In the era of HIIT, fartlek, plyometrics and body part splits, we bet you rarely dedicate a day in your busy workout schedule to boost mental stamina. Yet a growing body of research suggests brain endurance training (BET) – blending mentally fatiguing cognitive tasks with exercise – can propel both your cognitive and athletic performance to new heights.
It could also make you more deadly at five-a-side. One six-week study on 31 professional men's footballers found that players who completed demanding cognitive tasks alongside physical training sessions, improved their passing and shooting accuracy. They also aced a test that scrutinises their attention to visual stimuli, with authors suggesting BET may increase resistance to mental fatigue.
Similar gains have been identified in grassroots padel players and road cyclists, and new research from the University of Birmingham suggests BET can also promote healthy ageing.
man riding stationary bike in gym
Juan Algar//Getty Images
The study compared small groups of women who performed a 45-minute workout routine or BET – completing a 20-minute task before their workout – for eight weeks. The BET group improved their cognitive function by 7.8% and physical capacity by 29.9%. By comparison, the exercise-only group saw an uptick of 4.5% and 22.4%, respectively.
Originally developed for elite athletes, BET draws on tasks like the Stroop colour-word interference test, first developed in 1935 to examine patterns of cognitive decline, rather than run-of-the-mill brain training games like wordle and sudoku. But mobile-friendly apps like Soma NPT, said to be used by the coach of two-time CrossFit world champion Annie Thorisdottir, are bringing brains and brawn to the masses.
Related Stories