Spark
I got this book for free on Audible maybe 3 or 4 years ago, and just got around to reading it (or rather listening to it) because I was bored. Its been quite a good read however, and unfortunately its probably one of those books that will only be read by those who are already living the exercise life.
In short, the book basically links the effect of exercise to a better performing mind. 30 to 45 minutes of exercise a day has been linked to significant improvement in mental capacity. We’ve probably all known this for a while, but this book also has the research and bibliography to back it up. The book starts off with a high school in Chicago where PE has been turned into a 0 period class. This has led to significant improvements of overall grade among the overall student population. It has also led to a more confident student body and they’ve also made this a technological endeavor by not tracking things like miles ran but rather by heart rate. The big deal about tracking heart rate is now you can see who is actually working the hardest rather than by who has run the most. As anyone has ever told you “effort is an A, results is an F”, that stands by absolute results in a race, but in the grand race of life, the effort is actually much more meaningful! A heart rate of 70 to 90% triggers growth hormone which will improve performance in many areas outside of just physical performance.
That’s just the start of the book. The rest of the book follows along this pattern where the author seeks to convince you of the value of exercise. it makes you feel younger, it makes your heart and mind work better, your joints will be better lubricated. There’s attention to be paid about not injuring yourself while exercising, but its clear cut what the results are.
Ultimately, I feel that this book is much like extra credit given in school. Very few people who need the extra credit will actually do them, and the ones who always do extra credit are always the students who don’t actually need it.
This book is like that. Only the folks already exercising will read it, to validate their lifestyle choices. Others who wouldn’t, will not even start because who really wants to feel bad about their chosen lifestyle? Its a bit of a pity, but that’s the way life always goes.
Highly recommended still.