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Other/Mixed What training do you feel benefits your mental function the most?

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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BennyWalks

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Would love to hear peoples experience. If you were training solely for alertness, energy and maybe cognitive function throughout the day, what would you pick?
 
I like doing calisthenics moves like yoga, gymnastics, or tension movements like pistols, OAP. I feel like these “open me up”. Sometimes high rep calisthenics protocols like the Great Gamma one by Pavel M have this effect on me as well.
 
I have never trained this way consistently, so I don’t know if it’s always like this, but a few years ago I used to do BJJ at 6am and one day instead of rolling, we had a former Olympic lifter show us some cleans and snatches. Light weight as we were all just learning, but done at a fast pace to get some reps in. I have never felt so ready to start my day than after just 20 minutes of that.

We were literally using just the bar, and maybe up to like 65 pounds, so the weights were negligible. But just throwing that barbell rapidly, almost like a kettlebell but with a little more rest between reps (maybe 10 seconds or so?) and just doing it over abs over to work on form.

I NEVER had an interest in the Olympic lifts until that. I have still not gone back to it, as I really don’t think it’s something I can do without a coach, but it made me want to lift and I think it was one of the best things I ever did.
 
Personally, I think I would pick anything that is not an all out expenditure. Doing a plan strong cycle right now with 4 barbell lifts. 2 days per week swings and one day snatching practice. Since Im lifting a lot everything else I do is kept easy as far as conditioning. So my snatch day Saturday I did 20 wall drills to make sure I tamed the arc. Then just performed sets of 5LR, rest according to the talk test. Talk test training leaves me feeling mentally sharp and just generally happy. When I train Jiu Jitsu, I do the same thing, I just train so that I am consistent in my energy and keep it fairly light. When you find a “flow state,” then that just keeps the energy high.
 
There is an optimum amount of physical training, too little mean no improvement, too much means inadequate recovery which reduces your mental state.

Some strength, some endurance and a wide range of different types of motion are also important:
Kettlebells ie a program like Simple & Sinister, several days a week
Some Walking (or relaxed jogging) on most days - this provides the gait component.
Superjoints, Fast'n Loose, yoga or an eclectic selection on most days from all 3 which adds to the wide range of movement.

For training of the mind, a type of meditation involving relaxation of body and mind so that the mind slows down and becomes still. This type lets the mind rest - unlike the focus types. Not well understood but if your mind is active (eg breathing, mantra, visualising etc) then it cannot be still. The focus prevents stillness.

In addition, to rest in mental stillness during meditation, you can also learn to cultivate the calm after this meditation so that you can be relaxed as you go about doing things. Being relaxed means that you can do more mentally with less effort. The method is that of the late eminent psychiatrist, Dr Ainslie Meares. I should also mention that some people say they practice "stillness meditation" but their mind cannot be still as it is focussed (ie nothing like Dr Meares' method), this is why I usually mention his name.
 
My wife had just had a baby when I started S and S. I would do it at 430-5am and man it really got me energized for the day. Even with little sleep, low calories, etc….

Currently I’m doing stronglifts (bench/squat/deadlift/row) and while it’s a totally different feeling I feel like MENTALLY getting in some powerlifting makes me walk out of my garage feeling like I’m ready to hulk smash my day. Mentally I love it although I don’t think it really energizes me the way S and S did.
 
I think I’m in the “low volume, fairly high intensity” group.

Some days I’ll do something like 15 reps of pike push-ups 3x day, morning, midday, and evening. Add some pulling, some OS resets, and stretching. Or power push-ups spread throughout the day. Anything brief and intense or explosive really wakes me up, but the volume has to be juuuuust right or it can do the reverse.
 
BennyWalks said:
Would love to hear peoples experience. If you were training solely for alertness, energy and maybe cognitive function throughout the day, what would you pick?
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I would pick Q&D-style sprints. I couldn't tell you why - likely the answer is to be found in the Q&D book ... - but I always feel fantastic after these. My preferred format is about 20 steps of all-out sprinting - not just fast, but trying accelerate throughout the complete duration of the 20 steps - and 3-4 sprints in a series, 1:00-1:30 between sprints, 5-10 minutes between series, and a 2nd series.

-S-
 
A quick session (about 8-10 mins) of light Indian clubs followed by a few minutes of double Nachaku seems to work well for an old ^*#% like me to get the neurons firing. It helps me to get everything warmed up and switched on before I start to lift anything. It's also a good way to get dialed in and focused on what you're doing when you start lifting. If you're not focused with the double Nanchaku's then the elbow damage will end the training session before it starts.
 
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