Anaerobic exercise to increase BDNF

[Gratitude60]

Does anyone know if continuous anaerobic exercise 80-85% max is good for increasing bdnf? I do a stair machine 2x per week and get my heart rate up to about 85% max for about 30 min. It feels great....but I'm not sure it's good for me. I also do about 4 days of aerobic exercise 30 min or more on the elliptical or walking. Thank you!

[Bolt_Upright]

Aerobic exercise caused a ~32% increase in serum BDNF in adult human males while serum BDNF decreased 13% in sedentary control subjects. Vigorous intensity (80% heart rate reserve), long duration (40 min) exercise offered the greatest probability of a significant BDNF elevation.Sep 1, 2013 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Gratitude60 in reply to Bolt_Upright]

Thank you for sending this article. It is interesting but from 2013. I haven't been able to find any recent studies that recommend continuous anaerobic exercise over aerobic.

[Bolt_Upright in reply to Gratitude60]

Ah, "What is the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise? Aerobic exercises are endurance-type exercises that increase a person's heart rate and breathing rate over relatively long durations. Anaerobic exercises are exercises that involve short bursts of intense activity."

[Gratitude60 in reply to Bolt_Upright]

Thanks, Bolt. From Healthline: "The difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise comes down to oxygen levels. In aerobic, or “with oxygen” exercise, your muscles have enough oxygen to produce the energy needed to perform. Anaerobic “without oxygen” exercise means oxygen demand is greater than oxygen supply and you can’t keep up with the energy your body is demanding. This leads to lactate production and eventually the cessation of exercise."

In doing further reading, I was mistaken thinking that at 80-85% max heart rate, I was in the anaerobic zone. It's definitely a vigorous workout, but not anaerobic. This website was helpful to me in understanding the various levels. verywellfit.com/target-hear...

[JohnPepper]

I have done Fast Walking, 3 times a week Max, with 1 day in-between. I started in 1994 and have done it ever since, other than when I have other health problems. I came off my meds in 2002 and have bneen onffever since. WEhen I stop the walking , I startv ro feel the symptoms slowly coming back. I have been symptom-free since 1998.

I do not charge people to help them overcome most of their Pd symptoms, but it must nbe done at maximium speed, right from the start. You can start for 5 minutes and slowly build it up to one hour,. Don't do any more because it will injure your muscles.

If you want to do it carefully, then contact me. I will help you. I am now 87 and am battling to do the walking because of my age and my muscle deterioration.

The Growth Factor you should be interested in is GDNF (Glial Derived Neurotrophic Factor). It repairs the damaged Glial Cells, which manage your dopamine production. That means , more Glial cells, more Dopamone, less symptoms.

[kaypeeoh in reply to JohnPepper]

How does BDNF and GDBF differ? And how might each differ from HGH human growth hormone? I've read that HIIT (hyper intense interval training) raises HGH the most. I get this from Dr Mercola. He recommends an Eliptical trainer for getting heart rate to 90% of maximun with the lowest chance of muscle injury.

[JohnPepper in reply to kaypeeoh]

BDNF is Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor! GDNF is Glial Derived Neurotrophic Factor. That is the one you need. Listen to this report.The Mayo Clinic Studies:

healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

The Annals of Neurology:

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

GDNF repairs the damaged Glial Cells, which manage the production of Dopamine, of which we do not have enough. More dopamine means less symptoms.

Good luck

[kaypeeoh in reply to JohnPepper]

"Aerobic exercise, but not stretching, led to increased functional connectivity of the anterior putamen..."

My thoughts exactly. The researchers goal was 80% of max heart rate while riding stationary bike. I mounted a trainer to my fat-tire bike and strapped on a heart rate monitor and rode for 30 minutes. At first the fat tires caused horrific noise so I switched to street tires. That settle the din to manageable levels. I'm trying this mainly because of blisters from the treadmill.

[JohnPepper in reply to kaypeeoh]

Keep trying and you will slowly get fitter and maybe able to try the Fast Walking!

[Gratitude60 in reply to kaypeeoh]

Thanks, Kaypeeoh!

[Gratitude60 in reply to JohnPepper]

Thank you, John. It's so inspiring to hear how well you have done and continue to do. I read your book when I was newly dx in 2020 and it gave me hope; thank you.

Fortunately, exercise has always been a part of my life. I am just more mindful about it now, making sure I get cardio, strength training, and movement (such as gyrotonics) every week.

So far, I am not on C/L. Hopefully with vigilance about the things I can control - exercise, diet, micronutrients, light therapy - I can stave off neurodegeneration.

[JohnPepper in reply to Gratitude60]

Please remember that if you are not walking as fast as you can then you are wasting your time.How do you know if you are walkimng as fast as you can? If you can still talk then you are able to walk a lot faster. If you cannot say one wiord then slow down a tiny bit. Never walk every day and never walk longer than one hour. Good luck

[Gratitude60 in reply to JohnPepper]

Thanks for the tips!

[JohnPepper in reply to Gratitude60]

My Pleasure!

John