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"So you&amp;#039;ve heard about the benefits of strength training for your bones (it helps increase bone density) and your muscles (counteracts natural muscle loss) but a brand new study found that pumping some iron has major benefits for your brain too. And the results are pretty significant to say the least\u2026  In the research, women between the ages of 65-75 who did just an hour or two of strength training exercises each week\u2014using dumbbells and weight machines\u2014had improved cognitive function a year later. They scored higher on tests of the brain responsible for planning and executing tasks like decision making and resolving conflicts than those who just did balance and toning exercises. More specifically, the women who did strength training had improved their performance on cognitive tests of by 10.9 percent \u2013 12.6 percent, while the other group actually had a slight deterioration of 0.5 percent.  It seems that many women are still intimidated by the idea of strength training, but this research proves that even a little bit comes with huge benefits. And remember, strength training does not mean you have to bench press at the gym with the bodybuilders! It can be something as simple as doing two sets of ten bicep curls with a large can of soup from your kitchen while watching your favorite tv show.  Depending on what works for you, either add some strength training moves to your gym routine, buy an inexpensive set of dumbbells (three or five pounds) at your local sports store and pop in a DVD such as Jackie Warner&amp;#039;s Circuit Training workout or just get creative with items you already have at home. I think we can all figure out a way to fit it in for our brain&amp;#039;s sake! \u2013 Abby Cuffey, Assistant Health Editor "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/a44218/strength-train-for-your-brain-3442/>