This new workout gets your heart beating and brain thinking at the same time

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - At OrthoSport Hawaii's medical gym in Niu Valley, two men exercise on machines that increase their heart rates.

At the same time personal trainers quiz the pair with simple mind games.

"You and I will go back and forth from A to Z. You're going to name an animal that starts with A, and I'll go B, you go C, you go D," trainer Thomas Fasulo said.

The new workout is called BrainFit.

“The number one factor that you have control over to some degree as far as how to improve the health of your brain and functioning of your mind is physical exercise,” OrthoSport’s owner and manager Dr. Michael Turner said.

Studies show that age shrinks the size of a person’s brain and exercise can help slow that down.

"The single most effective thing you can do for brain health is to get your heart rate up," Turner said.

BrainFit targets memory but also helps with recall and problem solving.

The exercise program is designed for people dealing with early onset dementia and those with brain trauma from an injury or stroke.

But how do you know it's improving brain function?

"We're doing all these tests in the beginning that are very re-measurable," Fasulo said.

The BrainFit program lasts for 10 sessions and has attracted mostly senior citizens, but younger folks are catching on.

"They will begin to work out their brain the same way that people worried about their bodies getting older will work out their bodies," Turner said.

The workout includes classes on how sleep, stress and diet affect the brain. To find out more about BrainFit, including the cost, click here: https://orthosport.com/

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