What is Genius Gyms?
Genius Gyms is a ground-breaking new way to improve brain & body health by exercising through the application of the latest technology and neuroscience.
Improves overall fitness and with specific emphasis on brain health: memory, attention, balance, attention, motor skills, emotional function etc. & can help reduce/delay the onset of brain decay/diseases (Dementia, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s*).
Genius Gyms was developed by an expert exercise UCLA researcher Dr. Sarah McEwen, a Cognitive Psychologist and an NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer. Dr. McEwen’s training program has been featured on the Tennis Channel’s “Fit to Hit” and Red Bull TV.
Our unique application combines individualized interval training with personalized brain challenges using cutting-edge technology to train your brain and body simultaneously. No boring machines or endless repetitive exercises. This is interesting, challenging, and most of all FUN. You have never experienced training like this!
Who is Genius Gyms for?
Anyone
The Genius Gyms Personal Training Program is for anyone who wants to get in great shape while keeping your mind sharp with the goal of combating the physical and mental decline associated with aging or inactivity. Dr. McEwen designs training programs for all levels of fitness, from beginners to elite athletes.
Genius Gyms Applied
Genius Gyms can be applied to the general population to improve quality of life for brain and body. Genius Gyms can also be targeted for specific purposes to help achieve goals. Some examples below:
Sports/Athletes
Improved speed, agility, stamina, conditioning, coordination and visual cognitive processing functions
Musician’s
Refine motor skills and memory to learn and stay on top of your setlist through neuro-plasticity.
Healthcare
Monitor movement capabilities, establish norms and progression of performance and motivate improvement.
Business
Enhance cognition development to respond better to increasing demands and get the edge over the competition.
Tactical
Improve Decision Making under Stress. Engaged Focus Training with Real-Time Measurements. Reaction and Response Training
Learning
Improve cognition for kids and adults. Give kids the edge to perform better at school.
Technology & Data
Case Study – Peter Rowat PhD
After 11 sessions (4 months of 1 session per week) Peter had improvements on standardized scores of:
Emotional Positive Affect
Peter saw dramatic increases in Alertness, Attention and self accomplishment. This benefits the argument where exercise can aid mental well being and in some cases provide an alternative to medication.
Cognitive Performance
Overall Peter saw consistent gains across the board especially across Verbal memory, reaction time and speed. Greater gains have been experienced when the user participates in 3 sessions per week. Peter participated just once a week, below the recommended exposure.
Emotional Negative Affect
Peter saw a drastic reduction in nervousness, guilt and guilt. Our data across the board illustrates how exercise has many benefits to emotional benefit by exercising the body and brain (amygdala).
Attention
Peter saw a remarkable gain in simple attention with an above average gain. The prefrontal cortex known as the inferior frontal junction (IFJ) controls visual processing areas that are fine tuned for object-based attention, and spatial attention.
Heart Rate Zone
The above illustrates that Peter’s HR is in the ideal zone for neurotrophic gain relating to the growth of neurons in the brain.
Motor Speed
All of the body’s voluntary movements are controlled by the brain. One of the brain areas most involved in controlling these voluntary movements is the motor cortex. Peter saw impressive gains helping him with everyday tasks.
Genius Gyms Data Activity (so far!)
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*Based on aggregated participants data over the period of one year
Research
Research has shown that having individuals undergo both a physical exercise and a cognitive training program increase mental abilities significantly more than those doing physical exercise or cognitive training alone (Fabre et al., 1999; Barnes et al., 2013). Thus proving that the combined effects of cognitive and physical fitness training are additive, and it’s better for your brain to do both, not just one. Genius Gyms takes this research one step further to prove that simultaneously doing cognitive training while exercising gives your brain and body the maximum challenge needed to improve your brain’s performance-while also saving you the time of doing these activities seperately.
- Neuroprotection
Physical exercise has been shown to increase the rate of growth of new neurons in the brain. Mental exercise helps the survival of those new neurons in the brain. Both physical and mental exercises are the leading treatments of cognitive declince associated with aging. - Neurochemicals
Physical exercise changes the brain chemistry of your brain to improve learning and memory abilities, while mental exercises challenge those cognitive systems to increase efficiency. - Aging
Genius Gyms is both a fun and scientifically-based new way to exercise that allows you to perform both mental and physical exercises simultaneously to increase neuroplasticity in your brain and lead to maximal brain and body performance. Both are necessary to combat neurodegeneration associated with aging. And we have combined them to save you time and optimize the benefits for you.
Dr. McEwen's Exercise Research
Dr. McEwen conducted a neuroimaging study to examine the effects of a combined exercise and cognitive training program in severely cognitively impaired patients in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. What she and her team found was remarkable (see FIGURE 1). They found that after only 6 months of the combined exercise and cognitive training program brain activity increased in the brain regions responsible for executive functioning (Prefrontal cortex-see FIGURE 2) and for encoding new memories (Hippocampus-see FIGURE 3) and NO INCREASED activity in a group of patients who did not complete the combined training program.
Noted Improvements in Brain Function *
HIPPOCAMPUS
CEREBELLUM
AMYGDALA
BASAL GANGLIA
PARIETAL LOBE
* Results may vary
Videos
Fit To Hit Episode 5 – Tennis Channel
Daily Exercise and Improving your Memory
Dr. McEwen in the news in Santa Monica
“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple.”Dalai Lama
Contact Us – Get in Touch
Address
UCSD Qualcomm Institute, Atkinson Hall – Fifth Floor, 9500 Gilman Drive #0436 La Jolla, CA 92093-0436
Phone
(424) 281-0333