Image credit AlbySpace

Mens sana in corpore sano is Latin and loosely translates as “A sound mind in a sound body”. The phrase can be used to promote a healthy balance between a persons mental and physical energy expenditure so that one does not outbalance the other and manifest itself in the form stress, illness, insomnia, or any other form of mental or physical inhibitor.

My name is Daniel, i recently graduated from the University of Portsmouth, UK, where i read a Masters Degree in Sport and Exercise Science, and I’m a new author here at the GearFire blog. I’ve been charged with the task of providing health and fitness related tips for academic success to the readers of GearFire, a role that I’m chomping at the bit to get stuck into.

I firmly believe in the Latin adage “A sound mind in a sound body”, and here is why exercise will benefit your study:

• Improved concentration. Exercise will help you to relax, a process of catharsis allows you to channel mental anguish is a safe and effective manner. When sat at your desk struggling to string together any sort of logical sentence simply stop, take 30 minutes and declutter. Return to the desk and i promise you that you’ll be in a better state of concentration.
• Fight illness. A direct benefit of increased exercise is an improved ability to stave off illness. Moderate and continued exercise will improve the immune system by increasing the number of white blood cells circulating in the blood, enabling a faster and more efficient interception of foreign bodies and bacteria when they enter the body.
• Greater confidence. Exercise will help you to look better and feel better about yourself. As a result of increased confidence you are less likely to avoid classes, social meetings, and more likely to put yourself forward for in-class demonstrations, sports teams and numerous other scenarios that you might have avoided.
• Better sleep. Exercise that lasts 40 minutes 3 times per week will promote deeper sleep patterns. You will spend greater periods of time in deep sleep, and allow you to wake up feeling refreshed a ready for the day ahead, rather than waking up and feeling ready to go back to sleep.
• Optimised circulation. Last but by no means least, and probably the most relevant…regular exercise promotes growth of the heart allowing an increased efficiency at pumping blood around the body. This is of particular benefit to the brain, an organ that thrives on the oxygen that is contained within the blood. Exercise the heart and improve cranial activity, it is as simple as that.

So, now that I’ve explained what exercise can do for your studies let me explain what i can do for your exercise. As i mentioned earlier i am a Masters student of Sport and Exercise Science, i have knowledge of the simplest forms of exercise, for example, body weight routines, all the way up to elite forms of exercise, for example speed, agility and quickness (SAQ), Olympic training techniques, and plyometrics. If you are reading this post and would like me to write about a particular topic, no matter where it falls within this spectrum, then please feel free to leave a comment on this post and I’ll do my utmost to cover the topic.

I look forward to your suggestions and providing you with the information needed to make the most of your academic years.