title correctly--Jogging isn't just good for maintaining your Adonis core, but also for your Einstein intelligence.

Leave it to the Swiss to form a study that followed more than 1 million men born in 1950 and 1976 who were enlisted in military service in Sweden at age 18. They sampled over 3,147 twins, of which 1,432 were identical. At the beginning of their enlistment each pair of twins were given a cognitive and cardiovascular fitness test. Not only did this study conclude initially that the twin who performed better in the cardiovascular segment of the test also performed better in the cognitive segment of the test, but it also concluded that the twin with the better cardio score, achieved a higher education and socioeconomic ranking later in life.

Now if you weren't distracted by the talk of twins so much as the fact that you may be reading this feeling guilty about downing that 660 calorie White Peppermint Chocolate Mocha with whipped cream from Starbucks today, hope is not lost! You're not a big fat ugo, you just feel that way. If you are reading this you aren't too old and helpless; one of my fitness coaches was 68 years old and ran marathons.

If you are self-deprecating, stop being a drama queen! A lifestyle of health starts with making better choices, perseverance through temptation and sweet rewards--only when they are earned. There is a tribe of cliff dwelling people in Mexico called the Tarahumara who run hundreds of miles a day without stopping on shoes they made out of rubber tires they find in dumps.

Fitness is a matter of sheer will power, the will to push beyond what you think you are possible of doing and Chicago is the renowned city for will power, having rebuilt itself from ashes. You can do this, it just starts when you are ready and when you start, you'll find that the extra oxygen that starts flowing to your brain will give you an extra benefit besides your nice "Bod", it will give you some added smarts too!