"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." -Gandhi

Arthur Kramer, the director at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, came to talk about what the effects of exercising can have on your brain and body. I was very excited to hear Dr. Kramer speak because I heard that the topic was about how exercising can help improve your brain. We've all heard of the stats on what exercising can do, but even I was unsure about the specific effects exercising can have on the brain. I just know the common response, "Exercise is good for you!" but could never scientifically explain why. Dr. Kramer began to explain how exercising, even walking everyday, can have a significant long-term effect on someone's mental health. He continued to go into detail about his studies and data that he's collected. I wish I could explain and share everything I learned from him, but I'm going to focus on when he mentioned the link between exercising and Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by plaques and tangles, abnormal clusters of proteins that form in the brain. These proteins are made up of pieces called beta-amyloid. Beta-amyloid is then what form the plaques in the brain of an Alzheimer's patient. These clumps of beta-amyloid are what is thought to block the signaling at synapses between neurons. Dr. Kramer talked about the experiment with mice testing whether or not exercise would have an effect on the production of beta-amyloid. Once the mice were put on a track wheel, the number of beta-amyloid reduced. Even though this was tested on mice, this seems to be a pretty reassuring discovery that exercising can help reduce the chances of forming beta-amyloid clumps, reducing the chances of Alzheimer's disease. Art Kramer spoke of many other experiments that showed how exercising reduced the chances of developing Parkinson's disease or Multiple Sclerosis. His talk was very inspiring and motivating to push people even more to exercise. By knowing the science behind the long-term effects of exercising, I am beyond motivated to get back to a regular work out schedule and also motivating my family and friends to work out. Exercise doesn't necessarily need to be running 6 miles, lifting large weights, or P90X, but can instead start off as walking everyday or swimming some laps a few days a week. Depending on someone's fitness level, the amount of exercise they do can vary and there is nothing wrong with starting off at a comfortable exercise routine. Anyone can work up to achieving a higher fitness level. It is better to start exercising, even if that means starting off small because it's better than doing nothing at all.