Does exercise blunt the mind?

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I read an article by a writer I have a quite a bit of respect for. In the article he satirised athletes and quite accurately portrayed them as boring, self obsessed people.

Are there any exceptions? Can someone spend a lot of time repetively building some kind of muscle or playing a team sport without losing their imagination and blunting their intelligence?

You see, I've just joined a gym and I'm beginning to regret it. I'm wondering whether it isn't going to make me lose much of my great imagination - my passion for music, witty and profound films and plays, fine arts, architecture, designing buildings and planning towns, reading literature and researching sciences.

So what do you think? Does exercise blunt the mind? Isn't it the case that almost every great thinker who's ever lived was either thin or overweight rather than toned or muscular?

absolutely not. exercise is great for focus, discipline, and sometimes great ideas come to you when doing repetetive things (i mean. we're aspie. why is repetetive crunches something which can blunt the mind, but rocking isn't?).
being healthy benefits all systems, including the brain.
it's also a great stress reliever. i'm sure most of us can use that.

...and what good is a great thinker that dies at 35 from a heart attack?
what if that great thinker had a great idea that never got published as a result?

eta: i need to get back in shape. argh.

You don't actually take that notion seriously, surely?

Exercise increases blood flow, which sends more oxygen to the brain. It couldn't possibly make you stupid.

I do think a certain type of personality tends to gravitate toward obsession with competitive physical sports, but it isn't the exercise that makes them that way. Arnold Schwarzenneger is a good example of someone who took physical exercise to extremes and yet the man is exceptionally smart, don't let the thick accent fool you.

Personally, I can't stand sports of any kind, but was introduced to weight training at 32 and made it one of my obsessive rituals. It hasn't interfered with my reading, lessened my vocabulary, or as far as I can tell, robbed me of a single, solitary brain cell. It has, however increased my social confidence immensely and made me physically feel better and more comfortable in my own skin.

As far as boring, who knows? I have AS, so if we don't share the same obsessive interest in something, I've probably always been boring as hell.

Oh, and sorry about calling you Shirley.

I think its sitting on our asses all day on WP that blunts the mind

The only worthwhile types of exercise are practical ones...... and martial arts.


Practical ones generally involve walking and carrying things. DIY and whatnot too.

Martial arts.... well... that is just cool.

I used to be an athlete, and it really did feel like it was killing my mind. Why? Who knows...

I think its because the bigger your mahsklez are, the more energy they consume. Energy your brain could be using [/BS]

Actually, there have been several studies done showing that regular, aerobic exercise improves the mind. It improves the memory, and people are better able to multitask and complete cognitive tasks faster. These were actual experimental studies by the way, which showed significant improvements in the exercise group after like three months or something like that.

Of course, you know he was playing on stereotypes for humorous effect. The stereotypical muscle-bound jock was mentally insipid before or he did his first bicep curl. One who spends all of one's time exercising physically, though, will not have any time for intellectual pursuits. The key is the ancient Greek ideal of moderation (i.e., balance between physical, social, and intellectual pursuits).

Link?

That is just a sign of illogical thinking by that writer. It's a flaw I see constantly in assuming causality. Some people who have poor cognitive ability may be attracted to some team sports and their participation may increase their popularity which increases their socializing. So.... theoretically spending all your time either doing the sport, in physical practice for it or dating cheerleaders ad hanging out with only other people engaged in that sport....MAY give some people less time and energy for more cerebral activities. It doesn't fallow that people who are physically healthy would be stupid. Perhaps a more accurate correlation would be someone with 18 hours in their day spends 80% of it working out or socializing may be stupid in other areas of knowledge ?

Exercise has been shown to increase over all energy levels, (along with a plethora of other benefits), so I would say it can increase your intelligence and the amount in can achieve in more cerebral areas. The real sign of intelligence is in a balance of physical and mental pursuits tha acknowledges that we are more then just a physical or mental being.

There's obviously a scientifically documented inverse relationship between exercise and brain power. There's also a direct correlation between time spent on Internet and gullibility.

Simple answer: No. Don't worry about it. Enjoy the gym.